Chapter 6

The summer heat began to subside at this time every day, and even the wind blowing from the rice paddies carried a hint of coolness.

Facing the rice fields, Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

"Little Yuanhou, what's wrong? Does Great Grandfather smell bad?"

"No, Great Grandfather. I'm smelling the fragrance of the rice."

"Oh? Can you smell it?"

"I can't. It isn't like what the books say. They said rice smells really good."

"Silly child, your timing is wrong. Wait until they fertilize the fields or spray pesticides, then take a sniff. I guarantee that smell will hit you right in the face!"

"Great Grandfather, you're teasing me."

"Hahaha." Li Sanjiang rolled his neck and continued carrying the child along the narrow path between the fields. "They don't smell like much now, but once they're harvested, dried, husked, steamed into rice, and pounded into rice cakes, with hot white steam rising from them, wouldn't that fragrance carry from far away?"

"You're right, Great Grandfather."

Li Sanjiang stopped and turned to look at the rice fields as well. "Actually, what those articles you read said isn't wrong either. For farming families like ours, seeing the crops grow well in the fields, grain in the storehouse, and rice in the pot, knowing we don't have to worry about starving... once your heart is at ease, you can stand anywhere, close your eyes, take a breath, and it all smells sweet."

"I understand."

"No, you don't. Little Yuanhou, you've never truly gone hungry, so you can't really understand that feeling. We've only had it for a few years now, being able to eat our fill at every meal.

But no matter what, it still can't compare to before Liberation."

"Hm?" Li Zhuiyuan asked in surprise. "Before Liberation, people could all eat their fill?"

"That's right. Before Liberation, every person could eat their fill. No one went hungry."

"Great Grandfather, that doesn't sound right."

"Because livestock didn't count as people."

"Ah?"

"Little Yuanhou, before Liberation, your Great Grandfather here had even made his way through Shanghai."

"Then did you know Xu Wenqiang, Great Grandfather?"

"Who's Xu Wenqiang? Never heard of him. Your Great Grandfather took a boat there back then, so it was quite convenient. After all, Nantong and Shanghai are separated by just one river.

Back then, I thought, Shanghai, grand Shanghai. It had to be easier to find work there. No matter what, it had to be better than farming for landlords back home.

I was lucky, too. The moment I arrived, I found work."

"What kind of work did you find, Great Grandfather?"

"The Corpse Carrying Team."

"Did Great Grandfather work at a funeral home?"

"Heh, funeral homes existed back then, but how could ordinary people afford to go to a place like that? You'd be carried in lying down through the front door, then jump up and run out through the back. Couldn't afford to die, you see.

Your Great Grandfather joined the Corpse Carrying Team. Back then, the city government put up some money to get it going, and wealthy merchants donated some as well. The job was... early every morning, we collected corpses, carrying away the bodies from streets and alleys to nearby funeral shelters for disposal.

When times were good, there might be a few donated coffins available. Not one coffin per person, mind you. A great many people would be crammed together, packed so tightly into a single coffin that it was stuffed to the brim.

Your Great Grandfather still remembered one time when they brought in several children about your age. It took a tremendous effort to stuff them inside.

Sigh, they couldn't be shaken loose, no matter how hard they tried.

Do you know what that meant?"

"Was it because the coffin was too heavy to shake from outside, while the bodies inside were packed too tightly and stuck fast, so they couldn't be shaken either?"

"Exactly. And that was only when times were good enough to have a coffin. When times were bad, each body would only be wrapped in a straw mat and gathered up. If there wasn't time to burn them or bury them, they'd be tossed into mass graves outside the city, feeding the wild dogs.

And when winter came, whew, good heavens, it could work a person to death.

Early in the morning, you'd go out on the streets and see whole families pressed tightly together, frozen hard as boards.

Little Yuanhou, that was Shanghai, grand Shanghai. It was already a big city back then, rich beyond measure. If anyone there let even a little slip through their fingers, it would have been enough to feed an ordinary family for ages.

But your Great Grandfather truly worked from the beginning of the year to its end. There was so much work that I could never finish it. Never.

Back then, I kept wondering...

