Chapter 24

Shijia Bridge was right on the road. For safety, Li Zhuiyuan stood by the roadside under the bridge, glancing south occasionally to see if the car had arrived, and then looking at Uncle Qin, who stood beside him.

Noticing Li Zhuiyuan's gaze repeatedly falling on him, Uncle Qin lowered his head and asked, "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Uncle, was the movie tonight good?"

"Yes, it was good. It's a shame you and A-Li sat too far to the side and probably couldn't see clearly."

"I saw it clearly, and it was still good."

After that, Li Zhuiyuan fell silent and stopped looking at the person beside him.

Uncle Qin straightened up. He had expected the boy to ask questions of a different nature, but he didn't.

The child always seemed to know his place, which made it easy for people to like him.

However, upon reflection, it seemed that whenever a critical need arose, he would not hesitate to break those boundaries, just like last time and this time.

A black sedan slowed down as it approached the bridge. The window rolled down, and a woman with wavy hair leaned out from the driver's seat:

"Hello, are you Li Zhuiyuan?"

"Yes."

"Engineer Luo asked me to pick you up. Get in."

The car turned around and stopped.

Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin got in, both sitting in the back seat.

To save time, the car drove very fast, often requiring sudden steering or braking to avoid unlit bicycles and tricycles.

After a while, Li Zhuiyuan started feeling unwell; he was carsick.

Since it was urgent, he felt embarrassed to ask the driver to slow down. He simply tried to turn the small handle on the car door, hoping to open the window a little for fresh air.

He kept turning, but the window didn't move. After a few more turns, the handle came off the car door in his hand.

Li Zhuiyuan could only put the handle back on, then leaned back in the seat with a touch of helplessness.

At that moment, Uncle Qin leaned over, extended his hand, and placed his palm against the car window.

With a harsh grinding sound, the car window was forcibly pulled down.

Fresh air blew in from outside, and Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he was still a little worried the driver might get angry, but the driver was likely focused on the road and didn't notice the change in the back.

Li Zhuiyuan tried turning the handle in the opposite direction and was relieved when he found he could still raise the window back up.

After helping open the window, Uncle Qin had closed his eyes, resting, as if asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan also turned slightly, resting his head against the seat back, hoping to doze off.

But somehow, when the car was moving, the vibration was remarkably strong, especially in his position with his ear against the seat, where he could hear a continuous whooshing sound of wind.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan thought it was due to the open window and the airflow, so he rolled the window up a bit more, leaving only a small gap.

Yet, when he sat back in the same position, the sound of wind in his ears hadn't changed at all.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder: "How can this Japanese car be as thin as paper?"

Curious, he reached out and pressed on the car back. His finger pushed into a dent, and it didn't spring back.

Li Zhuiyuan quietly sat upright. "Alright, no sleep then. I'll just stay awake until we reach the hospital."

He looked out the window. Rural roads currently had no streetlights, so it was completely dark outside with nothing to see. However, each time they passed through a town, he could spot shops and slightly denser crowds.

The lights in these shops were incredibly dazzling.

In a daze, it felt as if the light from outside wasn't shining through the car windows, but rather as if the entire car was translucent, glowing.

But this wasn't the city center, and the evening shops in town didn't have dense neon lights.

The car left the rural roads and entered the city. Road conditions improved, but there were also more cars.

These cars seemed very unruly; there were countless instances of drivers cutting others off or changing lanes without signaling. This infuriated the driver, who honked the horn continuously and muttered curses under her breath.

Speaking in authentic Nantong dialect, Li Zhuiyuan thought that even his grandfather, Li Weihan, didn't speak the dialect as genuinely as she did.

The journey was difficult, but finally, the building of the People's Hospital came into view ahead.

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan noticed the driver staring at him and Uncle Qin through the rearview mirror. When she saw his gaze, they even made eye contact through the mirror.

This puzzled Li Zhuiyuan, as the driver's gaze seemed not to return to the road ahead.

Meanwhile, he could see through the front windshield that their car had moved into the oncoming lane, and a truck was rapidly approaching them head-on.

"Watch out for the car!" Li Zhuiyuan yelled.

But the driver still didn't avert her gaze from the rearview mirror. She didn't brake; instead, she accelerated.

At this rate, they would collide directly with the truck very soon.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes. He lifted his feet and stomped them downwards.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes widened. He saw Uncle Qin's feet punch through the car floor!

