Chapter 23

Chapter 24

The Shi family bridge was right on the road. For safety, Li Zhuiyuan stood by the roadside under the bridge, looking south for a car one minute, then looking at Uncle Qin standing beside him the next.

Uncle Qin saw Li Zhuiyuan's gaze lingering on him and lowered his head to ask, "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Uncle, was the movie tonight good?"

"Hmm, it was good. Too bad you and A Li sat too far to the side, you probably couldn't see clearly."

"I saw clearly, and it was good."

After that, Li Zhuiyuan didn't speak anymore and no longer looked at the person beside him.

Uncle Qin stood up straight. He had originally thought the boy would ask about certain topics, but he didn't.

This child always seemed to understand boundaries, and therefore it was easy for people to develop a good impression of him.

However, upon closer thought, it seemed that every time there was a critical need, he would break the boundaries without hesitation, just like last time and this time.

A black sedan slowed down as it drove to the bridge. The car window rolled down, and the driver, a woman with a perm and wavy curls, leaned out.

"Hello, are you Li Zhuiyuan?"

"Yes."

"Director Luo asked me to come pick you up. Get in the car."

The car turned around and stopped.

Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin got in the car, both sitting in the back seat.

Due to the rush, the car drove very fast, so sometimes to avoid bicycles and tricycles without lights, they had to suddenly turn the steering wheel or slam on the brakes.

After sitting for a while, Li Zhuiyuan felt somewhat unbearable; he was carsick.

Given the urgency, he didn't feel comfortable asking the driver to slow down. He only shook the small handle on the side of the car door himself, wanting to open the window a little for ventilation.

He shook it and shook it, but the window didn't move. After shaking it a few more times, the small handle came off the car door by itself.

Li Zhuiyuan only put the small handle back in place and leaned back against the car seat, feeling somewhat helpless.

At this moment, Uncle Qin leaned over, reached out his hand, and pressed his palm against the car window.

Accompanied by a series of harsh scraping sounds, the car window was forcefully pulled down.

The fresh wind from outside blew in, and Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he was still somewhat worried that the driver would be angry, but the driver was likely focused on driving and didn't notice the change in the back.

Li Zhuiyuan tried turning the small handle in the opposite direction and found that he could still raise the car window back up, which finally put his mind at ease.

After helping to open the window, Uncle Qin had just closed his eyes to rest, as if he were asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan also slightly tilted his body, resting his head on the back of the seat, wanting to take a nap.

But for some reason, when this car drove, the vibrating sound was unusually loud, especially with his ear against the car seat in this posture, he could actually hear a constant whooshing sound.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan still thought it was because the window was open and the air was flowing in. He shook the car window up a bit, leaving only a small gap.

But when he sat back in this posture, the wind sound in his ear hadn't changed at all.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder: How is this Japanese car as thin as paper?

He reached out curiously and pressed the back of the car. Then, a dent was pressed in, and it didn't spring back.

Li Zhuiyuan silently sat up straight. He wasn't sleeping then, enduring until they reached the hospital.

He gazed out the car window. The township road currently had no streetlights, so it was pitch black outside with nothing much to look at. But every time they passed through a town, they could see stores and slightly denser crowds.

It's just that the lights inside these stores were dazzling.

In a daze, it seemed that the light outside wasn't shining in from the car window, but more like the whole car was transparent and emitting light.

But this wasn't the city center. The evening stores in town didn't have dense neon lights either.

The car left the section of township road and drove into the urban area. The road conditions improved, but there were also more cars on the road.

These cars still seemed very undisciplined, with people cutting others off and changing lanes without turning signals everywhere. The driver kept honking angrily and muttering curses in his mouth.

Authentic Nantong dialect, Li Zhuiyuan felt, even his grandfather Li Weihan didn't speak dialect as authentically as these people.

It wasn't easy all the way, finally, the building of the People's Hospital could be seen ahead.

Yet at this moment, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that the driver was staring at him and Uncle Qin through the rearview mirror. After he noticed their gaze, the two began to make eye contact through the rearview mirror.

This made Li Zhuiyuan very confused, because the driver's gaze didn't seem to return to the front.

And he himself could see through the front windshield that the car they were in had already driven into the opposite lane, and a truck was coming head-on in front of them.

"Watch out for the car!" Li Zhuiyuan shouted.

