Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lunch was very abundant.

It was originally prepared to entertain guests, but the guests left.

However, for most people's small tables, the number of dishes was a bit more, but the portions didn't change much. Only for Runsheng, what was originally one large basin became two large basins.

Li Sanjiang glanced at it and couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, why don't you just eat out of a bathtub!"

Runsheng asked somewhat happily, "Can I?"

Li Sanjiang choked and rolled his eyes.

Runsheng then realized he had misunderstood and smiled awkwardly. Then, holding incense in his left hand and a spoon in his right, he began to eat alternately.

Li Zhuoyuan looked at the drunk shrimp in front of him. These shrimp were soaked in white wine with added scallions, ginger, and garlic to remove the fishy smell.

He picked one up and put it in his mouth, biting gently. The shrimp meat came out, and it tasted fresh and delicious.

He then picked up a drunk mud snail, bit the front end with his teeth, and slowly pushed it out. He realized the mud snail meat was separated from the shell. The snail meat was very small and chewy, very crisp.

Eating this requires care and patience. If you are a little impatient, it's possible to eat the sand inside the mud snail along with the meat.

Coastal areas generally have a tradition of eating raw and pickled foods. For those accustomed to eating them, they are an irresistible delicacy.

But for most people from inland areas, this kind of dish is simply terrifying.

Actually, they're right. Raw and pickled foods do carry a greater risk of parasites.

After tasting a little, Li Zhuoyuan saw that Ah Li was also not interested in these two dishes, not touching them at all. He just stood up, took these two dishes, and planned to send them to Li Sanjiang's table for him to eat while drinking.

"Give them to me."

Liu Yumei spoke up.

Li Zhuoyuan then took the drunk shrimp and drunk mud snails to the table where Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu were dining.

"Not used to eating them?"

"Mm."

"Good thing, you won't enjoy them."

Liu Yumei ate two drunk mud snails in a row and then took another sip of the yellow wine in her cup.

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Ah Li also doesn't like these."

Liu Yumei shook her head, "Ah Li just dislikes the trouble."

Afterward, Liu Yumei asked Li Zhuoyuan again, "Those people who came this morning, what were they planning to do?"

"Buy a house. They took a fancy to Dahuzi's house."

"Oh, how's that house?"

"It's very spacious, and the fish pond is quite big too. Now they're anxious to sell it very cheaply. Grandma, are you interested in going to see it?"

"Why would I go see it? I don't have the money to buy it anyway."

"You don't have to buy it, just go see it."

"If I don't have the money to buy it, my heart will be more bothered when I sleep at night if I go see it. It's better not to go. Besides, I'm not from this village. According to the rules, I can't buy it either."

"In short, everything must still be handled according to the official rules."

Li Zhuoyuan knew that Liu Yumei was deliberately reminding him to report the matter to the police and let them handle it, not to mess around on his own.

"The police uncles are also busy. Moreover, isn't the slogan 'police-public cooperation' still painted on the outer wall of the police station?"

Liu Yumei looked deeply at the boy in front of her, picked up the yellow wine, took another sip, and said faintly, "Among the monkey group, there's also a mountain king."

Her meaning was that among this group of water monkeys, there were indeed some tough nuts to crack.

Li Zhuoyuan opened his mouth, "It's also possible that they're just picking a general among the midgets."

"Hehe." Liu Yumei smiled and waved her chopsticks, "Go eat your meal, child."

Li Zhuoyuan walked back to his small table.

Aunt Liu asked in a low voice, "Do you want me to go and see what specific book he's reading?"

The boy's words earlier vaguely included the matter of the Sijia fish pond, implying that since they could recognize the wrong bait hole and fall, their level was only so-so, no matter how high.

This kind of perception had already alarmed Aunt Liu even more than the boy asking her whether she had poison this morning.

The latter could be explained by a child's nature, but the former meant that this child seemed to have truly entered the door, and entered very deeply.

Liu Yumei shook her head, "If that child hadn't come earlier, he could still say something about the books in Li Sanjiang's basement. But now this child has already seen the way. If you go see them again, it's easy to get yourself entangled. Could it be that you're anxious to go see Ah Li?"

"How can you say that? You need someone to serve you."

"Although I've lived a long time, I won't cook."

Aunt Liu: "It seems that the books in Sanjiang Uncle's basement are indeed quite extraordinary."

"Indeed extraordinary. Didn't he say before? During the 'breaking the four olds' period, several groups of people specifically deposited books with him."

"Then looking at it now, the identities of those groups of people were not ordinary."

"There's no such reason in this world that only allows us to have good eyesight and others to be blind and unable to see."

