Return of the Little Yuanhou

Li Zhuiyuan's mind was filled with only one thought:

Did the Homecoming Net still work?

Although he couldn't see Run Sheng or the net now, he should still be within its coverage.

The shadow beneath his feet was slowly extending forward, swaying to the left, indicating it was approaching him steadily.

The boy's inner torment and fear intensified.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up again at Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, who were still groaning in pain. However, their gazes weren't focused on him.

Fortunately, he was already short and crouching, and the person behind him, judging by their shadow, was quite tall. Thus, even though they were now on the same eye level, he could clearly distinguish the difference in the gazes of the "two" people in front of him.

This meant the Homecoming Net was still effective; it couldn't see him!

But the problem now was that it was getting closer. With just a few more steps, it would collide with him.

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

He was moving towards Run Sheng's location. He couldn't move in any other direction; if he left the coverage of the Homecoming Net, he would be immediately exposed.

Li Zhuiyuan felt like a crab, moving sideways.

On the last step, as soon as he moved his foot, another large, unfamiliar foot landed. If he had been half a beat slower, their feet would have touched.

Immediately after, the other party's feet came into Li Zhuiyuan's sight. These feet were severely rotted, but where the flesh and skin should have fallen off, they were filled with layers of yellowish-white tumors.

The color of these tumors was exactly the same as the Tai Sui in the fish tank.

So, this was how the so-called "life-nourishing divine object" treasured by the Jiang family came to be?

After all, they not only ate the Tai Sui themselves but also used the water from the vat to make tea and cook rice every day.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze slowly moved upward. The person was unclothed, just like the two skeletons dug out of the pond. They must have been stripped before being murdered and buried.

However, Jiang Dongping was wearing clothes and a watch, which confirmed that the dead float before him was indeed the victim.

The rest of its body was similar to its feet, all rotten. The Tai Sui-like substance covered its entire body, acting like glue, reattaching the flesh to the skeleton and maintaining a relatively intact form.

Its left leg was slightly bent outwards, as if it were lame. That's why it had been walking slowly and swaying to the left earlier.

However, it stopped in front of the tombstone.

The next moment, it knelt down.

Li Zhuiyuan then re-examined the tombstone. He and Run Sheng had previously thought the tombstone was larger than the surrounding ones, making it suitable for them to hide behind.

Now, he realized it was a joint tomb for a married couple.

Quickly scanning the inscriptions on the tombstone, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the husband's surname was "Zhou."

Therefore, the dead float before him was most likely the person surnamed Zhou whom Brother Leopard had personally buried, and the grave it was now kneeling at might be his parents' grave.

He was murdered and buried by Jiang Dongping, and after becoming a dead float, he had avenged himself and come to his parents' grave.

Li Zhuiyuan noted the death dates. It was two years ago, and the old couple had died within a month of each other, meaning they had passed away one after the other.

Nowadays, unless one went through official channels, most movie posters were printed on calendars to increase their practicality.

The largest and oldest Joey Wong poster on the wooden board at the entrance of Sister Mei's Video Hall also had the date marked as two years ago.

This meant that Brother Leopard had likely earned a substantial sum by helping Jiang Dongping murder and bury people, which allowed him to open a video hall in town with his girlfriend, Sister Mei.

The dead float did not kowtow; it merely knelt before the tombstone. It made no sound, but the screams of Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing filled the surroundings.

Li Zhuiyuan finally understood why they had deliberately not killed them but tortured them for so long. It was because only the wails and screams of their enemies served as the best tribute.

But gradually, the dead float's head suddenly twitched slightly.

It sniffed, then slowly turned its head towards Li Zhuiyuan's side, as if it had detected something.

The boy's heart leaped into his throat. His purpose for coming out today was to combine theory with practice, but the targets he had chosen were Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, these two chang spirits who dared to threaten and provoke him.

With Run Sheng's cooperation and their newly crafted professional equipment, dealing with them shouldn't be a problem.

As for this dead float that could control chang spirits, it was a bit beyond his expectations. Facing such difficulty right from the start, he was indeed a little uncertain.

