Li Zhuiyuan hung up the receiver and turned to the shopkeeper. "How much do I owe you?"
The shopkeeper swallowed with some difficulty. He still suspected the kid was just acting out a prank, but to be safe, he pressed the speakerphone button and hit redial.
The brief ringing tone made his eyebrows twitch. Once the call connected, the operator's voice came through the speaker:
"Hello, this is the Tongzhou Public Security Bureau..."
*Click!*
The shopkeeper slammed the phone down instantly. He stared at Li Zhuiyuan in utter disbelief. He had never dreamed the boy would actually call the police!
"You little imp, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Frantic, the shopkeeper burst out from behind the counter and bolted next door. He had to tip them off; they couldn't get caught red-handed when the police arrived.
Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the telephone. He had assumed the shopkeeper was redialing to explain, *"It was just a child fooling around, please don't take it seriously, sorry for the trouble."*
Instead, the moment the man confirmed it was indeed the emergency line, he had panicked and hung up, not even thinking of smoothing things over.
Even so, Li Zhuiyuan left the call fee on the counter and picked two candies from the jar as his change.
In those days, after unwrapping a candy, there was often a thin sheet of edible rice paper inside that dissolved in the mouth. Li Zhuiyuan, however, was accustomed to peeling it off.
By the time he had cleared the rice paper and sucked on the candies for a good while, the shopkeeper still had not emerged from the video parlor.
Li Zhuiyuan knew the man had likely met with trouble inside.
He sighed quietly to himself and decided he ought to put some distance between them.
Waiting until the traffic cleared, he crossed the road. Still feeling the straight-line distance was too close, he walked a good stretch to the west and stopped in front of a bicycle repair shop.
From here, he could look across the road and monitor the video parlor from afar. At the same time, any arriving police would pass him first.
He did not have to wait long before a police motorcycle arrived, followed by a patrol car.
The two vehicles pulled up before the video parlor, and six uniformed officers stepped out. Four entered through the front door, while two hurried around to the back.
The arrival of the police vehicles drew the attention of many people nearby. Evening shoppers and neighboring shopkeepers gathered around to watch the commotion.
Li Zhuiyuan did not press forward, remaining where he was and quietly waiting for the outcome.
Less than two minutes later, an officer rushed out of the video parlor in a panic, his face etched with disbelief.
Li Zhuiyuan’s heart skipped a beat: *Could even the police officers have fallen under the spell?*
However, when he saw the officer grab the walkie-talkie from the patrol car and begin speaking, followed by another officer walking out of the parlor...
Li Zhuiyuan knew the miasma had broken.
In *Zhengdao Fumo Lu*, an entire volume was devoted to "miasma," which broadly referred to the peculiar environment created when a dead-flipper took up residence in a place.
That volume detailed numerous methods for investigation, analysis, and breaking the snare.
Evidently, however, Wei Zhengdao’s era had neither telephones nor the people's police.
Before long, backup arrived wave after wave. Among them was a middle-aged plainclothes officer with a stubble-covered chin. Stepping out of his car, his gaze swept sharply across the surroundings.
Though it felt improper to describe a policeman with such words, the man gave Li Zhuiyuan the distinct impression of a hunting falcon, his gaze impossibly sharp.
Even more surprising to Li Zhuiyuan, the man did not head toward the video parlor. Instead, he parted the crowd before him and seemed to walk directly toward Li Zhuiyuan.
His movement, however, was interrupted by colleagues calling out behind him, and he was forced to turn back.
Just then, the patrons were led out of the video parlor one after another.
Every one of them appeared limp and rubbery, stumbling as if their ankles might give way at any second, yet their faces were flushed red and their heads bobbed vigorously.
The middle-aged officer stepped forward, took one man by the arm, and pushed his fingers firmly upward along the forearm, closely resembling a classic massage technique.
Releasing that arm, he grabbed a second and then a third, repeating the motion.
"Captain Tan, what is it?"
Tan Yunlong shook his head. "Doesn't look like drugs."
His words drew startled expressions from the officers around him.
In truth, this had started as a routine raid against pornography and prostitution. But after the initial responding officers checked the scene, they had immediately phoned in an excited report.
