Chapter 12

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at the desk before him, the desk lamp, and Volume Five of Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, which he had only just read a few pages of.

That was right, he had fallen asleep. But he knew this was not a dream.

He did not understand why, at the very end, the old woman had chosen to "let" him out.

He did not want to use the word "save," because she was also the one who had dragged him into this birthday banquet.

Perhaps it was difficult to describe her with such simple labels as pure "good" or "evil." Just as she herself was a fusion of human and cat corpses, she was inherently the manifestation of something complex and contradictory.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and slowly massaged his temples with his fingers.

When he had studied in the capital, he had always felt that he was walking down a one-way road. No matter how dense the traffic and crowds were, he only needed to keep following that road.

But after returning to his hometown, he discovered that although the roads there were narrow and often pitted, with few cars and people, the crisscrossing paths between rice paddies often left him lost in the confusion of choice.

Even he could feel the changes that had happened to him since returning home, especially in the days since meeting Little Yellow Oriole.

He had been observing more diligently, pondering things more carefully, and speaking more cautiously. Dealing with nonhuman beings... truly was not easy, because there was no room for error.

In short, he was becoming less and less like a child who was only ten years old.

Being a child used to be so simple.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, shock filling them.

Why...

would he have such a thought?

What did he mean, being a child used to be simple? He was clearly still a child.

He began to panic, to feel afraid. His arms unconsciously wrapped around himself.

At that moment, what surfaced in his mind was the scene of him secretly watching his mother look in the mirror every morning after getting out of bed when he was little.

His mother had faced the mirror and taken deep breaths, trying again and again to suppress something, as though it might burst through her skin.

Li Zhuiyuan got up and walked to the wardrobe. There was a mirror in the middle of its door.

He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt strangely unfamiliar.

He raised a hand and touched the mirror, touching the face of his reflection as well.

He began to wonder what kind of person lay beneath this skin.

He did not dare keep thinking. Turning around, he took deep breaths again and again, telling himself over and over in his heart that he was Li Zhuiyuan, that he was ten years old this year, that his grandpa was Li Weihan, his grandma was Cui Guiying, and his great grandfather was Li Sanjiang.

At last, he calmed down, and the innocence belonging to a child returned to his face.

Earlier, he had felt a kind of terror, one no less horrifying than the moment the Cat-faced Old Woman had found him in the kitchen.

Because he vaguely sensed that if he had not stopped those thoughts just now and allowed them to keep spreading, then when he looked at himself in the mirror next... he might have revealed profound disgust.

Fortunately, he had reined it in in time, just like his mother, who would take deep breaths before the mirror and then put on her gentle smile again.

"Phew..."

Li Zhuiyuan shrugged and checked the time. It was half past three in the morning.

Had he slept, or had he not?

He did not feel as though he had slept, yet he was not tired. In fact, he felt better than he usually did after a normal night's sleep.

Was it because his consciousness had left his body, allowing his body to rest completely without distractions?

Li Zhuiyuan pushed open the door and walked out. The late-night breeze carried a chill, along with the dampness of dew from the coming dawn.

Downstairs was already quiet—or rather, it had never been noisy to begin with.

But he did not dare go downstairs alone to look. Rational feelings of safety could never overcome the fear brought by the unknown.

Just then, the window of Great Grandfather's bedroom began flashing on and off. Though it was not using the standard SOS rhythm of three long flashes and three short ones, Li Zhuiyuan immediately pushed open the bedroom door and went in.

On the bedroom bed, Li Sanjiang was bleeding. He clutched the lamp cord by the bedside with his left hand and kept pulling it.

His neck hurt badly, and he could not call out. He was afraid no one would see him, and even more afraid that he would snap the cord or that the switch would spring upward and jam.

Luckily, he saw Li Zhuiyuan push through the door.

"Little Yuanhou..."

Before Li Sanjiang could weakly call out, he stretched out a hand, only to see his great grandson at the door run out without hesitation.

Well, he knew the boy was going to call someone. But how should he put it? Little Yuanhou had not rushed to the bedside to anxiously ask after him and exchange a few words, which left him feeling a little empty inside.

The comforting words already at the tip of his tongue—"Great Grandfather is fine," "Little Yuanhou, don't cry"—went unsaid and were swallowed back down, leaving him rather stifled.

Li Zhuiyuan ran downstairs, ignoring the terror on the first floor. The lights were off, but by the moonlight, he could see that the eastern half was piled high with Paper People.

Yes, those Paper People were still there. Li Zhuiyuan even immediately spotted Fat Master standing against the wall.

Most Paper People were made according to traditional customs, but to meet the demands of a diverse market, special ones were also made according to the family's needs.

