Chapter 152

Dawn had just broken when Tan Wenbin woke up. He planned to use the bathroom, then go back to bed for a bit more sleep.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Yuan Ge sitting at the desk, with a newly finished painting hanging on the wall. The person in the painting held a candle, appearing eerie and sinister.

Tan Wenbin immediately sat up and quietly walked behind Yuan Ge.

He was surprised; had Jiangshui arrived again?

Li Zhuiyuan spoke, "Notify the others. Enter a state of alert."

"Alright."

Tan Wenbin put on his clothes and left his dormitory, heading to A-You's door.

At this hour, everyone else in the dorm was sound asleep, and knocking would disturb their rest.

Tan Wenbin reached out and patted his left shoulder.

The vengeful infant spirit looked up, its ghostly aura emanating.

He knew that no matter how soundly A-You had been sleeping before, by now, his vertical pupils would snap open: An evil presence!

Sure enough, the dorm door was quickly opened. Lin Shuyou, rubbing his eyes, looked at Tan Wenbin. "Bin Ge?"

"Notify Runsheng and Mengmeng. Enter a state of alert."

Lin Shuyou's expression immediately turned serious.

Tan Wenbin immediately went to the bathroom.

He had asked A-You to deliver the message not to be lazy, but because he knew that A-You, as a new team member, greatly enjoyed and valued this sense of participation.

Even if it was just a simple errand, he was more than happy to do it, as it constantly deepened his cognitive imprint of "I am part of the team."

Tan Wenbin, when he first joined, had gone through a similar phase; he'd feel antsy without something to do.

Inside the dorm, Li Zhuiyuan continued to gaze at the painting he had just finished.

He now needed to clarify two questions.

The first question was: Had the fifth wave arrived?

No, that shouldn't be the case; it couldn't be this fast.

He had resolved the fourth wave ahead of schedule, so there should be a relatively long period of stability or recuperation afterward.

Even if Jiangshui wanted to change its strategy against him, it wouldn't resort to winning by sheer volume and quick pace, leaving him no room to breathe. This didn't align with the aesthetic of the "test setter."

To put it another way, if it were truly that primitive, Li Zhuiyuan would actually welcome it.

Therefore, this should not be his fifth wave, nor should it be a push from Jiangshui.

The second question was about the purpose.

During dinner that afternoon, the golden lion had opened its eyes at him.

That night, while he was sleeping, the lion spirit entered his dream, transmitting a message at the cost of burning itself.

Was it warning him, or was it seeking his help?

Similar events had occurred before; the great fish from the second wave and the corpse-herding Taoist from the fourth wave had, in essence, sought his help.

But those instances happened during river-walking, which he had to face. And while they sought his aid, it also meant he could gain certain advantages and assistance from it.

So, Li Zhuiyuan believed the lion spirit was warning him.

It wouldn't be seeking help, because their relationship wasn't that deep, and the other party hadn't offered him enough benefit for him to meddle.

Of course, if it was a warning, there was still an underlying interest, but that interest would come later.

Once he confirmed the warning was genuine and resolved the issue, acknowledging the lion's favor, he would naturally feel compelled to reciprocate.

After clarifying these points, Li Zhuiyuan looked at the person in the painting with much greater clarity.

"What,Are you coming to find me?Drink the soup?Do you think you're Meng Po?"

Tan Wenbin returned.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up. "Binbin Ge, take down the painting. Let's have a meeting."

"Alright!"

The shop's basement offered high privacy, making it suitable for a meeting.

Its drawback was that it was dim; even with a single light bulb, its yellowish glow only made the space seem gloomier. But this atmosphere actually suited the mood of the meeting.

"Entering a state of alert" was terminology from the "River-Walking Conduct Code."

Once the notification was issued, all team members immediately cut off all unnecessary social contact, maintained close communication, and no longer acted alone.

These were lessons learned and accepted by everyone.

However, previously, this protocol was used to deal with river-walking itself, and they would only enter this state when they sensed the "river's spray" touching their noses.

