The Cat-Faced Old Woman stared at Li Zhuiyuan in utter shock.
She could hardly believe such words had come from the mouth of the child standing before her.
Her hands unconsciously released the boy's shoulders, and her body drew back half a step.
At this moment, a bewildering doubt even surfaced in her mind:
Why, compared to him, did she feel like the tantrum-throwing toddler who only knew how to lash out blindly?
Between him and her,
just who was the dead-flipper here?
He spoke with crisp confidence, without hesitation. Nor did he pause; he simply continued:
"For the one you cripple, take care which parts you break. I'd recommend hemiplegia—paralysis over half the body. Given conditions here, there's no way they'll buy him a wheelchair, and no one will quit working the fields just to push him around to cheer him up.
"Once paralyzed, he'll be confined to bed, curled up in filthy, stinking bedding, entirely dependent on others to feed, clean, and wipe him.
"He must still be able to talk. He must be able to weep and wail, and his hands must have enough strength to grab things and throw them in fury.
"Only then will there be a good show to watch. Only then will the interaction be rich and the experience truly satisfying."
The Cat-Faced Old Woman nodded blankly. Her hands instinctively reached out to smooth the creases she had crumpled into the boy's clothes earlier. But her hands were so filthy that they only smeared his clothes worse, and she shrank back slightly in embarrassment.
"As for the one you afflict with sickness, take note: don't give him a terminal illness right off the bat.
"Make it a recurring, obstinate ailment—the kind that can be kept under control through great cost and exhaustive effort for a while, but can never be fully cured.
"Keep the severity in check. It must not be fatal, yet it must cause agonizing torment worse than death.
"You also need to manage the frequency of the flare-ups. Each time he recovers, grant him a brief respite so he can truly savor the precious gift of good health.
"However, this interval must never be too long. Don't give him an entire productive labor cycle, and don't give him a chance to generate real value for the household.
"That way, both he and his family will be sucked into a vicious cycle of mutual depletion amidst recurring suffering and unending medical expenses. It will be far easier to ignite domestic strife, tear away their pretenses, and lay bare the ugliness of human nature."
The Cat-Faced Old Woman quietly took another two steps back, folding her hands before her waist. "Is... is there more?"
"Most important of all: the one driven mad must not go completely, hopelessly insane. Becoming totally senseless would be far too merciful—she wouldn't understand anything, which amounts to handing her an easy release. Where's the fun in that?
"Make her madness intermittent. For the vast majority of every day, she must be perfectly lucid. She should only lose her mind for brief spells, but those fits must be fiercely aggressive.
"I imagine her family will resort to forceful restraints, just as she did to her mother.
"Give her plenty of sober hours to curse, wail, lament, and scream hysterically.
"She will probably repent, won't she? We don't need to empathize with her or put ourselves in her shoes. We can simply treat her repentance as one of our prime sources of entertainment and savor every drop of it."
Having reached this point, Li Zhuiyuan gave a nod of self-satisfaction.
"Those are all the finer points worth noting for now. Do you have anything you'd like to add or suggest?"
"N-no... nothing at all," the Cat-Faced Old Woman replied.
"Actually, this plan originally carried a slight risk: what if an exceptionally filial child really emerged among their offspring?
"Still, that shouldn't happen. The old lady's own grandchildren all believed she lived too long, that she drained away their good fortune and ruined their prospects.
"With descendants of that caliber, you can rest quite easy."
"Yes, easy... very easy," the Cat-Faced Old Woman stammered.
"So, what do you think of this plan?"
"Ah? It's good, very good, marvelous! I will follow your instructions to the letter."
Right then, Li Zhuiyuan noticed wisps of black vapor rising from the Cat-Faced Old Woman's body, looking somewhat like dry ice sublimating across a stage.
"What's happening to you?"
The billowing black mist quickly receded.
"It's because this plan is so good... so good that just imagining it, my resentment actually began to disperse."
"Can you still hold on?"
"I can. My malice runs deep. I imagine that once all three have met the retribution they deserve, I will finally attain total release."
"So, you've been in agony this whole time?"
"Every breath of every day feels like being deep-fried in boiling oil, enduring relentless torment. If I couldn't speak, if I had no mind of my own, it might be far easier to bear. Unfortunately... I possess both, which multiplies the suffering several times over."
"How pitiful."
"No, not pitiful. Things like us... no, like me.
"For something like me to exist, to come into being, is already a rare feat.
"Though every time I look up at the heavens I am gripped by dread and terror, I... am grateful to It."
Li Zhuiyuan gazed at the Cat-Faced Old Woman before him. In truth, he was not looking at the old woman, but at that black cat.
The old woman had endured bitter hardships to raise three children and had helped rear their sons and daughters as well.
Yet in the end, the only one who truly remembered her kindness—who was willing to endure excruciating daily torment merely to avenge her—was this ugly, crippled old cat she had taken in.
