Chapter 43

Li Zhuiyuan held up the black leather book and waved it towards the fishpond. He wasn't sure if it could "see" him, but he felt he had to convey his intentions. He had many tasks and miscellaneous thoughts to deal with, and he needed to tackle them one by one.

"Brother Runsheng, come get these things."

"Coming!"

Runsheng walked over, hoisted all the items onto his back, weighed them in his hands, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. The formation flags were one thing, but this set of corpse-retrieval tools was his most cherished possession. He hadn't even dared to think about them since waking up today, as the thought alone caused him heartache.

"Xiao Yuan, where are they?"

"They went home."

"What about us now?"

"We're also going home."

Back home, Li Zhuiyuan went straight up to the second floor and entered his room. Many books were neatly stacked on his desk. From these six sets of books—*Records of Jianghu Monsters*, *Records of Orthodox Demon Subjugation*, *Essence of Yin-Yang Physiognomy*, *Fate Deduction Theory*, *Liu's Qi-Observing Art*, and *Qin's Dragon-Gazing Method*—Li Zhuiyuan took out one from each set.

He then found unwritten areas on the page edges, picked up an engraving knife, and cut off a strip about a thumb's width from each, totaling six strips. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the black leather book he had just received and cut off another strip. He found a piece of white paper, carefully wrapped the seven strips in order, then found a black plastic bag and put the gold ingot inside. Carrying these items, he went downstairs to the east room.

Liu Yumei had just finished bathing and was sitting by the coffee table, her silver-white hair damp. Seeing the boy arrive, she pointed to the closed door of the inner room and said, "A-Li is taking a bath."

"Grandma Liu, I came to see you."

"Oh? Then make some tea."

Li Zhuiyuan put the items down and began to brew tea.

"Xiao Yuan, I really enjoy watching you make tea."

"It's my pleasure."

After they both picked up their teacups and took a sip, Li Zhuiyuan put his cup down and took out the paper package: "Grandma Liu, I know you're an expert in paper and fabric. I have some paper strips here; could you please take a look for me?"

Liu Yumei's greatest hobby was designing clothes for A-Li. She was often seen sketching with a brush, and although she only drew clothes, the way she handled details revealed a unique charm, no less refined than that of retired art masters from the family compound. If nothing else, Aunt Liu's painting skills must have been learned from her, and A-Li's artistic foundation was equally strong. Such masters of painting and calligraphy often had extensive knowledge of paper materials.

"Alright, let me see."

Li Zhuiyuan first took out two strips of paper, placing them before Liu Yumei. They were from *Essence of Yin-Yang Physiognomy* and *Fate Deduction Theory*. Liu Yumei reached out and touched the two strips, asking, "Do you want to know what material and method they were made with, or what era they are from?"

"The era."

"I see you know a thing or two about antiques. Why, can't you tell the age of ancient books?"

"Grandma, you're joking. I've just seen a lot of them before, but I don't really understand them."

"True, ancient texts are a relatively small branch in the antique trade."

Li Zhuiyuan quietly waited for the answer.

"These two are from the Republican era."

"Republican era?"

"If I'm not mistaken, the characters written on them should be neat and small, suitable for records and filling."

"You have sharp eyes."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the paper strips from *Qin's Dragon-Gazing Method* and *Liu's Qi-Observing Art* and laid them out. There were no characters on them, so he wasn't worried that Liu Yumei would recognize the books. Of course, even if the characters had been cut along with the strips, she probably wouldn't have understood them. In these two books, the writing became more freehand and uglier as the pages progressed. At first, Li Zhuiyuan could guess the characters by linking them to the context, but later on, it felt more like understanding special symbols created by the writer, which he had grown familiar with. Of course, these ugly characters held deep meaning; in fact, it was precisely these unsightly characters that made the "pirated copy" far more valuable than the original.

Liu Yumei picked up the two papers, lightly rubbed them, and then brought them to her nose to smell. She then put them down and said, "From the Ming and Qing dynasties."

"I see."

"If you brought parts with characters, I could tell you a more precise era."

"Shall I go get the books then?"

Liu Yumei shook her head. "No need."

Li Zhuiyuan smiled, as if he had known this answer all along.

