Chapter 47

"Oh, you chose it yourself, don't regret it."

"How could I regret it? I won't!"

Once upon a time, an opportunity to leave was placed before me, but I didn't cherish it.

Now, Tan Wenbin truly regretted it.

He could also tell that if he wanted Zhou Yong to "open up" and communicate, to get to the bottom of the truth behind this matter, he couldn't do it without drinking this wine properly.

Tan Wenbin looked at Li Zhuiyuan again. He saw Little Yuan Ge holding his chopsticks and tapping the edge of his bowl with his head down, looking as childlike as ever.

He then looked at Run Sheng. This time, Run Sheng didn't avoid his gaze but looked at him proactively.

A warm current immediately surged in his heart. After all, they were roommates who shared a sleeping mat at night.

Little Yuan Ge, Run Sheng, if something happens to me after I drink this, remember to tell my dad that I didn't act like a coward.

With his mental preparation complete, Tan Wenbin reached out with both hands to grab the wine bowl.

Just then, Run Sheng stood up and took the wine bowl in front of Tan Wenbin.

Then, holding the wine bowl, he swayed it in front of Zhou Yong, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.

It wasn't over after he finished. Run Sheng picked up the remaining two wine bowls in front of Zhou Yong and drank them one after another.

Tan Wenbin was so moved that tears streamed down his face.

Li Zhuiyuan merely glanced sideways and continued to lower his head, playing with his chopsticks and bowl.

He wasn't surprised by Run Sheng's actions.

But it was tough on Brother Run Sheng. He knew that if he had a choice, Run Sheng would prefer the "marinated" prime cuts of meat.

The dishes on the table and the wine in the bowls were dirty, but not dirty enough. To Brother Run Sheng, death was like pork, beef, or lamb, but liking meat didn't mean he liked offal.

Run Sheng's boldness quickly pleased Zhou Yong, who began to pour wine for Run Sheng non-stop and invite him for toasts.

During this time, he also pointed to the dishes on the table, reminding Run Sheng not to forget to use the dishes to help wash down the wine.

Run Sheng also completely let go of his reservations. He directly picked up the dishes on the table and put them into his mouth, chewing with a "crunching" sound.

Then, wiping his mouth, he picked up his bowl and continued to toast with Zhou Yong.

That's how banquets are. Those who drink sit together, and once they start drinking, they become oblivious to others.

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin were no longer pressured and could quietly sit there as if they were air.

Finally, there weren't many dishes left on the table, and the wine had been drunk to their heart's content.

Li Zhuiyuan stuck the pair of chopsticks in his hand into the rice bowl.

Run Sheng put down his wine bowl and tapped on the table.

Zhou Yong also put down his wine bowl and returned to his original sitting posture.

His mouth began to open and close rapidly, emitting a sound similar to the chanting of the White Cloth Band during Zhai Shi, with a certain tune but indistinct pronunciation.

The tune made Li Zhuiyuan feel drowsy.

He couldn't help but yawn, forcibly dispelling the sleepiness, and then looked at Zhou Yong with some dissatisfaction. He felt that Zhou Yong was not sincerely communicating.

But when he turned his head, he saw that Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin on his left and right were both closing their eyes, their bodies swaying slightly from side to side. They had entered a dream.

It was clear that Zhou Yong was communicating with them.

And the drowsiness he had just felt was actually Zhou Yong's "invitation."

His instinct had rejected this invitation.

Li Zhuiyuan suspected that it might be due to his frequent Yin Walking recently, leading to a resistance.

However, sometimes, a vicious cycle was unavoidable, just like the current situation.

Leaning his left elbow on the table and propping his chin with his left hand, Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes slightly. He picked up a chopstick with his right hand and tapped it against the edge of the bowl:

"Ding!"

Yin Walking successful.

He had entered, yet it felt as if he hadn't.

Because in his vision, he saw the scene of Run Sheng, Tan Wenbin, and Zhou Yong talking, but this scene was separated from him by a layer of flowing gel.

