As he read, Li Zhuiyuan began to feel hungry. Auntie Liu hadn't called them to eat yet, still busy in the kitchen prepping fresh dishes.
Breakfast had been pushed early by Xue Liangliang's frantic shout, and lunch had been delayed by Runsheng's arrival. By Li Zhuiyuan's estimation, everyone in the house was starving by now.
He went to his room and picked out some snacks, setting them down between himself and A-Li. At the same time, he made a mental note to remind Uncle Qin to buy treats in matching pairs next time. Otherwise it was hard to choose, since A-Li liked to eat the exact same snacks as him.
When Li Sanjiang brought him back on the tractor the night before, his great-grandpa had brought along a crate of Jianlibao. Li Zhuiyuan took out two cans, popped them open, and set one before A-Li.
A-Li held the can in both hands, head bowed, studying it intently.
Li Zhuiyuan spoke up at once. "Drink it. You're not allowed to keep it as a collectible."
A-Li lowered her head even further.
"If you like it, I'll fetch you an unopened can later."
In any case, the drink had a long shelf life and was completely sealed. Li Zhuiyuan figured that since Grandma Liu had already survived the ordeal of a rotten duck egg, an aluminum can should be easy enough for her to accept.
A-Li promptly lifted the beverage, took a sip just as Li Zhuiyuan had, and poked out the tip of her tongue to lick her lips.
"Is this your first time having it?"
A-Li glanced over. Her expressions were never very animated, but Li Zhuiyuan had always been able to read her.
"If you like it, I have a whole crate in my room. You can drink one each time and take one home with you. When they're gone, I'll go beg Great-Grandpa to buy me more."
A-Li quickly took another sip. Though she made no other move, an image seemed to pop into Li Zhuiyuan's mind: an adorable little girl holding a can of Jianlibao, eyes crinkling into crescents, cheerfully swinging her legs.
"Want to play a game?"
Hearing this, A-Li at once produced the small box of weiqi stones she always kept at her side.
Once the board was laid out, Li Zhuiyuan and A-Li began to play. By tacit agreement, the two of them had always played rapid games, but this time, by the middle game, both sides were evenly matched. They contested every inch right into the endgame before Li Zhuiyuan suffered a narrow defeat.
Since they had started playing together, this was the hardest A-Li had ever had to work for a win. The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. Far from being unhappy, her face was brighter than usual.
Though he had lost, a faint smile played at the corner of Li Zhuiyuan's mouth. On a sudden whim, he had applied some of the calculation methods from the Discourse on Fate Deduction to weiqi, producing an unexpected effect.
The board was still the same board, but in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, it had come alive, making his moves and tactics far more nimble and varied.
However, once the second game began, Li Zhuiyuan sensed that A-Li's style had shifted as well.
After he had previously reminded her that she didn't need to go easy on him, she truly hadn't tried to lose on purpose anymore. Yet she had never minded playing around with him, caring only about the experience of the process; winning had simply been an inevitable result for her.
This time, however, Li Zhuiyuan found that her play had suddenly turned rock-solid. Step by step, she left him virtually no openings or opportunities. No matter how agile or unpredictable he tried to be, it was utterly meaningless before an immovable mountain.
He lost—crushed by the sheer weight of the girl's skill.
It was true: whether physiognomy or fortune-telling, it merely offered another perspective through which to view the world, while you remained who you were.
Gaining an extra perspective was a fine thing, equivalent to having an extra pair of eyes or ears. But to become overly intoxicated by it, imagining that mastering it meant one could truly do whatever one pleased, was like a tiny ant gazing out from atop an elephant's head and honestly believing itself to be that tall. It was absurd.
Seeing Li Zhuiyuan sit in silence, A-Li reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.
A warm smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. "I was just pondering something from the book, not moping over losing. Why would I ever be upset about losing to A-Li?"
He had just finished reassuring her when Auntie Liu's voice finally drifted up from downstairs, announcing that lunch was ready.
The tables were still separated, but with Runsheng's arrival, Li Sanjiang at last had a companion in his solitude.
Li Zhuiyuan first portioned out the food into small dishes for A-Li. He had barely picked up his chopsticks and taken two bites when a rumbling sound came from behind him, like muffled thunder over parched earth.