There were so many foreign cars on the streets, and that was the famous Bund. Everywhere you looked were dance halls, theaters, and high-rises. The people going in and out were gentlemen in Western suits and richly dressed ladies, yet in the cracks between walls and the alleys, we collected people who had starved to death every day.

I thought about it for a long time, and eventually I understood one thing.

Everyone had two eyes, one nose, and two legs to walk on, yet only that small handful counted as people. Everyone else... no, everything else, was just damned lowly livestock.

No, that wasn't right either. Livestock was valuable. When it was hungry, someone would still stuff it a bundle of hay. But those people didn't even deserve a coffin board. Their corpses were collected only because the authorities thought they spoiled the city's appearance."

Li Zhuiyuan tightened his arms slightly around Li Sanjiang's neck and pressed his face against Great Grandfather's back. "Was that when you learned your skills, Great Grandfather?"

"More or less. Back then, after carrying corpses all day, I only earned enough for food that day. Now, salvaging a single body can let me eat and drink well for quite a while.

Liberation was better, after all. People finally became people, and they became worth something."

"My Grandpa also said that when he was young, he worked as a hired hand for a landlord and got whipped."

"Listen to Hanhou fart. Liberation came here before he'd even grown all his hair, and those landlords had all been... Hey, Little Yuanhou, you weren't talking about Hanhou?"

"I meant Paternal Grandfather."

"Hahaha, that grandfather of yours in Beijing, your dad's father?"

"Yes. He said that if he hadn't truly been unable to survive any longer, he wouldn't have joined the ranks and gone off to make revolution."

Li Sanjiang suddenly stopped, turning his head to look at the child behind him.

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Your Paternal Grandfather fought in wars?"

"Yes."

"Is he still alive?"

"He is."

"Did he fight the Japanese first?"

"He fought them later."

"Tsk, tsk tsk tsk!"

"What is it, Great Grandfather?"

"Little Yuanhou, are you close with your Paternal Grandfather?"

"During holidays, I go back with Dad and Mom to have meals with them."

"What about normally?"

"I don't go."

"Ah, so you don't visit at all?"

"Paternal Grandmother and Mom don't get along."

Li Sanjiang: "..."

"Eldest Uncle and the others live with Paternal Grandfather and Paternal Grandmother. Mom, Dad, and I live outside. Mom doesn't allow me to go there. Even when Dad occasionally goes home, he does it secretly. He doesn't dare let Mom know."

"What's Lanhou thinking?"

Li Sanjiang could not understand it. Of course, he knew it was perfectly normal for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to have conflicts, but that depended on who the mother-in-law was!

With in-laws like those, if you didn't curry favor with them and serve them well, what were you even thinking?

But on second thought, Li Sanjiang suddenly felt that this really did seem like something Li Lan would do.

Among a houseful of honest, simple mud-blooded nobodies, a golden phoenix had suddenly appeared.

If Li Weihan's ancestral graves had not been beside his own ancestors' graves, he would truly have suspected that Li Weihan's family tombs had caught fire. Even smoke rising from the graves would not have been enough to explain it.

That girl had been sweet-tongued, obedient, and lovable as a child. Once she grew a little older, she could scold her four brothers until they feared her. Even the most unruly idle men in the village and the most sharp-tongued old women did not dare make crude jokes about her. One look from her, a smile still on her face, could make a person's heart shudder.

He remembered the year she brought her boyfriend home. Hanhou and Guiying had been so reserved that they were too embarrassed to look at him, but Li Sanjiang had seen the world. He had stared the man up and down for a long while and even gone over to chat with him.

That was when he noticed that in front of Lanhou, the man could only nod like a pecking chick under her discipline. Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought that the fair-faced man was some pitiful young wife who had just been trafficked into the village.

Li Sanjiang knew about Lanhou's divorce as well. Otherwise, Little Yuanhou would not have been left here temporarily. Ordinarily, when a man and woman divorced, people tended to sympathize with the woman first. But when it came to Lanhou's divorce... Li Sanjiang actually felt a little sorry for that man. Enduring her for more than ten years had not been easy.

"Little Yuanhou, you changed your surname, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Sigh."

Li Sanjiang sighed. Divorce was one thing, but she had even changed the child's surname back. If his surname had not been changed, then even after the divorce, Little Yuanhou would still count as that family's child.

