Chapter 97

Chapter 94

Qin Shu said it, and he did it.

He walked to the flower stand, picked up the tool basket placed there, first took out a hammer, then reached in and rummaged around, grabbing a handful of nails from the very bottom.

Each nail was as long as a chopstick, with a head as thick as a thumb, and covered in rust spots.

These were coffin nails.

Qin Shu held the handful of coffin nails and shook his wrist, and all the rust fell off, revealing a deep black color underneath, uneven in saturation.

This wasn't the nail's original color, but the result of being soaked in corpse qi for many years.

Even without walking in yin, Li Zhuiyuan seemed to be able to see the black fog emanating from each nail.

This meant that they had recently been pulled from the coffin of some great ominous entity.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that his earlier reminder was a bit redundant.

Because he vaguely guessed what Qin Shu was about to do, and Qin Shu's training methods were far more radical and terrifying than he had imagined.

Training to death wasn't the extreme; beyond that was training to a state worse than death.

No wonder he had specifically come over to explain something to him earlier when he passed by; he wanted to block his mouth in advance.

Actually, Li Zhuiyuan should go back inside now, to read his book or accompany A Li while she painted.

In short, it was best not to stay here any longer.

Not because the scene was cruel, but because it might cause a rift in their relationship.

But Li Zhuiyuan didn't leave; he still stood in place.

Runsheng had just finished another set of punches. He spat out a mouthful of bloody foam onto the ground, wiped his nosebleed with the back of his hand, then turned his head and smiled at Li Zhuiyuan.

When Qin Shu approached him holding the hammer and coffin nails, the smile on his face briefly froze.

But soon, Runsheng waved at Li Zhuiyuan again and said, "Xiao Yuan, go inside, it's dirty out here."

Evidently, Qin Shu had already discussed this method with Runsheng, and Runsheng himself had agreed.

This undoubtedly helped Li Zhuiyuan avoid the possibility of a crack appearing in their relationship beforehand.

However, Li Zhuiyuan still didn't leave, but sat down on the steps.

Runsheng raised a hand again, wanting to urge Xiao Yuan to go inside, but seeing that Xiao Yuan had already sat down, he said nothing more.

He straightened his body.

Qin Shu aimed a coffin nail at Runsheng's right shoulder and struck it with the hammer.

"Crack!"

The sound was very faint, but the speed was very fast. The coffin nail went in at once, leaving only a round nail head on Runsheng's shoulder that fit closely with his skin.

It looked like a dark colored round sticker had been pasted on.

Runsheng bit his teeth tightly, breathing heavily, his eyes bulging.

No wonder Qin Shu was holding a hammer and nailing the flower stand when he came in this morning; he was actually practicing his hand.

Immediately, on the other shoulder.

"Crack."

The second coffin nail was driven in.

Runsheng's body swayed but he stabilized himself again, the veins on his neck bulging, his eyes looking as if they were about to burst.

However, because Xiao Yuan was sitting right in front, he managed to force out a smile, though it was incredibly ugly.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, turned around, walked into A Li's room, and pulled the curtain.

A Li, who was painting, turned around and saw the boy sitting on the chair leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window.

The boy lowered his head, looking at his own hand.

His hearing was good. Even with the window closed and the curtain drawn, each faint "crack" from outside could reach his ears.

Every time this sound rang out, the boy's fingertips would involuntarily tremble slightly.

A Li didn't disturb the boy but turned back to continue her painting.

She knew that at this time the boy needed to be alone to digest some things.

This was good news, because he had emotions to digest. Unfortunately, they weren't beautiful emotions.

After Li Zhuiyuan went inside, Runsheng finally couldn't hide it anymore, his face showing pain and ferocity.

Qin Shu's actions were always very efficient, one hammer and done each time.

He simply didn't give Runsheng's flesh time to react to being pierced, leaving him only a deeper and richer aftertaste of pain.

Gradually, Qin Shu had driven a total of fifteen nails into Runsheng's shoulders, arms, palms, legs, heels, and other positions.

When the sixteenth nail was driven in, Qin Shu reached out and patted Runsheng's back.

