Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Home is the last harbor for the human heart. No matter what you encounter outside, returning home brings spiritual comfort and shelter.

But now,

She has entered the house!

Seeing that he really couldn't wake up Cui Guiying, Li Zhuiyuan could only run towards the inner room, towards his brothers and sisters sleeping on the floor mat.

"Panzi brother, wake up!"

"Leizi brother, quickly wake up!"

"Yingzi sister, wake up!"

Li Zhuiyuan ran among his siblings one after another, constantly pushing and shouting at each person, but they were the same as Cui Guiying in the kitchen; he couldn't wake them up no matter what.

"Drip... drip... drip..."

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at the door between the inner room and the kitchen. The figure of Xiao Huangying didn't appear there.

"Huff..."

He breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment he discovered a puddle of water appearing under his feet, gathering more and more, and starting to overflow and flow along the uneven ground.

"Drip... drip... drip..."

Water droplets constantly fell on his body, wetting his clothes, bringing a sticky, wet, cold slipperiness.

A pair of hands appeared on either side of his line of sight.

Finally,

Ice-cold hands grabbed his neck.

Li Zhuiyuan's body trembled slightly, and a strong sense of suffocation assailed him.

But soon, the sense of suffocation gradually receded again, because these hands didn't stay on his neck for too long, starting to slowly slide down.

A mass of shadow appeared from above. Li Zhuiyuan raised his head with some difficulty.

The person above also slowly lowered their head at this time, wet hair constantly drooping, constantly sticking to the boy's face, then like a black giant mouth, slowly covering the boy's head little by little,

Until...

Swallowing him.

...

"Han Hou, slow down, slow down, my butt is sore from grinding, hiss... it hurts!"

Li Sanjiang hugged Li Weihan's waist with one hand and pulled at his own buttocks with the other, trying his best to lift himself up a bit.

"Uncle, don't move around, you'll fall if you move again!"

"Peh, you're riding so fast, how can I not move!"

After picking up Li Sanjiang on the public transportation seat, Li Weihan immediately rode his bicycle non-stop towards home.

The small field path was narrow and full of pits, which was indeed hard on the person riding. Furthermore, Li Sanjiang was old and really couldn't withstand this kind of bouncing.

Li Weihan was helpless. Seeing that he was very close to home and that the shortcut through the small path was becoming more and more difficult to ride, he could only slow down the bicycle a bit.

"Ai yo oh..." Li Sanjiang might have breathed a sigh of relief. He touched the cigarette box in his trouser pocket and said, "Han Hou, let's stop and have a cigarette."

"Almost home, Uncle, we'll smoke when we get home."

"Ai, what are you in a hurry for? Didn't you already shout for Liu Xiazi to see me? It's estimated that your Xiao Yuan Hou is already home and able to eat and run around."

"Is Liu Xiazi really useful?"

Li Weihan didn't really believe in Liu Jinxia's abilities. He had seen that mother and daughter in their most difficult time. If she really had the ability to see into the yin and yang, how could she have fallen to such a miserable state?

Relatively speaking, he believed Li Sanjiang more. After all, he was the one who specialized in fishing for drowned bodies, and in his memory, Xiao Tian had always lived a very comfortable life.

"How should I put it? That Liu Xiazi was a money cheat in the early years. Later, she figured out some ways herself. Isn't there that old saying? It's called the hemp rope always breaks at the thinnest point. It always breaks at her first no matter where it is. After breaking many times, she just gained experience."

"What does that mean, Uncle? I don't understand."

"If you don't understand, forget it. The worst situation for your Xiao Yuan Hou is just being haunted. This kind of matter, that Liu Xiazi can actually handle, considering your past kindness to her."

"I'm just worried about the child. I'd rather be haunted myself."

"You, Han Hou, are really too biased. In the early years, you were biased towards your precious daughter, and now you're biased towards your grandson. But that's also right, your precious daughter is also hardworking. Isn't this twenty-eight pole the land your precious daughter gave you in the early years?

But ah, being haunted isn't that much suffering. You could even say it's quite enjoyable. It's like those hanged people. Before the noose is put around the neck, through that noose, everything you see is mesmerizing."

"Uncle, when you say that, it sounds like a good thing!"

"Of course it's not a good thing. You just treat it like the child has a bit of grave head syndrome. Which village and which year doesn't have a few naughty unlucky ones? It's just a minor illness."

