Chapter 285

Overhead was an enormous face, so vast it blotted out everything above. This face was ubiquitous in Fengdu, carved into divine statues, hung on altars, and painted on various rock faces.

When Yin Meng was little, her grandfather would stroke her head, point at "it," and say, "Meng Meng, remember, this is our ancestor."

After her father disappeared, her mother remarried, and her grandfather lay ill in his coffin, Yin Meng was left alone to tend their desolate coffin shop. She often stood behind the counter, hands propped on the surface, watching the bustling streets during temple fairs.

Their ancestors seemed omnipresent here, yet they never appeared in the lives of their descendants, no matter how much hardship Yin Meng faced. From a young age, she had to use her tender hands to build coffins and, for a meager fee, endure the scorching sun on a boat to help retrieve bloated corpses. That's why her skin was dark and coarse. When she first returned to Nantong with Xiao Yuan, there was no sign of the fair complexion typical of girls from Sichuan and Chongqing on her.

At this moment, the ancestor abruptly appeared before her. She felt no surprise, no emotion, only a tremor of fear that emanated from her very soul.

The massive face began to change. It was no longer stiff and lifeless; it gradually became vibrant, as if taking on real flesh and blood. Around its edges, coffins floated to the surface. It was evident that the older the coffin, the more luxurious and grand it was, while newer ones were simpler and cruder. This reflected the declining fortunes of the Yin family, who had fared worse with each generation.

"Creak... creak..." The sound came from below. Yin Meng dared not look down at that moment, but she knew the coffin beneath her was her grandfather's. The sound seemed like her deceased grandfather scratching at the coffin walls with his fingernails.

Above, the ancestor's face, now vibrant, began to move. It was like a lake suspended upside down overhead, with ripples spreading across its surface. The next moment, it poured down like a waterfall, crashing violently onto Yin Meng.

"Ah!!" Burning, corroding, piercing... all sorts of terrifying sensations assailed her in the most visceral way. Yin Meng's skin began to slough off, her bones to melt. The pain was like ice and snow placed in the scorching summer sun, a searing torture.

In the truck's cargo bed in reality, Yin Meng lay at the tailgate, her body convulsing. Blood continuously seeped from her eyes, ears, nose, and pores all over her body, turning her into a person made of blood in an instant.

In the second-floor room, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes. He felt a faint tremor in his heart, but his senses were still dull as he had not fully recovered. The young man sat up from his bed and looked out the window. The rain was pouring down, and the truck sat quietly, nothing seemed amiss. Tan Wenbin on the adjacent bed had eaten his fill and fallen back asleep. Only Li Zhuiyuan had woken up; the four spirit beasts were still in slumber. Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed and walked to the door. Even with such a faint sensation, he knew he had to check it out.

Just as he opened the door, a figure in a raincoat slid down from the roof—it was Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi first glanced at the cargo bed, then immediately waved to Li Zhuiyuan on the second floor, signaling that something was wrong. Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs, picked up an umbrella by the door, opened it, and stepped outside. As he passed the police car, he deliberately made himself visible. Inside the police car, two officers were present: one was sleeping, the other smoking. When the smoking officer saw Li Zhuiyuan emerge, he shifted, not out of suspicion, but wondering if the young man needed help, being out so late. Li Zhuiyuan quickly ran towards the truck. Seeing this, the officer didn't get out, simply yawned, and blew a puff of smoke out the car window.

By the time Li Zhuiyuan reached the cargo bed, Zhao Yi had already inserted silver needles into Yin Meng's acupuncture points. Her body's convulsions had decreased, and the rate of blood leakage had slowed, though it was still flowing.

"That's strange. I was keeping watch on the roof and didn't detect anything coming in," Zhao Yi mused. He didn't believe his vigilance was flawless, but even if something could slip past him onto the truck, why would it only target Yin Meng? Why not kill the others too while it was at it? And if Yin Meng was the target, was all this elaborate display really necessary?

