Chapter 32

Li Zhuiyuan's mind was now consumed by a single question:

Is the Homecoming Net still effective?

Although he couldn't see Run Sheng or the net, he believed he was still within its covered area.

The shadow at his feet slowly extended forward, swaying slightly to the left. This indicated it was cautiously approaching him. The boy's internal struggle and fear intensified.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up again at Brother Bao and Zhao Xing, who were still wailing in agony. However, their gaze was not fixed on him. Fortunately, he was short and crouching, and the entity behind him, judging by its shadow, was quite tall. Thus, even if they were on the same visual plane, he could clearly distinguish their gazes from those of the "two" across from him.

This meant the Homecoming Net was still working; it couldn't see him!

But the problem was, it was getting closer. A few more steps and it would collide with him.

Li Zhuiyuan maintained his crouch and cautiously began to shuffle his feet, trying not to make any unnecessary noise. He moved towards Run Sheng’s position, unable to go in other directions, as exiting the Homecoming Net’s range would expose him directly.

Li Zhuiyuan felt like a crab, walking sideways. In the final step, just as he moved his foot, another large, unfamiliar foot landed. If he had been even half a beat slower, their feet would have touched.

Immediately after, the entity’s feet came into Li Zhuiyuan’s sight. They were severely decayed, but where flesh should have fallen away, layers of yellow-white tumors filled the gaps. The color of these tumors was identical to the Tai Sui in the water vat.

So, was this how the "health tonic" cherished by the Jiang family came to be? They not only ate the Tai Sui themselves but also used the water from the vat to brew tea and cook daily meals.

Li Zhuiyuan's gaze slowly moved upward. The entity wore no clothes, just like the two skeletons later dug out of the pond. They must have been stripped before being killed and buried. Jiang Dongping, however, was found clothed and wearing a watch. This led Li Zhuiyuan to conclude that the ghost before him was indeed one of the victims.

The rest of its body was similar to its feet—badly decayed, with the Tai Sui-like substance covering it entirely like glue, re-adhering the flesh to the skeleton, maintaining a relatively complete form. Its left leg was somewhat bent and turned outward, as if it had a limp, which explained its slow, left-leaning gait.

However, it stopped at the tombstone. The next moment, it knelt down.

Only then did Li Zhuiyuan truly examine the tombstone. Before, he and Run Sheng had only noticed that it was larger than the surrounding ones, making it suitable for them to hide behind. Now he realized it was a dual burial tomb.

Quickly scanning the inscriptions on the tombstone, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the husband’s surname was Zhou. Therefore, the ghost before him was most likely the Zhou man Brother Bao had personally buried, and it was now kneeling at what was probably its own parents' grave. Having been killed and buried by Jiang Dongping, it had achieved its revenge and returned to its parents' tomb.

Li Zhuiyuan noted the death dates: two years ago, the elderly couple dying just a month apart. In this era, unless one used official channels, most movie posters were printed on calendars to increase their practical use. And the largest and oldest Wang Zuxian poster on the wooden board at the entrance of Sister Mei's video store also had a date from two years ago. This suggested that Brother Bao might have earned a significant sum by helping Jiang Dongping kill and bury people, which allowed him and his girlfriend, Sister Mei, to open a video store in town.

The ghost did not kowtow; it merely knelt before the tombstone. It made no sound, but the air was filled with the agonizing screams of Brother Bao and Zhao Xing. Li Zhuiyuan finally understood: no wonder they were deliberately kept alive and tormented for so long. Only the wails and screams of one’s enemies could serve as the best offering.

But gradually, the ghost's head suddenly twitched slightly. It was sniffing, then slowly began to turn its head towards Li Zhuiyuan's side. It seemed to have discovered something.

The boy's heart leaped into his throat. His purpose for coming out today was to apply theory to practice, but the targets he had chosen were Brother Bao and Zhao Xing, those two minions who had dared to threaten and provoke him. With Run Sheng and their newly crafted professional tools, dealing with them shouldn't be a big problem. However, this ghost, capable of controlling minions, was somewhat beyond his current capabilities. Starting with such a difficult challenge, he truly felt uncertain.