Next, he placed the three paper strips from *Records of Jianghu Monsters*, *Records of Orthodox Demon Subjugation*, and the black-covered book onto the table. In fact, these were the three books he primarily wanted Liu Yumei to examine. Li Zhuiyuan had been modest earlier; he could discern the approximate age of those first four books. However, he had never been able to determine the age of Wei Zhengdao's books, only tentatively estimating them to be from the Ming or Qing dynasties based on their quality and preservation. But now a problem arose: the entity in the fishpond was from the Six Dynasties period, approximately 1,500 years ago. The handwriting in the black leather book it had given him was identical to Wei Zhengdao's. Li Zhuiyuan could tell if the handwriting in a book was original or if it had been deliberately imitated by later copyists. Because in both *Records of Jianghu Monsters* and *Records of Orthodox Demon Subjugation*, there was an evident "self-satisfaction" within the writing. This was also present in the black leather book. This meant that the three sets of Wei Zhengdao's books in his possession were not later handwritten copies, but originals. However, if the timeframe was suddenly extended to 1,500 years ago, the preservation of these original books was simply too astonishingly good.

Liu Yumei initially glanced casually at the three paper strips. Her expression then froze, and she immediately reached out, grabbing all three strips tightly in her hand, and asked: "What books are these from?"

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Do you really want me to answer?"

"Never mind, no need to answer." Liu Yumei released her grip, and the three paper strips slowly floated down. She then picked up the teapot and, despite the heat, washed her hands with the hot tea.

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, "Grandma, what era are these three pieces of paper from?"

"Heh, this isn't paper."

"Then what is it...?"

"It's human skin."

Li Zhuiyuan blinked. "Human skin?"

"Have you heard of human skin papermaking?"

"No."

"That's right, you haven't. There are many ways to preserve books for a long time if one is willing to pay enough, and using human skin as raw material is actually the most time-consuming, laborious, and thankless method. Only some specialized practices would use human skin paper to write on."

"I understand."

"Do you really understand? Then do you know which era these three pieces of human skin paper are from?"

"After the Eastern Han, before the Sui and Tang dynasties?"

"I can give you the most specific era."

"Please tell me."

"Southern Liang."

"Grandma, could you be more specific?"

"Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, once used three thousand human skins to make paper, on which he transcribed Buddhist scriptures in pursuit of true Buddha worship. However, before much of this paper could be used, Hou Jing rebelled, and the paper thus circulated out of the palace, becoming known as 'Buddha skin paper'. Your three books are written on this Buddha skin paper."

"Using human skin to make paper, wasn't he famous for his devotion to Buddhism?"

"What's so strange about it? Emperors who worship Buddha and seek enlightenment don't do it out of compassion to save all beings. They merely want to gain immortality to continue enjoying their glory. Wasn't the Taoist emperor of the Ming Dynasty the same? Such emperors cared neither for their empire nor for beauties; they only loved themselves, selfish to the core. So how could they genuinely care about human lives?"

"I stand corrected."

"These books, this paper, if well-preserved, are truly antiques. It seems your great-grandfather's basement really held a lot of good stuff."

"Did you already know that great-grandfather had books in his basement?"

"He himself mentioned that during the 'Destroy the Four Olds' campaign, several groups of people stored things with him, saying someone would come to retrieve them later. But until now, no one has come to collect them."

"Who exactly stored them?"

"I haven't even seen those books myself, so how could I know who they were? Besides, my presbyopia makes it difficult to read now."

"That's a shame. I think some of those books are quite interesting."

"Once A-Li is better, you can read them to me."

"I can't read them out loud; you'd still have to read them yourself."

"Do you have anything else?"

"Yes." Li Zhuiyuan opened the black plastic bag, took out the gold ingot, and placed it before Liu Yumei.

"You little rascal, did you go act like a water ghost?"

"No, I wouldn't dare."

"This is funerary gold, used for burials."

"It's gold."

"What, you want to exchange it for money with me?"

"Yes."

"Hehehe." Liu Yumei covered her mouth and chuckled, "You rascal, are you treating my place like a pawn shop?"

"It's a fair transaction, nothing else involved."

The main thing was that it had only left one gold ingot, and this was money for renting land and planting trees. Giving it directly to great-grandfather would be hard to explain, and exchanging it for cash elsewhere would also be troublesome. After all, great-grandfather only needed to go to the village to pay and sign, but Li Zhuiyuan had many more things to consider.

"Alright, how heavy is this?"

"I haven't weighed it."

Liu Yumei picked up the gold ingot, weighed it in her hand, and asked, "Should I convert it for you at the current gold price?"

"Yes. But it's an intact gold ingot."

"Heh, you rascal, Grandma will add ten percent for you."

"Thank you, Grandma."