For instance, if a family worried that their relative below would not eat well, they might burn a chef for them.

There were also cases where an old man died early, and the old woman worried that if she burned young servant girls down there, she would have no place left when she herself went down. So she would order old women who looked even older than she did.

After reaching the yard, Li Zhuiyuan went straight to the West Room and knocked on the door.

"Aunt Liu, Uncle Qin, open up. It's Little Yuan. Something happened to Great Grandfather!"

The door opened.

Uncle Qin stood at the doorway, and behind him, Li Zhuiyuan saw Aunt Liu sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Little Yuan, what happened?" Uncle Qin asked.

"My great grandfather is hurt. He lost a lot of blood and needs to be taken to the clinic."

"I'll go. I know how to stop bleeding and dress wounds." Aunt Liu tossed aside the broom, took a cloth bundle from the cabinet, and rushed out. Uncle Qin followed her.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the scraps of paper swept into the dustpan, then looked at Aunt Liu and Uncle Qin's retreating backs.

Did they not take off their clothes when they slept at night?

Li Zhuiyuan glanced toward the East Room. She should be awake too, right?

But Li Zhuiyuan did not knock on the East Room's door. Instead, he ran back. Passing the pile of Paper People on the first floor again, he walked up to Fat Master and reached out to touch him.

With just a light touch, Fat Master collapsed into a heap on the floor.

This triggered a Chain Reaction. In an instant, all the Paper People began to "collapse," like a game of toppling blocks.

Very soon, the eastern half of the first floor, which had originally seemed so crowded, became incredibly empty, leaving only scraps of paper and broken wooden strips scattered across the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan was not afraid. He was not even surprised. Calmly stepping over the paper scraps, ignoring the crisp snapping sounds beneath his feet, he reached the stairs and went up to the second floor.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw that Aunt Liu was already bandaging Great Grandfather.

The air was filled with a faint herbal scent, a little like Guiling jelly. She had probably applied medicine first.

Uncle Qin replaced the bloodstained mattress pad and Sleeping Mat, took clean ones from the cabinet and laid them out, then carried Li Sanjiang, whose wounds had been treated and bandaged, back onto the bed.

Seeing Aunt Liu finish tidying her cloth bundle, Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and asked, "Aunt Liu, how is my great grandfather?"

"He lost quite a bit of blood, and the injuries are not light, but they're all external wounds. They've been dealt with, so there's no need to send him to the clinic. He just needs to rest and recover."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang on the bed and saw that much of the color had returned to Great Grandfather's face.

Aunt Liu was also looking at Li Sanjiang. In truth, she was quite surprised. The old man was clearly very old, yet his blood and vitality were abundant. He looked aged on the outside, but his body was remarkably healthy.

Other old men and women his age could be carried off by a single careless fall, yet he had been stabbed with so many holes and lost so much blood, and it still seemed not to have harmed his vitality.

"Little Yuan, call us again if anything happens," Uncle Qin said to Li Zhuiyuan.

"Mm, all right. Thank you, Uncle Qin, Aunt Liu."

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu left. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the enamel mug, poured in some hot water, and walked to Li Sanjiang's bedside.

Li Sanjiang leaned against the pillow, his right arm hanging over his chest. He took the mug with his left hand and drank in small sips.

After drinking, Li Sanjiang sighed. "Little Yuanhou, starting today, let's put the Fortune-Transfer Ritual on hold for now."

"All right, Great Grandfather."

"When Great Grandfather gets better, we'll continue."

"Mm." Li Zhuiyuan took the mug and set it aside. "Actually, there's no need to continue, Great Grandfather."

"Little Kid, don't talk nonsense."

"All right, I won't."

Li Zhuiyuan took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and sat beside Li Sanjiang with his back against the headboard.

"Go to sleep, Little Yuanhou. Great Grandfather is fine."

"Didn't Aunt Liu ask how you got hurt like this?"

"I told her I fell."

And they believed that?

Li Zhuiyuan had many questions, but he did not know where to begin. Besides, Li Sanjiang did not seem to intend to say anything.

After a long while, Li Zhuiyuan spoke. "Great Grandfather, how should I learn?"

If the incident with Little Yellow Oriole had only left him confused during his first encounter with such things, then tonight had truly made him feel powerless.

When Li Sanjiang heard that, he thought the boy had finally come to his senses and was planning to study properly.

He secretly felt pleased. It seemed the Fortune-Transfer Formation had worked. Hadn't Little Yuanhou changed his ways?

Good. This was very good. As long as the child was willing to improve and study, losing a little blood was worth it.

