Chapter 49

Run Sheng swallowed several times in a row. He was hungry.

Little Yuan said these were dead fish. Did that mean that if he felt hungry, he could eat fish?

Run Sheng went down into the river.

He ignored the scattered body parts and the Dwarf, and he paid no attention to the mother and daughter. He had only one target—Zhou Yong.

He dragged Zhou Yong over. Only part of Zhou Yong's head was still connected to his neck, seemingly ready to break free at any moment.

Damaged goods at the Town Market could not fetch a price. The solution was to eat them yourself.

Run Sheng lowered his head and bit down.

Then he opened his mouth, pushed Zhou Yong away, crawled ashore, dropped to his knees, and began dry-heaving.

So disgusting.

He wondered why it had turned out this way.

Soon, he thought of the reason. He had altered the Feng Shui Pattern here as Little Yuan instructed, causing all the baleful energy on Zhou Yong to boil away completely.

Run Sheng got back up and returned to the river.

This time, he was not looking for food. Instead, he felt around the Dwarf's corpse and found a barbed rope of unusual material, along with several soggy Talisman Papers and some miscellaneous little items.

He then searched the clothes on the body parts, but apart from wet cigarettes and some money, there was nothing else.

After putting the items away, Run Sheng left.

The Village Store was about to close, with one door panel already halfway up. Run Sheng ran over while shouting, picked up the phone, and started dialing.

Tan Wenbin slept through the entire day. When he woke up, he discovered that his stomach had deflated even faster than his face.

He was starving. That evening, Aunt Liu cooked noodles and served him a washbasin full.

When he took his first bite, he was still somewhat uneasy and deliberately glanced at the "scallions" Run Sheng had prepared in the corner.

Only after the first bite went down smoothly did he finally relax and start wolfing it down.

He cleaned out the entire basin of noodles and still wanted more.

Even he was surprised. When had his appetite become so huge?

"Want more?" Aunt Liu asked. "Should I cook you some more?"

"N-No, no need. If I eat any more, my stomach will burst." He could barely sit still now. He stood up, belly sticking out, and paced around the courtyard. "By the way, where's Little Yuan? Isn't he coming down to eat?"

"Little Yuan is still sleeping."

"Still asleep?"

"Mm. He may sleep for a long time. It's hard to say whether he'll wake up tomorrow."

"My god, he'll sleep that long? Well, that makes sense. He really was exhausted."

At that moment, Aunt Zhang's call came from the Village Road beyond the rice fields.

Aunt Zhang's voice had always been distinctive and piercing. She would usually call out "Hey~ hey~" several times first, making villagers in nearby homes prick up their ears. Only then would Aunt Zhang call the name of whoever had a phone call.

The villager who heard her would immediately run into their own courtyard and call back toward Aunt Zhang, "Hey~ hey~," before adding, "Coming~ coming~."

There were no mountains to be seen on the plains, but they could still sing mountain songs.

This time, Aunt Zhang was calling for "Zhuang Zhuang."

Liu Yumei asked in surprise, "Did she call the wrong name?"

Tan Wenbin, meanwhile, trotted down from the courtyard.

Aunt Liu brought over a small dish of pickles, set it before Liu Yumei, and said with a smile, "Zhuang Zhuang is the new name Uncle Sanjiang gave this child."

"Oh." Liu Yumei nodded. "This child is quite nice, though."

"He was raised well. He has integrity in his bones."

"How is Little Yuan doing?"

"His eyes won't work for a month. I think he already knew that would happen and has taken it well. He even said it was a good thing, since it would keep him from delaying the start of school."

"This child always knows his limits in whatever he does, even when he's going mad."

"He really does put people's minds at ease. Whoever gets to be his parents is blessed."

"If you're planning to give birth and toss him aside without raising him yourself, then yes, that's truly blessed. You can even wait until he's grown up to reap the rewards."

"Is A Li still keeping him company?"

