Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu

Shiqiao Bridge was right on the road. For safety, Li Zhuiyuan stood by the roadside under the bridge, looking south to see if the car had arrived, then looking at Uncle Qin, who stood beside him.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan's gaze constantly on him, Uncle Qin lowered his head and asked, "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Uncle, was the movie good tonight?"

"Mm, it was good. It's a shame you and A'Li were sitting so far back and off to the side; you probably couldn't see very clearly."

"I could see clearly, it was good."

After that, Li Zhuiyuan fell silent and stopped looking at the people around him.

Uncle Qin straightened his body. He had thought the boy would ask about that kind of thing, but he hadn't.

This child always seemed to know his boundaries, which made people feel favorably towards him.

However, upon closer thought, it seemed that whenever a critical need arose, he would unhesitatingly cross those boundaries, just like last time and this time.

A black sedan slowed down as it approached the bridge. The window rolled down, and a woman with permed wavy hair leaned out:

"Hello, are you Li Zhuiyuan?"

"Yes."

"Engineer Luo sent me to pick you up. Get in."

The car turned around and stopped.

Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin got into the car, both sitting in the back seat.

To save time, the car drove very fast. Therefore, to avoid bicycles and tricycles without headlights, the driver had to swerve sharply or brake suddenly.

After a while, Li Zhuiyuan started to feel unwell; he was carsick.

The situation was urgent, and he felt too embarrassed to ask the driver to slow down. He could only reach for the small handle of the door beside him, trying to open the window a little to get some fresh air.

As he fiddled with it, the window didn't move. After a few more tries, the small handle came off in his hand.

Li Zhuiyuan could only try to put the handle back on, leaning his back against the seat with a sense of helplessness.

At that moment, Uncle Qin leaned over and reached out, placing his palm on the car window.

With a harsh scraping sound, the car window was forcibly pulled down.

Fresh air blew in from outside, and Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he was still worried the driver might get angry. But the driver was likely focused on driving and didn't notice the change in the back.

Li Zhuiyuan tried turning the handle in the opposite direction and found he could roll the window back up, which finally put his mind at ease.

After helping to open the window, Uncle Qin had closed his eyes and seemed to be resting, as if asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan also turned slightly, resting his head against the seatback, trying to doze off.

But for some reason, the car was unusually noisy when it drove, especially with his ear pressed against the seat. He could hear a constant rushing wind sound.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan thought it was because the window was open and air was rushing in. He rolled the window up a bit more, leaving only a small gap.

But when he sat back down in the same position, the wind sound in his ears hadn't changed at all.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder: why were these Japanese cars so thin, like paper?

Curiously, he reached out and pressed against the back of the seat. He pressed down on a groove, and it didn't pop back out.

Li Zhuiyuan sat up straight again, deciding not to sleep and just tough it out until they reached the hospital.

He looked out the car window. There were no streetlights on the rural roads yet, so it was pitch black outside and not much to see. But every time they passed through a town, he could see shops and slightly denser crowds of people.

It was just that the lights from the shops were so dazzling.

In a daze, it felt as if the light outside wasn't coming through the car window, but rather the entire car was emitting light.

But this wasn't the city center, and the shops in the towns didn't have dense neon signs.

The car left the rural roads and entered the city. The road conditions improved, but there were also more cars on the road.

These cars seemed very undisciplined, with many cutting each other off or changing lanes without signaling. The driver was so angry he kept honking the horn and muttering curses.

Li Zhuiyuan thought that the driver's authentic Southern dialect was more fluent than his own grandfather, Li Weihan's.

It had been a difficult journey, and finally, the building of People's Hospital could be seen ahead.

But at that moment, Li Zhuiyuan noticed the driver staring at him and Uncle Qin in the rearview mirror. When he met the driver's gaze, they even made eye contact through the mirror.

This confused Li Zhuiyuan because the driver's eyes never seemed to return to the road ahead.

And he, through the windshield, could see that the car they were in had entered the oncoming lane, with a truck approaching them head-on.

"Watch out!" Li Zhuiyuan shouted.

But the driver still didn't take his eyes off the rearview mirror. Not only did he not brake, but he also accelerated.

If this continued, they would soon collide directly with the truck.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes. He lifted his feet and stomped down.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes widened. He saw Uncle Qin's feet stomp through the bottom of the car!

Next, Uncle Qin reached out and grabbed the neck of the boy beside him, and Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being lifted.