Perhaps the greatest difference between humans and beasts was that humanity's lower limit could sink far deeper than a beast's ever could.
"Only... are you certain that telling me all this... that guiding me won't bring trouble down upon yourself?"
"Me?" Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "How could any trouble come to me? I am clearly performing a good deed."
"A good deed?"
"Of course."
Li Zhuiyuan pointed toward the three Niu siblings still kneeling inside the house and explained:
"You, a foul dead-flipper, intended to slaughter them, yet I saved their lives. Isn't that performing an act of charity and accumulating merit?"
The Cat-Faced Old Woman parted her mouth, revealing a row of rotting teeth.
"It... it can be interpreted like that?"
"Well, I haven't officially entered the fold yet. I'm still reading the beginner books, so I honestly don't know whether my reasoning holds water. To find out the answer... I'll just have to go back and keep studying.
"I'm still young, after all, and my grades in this subject aren't up to par yet. I must study hard."
"You... you're still going to keep studying?" the Cat-Faced Old Woman murmured.
"Mm, of course I am."
"Thank you."
"No need for thanks. Persuading you to do this served my own selfish interest as well.
"My great-grandpa and his companions came to the Niu family to sit the rites. If these three ended up dead from some freak incident tonight, the trade reputation my great-grandpa relies on to make a living would be ruined.
"Great-Grandpa treats me very well, you see."
"In truth, your great-grandpa already raised his hand in mercy once."
"What?"
"Rest assured," the Cat-Faced Old Woman said. "I know what needs to be done."
Li Zhuiyuan broke into a smile of innocent, childlike radiance. "Thank you, Grandma."
Just then, shouts echoed in the distance. Great-Grandpa and the others were searching nearby.
Li Zhuiyuan gave the Cat-Faced Old Woman a wave, then stepped out onto the path.
"Xiao Yuanhou! Xiao Yuanhou! Where are you, Xiao Yuanhou!"
Hearing the figures calling in the distance brought a profound sense of comfort and enjoyment to Li Zhuiyuan's heart. When he had first arrived in his ancestral hometown, he had found the dialect suffix *hou* tacked onto his childhood name quite jarring.
Yet it was almost always elders who addressed him that way. Embedded within that local dialect particle was the sheer fondness and affection his family's elders held for him.
Old Professor Xu from the Chinese Department in the university family compound was from Guangdong, and he had once noted that with economic development and population mobility, local dialects were bound to fade from the stage of history.
Pan Zi, Lei Zi, and Ying Zi all spoke Mandarin at school now.
Thus, Li Zhuiyuan knew that once the old folks gradually passed away, these calls of "Xiao Yuanhou" would only ever be retrieved and savored from the deepest recesses of memory.
"Great-Grandpa! Great-Grandpa!"
Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and called back.
Li Sanjiang and Runsheng came running over, trailed by Grandpa Shan, Liu Jinxia, and several villagers.
"Xiao Yuanhou, are you all right?" Li Sanjiang patted Li Zhuiyuan down from head to toe, confirming that his great-grandson was not missing an arm or a leg.
Runsheng's face was drenched in sweat, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
Earlier, the two of them had pinned down Niu Fu and Niu Rui respectively, only to realize moments later that they were wrestling two bundles of straw.
Looking up to find Xiao Yuanhou gone as well, they had frantically set out into the dark to search for him.
Grandpa Shan was injured, but he felt he could still be of some help. Liu Jinxia had not intended to come along, but she was too terrified to stay alone in the shed.
As for the villagers behind them, many had heard the shouts and volunteered to help find the child, and even more villagers were gathering toward the commotion.
It had to be said that the local folkways were still remarkably wholesome, though even the finest fruit tree could not prevent a few twisted fruits from growing.
Some villagers had already begun shouting that the Niu siblings were missing too. Seeing that midnight had long passed without their return, the siblings' own households had also come out to search.
"Great-Grandpa, in there. Inside the old house," Li Zhuiyuan whispered from within Li Sanjiang's arms, pointing carefully so that only his great-grandpa could hear.
Li Sanjiang nodded and gently pushed Li Zhuiyuan toward Liu Jinxia. Then, raising a peach wood sword, his posture suddenly grew vastly taller and more imposing.
Li Zhuiyuan recognized it immediately—it was the very sword he had brought along.
"Come on, we've got the numbers! Everyone charge in with me, strike down the dead-flipper, and save them!"
Li Sanjiang took the lead and charged toward the old house. Runsheng followed without a second thought. Grandpa Shan stamped his foot, bit his lip, and rushed after them.
The villagers trailing behind felt somewhat timid. They were willing enough to help search for a lost youngster, but charging at a dead-flipper genuinely terrified them.
Still, there was safety in numbers, and despite their hesitations, they gradually followed along.