Most importantly, this ghost was a victim in life. If it were Jiang Dongping, he wouldn't hesitate, but it felt inappropriate to actively confront this one.

But just as its head turned halfway, a little more and it would make eye contact with the boy, black mist suddenly began to rise from its body, as if the water vapor within it was evaporating. The ghost turned its head back, facing the tombstone. A hoarse, scraping sound came from deep within its throat, and all the Tai Sui on its body began to tremble.

Li Zhuiyuan had seen a similar scene with the Cat-faced Old Woman. That was when, after he offered her a revenge plan, her resentment began to dissipate. Wei Zhengdao wrote in his "Records of Rivers and Lakes Oddities":

"Dead-fallen, born from the grievances and filth of the jianghu. If resentment is unresolved, they wander the swampy lands of the jianghu, harming humanity, and must be suppressed by the will of Heaven."

When reading the book earlier, Li Zhuiyuan had noted the latter part, especially "resentment is unresolved." Since dead-fallen are born from resentment, wouldn't resolving their resentment make them dissipate? Just like that black cat, which was close to completing its revenge and achieving liberation.

Thus, "unresolved resentment" in the book seemed to refer to situations where the enemy was no longer present or couldn't be found, preventing the dead-fallen from self-dissipating through revenge. They could only wander endlessly through waterways, harming the living, and therefore had to be eliminated.

Was it really that simple? Then why didn't it mention "resentment is resolved"? "Records of Righteous Demon Suppression" only documented methods for suppressing dead-fallen, as if the author's perspective already defaulted to "unresolved resentment" as the only option. But he could have omitted it, and the sentence would still be grammatically correct.

Li Zhuiyuan guessed this was the political correctness of that era: malevolent entities like dead-fallen must never harm the living. Wei Zhengdao's inclusion of "if resentment is unresolved" was a deliberate redundancy, a subtle hint. He didn't want to defy the political correctness of his time but added a back door while writing the book. Because, if "resentment is resolved," there would be no need to teach specific methods; one would simply help the dead-fallen resolve their resentment with their target. But helping evil spirits harm the living—wasn't that typical aiding of tyranny? How could a righteous person do such a thing? Don't mention "every wrong has a perpetrator, every debt has a debtor," and don't try to offer any defense. If political correctness could be swayed like that, it wouldn't be political correctness.

However, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that every incident he and his grandmaster had encountered seemed to involve "resolved resentment." It appeared that he and his grandmaster were indeed not on the "righteous path."

Interrogations of the Jiang family were underway. Deaths were not a major issue in themselves—from natural causes, illness, accidents, or incidents. In a sufficiently dense and populous area, a day without deaths would be strange. But murder was different; public attention was extremely high, and it could easily cause social panic. Therefore, the discovery of three bodies in a pond was an extremely serious case, likely drawing significant attention even from the municipal bureau. Tan Yunlong estimated that a special task force led by the city bureau would soon arrive. Furthermore, if organized crime and violence were confirmed, a city-wide crackdown would inevitably follow later.

However, these were all future matters.

Walking out of the station chief's office, Tan Yunlong rubbed his nose. A malicious case like this in his jurisdiction put immense pressure not only on the station but also on the county. The only immediate remedy was to solve the case as quickly as possible to achieve outstanding performance. The pressure cascaded downwards, finally landing on Tan Yunlong.

Tan Yunlong lit a cigarette and entered the interrogation room. He intended to personally interrogate the Jiang family members who had attempted to obstruct the excavation at the pond. The interrogation proceeded smoothly. Firstly, their psychological and professional fortitude was weak; the Jiang family had essentially been propped up by Jiang Dongping alone, and now that he was gone, the remaining members were a worthless bunch. Secondly, Tan Yunlong used deceptive tactics, implying that Jiang Dongping was already dead and urging them to confess and pin all the blame on the deceased Jiang Dongping. This was an irregular procedure, but if Tan Yunlong were a "goody-two-shoes," he wouldn't have been demoted to a town police station. In short, the case had made significant breakthroughs and progress. They had also implicated many others, who were now being apprehended.