It was a strange sensation, like being in a car, but when he was lifted, it felt as if he and the car had become disconnected in motion. What happened next defied the laws of physics in his mind.

"Swish..."

The car seat, the rear windshield, and the trunk all crashed past him.

He felt the force of it, a little painful, but not severe.

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found himself being held by Uncle Qin on the road, in front of a small car whose rear seat had just been pierced.

The small car, with an unstoppable momentum, had rammed into the truck.

The expected collision sound didn't occur. The small car mostly disintegrated, and the remaining parts were run over by the truck.

Around them, bamboo strips, wooden strips, and scattered colorful paper were flying everywhere.

This car was made of paper!

Uncle Qin sidestepped, bringing Li Zhuiyuan onto the steps. The truck drove past them, and Li Zhuiyuan could see the driver in the cab also rubbing his eyes and constantly looking in the rearview mirror.

He seemed to feel like he had hit something and was wondering if he was hallucinating due to fatigue.

Uncle Qin put Li Zhuiyuan down. Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, what kind of car were we just in?"

"You've seen it, it's on the first floor of our house."

"But..." Li Zhuiyuan looked around, then back at the hospital building ahead. "Did we really get to People's Hospital?"

"We're here."

Li Zhuiyuan instinctively reached out to touch Uncle Qin's arm. He couldn't tell if the Uncle Qin in front of him was real or not. He worried that Uncle Qin hadn't properly secured the soy sauce bottle this time.

Uncle Qin pointed ahead. "The hospital entrance is right there, aren't you going in?"

"But, did we really get here?" Li Zhuiyuan still didn't understand.

"What else?"

"How did you do it?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned. He could understand paper figures coming to life, he could understand the bizarre things in dreams, and he could even understand that he had actually experienced riding in a car made of paper.

But what he couldn't understand was how he had managed to travel from Siyuan Village to the city in a paper car!

Uncle Qin gently patted Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder and said, "She carried us here on her back."

"Huh?"

Uncle Qin didn't seem inclined to explain further. "Let's go in. If we dawdle any longer, your big friend might die."

"Oh, right."

Li Zhuiyuan put his thoughts aside and walked into the hospital with Uncle Qin. At this hour, they should probably go to the emergency room first.

But on the steps below the building, Li Zhuiyuan saw the female driver from before, with the exact same clothes and wavy perm.

The woman was holding what looked like documents or test results, looking anxious, and occasionally stopping passing medical staff to ask questions.

Most importantly, she didn't seem to recognize either of them at all. Even though they were so close to her, she showed no reaction.

"Uncle, is she alive?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up and asked, "Auntie, I'd like to ask where Xue Liangliang is?"

"Little one, who are you?"

"My name is Li Zhuiyuan, Director Luo called me here."

"Director Luo... The car I arranged just left not too long ago. Did you come on your own?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, I'll take you up."

The woman led Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin upstairs. In a brief conversation, Li Zhuiyuan learned that although Xue Liangliang had just finished resuscitation, his condition was very bad, with his organs at risk of failure.

In the ward, Luo Tingrui stood by Xue Liangliang's bedside, looking at him with anxiety.

He really didn't understand why, after just a slight rocking of the boat and falling into the water, even though he was rescued immediately, it had come to this.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang's face was pale, and he was speaking incoherently:

"No, no, no, I don't want to stay here, I don't want to be a live-in son-in-law, I don't want to be a live-in son-in-law."

Luo Tingrui adjusted his glasses. He didn't understand why Liangliang was talking like this in his sleep.

They hadn't even introduced their daughter to him yet, and he had no interest in becoming a live-in son-in-law. So, who was forcing him?

But who could force him?

Luo Tingrui knew about Xue Liangliang's situation at school. The kid was quite good at making money, and he had no intention of staying at the school or in the local area, nor did he plan to join a good public institution. He was wholeheartedly preparing to go to the great Southwest for construction after graduation.

To be honest, with the status of an outstanding graduate from Haihe University, combined with the current job conditions and working environment in the Southwest, you'd be overjoyed if they were willing to accept you there. You wouldn't even need to pull strings or find connections.

But while he didn't understand the current rambling, he could at least understand it. What Xue Liangliang had said earlier was:

"Don't turn me off, don't hit me, don't strangle me, I'm so uncomfortable, I'm so uncomfortable, please, let me go, don't torture me anymore..."