This was also the advantage of exchanging it with Liu Yumei; if he cut it open at an outside store, its quality would be ruined.

"A-Ting."

"Coming." Aunt Liu came out of the kitchen, leaned down to listen to Liu Yumei's instructions in her ear, then nodded. "Okay, I'll go to the bank right away."

Liu Yumei looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said, "I can give it to you tonight."

"Okay, Grandma."

"You still haven't clearly explained what happened last night."

"It's a bit hard to explain clearly, but it's resolved nonetheless."

"That's good." Liu Yumei turned slightly and looked at the boy. "You don't look so well."

"Maybe I didn't rest well."

"No, it looks like you slept too much. Be careful; oversleeping isn't good for you. It can make you groggy and unable to distinguish between reality and dreams."

Just then, the door to the east room opened, and A-Li stood in the doorway. Some ancient verses always seemed exaggerated, but only when you truly witnessed them in reality would you realize how apt the descriptions were, such as the phrase "naturally unadorned." Accustomed to seeing A-Li dressed up, her appearance fresh out of the bath was especially pure and delicate. Li Zhuiyuan smiled. With her by his side, how could he possibly confuse dreams with reality?

Liu Yumei suddenly remarked, "When I was young, I was as beautiful as A-Li."

Li Zhuiyuan quickly responded, "Did Grandpa fall for you when you were ten?"

"You rascal, you're asking for a beating." Liu Yumei reached out to swat Li Zhuiyuan, but he dodged. A-Li walked over, and Liu Yumei stood up, ready to help her granddaughter get dressed and tidy up. Unexpectedly, her granddaughter followed the boy directly into the main house and upstairs. For a moment, Liu Yumei felt a bit awkward, but since she was already standing, she simply stretched lazily.

"Oh, exercising late at night?"

Li Sanjiang and Tan Wenbin returned, pushing empty carts. They had just delivered tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks to someone. Liu Yumei: "Old bones and old legs need to keep moving."

"Indeed, they do. Our mule at home is sick, and I'm truly tired after making a delivery." Li Sanjiang walked to a chair and sat down, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. He needed a moment to recover.

Tan Wenbin, meanwhile, asked, "Is Xiao Yuan back?"

"He's back, just went upstairs."

"Okay, Grandma."

Tan Wenbin didn't go upstairs to find Xiao Yuan; instead, he ran to the workshop. As soon as he pushed open the door, a rich aroma of meat greeted him.

"Oh, Runsheng, you're so unethical, secretly roasting meat and eating it here!" Saying this, he reached out, pinched a piece from the stove, and popped it into his mouth without even blowing on it.

"Hoo... so hot... so hot!"

Runsheng: "..."

"Crispy, not bad. Are you roasting pork rind? Why didn't you prepare any dipping sauce? Even salt would be good without chili."

"Is it good?"

"It's delicious, the meat is quite fresh."

"Want some more?"

"Of course, don't be silly."

"Here, which piece do you want? I'll cut it for you."

Runsheng laid out the two sets of leather clothing on the workbench, "lifelike." He was just about to destroy them as Xiao Yuan had instructed, but Tan Wenbin came in and immediately started eating, so he didn't even have time to warn him. Tan Wenbin saw the two thin figures lying on the workbench. His expression was blank for a full thirty seconds, yet he continued to numbly chew the food in his mouth. Finally, he lowered his head, spat out what was in his mouth, and clutched his throat: "Ugh!!!"

"The restroom is right next door. Go throw up there."

Binbin was unmoving, squatting on the ground and continuing to gag. Runsheng didn't want him to dirty the place, so he simply picked Binbin up and carried him into the restroom, letting him hold onto the "dragon throne" (toilet) and throw up loudly. After returning to the workshop, Runsheng cut up all the remaining leather clothes and then put them into the furnace in batches. They were destroyed, but afterwards, the furnace would need to be cleaned as well, otherwise it would be covered in grease.

A pale-faced Tan Wenbin returned. He looked at the now empty workbench and asked, "That was just my imagination, right?"

"It's nothing, just dirty meat."

"No, did you really eat that stuff?"

Runsheng shook his head. "I don't eat it."

"Phew..." Tan Wenbin sighed in relief.

"This meat isn't dirty enough, it wasn't marinated properly."

Tan Wenbin slumped down, reached up, and ruffled his hair. "I always feel like you guys are tricking me."

"Tricking you about what?"