Li Zhuiyuan said, "It's likely not an intrusion, at least not in the traditional sense."

Zhao Yi flipped Yin Meng's eyelid and said, "Li, can you suppress this? If she keeps bleeding like this, she'll die."

Blood mist gathered in Li Zhuiyuan's right palm. He then gently shook his hand, adjusting the blood mist. Immediately, the young man placed his palm on Yin Meng's sternum, and the blood mist spread, covering her entire body. It was as if his fresh blood formed a membrane, forcibly inhibiting Yin Meng's blood loss. After the coverage was complete, the young man habitually prepared to draw a spell to reinforce the suppression. However, Yin Meng was entirely covered in his blood, and using his own blood as ink for a spell would be like writing with a red pen on red paper—it just wasn't appropriate. He couldn't use cinnabar ink paste either, because black dog blood would inherently damage this membrane.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Zhao Yi and said, "Lend me some blood."

"No problem," Zhao Yi replied, then reached out and slapped his own chest, as skillfully as an old farmer drawing water from a well each morning. "Regular blood is fine, no need for heart blood." "Too lazy to open a new wound, I'm afraid of pain."

His clothes parted, and heart blood spurted out. Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand, catching it, and incidentally glanced at Zhao Yi's heart, where tiny stamens had reopened in a circle. All this came from the tomb owner's final blessing before being sealed. The original tomb owner certainly didn't possess this ability, but at that time, three such entities resided within him, along with the Buddha's power from the Bodhisattva. Bestowing a blessing upon someone was indeed not difficult then.

After completing the spell with Zhao Yi's blood, Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, "That works really well." Zhao Yi replied, "Of course it does."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Find some time to give me a tankful for backup." Zhao Yi retorted, "Do you take me for a water pump?" Li Zhuiyuan clarified, "A teacup." "Alright, fine then," Zhao Yi conceded.

Their attention returned to Yin Meng. Li Zhuiyuan's seal was a temporary fix, not a cure. Even if the young man could repress it repeatedly at any cost, Yin Meng's body couldn't withstand such blockage for long. In fact, she was already visibly swelling.

Zhao Yi said, "To put it simply, if there's a problem with her blood... does that mean there's a problem with her bloodline?" Although they hadn't reached Fengdu's territory yet, they were not far.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Why suddenly do this now?" Zhao Yi speculated, "Perhaps the Great Emperor saw us procrastinating and couldn't wait any longer?" Li Zhuiyuan countered, "Then he should have targeted you first, then me, not go straight for Meng Meng."

Zhao Yi considered, "Is it possible that Meng Meng herself reacted? The Yin family has been in decline for a long time, and Meng Meng, with her innate abilities, originally had no great prospects. But because she followed you, and under the massive influx of merit, she has actually undergone significant changes. When you went to Dujiangyan last time, you must have deliberately avoided Fengdu. This time, as we're closer, she might have reacted on her own."

Li Zhuiyuan stated, "Stronger members of the Yin family die suddenly upon returning to Fengdu? That doesn't make sense."

"We can't discuss a conclusion for this right now; for the moment, let's just handle her," Zhao Yi said, gently stroking Yin Meng's arm to confirm her current state. "We can't just keep sealing her like this. Her Qi and blood are overflowing now, her essence is unstable and effectively nonexistent. We need to connect her to the earth's energy, using an earth-nurturing method to establish a circulation."

Zhao Yi asked, "You mean, bury her?" Li Zhuiyuan nodded, "Yes."

Since no coffin could be found nearby for the time being, they had to use the plastic tarp from the truck instead. The "burial" site chosen was on a steep slope, uncultivated and usually avoided by people for fear of slipping. Zhao Yi dug the pit with a Yellow River shovel while Li Zhuiyuan set up an array nearby. Once the pit was dug, Zhao Yi carefully wrapped Yin Meng in three layers of tarp, placed her inside, and then began to fill the pit with earth. There was a specific method for filling the earth. This was a living tomb, not a dead one; the soil layer needed to be loose, and like a rat or rabbit hole, an air vent had to be created, otherwise, a person would suffocate to death.

