Chapter 240

Yin Meng remembered that the last message from her ancestor was about returning home for ancestor worship, and it was meant for her.

At least, that was the official reason.

Yet, having grown up in Fengdu, she had always burned paper offerings and made sacrifices during holidays and festivals for years, but her ancestor had never appeared, completely ignoring her.

So, she knew very well that asking her to return for ancestor worship was secondary; the real purpose was to have Xiao Yuan accompany her back to Fengdu.

This time, the ancestor directly sent the message: "Return to the sect and apprentice."

Yin Meng felt that she, the "middleman," had been cut out.

She wasn't truly disappointed, as even she, the bloodline successor, felt that Xiao Yuan was more suited to be called the successor of Emperor Fengdu.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his wine bowl and said, "Thank you for your acknowledgement, Great Emperor. I will set off as soon as possible."

Immediately after, the young man dipped his fingertips into the wine, flicked it a few times onto himself and his surroundings, then sprinkled half the wine in front of him, poured the rest into the brazier, and finally placed the wine bowl back on the offering table.

He showed ample respect and courtesy.

He would go to Fengdu as soon as possible, but the exact timing needed further discussion.

When he was leaving Fengdu County by boat, the young man had stood at the stern, watching the gradually receding ghost city. He knew then that he would return to explore the secrets beneath Fengdu.

At that time, he was merely a tourist, not yet a River Walker, and he had Yin Meng by his side. Even if the Great Emperor didn't care about the bloodline successor, he wouldn't want to stand in opposition to the Emperor.

But times had changed. Firstly, Li Zhuiyuan had reverse-engineered the Yin family's Twelve Techniques back into the Twelve Edicts of Fengdu, reviving a lost art that had been incomplete since the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Secondly, the Great Emperor's prestige was genuinely useful, and he had unknowingly used it quite a lot.

Thirdly, the Heavenly Dao now defined him as a blade, placing him in natural opposition to those ancient entities.

"Return to the sect and apprentice?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't overanalyze the literal meaning; in fact, these four words might not be important.

The young man suspected that the Great Emperor intended to use this message as a clue for his next wave, embedding it in the river to propel him toward Fengdu.

In the previous wave, although Li Zhuiyuan didn't see the Bodhisattva's true form, he witnessed the methods of this level.

To have survived so long under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao, even forcing it to tacitly acknowledge their existence, their understanding of the Heavenly Dao was undoubtedly profound.

As long as he was willing to pay the corresponding price, Li Zhuiyuan believed the Great Emperor had the ability to influence the direction of his next wave.

The young man began to reflect. It seemed he had over-exploited the situation.

If these four words truly became an early clue for the next wave, then he would naturally have to go, whether he wanted to or not.

But...

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the sky.

"Will you be willing?"

He was a blade being sharpened by the Heavenly Dao. He didn't believe the Heavenly Dao would willingly send an unrefined blade to others to be prematurely broken without purpose.

So, it depended on the true nature of his next wave.

Would it be a decrease in difficulty, or a journey to Fengdu?

If it was the former, it would further indicate that cooperating with the Heavenly Dao at this stage indeed held significant developmental value.

If it was the latter, he would have to re-evaluate the power of the Heavenly Dao. If it couldn't protect the blade in its hand, then it shouldn't blame the blade for turning and stabbing it.

"Xiao Yuan?"

"It's nothing. You continue your practice, and keep making offerings."

"Okay!" Yin Meng nodded vigorously.

Tan Wenbin, sitting in his wheelchair, scanned Yin Meng and Lin Shuyou.

Previously, Tan Wenbin considered himself a complete rebel, but compared to Yin Meng and A-You, he was practically a good child.

Before meeting Xiao Yuan, one claimed to be the successor of the Guan Jiang Shou, and the other claimed to be a descendant of the Yin family. Now, they were enthusiastically undermining their own foundations.