"Right, Uncle, that drowned body, how do you plan to deal with it?"

"Deal with it?" Li Sanjiang's emotions suddenly fluctuated, and his tone became severe. "Do you think I live too comfortably and have to rush to deal with that kind of drowned body that can walk in the water?"

When Li Weihan heard this, his heart tightened, and he immediately pedaled faster.

"Ai ai ai! Slow down, slow down! Han Hou, what are you going crazy for? No matter how fierce that drowned body is, you've all run away anyway, so it's not a big deal. Is it possible that she can still chase you home?"

"We're here!"

The twenty-eight pole rode onto the dam, and Li Weihan immediately dismounted and propped up the bicycle.

Li Sanjiang jumped off the back seat and immediately rubbed his buttocks.

Li Weihan: "Guiying, Guiying!"

"Coming, coming, keep your voice down, don't make noise, the children are all sleeping."

Cui Guiying walked out and first greeted Li Sanjiang, "Uncle, you're here."

"Ai, I'm here." Li Sanjiang didn't waste any time and gestured towards the inside. "Let's go, let's see the child first."

Coming to the edge of the door panel, Li Sanjiang squatted down and checked Li Zhuiyuan's situation.

"Should I wake the child up?" Cui Guiying asked.

"No need, the child is fine, no longer haunted. Has Liu Xiazi come over?"

"She's come over." Cui Guiying recounted the events of the afternoon.

Li Sanjiang listened and nodded: "It's because you, Guiying, have a kind heart and are willing to let Han Hou go and help their mother and daughter. That's why this happened today. Accumulated virtue is repaid in children and grandchildren."

"Look at what you're saying, Uncle, it's nothing much."

"It's a big deal. If it were someone else, would that Liu Xiazi be willing to help?

It's just this human debt. Even if she doesn't want to, she can only pinch her nose and accept it. Her heart is probably full of grievance and regret. Now she's probably at home wiping away tears and howling about how miserable her life is."

"Uncle, sit down." Li Weihan handed a small stool to Li Sanjiang and then took out a cigarette and lit it for him. He turned to his wife and said, "Guiying, bring some food to fill your stomach."

As he spoke, he glanced at the locked cabinet.

Cui Guiying took the key, opened the lock, and took out chicken egg cakes, biscuits, and other things from inside. She placed them in front of the two of them and said apologetically to Li Sanjiang: "Uncle, I'll go and buy some meat tomorrow, and then invite you to my house for a good drink."

"Sigh, what are you doing with these? Put them away, how can I snatch food from children?"

Li Weihan used his hand to open a biscuit box, picked up a biscuit and handed it to Li Sanjiang, then picked up the iron box and looked at it, saying: "Guiying ah, when you're done eating the biscuits, remember to put the box away properly. It's very suitable for putting needles, thread, and buttons."

"Got it."

Li Sanjiang ate the biscuit in a few bites. Li Weihan gave him a push and patted his trousers: "Okay, the child is fine, I'm going home."

"I'll ride the bike and take you back, Uncle."

"Don't, don't, I'm not riding anymore."

"Then I won't ride, I'll walk back with you. Guiying, bring the flashlight."

Just at this moment, the originally deeply sleeping Li Zhuiyuan suddenly twitched, his breathing became heavy, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

Li Sanjiang immediately sat back down and checked the child's situation.

Li Weihan said anxiously: "Uncle, this child is..."

"It's nothing, he's probably having a nightmare. It's normal. At first, when he was haunted, he felt that dirty thing was very beautiful and fascinating. Only after he knew and realized it did he become afraid. It's fine, the child will play for a few days and forget about this."

Li Weihan and Cui Guiying nodded. Of course, they hoped the child was fine.

"Ah!"

Li Zhuiyuan cried out, sat up from the door panel, and gasped for air.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, Xiao Yuan Hou." Cui Guiying went up and hugged Li Zhuiyuan, gently patting his back, "It's okay, the child is not afraid, Grandma is here, Grandma is here."

Li Zhuiyuan first looked at Cui Guiying, then at Li Weihan, and finally, his gaze fell on Li Sanjiang's face, whom he was seeing for the first time.

Li Sanjiang pointed at his wine-stained nose and said with a smile: "Xiao Yuan Hou, I'm your great-grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan blinked his eyes, immediately seeming to think of the experience in his dream just now, and twisted his head to look towards the back door, pointing and saying: "Xiao Huangying, Xiao Huangying, she's come into the house!"

