Chapter 43

Li Zhuiyuan held up the Black Book and waved it toward the Fish Pond.

Although he did not know whether it could "see," he had to make his intentions clear.

There were many matters and stray thoughts at hand now, and he had to deal with them one by one.

"Brother Run Sheng, come get the things."

"Sure."

Run Sheng walked over, slung everything onto his back, weighed it in his hands, and smiled in satisfaction.

The Formation Flags were one thing, but this set of Corpse Retrieval Tools was his most treasured possession. When he woke up today, he had not even dared think about them; just thinking about them made his heart ache.

"Little Yuan, where are they?"

"They went home."

"What about us now?"

"We're going home too."

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan went straight upstairs and entered his room.

Many books were neatly stacked on his desk. Li Zhuiyuan took one book each from the six sets: Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons, Yin Yang Physiognomy Explained, Destiny Deduction Theory, Liu Clan's Qi Gazing Art, and Qin Clan's Flood Dragon Observation Method.

He then found blank margins along the edges of the pages, took up a carving knife, and cut off strips the width of his thumb, collecting six strips in total.

After hesitating for a moment, he opened the Black Book he had just obtained and cut off another strip.

He found a sheet of white paper, wrapped the seven strips in order, then found a black plastic bag and put the Gold Ingot inside.

Carrying these things, he went downstairs and entered the East Room.

Liu Yumei had just finished bathing and was sitting beside the coffee table, her silver-white hair still damp.

Seeing the boy enter, she pointed toward the room with its door closed and said, "A Li is taking a bath."

"Grandma Liu, I came to see you."

"Oh? Then make tea."

Li Zhuiyuan set down his things and began making tea.

"Little Yuan, Grandma really likes watching you make tea."

"It's my honor."

After they each took a sip from their teacups, Li Zhuiyuan set his cup down and took out the paper packet.

"Grandma Liu, I know you're an expert in paper and cloth. I have some paper strips here. Could you take a look at them for me?"

Liu Yumei's greatest hobby was designing clothes for A Li. He often saw her sketching with a brush. Though she was only drawing clothes, there was a distinctive charm in the details she captured, no less refined than the retired masters from the Art Academy in the Family Courtyard.

If nothing unexpected had happened, Aunt Liu's foundation in painting had likely come from studying under her. A Li's own artistic foundation was equally profound.

Masters of painting like this often had extensive knowledge of Paper Material.

"Sure, let me see."

Li Zhuiyuan first took out two strips and placed them before Liu Yumei. They came from Yin Yang Physiognomy Explained and Destiny Deduction Theory.

Liu Yumei reached out and touched the two strips. "Do you want to know what material and method were used to make them, or what era they're from?"

"The era."

"I can tell you know a little about antiques. What, you can't tell the age of Ancient Books?"

"You're joking, Grandma. I've just seen a lot before. I don't actually understand much."

"That's true. Ancient texts are a relatively minor branch in the antiques trade."

Li Zhuiyuan quietly waited for her answer.

"These two are from the Republic of China."

"The Republic of China?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the writing on them should be neat and tiny, suitable for recording dense information."

"You have a sharp eye."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the strips from Qin Clan's Flood Dragon Observation Method and Liu Clan's Qi Gazing Art and laid them down.

There was no writing on them, so he did not need to worry about Liu Yumei recognizing what books they came from. Of course, even if he had cut out the writing along with them, she probably would not have been able to read it.

The further those two books went, the more freeform and ugly the handwriting became. At first, Li Zhuiyuan could still infer what a character was from the context, but later on, it felt more like he had become familiar with the writer's self-invented symbols and had begun interpreting them that way.

Of course, the ugly handwriting itself carried deep meaning. It could even be said that it was precisely this ugly handwriting that made the "pirated copy" far more valuable than the original.

Liu Yumei picked up the two pieces of paper, gently rubbed them, and held them to her nose for a sniff. Then she put them down and said, "Ming-Qing."

"I see."

"If you brought me portions with writing on them, I could give you a more specific date."

"Then should I go get the books now?"

Liu Yumei shook her head. "No need."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled as though he had already expected that answer.

Next, he laid out the three strips from Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu, The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons, and the Black Cover Book.

In truth, these three books were the ones he most wanted Liu Yumei to examine.

Li Zhuiyuan had been overly modest earlier. He could tell the approximate ages of those four books.