Yet no sooner had the three men charged inside than ear-splitting caterwauls and sounds of violent scuffling erupted from the old house, mingled with what sounded like an old woman's shrill screams and curses.
A few villagers recognized it—that was Old Lady Niu's voice.
But hadn't Old Lady Niu died half a year ago?
Faced with such an eerie spectacle, even the boldest villagers dared not advance another inch and could only wait on the spot for the outcome.
Fortunately, the shrieks gradually died down. Before long, Li Sanjiang emerged from beneath the old locust tree in front of the ruined house carrying one person on his back, while Runsheng followed with two.
"They've been rescued!"
"Heavens, the Niu folks really were in there!"
"The dead-flipper has been subdued!"
Li Sanjiang gave his back a heave, and with a dull thud, Niu Lian landed straight on the gravel path.
Runsheng followed suit, releasing his arms so that Niu Fu and Niu Rui slid to the ground, rolling over before lying still.
The villagers instantly crowded round to gawk at the spectacle, firing off questions left and right. This would be prime gossip come daylight, not to mention a priceless badge of honor to show off whenever they traveled beyond the village. In the future, a man could light a cigarette, put on a mysterious air, and declare:
"Bah, none of what you're talking about amounts to anything! Let me tell you about what went down in our village back then..."
The three Niu siblings had vanished without warning, only to turn up unconscious at the old family home. Clearly, they had run into something supernatural.
The gaze the crowd turned upon Li Sanjiang and the others was brimming with deep admiration and respect, flattering compliments pouring out without pause. These men truly possessed immense skill!
Who could guarantee smooth sailing for their entire life without ever running into a foul spirit? Even if one never encountered such things oneself, what about family, relatives, or friends? So long as someone had an ounce of sense, they would always treat masters of the craft with utmost courtesy.
Grandpa Shan stood watching Li Sanjiang bask in the villagers' lavish praise, his lip itching with resentment.
He had charged in right behind the others just now. He had seen the Cat-Faced Old Woman standing in the doorway of the old house. Li Sanjiang had halted with his peach wood sword raised, waiting for Grandpa Shan and Runsheng to engage first.
Yet for reasons beyond comprehension, that Cat-Faced Old Woman had suddenly lunged straight at Li Sanjiang—and hurled herself right onto the peach wood sword in his grip, running herself entirely through.
Then came a chorus of ghostly howls, cat shrieks, and an old woman's wails, and then... it was just gone!
Grandpa Shan had been tempted to slap himself across the face twice to check if his eyes were playing tricks on him. A corpse demon capable of confounding all of them and reducing him to pissing his trousers like a dog... had been eradicated just like that?
Li Sanjiang himself had looked rather taken aback. He had even flicked the blade of his peach wood sword and remarked with heartfelt sigh:
"Must be genuine peach wood after all. The quality from state-owned furniture factories is truly dependable."
...
"Make way, make way, everyone!" Li Sanjiang pointed at the three figures on the ground. "They've been stricken by a spirit affliction and haven't regained their senses. Someone ladle out some golden liquid from the nearby cess jars, heat it up nice and hot, and pour it down their gullets."
In truth, Li Sanjiang knew Blind Liu was the most adept at purging spirit afflictions. But on one hand, Blind Liu was injured and in poor shape; on the other, Li Sanjiang knew full well what kind of scum these three were. They had it coming.
The villagers split into two groups: one carried the Niu siblings back to the memorial service shed, while the other dashed off to scoop out the fermented nightsoil and heat it up. The latter group was noticeably more excited and sprightly, practically walking on air.
The shed quickly filled to bursting. Villagers who had been sound asleep were roused by the commotion or shaken awake by neighbors, flocking over to join the spectacle.
The memorial rites had been deserted and desolate during the day, yet past midnight, the place was packed to the gills.
Grandpa Shan and Liu Jinxia sat on separate chairs, showered with solicitous inquiries by the villagers.
In the crowd's eyes, these two had surely sustained their wounds while locked in life-and-death combat with the dead-flipper!
A sharp-eyed child noticed Grandpa Shan's soaking-wet trousers, only to be sternly scolded by a parent, who insisted the wetness came from the water dripping off the dead-flipper during the fight.
Then a villager who had passed by the burial mound came running with news: Old Lady Niu's grave had been dug open, and the inside was completely empty.
This revelation propelled the chatter in the shed to a fever pitch, making it rowdier than an open-air movie screening.
The busiest man was still Li Sanjiang. Sword held high, he paced back and forth, brandishing the weapon in ritual performance.
His movements were neither standard nor otherworldly, lacking grace and coherence. In terms of sheer spectacle, he lagged far behind the monks and Daoists of professional funeral performance troupes. Yet the villagers were well aware that those troupe performances were mere smoke and mirrors; this old man before them was the real deal.
Li Sanjiang slashed here, stabbed there, pausing and advancing, muttering old recitations under his breath.