"Mm, of course. One moment she's washing a towel, the next she's bringing him water with a spoon. Later, make some soup, remember to let it cool to the right temperature, and bring it to A Li so she can feed it to him.

"That brat went blind from one of his mad episodes, and he can still help A Li recover from her illness."

Liu Yumei had a smile at the corners of her lips as she spoke.

Aunt Liu agreed, "Those two children really are fated. But seeing Little Yuan like this, A Li must be devastated."

"Not at all. A Li is very happy. You didn't see her today—she even smiled so much she had dimples."

"I don't understand it."

"We're old. Young people have their own ways of having fun."

"Do you need me to ask around?"

At those words, Liu Yumei's chopsticks paused.

Aunt Liu explained, "I'm worried the child didn't finish the job cleanly and let a fish slip through."

Liu Yumei picked up the vinegar and said, "Since he didn't mention it, we'll pretend we don't know. Don't ask too many questions."

"Understood."

At that moment, a figure came out onto the Second Floor Balcony with a towel in hand and went to wash it at the Water Vat.

"I've never received treatment like that."

Liu Yumei put the vinegar she had just picked up back down. The noodles were sour enough already.

Tan Wenbin took Run Sheng's call and learned how things had developed.

Honestly, it gave him a fright too. No wonder Little Yuan had risked everything to finish the job last night. Sure enough, the fish had taken the bait the very next day.

There were just too many fish, and they would be difficult to handle. He had to call his father.

But before paging his father, Tan Wenbin hesitated. Knowing his father's habits, if he saw that his own son was paging him, he would probably ignore it if he was busy. Even if he was not busy, he likely could not be bothered to call back right away.

So the message he sent was: Uncle Tan, this is Little Yuan. Please call back.

The moment he hung up, he popped out a cigarette and was still striking a match when the phone rang.

"Fuck!"

Tan Wenbin shoved the cigarette back and answered the phone.

His father's warm and kind voice came from the other end. "Little Yuan, what's wrong? Don't worry. Tell Uncle, and Uncle will help you solve it."

"Dad."

"You little bastard."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Tan Wenbin felt that the only thing barely holding their father-son relationship together was their blood tie.

If he had not seen photos of his father when he was young, when he had looked almost exactly like him,

he would have suspected that he had been adopted, or that his parents had once gone through some dramatic romance full of love and hatred like the tearjerkers on television.

"Dad, I need to tell you something. I'm playing cards in Xiting Town."

Silence came from the other end.

"How about you come arrest me?"

The other end remained silent.

"Dad, come pick me up in Shinan first, then we'll go to Xiting together and arrest me for gambling."

"Little Yuan told you to say that?"

"Ah, yes."

Click... The other end hung up.

Tan Wenbin took out some money, paid the phone fee, and grabbed a handful of bubble gum.

Not long after, he saw a motorcycle coming toward him.

Tan Wenbin waved and walked over on his own.

The motorcycle stopped sideways, kicking up a cloud of dust in his face.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

"Get on."

"Oh, okay."

The moment he sat down, the motorcycle sped up. Tan Wenbin could only cling tightly to his father's waist.

"Dad, slow down. If something happens to both father and son, won't that set Mom free?"

The moment he said it, Tan Wenbin regretted it. How had he dared to tease his own father to his face?

Probably because Little Yuan had truly taken him out to see the world yesterday. No matter how frightening his father was, he could not compare to that nest of Death Collapses.

What surprised Tan Wenbin was that his father did not seem angry. Through the motorcycle's rearview mirror, he could even see the corners of his father's mouth lift, as if he were smiling.

After entering Xiting Town, Tan Wenbin gave directions into the village. He got off first and entered a gambling den, one where Run Sheng had said his grandfather liked to lose money.

After Tan Wenbin went in, Tan Yunlong got off the motorcycle as well, helmet in hand, and walked inside.