But he had never been able to determine the age of Wei Zhengdao's books. Based only on their quality and state of preservation, he had tentatively judged them to be from the Ming-Qing period.

But there was a problem now. The one in the Fish Pond was from the Six Dynasties period, nearly fifteen hundred years ago.

The handwriting in the Black Book it had given him was exactly the same as Wei Zhengdao's.

Li Zhuiyuan could tell whether the handwriting in a book had been written by its original author or deliberately imitated by someone copying it in later generations.

Because whether it was Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu or The Righteous Path to Subdue Demons, there was a sense of self-satisfaction between every line.

The Black Book had that too.

That meant the three sets of Wei Zhengdao's books in his hands were not handwritten copies made by later generations, but original editions.

Yet if the time span was suddenly stretched back fifteen hundred years, then the preservation of these original books was far too astonishing.

At first, Liu Yumei merely gave the three strips a casual glance. Then her expression froze, and she immediately reached out and grabbed all three strips in one fist.

"What book are these from?"

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Do you really want me to answer?"

"Forget it. Don't answer." Liu Yumei opened her hand, letting the three strips slowly fall. Then she picked up the teapot and, ignoring the heat, washed her hands with hot tea.

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, "Grandma, what era are these three pieces of paper from?"

"Heh, this isn't paper."

"Then it is..."

"Human Skin."

Li Zhuiyuan blinked. "Human Skin?"

"Have you heard of Human Skin Papermaking?"

"No."

"It's normal that you haven't. As long as one is willing to pay a sufficient price, there are many ways to preserve books for a long time. Using Human Skin as raw material is instead the most time-consuming, laborious, and thankless method. Only certain special trades use Human Skin Paper to write things."

"I understand."

"Do you really understand? Then do you know what era these three sheets of Human Skin Paper are from?"

"After the Eastern Han, before the Sui and Tang?"

"I can give you a precise era."

"Please do."

"Southern Liang."

"Grandma, please tell me more."

"Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan once used the skin of three thousand people to make paper, copying Buddhist scriptures in hopes of worshiping the true Buddha.

"But before much of that paper could be used, Hou Jing rebelled. The paper spread out from the palace and became known as Buddha Skin Paper.

"Your three books were written on this Buddha Skin Paper."

"He used human skin to make paper? Wasn't he famous for believing in Buddhism?"

"What's strange about that? When emperors worship Buddha or seek the Dao, it's never out of compassion or a desire to save all living beings. They simply want immortality so they can continue enjoying wealth and glory.

"Wasn't The Daoist Emperor of the Ming Dynasty the same?

"Emperors like that love neither their realm nor beautiful women. They only love themselves. They're selfish to the core.

"So how could they possibly care about human lives?"

"I've learned something."

"If these books and this paper are preserved well, they really are ancient treasures. It seems Great Grandfather's Basement truly holds quite a few good things."

"You already knew there were books in Great Grandfather's Basement?"

"He mentioned it himself. During the campaign to destroy the Four Olds, several groups stored things with him. They all said someone would come retrieve them later, but no one has come for them to this day."

"Who exactly left them there?"

"I haven't even seen those books, so how could I know who they belonged to? Besides, I'm farsighted now. I'm not suited to reading books anymore."

"That's a pity. I think some of those books are quite interesting."

"When A Li gets better, you can read them to Grandma."

"I can't read them aloud. You'll have to read them yourself."

"Do you have anything else?"

"I do." Li Zhuiyuan opened the black plastic bag, took out the Gold Ingot, and placed it before Liu Yumei.

"You brat, did you go become a Water Monkey?"

"No, I wouldn't dare."

"This is Nether Gold. It's used as a burial offering."

"It's gold."

"What, do you want to exchange it for cash with me?"

"Yes."

"Hehehe." Liu Yumei covered her mouth and laughed. "You brat, have you turned Grandma's place into a pawnshop?"

"A fair deal, nothing else involved."

It had only left behind one Gold Ingot. This was money for leasing land and planting trees. Giving it directly to Great Grandfather would be difficult to explain, and exchanging it elsewhere would be troublesome too.

After all, Great Grandfather only needed to go to the village, pay the money, and sign his name. Li Zhuiyuan had far more to consider.

"Fine. How much does it weigh?"

"I haven't weighed it."

Liu Yumei picked up the Gold Ingot and weighed it in her hand. "Should I convert it according to the current gold price?"

"Sure. But this is a complete Gold Ingot."

"Heh, you brat. Grandma will add ten percent."

