Chapter 32

Only one thought remained in Li Zhuiyuan's mind now,

That was:

Was Homecoming Net still effective?

Although he could not see Run Sheng or the net now, he should still be within the area covered by it.

The shadow beneath his feet slowly stretched forward, swaying slightly to the left. That meant it was slowly walking toward him.

The boy's inner torment and fear continued to intensify.

Li Zhuiyuan looked again at Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, who were kneeling over there. They were still howling in agony, but their gazes were not focused on him.

Fortunately, he was already short and crouching, while the figure behind him was visibly much taller from its shadow. So even though they were now standing along the same line of sight, he could clearly tell from the "two men's" gazes that they saw a distinction.

This meant Homecoming Net was still working. It could not see him!

But the problem now was that it was getting closer and closer. In just a few more steps, it would bump into him.

Li Zhuiyuan remained crouched and began carefully shifting his feet, trying his best not to make any unnecessary noise.

He moved toward where Run Sheng was. He could not go in any other direction. If he left Homecoming Net's range, he would be exposed immediately.

Li Zhuiyuan felt like a crab, walking sideways.

On the final step, just as he moved his foot aside, another unfamiliar, huge foot came down. Had he been half a beat slower, their feet would have touched.

Then, the other's feet entered Li Zhuiyuan's field of vision. They were severely rotten, but where the flesh should have fallen away, layers of yellowish-white tumors filled the gaps.

The color of those tumors was exactly the same as the tai sui in the Water Vat.

So this was where the life-nourishing divine substance the Jiang family treasured had come from?

They not only ate that tai sui themselves, but also used the water from the vat every day to make tea and cook meals.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze slowly traveled upward. The other figure wore no clothes, just like the two white skeletons dug out of the pond later. Before the victims had been buried, they must have been stripped naked.

Jiang Dongping, meanwhile, had been wearing clothes and a watch. That was enough to determine that this Death Collapse before him had indeed transformed from one of the victims.

The rest of its body was much like its feet, completely decayed. That tai sui-like substance covered it everywhere, like glue sticking the flesh back onto the skeleton and keeping it relatively intact.

Its left leg bent outward slightly, as though it were lame. That was why it had walked so slowly earlier, with that faint leftward sway.

But before the gravestone, it stopped.

The next moment, it knelt down.

Only then did Li Zhuiyuan properly inspect this gravestone. Earlier, he and Run Sheng had merely thought it was larger than the surrounding ones and suitable for hiding behind.

Now he realized it was a joint burial grave for a husband and wife.

Sweeping his eyes quickly over the inscription, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the husband on the gravestone had the surname Zhou.

So the Death Collapse before him was most likely the man surnamed Zhou whom Brother Leopard had personally buried. The grave it was kneeling before might be that of its own parents.

He had been killed and buried by Jiang Dongping, transformed into a Death Collapse, completed his revenge, and then come before his parents' grave.

Li Zhuiyuan noted the dates of death. The elderly couple had died only one month apart, meaning they had passed one after the other.

These days, unless one went through official channels, most movie posters were printed on calendars to make them more practical.

And on the wooden board at the entrance of Sister Mei's Video Hall, the largest and oldest Joey Wong poster was also dated two years ago.

In other words, Brother Leopard had likely made a great deal of money helping Jiang Dongping kill and bury people, allowing him to open a video hall in town with his girlfriend, Sister Mei.

The Death Collapse did not kowtow. It merely knelt before the gravestone. It made no sound, but Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing's screams filled the surroundings.

Li Zhuiyuan finally understood why it had deliberately not killed them, instead torturing them for so long. Only the howls and screams of one's enemies were the finest offering.

But gradually, the Death Collapse's head suddenly twitched slightly.

It sniffed, then slowly began turning its head toward Li Zhuiyuan's side, as though it had discovered something.

The boy's heart rose into his throat. He had come out today to put theory into practice, but the targets he had chosen were Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, those lackeys who had actually dared come to his door and threaten him.

With Run Sheng and the newly made professional tools, dealing with them should not have been much of a problem.

But this Death Collapse that could control lackeys was clearly beyond the syllabus. Starting out at this level of difficulty left him genuinely uncertain.