"Good child, you're having a nightmare, it's okay now, she's already been driven away by your grandma, she won't dare to come and find the children in my house again."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cui Guiying with some doubt: "Really, Grandma?"

Li Weihan breathed a sigh of relief: "Look, the child was really scared by a dream, hehe."

Seeing that everything was developing according to what Li Sanjiang said, Li Weihan and his wife's hearts felt completely settled.

Only Li Sanjiang, following the direction of Li Zhuiyuan's finger, looked towards the back door. His face gradually became serious.

"Han Hou, give me the flashlight."

Li Weihan didn't give it to him, but said: "Uncle, I said I'd see you home."

"Give it to me!"

Li Sanjiang snatched the flashlight.

"Uncle, I'll see you back, you've been drinking, walking at night..."

"Let go!"

Li Sanjiang pulled Li Weihan away and walked straight towards the back door.

"Uncle?" Li Weihan glanced at his grandson and immediately followed.

Li Sanjiang stepped over the threshold and came to the back door leading directly to the river's edge, shining the flashlight downwards.

"Uncle, is there still something going on?"

Li Sanjiang spat on the ground and lowered his voice: "It's normal for a child to have other dreams, it's nothing, but dreaming that the drowned body followed him home, that's scary."

"What, she really followed him home?"

Li Sanjiang raised his hand, signaled Li Weihan to be quiet, and then continued to probe the boat and the nearby river surface with the flashlight, but after several attempts, he still found nothing.

Li Weihan asked in a low voice: "Uncle, there's nothing there."

"Shh, Han Hou, do you hear any sound?"

Li Weihan listened carefully for a moment, then shook his head: "Uncle, what sound? I don't hear anything."

"Heh." Li Sanjiang rubbed his nose with his hand, "On a summer evening by the river, how can it be so quiet?"

Li Weihan instantly understood. Yes, his side of the house seemed too quiet. Usually, the cicadas and frogs would make noise every evening as if they were having a meeting. Today, there wasn't a single sound, it was as quiet as death.

At this time, looking at the calm lake surface and the swaying water grass again, Li Weihan's heart felt terrible. That drowned body, who knows where it was hiding.

Li Sanjiang turned around and walked back into the room, saying to Cui Guiying: "Guiying, bring me a bowl of yellow wine."

"Ah, then I'll fry some peanuts and eggs for you, Uncle?"

"Go get the wine, don't talk so much!" Li Weihan urged. Of course, he knew Li Sanjiang didn't want to drink here.

Cui Guiying brought over a bowl of yellow wine. Li Sanjiang took it, squatted down in front of Li Zhuiyuan, and said with a smile: "Xiao Yuan Hou, it will hurt a bit later, don't cry out, bear with it, understand?"

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at Li Weihan and Cui Guiying before nodding at Li Sanjiang.

"Mm, okay."

Li Sanjiang poured the yellow wine on Li Zhuiyuan's neck. The child instinctively flinched, but Li Sanjiang immediately grabbed his arm with his left hand and forcefully rubbed and wiped his neck and shoulder area with his right hand.

The old man's hands were full of calluses, very rough and coarse, like sandpaper scraping at his skin. Li Zhuiyuan was in pain, but he obediently pursed his lips.

After wiping the child's neck and shoulder area completely red, Li Sanjiang put his face over and inhaled deeply with his nose.

After inhaling, Li Sanjiang's eyes widened. He gently pushed the child away and sat down on the ground himself.

"Uncle, Uncle?" Li Weihan immediately came over to support him.

Cui Guiying then went to check Li Zhuiyuan's neck. Her heart ached for him, but she knew things seemed to have changed again and didn't dare to say anything, just silently stroked the child's head.

"Cigarette, Han Hou, give me a cigarette."

"Ai."

Li Weihan immediately helped him light it.

Li Sanjiang took a deep puff and exhaled through his nose.

Li Weihan noticed that Li Sanjiang's hand holding the cigarette was shaking.

"Guiying, bring the child in." Li Sanjiang pointed to the inner room, "Close the door."

"What exactly is going on again?" Cui Guiying couldn't bear it anymore.

"Do whatever Uncle tells you to do." Li Weihan waved his hand urgently.