Li Zhuiyuan tried to reach out and touch it, sensing a resistance. When he continued to exert force to push it aside and enter, in the distorted scene, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin both showed expressions of pain.

Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to give up.

Although he had mastered Yin Walking quite proficiently, he didn't know how to actively enter a "dream" that others had already formed.

A Li knew how to do it.

This led Li Zhuiyuan to mistakenly believe that he should also know how, or rather, he didn't think this would be a problem at all.

He could only attribute it to the drawbacks of self-teaching.

However, Li Zhuiyuan did not choose to wake up. Since this situation had occurred and he couldn't participate, he might as well take the opportunity to observe carefully.

He got up from his seat. The table now formed a cohesive unit, with invisible gel enveloping the three of them. Li Zhuiyuan walked in circles around the table.

He felt there should be a specific method to integrate himself.

For example, the second step of controlling the deceased in Wei Zhengdao's black book only required him to tune his consciousness fluctuations to the same frequency as the deceased to enter.

But here, there was not just Zhou Yong, but also Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin. How could he tune the frequency of one deceased and two living people?

Or perhaps, they had already merged into a single frequency?

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and gently patted the gel in front of him.

In the distorted image, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin once again showed discomfort.

Forget it, it wasn't suitable for specific experiments at this time.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan felt a hand gently pulling him.

He looked down and saw the girl.

The girl was squatting on the ground, her shoulders shaking. She was crying.

He had passed through a "yin" once when he first entered the room, but at that time, the girl and her mother were in the kitchen, not the living room.

From his current perspective, the white rice grains on the girl's body began to wriggle.

No, what were these rice grains? They were clearly dense white maggots drilling in and out of her body.

The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan.

She opened her mouth, as if letting out a silent scream. The white maggots covering her eye sockets quickly scattered, and blood tears seeped from her dark eye sockets.

She was telling him that she was in great pain, that she was suffering, and that she wanted release.

Black Cat had once told Li Zhuiyuan that for the deceased, the more thinking ability they possessed, the heavier the torment they endured.

The deceased were inherently a collection of resentment. What supported them in resisting torment was even deeper resentment.

But what about people who inherently lacked this resentment? And yet, still maintained clear thinking abilities.

That would be equivalent to placing oneself directly in a sea of fire, undergoing pure torture and scorching.

On the girl, the boy did not sense any resentment, only extreme pain.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but turn his head to look at Zhou Yong, who was wrapped in gel.

Some things, even without verbal communication, could be understood through the eyes.

The girl was clearly forced to stay, and the one who had the obsession to keep her, or rather, the one who generated great resentment due to her departure... could only be Zhou Yong.

In the kitchen, the firelight was still flickering. According to the customs of the meal, the last dish should be soup.

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the kitchen but didn't see the woman.

He walked to the pot and saw black soup boiling inside.

At that moment, the bellows started making noise again.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and saw a hand reaching out from behind the stove, grabbing the handle of the bellows and pulling it.

Continuing further, he came to the back of the stove and followed the hand, but couldn't see the woman sitting behind it.

This was because the arm was extending from inside the stove.

Li Zhuiyuan squatted down, leveling himself with the stove opening.

The woman inside also looked up and smiled at Li Zhuiyuan.

This stove didn't burn firewood; it burned the woman herself.

She had squeezed into the narrow stove, and flames burned her body, keeping the soup in the pot constantly boiling.

Yet, a look of comfort appeared on her face.

Perhaps, by being burned like this, she could alleviate the terrible pain she already possessed.

Li Zhuiyuan had engaged in self-harm not long ago, and he understood this feeling very well.

Zhou Yong wanted to keep this family intact, so... he dragged his wife and daughter into hell together.

Perhaps Zhou Yong didn't know things would escalate to this point at first.

But now, to say he was ignorant would be quite absurd.

He knew, but he chose to deceive himself selfishly.

However, one thing was certain: the person who taught Zhou Yong this method must have known the consequences of doing so. What was their purpose?