Turning his head, he saw it was coming from the stomach of Runsheng, who sat tucked in the corner.
Poked into Runsheng's rice bowl was a thick stick of incense handcrafted by Auntie Liu. It had already been lit and was currently burning away; Runsheng was sitting right there, waiting for it to finish.
Once a person went past the peak of their hunger, the sensation usually dulled. But when delicious food was placed before them again, that dormant hunger returned redoubled.
Having it right before his eyes yet being forced to wait out the clock was truly a form of torture for Runsheng.
Li Zhuiyuan asked out of curiosity, "Brother Runsheng, do you have to wait until the incense burns out before you can eat?"
"Yeah, that's right." Runsheng swallowed hard, then made a stirring motion with his hand. "I have to mix in the ashes before I can get it down."
Li Zhuiyuan remembered this habit; Runsheng had mentioned it to him before. But what he wanted to ask now was: "Brother Runsheng, is there really that big a difference between burning it to ash to mix in and just eating it straight?"
"Huh?" Runsheng froze for a second. "I really never thought about that. Don't normal people wait for the incense to burn down?"
"Do normal people mix incense ash into their rice?"
"Then... should I give it a try?"
Runsheng pulled the incense stick out of his bowl and took a bite out of the unlit lower end. As he chewed, not only did he show no sign of distress, but his brow smoothed out, as though he found it exceptionally refreshing.
Immediately after, he picked up his chopsticks and impatiently shoveled several large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. Once he swallowed, he looked at the incense in his hand with pleasant surprise and cried out, "Xiao Yuan, I really got it down! No nausea or churning stomach at all!"
Auntie Liu made her incense through traditional methods. Although the stuff wasn't meant for consumption, nothing terrible would happen if someone actually ate it. In any case, with Runsheng's cast-iron stomach, any minor issue would have practically zero effect on him.
Beaming, Runsheng took another bite of the incense, then vigorously shoveled in more rice, eating with absolute delight. From the looks of it, one would think he wasn't holding a stick of incense at all, but a crisp scallion to go with his meal.
Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Brother Runsheng, want some sauce with that?"
"Sauce?" Runsheng considered it for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Yes, please!"
Auntie Liu got up and went into the kitchen, bringing back a small bowl of the salted bean paste used for morning porridge and placing it on his little table.
Runsheng picked up the incense stick, dipped it into the paste, and took a bite. It was so savory his eyebrows nearly flew off his forehead.
"Xiao Yuan, you're amazing! This tastes way better than waiting for the incense to burn out."
It was as if a whole new world had opened to Runsheng, and he ate with boundless gusto.
Li Sanjiang smacked his lips over a sip of liquor, watching Runsheng devour his food like that, and couldn't help laughing with a curse: "Damn it all! Down the line, I'll have to find a way to get you some authentic northeastern soybean paste. That stuff makes anything taste good dipped in it."
Li Zhuiyuan took a sip of soup, looked at Li Sanjiang, and asked, "Great-Grandpa, you've been to the Northeast?"
Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, sat with his legs splayed out like a mountain bandit chieftain, and said, "You bet I have! Back in the day, your great-grandpa got press-ganged and shipped straight off to the Northeast. Later on, thanks to my nimble legs, I ran all the way from the Northeast back through Shanhaiguan."
Once that chatterbox was opened, there was no shutting it. Li Sanjiang took another sip of liquor and continued, "After entering the pass, I thought I'd follow the railway south and walk all the way back home. But I hadn't gone very far before I got press-ganged again. They threw a uniform on me and shoved me right back to the front lines to fight.
"Only this time, I had experience. The moment our officer got drunk, I spotted an opening and slipped off into the night, dragging an entire squad along with me.
"By the time I neared Xuzhou and my hometown was practically in sight—bam, caught again.
"That time went fast, though. On the third day, my unit got scattered in the fighting. The platoon leader wanted to reorganize us, but I stirred up trouble from below, and the whole platoon that was almost gathered back together scattered to the winds again.
"After that, I got smart. I didn't dare stick to railways or main roads anymore. Wherever the path was narrow and people were few, that was where I walked. That was how I finally made it back home in one piece.
"Even after getting back, there was no peace. I got caught again later on, but by then I had slipping away down to a science. They'd grab me by day, and I'd slip right back by night.