His words were mumbled and indistinct, sounding to Li Zhuiyuan's ears rather like the broadcast of *Generals of the Yang Family* that Great-Grandpa listened to on the radio when cooling off on the terrace in the evening.
Having had a full night's sleep, and spurred on by the rapt attention and cheers of the crowd, Li Sanjiang put on an even more energetic performance.
When a foul stench wafted in, Li Sanjiang crisply brought his sword to a halt:
"There! The ghostly taint is banished, and the demonic aura is purged. Rest easy, everyone—this place will know peace from now on."
The crowd erupted into applause and cheers.
Li Sanjiang stood with the sword held behind his back, wearing an understated smile.
He knew full well that his earlier display of theatrical moves was meaningless, but since he hadn't charged extra money for it, it didn't count as profiting from feudal superstition. He considered it a harmless gesture to grant the villagers peace of mind and some emotional satisfaction.
The golden liquid, carried in a plastic bucket, was brought forward, steaming with heat.
Catching the scent, many onlookers began gagging, and several promptly threw up. Even so, not a single person was willing to step back or leave!
Those who had shoved their way into the inner ring bore the brunt of the odor, yet they pinched their noses and watched with rapt attention. Those in the outer circle hopped on their tiptoes, terrified of missing an iconic moment.
It was truly a case of smelling vile, yet watching with relish.
Li Sanjiang's own stomach was churning wildly, but he forced himself to stand tall and direct the villagers to pour it down.
Several meddlesome villagers had already tied damp rags across their noses. Prying open the siblings' jaws, they used a large ladle meant for pig troughs to pour the warm concoction in with meticulous care.
Their hands did not tremble in the least, remarkably steady; not a drop was spilled or splashed.
It was just like pouring hot water into a vacuum flask, accompanied by a distinct, hollow *glug-glug-glug*.
Niu Fu, the first to be dosed, was the first to wake. He dropped to his hands and knees, retching violently.
Next came Niu Rui and Niu Lian.
Soon, all three siblings were vomiting in unison, while their own children hurried over with bowls of clean water for them to rinse their mouths.
The surrounding villagers beamed with delight, voicing lavish praise. The remedy might reek, but its efficacy was undeniable!
Once the three siblings finished vomiting—or rather, once they grew accustomed to the taste—they scrambled forward on their knees, weeping loudly. Grabbing hold of Li Sanjiang's legs, they wailed their profuse gratitude.
They still retained hazy memories of the incident; all three had seen their dead mother returning to claim their lives. Had Li Sanjiang and his companions not been here sitting the rites tonight, their ruthless, stone-hearted mother would surely have dragged them down to the underworld.
They were weeping for their narrow escape from death, so their tears were exceptionally genuine. Niu Lian let loose an endless torrent of flowery words, praising Li Sanjiang as their reborn father.
Her two brothers followed the same pattern as their daytime mourning, echoing their sister's final syllables like a backing chorus.
Li Sanjiang offered words of comfort while doing his level best to shove them off. For one, he was repulsed by the overpowering stench clinging to them; for another, being hailed as their reborn father felt like pure bad luck—this wasn't gratitude, it felt like a curse!
Even so, having the Niu siblings testify to the miracle upon waking effectively cast a glorious halo over Li Sanjiang, Grandpa Shan, and Liu Jinxia in the eyes of the villagers.
From this day forward, whenever anyone in this village or neighboring hamlets ran into unnatural trouble, they would surely head straight to Siyuan Village to seek out the Li family corpse retrievers.
After a round of weeping, confiding, and shoving, Li Sanjiang received the final payment from the Niu siblings.
Normally, the final installment was quite modest, as custom dictated that the lion's share be paid upfront. This time, however, the red envelope was stuffed unusually thick—a very handsome sum indeed.
It seemed the Niu siblings were stingy only toward their own mother; when it came to their own lives and dealing with outsiders, they were remarkably generous.
Grandpa Shan gripped his cash-gift envelope, unable to keep his lips pressed together, exposing the dark, empty gaps where his teeth had been.
Yet turning his head and seeing that the packet in Li Sanjiang's hand was far thicker than his own, his chest tightened in frustration. It was always like this—every single time!
Liu Jinxia felt moderate about it all, neither particularly elated nor sorrowful. Her face still stung with a scorching ache, and she couldn't tell whether her skin was simply thinner than Grandpa Shan's or whether that lad Runsheng had been especially ruthless with his slaps.
The Niu siblings even tried to adopt Li Sanjiang as their godfather, but Li Sanjiang turned them down without the slightest hesitation.
To make his refusal stick, Li Sanjiang concocted a whole theory about his astrological destiny, claiming he was cursed with an innate fate of solitude, destined to have neither sons nor daughters, making it ill-advised for him to take godchildren.