Initially, one could assume they were a kind person who pitied Zhou Yong for losing his wife and daughter and used this method to "help" him.

Now, it seemed this assumption was invalid. Someone capable of doing such a thing was fundamentally unrelated to "kindness."

He walked to the kitchen doorway and saw that the conversation outside hadn't ended yet. Li Zhuiyuan's gaze fell on the girl again, and he beckoned her over.

The girl crawled over.

Earlier, during the meal, she had been forced to play the role of a "daughter," and the woman had been forced to play the role of a "wife."

Strictly speaking, they were actually Zhou Yong's vengeful spirits.

It was just that Zhou Yong didn't possess that kind of power. He was completely incomparable to the Tai Sui corpse they encountered in the graveyard last time.

That copper coin is still buried in the graveyard; Li Zhuiyuan still doesn't dare to retrieve it.

The girl crawled in front of Li Zhuiyuan. She was trapped here, enduring constant torment. This boy was the only outsider who had recently appeared "here."

What drove her to approach the boy was the instinct for death.

Li Zhuiyuan placed his hand on the girl's head. He could feel the dense, wriggling sensation beneath her hair. He knew what was there.

But for now, he had to ignore it.

Following the method in the black book, he began to adjust his consciousness fluctuations.

He wanted to see through the girl's eyes, to see what the person who helped Zhou Yong set all this up actually looked like.

It was simple, and he succeeded because the girl not only didn't resist but actively cooperated.

Li Zhuiyuan's vision showed a blue mosquito net. He was lying on a small bed, able to weakly turn his head. He (she) no longer had the strength to sit up.

Someone was crying. She turned her head to look. The person sobbing by the large bed was Zhou Yong.

A woman lay on the large bed. She was already dead.

Zhou Yong held his wife's hand, crying heartbrokenly.

After crying for a while, he began to pound the ground. He started to curse, his words mostly questioning why life and fate had treated him this way, why they were so cruel to him.

Just then, a voice came:

"I can reunite your family."

The speaker was not inside the house but outside. He was using the window to transmit his voice.

What surprised Li Zhuiyuan was that the tone and manner of speech were familiar. No, it felt intimate, as if it were someone close to him.

Yet, for a moment, even after reviewing his entire network of relationships, he couldn't find anyone who matched this voice.

Zhou Yong looked up blankly. He lunged towards the window, as if to ask who was speaking.

Next, there should have been communication and development, such as how the owner of the voice convinced Zhou Yong, and how he got Zhou Yong to donate the bridge and make arrangements according to his instructions.

However, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't see the rest because the girl was too weak. She closed her eyes.

If her father hadn't been crying so loudly earlier, she wouldn't have woken up at all.

Long darkness.

Li Zhuiyuan waited patiently, sensing that there would be more scenes before the girl died.

As expected, the darkness began to recede.

Light began to seep in again.

When the girl opened her eyes again, Zhou Yong was standing by her bed.

At this moment, Zhou Yong's face no longer showed pain. Instead, a heartfelt joy was revealed.

"Ling Ling, don't be afraid. Daddy has found a way for our family to continue living together. Ling Ling, don't be afraid. Mommy and Daddy will always be with you."

The girl closed her eyes.

Next, it should be over. She should be dying.

But just as Li Zhuiyuan was preparing to disengage, he suddenly felt unable to breathe, followed by a burning sensation in his lungs.

What was going on?

If he were dying in bed from illness, such a violent reaction shouldn't occur.

Li Zhuiyuan sensed a terrifying suffocation. He had experienced this feeling when he first fell into the water and met Little Yellow Oriole. He didn't want to experience it a second time.

He disengaged.

However, although the contact was broken, the girl's pain remained and was erupting with increasing intensity, as if he was gradually becoming her and simultaneously accepting all her emotions.

This was, literally, empathy.

Her torment, her grievances, her despair, all boiled within his heart, like a kettle lid about to be blown off by boiling water.

Li Zhuiyuan thought of "it" in the fish pond, its body covered in dead faces.