"Little Yuanhou, listen to Great Grandfather's advice. Once you return to Beijing, find more chances to get close to your Paternal Grandfather and Paternal Grandmother, understand?"

"I can't go."

"You're a good child. Great Grandfather wouldn't hurt you."

"I really can't go. Mom will be unhappy if I do."

"You..."

"If Mom is unhappy, she won't want Little Yuan anymore."

"Sigh... What are you saying? You're mother and son. Your mom likes you no matter what."

"She won't." Li Zhuiyuan's voice was very low, but absolutely certain. "If I make Mom unhappy, she won't want me anymore. I understand her."

Li Sanjiang had no choice but to change the subject. "Little Yuanhou, did you bring your homework? Tomorrow, have your grandma bring your homework and books back."

"I didn't bring them back."

"Ha, you're quite the clever little rascal. You deliberately didn't bring your books back so you could play as much as you wanted in the countryside over summer vacation, right?"

"Yes. Play properly."

"You still need to study hard and go to school. That's the only way you can live better in the future. In a few days, let your Jie Yinghou help you catch up on your lessons. Study well with her."

"Okay."

"That's more like it."

Grandfather and Great Grandson chatted as they walked until they reached a river. Farmland stretched alongside it, and after following the riverside path farther in, the view suddenly opened up.

Li Sanjiang's Home had a yard several times larger than Li Weihan's home.

There were three houses. The middle one faced north and south, a newly built two-story house. Unlike Cui Cui's square, orderly home, Li Weihan's new house was very broad, stretching from east to west in a long rectangle.

Although it had a second floor, there were only a few separate rooms upstairs, like several building blocks placed on a large platform.

On either side of the new house stood single-story buildings facing one another.

"Great Grandfather, your home is so big."

"Of course it is." Li Sanjiang's tone was full of pride.

Besides salvaging corpses, he also ran a paper crafting business, which required a spacious area to store raw materials and finished goods. On top of that, he rented out tables, chairs, and dishes.

Whenever a nearby family held a wedding or funeral, they had to rent supplies from him. The fees were not high, but he had long since recouped his costs. Now it was simply a steady hen laying eggs.

Thus, the first floor of his new house was practically a huge warehouse. He had built only three rooms on the second floor, leaving it as empty as a rooftop terrace. He did not care anyway. He lived alone, and it was enough for him.

Li Sanjiang set Li Zhuiyuan down from his back and led him by the hand into the middle house. From inside, the place felt even larger, almost like a small factory workshop.

Tables and chairs were neatly stacked on the western side, while large baskets were filled to the brim with all kinds of plates, bowls, and dishes.

The eastern side was crowded with paper figures, paper houses, paper horses... Li Zhuiyuan even saw a paper Santana.

A simply dressed woman around his mother's age was painting. She held a palette in her left hand and a brush in her right, her strokes quick and smooth.

The woman noticed them arrive and turned around. Her gaze examined Li Zhuiyuan before she asked,

"Uncle, whose child is this? He's so fair and delicate."

"Tinghou, let me introduce him. This is my Great Grandson, Li Zhuiyuan. Zhuiyuan, this is your Auntie Tinghou."

"Auntie Ting."

Li Zhuiyuan felt that the generations seemed a little off, but among people without blood ties, everyone addressed each other however they saw fit.

"Ah, what a good boy." Liu Manting set down her things and walked over. Bending down, she cupped Li Zhuiyuan's face in both hands. "So cute."

Li Zhuiyuan took half a step back to avoid her, a shy smile appearing on his face.

"Uncle, you never used to bring children here to play."

"Ha, no child used to dare come here to play." Li Sanjiang pulled out a cigarette. "Tinghou, this child will be staying here for a while. Help him tidy up a room upstairs. Oh, right, Little Yuanhou, are you afraid to sleep in a room by yourself?"

"I'm not afraid, Great Grandfather."

"Mm, it's fine. Great Grandfather's room is right next to yours anyway. Hehe. All right, Tinghou, I'll leave him to you. I'm going to use the chamber pot first."

Li Sanjiang lit his cigarette and went outside to use the toilet.

"Come on, Little Yuan. Go upstairs with Auntie."

