Chapter 22

As he read, Li Zhuiyuan began to feel hungry, but Aunt Liu had yet to call everyone to eat. She was still busy in the kitchen preparing dishes.

Breakfast had been moved up because of Xue Liangliang's shout, while lunch had been delayed because of Run Sheng's arrival.

By now, everyone was probably hungry.

Li Zhuiyuan went into his room and picked out some snacks, placing them between himself and A Li. At the same time, he silently reminded himself to tell Uncle Qin to buy snacks in pairs next time. Otherwise, it would be hard for him to choose, since A Li liked eating the same snacks as him.

Great Grandfather had brought him a case of Jianlibao when they returned on the tractor last night. Li Zhuiyuan took out two bottles, opened them, and placed them in front of A Li.

A Li held the Jianlibao in both hands, lowered her head, and examined it carefully.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately said, "Drink it. You're not allowed to collect it."

A Li lowered her head even further.

"If you like it, I'll get you another unopened bottle later."

The stuff had a long shelf life and was sealed. Since Grandma Liu had survived the ordeal of the rotten duck eggs, Li Zhuiyuan felt she should be able to accept an aluminum can easily enough.

A Li immediately lifted the drink and copied Li Zhuiyuan, taking a sip. Then she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

"Is this your first time drinking it?"

A Li looked at him. Her expressions were not very rich, but Li Zhuiyuan had always been able to understand her.

"If you like it, I still have a whole case. Every time, you can drink one and take one away. When they're gone, I'll ask Great Grandfather to buy me more."

A Li quickly took another sip. Though she made no other movement, Li Zhuiyuan could already picture in his mind:

A cute little girl holding a bottle of Jianlibao, her eyes curved into crescents as she happily swung her legs.

"Let's play chess?"

At that, A Li immediately took out the little chess box she always kept beside her.

Once they set up the board, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li began playing. They had always tacitly played fast games, but this time, by the middle game, they were evenly matched. They struggled all the way into the endgame before Li Zhuiyuan narrowly lost.

This was the hardest victory A Li had ever won against him. The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. She was not unhappy; instead, she seemed even brighter.

A smile appeared at the corner of Li Zhuiyuan's lips despite losing. On a whim, he had applied part of the calculations from Destiny Deduction Theory to Go, and the results had been unexpectedly effective.

It was still the same board, but in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, it had come alive. This also made his moves more flexible and varied.

However, once the second game began, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that A Li's style had changed as well.

After he had told her that she did not need to deliberately let him win, she had indeed stopped trying to lose on purpose. Yet she had never minded playing with him a little longer. What she cared about was the experience of the process, while victory, to her, was merely an inevitable outcome.

But this time, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that A Li's style had suddenly become steady. Move by move, she gave him almost no openings or opportunities. No matter how flexible or unpredictable he was, it meant nothing before a mountain.

He lost, crushed by the girl's skill at chess.

Yes, whether reading faces or telling fortunes, it merely gave you another perspective from which to view the world. Yet you were still yourself.

Having one more perspective was a good thing. It was like gaining another pair of eyes or ears. But if you became too obsessed with it, believing that mastering it meant you could truly do whatever you pleased, then you were like a little ant standing on an elephant's head and looking into the distance, actually thinking itself that tall. That would be ridiculous.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan sitting in silence, A Li reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.

A warm smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. "I was thinking about something from a book just now. It wasn't because I lost the game. How could I be unhappy about losing to A Li?"

Just after he reassured the girl, Aunt Liu finally called everyone downstairs for lunch.

The tables were still separated, but with Run Sheng here, Li Sanjiang finally had someone to share his loneliness.

Li Zhuiyuan first portioned out a small dish for A Li. He had only taken two bites with his chopsticks when he heard a rumbling sound from behind him, like muffled thunder over dry land.

He turned around and found that it was Run Sheng's stomach growling in the corner.

A large incense stick handmade by Aunt Liu had been planted in his rice bowl and was currently burning. He sat there, waiting for the incense to finish burning.

Once someone had been hungry for too long, the feeling of hunger often became less intense. But when delicious food was placed before them again, that dormant hunger returned doubled.