But Li Sanjiang had been a rascal in his early years. Even after venturing onto The Bund, he had only dealt with all sorts of unsavory characters. He had never properly attended school in his entire life.

Back when he had learned to read, it had only been so he could read the gossip columns in Shanghai newspapers.

Still, he could recite a few commonplace principles.

"Little Yuanhou, you mustn't aim too high. You need to build a solid foundation first. Only then can you go farther in the future."

In other words, he still needed to continue reading Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu from the beginning?

"I understand, Great Grandfather."

"Mm. Understanding means you have to do it. Do it steadily, one step at a time, and then you'll achieve something in the future. Don't be like your great grandfather, who did everything in a haphazard way when he was young and only felt regret after getting old."

"Great Grandfather is very impressive too."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang, whose body was covered in bandages, and a suspicion arose in his heart. Could that Zombie be related to Great Grandfather?

First, Great Grandfather was the only one in the household who had been injured. Second, the main places where Great Grandfather had been bandaged closely matched the areas where the old woman had attacked that Zombie.

So...

was this some method Great Grandfather had used?

"Ha, your great grandfather has plenty of impressive skills. So you need to study hard, boy. In the future, you'll definitely make more of yourself than your great grandfather did."

Li Sanjiang was not referring to unorthodox arts. What he took pride in was his ability to make a living and live comfortably. As for unorthodox arts... he did not even know whether he counted as part of that world, so he ignored the matter entirely.

"Mm, I know."

Li Zhuiyuan believed that as long as he continued reading, he should eventually learn what method Great Grandfather had used today.

Just then, Li Sanjiang began snoring. He had lost blood, he was exhausted, and he had fallen asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the thin blanket beside him and gently covered Great Grandfather's stomach, then closed his eyes as well.

It felt as if he had taken another short nap. When Li Zhuiyuan woke up, it was light outside.

He climbed over Li Sanjiang, who was still asleep, got out of bed, and went out to wash up.

While brushing his teeth, he habitually raised his head and looked toward the East Room.

Behind the East Room sat a little girl. Today, she wore a red dress, her feet resting on the door threshold.

Beside her, Grandma Liu was combing her hair.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled, and his mood brightened a little as well. He picked up his washbasin and returned to his room.

As he left the edge of the terrace, Qin Li raised her head and looked over.

"Mm?"

Liu Yumei removed the comb and asked, "Did Grandma hurt you?"

Qin Li lowered her head again, stared ahead, and said nothing.

Liu Yumei continued combing her hair and said with a smile, "You played for such a long time last night. Can you tell Grandma what was so fun?"

Qin Li did not answer.

In the yard, Aunt Liu began setting out wooden stools and preparing breakfast.

Li Zhuiyuan, now washed up, walked downstairs and saw the empty first floor, already cleaned spotless.

When he reached the yard, Aunt Liu smiled at him. "Little Yuan, breakfast is ready."

"All right, Aunt Liu."

Li Zhuiyuan sat down. On the wooden stool was a bowl of plain congee and a salted duck egg.

"Why aren't you eating? What are you sitting there daydreaming for?" Aunt Liu set down a bowl of fish aspic.

"I'm still groggy from sleeping."

"It's good to be a young man. You eat well and sleep well." Aunt Liu smiled and walked away.

Li Zhuiyuan silently picked up his Chopsticks. He remembered that at the closing banquet last night, the Cat-faced Old Woman had told someone to call the host family. Fat Master had gone upstairs, and several old woman Paper People had run out to summon the East and West Rooms.

Great Grandfather had been injured and bled, yet they acted as though nothing had happened.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his Chopsticks, lifted a piece of fish aspic, and put it in his mouth. It melted instantly, and the soybeans and chilies inside made it fragrant and delicious. It was perfect with congee.

At that moment, Grandma Liu led Qin Li over by the hand to the wooden stools. Qin Li sat down, while Grandma Liu crouched beside her and began the "prayer" she performed before every meal.

She had not tied her hair up today. Her smooth hair fell over her shoulders, and paired with her red dress, she looked both lively and dignified.

Thinking of how silly she had looked in the dream last night, Li Zhuiyuan could not help laughing.

Some people truly possessed this special charm. She could know nothing, and she did not even need to speak. She only had to stand there, and one glance at her could instantly bring joy.

It was like the exquisite vase Li Zhuiyuan had once seen freshly unearthed in the artifact storage room when he had accompanied his mother.

Perhaps hearing his laughter, Qin Li turned her head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was eating across from her.

Liu Yumei, still in the middle of her persuasion routine, looked over in confusion as well.

Li Zhuiyuan was slightly surprised. Could their interaction in the dream last night still carry over into the daytime reality?