He hadn't expected the method taught by the Black Book to have such a strong side effect on his very first successful use.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder: Are you an idiot?

Wei Zhengdao taught you this method, and you encountered this situation the first time you used it, yet you continued to use this method to control the dead?

Is it your excessive admiration and trust in Wei Zhengdao, or your own greed and stubbornness, believing you are special and can find a way to resolve this side effect?

If the hidden dangers surfaced slowly afterward, it could be explained and understood, but the symptoms were so clear and direct...

Heh, You really don't have the right to hate Wei Zhengdao.

Even the biggest flame will quickly extinguish if fuel is no longer supplied.

The fuel here is your own emotions.

Unfortunately, Li Zhuiyuan had none.

The fire extinguished.

Yet, Li Zhuiyuan felt a pang of sadness and discomfort.

This was akin to someone tearing open his old wounds right in front of him, pointing at his nose and telling him he was a monster in human skin.

Yes, this was his side effect.

He wouldn't end up like "it" in the fish pond, leaving so many faces on himself.

However, this also opened up a new line of thought for Li Zhuiyuan.

The little girl wouldn't work, But what if he found a more powerful dead soul?

If controlled and manipulated properly, could he then retain true emotions that wouldn't extinguish?

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to ponder these things; he still had to finish the main task.

In his line of sight, the girl was still prostrate on the ground, sobbing in great pain.

Li Zhuiyuan withdrew his hand. The girl before him didn't seem to have died of illness, but rather... homicide.

His gaze fell back on Zhou Yong. Did you kill her?

Zhou Yong certainly had the motive; he had obtained the method, and having his daughter die sooner would make it more convenient for him to implement it.

But, another possibility wasn't out of the question.

Unfortunately, the girl's perspective offered too little information. He needed more perspectives now.

Li Zhuiyuan walked behind the stove and squatted down again, meeting the gaze of the woman being roasted in the flames.

He knew that only after the woman's death did "that person" make contact with Zhou Yong for the first time.

From the woman's perspective, she definitely couldn't see "that person."

But he just wanted to see if the woman had truly died of simple illness.

After meeting her gaze, he began to adjust the frequency.

Like the girl, the woman offered no resistance. Instead, she actively cooperated, which undoubtedly lowered the difficulty.

Li Zhuiyuan's vision changed again, very similar to the previous one: a larger bed, a larger blue mosquito net.

Li Zhuiyuan began to actively skim over irrelevant visual scenes. But during this skimming process, he felt a hint of doubt.

That is, based on his current sensory experience, the woman seemed to be quite a distance from death.

Could it be that the illness suddenly worsened?

Or perhaps, the woman's death was not natural either.

If anything unusual happened here, it definitely wouldn't be related to Zhou Yong. During this period, Zhou Yong was still desperately trying to find a way to save his wife and daughter's lives.

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan heard a peculiar set of footsteps.

He immediately stopped fast-forwarding and began to perceive everything with his full attention at normal speed.

These footsteps weren't made by cloth shoes; they sounded more like the friction of some kind of plastic sole. The footsteps weren't heavy, and the friction sound was brief, meaning the owner of the shoes likely had short soles... a child?

The woman's eyes were open. She seemed to want to turn her head to look, but lying there, her limbs simply wouldn't obey.

She was likely suffering from a hereditary disease, just like her daughter.

Just like... himself and Li Lan.

A hand holding a white towel appeared in his line of sight. The hand was fair and tender, small – indeed, the hand of a child.

The towel covered the woman's mouth and nose, and the feeling of suffocation intensified.

Immediately after, a face appeared in his vision.

Li Zhuiyuan froze entirely because the face was his own!

The "self" was staring coldly at the woman. Since he was seeing from the woman's perspective, it was as if he and "himself" were making eye contact.

In that instant, Li Zhuiyuan recalled the sounds he had heard from outside the window in the girl's perspective earlier. Why had the tone of voice felt so familiar?

It was because there was a difference between the sound of his own voice when he spoke and the sound of his voice played back on a recording device.