At that moment, Luo Tingrui even started to suspect if Xue Liangliang had experienced any inhumane torture in his childhood that left him with trauma.

The ward door opened, and Li Zhuiyuan led Uncle Qin in. Luo Tingrui nodded at Li Zhuiyuan, but his gaze remained focused on Uncle Qin.

It was normal to overlook the child. He was already guessing that this middle-aged man should be the one who could help.

The doctor had already said they did their best. Now, even though he was connected to monitoring equipment, they could only passively continue to observe. If his vital signs deteriorated further, the outcome would be difficult to salvage.

Luo Tingrui was not a rigid person. Considering Zhao Hequan, who was still lying in the hospital, and what had happened to Xue Liangliang earlier, he had reason to suspect that the trouble caused by that divine statue was not over yet.

"You go out first."

"Yes, Director." The woman was dismissed from the ward by Luo Tingrui.

Then, Luo Tingrui pointed to himself and asked, "Do I need to go out?"

Uncle Qin didn't answer. Instead, he walked directly to the other side of the hospital bed and placed his hand on Xue Liangliang's forehead, gently rubbing it.

Soon, cold sweat broke out on Xue Liangliang's face, and the sweat was so profuse that it immediately soaked the pillow.

Luo Tingrui picked up a towel, ready to help wipe him, but as soon as he wiped, he felt the sweat was unexpectedly slippery, like the lubricant used in workshops.

How could human sweat be like this?

At this moment, Uncle Qin clenched his fist and smashed it towards Xue Liangliang's abdomen.

"No!" Luo Tingrui didn't have time to stop him.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's fist didn't actually land on Xue Liangliang, but stopped short. However, the quilt on Xue Liangliang's body still quickly caved in.

A piercing scream immediately echoed throughout the ward.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately covered his ears, but it was no use. His eardrums hurt so much, they felt like they were about to rupture, and his entire brain felt like it was being hit repeatedly with an iron hammer.

Luo Tingrui only vaguely heard a strange sound, then he looked at Uncle Qin questioningly, and finally, he looked at the boy huddled in the corner of the wall, wondering what was wrong with him.

Uncle Qin's gaze also shifted to Li Zhuiyuan.

Uncle Qin's eyes showed surprise because he hadn't expected that Little Yuan's perception in this area would be so keen.

He couldn't help but recall Liu Yumei's instructions to him: only teach him martial arts.

Uncle Qin swallowed:

A child like this, and you only teach him martial arts?

As for Xue Liangliang, after the sweat was released and he was "virtually" punched, although he had not woken up, he looked much more relaxed.

Luo Tingrui finally felt relieved, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"Ah..."

The screaming finally stopped, but Li Zhuiyuan still felt his head buzzing.

He was about to get up, leaning on the wall, but as soon as he lifted his head a little, he found that in his line of sight, in the southwest corner of the ward, there appeared a pair of red embroidered shoes, above which was a section of pale green ankle, and further up, the red hem of a skirt.

Above that, Li Zhuiyuan didn't know, because he didn't dare to look further.

He had seen several "dead floats," but none of them had given him such a strong sense of alert and pressure.

She was not someone he could observe, not even by secretly looking. If he continued to look at her, something terrible would happen to him immediately.

The "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" had recorded some powerful "dead floats," which had used descriptions like this... Those who see will perish.

Here, it used "perish" not "die," but sometimes "perish" is more terrifying than death. Such an existence, even if only a connection of sight is established, disaster will instantly befall oneself.

Uncle Qin noticed that Li Zhuiyuan, who was squatting on the ground, had changed his squatting direction.

He followed Li Zhuiyuan's previous direction, then looked at Li Zhuiyuan again, feeling a bit dry-mouthed.

Not because of the person standing in the corner of the ward.

But, Little Yuan, you can even see her?

He knew Ah Li could see, but what was the point of Ah Li being able to see?

She had completely sealed herself off in her own world, almost completely isolated from the outside.

But this little boy could talk, act, and jump around!

Li Zhuiyuan heard footsteps, it was Uncle Qin, he was moving, from the bedside to the corner behind him.

Uncle Qin was going to that woman.

Indeed, in Luo Tingrui's sight, he saw the middle-aged man walk to the corner and stand there without speaking, as if he were contemplating his mistakes.

Luo Tingrui couldn't understand. Of course, he also knew that if he could understand such things, he wouldn't be in his current department.

