Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu

Li Zhuiyuan hung up the phone and asked the boss, "How much?"

The boss swallowed with some difficulty. He still thought the kid was just playing around, but to be safe, he pressed the speakerphone and redialed.

The short dialing tone made the boss's eyebrows twitch. When the call connected, a dispatcher's voice came through:

"Hello, this is the Tongzhou Public Security Bureau..."

"Slap!"

The boss immediately hung up. He looked at Li Zhuiyuan in disbelief. He hadn't expected the kid to actually call the police!

"You little bastards, what exactly are you doing!"

The boss ran from behind the counter like a madman and headed next door. He was going to tip them off, to make sure they weren't caught red-handed when the police arrived.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the phone. He had originally thought the boss would redial to say, "It was just kids playing, don't take it seriously, sorry to bother you."

But the boss, after confirming it was the police, got scared and hung up. He hadn't even considered that possibility.

Still, Li Zhuiyuan placed the phone fee on the counter and took two candies from the jar as change.

Candies from this era often had a sugar coating inside the wrapper that could be dissolved in the mouth. However, Li Zhuiyuan habitually peeled it off.

After cleaning off the sugar coating, and having been eating the candy for a while, Li Zhuiyuan still hadn't seen the video parlor owner come out from inside.

Li Zhuiyuan knew the boss had probably run into trouble in there.

Sighing silently, Li Zhuiyuan decided to move further away.

After the cars on the road passed, he crossed to the other side. Still feeling too close in a straight line, he walked west for a good distance and stopped in front of a bicycle repair shop.

From here, he could see the video parlor across the street, and when the police arrived, they would pass by him first.

Before long, Li Zhuiyuan saw a police motorcycle drive up, followed by a police car.

The two vehicles stopped in front of the video parlor. Six uniformed police officers got out, four entering through the front door, and two going around to the back.

The arrival of the police vehicles attracted the attention of many nearby people. Some shoppers and owners of surrounding businesses came over to watch the excitement.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't move closer, remaining in his spot, quietly waiting for the outcome.

In less than two minutes, a police officer ran out of the video parlor in a panic, his face full of disbelief.

Li Zhuiyuan's heart leaped: Could it be that even the police officers were having problems?

However, when he saw the officer go to the police car to pick up the radio and start speaking, and then another officer walk out of the video parlor...

Li Zhuiyuan knew the miasma had broken through.

In the Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, "miasma" was a dedicated chapter, generally referring to the special environment formed after a dead float had taken root somewhere.

That chapter described many methods for investigation, analysis, and breaking through.

But it was clear that in Wei Zhengdao's era, there were no telephones or People's Police.

Soon, reinforcements arrived one after another. Among them was a plainclothes middle-aged police officer with a chin full of stubble. After getting out of the car, his gaze quickly swept across the surroundings.

Although it was inappropriate to describe police officers this way, this one gave Li Zhuiyuan the feeling of a falcon's gaze, because his eyes were so sharp.

What surprised Li Zhuiyuan even more was that the man didn't go to the video parlor but pushed through the crowd in front of him, as if heading towards him.

But his action was interrupted by the calls of his colleagues behind him, and he had to turn back.

At this moment, people were being brought out of the video parlor one by one.

They all looked listless, as if they might twist an ankle and fall at any moment. Yet, their faces were flushed red, and they were shaking their heads vigorously.

The middle-aged police officer stepped forward, grabbed one person's arm, and pushed up on their forearm with his fingers, much like a classic move in massage therapy.

Then, he let go of that arm and grabbed the second and third, performing the same action.

"Captain Tan, what is it?"

Tan Yunlong shook his head. "It doesn't look like they've taken drugs."

His words caused many of the surrounding police officers to look surprised.

To be honest, it had initially been a relatively simple raid on a brothel and the distribution of obscene materials. But after the responding officers arrived and investigated, they immediately made an excited report.

Then, the entire station erupted.

Who would have thought that in this rural area, they would stumble upon a den for group drug use?

Tan Yunlong knew what his colleagues were thinking, and could only say, "This is just my personal judgment. Take them back to the station first, and then ask the town clinic to send medical staff to check them."

"Yes, Captain Tan."

In fact, Tan Yunlong himself wasn't entirely sure, because the behavior of these people was too similar.

Soon, everyone from the video parlor was brought outside.

Li Zhuiyuan saw Lei Zi and Pan Zi among them. The two of them weren't scared of the police; instead, they were talking to each other and high-fiving occasionally.