But the driver still didn't move her line of sight away from the rearview mirror. Not only did she not step on the brake, she even accelerated.

If they kept going like this, they would immediately crash directly into the truck.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes. He lifted both feet and stepped down towards the floor.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes widened. He saw Uncle Qin's feet step through the bottom of the car!

Immediately after, Uncle Qin reached out and grabbed the boy's neck beside him. Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being lifted up.

This feeling was very strange, because he was sitting in the car, but when he was lifted up, he and the car seemed to be separated in movement. The next moment, it violated the common sense of physics in his brain.

"Crash la la..."

Car seats, rear windshield, rear trunk, all crashed past his body.

He felt force on his body, a little pain, but not serious.

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found himself lifted by Uncle Qin and appearing on the road. What had just driven past them was a small sedan with a punctured rear seat.

The small sedan, with a fearless momentum, crashed towards that truck.

The expected crash sound didn't appear. Most of the small sedan scattered apart directly, and the remaining part was rolled over by the truck.

All around, bamboo strips and wood strips were splattered everywhere, and colored paper flew around.

This car was actually made of paper!

Uncle Qin turned to the side, bringing Li Zhuiyuan up the stairs. The truck drove past them. He could see that the driver in the driver's cabin was also rubbing his eyes hard, constantly looking at the rearview mirror.

He also seemed to feel that he had crashed into something earlier and was doubting whether he was having an illusion due to fatigue driving.

Uncle Qin put Li Zhuiyuan down. Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, what kind of car were we just in?"

"You've seen it before, it's on the first floor of the house."

"But..." Li Zhuiyuan looked around, then looked towards the hospital building ahead, "Did we really arrive at the People's Hospital?"

"We arrived."

Li Zhuiyuan subconsciously reached out and touched Uncle Qin's arm. He couldn't distinguish whether the Uncle Qin in front of him was real or fake. Didn't Uncle Qin not hold a soy sauce bottle this time?

Uncle Qin stretched out a finger and pointed ahead: "The hospital gate is right there, aren't you going in?"

"But, did we really arrive?"

"Otherwise?"

"How did it happen?"

Li Zhuiyuan furrowed his brow. He could understand a paper figure becoming a living person. He could also understand various incredible things in dreams. He could even understand that he actually experienced riding in a car made of paper.

But he couldn't understand how he could actually ride in a paper car and get from Siyuan Cun to the city!

Uncle Qin gently patted Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder and said, "She brought us here."

"Ah?"

Uncle Qin didn't seem to plan to continue explaining: "Go in, if you delay any longer, your big friend might die."

"Oh, right."

Li Zhuiyuan collected his thoughts and walked into the hospital with Uncle Qin. At this point, they should first go to the emergency department to ask.

But at the stairs below the building, Li Zhuiyuan saw the female driver from earlier, with the exact same clothes and wavy perm.

The woman was holding what looked like documents or test sheets in her hand, with an anxious face, and kept pulling aside passing doctors and nurses to ask.

Most importantly, she seemed to not recognize the two of them at all. Even though the two of them were so close to her, she had no reaction.

"Uncle, is she alive?"

"Hmm."

Li Zhuiyuan walked forward and asked, "Aunt, I want to ask where Xue Liangliang is now?"

"Little friend, who are you?"

"My name is Li Zhuiyuan. Director Luo asked me to come."

"Director Luo... The car I arranged just left not long ago. Did you come over yourself?"

"Hmm."

"Okay then, I'll take you up first."

The woman led Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin up the building. During a simple exchange, Li Zhuiyuan learned that although Xue Liangliang had just finished resuscitation, his condition was very bad now, and all his organs were in danger of failure.

In the ward, Luo Tingrui was standing beside Xue Liangliang's bed, looking at him with an anxious expression.

He really didn't know why a little shaking of the boat and falling into the water, even though he was immediately rescued, would result in this situation.

At this time, Xue Liangliang's face was pale, and he was still talking nonsense:

"No, no, no, I don't want to stay here, I won't be a son-in-law, I won't be a son-in-law."

Luo Tingrui adjusted his glasses a bit. He didn't understand why Liangliang was saying such delusional things.

He hadn't even introduced his daughter to him yet, and he wasn't interested in recruiting any son-in-law. So, whose family was forcing him?

But who could force him?