The entire station had erupted.
Who would have guessed that in this rural township, they would unexpectedly bust an opium-den-style gathering?
Tan Yunlong understood what his colleagues were thinking. He could only say, "That’s just my personal assessment for now. Take them back to the station first, then have the town health clinic send medical staff over to examine them."
"Yes, Captain Tan."
In fact, Tan Yunlong was not entirely certain himself, because their behavior was just too typical of intoxication.
Soon, everyone from the video parlor had been brought outside.
Li Zhuiyuan spotted Lei Zi and Pan Zi among them. The two showed no fear of the police at all, chattering away to themselves and high-fiving every now and then.
The two women who worked part-time at the parlor were the same, even bantering and giggling with the officers beside them.
Even a blind man could tell something was wrong.
Furthermore, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that Brother Bao, who had previously been behind one of the women, was nowhere to be seen.
As to where Brother Bao had gone, Li Zhuiyuan had no idea, nor could he locate him.
Next, the patrons were ushered into the patrol vehicles one by one, while the video parlor and the neighboring grocery shop were sealed off with police tape.
The tip-off call had originated from the grocery shop, something easily traced. Yet the shopkeeper himself was currently writhing and swaying the most violently of all; once inside the police car, he pressed himself against the window, pulling one grotesque face after another.
Perhaps because he had been the last to go in, he was riding the peak of his frenzy.
Li Zhuiyuan glanced around, wondering why Brother Runsheng had not returned yet.
Noticing a pedicab parked nearby whose driver was watching the spectacle, Li Zhuiyuan walked over, climbed in, stated the location of the town health clinic, and asked for the fare.
When the driver named a price, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that, having spoken on the phone earlier, he had naturally slipped into Mandarin without switching back to dialect. He promptly repeated his question in the Nantong dialect.
The driver gave a sheepish grin and quoted half the original fare.
Arriving at the town health clinic, Li Zhuiyuan walked inside. Before he could ask where Sister Mei and Runsheng were, he noticed two police officers walking ahead of him.
He trailed after them and soon found a quiet ward. On a bench outside, Runsheng was sitting quietly.
The officers pushed open the door and entered. Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Runsheng, gave him a gentle nudge, and asked, "Brother Runsheng, what are you sitting here for?"
Runsheng raised his head. "Ah, Xiao Yuan..."
Through their conversation, Li Zhuiyuan learned what had happened after they reached the clinic.
First, resuscitation on Brother Bao had failed, and he had been pronounced dead.
Upon hearing the news, Sister Mei had promptly fainted.
The elderly pedicab driver had left immediately after reaching the clinic.
Consequently, the clinic staff had insisted that Runsheng stay behind to pay the fees. But Runsheng had no money on him, so he could only sit there as a "hostage."
He had figured that once Sister Mei woke up and explained everything, he would be free to go—except Sister Mei had been unconscious for rather a long time.
Li Zhuiyuan pushed the door open to speak with the police. Inside the ward, Sister Mei lay in the hospital bed, flanked by two uniformed officers and a plainclothes detective.
This plainclothes officer had arrived earlier, something Li Zhuiyuan had not known. Had he known, he might have hesitated before stepping inside, for this was the very man who had seemingly picked him out of the crowd at a single glance.
Li Zhuiyuan approached the two uniformed officers first, explaining the situation and emphasizing that his friend had merely performed a good deed and should not be burdened with such trouble.
Once the officers understood the full picture, they spoke with the clinic staff. Soon enough, Runsheng was told he could leave.
"Wonderful! We can finally go home and eat!"
Runsheng was famished, eager to hoist Li Zhuiyuan onto his back and sprint all the way home.
Just then, a voice called out behind them: "Hold on a moment, young man."
Tan Yunlong walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, crouched down, and looked intently at the boy.
"Young man, you were the one who called the police, weren't you?"
The report from the emergency operator had noted the caller was a boy. Upon arriving at the scene, Tan Yunlong had immediately caught sight of Li Zhuiyuan.
While everyone else was crowding forward to gawk, someone standing alone, quiet, on the outer periphery with an optimal vantage point stood out starkly. On top of that, the boy’s friend had brought the video parlor's owner and his wife to the clinic. Tied together, all of it could hardly be a coincidence.
