Chapter 293

Zhao Yi spat out the cigarette butt from his mouth, stepped on it with his shoe, then raised his hands and lightly slapped both sides of his face. It wasn't hard, but it was quite loud.

“Li, I’ve realized something: the Yin family really goes out of their way to show me, Old Zhao, respect.”

“Once is new, twice is familiar.”

“Heh, don’t say that, it really does feel that way. When I die, these experiences must be carved on my tombstone so I can properly show off. Do you think the passing ghosts will be scared enough to kowtow to me then?”

“Can petty ghosts just casually enter the ancestral graveyard of the Zhao family of Jiujiang?”

“Once I complete this journey and take charge of the Zhao family, I’ll change the customs. Those old geezers from before, I’ll scatter their ashes. From now on, all Zhao family members will be cremated.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not that I’m extreme; as a descendant, the closer I get to my ancestors, the more guilt I feel. Oh, right, Li, don’t neglect the Zhao family’s core technique I gave you. Practice it more. I had a chance to experience it this time, and the stronger it is, the more effective it becomes.”

Li Zhuiyuan raised his left hand. With a slight flick of his fingers, a clear, pure blue light shimmered and flowed.

“I know.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask.”

“Ha!”

“Besides, does your own core technique really need an outsider to tell you to practice more?”

“You win. Good thing our ancestors died long ago. If they were still alive like the Emperor, it’s hard to say who they’d consider their true descendant after meeting you and me.”

“Beings like them can sense bloodlines.”

“But they’d pretend otherwise.”

Li Zhuiyuan took out three incense sticks, bent down, and inserted them into the riverbank. With a flick of his finger, the incense lit itself.

Zhao Yi: “Take Old Zhai, for example. I’ve been sucking up to him for so long, but it’s never as effective as you, kid. You clearly played dumb and fooled him, but he didn’t care; in fact, he was quite pleased. That’s really unfair.”

“You just used the wrong method to flatter him.”

“Huh?”

“Back in the town, you should have taken your university textbooks and asked him professional questions, then revealed that after you paid off your sports car debt and made some money, you planned to return to school for the college entrance exam or an adult undergraduate degree.”

“Damn it!”

“You were constantly asking about his well-being, cooking soup, feeding him medicine, running errands, delivering corpses... What did you expect him to treat you as?”

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier? Don’t bother answering that; it’s definitely ‘You didn’t ask’ again.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I don’t need to tell you that; you actually understand.”

Zhao Yi: “Understand what?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “On the first night in the small town, it was raining, and you were keeping watch on the roof. Old Zhai and his companions were in the room directly below you. I was in the room and heard you flipping through books. Knowing that Engineer Luo would also be coming to Fengdu this time, Binbin and A-You had brought some books in their backpacks for last-minute cramming. You looked through their backpacks.”

“Li, are you even human? The wind and rain were so loud that night. I knew you had good hearing, so I deliberately turned the pages carefully. How could you still hear it so clearly?”

“It wasn’t perfectly clear, but the next day, when I got on the truck, I also looked through Binbin’s and A-You’s backpacks and found moisture on the book pages.”

“Li, are you that wary of me?”

“Me, wary of you? You knew about Old Zhai’s special identity even earlier than I did, but you deliberately didn’t tell me beforehand.”

“Have you ever had nightmares? The kind where your entire clan dies suddenly and violently, their souls lining up to descend into the underworld, or where you yourself are crushed to death by two massive dog testicles? After being scared and anxious for so long, it’s inevitable to become a bit more sensitive. Besides, at first, I didn’t think he would be that person; I just instinctively felt he might be a bit out of the ordinary. I figured that with such a high-stakes situation, encountering someone related to your field during the journey would likely mean there was a story there. But you’re different. Regarding that person, you might be scared, but deep down, you’re fearless because you know you’re favored. You understand how much those old men cherish you. Most importantly, you were in an overdrawn state for those two days, your vision was blurry, and your perception was greatly diminished. Didn’t you quickly realize it later anyway?”