There was simply too much stuff piled up on the first floor that even the stairway entrance was more than half blocked. Someone visiting for the first time would truly have a hard time finding it.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that there were stairs leading downward beside the stairway entrance and asked, "Auntie Ting, is there another floor below?"

"Yes, there's a basement below, about as large as this place."

"Is it filled with the same things?"

"No, it's all your Great Grandfather's things. He couldn't bear to throw them away, so he specially dug out a floor just to store them."

"Oh, I see."

"Also, Little Yuan, Auntie's name is Liu Manting. You can call me Aunt Liu from now on."

"Aunt Liu, you're not from around here?"

"No. Auntie came from another place to do paper crafting work for your Great Grandfather."

"Is it just you, Aunt Liu?"

"Auntie's husband is here too. He rents and farms your Great Grandfather's fields, and on ordinary days, he helps with the work too, making paper offerings, delivering tables and chairs, and so on. He should be back from the fields soon. When you meet him, you can call him Uncle Qin.

Also, Auntie's daughter and mother-in-law are here too. They live in the eastern single-story house you saw when you came in, while Auntie and your uncle live in the western one.

Auntie's whole family lives here, making a living by working for your Great Grandfather.

Before Liberation, we'd all have had to call you Young Master."

Perhaps because he had just heard Li Sanjiang's story about the Corpse Carrying Team on the way here, Li Zhuiyuan felt a little uncomfortable with the joke and instinctively shook his head.

"That's feudal dross."

"Huh?" Liu Manting froze. Hearing such words from a child was indeed startling.

"Aunt Liu, just call me Little Yuan."

"Okay, Little Yuan. Your Great Grandfather has mentioned you before. You came back from Beijing, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you used to living here?"

"I am. It's very nice here."

"Don't you find it dull and boring?"

"No, there are lots of fun things here."

"That's nice. Auntie colors paper figures every day, and her hands go numb from painting."

"Auntie is very good at painting, very professional."

"What professional? Auntie was pushed into doing this and only traces the outlines. What does she know about painting?"

But the way you held the palette and brush was exactly like the teachers at the Art Academy.

"If Little Yuan wants to paint, you can help Auntie. Coloring isn't actually difficult."

"Okay."

Since returning to his hometown, this was the first time he had spoken to someone entirely in Mandarin, without all that Nantong Dialect and all those "hous."

Even his school-going brothers and sisters only used Mandarin when they first helped "translate" for him. The moment they turned back to talking among themselves, they naturally switched back to dialect.

When they reached the second floor, Liu Manting opened a door. The room inside was simply furnished: an old-fashioned bed and a wardrobe. There was not even a stool besides those, but it was very clean and was probably cleaned often.

"Little Yuan, you'll stay here. Your Great Grandfather is right next door. Wait here for a bit, and I'll bring you a washbasin, towel, and chamber pot."

"Thank you for the trouble, Aunt Liu."

"What a polite child."

Liu Manting went out. Li Zhuiyuan looked around his room, then walked out as well. There really was... nothing much to look at.

The second floor was a large open terrace, with three rows of clotheslines standing in the middle. There were no balconies or railings around the edges.

Walking over to the side, he could see the yard ahead. Farther away lay a small river and farmland.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that a chair could be placed here. Sitting here and daydreaming would surely be pleasant.

On a distant field ridge, a middle-aged man carrying a hoe was walking this way. The man was tall, and the places his white undershirt did not cover revealed well-defined muscles, glossy beneath the lingering light of the setting sun.

He was probably Aunt Liu's husband, Uncle Qin.

It seemed Uncle Qin had not always been a farmer.

Farmers were generally quite strong, but due to their diets and lifestyles, few developed such broad, powerful muscles. They were usually lean and wiry.

His gaze shifted downward, toward the left.

"Hm?"

When he had arrived earlier, a pile of firewood in the yard had blocked his view, so he had not seen the door of the eastern single-story house. Now that he stood up high, he could see it.

Inside the central doorway of that house sat a little girl about his age.

She wore a red embroidered top and dark trousers with white patterns. Her hair was tied into a swirl, and on her feet were pale green embroidered shoes.