"Yes, Officer, I made the call."
Li Zhuiyuan did not deny it. In front of a seasoned detective, lying offered no benefit.
"Why did you call the police?"
"Shouldn't I have?"
Tan Yunlong was momentarily choked for words, finally managing a chuckle. "You should have. You did the right thing."
"Officer, may we go home now?"
"Of course you may." Although the test results from the video parlor had not yet come back, the informant had to be protected regardless. "Come on, where do you live? I'll drive you home. It's not safe for kids to walk the roads at night."
"Thank you, Officer."
Tan Yunlong saw Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng into the vehicle. Before starting the engine, he removed the siren from the roof.
He did not drive Li Zhuiyuan right up to the house, pulling over instead along the village road.
Li Zhuiyuan bid farewell to Tan Yunlong, then hopped out with Runsheng to walk toward Great-Grandpa's house. Just as they reached the fork leading into the narrow path, they saw Li Weihan pedaling furiously on an old Flying Pigeon bicycle, four paternal uncles rushing behind him as they hurried out of the village.
Li Weihan's face was grim. Two of the uncles wore deeply anxious expressions, while the other two had turned livid, cursing under their breath.
"Grandpa, Uncles."
"Xiao Yuanhou, hurry on home. Your uncles and I have business in town."
Li Weihan could not even pause to properly greet his most beloved grandson, for the messenger's words had been utterly terrifying:
Word had it that Lei Zi and Pan Zi were in town doing drugs and had been arrested by the police!
The news struck like a bolt from the blue!
They were currently racing to the town police station. The two uncles muttering about "beating those wretched brats to death" were none other than the fathers of Pan Zi and Lei Zi.
Runsheng asked curiously, "Xiao Yuan, did something happen?"
"Let's head home first, Brother Runsheng. I'm hungry."
"Yeah, me too!"
When they stepped inside, Auntie Liu scolded them gently, "How did you two lose track of time while out playing? We finished eating long ago, and your great-grandpa has already gone out for a stroll."
Even so, Auntie Liu promptly brought out the food she had saved, though it no longer looked quite as appetizing.
Before Li Zhuiyuan was a single bowl piled high with rice and side dishes; before Runsheng was an entire basin.
Runsheng hurriedly lit some incense sticks, tore off several large mouthfuls in succession, and chewed with an expression of sheer bliss, looking as though his soul had finally returned to his body.
In this state, he looked far more intoxicated on illicit substances than the suspects outside the video parlor.
Qin Liang sat down in front of Li Zhuiyuan, watching him eat.
Midway through their meal, Great-Grandpa returned from his post-dinner walk, exclaiming:
"Damn it all, how on earth is the whole village saying Pan Zi and Lei Zi joined an opium-smuggling gang, and hold high ranks in it too?"
Li Zhuiyuan nearly choked on his rice. As he coughed, he felt a gentle little hand lightly patting his back.
Li Sanjiang sat down, lit a cigarette, and went on, "You really can't tell, can you? Those two boys usually seem so honest in the village. Never judge a book by its cover, I suppose."
"Great-Grandpa, the villagers must be spreading rumors. How could that be possible?"
"Hard to say. Your grandpa and uncles have all rushed to the police station.
"Xiao Yuanhou, your great-grandpa is warning you: you can fool around with anything else, but never touch that stuff. Once you do, your life is basically ruined."
"I know, Great-Grandpa."
"Right, who were you playing with this afternoon to stay out so late?"
"With Brother Pan Zi and Brother Lei Zi."
Li Sanjiang's face wrinkled, then smoothed out with a nod. "Then the villagers are definitely making things up out of thin air."
After dinner, Li Sanjiang went upstairs to wash up and sleep; he had to wake early the next morning to sit the rites at old Zhao's house.
Runsheng took a cold rinse by the well, and without even drying off, he eagerly turned on the television and sat down to watch.
Dripping wet in the pale glow of the television set, he looked just like a freshly surfaced dead-flipper.
Li Zhuiyuan dropped into a horse stance out in the courtyard.
