Chapter 168

Chapter 163Li Zhuiyuan hung up the phone.

Beside him, Lu Yi asked concernedly, "Did the village chief have an accident?"

"His wife won't let him in the house."

Lu Yi's expression turned serious and he said, "That's a big deal in the Northeast, especially in this weather. Since I was young, I've heard several cases of husbands who drank too much in winter, went home and knocked on the door, and whose wives, angry, refused to open it. The next morning, when they opened the door, they found the person had frozen to death on the doorstep."

"He's not that serious."

Lu Yi said, "Still need to advise him properly."

"Okay."

Leaving the shop, Li Zhuiyuan walked towards Grandma Liu's house.

Aunt Liu wasn't home recently, and it was still quite early; the cafeteria hadn't started serving breakfast yet. Li Zhuiyuan planned to wait, take A Li for a walk on the playground, then go to the cafeteria to buy breakfast and get a portion for the old lady too.

However, as he reached the courtyard gate, before even pushing it open, he smelled a fragrance.

In the courtyard, many small stoves were lit. An old man with completely white hair and beard, accompanied by two older women and two younger women, was quietly busy inside.

They were preparing food.

The ingredients were prepared in advance, but to ensure the taste, they were brought here for on-site cooking.

The old man was personally busy while supervising his two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters-in-law. If he saw something wasn't done to standard, he didn't dare scold them aloud but glared forcefully.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan enter, the old man was first doubtful, then put down the spoon in his left hand and performed a greeting ritual with his right.

"Young man, are you...?"

"I'm from the family."

The old man immediately turned off the fire, put down the tools in his hand, and bowed seriously to Li Zhuiyuan.

He performed the Liu family outer-door ritual, meaning he was a nominal member of the Liu family, not someone who passed on arts.

The four women beside him, seeing this, also stopped their work and bowed to Li Zhuiyuan. The two daughters-in-law performed the ritual quite properly, while the two granddaughters-in-law could only roughly imitate them.

Li Zhuiyuan stepped aside to avoid the ritual and said, "The old lady said there's no need for old rituals at home anymore."

"The old lady is considerate of us below, but we cannot disregard etiquette."

"You all worked hard."

"Dare not, dare not. To have the opportunity to serve the old lady is our blessing."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the house.

The old man immediately urged his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law to quickly resume their work.

His family ran a restaurant in Jinling, not famous in the ordinary market, because those who could reserve his family's banquet were either rich or noble.

This restaurant was an early industry of the Liu family, only entertaining Liu family members and guests holding Liu family invitations.

After the decline of the Qin and Liu families, the old lady dispersed most of the two families' industries. She didn't know how many mansions were donated as cultural relic protection units; some mansions were nominally registered under other surnames to preserve their history, but their original owners were actually either surnamed Qin or Liu.

This restaurant was also like that, but the old lady was generous, too lazy to take shares for profit, and considering past relationships with subordinates, she really gave it away directly.

No one is a fool, and no one is born liking to serve others humbly. But there was no choice; the old lady gave too much, so much that if they didn't continue to treat themselves as subordinates, they would feel embarrassed.

Of course, the old man also knew that profit was secondary; for some individuals, where one could curry favor and cultivate connections was more important.

If given a choice, he genuinely wished to continue as he did when he was young, following his father and being busy in the Liu family kitchen.

Liu Yumei was combing A Li's hair. Seeing Li Zhuiyuan come in, she straightforwardly handed the comb to the teenager:

"You do it. I'll go upstairs and tell them to quiet down."

"Okay, Grandma."

Li Zhuiyuan took the comb and helped A Li comb her hair.

In the mirror, A Li smiled.

Liu Yumei saw it and just smiled. She was no longer jealous about this.

She couldn't help but think of that old man surnamed Li in Nantong who always muttered that she was a "vulgar old woman."

That guy, Li Sanjiang, seemed to have really hit the mark.

Frankly, the status and treatment of a son-in-law in the woman's family are earned through one's own ability and capability.

This principle, even in the Dragon King family, cannot be exempted.

Liu Yumei went upstairs. When she came down again, Li Zhuiyuan had already finished combing A Li's hair.