"This time, I don't think it's a wave."

Li Zhuiyuan's voice echoed in Runsheng's room.

Yin Meng's room wasn't suitable as a meeting room because someone needed to smoke.

Tan Wenbin sat there and lit a cigarette.

Lin Shuyou reached out, wanting to light one for himself, but Tan Wenbin smacked his hand and glared at him. "Don't pick up bad habits."

Actually, Li Zhuiyuan knew there was another reason Tan Wenbin couldn't quit smoking: as they progressed through each wave, the two vengeful infant spirits on his shoulders had gained some merit and further recovered. Their original seals were becoming somewhat insufficient to isolate their influence on their host.

Tan Wenbin constantly felt irritable and agitated, especially when thinking, his emotions would clearly fluctuate with anxiety, but he had been restraining himself and hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

Runsheng, meanwhile, lit a "cigar."

He wasn't adept at strategizing for major events, but fortunately, the team didn't rely on his brain for that.

Still, he hoped to understand more during meetings.

Besides being dim, the room was now filled with a layer of swirling smoke.

If someone were to pass by outside, crawl down, and peer through the half-open window, they might mistake the scene for a gathering of ghosts holding a meeting.

Little Hei continued to sleep soundly, its dog nose twitching, inhaling Runsheng's fragrant smoke with apparent pleasure.

Whenever Runsheng smoked incense in the room, Little Hei would join him, acting purely as an exhaust fan.

Little Hei occasionally sneezed lightly, finding the smoke's taste impure today.

Yin Meng used a rope to hang the painting, with a handle in the middle of the rope, allowing the painting to slowly rotate before everyone.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "It's not river-walking. The lion spirit's warning... I suspect someone is plotting against us."

Tan Wenbin replied, "Then who could it be? We've always been kind to people; we really don't have any enemies."

This was the advantage of having pursued enemies down to their very last family member.

When you considered your enemies, it was easy to eliminate them, because most were already gone.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "It might not be targeting me personally or our group. It might be targeting the Qin-Liu family. Uncle Qin's failure in river-walking was due to being schemed against by outsiders."

Runsheng took a deep drag from his "cigar." He had to avenge his master.

Tan Wenbin pursed his lips and asked, "Should we report it to the Old Matron?"

Any force daring to target river-walkers from the Qin and Liu families must be extraordinary; ordinary sects and families wouldn't have such courage.

Moreover, this time it didn't involve river-walking, so it wasn't tied to its karma, which meant the Old Matron could intervene.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Although the Qin and Liu families are dwindling, if the Old Matron truly became ruthless and brought Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu, she could still make outsiders wary.

It's true that Uncle Qin's river-walking failed because he was schemed against, but the Old Matron can probably only guess which few families might have done it; she can't pinpoint the exact one.

This should be an unspoken understanding and unwritten rule of competition among Dragon King families.

I believe that since they dared to make a move, they would certainly handle the details cleanly, leaving no traces.

There's no need to tell the Old Matron about this now."

As Li Zhuiyuan said this, a hint of pain appeared on his face.

Fortunately, the light was dim and the smoke swirled, and he lowered his head in time, managing to conceal it.

From a purely rational perspective, it would be correct to immediately inform the Old Matron.

The Old Matron had endured Uncle Qin's incident, swallowing her pride and accepting the loss. Now, being older, and valuing him more than she did Uncle Qin back then, she couldn't possibly choose to tolerate it again.

So, telling the Old Matron about this would leave her with only one choice: to bring Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu to confront the powers that might have made the move, provoking them and fighting to the death.

It wouldn't matter which family specifically did it; she would randomly pick an unlucky one, and at least one of the Old Matron, Uncle Qin, or Aunt Liu would have to sacrifice themselves to take a huge bite out of that family.

This way, other families would be deterred, frightening off the hand attempting to reach out.

For the Qin-Liu Dragon King households, which had already fallen, this was the only solution.

The killing intent the Old Matron displayed while listening to him and A-Li play the zither yesterday morning was precisely an embodiment of this thought; she was already preparing to sacrifice herself.