"Thank you, Grandma."

That was another advantage of exchanging it with Liu Yumei. If he took it to a shop outside and had it cut open, its condition would be ruined.

"A Ting."

"I'm here." Aunt Liu walked out of the kitchen. After lowering her head and listening to Liu Yumei's instructions, she nodded. "All right, I'll go to the bank right away."

Liu Yumei looked at Li Zhuiyuan. "I can give it to you tonight."

"Okay, Grandma."

"You still haven't clearly explained what happened last night."

"It's not easy to explain clearly, but it's been resolved in the end."

"That's good." Liu Yumei turned slightly and looked at the boy. "Your complexion doesn't look very good."

"Maybe I didn't rest well."

"No, it looks like you slept too much. Be careful. Sleeping too much isn't good for people either. It's easy to sleep yourself into a muddle and stop being able to tell reality from dreams."

Just then, the East Room door opened, and A Li stood in the doorway.

Some ancient lines always seemed exaggerated, but when one truly saw such a sight in reality, one realized how apt the descriptions were. Like the phrase, naturally beautiful without adornment.

He was used to seeing A Li after she had dressed herself up. Right now, fresh from her bath, she looked especially pure and exquisite.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. With her here, how could he possibly fail to distinguish dreams from reality?

Liu Yumei suddenly said, "When I was young, I was as pretty as A Li."

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Did Grandpa fall for you when you were ten?"

"You little brat, asking for a beating." Liu Yumei reached out to smack Li Zhuiyuan, but he dodged.

A Li walked over. Liu Yumei stood up, preparing to help her granddaughter get dressed and groomed.

But her granddaughter instead followed the boy into the main house and ran upstairs.

For a moment, Liu Yumei felt a little awkward. But since she was already standing, she simply stretched lazily.

"Oh? Working out in the middle of the night?"

Li Sanjiang and Tan Wenbin returned while pushing an empty cart. They had just gone together to deliver tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks.

Liu Yumei said, "These old arms and legs need more exercise."

"They sure do. The mule at home is sick, and I'm exhausted after making one delivery." Li Sanjiang walked over, sat down in a chair, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. He needed a moment to recover.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Has Little Yuan returned?"

"He's back. He just went upstairs."

"Okay, Grandma."

Tan Wenbin did not go upstairs to find Little Yuan. Instead, he ran to the workshop.

The moment he pushed open the door, he smelled a rich aroma of meat.

"Oh, Run Sheng, that's not very decent of you. You're secretly grilling meat in here."

As he spoke, he pinched a piece from the stove and popped it straight into his mouth without even blowing on it.

"Hot, hot... it's so hot!"

Run Sheng said, "..."

"Nice and crispy. Are you grilling pork skin? Why didn't you prepare any dipping sauce? If there's no chili, at least get some salt."

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, it's good. The meat's pretty fresh."

"Want some more?"

"Duh, of course."

"Here, which piece do you want? I'll cut it for you."

Run Sheng laid out the two sets of Leather Coats on the worktable, "lifelike."

He had just been following Little Yuan's instructions to destroy them when Tan Wenbin came in and started eating. He had not even had time to warn him.

Tan Wenbin saw the two thin figures lying on the worktable.

His expression froze for a full half minute, yet his mouth kept chewing numbly.

Finally, he lowered his head, spat out what was in his mouth, and clutched his throat.

"Bleurgh!!!"

"The toilet's next door. Go puke in there."

Bin Bin remained unmoved, squatting on the floor and continuing to dry heave.

Not wanting him to dirty the place, Run Sheng simply picked Bin Bin up and carried him into the toilet, where he let him brace himself against the Dragon Throne and vomit loudly.

After returning to the workshop, Run Sheng cut up all the remaining Leather Coats and fed them into the furnace in batches.

They had been destroyed, but the furnace would need cleaning afterward too, or it would be coated in grease.

Tan Wenbin came back, his face pale. He looked at the now-empty worktable and asked, "That was a hallucination just now, right?"

"It's nothing. Just dirty meat."

"No, you really eat that stuff?"

Run Sheng shook his head. "I don't."

"Whew..." Tan Wenbin let out a breath.

"This meat isn't dirty enough. It hasn't been cured properly."

Tan Wenbin collapsed into a sitting position, reached up to ruffle his hair, and said, "I keep feeling like you guys are lying to me."

"What did we lie to you about?"