Luo Tingrui knew about Xue Liangliang's affairs in school. This boy was quite capable of earning money, and people fundamentally didn't plan to stay at school or locally, nor did they plan to enter a good unit. People were determined to go to the great southwest to do construction after graduation.

To tell the truth, with the identity of an excellent graduate from Haihe University, combined with the current conditions and work environment in the southwest, if you were willing to go, people would be so happy they couldn't close their mouths. There was fundamentally no need to go through the back door or find connections.

But now the nonsense, not understanding was still not understanding, at least he could understand what Xue Liangliang had said nonsense earlier:

"Don't shut me in, don't hit me, don't strangle me, I feel so uncomfortable, I feel so uncomfortable, I beg you, let go, don't torture me..."

At that time, Luo Tingrui even began to doubt whether Xue Liangliang had experienced any inhumane torture in his childhood that left a shadow.

The ward door was opened, and Li Zhuiyuan led Uncle Qin in. Luo Tingrui nodded at Li Zhuiyuan, but his gaze still mainly fell on Uncle Qin.

It was completely normal to ignore the little friend. His heart was already guessing that the person who could help must be this middle-aged man.

The doctor had already said they did their best. Now, although they had inserted monitoring instruments, they could only passively continue to observe. If the vital signs further deteriorated, it would be very difficult to save him in the end.

Luo Tingrui was not a pedantic person. Linking the matter between Zhao Hequan, who was still lying in the hospital, and Xue Liangliang, he had reason to suspect that the matter was caused by that honored god statue and had not ended.

"You go out first."

"Yes, Director." The woman was sent out of the ward by Luo Tingrui.

Immediately, Luo Tingrui pointed at himself and asked, "Do I need to go out?"

Uncle Qin didn't answer, but walked straight to the other side of the bed, put his hand on Xue Liangliang's forehead, and gently rubbed it.

Soon, cold sweat appeared on Xue Liangliang's face, and the amount of sweat was very large, immediately soaking the pillow.

Luo Tingrui picked up a towel, preparing to wipe him. But as soon as he wiped it, he felt that this sweat was unexpectedly slippery, like the lubricant used in a workshop.

How could human sweat be like this?

At this moment, Uncle Qin clenched his fist and smashed down towards Xue Liangliang's abdomen.

"Don't!" Luo Tingrui fundamentally didn't have time to stop him.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's fist didn't actually land on Xue Liangliang's body, but stopped before reaching him. However, the quilt on Xue Liangliang's body quickly caved in.

A shrill scream suddenly echoed throughout the entire ward.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately covered his ears, but it was no use. His eardrums ached terribly, almost being pierced. His entire brain felt like it was being relentlessly hammered by someone.

Luo Tingrui only faintly heard a strange sound transmitted earlier, then looked at Uncle Qin in doubt. Finally, he looked at the boy who was huddled in the corner against the wall, wondering what was wrong with this boy.

And Uncle Qin's gaze also moved towards Li Zhuiyuan.

Surprise was revealed in Uncle Qin's eyes, because he hadn't expected that Xiao Yuan's perception in this area would be so sharp.

He couldn't help but recall Liu Yumei's instruction to him: Just teach him fist and foot kung fu.

Uncle Qin swallowed a mouthful of saliva:

Such a child, should he really just be taught fist and foot kung fu?

On Xue Liangliang's side, after first sweating and then being "virtually smashed" with a fist, although he still hadn't woken up, his whole person looked much more relaxed.

Luo Tingrui finally put his mind at ease, closed his eyes, and sighed for a long time.

"Ah..."

The scream finally stopped, but Li Zhuiyuan still felt his head "buzzing."

He was just about to support himself against the wall to stand up, but as soon as he lifted his head a little, he found that in his line of sight, in the southwest corner of the ward, a pair of red embroidered shoes appeared. Above the embroidered shoes was a section of pale ankle, and further up was the hem of a red skirt.

Further up, Li Zhuiyuan didn't know, because he didn't dare to continue looking.

He had seen several fallen dead people, but none could give him such a strong sense of alertness and pressure.

She was not an object he could observe, not even with a stolen glance. If he continued to look at her, then a terrible matter would immediately happen to his body.

"Jianghu Strange Records" recorded some powerful fallen dead, and one of them was described like this... Seeing it brings sorrow.

