Chapter 21

"So, Brother Liangliang, does this mean that the statue unearthed at the riverworks site and the coffin pried open at the farm both dated back at least three hundred years?"

"That was one way to understand it. But the strange thing was, three hundred years was indeed a long time, yet it shouldn't have erased every trace of local worship customs concerning the Bai Family Empress. Even the elderly had no impression of her at all.

Yet the local chronicles recorded her clearly, and we even unearthed her temple. Both written records and physical ruins existed. It was impossible for there to be absolutely nothing preserved in folk customs. That was too strange."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "Brother Liangliang, a retired old professor once told me that existence might not necessarily be reasonable, but everything that existed had a reason."

"Little Yuan, you mean nonexistence must also have a reason?"

"Yeah. I think maybe the Bai Family Empress wasn't suitable for worship, nor was she suitable to become part of a folk custom. Her image—or rather, the image of the Bai family and Bai Family Town—might have been very different from what we imagined.

"I just read through the local chronicles you brought back, Brother Liangliang. They did record quite a few deeds of the Bai Family Empress. They really did many things during the Ming-Qing period, and the style of the records resembled strange tale stories. But generally, they lacked one thing...

"The endings of those strange tale stories usually added descriptions like, 'The local people were grateful for her kindness, built a temple and molded a statue in her likeness, and incense offerings never ceased.'

"But the local chronicles' accounts of the Bai Family Empress were really just accounts. If it happened once or twice, maybe it was simply omitted. But none of the related records mentioned it.

"Yet there were quite a few other related temples in this area. Real-life heroes, Taoist priests and monks from strange tales, even the Dragon King's son from the East Sea—all had records with the kind of ending I mentioned.

"Even if their incense offerings varied in prosperity now, at least one could still find a temple dedicated to them.

"Therefore, I believed there had to be a reason why the Bai Family Empress was cut off from local folk customs.

"Their deeds involved 'slaying demons and eliminating evil,' but perhaps their purpose wasn't to 'protect the people.'"

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan in astonishment again. He had already lost count of how many times he had looked at this elementary school student that way today.

"Brother Liangliang, do you remember what the temple unearthed at the riverworks site looked like?"

"I did. It was tiny and cramped. If not for the height of the statue, I would've suspected that whoever built it had planned to copy the size of the little Earth God shrines by village roads."

"And the chains..."

"Right, the chains. That statue was bound in chains, and the other ends were connected all around the temple. Without smashing the chains apart, it would've been hard to topple the temple with manpower alone."

"Then it shouldn't have been for worship. It was more like a place of suppression."

"Suppression?" Xue Liangliang immediately showed a look of realization. "Right! Wasn't that exactly it? Who would use that kind of image to receive incense offerings and worship?"

Then Xue Liangliang began pacing excitedly.

"The arrangement inside the coffin at the farm and the words carved into the wooden sculptures also stated that it was for suppression. Didn't the logic behind the Bai Family Empress's actions in those two places line up?

"But why wouldn't the people appreciate this kind of self-sacrifice for righteousness?"

"What if Bai Family Town only cared about the process and not the result?"

"Little Yuan, you meant the Bai Family Empresses only wanted to suppress Haunting with themselves. As for whether what they suppressed really was Haunting, and how that Haunting came about in the first place—that was worth considering?

"Ah... if that Haunting had been released by them, raised by them, and then suppressed by them, then the people truly wouldn't just fail to thank them. They would avoid them like the plague.

"That made everything make sense."

"Mm."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu contained quite a few accounts of Death Collapse among corrupt practitioners of the mystic sects. Those people who pursued ascension through Corpse Raising would stop at nothing.

Within that group, there was a widely held belief:

Lakes were places for raising corpses, rivers were ladders to heaven, and where rivers entered the sea was where one ascended through the Heavenly Gate.

Nantong lay at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and Chongming Island was practically the gateway of the Yangtze. From the perspective of those people's peculiar way of thinking, wasn't that basically the entrance to the Heavenly Gate?

The crooked-path mystic sect practitioners from upstream Mountain City either painstakingly nurtured their own corpses or occupied someone else's coffin like a magpie taking over a nest. Once the time was right, they would travel down the river toward the sea, requiring tremendous time and effort to plan it all.