Meanwhile, Xue Liangliang, whose condition had improved, began to talk nonsense again:

"I don't live here, I don't want to stay here, I still have a career to pursue, I still have dreams to achieve, you can't keep me here, I don't agree, I absolutely do not agree!"

Luo Tingrui was a little puzzled. Was it because Xue Liangliang's condition had improved that his words had more confidence and backbone?

Li Zhuiyuan turned his back to Uncle Qin and stood up, slowly moving to the bedside to look at Xue Liangliang.

He hadn't heard the first two parts of the delirious rambling, only this last part. With insufficient key information, he was completely in the dark.

However, his own situation was also quite unsettling. On one hand, he felt a sense of danger, but on the other, he felt quite secure with Uncle Qin around.

Luo Tingrui pointed at Uncle Qin in the corner towards Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan shook his head at him, and Luo Tingrui understood, standing still.

Xue Liangliang stopped his rambling, and the ward fell into a long, eerie silence.

Finally, Uncle Qin broke the atmosphere.

He walked back to the bedside, then, in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Luo Tingrui, took off his vest and hung it on the IV stand.

Immediately, Uncle Qin's index fingers began to trace repeatedly over his arms, shoulders, and chest.

Each stroke would leave behind blue bruises of varying lengths and depths.

Any one of them would have sent an ordinary person screaming in pain, but Uncle Qin acted as if he were simply applying paint to himself.

His expression was calm, as if he were doing the most simple and normal thing.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand what this man was doing. Li Zhuiyuan, however, understood when he noticed the symmetry of the bruises on Uncle Qin's left and right sides: Uncle Qin was drawing a talisman.

His fingers were the brush, his body the paper, and the paint was the fresh marks he had just made on himself.

After finishing, Uncle Qin walked to the ward door and opened it.

He once again looked at the corner where he had been standing previously, and said:

"I know why the main wife sent me here today. She wants me to tell the Bai family: The Qin family is not extinct yet!"

With that, Uncle Qin used his right thumb to press against his glabella. When he removed it, a bloodstain remained, signifying the completion of the final stroke of the talisman.

Suddenly, a wind picked up in the ward.

It wasn't strong, just a faint, cold breeze, causing Li Zhuiyuan to shiver involuntarily. Luo Tingrui on the opposite side did the same, hugging his arms.

This wind wasn't just in this ward; it was throughout the entire floor, even several floors above and below, all converging here.

Li Zhuiyuan vaguely saw what seemed like many shadows entering Uncle Qin's body with the wind, including a red shadow from within the ward.

Is he… absorbing those dirty things into his body?

Uncle Qin stood still for a moment before taking a step, walking back to the bedside, reaching out to retrieve his vest, and putting it back on.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's steps were a bit stiff at first, and even his facial expression seemed somewhat wooden. But after putting his clothes back on, he seemed to have recovered… or perhaps adapted.

The lights in the ward also seemed to have become much brighter and clearer. In fact, it wasn't just this place; a good portion of the building had become much brighter.

Actually, sometimes the hospital lights at night appear dim and hazy not due to the fixtures, but because there are many things present in places like hospitals.

And the earlier appearance of the female driver and the paper car meant that the terrifying dirty thing had already permeated the ward, even observing Luo Tingrui's actions.

Uncle Qin looked at Luo Tingrui, "I need to go somewhere, and I need a car."

Luo Tingrui replied, "The car I sent to pick you up should still be downstairs."

"Director Luo, that car isn't there," Li Zhuiyuan said.

"Then how did you get here, and so quickly?"

Li Zhuiyuan answered, "We took a pedicab."

"Then… I'll arrange a motorcycle. Uh, can you ride one?" Luo Tingrui asked, looking at Uncle Qin.

Uncle Qin nodded, "Yes."

"Alright, I'll have someone arrange it immediately." Luo Tingrui led Uncle Qin out of the ward, called over the female colleague, gave her instructions, and then signaled Uncle Qin to follow her downstairs to get the vehicle.

As they left, Li Zhuiyuan, who remained in the ward, heard Xue Liangliang's rambling:

"No, I won't marry you. There's no love between us. This is our first meeting. I'm not casual about marriage, so don't dream about it!"

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder if Liangliang-ge was acting out a Qiong Yao drama in his sleep.