"Good."

This light pat directly caused Runsheng to stagger forward. Just as he couldn't control his body shape and was about to kneel down, Qin Shu's voice rang out again:

"Want to kneel down and admit defeat to me?"

Runsheng took a deep breath, and with great willpower, forcibly resisted the urge to kneel down and regained his body balance.

Qin Shu casually flicked the hammer back into the basket.

"My Qin family refines the body to accumulate momentum within, using oneself as a cage, seeking dragon power, an endless life.

Remember, this breath isn't just something you think about using when you make a move, but from now on, you will constantly accumulate it for me."

"Re... remembered."

"Continue practicing."

"Yes... master."

Runsheng straightened his body and began punching again. This time, he hit very slowly, very slowly, because every slight movement would cause the sixteen coffin nails inside his body to collectively transmit a strong pain that felt like bone scraping and tendon breaking.

These were actually secondary; the main thing was the corpse qi inside the coffin nails, which was constantly invading his limbs and bones, repelling the breath in his body. This feeling was as if his whole body was being roasted.

Qin Shu stood with his arms folded and watched for a while before asking:

"Didn't eat enough at noon?"

"Ate... ate enough."

"Then what are you dilly-dallying for?"

Runsheng sped up his rhythm, then only felt his consciousness stimulated by this intense pain to the point of almost fainting.

But at this moment, Qin Shu's toe kicked up a stone from the cobblestone path, which hit the back of Runsheng's head.

Runsheng's consciousness instantly cleared, but the result of clearing was that the terrible sense of pain became clear again.

Just like this, Runsheng kept practicing. Every now and then he would fall into a state of fainting, but each time he would be woken up by Qin Shu.

As he practiced, soon a large gap appeared in the cobblestone path under Qin Shu's feet.

Where was this training? This was simply the highest level of torture.

What Qin Shu said earlier about re-laying Runsheng's foundation was truly meant literally.

At dusk, Liu Yi returned from that building to make dinner.

Entering the yard, she first glanced at Runsheng, who was practicing punches.

Immediately, she gave Qin Shu an unbelievable and questioning look.

Qin Shu nodded.

Liu Yi's lips trembled slightly, emitting an extremely faint sound. Her original intention was only to let Qin Shu hear it, but the person inside the house had excellent hearing and heard it too.

"You're crazy, you actually hammered the lock dragon pillar into him, aren't you afraid of him dying?"

Qin Shu also slightly trembled his lips:

"This boy has a special physique, he won't die."

"Did Xiao Yuan know about me?"

"Xiao Yuan saw."

At this moment, Qin Shu's toe lifted again, and a cobblestone flew out, hitting the back of Runsheng's head again, waking up the swaying Runsheng and making him continue to punch.

"A Li, you are alienating the relationship with the Dragon King family."

"Runsheng himself told me. He said he was stupid and didn't have any effective fast methods in the short term. I mentioned this and he agreed.

He said he wanted to become strong as soon as possible to protect Xiao Yuan.

Do you think this kind of method, relying on my strength, relying on me to wake him up, can turn him into me?

Mainly, it still relies on his own willpower and belief to strongly support him."

"A Li, next time, you should discuss it with Xiao Yuan in advance.

The matriarch is looking at Xiao Yuan's face, she didn't follow the old ritual. With Xiao Yuan's current identity and his future relationship with A Li, according to the old ritual, we should kneel and kowtow when we see Xiao Yuan."

"A Ting, you haven't walked the river, you don't know. Most of the time, even coming back alive to light the third lamp and announce the end of walking the river is a luxury.

Walking the river, people truly die."

"You should go talk to Xiao Yuan again later."

"I will. Oh, why didn't you bring that girl back?"

"I taught her how to make West Lake Vinegar Fish.

There were twelve kinds of poison in it.

I ate a mouthful, she ate a plate.

Now she's lying in that building, her whole body's skin turning more than ten colors up and down.

I plan to first let her fully experience the feeling of these toxins causing trouble in her body. After I make and eat dinner, I'll go back to that building, wake her up, and teach her the steps to detoxify."