For Run Sheng, having to endure and wait with food right in front of him was truly torture.

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, "Brother Run Sheng, do you have to wait until the incense burns out before you can eat?"

"Mm, yes." Run Sheng swallowed hard, then made a stirring gesture with his hand. "It has to be mixed with the incense ash before I can eat it."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered this habit. Run Sheng had told him about it before, but what he wanted to ask this time was, "Brother Run Sheng, is there really a big difference between burning it into ash and mixing it into your food, versus eating it directly?"

"Huh?" Run Sheng froze. "I've really never thought about that. Doesn't everyone normally wait for the incense to burn out?"

"But does everyone normally mix incense ash into their rice?"

"Then... shall I try?"

Run Sheng pulled the incense stick from his rice bowl, bit down on the unlit end, and chewed. Not only did no painful expression appear on his face, his brows actually relaxed, as though he found it especially refreshing.

Then he picked up his chopsticks and eagerly shoveled several large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. After swallowing, he stared at the incense in his hand with delight and cried out:

"Little Yuan, I really ate it! It doesn't make me sick or nauseous anymore!"

Aunt Liu used an ancient method to make incense. Though it was not meant for eating, swallowing some would not really cause much trouble. Besides, with Run Sheng's stomach and intestines, even if there were some minor issue, it would probably have almost no effect on him.

Run Sheng happily took a bite of incense, then vigorously shoveled down rice. He ate with tremendous enthusiasm, as though what he held was not incense but a stalk of green onion to eat with his meal.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Brother Run Sheng, do you want some sauce?"

"Sauce?" Run Sheng thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes."

Aunt Liu got up and went into the kitchen, bringing Run Sheng a bowl of salty sauce from the breakfast porridge and placing it on his little table.

Run Sheng picked up the large incense stick, dipped it in the sauce, and took another bite. It was so delicious that his eyebrows nearly flew upward.

"Little Yuan, you're amazing. This tastes much better than waiting for the incense to burn out before eating it."

It was as if Run Sheng had opened the door to a new world. He ate with indescribable satisfaction.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips after a sip of baijiu. Looking at the way Run Sheng was eating, he could not help but laugh and curse:

"Damn it, someday we've got to get you some authentic Northeast China soybean paste. That stuff tastes good dipped with anything."

Li Zhuiyuan drank a mouthful of soup, looked at Li Sanjiang, and asked, "Great Grandfather, have you been to Northeast China?"

Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, spread his legs, and struck the pose of a mountain bandit chief.

"Of course I have. Back then, your Great Grandfather was conscripted and sent straight to Northeast China. Later, thanks to my quick feet, I ran all the way from Northeast China through Shanhai Pass."

Once he started talking, he could not quite stop. Li Sanjiang took another sip of wine and continued:

"After crossing the pass, I planned to follow the railway south all the way home. But before I had gone far, I was conscripted again. They gave me a uniform and shoved me back onto the front lines.

"But this time, I had experience. While the officer was drunk, I found an opening and slipped away at night with an entire squad wrapped up in blankets.

"When we were nearly in Xuzhou, with home practically in sight, damn it, I got caught again.

"But this time it was quick. On the third day, the unit I was in got scattered. The platoon leader wanted to reorganize us, so I kept stirring things up from below. Just when the whole platoon had nearly been gathered back together, everyone scattered again.

"After that, I became more cautious. I no longer dared travel along the railway or the main roads. Wherever the paths were narrower and there were fewer people, that was where I went. Only then did I make it home safely.

"Even after I got home, things did not settle down. I got conscripted again later, but by then I had experience slipping away. They'd catch me during the day, and I'd sneak back at night.

"After that, whenever I returned home, I hid quietly and did not dare wander around anymore. I stayed hidden until things finally became peaceful."

Li Zhuiyuan sighed. "Great Grandfather, you really were amazing."

Great Grandfather had actually participated in all three major campaigns.

Though he had been on the other side, he had still continuously contributed to the main battlefield.

Li Sanjiang stroked his bristly chin and said modestly, "Not bad, not bad. Heh heh."