He overturned the gambling table and kicked his son out. He did not even need to show his credentials or identify himself; the gamblers in the den did not dare do anything to him.

Some people were simply born with an imposing aura.

After smashing up the gambling den, father and son came outside. Tan Wenbin led his father to the entrance of Zhou Yong's house, where Run Sheng was already waiting.

"Dad, we went inside before, so should we go in again to deal with fingerprints or something? After all, you're the professional."

"You went inside."

"Uh, last night, we went inside."

"You went inside."

"Yeah, we went inside. We cleaned up a little, but we definitely didn't get everything..."

Tan Yunlong felt that if Little Yuan were here, this meaningless exchange would not have happened.

He turned to Run Sheng. "Where next?"

Run Sheng answered, "The riverbank."

After pondering for a long time, Tan Wenbin finally understood. Since his father said they had gone inside, then they had gone inside. Even if they had left behind traces, that was normal.

And since they had gone inside before, there was no need to go in again now.

The three arrived at the riverbank.

Run Sheng had laid a net in the river. The bodies had not drifted away and were still there.

Even Tan Yunlong, who had seen many criminal investigation scenes, could not help deeply furrowing his brow at such a sight, shock appearing on his face.

"What exactly did you do?"

Li Zhuiyuan woke up.

He opened his eyes and habitually turned his head toward the door, but he did not see the girl's figure.

Because he was blind now.

Soon, a warm little hand took hold of his.

"A Li, how long was I asleep?"

Three fingers were raised.

Three days? That really was a long time.

"Has Great Grandfather returned?"

His hand was shaken.

"What about Run Sheng and Bin Bin?"

His hand was shaken again.

"I want to take a bath."

As he spoke, Li Zhuiyuan brought his face close to the girl and sniffed.

Liu Yumei always scented A Li's clothes, using different fragrances for different styles.

The scent was faint now.

That proved the girl had been staying by his bedside the whole time.

"A Li, go take a bath too, then get some sleep."

A Li reached out to help him out of bed, but Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand. "It's fine. I can do it. At home, it doesn't matter whether I can see or not."

A Li got up and left.

Li Zhuiyuan sat by the bed for a while before getting up. When he had first gone blind, he had been a little unaccustomed to it. Now, he felt he had already adapted, and he had even begun worrying in advance that he might not adjust after his sight returned.

The layout of his room appeared in his mind. He calculated the distance of every step, walked along, reached out, pushed open the door, then turned right. After passing Great Grandfather's room, he turned right again.

Finally, he pushed open the bathroom door and went inside.

Clean clothes had been folded in advance and placed on the shelf by the bathroom door. Pouring hot water into the bucket above and mixing in cold water was a little difficult, but he managed it carefully.

After bathing, changing into clean clothes, and going outside for a bit of wind, Li Zhuiyuan felt alive again.

He returned to the doorway of his room and sat down in the rattan chair.

Downstairs, Liu Yumei, who was combing her freshly bathed granddaughter's hair, watched the boy calmly walk back and sit down the entire time.

The rattan chair was at the edge of the balcony, which was dangerous. She wanted to call out and warn him, but held herself back.

Her granddaughter wanted to get up, but she gently pressed her down and said, "A Li, even if he can't see, we still need to look pretty in front of him, right?"

A Li sat back down.

Unable to look at the scenery or read, Li Zhuiyuan began to space out.

Fortunately, before long, he sensed the girl sit beside him.

He sniffed. Osmanthus fragrance. That scent should go with a bright yellow ruqun.

"A Li, let's play chess."

The girl held his hand and pressed it firmly.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, drew a square in front of him, then pointed to a spot in the middle.

The girl held his hand and pointed to another spot.

The two of them played Go against the empty air.

As they played, the sound of a tricycle came from downstairs. Great Grandfather was back.

Aunt Liu asked, "Where are Bin Bin and Run Sheng? Why didn't they come back with you?"

"Them? They're helping with the investigation at the Police Station. They pulled up five bodies this time. Heh, what a haul."