Li Zhuiyuan then instructed, "When you practice, listen more to A-You and Binbin."

Lin Shuyou, hearing this, puffed out his chest proudly.

Ha, he actually had a day when he could teach others!

Primarily, Li Zhuiyuan wasn't good at teaching, so it was better to let his companions form a self-help study group.

He would be responsible for writing down the answer procedures, and then they would brainstorm to fully understand and grasp them.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then I'll head back now."

Tan Wenbin: "Don't worry, Xiao Yuan. We'll supervise each other and make progress together."

After the young man walked down from the terrace, the child's voice echoed in Lin Shuyou's mind:

"Pull in your chest. Look at him, then look at yourself."

"Child, I can't become Brother Bin."

"Can't you show a bit more ambition and initiative?"

"Child, it's precisely because I am myself that I can join and stay in this team."

The child fell silent.

It suddenly felt that this dazed and confused spirit medium had spoken very wisely.

But the child then thought, "Wait, that's not right. Previously, I and Lin Shuyou were practically cut from the same cloth of foolishness, so why have I been doing worse and worse, becoming increasingly marginalized and suppressed?"

Could it be because... the leader is different?

Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng began cleaning up the dirt on the terrace together.

A-You: "Should we switch experiment sites? Otherwise, cleaning up after every practice is such a hassle."

Yin Meng nodded: "I think so too."

Tan Wenbin: "Xiao Yuan deliberately kept Runsheng sealed in the peach grove after he healed, and he also deliberately had you experiment here.

Although the one under the peach grove might not truly intervene, there's a certain probability they'll step in as a failsafe if an accident occurs.

After all, the Peach Blossom Immortal is a good person, and plays the guqin beautifully."

Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng exchanged glances, each seeing a 'new recruit' in the other's eyes.

After cleaning up, Yin Meng continued practicing the Yin-Yang Steps under Lin Shuyou's guidance.

Although A-You hadn't learned it before, he had the foundation of "Three Steps Praise," making his learning and comprehension much faster than Yin Meng's.

"Whew..."

Yin Meng was drenched in sweat from practicing; not only were her legs aching, but her fingers were also cramping from continuously forming hand seals.

Tan Wenbin: "Alright, take a break. This practice builds muscle memory, so you can't just blindly drill. You need enough time to think and comprehend."

Yin Meng: "Zhuangzhuang, you're really good at this."

Tan Wenbin: "Heh, that's how Xiao Yuan taught me when I was preparing for the college entrance exam."

Yin Meng: "But after mastering this secret technique, when I go out, will I need to carry meat in my bag in addition to poison jars?"

Lin Shuyou: "Meat carried outside won't stay fresh."

A-You's eyes widened, and he immediately said, "You can use corpses."

Yin Meng: "That's what I mean. If I also use corpses as raw material to activate this secret technique, will I be competing with Xiao Yuan for corpses? Xiao Yuan's puppet art also requires corpses as raw material."

Tan Wenbin: "Open your mind. Your gu worms can fly. When they burrow into an enemy's body and you activate the sacrifice, couldn't you directly offer the enemy to your ancestor...?"

As he spoke, Tan Wenbin himself paused, stunned.

He suddenly realized that this seemed to be the most terrifying aspect of Mengmeng's secret technique, and the real reason why Xiao Yuan had custom-designed it for her.

"No wonder the Great Emperor directly sent a message for Xiao Yuan to return and apprentice..."

After Li Zhuiyuan returned to his room, he first made a few modifications to the "River Walking Code of Conduct."

Putting down his pen, A-Li behind him was carefully scraping the ancestral tablets with a small planer.

She had already planed six, taking only the layer of purple lacquer-coated "skin" from the surface of the tablets.

This layer of skin could be used to make talismans, thereby increasing their power.

In fact, the talismans A-Li had drawn were already a great help to the team, but she was still striving for perfection.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over and asked curiously, "A-Li, who taught you this?"