Cui Guiying took a deep breath, still hugged Li Zhuiyuan, walked into the inner room, and closed the door.

In the kitchen, only the two men were left.

"Uncle?"

"Han Hou, things are getting troublesome.

Liu Xiazi definitely cleared the haunting from Xiao Yuan Hou's body this afternoon. Since she did it, it's impossible for her not to clean it up.

But just now, my nose smelled corpse smell from the child's neck again. I've fished for drowned bodies my whole life. I'm telling you, the stench of corpses soaked in water is different from the smell of dead people elsewhere. My nose is definitely not wrong."

Li Sanjiang said, twisted his head to look at Li Weihan, and said very seriously: "That drowned body, she really followed you home."

When Li Weihan heard this, he immediately stood up and took down the axe from the cabinet. With so many children at home, this kind of item could only be placed high up.

"F**k her mother, I'll fight that thing!"

Li Sanjiang narrowed his eyes, took another puff of his cigarette, and said slowly: "What if she doesn't come out?"

"What?" Li Weihan was a bit confused, "If she doesn't come out, isn't that good?"

"She'll just stay by your house, and you won't be able to find her. She'll just stare at your home, one day, two days, three days... First it's Xiao Yuan Hou, then Xiao Pan Hou, Xiao Lei Hou, Xiao Hu Hou... Then Guiying, and then you.

Other people worship gods and Buddhas for blessings, your home is equivalent to worshipping evil filth.

It won't take long for people to get sick, have bad luck, and... have their homes broken and people die."

Li Weihan asked in a daze: "What should we do? I... I won't live here anymore, I'll go live at my son's house?"

"If she can follow you once, can't she follow you a second time?"

"Uncle, what other way is there?"

"There is a way." The cigarette butt at the corner of Li Sanjiang's lips suddenly brightened and darkened.

"Uncle, you must help me." Li Weihan squatted down beside Li Sanjiang. If it were someone else saying these words to him, he would suspect that person was deliberately trying to scare him for other purposes, but Li Sanjiang absolutely wouldn't.

"This drowned body that walks in the water, her resentment is great, her origin is not easy to provoke, and this kind that can follow you home, Uncle, this is the first time I've seen it in my life, it's simply evil to the core."

"But Uncle, there's a wrongdoer and a debtor. What does this have to do with my Xiao Yuan Hou?"

"Heh." Li Sanjiang let out a cold laugh, flicked his finger, and pinched out the cigarette butt in his hand, "I guess she wanted to have a wrongdoer and a debtor, but she couldn't find the wrong house, so she could only latch onto the first person she met and not let go."

Li Weihan seemed to think of something, and his eyes showed hesitation and thought.

Li Sanjiang continued: "Wasn't this drowned body the woman who jumped, danced, and sang at Big Hu Zi's family funeral yesterday? You told me about her on the way when you picked me up, what was her name, Xiao Huangying?"

"Lei Hou said he saw her. I didn't go to Big Hu Zi's house yesterday, so I'm not sure."

"It's Xiao Huangying. Lei Hou might have seen wrong, but Xiao Yuan Hou didn't. He shouted Xiao Huangying when he woke up from his dream."

"Mm, that's true."

"Didn't you say that the villagers saw Xiao Huangying and Big Hu Zi's youngest son go into the woods last night, and during the daytime funeral, people were still making noise in Big Hu Zi's house, and Big Hu Zi even paid them?

This is having... "

The word "ghost" was hard for Li Sanjiang to hold back. When speaking at this time, he still had to be a bit cautious.

"...This is having something in his heart, giving off a false impression. Heh, his family's pretense, if there was really nothing dirty going on, how could he be so soft?

Big Hu Zi, Big Hu Zi, wasn't he just like the bandits in the Northeast before liberation? He's just a bandit pretending, and who knows how many sins he's committed."

Speaking of this, Li Sanjiang paused for a bit. He reached into the iron box in front of him and took out another biscuit, bit into it, and said with a smile: "This biscuit has a strong milk fragrance, I'm afraid it's not cheap, is it from your precious daughter?"

Li Weihan took out a cigarette, lit it for himself, then quickly took several deep puffs, finally wiped his forehead and eyes with his hand, and when he looked at Li Sanjiang again, there were bloodshot eyes:

"Uncle, do you still not trust my character, Han Hou?"

Li Sanjiang picked up another biscuit, didn't answer, and continued to eat.