The two women who worked part-time at the video parlor were the same. They even actively chatted and laughed with the police officers beside them.

Anyone could see that something was wrong with this behavior.

In addition, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Brother Leopard, who was behind the woman, was gone.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know where Brother Leopard had gone, nor could he find him.

Next, they were taken onto police cars one by one. The video arcade and the small convenience store next door were sealed off by the police.

Originally, the tip-off call had come from the convenience store, which would be obvious upon investigation. But the owner of the convenience store was now the most agitated. After getting into the police car, he kept making faces at the car window.

Perhaps it was because he was the last one to go in, and he was currently having the time of his life.

Li Zhuiyuan looked around. He was a little confused. Why hadn't Run Sheng Ge come back yet?

Just then, a pedicab stopped nearby to watch the commotion. Li Zhuiyuan walked over, got into the car, gave the location of the town's health center, and asked for the price.

After the pedicab driver quoted the price, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that because he had been on the phone earlier, he had naturally switched to Mandarin and hadn't switched back to the local dialect. So, he asked for the price again in the local dialect.

The pedicab driver gave a sheepish smile and quoted a price that was half of the original.

When they arrived at the town's health center, Li Zhuiyuan walked in. Before he could even ask where Sister Mei and Run Sheng were, he saw two police officers walking ahead.

He followed them and soon found a quiet hospital room. On the bench outside the room, Run Sheng was sitting quietly.

The police pushed the door open, and Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Run Sheng, gently nudged him, and asked:

"Run Sheng Ge, why are you sitting here?"

Run Sheng looked up. "Little Yuan ah..."

After some conversation, Li Zhuiyuan learned what had happened after they were sent to the hospital.

First, Brother Leopard's rescue attempt failed, and he was pronounced dead.

Upon hearing this news, Sister Mei immediately fainted.

The old man who drove the pedicab left immediately after arriving at the hospital.

Therefore, Run Sheng was asked by the health center staff to stay behind to pay the bill. But Run Sheng had no money on him, so he could only sit there as a "hostage."

He thought that once Sister Mei woke up and explained things, he could leave. It was just that Sister Mei had been unconscious for quite a long time.

Li Zhuiyuan took the initiative to push the door open and find the police. In the hospital room, Sister Mei was lying on the hospital bed, surrounded by two uniformed police officers and one plainclothes officer.

This plainclothes officer had arrived earlier. Li Zhuiyuan hadn't known this beforehand. If he had known, he might have hesitated before entering, because that person was the one who seemed to have noticed him at a glance in the crowd.

Li Zhuiyuan first approached the two police officers and explained the situation, stating that his friend had only been doing a good deed and should not have gotten involved in this subsequent trouble.

After the police understood the whole story, they proactively communicated with the health center staff, and soon, Run Sheng was informed by the health center that he could leave.

"That's great, I can finally go home to eat!"

Run Sheng was so hungry that he wished he could carry Li Zhuiyuan on his back and sprint home.

But a voice from behind them called out at this moment: "Little one, wait a moment."

Tan Yunlong walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, bent down, and looked at the boy seriously.

"Little one, you were the one who called the police, right?"

The dispatcher's feedback indicated that the caller was a young boy. After arriving at the scene, Tan Yunlong immediately spotted Li Zhuiyuan.

How to put it, when everyone else was crowding forward to watch the excitement, the person standing alone quietly on the periphery with an excellent vantage point was actually more conspicuous. Moreover, the boy's friend had sent the owner and owner's wife of the video arcade to the hospital. When all these factors were put together, it wasn't a coincidence.

"Yes, that's right, Uncle Police, I called the police."

Li Zhuiyuan did not deny it. In front of such an experienced police officer, lying was simply not cost-effective.

"Why did you call the police?"

"But, shouldn't I have called the police?"

Tan Yunlong was momentarily speechless and could only smile in the end. "You should have. You did a good job."

"Uncle, can we go home now?"

"Of course, you can." The specific test results for the video arcade incident had not yet come out, but no matter what, the person who called the police should be protected. "Come, where does your family live? Uncle will drive you home. It's not safe for children to walk at night."

"Thank you, Uncle."

Tan Yunlong let Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng get into the car. Before driving off, he first removed the police siren from the roof.

He didn't drive Li Zhuiyuan directly home. Instead, he stopped the car on the village road.