Li Zhuiyuan pointed at the bowl of congee before him and softly called to her, "Eat."

Qin Li lowered her head, picked up her Chopsticks, and began sorting the various Pickles and the sliced duck egg, then ate them together with her congee.

Liu Yumei's eyes went wide, looking as though she had seen a ghost.

Qin Li ate even faster than Li Zhuiyuan. By the time Li Zhuiyuan put down his Chopsticks, Qin Li had already returned to sit inside the door threshold.

Aunt Liu quickly appeared. This time, she beat Li Zhuiyuan to it and gathered up the dishes and Chopsticks.

"Thank you, Aunt Liu."

"Next time, just leave them here after you finish eating. I'll collect them. You wouldn't want to make your Aunt Liu lose her job, would you?"

"I understand, Aunt Liu."

"Little Yuan, come make Grandma some tea," Liu Yumei called.

She was sitting in a bamboo reclining chair, with a tea set on the side table beside her.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over. During this time, Qin Li, who was sitting inside the door threshold, followed him with her eyes.

Liu Yumei noticed it and raised a hand, signaling Li Zhuiyuan to stop.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped and looked toward Qin Li as well. He began backing away, and Qin Li's gaze continued following him.

Liu Yumei fixed Li Zhuiyuan with an appraising look.

"Grandma, should I still make the tea?"

"Make it."

Li Zhuiyuan walked over and began brewing tea.

Liu Yumei, meanwhile, kept an eye on her granddaughter. Her granddaughter was looking this way. Heh, after all this time, she was finally able to make her granddaughter look at something, thanks to the boy beside her.

"Little Yuan..."

"Grandma..."

They spoke at the same time and both paused. Just as Liu Yumei decided not to yield and was about to continue, Li Zhuiyuan spoke more quickly:

"Grandma, why are you living at my Great Grandfather's place?"

Liu Yumei smiled. "Just making a living."

"But you don't lack a living. You're very wealthy. This tea set, and the jade thumb ring you said you'd give me yesterday, could already buy a home in the capital."

Then Li Zhuiyuan added, "Though the antique market hasn't peaked yet. It would be more worthwhile to sell them in ten years."

The Grandparents in the Family Courtyard who enjoyed collecting had begun asking around and buying old things in the alleys ten years ago. But they only bought and never sold, saying antiques thrived in prosperous times and should either be sold years later or left to their descendants.

"Little Yuan, you even know antiques?" Liu Yumei sat up slightly, her expression turning serious. "Did your Great Grandfather tell you that?"

In the antiques trade, everything depended on accumulated discernment and knowledge. The child before her was so young that Liu Yumei did not believe he could have figured it out himself.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

Not to mention the collections the Grandparents in the Family Courtyard loved showing off, he had followed his mother through museums and institutions all over the capital and seen antiques most often. Many genuine treasures were not displayed to the public.

"Little Yuan, Grandma lives here because the air is good and the climate is good. It's beneficial for A Li's illness."

"Oh, I understand. Grandma, what were you about to ask?"

Liu Yumei was a little surprised. The child believed her just like that?

She asked, "Why is A Li looking at you?"

Li Zhuiyuan said somewhat shyly, "Maybe because I looked at her too many times these past few days. She thought she was losing out and wanted to look back at me."

Liu Yumei: "..."

Sure enough, the child had not believed what she said.

"Grandma, have some tea."

"Mm."

The old woman and the young boy each drank tea. The gleam flowing through the tea was full of hidden calculations.

After finishing his tea, Li Zhuiyuan went to read. He first went behind the house to use the toilet. Passing the East Room on his way there and back, he greeted Qin Li both times, and Qin Li watched him intently.

Before he even entered the Main House, he heard his Great Grandfather's hoarse roar from the first floor:

"What's going on? What's going on? Where's my Paper Crafting? Where did it go?"

Li Zhuiyuan watched his Great Grandfather get so angry he nearly jumped up, then stomped his feet repeatedly after landing.

Aunt Liu came over and said, "There was a light rain last night. The rain blew in and ruined everything."

Li Sanjiang frowned. "What?"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Great Grandfather, you can get out of bed now?"

"Of course. Your Great Grandfather's body is still strong... No, we're talking about the Paper Crafting. What exactly happened?"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Aunt Liu is right. The rain blew in."

"This..." Li Sanjiang stood there with his mouth open. "This, this, this..."

Aunt Liu said, "Uncle, it's fine. A Li and I will stay up and make more right away. It won't affect the delivery."

"Is this about delivery? The materials..." Li Sanjiang felt a wave of frustration. The loss of the Paper Crafting hurt him even more than the hole in his own body.