Most importantly, this dead float was a victim in life. If it was Jiang Dongping, he would do what he had to do. But towards this one, it felt somewhat inappropriate for him to proactively attack it.

However, just as its head was halfway turned and about to meet the boy's gaze, wisps of black mist began to rise from its body, as if the moisture within was evaporating.

The dead float turned its head back towards the tombstone.

A hoarse, rasping 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 with the Cat-faced Old Woman; it was after he had provided her with a revenge plan that her resentment showed signs of dissipating.

Wei Zhengdao wrote in the Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu:

[Dead floats are born from the accumulated resentment and filth of the Jianghu.]

[If resentment cannot be resolved, they wander the swamps of the Jianghu, endangering humanity, and should be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao.]

When Li Zhuiyuan read this earlier, he had paid attention to the latter sentence, especially the phrase "resentment cannot be resolved."

Since dead floats were born as carriers of resentment, wouldn't they dissipate if their resentment was resolved?

Just like that black cat, it's close to completing its revenge and close to being freed.

So, the resentment in the book is unsolvable, which seems to refer to the fact that the enemy is no longer around or cannot be found. Dead floats cannot resolve themselves through this method; they can only wander endlessly between water systems, harming the living, and must be eliminated.

Is it really that simple?

Then why doesn't it mention "resentment can be resolved"?

The Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu only records methods for suppressing and killing dead floats. From the author's perspective, it seems to have already assumed that "unsolvable resentment" is the only option.

But he didn't have to mention it; the sentence would still be coherent.

Li Zhuiyuan guessed that this was likely political correctness of that era, meaning that dead floats, as sinister entities, absolutely could not harm the living.

The reason Wei Zhengdao added the sentence "if resentment is unsolvable" to the book was actually a deliberate embellishment. He didn't want to defy the political correctness of his time, yet he added a hint of a backdoor when writing the book.

Because, "if resentment can be resolved," there would be no need to teach specific methods. You would just help the dead float resolve their target of resentment.

But helping an evil entity harm the living, isn't that a typical case of aiding and abetting evil?

How could righteous people do such a thing?

Don't mention anything about "grievances having a head and debts having a master," nor should you think of any reasons for defense. If political correctness could be influenced like that, it wouldn't be called political correctness.

However, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that everything he and Great Grandfather encountered seemed to follow the path of "resolvable resentment."

It seems that he and Great Grandfather are indeed not walking the "righteous path."

The interviews with the Jiang family members are in progress.

Dead people are not really a big deal. Whether they died of old age, illness, accidents, or mishaps, as long as a region is densely populated, it would be strange if no one died on any given day.

But homicide is different. The public pays extremely close attention to it, and it easily causes social panic.

Therefore, this time, the discovery of three bodies in a single pond is an extremely serious matter. It's likely that even the municipal bureau is paying close attention. Tan Yunlong estimated that a special task force led by the municipal bureau would be dispatched soon.

In addition, if it's confirmed to be related to organized crime or violence, then a city-wide crackdown and cleanup operation would inevitably be carried out.

However, these are all matters for later.

Tan Yunlong, walking out of the director's office, touched his nose. The occurrence of such a heinous crime in his jurisdiction put immense pressure not only on the station but also on the county. The only remedial action now was to solve the case as quickly as possible and strive for outstanding performance.

The pressure was passed down layer by layer, ultimately landing on Tan Yunlong.

Tan Yunlong lit a cigarette and walked into the interrogation room. He intended to personally interrogate the Jiang family members who had tried to obstruct the excavation by the pond.

The interrogation went smoothly. Firstly, their psychological fortitude and professional competence were lacking. The Jiang family was essentially propped up by Jiang Dongping alone. Now that Jiang Dongping was gone, the rest were just a bunch of useless people.

Secondly, Tan Yunlong used suggestive interrogation, implying that Jiang Dongping was already dead and urging them to confess quickly, shifting all the blame onto the deceased Jiang Dongping.