He had been too close to see clearly, matching the voice to everyone else, but never considering it might be himself.

But, it was indeed his usual tone and manner of speaking.

Now, The "self" before him also spoke:

"You're dying too slowly. You're disrupting my practice rhythm."

This sentence acted like a trigger. As soon as the words fell, a strong sense of distortion washed over him. In that moment, his perception began to peel away, plunging him directly into a vortex of losing "who am I."

But this scene was all too familiar to Li Zhuiyuan. Every time he had an episode, he would experience this loss of self-perception, his heart filled with coldness.

However, in the past, this feeling originated from within himself. This time, it was entering from the outside, and its potency was far weaker.

Having suffered from illness for so long, he didn't even need to repeatedly call out and recite many names. Simply chanting "A Li" over and over, thinking of A Li's appearance, was enough to cope.

Of course, during this time, he also silently recited "Great Grandfather" twice.

Immediately after, this feeling slowly dissipated.

Truly, a very mild onset, with a sense of discomfort like finishing without even breaking a sweat.

His vision was completely black, because the woman was already dead.

Li Zhuiyuan broke contact. He was still squatting in front of the stove, and the woman inside the stove was still burning.

The firelight reflected on Li Zhuiyuan's face, making his complexion flicker.

In fact, Li Zhuiyuan's complexion was indeed very grim.

Because he felt he had been offended.

It definitely wasn't the girl and woman he killed, nor was it the method he taught Zhou Yong.

Without the slightest self-doubt, nor a shred of confused introspection.

He knew it wasn't him, because this was a trap.

The feng shui layout on the stone slab bridge, the Mirror Flower Water Moon on the small dam... this series of methods, though beautifully executed, was somewhat crude in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes.

But within these crude methods, a pit had been dug.

This feeling was like walking through thorns; although troublesome, it wasn't overly complex or difficult to clear away with a stick. Yet, near the end, a landmine had been buried.

Excluding the extremely small probability that the person behind this was simply that malicious, it was highly likely that after that person arranged all this for Zhou Yong, another person with profound skill had intervened and set a trap.

A trap specifically prepared for peers.

Although the person wasn't him, what he said should be true; he mentioned "practice rhythm."

Coincidentally, Li Zhuiyuan himself was currently in a stage of practice.

Someone who had just entered this path, undertaking feng shui arrangements, with an elder or teacher accompanying him, who, fearing leaks, had added a finishing touch to this practice assignment.

Zhou Yong, selfish and indifferent to the suffering of his wife and daughter, might still be grateful to the person who taught him the method, unaware that his entire family was merely practice material for that person.

Li Zhuiyuan slowly raised his head and murmured:

"Fine, you want to play like this?"

But the next moment, his expression changed drastically. The other party clearly couldn't know the method from Wei Zhengdao's black book, nor did they know he was reading memories, so the distortion from self-awareness earlier... wasn't intentionally left to target him.

Was it targeting this woman?

No, not that either. She and her daughter were merely in the position of chang. Their very existence depended on Zhou Yong.

The trap of distorted self-identity was laid for Zhou Yong.

Not good, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin are in danger!

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and slapped his own right cheek.

"Slap!"

He woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin still in their dreams.

But Zhou Yong had already stood up and was leaning his face in front of Tan Wenbin, constantly inhaling.

Wisps of white mist flowed out from Tan Wenbin's nostrils and mouth, which Zhou Yong sucked in.

Tan Wenbin's face had already turned pale from being drained.

Li Zhuiyuan's act of opening his eyes startled Zhou Yong. He turned his head slowly, his eyes fixing on Li Zhuiyuan.

Previously, his eyes were filled with white mucus. Now, the mucus was gone, replaced by a blood-red tint.

The trap laid by that person was right here!

The previous Zhou Yong was indeed the real Zhou Yong. He was selfish, but not insane towards outsiders. At least, his selfishness was confined to his obsession with his wife and daughter and his family, not a desire to kill outsiders.

