Chapter 29

Li Zhuiyuan slept deeply that night. He did not dream, did not get up to use the bathroom, and did not even change his sleeping position. He simply closed his eyes and opened them again, and the long night was over.

Out of habit, he turned his head to the side. Sure enough, the girl was sitting in the chair near the door.

But Li Zhuiyuan quickly noticed something was wrong, because the girl had not changed clothes.

She was still wearing yesterday's black training outfit, and the stains she had picked up while rushing work remained clearly visible.

That meant the girl had not gone back to the East Room to sleep last night. She had sat here all night.

Li Zhuiyuan could roughly guess why she had done this. He had exhausted himself too badly yesterday, and she was worried he might suddenly die in his sleep.

A reason outsiders would find difficult to understand was, to the girl, the purest and simplest thought.

Although she had not spoken to him since they first met, Li Zhuiyuan found that he was becoming more and more able to understand her.

He got out of bed and walked over to the girl.

Her face was still exquisite, showing not the slightest trace of fatigue.

Perhaps she had often stayed up through the night in the past. In her world, the distinction between day and night had long since blurred.

Otherwise, Liu Yumei would not so often remind him to coax A Li back to the East Room to sleep every night.

The girl lifted her head and met the boy's gaze.

In her eyes, Li Zhuiyuan saw an almost complete reflection of himself.

It was not as though he had never analyzed why the girl treated him so differently.

It all began on the night the old cat demon came. The girl had stood in the yard, raised her head, and looked at him standing on the Second Floor Balcony.

He should have been the first person to enter her dreams.

It could never have been a beautiful dream, because her eyes could see the terrifying underside of this world.

At the age of ten... no, even earlier, when she had been younger, she had already been like this.

It was difficult to imagine how a babbling toddler could face such an environment, surrounded everywhere by endless ugliness and filth.

She must have cried, feared, and screamed, but the world did not change because of her emotions. In the end, she chose to change herself and shut herself away completely.

Autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mutism—those were merely outward symptoms. The true cause was her rejection of all contact with the outside world.

Though it made him blush a little, it was true: his appearance that night had been like a beam of light suddenly appearing in her endless darkness.

He was like a balcony enclosed behind glass windows. Standing on that balcony, she cautiously used him to touch and perceive the outside world.

Perhaps he had only happened, at this particular moment, to temporarily carry all her passion and expectations for this world.

But at the same time, was she not the same for him?

His mother already disliked him. His father could no longer continue enduring this family. Neither Grandpa South nor Grandpa North had him as their only grandson.

But at least in the eyes of the girl before him, he was all she saw.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out, intending to straighten the slightly messy hair beside A Li's ear, but the girl reached out first and wrapped both arms around his neck. Then she pressed her face against his chest.

Ever since seeing him make that gesture toward Li Sanjiang that day, she had remembered it and come to like it.

She had been secretly copying it all along, clumsy yet adorable.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pat her head and continue reciting that line:

"Whatever A Li wants, I'll buy it for you. I have money. Lots and lots of money."

Though the line did not quite fit the moment, the girl was very satisfied.

She moved away from the boy's chest and looked at him with bright eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan knew she had just been expressing joy, celebrating his "recovery from a serious illness."

Yes, in her eyes, his exhaustion from staying up late yesterday meant that he had fallen ill.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled at A Li and silently thought:

Actually, we're the same. We're both seriously ill.

He woke later than usual today, and everyone else had already finished breakfast.

When Li Zhuiyuan came downstairs holding A Li's hand, Liu Yumei was sitting in the yard with her head lowered, drinking tea.

Li Zhuiyuan did not dare look too closely at Grandma Liu's expression. In any case, it would not look pleasant.

Aunt Liu laid out breakfast and walked over, her gaze carrying a hint of suggestion.

Li Zhuiyuan understood. He said to A Li, "Go wash up and take a bath with Aunt Liu. If you're sleepy, go to sleep."

A Li obediently turned around and walked toward the East Room. Aunt Liu followed her in and shut the door.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down and began eating breakfast.

While he was eating, Li Sanjiang walked back from the toilet behind the house. He came over, bent down, examined him carefully, and said, "Little Yuanhou, your complexion is much better today than it was yesterday."

"Great Grandfather, sit down. There are some things I want to tell you. I was too tired yesterday and didn't get the chance."