The Bai family, on the other hand, were much more straightforward. They directly "suppressed Haunting" at the entrance to the Heavenly Gate, using the absurd trick of stepping on their own left foot with their right, all in pursuit of ascension.

Thinking of this, Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his temples. Their ideas were bizarre, but they really did have a worldview that one could follow into. He himself had followed it.

"Little Yuan, that was why your sister's grandparents died so horribly. The farm owner still hadn't been found, but he might have already been killed too.

"By all rights, that shouldn't have happened.

"If the Bai Family Empress was on the side of justice, and the porcelain bottle had sealed away Haunting, why would that Haunting be so eager to harm the benefactors who released it? And why would it strike so ruthlessly, leaving no room at all?

"So the one who had truly flown into a rage and begun killing people was the Bai Family Empress, who appeared to represent justice!"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang with the same astonishment.

Xue Liangliang had never read Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, yet he had managed to infer something so profound just from ordinary clues.

"Then Zhao Hequan..." Xue Liangliang was still worried about his classmate. "Didn't that mean the Bai Family Empress at the riverworks site had set her sights on him, concentrating all her revenge on him?"

If it had merely been an offense, then an apology and a few good words might have settled it. But if one had already ruined someone's plans, then one would incur revenge to the death!

Xue Liangliang asked in confusion, "But why did that Bai Family Empress spare you and me? No, this had nothing to do with you. She should have let me go?"

"Maybe she could only choose one person."

The scene from that night's dream was very clear. The woman could only take one of them away. She had repeatedly hesitated between him and Zhao Hequan, as though she had sensed something unusual about him, which had left her conflicted.

"Huh?"

"That was what the book said."

"Oh, there was such a rule? Didn't that mean Zhao Hequan was doomed?"

"That was how it felt."

"Then we..." Xue Liangliang waved at Li Zhuiyuan. "Hurry and set up the Offering Table. We need to completely cut ties with her while we still have time!"

Once he realized that she had not generously forgiven him out of kindness, but simply couldn't spare a hand to deal with him for the moment, Xue Liangliang felt an urgent sense of danger.

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan thought Xue Liangliang made sense. He pointed at his cabinet. "Brother Liangliang, the snacks are in there, and there are wooden stools outside. Clean them up and set out two tables. Make sure it's an even number... Put four portions on each table. I'll go downstairs to get incense, candles, and joss paper."

After assigning their tasks, Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and brought back candles and joss paper. By the time he returned, Xue Liangliang had already arranged two small Offering Tables in the bedroom.

The two of them immediately began the offering ritual.

In the East Room, Qin Li, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened her eyes.

Liu Yumei, who sat nearby fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan while resting with her eyes closed, also woke at once. She gently covered her granddaughter's face with the fan, blocking her view, and said softly:

"Be good, it's all right. They're cutting off the last bit of karma. Get some proper rest. You still need to go play with Little Yuan tomorrow morning."

Qin Li slowly closed her eyes.

Liu Yumei looked toward the screen window. Through it, she could see the night sky outside.

After a long while, she muttered to herself in a faintly mocking tone:

"What era was this, and they were still dreaming that kind of beautiful dream?"

Just as she had closed her eyes and was about to go back to sleep—

The next moment,

Liu Yumei and Qin Li opened their eyes at the same time.

This time, Qin Li's eyes were deep and focused. Rarely, when she was not looking at Li Zhuiyuan, her pupils had a clear point of focus.

Liu Yumei's expression was slightly more solemn than before, but she still held the palm-leaf fan and moved it back and forth above Qin Li, as if cutting something apart.

Qin Li looked at her grandmother beside her.

Liu Yumei said, "Be good, this one isn't looking for Little Yuan. Go to sleep. You can't be greedy for fun tonight, or you'll be listless tomorrow. You wouldn't want to see Little Yuan with two dark circles under your eyes, would you?"

Qin Li closed her eyes again.

Liu Yumei felt somewhat lost. She had gradually gotten used to using Li Zhuiyuan's name to communicate with her granddaughter. It was heartbreaking, yet effective.

She got up and out of bed, pulled open the screen window, then shut the outer window, completely sealing off the outside.

"Out of sight, out of mind. Sleep."

After the offering ritual ended, Xue Liangliang was responsible for cleaning up the burned paper ashes. He had always been meticulous.