Otherwise, he would have already attacked the villagers who saw him, and he wouldn't have accepted Li Zhuiyuan's "communication" terms.

He genuinely wanted to invite guests into his home and entertain them with "good wine and good food."

This was how he could feel a sense of reunion for his family, something he desperately wanted to showcase.

Facing such a corpse that didn't harm others, was easy to communicate with, and was willing to invite you home to explain the situation, most people would naturally feel sympathy and understanding, thus letting down their guard.

But at a crucial moment in his narration, the trap would be triggered. The filth in Zhou Yong's eyes would recede, his perception would be distorted, revealing the corpse's most primitive and instinctive nature.

This trap was ingenious, not just in its execution but also in its manipulation of the human heart.

If Li Zhuiyuan had also been successfully drawn into the dream for a heart-to-heart talk, the three of them would now be sitting there blankly, waiting to be drained one by one.

Of course, the most important thing was that Zhou Yong was far inferior to that Tai Sui corpse. His main strength needed to be used to maintain the dream, preventing Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin from waking up. Only the remaining sliver of power could be used to animate him in reality and begin killing.

This was why his movements were so slow. And it was precisely because of this slowness that Li Zhuiyuan had time to react.

Li Zhuiyuan moved. He didn't rush to save Tan Wenbin, who was in critical condition, but instead, he grabbed the bowl in front of him and smashed it towards Run Sheng's face!

"Crack!"

The bowl shattered, and Run Sheng's forehead bled from the impact, but he also opened his eyes as a result.

He immediately saw the situation clearly. Grabbing the Yellow River Shovel, which he had deliberately placed by his feet during the meal, he swung it directly at Zhou Yong's head!

"Bang!"

Zhou Yong was knocked to the ground.

The dream he had been maintaining also collapsed.

Tan Wenbin face-planted onto the table with a "thump."

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward to check and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't dead; he was still breathing.

Great Grandfather had agreed to bring Tan Wenbin along, thinking an extra person would be an extra helper. Fortunately, he had brought Tan Wenbin this time, as it gave Zhou Yong another target to absorb.

Bin Bin had thrown himself into the fray, buying everyone time.

If the first target had been himself or Run Sheng, the situation would have been truly difficult to handle.

Run Sheng's fight with Zhou Yong was still ongoing.

Logically, the dead should have immense strength, but Zhou Yong himself relied on absorbing malevolent energy from the feng shui formations in the river every day. He would then create the illusion of a happy family at home with his own power. Today, he had even created a dream to pull both of them in. Although he had absorbed some energy from Tan Wenbin to supplement himself, he was still in a deficit.

Run Sheng, on the other hand, had eaten his meal, regardless of how the food had been before!

At this moment, Run Sheng had Zhou Yong pinned beneath him. No matter how Zhou Yong struggled, he couldn't get up.

However, Zhou Yong had grabbed the Yellow River Shovel with both hands, preventing it from being used for further attacks. Run Sheng had no choice but to hold the shovel with his left hand as well, maintaining a stalemate. He pulled out his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and began relentlessly pounding Zhou Yong's chest.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Each punch landed solidly. With every blow, a wisp of black energy emanated from Zhou Yong's body.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to the sack, took out the Black Canvas, reached inside, and opened the ink pad box. He quickly pressed his five fingers onto it, then withdrew them and drew five long red marks on the Black Canvas.

Previous practice had proven that the Black Canvas was the most lethal tool among all the artifacts currently available.

The one he held now had been newly repaired, so its power was definitely greater. This was because the Wood Flower Rolls inside were carved by A Li from her own ancestral tablets.

However, just as Li Zhuiyuan was about to step forward and use the Black Canvas to suppress Zhou Yong, Zhou Yong suddenly opened his mouth and let out a sharp howl.

Two shadows, one large and one small, shot out rapidly. They were a girl and a woman, and they both lunged at Run Sheng. The woman clawed at Run Sheng's back with her fingernails, leaving bloody gashes, while the girl bit onto Run Sheng's neck, hanging on with her entire body.