“You still haven’t explained why you didn’t tell me beforehand.”

“If I had been truly certain, would I have used the wrong method?”

“You yourself didn’t dare to gamble for the highest gain, so you settled for less, aiming to apologize and make amends. Your goal has already been achieved.”

Zhao Yi was still idly playing with the walnuts in his hand, the clearest sign of his gain. This meant that the matter from before had been put to rest.

Closing his eyes, Zhao Yi took a deep breath and said:

“Li, next time can you step in a different direction? You’ve stepped on this spot too many times, and the main thing is, it hurts every time.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. The coffins on the river ahead had all surfaced. The young man walked forward, wading into the river.

Zhao Yi followed behind, watching the young man’s back, silently mouthing words.

The first coffin looked familiar; it was in Yin Meng’s craftsmanship style.

Li Zhuiyuan placed his palm on it, chose the right angle, and applied a subtle force. With a “creak,” the coffin lid slid open.

Zhao Yi glanced inside and said, “Yin Meng’s grandfather didn’t come back.”

The coffin was empty, but a puddle of thick liquid residue remained inside, with a very distinct smell.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Then besides warning me, he has something else to do.”

“Like visiting his granddaughter?” Zhao Yi blinked. “Just hope he doesn’t get close to the guesthouse and get smashed by A-You’s mace.”

“A-You knows Yin Meng’s grandfather turned into a living corpse; he won’t be that impulsive.”

“I’m just preemptively preparing A-You.”

Li Zhuiyuan swam to another coffin. This one was harder to open; after he exerted force, black gas seeped out from the cracks.

This indicated that the corpse inside had already become a living corpse, and the coffin was filled with corpse aura.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Come take a whiff.”

Zhao Yi leaned closer and inhaled twice from the coffin’s crevice. After the black gas entered his nose, he pulled up his clothes, and two drops of black blood flowed from his heart, expelling the corpse poison from his body.

“The quality of the living corpse isn’t exaggerated, but there’s a special enchantment on it, which should be related to the Yin family’s ancestral graveyard.”

An ordinary living corpse, yet with extraordinary combat power.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Estimate how long it will take for all the coffins to be opened collectively from here and then proceed to Ghost Street.”

“You calculate faster than I do, why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I should start conserving.”

“Fine, I’ll calculate.”

On the water’s surface, the further back the coffins were, the denser the corpse aura, and the higher the level they indicated. After all, the Yin family has been declining with each generation. Entering the ancestral graveyard is like cars boarding a ferry: the first cars to board are parked inside, but they are the last to disembark.

After confirming everything, Li Zhuiyuan returned to the shore. While wringing out his wet clothes, he said:

“I’ll leave three blood-incense sticks here, and you leave a puppet. When the time is right, I’ll make sure the Yin family rushes to Ghost Street.”

“The puppet I leave might not be able to conduct the sacrificial ceremony.”

“Your puppet’s purpose is the same as the incense; it’s a prop for misdirection.”

“Alright, alright.”

Li Zhuiyuan took out three new incense sticks, first imbued them with a blood mist from his right hand, then tossed them into the water.

As the three incense sticks sank, all the coffins on the river surface also sank. They didn’t return to where they came from; they simply disappeared from sight.

Regardless, if someone happened to pass by and saw countless coffins floating on the river, it could truly scare them to death. Of course, once they fully emerged from their coffins, the collective aura of the living corpses would be enough to form a miasma, and ordinary people wouldn’t even notice them, even if they brushed past them.

Zhao Yi folded a paper figure and tossed it by the river.

Li Zhuiyuan walked back. Zhao Yi stretched, did a chest-expanding exercise, and then asked curiously:

“Li, clearly your status is more noble than mine, so why are you always more of a gambler than I am, more willing to risk everything?”

“Whether your status is noble or not isn’t determined by others’ opinions; it’s whether you yourself feel you are noble.”

“So you think you’re cheap?”