Run Sheng had already put away half a bowl of rice and was taking a brief rest when he interjected:

"On the way here this morning, I ran into people showing movies. They said they'll be showing one tonight in the open space at the Town Market. It's called Reconnaissance Across the Yangtze.

"Little Yuan, are you going tonight?"

"Brother Run Sheng, we're going to the Niu Family in Shigang after lunch."

"It's fine, it's fine." Li Sanjiang waved his hand. "We'll just muddle through over there. We should be back early enough to make it."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li in front of him. He knew the girl could not accept a scene where so many people were packed tightly together.

"Let's not go. I'll stay home and read. Brother Run Sheng, you and Great Grandfather can go watch it."

At that moment, Liu Yumei suddenly said, "A Li has to go. Even if she sits farther away, she needs to see this movie."

Li Zhuiyuan noticed the faint tremor in Liu Yumei's voice. Turning to look, he found that she was still eating normally, though the corners of her eyes seemed slightly red.

This was the first time he had seen Liu Yumei so shaken.

After lunch, Run Sheng pushed out the family's flatbed cart, and Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan sat on it.

Run Sheng pushed the cart steadily, and they could barely feel any bumps. The only problem was that it was still a little slow.

"Runsheng Hou, over the next few days, learn how to pedal a tricycle. That thing's faster."

"Sir, why don't you buy a tractor? I'll learn that. That's even faster."

"Do I look like a tractor to you?"

Run Sheng fell silent.

Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette, looked at Li Zhuiyuan, and asked, "Little Yuanhou, do you think our family should buy a television?"

"If you want to watch one, Great Grandfather, then buy it."

"I'm asking you."

"Oh. I don't have much time to watch television."

There were still so many boxes of books waiting for him in the basement. Where would he find the time to watch television?

"You little rascal."

Li Sanjiang had wanted to use a television to make his Great Grandson happy, only to discover that the boy seemed to have little interest in it. He gave him pocket money, but aside from accepting things he bought for himself, Li Zhuiyuan normally did not even visit the little shop.

Run Sheng, who was pushing the cart, said excitedly, "Buying a television would be great, great."

"Great my ass. Push faster. Do you still want to see a movie tonight?"

"Oh, oh!"

When they reached the intersection in front of Niu Fu's home, Li Sanjiang got off the cart in advance, straightened his clothes, then solemnly raised his Peachwood Sword and carefully wiped it with a cloth.

Only after making these preparations did he enter Niu Fu's home.

Niu Fu's two sons and two daughters-in-law came out to welcome them. The moment Li Sanjiang entered, they served tea and snacks with great enthusiasm.

Li Sanjiang sat down first and began talking with them.

Employers like this were the easiest to deal with, because they would pour out everything themselves like beans from a basket. Then all you had to do was act along the lines they wanted.

Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, searched the house for Niu Fu. He checked several rooms but could not find him, making him suspect that Niu Fu no longer lived there.

Only after leaving the main house and arriving beside the woodshed did Li Zhuiyuan find Niu Fu.

In his original imagination, Niu Fu should have been lying helplessly in bed, unable to move and suffering neglect...

But he had still thought too highly of Niu Fu's children's filial piety.

Niu Fu, who had been paralyzed on one side after an accidental fall, did not even have a bed. He had been placed directly in the woodshed.

The pile of dry straw beneath him was his bed. Stacked firewood stood to his left, while miscellaneous clutter towered to his right.

There were two bowls beside him. One held water and was relatively clean. The other was filthy, with no telling how many layers of grime had accumulated in it. It was probably used for food.

As for Niu Fu's clothes, his upper body was bare, with no shirt at all. He wore only a pair of shorts on his lower body, filthy enough to seem crusted onto him, and he reeked.

That made sense. If his children were unwilling to let him sleep in a bed, there was even less need to mention washing him or changing his clothes.

Li Zhuiyuan covered his nose with his hand and moved a little closer.

When he had last seen Niu Fu, the man had been hunched over, but otherwise sturdy. After all, he was only fifty. In the countryside, he was still considered able-bodied labor.

But now, Niu Fu had grown far too thin. His mouth hung open as it kept twitching, and it was impossible to tell whether he was trying to speak or merely reacting uncontrollably.