"You're right."

Liu Yumei actually had a few more sentences in her heart that she didn't say out loud.

That was, no matter how extraordinary a book was, it was still a book.

And the more extraordinary the book, the harder it was to understand.

How many people spent their entire lives unable to truly understand the books of Xuanmen?

She was like sitting on a dam drinking tea, while the boy was just sitting above her reading books. She only remembered that the child read books like flipping through comic strips, one after another.

If it was a truly extraordinary treasure of Xuanmen, and he read it this way, and could still comprehend and learn from it, it might really be unreasonable.

But the facts seemed to be pointing in that direction.

When he first moved in, he was still just a child who had experienced the fear of death and fallen down. Now, not only can he distinguish the bait hole from the main hole, but he can also personally lead a death fall.

This kind of child, before liberation, would have been fought over by various families to inherit their mantle.

Heh...

If her own ancestors' tablets weren't dead, as long as they had a little spirit, they would probably be making a fuss at night, asking her to take him as an apprentice.

Even for whether he should follow the Qin family or the Liu family, the two families' tablets might even have a fight.

Look,

Liu Yumei picked up the wine pot and poured herself another cup of wine.

After Ah Li's illness gets better, as a thank you, perhaps she can pass on the "Liu Family's Observing Qi Technique" to him.

After Li Zhuoyuan returned, he calmly finished his lunch. There were some things he had to make clear to Grandma Liu, and he also had to state his attitude.

After all, he still needed Aunt Liu to support him.

Although it was said that the incident would happen at Dahuzi's house, if he couldn't handle the situation, it might also affect the family. At that time, he would have to ask Aunt Liu to also go to the old house with Uncle Qin to take care of Big Uncle.

After lunch, Runsheng, holding his big belly, didn't plan to rest and just wanted to continue working in the workshop.

Li Zhuoyuan stopped him and handed him several drawings: "Brother Runsheng, please make these things for me first. I need them urgently."

Runsheng took the drawings, didn't even look at them, and said directly, "Okay."

He believed that Xiaoyuan wouldn't give him drawings he couldn't understand or make.

Li Zhuoyuan then went to the room with Qin Li.

He continued to select from the ten taboos, while Ah Li continued to carve with her carving knife.

The desk was very large, accommodating both the boy and the girl each doing their own thing without interfering.

Finally, Li Zhuoyuan selected two taboos.

In fact, he had seen many types of taboos in these books, but many didn't have the conditions to be realized. Even among the ten he had strictly selected, at least half were eliminated because the success conditions were too complex.

He could understand the names of some necessary materials, but didn't know what they were in reality, and the prefixes were often "hundred-year" or "thousand-year."

There were also some special trigger tools that sounded like tools for evil, like human skin drums, and it was even noted that they had to be made from boys or girls below a certain age.

More importantly, some required him to build an underground palace in a special environment, gather yin and yang feng shui, and then put the little yellow bird inside.

To be honest, if he had the conditions to do this kind of craftsmanship, would he still have to exhaust his thoughts trying to deal with that group of water monkeys?

He finally selected two options.

One was to change the feng shui through preliminary means, which would turn the corpse ground into an evil-inducing ground in a short period, similar to sprinkling water on a pot of boiling oil.

The other was to wrap the little yellow bird with a scripture banner to trigger the boiling of resentment within its body. This relied on the effect of the scripture banner, similar to how a strong wind can extinguish fire, but an appropriate gust of wind can make the fire burn more fiercely.

However, with his current level, he only needed to worry about whether he could raise the wind, not about what to do if the wind was too strong.

These two options were the easiest to realize from a practical perspective.

Moreover, their effect was similar to a stimulant. After using them on the little yellow bird, she would instantly fall into a deep state of listlessness, so there wouldn't be a situation of losing control later.

Li Zhuoyuan had already asked Runsheng to make the material for the array flags by hand, but for the specific use, he still needed to redesign the plan. At least he had to figure out which feng shui points needed to be changed, which required a large amount of deduction and calculation.

He opened the drawer and took out a roll of large white paper, cutting a section according to his needs.

Li Zhuoyuan picked up a pen and ruler and began to draw the scene of Dahuzi's pond and the surrounding terrain according to his memory from that evening.

He had been influenced by his parents' family studies since childhood, and coupled with his good memory, it only took him about half an hour to finish drawing.

The sketch was more detailed, and he also abandoned many unnecessary complexities. Lifting it up by the edges with both hands, it had the immediate feeling of a picture taken by a camera.

Li Zhuoyuan used double-sided tape to stick it on the wall, and then he just stood there, staring at it.