Suppressing this "correct" course of action and letting emotions guide him made Li Zhuiyuan feel pained.

He instantly recalled Li Lan's expression while washing her hands—an expression of disdain for "stupid thinking."

To ease his internal torment, Li Zhuiyuan began to seek a new logical self-consistency.

That was, if the Old Matron did that, it might trigger another possibility: it would make those forces realize anew the unusual nature of this generation's river-walkers from the Qin and Liu families, making it even more impossible for them to grow and restore their households.

Therefore, that hand might not only fail to retract but might be joined by many other hands reaching out to him.

Moreover, it couldn't be ruled out that forces one tier below the Dragon King families might try to fish in troubled waters this way, stirring up conflict and causing infighting among the Dragon King families to create opportunities for themselves.

In the past, the Qin or Liu families, facing such matters, would have had more methods, perhaps not even needing to resort to action. A simple heads-up within their circle would have resolved it.

But now, the Old Matron had very few cards left, making her playing sequence very predictable.

Phew...

Li Zhuiyuan exhaled, feeling more at ease.

Lin Shuyou asked curiously, "Can they just kill directly like that?"

Tan Wenbin explained, "Generally no. River-walking represents enforcing justice on behalf of heaven. One can kill a river-walker, but either there must be direct causality that makes sense, or a corresponding price must be paid for it.

For example, that day with Zhao Yi, as long as he kept shouting about defending the righteous path, we couldn't eliminate that competitor ahead of time."

Lin Shuyou asked, "Then are they willing to pay a huge price to get rid of us?"

Tan Wenbin pointed at the painting. "If they were willing, why wouldn't they just send some true masters instead of coming up with this?"

Hearing that, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly looked up, his eyes narrowing.

"Everyone, I suspect my calculations have been wrong from the beginning."

Everyone present was stunned to hear this. Runsheng's "cigar ash" even dropped a section.

They had long been accustomed to Li Zhuiyuan's exceptional intellect leading them, allowing them to remain composed and prescient no matter what they encountered. This was the first time Li Zhuiyuan had invalidated his own initial assessment right at the start of a problem.

"That hand is far cleverer than we imagined.

I don't know if another Dragon King family is behind that hand, but the fact that it dared to reach out means it has enough confidence, at least believing itself no less capable than the Qin-Liu family is now.

This is the first time I've felt the true depth of a Dragon King family."

A smile appeared at the corner of Li Zhuiyuan's mouth.

The opponent's level of strategizing was very high. Such an adversary didn't make the young man afraid; instead, it filled him with excitement.

Its effect was no less than controlling a puppet.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Paper and pen."

Runsheng immediately retrieved paper and pen from his trekking backpack beside the bed and placed them before the young man.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the pen and casually drew four waves on the paper.

"As A-You just asked, they certainly don't want to pay the price for this.

That hand is unwilling not only to pay the price for wantonly killing a river-walker but also to face the extreme retaliation of the Qin and Liu families directly.

It is setting a trap,A trap designed to make all other river-walkers feel terrified and fearful afterward.

That lion spirit was not merely a warning; it was a part of the scheme.

The reason I thought wrong from the beginning is... we possess a cognitive depth beyond normal river-walkers.

This can be clearly seen from the comparison between our team and Xiong Shan's team in the last wave."

Tan Wenbin added, "River-walkers..."

He understood.

But to ensure the other three, whose gazes were still clear, also grasped the point, he highlighted it.

This also saved Li Zhuiyuan from having to elaborate further. Li Zhuiyuan used "river-walkers" to refer to them, implying that while Xiong Shan wasn't one, his extensive experience meant their team, thanks to the "River-Walking Conduct Code," was far superior to others at the same level.

This was also setting the stage for what was to follow.

Li Zhuiyuan continued, "A-You's performance was temporarily merged, and our side followed the normal process. Normally, there shouldn't be a clash of similar programs, so the problem must be on their side.