He had money—the house, the tables, chairs, bowls, dishes, this Paper Crafting workshop... But he did not save money and lived freely. Now that an entire storeroom of goods was gone, his funds would become tight.

"Little Yuanhou, run over to Blind Liu's place for your Great Grandfather. Ask whether she's worked out the date for Niu Fu's mother's Memorial Birthday. If she hasn't, tell her to hurry up."

"Huh?" Li Zhuiyuan froze. After seeing Aunt Liu leave to get raw materials, he walked up to Li Sanjiang. "Great Grandfather, you're in this condition and you still want to handle a Memorial Birthday?"

Li Sanjiang replied as though it were only natural, "Isn't it precisely because I'm like this that I need to go?"

"With your health, what if you run into danger at the Niu family's place..."

"If I don't have money to spend, what's the point of having this body?"

Li Zhuiyuan did not know how to respond for a moment.

"Little Yuanhou, this is the life your Great Grandfather lives. I take whatever jobs are dangerous. Why? Because they aren't tiring and the money is good.

"This is your Great Grandfather's fate."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He could only make a trip to Liu Jinxia's home.

Cui Cui's paternal grandmother was ill and hospitalized—that was Cui Cui's father's mother. Li Juxiang had taken Cui Cui to the Health Center to visit her, so they were not home.

Liu Jinxia had already set up a bridge game that morning. When Li Zhuiyuan arrived, she was having a great time.

After hearing Li Zhuiyuan's message, Liu Jinxia flicked ash from her cigarette and said, "The day after tomorrow. It'll be the day after tomorrow. We'll go to Niu Fu's home in Shigang together that morning."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Grandma Liu, isn't that a little too soon?"

"Too soon for what? The sooner we finish the job, the sooner we collect the money. Hehehe. Besides, your Great Grandfather is there. What is there to worry about?"

If you knew what Great Grandfather looked like now, you wouldn't think that.

Li Zhuiyuan returned home and reported the date to Li Sanjiang.

"Alright, good, good, good."

Li Sanjiang lay in a rattan chair on the Second Floor Balcony, happily patting his leg as he pulled a cord on the wall beside him. Above the cord was a black wooden box nailed to the wall.

There was first a burst of static. After he pulled it again, the voice of a storyteller came through.

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and lit a cigarette. He smoked as he listened to the story. Though his body was covered in wounds, he still gave off an uninhibited, carefree air.

Perhaps sensing that Li Zhuiyuan was still standing beside him, Li Sanjiang said:

"Little Yuanhou, this is the life your Great Grandfather chose. I take whatever work is dangerous. Why? Because it isn't tiring and the profits are good.

"This is your Great Grandfather's fate."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He took out Volume Five of Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, walked to the southeastern corner of the balcony, sat down, and began studying.

As before, every time he turned a page, he looked up at the girl below.

He found that the girl was looking up at him too.

Very nice. Making eye contact was easier on the eyes.

But as he kept looking, Li Zhuiyuan realized that every time he looked down, he met her gaze.

Even Grandma Liu downstairs followed her granddaughter's line of sight and looked upward.

That meant whenever Li Zhuiyuan wanted to rest his eyes, he had to look at Grandma Liu along the way. It made resting his eyes feel rather strange.

So, until he finished Volume Five, Li Zhuiyuan did not look down again.

He went inside, took out Volume Six, and after sitting down, looked below. Grandma Liu had already sat in a nearby chair and begun reading the newspaper, but Qin Li still maintained her posture of looking up at him.

Could she have been holding that upward-looking posture the entire time?

Li Zhuiyuan felt a little guilty. Even while reading, he was restless and unable to fully calm down.

Grandma Liu, who was reading the newspaper downstairs, had actually been watching the balcony from the corner of her eye. Seeing the Child poke his head out now and then, with the frequency becoming increasingly erratic, she could not help but sneer inwardly.

That was how men were. When they came and went freely, they took it for granted. Once responsibility bound them, they became restless and unsettled.

But soon, Liu Yumei lowered her newspaper in surprise. She saw Li Zhuiyuan run downstairs. He smiled as he passed her, then headed straight for her granddaughter.

"You..."

Before Liu Yumei could finish speaking, she saw the Boy bend down and reach for her granddaughter's hand.

"Danger..."

Liu Yumei knew what terrifying reaction her granddaughter would have when touched by outsiders. This Boy would be scratched until his head was bloody. Even as her grandmother, she did not dare make overly intimate gestures.

Then Liu Yumei sprang to her feet. She saw that after the Boy held her granddaughter's hand, her granddaughter stood up with him.

What... was going on?