"Need pocket money?" Li Sanjiang reached into his pocket, took out a denomination that village children would almost never have as pocket money, and set it beside Li Zhuiyuan's bowl of porridge. "If you need money, just tell your Great Grandfather. Your Great Grandfather has plenty of money."

Li Zhuiyuan did not rush to take the money. Instead, he said:

"Great Grandfather, at the banquet at Old Zhao's house the night before last, you weren't drinking alone. You were drinking with two people. One was called Brother Leopard, the owner of the video arcade the police raided three days ago. He's already dead. The other was Zhao Xing. You failed to notice him because he was right under your nose—he was Old Zhao's son, and the funeral the day before yesterday was held for him. Neither of them was alive. They came to drink with you because they wanted you to help..."

"Wait, wait!"

Li Sanjiang interrupted Li Zhuiyuan. He placed a hand over the boy's forehead, then put his palm against his own forehead to compare temperatures, saying in confusion:

"Oh dear, you do seem a little feverish. You're even talking nonsense."

"Great Grandfather, I'm telling the truth. They drank with you because they wanted you to go to Old Jiang's house in Shigang Town and deal with a Great Year Spirit kept in a Water Vat in the pond. If you refuse, they'll come back to cause you trouble. You'd better be careful lately."

"Little Yuanhou, are you saying that your Great Grandfather, that night, was drinking with two..." Li Sanjiang suddenly lowered his voice. "Drinking with two dead people until the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"Sigh, it was Great Grandfather's fault. I shouldn't have told you about that dream yesterday. It gave you nightmares last night. What you think about during the day, you dream about at night."

"I didn't. Great Grandfather, what I'm saying is true. I've already prepared some things that might come in handy. When the time comes, I can help you deal with—"

"All right, all right. Great Grandfather believes you. Come, once you've finished breakfast, I'll take you to Zheng Datong's to have your temperature checked and get an injection."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled. "Great Grandfather, you weren't even scared by the story I made up. You're amazing."

"Heh, you little sparrow, you think you can scare your Great Grandfather? Wouldn't I know if I drank with people until midnight? Runsheng Hou didn't see it, but you did? Your story has too many holes. It doesn't hold up at all."

"Mm. I'll make up a better one next time."

"Put more thought into your studies and stop dwelling on this superstitious nonsense. Oh, starting tonight, Great Grandfather will continue changing your luck."

Li Sanjiang patted the boy on the shoulder. He no longer mentioned taking him to the clinic for an injection, but went into the house and upstairs instead. He intended to catch up on sleep during the day and conserve his energy.

What if he dreamed again tonight and had to lead calisthenics for that group of Zombies in the Forbidden City?

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, picked up the salted duck egg he had already eaten halfway through, turned it in his hand as he studied it, and muttered:

"That shouldn't be the case. Why can't I make him understand?"

"It's right that you can't make him understand."

That was Liu Yumei's voice.

Li Zhuiyuan stood and walked over. "Grandma Liu, what did you just say?"

"The tea is cold. Brew another pot, and use fewer tea leaves. My mouth feels bland today."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and began brewing tea. He understood Liu Yumei's meaning. In this household, when speaking of certain special matters, one had to stop at a taste and could not say things outright.

It was the sort of thing where both sides understood, speaking in riddles without naming anything directly.

Liu Yumei leaned back slightly in her chair, looked at the boy, and said:

"Do you think your Great Grandfather can seem a little foolish at times? That there are things he simply cannot see clearly, and words he simply cannot take in?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

"Child, that's normal. People get old, and that's just how they become.

"At your age, you're full of vitality and instinctively curious about new things. But when ordinary people reach middle age, they begin resisting new things and naturally become conservative.

"When they grow old, most of them believe in only one thing: following their old habits, rolling onward like a hoop, until they roll straight into the coffin.

"They often become stubborn and obstinate. If you say they're wrong, they think you're young. If you say they shouldn't do things that way, they'll say they've lived to this age doing things their way.

"To them, right and wrong are unimportant. Living to old age is itself the best proof, and a skill in its own right. Do you understand?"

"I understand a little, but I'd like to hear more."

"Heh." Liu Yumei lifted her teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Tang Yin wrote a poem called 'Song of the Peach Blossom Hermitage.' Have you read it?"

"I have."

"The final two lines."

"'The world laughs at me for being too mad, while I laugh at the world for failing to see through. Remember the tombs of heroes by the Five Mausoleums—without wine or flowers, they hoe the fields.'"