When he returned, he saw Li Zhuiyuan looking at him. "Brother Liangliang, look at your arm."

Hearing that, Xue Liangliang immediately rolled up his sleeve and saw that not even the slightest mark remained. He quickly asked excitedly:

"There's not a trace left. Little Yuan, what about you?"

"I don't have any either."

"Whew..." Xue Liangliang let out a long breath. "So that meant we succeeded?"

"Mm, probably. It was just that classmate of yours..."

The connection on their side had been severed, which meant the Bai Family Empress statue could focus all her attention on taking revenge against that person.

Xue Liangliang did not seem particularly saddened. Instead, he touched his forehead and both shoulders in sequence and said:

"The Lord will bless him."

Li Zhuiyuan's lips tightened as he tried not to laugh.

He could tell that when Xue Liangliang had previously said he wanted to save his classmate, he had meant it sincerely. But that did not prevent him from letting go of that desire once he realized how terrifying and serious the situation was.

Xue Liangliang reached out and rubbed the tip of Li Zhuiyuan's nose. "In life, you have to learn to let things go. If you want to live happily, you have to learn not to exhaust yourself emotionally."

As he spoke, Xue Liangliang turned around and asked, "The shower room is out back, right? I'll go wash up first."

Watching his departing figure leave the room, Li Zhuiyuan slowly fell into thought.

Xue Liangliang's words had stirred something within him.

Maybe it was precisely because he kept thinking about how to play himself well that he had become less and less like himself.

Li Sanjiang's bedroom walls were covered with images of deities.

He had bought them all in one go at the temple fair two years ago, then tossed them into a cabinet without using them. Today, they had all come in handy.

Among them was one picture of a kind-faced old man with the air of an immortal. Li Sanjiang placed him in the center.

He thought it was Laozi. Actually... it was Confucius.

After a day of hard work, he was truly tired. Once he finished arranging everything, he went to sleep early.

Then he dreamed.

It was strange. Ever since he had performed the Fortune-Transfer Ritual with Little Yuanhou, his dreams had become especially frequent.

But this time, the dream was not on the roof of the town Health Center. It was on a road.

He turned his head to the right and saw a familiar gate. On one side of the gate hung the sign he had kissed many times during the day.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Li Sanjiang turned around and saw a petite figure slowly emerging from the shadows, filled with immense resentment.

Without hesitation, Li Sanjiang ran straight into the Police Station.

The little girl stood outside the Police Station, her expression venomous, her mouth opening and closing.

On the first night he dreamed of her, he had heard her threats clearly. She wanted him dead. When he had dozed off on the tractor, her voice had become blurred.

But now,

he could only watch her little mouth open and close continuously. Although he could not hear a thing, she was probably cursing viciously.

"Heh heh."

Li Sanjiang chuckled, then lay down on his own.

When dealing with someone who could be reasoned with, he did not mind swallowing his pride, begging a little, softening his words, or even kneeling and kowtowing.

But Haunting was ultimately transformed from people. Some people could communicate, while others simply could not.

When faced with someone like that, even giving her one extra bit of attention was a waste of energy.

At least in dreams, Li Sanjiang had seen the world. After all, he had led a group of Zombies in morning exercises at the Forbidden City in a dream.

So Li Sanjiang lay down directly, folded his hands together, and placed them over his navel.

He was tired, so he went to sleep.

Outside in the real world, Xue Liangliang walked out of the shower room while drying his hair. He curiously looked at the willow tree diagonally across from the house.

The willow branches swayed constantly as if blown by the wind, yet strangely, he did not feel even the slightest breeze where he stood.

"That's strange. Why couldn't the wind blow in here?"

He did not think much of it. What had happened today was already too bizarre, and he had no interest in studying wind direction.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw Li Zhuiyuan sitting at the desk under a lit lamp, reading a book.

Leaning closer, he saw that the words inside were packed densely together and absurdly tiny. He could not help worrying.

"Reading such tiny print at night can easily make you nearsighted."

"It won't, Brother Liangliang. I'm used to it. I can recognize what it says with just a quick glance."

"That amazing?" Xue Liangliang did not think Li Zhuiyuan was lying and climbed into bed first.

An old-fashioned wooden bed had one defining feature: it was spacious enough.