However, there was one victim, surnamed Zhou, whose body had not been found. This Mr. Zhou had suffered a broken left leg and was a limper; the other two skeletons had no fracture marks. According to the Jiang family's confession, Mr. Zhou was a business rival of Jiang Dongping. Jiang Dongping, in complicity with a Mr. Zhao from Shijia Village (who was Zhou's friend), lured Zhou out under the pretense of celebrating his son's birthday and murdered him. This Mr. Zhao had already been arrested; it seemed his son had died recently, and the surrounding police officers were all saying it was karma. Tan Yunlong didn't believe in such things, but he didn't dismiss them either. If bad deeds in this world were always met with swift retribution, the police would certainly be the happiest.

However, the current problem was how to rationally explain the missing Zhou victim and the inexplicably dead Jiang Dongping. Of course, if one didn't seek a rational explanation, it was fine. The Zhou victim's body could have been moved, discarded, and re-processed. Jiang Dongping could have died from internal strife within the Jiang family; after all, the remaining members were no good either, so blaming them wouldn't be a problem. But these matters no longer concerned him; with the case breaking through to this point, he could submit his report.

Tan Yunlong held the cigarette between his fingers, his thoughts returning to the pond that hadn't been recently excavated or disturbed. He was very puzzled: how had Jiang Dongping's fresh corpse been buried there? However, few people knew about this, and even if the scene had been carefully preserved, the digging had already occurred, making it difficult to definitively confirm that the pond hadn't been disturbed recently.

"Team Tan, it's all sorted."

"Hmm." Tan Yunlong took the documents and nodded. "Dig deeper. Don't let anyone who should be arrested escape."

"Yes, understood."

"Is Old Master Li still at the station?"

"He is. He's chatting happily with our Little Wang, the forensic expert."

"Really?"

"I just went to the forensics lab to get some files, and Old Master Li was pointing at bodies and talking, while Little Wang was taking notes, just like a teacher giving a lecture to a student."

Little Wang was very young, having only recently started work. It was because of her arrival that the town police station finally had its own forensic lab setup; previously, they either had to hire someone from the hospital or borrow personnel from a neighboring unit. However, Little Wang had a cold personality. Several young, single male officers at the station had thought of trying their luck, but all were met with ice-cold rejection, leaving no room for opportunity or polite pleasantries.

Tan Yunlong recalled young Li Zhuiyuan digging up bodies and could only lament, "Actually, some folk experts do possess real skills; one cannot simply dismiss it as mere feudal superstition."

The phone on his desk rang. Tan Yunlong answered, saying "Yes" several times in succession before hanging up. He stood up, adjusted his clothes: "The city bureau's special task force has arrived. We need to go report on the investigation's progress."

At the tombstone, more and more black mist surged from the ghost, and faster. Li Zhuiyuan knew it was close to liberation. He just didn't know why this process had accelerated so dramatically mid-way. Was it because the police were on the case? But... was their efficiency that high?

"Squish! Squish! Squish!"

After a certain amount of black mist had evaporated, the ghost's body also shrank slightly. Simultaneously, the Tai Sui on its body began to crack, oozing pus. The surroundings were instantly filled with a strong, putrid stench. Li Zhuiyuan knew this was likely the "water corpse smell" his grandmaster often talked about. Freshly drowned bodies were easier to retrieve and not as disgusting. Those that had been dead for a long time and swollen into a pig-skin jelly-like consistency were truly hardcore. Even after washing seven or eight times with soap, the smell would linger for three days.

The Tai Sui began to crack, and the ghost's body lost its cohesion. The decaying flesh rapidly fell away, and the body shrunk like melting ice. Li Zhuiyuan noticed a black, round object tumbling within the disgusting bubbles. It appeared to be a coin, and it seemed to have been inside the ghost's body.

However, an unexpected event occurred. The ghost stretched out its hand, now just white bone, and pointed towards Brother Bao and Zhao Xing, who were kneeling. It was likely planning to end the ritual and take these two minions down with it, but it had somewhat miscalculated its rate of dissipation. Its raised hand gradually, weakly, dropped.