Most importantly, this Death Collapse had been a victim in life. If it had been Jiang Dongping transformed, then if push came to shove, he could just deal with it. But taking the initiative against this one somehow felt inappropriate.

Yet just as its head turned halfway, and only needed to move a little farther for its eyes to meet the boy's, black mist began rising from its body, as though the moisture inside it were evaporating.

The Death Collapse turned its head back toward the gravestone.

A hoarse scraping sound came from deep within its throat, and the tai sui all over its body began to tremble.

Li Zhuiyuan had seen a similar scene on the Cat-faced Old Woman. After he had proposed a revenge plan, her resentment had begun to dissipate.

Wei Zhengdao had written in Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu:

Death Collapses were born from the resentment and foul energy of the jianghu.

If their resentment could not be resolved, they would wander the marshlands of the jianghu, endangering the living. They should be suppressed and killed by the Heavenly Way.

When Li Zhuiyuan had first read the book, he had noticed that final sentence, especially the phrase "resentment could not be resolved."

Since Death Collapses were born with resentment as their vessel, would they not dissipate if their resentment were resolved?

Like that Black Cat. It was about to complete its revenge, and it was about to be freed.

Then the "resentment could not be resolved" in the book seemed to mean that the enemy was already gone or could not be found. The Death Collapse could not dissolve itself in this manner and could only wander endlessly between waterways, harming the living. It had to be dealt with.

Was it really that simple?

Then why was there no mention of "resentment could be resolved"?

The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons recorded only methods for suppressing and killing Death Collapses. It seemed that from the author's perspective, "resentment could not be resolved" had long been assumed to be the only possibility.

But he could have left it unmentioned. The sentence would still have read smoothly.

Li Zhuiyuan guessed that this was the political correctness of that era: sinister entities like Death Collapses absolutely could not endanger the living.

The reason Wei Zhengdao had added the phrase "if their resentment could not be resolved" was actually a deliberate, redundant addition. He did not wish to oppose the political correctness of his time, yet he had left a subtle back door in his writing.

Because if "resentment could be resolved," there was no need to teach any specific method. One simply had to help the Death Collapse resolve the target of its resentment.

But helping an evil thing harm the living—wasn't that the textbook definition of aiding a tyrant in his evil?

How could righteous people possibly do such a thing?

Do not talk about debts having their creditors, nor think up any excuses in defense. If political correctness could be swayed so easily, it would not be political correctness.

Yet Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that every matter he and Great Grandfather had encountered seemed to have followed the path of "resentment could be resolved."

It seemed that the path he and Great Grandfather walked truly was not the "righteous path."

Statements concerning the Jiang family were being taken.

Death itself was not really such a major matter. Death from old age, illness, accidents, or mishaps—so long as a region had enough people packed into it, it would be strange if no one died on any given day.

But murder was different. The public paid immense attention to it, and it could easily cause social panic.

Therefore, three bodies being dug up from a single pond was an extremely serious case. Even the city bureau was likely paying close attention, and Tan Yunlong estimated that a special task force led by the city bureau would soon arrive.

Furthermore, if organized crime and violence were confirmed, a citywide crackdown and cleanup operation would inevitably follow.

But that was all for later.

Tan Yunlong walked out of the Police Station chief's office and rubbed his nose. A vicious case like this appearing in his jurisdiction placed enormous pressure not only on the station, but on the county as well. The only remedy now was to solve the case as quickly as possible and strive for an outstanding performance.

The pressure was passed down layer by layer until it finally landed on Tan Yunlong.

Tan Yunlong lit a cigarette and entered the interrogation room. He intended to personally interrogate those Jiang family members who had tried to stop the excavation beside the pond.

The interrogation went smoothly. First, their mental fortitude and professional discipline were poor to begin with. The Jiang family had really relied on Jiang Dongping alone, and now that Jiang Dongping was gone, the rest were nothing but worthless trash.

Second, Tan Yunlong had used leading questions, implying that Jiang Dongping was already dead. They should hurry up and confess, then dump all the blame on Jiang Dongping, the dead man.

That was against procedure, but if Tan Yunlong had been a model officer, he would not have been transferred down to a town Police Station.

In short, the case had achieved a massive breakthrough. They had also implicated quite a few people, and arrests were already underway.

But there was one victim surnamed Zhou whose body had not been found.