"Little Yuan, are you sleeping on the outside or the inside?"

"Either is fine."

"Then I'll sleep on the outside. Kids feel safer sleeping on the inside."

"Mm."

"When are you planning to sleep?"

"I'll read a little longer, then take a shower and go to bed."

"I think it's fine to treat these things as a hobby, but you still need to put more effort into your studies."

"Mm, I know."

Normally, Xue Liangliang would definitely have lectured him a few more times. But today, he could not bring himself to. Thinking carefully, he had really relied on the useless books Li Zhuiyuan read to solve a major problem today.

So he changed his tone. "Little Yuan, thinking about it, this is actually pretty interesting. Before the day before yesterday, I really never expected these things to actually exist in the world. But somehow, I don't seem that scared. It wasn't that I wasn't afraid, just that I wasn't as panicked."

"Fear came from the unknown. Brother Liangliang, you already traced the Bai Family Empress back to her hometown. What was there left to fear?"

"That's true. But do you think I should read some books on this stuff too? Do you have any recommendations?"

Li Zhuiyuan hesitated before saying, "These books belonged to my Great Grandfather. I can't decide whether to lend them to you. You have to ask him first."

"Then forget it. Your Great Grandfather worked in this field professionally. These books must be his treasures. He definitely wouldn't lend them to outsiders easily."

On that point, Xue Liangliang was mistaken.

For all these years, Li Sanjiang had merely left box after box of books in the basement to gather dust.

"Little Yuan, what's the phone number for your village? Let's exchange contact information."

Li Zhuiyuan gave him the phone number for the village committee, along with the number for the Village Store.

Usually, villagers who wanted to make calls went to one of those two places. Calls from outside also went there. The caller would say whom they wanted, hang up to give someone time to fetch that person, then call again about fifteen minutes later.

Li Zhuiyuan had memorized those numbers because he hoped his mother would call him. And his mother truly did not disappoint his expectations—not once had she called.

"Forget it, I'll write them down." Xue Liangliang got out of bed, walked over to the desk, and wrote the numbers on a piece of paper. Then he sighed.

Although Li Zhuiyuan had kept his head lowered over his book, he could still divide his attention and said:

"Brother Liangliang, are you going to say that one day, every household will have a telephone?"

"That day will come. Do you believe it?"

"I do, but pagers seem to be the popular thing right now."

A few years ago, pagers had begun entering the country and quickly became popular on a massive scale. Young people in the cities were especially proud to wear one on their belts.

"I was planning to get one myself. I'll get yours at the same time and give you one. How about it, Little Yuan?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "I won't have any use for one."

"Oh, right." Xue Liangliang slapped his forehead. "I said I'd buy you snacks and toys, but I completely forgot. Once I get back to school, I'll mail them to you."

"Thank you, Brother Liangliang."

"I'll sleep first, then." Xue Liangliang climbed back into bed, and soon fell asleep.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished the volume in his hands, he went to the shower room to bathe. As he passed Great Grandfather's bedroom, he could clearly hear Great Grandfather snoring through the door.

It seemed Great Grandfather was sleeping soundly.

Back in his own bedroom, he placed a new toothbrush in the washbasin, then climbed into the inner side of the bed, lay down, and went to sleep.

The next day, Xue Liangliang woke up very early.

He had a particular trait: while he slept deeply, he also slept relatively little. He needed only half as much sleep as others to recover even more energy.

Opening his eyes, he glanced at Li Zhuiyuan, who was still asleep beside him. Xue Liangliang could not help thinking that it would be amusing if this child really got into Haihe University someday and became his schoolmate.

He quietly got out of bed and spotted the new toothbrush in the washbasin. Picking it up, he prepared to wash up. He had just pulled open the door when—

"Mom!!!"

Xue Liangliang was so frightened that he dropped the washbasin in his hands. The cup, towel, and toothbrush scattered all over the floor.

Anyone opening their door first thing in the morning to find a little girl silently standing outside would probably be startled.

Li Zhuiyuan was awakened by the noise. He hurriedly climbed out of bed, ran over while rubbing his eyes, took Qin Li's hand with his other hand, and urged:

"Brother Liangliang, hurry up and wash."

"Oh, okay."