It was unlikely that the adults had taught her. Uncle Qin focused on body tempering, Aunt Liu specialized in medicine and poisons, and as for Old Madam Liu, although Li Zhuiyuan had never seen her fight, the sword she once carried suggested that she was probably even more formidable than Uncle Qin in her youth.

A-Li pointed to Li Zhuiyuan's desk.

"You learned from reading?"

The girl nodded.

On days when the young man wasn't home, she wasn't always lost in thought. Or rather, precisely because the young man had appeared in her life, she could no longer sit alone all day as she used to.

She felt bored, so she would actively find things to do, and would also imitate the young man when he was home, sitting alone on the rattan chair on the terrace, reading.

Wei Zhengdao's books documented many different styles of talismans from various stages. Buddha-skin paper had a unique characteristic when writing: it could better infuse spiritual essence.

It was fortunate for others to obtain even a few pieces of Buddha-skin paper to imprint the essence of their sect's unique skills. Only Wei Zhengdao could use Buddha-skin paper to write an "encyclopedia."

The entire book contained extensive textual descriptions, with talisman introductions being only a small part. A-Li learned by imitating what she saw there.

"A-Li, for those books, just look at the technical aspects. Don't delve into their deeper meanings."

Li Zhuiyuan had said the same thing to his companions, but he didn't think they could fully understand or grasp the hidden messages Wei Zhengdao concealed within. A-Li, however, was different.

If A-Li hadn't been bound by curses from those things since childhood, and could have grown up normally, Miss Yu wouldn't even be fit to carry her shoes.

A-Li shook her head, then nodded.

She only focused on talismans, tools, and craftsmanship. She wasn't interested in the introductions to the deceased or the various stories recorded within.

Because the things in her dreams were far richer and more intuitive than those in the books.

"Let me help you make them," Li Zhuiyuan said, picking up a planer.

A-Li held the young man's hand, stood up, stacked the peeled tablets, and carried them downstairs.

Liu Yumei was playing cards on the terrace with Liu Jinxia and others, watching her granddaughter openly carry the ancestral tablets out.

Liu Jinxia glanced at them while drawing a card, then her eyes widened, and her mouth twitched.

She was in this line of work, so of course, she could clearly see what the girl was holding.

Liu Jinxia smiled at Liu Yumei and said, "Your granddaughter is sensible, knowing to help the family chop firewood, unlike my Cui Cui, who does nothing at home, lazy to death."

After A-Li entered the east room, she quickly came out empty-handed and went upstairs.

Liu Yumei waited for her turn to pass, then left the table and went into the east room to look.

On the offering table, there were six new "unnamed" tablets.

A smile appeared on Liu Yumei's face.

Aunt Liu walked in at this moment, saw the scene, and asked, a little confused, "Are you laughing because you're angry?"

That shouldn't be the case. It wasn't the first time A-Li used ancestral tablets as craft materials; none of the tablets here lasted more than a season.

Liu Yumei: "Check what material the lacquer skin of those six tablets is made of. Immediately order a batch of that material, urge them to send it quickly, and go yourselves to hasten it."

Aunt Liu: "Understood."

Liu Yumei: "Our A-Li is now directly asking me for things."

This was why Liu Yumei was happy. Although A-Li hadn't spoken, her placing the six tablets back was equivalent to asking for them, which was a rare directness for A-Li.

For Liu Yumei, she now had two children under her care, but her greatest pain was that, despite possessing immense wealth, she couldn't give it away.

One never asked, and the other, a River Walker, couldn't be given to.

Sometimes, she truly envied Li Sanjiang, who could grandly pull money from his pocket and give it to Xiao Yuan. Xiao Yuan would even accept it or proactively ask for some, just to humor the old man.

But Liu Yumei couldn't do the same. She couldn't very well imitate Li Sanjiang by carrying a few large denomination bills in her pocket to distribute to the children, could she?