The outfit was very old-fashioned, without the slightest modern element, yet it did not look dated at all.

This was not clothing casually made by a mother from a piece of fabric for her daughter. Every detail of her clothes was carefully crafted, clearly requiring much labor and thought. The overall arrangement was harmonious, giving her the poised elegance of a well-bred young lady.

Most importantly, the girl had fair skin and crescent-shaped brows. Her face was oval, with just the right touch of baby fat. She was like a meticulously carved work of art. There was not the slightest flaw that needed changing, as though any unnecessary alteration would be a desecration and a sin.

At that moment, she sat on a stool inside the doorway, her feet resting on the Door Threshold as she stared straight ahead.

The final stubborn ray of sunlight before sunset stretched out a band of light and shadow, falling neatly across the Door Threshold before the house, right beneath her feet.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head. Staring at someone for so long was impolite, even though... she really was beautiful.

She should be Aunt Liu's daughter.

When he looked over again, he found that she was still in the same posture, staring ahead.

Logically, he was standing high up on the second floor, such a conspicuous person looking at her. She should have noticed him, or at least glanced at him.

Had she become too absorbed in daydreaming?

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and waved. He was certain the gesture would catch her attention, but... it did not.

The girl remained seated there, her feet planted on the Door Threshold without moving. She did not lift her head, turn her head, or even blink.

Was she blind?

Li Zhuiyuan called out, "Hello."

The girl still did not react.

Was she deaf and mute too?

A deep sense of regret rose in Li Zhuiyuan's heart.

Children of this age had clean, simple hearts. They did not yet possess the thoughts adults had about men and women, and Li Zhuiyuan was no exception.

He simply felt heartache. If the girl before him had a disability, it was like a beautiful thing being forcibly slashed open with a bloody wound. Regardless of gender, anyone would feel profound regret.

"Little Yuan."

Aunt Liu's voice came from behind him. She walked to Li Zhuiyuan's side and said with a smile, "Little Yuan, she's Auntie's daughter, Qin Li."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

"All right, Little Yuan. Go inside first. Auntie will help you arrange your things."

Li Zhuiyuan was slightly surprised, because Aunt Liu had only introduced her daughter's name and said nothing more. Normally, she should have asked their ages to determine who was older, then added: You can play together from now on.

There was not much to arrange. Once everything had been put neatly in place, Aunt Liu clapped her hands and said, "The toilet is behind the first floor. You can use the chamber pot in your room at night."

"Okay, I understand, Aunt Liu."

"Then Auntie will go cook. I'll call you when it's ready."

"Mm."

Walking out of the room again and returning to the second-floor terrace, Li Zhuiyuan's gaze unconsciously drifted back there.

The girl was still in the same position as before, still staring straight ahead. It was as though she had been frozen there and had never moved.

Just then, he saw Uncle Qin walk up to the Door Threshold, crouch in front of the girl, and speak gently to her.

Yet from beginning to end, the girl remained in that same posture, without sparing even a trace of attention for her father.

It felt as though she was there, yet had no sensory connection with this world at all.

Uncle Qin noticed Li Zhuiyuan and waved. "Hello there, little friend."

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Hello, Uncle."

"Little Yuanhou, come downstairs to eat!" Li Sanjiang's voice came from below.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised. Was it ready so quickly?

After going downstairs, he found that in an open space among the paper figures on the first floor, two square wooden stools had been pushed together as a dining table. On top sat a plate of braised pig head meat, a plate of braised pig ears, a plate of cold kelp salad, and a plate of fried peanuts.

No wonder the meal had been prepared so quickly. They had probably bought it all at the market during the day.

"Sit." Li Sanjiang opened a bottle of baijiu and poured himself a large full cup.

Li Zhuiyuan sat on the Small Stool opposite him and looked at the huge bowl of rice piled high before him.

"Great Grandfather, I can't eat this much."

"Heh, of course Great Grandfather knows." Li Sanjiang smiled. "You eat first. Whatever's left is mine."

"Oh."

Li Zhuiyuan began to eat.

Li Sanjiang passed over his cup and asked, "Little Yuanhou, want a little drink?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "Children can't drink alcohol."