Because Zhou had once fractured his left leg and was lame. The other two skeletons had been examined, and neither bore signs of a fracture.

According to the Jiang family members' statements, Zhou had been Jiang Dongping's business rival. Jiang Dongping had colluded with Zhou's friend, a man surnamed Zhao from Shijia Village, to lure him out under the pretense of celebrating his son's birthday, then murder him.

That Zhao had already been arrested. Apparently, his son had just died not long ago, and the surrounding officers all said it was karmic retribution.

Tan Yunlong did not believe in such things, but he did not reject them either. If retribution for wrongdoing always came swiftly in this world, the police would certainly be happiest to see it.

The problem now was how to reasonably explain the missing victim surnamed Zhou and Jiang Dongping's inexplicable death.

Of course, it would also work if they did not insist on a reasonable explanation. Zhou's body could have been moved, discarded, and disposed of again, while Jiang Dongping could have died in internal conflict within the Jiang family. Those people were no saints anyway, so there was nothing wrong with pinning the blame on them.

But none of that had anything to do with him anymore. With the case having progressed this far, he could already report completion.

With a cigarette between his fingers, Tan Yunlong's thoughts returned to that pond, which had not recently been excavated or disturbed. He was puzzled. How had Jiang Dongping's fresh corpse been buried inside it?

But not many people knew about this, and even if the scene had been carefully preserved at the time, it had still been excavated. It would be difficult to establish that the pond had not been disturbed recently.

"Captain Tan, it's been sorted out."

"Mm."

Tan Yunlong took the documents and looked them over, then nodded. "Dig deeper. Don't let a single one who should be arrested slip away."

"Understood."

"That Grandpa Li, is he still at the station?"

"Yes. He's having a lively chat with our young forensic examiner Wang."

"Really?"

"I just went to the forensic room to get some documents. Grandpa Li was pointing at the corpses and explaining things, while Forensic Examiner Wang was taking notes in a notebook. It was like a teacher teaching a student."

Forensic Examiner Wang was very young and had only recently started working. It was precisely because she had come that the town Police Station finally had its own forensic room. Before, they either had to ask someone from the hospital or borrow someone from a neighboring unit.

But Forensic Examiner Wang had a cold personality. Several young single officers at the station had wanted to try their luck, but every one of them had been coldly rejected without hesitation. She had not left them even the slightest chance or polite opening.

Tan Yunlong recalled the scene of little Li Zhuiyuan digging up corpses and could only sigh. "Some capable people among the folk really do have genuine skills. We can't dismiss all of it as mere feudal superstition."

The telephone on the desk rang. Tan Yunlong picked it up, said "Yes" several times in succession, then hung up.

He stood and straightened his clothes.

"The city bureau's special task force is here. Let's go report the progress of the investigation."

Before the gravestone, more and more black mist rose from the Death Collapse's body, faster and faster.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that it was about to be freed.

He just did not know what had caused the process to accelerate so drastically halfway through.

Could it be because the police were handling the case?

But... were they really that efficient?

"Splat! Splat! Splat!"

After a certain amount of black mist evaporated, the Death Collapse's body shrank somewhat, and the tai sui covering it began to split apart, spraying pus.

A thick, fishy stench immediately filled the surroundings.

Li Zhuiyuan knew this was probably what Great Grandfather and the others often called the stench of a Water Corpse.

Fresh floaters were easy enough to retrieve and were not particularly disgusting. The truly nauseating ones were those that had been dead for a long time and soaked until they swelled up like jellied pork skin.

After hauling one of those up, even if someone washed with soap seven or eight times, they would still feel like they could smell it on themselves three days later.

The tai sui had begun to crack, and the Death Collapse's body had also lost its adhesion. Its rotten flesh began falling away rapidly, and its body gradually shrank as though an ice cube were melting.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed something black and round tumbling amid the disgusting bubbles. It had originally been inside the Death Collapse's body.

It looked like a copper coin.

But then the unexpected happened.

The Death Collapse extended its hand. Only white bone remained in its palm, and it pointed toward Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, who were kneeling over there.

It was likely planning to end this offering and take those two lackeys down with it, but it had misjudged the speed of its own dissolution. The hand it had just raised gradually dropped again, powerless.

By comparison, that Black Cat had been much smarter. When black mist rose from its body, it had still been able to suppress it again, stubbornly holding on until its revenge was complete.