"From beginning to end, it feels like some kind of staged skit. Whenever something important happens, I get tossed aside. I still haven't seen a Death Collapse that can move on its own."

"Just assume we're lying to you."

"But it doesn't seem like it. Little Yuan wouldn't lie to me about something like this."

Run Sheng reached out and touched Tan Wenbin's forehead, asking with concern, "Did you get food poisoning?"

Tan Wenbin shook his head miserably. He had seen Li Zhuiyuan listen to him read out math problems while simultaneously giving the answers. To a student about to enter senior year, that was even more miraculous than seeing a moving Death Collapse.

"Run Sheng, can you tell me what happened last night now? Little Yuan told me to ask you."

Run Sheng nodded and told him what had happened last night and today.

After hearing it, Tan Wenbin's face turned even paler.

"So the two Water Monkeys I ran into today were actually possessed by Death Collapses?"

"Do you even need to ask? You just ate their skin."

"Don't mention that. I've already forgotten about it."

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"No, nothing." Tan Wenbin shakily got to his feet and staggered toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To the corner store to make a call and have my dad pick me up."

Tan Wenbin walked out onto the yard and squatted down. With trembling hands, he pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips, but no matter how many times he struck the match, it would not spark.

He had only been joking. How could he really call his dad to come take him away? He had not gotten to see a Death Collapse this time, but there would always be another chance.

The feeling was like someone who loved spicy food but could not handle it. It burned and hurt terribly, yet they could not stop themselves from wanting another taste.

"Scratch!"

The match lit. Tan Wenbin immediately bent down and lit his cigarette.

A roar of an engine approached as a Police Tricycle drove into the yard.

Tan Wenbin raised his head with the cigarette between his lips and met Tan Yunlong's eyes.

"Plop."

The cigarette fell from his mouth to the ground.

Tan Yunlong got off the police vehicle, walked over, and delivered a fatherly kick.

"Bang!"

Tan Wenbin was kicked onto the ground. The yard was level, and he rolled several times.

"I left you here so you could smoke? Looks like you don't know a single rule!"

Tan Wenbin retorted, "Dad, aren't you using a police vehicle for personal business too?"

"Heh." Tan Yunlong began unbuckling his belt.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Li Sanjiang came out and grabbed Tan Yunlong. "Don't always lay hands on the boy. What if you hurt him?"

"Sir, this brat was just squatting here smoking!"

"Oh, I gave it to the boy just now. I was teasing him. The boy doesn't even know how to smoke. If you want to hit someone, hit me."

"Sir, you can't spoil him like that. If a child is coddled too much, he'll turn out bad."

"I spoil my Little Yuanhou too. I think he's just fine."

"How can that be the same?"

"They're both boys. What's different?"

"I dream of there being something different."

"Come, sit down. Stay for dinner tonight."

"No, sir. I'm here on official business. A traveling opera troupe got into a car accident around noon in Pingchao Town. Their vehicle crashed through a bridge railing and fell into the river."

"Which opera troupe?"

"The one that performed in Siyuan Village yesterday."

"Oh, them. What about the people? How are they?"

"They all died."

"Hiss... how did that happen?"

"It was just an ordinary traffic accident, but too many people died. I came here for a routine visit. Nothing happened during yesterday's performance, right? No quarrels or fights that might have caused trouble?"

"No, nothing. They performed quite well yesterday. They probably performed all night without sleeping and drove while exhausted."

"Mm. That troupe had somewhat special identities. They were from another province."

"Probably couldn't find work in their own province and came here looking for jobs. Sigh, what a pity."

"All right, that's it then. Sir, Bin Bin's been staying here and causing you trouble."

"No trouble at all. This boy is very good, very decent. He even helps me with work. Honestly, the boy's character is excellent. I can tell."

"It's just that his grades aren't good. He doesn't put his mind into studying and only thinks about playing all day."

"Aren't all boys like that? My Little Yuanhou is the same. Loves playing and has no mind for studying either."

Tan Yunlong: "..."

"Sir, do you not know about Little Yuan's academic performance?"

"Wasn't it thanks to your help? Otherwise, I'd still be worried about whether he could go to school."

"Little Yuan didn't tell you?"

"He did. He said you helped arrange it."

"That's what I should do. Nine years of compulsory education—how could a child be left without school?"

Since the old man did not know, Tan Yunlong did not bother explaining further.

"You should still stay for dinner."

"No, no. I'm leaving."

After saying goodbye to Li Sanjiang, Tan Yunlong got on his motorcycle and left.