When her granddaughter stared at the Boy that morning, she had deliberately used the excuse of making tea to inspect him closely, checking whether there was something dirty hanging off him that had attracted her granddaughter's attention.

But this interaction had already exceeded Liu Yumei's understanding.

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Li's hand. Her hand was warm and soft.

"If you keep looking up like this, your neck will get tired. How about coming upstairs to read with me?"

Qin Li looked at Li Zhuiyuan without speaking.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

Li Zhuiyuan bent down, picked up the Small Stool Qin Li had been sitting on, then pulled her toward the house.

Liu Yumei did not stop them. On the contrary, after her initial shock, tears immediately filled her eyes as she watched the young boy and girl walk away hand in hand.

She covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that a sob might escape.

She even bit the back of her hand, making sure she was not dreaming.

Bang!

Aunt Liu, who was busy making Paper People on the first floor, dropped a basin of paste directly onto the ground. It splashed everywhere. Fortunately, Li Sanjiang was on the second floor, or he would have been stomping in pain again.

Creak...

Uncle Qin, who was assembling a house frame, directly tore off the paper house's roof beam.

They looked at each other, both thinking their eyes had deceived them. What had they just seen? A Li had been led upstairs by the hand by an outsider?

The two immediately dropped their work and ran out into the yard. Not seeing Liu Yumei, they went to the East Room and found her standing before the Spirit Tablets, crying tears of joy as she said:

"Did you see it? Did you see it? Our A Li, our A Li..."

Li Sanjiang was listening to the storytelling broadcast and humming a tune. He turned to grab his tea mug and had just taken a sip when he saw Li Zhuiyuan emerge from the stairway holding hands with Qin Li.

Pfft!

Li Sanjiang sprayed the water from his mouth.

"Great Grandfather, do you want me to add more water?"

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan lead Qin Li toward him, Li Sanjiang immediately waved his hands.

"No, no, no need. Take her away. Stay farther from me! No, you too..."

Li Zhuiyuan led Qin Li to the southeastern corner and set down the stool.

"Sit."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan returned to the rattan chair and picked up his book. As soon as he turned a page, he felt something was off and got up again. "Stand up for a moment."

Qin Li stood up. Li Zhuiyuan moved away her Small Stool and replaced it with a taller stool that Yingzi Jie had brought up yesterday, placing it beside him.

"Sit."

Qin Li looked at the new stool but did not sit.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little puzzled, but he quickly seemed to realize something and wiped the stool with his sleeve cuff.

"Sit. It's clean now."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan placed the book on a wooden stool as well, no longer holding it while lying back to read.

They were very close, their heads nearly touching.

Qin Li's gaze remained fixed on him, while he could keep the girl's face within his field of vision as he read.

The girl's hair was occasionally lifted by the wind and brushed against his face. Her fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.

The feeling was very strange.

Reading and resting his eyes at the same time,

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he had found the most efficient way to read.

From a distance, Li Sanjiang went from initial shock to fear, then worry, then utter disbelief...

After watching for a long time and confirming that the girl was simply sitting there obediently staring at his great grandson without causing any danger, his eyes... showed approval!

This Little Yuanhou really was different from how his mother had been as a child.

When Li Lan was in school, she often received love letters. Her response had been to bring every single love letter straight to the principal's office.

That day, no one knew how many Boys had their parents summoned. The principal's office was filled with the sounds of belts and slaps.

"Not bad, very good. Looks like our Little Yuanhou has been smarter and sharper than his mother was since he was little. Hehe."

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and continued listening to the story.

Near noon, Li Zhuiyuan felt the urge to urinate. It was probably from the tea he had drunk with Grandma Liu that morning. He asked Qin Li:

"Do you need to use the toilet?"

Qin Li did not speak.

"Then sit here. I'll go to the toilet and come right back."

Qin Li did not react.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, ran downstairs, and went around the house. The large vegetable plot behind the house could have been used as a convenient spot, but just as he stopped, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he found Qin Li there.

She had followed him.

"Uh..."

Li Zhuiyuan could only betray the teachings of Pan Zi and Leizi Ge. He turned, lifted the curtain, and entered the toilet.

As he stopped again, the curtain was lifted and she entered too.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to lead her out of the toilet by the hand. "I came here to relieve myself. If you follow me in, I can't relieve myself. Can you wait here until I come out?"

Qin Li did not react.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the curtain and entered the toilet again. After waiting a while and not hearing the curtain being lifted, he finally untied his belt.

Beside the toilet was a water vat. After scooping up water with a dipper to wash his hands, Li Zhuiyuan walked out and saw Qin Li obediently standing where she was this time.

"Do you need to use the toilet? If so, you should go too."