Subsequently, the teenager took A Li's hand and went for a walk on the playground.

When they returned, breakfast was also ready.

It was a simple breakfast of small dishes. The staple foods were nothing more than porridge, noodles, and wontons, but each dish was made with meticulous care and attention to ingredients.

Without exaggeration, the cooking skills were much better than Aunt Liu's. After all, Aunt Liu only cooked for herself and couldn't be busy cooking all day long.

The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law carried in small dishes and plates one by one and set them down. This was the old man deliberately letting them show their faces.

In the end, the old man stood quietly beside the table with his hands tied and waist bent, waiting for requests from the people at the table.

The old lady was ultimately different from before. Having unloaded the heavy burden on her shoulders, the family's life also had better prospects compared to the past. People had become more easygoing.

She picked up her chopsticks and clipped a soup dumpling into Li Zhuiyuan's bowl: "The Ma family's dim sum skills are the best in all of Jinling. You try it."

Li Zhuiyuan bit into one side, sucked the soup, and after eating one, nodded:

"Mm, very fresh and delicious."

The old man beside him felt relieved and also smiled.

Liu Yumei laughed: "Not bad, the craftsmanship hasn't declined."

The old man replied: "Dare not let it decline. I can't guarantee when the old lady will suddenly think of this taste again. If I let you taste something that wasn't the previous flavor, that would be my sin."

Liu Yumei casually took a handful of gold melon seeds from her pocket and placed them on the table.

"Divide them among the daughters-in-law."

The old man quickly waved his hand: "Old lady, this can't be, it really can't be."

Liu Yumei said, "It seems the family is big and the business is big, you look down on this small amount."

"How dare I forget my roots, how dare I forget my roots, I would be struck by lightning!" The old man immediately carefully scraped the gold melon seeds into his hand.

Purely by weight, these gold melon seeds weren't much, but each one was exquisitely shaped; the craftsmanship price even exceeded the price of gold itself.

"We'll wait outside. You can instruct us anytime."

The old man was knowledgeable of etiquette. Holding the gold melon seeds with both hands, he backed out of the dining room.

Liu Yumei took a sip of porridge and said, "I know you don't like this kind of formality, but I think Ah Ting also reminded him. He already kept a low profile enough, but the pomp is still a bit much."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled: "I can understand."

"If you like, I'll let him continue to send meals later, how about that?"

"I still prefer Aunt Liu's cooking, it feels like home."

"Hehe, actually, Ah Ting's cooking skills are also learned from them. Their lineage previously specialized in the stove in my hometown. Their family's craftsmanship is the taste of my Liu family."

"So that's how it is."

"Ah, not just on the stove, even theater troupes, tailoring teams, gardeners, and so on, were previously all raised in-house, specially for our own use. This was common in the past, only now, there's really no use for these."

When the old lady said this, her tone had no loneliness, only recollection, as if telling stories to the younger generation.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his mouth and asked, "The third floor there..."

The old lady said straightforwardly, "Originally prepared for you. Wait for A Li and Ah Ting to come back from plowing the fields, then let A Li send those things back to the old residence."

"I've noted your kindness."

"Is there a latter sentence?"

"No."

"You child." Liu Yumei shook her head. "Sometimes I think, why did they only leave me? They all went and died themselves."

"Grandma..."

"Later, I gradually understood the meaning. It turns out they thought I hadn't detached from low-level interests and left me to better guard the home. Some things they couldn't do themselves, but they knew I could. I was never a person who liked to reason. If I was truly pushed to the edge, at most I'd drag everyone down with me, but I didn't want to guard those damned rules, morals, and reputation. Perhaps because of this, those families and sects still have some reservations about our fallen household and don't dare to truly come to the door to devour us. Because they know there's an old lady in this house who will go crazy when pushed."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled frankly and said, "I think what you're doing is right."

Liu Yumei said playfully, "That's not what they would say."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Because I believe you can control the scope well, revenge won't harm the innocent."

Liu Yumei sighed: "Heh, this taste matches again, it's boring."

"Grandma, I want to return to Nantong today."

"Is the school winter break so soon?"

"A friend's family had a little contradiction, and asked me to go handle it."

"Couple contradiction?"

"Yes."