Li Sanjiang didn't know the truth and enjoyed it. If she knew the truth and still did that, it would seem foolish.

Aunt Liu: "I see it now. It's my fault and A-Li's for not asking you for things enough, thus depriving you of some happiness. My apologies."

Liu Yumei: "If you and A-Li want them, you can each take one of the secret lands of the Qin and Liu ancestral homes. I wouldn't say a word."

Aunt Liu sighed: "Oh, offering the two biggest items right away clearly means you don't want to give them."

Liu Yumei was so amused she laughed, reaching out to pinch Aunt Liu's face and tugging it, just as she used to do when Aunt Liu was a child.

Aunt Liu deliberately cried out, "Ow, ow, ow, that hurts! A-Li has thick skin; go pull his instead."

Liu Yumei: "A-Ting, you have wrinkles on your face."

Aunt Liu: "..."

Liu Yumei: "I'm old, and you are no longer children."

Aunt Liu: "That's not fair! I'm trying so hard to make you happy, and you're stabbing me in the heart with a knife. Where do I have wrinkles?"

As she spoke, Aunt Liu lightly propped herself up with her hands and spun around in place.

She was originally very beautiful.

It was just that in Li Sanjiang's house, she deliberately dressed as a cook to downplay her appearance.

Back in university, Aunt Liu once called out to Li Zhuiyuan from below his dorm. That day, Aunt Liu had changed into casual clothes and looked more elegant and charming than the female professors at the university.

Liu Yumei: "Perhaps seeing that Yin family girl so much makes me think you're not young anymore. Who can compare to that girl, who's now in the prime of her youth?"

Aunt Liu: "Fine, I'm superfluous. I should have known not to give her beauty treatments back then."

Outside, Liu Jinxia, who was playing cards, deliberately raised her voice: "You shouldn't have played the six of characters just now; it landed right in my hand, ha!"

Liu Yumei knew this was a signal that the next round was starting, so she went out and took her seat.

Small change was stacked in front of all four old ladies; Liu Jinxia's pile was the thickest.

She was good at counting cards and had excellent card skills, winning almost every game.

Liu Yumei often lost the most, mainly due to her attitude towards playing cards, which was similar to, or even more exaggerated than, Xiao Yuan playing chess with A-Li. Sometimes, she enjoyed being generous, deliberately giving away cards for others to win big, and then happily watched their elated expressions while munching on melon seeds.

The other two old ladies at the card table were regulars.

One was Granny Hua. Her husband died early, and her son became a martyr before getting married, leaving her alone. She received government subsidies and condolences, so she didn't have to farm and had no worries about her livelihood. However, she had a strange temper and used to often argue with villagers, having excellent shouting skills.

After being invited to play cards here, her personality suddenly softened. She never got angry and often brought the consolation gifts given to her by the authorities to share with Liu Yumei.

The other, named Wang, was a bit younger. Li Sanjiang called her "Lotus Marquis." Her son had an accident working on a construction site and was paralyzed in bed, so she proactively persuaded her daughter-in-law to remarry, keeping her two grandchildren herself.

Previously, she and her husband relied on farming to support the family, pay for her son's medicine, and cover the grandchildren's school expenses. Their lives were not just "tight"; they were genuinely impoverished rural inhabitants.

Now, their biggest income... was the money she won from Liu Yumei. This income was far more substantial and stable than farming.

No one was a fool. Some people played cards poorly and lost easily, but few kept playing despite consistently losing money.

Therefore, whenever a card game started, Wang Lian was always the first to arrive, often bringing homegrown vegetables or seasonal cakes and zongzi. She would then move tables and arrange chairs. When the game ended, even with Aunt Liu nearby, she would insist on cleaning up.

Liu Jinxia previously had a bad reputation in the village and had to offer meals to find card partners, but Liu Yumei was clearly more generous and natural than her.

She didn't realize it before, but later understood that there truly are people in this world who, when you humble yourself and flatter them, not only don't feel wronged but actually feel quite happy and enjoy it.