"Yes. You laugh at him for not understanding, while he laughs at you for not understanding how to live."

"Grandma Liu, do you mean my Great Grandfather is deliberately pretending to be hard of hearing, pretending not to understand?"

"No. Your Great Grandfather isn't as good at acting as you are, little fellow."

"You're joking, Grandma."

"What do you think of your Great Grandfather?"

"Great Grandfather has many stories. Sometimes I feel I understand him, and other times I find myself confused."

"You're looking at things too complicatedly. Think more simply. Don't get tangled up in so many twists and turns."

"Grandma Liu, you've led me around in circles again."

"Your Great Grandfather is simply your Great Grandfather. There's nothing particularly extraordinary about him. The only difference between him and other people is probably that he has quite a lot of money. No, he has far too much money."

"Far too much money?" Li Zhuiyuan began considering what "money" represented here.

"When a person has too much money, they tend to get carried away. They become self-righteous and stop listening to others.

"But there's nothing to be done about it. Who told him to have money, right?

"Sometimes, having money means you can do whatever you want. Many matters can be settled with money.

"But spending money to pull strings is, after all, something that cannot see the light of day. Sometimes even the person himself does not know where exactly the money went. Still, when matters reach a certain point or a certain stage, they are inexplicably settled. He himself will feel that he somehow muddled through the obstacle.

"And the people around him, time and again, come to understand what happened, and they hate him so much their teeth itch.

"It isn't that they truly hate him. They simply cannot stand it, yet there is nothing they can do. In the end, they grow numb and accept it."

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Grandma Liu, if someone lives with a rich person, can they pick up money and become rich too?"

Liu Yumei looked meaningfully at the boy before her. She knew he understood.

"Ah, how could there really be money all over the ground for you to pick up? At best, you might occasionally scrape out a few cents from some hidden corner of the yard. Who knows how long you'd have to save before it was enough to buy our A Li a piece of candy."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the banknote his Great Grandfather had just given him and asked, "Then does Great Grandfather not know that he has so much money?"

"He probably only thinks he has a little money. He never imagined he was so rich, rich enough to drip with oil."

"Then can Great Grandfather spend this money on his own initiative?"

"Hehehe..." Liu Yumei covered her mouth and laughed. "What a foolish question. He doesn't even know he has that much money, so how could he spend it on his own initiative?"

"But the money has still been used?"

"That's right. It has been used."

Li Zhuiyuan drained the tea in his cup. The doubts surrounding his Great Grandfather that had lingered in his heart finally found their answer.

The money mentioned in their conversation represented fortune and luck.

People with abundant good fortune often escaped disaster and found blessings after misfortune.

According to Grandma Liu, if he looked at things more simply, Great Grandfather was just Great Grandfather—an ordinary corpse retriever from Siyuan Village.

To a certain extent, Grandpa Shan even seemed more professional than Great Grandfather when it came to their work.

That was why the effects of good fortune upon Great Grandfather seemed so bizarre.

Because Great Grandfather did not truly know many things, and the tools he possessed were merely useless display pieces. Without adequate vessels to bear it, that so-called good luck would become harder and harder to manifest reasonably, instead growing increasingly excessive and absurd.

For example, at the Memorial Birthday at the Niu Family last time, both Blind Liu and Grandpa Shan had their minds bewitched and ended up in a pathetic state. Yet Great Grandfather had actually leaned there and fallen asleep, completely unaffected.

Another example was the drinking session the night before last. Great Grandfather had vomited at precisely the right moment and then fallen asleep. The next day, he believed he had merely had a dream.

Most recently, there was just now. He and Great Grandfather had been face-to-face, and when he formally described what happened at the drinking table the night before last, Great Grandfather had not taken in a single word, assuming he was mischievously making up nonsense.

That was already extremely unreasonable. No matter what, he should not have been so arbitrary.

Once in a while could be understood. But every single time being like this was no longer mere coincidence.

So, was he avoiding it?

No. It was something influencing Great Grandfather to avoid it, to seek the safest possible transition.

Great Grandfather was not foolish, nor was he pretending to be foolish. Rather, an invisible hand seemed to stir him at certain moments, making his behavior appear somewhat foolish.

Using this logic to reason backward, all those past incidents seemed explainable.

Why did he sometimes find Great Grandfather unfathomable, yet at other times feel he was somewhat unreliable? Why did Blind Liu and Grandpa Shan always reveal that teeth-itching yet helpless attitude toward Great Grandfather? They had known him for decades. Perhaps, just as Liu Yumei said, they had grown numb and accepted it.