Li Weihan continued:

"Uncle, arranging marriages for my four sons in the early years, that was really difficult.

You not only gave me your fields to plant, but every time I helped you, you even gave me some labor fees; Guiying came to help you tie and paste paper figures, her skill was so rough I didn't even have the face to look, but even so, Uncle, you still paid her wages.

Later, when the most difficult days passed, I stopped planting your fields, because I knew you could get more grain rent by renting them to others. As for Guiying, I didn't feel right letting her go, afraid she would mess things up like before when she was working in the team.

Your cheapness, I really don't have the face to continue taking it, but your kindness, I, Li Weihan, will always remember it in my heart.

I said before, the day your legs and feet are inconvenient, I, Li Weihan, will come and serve you, and see you through to the end.

Uncle, you must believe in my character, Han Hou."

Li Sanjiang nodded. "Hehe." Li Weihan laughed twice, reached out to take a biscuit. He hadn't eaten anything from the afternoon until now and was really hungry.

"Pa!"

His hand was smacked back. The biscuit he had just picked up fell back down.

Li Sanjiang stood up and said: "Eat a fart, leave some to put on the plate as an offering."

Li Weihan was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. After all, he had helped Li Sanjiang for a while in the past.

He opened the door of the inner room and saw Cui Guiying holding the child and leaning forward by the side.

After the door was opened, Cui Guiying quickly smoothed the hair by her earlobe and asked: "Have you finished talking?"

Li Weihan: "Guiying, come out and help set up the offering table, Xiao Yuan Hou can sleep first."

At this time, Li Sanjiang's voice came from behind: "Xiao Yuan Hou should leave here first."

Li Weihan twisted his head to look at Li Sanjiang, his eyebrows furrowed, but after hesitating, he seemed to have made some decision and signaled his wife to bring the child out.

Li Zhuiyuan had been sleeping since the afternoon, so he wasn't sleepy. He just obediently sat on a small stool, watching the adults busy themselves.

"Confused brain!" Li Sanjiang pointed at the offering table that Li Weihan had moved to the back door outside and cursed, "You want everyone outside to see me? Move it inside, put it here!"

This place was a flat village, with no mountains, no ditches, and no large buildings. The visibility was very good. If they lit candles and burned paper money outside, people who came out in the evening to urinate could see it from afar, and then the matter would spread very quickly.

After all, which normal family would make sacrifices at night?

Li Weihan immediately moved the table he had just moved out back in and placed it against the wall very close to the back door in the room.

Cui Guiying began to place the offerings, four plates, each with biscuits, chicken egg cakes, and peanuts, and the other one was empty.

"Uncle He, there's no meat at home." Cui Guiying looked at Li Sanjiang, "No bacon or salted meat left."

With ten or so children living at home, how could there be any leftover dishes from the previous night? Even the pickled vegetable jar was almost empty, but you couldn't make an offering without meat.

Li Sanjiang pointed at the locked snack cabinet: "Do you have meat floss?"

"Yes." Cui Guiying immediately nodded, "Is that okay?"

"It's meat anyway, just make do with it."

"Okay."

Finally, a plate of meat floss was placed on the plate, completing the offering.

A rough iron bucket was carried in by Li Weihan from the dam outside the room. This time, he didn't need to be reminded, he himself put the iron bucket in the corner of the kitchen wall.

Underworld money was still a rare thing at this time, and had to be bought from the underworld shop in town. Villagers were still not very willing to use it for small sacrifices, but yellow paper and yuan bao were almost available in every household.

Gold and silver yuan bao were usually folded by the women themselves, and as for yellow paper, it could be used as toilet paper in the basket by the toilet.

Li Sanjiang first lit two candles on the offering table, then used the candle fire to light several pieces of yellow paper, then quickly waved them in front of the offering table, mumbling something in his mouth. Immediately after, he ran back to the wall corner and threw the half-burned yellow paper into the iron bucket as a fire starter. Cui Guiying immediately put the other yellow paper and yuan bao in to burn.

Li Weihan took a thin wooden stick and poked the paper inside, confirming that it was fully burned, and then moved the iron bucket outside the room to pour out the paper ash.

When he came back, he saw Li Sanjiang taking out a bell from his pocket, using his gray-black fingernail to dig inside, and finally taking out the cotton ball that was blocking it.

"Ding ding ding..."