Qin Li walked toward the toilet and lifted the curtain, but her hand was grabbed. She stopped and turned back to look at Li Zhuiyuan, her eyes full of confusion.

It was the same confusion she had shown last night at the dinner table, when Li Zhuiyuan told her to eat but then wouldn't let her eat.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little worried about whether she knew how to use the toilet by herself, seeing how Grandma Liu usually took care of her...

In short, he knew very little about Qin Li. He only knew... she was pretty.

Li Zhuiyuan was about to go ask Grandma Liu when he looked up toward the corridor and saw Liu Yumei peeking her head out.

"Grandma Liu..."

"Our A Li can eat by herself, use the toilet by herself, and bathe by herself. Our A Li is just like everyone else."

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and let go.

Qin Li went into the toilet.

Li Zhuiyuan stayed where he was, feeling Liu Yumei's burning gaze sweep over him again and again.

"Little Yuan."

"Grandma Liu."

"Just play with our A Li. Keep her company."

"Okay, Grandma Liu."

The sound of handwashing came from the toilet, and then Qin Li walked out, holding both hands out in front of her.

Grandma Liu hurriedly reminded her, "Wipe your hands, wipe your hands."

"Oh."

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, took Qin Li's hands, and wiped them on his shirt.

"There, clean now."

Qin Li pulled back her hands.

On the way back to the second floor, Li Zhuiyuan took a clean towel and draped it over his shoulder.

Back at the northeast corner of the terrace, Li Zhuiyuan sat down to read. Once Qin Li sat down, her pretty face entered his field of view as well.

He finished Volume Six.

Li Zhuiyuan stretched, then stood up, walked to an open area, and seriously began doing the National Middle School Broadcast Exercises.

Just as he finished and took out Volume Seven, Aunt Liu called from downstairs that lunch was ready.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li went downstairs.

Li Sanjiang ate separately from them, as usual, and Grandma Liu led Qin Li over to that side.

After Li Sanjiang sat down, he took out a bottle of baijiu.

"Great Grandfather, you're injured. You can't drink."

"Pah! Your great grandfather is already halfway into the grave. Every extra drink I get is a profit."

Ignoring his great grandson's advice, Li Sanjiang poured himself a full cup. He had just taken a sip and picked up his chopsticks to get some food to settle it when he saw a figure suddenly walk over. It was Qin Li.

Behind her were Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu, who had followed after her.

"I'm sorry. Everything was ready on our side, and we were just about to eat when A Li ran from the table."

"Come, A Li. Go back with Grandma and eat first. You can play with Little Yuan after you finish."

Qin Li could not be pulled away. She simply stood there, looking at Li Zhuiyuan.

As Liu Yumei tugged at her, her eyelashes began to twitch slightly, and her body gradually started trembling.

Liu Yumei could only let go, not daring to pull her any further.

Other than having issues with Li Weihan's family of four ungrateful wretches, Li Sanjiang was not a petty man. He waved a hand and said, "Let the girl eat here. Set out another pair of chopsticks."

"Then thank you." Liu Yumei hurriedly thanked him. "Sorry to trouble you."

Li Sanjiang waved his hand. "What are you saying? It's good that the two little kids can play together. They both have company, so they won't be lonely."

Aunt Liu brought over a bowl, chopsticks, and a Small Stool.

Li Zhuiyuan took the towel from his shoulder and wiped the stool for her. "Sit down and eat with us."

Qin Li did not move.

Liu Yumei said, "A Li, sit down and eat with us."

Qin Li still did not sit down. However, she turned sideways toward Li Sanjiang. Though she did not look at him, her meaning was clear.

She did not want to eat with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang was holding up his cup, ready to drink. Seeing this, he asked blankly,

"Then... should I leave?"

Liu Yumei said nothing, but inwardly she was delighted that her granddaughter was expressing emotions rather than through one of those episodes.

Li Zhuiyuan did not respond either. He silently wiped the Small Stool again.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips. "Heh, heh heh. Fine. Tinghou, divide up the dishes for me. I'll sit over there."

"Ah, okay, okay. Sorry to trouble you, Uncle. I'm really sorry."

Aunt Liu immediately divided the dishes and set up a separate table elsewhere for Li Sanjiang.

Qin Li finally sat down.

Liu Yumei looked expectantly at Li Zhuiyuan. "Little Yuan, tell A Li to eat."

It had been the same in the morning. She had to coax her for ages every time, yet one word from this boy and A Li had eaten.

"Wait a moment." Li Zhuiyuan stood up and ran into the kitchen.

Qin Li also wanted to stand, but then she saw Li Zhuiyuan return carrying four Small Dishes and a small bowl.