"Interesting." Liu Yumei's eyes revealed playfulness. "Asked you to mediate a couple's contradiction?"

The old lady really couldn't imagine this scene.

If it were this child before, with a discerning heart, it would be fine.

But she had long seen that, she didn't know when, this child no longer maintained a cheerful and bright demeanor towards anyone.

"It's the Bai family's matter."

"Oh, is it that boy's matter?"

"Yes."

"Does this require you to make a trip? The New Year is coming soon. Let that boy send a message there and tell them that A Li will bring gifts and go to their town for the New Year."

"He probably isn't willing."

"Oh, this is really developing feelings?"

"Should be, yes."

"That boy is also an interesting stubborn one."

"Mainly, he can't enter now, so he can't send a message either."

"Then send someone to make a trip."

"Most of my people are lying down now."

Liu Yumei looked around the house; those two weren't home either now.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Anyway, my hands are free now, I'll make the trip myself."

"I understand what you mean. You really consider that boy a friend, but the one you're interested in won't be an ordinary person. That boy should also have destiny."

"I didn't think that much."

"A willow planted without intention grows into shade."

After the meal, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li entered the study. He recounted his experiences to A Li and also told her about his guesses regarding Wei Zhengdao.

After listening, A Li picked up her brush and casually sketched a few strokes on a piece of white paper. This was a draft.

On the draft, a teenager stood there with an adult's shadow behind him.

"I think it's very good, let's choose this design."

A Li nodded, her gaze looking towards the area surrounding the draft. The difficulty of this painting lay in how to handle the large area of blank space.

The method to highlight the mood was not impossible, but when used as a record, it still needed enough details to fill it.

"I'll handle the Nantong matter and then come back. If it's delayed for a long time, I might not come back. At that time, I'll beg the old lady to take you back to Nantong, and we can celebrate the New Year together?"

Although Li Zhuiyuan usually didn't attend classes according to the schedule, he had still selected many university courses.

However, the end of the term was approaching, and many classes had already finished, especially the classes of professors he liked; there was basically no class time.

Since that was the case, staying at school didn't make much sense. Anyway, he didn't need to take final exams.

Due to Luo Gong's relationship, the school was very lenient with him in this aspect, but it was possible that he would have to represent the school in some competitions next semester.

A Li smiled; she agreed.

In the past period, she had long been accustomed to her home being wherever the boy was.

When Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the courtyard, he saw the old man leading his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law moving the ingredients for lunch. The ingredients must have been sent by his son or grandsons, but apart from him, it wasn't suitable for men to enter the courtyard.

"Brother, what would you like to eat for lunch?"

"You don't need to mind me. Prepare according to the old lady's preferences. I have to go out once, and I won't be eating at home recently."

"Brother is a busy man. You go ahead."

After Li Zhuiyuan walked past them and left, the old man turned around, bent at the waist towards the boy's back and said:

"Qinhuai Songxiang Building, Brother. When you have leisure any day, please honor us by coming in for tea. I'll bring the boys to show filial respect to Brother."

"I've noted it down."

After Li Zhuiyuan walked far away, the old man straightened his waist.

The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law exchanged glances. The old man was the decision-maker of the family, possessed craftsmanship and status, and the restaurant was still in his hands, so his status at home was usually very high, with a serious demeanor.

Since coming here today, the old man seemed to have changed into a different person. If he was only so respectful to that old lady, it would be fine, after all, it was a pre-liberation master-servant relationship. But was it worth being so humble to this teenager?

The old man stroked his beard. He naturally saw the incomprehension in the eyes of his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law, but he was too lazy to explain.

The old lady had breakfast with only three people at the table: one was the old lady's own granddaughter, and the other was this teenager.

Such a family, not to mention they had a connection before, even if there was no relationship, they still needed to strive to serve them well.

How many people in the world are busy their whole lives just for a few taels of broken silver? But for such a person, even if they only let a little flow out from the cracks between their fingers, as long as you catch it, aren't you immediately safe and sound?

"Remember, the appearance of Brother in your hearts. The day Brother truly comes, even if I'm not here at that time, you must also accompany your men and properly serve the people well."

The crowd of daughters-in-law immediately said yes.