“Precisely because I consider myself valuable, I always want to gamble for the best possible outcome.”

Zhao Yi’s mouth twitched. He scoffed, “Alright, so it turns out I’m the one who thinks I’m cheap.”

They hadn’t walked far back when they turned a corner and saw the taxi they had arrived in, parked in an open space by the next slope.

The taxi driver wasn’t in the car; he was down by the river bend, watching two people fishing.

The fishermen were having great success, catching fish repeatedly. The speed at which the fish bit, the beautiful curve of the rods as they reeled them in, and the sheer joy of the struggle made the driver nearby flush with jealousy, scratching his ears and cheeks.

In fact, it was because Li Zhuiyuan had previously summoned so many coffins upstream. The massive amount of dense corpse aura had a stimulating effect on the fish in the river, causing the number of fish in the downstream river bend to multiply many times over, making it completely unnecessary to use bait.

The driver walked back. Seeing Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi standing by the car, his eyes immediately lit up. He quickly ran over, shouting:

“Going back to the county town?”

“Yes, the guesthouse where we arrived.”

“Let’s go!”

They got into the car. This time, no prompting in standard Mandarin was needed; the driver’s face was already flushed to a purplish hue, and he was eager to return home to the county town to get his fishing gear and enjoy himself.

As soon as Zhao Yi sat down, and before the car door could even close, the driver slammed on the accelerator.

The car sped off like the wind, even more exaggerated than on their way there. Zhao Yi had to place his hand on the young man’s shoulder beside him, preparing to pull Li out of the way should the car flip over.

Fortunately, they had a safe journey. Before reaching the destination, the driver settled the fare in advance, steering with one hand and receiving money and giving change with the other, all in one smooth motion.

Zhao Yi: “It’ll be too late for him when he gets back; the fish population will return to normal. But at least on the way there, he’s happy.”

Li Zhuiyuan ignored Young Master Zhao’s sentimental digression and walked towards the guesthouse.

There were many more security guards at the guesthouse entrance, and several police cars were parked inside and out. Identity verification was now required for entry and exit. However, the process wasn’t strict; familiar faces like Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi, who had entered and exited multiple times, could go straight in.

But as soon as he stepped through the main gate, Li Zhuiyuan stopped.

Zhao Yi took two more steps forward before also stopping.

The two instinctively began to retreat, moving back until they were clear of the “rail line” on the ground by the sliding gate.

The young man activated his Yin walking ability, and the Life-Death Gate on Zhao Yi’s chest spun.

The previously normal guesthouse presented two different perspectives in their eyes. From one perspective, it was normal; from the other, it was a dim, deathly silent scene.

Zhao Yi: “Who set up a formation? It shouldn’t have been this fast.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “An individual, from the inside out, altered the surrounding environment.”

Zhao Yi: “Old Zhai?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Hopefully it’s him.”

Even knowing there was something wrong with the guesthouse, they still had to enter. However, their entry wasn’t a straight path; they needed to step on specific locations. This behavior was a bit strange, but soon, the surrounding security guards and people entering and exiting all disappeared, so no one noticed.

At the entrance of the guesthouse lobby, where two stone lions originally stood, there were now two statues of attendants. Both had one hand raised vertically in front of them, the other arm extended to the side, guiding people inward.

Zhao Yi: “A guesthouse is a good place for meetings and receptions... but the level of this meeting seems a bit high.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked up the steps. Just as he was about to enter, he saw a white dog lying on the doormat.

His own Little Black was a standard five-black dog, strongly built with thick bones and glossy fur. The white dog before them, however, was the complete opposite extreme to his own Little Black. It was slender, lying there licking its paws and grooming its fur, exuding an air of elegance and nobility. However, to be honest, Li Zhuiyuan felt that comparing his own Little Black to this one was somewhat insulting to the white dog.