In contrast, that black cat had been much more cunning. When black mist rose from its body, it was able to suppress it, steadfastly waiting for its revenge to be complete. Moreover, that black cat even understood some of the rules of righteous individuals, expressing surprise and incomprehension more than once at Li Zhuiyuan's help. But this ghost clearly lacked that ability, which meant it had... lost control.

Brother Bao and Zhao Xing, freed from their restraints and oppression, slowly rose, despite being utterly mangled. They now looked like plastic mannequins at a clothing store entrance, battered, broken, and heavily chipped. But the malice in their eyes was even more intense; clearly, the previous torment had fully ignited all the malevolence within them. They did not walk towards Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng, but towards another tombstone. Although that spot was empty in the dream, Li Zhuiyuan knew it was where the two thugs were kneeling in reality.

"Creak..."

The ghost had almost completely dissolved into the pus, with only a head remaining, still clinging to some Tai Sui and flesh. It struggled to turn its head, and the nearby bony arm shifted slightly towards Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan blinked, feeling a strange, inexplicable connection. He seemed to understand what this rapidly dissipating ghost was trying to convey, just as he could understand A-Li’s subtle expressions and gestures.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, "Rest in peace. You must believe that the police will bring you justice." Then, Li Zhuiyuan added, "I'll take care of those two."

As the boy's words fell, the flesh on the ghost's head also peeled away. It completely disintegrated into a pile of white bones, dissipating before its parents' tombstone.

Li Zhuiyuan disliked the sentiment that "justice may be delayed but never absent" when innocent people die. Yet, in such a situation, as an observer, sometimes to console oneself, one would try to beautify the moment as much as possible. For instance, he now felt: "This family is finally reunited." This was the boy's kindness and blessing.

Because Li Zhuiyuan still couldn't be 100% certain about one thing. That is, whether the Homecoming Net really could hide them from Brother Bao and Zhao Xing, and if it was truly effective against a ghost capable of controlling minions. If it was truly effective, then why did the ghost turn its head to look in their direction after kneeling?

Was it possible that... it could actually see the two teenagers hiding behind its parents' tombstone all along?

"Clink..."

A crisp sound rang out. The entirely black coin rolled down from the white bones and stopped right in front of Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan didn't dare reach out to pick it up directly. He suspected that this unusual phenomenon was spurred by it. He certainly didn't want to be covered in Tai Sui.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan felt a wave of dizziness and ached all over. He probably guessed what was happening outside, because soon, Run Sheng's shouts came from beside him:

"Xiao Yuan, don't sleep, wake up, wake up!"

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes. Run Sheng was shaking his shoulders vigorously.

"Phew... Xiao Yuan, you're finally awake."

"Brother Run Sheng, do you know how strong you are?"

"Ah, sorry, they stood up."

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head to look. The two thugs had ended their kneeling stance and were now walking towards them. They were very close, but because they were within the Homecoming Net, they couldn't see the two boys.

"Xiao Yuan, what should we do?!" Run Sheng tightened his grip on the Yellow River Shovel. He had been wanting to act for a while.

"Brother Run Sheng, disable them."

"Aye!" Run Sheng immediately let out a low growl, his muscles tensing. With his left hand, he pulled back the net, and with his right, he charged forward, holding the Yellow River Shovel aloft. The two thugs, seeing living people suddenly appear, were momentarily startled and stumbled backward. But Run Sheng paid them no mind, swinging the shovel and striking one thug's arm.

"Crack!"

The sound of bones breaking. The arm was instantly crippled, but the thug didn't scream in pain. Instead, he bent over, swung his body, and wrapped his other arm around Run Sheng, his head and shoulder locking onto Run Sheng's waist, entangling him. Run Sheng raised his shovel, intending to strike the thug's head, but remembering Xiao Yuan's instruction to only disable and not kill, he instead inverted the shovel. He wedged the shovel handle between himself and the thug, using his chest as a fulcrum, and with a powerful heave, like a bottle opener, he forcibly pulled the thug off himself.

But from behind, the other thug lunged forward with an open mouth, biting down on Run Sheng's arm. His posture was like that of a mad dog.

"Hiss..." Run Sheng gasped in pain, but the excitement on his face immediately intensified. At this moment, he was like a completely different person from the usual timid, cart-pushing farmer.