"From beginning to end, it feels like a sitcom, and I'm always cast aside at critical moments. I still haven't seen an animated dead puppet."

"Just pretend we are tricking you then."

"But it doesn't seem like it. Xiao Yuan wouldn't lie to me about something like this."

Runsheng reached out and touched Tan Wenbin's forehead, asking with concern, "Are you food poisoned?"

Tan Wenbin shook his head, feeling wronged. He had seen Li Zhuiyuan simultaneously recite answers to math problems as he read them aloud. For a high school senior-to-be, that sight was even more miraculous than seeing an animated dead puppet.

"Runsheng, can you tell me what happened last night now? Xiao Yuan asked me to come ask you."

Runsheng nodded and recounted the events of last night and today. After listening, Tan Wenbin's face grew even paler.

"So, those two water ghosts I encountered today were actually possessed by dead puppets?"

"Do you even need to ask? You just ate the skin."

"Don't mention that; I've already forgotten about it."

"Do you have anything else to ask?"

"No, that's all." Tan Wenbin shakily stood up and staggered out.

"Where are you going?"

"To the small shop to call my dad and ask him to pick me up."

Tan Wenbin walked to the dam, squatted down, and with trembling hands, pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. But he struck the match many times, failing to produce a spark. He had just been joking; how could he possibly call his dad to pick him up? He hadn't seen a dead puppet this time, but there would surely be another chance. This feeling was like someone who loved spicy food but couldn't handle it—it hurt terribly, yet they couldn't resist trying again.

"Scratch!"

The match lit, and Tan Wenbin immediately bent down to light his cigarette. A roaring sound came, and a police three-wheeled motorcycle drove onto the dam. Tan Wenbin, with the cigarette still in his mouth, looked up and met Tan Yunlong's gaze.

"Plop."

The cigarette dropped from his mouth onto the ground. Tan Yunlong got off the police vehicle, walked over, and delivered a "fatherly kick."

"Thud!"

Tan Wenbin was kicked to the ground. The dam was flat, and he rolled several times.

"I sent you here so you could smoke? I see you've forgotten all manners!"

Tan Wenbin retorted, "Dad, aren't you using a public vehicle for private purposes?"

"Heh." Tan Yunlong began to unbuckle his belt.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Li Sanjiang came out and stopped Tan Yunlong. "Don't always lay hands on the boy. What if you hurt him?"

"Grandpa, this guy was just squatting here smoking!"

"Ah, I just pulled it out for the boy to tease him. He doesn't smoke at all. If you want to hit someone, hit me."

"Grandpa, you can't protect him like that. If you spoil a child too much, they won't learn to be good."

"I spoil my Xiao Yuanhou, and I think he's quite good."

"Are they the same?"

"They're both boys; what's so different?"

"I dream of them being different."

"Come, sit down. Stay for dinner tonight."

"No, Grandpa, I'm here on official business. A theatrical troupe had an accident this afternoon in Pingchao Town. Their vehicle broke through the guardrail while crossing a bridge and fell into the river."

"Which troupe?"

"The one that performed in Siyuan Village yesterday."

"Oh, that one. What about the people? How are they?"

"They're all dead."

"Hiss... How could that happen?"

"It was just a simple car accident, but too many people died. So I'm here to conduct routine inquiries, to ask if anything happened during yesterday's performance, like arguments or fights that caused conflict."

"No, nothing. They performed quite well yesterday. I guess they drove all night without closing their eyes and succumbed to fatigue."

"Hmm, these people have a somewhat special status; they're a theatrical troupe from another province."

"I suppose work is hard to find in other provinces, so they came here looking for jobs. Ah, what a pity."

"Alright, that's that then. Grandpa, Binbin being here has caused you trouble."

"No trouble at all. This boy is very good and even helped me with work. Actually, his character is excellent; I can see that."

"It's just that his grades aren't good. He doesn't focus on his studies and just thinks about playing all day."

"Aren't all boys like that? My Xiao Yuanhou is the same; he loves to play and doesn't care much for studying."

Tan Yunlong: "..."

"Grandpa, don't you know about Xiao Yuan's academic performance?"

"It's all thanks to your help; otherwise, I'd still be worrying if he could even attend school."

"Didn't Xiao Yuan tell you?"

"He did. He said you helped arrange everything."

"It's what I should do. With nine years of compulsory education, how could a child not be able to attend school?"

Since the elder didn't know, Tan Yunlong didn't elaborate further.

"You should still stay for dinner."

"No, no, I'm leaving."