Liu Jinxia found the excuse very familiar. Everyone in this trade possessed a bit of professional branding.
Before taking his leave, Li Sanjiang made a point of warning and instructing the three siblings before the gathered crowd:
"Whatever deeds a person does, every single ledger entry is recorded in the halls of Heaven. My stepping outside the bounds to rescue you tonight already counts as defying the will of Heaven.
"From here on, you must only perform good deeds, cultivate sincere charity, and strive to accumulate merit. If your hearts are untrue and your thoughts unwholesome, I fear misfortune will soon find you again.
"When that day comes, it will be beyond my power to help. This is as far as my aid can go."
In truth, this was merely boilerplate patter standard to the trade: collect the immediate gain and glory first, then sever all ties to future fallout.
Yet these very words would be recalled by the villagers not long after, prompting them to raise their thumbs in awe of Li Sanjiang's foresight, with some even calling him by the revered title of "Old Immortal Li."
So much so that later on, the families of the three Niu siblings would respectfully invite Li Sanjiang back to "treat their illnesses."
All of that, however, belonged to later events and need not be detailed just yet.
By the time the chaotic affair was completely settled, it was already past four in the morning.
Runsheng wheeled out the handcart. Li Sanjiang, Grandpa Shan, and Liu Jinxia climbed on one after the other. Li Zhuiyuan had intended to climb aboard as well, but then he heard the ring of a bicycle bell behind him.
Turning back, he saw Uncle Qin.
"Great-Grandpa, I'm going to ride with Uncle Qin."
"Go on, go on. Get back early and rest."
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to the heavy twenty-eight-inch roadster. Uncle Qin scooped him up in one motion and set him onto the top tube, then pushed off, pedaled into motion, and swung his leg over the saddle.
Feeling drowsy, Li Zhuiyuan simply leaned back against Uncle Qin's chest and dozed off.
Uncle Qin looked down at the boy in his arms, somewhat surprised that the child hadn't asked whether he had been present the entire time.
As a result, the explanation he had carefully prepared went entirely unused.
By the time they returned from Shigang to Siyuan Village, the eastern horizon was already pale with the white of a fish's belly.
"Uncle, get some rest."
"Mm, you go to sleep too."
Li Zhuiyuan ran into the house, climbed to the second floor, and went straight to take a bath.
Inside the east bedroom, Qin Liang, who had been asleep, sat up upon hearing the sounds from the courtyard outside.
"Lie back down. Don't go see him now," Liu Yumei said. "He just got back and is worn out and exhausted. Let him rest properly. If you go to him now, he'll have to expend time and energy tending to you.
"Once or twice is fine, but if it happens often, anyone would find it unbearable and grow annoyed."
Qin Liang looked at Liu Yumei, her eyes filled with confusion.
"Be good, child. Grandma wouldn't lie to you. If you want to be playmates for a long time, both of you must feel comfortable and happy when you're together. Do you understand?"
Qin Liang lay back down.
"And one more thing: tomorrow morning, don't be in such a hurry to wait for him in his room. Wait until he wakes up before going over. Better yet, let him come down and bring you up."
Lying in bed, Qin Liang's eyelashes began to flutter.
"All right, all right. Once he wakes up and steps outside his bedroom door, you can head up."
Qin Liang closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Liu Yumei tucked her granddaughter in, then walked to the central room and opened the door. Qin Li stood at the threshold.
Stepping inside, Qin Li gave a hushed account of what had transpired that night. Liu Yumei nodded, and Qin Li took his leave.
"Ah..."
Liu Yumei turned toward the altar where the memorial tablets were enshrined. She was in the habit of having a little chat with the tablets every day, but just as she was gathering her emotions, an odor cut her short.
It was the cracked duck egg resting on the altar. In this weather... it had already begun to reek.
...
By the time Li Zhuiyuan finished his bath, Great-Grandpa and the others had not yet returned, so he went into his bedroom and lay down to sleep.
When he woke, it was nearly noon.
He looked toward the chair in his room, but the familiar figure was not there, leaving him feeling a touch disappointed.
He wondered what clothes she was wearing today.
Rising, he picked up his washbasin and pushed open the door. She was not standing by the entrance, nor was she on the bench in the northeast corner where they usually read.
Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge of the terrace and peered down.
Today, the girl wore a chest-high ruqun—a red top paired with a primrose-yellow skirt—her soft hair draping over her shoulders, looking noticeably livelier and more playful than usual.
She sat just inside the threshold as always, a pair of embroidered shoes resting on the wooden sill.
Sensing something, the girl lifted her head and looked toward the second floor.
"Steady, A-Liang!"
Qin Liang stood up and walked into the house,
leaving Liu Yumei behind her to clasp her forehead and sigh.
Qin Liang arrived before Li Zhuiyuan on the second floor, her eyes fixed on him.
"I came back late last night and overslept."