Immediately after, Uncle Qin reached out and grabbed the boy's neck beside him. Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being lifted.

It was a strange sensation because he was inside the car, yet when he was lifted, he seemed to detach from its motion. The next scene defied all common sense physics.

"Whirl..."

The car seats, the rear windshield, and the trunk all passed right through them.

His body felt the impact, which stung a little, but it wasn't severe.

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found himself being held by Uncle Qin on the road. A sedan with its rear seats completely punctured had just driven past them.

The sedan, with an unstoppable momentum, crashed into the truck.

The expected crash sound didn't occur. Most of the sedan instantly disintegrated, and the remaining parts were crushed by the truck.

All around, there were splinters of bamboo and wood, and colorful paper scattered everywhere.

The car was made of paper!

Uncle Qin turned sideways, taking Li Zhuiyuan up the steps. As the truck drove past them, they could see the driver in the cab rubbing his eyes vigorously and repeatedly checking his rearview mirror.

He also seemed to feel that he had hit something earlier and was wondering if he was hallucinating due to fatigue.

Uncle Qin put Li Zhuiyuan down. Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, what kind of car were we just in?"

"You've seen it before. There's one on the first floor of our house."

"But..." Li Zhuiyuan looked around, then back at the hospital building ahead. "Are we really at the People's Hospital?"

"Yes, we're here."

Li Zhuiyuan instinctively reached out and touched Uncle Qin's arm. He couldn't tell if the Uncle Qin in front of him was real or fake, hoping that Uncle Qin wouldn't be "unsteady" this time.

Uncle Qin pointed ahead. "The hospital entrance is right there. Aren't you going in?"

"But, are we really here?" Li Zhuiyuan still didn't understand.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"How did we get here?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned. He could understand paper figures becoming living people, and he could understand all sorts of unbelievable things in dreams. He could even understand genuinely experiencing a car made of paper effigies.

What he couldn't understand was how he had actually ridden a paper car all the way from Siyuan Village to the city!

Uncle Qin gently patted Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder and said, "She carried us here."

"Huh?"

Uncle Qin seemed to have no intention of explaining further. "Let's go in. If we dally any longer, your big friend might die."

"Oh, right."

Li Zhuiyuan composed himself and walked into the hospital with Uncle Qin. At this hour, they should first inquire at the emergency department.

But on the steps below the building, Li Zhuiyuan saw the female driver from earlier, wearing the exact same clothes and with the same wavy hair.

The woman was holding what looked like a document or a test report, her face full of anxiety, and she kept pulling aside passing medical staff to ask questions.

Most importantly, she seemed not to recognize them at all. Even though they were so close to her, she showed no reaction.

"Uncle, is she alive?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and asked, "Auntie, I'd like to ask where Xue Liangliang is now."

"Little one, who are you?"

"My name is Li Zhuiyuan, Director Luo called for me."

"Director Luo... the car I arranged just left a little while ago. Did you come by yourselves?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, I'll take you upstairs."

The woman led Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin upstairs. During their brief conversation, Li Zhuiyuan learned that although Xue Liangliang had just finished resuscitation, his condition was very poor, and all his organs were showing signs of decline.

In the ward, Luo Tingrui stood by Xue Liangliang's bedside, watching him with an anxious expression.

He truly didn't understand why a simple boat sway and falling into the water, even with an immediate rescue, could lead to such a critical situation.

At that moment, Xue Liangliang's face was pale, and he was muttering deliriously:

"No, no, no, I don't want to stay here. I won't be a live-in son-in-law, I won't be a live-in son-in-law."

Luo Tingrui adjusted his glasses. He didn't understand why Liangliang was saying such things in his sleep.

He hadn't even introduced his daughter to him yet, and he wasn't interested in finding a live-in son-in-law. So, whose family was pressuring him?

But who could possibly force him?

Luo Tingrui knew about Xue Liangliang's affairs at school. This young man was quite good at making money, and he had no intention of staying at the university or in the local area, nor did he plan to join a good public institution. He was wholeheartedly preparing to go to the Great Southwest to work on construction after graduation.

To be honest, as an outstanding graduate from Haihe University, combined with the current job conditions and work environment in the Southwest, they would be ecstatic if you were willing to go there; there would be no need for backdoors or connections.

As for the current delirium, even if he didn't understand it, at least it was intelligible. Earlier, Xue Liangliang's delirious words had been:

"Don't lock me up, don't hit me, don't strangle me, I feel so bad, I feel so bad, please, let me go, don't torture me anymore..."