And that Black Cat even understood some of the rules of righteous people. More than once, it had shown shock and incomprehension at his help.

But this Death Collapse clearly did not have that ability. Which meant that it... had messed up.

Freed from restraint and pressure, Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing slowly stood up despite their bodies being shattered all over.

They now looked like plastic mannequins outside a clothing store after being smashed and battered, severely damaged and stripped of paint.

But the venom in their eyes had grown even stronger. Clearly, the torment they had suffered earlier had completely stirred up all the violence within them.

They did not walk this way. Instead, they walked toward another gravestone.

Although that spot was empty, Li Zhuiyuan knew that it was where the two gangsters were kneeling in reality.

"Crack..."

The Death Collapse had nearly melted completely into the pus. Only its head remained, still carrying a little tai sui and flesh. It struggled to turn its head, while the white-boned arm beside it shifted slightly toward Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan blinked, utterly baffled. He seemed able to sense what this Death Collapse, on the verge of dissolving, wanted to express.

Just like how A Li's expressions and movements were usually subtle, yet he could still understand her.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, "Go in peace. Believe me, the police will see justice done for you."

Then Li Zhuiyuan added, "I'll deal with those two for you."

As soon as the boy finished speaking, the flesh on the Death Collapse's head peeled away as well. It completely became a pile of white bones, dissolving before its parents' gravestone.

Li Zhuiyuan did not like it when innocent people had all died, only for someone to sigh in the end that justice might be late, but would never be absent.

But in a situation like this, as a bystander, sometimes one would still try one's best to make things seem a little better in order to comfort oneself.

For example, Li Zhuiyuan now felt that this family had finally reunited.

That was the boy's kindness and blessing.

Because even now, Li Zhuiyuan could not be one hundred percent certain of something.

Homecoming Net could certainly hide him from Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, but would it truly work against a Death Collapse that could control lackeys?

If it did work, then why had it turned to look his way after kneeling?

Could it be that

It had actually been able to see the two boys hiding behind its parents' gravestone all along?

"Clink..."

A crisp sound rang out as the pitch-black copper coin rolled down along the white bones until it stopped before Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan did not dare reach out and pick it up directly. He suspected that it had been the catalyst behind this strange phenomenon.

He did not want tai sui growing all over his body.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan began feeling dizzy, and aches spread throughout his body.

He roughly guessed what was happening outside, because Run Sheng's shout soon rang in his ears:

"Little Yuan, don't sleep. Wake up, wake up!"

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes to find Run Sheng gripping his shoulders and shaking him hard.

"Whew... Little Yuan, you're finally awake."

"Brother Run Sheng, do you know how strong you really are?"

"Huh? Sorry, they stood up."

Li Zhuiyuan turned to look. The two thugs had risen from their kneeling positions and were walking over. They were already quite close, but because Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng were inside the Homecoming Net, the two men could not see them.

"Little Yuan, what should we do?"

Run Sheng clenched the Yellow River Shovel in his right hand. He had been itching to make a move for a while.

"Brother Run Sheng, cripple them."

"Right!"

Run Sheng immediately let out a low roar. The muscles all over his body tensed. With a tug of his left hand, he threw off the net, then charged forward with the Yellow River Shovel raised in his right hand.

The two thugs were startled by the sudden appearance of living people and retreated again and again.

But Run Sheng did not care. He raised the shovel and smashed it into one thug's arm.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bone rang out. That arm was ruined on the spot, yet the thug did not scream in pain. Instead, he bent over, swung his body, and wrapped his other arm around Run Sheng. His head and shoulder locked around Run Sheng's waist, entangling him.

Run Sheng raised his shovel, intending to smash it into the man's head. But remembering that Little Yuan had only told him to cripple them, not kill them, he could only flip the shovel around and wedge the handle between himself and the thug. Using his chest as a fulcrum, he exerted force and pried the thug off himself like opening a bottle cap.

But behind him, the other thug rushed over with his mouth open and bit down on Run Sheng's arm. He looked like a rabid dog.

"Hiss..."

Run Sheng sucked in a breath from the pain, but the excitement on his face only intensified.

At that moment, he seemed like a completely different person from the usual Run Sheng, who meekly pushed carts and worked the fields.