When Li Zhuiyuan entered, Niu Fu did turn his head to glance at him. Then he shifted it back again, gazing blankly at the roof.

After watching for a while, Li Zhuiyuan came out and took deep breaths of fresh air outside the woodshed.

"Meow."

A cat's cry came from above. On the wall beside him, a crippled, ugly old black cat paced forward.

It looked at Li Zhuiyuan and raised a paw to lick it.

"Don't you think it's too quiet?"

The Black Cat froze mid-lick.

"Everyone is pretending the others do not exist. There's not enough interaction. Make some more noise tonight and push the conflict to intensify."

"Meow..."

This time, there was a tremor in the cat's cry.

Li Sanjiang began performing a ritual in the courtyard. The two sons, who had no time to wash their own father's bowl, now knelt with their wives before the Offering Table in utmost devotion.

After the ritual was finished, Li Sanjiang tapped their shoulders one by one with the Peachwood Sword and comforted them:

"Don't worry. You know what sins your own father committed. Some debts are made by the old man, so let the old man settle them. They won't implicate you. Put your minds at ease.

"If you think the bad luck has not fully gone away, there is a way. You can redirect the remaining bit of bad luck to other close relatives. But you have to keep your mouths shut. You absolutely cannot tell anyone, or you won't even be able to remain relatives."

"Redirect it, redirect it. We'll redirect it. Sir, please help us redirect it!"

"Forget it. We shouldn't do that. It's too harmful to others and would damage my cultivation."

Li Sanjiang began playing hard to get. When another red envelope was presented to him, he sighed and said,

"Fine. Since you insist, I'll help redirect the bad luck for you. But keep your mouths shut. You absolutely must not let this leak out."

"Sir, don't worry. We understand, we understand."

Li Sanjiang performed another ritual for them. When he finished, he said:

"All right. The little bit of remaining bad luck has already been redirected to the second and third brothers' families."

Amid the repeated thanks of Niu's eldest son's family, Li Sanjiang left with Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng.

While sitting on the cart toward Niu Rui's home, Li Zhuiyuan could not help asking curiously, "Great Grandfather, I thought you were going to lecture them."

"Lecture them? Heh. Has water gotten into your Great Grandfather's brain? If people need to be lectured just to support their parents, is there any point in lecturing them?

"Better to ask for more money. Then your Great Grandfather can buy more pig head meat and liquor.

"I just hope nothing else happens to the Niu Family. If something happens again, it'll be hard for your Great Grandfather to explain it away. I'd really be afraid of ruining my reputation."

"But didn't you resolve the Death Collapse?"

"Right. That's true."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that nothing else would happen. Once the three children had all been tormented to their endings, the Cat-faced Old Woman would dissipate on her own.

As they neared Niu Rui's house, they saw him squatting in the yard, decocting medicine over a small stove. Beside him, his children mocked him, saying that the medicine did nothing but waste money and that no matter how he treated himself, he would never get better.

Niu Rui had killed people in his youth. Though his mother, Old Woman Niu, had cleaned up after him, he was still hot-tempered to the bone.

Unable to hold back his anger, he stood up and slapped his daughter-in-law, who was still holding a child.

His son roared and rushed up to hit Niu Rui, and Niu Rui began fighting with his son.

Though he had the strange illness, it had only recently been brought under control. For a time, he actually wrestled with his son on the ground, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Seeing this, Niu Rui's wife screamed and rushed over to claw at his face, berating him for being worthless. Not only was he spending the family's money on medicine in his old age, he even dared lay hands on her precious son.

The child's crying, the sounds of fighting, and the cursing all merged together, as though a symphony had begun playing in the yard.

When Li Sanjiang arrived, they finally quieted down, and the whole family put on ingratiating, flattering smiles despite their bruised and swollen faces.

Niu Rui had personally been rescued by Li Sanjiang, and the Niu Family had also heard Old Woman Niu's voice coming from the old house, despite her having been dead for years. Naturally, they believed in Li Sanjiang completely.

After respectfully inviting Li Sanjiang inside, they began crying and begging.

After comforting them, Li Sanjiang performed another ritual.