The word "mourn" is used here instead of "die," but sometimes "mourn" is more terrifying than death. With this existence, even if a connection is established just by looking, disaster will instantly descend upon oneself.

Uncle Qin noticed Li Zhuiyuan, who was squatting on the ground, change his squatting direction.

He followed the direction Li Zhuiyuan had looked earlier, and then looked at Li Zhuiyuan again. He felt some dryness in his mouth and tongue.

Not because of the one standing in the corner of the ward now.

But,

Xiao Yuan ah, you can actually see even her?

He knew A Li could see, but what was the meaning of A Li being able to see...

She herself was completely sealed in her own world, almost completely isolated from the outside.

But this little boy could speak, do things, and be lively!

Li Zhuiyuan heard footsteps. It was Uncle Qin's. He was moving, walking from the bedside to the corner behind him.

Uncle Qin was going to find that woman.

The facts were indeed so. In Luo Tingrui's line of sight, he saw the middle-aged man walk to the corner of the wall, not speaking, just standing there, as if deep in thought facing the wall.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand, of course, he was also clear that if he could understand this kind of matter, he wouldn't be in the Department of Ophthalmology.

And Xue Liangliang, whose condition had improved, was talking nonsense again at this time:

"I won't live here, I don't want to stay here, I still have a career to do, I still have dreams to realize, you can't keep me here, I won't agree, I absolutely won't agree!"

Luo Tingrui was somewhat doubtful, was it because Xue Liangliang's condition was better? So his speech was more confident and forceful?

Li Zhuiyuan then turned back towards Uncle Qin's direction, stood up, slowly moved to the bedside, and looked at Xue Liangliang.

He didn't hear the first two segments of nonsense, only this segment. The key information was insufficient, and he was also completely confused.

However, his own situation was also very twisted now. On one hand, he felt very dangerous, and on the other hand, he felt quite safe because Uncle Qin was there.

Luo Tingrui stretched out a finger towards Li Zhuiyuan and pointed at Uncle Qin in the corner. Li Zhuiyuan shook his head at him. Luo Tingrui understood and stood still.

Xue Liangliang also didn't continue to talk nonsense, so the ward fell into a rather long and strange silence.

Finally,

Uncle Qin broke the atmosphere.

He walked back to the bedside, then in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Luo Tingrui, took off his vest and threw it on the IV stand.

Immediately, Uncle Qin began to draw on his own arms, shoulders, and chest with his index fingers.

Every time he drew, bruises of different lengths and thicknesses would appear.

Any single bruise on an ordinary person would make them scream in pain, but Uncle Qin was like someone painting himself.

His face was very calm, as if he were doing a very simple and normal thing.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand what this man was doing. When Li Zhuiyuan discovered that the bruises on Uncle Qin's left and right sides were symmetrical, he understood that Uncle Qin was drawing a symbol.

His finger was the pen, his body was the paper, and the pigment was the new wounds he made himself.

After drawing, Uncle Qin walked to the ward door and opened it.

He looked again towards the corner where he had been standing earlier,

And spoke:

"I know what the mistress meant by letting me come today. It's just to let me tell the Bai family: The Qin family is not dead yet!"

After speaking, Uncle Qin used his right thumb to point at the center of his eyebrow. After moving it away, it left a bloodstain, which also meant that the last stroke of the symbol was complete.

Suddenly, a wind rose in the ward.

The wind was not strong, very slight, but very cold. Li Zhuiyuan shivered uncontrollably, and Luo Tingrui opposite him did the same, hugging his arms.

This wind might not have just risen in this ward, but on this entire floor, even several floors above and below, wind had risen, gathering towards here.

Li Zhuiyuan somewhat vaguely saw that many shadows seemed to follow the wind and merge into Uncle Qin's body, including a red shadow from this ward.

This was, absorbing all those dirty things into himself?

Uncle Qin originally stood still for a while before stepping out and walking back to the bedside, reaching out to take back his vest and putting it back on.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that at first, Uncle Qin's steps were a bit stiff, and even his facial expression seemed a bit dull. But after putting on his clothes, he seemed to recover... Or perhaps he adapted.

And the light in this ward also seemed to become much brighter and clearer. In fact, the change was not only here, but half the building had become much fresher and brighter. Actually, sometimes the hospital lights in the evening will appear dimmer and more foggy, not because of the lighting settings, but because there are more of certain things in a place like a hospital.