Run Sheng also opened his mouth, lowered his head, and bit down on the thug's neck.

"Whoosh!"

The thug merely bit with his teeth, but Run Sheng *tore* with his mouth! After biting down, he immediately raised his head and shook it, tearing off a large piece of flesh. Run Sheng's face was covered in blood, yet his excitement continued to rise.

To put it plainly, minions are inherently low-grade entities among ghosts. And Zhao Xing and Brother Bao, who controlled these two small-time thugs, were one a weak-bodied rich young master who liked to play around, and the other a middle-aged thug who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Li Zhuiyuan remembered a family dinner during Chinese New Year once when his Grandpa Bei scolded his cousin for fighting at school, saying, "Trying to find a true hero among old ruffians is like trying to pan for gold in shit!"

Simply put, those with true courage wouldn't engage in such scoundrelly behavior. And sure enough, these two were so intimidated by Run Sheng's aura that they forgot they were ghosts and actually took off running.

"But Brother Run Sheng is really fierce." Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but wonder if, with a few more custom-made tools, Brother Run Sheng couldn't have handled the ghost earlier if it had attacked them.

During the previous fight, Li Zhuiyuan had wisely stayed out of it, but now, he could act. Holding the Seven-Star Hook in his right hand, he pressed his left thumb into the cinnabar paste, then dabbed it on the side of the Seven-Star Hook. With a forceful pull, the hook extended seven sections, all now marked with red. Crouching into a horse stance, using his core, Li Zhuiyuan swept the Seven-Star Hook at one thug's ankle. The front-most section immediately split into two pincer-like openings, clamping onto the opponent's ankle.

"Thump..." Li Zhuiyuan was pulled by the force, his body leaning forward, struggling to maintain his balance, while the thug fell face-first onto the ground. This was a move from the lower volume of "Records of Righteous Demon Suppression," used for capturing dead-fallen.

"Ah!!!" The thug lay on the ground, clutching his ankle and screaming. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the Homecoming Net and draped it over him.

The other thug was tackled to the ground by Run Sheng. Run Sheng raised his fist and punched him in the face. In an instant, it was as if a dye shop had been smashed, with various colors spilling out.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately shouted, "Brother Run Sheng!"

Run Sheng seemed to have a sudden jolt, his second punch rigidly withheld. His facial expression also slowly transformed from intense excitement to simple-mindedness. Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. If that second punch had landed, the thug would have surely died. He wasn't pitying the guy; in fact, subconsciously, he wasn't afraid of killing. He just didn't want the subsequent trouble that would come from taking a life.

"Here, Brother Run Sheng." Li Zhuiyuan tossed the black canvas to Run Sheng. The canvas had layers of wooden scrolls, each piece carved with A-Li's patterns. The purpose of this trip was to test the tools, to see which were useful and which were not.

Run Sheng covered the thug with the black canvas. Immediately, the thug began to wail and struggle, and even a little white smoke rose. Within the white smoke, Zhao Xing's face seemed to briefly appear, but it quickly dissipated, and the thug stopped struggling. Run Sheng moved the black canvas aside, felt the thug's breath, and said, "Xiao Yuan, he's still alive."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. This black canvas worked surprisingly well. However, he also had to consider the prolonged torment the dead-fallen had inflicted on these two minions earlier.

Then, Li Zhuiyuan looked at the thug covered by the net beneath him. He pulled out a stack of talismans he had drawn himself from his pocket. Yes, he wasn't giving up yet. After all, the other tools were made by him strictly "following the book," but only these talismans had a truly original touch of his own.

He placed a talisman on the thug's forehead. The talisman quickly turned black, then slid off. Another one went down, continued to blacken, and slid off again. A third, a fourth, a fifth... until all the talismans he had brought were used up. All the talismans turned black, but not a wisp of white smoke emerged from the thug.

Li Zhuiyuan fell silent. His talismans turning black proved they had *some* effect, but merely turning black was useless. That sense of frustration, typical of a struggling student, once again washed over him.

"Brother Run Sheng, the canvas."

"Alright."