The compromise solution was to merge the two original programs into one. Two unfamiliar lions on stage together are bound to compete.

Our developments since yesterday afternoon were actually a normal progression of events.

The lion spirit's warning revealed a hint about a new wave of river-walking. This is a causal chain that can be traced backward. We would trace the origin, again seeking out the Zhou brothers, the event organizers, and the relevant personnel from their school, following this line upstream.

Beyond that, I suspect that in the next few days, a second and third line will emerge, reaching us and forming a combined force.

And this is where that hand is clever."

Tan Wenbin immediately exclaimed, "Holy moly, it's simulating river-walking against us!"

Yin Meng chimed in, "If we were to perish during river-walking, then even the Old Matron would have to accept it. The true mastermind would escape all suspicion and remain safe."

"And if that hand guides us to seek out this thing..." Tan Wenbin patted the painting, "...then we would be actively provoking it, or rather, actively eliminating evil and defending the righteous path. In that case, the karmic price that hand would have to bear would be very small."

Runsheng exhaled a thick smoke ring. "It avoids involvement on both ends."

Tan Wenbin took a deep breath. "This is using someone else to kill, elevated to an art form."

Seeing that everyone else had spoken, Lin Shuyou echoed, "It's pretty scary."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "There's one flaw."

Tan Wenbin, Yin Meng, and Runsheng all said in unison, "It's too fast."

Their team had just finished the fourth wave; the fifth wave shouldn't come so early. This was the biggest anomaly.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "But this is precisely where the opponent's true brilliance and frightening aspect lie. That hand can even calculate our river-walking frequency."

Saying this, Li Zhuiyuan, holding his pen, drew a downward line from the fourth wave he had already drawn on the paper:

"Right now, isn't this the time we would normally be undertaking the fourth wave?"

Everyone stood up, looking at this line. At first, they were somewhat confused, then one by one, expressions of sudden understanding appeared, followed by gritting teeth, sharp intakes of breath, or pursed lips.

They understood.

The reason this "flaw" appeared was because, under Li Zhuiyuan's leadership, they had completed the fourth wave ahead of schedule.

That hand... didn't know this.

So, it chose to act now. This current moment, under normal circumstances, would be when they had finished the third wave, their stable period was ending, and they would be refocusing their minds, preparing to detect any ripple of Jiangshui.

Removing the influence of this flaw, that hand had truly calculated the entire situation perfectly!

Tan Wenbin said, "No wonder, Yuan Ge, you just said you saw the true depth."

Yin Meng asked, "So, if we just ignore the clues that appear these days, we can avoid encountering the thing in the painting?"

Tan Wenbin countered, "If that hand can guide us to find that thing, can't it also guide this thing to confront us? It's just that if we ignore it, that hand will have to pay a slightly greater price."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Now, let's assign tasks."

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng put down their cigarettes and incense. Yin Meng and A-You also straightened their backs.

"Lin Shuyou."

"Here!"

"You'll contact the Zhou brothers, the organizers, and the relevant school officials responsible for submitting the performance. You are responsible for tracing the existing lead upstream."

Lin Shuyou immediately puffed out his chest and responded, "I will not let you down, Yuan Ge!"

Lin Shuyou was excited; he could finally handle things on his own!

Li Zhuiyuan said, "You just need to investigate step by step. Even if you encounter obstacles, that hand will provide clues to help you overcome difficulties and guide you to continue.

If you can't find it, they'll be more anxious than you."

Lin Shuyou: "..."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "The rest of you, after dawn, carry on with your usual activities, making it appear as if you are actively engaging with Jiangshui. This will make it easier for the opponent to deliver subsequent clues to you. You can go out more often."

Li Zhuiyuan extended a finger and poked his temple:

"One point to note: this time is different. After receiving a clue, don't rush; take it slow. Every step, slow it down as much as possible.

Any new progress at any stage must be reported and communicated immediately. If you're outside, report the progress to Lu Yi at the shop.

Tan Wenbin, give Lu Yi a raise."