"After that, once I returned home, I just laid low and didn't dare wander around until the dust had finally settled."
Li Zhuiyuan sighed in admiration. "Great-Grandpa, you really are amazing."
To think his great-grandpa had taken part in all Three Major Campaigns.
Though he had been on the opposing side, he had constantly contributed to the rightful cause.
Li Sanjiang rubbed his stubbly chin and said with feigned modesty, "Ah, it was nothing, nothing at all. Heh-heh."
By this point, Runsheng had already polished off half a basin of rice and was taking a brief breather. He chimed in, "On my way here this morning, I ran into the projectionists on the road. Said they're showing a movie tonight in the open clearing by the town market. The title is *Scouting Across the Yangtze*.
"Xiao Yuan, you going to watch it tonight?"
"Brother Runsheng, after lunch we have to go to the Niu family in Shigang."
"Doesn't matter, doesn't matter," Li Sanjiang waved a dismissive hand. "We'll just muddle through over there. We should be back pretty early, plenty of time to catch it."
Li Zhuiyuan looked at A-Li across from him. He knew she couldn't tolerate situations where crowds were packed tight together. "I think I'll pass. I'll stay home and read. Brother Runsheng, you and Great-Grandpa go watch it."
Just then, Liu Yumei suddenly spoke up. "A-Li is going. Even if she sits far back, she must see this movie."
Li Zhuiyuan detected a slight tremor in Liu Yumei's voice. Turning his head, he saw she was still eating normally, only the corners of her eyes seemed slightly red.
This was the very first time he had seen Liu Yumei lose her composure like this.
After lunch, Runsheng wheeled out the household's handcart, and Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan climbed aboard.
Runsheng pushed the cart very steadily; they could barely feel any bumps, though the pace was on the slower side.
"Runsheng Hou, over the next few days, you should learn to pedal a tricycle. That'd be much faster."
"Uncle, why don't you buy a tractor? I'll learn that instead. That's even faster."
"Do I look like a tractor to you?"
Runsheng fell silent.
Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette, looked at Li Zhuiyuan, and asked, "Xiao Yuan Hou, what do you say—should we buy a television for the house?"
"If you want to watch it, Great-Grandpa, you can buy one."
"I'm asking you."
"Oh. I don't really have much time to watch TV."
Down in the cellar, there were still so many crates of books waiting for him to read. Where would he find the time to watch television?
"You silly little kid."
Li Sanjiang had wanted to use a TV set to please his great-grandson, only to find the boy had little interest. He gave him pocket money, but aside from the things Li Zhuiyuan bought on his own, the boy didn't even visit the village store on ordinary days.
Runsheng, pushing the cart, said excitedly, "Buying a TV is great! Really great!"
"Great your head! Push faster! Don't you want to catch the movie tonight?"
"Right, right!"
Reaching the intersection before Niu Fu's house, Li Sanjiang stepped down early, smoothed his clothes, then solemnly raised his peach wood sword and gave it a thorough wipe with a cloth.
Having completed these preparations, he walked into Niu Fu's compound.
Waiting to receive them were Niu Fu's two sons and two daughters-in-law. The moment Li Sanjiang entered, they served tea and pastries with overwhelming warmth.
Li Sanjiang sat down first and began conversing with them.
Clients like this were actually the easiest to satisfy, because they would pour out everything like spilling beans from a sack, and all one had to do was play along with the narrative they wanted to hear.
Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, looked around the house for Niu Fu. He checked several rooms but found no trace of him, leading him to wonder if Niu Fu no longer lived here.
Stepping out of the main house and coming around to the adjacent woodshed, Li Zhuiyuan finally found him.
In his original assumption, Niu Fu would be lying in bed, unable to move and suffering cold neglect.
Yet he had still overestimated the filial devotion of Niu Fu's children.
Half-paralyzed from an accidental fall, Niu Fu didn't even have a bed; he had been dumped directly into the woodshed.
The pile of dry straw beneath him served as his mattress, flanked on the left by stacked firewood and on the right by towering heaps of junk.
Beside him sat two bowls. One held water and was reasonably clean; the other was caked in grime, layered with who knew how many coatings of filth, presumably used for serving his food.
As for the clothes on Niu Fu's body, his upper half was bare, without a shirt. Below, he wore a pair of shorts so soiled and encrusted they were practically scabbed against his skin, reeking with foul odor.