But as he looked, he gradually frowned.

The reason he chose to draw it out, like using scratch paper, was to reduce his mental burden. But oddly enough, this picture... couldn't play any role.

Because the feng shui atmosphere cannot be drawn with clear lines. When he calculated, he still had to first form a realistic picture in his brain, then add the feng shui atmosphere, and finally perform the deduction and calculation.

This picture was really drawn a bit... superfluously.

This drawing method won't work, he has to use ink painting.

Li Zhuoyuan went downstairs. The family did paper handicraft business, so there was no lack of pigments, palettes, and brushes on the first floor. He picked up a set and ran back up.

He cut a new sheet of paper, placed it on the table, picked up a brush, and began to draw.

But as he drew, he felt something was wrong again.

It wasn't that the method was wrong, the method was definitely correct, the key was... he himself couldn't draw.

He had seen many geniuses in his class, but everyone just learned quickly, no one was born knowing.

On a professional track, skipping the learning process, a genius is no different from an idiot.

This was also the reason he never won against Ah Li in Go. Ah Li had clearly learned, and he hadn't.

Although the most direct way was to go to the site and look at the position, since the water monkeys were already staring at Dahuzi's house, if he ran there impulsively and wandered around, it would inevitably attract attention.

The key was that this was not something that could be figured out with a quick look. It would take a long time of deduction and calculation. Therefore, he couldn't go to the site, the risk was too great.

Aunt Liu definitely knew how to draw. He had observed her method of coloring paper figurines, and she clearly had extremely deep painting skills.

Grandma Liu also knew how to draw. She was like holding a table every day, personally designing clothes for Ah Li with a brush.

But oddly enough, these two people would definitely not help him draw this.

Li Zhuoyuan sighed, walked out of the room, and went downstairs towards the workshop.

He pushed open the door, and inside, Runsheng was vigorously polishing iron awls. These iron awls would be used as flagpoles.

"Xiaoyuan, you've come."

Runsheng handed Li Zhuoyuan a large porcelain cup.

The porcelain cup was a bit dirty, and it was filled with houttuynia leaves soaked in water.

Li Zhuoyuan took it and drank two large gulps.

After handing it back, Runsheng "gurgle gurgle" finished it in one breath, then picked up the kettle on the small stove and refilled the porcelain cup with hot water.

"I was wondering why it was so hot. Brother Runsheng, why did you put the stove inside the room?"

"Hehe, sometimes it's easier to work if it's a little warm. It is a bit hot, but just drink more water, it doesn't matter."

"You must pay attention to your health."

"My health is good, don't worry, I eat well."

Li Zhuoyuan knew that in Runsheng's view, as long as he ate well, nothing seemed to be a problem.

It was just that the conditions in this workshop were indeed simple, and the space was a bit small. It would be good if he could set up a professional studio later, with his own electric stove, lathe, and cutting machine.

That way, making anything would be convenient.

However, for now, it was just a thought.

"Brother, let me tell you something."

"Okay, Xiaoyuan, go ahead." Runsheng didn't stop and continued with his work.

Li Zhuoyuan told him about the water monkeys.

Runsheng said in surprise, "Xiaoyuan, you didn't tell me when they came this morning. Were you afraid I would reveal a flaw?"

"Mm."

"What a pity. I've seen similar scenes on TV. I feel like I could act it out."

"No rush, you can polish your acting skills, you can do it later."

"Mm!"

Runsheng picked up a black and white towel and wiped off his sweat.

"So, Xiaoyuan, are we going to stab them in the ass when they're about to dig that tomb?"

Saying this, Runsheng even lifted the iron awl he had just polished and made a "stabbing" motion.

"Perhaps, we don't need to do it ourselves. The little yellow bird can make them fall into their own trap."

"That's even more regrettable. Seeing others act and not being able to join always feels wrong.

Movies are generally like that. The little yellow bird first kills them one by one, then a fierce person appears among them to suppress the little yellow bird, and at the crucial moment, we appear."

"You've already planned it?"

"I always think about it, it gives me energy to work this way."

"Brother Runsheng, you continue to be busy, I'll go up first."

"Okay, don't worry, you go think about your matter, leave this to me."

Inspired by Runsheng's enthusiasm, Li Zhuoyuan also sorted out his emotions and planned to go up and overcome that difficulty. Even if he couldn't draw on scratch paper, he could still calculate the hard way, at most he would get another nosebleed.

However, Li Zhuoyuan didn't go upstairs first, but came to the kitchen. At this point, it was time for Aunt Liu to boil medicine for him.