Li Sanjiang went upstairs, intending to take a shower first and check on Little Yuanhou while he was at it.

Li Zhuiyuan did not avoid him. After all, they lived under the same roof. There was no way he could hide his eyes from Great Grandfather.

When Li Sanjiang saw the cloth covering his great grandson's eyes, he was so frightened his soul nearly left his body. He rushed over and hugged the boy, disregarding the terrifying A Li beside him.

Li Zhuiyuan kept holding A Li's hand, making sure she would not suddenly lash out.

Still, he could sense that the girl's aversion to strangers approaching had lessened considerably this time.

Aunt Liu hurried upstairs as well and explained to Li Sanjiang that Little Yuan had an eye condition. Medicine had already been applied, and he would fully recover in less than a month with no lasting effects.

But Li Sanjiang immediately cursed:

"Bullshit! How could a child's eyes be a small matter? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

After cursing, he carried the boy downstairs on his back and headed for the village clinic.

After examining and questioning him, Zheng Datong shook his head.

Li Sanjiang then pedaled the tricycle and took Li Zhuiyuan to the Health Center.

After more than half a day of examinations at the Health Center, the doctors could not reach any conclusion. They could not even determine what had caused it.

Li Sanjiang immediately took Li Zhuiyuan out of the hospital and boarded a bus to City Hospital, where they spent another day undergoing examinations, still without finding anything.

Li Zhuiyuan comforted Li Sanjiang while urging him to give up, repeatedly saying that his eyes would soon get better.

He had thought Great Grandfather would stop there.

But unexpectedly, Great Grandfather took him from Nantong straight to Shanghai.

It was Li Zhuiyuan's first time riding a car ferry and his first time visiting the most prosperous city on the mainland.

Unfortunately, he could not see anything. Most of the time, all he heard was the din of engines and horns.

Li Sanjiang had lived in Old Shanghai, but that had been before the founding of the country. Now, he was no different from an ordinary old farmer visiting the city.

However, Great Grandfather was neither shy nor dull. He took the initiative to ask people for directions, and every time, he got a clear answer.

Perhaps it was because an elderly man with a head full of white hair traveling with a cute boy whose eyes were covered was simply too classic—and too pitiful—a sight.

The motorcycle taxi drivers they rode with refused payment, the proprietress of the Small Inn secretly stuffed their room fee back to them, and the Shaanbei owner of the Breakfast Shop gave them breakfast.

Even when grandfather and grandson arrived at the hospital at noon and sat on the stairs sharing yellow steamed buns while waiting for the doctors to return to work in the afternoon, they encountered an old professor who happened to be coming downstairs.

The old professor let them cut in line and summoned doctors from several other departments for a consultation. They finally concluded that a nervous system issue had affected the child's eyes. He needed rest and should avoid mental strain.

The professor also comforted Li Sanjiang, saying that perhaps in one or two months, the child's eyesight would gradually return and eventually fully recover.

Diseases of the nervous system were difficult problems all over the world at present. There was no surgery the hospital could perform, so they could only prescribe some medicine.

The old professor even left his private contact information and told them to come directly to him if the eyes had not improved after two months.

Li Sanjiang thanked the doctors profusely. Once he led Li Zhuiyuan out of the hospital and into the alley next door, Li Sanjiang hugged the boy and burst into loud sobs.

"Little Yuanhou, it's all because Great Grandfather is useless. Great Grandfather has no ability, no means to take you abroad for treatment!"

The depression he had suppressed all along completely erupted then. Li Sanjiang knelt on the ground and cried like a child.

Hearing that sound, Li Zhuiyuan wanted to cry too, but he searched his heart and could not find any sadness.

He could cry, but he did not want to put on an act right now.

He could only hold Great Grandfather's head, press his face against him, and begin to hate himself for being this way.

From then on, Li Sanjiang finally stopped seeking treatment and took Li Zhuiyuan home.