Xue Liangliang immediately picked up his things and went out. What he did not know was that if Li Zhuiyuan had gotten out of bed even a moment later, he might have ended up covered in wounds.

Because when Li Zhuiyuan took A Li's hand, her body had already begun to tremble. That was a sign she was about to lash out.

Normally, according to his usual habits, Li Zhuiyuan could sleep in. Even if A Li arrived while he was still asleep, she would quietly come in and sit there waiting for him to wake up.

But Xue Liangliang had slept here last night, interrupting that routine.

And because of his shout, everyone in the house ended up having breakfast earlier.

After washing up, they were eating breakfast when Aunt Zhang from the Village Store shouted across the wheat field, "Grandpa Sanjiang, phone call!"

"Oh, coming!"

Li Sanjiang tucked some pickled vegetables into his bowl, then carried his porridge bowl and chopsticks outside, scooping porridge into his mouth as he went.

When he arrived at the Village Store, the phone rang again after the time it took to smoke a cigarette. He answered it. It was Yingzi's aunt, Chen Xiaoling.

Chen Xiaoling said the owner of the breeding farm had been found. He had died at a widow's house in town, and the widow was quite devoted to him, already preparing to hold a funeral for him.

But the items had not been found. Apparently, that singer had also been there, and the three of them often spent time together.

The singer was not a local. They had also gone to ask at her workplace, only to learn that she had stopped showing up last week without notice. Even the identity information she had registered was fake.

They currently suspected that the missing jewelry and porcelain bottle were in that woman's hands, but finding her now would be very difficult.

Zhou Hai, on the other hand, should soon be cleared of suspicion and released by noon.

Chen Xiaoling anxiously asked what she and her husband should do, because she had another nightmare last night.

Li Sanjiang patiently comforted her for a few moments, then told her that after Zhou Hai got out, the two of them should go burn incense beneath Langshan Zhiyun Pagoda.

Chen Xiaoling asked uneasily if that would be enough.

Li Sanjiang then suggested that they burn incense at the other four mountains today as well: Junshan Mountain, Huangni Mountain, Ma'an Mountain, and Jian Mountain.

In truth, Li Sanjiang had no idea whether it would work. He simply did not want to keep getting involved in this matter.

Yesterday, he and the Bai Family Empress had effectively cut ties. Even a bad break was still a break.

There was no need for him to keep wading through this muddy water for Zhou Hai and his wife. They were not paying him, they were not close relatives, and that thing was so fierce. Why bother?

Besides, this whole thing had started because of their own greed and foolishness. He had already done everything he reasonably could.

Thinking about having to burn incense at five mountains, Chen Xiaoling felt much more reassured. She repeatedly thanked Li Sanjiang over the phone, then hung up just as the timer was nearing sixty seconds.

Aunt Zhang said with a smile, "Grandpa Sanjiang, you've really got a lot of work now. When I went to the wholesale department in Shigang for supplies, I even heard people talking about you."

"It's not all good things. Just getting by. Come on, give me a pack of Da Qianmen."

"Sure thing."

This was an unspoken custom in the village. You could not make someone run around for you for nothing. If you took a phone call, you had to buy something, even if it was only two candies for the children.

With the cigarettes tucked away, he headed home. When he reached the intersection just before turning in, he saw Xue Liangliang walking out.

"Grandpa, I'm heading back to school."

"What? You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, I only took one day off."

"Then be careful on the road."

"Okay, Grandpa. I'll come see you again sometime."

"Heh heh."

Li Sanjiang gave a dry chuckle and waved him off. The boy had slept at his house, eaten breakfast, and was leaving without even tutoring his great-grandson. College students really were shrewd.

Just as he was about to go inside, he saw someone in the distance riding a bicycle straight toward him. The person looked familiar. After thinking carefully, he remembered that this seemed to be someone from the Niu Family—Niu Fu's youngest son.

The man quickly got off his bicycle, pushed it as he jogged up to Li Sanjiang, and anxiously said:

"Grandpa Sanjiang, please go take another look at my dad. Something happened to him."

Li Sanjiang frowned and said directly, "Sigh, so it still happened. But that has nothing to do with me now. That's fate and destiny."

What a joke. Li Sanjiang was not a television salesman at a department store. How could he possibly provide after-sales service?