After offering his explanation, Li Zhuiyuan washed his face and brushed his teeth. Then, taking Qin Liang by the hand, he headed downstairs. It was nearly mealtime, and he was hungry.
Downstairs was bustling. Li Sanjiang, Grandpa Shan, and Liu Jinxia were already drinking over a plate of roasted peanuts and a bowl of jellied fish.
Grandpa Shan and Liu Jinxia had had their wounds dressed, with herbal plasters applied to their faces.
They hadn't gone to the clinic. People in their line of work did not visit clinics lightly—especially Liu Jinxia, whom many sought out to "treat illnesses."
Even so, Liu Jinxia always acted with prudence, knowing her own limitations. Whenever she gave someone a bowl of talisman water made by mixing boiling water with sugar and black sesame paste, she would insist that the family take the patient to the commune clinic for further examination or medicine, making it clear that her rites were merely a supplementary measure to support the doctors.
Li Zhuiyuan knew the medicine on their wounds had likely been applied by Auntie Liu. Last time Auntie Liu had dressed Great-Grandpa's injuries, her technique had been very skilled.
"Where's Brother Runsheng?"
"Runsheng?" Grandpa Shan gave a liquor burp. Just as he was about to speak, he spotted Runsheng outside, returning from the fields alongside Uncle Qin.
Runsheng had gone farming.
Watching him carry a hoe, walking barefoot and glistening with sweat, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt like a freeloader by comparison—though, in truth, he was.
"Time to eat! Meal's ready!"
Auntie Liu called everyone over.
Liu Yumei and her household sat at one table, Li Sanjiang and his group at another, while Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Liang sat at a small side table... and Runsheng occupied a table entirely his own.
His table sat in the loneliest corner. Before him rested a massive washbasin of rice, topped with dishes scooped from the main tables, into which was planted an incense stick as thick as an arm.
Runsheng smiled with deep contentment, though whether it was for the food or the incense stick—or whether he drew any distinction between the two at all—was hard to tell.
No one was ostracizing him; it was simply that sitting near that massive incense stick would sting anyone's eyes with smoke, making it impossible to eat.
Li Sanjiang teased Grandpa Shan:
"Heh, look at that! Runshenghou's appetite is growing by the day. At this rate, we'll have to burn a pagoda incense for him every time he eats!"
Grandpa Shan grunted twice, burying his head to shovel porridge into his mouth.
Even if he wanted solid food instead of porridge, he had no choice—his teeth were gone.
After lunch, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Liang back to their usual spot on the second floor to read.
Just then, a tricycle rolled up onto the courtyard embankment. Li Juxiang was pedaling, with Cuicui sitting in the back.
"Ma."
"Grandma."
Mother and daughter hurried straight to Liu Jinxia the moment they stepped inside, full of anxious concern at the sight of her battered state.
Evidently, Liu Jinxia had come straight here in the morning to dress her wounds and nap, avoiding going home first lest her family worry.
"Ma's fine, completely fine. Grandma's doing well, what's there to cry about? Don't cry."
Liu Jinxia comforted her daughter and granddaughter at length.
Cuicui wiped away her tears and stopped crying, her gaze wandering about the premises.
"Go find your brother Yuanhou to play with. He's upstairs," Liu Jinxia said, pointing upward.
"Okay!"
"Don't play too long. We'll be taking your grandma home soon. You can come over in a couple of days to play with Xiao Yuanhou properly."
"Got it, Ma."
Cuicui climbed the stairs to the second-floor terrace, where she saw Brother Yuan sitting with a girl in beautiful clothes, reading together.
Cuicui rarely went out to play in the village, and Li Sanjiang's home was a place villagers rarely visited without good reason. Qin Liang never went outside at all, so Cuicui had only ever heard her grandmother mention in passing that a hired hand lived with Great-Grandpa Sanjiang along with his elderly mother and daughter.
Today was the very first time Cuicui had ever laid eyes on Qin Liang.
"Cuicui, you're here," Li Zhuiyuan stood up and greeted her.
Qin Liang turned slightly. She did not look at Cuicui, keeping her eyes fixed on Li Zhuiyuan.
Catching sight of the girl's face, Cuicui clapped both hands over her mouth, yet an exclamation slipped out anyway:
"Woah, she's so pretty! So gorgeous!"
Earlier, she had merely thought the clothes were stunning, looking like something from television; now that she saw the girl herself, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even upon hearing such lavish praise, Qin Liang did not spare Cuicui a single glance. Cuicui merely possessed a hard fate, but she was not unclean.
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to Cuicui and made the introduction: "Cuicui, this is Qin Liang, Grandma Liu's granddaughter."
"Hello! I'm Cuicui—Li Cuicui."
Qin Liang followed beside Li Zhuiyuan. Seeing Cuicui step closer of her own accord, her eyelashes began to quiver.