While they sat on the bus, Li Sanjiang held a notebook and scribbled in it.

"Little Yuanhou, once your eyes are better, we'll go to Shanghai again. We ought to bring some local specialties and visit these people."

Great Grandfather had insisted on getting the contact information of everyone who had helped them and recorded it in the notebook.

Before they went to Shanghai, Li Zhuiyuan had tried to dissuade Great Grandfather by saying their family did not have the money to seek treatment there.

But Li Sanjiang patted the bankbook in his pocket and said there was enough money in it. Ding Dalin had already paid the village for leasing the land, but he had only paid a deposit for planting the trees.

That gave Li Zhuiyuan a fright. The one buried beneath the Fish Pond had not fully dissipated yet. If the peach trees were not planted soon, it might dig its way back up and demand an explanation.

However, Li Sanjiang added that they would use this money for the emergency first, then mortgage the house after returning home to pay for the peach trees.

Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly and they had not needed to stay in Shanghai, so aside from travel and lodging expenses, they had not spent much.

Li Sanjiang muttered, "I really couldn't get used to those yellow steamed buns."

Before grandfather and grandson entered the hospital at noon, they had each eaten a bowl of noodles outside. Great Grandfather complained that Shanghai prices were outrageously high, yet still made sure to add an extra serving of meat to Li Zhuiyuan's bowl.

The yellow steamed buns had been a kind gesture from the owner of the Breakfast Shop next to the inn. They were not for sale; he had made them for his own family.

Neither grandfather nor grandson was accustomed to millet flour. After eating buns and soy milk, they had saved the yellow steamed buns. When they sat on the hospital stairs with nothing to do, Li Sanjiang took them out, ate a bite himself, then fed a bite to Li Zhuiyuan.

It was a bit like having them as a snack, and also to avoid wasting food.

But to the old professor, that scene had looked unbearably tragic.

Only later did they learn that the old professor's hometown was in Shaanbei.

The township bus stopped at the village entrance, and Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan off by the hand.

Grandfather and grandson both let out a breath. They were finally home.

Li Zhuiyuan himself had not expected that on his first "trip" with Great Grandfather, he would spend the entire journey blind.

Still, he did as much as he could himself so that Li Sanjiang would not have to tire himself out.

But because he could not see, he did not know that every time Li Sanjiang watched him work hard to familiarize himself with and adapt to life as a blind person, tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. The longer he watched, the more heartbroken he became.

The more sensible Little Yuanhou was, the deeper Li Sanjiang's guilt became.

He felt he had failed to take care of the child. He had barely transferred the child's household registration under his own name when the boy came down with such an illness. He had even begun to wonder whether he was some kind of jinx who brought ruin to his family.

"Great Grandfather, it's okay. Didn't the doctor say that my eyes will get better after a while? Then I can go to school."

The moment Li Sanjiang heard the words "go to school," he froze, and his tears broke through again.

Still, he tried hard to steady his emotions, doing his best to shed tears without sobbing so the child would not notice.

"Mm. My Little Yuanhou's eyes will definitely get better. You'll definitely be able to go to school. Hahaha."

On the way to seek treatment, whenever Li Zhuiyuan said his eyes would get better soon, Li Sanjiang would scold him, saying Xina Kangzi did not understand how important eyes were and treated it like some trivial matter.

After they returned from seeking treatment, whenever Li Zhuiyuan said it again, Li Sanjiang would agree. He himself also repeated those words over and over.

The Village Road back home was fragrant with flowers from the fields.

They returned home and stepped into the yard.

Li Zhuiyuan's hands were quickly grasped by another pair of small hands.

This time, Li Zhuiyuan sensed the trembling in those hands because Li Sanjiang was standing nearby.

Clearly, the girl's rejection of Li Sanjiang had risen sharply.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "A Li, be good. Great Grandfather took me to see a doctor."