The black canvas was thrown over. Li Zhuiyuan caught it and covered the thug below. White smoke emerged, vaguely forming Brother Bao's desperate face, then rapidly dissipating. Li Zhuiyuan held up the black canvas. A hole had burned through it, many of the wooden scrolls inside had turned black, with only a third retaining their original color. This meant this tool needed to be remade.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the tombstone. A black copper coin lay there.

"Brother Run Sheng, dig a hole next to it."

"Understood."

Li Zhuiyuan began to examine the coin while Run Sheng dug. After quite a while, seeing Run Sheng still digging, Li Zhuiyuan turned his head in confusion, discovering that Run Sheng had dug a pit deep enough to bury several people.

"Brother Run Sheng, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Run Sheng scratched his head, pointing at the two unconscious, tied thugs. "Aren't we supposed to bury them?"

"No, it's to bury this coin."

"Oh, I misunderstood."

"Don't touch it with your hands, use the shovel," Li Zhuiyuan cautioned as he approached, applying a large amount of cinnabar paste onto the Yellow River Shovel. Run Sheng carefully picked up the coin with the shovel and placed it into the pit. "Brother Run Sheng, fix that dirt wall first. You almost dug up someone's urn."

"Oh, okay."

This was a graveyard, and Run Sheng had dug so deep that a corner of an urn had become exposed. After fixing the grave wall, Run Sheng began to backfill the pit. Once filled, Li Zhuiyuan marked the spot with a few stones, then bowed towards the location of the underground urn. "Excuse me for disturbing you. Please help me watch over that coin. Next time I return to retrieve it, I'll burn paper money for you."

Until he could confirm the coin's function and danger, Li Zhuiyuan would neither take it nor touch it. He then lowered his head to check Run Sheng's Yellow River Shovel, and was surprised to find that the area where the red ink had been applied had turned white. It was understandable for it to turn black, purple, or other dark colors when digging soil, but turning white could only mean that the coin was truly ominous.

"Brother Run Sheng, let's go."

"Home?"

"To the police station."

"Why do we need to go to the police station again?"

"To fulfill a vow."

Tan Yunlong, yawning as he walked back to his office after a meeting with the city special task force, pushed open the door and saw the boy sitting in his office. Tan Yunlong picked up the thermos, poured a cup of tea, and placed it in front of Li Zhuiyuan. He didn't feel there was anything inappropriate about his actions. Moreover, his next question was:

"Where are the remains?"

"Ugh..." Li Zhuiyuan looked troubled. "Uncle Tan, you skipped many steps."

"Because the last time you came to my office, you told me where the remains were. Now, you're here again."

"In the graveyard at the junction of Xijiao Village and Dongjiao Village. There are two people unconscious nearby."

"Are they accomplices responsible for moving the remains?"

"That needs to be investigated by the police officers, Uncle."

"Thank you, Xiao Yuan. This time, you've truly been a great help from start to finish."

"My Grandmaster often taught me to always remember the close relationship between the police and the people, like fish and water."

"Xiao Yuan, where is your household registration?"

"Uncle Tan, please don't scare a child."

"I was just asking casually, showing some concern for you. My son should be a few years older than you."

"Then you probably don't have a very good relationship with your son."

Tan Yunlong was stumped. It was true; his son only smiled at him when he bought him food and toys.

"Uncle Tan, is the case progressing smoothly?"

"The investigation is proceeding very quickly. Once these remains are confirmed, the case can essentially be closed."

"That's great."

The conversation was finished. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teacup, took a sip of the hot tea, just touching his lips, then put the cup down. "Uncle Tan, I'm going home. You're busy."

"I'll have someone send you."

"No need, my driver is waiting outside."

After the boy left the office, Tan Yunlong seemed to remember something. He went to the corridor, stopped someone, and asked, "Xiao Zhang, did Old Master Li leave?" "Just left, Team Tan. Do you need me to call him back?"

"No need, it's fine. Oh, call a few people and come with me. We're going to pick up some remains."

"Pick up ribs? Is it for dinner tonight?"

Several empty cars were parked outside the police station, blocking the entrance. Cars outside couldn't get in, and cars inside couldn't get out. People had already been dispatched to call for the cars to be moved.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the "Shigang Town Police Station" plaque and embraced it with open arms. He vaguely felt that the dead-fallen's rapid dissipation this time, which completely removed his potential threat, had a significant connection to this plaque.