Li Zhuiyuan found it difficult to imagine that someone's good fortune could be so powerful.

He suddenly remembered the fate reading he had once done for Great Grandfather. It had been his first attempt, combining facial features with deduction, and the result had been an assessment that was completely reversed.

That time had dealt him a severe blow. It was the first time he had experienced frustration in learning. But what if he had not actually calculated wrongly?

After all, when he later read the faces of people such as Xue Liangliang and Zhao Hequan, he quickly received confirmation that his readings had been correct.

But if he had not read Great Grandfather incorrectly, then how profound did Great Grandfather's good fortune have to be to completely cover up... even reverse his fate?

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Then has Great Grandfather never suspected anything?"

Liu Yumei picked up a pastry, took a light bite, and answered:

"Who would spend their whole life healthy and carefree, walking by the river without ever getting their shoes wet, then actively suspect there was something wrong with that and insist on digging into and reflecting on why their life was going so smoothly? And after uncovering that secret, what then? Change it back? Is he sick?"

Li Zhuiyuan realized that he had indeed asked a very stupid question. Who would think being lucky was an illness?

However, he quickly thought of something else. "Then can this money be used on other people?"

"What do you mean? Do you want to pick up money too?"

"No, I'm only using it as an example. For instance, could the effects of this money influence me?"

Liu Yumei pressed her lips together, her gaze flickering. She seemed to want to avoid this question.

Li Zhuiyuan continued, "Several times, when I found tainted money, my first reaction was to hide it from Great Grandfather and not tell him the truth. It was only after a long while that I realized I should not hide it from him. But when I really did tell him about the tainted money, Great Grandfather never believed me.

"I understand why Great Grandfather doesn't believe me now. But what about my earlier changes in reaction? Could I have been influenced there?"

"Do you want me to tell you?"

"I do, Grandma Liu."

"But I'm afraid you'll regret knowing."

"How could I?"

Liu Yumei lightly rubbed her fingertip along the rim of her teacup. Her gaze fell upon the banknote the boy had just taken out:

"Some things had long since had their prices secretly marked and their transactions completed."

Li Zhuiyuan's heart jolted. He looked at Liu Yumei in disbelief.

Liu Yumei continued, "Tell me, ever since your Great Grandfather brought you home to live with him, what difference has there been between you and Run Sheng's grandfather?"

Li Zhuiyuan stared blankly at the ground as countless past events rapidly connected in his mind.

Great Grandfather had dragged his injured body to the Niu Family to earn money. In the end, Li Zhuiyuan had communicated with the Cat-faced Old Woman, helped her devise her revenge plan, and made her "die" beneath Great Grandfather's Peachwood Sword.

Great Grandfather had been invited to Jiuxu Port to drive evil from Yingzi's maternal grandparents, while Li Zhuiyuan had gone to the riverworks, caught the markings alongside Xue Liangliang, and finally reunited with Great Grandfather at the People's Hospital.

After that, the two key people who had truly dealt with the Bai Family Town incident, Xue Liangliang and Uncle Qin, had both been found by him. Meanwhile, Great Grandfather had merely gone home and taken a nap.

The night before last, Great Grandfather had drunk with those two inhuman fellows until late into the night. In the end, Great Grandfather thought it had all been a dream, Run Sheng had not seen it, and he was the only one who had witnessed everything. Then, without even resting, he had worked through the night to make tools for a counterattack.

All three matters had been directly connected to Great Grandfather, yet he himself seemed to have been the one handling them in the end?

If that was the case, then he really was no different from Grandpa Shan.

"I know you seem to be able to see dirty money, kid. Tell Grandma, when did it start?"

Li Zhuiyuan recalled that it had begun after meeting Little Yellow Oriole... no, to be precise, it had become more obvious and more intense after Great Grandfather led him to guide Little Yellow Oriole along the yin road.

In The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons, this trait he displayed was very similar to Yin Walking.

When a living person became tainted with too much Netherworld aura, the paths of the Mortal Realm and the Netherworld could easily become tangled and confused, allowing one to see things that should not be seen. The book had even specifically noted: those with deep and calculating minds were especially susceptible.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at Liu Yumei. Instead of answering her previous question, he asked, "So this was why Uncle Qin wanted to return home and leave this place?"