"Xiaoyuan, you've come. Hehe, this bowl is for you, and this bowl is for the dog."

"Thank you, Aunt Liu. Is this one for me?"

Li Zhuoyuan confirmed again. He didn't want to drink the wrong thing.

"Yes, that's right, drink it."

The medicine was very bitter. Li Zhuoyuan drank it quickly, finally finishing it with difficulty.

"Aunt Liu, is this medicine very expensive?"

"It's not expensive, just some common nourishing medicine. When boiling, you have to be careful to stimulate the medicinal properties to harmonize with each other, that's when the effect comes out. However, Xiaoyuan, according to what you said, you often get nosebleeds and feel dizzy. You must pay good attention to your health, don't prematurely damage your vital energy."

"I know, Aunt Liu."

"In addition, it's best to drink this medicine in the morning, preferably when you just wake up. It follows the morning qi, and your body recovers, with the help of the medicinal soup, the effect is best.

This way, later in the morning, I'll let Ah Li bring it to you. Anyway, Ah Li also goes to your room in the morning."

Li Zhuoyuan nodded: "Okay."

He didn't refuse, because he knew that this was Grandma Liu and the others wanting to accelerate the progress and use his name to arrange extra homework for Ah Li.

Although, this picture was a bit strange.

He would just open his eyes every morning, and the girl would bring the medicine and walk to his bedside.

But for his health, and for the girl's illness to continue to improve, he still had to drink this medicine.

Indeed, some classmates in his previous class were not healthy and often sick. Li Zhuoyuan originally thought he didn't have this problem, because Li Lan and he had the same illness, but Li Lan was always healthy and could even brave the elements to go to the site.

But the problem was that the things he was dealing with now and calculating them consumed much more mental energy than calculating math problems.

The little black dog was sleeping in its dog bed. When Li Zhuoyuan brought the medicine bowl over, it opened its eyes, yawned, came over, drank all the medicine, and then, holding its belly full of water, lay down and continued to sleep.

After this period of feeding, good food and drink plus good medicine, the little black dog's fur was even blacker and brighter. And Li Zhuoyuan discovered that its tongue was also black. From head to toe, the only white part was its teeth.

This was a dog Grandma Liu had picked and bought for him. Its quality should be extraordinary.

He went upstairs, walked into the room, and planned to first roll up some paper balls for himself before forcing himself to calculate. However, he saw that Ah Li was still at the desk, but had moved to his original position.

The girl's hand was no longer holding a carving knife, but a brush.

Only after walking closer did he confirm that the girl was indeed painting, and she had almost finished, just in the final stage.

Looking closely, Li Zhuoyuan couldn't help but widen his eyes. She was imitating the fish pond picture he had stuck on the wall and had also painted the atmosphere.

The trouble that had made him struggle and get nosebleeds was solved by the girl.

After the last stroke, Ah Li put down the brush, then put her finger into the cup, dipped it in water, and lightly sprinkled it on the painting paper, allowing the ink color to blend further and the atmosphere to become clearer.

Complete.

The girl turned around and looked at the boy.

"Ah Li, you're really a genius."

When the girl heard the praise, her eyebrows and eyes seemed to gently curve downwards.

Then, she stood up, reached out, and put her arms around the boy's neck.

Li Zhuoyuan felt it seemed necessary to change a more suitable way of showing affection towards Ah Li next time he faced her, or secretly tell his great-grandfather to change his response style.

Otherwise, it would be like this every time, ruining the mood.

But for now, he just lightly patted the girl's head and said:

"Ah Li, I'll buy you whatever you want. I have money, a lot of money."

The ritual was complete.

Ah Li was satisfied and loosened her grip, sitting back in her position.

Li Zhuoyuan sat down, staring at the picture, and began to calculate.

Every twenty minutes, he would pick up a pen and mark a point on the picture. This was the position where the flag needed to be inserted.

Finally, he marked a total of twelve points.

Even if all these twelve points were inserted with array flags, there would still be one array eye missing. But this was not a problem, the array eye was the little yellow bird herself.

Next was the material for the array flags. Runsheng would make the flagpole part, but the tricky and complex part was the flag surface. Ordinary cloth would be blown by the wind, which was not favorable for the present. Therefore, it had to be a fixed surface, preferably a piece of high-quality yin wood, so that after carving the pattern, the effect could be maximized in a short time.

Originally, Li Zhuoyuan planned to go to the grave site with Runsheng that evening. They didn't need to dig graves, because they could often see damaged and exposed coffin board pieces there.

But now...