Once he finished the first set, Li Sanjiang again spoke of leading away bad luck. Niu Rui's son immediately offered another red envelope, and Li Sanjiang put on another ritual for them.

But before leaving, Niu Rui secretly slipped him another red envelope and begged Li Sanjiang to drive away evil and cure his illness.

Li Sanjiang accepted it as well, saying that he would set up an eternal candle for him after returning home. But he also reminded him that no matter what, he had to take his medicine on time and could not stop.

That was also part of the professional ethics of those in unconventional trades. He could take your money and pray for your blessings, giving you some psychological comfort, but you still had to keep taking your medicine and seeing doctors for your illness.

However, those instructions would undoubtedly continue to intensify the conflict between Niu Rui and his family.

Because Li Zhuiyuan knew that Niu Rui's illness could not be cured. It would be a bottomless pit that kept bringing hope, only to bring even deeper despair.

Niu Fu had become completely unable to care for himself after being paralyzed, so his status had plummeted all at once. Niu Rui, meanwhile, was still in the struggling stage.

Although Niu Rui was not suffering too badly yet, as long as the current conflicts continued to build up, they would surely explode into even more dazzling fireworks in the near future.

Just look at the hatred already rising in his family's eyes toward him. The ending would not disappoint.

Therefore, when the Black Cat passed by him this time, Li Zhuiyuan merely nodded calmly.

When they arrived at Niu Lian's house, Li Sanjiang was, as usual, invited inside by her family first.

Li Zhuiyuan did not see Niu Lian in the main house, so he went to check the woodshed too, but she was not there either.

In the end, beside the pigsty, Li Zhuiyuan saw Niu Lian chained there with iron links. On the other side was the family toilet.

That meant every time her family came there to use the toilet and sat on the Dragon Throne, they could talk to her.

They were rather considerate of the old woman, afraid that she might feel lonely.

Her food bowl was right beside the pig trough, and leaning next to it was the scoop used to ladle pig feed. It looked as though they fed her while feeding the pigs.

As long as the pigs had a bite to eat, they would not forget to give her half a bite.

She was conscious now and had not gone numb. When she saw outsiders coming over, she covered her face with both hands, trying to hide her shame.

Li Zhuiyuan had seen her grandson and granddaughter. One had bandages around his head, and the other had bandages around an arm. They had probably both been injured when Niu Lian had an episode.

The two children spat at her while throwing pebbles at her, not playfully, but deliberately aiming for her body.

Their parents saw it too, yet did not stop them. Instead, their eyes were full of hatred.

The Black Cat emerged from the edge of the roof above the pigsty.

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing and walked farther away. Then Niu Lian's pleading voice rose from beside the pigsty again, saying her illness had gotten better and begging her children to release her. She was better now.

What greeted her were her children's curses, along with several vicious kicks from her son when his temper flared.

Niu Lian was kicked into a curled-up ball in the corner, howling like a dog.

Clearly, they had believed her before, only to be "deceived."

The Black Cat climbed down step by step from above, hopping over objects of varying heights, until it reached Li Zhuiyuan's feet and rubbed its feline face against his trouser leg.

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and stroked its head.

The Black Cat enjoyed it immensely, nearly leaning its whole body against him and exposing its belly.

Great Grandfather began performing the ritual. As usual, he collected an extra red envelope to help lead the bad luck to those two families.

On the way home from Niu Lian's house, Run Sheng pushed the cart, holding it steady with one arm while using his other hand to count on his fingers.

"The eldest family, the second family, and the third family all asked Great Grandfather to pass their bad luck to other households. Doesn't that mean the bad luck never got passed on at all?"

Li Zhuiyuan corrected him. "Brother Run Sheng, it's different."

"How is it different?"

"Because Great Grandfather collected three extra payments."

"Oh, right. Little Yuan, you're right!"

When they returned home, it happened to be dinnertime at dusk. After eating, Li Sanjiang yawned and waved his hand. "I'm not going to the movie. I'm going to take a bath and sleep. I'm exhausted."

The rituals had been packed tightly together today. Even a young man would not be able to endure dancing six shows in one afternoon, yet Great Grandfather had gritted his teeth and persisted. His physical condition truly was remarkable.