Li Zhuiyuan took hold of her hand. She calmed down, though she still offered no response to Cuicui's warm greeting.
Cuicui felt a little awkward.
"Cuicui, A-Liang is shy around strangers. She isn't singling you out—she's like this with everyone."
"Really?!"
A bright smile returned to Cuicui's face. Hearing that A-Liang didn't dislike her specifically, but simply disliked everyone, made her very happy.
After all, everyone else in the village disliked only her, whereas A-Liang treated her the exact same as everyone else!
Li Zhuiyuan temporarily set his book aside, brought out some snacks, and they began chatting.
In truth, it was mostly Li Zhuiyuan and Cuicui talking; Qin Liang remained silent.
Moreover, because Cuicui was nearby, Li Zhuiyuan had to keep holding Qin Liang's hand the entire time, lest she suddenly lash out.
As Cuicui ate her snacks, her gaze flitted between Brother Yuan and Sister A-Liang, mostly lingering on Sister A-Liang because she was just so pretty.
She harbored no other thoughts. She didn't even have that possessiveness common among children—notions like *you must play with me and not her* never crossed Cuicui's mind.
She was simply glad to have made another friend today. In fact, upon hearing Brother Yuan explain that Qin Liang had always lived in isolation without any friends, Cuicui felt genuine sorrow and pity, thinking this pretty sister had it far harder than she did.
Soon, Li Juxiang's voice called from downstairs, signaling it was time to go home.
"Goodbye, Brother Yuan! Goodbye, Sister A-Liang! I'll come play with you again in a couple of days."
Li Zhuiyuan waved to Cuicui, then lifted A-Liang's hand and gave a little wave with it as well.
He could feel a slight resistance coming from A-Liang.
Once Cuicui had left, Li Zhuiyuan looked down at Qin Liang and said:
"I know you've grown used to the darkness of closing yourself off, but I still think you should try stepping out to experience the outside world. Try it first before deciding whether to go back."
Qin Liang said nothing, merely gazing at him intently.
Having experienced those inexplicable sensations several times recently, Li Zhuiyuan increasingly felt that A-Liang's present might very well become his own future.
No—judging by his mother's current state, his future might be even worse than A-Liang's.
What followed was a tranquil afternoon of reading.
With his prior reading foundation, combined with the practical perception gained from seeing two dead-flippers in reality, Li Zhuiyuan was now flipping through *Jianghu Zhiguai Lu* as swiftly as if browsing an illustrated comic book.
With every entry and every page, his sharp eyes captured keywords and unique characteristics to form memory and understanding, after which he turned the page immediately.
Having established suitable points of comparison, all other dead-flippers were merely variations built on additions and subtractions to the fundamentals.
Li Zhuiyuan felt as though he had rediscovered the feeling of skimming through newly issued textbooks back in school.
One volume was swiftly completed, and he moved on to the next.
Finally, just before Auntie Liu called for dinner, Li Zhuiyuan finished turning the last page of Volume Forty-Two of *Jianghu Zhiguai Lu*.
In the lower-right corner of the final page of the last volume, several lines of small script were written:
*This work was gathered during my spiritual roamings through Heaven and Earth, as my feet traversed rivers, streams, lakes, and marshes. An ordinary man reading this will take it only as strange gossip to season his tea; but if someone truly savors it with deep relish, his fate must indeed be fraught with bitter misfortune.*
*I can only wish you good fortune from afar, my friend.*
*—Wei Zhengdao.*
Li Zhuiyuan leaned back against the rattan chair, resting one hand behind his head, reflecting with a sigh:
The author of this book was truly an intriguing man.
As for the author's parting words, Li Zhuiyuan understood them completely. Ordinary folk who had never seen a dead-flipper would treat it as nothing more than a ghost story; if someone truly understood it... wouldn't that mean their luck was rotten to the core?
Just then, Li Zhuiyuan felt a soft little hand slide behind the back of his head, its slender fingers lacing with his own. It was Qin Liang.
Li Zhuiyuan smiled at her, then closed his eyes, intending to doze off for a short spell. After dinner, he could head down to the basement to look for new books.
Mm, resting his head on a hand that wasn't his own did feel rather comfortable.
Qin Liang looked intently at the boy resting before her—from his hair to his forehead, his eyes, his nose, and his mouth. Then her gaze returned to his eyes, and she began counting his eyelashes one by one.
At dinnertime, Grandpa Shan announced that tomorrow he would have Runsheng wheel him to the township clinic to get fitted for false teeth, after which Runsheng would push him home; a couple of days later, he would send Runsheng over to Li Sanjiang's.
Whenever business came up, he would send word for Runsheng to return and help retrieve corpses.
Li Sanjiang slammed his chopsticks down in fury and snapped:
"So you're keeping your mule at my house, leading him away whenever you need work done, and then parking him here to eat my fodder when you're done?"