This was considered irregular conduct, but if Tan Yunlong were a model citizen, he wouldn't have been demoted to a town police station.

In short, the case had seen significant breakthroughs and progress. They had also implicated several other people, who were now being arrested.

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

Because the victim surnamed Zhou had a fractured left leg and was lame, while the other two skeletons examined showed no signs of fracture.

According to the confessions of the Jiang family, the victim surnamed Zhou was a business competitor of Jiang Dongping. Jiang Dongping, in collusion with his friend surnamed Zhao from Shijia Village, lured him out under the guise of celebrating his son's birthday and murdered him.

The person surnamed Zhao had already been arrested. It seemed he had recently lost his son, and the surrounding police officers all said it was retribution.

Tan Yunlong didn't believe in such things, but he didn't reject them either. If retribution for bad deeds came promptly in this world, then the police would be the most pleased.

However, the current problem was how to reasonably explain the disappearance of the victim surnamed Zhou and the inexplicable death of Jiang Dongping.

Of course, if reasonableness wasn't pursued, the body of the victim surnamed Zhou could have been moved, discarded, and disposed of again, and Jiang Dongping could have died from infighting within the Jiang family. Anyway, those people were not good people, and framing them wouldn't be a problem.

But none of this mattered to him anymore. With the breakthrough in the case, he could report it.

Tan Yunlong held a cigarette between his fingers, his thoughts returning to the pond that had not been excavated or disturbed recently. He was puzzled as to how Jiang Dongping's fresh corpse had been buried there.

However, not many people knew about this matter, and even if the scene had been protected with the utmost care at the time, the excavation had already been done. It was difficult to ascertain whether the pond had been disturbed recently.

"Captain Tan, it's all sorted."

"Mm."

Tan Yunlong took the files, looked at them, and nodded. "Dig deeper. Don't let any of the guilty parties get away."

"Yes, understood."

"Is that Mr. Li still at the station?"

"He is. He's chatting happily with our young forensic doctor, Xiao Wang."

"Really?"

"I just went to the forensic office to get some documents. Mr. Li was pointing at the body and talking, while Xiao Wang the forensic doctor was taking notes, just like a teacher giving a lesson to a student."

Doctor Xiao Wang was very young, having just started her career. It was precisely because she joined that the town police station finally had its own forensic facility. Before, they either had to invite someone from the hospital or borrow someone from a neighboring unit.

However, Doctor Xiao Wang had a cold personality. The single male police officers at the station who had hoped to try their luck were all unequivocally rejected with icy indifference, leaving them no chance or room for pleasantries.

Tan Yunlong recalled the scene of young Li Zhuiyuan digging up the body and could only sigh, "Actually, some talented individuals from folk traditions possess genuine skills. They cannot all be dismissed as mere feudal superstitions."

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

He stood up and tidied his clothes.

"The special investigation team from the Municipal Bureau has arrived. Let's go report on the progress of the investigation."

In front of the tombstone, the black mist rising from the dead float grew more and more, and faster and faster.

Li Zhuiyuan knew it was close to being freed.

However, he didn't know what specifically had caused its process to accelerate so drastically midway.

Could it be because the police were investigating?

But... was the efficiency that high?

"Squish! Squish! Squish!"

After a certain amount of black mist had dissipated, the dead float's body also shrank a bit. At the same time, the Tai Sui on its body began to crack, splashing out pus.

Immediately, a strong, fishy stench filled the surroundings.

Li Zhuiyuan knew this should be the "water corpse stench" that Great Grandfather and the others often mentioned.

Corpse floats that had just died were easier to handle and not that disgusting. Those that had died a long time ago, bloated like pigskin jelly, were truly foul.

After handling them, even if you washed yourself seven or eight times with soap, you'd still smell it three days later.

The Tai Sui had started to crack, and the dead float's body had lost its cohesion. The rotten flesh and skin began to fall off rapidly, and its body, like melting ice, gradually shrank.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that within the disgusting bubbles, a round, black object seemed to be churning inside. This object should have originally been located within the dead float's body.