Only after seeing his Laozi leave did Tan Wenbin climb up from the ground and pat the dirt off himself.

Li Sanjiang pulled out a cigarette and held it out to him. "Still dare to smoke?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

"Smack!"

Li Sanjiang gave Tan Wenbin a hard knock on the head.

Tan Wenbin clutched his head and said aggrievedly, "Sir, what was that for?"

"Don't hold it against your dad. He's doing it for your own good. Once you grow up, your dad will offer you cigarettes."

"Heh..." Tan Wenbin pictured it and a smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth. "That'd be great."

"You little fool, when your dad offers you a cigarette for the first time, you won't be smiling."

Li Zhuiyuan did not rush to read the book. Instead, he sat in the room and played chess with A Li.

Game after game, he lost again and again. The boy enjoyed the process; it helped soothe his restless emotions.

He knew he had a bad habit of overthinking, but in front of the girl, he became very quiet.

Aunt Liu came upstairs and knocked on the door. Li Zhuiyuan went out and accepted a bag from her. It was filled with money.

"Thank you, Aunt Liu."

"Come down for dinner."

"Okay."

Because Aunt Liu had gone to the bank, dinner was fairly simple: noodles with two kinds of toppings. Still, it was delicious.

"Hey, Zhuang Zhuang, why don't you have an appetite tonight?"

"I ate too much at noon."

"I thought your dad kicked your stomach bad."

"Not likely. His aim is accurate."

"Zhuang Zhuang, you'll become a police officer someday too, right?"

"Not a chance."

"Being a police officer is great."

"My grandpa said that being just a police officer is great, but once you put the words 'the People's' in front of it, it gets much more exhausting, and the burden gets much heavier."

"That old man of yours is wise."

"Uh, are you talking about my grandpa?"

"He's your grandpa too."

Tan Wenbin turned to Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Little Yuan, what university are you planning to apply to?"

"Haihe University."

"Fine, then I'll apply there too. We can go register for school together."

"Tap!"

Li Sanjiang struck Tan Wenbin on the head with the end of his chopsticks.

"What nonsense are you talking about? If you want to register alongside our Little Yuanhou, how many years would you have to repeat?"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that A Li's movements while eating noodles had become very natural. She no longer tried to make every strand the same length.

After she finished, Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Want more?"

A Li shook her head.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a handkerchief, and she leaned forward on her own.

After wiping her mouth and hands, Li Zhuiyuan folded the handkerchief and wiped himself as well.

Seeing the girl staring at the handkerchief, the boy deliberately put it into his pocket.

The girl seemed to pout.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan coaxed A Li back to her room to sleep. When he returned to the main house, he saw Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin sitting in front of the television. Rattan strips and wooden slats lay before them as they watched TV and practiced Paper Crafting.

Surprisingly, Tan Wenbin's movements were extremely practiced. Anyone unaware of the truth would have thought his family ran a hereditary paper-crafting shop too.

"Bin Bin Ge."

"Hey, Little Yuan Ge."

"Aren't you going to read or do your homework?"

"I brought all my homework. I've already written the essay myself. As for the rest, you can help me do it before I go home."

"If you keep doing that, your parents won't let you come here anymore."

"Don't worry. The worse my grades are, the more they'll leave me here."

"That makes a lot of sense."

"Hehe, after all, even tying me up at the Confucian Temple isn't as effective as sending me here."

"Is Haihe University hard to get into?"

"Little Yuan Ge, are you reminding me to study hard?"

"I'm just asking."

"You don't know?"

"I don't."

"Oh, right. Every university in the country looks the same to you. With my current grades, my chances of getting into Haihe University are about as high as the odds of every household owning a color TV someday."

"Then you should be able to get in. One of my brothers said so."

After going upstairs, Li Zhuiyuan began practicing breathing exercises while holding a horse stance.

After finishing his training, he took a shower and returned to his room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he held the Black Book in his hands.

He knew that he would definitely learn from it.

He was still young. According to Liu Yumei, practicing hard martial arts before his bones had fully developed was unsuitable. But he could not accept his own helplessness whenever he faced a crisis.

Though the crises he had encountered lately had been rather absurd. Zhao Kuo had clearly been reading at home, yet the moment he stepped outside, he ran into Bai Qi.

But... he still had to learn some nonphysical means of directly confronting a Death Collapse.

It had given him this book as an open scheme.

Only, the final outcome might not be what it wanted to see.