"Did you tell Xiao Yuan about you doing this beforehand?"

"No."

"Then you're still coming to warn me?"

"It's nothing to me. That girl's relationship with Xiao Yuan isn't as close as Runsheng's with Xiao Yuan."

"Pity, our two families are thin on people now, no way to give you room to play."

"Pah, stop talking nonsense."

Liu Yi walked into the house. She first cut some fruits for A Li's room.

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan was not sitting on that chair, but standing beside A Li, watching A Li paint.

Liu Yi put down the fruit plate, then leaned sideways against the door frame, looking at this pair of golden boy and jade girl for a while longer.

It wasn't until her mouth finally felt sweet that she confirmed her taste had finally recovered after eating that mouthful of West Lake Vinegar Fish made by that girl.

Only then did she leave the study and go to the kitchen to cook.

Qin Shu also came, but as a male, he couldn't just push the door and enter like Liu Yi. Just as he was about to knock, the door was opened from the inside.

"Qin Shu."

"Xiao Yuan, about Runsheng..."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled and said, "I believe in your professionalism, Qin Shu, and I also believe in Runsheng's talent and willpower."

"Then that's fine."

Qin Shu turned and left. He didn't go directly back to the yard, but walked into the kitchen.

Liu Yi was cutting vegetables, she turned back and looked at him, asking, "Did you talk to Xiao Yuan?"

"Mhm." "So fast."

"Xiao Yuan expressed understanding and support." As he spoke, Qin Shu stretched out a finger and pointed at A Li's study, then pointed at his own ear again.

Liu Yi seemed to think of something. She also pointed at A Li's study, then picked up the kitchen knife and covered her own eyes.

Qin Shu opened his mouth: "Didn't you tell me that Xiao Yuan had newly comprehended a layer of the 'Qin Family Dragon Observation Method'? Where is the new book?"

"Xiao Yuan handed the new realm of the two sets of books from the Qin and Liu families to the matriarch, but the matriarch hasn't even had time to translate the 'Liu Family Qi Observing Formula' properly yet.

If you think you can understand that kind of nonsensical writing, I can go get that set of 'Qin Family Dragon Observation Method' for you to try and look at."

"Then forget you forgot before, I'm never good at reading books. It made the matriarch angry and she starved me for ten days."

"Got it, I secretly gave you food, do you think the matriarch didn't know?"

"I'll still wait for the matriarch to translate it well, then go read the vernacular annotated version."

"Oh, why don't you go tell Xiao Yuan about your past experience walking the river?"

"I failed."

"Isn't failure experience more important?"

"A thousand people have a thousand faces, everyone faces different situations when walking the river. If I go talk about mine, it will only affect him. Besides, I believe Xiao Yuan himself has a plan in mind."

Qin Shu picked up a date from the table, bit a mouthful, and as he walked out of the kitchen into the yard, he flicked the date pit in his hand, hitting the back of Runsheng's head again, helping Runsheng pull back from the edge of fainting once more.

"We don't have much time, you have to adapt quickly. Even if you pull them out later, you still have to feel like they're still there.

Unfortunately, your comprehension isn't good, learning the 'Qin Family Dragon Observation Method' is too slow. But your luck is that your body can withstand this stupid method, and instead, you can become the fastest learner."

This training continued until that voice rang out:

"Dinner is ready!"

Tan Wenbin went downstairs and sat at the dinner table. When he saw Runsheng's face, he was startled.

The last time Runsheng was pierced by the steel bar in the wall, his face wasn't so pale.

Runsheng had a large basin in front of him, while Tan Wenbin had a medium-sized basin.

After the incense in the basin burned out, Runsheng picked up his spoon, slowly scooped out rice and dishes, and then put them into his mouth. Only when he was chewing his food would his face show a moment of relaxed expression.

Liu Yumei carried her own rice bowl and said nothing.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Where is Yin Meng?"

Liu Yi explained, "She was tasting dishes and ate until she was full."

After dinner, Runsheng climbed back to the yard step by step and started practicing punches again.