The old man looked at the old lady's home courtyard in front. It wasn't convenient to have an outburst here, and even more so to make noise, but he had already decided in his heart that he must go back and make his sons and grandsons bring their respective daughters-in-law to kneel in front of him, and then he would sternly admonish them properly.

Each of them usually diligently offered incense at temples, not hesitating to pay a price to get the first incense, thinking of the future of their children and grandchildren, thinking of their own freedom from illness and disaster. But how could worshipping those clay statues be as useful as worshipping a true dragon in this world?

"Remember, still like this morning, just work and don't talk, control your mouths, don't talk about those gossips. Whoever makes a mistake these days, I will exclude you in the will!"

He knew how idle the mouths of these daughters-in-law usually were; they could chatter endlessly, but they shouldn't talk about family matters in front of the old lady, making her think he was using their cooking relationship to seek rewards.

Some things, superiors can give you, but you cannot proactively ask for them.

Hearing about the will, the crowd of daughters-in-law immediately nodded. This time, their nodding was even more forceful.

However, what the old man didn't expect was that just as they entered the courtyard, they saw the old lady walk out of the house, sit on the stone bench in the courtyard, and point to the inner room:

"Go, get some melon seeds and fruit plates, and keep me company while we talk some gossip."

The crowd of daughters-in-law first looked at each other, then collectively looked at the old man.

The old man quickly waved his hand: "Still not going quickly? Accompany the old lady to chat and relieve her boredom. Aren't your mouths usually quite busy? This is where it comes in handy."

Melon seeds and fruit plates were brought out. Seeing the daughters-in-law still hesitant, Liu Yumei cracked melon seeds while saying:

"Go ahead and talk, talk about some family's twists and turns and broken matters. I love to listen. Whoever talks more and talks well, I'll let Xiao Ma add weight for you in the will."

Upon hearing this, the old man first laughed to himself, then quickly waved to urge them:

"Quick, show off your housekeeping skills, let your tongues wag."

Inside the house.

A Li went upstairs and came to the place where Liu Yumei often stayed.

She opened a cabinet, took out an envelope from inside, then went downstairs and returned to her study.

On the desk, there was a blank drawing paper.

The girl sat down and opened the envelope. Inside was a thick stack of photos, all depicting scenes of extermination, bloody and terrifying.

A Li looked at them one by one, occasionally taking out photos and gesturing in the corners of the painting scroll.

She was of course not afraid of the tragic scenes in these photos; after all, since childhood, she had experienced and witnessed scenes countless times more terrifying than these photos.

But for the composition of her own painting book frame, she was serious.

She thought that the scenes in these photos were very suitable to be painted on this painting, just right to fill the large area of blank space.

However, purely painting according to the photos inside was not quite appropriate.

She needed to cut out the people from each family in the photos and make them reappear more harmoniously and neatly in the painting, so that the overall composition would be aesthetically pleasing.

The girl thought about the layout photo by photo. The thick fog of her "dream" began to become denser and denser and receded further and further back.

...

Store basement.

Just hearing Brother Xiao Yuan say he was returning to Nantong, Tan Wenbin couldn't help but laugh:

"Haha, my Brother Liang has tasted the essence and knows the flavor!"

He paused, then Tan Wenbin teased again:

"Still remember the treaty we set up initially, saying you'd go once every few years? It turns out that treaty was protecting the Bai family lady."

Yin Meng glared at Tan Wenbin and said, "Why are you being so sarcastic?"

Tan Wenbin said indifferently, "I didn't say it in person, what's wrong with gossiping a little behind his back?"

Lin Shuyou, sitting by the bed, opened his mouth: "I'll accompany Brother Xiao Yuan back together."

Tan Wenbin held up three fingers to Lin Shuyou and asked, "How many is this?"

Lin Shuyou said, "Three."

Tan Wenbin said, "I'll give you another chance."

Lin Shuyou said, "Four!"

Tan Wenbin said, "What are you going for? Your eyes haven't recovered yet. Do you want Brother Xiao Yuan to use you as a blind stick?"

Run Sheng was still in a coma, and even if he woke up, he would be paralyzed for a long time and couldn't get out of bed.