Wang Lian: "My husband's nephew sent a message saying he wants to adopt one of our children."

Granny Hua: "Which nephew?"

Wang Lian: "The son of my husband's eldest brother."

Liu Jinxia: "Oh, Ding Dihou? Didn't your two families stop associating long ago?"

Wang Lian's husband's parents died early. His elder brother left to work on boats, leaving Wang Lian's husband to raise his younger sister. They grew up relying on the kindness of many neighbors.

Later, the young brother and sister grew up separately, and their lives gradually got on track. Unfortunately, the sister fell ill and passed away just a year after getting married.

The two brothers, though far apart, hadn't completely lost contact, but they didn't communicate much either.

They only knew that Ding Dihou was doing very well now, owned his own boat, and was quite prosperous.

Wang Lian: "They said they thought our family was struggling and wanted to help us by taking one of the children."

Granny Hua: "Is it because they can't have children themselves?"

Liu Jinxia: "If they thought your family was struggling, where were they when your family had problems earlier?"

Granny Hua: "No, Lotus Marquis, you're not actually planning to give the child away, are you?"

Liu Yumei took a sip of tea and asked, "Can't you afford to raise them now?"

Wang Lian hurriedly said, "We can, we can. It's just that I feel the conditions there are better, and the children might also..."

Liu Yumei: "Do the children want to go?"

Wang Lian: "The two children overheard me talking to their grandfather, and that night they cried and begged not to be sent away."

Liu Yumei: "Then don't send them."

Liu Jinxia: "Exactly. Life is getting better every day, and no one's starving. Isn't it better for a family to stay together? Besides, with your one who's paralyzed in bed, if you send away one child, when you two old folks are gone later, will you leave a paralyzed person for one child to take care of?"

What Liu Jinxia said was a bit harsh, but it was blunt truth.

Wang Lian nodded vigorously: "Then we won't send them, we won't."

Granny Hua: "If you're really going to give them away, why not just give them to me? They can take my son's surname and stay in the village."

Liu Jinxia asked curiously, "What? Can adopted children also enjoy these policies?"

Granny Hua chuckled, "I don't know, but at worst, I can go cry and make a fuss."

Liu Jinxia: "That's true."

At this moment, Li Sanjiang returned, smoking a cigarette and with his hands behind his back.

Granny Hua rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, for good fortune, who can compare to him? His same-surname parents and grandparents are all here; he can bring them all home.

And after bringing him home for a year, he even got the top scholar."

Li Sanjiang sniffed and called towards the kitchen, "Tinghou!"

Aunt Liu: "What's wrong, Uncle Sanjiang?"

Li Sanjiang: "Is the vinegar jar at home leaking? Why does it smell so sour!"

Granny Hua's lips twitched, she silently cursed a few times, and then she laughed herself.

After the game dispersed, everyone else left, but Wang Lian stayed behind to clean up as usual.

Liu Yumei sat nearby, spreading out her paper for designing clothes.

After finishing cleaning, Wang Lian leaned closer to Liu Yumei and whispered, "Sister Liu..."

Liu Yumei didn't respond, just continued drawing with her brush.

Wang Lian: "Sister Liu, do you think that when the children grow up, they'll blame us for not sending them to a good family to enjoy a better life?"

Liu Yumei: "You certainly will be to blame for that."

Wang Lian: "Yes, my husband and I worry about this the most."

Liu Yumei: "You'll be to blame for not raising your children well, if they develop such thoughts."

Wang Lian was stunned.

Liu Yumei: "As long as a family is together, there's no obstacle in this world that truly cannot be overcome."

"I understand, Sister Liu."

Not long after the gathering ended, Aunt Liu's voice rang out:

"Dinner's ready!"

In the second-floor room, Li Zhuiyuan held the newly drawn version of the Evil-Shattering Talisman by A-Li.