Ah Li stood beside him, keeping him company.
After practicing for the allotted time, Li Zhuiyuan straightened up and exhaled deeply. A fine layer of sweat covered his body, easing much of the fatigue gathered throughout the day.
Liu Yumei had been sitting in the courtyard cracking melon seeds and enjoying the evening breeze. Seeing him finish, she teased:
"What's the use of practicing this? Look at how serious you are."
"I just treat it like morning calisthenics."
The answer gave Liu Yumei pause. Without realizing it, she spat out the seed meat and began chewing on the shell.
Sensing he might have said something out of turn, Li Zhuiyuan added, "I just feel that my body feels much better and my mind is sharper after practicing. It’s quite amazing."
"You're still young, your bones haven't set yet. It's not the right time for hard martial arts."
"Understood, Grandma Liu." Li Zhuiyuan glanced toward the sash at Ah Li's waist. "Grandma, is that belt on Ah Li really suitable?"
Ah Li was prone to flying into a frenzy whenever startled or agitated by strangers. Equipping her with a concealed soft sword... meant people could end up chopped to pieces.
"I think it suits her just fine. Only a sash like this matches our Ah Li's dress."
No sooner had Liu Yumei spoken than Ah Li unfastened the belt and dropped it to the ground—simply because Xiao Yuan had said it wasn't suitable.
The old lady's lips twitched slightly.
Li Zhuiyuan bent down and carefully picked up the sash. Though it was thin and pliable, in practiced hands, it was lethal.
"All right, it's getting late. Ah Li, you should go to sleep. We'll play together again tomorrow morning."
Ah Li obediently returned to her room.
Li Zhuiyuan apologized, "Grandma Liu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up in front of Ah Li."
"I'm just a bit embarrassed, but not so foolish that I can't tell good intentions from bad. I know you mean well.
"Still, you're mistaken about one thing. Your great-grandpa must have told you about Ah Li. When she truly loses control, having a weapon nearby makes no difference at all."
"What?"
"Head back to your room. Ah Ting said you asked her to buy quite a few things today."
"I asked Auntie Liu to help me buy some materials for school assignments."
"Then go do your homework. This old woman is going to bed."
"Good night, Grandma Liu."
Li Zhuiyuan went up to the second floor and opened his bedroom door, greeted by a room crowded with all sorts of materials. The previously barren room had instantly become cramped and full.
*Auntie Liu really works fast.*
He walked over to a cage holding a little black puppy, furnished with both a water bowl and a food dish.
Auntie Liu had not mentioned a single word about it downstairs. Clearly, she was only responsible for buying what he asked; explaining it to Great-Grandpa later was his own problem.
That included raising a black puppy.
By all rights, a puppy of this age should have been energetic and mischievous, yet this one was sprawled against the edge of the cage, dead to the world.
Even when he stepped right up to it, it didn't so much as twitch an eyelid.
Confirmed: this dog was entirely unfit for guarding the front door. Tasked with watch duty, it would turn in earlier, wake later, and sleep sounder than the master of the house.
Still, Li Zhuiyuan had not acquired it for watch duty anyway; he needed its blood.
While this sounded somewhat cruel, in reality it was not. Virgin black dog blood appeared frequently in *Zhengdao Fumo Lu* as an essential component for activating many implements.
However, it was only needed for its vital essence—just a drop smeared on as a catalyst.
The way Great-Grandpa conducted rituals before retrieving corpses, sloshing basins of black dog blood everywhere... was completely wrong.
Li Zhuiyuan had searched through both *Jianghu Zhiguai Lu* and *Zhengdao Fumo Lu*, and had never once seen a dead-flipper slain by having dog blood dumped over it.
Besides, what Great-Grandpa splashed wasn't real dog blood anyway; he mixed it up with pigments beforehand, and the actual blood used depended on whether the family had eaten chicken or pork over the preceding days.
Normally, to ensure robust vital energy, black dog blood drawn within the past month was best; beyond that window, its potency declined sharply.
Each collection required no more than a bottle cap's worth, which was then ground and blended with other ingredients into a paste resembling red seal paste. When needed, one opened the lid, pressed a fingertip into it, and smeared it where required.