Just then, the cars blocking the entrance were cleared. Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and saw an old man on the other side of the gate, also embracing a plaque. Old and young exchanged glances. Both silently released their hold.

"Oh, oh, when I see it, I can't help but want to hug it." Li Sanjiang patted the dust from his clothes. "Xiao Yuan, why aren't you home yet?"

"I came to pick you up, Grandmaster."

"Oh, alright, let's go home."

Back home, Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs to shower first, while Run Sheng stood by the well in the courtyard, rinsing himself directly with well water. Liu Yumei, drinking tea, shook her head slightly and sighed.

Li Zhuiyuan came downstairs after his shower, waiting for dinner.

"Xiao Yuan, come with Grandma for a bit." Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked over. A-Li, who had already sat down waiting for dinner, also stood up and followed. Liu Yumei led the boy into the east room. What puzzled Li Zhuiyuan was that Grandma Liu didn't lead him towards the ancestral tablets this time but instead led him into her and A-Li's bedroom.

Once inside, Li Zhuiyuan understood what Liu Yumei meant. Almost half the bed was neatly covered with Jianlibao bottles, each placed at an identical distance from the others. Liu Yumei was at her wits' end; she and A-Li shared a bed, and now she would have to sleep on the floor.

"Grandma Liu, do you have an empty box?"

"Yes, it's here."

Li Zhuiyuan began carefully picking up the Jianlibao bottles from the bed, one by one, and placing them into the box. A-Li stood beside him, head bowed.

"It's so much better to store them in this box. Let's try to fill this box quickly, what do you think?"

A-Li looked up at Li Zhuiyuan, then turned and began placing the Jianlibao bottles from the bed into the box. Liu Yumei was used to this; her days and nights of earnest persuasion were less effective than a single sentence from the boy.

"Xiao Yuan, do you want to turn back?"

"No."

"This path won't be easy."

"Yes, if it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting."

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan watched an episode of Ultraman Leo with A-Li, then went alone to the terrace to complete his horse stance exercises for the day. Returning to his bedroom desk, he turned on the lamp, took out his notebook, and opened the first page, which contained his prepared plan for today's actions.

"Rip..." The plan was torn, crumpled into a ball, and tossed into the wastebasket beside him. After today's events, Li Zhuiyuan realized that even the best plan, once put into action, was at least half obsolete.

Picking up his pen, Li Zhuiyuan began to record the mistakes he had made today.

First: When encountering a special, classic environment like a graveyard, one should not enter too early; it is imperative to scout the perimeter and confirm the situation beforehand.

Second: Before entering the dream state, one must anticipate potential accidents that might occur.

Third: Not following the righteous path seems to make dealing with dead-fallen easier.

Turning to the next page, Li Zhuiyuan began to record the test results and usage of each tool today. Finally, when he came to writing about talismans, Li Zhuiyuan hesitated for a moment, then wrote:

Talisman function: Can be used to detect if there are dirty things nearby; if present, they turn black.

Just as he put down his pen, he heard a knock at the door:

"Xiao Yuan, Grandmaster's going to take a bath. Wait in Grandmaster's bedroom."

"Oh, okay, Grandmaster."

Li Zhuiyuan entered his grandmaster's bedroom. Just like the first two days, a circle of candles was placed on the tiled floor, along with a familiar formation drawn. It was familiar because this formation was slightly different from previous times. And "The Scripture of Kinshara Text" was still open on the floor. This meant that even though this formation had been drawn many times, Grandmaster still had to copy it from the book each time he drew it anew.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the book, turned to the "Fortune Transfer Ritual" page, glanced at the book, then at the formation on the floor.

"Hmm?"

Then, as if he thought his eyes were deceiving him, he looked at the book again, and then carefully at the formation on the floor.

"This time... Grandmaster actually drew it correctly?"

This should have been good news, but Li Zhuiyuan couldn't feel happy. Because when Grandmaster drew the formation incorrectly, its effect was controllable. But who knew what would happen now that Grandmaster had drawn it correctly? The most terrifying thing was always the unknown.