Although there was still material, the new talisman's requirements were higher, making it more difficult and resource-intensive to draw. Thus, even A-Li couldn't draw many talismans in one go like before.

However, although the talismans were precious, they still needed testing. It wasn't that he feared they wouldn't work, but that if their effect was too strong and uncontrollable, problems could arise.

But since Aunt Liu had already called for dinner, Li Zhuiyuan was too lazy to look for other test subjects and simply opened the Aniconic Book.

He hadn't 'squeezed' the Evil Book today. Upon turning to the second page, he found the monkey was gone, and the entire page had become blank.

The "Evil Book" on the first page, sitting on the prison bed, had transformed into a disheveled woman—more accurately, a disheveled young girl.

Though her hair was disheveled, the strands falling over her face were just right, making her appear pitiable.

Li Zhuiyuan knew this was the Evil Book deliberately catering to his preferences.

But it had forgotten, or perhaps subconsciously ignored, that he played with A-Li because he, too, was a child, the same age as A-Li.

Li Zhuiyuan directly placed the new Evil-Shattering Talisman onto the first page.

"Snap..."

A crisp sound rang out, and the talisman paper shattered and fluttered down.

After all, the Aniconic Book could be used as a weapon against zombies and was extremely hard, remaining completely unharmed.

However, the "young girl" on the first page was blasted into dust.

The effect was excellent.

Li Zhuiyuan closed the book, took A-Li's hand, and went downstairs for dinner.

For the next few days, Li Zhuiyuan spent time with A-Li making talismans. Although he couldn't draw them himself, he could understand and study the process. After they teamed up, A-Li's talisman drawing speed gradually increased.

A new batch of ancestral tablets also arrived, solving the raw material issue. Next up was mass production for the team's talisman upgrade.

Every day, Li Zhuiyuan would visit Big Beard's house to check on Runsheng's level of wildness stimulation and Yin Meng's learning progress.

Runsheng's wildness was almost fully stimulated; he was now truly like a beast, constantly pounding at the formation. This forced Yin Meng and the others to shorten their patrol intervals to every two hours, fearing that any oversight would allow Runsheng, in his frenzied state, to escape.

Yin Meng's progress was significant. She could now use fresh meat for sacrifices to hatch and control a swarm of insects.

Next, they needed to find a way to extend the lifespan of these insects and how to temper poison onto them to enhance the power of this secret technique.

In addition, another thing was that Yin Meng, as Xiao Yuan had instructed, would set up an offering table and make a sacrifice to apologize to her ancestor after each practice session.

Consequently, these past few days, the Great Emperor had received countless "apologies" daily.

And after the first sacrifice each day, the four words "Return to the sect and apprentice" would reappear in the wine bowl.

This left Li Zhuiyuan with no doubt; he was almost certain that the Great Emperor was interfering with his River Walking!

The Great Emperor wanted to directly push his current self to him.

According to the new changes in the previous wave, clues for the next wave should also be given much earlier. Counting it, it was about time.

Next, it remained to be seen whether the next clue that appeared would clearly point to Fengdu or to other areas.

If it pointed to Fengdu, it meant the Great Emperor succeeded. If not, it meant the Heavenly Dao had firmly rejected the Great Emperor's interference.

As the person directly involved, Li Zhuiyuan was genuinely looking forward to the outcome once the dice were cast.

On his way home, Li Zhuiyuan saw his great-grandfather, also walking back, muttering to himself, "Why has Tinghou been buying so much meat recently? There's no way we can eat it all..."

"Great-grandfather."

"Xiao Yuanhou."

"Great-grandfather, what were you just saying?"

"Nothing much, just wondering when Zhuangzhuang and Runsheng would be able to come home."

Aunt Liu was responsible for all the household purchases, and Li Sanjiang only settled the accounts with her at the end of the month.

With the end of the month approaching, if there were extra expenses when settling accounts... Li Sanjiang would still acknowledge them.