Li Zhuoyuan turned his head to look at the wood flower rolls in front of Ah Li and the half-split tablet at Ah Li's feet. It seemed there were already better board materials to choose from.

Just like,

These ancestor boards.

...

After finishing the meal, the village head came.

The village head was smiling broadly, repeatedly saying that Uncle Sanjiang had gained something good.

He immediately took out several handwritten documents, already stamped with the village committee seal and signed and fingerprinted by Dahuzi's wife and eldest son.

Li Sanjiang sighed that Ding Dalin's speed was really fast. Had he just bought a house for his retirement?

He lowered his head again to look at the contents of the document, and his face froze for a moment: "Why did he buy Dahuzi's house?"

The village head should have received a red envelope from the middleman and said with a smile:

"You got the house and the fish pond for nothing. Just tell me if you want it or not. He has already settled the money. You sign this word. But as long as your conscience is a little black, you can just drive them out when they turn around. Even if he wants to sue you, he won't win against you."

"But I reminded him not to buy Dahuzi's family."

"It's cheap, isn't it? I see that although he is an overseas Chinese returning to the country, he shouldn't have made a big fortune. If he had really made a big fortune and returned to his hometown to invest, the town could have directly approved a new piece of housing land for him."

"That's the reason."

Although he felt unlucky about Dahuzi's house, based on the principle of not wanting something for nothing, Li Sanjiang still signed and fingerprinted.

At most, after Ding Dalin leaves, he'll let Xiaoyuan Hou transfer and sell the house again.

"That's settled then. People probably can't wait to come back to their hometown to live. They said they'll find someone to clean tomorrow and officially move in the day after tomorrow. At that time, they'll invite a theatrical troupe to perform for a full day and invite the whole village to come together for a lively feast."

"This might really be lively. The feast on Dahuzi's dam has been non-stop during this period."

"Hehe, we're just saying this now. When we go there the day after tomorrow to give gifts and join the fun, we might have to keep our mouths shut. I'll also remind the other people in the village at that time."

"I know."

"Oh, right, he said when he invites the villagers to come for a feast, he won't accept gifts."

"I'll still give something."

"Right, you have to give something. It's like giving a gift for your own house."

Li Sanjiang nodded and pulled out two cigarettes for the village head. The village head took the one inside.

"Okay, that's it, Uncle Sanjiang. I'll go back first. You all eat."

Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette and said to Li Zhuoyuan, "Xiaoyuan Hou, your great-grandfather has earned you a house."

"Thank you, great-grandfather."

"This is nothing. You wait. Your great-grandfather will save some more money here and definitely get you a house in the city before I close my eyes, for when you get married."

Saying this, Li Sanjiang even specially glanced at the old lady Liu who was eating at a table far away with the corner of his eye.

As if afraid the other side wouldn't hear, he even raised his voice:

"Our Xiaoyuan Hou must live in the city after getting married!"

Hmph, let this old lady from the city look down on people again.

Liu Yumei picked up her wine cup and took a sip of wine. She was too lazy to argue with this boastful old man.

Her Qin and Liu families, in Su, Huai, Yang, and other places, might all have old houses. In the early years, they even specifically donated several houses to the country as cultural relics protection units.

However, just because the two children were playing well together now didn't mean they had to follow the childhood sweetheart path to marriage later.

Liu Yumei just wanted to cure her granddaughter's illness, not to think about letting the boy from the Li family become her granddaughter's son-in-law after moving in.

Since ancient times, when rich families married their daughters, they didn't look for wisdom, but for honesty and dutifulness.

If they chose a shrewd and capable one, they wouldn't be able to suppress him, and the family business might all belong to this boy later. People would directly clean everything up, and wouldn't even leave your surname.

After dinner, Li Zhuoyuan drew out the drawing of the array flag pattern.

Then he went downstairs to the kitchen and personally boiled ten packs of Sanxian noodles in a basin and sent them to Runsheng.

Runsheng was still staying up late making iron. When he saw a large basin of noodles with two thick incense sticks on top, he was so happy that his mouth almost split to the sky.

After admonishing him again to rest early, Li Zhuoyuan went upstairs to wash up and sleep.

Waking up from his sleep, Li Zhuoyuan first stretched leisurely, then turned his head.

He saw the girl sitting on a chair by the door, holding a bowl of medicine in her hand.

Her appearance was unexpectedly charming and cute.

Ah Li stood up, held the medicine bowl, walked to Li Zhuoyuan's bedside, sat down, and slowly moved the mouth of the bowl towards the boy's mouth.

The boy knew that she was trying to imitate the way the elders at home used to treat her and feed him medicine.

Li Zhuoyuan gladly accepted.