Uncle Qin was waiting with a stack of stools, while Aunt Liu did not even have time to clear the dishes as usual. She set aside the household chores for the moment and waited with them.

Liu Yumei had changed into a cheongsam, put on jewelry, and applied rouge.

At her age, an old woman often wore makeup not to look pretty, but to show respect.

The movie was being screened in an open area beside Town Market. It had not started yet, but people had already come early to claim spots.

Uncle Qin and Run Sheng squeezed their way inside, set down the stools, and forcibly carved out an open space.

With their builds, the people nearby dared to be angry but not speak up. They could only lower their heads and move their stools aside.

But Uncle Qin took out plenty of candy from his pockets and handed it out to the children, then brought out cigarettes to share among the adults. The people around them happily accepted and no longer had any complaints.

Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu sat between the two men. Though Liu Yumei was old, her posture remained graceful, and from behind, she seemed utterly out of place among the people around her.

As for Li Zhuiyuan, he sat with Qin Li in an empty corner farther away. They were somewhat far from and off to the side of the screen, so the viewing experience was poor, but it was quiet and no one disturbed them. A crowded place like this was not very suitable for Qin Li anyway.

A few peddlers pushing carts set up stalls in the back, selling cheap snacks and little toys. These vendors could also be seen at weddings and funerals. Wherever there were people, they went.

Some children were buying things, while even more could only watch enviously from the side, offering advice to the children who could afford to buy things.

Li Zhuiyuan felt around in his pocket. When he had lived at Li Weihan's house, Cui Guiying regularly gave him some spending money separately. But every time the money reached his hands, his brothers and sisters would swarm around him and drag him to Aunt Zhang's shop to buy snacks to share with everyone.

On the second day after he had been sent to Great Grandfather's Home to "become a monk," Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came to bring him clothes and slipped him some money again. This time, they had given him much more.

Together with the spending money Li Sanjiang also gave him, and since Li Zhuiyuan usually had little need to spend anything, he had saved it all up.

At least among children, he was considered quite wealthy.

"A Li, sit here and wait for me."

Li Zhuiyuan then walked to a vendor's stall and bought two bubble-blowing toys.

When he returned, he gave one to Qin Li and kept one for himself.

While the movie played, the two of them kept blowing bubbles in the back.

A Li had a lot of fun, and one bottle quickly ran out. Considering that girls liked collecting things, Li Zhuiyuan bought her three more.

At the same time, he looked over the three stalls and finally bought a pair of wrist cords.

There were actually quite a few small accessories at the stalls, such as bow hair clips and colorful headbands. But considering the outfits Grandma Liu personally designed and dressed A Li in every day, Li Zhuiyuan felt that adding those would only worsen the effect.

More importantly, he knew that if he gave them to her, she would definitely wear them. In the end, he decided not to deprive Liu Yumei of the joy of dressing up her granddaughter every morning.

A Li looked at the red wrist cord on her wrist. She seemed to like it very much, because she had even stopped blowing bubbles.

However, she soon looked at Li Zhuiyuan's wrist again.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and showed her his blue wrist cord. Only then was she satisfied and resumed blowing bubbles.

When the movie ended, Liu Yumei and the others came out.

Run Sheng was extremely excited by what he had watched. He kept reciting lines from the movie and lamenting that there was no war to fight now, otherwise he could have become a Yangtze River crossing scout.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled and went along with him, though he privately felt that Run Sheng really was suited for it. His professional abilities could barely be considered relevant too.

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu were very quiet, as though they had just attended a relative's funeral.

Liu Yumei held a handkerchief, wiping away tears as she walked.

Li Zhuiyuan politely asked after her, but seeing that Liu Yumei did not wish to speak, he let it go.

As the group hurried back from Town Market, they saw Aunt Zhang from the shop running toward them along Village Road.

"There's a phone call! There's a phone call! It's for you, Little Yuanhou!"

The on-site seminar aboard the riverboat lasted far longer than expected. The local officials would naturally seize every opportunity to push the project with all their strength, while Luo Tingrui drew on his professional expertise to explain the project's key points and difficulties to the leaders around him.