Once Li Zhuiyuan's array was set up, he stood watching Zhao Yi's actions.

"You've buried yourself before?"

"Yes, I have. Back then, to solve the problem of the life-death threshold, I tried everything. This medical skill of mine, I acquired it through prolonged illness. All right, my part is done, you can finish up."

Li Zhuiyuan placed the final missing component of the array. This array's area of effect wasn't large, but it contained profound mechanisms, divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part was responsible for isolation; anyone, human or animal, approaching would be disoriented as if hitting an invisible wall. The lower part accumulated the surrounding earth's Yin energy. The young man gently patted the soil layer with his palm, and the blood mist in his palm flickered briefly in response. The seal on Yin Meng below dissipated, and her Qi and blood began to overflow again. However, after circulating, they flowed back into her body. This meant the cycle was complete; it was like putting a ventilator on Yin Meng, who was on the verge of suffocating, successfully prolonging her life.

Zhao Yi, leaning on his shovel, said, "Well, we're about to enter Fengdu, and a member of the Yin family has already fallen."

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "After we departed from San Genxiang that night, we effectively returned to the normal flow of the river. Some things that seem accidental are, in fact, inevitable."

Zhao Yi asked, "So, could this actually be a form of protection?" Li Zhuiyuan said, "'Protection' carries an emotional bias. I prefer to think of it as a reasonable utilization."

Zhao Yi said, "I'm a bit confused. What exactly is the 'higher power' up to this time?" Li Zhuiyuan replied, "They play their part, and we play ours."

Zhao Yi asked, "Li, are you hiding something from me?" Li Zhuiyuan replied, "No." Zhao Yi pressed, "But I get the feeling you have something to rely on." Li Zhuiyuan affirmed, "Hmm." Zhao Yi followed up, "Then why did you say you weren't hiding anything from me?" Li Zhuiyuan simply said, "You didn't ask."

Zhao Yi hoisted the shovel onto his shoulder and glanced back at Yin Meng's burial site.

"Li," Zhao Yi said, "I always feel like there's something wrong here."

"That's inevitable," Li Zhuiyuan replied.

"Once Liang Yan and Liang Li wake up, let's leave them here to guard Meng Meng's tomb."

"Alright," Li Zhuiyuan agreed.

Besides their severe injuries, the two sisters had also overdrawn their lifespans. This wasn't something simple rest and recovery could fix; it would require the merit gained after this "wave" of events concluded. In other words, for the remainder of their journey, Yin Meng, Liang Yan, and Liang Li would be unable to keep up with the team.

Li Zhuiyuan offered, "I have a suggestion for you: you need to teach those two well." Their combat strength shouldn't have been so severely diminished. At that time, the young man didn't need them for such a "drop in the bucket" effort anyway.

Zhao Yi pointed to his forehead. "What can you do when they're slow-witted? Not like your people..." He trailed off, realizing his mistake. He had collaborated with Li's team many times and was very familiar with their internal dynamics. If the Liang sisters were just not smart enough, most of the people under Li's command seemed to lack common sense. Run Sheng and Yin Meng had long since given up, and Lin Shuyou only occasionally *pretended* to think. Yet, paradoxically, Li's subordinates had long given him the impression of being very intelligent; their coordination and command were incredibly clear and fluid.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed out the crux of the problem to Zhao Yi: "It's your fault, because you've always treated your companions as accessories and consumables."

Zhao Yi nodded thoughtfully, "You're right." Then, changing the subject, Zhao Yi added, "Don't laugh, but even though those two sisters are foolish, I've genuinely realized that they seem to truly care about me."