From Li Zhuiyuan's perspective, he knew his grandmaster's purpose in transferring his fortune: he hoped to transfer away the "dark side" elements from him, as perceived by ordinary people, allowing him to return to being a normal child and live a normal life. But this wasn't what he wanted; he had already embarked on this path. Furthermore, even if he didn't consider the possibility of being overwhelmed by his grandmaster's immense fortune, what would he do with his grandmaster's luck? His grandmaster had lived a happy and carefree life for a lifetime. Why risk something bad happening to him in his old age due to sharing his fortune? Grandpa Nan and Grandpa Bei had more than one grandchild, but his grandmaster only acknowledged him as his sole great-grandson. Others might covet this fortune, but Li Zhuiyuan had absolutely no interest in it.

"Grandmaster, you should just enjoy your retirement."

He crouched down, picked up the cinnabar box and a rag nearby. He first wiped away a small corner of the formation on the exact north side, then redrew it with cinnabar, but he changed it from inward-pointing to outward-pointing. Originally, both the north and south corners pointed inward. Although he hadn't started reading books on formations, he had recently copied and carved many onto tools. He knew that such conflicting details could easily render a formation ineffective. Li Zhuiyuan secretly nodded: "Such a large formation, changing such a small corner, Grandmaster probably won't notice."

"Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan!" Run Sheng's shouts came from downstairs.

"Coming."

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and saw Run Sheng gripping the television antenna, constantly moving it.

"Xiao Yuan, look, why is there no picture on the TV?"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the night sky. "It looks like a thunderstorm is coming. Maybe the signal is bad. We're going to see Uncle Shan tomorrow, so you should get some rest early. If the TV isn't fixed tomorrow, we can take it for repair on the way and pick it up on the way back."

"Uh, Xiao Yuan, do you have money to fix the TV? I heard repairing TVs is quite expensive." If he broke the TV, Run Sheng wouldn't dare tell Grandmaster.

"It's fine, Brother Run Sheng. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have money tomorrow."

Li Sanjiang finished his bath, wearing red shorts, wiping water droplets from his body with a towel as he entered the bedroom.

"Huh, where's Xiao Yuan?"

He casually tossed the towel onto the floor and walked towards the head of the bed to get a cigarette. Without looking, he accidentally stepped on the half-wet towel, slipped directly, and lost his balance. Fortunately, though the old man was advanced in years, his body was still robust, and his reaction was quick. He swiftly turned sideways, bracing himself with his left hand on the floor, only scraping his knee slightly, avoiding a full fall.

Getting up with some relief, Li Sanjiang looked at his reddened knee. "Huh, bleeding?" He reached out and touched it; there was no wound. He brought his hand to his eyes and looked again: it wasn't blood, it was cinnabar.

Li Sanjiang looked down at the formation on the floor and realized that a small area of the south-facing formation had been wiped away by his knee. He quickly dragged the cinnabar box over, preparing to fix it.

"Ay, what was this part again?" He had drawn this formation many times, and although he always had to refer to the book, he had generally grasped some patterns, such as the formation being symmetrical. He looked up at the opposite position, which was the true north side.

"Oh, it's an outward-pointing corner."

Li Sanjiang carefully fixed it with cinnabar, clapped his hands, and nodded, very satisfied. Next, he lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then lit all the candles on the floor.

Li Zhuiyuan returned just then.

"Little sparrow, I told you to wait. Why are you running around?"

"Hehe, but I'm here now, Grandmaster."

"Quick, sit inside the formation."

"Alright, Grandmaster."

Li Zhuiyuan sat in his designated spot, specifically looking at the true north position of the formation. Yes, that corner was still pointing outward. Li Sanjiang also sat down then, took out a talisman from his shorts, lit it, and chanted while waving it. Finally, he took a deep breath, preparing to smack the ground forcefully, because that was how he could create a gust of wind to blow out the surrounding candles and simultaneously short-circuit the overhead light bulb, making it flash.

He mentally counted, "One, two, three!"

He brought the talisman down with a "Smack!"

Darkness.

Instantly engulfed everything.