Moreover, the appearance of the female driver and the paper car earlier also meant that that terrible dirty thing had covered this ward early, and even Luo Tingrui's actions were within its line of sight.

Uncle Qin looked at Luo Tingrui: "I need to go somewhere, I need a car."

Luo Tingrui: "The car I sent to pick you up should still be downstairs at the hospital building."

"Director Luo, that car is not there," Li Zhuiyuan said.

"Then how did you come over, and so fast?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "We rode a human-powered tricycle."

"Then... I'll go arrange a motorcycle. That, can you ride?" Luo Tingrui looked at Uncle Qin.

Uncle Qin nodded: "Yes."

"Okay, I'll arrange it immediately." Luo Tingrui took Uncle Qin out of the ward, called the female comrade, instructed her, and signaled that Uncle Qin could follow her downstairs to get the car.

When they went out, Li Zhuiyuan, who was left in the ward, heard Xue Liangliang's nonsense:

"No, I won't marry you, there's no love between us, this is our first time meeting. I'm not that casual about marriage, don't dream."

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but suspect that Brother Liangliang was acting in a Qiong Yao drama in his dream?

At present, the tide of Qiong Yao dramas had already appeared, and university students on campus were also one of the audience groups. Li Zhuiyuan often saw big brothers and sisters chatting about dramas and holding novel books on campus.

At this time, Uncle Qin walked back to the ward door: "Xiao Yuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan followed Uncle Qin downstairs, took the motorcycle, started it, twisted the throttle, and the roar sounded.

Uncle Qin drove very fast. After quickly passing through the urban area, he rushed towards the suburbs.

Li Zhuiyuan sat in the back. Because he had no helmet, to avoid the wind, he could only press his face against Uncle Qin's back and grab Uncle Qin's waist with both hands.

He felt very surprised. In the afternoon, he was still planting land in the field. Just now, he was still in the ward and making eye contact with that red-clothed woman, and now he was driving a motorcycle at high speed.

Li Zhuiyuan felt the madness of this world.

At the same time, in the hospital ward, Luo Tingrui heard Xue Liangliang's nonsense again:

"No, coming back once a month is impossible. My future work won't allow me to leave the construction site. That's the blood and sweat of so many people condensed, I can't be that irresponsible.

Not even half a year. Later there will be big projects, the construction period won't be that short, and there can't be the slightest error.

My future is not in Nantong, not in Jiangsu. I want to go to the great southwest. That's my dream, that's my future.

So, don't dream, really, I won't marry you, and don't think about tying me here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses frame, breathed on the lenses, and then wiped them with his clothes.

He was both moved and sad, and at the same time a little want to laugh: Stinky boy, you're in this ghost appearance, and you're still dreaming of building the great southwest.

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

Middle-aged people are always accustomed to disdaining the halo of idealism on young people, thinking it's their childishness and immaturity, but they rarely reflect on whether what they've lost is themselves.

"Liangliang, if you can get better this time, I'll personally take you to the southwest."

...

The car drove to the river. Li Zhuiyuan got off the car. After Uncle Qin put the car away, he patted his hands and stared at the river surface with a gaze full of complex emotions.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

From ancient times to the present, great rivers have always been the source of civilization.

The sandy soil on both banks is piled up by countless joys and sorrows, and there are countless stories and mysteries that, with the passage of years, have precipitated at the bottom of this river.

It seems Brother Liangliang's record about the location of Baijia Zhen was wrong... Li Zhuiyuan faced the direction of Chongming Dao and roughly estimated the location and distance.

A guess gradually rose in his heart:

Was Baijia Zhen really just at the bottom of the river right before their eyes?

Uncle Qin began to take off his clothes. Unlike in the hospital where he only took off his vest, this time he took everything off, folded his clothes neatly, and put them on the shore, pressing them down with a goose egg stone.

Next, Uncle Qin first twisted his neck, then grabbed his left and right ears and forcefully tore them.

Li Zhuiyuan heard the sound of skin and flesh tearing. He fixed his eyes and saw that under Uncle Qin's left and right ears, five long wounds had appeared.

These wounds were seeping fresh blood and opening and closing continuously at the same time.

Like... bloody fish gills.

Immediately after, Uncle Qin began to stretch his body. Every time he moved, a series of crisp sounds of bones and joints cracking would transmit from his body, accompanied by some skin and flesh tearing.