It looked like a copper coin.

However, an accident still occurred.

The dead float extended its hand. Its palm was reduced to just bone, and its fingers pointed towards Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, who were kneeling there.

It probably intended to end this ceremony and drag these two伥子 down with it, but it had underestimated its own rate of dissolution. The hand it had just raised slowly and powerlessly fell back down.

In contrast, that black cat was much smarter. When the black mist rose around it, it was able to suppress it again, forcing itself to wait until its revenge was complete.

Moreover, that black cat understood some of the rules of righteous individuals, expressing astonishment and confusion at his help more than once.

But this dead float clearly didn't have that capability, which meant it... had messed up.

Freed from their restraints and oppression, Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, even though they were shattered all over, both slowly stood up.

They now looked like heavily damaged and chipped plastic mannequins from outside a clothing store.

But the malevolence in their eyes was even more intense, clearly indicating that the previous torment had completely ignited all the ferocity in their hearts.

They didn't walk towards them, but towards another tombstone.

Although it was empty there, Li Zhuiyuan knew that was where the two thugs had knelt in reality.

"Crack..."

The dead float had almost completely dissolved into the pus, leaving only its head with a bit of Tai Sui and flesh. It struggled to turn its head, and its skeletal arm next to it also shifted slightly towards Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan blinked. It was inexplicable, but he seemed to be able to feel what this dissipating dead float was trying to convey.

It was like how Ah Li's expressions and actions were always subtle, and he could understand her.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, "Rest assured, you can go. You must believe that the police will bring you justice."

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

As soon as the boy finished speaking, the flesh and blood on the dead float's head also peeled away. It completely turned into a pool of white bones, dissolving before its parents' tombstone.

Li Zhuiyuan disliked it when innocent people died and then someone sighed, "Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent."

But in such situations, as an observer, one sometimes tried to beautify things to comfort themselves.

For example, he felt now: this family was finally reunited.

This was the boy's kindness and blessing.

Because Li Zhuiyuan still couldn't be 100% sure of one thing.

That was, while the Homecoming Net could indeed hide him from Brother Leopard and Zhao Xing, was it really effective against a dead float that could control 伥子?

If it was effective, then why did it turn its head to look at him after kneeling down?

Could it be that

it could always see the two youths hiding behind their parents' tombstone?

"Ding..."

A crisp sound rang out, and the all-black copper coin rolled down along the bones, all the way to Li Zhuiyuan's feet.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't dare to reach out and grab it directly. He suspected that this anomaly was triggered by it.

He didn't want to grow Tai Sui all over his body.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan began to feel dizzy and sore all over.

He could roughly guess what was happening outside, because soon, Run Sheng's shout reached his ears:

"Little Yuan, stop sleeping, wake up, wake up."

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes. Run Sheng was shaking his shoulders vigorously.

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

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

"Ah, sorry, they've gotten up."

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and saw that the two thugs had finished kneeling and were walking towards them. They were already very close, but because they were inside the Homecoming Net, the thugs couldn't see the two of them.

"Little Yuan, what should we do!"

Run Sheng clenched the Yellow River Shovel in his right hand. He had wanted to act for a long time.

"Brother Run Sheng, cripple them."

"Alright!"

Run Sheng immediately let out a low growl, his muscles tensing. With his left hand, he tore open the net, raised the Yellow River Shovel in his right hand, and charged forward.

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

But Run Sheng didn't care. He swung the shovel and smashed it into one of the thugs' arms.

"Crack!"

The sound of bone breaking echoed. The arm was instantly disabled, but the thug didn't scream in pain. Instead, he bent down, twisted his body, and used his other arm to grab Run Sheng. His head and shoulder were wedged into Run Sheng's waist, trapping him.

Run Sheng raised the shovel, intending to smash it at the thug's head. But remembering Li Zhuiyuan's instructions to only cripple, not kill, he could only flip the shovel, using the handle as a fulcrum between himself and the thug. Using his chest as the pivot point, he exerted force, like a bottle opener, and forcefully pulled the thug off him.