Run Sheng opened his mouth as well, lowered his head, and bit into the thug's neck.

Rip!

That thug only bit with his teeth, but Run Sheng tore with his mouth!

After biting down, he immediately jerked his head upward, ripping off a huge chunk of flesh.

Run Sheng's face was covered in blood, but his excitement continued to rise.

To put it bluntly, being a servant ghost was already the lowest sort of thing among ghosts.

And Zhao Xing and Brother Leopard, who controlled these two little thugs—one was a sickly rich kid who liked to play around on his family's money, while the other was a middle-aged hoodlum who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered that during a family gathering one New Year, when Grandpa Bei was scolding a cousin who liked fighting at school, he had cursed, "Looking for a real hero among old punks is like panning for gold in shit!"

Put plainly, anyone with real guts would not do this kind of hooligan business.

Sure enough, these two were frightened by Run Sheng's ferocity. They forgot that they were ghosts and immediately turned tail to run.

Still, Brother Run Sheng was seriously fierce.

Li Zhuiyuan could not help wondering whether, if he tailored a few better tools for Brother Run Sheng, then even if that Death Collapse from before attacked them, Brother Run Sheng might be able to take it down.

Li Zhuiyuan had wisely stayed out of the fight earlier, but now he could make his move.

He held the Seven Star Hook in his right hand, pressed his left thumb into the red ink paste, then dabbed it against the side of the hook. With a hard pull, all seven sections of the Seven Star Hook extended, each smeared with a red mark.

He dropped into a horse stance and twisted from the waist, sweeping the Seven Star Hook toward one thug's ankle. The foremost section immediately split open into two mantis-claw-like prongs that clamped around the man's ankle.

Thud...

Pulled by the force, Li Zhuiyuan pitched forward and barely managed to steady himself, while the thug fell face-first to the ground.

This was the technique for catching a Death Collapse from the second volume of The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons.

"Ahhh!!!"

The thug lay on the ground, clutching his ankle and screaming.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the Homecoming Net and covered him with it.

The other thug was tackled to the ground by Run Sheng. Run Sheng raised his fist and punched him square in the face. In an instant, it was as though a dye shop had been smashed open, every color spilling out at once.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately shouted, "Brother Run Sheng!"

Run Sheng seemed to suddenly shudder. He forcibly stopped his second punch before it landed, and the wild excitement on his face gradually turned back into his usual honest dullness.

Li Zhuiyuan let out a breath. If that second punch had landed, the thug would have died without question.

It was not that he pitied the man. In fact, deep down, he was not even afraid of killing. He simply did not want a death to bring further trouble.

"Catch, Brother Run Sheng."

Li Zhuiyuan tossed the Black Canvas to Run Sheng. The inner layer of the black cloth was filled with Wood Flower Rolls, each piece carved by A Li with patterns.

The purpose of coming out this time had been to test the tools and see which ones worked and which did not.

Run Sheng covered the thug with the Black Canvas. Immediately, the thug began howling and struggling, and wisps of white smoke even rose from him.

Within the white smoke, Zhao Xing's face seemed to appear, but it quickly dissipated. The thug also stopped struggling.

Run Sheng lifted the Black Canvas, felt for the man's breath, and said, "Little Yuan, he's still alive."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. The Black Canvas worked astonishingly well, though they also had to consider that the Death Collapse had tortured these two servant ghosts for a very long time beforehand.

Then Li Zhuiyuan looked at the thug wrapped in the net beneath him and pulled out the stack of Talisman Papers he had drawn himself.

Yes, he still refused to give up.

After all, he had made the other tools exactly according to the book. Only these Talisman Papers truly contained a bit of his own originality.

He stuck one talisman to the thug's forehead. It quickly turned black, then slid off.

He stuck on another. It turned black and slid off again.

A third, a fourth, a fifth... until every talisman he had brought was used up.

Every talisman had turned black, yet not a wisp of white smoke rose from the thug.

Li Zhuiyuan fell silent.

The fact that his talismans could turn black proved they were somewhat effective, but if turning black was all they could do, then they were useless as shit.

That sense of frustration from being a poor student washed over him again.

"Brother Run Sheng, the canvas."

"Coming right up."

The Black Canvas was tossed over. Li Zhuiyuan caught it, then covered the thug beneath him with it.