Soon, many dense markings similar to stretch marks appeared on Uncle Qin's body.

Only, they weren't on his belly, but evenly distributed on his arms and legs.

After finishing a set of stretches, Uncle Qin stopped, stood in place, and adjusted his breathing. The bloody wounds under his ears opened and closed with the frequency of his breathing.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Uncle Qin was somewhat different; his physique had undergone very obvious changes.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Hmm."

"Watch the good stuff from the shore."

"Okay, Uncle."

Uncle Qin nodded, then bent down. Under the moonlight, he began to run.

He didn't run very fast, but his body movements were extremely coordinated. He ran to the riverbank, jumped vertically, and after jumping into the river, he disappeared instantly.

Like a fish returning to the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the river surface, which had already calmed down, and then at the clothes Uncle Qin had left on the shore.

He raised his hand and gently patted his forehead. Only after the event happened did he seem to truly react:

"Did he really just... go down like that?"

Li Zhuiyuan was standing at first. After standing for a while, his legs felt a little sore and swollen, so he sat down.

Time passed continuously. Uncle Qin had been down for a long time. There was no movement on the river surface, not even a single special bubble was seen.

But all he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuiyuan yawned. He looked towards the horizon. The night was like clothes that had been washed many times. The original deep color began to thin, and soon it would turn white.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to ward off his sleepiness. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he stood up again and continued to look at the distant river surface.

This time, he saw movement.

In the middle of the river, a figure seemed to appear, then disappear again. Just when Li Zhuiyuan thought he was seeing things, he saw Uncle Qin walking out of the river on the riverbank.

His body was covered with shocking wounds. Many of the wounds were still black inside and flowing with pus.

The most terrible one was on his chest, so deep and long that he could almost see the white bone inside.

But Uncle Qin was completely like a person who was fine. He squatted by the river and began to wash his body with river water.

Li Zhuiyuan hugged the clothes over. After getting closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth still embedded in Uncle Qin's wounds.

Seeing these, one could even imagine how that group of things rushed onto his body and carried out crazy tearing and biting.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's gaze contained obvious anger.

Uncle was angry.

"Uncle, how was it?"

"Not how."

"Failed?"

"Originally almost succeeded," Uncle Qin said while reaching out to pull out a long fingernail himself.

"Then?"

Li Zhuiyuan stood behind Uncle Qin, reached out and grabbed a finger that was stabbed into his back, and after pulling it out with force, this finger was actually still moving. It was clearly a part of a human body, but it felt like a snake that had just been cut off.

Li Zhuiyuan threw the finger on the ground. It was still wriggling towards the river water. The blood-red fingernail cover emitted a strange luster.

"Smash it," Uncle Qin said.

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan picked up a stone and smashed down with force. The finger deformed but was still wriggling. After continuously smashing it several times with strength, it finally rotted off and stopped.

"Hu hu..." Li Zhuiyuan panted. He was somewhat unwilling to lower his head again to look at that pool of blood and flesh.

"Ba ji!"

Uncle Qin pulled out another finger from his body and threw it in front of Li Zhuiyuan, meaning it was very simple.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pick up the stone again and continue smashing.

If someone who got up early passed by here at this time, and saw this scene from a distance, they would be afraid that they would think this was a warm father-son picture.

Only after cleaning the embedded dirty things from his body did Uncle Qin pick up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, the wounds..."

"Go back and let your aunt handle it."

"Oh," Li Zhuiyuan nodded, and asked again, "Uncle, is Baijia Zhen right below?"

"You actually know so much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me everything."

"Hmm, it's down there."

"Then did Uncle you just go to Baijia Zhen?"

"I went in. Originally, everything was almost handled, but..."

"But what?"

"You'll know when you go back to the hospital. Your big friend, ah, really makes people look at him with new eyes. He's a ruthless character, really, too ruthless."

Li Zhuiyuan heard that Uncle Qin was very angry because the matter was not handled well according to his plan, and the person who led to this result seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get in the car."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"Then you come drive?"

Li Zhuiyuan obediently got in the car.

When the motorcycle reached a folk house in the suburbs, Uncle Qin stopped the car first, walked up the dam, took down a piece of outerwear from the clothesline and put it on, and then clipped some money onto the rope.