But from behind, another thug charged forward with his mouth open, biting down on Run Sheng's arm. He looked like a rabid dog.

"Hiss..."

Run Sheng gasped in pain, but the excitement on his face immediately intensified.

At this moment, he was completely different from the usual meek Run Sheng who just pushed carts and farmed.

Run Sheng also opened his mouth, lowered his head, and bit down on the thug's neck.

"Swoosh!"

This thug only used his teeth to bite, but Run Sheng tore with his mouth! After biting down, he immediately lifted his head and shook it, tearing off a large piece of flesh.

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

To put it bluntly, those who become chang (spirits that lure others to their doom) are the lowest of the low among ghosts;

Zhao Xing, who controlled these two thugs, was a physically weak young master who liked to play because his family had some money. The other was a middle-aged thug who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered a time during a family reunion during Chinese New Year, when his paternal grandfather was reprimanding his cousin for fighting at school, he cursed, "Trying to find a true hero among old hooligans is like sifting gold from shit!"

To put it bluntly, those with real courage wouldn't engage in such petty thuggery.

As expected, these two were so scared by Run Sheng's ferocity that they forgot they were the ghosts and turned to flee.

However, Brother Run Sheng was truly fierce.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder, if Run Sheng were given a few more well-crafted implements, he might even be able to handle the dead float that attacked them earlier.

Li Zhuiyuan had wisely stayed out of the way during the fight, but now, he could act.

He held the Seven Star Hook in his right hand, pressed his left thumb onto the ink pad, and then dabbed it onto the side of the Seven Star Hook. With a powerful swing, the seven sections of the Seven Star Hook extended, all coated in red ink.

He squatted into a horse stance, exerted force from his waist, and swept the Seven Star Hook towards one of the thug's ankles. The foremost section immediately split into two openings, like a praying mantis's claws, and clamped onto the thug's ankle.

"Thump..."

Pulled by the force, Li Zhuiyuan leaned forward, struggling to maintain his balance. The thug, however, fell face-first, landing like a dog eating dirt.

This was a move for capturing dead floats from the second volume of "The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons."

"Ah!!!"

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

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the Homecoming Net and threw it over him.

The other thug was tackled to the ground by Run Sheng. Run Sheng raised his fist and punched the thug directly in the face. In an instant, it was like a paint shop had been overturned, with all sorts of colors spilling out.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately shouted, "Brother Run Sheng!"

Run Sheng seemed to shudder suddenly. He forcefully restrained his second punch, and the excited expression on his face gradually shifted back to one of simple-mindedness.

Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. If that second punch had landed, the thug would have been dead for sure.

It wasn't that he pitied the thug, nor was he afraid of killing someone. Rather, he didn't want the ensuing trouble that would come from taking a life.

"Here, Brother Run Sheng."

Li Zhuiyuan tossed the Black Canvas to Run Sheng. The layers of this black cloth were filled with Wood Flower Rolls, each inscribed with patterns carved by A Li.

The purpose of this outing was to test the implements, to see which were useful and which were not.

Run Sheng covered the thug with the Black Canvas. Immediately, the thug began to wail and struggle, and a faint white smoke even rose from him.

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

Run Sheng moved the black canvas aside, felt the other's breath, and said, "Little Yuan, he's still alive."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. The black canvas worked surprisingly well. However, he also had to consider that the dead float had tortured these two enforcers for a very long time previously.

Immediately, Li Zhuiyuan looked at the thug wrapped in the net beneath him and took out the stack of talismans he had drawn himself.

Yes, he wasn't giving up yet.

After all, he had made all the other tools strictly according to the book, "following the script" exactly. Only these talismans truly carried a bit of his own original touch.

He placed one talisman on the thug's forehead. The talisman quickly turned black and then slid off.

He placed another one, and it continued to turn black and slide off.

The third, fourth, fifth... until all the talismans he had brought were used up.

All the talismans turned black, but not even a wisp of white smoke emerged from the thug.