Yin Meng said, "Actually, now only I can accompany Brother Xiao Yuan, but Brother Xiao Yuan asked me to stay and take care of you injured patients. Otherwise, should I talk to Brother Xiao Yuan again?"

Earlier, when mentioning this here, Li Zhuiyuan had straightforwardly said that he wanted to go alone this time.

One reason was that this wave had just passed. After two continuous extreme advances, unless he actively went to catch evil spirits, the next wave couldn't possibly come quickly no matter what.

Furthermore, with that person under the peach tree in Nantong, it was relatively safe.

Tan Wenbin shook his head: "If you don't stay, Brother Xiao Yuan won't feel at ease with us injured patients."

Lin Shuyou said, "But Brother Xiao Yuan doesn't have anyone to use by his side, which isn't appropriate either."

Tan Wenbin said, "It's indeed not appropriate, but who's to say we have no choice now..."

"Beep beep... Beep beep... Beep beep..."

The pager rang.

Tan Wenbin looked at the pager and laughed: "Got it, better early than late. Manpower has delivered itself."

...

Xiong Shan had lost a lot of weight. He was still wearing his old clothes, and the wind made them sway.

Lihua had gained a lot of weight. Not only had her face become rounder, but her chest was also more prominent than before.

The two were dressed very plainly and were squatting by the school gate flower bed.

Lihua turned sideways, using her husband's body to shield her, and was feeding the child milk.

University students were coming and going. Everyone very courteously averted their gaze, not looking here.

Xiong Shan took out his pipe from his pocket and began stuffing tobacco into it.

Lihua gently nudged him and reminded him, "Bear with it a bit, don't get the smell on your body."

Xiong Shan nodded and put the pipe away.

He had aged.

This was Li Zhuiyuan's first feeling upon seeing Xiong Shan.

The first time he saw him, Xiong Shan was still full of a grassroots aura, with a pride that the heavens were old and he was second.

This aura had actually dissipated during the Peach Blossom Village incident, and now, it was even more thoroughly gone.

This meant he had already lit the lamp for the second time.

He had admitted defeat and also admitted fate.

Once a person admits fate, they naturally become subdued.

Things that he would have argued about before, he now let go. Things that he would have gotten angry about before, he now learned to be indifferent to.

Li Zhuiyuan could also see similar feelings in Qin Shu.

When Qin Shu walked the river that year, bearing the hope of the Qin family's revival, he must have also been sharp and enterprising, full of momentum.

Therefore, many river walkers couldn't accept failure. They would rather die than let go of that breath.

The confrontations between successive generations of Dragon King family river walkers were even more so, which led to generation after generation of blood debts.

Moreover, looking at the completely unburdened state of mind of the Xiong Shan couple, Li Zhuiyuan thought that the revenge against those three families must have also been carried out very thoroughly.

The three families of the old Tianmen, having lost their core members, were fundamentally unable to stop the revenge of this grassroots couple.

After completing their revenge, the couple had contacted Tan Wenbin according to the agreement.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the school gate. Xiong Shan and Lihua saw him and immediately got up to welcome him. Just as they were about to bow, Li Zhuiyuan stopped them:

"No need to be so formal. I'll take you back to Nantong."

"Good, good, good." Xiong Shan nodded quickly.

Lihua felt a little flattered then. She hadn't expected Li Zhuiyuan to personally receive and settle them.

The car Tan Wenbin had called for was already waiting in front; it was a taxi.

The driver was named Liu Changping, who was acquainted with Tan Wenbin. It was said that because Tan Wenbin had ridden in his car, he had met his little nurse girlfriend.

The package fare for the vehicle wouldn't be low, of course, but the money was secondary. The main thing was that the driver had to be steady and reliable.

Tan Wenbin, as the Dragon King boat head, organizing these matters was originally his duty.

The taxi driver was chatty, and Xiong Shan was more experienced from traveling north and south. The two soon chatted very lively.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't interject much. Most of the time, he just quietly looked at the scenery, thinking about the Bai family town matter in his heart.

Returning home this time was not only out of his personal relationship with Xue Liangliang but also out of worry that if something really happened in the Bai family town, it might lead to a deteriorating situation.