"Dirty money has to be spent somewhere. Either you keep your head down and treat yourself as an ordinary person, or you wait to be inexplicably pushed out to shoulder disasters and take responsibility.

I know what books you've been reading these days. You're utterly obsessed with this dirty-money line of work."

"Grandma Liu, why did you go out of your way to tell me this today?"

"Because you're a smart kid. Even without a master teaching you, you learn astonishingly fast just by reading on your own. I was afraid that if I didn't warn you now, it might not be long before you found a way to break that thing of your Great Grandfather's."

"But why would I do that?"

"That isn't something I need to worry about. I only know that you may soon have the ability to accomplish it, and I still need to keep living here with A Li. I wouldn't want you to ruin the atmosphere of this place."

"Can it be broken?"

"It can." Liu Yumei answered with certainty. "No matter how much money someone has, it becomes useless when they run into a truly tough opponent. Li Sanjiang's money is only enough to put on airs in a little rural town like this. That's the first reason."

After a pause, Liu Yumei continued, "When people get old, they live according to their own habits and rhythm. If someone disrupts that rhythm, the old person becomes disordered too. They might have been able to live a long life, only to end up with little time left. That's the second reason."

"Then just now, I..."

"Your Great Grandfather is already someone who is muddleheaded in the best possible way. Yet you want to wake him up and forcibly straighten him out. That itself is a disruption of his way of life. You simply haven't succeeded yet.

If you learn more, master more abilities, and reach a higher level, no longer merely talking about it, then you really could straighten him out again.

So you know what to do now, right?

Old children, old children. When people grow old, they become like children. Just indulge him a little more. Isn't that what you little fellow are best at?"

Li Zhuiyuan covered his face with both hands and slowly rubbed it.

Liu Yumei sipped her tea while watching the boy's reaction. When his hands finally left his cheeks, the face before her was once again clean and adorable, carrying an innocent childlike smile.

It made her want to reach out and pinch his cheeks, but sentiment and reason were clearly in conflict at that moment.

"Grandma Liu, where's Brother Run Sheng?"

"He went to the fields early this morning to tend the peanuts. He should be back soon. What do you need?"

"I ordered some things, and I need Brother Run Sheng to go collect them with me."

"And then?"

"Then, of course, I'll do what I need to do."

Liu Yumei sat upright and leaned close to the boy, studying his eyes carefully. "You still intend to keep doing this?"

"What else would I do?"

"Don't you feel upset, wronged, or afraid?"

"No. I only know that Great Grandfather truly loves me."

Even if he really did seem to be taking disasters in Great Grandfather's place.

But first, he had chosen this road himself. Second, every decision had been made willingly, out of his own initiative and concern for Great Grandfather. No one had forced him.

Most importantly, Great Grandfather himself did not understand any of this. He genuinely adored his great grandson beyond measure.

So what if everything had its price marked and its transaction completed?

Li Zhuiyuan was willing.

Li Sanjiang was still Li Sanjiang. Even after learning these things, Li Zhuiyuan's attitude and feelings toward Great Grandfather had not changed. No, there was one slight change: from now on, he could indulge him with complete peace of mind. A child indulging an old child.

Liu Yumei observed him intently. She wanted to see even the slightest trace of some other emotion on the boy's face, but she failed.

But how... could that be possible?

Even between biological parents and children, when something like this was involved, even if they did not immediately fall out, there would inevitably be resentment.

Yet the boy before her had, in an instant, retained only the simplest threads of logic and strangled every unnecessary emotion completely.

That was terrifying. Did this child have no feelings in his bones?

"There's something Grandma wants to ask. That time when the paper figures at home were ruined by rain leaking in, wasn't your Great Grandfather badly injured? Before that, what had he done?"

Li Zhuiyuan blinked his clear, wide eyes and shook the teapot.

"Grandma, the tea's gone."

"Then brew another pot."

"I can't drink any more. I'm already full."

Li Zhuiyuan lightly patted his stomach, stood up, and began clearing away the tea set.

Just then, Run Sheng returned with a hoe slung over his shoulder.

"Brother Run Sheng, come with me to the old carpenter's house to collect something."

"Sure."

Run Sheng walked over to the well, drew a bucket of water to rinse his feet, then pushed the handcart behind Li Zhuiyuan to the old carpenter's house.

The old carpenter had been waiting for them, and everything was already finished.

"Grandpa, my Great Grandfather said he'd settle the wages with you in a while."