At that time, Luo Tingrui even began to suspect if Xue Liangliang had endured some inhumane torture in his childhood that left him traumatized.

The ward door opened, and Li Zhuiyuan led Uncle Qin in. Luo Tingrui nodded at Li Zhuiyuan, but his gaze focused on Uncle Qin.

It was normal to overlook the boy. He was already guessing that the middle-aged man would be the one who could help.

The doctors had already said they had done their best. Although Xue Liangliang was now hooked up to monitoring equipment, they could only passively continue observing him. If his vital signs deteriorated further, the outcome would be irreversible.

Luo Tingrui was not a stubborn man. Considering Zhao Hequan, who was still in the hospital, and what had happened to Xue Liangliang, he had reason to suspect that the incidents caused by that idol were not yet over.

"You can go out first."

"Yes, Director." The woman was dismissed from the ward by Luo Tingrui.

Immediately, Luo Tingrui pointed to himself and asked, "Do I need to leave?"

Uncle Qin didn't answer. Instead, he walked directly to the other side of the bed, placed his hand on Xue Liangliang's forehead, and gently massaged it.

Soon, cold sweat broke out on Xue Liangliang's face, a large amount that immediately soaked the pillow.

Luo Tingrui picked up a towel, ready to help wipe him. But as he wiped, he found the sweat unexpectedly greasy, like lubricant used in a workshop.

How could human sweat be like this?

Then, Uncle Qin clenched his fist and struck downwards towards Xue Liangliang's abdomen.

"No!" Luo Tingrui had no time to stop him.

"Bang!"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's fist didn't actually land on Xue Liangliang but stopped just before contact. Still, the quilt on Xue Liangliang's body rapidly caved in.

A piercing scream immediately echoed through the entire ward.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately covered his ears, but it was no use. His eardrums ached, almost as if they would rupture, and his entire brain felt like it was being relentlessly pounded with a sledgehammer.

Luo Tingrui only faintly heard what sounded like a strange noise just now. He then looked at Uncle Qin with a puzzled expression, and finally, at the boy huddled tightly against the corner of the wall, wondering what was wrong with him.

Uncle Qin's gaze also shifted to Li Zhuiyuan.

A look of surprise appeared in Uncle Qin's eyes, as he hadn't expected Xiao Yuan's perception in this regard to be so acute.

He couldn't help but recall Liu Yumei's previous instruction to him: "Only teach him martial arts."

Uncle Qin swallowed.

"Should such a child truly only be taught martial arts?"

As for Xue Liangliang, after being made to sweat and then "virtually punched," he hadn't woken up yet, but he looked considerably more relaxed.

Only then did Luo Tingrui relax. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Ah..."

The screaming finally stopped, but Li Zhuiyuan still felt a buzzing in his head.

He was about to stand up, leaning against the wall, but as he lifted his head slightly, he saw in his peripheral vision, in the southwest corner of the ward, a pair of red embroidered shoes. Above them was a pale greenish-white ankle, and further up, the hem of a red skirt.

Above that, Li Zhuiyuan didn't know, because he dared not look further.

He had seen several 'dead-fallen' people before, but none had given him such intense alarm and pressure.

She was not an object he could observe, not even secretly. If he continued to look at her, a terrible misfortune would immediately befall him.

The *Records of Jianghu Legends and Anomalies* recorded some powerful 'dead-fallen' beings, using the description: "...whoever sees them is doomed."

Here, "doom" was used, not "death," but sometimes "doom" was more terrifying than death. For such beings, even a momentary gaze could instantly bring calamity upon oneself.

Uncle Qin noticed Li Zhuiyuan, who was squatting on the ground, had changed the direction he was facing.

He looked in the direction Li Zhuiyuan had been facing, then back at Li Zhuiyuan. He felt a dryness in his mouth.

It wasn't because of the person now standing in the corner of the ward.

It was because,

"Xiao Yuan, can you actually see *her* too?"

He knew A-Li could see, but what good was it if A-Li could see...?

She had completely sealed herself off in her own world, almost entirely cut off from the outside.

But this little boy could speak, act, and was full of life!

Li Zhuiyuan heard footsteps; it was Uncle Qin. He was moving, walking from beside the bed to the corner behind him.

Uncle Qin was going to see that woman.