Tan Wenbin: "Understood."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "We've already experimented. Everyone, mentally review how we traveled to Zhangjiajie during the last wave.

I require you, from now on, to start contemplating your respective 'script routes'."

The young man held his pen and, on the vertical line he had drawn earlier, pulled out another wave:

"That hand isn't trying to set up a false 'river-walking wave,' guiding us into a trap to kill us with a borrowed knife?

Then this time,We'll draw the real Jiangshui over and drown them!"

"Click!"

Deng Chen, who was sleeping, heard the photo studio door open.

He immediately sat up, reached into the chemical bath for developing photos in front of him, and pulled out two eyeballs.

He shook them, breathed on them, lifted his sleep shirt to wipe them, and then reinserted them into his eye sockets.

In the chemical bath, three tiny figures were still swimming; those were his three good brothers.

He unhurriedly pushed open his room door, went to the front desk, and saw Tan Wenbin sitting on the small sofa with his legs crossed.

Tan Wenbin had more than just the dorm key.

Deng Chen said, "Please give your instructions."

Tan Wenbin said, "Did I disturb your rest? My apologies. Come, lend me your eyes to help me 'roll' this."

A painting was handed to Deng Chen.

"Please wait."

Deng Chen took the painting and went back to work.

Not long after, he emerged with a long, large photograph.

Tan Wenbin took the photo, and as he rotated it, the person holding the candle and looking down in the photograph also turned.

Deng Chen said, "I've added some details, which might deviate from the reality."

"It's fine, it's already very good. You're excellent."

"He is..."

Tan Wenbin said, a bit surprised, "What, you know him?"

"No, I don't know him. Since gaining consciousness, the four of us have lived incognito. Our understanding of this world is far less than yours.

But from Yuan Ge's painting, I felt what Yuan Ge wanted to express.

It's very scary."

"What else do you feel?"

"When developing this photo, I was very afraid it would suddenly look up."

"Keep going, anything else?"

"Yuan Ge's painting skills are truly excellent."

"Yuan Ge isn't here, no need to flatter. Provide me with more valuable clues, and I'll go back and flatter him on your behalf."

"It's the texture of this painting."

"Texture?"

"It might not exist in reality."

This should have been a platitude, given it was something seen in a dream.

But Tan Wenbin narrowed his eyes, leaned closer to Deng Chen, and whispered, "Elaborate more. Come on, organize your thoughts."

He could sense that Deng Chen had discovered something, especially since the latter possessed the "Black Python's Eye."

It was just that Deng Chen was lacking in verbal description and couldn't quite pinpoint it.

Deng Chen's eyes darted around a few times, then he simply raised a hand, slapped the back of his head, took out his two eyeballs, and handed them to Tan Wenbin.

"I've imprinted another copy in my eyes. This is my feeling; please experience it yourself."

"How do I use them?"

"Just like this."

Tan Wenbin held one eyeball in each hand and placed them before his own eyes.

This action was much like playing marbles as a child, holding two marbles in front of his eyes to observe the wondrous and strange world.

He saw it.

Before him was still the person holding the candle.

But this time, the figure of this person showed a change from solid to ethereal and back to solid again, truly a very strange texture.

Tan Wenbin frowned. He felt that when Li Zhuiyuan painted this, he only tried to capture the essence of what he saw in the dream as accurately as possible. Li Zhuiyuan himself might not have had a deep perception of this.

This was normal in their bureau; finding physical evidence was the first step. Then, it was handed over to specialized departments for analysis to make the evidence "speak" and yield more information. Deng Chen was like their analysis department.

Finally,Tan Wenbin articulated his feelings, a statement even more obvious than Deng Chen's:

"This fellow seems to exist in dreams."

***

Discount Store.

Lu Yi was somewhat excited, yet also a little apprehensive.

His salary here was already quite high, exceeding his income from tutoring, and being on campus made it very convenient.

Therefore, he skipped some easy classes whenever he could, just to spend more time guarding the store and earn his salary.