White smoke rose, vaguely forming Brother Leopard's despairing face before quickly dispersing.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the Black Canvas. A hole had actually burned through the middle, and many of the Wood Flower Rolls inside had turned black. Only a third remained their original color.

That meant this tool had to be remade.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the tombstone. A black copper coin lay there.

"Brother Run Sheng, dig a hole nearby."

"Got it."

Li Zhuiyuan began examining the copper coin while Run Sheng dug.

After quite a while, seeing that Run Sheng was still digging, Li Zhuiyuan turned around in confusion and discovered that Run Sheng had dug a deep pit large enough to bury several people.

"Brother Run Sheng, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Run Sheng scratched his head and pointed at the two unconscious, bound thugs. "Aren't we burying them?"

"No, we're burying this copper coin."

"Oh, I got it wrong."

"Don't touch it with your hands. Use the shovel." As he reminded him, Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and smeared a large amount of red ink paste onto the Yellow River Shovel.

Run Sheng used the shovel to scoop up the copper coin and carefully placed it into the pit.

"Brother Run Sheng, patch up that dirt wall first. You nearly dug up someone's urn."

"Oh, okay."

This was a graveyard, and Run Sheng had dug too deep. One corner of an urn had already been exposed.

After repairing the grave wall, Run Sheng began filling the pit back in. Once it was buried, Li Zhuiyuan marked the spot with several stones, then bowed toward the buried urn and said:

"Sorry for disturbing you. Please help me watch over that copper coin. When I come back for it next time, I'll burn offerings for you."

Before confirming the copper coin's purpose and danger, Li Zhuiyuan would not only refuse to take it away, he would not even touch it.

When he lowered his head to inspect Run Sheng's Yellow River Shovel, he was startled to find that the places originally covered in red marks had all turned white.

It would have been understandable if digging dirt had turned them black, purple, or some other dark color. But turning white could only mean that copper coin was truly vicious.

"Brother Run Sheng, let's go."

"Going home?"

"To the Police Station."

"What are we going to the Police Station for?"

"To fulfill a vow."

After finishing a meeting with the city task force, Tan Yunlong walked back to his office while yawning. When he pushed open the door, he saw the boy sitting inside.

Tan Yunlong picked up the thermos, poured a cup of tea, and set it in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

He did not find anything inappropriate about doing so, and his next question was:

"Where are the remains?"

"Um..." Li Zhuiyuan put on a troubled expression. "Uncle Tan, you skipped a lot of steps."

"Because the last time you came to my office, you told me where the remains were. Now you're here again."

"They're in the graveyard at the border between West Suburb Village and East Suburb Village. There are also two people unconscious beside them."

"Accomplices responsible for moving the remains?"

"That requires the police uncles to investigate."

"Thank you, Little Yuan. This time, you really helped us immensely from beginning to end."

"My Great Grandfather always taught me to remember the close bond between the police and the people."

"Little Yuan, where is your household registration?"

"Uncle Tan, don't scare children."

"I was just asking casually, showing concern for you. My son should be a few years older than you."

"Then you definitely don't have a very good relationship with your son."

Tan Yunlong choked on his words. That was true. His son only smiled at him when he bought him food or toys.

"Uncle Tan, is the case progressing smoothly?"

"The investigation has moved quickly. Once these remains are confirmed, we can basically close the case."

"That's great."

With that said, Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teacup and took a sip. It was very hot, so he merely touched it to his lips before setting it down.

"Uncle Tan, I'm heading home. You get back to work."

"I'll have someone take you."

"No need. My driver is waiting outside."

After the boy left the office, Tan Yunlong seemed to remember something. He went into the corridor, stopped someone, and asked, "Little Zhang, has that Grandpa Li left?"

"He just left, Captain Tan. Want me to call him back?"

"No need, it's fine. Oh, right, get a few people and come with me to collect some remains."

"Pick up ribs? Are we having dinner together tonight?"

Several empty cars were parked outside the Police Station. Cars outside could not get in, while cars inside could not get out. Someone had already been sent to tell people to move their cars.

Li Zhuiyuan walked before the "Shigang Town Police Station" signboard, spread his arms, and hugged it.

He vaguely felt that the Death Collapse had dissipated so quickly this time, completely eliminating the hidden threat ahead of time, largely because of this signboard.