Indeed, from Luo Tingrui's perspective, he saw the middle-aged man walk to the corner of the wall and just stand there silently, as if meditating in front of it.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand, and of course, he knew that if he could understand such things, he wouldn't be in his current department.

Meanwhile, Xue Liangliang, whose condition had improved, began to speak deliriously again:

"I won't live here, I don't want to stay here. I have a career to pursue, I have dreams to fulfill. You can't keep me here, I don't agree, I absolutely do not agree!"

Luo Tingrui was somewhat puzzled. Was it because Xue Liangliang's condition had improved, giving him more confidence and assertiveness in his words?

Li Zhuiyuan, with his back to Uncle Qin, stood up and slowly moved to the bedside, watching Xue Liangliang.

He hadn't heard the previous two segments of delirium, only this one. Lacking key information, he was also quite confused.

However, his own situation was also rather bizarre. On one hand, he felt it was very dangerous, yet on the other, he felt quite secure because Uncle Qin was there.

Luo Tingrui pointed at Uncle Qin in the corner. Li Zhuiyuan shook his head at him, and Luo Tingrui understood, remaining still.

Xue Liangliang also stopped his delirious muttering, and so, the ward fell into an eerie silence for quite some time.

Finally,

Uncle Qin broke the atmosphere.

He walked back to the bedside, and in front of Li Zhuiyuan and Luo Tingrui, took off his undershirt and flung it onto the IV stand.

Immediately, Uncle Qin's index fingers began to trace lines continuously across his arms, shoulders, and chest.

With each stroke, bruises of varying lengths, depths, and colors appeared.

Any single bruise would make an ordinary person cry out in pain, but Uncle Qin seemed to be applying paint to himself.

His face was utterly calm, as if he were performing the simplest, most normal task.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand what the man was doing. After Li Zhuiyuan noticed the symmetrical appearance of the bruises on Uncle Qin's left and right sides, he understood: Uncle Qin was drawing talismans.

His fingers were the brush, his body the paper, and the fresh wounds were the ink.

After finishing, Uncle Qin walked to the ward door and opened it.

He looked once more at the corner where he had been standing earlier.

He spoke:

"I understand why the Matriarch sent me today. She wants me to tell the Bai family this: The Qin family is not yet dead!"

After speaking, Uncle Qin pressed his right thumb to the center of his forehead. When he moved it away, a bloody mark remained, signifying the completion of the talisman's final stroke.

Suddenly, a wind began to blow in the ward.

The wind was not strong, very subtle, yet it was very cold. Li Zhuiyuan involuntarily shivered, and Luo Tingrui across from him did the same, folding his arms.

This wind didn't just start in this ward; it stirred through the entire floor, and even several floors above and below, all converging here.

Li Zhuiyuan vaguely saw that many shadows, carried by the wind, seemed to merge into Uncle Qin's body, including a red shadow from within this very ward.

Was he... absorbing all those unclean things into his own body?

Uncle Qin stood still for a while before taking a step, walking back to the bedside, reaching for his undershirt, and putting it back on.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that at first, Uncle Qin's steps were somewhat stiff, and even his facial expression seemed a bit dull. But after putting his clothes back on, he seemed to recover... or perhaps he just adapted.

The lighting in this ward also seemed to become much brighter and clearer. In fact, it wasn't just here that changed; about half of the building became noticeably brighter.

Actually, sometimes the hospital lights at night appear dim and hazy, not due to the lighting design, but simply because places like hospitals tend to have "more of certain things."

Furthermore, the previous appearance of the female driver and the paper car meant that the terrifying unclean entity had long since covered this ward, with even Luo Tingrui's actions within its view.

Uncle Qin looked at Luo Tingrui. "I need to go somewhere, and I need a car."

Luo Tingrui: "The car I sent to pick you up should still be downstairs at the hospital."

"Director Luo, that car isn't there," Li Zhuiyuan said.

"Then how did you get here, and so quickly?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "We came by pedicab."

"Well... I'll arrange a motorcycle. Do you know how to ride one?" Luo Tingrui asked Uncle Qin.

Uncle Qin nodded. "Yes."

"Alright, I'll have someone arrange it right away." Luo Tingrui led Uncle Qin out of the ward, called the female colleague, gave instructions, and then motioned for Uncle Qin to follow her downstairs to get the vehicle.

As they left, Li Zhuiyuan, who remained in the ward, heard Xue Liangliang's delirious words:

"No, I won't marry you. There's no love between us. This is our first meeting. I'm not casual about marriage, so don't even dream of it!"