Earlier, as soon as he entered the store, Tan Wenbin walked over, patted his shoulder, and told him he had received another raise—a fifty percent increase.

The additional work involved recording and promptly relaying any calls made to the store by their small inner circle.

In fact, he had always done this before and hadn't found it difficult or tiring. It was just answering phones and passing messages, right? Although for a while, he had felt an inexplicable palpitation when answering calls, scaring him into returning to his dorm to re-set up his altar.

But upon later analysis, it was probably due to recent poor sleep.

Tan Wenbin's demand for a raise was irrefutable, so Lu Yi eventually accepted it.

He had a feeling that ever since he started worshipping that "Red Sausage Ghost," he had been having good luck.

Lu Yi clasped his hands together and shook them in front of him, silently muttering:

"Red Sausage Ghost, bless me! Red Sausage Ghost, bless me!"

While he was bowing to the void, Lu Yi saw Yin Meng and Runsheng walking out side-by-side.

Yin Meng asked him, "Do you have many classes today?"

Lu Yi shook his head. "It's almost the end of the semester, so not many classes left. I can guard the store all day today. It's perfect for studying for final exams when there are no customers."

"Then you'll be working hard. I'm taking Runsheng out to buy clothes."

"Haha, okay."

Lu Yi nodded with a smile, while feeling a bit puzzled. He knew Yin Meng liked to go shopping, but Runsheng actually didn't like going out. Runsheng preferred moving goods in the store.

But, why bother with others' business?

Lu Yi picked up the phone and dialed, planning to call home and ask his parents to send him more red sausages.

Runsheng and Yin Meng walked out of the store. As soon as they descended the steps, Runsheng involuntarily sighed.

He would rather deliver goods to Old Man Li ten times a day back home or move bricks at the brick factory than accompany Yin Meng shopping.

"Didn't we just buy clothes?"

"We only bought a few pieces. Only one top and one pair of pants fit yesterday. I'll have to return the rest later."

"That's enough. There's no need to buy new clothes unless the old ones are beyond repair."

"How can we create an opportunity for that hand to deliver clues if we don't go out?"

"You could ask Zheng Jiayi to go shopping."

"Calling her out now, I'm afraid she might get involved."

Runsheng nodded, accepting the reason, and continued walking with Yin Meng.

Yin Meng was quite happy. She raised her hand and said, "Hey, why are you so unhappy? When I was little, if someone took me to buy new clothes, I'd be ecstatic."

Runsheng: "That would be a human trafficker."

Yin Meng rolled her eyes at Runsheng. "Didn't you want to wear new clothes and show off to your friends when you were little?"

Runsheng: "My grandpa and I salvaged corpses; I smelled, so no kids wanted to play with me."

Yin Meng's voice suddenly became subdued. She said, "Me too. Parents of kids my age on the street told them not to play with me, saying my family ran a coffin shop, which was bad luck.

When I was little, even if Grandpa bought me toys or dolls, I had no one to show them off to, hehe."

As Yin Meng spoke, she lowered her head and took two strong sniffs.

Runsheng was stunned by her words, then could only quicken his pace to walk ahead, turning back to urge her:

"Come on, let's go buy new clothes."

Yin Meng reached out to wipe away tears that weren't there, feigning a "breaking into a smile after crying" expression.

"Alright, let's go!"

Tan Wenbin had driven away in the small pickup, so the two had to walk to the school gate.

Yin Meng: "I'll call a taxi."

Runsheng: "Let's take the bus."

Yin Meng: "Sigh, when I was little and saw other families take taxis, I was so envious. What a shame... Hahahaha!"

As she spoke, Yin Meng couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing.

Then, she nudged Runsheng with her elbow and asked, "Didn't you see I was faking pity?"

Runsheng: "I saw you were faking it."

Yin Meng: "Then why did you still obediently listen and come out shopping with me?"

Runsheng: "Childhood regrets aren't fake."

Yin Meng paused, then put her hands on her hips and said bitterly:

"I wish I could whip you! You ruined my good mood for going out today!"