At that moment, the cars blocking the entrance were cleared away.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and saw an old man on the other side of the gate, hugging a signboard as well.

The old and young looked at each other. Both silently let go.

"Oh my, oh my. Whenever I see one, I can't help hugging it." Li Sanjiang patted the dust off himself. "Little Yuan, why haven't you gone home yet?"

"I came to pick you up, Great Grandfather."

"Oh, all right. Let's go home."

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs first to take a bath, while Run Sheng stood beside the well in the yard and poured well water directly over himself.

Liu Yumei, who was drinking tea, gently shook her head and sighed.

After bathing, Li Zhuiyuan came downstairs and waited for dinner.

"Little Yuan, come with Grandma for a moment."

Li Zhuiyuan stood and walked over. A Li, who had already sat down waiting for dinner, also stood and followed.

Liu Yumei led the boy into the East Room. What puzzled Li Zhuiyuan was that Grandma Liu did not lead him toward the Spirit Tablets this time, but instead brought him into her and A Li's bedroom.

The moment he entered, Li Zhuiyuan understood what Liu Yumei meant.

Nearly half the bed was neatly covered with Jianlibao bottles, every bottle placed at exactly the same distance from the others.

Liu Yumei had no choice. She and A Li shared a bed, and now she had to sleep on the floor.

"Grandma Liu, do you have an empty box?"

"Yes, right here."

Li Zhuiyuan began picking up the Jianlibao bottles from the bed one by one and placing them in the box.

A Li stood beside him with her head lowered.

"How about using this box to store them? We'll figure out a way to fill this box soon. What do you think?"

A Li raised her head, looked at Li Zhuiyuan, then turned around, picked up the Jianlibao bottles on the bed, and placed them into the box.

Liu Yumei was already used to this. After she had painstakingly tried to persuade her for days and nights, one sentence from the boy worked better than all of it.

"Little Yuan, do you want to turn back?"

"No."

"This road won't be easy."

"Yeah. If it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting."

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan watched an episode of "Ultraman Leo" with A Li, then went to the terrace alone and finished today's horse stance training.

Returning to the desk in his bedroom, he switched on the lamp, took out a notebook, and opened it to the first page, where he had written out a plan for today's actions.

"Riiip..."

He tore up the plan, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the dustpan beside him.

After what had happened today, Li Zhuiyuan realized that no matter how good a plan was, once it was set in motion, at least half of it could be discarded outright.

Picking up his pen, Li Zhuiyuan began recording the mistakes he had made today.

First: When encountering a special, classic environment like a graveyard, he should not have followed them in too early. He had to investigate from the perimeter first and confirm the situation.

Second: Before entering dreams and Yin Walking, he had to anticipate the possible accidents that might occur next.

Third: Death Collapse seemed easier to deal with if he did not take the proper path.

Turning to the next page, Li Zhuiyuan began recording the test results and usage of the various tools today.

Finally, when he got to the Talisman Papers, Li Zhuiyuan hesitated for a moment before writing:

Use of Talisman Papers: Can be used to detect whether there are unclean things nearby. If there are, they turn black.

Just as he set down his pen, he heard a knock at the door.

"Little Yuanhou, Great Grandfather is going to take a bath. Go wait in Great Grandfather's bedroom."

"Oh, okay, Great Grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan entered Great Grandfather's bedroom. Just like during the first two days after he arrived, a circle of candles had been placed on the tiled floor, along with a very familiar-looking formation.

He called it familiar because this formation was somewhat different again from the previous few times.

That copy of the "Golden Sand Luo Text Scripture" was still spread open on the floor.

This meant that even though the formation had been drawn several times already, Great Grandfather still had to copy it from the book every time he redrew it.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the book, flipped to the page on the Fortune-Transfer Ritual, glanced at it, then glanced at the formation on the floor.

"Hm?"

Then, as if he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, he looked at the book again before carefully examining the formation on the floor.

"This time... Great Grandfather actually drew it correctly?"

That should have been a good thing, but Li Zhuiyuan could not bring himself to be happy.

When Great Grandfather drew the formation incorrectly, its effects were at least controllable. But who knew what would happen after he drew it correctly?

The unknown was always the most terrifying thing.