Li Zhuiyuan placed the book beneath his pillow, got out of bed, and walked to the wardrobe. He looked at himself in the mirror.

A sense of unfamiliarity?

But I'd felt unfamiliar whenever I looked at myself in the mirror for a long time now.

Filthy, twisted emotions?

I wish I had emotions for it to contaminate.

You say I'm like Wei Zhengdao. Could there be another possibility...

Li Zhuiyuan placed his hand on the mirror. His reflection gradually blurred, seeming to become another stranger. Of course, that was only Li Zhuiyuan's own imagination.

"Wei Zhengdao, Li Lan, and I... do we have the same illness?"

He had gone to bed early and risen early as well. When he woke after a night's sleep, the sky was still dark. Turning his head, he saw that it was not yet time for the girl to arrive.

After getting up and washing, he picked up the Black Book and walked to the terrace. He saw the door to the East Room open, and A Li emerged in a white blouse and horse-face skirt.

She raised her head and looked at the boy standing upstairs.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled and waved at her.

Though dawn had yet to come, his sun had already risen.

The girl sat beside him as Li Zhuiyuan began formally reading through the Black Book.

The handwriting was familiar, as was the familiar self-satisfaction.

Perhaps because it had been written for a friend, that feeling was even stronger. It carried the delight of sharing one's best things with a good friend.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that it might have hated the wrong person.

Wei Zhengdao might truly have taught it this method out of pure intentions, but not every method suited everyone.

As he continued reading, Li Zhuiyuan confirmed his guess.

Chapter One: Yin Walking Control.

Chapter Two: Consciousness Integration.

Chapter Three: Cognitive Guidance.

Chapter Four: Complete Manipulation.

The book was not thick, and there was not much content. It only explained the method. To learn it, one merely needed to imitate it step by step.

But it was extraordinarily difficult. Controlling Yin Walking alone was not something just anyone could master.

Seen that way, that thing really was a genius. It had actually learned it, and even controlled so many Death Collapses.

There was another point: this book was truly insidious.

It treated Death Collapses as a kind of "animal," using Yin Walking to establish a connection, then merging consciousness with them to read their memories from before death. Finally, like hypnosis or deception, it lured and controlled their behavior.

It was much like... taming beasts.

Perhaps in a proper book, one had to put on airs and repeatedly write, "Destroyed by the righteous path."

But in notes written for a friend, it had let loose and revealed its true thoughts.

Wei Zhengdao, Wei Zhengdao... how could a method like this possibly count as righteous?

For Li Zhuiyuan, the first step was not difficult, nor were the third and fourth. He could already control Yin Walking, and he knew hypnosis and temptation as well. After all, he had extensive experience being studied by psychologists.

It was only the second step that he currently had no clue about.

Wei Zhengdao's description was profoundly mysterious. Li Zhuiyuan needed to try translating it into modern terms before he could understand it.

It sounded a lot like a frequency, like a radio signal. He needed to create a resonance between himself and a Death Collapse.

Could it be understood that way?

Then how could he regulate that frequency?

Li Zhuiyuan leaned back against the wicker chair, covered his face with the book, and closed his eyes.

He wanted to search for the feeling, first entering that state between sleep and wakefulness before attempting Yin Walking.

Beside him, when the girl saw the boy lie down, she lay down as well.

Under the morning light, the boy and girl lay side by side on their adjoining wicker chairs. The girl lay on her side, looking at the boy's face.

Li Zhuiyuan found that feeling. It seemed he had successfully entered Yin Walking. He slowly opened his eyes, but everything around him was hazy, and he could see nothing.

Following the book's instructions, Li Zhuiyuan began trying to make the image within his consciousness tremble. This was what he understood as... frequency.

In reality, the boy lying on the wicker chair began rapidly fluttering his eyelashes.

A Li noticed. She reached out, wanting to touch him, but halfway there, she withdrew her hand. Then she closed her eyes as well.

The hazy surroundings did not change in the slightest.

Li Zhuiyuan finally realized a major problem: without even a test subject, what exactly was he supposed to experiment on here?

But what could he do? Was he supposed to ask Brother Run Sheng to go out with him and capture a Death Collapse for him to test on?

But just then, the scene around him began trembling faster, as though some powerful signal were actively responding to him.

The fog before him began to recede. Li Zhuiyuan saw a girl sitting in the center of the darkness, hugging her knees.

Uh,

Could this be...

Had he sensed A Li?