Li Zhuiyuan said goodbye to Tan Yunlong, then he and Run Sheng got out of the car and walked towards Great Grandfather's house. At the fork in the road where they were about to turn into the alley, they saw Li Weihan riding a heavy-duty bicycle in a hurry, followed by four uncles, rushing out of the village.

Li Weihan's face was serious. Two of the four uncles looked worried, while the other two had ashen faces and were still cursing.

"Grandpa, Uncles."

"Little Yuanhou, hurry home. Grandpa and your uncles have something to go to town for."

At this moment, Li Weihan didn't even have time to look closely at his most beloved grandson. The message from the messenger was too shocking:

It said that Lei Zi and Pan Zi were caught by the police in town for using drugs!

This news was like a bolt from the blue!

They were rushing to the town police station at that moment. The two uncles who were muttering "beat this wicked creature to death" were Pan Zi and Lei Zi's fathers.

Run Sheng asked curiously, "Little Yuan, did something happen?"

"Let's go home first. I'm hungry, Run Sheng Ge."

"That's right, me too!"

Back home, Aunt Liu said with a hint of reproach, "How could you forget the time when you went out to play? We finished eating a long time ago, and Great Grandfather has also finished his meal and gone for a walk."

However, Aunt Liu quickly brought out the reserved dishes, though their presentation wasn't as appealing.

Li Zhuiyuan only had a bowl in front of him, with rice at the bottom and dishes on top; Run Sheng had a basin.

Run Sheng quickly lit some incense and took several large bites, chewing with a look of intoxicated enjoyment, as if he had finally recovered.

His appearance was more like someone who had taken drugs than those suspected people in front of the video arcade.

Qin Li sat down in front of Li Zhuiyuan and watched him eat.

While he was eating, Great Grandfather returned from his walk and sighed:

"Damn it, why is everyone in the village spreading rumors that Pan Zi and Lei Zi have joined the opium trafficking gang, and that they even hold a high position."

Li Zhuiyuan almost choked on his food. As he coughed, he felt a gentle, small hand patting his back.

Li Sanjiang sat down, lit a cigarette, and continued, "I really can't tell. These two kids always seemed so honest in the village. It really is true that you can't judge a book by its cover."

"Great Grandfather, it must be the villagers spreading baseless rumors. How could that be possible?"

"That's hard to say. Your grandfather and your uncles have all gone to the police station right now.

Little Yuanhou, Great Grandfather must warn you, other things are fine, but you absolutely cannot touch this thing. Once you touch it, your life is basically over."

"I know, Great Grandfather."

"By the way, who did you go out with this afternoon? You came back so late."

"With Panzi Ge and Leizi Ge."

Li Sanjiang's face wrinkled, then smoothed out as he nodded, "Then it must be the villagers spreading rumors based on hearsay."

After dinner, Li Sanjiang went upstairs to wash up and sleep. He had to get up early tomorrow to sit zhai at Old Zhao's house.

Run Sheng took a shower at the well. Without drying himself, he eagerly turned on the TV and started watching.

His wet, dripping appearance, combined with the white light projected by the TV, made him look like a dead float that had just come ashore.

Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, stood in a horse stance on the threshing ground.

A Li stood beside him, accompanying him.

After practicing for enough time, Li Zhuiyuan stood up straight and took a long breath. A fine layer of sweat covered his body, and the fatigue accumulated during the day was also greatly relieved.

Liu Yumei had been sitting on the threshing ground, cracking melon seeds and enjoying the evening breeze. Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan had finished practicing, she couldn't help but tease him:

"What's the use of practicing this? Look at how serious you are."

"Just consider it broadcast gymnastics."

This answer made Liu Yumei's expression falter. Unconsciously, she spat out the melon seed kernel and started chewing the shell.

Li Zhuiyuan seemed to realize he had said something wrong and tried to smooth it over, "I just feel much more comfortable and energetic after practicing this. It's quite magical."

"You're still young, your bones haven't fully developed yet. It's not suitable for you to practice strenuous techniques now."

"Okay, Grandma Liu." Li Zhuiyuan's gaze shifted to the belt around A Li's waist, "Grandma, isn't A Li's belt a bit unsuitable?"

A Li already tends to go berserk when encountering strangers or stimulation. If she is also equipped with a soft sword on her person... she might start slashing people.

"Grandma, I think it's quite suitable. Only this belt can match our A Li's outfit."

As soon as Liu Yumei finished speaking, A Li immediately untied the belt and threw it on the ground because Little Yuan said it was unsuitable.

At this, the old lady's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and carefully picked up the belt. Although it was thin and soft, if applied with skill, it could be very dangerous.