At this time, the Qiong Yao drama craze had already emerged, and university students were among the audience. Li Zhuiyuan often saw older students on campus discussing dramas or carrying novels.

Just then, Uncle Qin returned to the ward entrance, "Xiao Yuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan followed Uncle Qin downstairs, got the motorcycle, started it, and twisted the throttle, the engine roaring to life.

Uncle Qin drove very fast, weaving through the city streets before heading towards the suburbs.

Li Zhuiyuan sat behind him. Without a helmet, he had to press his face against Uncle Qin's back to avoid the wind, his hands gripping Uncle Qin's waist.

He felt astonished. Uncle Qin, who had been farming in the fields that afternoon and facing the woman in red in the ward just moments ago, was now speeding on a motorcycle.

Li Zhuiyuan felt the madness of this world.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital ward, Luo Tingrui heard Xue Liangliang's rambling again:

"No, it's impossible to come back once a month. My future job won't allow me to leave the construction site. So many people's efforts are concentrated there; I can't be so irresponsible."

Even half a year wouldn't be enough. Future large-scale projects won't have such short deadlines, and we can't afford even the slightest mistake.

My future isn't in Nantong, nor in Jiangsu. I want to go to the Great Southwest. That's where my dream is, where my future lies.

So, stop dreaming. Really, I'm not going to marry you, and don't think you can tie me down here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses, breathed onto the lenses, and then wiped them with his shirt.

He felt both touched and sad, yet also a little amused. This brat, in such a sorry state, is still dreaming about building up the Great Southwest.

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

Middle-aged people always habitually disdain the idealistic glow of youth, seeing it as their naivety and immaturity. Yet, they rarely reflect: could it be that they themselves are the ones who have fallen and become lost?

"Liangliang, if you recover this time, I'll personally take you to the Southwest."

The car drove to the riverbank. Li Zhuiyuan got out, and after propping up the car, Uncle Qin clapped his hands, his gaze fixed on the river's surface, filled with complex emotions.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

Throughout history, great rivers have always been the cradles of civilization.

The sands on both banks were formed from countless joys and sorrows, and even more stories and mysteries have settled at the bottom of these rivers over the years.

It's like where Brother Liangliang said the local gazetteer got the location of Bai Family Town wrong... Li Zhuiyuan faced the direction of Chongming Island, roughly estimating the position and distance.

A guess gradually formed in his mind:

Could Bai Family Town really be at the bottom of the river right in front of us?

Uncle Qin began to undress. Unlike at the hospital where he only took off his undershirt, this time he stripped completely, folding his clothes neatly on the bank and weighing them down with a pebble.

Next, Uncle Qin twisted his neck, then placed his hands under his ears on either side, and with a mighty pull, he tore.

Li Zhuiyuan heard the sound of flesh tearing. He looked closely and saw that Uncle Qin had five long wounds under each ear.

These wounds were oozing blood and continuously opening and closing.

Like... bloody fish gills.

Immediately after, Uncle Qin began to stretch his body. With each movement, a cracking sound came from his joints, accompanied by the tearing of some flesh.

Soon, Uncle Qin's body was covered in dense marks resembling stretch marks.

However, they weren't on his stomach but were evenly distributed on his arms and legs.

After finishing the stretching routine, Uncle Qin stopped, stood in place, and adjusted his breathing. The bloody wounds under his ears closed and opened with the rhythm of his breath.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Uncle Qin was different now; his physique had undergone a significant change.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Yeah."

"Watch the stuff on the bank."

"Okay, Uncle."

Uncle Qin nodded, then bent down. Under the moonlight, he began to run.

He wasn't running very fast, but his movements were incredibly coordinated. He ran to the river's edge, leaped, and jumped into the river, disappearing instantly.

Like a fish returning to the water.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the river surface, which had returned to its calm state, and then at Uncle Qin's clothes left on the bank.

He raised his hand and gently patted his forehead. Only after the event happened did he truly seem to grasp it:

"He really... just went in like that?"

Li Zhuiyuan initially stood, but after a while, his legs felt sore and heavy, so he sat down.

Time continued to pass. Uncle Qin had been underwater for a long time, and there was no movement on the river's surface, not even a single unusual bubble.

But all he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuiyuan yawned and looked at the horizon. The night was like a garment washed many times; its original dark color was thinning, and before long, it would turn white.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuiyuan forcibly dispelled his drowsiness, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and stood up again, continuing to gaze at the river.