The girl's hands stopped trembling. She had listened, and she was suppressing it.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He regretted that he could not see A Li right now, but fortunately, he had stored many images of her in his memory. That was thanks to A Li wearing different clothes every day.

The next moment, the girl wrapped her arms around his neck.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and gently patted her head. It was just that everyone was watching, and saying those lines would have been a little embarrassing.

The girl swayed slightly, seemingly dissatisfied that the ritual had yet to be completed.

Fine. He could not see anyway, so what was there to be embarrassed about?

"Whatever A Li wants, just tell me. I have money—lots of money."

The girl was satisfied. She moved away, then took Li Zhuiyuan's hand and gently placed it over her eyes.

To everyone around them, the scene surely looked incomparably warm. Letting a blind person touch your eyes would naturally mean, in an ordinary person's mind: I am your eyes.

"No, don't play that..."

But Li Zhuiyuan panicked because he knew A Li meant she wanted to play a game with him, like the Yin Walking they had done before.

He had gone blind because he had overdrawn himself too badly. He did not dare do such things again before his eyes recovered, or he might truly go completely blind.

Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan disagreed, the girl held his hand and drew a square, meaning chess.

"Wait a little while, A Li. I want to shower and eat first. We'll play together this afternoon."

More importantly, Great Grandfather had forcibly taken him to seek treatment the instant they returned, so he had not yet had a chance to learn from Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin what had happened afterward.

"Come on, Little Yuan. I'll take you upstairs for a shower." Tan Wenbin proactively held out his hand and led Li Zhuiyuan upstairs.

"Bin Bin Ge, why are you still here?"

"Little Yuan Ge, what are you saying? If I'm not here, where would I be?"

"I thought you'd gone home."

"They needed help here. While you were away, I stayed to help with paper crafting and deliveries. Let me tell you, I'm really good at paper crafting now. Even Aunt Liu praised the paper people I made."

"Bin Bin Ge, you're amazing."

"Hehe, Aunt Liu said your eyes aren't seriously hurt, right?"

"Mm, it's nothing. Don't worry. Tell me what happened afterward."

"Oh, Run Sheng called me that night, so I called my dad. My dad went to the scene. There were five bodies in the river. Besides Zhou Yong's family, there were also that father and son we saw at Cui Cui's house during Cui Cui's birthday—the pair with the father and son reversed."

"Them?"

Li Zhuiyuan had been deeply disgusted by that Dwarf who pretended to be old while acting young.

Honestly, if they had been Death Collapses at the time, he would have dealt with them long ago. He would never have left behind such a danger. Unfortunately, they were human.

From everything he had experienced since returning home, Death Collapses truly were not as frightening as people.

"Mm. The tall one was dismembered. Zhou Yong probably did it. The Dwarf died too. It looked like that mother and daughter bit him to death."

"What did the police say?"

"They found quite a few sets of remains in the Dwarf's yard, all arranged in special poses. There were also lots of creepy things in the house. And they uncovered the true identities and Father-Son Relationship of the Dwarf and his son. They've decided those two believed in that Chaos Cult. They killed Zhou Yong's family, then held a ritual in the river and sacrificed themselves as well."

"Your dad worked hard."

"Isn't that just the truth?"

"Mm, it is."

"Oh, Run Sheng found some things. They're all wrapped up and left in the workshop. Little Yuan Ge, do you want to take a look?"

"What am I supposed to look with right now?"

"Pfft... Uh, sorry, Ge. I couldn't hold it in."

"Bin Bin Ge, help me run the bathwater. I'll shower first."

"Ge, I'll scrub your back."

"No need. I'm not used to that."

"Okay. I'll mix the water for you first, then wait outside the door."

After he came out of the shower, the exhaustion of all that travel finally faded.

Tan Wenbin asked impatiently, "Little Yuan Ge, the thing you promised me..."

"Did Brother Run Sheng teach you how to use those tools?"

"Huh? No, he only taught me paper crafting!"