Then,

In the early morning, Li Zhuoyuan washed his head.

Li Sanjiang yawned and came out of the room. Seeing Li Zhuoyuan by the water tank, he asked:

"Xiaoyuan Hou, what's wrong? Did bird droppings also fall on your head today?"

"Great-grandfather, I feel my hair is a bit oily, so I'm washing it."

After breakfast, Li Zhuoyuan went back to the room and gave the design drawing to Ah Li, asking her to be responsible for carving on the board.

He himself began to draw the scripture banner. With the experience of drawing talismans in the past, drawing this time was not difficult.

Moreover, the "power" of the talisman paper also made Li Zhuoyuan believe that his scripture banner would absolutely not have an over fire effect, only stimulating the little yellow bird and not really suppressing her.

By noon, the materials were all prepared, and Runsheng's flagpoles were also all made.

In the afternoon, they assembled the pieces, and the twelve array flags were complete.

Li Zhuoyuan specially added a long rope to the scripture banner, so that Runsheng could throw it up from a long distance at that time.

Originally, Li Sanjiang thought that since they were moving tomorrow, Ding Dalin would come over tonight to chat with him. Who knew that Ding Dalin didn't come, but Tan Yunlong came at night.

Tan Yunlong rode a motorcycle, carrying Tan Wenbin behind him.

The father and son carried quite a lot of gifts. On the motorcycle trunk, there was also a quilt and a bag tied, which contained toiletries.

Originally, the city education bureau wanted to conduct an inspection, so the town high school had to interrupt summer vacation classes, giving students a week off to cope with the inspection and come back to class.

Tan Yunlong said he was busy with work and his wife was going on a business trip recently, so he could only leave his son here to be taken care of. It was also a good opportunity for him to learn from Xiaoyuan.

Li Sanjiang listened and understood that he was being asked to tutor Xiaoyuan Hou well.

However, except for occasional individual matters where he was a little confused, Li Sanjiang was very shrewd most of the time. He decisively refused the living expenses given by Tan Yunlong and patted his chest to guarantee that he would take good care of his son. After all, everyone knew the necessity of building a good relationship with the police station.

Tan Yunlong walked up to Li Zhuoyuan, bent down, patted Li Zhuoyuan's shoulder, and said in a low voice:

"Those two who were in a coma are about to wake up."

Li Zhuoyuan nodded. This meant that the group of water monkeys were also about to dig.

"Wenbin, I'll have to trouble you first. If he doesn't listen to you, call me, and I'll beat him to death."

Li Zhuoyuan turned his head to look at Tan Wenbin standing behind him. Tan Wenbin gave Li Zhuoyuan a "you understand" smile.

Tan Yunlong left.

Tan Wenbin hugged his quilt and said, "Xiaoyuan, where's your room? Can I sleep with you?"

Li Zhuoyuan looked at Runsheng. Runsheng immediately walked to Tan Wenbin's side, took his quilt, set up another round table beside his own round table, neatly put the quilt on it, and patted it:

"Come, you sleep here with me tonight."

Tan Wenbin was not only not dissatisfied, but even a little excited and nodded: "Okay!"

After nightfall, Li Zhuoyuan went to bed early. He had to stay up tomorrow night, so he had to preserve his energy today.

Runsheng had finished his work and could finally watch TV in peace.

Tan Wenbin just accompanied him to watch. After watching TV until the screen was completely black and white, Tan Wenbin took out his game console and taught Runsheng to play Tetris. There was also another airplane game on this console.

Runsheng played very happily, but soon, the game console ran out of battery.

"Oh no, I forgot to bring the battery."

"It doesn't matter, then let's sleep." Runsheng turned off the light and went to the table to spread out his bedding.

On the opposite table, Tan Wenbin also lay down.

The first floor was dark, and on the opposite side, there were still paper figures, neatly arranged under the moonlight.

Tan Wenbin felt the atmosphere was very strong, a little scared and a little excited.

He lay facing Runsheng, covered half of his face with the quilt, and asked in a muffled voice inside the quilt:

"Runsheng, do you know about death falls?"

"I know."

"Is it the kind of corpse that falls into the water after someone dies?"

"Otherwise?"

"Is it the kind that, after dying, can walk ashore by itself?"

"To otherwise?"

Hearing this answer, Tan Wenbin's eyes showed excitement, while he silently pulled the exposed foot back into the quilt.

"Runsheng, have you ever fished for one?"

"I have."

"You're really fierce."

"Xiaoyuan is fiercer."

"Hey hey, I told my dad this time that I wanted to come here to learn, but actually I just wanted to see if I had a chance to see a death fall."