As a Nantong *Lao Shi* Li, both emotionally and reasonably, he had to go back and see.

Liu Changping said, "This child is really well-behaved, not crying or fussing."

Lihua said, "That's right, my son has been well-behaved since he was little."

As if hearing someone mention himself, the child let out a "giggle giggle" laugh.

In the car, everyone except Li Zhuiyuan laughed.

It was hard for anyone to refuse such a responsive child.

Li Zhuiyuan also noticed that the child had a sealed aura on his body. Xiong Shan was following his suggestion and had sealed the child's spiritual awareness.

The car entered the Nantong boundary and arrived at Shennan Town.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand to signal Liu Changping to continue north. They arrived at Shigang Town, where there were many shops.

Walking into a clothing store, Li Zhuiyuan began selecting clothes. He selected them very quickly because he remembered Taoye's body size and could instantly judge whether the clothes in the store's style would fit or be appropriate in his mind.

It wasn't the first time he had returned home from Jinling. Last time, Tan Wenbin had also brought Zhou Yunyun back alone, so there was no need to bring Jinling specialties again.

He selected two sets of formal clothes for Taoye and two pairs of shoes.

Fortunately, Yin Meng wasn't here, otherwise, she could personally witness what was called true bargaining.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't care about the money, but that didn't mean he liked being treated as a fool and taken advantage of, with the shop owner still cursing him as a fool when reminiscing later.

Mainly, the atmosphere of the clothing market in this era was exaggerated; the price tags were like a game.

Inexperienced novices would only haggle down by half, while experienced ones would first remove the last "0" and then haggle down by half.

The store owner also knew you wanted to bargain, so they deliberately set the price tag high, both increasing their profit margin and satisfying the customer's emotional need for bargaining.

However, based on physiognomy, after a few conversations, Li Zhuiyuan could see the purchase price and then directly state the purchase price plus a small amount for effort.

Because he was too accurate, so accurate that the store owner was stunned and couldn't pretend that "Oh, this price is too low, it's even close to my purchase price," they could only assume this child's family also did clothing business and even wanted to build connections.

Xiong Shan and Lihua followed the teenager to buy clothes the whole way. This scene was a huge shock to them.

The future Dragon King personally buying clothes and bargaining?

If these words were said out, people in the Jianghu would absolutely not believe it.

Li Zhuiyuan believed that Li Lan wouldn't believe it either.

Actually, deep down, he still resisted doing these things, but he was in the stage of overcoming it.

After experiencing the dream ghost incident, Li Zhuiyuan felt that his condition had further stabilized.

After buying clothes and shoes, Li Zhuiyuan went to buy some tobacco and alcohol that Taoye usually liked.

He didn't let Xiong Shan help carry them. Li Zhuiyuan carried the things himself out of the department store gate and stood on the steps, facing the sunlight outside. He couldn't help but feel a little dizzy in his mind.

He was still not suitable for doing such things, but he just wanted to do them.

Li Zhuiyuan thought about whether or not to buy a set of clothes for Li Weihan and Cui Guiying. The result of his thinking was that he couldn't buy them.

Although saying this sounded somewhat heartless, the fact was, when buying things for Taoye, he could overcome the pain.

But when buying things for his grandfather and grandmother, imagining handing the gifts to them and seeing their happy expressions, he started to sweat.

If he were acting throughout, it wouldn't matter. The problem was, he was now trying his best not to act.

Actually, this kind of pain, he could also try to overcome a bit.

Only in Taoye's eyes, all his money was given by him. If he used his money to buy things for others, Taoye, even if she didn't say it, would feel uncomfortable in her heart.

However, since he had thought of this, not buying them wasn't appropriate either.

Otherwise, he would be worse than Li Lan, who regularly sent living expenses every month and sent gifts on festivals, although it was definitely her secretary who was responsible for the arrangements.

Li Zhuiyuan pursed his lips, then decided to go back to Taoye's home first, then seek Taoye's agreement, and then go buy clothes for his grandfather and grandmother.

If the order changed, Taoye wouldn't have a thorn in her heart, only feeling that he was sensible and filial.

Anyway, the matter had to personally pass through his hands. This kind of pain, he had to experience; he couldn't avoid it.