When shaken lightly, the sound was crisp.

Li Sanjiang untied the bell rope and walked to Li Zhuiyuan: "Come, Xiao Yuan Hou, lift your right hand."

Li Zhuiyuan did as he was told, watching Li Sanjiang tie the bell to his wrist.

Immediately after, Li Sanjiang took up the incense burner from the offering table, thought for a moment, and broke off a large section of all three incense sticks, leaving only a little bit at the end, and then inserted them into the incense burner.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, take this."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and held the incense burner.

Cui Guiying finally understood what was going on at this time and instinctively wanted to lean forward, but was grabbed by the wrist by Li Weihan and even pulled back a bit.

"How can you let Xiao Yuan Hou..."

Li Weihan glared at his wife fiercely.

Li Sanjiang reached out and covered Li Zhuiyuan's ear, then raised his head, looked at the couple, and asked casually: "I'll ask you one last time, do you want to do it or not?"

"Do it!" Li Weihan immediately answered.

"If Xiao Yuan Hou has something happen..." Cui Guiying shook her arm, trying to break free from her husband's grasp.

Li Weihan said in a deep voice: "If there's nothing like that, then nothing will happen. If there is something like that, and you don't do it, Xiao Yuan Hou will still have something happen. That thing has its eyes on our Xiao Yuan Hou!"

When Cui Guiying heard these words, she no longer struggled, and her arms hung down.

Li Sanjiang laughed and said: "Han Hou, have you really thought it through? If this matter gets out, it might not be easy to get along in this village later."

Even if there was fundamentally no drowned body, and everything was just an absurd joke everyone made up, you put on such a show at home and even gave a ritual like this to someone. If people found out, this big grudge would be settled!

"Heh." Li Weihan also grunted, "Uncle, I'm not afraid of Big Hu Zi's family. I also have four sons."

In the village, whoever had more adult sons had more confidence.

Although his four sons were not ideal filial sons, and there were not few frictions between their wives, but if the old Li family were to suffer from something from outside and needed to stand up for themselves, these four sons would definitely stand together against outsiders.

"Alright, let's do it!" Li Sanjiang released the hand covering Li Zhuiyuan's ear, squatted by the child's ear, and instructed: "Xiao Yuan Hou, Great-grandfather will walk in front later, and you, you follow behind, walk slowly, don't spill the incense burner, understand?"

"Mm, understood."

"Good child, good."

Li Sanjiang took Li Zhuiyuan out the back door, turned around, looked at Li Weihan and Cui Guiying who had followed him out, and said: "You wait inside the house, don't follow me out, too many people will be easily seen, and I'm also afraid of scaring her."

"Mm, Uncle, sorry to trouble you."

"Close all the doors and windows."

"Okay, Uncle."

Li Weihan pulled his wife back into the room, then closed all the doors and windows.

By the river's edge under the night sky, only Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan were left.

"Wait for me a moment, Xiao Yuan Hou."

Li Sanjiang greeted him, then went down the green stone steps to the river's edge by himself. He saw him squatting down and constantly paddling the water surface with his hand while muttering something in a low voice.

Separated by a bit of distance, and with his voice deliberately kept very low, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't hear what he was saying clearly.

As he spoke, Li Sanjiang's body started to lean back, preparing to run several times, as if the thing under the water could come out and pounce on him at any time.

Finally, Li Sanjiang finished speaking. He quickly ran up, still panting heavily.

"Okay, Xiao Yuan Hou, I'll walk in front, and you follow behind well; remember, no matter what happens next, and no matter what sounds you hear, you must hold onto this incense burner, and absolutely do not turn your head, understand?"

"Understood."

"Mm, good."

Li Sanjiang walked ahead, keeping a distance of about twenty meters, then turned back and waved to Li Zhuiyuan, signaling the child to follow.

However, Li Zhuiyuan stopped at the original spot and didn't move.

"Come, follow me, Xiao Yuan Hou."

"But..." Li Zhuiyuan wanted to turn his head, but he remembered Li Sanjiang's instructions, so he held the extinguished incense burner with one hand and pointed at the river surface with the other, "Aren't we waiting for her?"

"Waiting for who?"

"Her, Xiao Huangying."

"Xiao Huangying, what about her?"

"She didn't follow."

Li Sanjiang was stunned for a moment, walked back, lowered his head and carefully sized up Li Zhuiyuan, asking: "Xiao Yuan Hou, do you know what we are going to do?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, then nodded.

Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan with some surprise and muttered: "You child, just like your mother, smart."

Immediately, Li Sanjiang seemed to think of something, stared into Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, and asked: "Can you, feel her?"

"Mm."

"She... where is she now?"

Li Zhuiyuan opened his mouth, didn't speak, as if he was thinking, and as if he was waiting, then, he opened his mouth and said:

"She's coming."

"Where is she?" Li Sanjiang was suddenly startled.

"Just now she was in the water..."

"Huff..." Li Sanjiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now she's behind me."

Li Sanjiang: "..."

Li Sanjiang subconsciously wanted to move his gaze and look behind him from the side of Li Zhuiyuan's head, but he restrained this impulse.

However, even without looking, his nose still caught a strong smell of corpse stench. This smell was all too familiar to him.

She, she really came.

Li Sanjiang nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He wanted to stop, but when he thought about the consequences of stopping... Damn it, other people committed the sin, why did it come back to Han Hou's house!

"Xiao Yuan Hou, remember Great-grandfather's words just now."

"Mm."

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, raised his hands high, and slowly stood up. The smell of corpse stench became even stronger.

He turned around, opened his eyes, and walked a distance forward. This distance was the observation distance when he propped the boat facing those drowned bodies.

After taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and turned back to look behind him:

Xiao Yuan Hou was standing there holding the incense burner. Behind him was a patch of blackness that the moonlight couldn't penetrate.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, follow closely."

"Mm."

"Mm."

Li Sanjiang started walking forward, and a "ding ding ding" sound came from behind.

He didn't walk on the village road, but specifically along the river's edge or through small woods. Even though there were no pedestrians at midnight, he wanted to be as careful as possible and absolutely not let outsiders know.

After walking halfway, Li Sanjiang stopped, and the bell sound from behind also stopped.

Li Sanjiang turned back. Li Zhuiyuan was still standing about twenty meters away. Behind the child, he vaguely saw a human shadow, very close.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, keep following, we're almost there."

"Mm."

"Mm."

Li Sanjiang continued to lead the way, walking and stopping, and the bell behind him also rang and stopped.

Finally, after绕过 another fish pond, he reached the dam in front of Big Hu Zi's house. This fish pond was actually his own.

This time, Li Sanjiang didn't stop, but continued to advance along the edge of the fish pond. However, as he advanced, he slowly turned back and looked behind him:

Under the dim moonlight, Li Zhuiyuan was holding the incense burner, occasionally looking at the great-grandfather leading the way in front, and occasionally lowering his head to check the road under his feet.

This road was not easy to walk, and a small child could easily slip and fall, so he walked very seriously and carefully, but he still couldn't avoid his body swaying.

Behind him, a woman in a cheongsam with long wet hair was following.

The woman was like a blind person, unable to see the road ahead.

And blind people, when someone leads the way, often grab the other party, so the woman's hands were grabbing the boy's shoulders. As they moved forward, her body followed the small boy, also taking deep and shallow steps, constantly swaying.

Li Sanjiang swallowed a mouthful of saliva. As he walked backward, his foot missed a step and he almost fell, but after a moment of shaking, he regained his balance.

When Li Zhuiyuan saw this, he just wanted to stop.

Li Sanjiang quickly said anxiously: "Xiao Yuan Hou, don't stop, keep walking, steady, we're almost there."

"Mm."

"Mm."

Finally, after going around the fish pond, Li Sanjiang came to the dam in front of Big Hu Zi's house.

It was already late at night. Not only were the lights out at Big Hu Zi's house, but several nearby houses visible also had no lights on, and no human shadows were visible.

Li Sanjiang turned sideways, squatted down, pointed his left hand towards Big Hu Zi's house and his right hand towards the direction where Xiao Yuan Hou was standing, and said:

"I'm giving you an offering today, and I'll send you a sacrifice next year. I've done this much out of human kindness, are you still satisfied?

Don't care about yin or yang, everyone has to be reasonable! If there's a wrong, go report the wrong, if there's an enmity, go report the enmity. The people in the world all live a hard life, you can't just cut off and turn back."

After Li Sanjiang finished reciting, he secretly glanced in Li Zhuiyuan's direction and found that there were still two human shadows, one big and one small, just standing one behind the other.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, kneel down."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't kneel, still holding the incense burner and standing.