Zhao Yi gazed directly at the white dog, and the Life-Death Gate on his chest instinctively began to spin. At the first touch, Zhao Yi’s eyes turned white. He quickly closed the Life-Death Gate, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. Just now, he had been about to investigate the dog, but his consciousness was flooded with countless images—things that had happened and things that hadn’t—a chaotic jumble of thoughts. He was just barely able to withstand it; anyone else would have gone insane at that very moment.

The white dog continued to leisurely groom its fur, as if it truly were just a dog diligently minding its own business.

Li Zhuiyuan continued to walk forward.

White light also flickered in the young man’s eyes.

Endless chaotic thoughts, as if probing his inner self, wildly assaulted his consciousness. However, unlike Zhao Yi, Li Zhuiyuan did not choose to resist or process them. Instead, he simply tossed all these chaotic thoughts into the fish pond deep within his consciousness.

“Splish-splash... splish-splash...”

Like a waterfall, cascading from the sky, the once tiny fish fry in the pond danced excitedly in the face of such overwhelming bounty.

White light enveloped the young man’s eyes, yet he continued to advance.

At this point, the white dog finally stopped grooming itself. It tilted its head, looking at the young man approaching it. Its normally unremarkable dog eyes gradually showed amusement, as if it had seen a very interesting pet toy. It raised a paw towards Li Zhuiyuan. At the same time, black chains appeared, binding it.

This was not Li Zhuiyuan’s doing; the young man was merely advancing and had done nothing yet. It must have been the environment here that restrained the white dog, preventing it from acting unrestrainedly. The main figures were speaking inside; the dog was not allowed entry and could only guard the door outside.

Li Zhuiyuan continued to advance.

Although the white dog was suppressed, its paw continued to rise. Clearly, despite the rules of this place, it still had the ability to assert a small, willful display of power, unique to a guard dog.

Zhao Yi had recovered and silently followed behind the young man. His legs were longer than Li Zhuiyuan’s, but his steps were very small. In short, he kept the young man tightly protected in front of him. Each step landed silently, like a cat on tiptoes. Young Master Zhao’s left eye was full of excitement, while his right eye was filled with trepidation. Of course, he knew who was inside and had a good guess as to the identity of the white dog. Zhao Yi was afraid, yet even more expectant.

The white dog’s paw finally pointed at Li Zhuiyuan. The young man also raised his hand and pointed at it.

The Twelve Edicts of Fengdu — Kneel and Listen.

The black chains on the white dog instantly tightened. It lay prostrate on the ground, its muzzle pressed firmly against the tiled surface, unable to move. At this moment, its eyes no longer held superiority or amusement, but were filled with fury. Despite being a dog, it now felt deeply offended by a human!

True Lord White Crane had suggested to the young man that morning on Ghost Street that he could start setting up the formation. The young man’s response was: “This is Fengdu.” Here, it was the same principle. That person has arrived. That person didn’t come here to tour the guesthouse; they came to find someone. When two “god-like” beings meet, even if it’s just a conscious interaction, it’s enough to profoundly alter the surrounding environment and even create a barrier unique to them.

The white dog was merely using that person’s authority to act imperiously at the door. The same applied to Li Zhuiyuan. The difference was that the white dog was a mount, while Li Zhuiyuan was an inheritor, so their ability to borrow power from their respective patrons varied. In this situation, Li Zhuiyuan chose to side with the Emperor because he believed he could leverage his true but unofficial status as an inheritor to gain immense convenience in Fengdu. Indeed, all these conveniences came from the Emperor’s tacit approval. At the very least, the Emperor could not object; he had to allow the young man to exploit this loophole. If the Emperor were to object... then the game couldn’t be played, and Li Zhuiyuan would have no reason to continue siding with the Emperor.

Unlike Zhao Yi, who first offended the Emperor and then came with the intention of making amends, Li Zhuiyuan acknowledged that he had taken many advantages from the Emperor and, therefore, should return a portion of that responsibility. “If you don’t want it, then... I won’t return it.”

The young man didn’t go around; he stepped directly over the white dog.