Small wonder: his children were unwilling even to give him a bed to sleep in, let alone wash his body or change his clothes.
Li Zhuiyuan covered his nose with one hand and stepped a little closer.
When he had last seen Niu Fu, though the man had a hunchback, he had otherwise been hale and hearty. After all, he was only fifty, an age that still counted as prime labor in the countryside.
Now, however, Niu Fu had withered away terribly. His mouth hung open, lips twitching continuously, whether trying to speak or merely undergoing an uncontrollable reflex.
When Li Zhuiyuan entered, Niu Fu managed a slight turn of his head to glance over, then turned back, his dull eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
After watching for a moment, Li Zhuiyuan walked out, taking deep breaths of fresh air outside the woodshed.
"Meow."
A cat's cry drifted over. Along the wall beside him, a deformed, hideous old black cat stepped into view.
It looked at Li Zhuiyuan, raising a paw to lick it.
"Don't you think it's too quiet?" Li Zhuiyuan said.
The black cat's licking froze.
"Everyone is pretending the others don't exist, lacking any interaction. Stir up some noise tonight to push their conflict to a head."
"Meow..."
This time, a tremor laced the cat's meow.
In the courtyard, Li Sanjiang began performing his ritual. The two sons, who hadn't even had the time to wash a dish for their own father, were now kneeling devoutly before the offering table alongside their wives.
Once the ritual concluded, Li Sanjiang tapped their shoulders in turn with his peach wood sword and consoled them: "Rest easy. You know well enough what wicked deeds your father committed. Some debts contracted by the old must be cleared by the old; it won't fall upon you. Put your hearts at rest.
"If you feel the bad luck hasn't entirely run its course, there is a way. We can divert what little misfortune remains toward your close relatives. But you must keep your lips sealed tight. You cannot breathe a word of this, or you won't even be able to remain relatives anymore."
"Divert it! Divert it, we want it diverted! Uncle, please help us divert it!"
"Better not. It harms others too much and damages my cultivation."
Li Sanjiang began putting on airs. Only when another red packet was pressed into his hands did he sigh and say, "Very well. Since you insist, I shall help you divert the bad luck. But remember: keep your mouths shut. Not a single word must leak out."
"Don't worry, Uncle, we understand! We understand completely!"
Li Sanjiang put on another ritual performance for them. When he finished, he declared, "There. What little bad luck remained has been diverted to your second and third siblings' homes."
Amid the profuse thanks of the eldest brother's family, Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng away.
Sitting on the cart en route to Niu Rui's home, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help asking out of curiosity, "Great-Grandpa, I thought you would lecture them."
"Lecture them? Heh, your great-grandpa hasn't lost his mind. If someone needs a lecture just to support their own parents, is there any point in lecturing them at all?
"It's better to squeeze a bit more cash out of them so I can buy more pig's head meat and liquor.
"I just hope nothing else goes wrong with the Niu family down the line. If something happens again, it won't be easy for me to patch things up, and I'd hate to ruin my reputation."
"Didn't you already take care of that dead-flipper, Great-Grandpa?"
"Right, that's true too."
Li Zhuiyuan knew very well that nothing else would go wrong. Once the three siblings were tortured to their inevitable ends, the Cat-Faced Old Woman would dissipate on her own.
As they neared Niu Rui's house, they saw Niu Rui crouching out on the threshing ground, brewing medicine over a small stove, surrounded by the barbed jeers of his children. They mocked him, saying his medicine did nothing but waste money and would never cure him no matter how much he drank.
In his youth, Niu Rui had beaten someone to death. Even though his mother, Old Lady Niu, had cleaned up his mess, he remained a violent-tempered man to the bone.
Unable to hold back his fury, he surged to his feet and slapped his daughter-in-law across the face, even while she held her baby.
His son roared and charged to beat Niu Rui, and father and son traded blows. Although afflicted by the strange illness, Niu Rui was currently in a window where his condition had just been suppressed; for a time, he and his son grappled on the ground in a deadlock.
Seeing this, Niu Rui's wife shrieked and lunged forward to claw at his face, cursing him as a worthless wretch who spent the family's money on medicine in his old age and now dared raise a hand against their precious son.