He had too many wounds on his body. Wearing only a vest wouldn't cover them. It was estimated that he wouldn't even be able to enter the hospital.

The car drove into the hospital. Uncle Qin stopped the car.

When Li Zhuiyuan got off the car, he asked, "Uncle, will that Baijia Zhen continue to make trouble later?"

Those Bai family ladies were simply lingering spirits. Li Zhuiyuan was really afraid that another one would jump out after a while.

"It will be quiet for a very long time, because the biggest and most honored Bai family lady has already sent a message."

Actually, compared to the wounds on his body, the result of the Bai family matter was more headache-inducing for Qin Li.

His task was to go and slap the Bai family back, but this slap was only half-drawn. The remaining half couldn't be drawn no matter what.

He still needed to think about how to explain to Liu Yumei after going back.

"Uncle Qin, Grandma Liu was just in a bad mood today, but it's already been a night. I feel that after sleeping, Grandma Liu should also calm down."

Qin Li nodded. He felt that what the boy said was very right. He also heard that the boy was comforting him. However, he had already started to get used to the boy's behavior.

"Let's go, Xiao Yuan, let's go up and see your friend. After we see him, we'll go home."

"Okay."

Walking up the building, back to the ward, he just saw Luo Tingrui coming out with a hot water bottle: "You're back. Just right, Liangliang woke up earlier, but fell asleep again. You help me watch for a bit, I'll go get a bottle of boiling water."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the ward and saw that Xue Liangliang had already had the instruments removed. He wasn't in a coma, but in a deep sleep.

"Uncle, he's okay, right?"

"He's in big trouble."

"What?"

"Wait until he wakes up and you ask him yourself. I'll go downstairs to buy some bandages." Uncle Qin stood up and left the ward.

At this time, Xue Liangliang, in his deep sleep, was grinding his teeth and talking in his dream:

"Two years? Two years is not okay, at least three years. I can only guarantee that I will come back to see you once every three years.

Not even half a year. Later there will be big projects, the construction period won't be that short, and there can't be the slightest error.

My future is not in Nantong, not in Jiangsu. I want to go to the great southwest. That's my dream, that's my future.

So, don't dream, really, I won't marry you, and don't think about tying me here."

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but suspect that Brother Liangliang was acting in a Qiong Yao drama in his dream?

At this time, Uncle Qin walked back to the ward door: "Xiao Yuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan followed Uncle Qin downstairs, took the motorcycle, started it, twisted the throttle, and the roar sounded.

Uncle Qin drove very fast. After quickly passing through the urban area, he rushed towards the suburbs.

Li Zhuiyuan sat in the back. Because he had no helmet, to avoid the wind, he could only press his face against Uncle Qin's back and grab Uncle Qin's waist with both hands.

Li Zhuiyuan felt the madness of this world.

At the same time, in the hospital ward, Luo Tingrui heard Xue Liangliang's nonsense again:

"No, coming back once a month is impossible. My future work won't allow me to leave the construction site. That's the blood and sweat of so many people condensed, I can't be that irresponsible.

Not even half a year. Later there will be big projects, the construction period won't be that short, and there can't be the slightest error.

My future is not in Nantong, not in Jiangsu. I want to go to the great southwest. That's my dream, that's my future.

So, don't dream, really, I won't marry you, and don't think about tying me here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses frame, breathed on the lenses, and then wiped them with his clothes.

He was both moved and sad, and at the same time a little want to laugh: Stinky boy, you're in this ghost appearance, and you're still dreaming of building the great southwest.

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

"Liangliang, if you can get better this time, I'll personally take you to the southwest."

...

The car drove to the river. Li Zhuiyuan got off the car. After Uncle Qin put the car away, he patted his hands and stared at the river surface with a gaze full of complex emotions.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

From ancient times to the present, great rivers have always been the source of civilization.

The sandy soil on both banks is piled up by countless joys and sorrows, and there are countless stories and mysteries that, with the passage of years, have precipitated at the bottom of this river.

It seems Brother Liangliang's record about the location of Baijia Zhen was wrong... Li Zhuiyuan faced the direction of Chongming Dao and roughly estimated the location and distance.

A guess gradually rose in his heart:

Was Baijia Zhen really just at the bottom of the river right before their eyes?

Next, Uncle Qin first twisted his neck, then grabbed his left and right ears and forcefully tore them.