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder if Brother Liangliang was acting out a Qiong Yao drama in his dream.

At that time, Qiong Yao dramas were already popular, and university students were among their audience. Li Zhuiyuan often saw older students discussing these dramas or holding their novel books on campus.

Just then, Uncle Qin walked back to the ward doorway. "Xiao Yuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan followed Uncle Qin downstairs, got the motorcycle, and a roar erupted as the throttle was pressed.

Uncle Qin drove very fast, weaving through the city before heading towards the suburbs.

Li Zhuiyuan sat behind him. Since he had no helmet, he had to press his face against Uncle Qin's back and grip his waist with both hands to shield himself from the wind.

He was amazed. Uncle Qin, who had been planting crops in the field that afternoon and had just been staring down the red-clad woman in the ward, was now speeding on a motorcycle.

Li Zhuiyuan felt the madness emanating from this world.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital ward, Luo Tingrui once again heard Xue Liangliang's delirious words:

"No, coming back once a month is impossible. My future work won't allow me to leave the construction site. That's the culmination of so many people's efforts; I can't be that irresponsible.

Half a year isn't possible either. Future major projects won't have such short durations, and there can't be even the slightest mistake.

My future isn't in Nantong, nor in Jiangsu. I'm going to the Great Southwest; that's my dream, my future.

So, stop dreaming, really, I won't marry you, and don't even think about keeping me tied down here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses, breathed on the lenses, and then wiped them with his clothing.

He felt moved, sad, and slightly amused all at once: *That rascal, in such a terrible state, and still dreaming about building up the Great Southwest.*

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

Middle-aged people habitually disdained the idealistic aura surrounding young people, viewing it as their naivety and immaturity, yet rarely reflected on whether it was actually themselves who had fallen and become lost.

"Liangliang, if you recover this time, I'll personally take you to the Southwest."

The car reached the riverside. Li Zhuiyuan got off, and after Uncle Qin parked the bike, he clapped his hands, his gaze fixed on the river surface, filled with a wealth of emotions.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

Throughout history, great rivers have always been the cradles of civilization.

The sand and soil on both banks were accumulated from countless joys and sorrows, and countless stories and mysteries had settled at the bottom of these rivers with the passage of time.

Brother Liangliang seemed to have mentioned that the local records had the location of Baijia Town wrong... Li Zhuiyuan faced in the direction of Chongming Island, roughly estimating the direction and distance.

A conjecture gradually arose in his mind:

Could Baijia Town really be at the bottom of the river right before him?

Uncle Qin began to undress. Unlike at the hospital where he only took off his undershirt, this time he stripped completely, folding his clothes neatly on the bank and placing a pebble on top to hold them down.

Next, Uncle Qin first twisted his neck, then grasped both hands below his ears and vigorously tore.

Li Zhuiyuan heard the sound of flesh tearing. Focusing his gaze, he saw five long wounds appear under each of Uncle Qin's ears.

These wounds, while oozing blood, continuously opened and closed.

Like... bloody gills.

Immediately after, Uncle Qin began to stretch his body. With each movement, there was a crisp cracking sound of joints within his body, accompanied by the tearing of flesh.

Soon, many dense, stretch mark-like formations appeared on Uncle Qin's body.

However, these were not on his abdomen but evenly distributed across his arms and legs.

After completing a set of stretches, Uncle Qin stopped, standing in place and adjusting his breathing. The bloody wounds below his ears opened and closed with the rhythm of his breath.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that Uncle Qin was different; his physique had undergone a very noticeable change.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Yes."

"Watch closely from the bank."

"Okay, Uncle."

Uncle Qin nodded, then bent down and began to run in the moonlight.

He wasn't running very fast, but his body movements were extremely coordinated. He ran to the riverbank, leapt in, and vanished instantly into the river.

Like a fish returning to the river.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the river surface, which had returned to calmness, and then at Uncle Qin's clothes left on the bank.

He raised a hand and gently tapped his forehead. It was as if only after it happened that he truly realized:

"Did he really... just go down like that?"

Li Zhuiyuan initially stood, but after a while, his legs began to ache, so he sat down.

Time passed steadily. Uncle Qin had been down for a long time, and there was no movement on the river surface, not even a single unusual bubble.

All he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuiyuan yawned. He looked at the horizon; the night was like a garment washed many times, its deep color thinning, and soon it would turn pale.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuiyuan forcibly shook off his drowsiness, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and then stood up again to continue gazing at the river surface.