The baby's wails, the scuffling, and the vitriol blended together like a raucous symphony across the threshing ground.
Only when Li Sanjiang's group arrived did they finally quiet down. Then, bruised and swollen faces all broke into fawning, ingratiating smiles.
Niu Rui had been rescued in person by Li Sanjiang, and the Niu family had heard the voice of the long-deceased Old Lady Niu coming from the old house. Naturally, they held complete faith in him.
After ushering Li Sanjiang respectfully into the house, everyone began weeping and pleading.
Having calmed them down, Li Sanjiang performed his ritual once more.
When the first sequence finished, Li Sanjiang spoke the exact same lines about diverting the bad luck. Niu Rui's son promptly handed over another red packet, and Li Sanjiang put on a second ritual performance.
Before they left, however, Niu Rui secretly slipped him a red packet of his own, begging Li Sanjiang to exorcise the evil and cure his sickness.
Li Sanjiang accepted this too, promising to set up an ever-burning candle for him once he got back. But he also urged him that no matter what, he had to take his medicine on schedule and not stop.
This counted as professional ethics for practitioners of unorthodox trades: *I take your money and pray for your blessings to give you peace of mind, but you must still take your medicine and see doctors.*
Yet this piece of advice would undoubtedly exacerbate the conflict between Niu Rui and his family.
Li Zhuiyuan knew that Niu Rui's illness was incurable; it was a bottomless pit that would continuously offer hope only to plunge him into deeper despair.
Niu Fu had suffered a complete loss of self-care due to paralysis, causing his status to plummet overnight, whereas Niu Rui was still in the struggling phase.
Though Niu Rui's situation was not yet utterly wretched, as long as these grievances accumulated, they would inevitably detonate into far more spectacular fireworks in the near future.
Just look at the hatred already smoldering in his family's eyes. The ending would not disappoint.
Thus, when the black cat slipped past his side this time, Li Zhuiyuan merely gave it a calm nod.
When they reached Niu Lian's house, Li Sanjiang was ushered inside by her family as usual.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't see Niu Lian in the main house, nor did he find her when he checked the woodshed.
Finally, beside the pigpen, he saw Niu Lian tied up with iron chains. On the other side was the household latrine.
It was effectively set up so that whenever her family came here to relieve themselves, sitting upon the porcelain throne, they could chat with her.
Quite considerate toward the elder, ensuring she wouldn't feel lonely.
Her feeding basin rested right next to the pig trough, and beside the basin leaned the ladle used to scoop pig feed. It appeared that whenever they fed the pigs, they simply fed her along the way.
As long as the pigs had a bite to eat, she wouldn't miss out on half a mouthful.
She was lucid now, not numb. Seeing an outsider approach, she covered her face with both hands, trying to hide her shame.
Li Zhuiyuan saw both her grandson and granddaughter; one had bandages on the head, the other on the arm, likely injured when Niu Lian had suffered an episode.
The two children spat at her while hurling stones, not tossing them in play, but aiming straight for her body.
The children's parents watched without intervening, their gazes filled with pure rancor.
The black cat emerged along the eaves above the pigpen.
Li Zhuiyuan said nothing, stepping further away. Then, from beside the pigpen came Niu Lian's pleading cries, insisting her illness was cured and begging her children to release her, that she was truly well now.
What greeted her was a barrage of curses from her children, followed by several brutal kicks delivered by her son as his temper flared.
Niu Lian curled into the corner under the blows, howling like a dog.
Evidently, they had believed her before and felt "tricked."
The black cat hopped down step by step along various perches until it reached Li Zhuiyuan's feet, rubbing its feline face against his trouser leg.
Li Zhuiyuan bent down and stroked its head.
The black cat relished it, leaning its body against him and exposing its belly.
Great-Grandpa commenced his ritual. As before, he collected an extra red packet to help divert the misfortune toward the other two households.
On the cart ride back, Runsheng gripped the handle firmly with one arm while counting on his fingers with the other: "The eldest, second, and third families all asked Uncle to pass their bad luck to the others. Doesn't that mean the bad luck wasn't passed on at all?"
Li Zhuiyuan corrected him. "Brother Runsheng, it is different."
"How is it different?"
"Because Great-Grandpa collected three extra fees."
"Oh, right! Xiao Yuan, you're so right!"