"Right, that's how it should be." Li Sanjiang had only been teasing him. He took the cup back and swallowed a large mouthful, then picked up several peanuts in a row and tossed them into his mouth. "There weren't such good dishes at Hanhou's house, were there?"

"Grandma's Pickles are delicious too."

"Heh."

Li Sanjiang placed a piece of pig snout into Li Zhuiyuan's bowl.

"Your Grandparents are fools, spoiling that bunch of brats. If you ask your Great Grandfather, raising your sons is enough. Why should you have to raise your grandsons too? A person spends most of his damn life being a servant to his children.

"Really, if your Grandpa's family did not have so many children and so many mouths to feed, they would not have to drink thin porridge. He could have a little drink every night too."

Li Zhuiyuan quietly ate without responding.

"You're different." Li Sanjiang waved his hand. "Your mother paid money. Your uncles are the real ungrateful wolves, a bunch of shameless things."

Li Zhuiyuan continued eating.

"The soup is here." Aunt Liu brought over a Sea Bowl of loofah and egg-drop soup and set it on the wooden stools. "You two eat."

Then she left. Only then did Li Zhuiyuan realize that Aunt Liu's family did not eat together with Great Grandfather.

"Little Yuanhou, there's something Great Grandfather has to remind you about. Since you'll be living here, you can wander anywhere else, but don't go to that East Room."

The East Room was where that girl sat.

"Why?"

"Tinghou's daughter is in the East Room." Li Sanjiang tapped the back end of his Chopsticks against his own forehead. "There's something wrong with that little girl here. Don't go near her, or it won't be good if she scratches or bites you."

Scratches or bites?

Li Zhuiyuan found it hard to imagine that the little girl named Qin Li could be associated with such behavior.

"Don't take it lightly. When her family first moved in with me the year before last, I gave that girl candy. The moment I put it in her hand, she flung it away, then pounced on me like a lunatic, scratching and biting me. Even Death Collapse wasn't as vicious as her."

"I understand, Great Grandfather."

That was good. So she was neither deaf nor blind.

"Mm, eat. After you finish, Great Grandfather will perform Ritual Presiding for you."

Li Zhuiyuan finished eating first and set down his Chopsticks. Li Sanjiang naturally stopped drinking, pulled the rice bowl over, and began shoveling down rice.

The toilet was behind the house. Li Zhuiyuan came out first and circled through the yard, just in time to see an elderly woman lead the little girl to her feet and bring her to the dining table inside.

She was probably Aunt Liu's mother-in-law.

In this elderly woman, Li Zhuiyuan seemed to see the shadow of his northern Grandma. Both possessed a kind of graceful dignity and elegance.

The little girl sat beside the table without picking up her Chopsticks. The elderly woman kept softly coaxing her from beside her.

When Li Zhuiyuan returned after using the toilet, he saw that the little girl had begun eating. She ate only from her own bowl, while the elderly woman used a Small Dish to serve her food.

He noticed the elderly woman's peripheral gaze sweep over him, but she did not greet him. Li Zhuiyuan hesitated, then did not go over to greet her either.

When he returned inside, Li Sanjiang had already finished eating, and Aunt Liu was cleaning up.

"Little Yuan, the bathing room is the innermost one upstairs. Auntie has already poured hot water for you. It may be a little hot, so add some cold water yourself."

"Thank you, Auntie."

When he reached the second floor, Li Sanjiang, full and satisfied, was already lying in a Rattan Chair that had somehow been moved out. He held a toothpick in his left hand and a cigarette in his right, humming a little tune while belching from the alcohol.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze lingered on the Rattan Chair.

"Ha, tomorrow I'll have Lihou buy you one at the market too."

Lihou should refer to Uncle Qin.

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan smiled. He really did want one.

"The bathing room is over there." Li Sanjiang pointed. "You wash first, then I will."

"Got it."

The bathroom was very narrow and had probably been built on later as a temporary addition. There was a rubber hose connected to a water tank above.

Li Zhuiyuan tested the water. It was a little hot, but not enough to require adding cold water.

When he came out after a quick bath, Li Sanjiang stood up as well. "Go wait in my room."

"Okay."

By now, it was completely dark outside, and the moon hung in the sky.

Li Zhuiyuan looked once more at the East Room. The door to the single-story house had already been shut, though light still shone within.