This time, he saw movement.

In the middle of the river, a figure seemed to appear briefly and then vanish. Just as Li Zhuiyuan wondered if he was seeing things, he saw Uncle Qin emerge from the water by the riverbank.

His body was covered in shocking wounds, many of them black and oozing pus.

The most terrifying was the one on his chest, so deep and long that the white bone inside was almost visible.

Yet Uncle Qin acted completely unfazed. He squatted by the river and began to wash his body with the river water.

Li Zhuiyuan brought the clothes over. As he got closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth still embedded in Uncle Qin's wounds.

Seeing these, he could even imagine how those things had swarmed him, tearing and biting furiously.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan noticed a clear look of indignation in Uncle Qin's eyes.

Uncle was angry.

"Uncle, how did it go?"

"Not well."

"Did you fail?"

"It was almost a success," Uncle Qin said, as he pulled out a long fingernail from his own body.

"Then what?" Li Zhuiyuan stood behind Uncle Qin, reached out, and grasped a finger embedded in his back. After pulling it out with force, the finger actually continued to move. Despite being a human body part, it felt like a freshly severed snake.

After Li Zhuiyuan threw the finger on the ground, it still wriggled towards the river, its blood-red fingernail gleaming with an eerie sheen.

"Smash it," Uncle Qin said.

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan picked up a stone and smashed it down hard. The finger was deformed but still wriggled. After hitting it hard several more times, it finally turned to pulp and stopped moving.

"Huff... huff..." Li Zhuiyuan panted. He was somewhat reluctant to look down at the bloody mess.

"Splat!"

Uncle Qin pulled another finger from his body and threw it in front of Li Zhuiyuan. The message was clear.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pick up the stone again and continue smashing.

If an early riser had passed by and seen this scene from afar, they might have thought it was a heartwarming picture of father and son.

After simply cleaning the embedded 'unclean things' from his body, Uncle Qin picked up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, the wounds..."

"Your aunt will take care of them when we get back."

"Oh." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and asked again, "Uncle, is Baijia Town down there?"

"You know so much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me everything."

"Yes, it's down there."

"So, Uncle, you just went to Baijia Town?"

"I went in. Things were almost done, but..."

"But what happened?"

"You'll know when we get back to the hospital. Your big friend, he's really impressive, a truly formidable character, so fierce."

Li Zhuiyuan realized that Uncle Qin was angry because things hadn't gone as he intended, and the person responsible for this outcome seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get on."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"Do you want to drive then?"

Li Zhuiyuan obediently got on the bike.

When the motorcycle reached a rural house in the suburbs, Uncle Qin first stopped, walked onto the drying area, took an outer jacket from the clothesline, put it on, and clipped some money to the rope.

He had too many injuries on his body; an undershirt wouldn't cover them, and he probably wouldn't even be allowed into the hospital.

The motorcycle entered the hospital grounds, and Uncle Qin stopped it.

As Li Zhuiyuan got off, he asked, "Uncle, will Baijia Town continue to cause trouble in the future?"

Those Bai family matriarchs were simply relentless. Li Zhuiyuan genuinely feared another one would pop up soon.

"They will be quiet for a long time, because the most powerful Bai family matriarch has already given her word."

In fact, compared to his physical injuries, the outcome of the Bai family affair was what caused Qin Li more of a headache.

His task was to slap the Bai family back, but halfway through the slap, the remaining half simply wouldn't budge.

He also had to figure out how to explain things to Liu Yumei when he got back.

"Uncle Qin, Grandma Liu was just in a bad mood today, but it's been a whole night now. I think after a good sleep, Grandma Liu should be more at peace."

Qin Li nodded. He thought the boy was absolutely right, and he also recognized that the boy was trying to comfort him. He was, however, already growing accustomed to this behavior from the boy.

"Let's go, Xiao Yuan, let's go up and see your friend. After we see him, we'll go home."

"Alright!"

Going upstairs and returning to the ward, they happened to see Luo Tingrui coming out with a hot water flask. "You're back! Perfect, Liangliang woke up earlier but fell back asleep. Can you watch him for me? I'm going to refill this with boiling water."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the ward and saw that Xue Liangliang's medical equipment had been removed. He was no longer in a coma but sleeping soundly.

"Uncle, is he alright now?"

"He has a big problem."

"What?"