Li Zhuiyuan fell silent.

The fact that his talismans could turn black proved they had some effect, but they only turned black, which was utterly useless.

The frustration of a failing student washed over him again.

"Brother Run Sheng, the canvas."

"Coming right up."

The black canvas was thrown over. Li Zhuiyuan caught it and then covered the thug below with it.

White smoke emerged, vaguely forming Brother Leopard's despairing face, and then quickly dissipated.

Li Zhuiyuan held up the black canvas. A hole had been burned through it, and much of the wood flower rolls inside had turned black, with only a third retaining their original color.

This meant this item needed to be remade.

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

"Brother Run Sheng, dig a hole next to it."

"Understood."

Li Zhuiyuan began to examine the copper coin while Run Sheng dug the hole.

After a while, seeing that Run Sheng was still digging, Li Zhuiyuan turned his head in confusion and found that Run Sheng had dug a pit deep enough to bury several people.

"Brother Run Sheng, what are you doing?"

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

"No, we're supposed to bury this copper coin."

"Oh, I misunderstood."

"Don't touch it with your hands, use the shovel." Li Zhuiyuan reminded him as he stepped forward, smearing a large amount of red ink onto the Yellow River Shovel.

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

"Brother Run Sheng, please repair that dirt wall over there first. You almost dug out someone's urn."

"Oh, okay."

This was a graveyard, and Run Sheng had dug too deep, exposing a corner of an urn.

After repairing the grave wall, Run Sheng began to backfill the pit. Once it was filled, Li Zhuiyuan marked the spot with a few stones and then bowed towards the location of the urn underground:

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Please help me watch over this copper coin. I'll burn paper for you when I come back to get it next time."

Until he confirmed the copper coin's effects and dangers, Li Zhuiyuan would not only not take it but wouldn't even touch it.

He looked down again to check Run Sheng's Yellow River Shovel and was surprised to find that the areas where he had applied red ink had all turned white.

It was understandable for it to turn black, purple, or other dark colors while digging, but turning white could only mean that the copper coin was truly malevolent.

"Brother Run Sheng, let's go."

"Going home?"

"To the police station."

"Why do we need to go to the police station?"

"To fulfill a vow."

Tan Yunlong, who had just finished a meeting with the city's special investigation team, walked back to his office yawning. He pushed open the door and saw a boy sitting in his office.

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

He didn't feel there was anything inappropriate about his actions, and his next question was:

"Where are the remains?"

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

"Because the last time you came into my office, you told me the location of the remains, and now you're here again."

"In the graveyard at the junction of Xijiao Village and Dongjiao Village, there are two other people who are unconscious nearby."

"Are they accomplices responsible for transferring the remains?"

"That's something the police will have to investigate."

"Thank you, Xiao Yuan. You've been a tremendous help from start to finish this time."

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

"Xiao Yuan, where is your household registration?"

"Uncle Tan, don't scare the child."

"I was just asking casually, showing my concern. My son is probably a few years older than you."

"Then you must not have a very good relationship with your son."

Tan Yunlong was momentarily speechless. It was true; he only saw his son smile when he bought him food and toys.

"Uncle Tan, is the case progressing smoothly?"

"The investigation is moving quickly. Once these remains are confirmed, the case will essentially be closed."

"That's great."

After they finished talking, Li Zhuiyuan picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea was very hot, so he only lightly touched his lips with it before setting the cup down.

"Uncle Tan, I'm heading home now. You're busy."

"I'll have someone escort you."

"No need. My driver is waiting for me outside."

After the boy left the office, Tan Yunlong seemed to recall something. He went to the corridor and stopped someone, asking, "Xiao Zhang, has that old Mr. Li left yet?"

"He just left, Captain Tan. Do you need me to call him back?"

"No, it's fine. By the way, gather a few people. We need to go pick up some remains."

"Pick up spare ribs? Are we having a dinner party tonight?"

Several empty police cars were parked at the entrance of the police station. Cars outside couldn't get in, and cars inside couldn't get out. Someone had already been sent to ask people to move the vehicles.