The temporary school holiday was true, but his mom's business trip was false. As soon as he mentioned it, his dad and mom immediately agreed.

Because in the eyes of Tan Yunlong and his wife, Li Zhuoyuan no longer belonged to another family's child, but a heavenly family!

Tan Yunlong was reliable in handling matters. He specially called the town high school to inquire about transferring and skipping grades. The other side asked which year his child had studied in before. Tan Yunlong had seen Li Zhuoyuan's file bag before, which was just the youth class report.

At first, the person on the other end of the phone said politely that they knew and hung up, which felt a bit dismissive.

An hour later, the phone called back, and the tone became very excited. The other side was talking a mile a minute, asking if Tan Yunlong was sure it was the youth class.

And they said that as long as it was all true, he could immediately come to the school to handle the procedures, which would be fully accompanied by the principal and director, and there were a series of preferential conditions.

Tan Yunlong knew Li Zhuoyuan wanted to spend the summer vacation, so he didn't tell the other side Li Zhuoyuan's name and address, saying he would bring the child back before the new semester started.

However, Tan Yunlong confirmed one thing: this youth class was not the kind of university-affiliated primary school he had thought.

Runsheng was preparing to sleep. He felt that the guy on the opposite table seemed a little stupider than himself.

Tan Wenbin then continued to talk and laugh to himself:

"Hey, do you know? The first time Xiaoyuan told me he liked fishing for death falls, I was still silly and asked him if it was a kind of snack."

As soon as the words fell, Tan Wenbin saw Runsheng's eyes light up.

Then, a voice that hit the ground with a sound and brought infinite aftertaste came:

"Good to eat, delicious!"

That night, Tan Wenbin slept curled up in the quilt, not even daring to get out of bed to pee.

...

The next morning, Tan Wenbin vaguely saw a girl wearing a red skirt, holding a bowl of medicine, walk past him and go upstairs.

When he came last night, Ah Li had already been coaxed to sleep by Li Zhuoyuan, so this was the first time he saw her.

"This little girl is so beautiful. Even the stars on the posters aren't as good-looking as her."

Runsheng sat up, loosened his neck, and reminded: "Don't go near her."

"Why?"

"Except for Xiaoyuan, no one can go near her."

"There's a rule like that?"

It was light, and Tan Wenbin felt that Runsheng was not that scary either.

"It's not a rule."

Runsheng was always more sensitive in this regard. He remembered the first time he went to the second floor and wanted to walk towards Xiaoyuan and Ah Li, Ah Li's body trembled.

At that time, the little girl gave him a feeling that was even more terrifying than the most terrifying death fall he had ever seen.

"Eat breakfast!"

Aunt Liu's voice, like a daily alarm clock, shouted on time.

Li Zhuoyuan and Ah Li went downstairs. Today he didn't let Ah Li feed him medicine, so he didn't wash his head.

Tan Wenbin smiled and wanted to go over to eat breakfast together.

"Brother Wenbin..." Li Zhuoyuan hurriedly grasped Ah Li's hand and prepared to remind him.

"You come eat with me!"

Runsheng grabbed Tan Wenbin's neck and lifted him up like a little chicken, carrying him to his dining corner.

How he ate breakfast, Tan Wenbin forgot. Anyway, after the meal, his eyes were red and a little sore from the incense smoke.

Early in the morning, there were gongs and drums sounding at Dahuzi's house, and large speakers and sound systems were set up.

The villagers had all been notified by the village head yesterday that an overseas Chinese from this village was returning to settle down and invited everyone to come for a moving banquet.

Moreover, they stated that everyone should just come and give face for the feast and not collect gifts.

This time, the whole village, men, women, old and young, all came over early to watch the fun.

Li Zhuoyuan and Runsheng also came, followed by Tan Wenbin who was determined to follow them.

"What about him tonight? He's very curious." Runsheng asked while making a hand knife motion in front of Li Zhuoyuan, "Knock him out?"

Li Zhuoyuan's eyelids twitched. He was afraid that Brother Runsheng would get too deep into the role and not control his strength, chopping the person to death with a hand knife.

"No need for that, just tie him up."

"Okay."

Li Zhuoyuan began to observe the setup today.

Because there were so many people invited, the dam and the first floor of the house simply couldn't fit them all, so they extended into the field and set up shelters.

In addition, the performance stage was set up by the fish pond, and the sound system speakers and large drums were all placed there.

Li Zhuoyuan knew that this was to make it convenient to cover the sound when stealing the tomb at night.