When they returned home, dusk was falling just in time for dinner. Having eaten, Li Sanjiang yawned and waved his hand. "I'm not going to the movie. I'll take a bath and go to bed. I'm exhausted."
The rituals had been densely packed today. Even a young man couldn't endure dancing six ceremonies in a single afternoon, yet Great-Grandpa had gritted his teeth and persevered. His physical stamina was truly beyond question.
Uncle Qin stood waiting with several stools in hand. Auntie Liu didn't bother clearing the bowls and chopsticks as she usually did, setting her chores aside for the moment to wait alongside him.
Liu Yumei had changed into a qipao, adorned with jewelry and a touch of rouge.
For an old woman of her age, wearing makeup was often not about looking pretty, but about showing respect.
The movie was being screened on the open ground beside the town market. Though it hadn't started yet, people had already arrived early to claim spots.
Uncle Qin and Runsheng squeezed their way in and set down their stools, muscling out an open pocket. With the build of those two, the surrounding crowd dared not voice their anger, lowering their heads and nudging their stools aside.
However, Uncle Qin pulled a handful of candies from his pocket to distribute to the children, and handed out cigarettes to the adults. The bystanders cheerfully accepted, their dissatisfaction evaporating.
Liu Yumei and Auntie Liu sat between the two men. Though aged, Liu Yumei still possessed an elegant bearing, looking distinctly out of place from behind compared to the rural crowd around her.
As for Li Zhuiyuan, he sat with Qin Liang in a deserted corner far back. Being far and angled away from the screen made for poor viewing, but it had the advantage of quiet, free from disturbance. In truth, crowded gatherings were never suitable for Qin Liang anyway.
A few vendors pushing carts had set up stalls behind the clearing, selling cheap snacks and trinkets. Such vendors could always be spotted at weddings and funerals; wherever crowds gathered, that was where they went.
A few children were buying things, while many more could only watch with envious eyes, offering unsolicited advice to those who had money to spend.
Li Zhuiyuan patted his pockets. When he had stayed at Li Weihan's house, Cui Guiying had regularly given him private pocket money, though whenever it touched his hands, his siblings would mob him toward Aunt Zhang's store to buy snacks to share.
On his second day after being sent to "take monastic orders" at his great-grandpa's house, Li Weihan and Cui Guiying had come to drop off clothes and slipped him some more money, stuffing an especially generous amount that time.
Add to that the pocket money Li Sanjiang gave him, and since Li Zhuiyuan had few daily desires, the funds had simply accumulated.
At least within the realm of children, he was exceptionally wealthy.
"A-Li, sit here and wait for me."
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to a vendor and bought two bubble-blowing toys.
Returning, he took one and gave one to Qin Liang.
While the movie played, the two of them blew bubbles continuously in the back.
A-Li had a wonderful time, emptying her bottle in no time. Knowing the girl liked to collect things, Li Zhuiyuan bought her three more.
At the same time, he scanned across the three stalls and ultimately purchased a pair of woven cord bracelets.
There were quite a few accessories on the stalls, such as bow hair clips and colorful headbands, but considering how A-Li was styled each day by Grandma Liu herself, Li Zhuiyuan felt adding such items would only spoil the effect.
Most importantly, he knew that if he gave them to her, she would certainly wear them, and he decided not to rob Liu Yumei of the joy of dressing her granddaughter every morning.
A-Li looked at the red cord bracelet around her wrist. She must have liked it very much, for she even halted her bubble blowing.
Soon, however, she looked toward Li Zhuiyuan's wrist.
Li Zhuiyuan raised his arm, revealing his matching blue cord bracelet. Only then was she satisfied, resuming her bubble blowing.
When the movie ended, Liu Yumei and the others emerged.
Runsheng was deeply stirred, reciting lines from the film non-stop, lamenting that there were no wars left to fight, or else he could have joined the scouts crossing the Yangtze.
Li Zhuiyuan humored him with a smile, though in his heart he felt Runsheng was genuinely suited for it, his skills roughly aligning with the profession.
Uncle Qin and Auntie Liu remained very quiet, looking as though they had just attended a loved one's funeral.
Liu Yumei walked with a handkerchief, dabbing at tears as she went.
Li Zhuiyuan offered a polite inquiry, but seeing she was unwilling to speak of it, he let the matter rest.