This time, he saw movement.

In the center of the river, a figure seemed to appear and then disappear. Just as Li Zhuiyuan wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he saw Uncle Qin emerge from the water onto the riverbank.

His body was covered in shocking wounds, many of which were black and oozing pus.

The most terrifying was the one on his chest, so deep it was almost possible to see the white bone beneath.

Yet, Uncle Qin acted as if nothing had happened. He squatted by the river and began to wash his body with the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan brought the clothes over. As he got closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth embedded in Uncle Qin's wounds.

Seeing this, he could even imagine how those things had swarmed him, tearing at him ferociously.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan noticed a clear anger in Uncle Qin's eyes.

Uncle is angry.

"Uncle, how is it?"

"Not good."

"Did it fail?"

"It was almost successful," Uncle Qin said, pulling out a long fingernail from himself.

"And then?" Li Zhuiyuan stood behind Uncle Qin, grabbed a finger that had pierced his back, and pulled it out with force. The finger was still moving, clearly a human body part, but it felt like freshly cut snake.

After Li Zhuiyuan threw the finger to the ground, it continued to writhe towards the river. The blood-red nail bed emitted a strange glow.

"Smash it," Uncle Qin said.

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan picked up a rock and smashed it down hard. The finger deformed but kept wriggling. After smashing it several times with all his might, it finally disintegrated and stopped moving.

"Hoo hoo..." Li Zhuiyuan panted, unwilling to look down at the bloody mess.

"Slurp!"

Uncle Qin pulled another finger from himself and tossed it in front of Li Zhuiyuan. The meaning was clear.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pick up the stone again and continue smashing.

If anyone early risers had passed by and seen this scene from a distance, they might have thought it was a heartwarming father-son moment.

After clearing the dirty things embedded in his body, Uncle Qin picked up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, your wounds..."

"I'll have your aunt deal with them when we get back."

"Oh." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and asked, "Uncle, is Bai Family Town right below us?"

"You know that much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me everything."

"Mm, it is."

"So, you just went to Bai Family Town?"

"I went in, and things were almost settled, but..."

"But what?"

"You'll know when we get back to the hospital. Your big friend is truly impressive, a tough character, really, too tough."

Li Zhuiyuan could tell that Uncle Qin was angry because things hadn't gone according to his plan, and the person responsible for this outcome seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get in the car."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"You want to drive?"

Li Zhuiyuan obediently got into the car.

When the motorcycle reached a civilian house in the suburbs, Uncle Qin stopped the car, walked onto the patio, took a jacket from the clothesline and draped it over himself, then tucked his wallet onto the line.

He had too many injuries; just wearing a vest wouldn't cover them, and he probably wouldn't be admitted to the hospital.

The car entered the hospital, and Uncle Qin parked.

As Li Zhuiyuan got out of the car, he asked, "Uncle, will Bai Family Town continue to cause trouble in the future?"

Those Bai Family Empresses were like persistent ghosts. Li Zhuiyuan truly feared another one popping up later.

"They'll be quiet for a long time because the most powerful Bai Family Empress has made her statement."

In fact, compared to his own injuries, the outcome of the Bai Family matter was giving Qin Li more of a headache.

His mission was to strike back at the Bai Family, but halfway through the blow, the remaining half couldn't be delivered.

He also had to figure out how to explain it to Liu Yumei when he got back.

"Uncle Qin, Grandma Liu was just in a bad mood today, but now a whole night has passed. I think after a good sleep, Grandma Liu should be calmer."

Qin Li nodded. He thought the boy was right and could tell the boy was trying to comfort him. However, he was getting used to this kind of behavior from the boy.

"Let's go, Xiao Yuan. We'll go see your friend, and then we'll go home."

"Okay!"

They went upstairs and back to the hospital room, just in time to see Luo Tingrui coming out with a thermos: "You're back? Good, Liangliang woke up earlier, but he fell asleep again. You guys watch him for a bit, I'll go get some boiling water."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the hospital room and saw that Xue Liangliang's monitoring equipment had been removed. He was no longer unconscious but sleeping soundly.

"Uncle, is he okay now?"

"He's in big trouble."

"What?"

"Ask him yourself when he wakes up. I'm going downstairs to buy some bandages." Uncle Qin stood up and left the room.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang, fast asleep, ground his teeth and mumbled in his dream:

"Two years? Two years isn't enough, at least three. I can only promise to visit you once every three years."