If Tinghou wanted to be greedy, let her be greedy. In Li Sanjiang's view, you honor the Buddha through the monk; they would still be a family in the future anyway.

"Great-grandfather, Brother Runsheng called this morning. He said he misses you and also misses Grandpa Shan. I'm thinking of inviting Grandpa Shan over for dinner tomorrow."

Although it was strange to invite Shan Pao over when it wasn't a holiday and there was no work, since his own Xiao Yuanhou suggested it, Li Sanjiang nodded directly:

"Alright, go call his village now and tell him to save room in his stomach tonight."

"Okay, Great-grandfather."

Tomorrow, Li Zhuiyuan was preparing to help Runsheng regain consciousness. Grandpa Shan held a special place in Runsheng's heart, so he needed to be invited to stabilize the situation.

There was no need to worry if Grandpa Shan would discover anything, because every time he visited, he and the great-grandfather would drink themselves into oblivion.

Night fell.

Li Zhuiyuan escorted A-Li back to the east room, then reviewed the plan to help Runsheng regain consciousness the following day at his desk.

After confirming everything, Li Zhuiyuan stretched. The light from the desk lamp flickered several times.

It wasn't the lamp or a wiring issue. In fact, the lamp's brightness remained normal and unchanged; what had changed was Li Zhuiyuan's own sensation.

A premonition?

After he and his main body had jointly digested the power within the lotus petals and lotus platform, could he really be this sensitive now?

First, he carefully re-examined the previous sensation, and then Li Zhuiyuan began to ponder:

What would happen tonight?

"Brother Bin, it's time. I'll go check on Runsheng's formation first."

"Okay, you go ahead."

A two-hour frequency was too high. Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng couldn't possibly take turns, so they simply divided it: one taking the first half of the night, the other the second.

Tan Wenbin wasn't sleepy, so he simply had Lin Shuyou push him outside to bask in the moonlight.

It proved that when a person gets cold enough, moonlight can also bring warmth.

Lin Shuyou ran back, leaving Tan Wenbin alone, huddled in his wheelchair by the village road.

At this moment, two people approached from a distance. One was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, his scalp glistening with oil under the moonlight.

The other wore a black robe, had a goatee, and styled hair. A sword was tucked vertically behind his left hand, and he stood upright, presumably a Daoist priest.

"Daoist Priest, I'm truly sorry to trouble you with a personal trip. It's all because of that family; they're so poor they can barely afford food, yet they're unwilling to hand their children over to me so I can give them a better life."

"No matter. This humble priest will simply help you take that child."

"Daoist Priest, it's not one, it's two. One boy and one girl. The boy will stay with me to carry on the family line, and the girl will be sent to your Daoist temple to cultivate with you."

"Two?"

"This is for the children's own good. In this family, even schooling will be a problem. If they live poorly and can't get a good education, what will their future be like? We're going to rescue and help them, performing good deeds and accumulating merit."

"Very well, very well. Since your father once showed kindness to this humble priest, and it's something this humble priest once promised, I will help you accomplish it. Two it is then; I'll take them both."

"At this hour, their family should be asleep."

"It doesn't matter if they're asleep or not. Even if this humble priest stood brazenly before them, they wouldn't perceive my presence."

As he spoke, the Daoist priest walked directly past Tan Wenbin by the roadside, completely oblivious to the wheelchair parked there with a person sitting in it.

Judging by their accents, the two clearly sounded like they were from the Sichuan-Chongqing area.

The "River Walking Code of Conduct" was regularly circulated among the companions.

Tan Wenbin's heart immediately grew complex and heavy, and he thought:

Could it be true, as Xiao Yuan predicted, that he and the others would have to go to Fengdu in the next wave?

However, Tan Wenbin soon breathed a sigh of relief, because of the two men's subsequent conversation.

"This climate, this humble priest truly dislikes it."

"Indeed, how could it compare to Mount Qingcheng?"