"Settle my ass. Think of this as an advance ritual-presiding gift from this old man to Uncle Sanjiang."

"Then you'd better write it down in a notebook, in case you forget after too long. May you live to a hundred."

After saying that, Li Zhuiyuan solemnly bowed to the old carpenter.

"Hehe, where did you learn all these manners, little one? Your mouth sure is sweet."

The old carpenter took out a red envelope he had prepared long ago from his pocket and handed it to Li Zhuiyuan. "Here, take it and buy yourself some candy."

"I haven't even paid you, so how could I take your money too?"

"One thing is one thing, and another is another. Last time you came so suddenly that Grandpa didn't have time to prepare anything. When a younger generation visits for the first time, this is what should be given. It's the custom."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Li Zhuiyuan accepted the red envelope. By then, Run Sheng had already loaded everything onto the cart.

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng carried the things up to the second floor together.

To Li Zhuiyuan's surprise, A Li, who had showered and changed into clean clothes, was actually waiting in his room.

Once the finished items were carried in, she naturally began assembling them.

"Little Yuan, what are these things? Some look familiar, like items from our line of work."

After carrying everything in, Run Sheng squatted by the doorway. He could not get too close to A Li.

"Mm, they are things from our line of work." Li Zhuiyuan responded, "Brother Run Sheng, go downstairs and watch some TV, have a snack, and rest for a while. I'll still need to trouble you to come out with me later."

"Sure, just call me."

After Run Sheng left, Li Zhuiyuan assembled the items together with A Li. It was the simplest work, but also the most satisfying part.

Before long, everything had been assembled.

A Li lightly laced her hands together, looking at what she and the boy had made together. Then she looked toward the desk, where many blank drawings still remained.

"I'll keep drawing more in the future. When the time comes, I'll need A Li to help me make them too. My hands are clumsy. Without your help, I really couldn't make them."

The girl's eyes shone as if stars were hidden inside them.

Li Zhuiyuan gave the girl two bottles of Jianlibao and had her sit and rest, while he began organizing his set of tools.

There were six main artifacts in total, along with four smaller items.

The Luosheng Umbrella was completely black. The book said that once opened, it could block miasma.

The Yellow River Shovel had several interchangeable functions. When Li Zhuiyuan had first seen its design, he could not help thinking of a Luoyang shovel, though their primary applications were different. The Yellow River Shovel was mainly for underwater areas and damp, marshy ground along the water.

The Seven Star Hook could extend into seven segments. It was used by corpse retrievers to hook Death Collapse victims from the water, but every section had a special design, symbolizing the Big Dipper and allowing it to counter Death Collapse victims in different states.

Next came the Soul Returning Basket and the Homesick Net. These two, along with the Seven Star Hook, also existed among Great Grandfather's tools, but were fundamentally different from his set.

Great Grandfather's things could only retrieve floating corpses that did not move. It was impossible for them to restrain truly moving Death Collapse victims.

The final artifact was the Sanqing Fan. Its name was impressive. Following the book's instructions, Li Zhuiyuan had carved Runes into every fan blade, then added various prepared materials to the bottoms of the embedded grooves.

This thing was mainly used to hit himself.

If he encountered a Death Collapse victim like the Cat-faced Old Woman, one skilled at bewitching people's minds, he could use the fan to strike his own face or head. Then, depending on the situation, he could open a hidden clasp and release a special powder mist, allowing himself to rapidly awaken from delusion.

The four smaller items were specially made Black Dog Blood Ink Pad, Black Canvas, a Bagua Disk, and a stack of Talisman Papers drawn by Li Zhuiyuan himself.

The Black Canvas had an inner layer filled with Wood Flower Rolls. Every piece of Wood Flower Roll contained special patterns, each carved one by one by A Li with a small carving knife. When dealing with Death Collapse victims, he could wrap it around himself or try covering a Death Collapse victim's head with it. The former could ward off evil and provide protection, while the latter could harm the Death Collapse victim. At least, that was what the book said.

The Bagua Disk was comparatively crude. It was wooden, without the slightest pattern or ornamentation, and did not look impressive at all. Li Zhuiyuan had ground the needle himself. After testing it, he found that it was inaccurate.

But it was inaccurately consistent, so Li Zhuiyuan only needed to correct it with mental calculations.

As for that stack of Talisman Papers, Li Zhuiyuan had the least confidence in those. It was his first attempt at drawing them, and they most likely did nothing.