After bidding farewell to Li Sanjiang, Tan Yunlong got on his motorcycle and left. Tan Wenbin only got up from the ground and brushed the dust off himself after seeing his father leave. Li Sanjiang pulled out a cigarette and offered it to him. "Still dare to smoke?"

"What's there to be afraid of!"

"Thwack!"

Li Sanjiang gave Tan Wenbin a hard knuckle rap on the head. Tan Wenbin clutched his head and said, feeling very wronged, "Grandpa, what was that for?"

"Don't resent your dad. He's also doing it for your own good. When you grow up, your dad will give you cigarettes."

"Heh..." Tan Wenbin's lips unconsciously curved into a smile at the thought of this scene. "That sounds great."

"Alright, kiddo, when your dad first offers you a cigarette, you won't be smiling then."

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't in a hurry to look at the book; instead, he sat in the room, playing chess with A-Li. Game after game, he lost every one. The boy enjoyed this process, as it helped calm his anxious emotions. He knew he had a bad habit of overthinking, but in front of the girl, he would become very quiet.

Aunt Liu came upstairs and knocked on the door. Li Zhuiyuan stepped out and took a bag from her, which contained money.

"Thank you, Aunt Liu."

"Come down for dinner."

"Okay."

Because Aunt Liu had gone to the bank, dinner was relatively simple: noodles with two kinds of toppings, but it was still delicious.

"Hey, Zhuangzhuang, why don't you have an appetite tonight?"

"I ate too much at lunch."

"I thought your dad had kicked your stomach bad."

"Not that bad. He's very precise with his kicks."

"Zhuangzhuang, you'll be a police officer too, right?"

"No way."

"Being a police officer is so good."

"My grandpa said that just being a police officer is good. But if the words 'People's' aren't in front, it's a lot more tiring and the burden is much heavier with those two words."

"Your elder is wise indeed."

"Uh, are you talking about my grandpa?"

"He's your grandpa too."

Tan Wenbin turned to Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Xiao Yuan, what university are you planning to apply to?"

"Haihe University."

"Alright, I'll apply there too. We can report to the school together then."

"Clack!"

Li Sanjiang rapped Tan Wenbin on the head with the end of his chopsticks: "What nonsense are you talking? If you report with our Xiao Yuanhou, how many years would you have to repeat?!"

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that A-Li's noodle-eating had become very natural; she no longer aimed for perfectly even lengths each time. When she finished eating, Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Do you want more?" A-Li shook her head. Li Zhuiyuan picked up a handkerchief, and she instinctively leaned forward. After wiping her mouth and hands, Li Zhuiyuan folded the handkerchief and wiped himself as well. Seeing the girl staring at the handkerchief, the boy deliberately put it in his pocket. The girl seemed to pout slightly.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan coaxed A-Li back to her room to sleep. When he returned to the main house, he saw Runsheng and Tan Wenbin sitting together in front of the television, with rattan and wooden strips laid out before them. They were making paper effigies while watching TV. Surprisingly, Tan Wenbin's movements were very skilled; an outsider would think his family also ran a traditional paper craft shop.

"Brother Binbin."

"Hey, Brother Xiao Yuan."

"Aren't you going to study or do your homework?"

"I brought all my homework. I've already written the essay myself; for the rest, could you help me with them before I go back?"

"If you keep doing this, your parents won't let you come here anymore."

"Don't worry, the worse my grades are, the more they'll want to keep me here."

"That makes a lot of sense."

"Hehe, after all, tying me up in a Confucian temple wasn't as effective as dropping me off here."

"Is Haihe University easy to get into?"

"Brother Xiao Yuan, are you reminding me to study hard?"

"Just asking."

"You don't know?"

"No."

"Oh, right, all universities in China probably look the same to you. With my current grades, my chances of getting into Haihe University are as high as every household owning a color TV in the future."

"Then you should be able to get in. One of my brothers said so."

Upon reaching the second floor, Li Zhuiyuan began to practice horse stance while performing breathing exercises. After finishing his practice, he took a shower and then returned to his room. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding the black leather book in his hand. He knew he would definitely learn from it. Because he was still young, as Liu Yumei had said, it wasn't suitable to practice hard martial arts before his bones had fully developed. However, he couldn't accept his repeated helplessness when facing crises. Although the recent crises he had encountered were somewhat outrageous—it was like Zhao Kuo, who studied at home, suddenly encountering Bai Qi the moment he stepped out. But... he still needed to learn some non-physical methods to directly confront dead puppets.