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to the plaque that read "Shigang Town Police Station" and hugged it with his arms spread wide.

He vaguely felt that the reason the dead float had dissipated so quickly this time, completely eliminating a potential threat for him, was closely related to this plaque.

At this moment, the cars blocking the entrance were cleared.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and saw that on the other side of the door, an old man was also hugging a plaque.

The old man and the young boy made eye contact. Both of them silently let go.

"Oh my, oh my, I couldn't help but want to hug it when I saw it," Li Sanjiang patted the dust off himself. "Xiao Yuan, why haven't you gone home yet?"

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

"Oh, alright. Let's go home."

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs to take a shower, while Run Sheng was by the well in the courtyard, rinsing himself directly with well water.

Liu Yumei, who was drinking tea, shook her head slightly and let out a sigh.

Li Zhuiyuan, having finished his shower, came downstairs to wait for dinner.

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

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked over. A Li, who had already sat down to wait for the meal, also stood up and followed.

Liu Yumei led the boy into the east room. To Li Zhuiyuan's confusion, Grandma Liu didn't lead him towards the ancestral tablets this time but into her and A Li's bedroom.

Upon entering, Li Zhuiyuan understood what Grandma Liu meant.

Nearly half of the bed was neatly occupied by Jianlibao, with the same distance between each bottle.

Liu Yumei was out of options. She and A Li slept in the same bed, and now she had to sleep on the floor.

"Grandma Liu, do you have any empty boxes?"

"Yes, they're here."

Li Zhuiyuan began to pick up the Jianlibao bottles from the bed one by one and placed them into the boxes.

A Li stood by, her head bowed.

"Wouldn't it be great to use this box for collecting? What do you think if we find a way to fill this box up soon?"

A Li looked up at Li Zhuiyuan, then turned around and picked up the Jianlibao from the bed, placing them into the box.

Liu Yumei was accustomed to this. Despite her days and nights of earnest persuasion, the boy's words were more effective than hers.

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

"No."

"This road isn't easy to travel."

"Yeah, if it were easy, it wouldn't be any fun."

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan watched an episode of Ultraman Leo with A Li. Afterward, he went alone to the terrace and finished his horse stance practice for the day.

Back at his bedroom desk, he turned on the desk lamp, took out his notebook, and opened it to the first page. It contained the plan he had written for his actions today.

"Rip..."

The plan was torn out, crumpled into a ball, and tossed into the nearby wastebasket.

After today's events, Li Zhuiyuan realized that no matter how good a plan or strategy was, at least half of it could be discarded once it was put into motion.

He picked up his pen and began to record the mistakes he had made today.

First: When encountering special environments like a graveyard, I shouldn't have entered too early. I should have scouted the perimeter to confirm the situation.

Second: Before entering the dream and walking the yin path, I must anticipate potential accidents.

Third: It seems easier to deal with the dead float if I don't follow the righteous path.

Turning to the next page, Li Zhuiyuan started recording the test usage of various items today.

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

Function of Talisman Papers: Can be used to detect the presence of anything unclean nearby. If present, they turn black.

Just as he put down his pen, he heard a knock on the door.

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

"Oh, okay, Great Grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan entered Great Grandfather's bedroom. Just like the first couple of days he had arrived, a circle of candles was placed on the tiles, and a very familiar formation was drawn.

The reason it was familiar was that this formation was slightly different from the previous ones.

And that book, the Golden Sand Luo Text Scripture, was still lying open on the floor.

This meant that even though this formation had been drawn several times before, Great Grandfather still had to copy it meticulously each time he drew a new one.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the book, flipped to the page for the luck-transferring ritual, glanced at the book, and then glanced at the formation diagram on the floor.

"Hmm?"

Immediately, as if he thought his eyes were deceiving him, he looked at the book again, then carefully examined the formation on the ground.

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

This should have been a good thing, but Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bring himself to be happy.

When Great Grandfather drew the formation incorrectly, the formation's effects were controllable. But who knew what would happen now that Great Grandfather had drawn it correctly?