"Hiss!"

Under such an attack, Run Sheng suddenly lost all strength. Not only did he fall off Zhou Yong, but he was also pinned down by the mother and daughter on either side.

After standing up, Zhou Yong immediately pressed down on Run Sheng again, the crimson glow in his eyes revealing his current ferocity.

As Li Zhuiyuan, holding the Black Canvas, was about to make a move, Zhou Yong and the mother-daughter pair simultaneously looked up and fixed their gaze on him.

This left Li Zhuiyuan unable to proceed with the next step. While the Black Canvas was powerful, its usage conditions were very restrictive. It was generally used for a finishing blow after controlling an enemy to the point of death.

If he were to throw it at them now, in front of their eyes, they would dodge it. Even if it covered them first, they would throw it away or even tear it to shreds in their agony.

Although the three of them appeared to be suppressing Run Sheng together, as soon as he dared to approach or make any other move, one of them would charge at him fiercely.

"Little Yuan, you hurry and go, don't mind Bin Bin!"

No matter how strong Run Sheng was, he couldn't fight three at once. He had already made up his mind to hold off these three desperately, creating an opportunity for Little Yuan to escape.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't leave. Instead, he half-closed his eyes. His eyelashes began to tremble rapidly, and his body shook along with them.

"Listen to me, I can help you escape your suffering."

"Listen to me, I can help you end your torment."

"Listen to me, I can help you break free from his control!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes snapped open. He raised his hand and pointed at Zhou Yong.

Almost simultaneously, the girl and the woman released Run Sheng and lunged at Zhou Yong instead, knocking him to the ground.

Run Sheng, who had just been fighting three against one, suddenly enjoyed the pleasure of fighting three against one.

He didn't delay. After jumping up, he picked up the Yellow River Shovel, wedged it at Zhou Yong's neck, and completely suppressed him.

As he did this, Run Sheng's eyes were filled with shock.

No wonder his grandfather had always told him to listen to Little Yuan, and had even specifically repeated it to him during the day. Little Yuan was truly amazing. Even the dead listened to him now!

Li Zhuiyuan walked over, holding the Black Canvas. He was still in a state of control, walking with a slight imbalance, as if he were drunk.

This was very similar to Zhou Yong earlier. While maintaining the dreamscape, his movements in reality had become very slow.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan reached Zhou Yong's side. He squatted down and placed the Black Canvas over Zhou Yong's face.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

Screams echoed, but there was no need to worry about disturbing others. Firstly, Zhou Yong's house was relatively secluded in the village, and secondly, the Mirror Flower Water Moon arrangement outside was still in place.

However, the force of the Black Canvas this time was indeed several times stronger than before. The surging mist that erupted was like a breach in a dam.

This forced Li Zhuiyuan to remove the Black Canvas.

At this moment, Zhou Yong's breathing was weak, and the strength of his struggles had become very, very feeble.

Moreover, the blood-red color in his eyes faded, replaced by white mucus. This meant that the trap's effect had been broken, and he had returned to his original self.

Run Sheng felt confused. Why didn't Little Yuan continue to cover him with the Black Canvas and finish him off completely?

Previously, everyone had agreed that as long as they communicated properly and revealed the mastermind, they would go their separate ways afterward and live in peace.

But it was obvious that this guy was the one who broke the rules, so there was no need for them to hold back anymore. They could just kill him directly.

Soon, Run Sheng seemed to understand, and excitement flickered in his eyes:

"Little Yuan, thank you. I'll eat him well!"

Just as Run Sheng opened his mouth to bite down, he heard a cold voice:

"Brother Run Sheng, don't eat him. Since someone has already schemed against us..."

Run Sheng looked up. He saw Little Yuan smiling in front of him, but this smile lacked its usual warmth and gentleness. Instead, it reminded him of the teenager who had squatted by the stream after receiving a phone call that night.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head and looked at Zhou Yong below. He reached out and gently patted Zhou Yong's pitted, disgusting, and greasy face:

"Then, I'll give him something big in return."