Li Zhuiyuan stood by the side and watched for a while. He didn't know if it was because of this, but Runsheng lasted for an exceptionally long time this time.

He even had the energy to inhale cool air while saying,

"Wait until I master it. When I hit that official general's head again, I can pick him up, hehe."

Runsheng was staying here tonight to continue practicing.

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin walked out of the yard, not going back to the dormitory first, but going to the building where Liu Yumei originally lived.

Pushing the door open, they entered the living room. Yin Meng was lying on the mat, her body dyed in various colors like it had been splashed with paint.

In this state, she looked just short of being wrapped in the mat like a 'corpse' and thrown into a mass grave.

She was still unconscious and couldn't hear speech. Li Zhuiyuan just looked for a while before coming out.

On the way back to the dormitory, Tan Wenbin whispered, "Xiao Yuan bro, those round things on Runsheng's body, are they stickers or..."

"They are coffin nails."

"Hiss..."

Reaching the dormitory floor, Tan Wenbin was the first to push open Lu Yi's door and enter.

Lin Shuyou was lying on the edge of the bed eating noodles that Lu Yi had packed back from the cafeteria in a plastic bag. There was also half a red sausage in the plastic bag. Seeing Tan Wenbin come in, he lifted his head and shouted,

"Big bro."

Tan Wenbin nodded at Lin Shuyou, then put his arm around Lu Yi's shoulder and said,

"You wanted to do part-time work to earn money, didn't you? How about this, the convenience store opposite our dormitory is run by us. We're lacking an accountant right now. From now on, don't do tutoring. When you have time, just go there to check inventory and accounts. You name your price; it will definitely be higher than what you earn tutoring."

"Bro, that's too kind, I can't take advantage of you like this." To be able to work part-time at school and have a guaranteed salary was definitely much better than getting up early and going far away from school to tutor people.

"It's nothing, just pretend you're serving your ancestors."

"Um, what?"

"Let's go, you come to the store with me now. I'll explain a bit to those part-time students and also familiarize you with the store situation."

"I, I, I..."

"Yes or no, just be direct."

"Since bro trusts me, then I'll do it!"

"Of course I trust you."

Someone who is afraid of being hungry as a ghost in his hometown and still insists on offering his dinner in advance every day naturally has no character problems.

Late at night, Li Zhuiyuan lay on the bed with his eyes open, thinking about problems.

Tan Wenbin on the lower bunk was tossing and turning, suffering from insomnia.

Binbin felt that he was already working very hard and was always pushing himself. From the time he first lived in Grandpa Li's house until now, he really hadn't relaxed much.

But today, he felt a sense of despair and defeat.

It was because he saw with his own eyes that people with better talent than him actually worked even harder, and they worked in a way that didn't care about their lives.

"Sigh..."

Tan Wenbin turned over again, facing Yuanzi bro's bed, and saw that Yuanzi bro was also awake. He couldn't help but sigh:

"Xiao Yuan bro, with them like this, how are ordinary people like me supposed to live?"

"Binbin bro, aren't you also studying hard?"

It was better not to mention this. As soon as it was mentioned, Tan Wenbin's mouth twitched a bit.

He was indeed studying,

But Zhuangzhuang's study was about how to better cultivate momentum in various environments.

But it had to be said that chatting with the old lady could indeed sense a lot of things, especially some tone, style, and superior demeanor.

He felt that even if he didn't do other serious things later and specialized in this kind of conversation and presence, he could establish a well-known Corpse Salvaging Sect in the traditional Southern and Northern Pyramid Schemes.

Li Zhuiyuan sat up from the bed.

"Xiao Yuan bro, what's wrong?"

"I'm calculating the things that are still unfinished in my body. Binbin bro, go investigate what girls died in this dormitory building before us. The more detailed the information, the better."

"Okay, I understand."

"By the way, ask Uncle Tan again if there have been any latest developments in the Qiu Minmin case from seven years ago."

"Understood."

Li Zhuiyuan was just calculating the karma he was still involved in. He could ignore things from his hometown; after coming to university, only these two things remained.

Because it was highly likely that new waves would be drawn out from these two things for him.