"Ask him yourself when he wakes up. I'm going downstairs to buy some bandages." Uncle Qin stood up and left the ward.

Just then, the sleeping Xue Liangliang began to talk in his sleep, grinding his teeth:

"Two years? No, not two years, at least three. I can only promise to visit you once every three years."

Xue Liangliang hugged the quilt, rolled over, and continued his sleep-talking:

"We won't have children, right?"

Hearing Xue Liangliang's words, a look of shock appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He seemed to have pieced together something incredible, but it was so outrageous that he felt he must have misunderstood.

At that moment, Xue Liangliang seemed to wake up. He looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing by the bedside, and Li Zhuiyuan was looking back at him.

A moment later, Xue Liangliang averted his gaze, sat up, and leaned against the headboard, his expression blank. He looked as if he had just suffered a major blow.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up an orange from the bedside table and silently began peeling it.

Finally, Xue Liangliang spoke, his voice dejected, filled with deep regret and desolation:

"Xiao Yuan, I'm going to tell you something terrible."

"Yes, Brother, tell me."

Li Zhuiyuan finished peeling the orange, took a segment, and offered it to Xue Liangliang's mouth. Xue Liangliang opened his mouth and ate it. Immediately, his already immensely sad expression was tinged with sourness.

Xue Liangliang's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a moment, as the emotions he had so painstakingly built up were abruptly interrupted.

He had just recomposed himself and was about to speak when he saw Li Zhuiyuan offer him a second segment of orange.

"Xiao Yuan, you eat some too."

"No, I won't. It's sour."

"Then you..." The second segment of orange was placed in his mouth.

Tears streamed from Xue Liangliang's eyes. Chewing, he spoke with a trembling voice:

"Xiao Yuan, your big brother is married."

"Congratulations."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up another segment of orange and offered it. This time, Xue Liangliang didn't resist. He ate the orange, and whether from its sourness or genuine emotion, tears covered his face.

"Your sister-in-law is actually quite nice."

"Being a good person is enough," Li Zhuiyuan echoed, nodding. "My grandpa always told us that when looking for a partner, character and personality are most important. Other things, like how good-looking they are or whether they're dead or alive, don't matter."

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a pained expression and took another segment of orange. "Your grandpa is quite open-minded."

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan finally understood the logic: Uncle Qin was responsible for the front-line battle, while Xue Liangliang was responsible for the negotiations at the table.

He and Uncle Qin had traveled all the way from the village, to the hospital, and then to the riverside, gradually applying pressure. This allowed Xue Liangliang to gain increasingly better bargaining chips, and the other party kept making concessions.

Xue Liangliang himself was unaware of this.

As a result, Uncle Qin was on the verge of reaching its stronghold, seemingly about to completely resolve the issue, but Xue Liangliang thought he had secured the best possible negotiation outcome and signed the agreement.

If he had only held out a little longer, he wouldn't have had to get married.

No wonder Uncle Qin was angry. He had been fighting desperately on the front lines, on the brink of success, only for his own side to sue for peace first.

That's why Uncle Qin left the ward to buy bandages—likely an excuse. He probably couldn't bear to stay and look at the person lying in bed, lest he feel compelled to punch him to death.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bear to tell Brother Liangliang the truth; it would be infinitely more bitter than the half-eaten orange in his hand.

What was done was done, a fait accompli. It was better to advise him to be philosophical and ask about something cheerful to help him feel lighter.

"Brother, did you have to pay a bride price?"

"No, not that."

"That's good. Free love, a modern marriage."

"Actually, your sister-in-law wanted to give *me* a bride price."

"See? How great is that? No one else can envy you."

"But I firmly refused," Xue Liangliang said, puffing out his chest like a proud little rooster.

"Yes, my Brother Liangliang is the most principled."

"Exactly, I would never be a live-in son-in-law."

"Impressive."

"I've settled it with your sister-in-law, and she agreed. From now on, I only need to visit her once every three years. Other times, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I please."

"That's wonderful."

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized his worries were unnecessary. This was Xue Liangliang, a person with an incredibly strong inner self. No matter how difficult the situation, he would never despair; instead, he could quickly adapt and regulate himself.

Otherwise, you couldn't explain the inexplicable smugness and boastfulness in his words. While others found strength in finding joy amidst hardship, Brother Liangliang could transform bitterness into sweet syrup.

"However, Xiao Yuan, I did make a concession too."

"Oh?"

"I promised her that our second child would take her surname."