As the group neared home from the market, they saw Aunt Zhang from the village store running toward them along the opposite road across the wheat fields.
"There's a phone call! A phone call! Xiao Yuan Hou, it's for you!"
***
The on-site seminar aboard the river vessel ran far longer than anticipated. The local cadres seized every opportunity to push the project forward without holding back, and Luo Tingrui brought his expertise to bear, explaining the project's key challenges to the officials around him.
In truth, most of the comrades on board knew nothing of hydraulic engineering, but that didn't stop them from listening with rapt attention.
Building this bridge involved far more than technical considerations; it had to account for navigation, urban planning, expressway construction, and even military factors.
Above all was the pace of social development. Similar lessons had been learned before: advance plans that once seemed bold and radical were often revealed to have been far too conservative shortly after construction finished.
At last, as dusk fell, the seminar drew to a close.
The boat began motoring toward shore, and the passengers pulled out cigarettes to share among themselves.
Xue Liangliang didn't smoke, standing alone by the railing. Ever since learning that Baijia Town might lie beneath his feet, his mind had remained uneasy.
Suddenly, he thought he heard a stir beneath the river's surface.
He looked down. Beneath the water, a human figure seemed to emerge.
Just then, a hand clapped onto his shoulder, startling him.
Turning around, he saw Luo Tingrui.
"What is it, Liangliang? I noticed you looked distracted the whole time."
"Director, I'm fine."
"What, don't like attending these meetings?"
"No, Director. I probably just didn't get enough rest. I know how important these meetings are."
"Mm. If you plan to dedicate yourself to this field, you must learn to adapt. Those of us in technical fields easily develop a tendency to look down on administrators, but without efficient, stable organization, many things simply cannot be implemented. Sometimes, the more specialized you are in certain areas, the more amateurish you appear in others."
"I understand, Director." Xue Liangliang knew Luo Tingrui was offering him guidance.
"Come on, we're going ashore. Get some sleep on the ride back so you don't miss tomorrow's classes."
"Yes, Director."
Back on shore, they boarded the bus. Xue Liangliang took a seat in the back row, and shortly after the vehicle started moving, he fell into a daze of sleep.
As he slept, Xue Liangliang suddenly felt a chill in his lower body. Opening his eyes, he was struck dumb. He was sitting in his seat, but water had seeped in from somewhere, already rising to his waist.
He looked toward the front. The small interior lights were on, illuminating the passengers seated ahead, and he could even hear their hushed chatter.
"The bus is flooding! Driver! Sir, the bus is taking on water!"
Xue Liangliang shouted, but no one paid him any heed, as if none of them noticed.
"Driver, stop the bus, it's flooding! Driver! Director! Director!"
Still, no one responded.
Gradually, the water rose to his chest. Xue Liangliang began clawing at the window, but outside was pitch black, and the window wouldn't budge.
Right at that moment, a figure seemed to flash past the darkness outside, so fast that Xue Liangliang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Soon, however, the figure reappeared, its face pressed flat against the window glass.
Aided by the dim light inside the bus, a murky, somber face was revealed, impossible to tell whether male or female.
*Crack...*
Without warning, the window was wrenched open to its fullest extent.
In the next instant, the water inside the bus surged toward his side as if finally finding its sole outlet.
Xue Liangliang felt himself squeezed out by the torrent. He was flushed through the window, plummeting into pitch darkness, his body drifting along out of his control.
*Crash...*
He had no idea how long he drifted. Slapped out as if by river surges, a sharp ache shot through his body, and his senses snapped awake.
Looking down, he found himself lying on the riverbank atop jagged pebbles. Blood-streaked scrapes covered his palms, arms, chest, and thighs.
There were no deep wounds, but such extensive abrasions were truly excruciating.
Enduring the pain, Xue Liangliang struggled to his feet and looked around. The moonlight overhead was veiled by a layer of gray fog, leaving the surroundings submerged in haze.
Still, he could roughly tell this was the riverbank, not far from where they had boarded the boat for the seminar.
Yet hadn't he already departed Nantong by bus? How had he ended up back here?
Confusion gripped him. Suddenly, he saw a woman appear ahead.
She wore a blue dress, her hair tied in a ponytail, holding a porcelain bottle in her left hand and a black umbrella in her right.