"Alright, it's getting late. A Li, you should go to bed. We'll play together again tomorrow morning."

A Li obediently returned to the house.

Li Zhuiyuan apologized, "Grandma Liu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that in front of A Li."

"Grandma is just a bit embarrassed, but she's not so confused as to not know right from wrong. She knows you meant well.

However, you've misunderstood one thing. It must have been your Great Grandfather who told you about A Li. When A Li really has an episode, it doesn't matter whether there are weapons around her or not."

"What?"

"You should go back to your room. Ah Ting said you asked her to buy a lot of things today."

"I asked Aunt Liu to help me buy some study materials."

"Then you should go do your homework. This old woman is going to sleep now."

"Goodnight, Grandma Liu."

Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs to the second floor and opened his bedroom door. He saw a room full of various materials. The previously empty room was now filled and compact.

"Aunt Liu's efficiency is really high."

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to a cage. Inside was a small black puppy, with a water bowl and a food bowl in the cage.

Earlier downstairs, Aunt Liu hadn't mentioned a word. Clearly, she was only responsible for helping him purchase the items. As for how to explain it to Great Grandfather later, that was his own business.

Including, raising a little black dog.

Logically, puppies at this age should be the most lively and boisterous, but this puppy was lying askew by the cage, fast asleep.

Even when he walked up to it, it didn't even open its eyelids.

Confirmed, this dog wasn't suitable for guarding the gate; if left to do so, it would rest earlier, wake up later, and sleep even more soundly than its owner.

However, Li Zhuiyuan wanted it not for that purpose, but for its blood.

This might sound cruel, but it wasn't. Virgin black dog blood appeared frequently in "The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons" and was one of the necessities for activating and using many artifacts.

But this only required extracting its essence, meaning a tiny bit of blood to smear on as a catalyst.

Like when Great Grandfather performed rituals before salvaging bodies, he would often splash black dog blood by the basinful... actually, that was wrong.

Li Zhuiyuan had scoured both "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" and "The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons," and hadn't seen any dead float killed by being doused with black dog blood.

Moreover, what Great Grandfather splashed didn't seem to be dog blood, but rather something he had pre-mixed with pigment. The specific blood used depended on whether the family's meat dishes in the preceding days were chicken or pork.

Normally, to ensure vigorous blood energy, it was most suitable to use black dog blood extracted within a month; beyond that time, the effect would be greatly diminished.

Each time, just a capful the size of a beer bottle cap was sufficient. Then, it was mixed with other ingredients to form something like red ink paste. When needed, one would open the ink paste lid, press a fingertip into it, and then smear it where necessary.

This amount and frequency had a negligible impact on the dog's health. At most, after drawing blood, he'd give it a big chicken leg to replenish it.

As for the method of raising a virgin dog, it was also recorded in the books and wasn't complicated; it just involved feeding it medicine.

The book contained a prescription that even a seasoned traditional Chinese medicine doctor would consider merely a tonic for humans. But if a dog ate it, besides strengthening its body, it would come with a side effect specifically for dogs: a significant reduction in its desires in that regard.

Confining the dog in a dark room, isolated from the outside world, could cause it to become mentally unstable. If its blood carried malevolent energy, the effect would be poor.

However, simply watching over the dog was too much of a drain on energy. And if it accidentally found an opportunity to go out and break its chastity, you wouldn't be able to verify it. Then, facing the dead float with useless black dog blood would only bring misfortune upon yourself, at too great a cost.

As for neutering the dog for a permanent solution, that was even more inadvisable. Castrated dogs had no essence in their blood, making it completely useless.

Therefore, feeding the dog this kind of tonic was the most suitable. As long as it was fed according to the course of treatment, it would remain a virtuous dog gentleman even during its heat cycle.

Wei Zhengdao was a kind-hearted person, and the book also mentioned that when the dog reached three or four years old, the medication could be stopped, it could be granted freedom, and then a new dog could be found to continue drawing blood from.

As for the dogs that had taken the medicine, they were often stronger and healthier. The only drawback was that they couldn't engage in canine activities for those few years.

But after being freed, they could still have a vast sky and a wonderful future; it was just a matter of enduring hardship before enjoying sweetness.

Seeing that the puppy still ignored him, Li Zhuiyuan stopped paying attention to it and started "stocking" his items one by one from his list.

Fortunately, Brother Liangliang had given him some money earlier; otherwise, relying solely on his previous pocket money, buying so many things wouldn't have been enough.