He opened Li Sanjiang's door and walked in. Reaching along the wall beside the door, Li Zhuiyuan found a pull cord and tugged it down.

"Click."

The light came on.

The furnishings in Great Grandfather's bedroom were practically a copy of his own: an old bed and a wardrobe.

However, in the space that should have been empty in the middle, there was an intricate circle of patterns and a row of Small Candles. An open old book lay on the floor beside them.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the book and discovered that it was handwritten rather than printed.

The cover read, "Golden Sand Luo Text Scripture."

When he opened it, he found that it mostly contained diagrams of array patterns and some annotations. The diagrams were drawn very roughly, and the notes were written carelessly. Most importantly, the handwriting was truly ugly.

It was far worse than the handwriting of Grandpa Xu from the Family Courtyard, the Chinese literature professor who was good at making braised pork.

Soon, Li Zhuiyuan found the exact same array diagram as the one drawn on the floor. It was labeled—"Luck Transferring and Evil Dispelling Array."

Its function was to transfer the evil energy on one person onto another, with an added note: harmful to others.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the diagram in the book, then at the one Great Grandfather had drawn on the floor.

"Why does it feel like... several parts were drawn differently?"

However, the diagram in the book was also hand-drawn and already crooked and uneven, making it difficult to compare.

"Maybe Great Grandfather didn't draw it wrong. Maybe the book's diagram isn't standard."

Two impressionist artists, even when drawing the same thing, were truly difficult to compare.

Just then, Li Sanjiang came in after bathing. He was bare-chested and wore only a pair of loose blue shorts.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan reading the book, Li Sanjiang could not help laughing. "Ha, can you understand it, Little Yuanhou?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "I can."

"Good, good, good. You can understand it. Our Little Yuanhou is the smartest."

Li Sanjiang rubbed Li Zhuiyuan's head, took the book from his hands, and tossed it aside.

The book was full of careless brush-written traditional characters, with joined strokes as well. Back when he had tried to understand it, he had needed to ask the retired village schoolteacher in the neighboring village for help several times. That man liked calligraphy.

Later, Li Sanjiang stopped going, because the last time he visited the man's home, Li Sanjiang had brought one of his own paper figures with him.

He gave it away for free and did not charge money. The man's children had thanked him again and again.

So how could he believe that Li Zhuiyuan, a ten-year-old child, could understand any of this?

"All right, Little Yuanhou. Sit there and don't move."

Li Zhuiyuan obediently sat in the designated spot. Li Sanjiang bent down and lit all the candles on the floor, then took out three black cords and tied them respectively around Li Zhuiyuan's wrist, ankle, and neck. After sitting down himself, he tied the other ends of the three cords to the corresponding places on his own body.

The candle flames flickered as Li Sanjiang began chanting under his breath. He spoke quickly, in Nantong Dialect, and even when Li Zhuiyuan listened carefully, he could not understand.

Still, he felt that the tune sounded very much like the little song Great Grandfather had hummed earlier while lying in the Rattan Chair after dinner.

After chanting for quite a while, Li Sanjiang finally stopped. He smacked his lips, apparently thirsty, but it was not appropriate to leave the array for water now. He could only give a dry cough to clear his throat, then reach behind his back and feel around. When he brought his hand back, he held a talisman.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little curious. Great Grandfather wore only a pair of shorts. Where had he kept that talisman before?

After holding the talisman to a candle and lighting it, Li Sanjiang began waving the Talisman Papers.

"Hiss, hiss!"

Just as it was about to burn his hand, Li Sanjiang slapped the Talisman Papers between himself and Li Zhuiyuan.

"Smack!"

In an instant, every candle went out. The white light bulb in the room flickered a few times before returning to normal.

Li Zhuiyuan looked left, then right, before lowering his head to inspect the black ropes tied around him.

So, was that it?

It seemed like he felt nothing.

"Done!"

Li Sanjiang got to his feet, walked over to Li Zhuiyuan, lowered his head, and used both his teeth and hands to tear off the excess lengths of the three ropes. However, black rope loops remained around Li Zhuiyuan's neck, wrists, and ankles.