The most terrifying thing was always the unknown.

From Li Zhuiyuan's perspective, he knew Great Grandfather's purpose in transferring his luck was to remove the "dark" aspects of himself, as perceived by ordinary people, and turn him back into a normal child who could live a normal life.

But this wasn't what he wanted. He had already embarked on this path.

Furthermore, even setting aside the possibility that Great Grandfather's immense fortune might overwhelm him, what would he do with Great Grandfather's good fortune?

Great Grandfather had lived a happy and carefree life. If something bad happened to him in his old age due to sharing his fortune, what would be the point?

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

Others coveted this good fortune, but Li Zhuiyuan had no interest in it whatsoever.

"Great Grandfather, you should just enjoy your twilight years in peace."

He squatted down, picked up the cinnabar box and rag nearby, and first wiped away a small corner of the formation on the north side. Then, he redrew it with cinnabar. However, the original small corner faced inward, and Li Zhuiyuan changed it to face outward. Originally, both the north and south corners faced inward.

Although he hadn't started studying books on formations, he had copied and carved many details onto various items recently. He knew that such subtle counteractions could easily render a formation ineffective.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded to himself: With such a large formation, Great Grandfather probably wouldn't notice such a small alteration.

"Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan!"

Run Sheng's voice called from downstairs.

"Coming."

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and saw Run Sheng constantly wiggling the TV antenna.

"Xiao Yuan, look, why is there no picture on the TV?"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the night sky outside. "It looks like it's going to storm, and the signal is bad. We have to go see Grandpa Shan tomorrow morning, so you should get to sleep early too. If the TV isn't fixed tomorrow, just take it to get repaired and bring it back."

"Uh, Xiao Yuan, do you have money to fix the TV? I heard it's quite expensive to fix TVs."

If the TV was broken because of him, Run Sheng wouldn't dare tell Great Grandfather.

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

Li Sanjiang walked into the bedroom after his shower, wearing only red shorts, wiping the water droplets from his body with a towel.

"Huh? Where's Little Yuanhou?"

Li Sanjiang tossed the towel onto the ground and walked to the bedside to grab a cigarette.

However, in a moment of carelessness, his foot landed on the damp towel. He slipped, losing his balance.

Fortunately, although the old man was advanced in age, his body was still robust and his reactions quick. He quickly shifted his weight, bracing himself with his left hand on the ground. His knee hit the floor, but he didn't fall completely.

Getting up with a sense of relief, Li Sanjiang glanced at his reddened knee.

"Huh, is it bleeding?"

He reached up to touch it, but couldn't find a wound. He then brought his hand closer to his eyes. It wasn't blood; it was zhusha.

Li Sanjiang looked down at the formation on the ground and noticed that a small area of the formation in the south position had been smudged away by his knee.

He quickly dragged the zhusha box over, preparing to touch it up.

"Ah, what was supposed to be here again?"

He had drawn this formation diagram many times. Although he had to refer to a book each time, he had grasped some of the patterns. For instance, this formation diagram was symmetrical.

He looked up at the corresponding position, the north position.

"Oh, it's a corner pointing outwards."

Li Sanjiang carefully touched it up with zhusha, then clapped his hands, nodding with satisfaction.

Next, he lit a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and then lit all the candles on the ground.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan returned.

"Little sparrow, I told you to wait, why did you run off?"

"Heh heh, I'm here now, Great Grandfather."

"Quick, sit inside the formation."

"Alright, Great Grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan sat in his designated spot and specifically glanced at the north position of the formation. Yes, that corner was still pointing outwards.

Li Sanjiang also sat down. He took out a piece of talisman paper from his pants, lit it, and waved it around while chanting.

Finally, he took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and prepared to forcefully slap the ground. This would create a gust of wind to blow out the surrounding candles and cause the lightbulb overhead to flicker.

He mentally counted, "One, two, three!"

He slapped down with the talisman paper in hand.

"Bang!"

Darkness

instantly consumed everything.

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