"No, Grandpa, really. It's not just my dad. My second uncle and my aunt have also had accidents. Everyone is terrified, so they sent me to beg you to take another look."

"That won't do, that won't do. Making one exception already took a lot out of me. If I keep making exceptions, how am I supposed to live? My coffin hasn't even been painted yet."

"Grandpa, please, I'm begging you. Our family can only count on you now." As he spoke, he pulled out a red envelope from his pocket and shoved it into Li Sanjiang's hand.

Li Sanjiang's attitude softened at the thickness of the red envelope.

"Then... I can only go take a look. If something truly has happened, I'm afraid there may not be much I can do. At most, I can pray for you younger ones, offer you some protection, and cleanse the feng shui."

"That would be wonderful. That's enough. Really, we'd be so grateful."

In truth, these younger relatives did not care all that much about the three elders. They feared that after the three of them suffered mishaps one after another, the next batch would be them.

"You go back first. I need to tidy up and prepare here. I'll come over this afternoon."

"Okay, okay, Grandpa. We'll wait for you at home."

After the man rode away, Li Sanjiang walked along the narrow path through the rice fields and opened the red envelope. When he confirmed that every bill was a Da Tuanjie, a smile could not help appearing on his face.

Heh, getting a windfall so early in the morning felt great.

Exactly. How could he keep getting nothing but lousy jobs?

Actually, just as Liu Jinxia had said, this line of work inevitably involved a mix of bluffing and deceit. Most of the time, it was merely putting on a show.

But it depended on the person. Some people were already full of filth themselves. If he humored them and made money off them, so be it. Consider it helping them avert disaster by losing money. That still counted as helping.

Back home, Li Sanjiang did not make any preparations. He lay down in the rattan chair on the Second Floor Balcony, turned on the radio, and planned to nap until afternoon before heading out.

As he adjusted his position, Li Sanjiang saw the two children in the northeast corner, each lying in a small reclining chair side by side.

The chairs had been made oddly as well. One lacked its right armrest, while the other lacked its left. Pushed together, they made a perfect pair, with nothing separating them in the middle.

"Brat, you really know how to enjoy life."

Near noon, a bare-chested youth pushed a cart up onto the embankment. It was Run Sheng.

He had accompanied Grandpa Shan to get dentures fitted, looked after his injuries for two days, used the money earned from the Niu Family last time to buy a batch of rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil, then been kicked out by Grandpa Shan.

Aunt Liu politely greeted him, "Run Sheng, you're here. Are you hungry? We'll be cooking soon, heh heh."

Run Sheng nodded. "Starving. My grandpa wouldn't let me eat the day before yesterday, said I should save my stomach and come eat here."

"That works out well. I just made a new batch of incense. When we eat, try some and see if the flavor is right."

"Okay, I'll wait."

As Run Sheng spoke, he even wiped the corner of his mouth.

Hearing the conversation below, Li Sanjiang gritted his teeth in irritation. He had thought that old man had forgotten about this, but apparently he had still driven his mule over to graze at Li Sanjiang's house.

Still, he had come at just the right time. This afternoon, he could have him push the cart and take him there.

The kid could eat a lot, but as long as he was fed full, he worked better than an ox.

"Runsheng Hou, you're here."

Run Sheng looked up at Li Sanjiang upstairs and nodded hard. "Yeah, I'm here, Grandpa. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, good boy. Take Grandpa to the Niu Family for a job this afternoon."

"Sure, Grandpa."

Li Zhuiyuan heard the commotion and then heard what Great Grandfather said. He knew the Cat-faced Old Woman had already done the initial work.

"Brother Run Sheng."

"Hey, Little Yuan."

Run Sheng briefly greeted Li Zhuiyuan, then went to squat in front of the fresh incense Aunt Liu had laid out to dry. He was too hungry to care about anything else for the moment.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to Li Sanjiang with an obedient smile. "Great Grandfather."

"Mm, what is it?"

"I want to go buy some stationery in Shigang Town this afternoon."

"Sure. Come with Great Grandfather this afternoon."

Li Sanjiang readily agreed. He did not think there was any danger at the Niu Family's place, since he had already slain that Death Collapse with the Peachwood Sword.

"Thank you, Great Grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Li Sanjiang's neck, pressed his face against his chest, and hugged him.