"Little Yuanhou, don't untie these three knots tonight. Sleep like this, and I'll cut them off tomorrow at breakfast."

"Okay, Great Grandfather."

"Mhm. Go back and sleep."

"Good night, Great Grandfather."

"Good night, good night."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up. Just as he reached the doorway, he heard a "thud" behind him. Turning around, he saw Li Sanjiang clutching his foot as he lay sprawled on the floor.

He had bitten through the ropes for him earlier. He must have accidentally fallen while trying to bite through the rope around his own ankle just now.

Li Sanjiang crossed his raised legs, propped one hand behind his head, and waved the other at Li Zhuiyuan.

"Why aren't you off to bed yet?"

"Oh."

Li Zhuiyuan returned to his bedroom and lay down on the bed. He had not felt particularly sleepy before, but the moment he touched the bed, drowsiness immediately washed over him.

He pulled the thin blanket over his stomach and fell into a deep sleep.

Next door.

"It should have worked, right?" Li Sanjiang muttered to himself. "It definitely worked. Even the light bulb flickered. It couldn't have just been a bad connection."

Then Li Sanjiang glanced at the book tossed on the floor and began doubting himself. "No, the person who wrote this book probably had never seen a light bulb back then, right?"

But Li Sanjiang quickly found new evidence. "What the hell am I thinking? The candles all went out, so it definitely worked."

After saying that, Li Sanjiang stretched, walked over to the bed, and lay down.

"Ah, I'm completely exhausted today. Sleep... sleep."

He had done far too much today—Corpse Luring, retrieving corpses, and drawing formation diagrams. He was old now; he truly could not hold up any longer.

The moment his head touched the pillow, he started snoring.

But as he slept, Li Sanjiang turned over. After mumbling a few words, his brows slowly furrowed.

He was dreaming.

In the dream,

he found himself sitting on a platform of white jade steps. Around him stood towering palace walls and magnificent halls.

Ahead and to his right was an arched gateway, while to his left stretched a vast open space all the way to a pool and a dragon bridge.

"Damn it, is this the Forbidden City?"

Li Sanjiang had never been to the capital, much less the Forbidden City, but he had seen it on calendars and outdoor movie screens. Wasn't this where the emperor lived?

Heh, he was actually dreaming about this. Interesting.

Li Sanjiang instinctively reached for the cigarettes in his pocket. Didn't a moment like this call for one?

But when he reached down, he grabbed something furry. Looking down, he found an orange cat lying across his lap.

The orange cat seemed to have been sleeping. Awakened by the disturbance, it rolled over in displeasure.

"Get lost."

Li Sanjiang ruthlessly pushed the orange cat aside.

After landing, the orange cat rolled once and got back on its feet, then meowed at him in dissatisfaction.

"Meow!"

Li Sanjiang paid it no mind. He brushed the remaining cat fur from his leg, then took out his Cigarette Pack again, pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips. Then he took out a match and lit it.

Just then, a dull "creak..." of Friction Sound came from diagonally ahead. It was probably the palace gate opening.

Li Sanjiang took a drag. "I remember hearing that you need to buy a ticket to visit the Forbidden City. Am I going to get fined for sneaking in without one?"

Then Li Sanjiang slapped the back of his own head. "I'm in a fucking dream! Why the hell would I need a ticket?"

He happily blew out a smoke ring and grinned smugly.

"This is such a bargain. To visit the Forbidden City, people have to take a long-distance train to the capital and buy a ticket before they can enter. This time, I can treat my dream like a sightseeing trip."

The Friction Sound of the palace gate finally stopped. From the three arched gateways ahead came the sound of footsteps.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

Dull and perfectly synchronized.

Li Sanjiang leaned forward slightly, puzzled. Did visitors to the Forbidden City have to line up and march in step?

But soon,

Li Sanjiang froze completely, because what emerged from the three gateways were not tourists, but three columns of people in Qing dynasty official robes, wearing official hats with peacock plumes, their faces deathly pale as they hopped forward in the same rhythm.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

At some point, the cigarette in Li Sanjiang's hand had slipped from his grasp.

All of a sudden, they stopped hopping and fell into utter stillness and silence.

The next moment,

they all turned left in unison, facing Li Sanjiang.