Li Zhuiyuan heard the sound of skin and flesh tearing. He fixed his eyes and saw that under Uncle Qin's left and right ears, five long wounds had appeared.

These wounds were seeping fresh blood and opening and closing continuously at the same time.

Like... bloody fish gills.

Soon, many dense markings similar to stretch marks appeared on Uncle Qin's body.

Only, they weren't on his belly, but evenly distributed on his arms and legs.

After finishing a set of stretches, Uncle Qin stopped, stood in place, and adjusted his breathing. The bloody wounds under his ears opened and closed with the frequency of his breathing.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Uncle Qin was somewhat different; his physique had undergone very obvious changes.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Hmm."

"Watch the good stuff from the shore."

"Okay, Uncle."

Uncle Qin nodded, then bent down. Under the moonlight, he began to run.

He didn't run very fast, but his body movements were extremely coordinated. He ran to the riverbank, jumped vertically, and after jumping into the river, he disappeared instantly.

Like a fish returning to the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the river surface, which had already calmed down, and then at the clothes Uncle Qin had left on the shore.

He raised his hand and gently patted his forehead. Only after the event happened did he seem to truly react:

"Did he really just... go down like that?"

Li Zhuiyuan was standing at first. After standing for a while, his legs felt a little sore and swollen, so he sat down.

Time passed continuously. Uncle Qin had been down for a long time. There was no movement on the river surface, not even a single special bubble was seen.

But all he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuiyuan yawned. He looked towards the horizon. The night was like clothes that had been washed many times. The original deep color began to thin, and soon it would turn white.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to ward off his sleepiness. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he stood up again and continued to look at the distant river surface.

This time, he saw movement.

In the middle of the river, a figure seemed to appear, then disappear again. Just when Li Zhuiyuan thought he was seeing things, he saw Uncle Qin walking out of the river on the riverbank.

His body was covered with shocking wounds. Many of the wounds were still black inside and flowing with pus.

The most terrible one was on his chest, so deep and long that he could almost see the white bone inside.

But Uncle Qin was completely like a person who was fine. He squatted by the river and began to wash his body with river water.

Li Zhuiyuan hugged the clothes over. After getting closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth still embedded in Uncle Qin's wounds.

Seeing these, one could even imagine how that group of things rushed onto his body and carried out crazy tearing and biting.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's gaze contained obvious anger.

Uncle was angry.

"Uncle, how was it?"

"Not how."

"Failed?"

"Originally almost succeeded," Uncle Qin said while reaching out to pull out a long fingernail himself.

"Then?"

Li Zhuiyuan threw the finger on the ground. It was still wriggling towards the river water. The blood-red fingernail cover emitted a strange luster.

"Smash it," Uncle Qin said.

"Hu hu..." Li Zhuiyuan panted. He was somewhat unwilling to lower his head again to look at that pool of blood and flesh.

"Ba ji!"

Uncle Qin pulled out another finger from his body and threw it in front of Li Zhuiyuan, meaning it was very simple.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pick up the stone again and continue smashing.

If someone who got up early passed by here at this time, and saw this scene from a distance, they would be afraid that they would think this was a warm father-son picture.

Only after cleaning the embedded dirty things from his body did Uncle Qin pick up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, the wounds..."

"Go back and let your aunt handle it."

"Oh," Li Zhuiyuan nodded, and asked again, "Uncle, is Baijia Zhen right below?"

"You actually know so much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me everything."

"Hmm, it's down there."

"Then did Uncle you just go to Baijia Zhen?"

"I went in. Originally, everything was almost handled, but..."

"But what?"

"You'll know when you go back to the hospital. Your big friend, ah, really makes people look at him with new eyes. He's a ruthless character, really, too ruthless."

Li Zhuiyuan heard that Uncle Qin was very angry because the matter was not handled well according to his plan, and the person who led to this result seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get in the car."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"Then you come drive?"

Li Zhuiyuan obediently got in the car.

When the motorcycle reached a folk house in the suburbs, Qin Li stopped the car first, walked up the dam, took down a piece of outerwear from the clothesline and put it on himself, and then clipped some money onto the rope.

He had too many wounds on his body. Wearing only a vest wouldn't cover them. It was estimated that he wouldn't even be able to enter the hospital.

The car drove into the hospital. Qin Li stopped the car.