Xue Liangliang rolled over in bed, hugging his quilt, and continued muttering in his sleep:

"We won't have children, will we?"

Hearing Xue Liangliang's words, a look of shock appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He seemed to have pieced together something incredible, but it was so absurd that he felt he must be mistaken.

Just then, Xue Liangliang seemed to wake up. He looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing by the hospital bed, and Li Zhuiyuan was also looking at him.

A moment later, Xue Liangliang withdrew his gaze, sat up, and leaned his back against the hospital bed. His expression was vacant, as if he had just suffered a major blow.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up an orange from the bedside table and began peeling it silently.

Finally, Xue Liangliang spoke, his tone dejected, filled with a deep sense of loss and desolation:

"Xiao Yuan, I have something terrible to tell you."

"Okay, brother, tell me."

Li Zhuiyuan finished peeling the orange, took out a segment, and offered it to Xue Liangliang's mouth. Xue Liangliang opened his mouth and ate it. Immediately, his already deeply sorrowful expression gained a hint of bitterness.

Xue Liangliang's mouth was open, and he couldn't speak for a moment because the emotion he had finally managed to muster was abruptly interrupted.

As soon as he had readjusted himself and was about to speak, he saw Li Zhuiyuan offering him the second segment of orange.

"Xiao Yuan, you eat too."

"I won't, it's sour."

"Then you..." The second segment of orange was placed into his mouth.

Tears welled up in Xue Liangliang's eyes. As he chewed, he said with a trembling voice:

"Xiao Yuan, I got married, brother."

"Congratulations."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up another segment of orange and offered it. This time, Xue Liangliang didn't resist. He ate the orange, and whether it was from the sourness or genuine emotion, his tears streamed down his face.

"My sister-in-law is quite a good person."

"As long as she's a good person, that's what matters," Li Zhuiyuan agreed, nodding. "My grandpa always told us that when looking for a partner, the most important things are character and personality. Other things, like how good-looking they are or whether they're alive or dead, don't matter."

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a pained expression and took another segment of orange into his mouth. "Your grandpa is quite open-minded."

"Mhm."

Li Zhuiyuan finally put the pieces together. Uncle Qin was responsible for fighting on the front lines, while Xue Liangliang was responsible for negotiations at the table.

He and Uncle Qin had rushed from the village, to the hospital, and then to the river, gradually increasing the pressure on it. This, in turn, allowed Xue Liangliang to obtain increasingly favorable bargaining chips, with the other party constantly making concessions.

Xue Liangliang himself was unaware of this.

As a result, Uncle Qin was about to reach its homeland and was on the verge of completely resolving the issue, but Xue Liangliang felt he had already secured the best possible negotiation outcome and signed the papers.

If he had just held out a little longer, this marriage wouldn't have happened.

It was no wonder Uncle Qin was angry. While he was fighting desperately on the front lines, on the verge of victory, their side had already sued for peace.

That's probably why Uncle Qin left the ward to buy bandages. It was likely an excuse; perhaps staying in the ward and looking at the person lying on the bed would make him unable to resist punching him.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bring himself to tell Brother Liangliang the truth. It would be countless times more bitter than the half-orange left in his hand.

The deed was done, it was a fait accompli. He might as well try to persuade him to look on the bright side and ask about some happy things to ease his mind.

"Brother, did you ask for a bride price?"

"No, that wasn't necessary."

"That's good, love marriage, a new type of union."

"Actually, my sister-in-law wanted to give me a bride price."

"See, how wonderful. No one else can envy this."

"But I firmly refused." Xue Liangliang puffed out his chest, like a proud little rooster.

"Yes, my Brother Liangliang has the most integrity."

"Of course. I'm not going to be a live-in son-in-law."

"I admire that."

"My sister-in-law and I have agreed, and she also agreed, that I only need to visit her once every three years. The rest of the time, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want."

"That's great."

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that his worries were unnecessary. This was Xue Liangliang, an incredibly strong person. No matter how difficult the situation, he wouldn't dwell on it; instead, he would quickly adjust himself.

Otherwise, you couldn't explain the inexplicably smug and boastful tone in his words. It was enough for others to find joy in hardship and be strong, but Brother Liangliang could turn bitterness into sweet water.

"However, Xiao Yuan, I did compromise a bit."

"Oh?"

"I promised her that our second child will take her surname."