If it were merely ordinary fodder, that would be one thing, but this fellow's appetite surpassed everyone else's combined!
When Tinghou used to cook, a shallow pot of rice was enough. With Runsheng around, they had to cook a dedicated pot just for him.
Grandpa Shan took a pull on his water pipe, glanced over at the small table where Li Zhuiyuan was eating alongside the pretty girl, and chuckled. "I say, Sanjianghou, you're at this ripe old age already. You have to rely on someone to take over the mantle eventually. If you don't count on Runshenghou, are you going to count on Xiao Yuanhou?"
"Bullshit!"
"Heh, whether it's bullshit or not, hear me out first. I know you found Xiao Yuanhou's grandfather to look after you in your old age and see you to your grave, and I trust that your eye for people isn't wrong. But you've lived a comfortable, carefree life your whole days. You don't honestly expect to lie in bed in your decrepit years and endure bitter hardship, or start selling off your family belongings, do you?
"What if you sell everything off and you're still not dead? Drink watery porridge every single day?
"Sure, so long as Hanhou has a bite to eat, he won't let you starve for half of it. But take a look at the kind of life Hanhou is living right now.
"If you want to spend your old age in comfort and ease, you don't just need someone serving you wholeheartedly at your bedside; you also need..."
Grandpa Shan rubbed two fingers together at Li Sanjiang.
"...you need income! Runshenghou might eat a bit much, but when it comes to corpse retrieval and manual labor, he's a first-rate hand. That lad has far more capability than I ever did.
"Besides, you, Sanjianghou, aren't short on grain. Dammit, give him fewer dishes and less meat, and just give him his fill of rice. Wouldn't that settle it?"
"And what about the incense?"
At that moment, Auntie Liu, who was bringing over the soup, chimed in with a smile: "I know how to craft traditional incense. Not only will it be enough for him to eat, but we can also turn it into a little side business."
"Uh..." Li Sanjiang rubbed his nose, suddenly finding the idea quite appealing. But then he turned back to Grandpa Shan and asked, "If you give Runshenghou to me, what about your own retirement? You old rascal aren't planning on freeloading off my retirement later, are you?"
"Don't you worry. I'm doomed to die a bad death."
"What kind of rubbish talk is that?"
"It's the truth from the bottom of my heart. I've seen through it all. I don't have your good fortune to pass away peacefully in bed with a good end."
"What nonsense are you spouting? If you tell Runshenghou to break your legs right now, won't you be lying in bed heading straight for a peaceful end?"
Grandpa Shan was struck speechless.
After a round of bickering, cursing, and deflection, the matter was settled by tacit consent.
Li Zhuiyuan was quite pleased. Looking at Runsheng, who was drooling while waiting for the incense stick to finish burning, he thought to himself: *How wonderful. So long as Runsheng is here, I'll have an extra practical outlet for studying my books.*
After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan walked Qin Liang back to the east room, then fetched a flashlight from a cabinet drawer and fitted it with fresh batteries.
In accordance with rural habit, batteries were always removed from flashlights when not in use, supposedly to prevent power drain.
For the time being, Li Zhuiyuan had no intention of asking Great-Grandpa to replace the basement light bulb. He felt that holding a flashlight gave his descent an atmosphere akin to hunting for treasure.
Following the beam of light, he arrived before the chest he had opened the first time. There were still plenty of books inside, and he intended to clear them out chest by chest.
Transferring the flashlight to his left hand, he reached his right hand inside, rummaging through the depths as though fishing for raffle tickets. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan felt two stacks of books.
These two stacks were thick and bound in hard outer slipcases that gathered all the volumes of a set neatly together.
He pulled both stacks out and set them on the floor.
Each set contained eight volumes, none particularly thick. The slipcases bore no titles. Li Zhuiyuan pulled one volume from each set and found that the covers of the individual books were blank as well.
He could only open them to see the contents. Shining his flashlight down, Li Zhuiyuan froze.
They were handwritten, and the calligraphy was exquisite—beautiful regular script. The problem, however, was that the characters were impossibly tiny, resembling the legs of ants, densely packed across the front and back of every page...
Thus, while the books were not thick, their contents were terrifyingly voluminous.
To read these, he would probably need to find a magnifying glass.
Flipping through the other set, he found the exact same handwriting and the exact same minuscule size.
Could these two sets have been written by the same author?
Li Zhuiyuan searched carefully with the flashlight beam. Finally, on the inner side of both slipcases, he discovered two white paper slips inscribed with the titles of the respective works:
*Detailed Exposition of Yin-Yang Physiognomy* and *Discourse on Fate Deduction*.
One was for face reading, and the other was for fortune-telling.
Li Zhuiyuan gently tapped the flashlight against his palm, the beam flickering across his small, contemplative face.
"Mm... these seem rather useless, don't they?"
Chapter 16