"Have Brother Run Sheng teach you how to use those tools first. Then I'll try to teach you some other things, the harder stuff."

"Haha, no matter how hard it is, could it be harder than doing exam papers?" Tan Wenbin immediately came to his senses. "Ge, my mouth slipped. Stop right there. Don't say another word!"

"Bin Bin Ge, learn the basics first. I'll let you use my set of tools."

"Really, Little Yuan Ge? That's great!" He had been eyeing that set of equipment for a long time. Run Sheng's set was too big and too heavy, while Little Yuan's fit him perfectly.

The reason Li Zhuiyuan planned to lend his tools to Tan Wenbin for the time being was also because his current body found it difficult to wield them. Besides, now that he had mastered the contents of the Black Book, he already had powerful methods for confronting Death Collapses directly.

As for what he would do if he lacked tools at his side?

That was not a problem, because he would not face a Death Collapse alone without Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin.

The boy returned to the rattan chair he knew best and sat down. A Li had already been waiting there. He reached out, and A Li placed her hand in his.

The two began playing chess against the air.

Because they were both accustomed to fast games, to outsiders it looked like two children holding hands and constantly pointing at empty space.

When Tan Wenbin returned downstairs, he asked in confusion, "What are they doing? It's not even dark yet. Are they counting stars already?"

Run Sheng looked up and said, "Playing chess, probably."

Tan Wenbin snapped, "Are you treating me like an idiot?"

Run Sheng could not be bothered to explain.

"Little Yuan Ge said you have to teach me how to use those things."

"Mm, okay."

"Then when will you teach me?"

"Finish this batch of paper figures first. They need them urgently."

"Why do they suddenly need so many?"

"All three Niu Family Three Households ordered some."

"One family holding three Zhai Shi? They really were close siblings, going together."

Run Sheng smiled at that.

Tan Wenbin immediately sensed something was off. "Did I miss something again?"

"Work first. I'll tell you when I teach you how to use the tools tonight."

"Okay!"

To welcome grandfather and grandson back, Aunt Liu prepared a lavish dinner.

Once Li Zhuiyuan sat down, Tan Wenbin tried to move closer. "Little Yuan, I'll pick food for you. Here, here, here!"

A Li's indifferent gaze turned toward him.

Tan Wenbin was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly and sat back down in his seat. He had already felt that the girl was not someone to be trifled with, but after seeing the Death Collapse, he should have built up some courage. Instead, he was even more afraid of her.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his chopsticks. During this period of traveling with Great Grandfather to seek treatment, he had learned how to eat while blind. He only needed to feel out the locations of the dishes and what each dish was beforehand, then be a little more sensitive when using his chopsticks.

However, when Li Zhuiyuan picked up his bowl, he could feel that someone had placed food inside it.

After Li Zhuiyuan took two bites, more food was placed on top. The girl was serving him.

"Hehehe, hehehe."

Li Sanjiang took a sip of wine. Watching the scene, a foolish smile spread across his face.

Even when he looked toward Liu Yumei, who was seated at a small round table some distance away, he lowered his head slightly, a rare look of ingratiation appearing on his face.

Back when he had taken the house and the land, he had naturally stood tall. Now that his grandson was blind, with no certainty that his eyesight could be restored, he naturally had to humble himself before this mercenary old woman.

No matter how good one's circumstances were, they could not make up for a disability. Especially an eye condition like this—these days, it essentially meant losing the ability to work.

By village custom, someone with poor eyesight would probably have to marry someone else with poor eyesight in the future.

Sigh, this girl had a strange temper and could not speak, but at least her eyes were fine.

And she was truly beautiful. What a pity—his Little Yuanhou could no longer see her.

Li Zhuiyuan focused only on eating, completely unaware that his Great Grandfather was already worrying himself sick over his future marriage.

More than that, Li Sanjiang was already planning to bring some gifts to visit Liu Jinxia after dinner, intending to pave the way for his great-grandson's future employment in advance.