Li Zhuiyuan divided the food, placing portions into the Small Dishes, then ladled soup into the small bowl.

There seemed to be a little more brightness in Qin Li's eyes.

Liu Yumei watched this with some curiosity.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "All right, eat."

Qin Li picked up her chopsticks and began eating.

She took one bite of food from each dish, then one bite of rice, moving down the row. After finishing the row of dishes, she took a sip of soup before repeating the process.

Liu Yumei was surprised that her granddaughter seemed to be eating so easily this time, even with the faint delight of a young girl.

"So that works too?"

Li Zhuiyuan smiled. The food remaining on the serving plates was all his, and he began eating too.

Thanks to having a desk mate with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, he naturally understood how to get along with someone of the same kind.

Qin Li ate quickly. On the final round, she finished every bit of food in the dishes, took the final sip of soup, and ate every grain of rice exactly clean.

She put down her chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel, folded it, and wiped the corners of her mouth and her hands. The towel was large enough to have many functional sections.

After lunch, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li back to the terrace to read.

He was reading Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu faster and faster. By dusk, he had already reached Volume Twelve.

He felt he could increase this pace tomorrow. In just a few days, he would finish the introductory encyclopedia and then be able to search the boxes in the basement for treasure again.

During that time, whenever he drank water, he gave Qin Li water too. Whenever he went to the toilet, he took Qin Li along as well.

He rarely ate snacks, but afraid she might get hungry, he opened several bags and shared them with her.

After every time, he had to wipe her hands. Since he used the towel himself too, it was getting dirtier and dirtier.

Li Sanjiang grumbled unhappily, asking why Yingzi had not come to tutor him today.

Li Zhuiyuan thought his sister was probably at home working through the problems he had helped her solve yesterday.

But Li Sanjiang believed Yingzi thought Li Zhuiyuan was too difficult to tutor and did not want to come anymore.

At dinner, Li Sanjiang still had a table to himself.

This time, Liu Yumei had prepared Small Dishes and portioned out the food for her granddaughter in advance, but when Qin Li sat down, she did not pick up her chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his own chopsticks and slightly adjusted the amount of food in each Small Dish.

Qin Li picked up her chopsticks and began eating.

Liu Yumei said, "A Li, Grandma was careless. I didn't control the portions properly."

In truth, the old woman thought, Hmph, as if Grandma can't remember how much you eat in one bite. This girl is doing it on purpose!

Yet the old woman was not dissatisfied at all, only happy. These were all good signs. She was not afraid of Qin Li throwing a tantrum; she was afraid of her shutting herself off completely like before, like a block of wood. That was true despair.

Liu Yumei turned to look at Li Sanjiang, who was sitting alone and drinking gloomily, then at Li Zhuiyuan in front of her, her heart full of emotion.

After living here for so long, had good fortune finally arrived?

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan did not plan to read under the Desk Lamp tonight. He had read a little too much today and felt tired. He planned to go back, bathe, and sleep.

Seeing that Qin Li still wanted to keep following him, he said seriously,

"A Li, go back, wash up, and sleep. I need to sleep too. We'll read together again tomorrow, okay?"

Qin Li said nothing.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and walked toward the Stairs. Then he stopped and looked back, only to find that she had not followed him. Instead, she was obediently following Liu Yumei toward the East Room. Only then did he relax and head upstairs to bathe.

After bathing, Li Zhuiyuan planned to take out the dirty towel and give it a thorough wash, only to discover that the towel he had been keeping over his shoulder was gone.

"Did I leave it somewhere?"

In the East Room, Liu Yumei watched her freshly washed granddaughter lie down to sleep, her old heart filled with comfort.

Smiling, she left the inner bedroom and came to the place where the Spirit Tablets were enshrined.

Today, she had much she wanted to tell A Li's Grandpa, A Li's maternal grandfather and grandmother, as well as A Li's parents.

She had protected her for so long, and now there was finally hope for her recovery. Surely they, along with their ancestors, would be happy.

After all, A Li was the Qin Liu Families' only remaining bloodline.

Sitting before the Spirit Tablets, Liu Yumei was about to begin when she suddenly noticed that something seemed wrong with the six-tiered tablet rack.

Logically, no one should have touched this place. There were only these few people in the house, and Qin Li and Liu Ting would never dare touch it while cleaning.

But what exactly was wrong?

Liu Yumei carefully examined it several times from top to bottom before finally spotting what had been hidden in plain sight.

On the very center of the third tier of Spirit Tablets, the tablet that had originally belonged to A Li's Grandpa—her own husband—was gone!

In its place

was a dirty towel, folded into a small square and placed there...