The white dog’s body trembled, and its fangs protruded from its mouth, yet it was helpless. Then, the white dog’s gaze fell upon Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi hesitated. Stepping over it would be courting death. But if he didn’t step over it, he’d suddenly sit up in bed at night, clutching his head and crying out in regret. Soon, Zhao Yi made up his mind. Just as Li had said, “once is new, twice is familiar.” Ultimately, enriching his own epitaph was more important.

Zhao Yi raised his leg and stepped over the white dog.

This time, the white dog showed an even stronger fury than when the young man had stepped over it earlier! Because the young man could use the power of this place to suppress it, however angry the white dog became, it still acknowledged the young man’s “equal” status. But what was this feeble creature, whose heart was reportedly failing, to dare step over it too? The white dog’s head bulged, as if horns were about to sprout. Its face gradually took on tiger stripes while retaining its dog ears, and its paws showed a tendency to transform into hooves. However, it was heavily suppressed. With its masters conversing, there was no room for it to act out, and the special changes that had just appeared quickly vanished.

“Heh, you really look down on people!”

Zhao Yi, who had stepped over, stepped back again, and then stepped over one more time.

Initially, Li Zhuiyuan stood inside the door, waiting for a moment. Seeing Zhao Yi’s playful side emerging, the young man stopped waiting and walked further inside. Seeing this, Zhao Yi no longer dared to keep stepping over the dog; he immediately followed. He didn’t know if Li’s suppression of the dog would continue once he walked further away.

Jogging to catch up and walk alongside him, Zhao Yi sniffed and said:

“If I carve these experiences on my tombstone, do you think future generations of the Zhao family will think I’m bragging when they visit my grave?”

“That depends on how impressive you become later.”

“True.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked upstairs, preparing to go to Old Zhai’s room. As soon as he reached the second floor, he heard footsteps coming from the staircase leading to the third floor.

Zhao Yi recognized the owner of the footsteps.

“A-You?”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t go to the third floor; instead, he continued towards Old Zhai’s room.

“As an outsider, it’s not quite appropriate for me to sit in. How about this: I’ll go find A-You instead.”

Zhao Yi walked upstairs. This time, it wasn’t that Zhao Yi was cowardly and couldn’t gamble; rather, the incident at the entrance had already shown that his status here was not equivalent to Li’s. Li could go listen in or observe. Even if he were discovered, someone would protect him. If Zhao Yi went, he would most likely simply be gone.

At this moment, Lin Shuyou was in a hurry. He had originally been carrying two thermoses, going downstairs to get hot water. As a result, he encountered a “ghost wall.” A former official general and current True Lord, even with his vertical pupil activated, was still trapped by the ghost wall. Lin Shuyou found it incredible.

“What kind of ghost is this?”

Normally chatty, the boy (referring to the spirit within him) fell silent. However, a significant improvement from the past was that while it remained silent, it did not restrict Lin Shuyou from using his True Lord powers. Lin Shuyou was on the stairs, repeatedly going up and down, utterly unable to leave the area.

“Oh, my, are you exercising here?”

The moment the voice rang out, Lin Shuyou used the two thermoses in his hands as weapons, pointing them at the suddenly appearing “Three Eyes.” Clearly, A-You was questioning whether the “Three Eyes” before him was real.

“Heh.” Zhao Yi chuckled, but fearing A-You might actually attack him, he didn’t move any closer.

“Come, A-You, follow your brother. Brother will take you out.”

Zhao Yi waved his hand, signaling A-You to follow him.

Lin Shuyou hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Then,

Third floor, third floor, still the third floor. After walking up and down nearly a dozen flights of stairs, it was still the third floor.

Zhao Yi rubbed his nose, feeling a little awkward.

Lin Shuyou, however, dropped his guard and said, “Three Eyes, it really is you.”

Zhao Yi: “I’m not Zhao Yi; I’m an illusion trying to deceive you.”

Lin Shuyou: “Has Little Yuan Ge returned?”

Zhao Yi: “Everything you see is an illusion. I do not exist.”