And even if they worked, would he have to run right up to a Death Collapse victim, stand on tiptoe, jump up, and stick one onto its forehead?

Li Zhuiyuan pressed his fingertip against a Talisman Paper and flicked it outward. One sheet floated over a meter away, then folded and drifted back before landing on the floor behind him.

That result was worse than playing cards.

He would first test whether the Talisman Papers he had drawn had any effect. If they had even the slightest effect, next time he would find something with a texture similar to playing cards and draw on that instead.

But no matter what, this set of tools and smaller items was complete.

Next came testing their effects.

Li Zhuiyuan went out to call Run Sheng upstairs again. He wanted to give several items to Run Sheng to use. Things like the Seven Star Hook and Yellow River Shovel could only truly be wielded by someone strong. Even if they had no special effects at all, Run Sheng could still use them to beat Death Collapse victims to death.

A Li, who remained in the room, bent over and picked up the Talisman Paper from the ground.

She placed the Talisman Paper on her right palm, pressed her left index finger against it, and flicked her fingertip.

Whoosh!

The Talisman Paper shot out and stuck squarely in the center of the doorframe.

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan led Run Sheng back in. To keep her distance from Run Sheng, A Li simply took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.

The girl hugged her knees and sat in the corner of the bed, watching the boy explain the functions and uses of the tools to Run Sheng.

After listening to the explanation and trying them himself, Run Sheng said in shock, "Little Yuan, my grandfather has quite a few things that look like these, but they only look similar. The difference is huge."

"Mine should be more professional."

"I can feel it. Good stuff, truly good stuff."

Run Sheng had experience retrieving corpses and had truly fought Death Collapse victims before. If he thought something felt right in his hands, then it was naturally convincing.

"Let's go, Brother Run Sheng. We'll find somewhere to test them."

"Alright!"

Putting everything else aside, Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, those two fellows, had become servants and actually dared to come to the door to threaten them. He would find them and settle that score first.

Run Sheng carried the tools downstairs first. Before assembly, they had been separate parts and difficult to carry all at once. Now, he could take every artifact by himself.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the bedside and said to A Li, "I'm heading out for a while. Be good, A Li. Go back to your room and get some proper sleep, alright?"

After giving her those instructions, Li Zhuiyuan left the bedroom.

After the boy left, A Li lay down on the bed and obediently began getting some proper sleep.

As Li Zhuiyuan passed Li Sanjiang's bedroom, the door happened to open. Great Grandfather rubbed his eyes. He had just caught up on some sleep and intended to relieve himself before going back to sleep again.

"Little Yuanhou, are you going out?"

"Mm, Great Grandfather. Brother Run Sheng and I are going out to play."

"Oh, going out to play." Li Sanjiang habitually reached for his pocket again. Although he always placed the child's studies first, he could never bear to refuse anything the child wanted to do for fun.

"Great Grandfather, you already gave me spending money this morning."

"Then take some more." Li Sanjiang pulled the loose change from his pocket. People in the village rarely carried large bills in their pockets, since they were inconvenient to break.

"Great Grandfather, thank you."

"Heh, why are you being so polite?"

Before Li Sanjiang could finish speaking, he realized his waist had been hugged. The boy pressed his face against his stomach and closed his eyes.

Li Sanjiang reached down and stroked the boy's head. Puzzled, he asked, "What's gotten into you?"

"Great Grandfather, you're really good to me."

"Hehe, alright, alright. Great Grandfather will go back inside and get you some whole bills."

"No need, Great Grandfather. This is enough. I'm going out to play."

"Remember not to come back too late. We still have to transfer your fortune tonight."

"I know, Great Grandfather."

After waving goodbye to Li Sanjiang, Li Zhuiyuan's expression returned to calm as he descended the stairs.

He had not lied when facing Liu Yumei that morning, because all he needed to know was that Great Grandfather genuinely treated him well. Everything else did not matter.

To put it bluntly, if he truly cared about that, then what fundamental difference would there be between him and the three Niu Family siblings?

Besides, there was something Li Zhuiyuan had deliberately kept from Liu Yumei.

Grandma Liu lived here and described herself as someone picking up coins from some remote corner. If Great Grandfather was transferring fortune to him, wasn't that the equivalent of a large transfer of money?

If that old woman found out, she would probably be furious enough to die.

People often cherished life more as they grew older, and feared death more too.