And this was only the first batch of raw materials, not including the subsequent experimental losses and processing fees.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan finally felt the pressure of finances.

He regretted declining the jade thumb ring that Liu Yumei had given him back then.

After checking the inventory and confirming nothing was missed, Li Zhuiyuan sat back down at his desk and began drawing the design blueprints.

The diagrams in the book were rather crude and mostly supplemented with textual descriptions. He had to translate them himself to conveniently find someone to produce them in reality.

These kinds of handmade books were truly difficult to tackle.

After working until one in the morning, Li Zhuiyuan left his desk, took a shower, and went to bed.

The next day, when he woke up, he turned his head and saw A Li, dressed in a red dress, sitting in a chair.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little worried. If he returned to the capital and woke up without seeing her, would he feel lost and unaccustomed?

The puppy in the cage seemed very interested in A Li, facing her and pawing at the cage.

However, A Li was different from other girls; she wasn't interested in these cute little animals. Otherwise, Liu Yumei would probably have already set up a small zoo for her.

While washing up, he heard people talking on the patio below. It was Li Weihan and Li Sanjiang.

Li Zhuiyuan listened quietly from upstairs for a while.

The police had arrested people and brought them back to the police station yesterday. After examination, they found that none of them had taken that substance. However, among the four thugs who had left earlier, the one leading them, wearing a suit, was involved with this kind of thing.

That guy was lying at home when the police showed up and asked him to go to the police station to assist with the investigation. He confessed everything immediately. He was just a small fry, having just found a contact to distribute it and make quick money. Now, they had followed the lead.

As for what happened to the people in the video arcade, the police's explanation was that the gas valve in a small secluded area of the arcade hadn't been properly closed, causing everyone to suffer from gas poisoning, which led to many people experiencing hallucinations.

Li Sanjiang asked in surprise, "Gas poisoning causes that kind of reaction?"

Li Weihan replied, "That's what the police said. Panhou and Leihou got IV drips, and after returning home, they were normal."

Li Sanjiang said with lingering fear, "Good heavens, people in the city take such big risks using gas. Our traditional stoves are better."

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and greeted Li Weihan. Li Weihan patted Li Zhuiyuan's head and then scolded Pan Zi and Lei Zi again as examples.

Even though they didn't take that substance, going to the video arcade to watch such videos and getting caught by the police during a raid was embarrassing enough.

After getting their IV drips and returning home, Pan Zi and Lei Zi were severely "encouraged" with rattan sticks by their two uncles to improve their sleep quality.

However, Li Zhuiyuan also understood that Panzi Ge and Leizi Ge were very loyal. When he got into trouble and was beaten, they didn't reveal that he had also gone to the video arcade.

After Li Weihan left, Li Sanjiang called Run Sheng, and together they pushed the paper offerings to the Zhao family, who were holding a funeral that day.

Li Sanjiang invited Li Zhuiyuan to come along so he could eat at the banquet, but Li Zhuiyuan refused, using the excuse that he "needed to stay home and study diligently."

For the rest of the day, Li Zhuiyuan stayed in his room doing handicrafts, mainly basic preparation work for some of the materials.

The little puppy was also let out of its cage by Li Zhuiyuan to run around. However, after it tried to approach A Li and was scared off by the sudden cold aura emanating from her, it lost the desire to explore further. It actually went back into its cage and fell asleep.

Moreover, from last night until now, besides "pooping" a few times in the morning to remind him that its bowl was empty, it hadn't made a sound.

Li Zhuiyuan even suspected that even if he didn't give it that medicine, it might not go out to socialize once it grew a bit older and gained that ability, simply because it was too lazy to move.

Originally, Li Zhuiyuan just planned to have A Li help him with some simple tasks, but after discovering that A Li was quick to learn and very meticulous, he began to treat A Li as his official collaborator.

To some extent, Li Zhuiyuan even had to admit that A Li's craftsmanship was superior to his own.

The two of them spent the entire day in this atmosphere, their interaction stronger than when they read books together, though it left A Li quite dirty.

Before dinner, Li Zhuiyuan used a towel to wipe A Li's hands and face. The dirt on his clothes, however, was harder to deal with.

Liu Yumei had just picked up her chopsticks to start eating when she saw the boy, covered in dirt, leading her equally dirty granddaughter downstairs. She was so startled that she almost crushed her chopsticks.

Her granddaughter was a clean freak and always needed to be kept spotless, but after being with this kid, she didn't even seem to care about that anymore.