From Li Zhuiyuan's perspective, he knew why Great Grandfather wanted to transfer his fortune. He hoped to transfer away the things on Li Zhuiyuan that ordinary people saw as dark and negative, turning him back into an ordinary child who could live a normal life.

But that was not what he wanted. He had already set foot on this road.

Besides, even setting aside the possibility that Great Grandfather's immense blessings might burst him apart, what did he need Great Grandfather's fortune for?

Great Grandfather had lived happily and freely his whole life. If something bad happened to him in his old age because he shared his fortune, what would be the point?

Grandpa Nan and Grandpa Bei each had more than one grandson, but Great Grandfather only acknowledged him as his one and only great-grandson.

Others coveted this fortune desperately, yet Li Zhuiyuan had no interest in it at all.

"Great Grandfather, you should just enjoy your old age in peace."

He crouched down, picked up the box of cinnabar and the rag beside him, and first wiped away a small corner at the due north position of the formation. Then he redrew it with cinnabar. That corner had originally faced inward, but Li Zhuiyuan changed it to face outward. Originally, both the north and south corners had faced inward.

Although he had not started reading books specifically about formations, he had copied and carved quite a few onto tools recently. He knew that this kind of subtle opposition in the details could easily render a formation ineffective.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded to himself. With such a large formation, changing one tiny corner like this should be too subtle for Great Grandfather to notice.

"Little Yuan, Little Yuan!"

Run Sheng's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming."

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and saw Run Sheng gripping the television antenna and constantly moving it around.

"Little Yuan, look. Why's the TV got no picture?"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the night outside. "Looks like it's going to thunder. The signal's probably bad. We're going to see Grandpa Shan tomorrow morning, so you should get some sleep too. If the TV still isn't working tomorrow, we can take it to get fixed on the way and carry it back when we return."

"Uh, Little Yuan, do you still have money to get the TV fixed? I heard fixing TVs is pretty expensive."

If he had broken the television from watching it, Run Sheng would not have dared tell Great Grandfather.

"It's fine, Brother Run Sheng. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have money tomorrow."

After Li Sanjiang finished bathing, he walked into the bedroom in red briefs, wiping the droplets off his body with a towel.

"Huh? Where's Little Yuanhou?"

He casually tossed the towel onto the floor and walked toward the head of the bed to grab a cigarette.

Who knew that, just as he was not paying attention, he stepped on the half-wet towel, slipped, and lost his balance.

Luckily, although the old man was advanced in years, he was still sturdy and quick to react. He swiftly twisted sideways and braced himself against the floor with his left hand. His knee only knocked against the ground slightly, so he did not take the full fall.

Getting up with lingering relief, Li Sanjiang looked at his reddened knee.

"Huh? I'm bleeding?"

He reached down and touched it, but did not see a wound. Then he brought his hand before his eyes and looked again. It was not blood. It was cinnabar.

Li Sanjiang lowered his head and looked at the formation on the floor, discovering that a small area at its due south position had been wiped away by his knee.

He hurriedly dragged over the box of cinnabar, preparing to restore it.

"Ah, what was this part again?"

He had drawn this formation many times. Although he had to look at the book every time, he had grasped some of its general patterns. For example, the formation was symmetrical.

He raised his head and looked at the corresponding position opposite it, the due north position.

"Oh, it's a corner facing outward."

Li Sanjiang carefully restored it with cinnabar, clapped his hands, and nodded with satisfaction.

Next, he lit a cigarette and held it between his lips, then lit all the candles on the floor.

Li Zhuiyuan returned just then.

"You little sparrow, I told you to wait. Why'd you go running around?"

"Hehe, I'm here now, aren't I, Great Grandfather?"

"Quick, sit inside the formation."

"Got it, Great Grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan sat in his place and deliberately looked at the formation's due north position. Mm, that corner was still facing outward.

Li Sanjiang sat down as well, pulled out a Talisman Paper from his crotch, and lit it. As he waved it around, he muttered an incantation under his breath.

Finally, he took a deep breath and gathered his strength, preparing to slam the ground hard. Only then could he stir up enough wind to blow out the surrounding candles while making the lightbulb overhead short out and flicker.

One, two, three!

With the Talisman Paper in hand, he brought it down.

Slap!

Darkness

Instantly swallowed everything.

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