Lin Shuyou put the thermoses down on the ground, sat on the steps, and completely dropped his guard, leaning his back fully on Zhao Yi.

“Sigh, I’ll just wait for Little Yuan Ge to come and get me out. You should sit down and rest too; stop climbing.”

Zhao Yi lit a cigarette. After taking a deep drag, smoke rings emerged from inside his shirt near his chest, dispersing up around his neck. Immediately after, Zhao Yi formed an “orchid hand” gesture with his left hand. After a slight frown, he changed to a different gesture, one he invented himself, mainly because he didn’t know what a “peach blossom finger” was supposed to look like. His body had recently undergone many new changes, but he hadn’t yet managed to develop the corresponding techniques.

Lin Shuyou sniffed. He smelled a wisp of peach blossom fragrance and looked back to see Zhao Yi plucking a peach blossom petal from inside his clothes and putting it in his mouth. The next moment, Zhao Yi’s figure vanished from where he stood.

Lin Shuyou immediately stood up and shouted, “Three Eyes, give me a petal!”

On the spot, a peach blossom petal floated down. Clearly, before freeing himself and leaving, Zhao Yi truly hadn’t forgotten to help Lin Shuyou. Lin Shuyou picked up the peach blossom petal, pursed his lips, and still put it in his mouth. Then he started walking upstairs and actually managed to leave the staircase.

Zhao Yi leaned against the corridor wall, arms crossed, waiting for him.

“How about that? Your Brother Yi isn’t necessarily worse than your Little Yuan Ge.”

“It just comes with a bit of a high price.”

“Flowers bloom and fall; what’s there to talk about in terms of cost?”

Zhao Yi turned and walked further inside.

As he passed Tan Wenbin’s room, he reached out and pushed the door open. Inside, Tan Wenbin was slowly, step by step, fumbling his way towards the door. His pace was slow, with tiny steps, but his direction was correct. The characteristics of the Five Senses Totem Beast allowed Tan Wenbin to still find his way, even in this environment.

Lin Shuyou wanted to enter the room to help Bin Ge, but Zhao Yi stopped him, gesturing for A-You to look at the room’s threshold.

“Three Eyes, give Bin Ge a peach blossom petal too.”

“He can get out on his own; it’ll just take him a bit longer.”

“Wouldn’t giving him a peach blossom be faster?”

“Do you really think I’m a peach seller?”

Zhao Yi continued forward. In fact, the rooms he truly needed to check were where Yin Meng and Runsheng were, as Liang Yan and Liang Li were also in there. He pushed open the room door.

There were five people inside.

Liang Yan and Liang Li were slumped in the corner, with several new gashes on their shoulders. They were still breathing and not in mortal danger. A living corpse in the form of an old man stood by the bed. He was also in very bad shape, severely wounded, and constantly oozing pus. It must be said that in this specially suppressed environment, the Liang sisters were still able to inflict damage on this living corpse, which was quite remarkable, especially considering their own very poor condition.

Zhao Yi frowned slightly. Their proactive attack, whether for self-preservation or to protect Runsheng and Yin Meng on the bed, was commendable in its motive and even more so in its courage. The problem, however, was that if they had been a bit smarter, they would have known that this living corpse came in... not to harm anyone. This was Yin Meng’s grandfather, who had climbed out of his coffin to visit his granddaughter. Why were the two of them trying to stop him? Gritting his teeth, Zhao Yi lamented inwardly: “What a pair of fools.” But then again, if they truly were smart, Zhao Yi might not have cared about them, and they would have lost that endearing foolishness.