In truth, most of the people on the boat knew nothing about water conservancy or engineering, but that did not stop them from listening with great interest.

Because the construction of this bridge involved much more than professional concerns. It also had to account for shipping needs, urban planning, highway construction, military considerations, and many other factors.

Most importantly, there was the speed of social development. They had learned this lesson before. Plans that had seemed bold and aggressive in advance had turned out, soon after completion, to have been far too conservative.

Finally, when the sky was nearly dark, the seminar came to an end.

The boat began heading toward shore, and everyone took out cigarettes to share with one another.

Xue Liangliang did not smoke. He stood alone by the railing, and after learning that Bai Family Town might be beneath his feet, he had been feeling unsettled.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear movement beneath the river's surface.

He lowered his head and looked down. Under the water, a human figure seemed to be emerging.

Just then, a hand patted his shoulder, startling Xue Liangliang.

When he turned around, he saw Luo Tingrui.

"What's wrong, Liangliang? You've looked distracted this whole time."

"Director, I'm fine."

"What, you don't like attending meetings like this?"

"No, Director. Maybe I just didn't rest well. I know how important this kind of meeting is."

"Mm. Since you plan to devote yourself to this line of work in the future, you need to learn to adapt. Those of us in technical fields can easily develop the mindset of looking down on people in administration, but without efficient and stable organization, many things cannot be put into practice. Sometimes, the more professional you are in one area, the more amateurish you seem in other areas."

"I understand, Director." Xue Liangliang knew Luo Tingrui was giving him guidance.

"Come on, we're ashore. Get some proper sleep on the way back. Don't let it affect tomorrow's classes."

"Alright, Director."

After returning to shore and boarding the coach bus, Xue Liangliang sat in the back. Not long after the bus started moving, he drifted off to sleep.

As he slept, Xue Liangliang suddenly felt his lower body growing cold. He opened his eyes, then froze. He was sitting in his seat, but somehow water had gotten into the bus, and the water level had already risen to his waist.

He looked ahead. The small lights inside the bus were on, and he could see the people seated in front. He could even hear their quiet conversations.

"The bus is flooding! Driver, sir, the bus is flooding!"

Xue Liangliang shouted, but no one paid him any attention. It was as though no one had noticed.

"Sir, stop the bus! The bus is flooding! Sir! Director, Director!"

Still, no one responded.

Gradually, the water rose to his chest. Xue Liangliang began pulling at the window, but outside was pitch-black, and the window would not budge at all.

Just then, a figure seemed to flash past the darkness before his eyes, so fast that Xue Liangliang thought he might have imagined it.

But the figure soon appeared again, and its face pressed against the window.

In the dim light from inside the bus, a gloomy face came into view. For a moment, he could not tell whether it was male or female.

"Crack..."

But at that moment, the window suddenly opened and was pulled all the way down.

The next instant, the water inside the bus seemed to have finally found its only outlet, all rushing toward him.

Xue Liangliang felt as though the current had squeezed his entire body out. He was swept through the window and fell into darkness, his body continuing to drift beyond his control.

"Splash..."

He did not know how long he had drifted. It was as though a wave from the Yangtze River had thrown him out. A sharp ache erupted beneath him, and he regained consciousness.

He lowered his head and found himself lying on the riverbank, jagged stones beneath him. His palms, arms, chest, thighs, and other areas were scraped bloody.

There were no major wounds, but such extensive abrasions were still agonizing.

Enduring the pain, Xue Liangliang struggled to his feet and scanned the surroundings. Moonlight overhead was veiled by a layer of gray mist, leaving the area below hazy as well.

But he could roughly make out that this was the riverbank, not far from where they had boarded the boat for the seminar earlier.

But hadn't he already left Nantong by bus? How had he returned here?

Xue Liangliang felt lost. Suddenly, he saw a woman appear ahead.

The woman wore a blue dress and a ponytail. She held a porcelain vase in her left arm and a black umbrella in her right hand.

Why was she holding an umbrella?

Only when that thought crossed Xue Liangliang's mind did he realize it was raining. It was pouring, huge raindrops striking his body painfully.

Had this rain... been falling the whole time?

"Hey! Who are you?"