Lin Shuyou arrived at Jinling University. During dinner yesterday, the Zhou brothers had mentioned their department, and they were quite famous in school for lion dance.

By asking around, Lin Shuyou found their dorm, but their roommates said they had gone out early that morning.

Lin Shuyou noticed a large pink star wallpaper newly pasted on a corner wall in their dorm.

If Li Zhuiyuan or Tan Wenbin were here, they would surely go and peel it back to see what traces it was covering, and then they would discover the scorched blackness of the wall.

But Lin Shuyou only thought that pasting such wallpaper in a male dorm was a bit effeminate.

Then, he left.

Next, by asking students on the way, he managed to find a clue, leading him from the school's living area to a somewhat secluded riverside adjacent to the school.

He actually found the two Zhou brothers there.

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Feng were talking to a freshly buried mound of earth, then both turned, red-eyed, and walked away.

Lin Shuyou waited for them to leave, then approached the mound. He pulled a trident from his bag, intending to dig and see what was buried, as this should be a crucial clue.

After just two scoops of earth, he heard footsteps behind him.

He turned sideways, looked back, and saw the two Zhou brothers returning, one holding joss paper, the other holding a candle.

The Zhou brothers' faces were extremely grim. Their previously tear-reddened eyes turned angry-red.

Lin Shuyou: "I'm sorry, please let me explain."

Zhou Cheng: "Alright, I'll listen to you..."

Zhou Feng dropped the candle he was holding, quickly lunged forward, and delivered a flying kick towards Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou sidestepped to avoid it, then instinctively raised his leg and nudged Zhou Feng's waist.

This was an instinctive move for a martial artist; yesterday during the stage performance, having a lion costume on restricted him greatly.

Because of that nudge, Zhou Feng's flying kick changed direction, and his legs plunged deeply into the loose soil pit where the lion head had just been buried.

Seeing this, Zhou Cheng raised his fist and charged forward as well.

The three immediately launched into a heated brawl.

***

In the dorm, Li Zhuiyuan set up a divination array for himself.

He sat in the middle of the array pattern, lit three candles, and began chanting incantations while performing calculations. He was attempting to divine his own fate.

Halfway through, he immediately stopped.

Divining one's own fate was taboo, and he couldn't make that mistake again. He had only intended to use this method to probe whether anyone was trying to divine his fate.

He couldn't sense anyone.

This meant the other party might have a more sophisticated method, or at least a more comprehensive setup. Given the background of that hand, this was not surprising.

After erasing the array, Li Zhuiyuan turned his bronze mirror and activated the isolation array in the dorm.

Then he squatted by his bed, pulled out the large package from under it, and walked back to his desk to unwrap it.

This Sinister Tome had been burned last time, and when he opened it now, there was no sign of recovery.

Li Zhuiyuan spread it open, skipped past the charred pages, and found a page that was merely yellowed and curled.

He adjusted his color palette, picked up a brush, and began to paint on this page. He didn't rush to paint the person holding the candle and looking down. Instead, he painted the burning lion he had seen in his dream last night.

Halfway through painting the lion, the Sinister Tome spontaneously completed the other half.

Immediately, the entire painting gradually faded, and a line of text emerged:

"Lion spirit delivering a dream, burning itself to warn."

The lion spirit's warning itself was not the problem, but its form of delivery was.

Li Zhuiyuan painted it first not to seek an answer, but to test if this Sinister Tome was still effective.

It proved that the book was quite resilient despite its damage.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the brush again. This time, he painted the person holding the candle and looking down.

The young man suspected that this Sinister Tome recognized this figure.

Because if that hand wanted to set a trap for him, it certainly couldn't use entities related to its own forces. Furthermore, it would have to find a relatively objective "third-party evil entity."

Only then could it better justify itself to the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, this entity had to have enough strength to defeat him; even if it couldn't directly kill him, it had to at least severely wound or cripple him, forcing him to relight his lamp and concede defeat.

Therefore, this entity was likely not an unknown nobody.