Although rationally she knew that everything was developing rapidly in a positive direction, emotionally, as a grandmother, she still found it a bit hard to accept.

This scene before her was like her own daughter, whom she had raised in comfort and luxury, suddenly saying she was willing to go work with a poor boy and endure hardships together.

And she wasn't just saying it anymore.

Liu Yumei quickly calmed herself down. While eating, she observed that her granddaughter wasn't just purely lowering her head to eat anymore. She would take a few bites, then look up at the boy in front of her, and a subtle sway of her body would appear.

This caused Liu Yumei's emotions, which had just settled down, to fluctuate again... Damn it, this "working together" actually worked.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan decided not to continue working late into the night, also worrying about tiring A Li. He would draw new blueprints by himself that night.

After sending A Li back to the east room, he went upstairs, first practicing horse stance on the balcony, and then returned to his room to draw.

Late at night, Li Zhuiyuan came out of his room to wash his face. Along the way, he noticed that Great Grandfather's bedroom was empty. Hearing the sound of the television downstairs, he went down and saw Run Sheng alone, eating a bun and watching TV.

"Run Sheng Ge, where is Great Grandfather?"

"He's still drinking at the banquet."

Since Run Sheng wasn't suitable to eat at the main table, Li Sanjiang had packed him a separate meal. He sat in a corner by himself, eating his bun while watching TV. After eating, he had said hello and returned early to watch television.

"Oh, I see."

"Xiao Yuan, do you want to watch TV?"

"No, Run Sheng Ge, you watch by yourself. I'm going upstairs."

Back in his second-floor bedroom, Li Zhuiyuan drew a few more pictures. He felt he had reached his limit for the day. Seeing that it was past midnight, he decided to wash up and go to bed.

Taking his washbasin, he prepared to go to the shower room. He specifically glanced at Great Grandfather's bedroom and found that Great Grandfather still hadn't returned.

He went downstairs and saw Run Sheng fiddling with the antenna while changing channels.

"Run Sheng Ge, Great Grandfather still hasn't returned. Could he have gotten drunk at someone's house?"

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Great Grandfather liked to drink, and when attending banquets, he would definitely drink his fill.

"I don't know."

"Run Sheng Ge, would you come with me to take a look? If Great Grandfather is drunk, we can carry him back."

"Sure thing."

Li Zhuiyuan took out his flashlight and put in the batteries. Old Zhao's house wasn't far from here, but the night road was difficult to navigate.

Walking on the country road, as they neared Old Zhao's house, he saw that although the tent was still set up, the lights were mostly off, indicating that the banquet had long since ended.

However, just as they reached the open area, they saw that one lamp was still lit under the large tent. Beneath the lamp were three people, still drinking, and one of them was Li Sanjiang.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing that Great Grandfather had found drinking buddies tonight, and was chatting and drinking with them until now, disregarding the host's efforts to wrap up the banquet.

At this moment, Run Sheng couldn't get close enough and called out from a distance, waving his hand, "Grandpa, they're already packing up. Let's go home!"

Hearing Run Sheng's call, Li Sanjiang, who was tipsy, turned his eyes and waved back, "It's alright. I told the host that I was afraid their child wouldn't be able to find his way home at night, so I let him sit here a bit longer. The host was very happy and gave us some cold dishes and extra wine."

Immediately after, Li Sanjiang began introducing him to the two people he was drinking with, "See? That's my great-grandson. My great-grandson is handsome and smart, very likable. Don't mistake him; that tall fellow isn't him, he's from Shanpao's family."

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the table, intending to apologize to Great Grandfather's drinking companions and then take the clearly inebriated Great Grandfather home to rest.

When he had walked over earlier, he had thought it was due to the dim lighting that the upper bodies, especially the faces, of the two drinking companions were hidden in darkness.

But now that he was right beside them, he still couldn't see their faces clearly. He just felt that Great Grandfather's two drinking companions seemed quite young. Could they be friends with a significant age gap?

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his flashlight and, pretending to move it casually, swept it across their faces.

Instantly, Li Zhuiyuan's heart trembled.

Because one of the men sitting at the table drinking was Brother Leopard!

The other person looked familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen him before. He just felt that the person was excessively young, perhaps only a little older than Run Sheng.

However, the answer was soon provided. After the flashlight beam swept across their faces, it happened to stop on the black and white portrait in the center of the mourning hall.

The funeral here today was for him.

And now he was at the table, Eating his own banquet.