Great Grandfather was already so old, yet he was willing to sacrifice his lifespan to transfer fortune to him. That alone was enough for Li Zhuiyuan to be willing to do anything for him as a younger generation member.

He had never been dragged into any of this against his will. Every time, he had acted voluntarily, so there was no resentment to speak of.

As he reached the last step of the staircase, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly stopped. He remembered the Golden Sand Luo Text Scripture he had once seen in Great Grandfather's bedroom.

At the time, he had discovered that every formation diagram Great Grandfather drew differed somewhat from those in the book.

So, if Great Grandfather had mastered the craft, drew it with perfect precision, and maximized the formation's effects, then directly transferred that fortune to himself—with Great Grandfather's immense fortune, enough to alter his own fate... wouldn't he be blown apart by it?

Cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead.

Was that the backlash of fortune that even the Qin family avoided, terrified of provoking it?

"Whew... that was close."

But looking at it another way, hadn't he also benefited from Great Grandfather's good luck? If he hadn't lived here with Great Grandfather, how could he have discovered so many good books in the basement? How could he have met A Li?

Ever since he had gotten to know A Li, that cold, detached feeling in his heart had surfaced less and less often.

"Misfortune is where fortune rests; fortune is where misfortune lies hidden."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. He decided not to dwell on such things anymore. It was enough to happily be himself.

When he reached the open yard, Run Sheng had already wheeled out the tricycle. All the tools were laid out on it and covered with a plastic sheet.

"Ding ding ding!"

Run Sheng fiddled with the bicycle bell. He had never thought there was anything wrong with the tools in his hands before, but now that he had seen good stuff, he felt like a wild boar desperate to taste fine grain.

Li Zhuiyuan climbed onto the tricycle.

Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu stood at the entrance to the yard.

"Little Yuan, don't blame Grandma for talking too much. Grandma just wants to remind you one last time: have you thought this through? Once you go, there'll be no turning back."

Li Zhuiyuan patted Run Sheng's back.

"Brother Run Sheng, let's go. Don't look back. Ride forward!"

"Alright, hold tight!"

"Little Yuan, didn't you say we were going to Shigang? Why did you have me ride here first?"

"Brother Run Sheng, wait for me at the entrance. I'm going inside to find someone."

Li Zhuiyuan got off the tricycle and entered the Police Station. After asking around, he found Tan Yunlong's office.

At that moment, Tan Yunlong had his eyes closed, dozing in his office chair. His face shone with oil, so he had probably been staying up late too hard as well.

Yet the moment Li Zhuiyuan entered, he immediately opened his eyes. That familiar sensation of being watched by a hawk descended again.

"It's you, little friend?"

"Mm."

"How did you find my office?"

"I asked people."

"Do you know my name?"

"I asked where the police uncle with long, thick, slightly slanted eyebrows, who looked scary when he glared, was. They all knew."

"Hahahaha..." Tan Yunlong laughed. "All right, little friend, what did you come to see me for?"

"Something happened. I'm here to report a case."

The moment he stepped out of the Police Station gates, Li Zhuiyuan turned around again and faced the signboard.

Then he spread his arms, stepped forward, and hugged the signboard tightly.

The window of the guardroom opened, and an elderly auxiliary officer poked his head out. "Little friend, what are you doing?"

"I want to be a police officer when I grow up too."

"Good, good. Being a police officer is good. Hehe, good child."

The elderly auxiliary officer said nothing more. He lit a cigarette and quietly watched the boy continue hugging the signboard.

Li Zhuiyuan held on for a long time before reluctantly letting go.

That should be enough rubbing off on me, right?

Looking down, he saw that his clothes and trousers were already coated in a thick layer of signboard dust.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Zhuiyuan decided not to brush it off. He would keep it.

Then he climbed back onto Run Sheng's tricycle.

Old Jiang's home was easy to find: a self-built villa on the edge of town, five stories tall, with a large walled courtyard outside. Inside were a pond and artificial rockery.

For this era, it could be considered extremely luxurious.

Run Sheng picked up the Yellow River Shovel and said, "Little Yuan, come on, let's kill our way in!"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Run Sheng in confusion. Seeing that he was not joking, he hurriedly grabbed his wrist.

"No, Brother Run Sheng. It's like attending a banquet—we won't sit at the first seating. We'll wait for the second, because what we're dealing with isn't human."

"Then who's sitting at the first seating? Who's going to deal with those people?"

The words had barely left his mouth when—

In the distance—

Police sirens sounded.