Li Zhuiyuan responded, "Because it's hard for you to care about others, you naturally don't easily believe that others truly care about you. People who are too clever often have a detached nature."

Zhao Yi said, "When you're present, that description seems a bit inappropriate for me. I feel a sense of trepidation, like I'm overstepping." Li Zhuiyuan replied, "I've been told the same thing." Cui Cui's grandmother, Blind Liu, had often described him that way before. Her cataract surgery hadn't been done yet, and she hadn't realized he was still nearby when she spoke.

Zhao Yi said, "This feeling is actually quite good. Those two silly girls are truly willing to die for me. Plus, they're not only good-looking but also twins."

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at Zhao Yi. The current Zhao Yi seemed to be forcing himself to 'eat grass,' figuratively speaking.

Zhao Yi urged, "Li, quickly ask me which one I'll choose." Li Zhuiyuan indulged him, "So, which one will you choose?" Zhao Yi declared, "Only children make choices. I want them all!" Li Zhuiyuan then asked, "Are you planning to marry into their family?"

Zhao Yi replied, "Once I reveal some of my future plans to the head of the Liang family, they won't dare mention me marrying into their family at all." Young Master Zhao intended to rectify and purify the Zhao family of Jiujiang. If he were to marry into the Liang family, it would effectively mean dissecting the Liang family instead.

The two men talked as they walked back through the rain. They knew there was a police car in the courtyard, but before they even entered, they saw Elder Zhai on the second-floor balcony. Elder Zhai saw them too.

Zhao Yi whispered, "While I was on watch last night, I heard the old man giving a long lecture inside. It made me incredibly sleepy."

Li Zhuiyuan reminded him, "During the day, help me subtly establish my background in a more realistic way. Lay some groundwork so that when we reach Fengdu, I can 'meet' him more naturally and reduce any awkwardness."

Zhao Yi asked, "You value him that much?" Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Yes, his status is comparable to my teacher's. They are both titans in their field."

Zhao Yi scoffed, "Titans? Can they suppress Fengdu?" Li Zhuiyuan said, "Yes, they can drown Fengdu." Zhao Yi was speechless. After a few seconds of pause, Zhao Yi quickly caught up and eagerly asked, "So, this is your confidence and your reliance?" Li Zhuiyuan affirmed, "Yes."

Zhao Yi asked, "When did you find this out?" Li Zhuiyuan replied, "I've known for a long time. Brother Liang Liang told me. He advised me that if I ever intended to go to Fengdu, I should go early, because if I went too late, Fengdu wouldn't be the same."

Zhao Yi swore, "Damn it, once this journey is over, I'm going to apply to a hydraulics university too." Li Zhuiyuan smiled, "Alright, junior."

After the two went upstairs, Elder Zhai proactively approached them and asked, "It's raining. Why were you out so early?"

Zhao Yi replied, "My brother said he wanted to see the water levels nearby and the mountains after the heavy rain. I wasn't comfortable letting him go alone, so I had to accompany him."

"Oh?" Elder Zhai was surprised by this. He immediately bent down, looking at Li Zhuiyuan. "My boy, why are you interested in such things?"

Zhao Yi quickly interjected, "My brother loves hydraulics. Ever since he was little, he's said he wants to go to university later and study to build dams for flood control and power generation." These words were best spoken by Zhao Yi. When they reached Fengdu, it could be described as a beautiful misunderstanding. If Li Zhuiyuan had said them himself, it would have seemed forced and unconvincing.

Elder Zhai smiled contentedly, reaching out to gently pat Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder, his eyes filled with kindness and satisfaction. Zhao Yi was very familiar with that look; the elders in his family would show similar expressions when they saw talented juniors.

"My boy, to have such clear aspirations at a young age, you have a bright future ahead." Seeing that the two were wet, Elder Zhai didn't talk for too long before urging them back to their room to change clothes and avoid catching a cold.