"Xiao Yuan Hou?" Li Sanjiang urged in a low voice.

"Great-grandfather... I can't kneel down."

Li Zhuiyuan wanted to kneel, but there was a force on his shoulders lifting him up, not letting him lower his body.

Li Sanjiang took a deep breath and immediately recited:

"The child is still young, the child doesn't understand things, the child doesn't owe you, I've led the way for you, I've pointed out the door for you. Is it possible that you really want to be completely unreasonable?"

After saying this, on that side, there were still two shadows, one big and one small.

Anger showed in Li Sanjiang's eyes. He withdrew his hands that were originally pointing to "build the bridge", and stabbed his ten fingers into the ground, embedding a large amount of black mud under his fingernails.

"You walk in the water, I float on the water. I gave you face and you don't want it, I told you reason and you don't listen, that's fine, force me to overturn the table and we'll all go together to find the Dragon King Lord to judge!"

Li Sanjiang's whole demeanor became solemn. He had always been unwilling and afraid to face that position, but things had developed to this point, it was no longer up to him. He couldn't just lead this drowned body out and then lead her back home.

However, just at this moment, only a "zhi ya" sound was heard, and the big iron door of Big Hu Zi's house was opened.

Li Sanjiang's gaze swept over and found two people standing behind the door, it was Big Hu Zi and his youngest son, both wearing only big underpants, with bare upper bodies and bare feet.

For a moment, Li Sanjiang felt a little scared in his heart. He was originally doing this secretly. If he were to be discovered face to face by people, the matter might not end well later.

But soon, Li Sanjiang realized something was wrong.

He saw Big Hu Zi and his son, the two of them didn't even look at him standing outside the door, but walked straight towards the fish pond in a daze.

As they passed in front of Li Sanjiang, Li Sanjiang found that both of them were walking on tiptoes with their heels off the ground.

Father and son walked side by side like this, swaying, but never falling. After they reached the edge of the fish pond, they didn't stop, but continued walking down.

They stepped into the water, continued forward, the water reaching their knees, their waists, their shoulders, and finally... over their heads.

"Pu tong!"

Li Zhuiyuan felt his body lighten and directly sat on the ground. When Li Sanjiang saw this, he immediately ran over and protected the child.

"Child, are you okay?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't answer, but raised his hand in a daze and pointed forward.

In front was the figure of Xiao Huangying. Her arms were stretched forward, her hands open, as if she was groping. Although she walked very slowly, she also came to the edge of the fish pond, and then walked into the water.

Seeming to perceive the water under her body, she slowly lowered her arms, and her walking became more and more steady.

She began to twist her waist, as if she was jumping up that branch dance she had just jumped over this dam into this fish pond yesterday.

Her dance was still very unprofessional. Now her joints were stiff, and her jumping was naturally even more not standard, but she was dancing very invested.

Her figure in the middle of the night curtain was sometimes submerged and sometimes abrupt, suddenly hidden and suddenly present.

Every time she appeared, the water surface would drown her body a little more.

Gradually, the legs under her cheongsam split could no longer be seen, her twisting hips could no longer be seen, and her not very towering chest that relied on her clothes to be tightly tied could no longer be seen.

The water surface was over her neck, her hair was scattered open, she raised both hands, facing the night sky, still performing.

Soon, her head also submerged the water surface, and on the water surface, only her arms were left, and gradually her wrists were left, and then her hands were left...

When both hands also slowly disappeared into the water surface, only a mass of black water grass was left.

To the end, along with the last ripple,

Everything,

Could no longer be seen.

Li Sanjiang carried Li Zhuiyuan on his back, bent over and ran away quickly. After running a long distance, he put the child down, while taking out his cigarette box and hitting his old waist.

Seeing the child standing there in a daze, he said: "Listen to Great-grandfather's words, just treat it as a dream. When you wake up tomorrow, you'll forget everything."

Li Zhuiyuan listened and nodded, but he felt that he probably wouldn't forget that scene, it would always be fixed in his memory.

Shaking off the cigarette ash, seeing that the child was still in a low mood, Li Sanjiang teased:

"Xiao Yuan Hou, can you think of something that will make people happy soon?"

"Happy matter?"

Li Sanjiang pointed with the hand holding the cigarette towards the direction of Big Hu Zi's house and answered:

"Eat at a banquet!"

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