After finishing dinner and putting down his chopsticks, Li Zhuiyuan sat there as the girl carefully wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

This time, before he could urge the girl to go back to her room and sleep, she dragged him upstairs first. Only after he entered his room did she leave.

Li Sanjiang picked up some sponge cakes, cloud cakes, and candies, preparing to head to Blind Liu's home. Before leaving, he looked at Liu Yumei, who was still sitting there chewing slowly, then took the initiative to bend at the waist and ask:

"Oh, you've got quite the appetite today. That's good. Good health."

Only after saying that did he leave.

Aunt Liu ladled soup for Liu Yumei as she asked in confusion, "What's gotten into Uncle Sanjiang? He seems a little strange."

Liu Yumei snorted, spat out a fishbone, and cursed:

"That old fool is worried his great-grandson won't be able to find a wife."

"Hehehe." Aunt Liu covered her mouth, unable to stop herself from laughing.

Liu Yumei initially kept a cold face, but eventually she was drawn in and smiled as well.

"You have to admit, Uncle Sanjiang really is quite interesting."

At that moment, A Li came downstairs and walked into the East Room by herself.

Liu Yumei took a sip of yellow wine and said with satisfaction, "Our A Li is really getting better and better."

Night fell, and Li Zhuiyuan sat at his desk and switched on the lamp.

Then he switched it off again.

He spread open a notebook and picked up his pen. He had promised Tan Wenbin that he would teach him, so he would definitely do so.

Though he could not see, it did not affect him when it came to writing.

He had once read Yingzi Jie's high school textbooks and worked through Tan Wenbin's exam papers. Based on high school knowledge points and test topics, Li Zhuiyuan wrote a notebook full of math problems for Tan Wenbin.

After finishing the questions, he stretched and rubbed his slightly aching shoulders.

This notebook would be given to Tan Wenbin tomorrow.

Li Zhuiyuan was not deliberately making things difficult for him, because according to his own experience learning corpse retrieval, mathematical application was an essential foundation.

Using tools required physics.

Making materials required chemistry.

Even to understand the books Li Zhuiyuan had read, Tan Wenbin would need Chinese.

Run Sheng was a naturally gifted genius, someone they could only envy.

Bin Bin and he could only follow the path of ordinary poor students.

Still, if Tan Wenbin could truly learn it all, it would also solve the problem of his Gaokao score. It would count as fulfilling his promise to Tan Yunlong.

"Meow... meow... meow..."

A cat's cries came from outside.

They were a little far away, not yet up on the terrace, but ever since Li Zhuiyuan had gone blind, his hearing had improved considerably.

Li Zhuiyuan recognized who had come. Out of habit, he picked up his pen, intending to tap the cup beside him, but stopped himself in time.

Leaving the desk, Li Zhuiyuan slowly made his way downstairs. At the two round tables on the first floor, Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin were sleeping soundly.

Li Zhuiyuan walked down from the terrace to the edge of the field, squatted, and extended his hand.

Very soon, a soft, furry touch reached his palm. The Black Cat was deliberately rubbing its head against him.

Li Zhuiyuan simply sat on the ground. The Black Cat jumped into his lap. He held it up with one hand while gently stroking it with the other.

Unlike their previous encounters, it was warm now.

"Are they all dead?"

"Meow..."

"That's good. You can finally be free too."

"Meow..."

The Black Cat began lightly pawing at his face.

"There's a problem with my eyes. They won't get better for a while, and I can't perform Yin Walking right now. Let's say goodbye like this."

"Meow..."

"If you're a cat again in your next life, find a good owner."

"Meow?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. You already had the best owner in the world."

The Black Cat's body began to disperse. The resentment around it was gone, so instead of black mist, what broke apart from it were shimmering fragments.

Beneath the moonlight,

the boy sat on the ridge between the fields, holding a cluster of stars in his arms.