The sound of them entering the room woke Tan Wenbin. He looked at the two and asked, "Xiao Yuan, did you two go out?" Zhao Yi replied, "Yes, something happened to Meng Meng." Tan Wenbin asked, "How is Meng Meng now?" Zhao Yi simply stated, "She's already buried." Tan Wenbin was speechless. Zhao Yi relished the chance to tease Tan Wenbin. However, he immediately explained the whole situation.

Tan Wenbin sighed in relief and said, "Once this 'wave' of ours ends, Meng Meng should recover. That's good; it saves her from having to risk going to Fengdu."

Zhao Yi shook his head. "I don't think so."

Li Zhuiyuan emerged after showering and changing, saying, "The thermos has no water left; I'll have to go down to refill it." The room had a shower stall, equipped just like his great-grandfather's home: a bucket hung high up and a rubber hose extending down. Zhao Yi said, "I don't need to wash. I'm already dry. I practice martial arts; I don't get colds that easily."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin, "Binbin, no one here has seen you. Be careful after daybreak." Tan Wenbin replied, "Understood. Young Master Zhao already reminded me."

Li Zhuiyuan lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep again. His most important task now was to rest.

The next morning, the sky cleared for a while, but by noon, torrential rain began to fall again. News from the provincial road ahead reported that just as the original landslide section had been cleared, two more landslides occurred. They definitely wouldn't be able to travel today.

Li Zhuiyuan slept until the afternoon. When he awoke and opened his eyes, the world was in color, and his vision had returned to normal. Only after waking up did he learn that Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou had also woken. When Run Sheng asked where Yin Meng was, Zhao Yi didn't joke around as he had with Tan Wenbin earlier that morning. He directly explained what had happened. At that moment, Zhao Yi took Run Sheng to "visit" Yin Meng's burial site. Lin Shuyou, meanwhile, took his luggage to find lodging nearby. Both he and Tan Wenbin were posing as "students," so it was inconvenient for them to be seen at the moment.

Li Zhuiyuan was very cautious in his interactions with Elder Zhai, as well as Engineer Luo and Xue Liangliang, who were also headed to Fengdu. He didn't want his impulsive actions to disrupt any ongoing cause-and-effect relationships.

A refreshed Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs to eat. It was past mealtime, and everyone else had already eaten. As soon as he entered, he saw three chessboards set out on an empty table in the dining room. Elder Zhai was playing against three different people simultaneously. Although it wasn't blind chess, which significantly reduced the difficulty, and his disciples' chess skills were quite ordinary, it was still remarkable for a man of his age to handle three games at once.

By the time Li Zhuiyuan finished his meal, the chess games had concluded one after another, played at a rapid pace. The young man was about to go check on the Liang sisters in the truck when Elder Zhai called out, "My boy, come over and play chess with your grandpa." If Li Zhuiyuan were to say he didn't know how to play, the conversation would inevitably turn into: "It's fine, Grandpa will teach you." Primarily, Elder Zhai had such a good impression of the young man that he wanted to proactively get closer to him.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't refuse, so he sat down. Two others were already seated beside him; it was still three against one. As they played, Elder Zhai realized something was amiss. The young man's chess skills were truly excellent. He immediately waved his hand, signaling the other two poor players to clear their boards, and focused solely on playing against the young man.

"My boy, where are you from originally? Oh, my memory is failing me..."

"Nantong."

"Right, Nantong. That name is hard to remember, and not as pleasant as Jinghai. Nowadays, many place names have been changed, losing their original charm."

"Grandpa, where is your hometown?" When they had dinner together the previous day, Elder Zhai mostly offered polite greetings, and Zhao Yi simply gave brief replies, with no in-depth conversation.

"Me? I'm from Nanyang. Do you know where that is?"

"Henan."

"That's right, haha."

However, Li Zhuiyuan recalled that when he had seen Elder Zhai's introduction previously, it stated he was from Xi'an. So either the report was wrong, or Elder Zhai was referring to his ancestral home.