The Sinister Tome, in his eyes, was a dynamic encyclopedia. It might genuinely know who this figure was.

At the same time, considering the situation he currently faced, the one who set the trap for Uncle Qin might not be the same one who was setting a trap for him now. However, their baseline level of strategizing should be roughly similar.

After all, anyone daring to play dirty tricks on a Dragon King family wouldn't be ordinary.

Furthermore, in terms of absolute strength, the hand that trapped Uncle Qin would only be stronger than the one targeting him now, because Uncle Qin began his river-walking as an adult and was prepared.

He remembered Uncle Qin used "they" to describe the people who schemed against him. Did this mean more than one hand schemed against Uncle Qin?

In such a difficult situation, Uncle Qin, although forced to fail his river-walking, was able to return alive, relight his lamp and concede defeat, and could now still walk and move. This demonstrated Uncle Qin's strength.

This also served as a reminder that the opponent might simply be viewing him as an ordinary Qin-Liu family river-walker. They would fight with full effort like a lion hunting a rabbit, but they would most likely not put their ultimate trump cards on the line.

And this was his opportunity.

Leaving aside the Old Matron's assistance, his strength would definitely be very asymmetrical against that hand.

But fortunately, he was currently undergoing river-walking.

Just yesterday, Professor Zhu had given him a new perspective for observing Jiangshui, and he never expected to use it so soon.

There was both a sameness and a conflict between himself and Jiangshui. Now, it was time for the sameness to come into play.

"I don't know what your true purpose for me is, but at least for now, no matter what I think, I am indeed willing to eliminate evil and defend the righteous path, acting like a person of righteousness.

No matter how much we battle wits, that's between us. That's an internal conflict between the two of us. What does a third party's hand have to do with it?

Look, that hand is imitating you, desecrating you. What does it think it is?

You can tolerate it, but I cannot.

I guess you couldn't do anything before, only inflict a small karmic punishment.

It's fine.This time, I'll help you build a bridge. Together, let's play a big one."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know if saying these words would be useful, but his hand was painting, and his mouth was idle anyway.

When he reached the feet, he couldn't paint anymore.

The brush tip touched, but nothing appeared on the page.

It seemed the book had learned its lesson from being burned last time, and this time, it refused to let him paint.

Moreover, faint lines of text began to appear next to the almost complete painting.

Appearing and disappearing, even someone with perfect vision couldn't make out the characters.

Because the Sinister Tome's intention was to tell him that it already knew who this guy was, but it just wasn't telling him.

It was playing hard to get with him.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the brush and wrote beside it:

"Tell me the answer, and after it's done, I promise you a request that doesn't violate the standards of the righteous path."

Li Zhuiyuan's written words vanished, replaced by a short line of text:

"You're trying to fool the book."

Clearly, after several rounds of interaction, both the book and the person understood each other.

The Sinister Tome knew Li Zhuiyuan wouldn't make any deals with it.

Li Zhuiyuan showed no embarrassment at being seen through. He picked up the brush again, dipped it in ink, and wrote on the page. Each line he wrote was immediately met with a response from the Sinister Tome:

"The Yin-Yang Diverging Fire Evil-Slaying Array.""Please give me something to replenish my ink and pages."

"The Shattering-Bane Demon-Slaying Dragon-Cutting Array.""Please have pity on me, just grant me some random scraps."

"The Eight Desolations Thunder Pool Demon-Subduing Array.""You truly have a heart of stone, do you have no compassion at all?"

"The Azure Dragon Scarlet Blood Heavenly Punishment Array.""My life is so bitter, truly so bitter."

Li Zhuiyuan dipped his brush in red pigment and poked it onto the page.

A red dot immediately appeared on the page.

The young man's eyes were cold. Once the brush tip left the page and this matter was concluded, he would proceed to destroy the book.

He believed that the Sinister Tome could sense his true emotions through the brush tip.

The best threat was the most truthful statement.

He didn't wait long. Li Zhuiyuan lifted the brush.

The red dot began to spin, rapidly forming words:

"It is a Dream Ghost!"