The living corpse placed its hands on Yin Meng’s shoulders, pulling her outwards, gradually freeing her from the peach wood stick that had impaled both her and Runsheng. Yin Meng’s eyes slowly opened. After losing Runsheng’s help in suppressing it, the gray haze in her eye sockets reappeared. However, in the current environment, all extraordinary actions were restrained, and the gray haze in Yin Meng’s eyes quickly cleared. After she was completely free of the peach wood stick, Runsheng was the first to lie down. He was severely injured but had been unable to rest. Now, he finally found release and began to snore. Fresh blood flowed from Yin Meng’s wound. The old man’s hand covered it, and the wound was stanched. The effect was good, but it wasn’t pretty. Of course, you can’t expect a living corpse to prioritize aesthetics while performing emergency first aid.

After doing all this, the living corpse’s hand gently caressed Yin Meng’s face. Yin Meng felt her dream change. It was no longer the endless confinement of a cold pond, but a return to her childhood, when her grandfather was still healthy. Her father disappeared, her mother left, and her grandfather was busy making coffins and retrieving corpses, so he was very busy during the day. At dusk, when her grandfather returned with his tools, he saw little Yin Meng on Ghost Street, her finger in her mouth, following two children who were holding cotton candy. The two children largely ignored her, absorbed in their conversation and eating their cotton candy. Yin Meng actively tried to join the conversation, occasionally glancing at the cotton candy in their hands. What parents could least bear to see was their own child not having something and trailing after other children.

Her grandfather waved to Yin Meng, calling out, “Mengmeng!”

“Grandpa!”

Yin Meng happily ran towards her grandfather.

Her grandfather took Yin Meng’s hand and led her to a shop on the street. He took out money and asked the shopkeeper to make an even bigger cotton candy for his granddaughter. Once it was made, her grandfather took it and handed it to Yin Meng.

“Here, Mengmeng, take it and eat.”

Yin Meng took the cotton candy. Its immense size blocked her face. But for a long time, the cotton candy didn’t move, meaning she hadn’t eaten it yet. Curious, her grandfather gently pushed the cotton candy aside. Behind it, tiny Yin Meng was weeping profusely.

“Sweetie, why are you crying? Hurry and eat; if you don’t, the wind will blow it away.”

Yin Meng could no longer control herself and burst into loud sobs:

“Waaah! Grandpa, I shouldn’t have seen you as a burden when I was taking care of you! I shouldn’t have sold the family shop! I was wrong, I was wrong!”

On the day her grandfather passed away, besides sadness, Yin Meng felt a sense of relief and gratitude. Then, without hesitation, she sold the shop’s inventory at a discount and transferred the shop. Going to Nantong with Little Yuan Ge, besides her grandfather’s “last words,” was more about her own desire to escape.

Her grandfather smiled.

“My sweetie has cried so much she looks like a little calico cat.”

Her grandfather reached out to wipe away his granddaughter’s tears.

In reality, in the guesthouse room, tears flowed from the corners of Yin Meng’s closed eyes as she lay on the bed, and the living corpse was also wiping them away. Knowing it was dirty and covered in grime, the living corpse deliberately used the clean back of its fingernail to gently and slowly wipe away her tears. It was afraid of dirtying her eyes, and even more afraid of hurting her.

In the dream, Yin Meng was still crying. Then, she was held in her grandfather’s embrace, her back gently patted:

“Our Mengmeng has suffered so much. It hasn’t been easy for our Mengmeng.”

Upon hearing these words, tears poured from Yin Meng’s eyes as if a dam had burst. What she recalled was not only the image of herself alone managing the shop and caring for her bedridden, comatose grandfather since childhood, but also the pressure she felt within the team after leaving Fengdu for Nantong. She had mediocre talent, and being part of a team led by a genius and comprised of other geniuses, a sense of crisis had accompanied her from the very beginning. She didn’t want to be useless, but her progress in formal learning was painfully slow. She could only constantly try unorthodox methods to increase her utility and value, time and again accidentally poisoning herself unconscious while mixing poisons. In truth, she was also afraid. But these emotions couldn’t be told to Little Yuan Ge, even though he had become much more humane than before. Nor could she tell her companions, as they had never considered her a burden, and saying such things would seem overly sentimental. The emotions buried in her heart could now only be confided to her grandfather.

Perhaps this was why children always felt