As for the evil book, the Mao family father and son were already dead, and the evil book was wrapped by himself layers inside and out. In theory, the channel connecting it to the outside world was cut off. Although it was very evil, it wouldn't draw out any karma because of this.

Although Lin Shuyou also theoretically had the risk of drawing out things, his current role was more positive, so he could continue to keep him.

This was the rule of walking the river that Li Zhuiyuan had summarized based on past experience and combined with Wei Zhengdao's 'Righteous Way View'.

However, if the rhythm and wave value in the early stage were fixed, then could he turn passive into active?

For example, if he could solve the waves of a period of time or a stage in advance and consume its energy, would it mean he could rest for a period of time?

It would be good if he could find an opportunity to experiment a bit.

Li Zhuiyuan lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Binbin bro, good night."

Having received the task, Tan Wenbin's heart also immediately settled down a lot, and sleepiness followed.

"Good night, Dragon King."

...

The sky wasn't bright the next day when Li Zhuiyuan woke up.

Because it was too early, he originally didn't intend to wake Tan Wenbin, but Tan Wenbin was exceptionally sensitive today. A little movement caused him to open his eyes as well, then he got up in a straight fish-like motion, dragging a sleepy face.

"Binbin bro, it's still early. Neither the police station nor the archives are open yet. You can sleep a little more."

"I can go chat with my dad first. Sigh, those two are one piercing a butt with a cone and one tasting a hundred herbs. How can I still sleep?"

After washing, the two separated at the entrance of the dormitory building.

A Li lived inside the school, very close, so he arrived in a short while.

The boy just pushed open the yard door when he heard the sound of the first floor's floor-to-ceiling window being opened.

A Li, wearing blue satin pajamas, stood barefoot by the window.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the window, took off his shoes, and walked into the house.

"Next time I come in the morning, even if you hear me, pretend to sleep for a while, okay? Just like when you first came into my room at great-grandfather's house and waited for me to wake up, I want to experience that too."

A Li nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan grabbed A Li's hand, feeling nothing.

A Li tilted her head, looking at him.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Release the prohibition. I don't believe they didn't come back after yesterday."

A Li lowered her head. She had always not told the boy that she could see them during the daytime because she didn't want his mood to be affected when he was playing with her during the day, knowing how dirty and ugly her perspective was inside.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and found the girl's eyes with his own line of sight:

"A Li, be good, listen."

A Li lifted her head. Li Zhuiyuan's ear heard the sound again, but it wasn't as noisy as yesterday.

The boy didn't feel happy because of this; instead, his gaze became gloomy.

Because they ultimately came back again.

The weak, even if they sent out a strong warning, it was still temporary and limited.

In this world, it's always not about who speaks louder, but who has a harder fist.

"Crack!"

Li Zhuiyuan snapped his fingers, walking in yin.

He came into the flat house. A Li was standing beside him, behind them were the cracked ancestral tablets of the Qin and Liu families, and outside the front threshold, ghost shadows were still heavy.

But this time they were all a little farther away than before.

Only one person, wearing a white robe, stepping on high stilts, wearing a high hat, with a face smeared with thick white grease making it difficult to distinguish male and female, holding two white lanterns in his hands, was standing in front of the threshold.

Seemingly sensing the boy's gaze, this person not only didn't retreat, but instead emitted a gloomy and miserable smile.

It even deliberately shook the two lanterns in its hands.

One lantern read: Kill dead both parents;

One lantern read: Be prostitute do prostitute.

Li Zhuiyuan first carefully sized up this person from head to toe, remembering every detail of its appearance.

Then,

The boy showed it a warm and amiable smile:

"Congratulations,

You are the first one."

———

Everyone is too supportive, directly pushing our "Corpse Salvager" to the first place on the monthly ticket list, making some people doubt if I'm brushing tickets.

Honestly, our average order is not high. In my "On the Shelf Speech," I also said I couldn't write explosive works, but every time we are on the list, we are quite competitive, possibly because, although there are few of us, we are all elites.

Um, well, beg for a few more monthly tickets, so we can stay on the list for a while longer. Huge thanks to everyone!