Sitting in the car, Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and reached out to rub his forehead.

He found that thinking about these relatives and giving gifts was more tiring than pondering how to deal with the river waves.

Liu Changping started the car and drove back to Shennan Town, entering Siyuan Village.

The road in the village had been widened. The original stone road was now a two-way concrete road, and the path from the village road to Taoye's home had also been repaired. Now, there was no need to park the car in the field; they could drive directly to the dam in front of Taoye's house.

Xiong Shan and Lihua arrived with extremely excited and apprehensive pilgrimage feelings.

Seeing the car actually drive into a village residence, their eyes revealed shock. After the shock, there was even more solemnity.

This was the true foundation, not deeply hidden and not revealed, but calm and natural.

If there was really some ancestral home secret realm, it would instead lose its lower level.

Li Zhuiyuan got out of the car, feeling a bit strange. He couldn't hear Taoye's shouting.

Before he came back, Tan Wenbin had called Zhang Aunt's small shop, so Taoye knew he was coming back today and would definitely be waiting at home.

On the first floor, Xiao Yingying was sitting inside coloring paper figures.

Since she came, Li Sanjiang's paper-making business had flourished abnormally because the paper figures made here were more realistic and delicate.

Xiao Yingying put down her brush, turned her head, and looked over.

Her attention was immediately drawn by Xiong Shan and Lihua.

The couple recognized at a glance that this was a ghost!

Even though they had already relit the lamp and left the Jianghu, they were still former Jianghu walkers, and their instinctive reaction was still there.

Xiao Yingying also froze, stood up, quickly retreated to the corner, then with a flash, climbed up upside down and came to the upper corner.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his mouth and asked, "Where is my Taoye?"

Xiong Shan and Lihua immediately restrained their aura and showed an embarrassed expression.

Xiao Yingying also came down from the beam, returned to her previous stool, picked up her brush, and while continuing to color the paper figures, answered:

"Drunk, asleep."

Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs. Xiong Shan and Lihua stayed downstairs. Liu Changping squatted on the dam smoking.

Pushing open the bedroom door, Li Zhuiyuan saw Li Sanjiang lying on the bed snoring.

Although snoring wasn't good while sleeping, listening to the full-bodied snoring, Taoye's body was still very robust.

He walked to the bedside and helped Taoye cover the quilt.

Taoye opened his hazy, drunken eyes and smiled at Li Zhuiyuan: "Ah, little Marquis Yuan~"

Then, he tilted his head and fell asleep again, probably thinking he was dreaming while drunk.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of Taoye's bedroom and came to the next door, which was his own bedroom.

The door was open. Li Zhuiyuan saw Xue Liangliang sitting on a chair, holding white wine in his left hand and a wine cup in his right, still pouring and drinking by himself.

"Xiao Yuan, you're finally back, Xiao Yuan!"

Xue Liangliang was obviously also drunk. Seeing Li Zhuiyuan back, he put down the wine bottle and wine cup, stood up, then only felt the world spinning and couldn't stand steadily.

Li Zhuiyuan gave him a push towards the bedside. Xue Liangliang stumbled to the bedside and fell onto the bed with a "pa" sound, lying down and falling asleep immediately.

There was no other way, Li Zhuiyuan could only help him cover the quilt too.

After receiving Xue Liangliang's phone call for help, Li Zhuiyuan had promised him that he would come back himself and told him to wait for him at Taoye's house first.

Who would have thought that Taoye, upon seeing Xue Liangliang arrive, would just drink with him at noon?

With wine and stories, they drank more and more. Coupled with Xue Liangliang's emotional distress, the two got drunk like that.

Okay, then let's leave it like this for now.

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs, pointed to the child in Lihua's arms, then pointed to Xiao Yingying.

"Hand the child over to her."

Lihua swallowed hard. What? Hand the child over to a ghost?

In the past, whoever dared to say this in front of him, he would definitely think this person was crazy, and then conveniently twist off their head!

But since it was Li Zhuiyuan's words, Lihua had to obey.

Seeing his wife's slow movements, Xiong Shan still pushed her and urged her: "Quickly, why are you standing there? Go and do what you need to do."

He saw more clearly.