"That's good. You have an older brother to protect you. When I was a child, I also had an older sister who protected me." As Elder Zhai spoke, a nostalgic look appeared in his eyes, suggesting his sister was likely no longer alive.

Li Zhuiyuan won this game of chess. In truth, the young man could sense that Elder Zhai's chess skills surpassed his own, but the elder was old, had just played three games, and those were fast-paced. By the endgame, his energy was clearly waning.

"I'm old, can't fight it," Elder Zhai said, taking a cup of water from a nearby disciple and drinking a few sips. "My boy, you have a sharp mind, truly clever."

Then, Elder Zhai looked around and asked, "Have Qian Ying and Wu Lan not returned yet?" An older disciple nearby replied, "Not yet. They said they went to the temple on the hilltop to burn incense for good fortune in love. Who knows where they've been dawdling." Everyone chuckled at that remark. Qian Ying and Wu Lan were the two youngest members of the team, and they were a couple.

Elder Zhai said, "What's so funny? Weren't you all young once too?"

"Teacher, I'm already middle-aged and not married yet."

"Teacher, my hairline's receding, and I still don't have a partner."

Elder Zhai gave them a look and said, "When the organization arranged social events, who told you not to participate actively?"

"Teacher, we did participate, but we just sat there and applauded."

"Last time, a few of us went and ate too many snacks, and the organizers made passive-aggressive comments about it."

Elder Zhai waved his hand, signaling an end to the topic. Their profession was demanding, requiring them to travel all over the country, and indeed, marriage was a major challenge—not just getting married, but maintaining the marriage afterwards. They had finally taken in a female disciple, only for her to be swept off her feet by a young male disciple from the same cohort. He guessed she was scared after seeing her senior brothers still single at their age.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't participate in their internal conversation. After leaving the table, he went to check on the truck outside. Although the Liang sisters had not yet regained consciousness, their breathing was much stronger than before. They should wake up in about a day.

After getting out of the truck, the young man was about to return indoors when he suddenly stopped, looking towards the mountain. On the same side, a few residences away, stood a small two-story building where Lin Shuyou was lodging. He had offered to pay for his stay, but the hospitable host absolutely refused to accept payment.

Lin Shuyou washed his dirty clothes and carried them upstairs to hang dry. Just as he stepped onto the balcony, he remembered it was pouring rain. He sighed helplessly, intending to find a rack to dry them indoors, but then he noticed two people descending the mountain road. They were a young man and woman, the man with his arm around the woman's waist, the woman nestled in his embrace, sharing one umbrella. Mist rose from the mountainside in the rain, spreading out as if deliberately trailing behind them. The scene truly possessed a unique beauty. It would have been even better if they weren't swaying so much while walking, but that couldn't be helped, given the strong wind and heavy rain.

Lin Shuyou smiled and turned back, intending to hang his clothes. Then he abruptly stopped, snapped his head back, and after several attempts, his vertical pupils finally managed to open, though just barely. Only then did he clearly see that behind the loving young couple, two invisible figures clung tightly to them. The young couple's feet were actually stepping on the feet of those two unseen figures behind them!

Lin Shuyou immediately chanted in a low voice, "Evil spirits, only kill, cough..." "Evil spirits, cough, cough, cough..." After several attempts, he still couldn't complete his opening incantation. Not only that, but his vertical pupils also lost their focus and dispersed. A-You's current condition was somewhat similar to Tan Wenbin's: after severe injury and exhaustion, he had woken up, but whatever was inside him hadn't fully awakened yet.

Lin Shuyou didn't give up and continued trying to summon the boy spirit. "Evil spirits, only..." "Evil spirits..."

The man and woman stopped at the doorway of Lin Shuyou's lodging. They turned in place, facing the courtyard, and then both looked up at Lin Shuyou, who stood on the balcony. Lin Shuyou scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Um, I wasn't calling you two."