Li Sanjiang chuckled as he gently patted Li Zhuiyuan's head.

"Oh, oh, oh, hahaha, it's nothing, it's nothing. Whatever you want to buy, Great Grandfather will buy it for you. Great Grandfather has money, lots of money."

This affection from a younger relative pleased Li Sanjiang greatly.

Still, he had thought about it carefully himself. It was not that he liked younger relatives in general; he only liked Little Yuanhou.

Though the child was not serious about studying, he really was lovable.

After settling things with Great Grandfather, Li Zhuiyuan returned to his reclining chair and continued reading.

As he read, he suddenly felt two hands press against him. Their movements were slow and clumsy, but they gradually wrapped around his neck, and then a face pressed against his chest.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately understood. A Li was copying the gesture he had used earlier to make Great Grandfather happy.

Then he noticed the confusion in the girl's eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan understood. He could only raise his hand and gently pat the girl's head.

"Whatever you want to buy, I'll buy it for you. I have money, lots of money."

The girl was satisfied. She released him and returned to her usual posture. Her eyes shone brightly, outshining even the blazing sun in this corner.

Downstairs, Liu Yumei was drinking tea alone. The hand holding her teacup trembled slightly as she sourly cursed in her heart:

"You have money? What money does a little brat like you have!"

Yet beneath that sourness was immense comfort, and tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes.

Since her granddaughter had fallen ill, when had she ever made a gesture like this?

Sometimes, the hardest thing was the breakthrough from zero to one. Liu Yumei was already imagining that someday, her granddaughter might hug her around the neck like this and let her gently pat her head.

Lowering her head, she continued drinking tea, then slightly frowned.

Had the tea gone bad? Why did it taste both sour and sweet?

After Xue Liangliang left Siyuan Village, he first took a bus to the city hospital to visit Zhao Hequan, who had been admitted there.

Zhao Hequan was in very bad condition. Since being brought in, his symptoms had continued worsening. Now, from head to toe, he looked as though he had been dyed, his body taking on a bluish-purple color.

Luo Tingrui happened to come visit as well. After giving Zhao Hequan a routine glance, he gestured for Xue Liangliang to come outside with him.

He truly disliked Zhao Hequan. As department head, he often took them out of school for arranged field internships. Zhao Hequan was fond of talking and showing off. Even if he saw a dog urinating against a utility pole from the vehicle, he would have to make some sarcastic, snide remarks about it.

Luo Tingrui was a man who did real work. Though he had once been a student himself and understood that this was the prevailing social trend, he still looked down on this sort of idle person's groundless moaning, because all they did was moan and groan.

Xue Liangliang, on the other hand, had always impressed him. If the boy did not seem determined to go to the far southwest after graduation, Luo Tingrui would have considered introducing his daughter to him.

"Liangliang, you're heading back to school, right?"

"Yes, Director. I'll go to the station in a little while."

"Come with me. Some comrades from above have come down, along with some local comrades. We're going to inspect the riverbank. Once we're done, we'll return to school together."

"Okay, Director."

Although the inspection team had been assembled on short notice, there were quite a few people.

Three cars and one bus were all full. They headed south after leaving the city and arrived at the Yangtze River, in a county under Nantong.

After everyone got out, there was a round of pleasantries. The local comrades mainly gave introductions, while people occasionally asked Luo Tingrui for his opinion.

Following behind, Xue Liangliang understood. They were discussing planning concepts for a future bridge across the river. The higher-ups intended to build a bridge here, linking Nantong and Shanghai.

However, it was still only at the planning stage, and conditions were not yet in place to begin construction.

But that alone was enough to excite Xue Liangliang. After all, every grand project had to begin with this step.

An arranged boat came over to take everyone aboard. It sailed out onto the river, allowing them to experience the place more directly.

"Although Car Ferries can currently solve the transportation problem, without a real bridge, local economic development is still being severely hindered..."

As the local comrades described the actual situation, Xue Liangliang listened while leaning against the rail, his gaze fixed on the river. Inwardly, he marveled at the vast scenery where river and sky stretched endlessly together.

Then he frowned, lowered his head, and looked at the river beneath him.

"According to that incorrectly marked direction in the local chronicles, Bai Family Town seemed to be...

right beneath my feet at this very moment."