Since it was a full-day banquet, it meant they would perform for a day and a night. During the day, they sang for the living, and at night, they sang for the dead.

Emphasis was placed on handling everything thoroughly for both yin and yang, implying smooth sailing in the future.

However, full-day banquets are now rarely held in rural areas because the cost of performing at night is several times more expensive than during the day, and ordinary families are still not willing to spend this extra money performing for ghosts.

With all these drums, big speakers, and sound systems, no matter how loud the noise was at night, the villagers wouldn't feel strange.

Li Zhuoyuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This was called professionalism, and they were willing to spend money, buying a house and inviting the entire village for a feast.

The theatrical troupe had already started performing early, and there were people crowded all around. Li Zhuoyuan pretended to be curious and led Runsheng around the stage, and also specially went to a less crowded place opposite the fish pond with Runsheng to relieve themselves.

This was actually to help Runsheng confirm the coordinates for inserting the flags.

"Did you remember everything, Brother Runsheng?"

"Don't worry, I remembered everything."

"I'll take two to insert at that time, and you'll be responsible for the rest."

Those array flags were a bit heavy. Li Zhuoyuan could only carry two at a time now.

"What about me? What about me?" Tan Wenbin followed, also unbuckling his belt,

"How many do I take?"

Li Zhuoyuan comforted him: "Don't worry, I'll give you the rest."

"Guarantee the task will be completed." Although he didn't know what the task was, he just wanted to participate.

Lunch was served at noon.

Li Zhuoyuan brought Tan Wenbin to sit with Li Sanjiang in the first floor house.

Tan Wenbin asked curiously: "Runsheng? Why isn't he coming to eat?"

"Brother Runsheng is eating at home, and... don't talk."

"Understood."

Tan Wenbin made an "okay" hand gesture.

Runsheng needed to eat with incense, and this action was too attention-grabbing. Every day he followed his great-grandfather to set up, his great-grandfather would also separately scoop out food for him and let him find a corner to eat by himself.

In today's situation, it was naturally even more impossible to cause the water monkeys to be suspicious.

The quality of the banquet was very high, and they had invited a local chef. After Tan Wenbin stopped talking, he ate with a very satisfied expression.

After the banquet ended, many villagers couldn't bear to leave and wanted to give gifts, but they were refused. So they all went home to get some gifts and came back to send them.

Next, the whole afternoon was spent watching the performance together. The evening performance was taboo for the living, and no one would come to watch except for the performers.

The level of this theatrical troupe was very high. They sang, danced, did acrobatics, and even performed bone shrinking skills and chest breaking large stones.

Li Zhuoyuan noticed that the performances behind this... were actually all real skills.

From the details of the performers' behavior and habits, it was clear that they were all following the routine of dealing with death falls.

Looking at it this way, it wasn't that the first two who contracted the fish pond were knocked down by the ground yin and red evil in the bait hole. With their skills, it would be really difficult for the police to catch them.

At the same time, it also proved that Grandma Liu's evaluation of this branch of water monkeys was correct.

Because, this was absolutely not some temporarily assembled wild troupe, this was a very professional water monkey troupe.

After all, those who didn't mix well and just wanted to steal tombs to get rich might not all specially practice skills aimed at death falls.

Looking at it this way, when they faced the little yellow bird, who would win and who would lose was really hard to say.

However, looking at the lively and noisy scene in front of him, Li Zhuoyuan couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

The first time he saw the little yellow bird was also in such a scene. At that time, the little yellow bird was still performing on the stage.

It was she who gave him, who had just arrived in the countryside, a kind of beauty from the wildness of the countryside that shocked him.

Li Zhuoyuan's gaze fell on the surface of the fish pond. He didn't know if the little yellow bird in the fish pond was also watching the performance now?

In her heart, towards the troupe that had simply taken the money and left her to fend for herself, she should also have resentment, right?

Just at this moment, Secretary Jin, who had changed into a black tight dress and just finished singing a song, walked to the edge of the stage with a microphone and asked towards the audience:

"What song do you want to listen to, you can tell me."

Rural people are generally shy. The first time they were asked, no one was embarrassed to ask for a song.

Li Zhuoyuan then raised his hand first.

Secretary Jin knew Li Zhuoyuan and smiled and waved at Li Zhuoyuan, signaling him to approach the stage: "Come, little friend, tell me, what song do you want to listen to?"

She squatted down and held the microphone to Li Zhuoyuan's mouth.

Li Zhuoyuan faced the stage, which was exactly facing the surface of the fish pond. He said in a clear and bright voice:

"Um...

I want to listen to,

"Qianqian Qu Ge"."

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