Silly wife, are you still afraid that people will have ideas about your son? Isn't this exactly what you want!

Lihua suddenly understood and put the child on the stool next to Xiao Yingying.

Xiao Yingying didn't even look and continued to focus on coloring the paper figures.

Li Zhuiyuan then signaled Liu Changping to drive, taking himself and the Xiong Shan couple to Big Beard's house.

The four had eaten lunch on the way, so it wasn't yet mealtime and they weren't hungry.

Another reason was to settle the Xiong Shan couple here with Taoye. Staying with Taoye wasn't a problem; he would only be happy to have two more steady and capable helpers.

But this earth temple couldn't be disregarded.

The two had just left the Jianghu, and their Jianghu habits and instincts still needed time to fade. They were afraid they would do something that would clash here and end up inexplicably becoming two peeled and boiled white shrimps.

After the four got into the car and left, Xiao Yingying put down the brush in her hand.

She turned her head and looked towards the child beside her.

The child was sucking his fingers and grinning at her.

Xiao Yingying reached out to pick up the child, then gently rocked him in her arms.

The child laughed even happier, then habitually reached out to grab Xiao Yingying's chest, wanting to drink milk.

Xiao Yingying could only repeatedly grab the child's hand and put it back, but the child was persistent, so Xiao Yingying could only continuously wrestle with it.

Finally, Xiao Yingying got angry. Her gaze glared, her originally normal pale face instantly turned green, her hair began to grow long, and wet water vapor permeated out.

The child was stunned for a moment, then let out a louder laugh, thinking she was playing funny faces with him.

Xiao Yingying's body wilted, her face and hair returned to normal. She looked at him somewhat helplessly, then continued rocking him.

Liu Changping stayed by the car smoking. Li Zhuiyuan led the Xiong Shan couple to the dam in front of Big Beard's house, facing the peach forest.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "A senior is buried here."

The Xiong Shan couple immediately began to bow, but they didn't naively ask whether this buried senior was dead or alive.

Because if they were completely dead, there would fundamentally be no need to specially bring them here.

The peach forest inside was quiet.

Li Zhuiyuan reminded them, "After you live here, find some time to offer a sacrifice here. Then, during New Year festivals or when you have nothing to do, you can also come and burn paper and worship. It's never wrong to be polite. Because of it, you can keep the home safe."

Xiong Shan and Lihua said, "We remember."

Although not explicitly stated, allowing the Dragon King family to say "it's never wrong to be polite" was enough to show that the weight of the one buried below would absolutely not be lower than that of a general.

Perhaps the so-called senior buried here was fundamentally not a person, but a terrifying beast guarding the door!

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Let's go, go to the river."

Liu Changping drove the car, following the boy's guidance, and took the group to the river road.

Upon reaching the destination, Li Zhuiyuan signaled Liu Changping to drive a bit farther away. Liu Changping was very curious but still complied.

Li Zhuiyuan brought Xiong Shan and Lihua to the riverbank. It was already approaching dusk, and the river water began to crash against the shore wave after wave, splashing pieces of white foam.

Once, it was right here that Li Zhuiyuan had witnessed Qin Shu take off his clothes and jump into the river.

And at that time, he could only stay on the shore, guarding the clothes.

Now, revisiting the old place, he truly felt that things had changed and people were gone.

He remembered initially, he and Brother Liangliang had set up a small altar at home, just to resolve the karma with a certain Bai family lady and beg her not to entangle them.

But this time, there was no altar set up, no candles lit, and even fewer offerings.

Li Zhuiyuan took out a yellow paper in front of him. The yellow paper ignited itself.

The teenager lowered his voice:

"Bai family people, come out and see me immediately!"

As he finished speaking, he threw out the yellow paper. The yellow paper floated onto the river surface, did not extinguish, but quickly sank. Even on the shore, they could see the light that continued to emit and constantly descend.

Not long after, bubbles surged on the river surface, followed by a continuous surge, like a fountain rising up. Gradually, they could see what seemed to be a woman wearing a red wedding dress and phoenix crown inside.

"I am here on behalf of others to inquire about one thing: Why can't Xue Liangliang come down?"

"Just because this servant is already pregnant."

()