*Why is she holding an umbrella?*
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Xue Liangliang realized it was raining—pouring, in fact. Huge raindrops battered his body, stinging on impact.
*Had it... been raining the entire time?*
"Hey! Who are you!" Xue Liangliang shouted at her.
The woman seemed not to hear him, holding her umbrella as she walked straight toward the river.
As she drew closer, Xue Liangliang got a clear look at her face. Her makeup and features carried a hint of worldly seediness, yet she was very young.
Having gone straight from Siyuan Village to the hospital and then to the river, Xue Liangliang hadn't had a chance to see the police bulletin board; otherwise, he would have recognized her photograph posted there, wanted by the authorities.
Seeing her walking resolutely into the water, Xue Liangliang grabbed the arm holding her umbrella.
"What are you doing? Don't do something foolish! You can't go any further!"
The woman ignored him, continuing onward.
*Splash...*
Xue Liangliang felt an uncanny force surge from her body, instantly pulling him off his feet.
Immediately after, he discovered his hand seemed glued to her arm, impossible to tear away. She dragged him along as she marched into the river.
The posture was agonizing: he couldn't maintain his balance, and his lower body dragged continuously against the sharp pebbles.
Only when the woman fully waded into the river did the water's buoyancy balance his frame, but what followed was a violent fit of choking and suffocation—far more terrifying.
He struggled with all his might, but to no avail.
The woman continued forward, walking along the riverbed through utter darkness. Xue Liangliang drifted upward, one hand still stuck fast to her arm, while his entire body floated above her.
He wanted to cry out, but every time he opened his mouth, water rushed in, completely choking off his voice.
He was forced to use his other hand to grab the woman's hair, wrapping it around his fist and pulling.
The woman's form didn't falter in the slightest, marching steadily along the riverbed. Xue Liangliang's upward pull turned into downward adherence, pressing him flush against her back.
Her hair began to grow, lengthening at an impossible rate. The strands were extraordinarily tough; even when only a few hung there, Xue Liangliang couldn't snap them. Instead, the harder he tried to break free, the tighter they bound him.
In the end, he was practically hugging the woman from behind while she carried him on her back, marching onward.
The suffocating despair dragged on. Xue Liangliang could no longer track how long he had gone without breathing. He was in agony, yet for some reason, his consciousness remained razor-sharp.
This was by no means fortunate, for it allowed him to taste the torment with excruciating clarity.
By now, he was praying he would simply drown quickly to find release.
After who knew how long, a light appeared ahead.
*How could there be light at the bottom of the Yangtze River?*
And under that glow, the faint silhouettes of buildings were visible.
Beneath the river, there was not only light, but an actual town.
Suddenly, Xue Liangliang felt the hair binding him drift away completely, and the hand glued to her arm finally came free.
Instead of floating upward, his body sank onto the ground.
The woman continued forward, guided by the light, walking steadily toward the shadowy town.
Xue Liangliang discovered in horror that she was not the only one. Within the darkness of the riverbed across his field of vision, numerous figures moved—all long-haired women in dresses, clad in varying styles and even garments from different eras.
Every face was dead and sunken, moving without emotion, all advancing in a single direction.
The surrounding current seemed to have taken on a fixed flow. Slumped on the ground, Xue Liangliang felt his body dragged helplessly along with it.
He instinctively tried to grab onto anything to anchor himself, but failed. Grabbing stones only overturned them; grasping at silt kicked up clouds of mud that quickly dispersed in the water.
No matter how resistant or unwilling he was, he could not change the reality of being forcibly dragged away.
At last,
He drew closer to the light. What had appeared as a single radiance from afar proved, up close, to be the collective glow of red and white lanterns.
The town's shape grew sharper and more three-dimensional: row upon row of houses arranged in neat order, each doorway bearing a niche lit with an ever-burning lantern that emitted an eerie green glow.
Directly ahead of him loomed a memorial archway, towering and archaic, heavily coated in moss.
Two rows of hanging lanterns were suspended on either side, descending from large to small.
On the left hung red lanterns, representing celebration; on the right hung white lanterns, heralding deathly silence.
Xue Liangliang looked to the very center of the archway, where three characters were inscribed.
Reading from right to left:
*Baijia Town.*
Chapter 22