It handing him this book was an overt scheme. However, the final outcome might not be what it wished to see. Placing the book under his pillow, Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed, walked to the wardrobe, and looked at himself in the mirror. A feeling of unfamiliarity? But he had felt quite unfamiliar with himself in the mirror for a long time. Tainting and distorting emotions? How he wished he had emotions for it to taint. You say I'm like Wei Zhengdao, so is there a possibility... Li Zhuiyuan placed his hand on the mirror. His reflection in the mirror became blurred, seemingly transforming into another stranger. Of course, this was merely Li Zhuiyuan's own imagining.

"Wei Zhengdao, Li Lan, and I have the same illness?"

He went to bed early and woke up early. When he awoke, it was still dark. He turned his head and saw it wasn't yet time for the girl to arrive. After getting up and washing, he picked up the black leather book and walked to the edge of the terrace. He saw the east room door open, and A-Li emerged, dressed in a white top and a pleated horse-face skirt. She looked up at the boy standing upstairs. Li Zhuiyuan smiled and waved to her. Although the sky hadn't brightened yet, his sun had already risen.

With the girl sitting beside him, Li Zhuiyuan formally began to read through the black leather book. Familiar handwriting, familiar self-satisfaction. Perhaps because it was written for a friend, this feeling was even stronger, carrying the joy of sharing one's good things with a good friend. Li Zhuiyuan felt that it might have hated the wrong person. Wei Zhengdao might truly have taught him this method with pure intentions, but some methods aren't suitable for everyone. As he continued reading, Li Zhuiyuan confirmed his conjecture.

Chapter One: Soul-Traveling Control.Chapter Two: Consciousness Integration.Chapter Three: Cognitive Guidance.Chapter Four: Complete Manipulation.

The book wasn't thick, nor was its content extensive; it merely described a method. To learn it, one only needed to follow the instructions precisely. However, the difficulty was immense. Just the ability to control soul-traveling alone was beyond the grasp of most people. From this perspective, that entity was truly a genius; it had actually learned it and controlled so many dead puppets. Furthermore, this book was quite insidious. It treated dead puppets as a type of "animal," establishing a connection through soul-traveling, then integrating with their consciousness to read their memories from before death. Finally, it would lure and manipulate their behavior, much like hypnosis or deception. It was very much like... animal taming. Perhaps in formal books, one had to maintain a dignified stance, repeatedly writing "destroyed by the righteous path." But in notes written for a friend, one could let loose and express true thoughts. Wei Zhengdao, Wei Zhengdao, for you to even conceive of such a method, what kind of righteous path is that?

For Li Zhuiyuan, the first step wasn't difficult, nor were the third and fourth steps. He could already control soul-traveling, and he also knew how to hypnotize and lure, having plenty of experience being studied by a psychologist himself. It was the second step that he currently had no clue about. Wei Zhengdao's descriptions were profound and enigmatic; Li Zhuiyuan had to try and "translate" them into modern terminology to understand them better. It seemed like a frequency, similar to a radio, where he needed to create a resonance between himself and the dead puppet. Could it be understood this way? Then how to adjust this frequency?

Li Zhuiyuan leaned back in the rattan chair, covered his face with the book, and closed his eyes. He wanted to find a feeling, first seeking a half-asleep, half-awake state to perform soul-traveling. Beside him, the girl saw the boy lie down and lay down with him. Under the morning light, the boy and girl lay side by side on adjacent rattan chairs, with the girl turned to her side, watching the boy's face.

Li Zhuiyuan found that feeling, as if his soul-traveling had been successful. He slowly opened his eyes, but everything around him was hazy and he couldn't see anything. Following the book's instructions, Li Zhuiyuan began to try and control his conscious perception to vibrate, which was his understanding of... frequency. In reality, the boy lying on the rattan chair, his eyelashes began to twitch rapidly. A-Li noticed. She reached out to touch him, but halfway through, she withdrew her hand, and then she too closed her eyes. The hazy surroundings remained unchanged.

Li Zhuiyuan finally realized a big problem: what was he experimenting with here if he didn't even have a test subject? But what could he do? Should he ask Brother Runsheng to go out and tie up a dead puppet to bring back for his experiments? But just then, the surrounding scene began to vibrate faster, as if some powerful wavelength was actively responding to him. The mist in front of him began to recede, and Li Zhuiyuan saw a girl sitting with her knees drawn up in the center of the darkness.

Uh, was he... sensing A-Li?