Xue Liangliang shouted at the woman.

The woman seemed not to hear him. Holding the umbrella, she walked straight toward the river.

As she came closer, Xue Liangliang saw her face clearly. Her makeup and features carried a trace of a worldly air, yet she was very young.

The main reason was that after leaving Siyuan Village, Xue Liangliang had gone first to the hospital and then to the riverbank, without a chance to check the police bulletin board. Otherwise, he would have seen that the woman's photo was posted there now, and the police had issued a warrant for her arrest.

Seeing the woman continue stubbornly toward the river, Xue Liangliang reached out and grabbed the arm holding the umbrella.

"What are you doing? Don't do anything foolish. You can't go any farther!"

The woman ignored him and continued forward.

"Splash..."

Xue Liangliang felt an unimaginable force come from the woman's body, directly pulling him off his feet.

Then he found that his hand seemed to be glued to her arm. No matter what he did, he could not break free, and she dragged him with her into the river.

This position was truly agonizing. Not only could he not keep his balance, but his lower body was continuously scraping across the stones.

Only after the woman stepped into the river did Xue Liangliang manage to steady himself with the water's buoyancy. But then came the intense sensation of choking and suffocation, which was even more terrifying.

He struggled with all his strength, but it was useless.

The woman continued onward. She walked along the riverbed, surrounded by darkness, while Xue Liangliang floated upward. One hand remained stuck to her arm, but his whole body had drifted above her.

He wanted to shout, but every time he opened his mouth, water rushed in first, completely preventing him from making a sound.

He had no choice but to grab the woman's hair with his other hand. After winding it around his hand, he began to pull.

The woman's body did not change at all. She continued walking along the riverbed. The force Xue Liangliang had exerted upward instead became a downward pull toward her, causing his entire body to press against her back.

Her hair began to grow, impossibly long, and it was extremely tough. Even with only a few strands wound around him, Xue Liangliang could not tear them apart. The more he tried to escape, the tighter they bound him.

In the end, he had almost become someone embracing the woman from behind while she carried him forward on her back.

The desperate suffocation continued. Xue Liangliang could no longer calculate how long it had been since he had breathed. He felt awful and miserable, yet for some reason, he remained fully conscious.

This was no blessing, because it allowed him to taste every bit of the torment more clearly and directly.

Now, he was praying that he could drown quickly and be freed sooner.

After an unknown amount of time, light actually appeared ahead.

How could there be light beneath the Yangtze River?

And in that light, the shadow of buildings could vaguely be seen.

There was not only light beneath the river, but truly a village and town.

All at once, Xue Liangliang felt the hair that had bound him come loose and drift away. Even the hand that had been stuck to him could now be pulled free.

Instead of floating upward, he fell to the ground.

The woman continued forward, following the light's guidance toward the faintly visible town.

To Xue Liangliang's utter horror, it was not just the woman who had dragged him down here. In the darkness of the riverbed as far as he could see, there seemed to be many other figures as well—long-haired women in different styles of dress, even clothing from different eras.

Their faces were deathly still, and they walked without emotion, all heading in the same direction.

The water around him seemed to have formed a fixed current. Slumped on the ground, Xue Liangliang felt his body being pulled uncontrollably in that direction.

Instinctively, he tried to grab anything beneath him that could anchor him in place, but failed every time. When he grabbed rocks, they were overturned; when he grabbed mud, he only stirred up a cloud of silt that quickly dispersed.

No matter how much he resisted or refused, he could not change the fact that he was being forcibly dragged away.

Finally,

He drew closer to the light. From afar, it had looked like a single glow, but up close, he realized it was the combined light of countless red and white lanterns.

The town's outline also became clearer and more solid. Rows of houses stood neatly arranged, and before every doorway was a wall niche containing an ever-burning lamp that gave off an eerie green glow.

Directly ahead of him stood an archway, towering and ancient, covered in thick moss.

Two rows of hanging lanterns were suspended on either side, descending from large to small.

The lanterns on the left were red, symbolizing celebration; those on the right were white, foretelling deathly silence.

Xue Liangliang looked at the center of the archway, where three characters were written.

Read from right to left,

"Bai Family Town."