At such minute quantities and low frequency, the impact on the dog's health was negligible. At worst, he could compensate it with a fat chicken leg after each draw.
As for raising a virgin dog, the book detailed that process as well, and it was quite simple: medicinal feeding.
The text provided a prescription that even an experienced herbalist would mistake for an ordinary human tonic. If consumed by a dog, however, along with nourishing its constitution, it carried a specific side effect: it drastically suppressed carnal desire.
Locking a dog in a pitch-black room isolated from the world tended to drive it mad, infusing its blood with baleful qi and ruining its efficacy.
Merely keeping a close watch on it was too exhausting. If it managed to slip out and lose its purity, you had no way of knowing; facing a dead-flipper with useless dog blood would only end in disaster for yourself—too high a price to pay.
As for castrating the dog once and for all, that was even less viable. Once gelded, a dog's blood lost its vital essence entirely, rendering it completely useless.
Thus, feeding it this tonic was the best path. So long as it was administered in courses, the dog would remain a perfect gentleman even during mating season.
Wei Zhengdao had been a benevolent man, noting in the text that once the dog reached three or four years of age, one could stop the medicine, grant it its freedom, and seek out a new dog for blood collection.
Dogs treated with the medicine generally grew stronger and healthier; their only sacrifice was missing out on doggy romance for those few years.
Once released, it could still enjoy wide-open skies and a splendid future—call it tasting bitterness before sweetness.
Seeing the puppy continue to ignore him, Li Zhuiyuan stopped fussing over it. Taking his list in hand, he began taking inventory item by item.
Fortunately, Brother Liangliang had given him a generous sum of pocket money earlier; otherwise, his meager savings would never have covered all these materials.
And this was merely the first batch of raw materials, not yet accounting for experimental wastage and processing fees.
At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan finally felt the sting of financial pressure.
He regretted declining the jade thumb ring Liu Yumei had offered him.
After verifying that nothing was missing, Li Zhuiyuan sat at his desk and began drawing blueprints.
The illustrations in the manual were crude, relying heavily on accompanying text. He had to transcribe them into clear schematics so that craftsmen in the real world could make them.
This kind of artisan manual was truly difficult to digest.
Working until one in the morning, Li Zhuiyuan stepped away from the desk, took a bath, and went to bed.
Waking the next morning, he glanced to the side and saw Ah Li sitting on a chair in her red dress.
Li Zhuiyuan wondered with a hint of worry: once he returned to the capital, would he feel an empty sense of loss when he woke up and didn't see her?
The puppy in the cage seemed fascinated by Ah Li, scratching eagerly at the bars while facing her.
Ah Li, however, was unlike other girls. She showed no interest in cute little animals; otherwise, Liu Yumei would likely have built her a mini zoo by now.
While washing up, he heard voices chatting down in the courtyard—it was Li Weihan and Li Sanjiang.
Li Zhuiyuan listened quietly from upstairs.
After hauling the patrons back to the station the previous evening, the police had tested everyone and found that not a single one had used drugs. Rather, among the four thugs who had left earlier, the suit-wearing ringleader had indeed been involved with the contraband.
That man had been lounging at home when police knocked on his door requesting his assistance with the investigation. Terrified, he had confessed everything on the spot. He was merely a petty runner who had just linked up with a supplier to distribute the stuff for quick cash, and this raid had neatly unraveled the whole chain.
As for the bizarre behavior of the patrons in the video parlor, the police explained that a gas valve in the corner kitchenette had been left open, causing carbon monoxide poisoning and inducing hallucinations in many of them.
Li Sanjiang remarked in wonder, "Gas poisoning causes that kind of reaction?"
Li Weihan answered, "That's what the police said. Once Panhou and Leihou were put on an IV, they went back to normal as soon as they got home."
Li Sanjiang sighed with lingering dread. "Good heavens. City folk take terrible risks using gas. Give me our earthen stoves any day."
Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and greeted Li Weihan. Li Weihan stroked Li Zhuiyuan’s head while railing against Pan Zi and Lei Zi as cautionary tales.
Even if they hadn't touched drugs, sneaking into a video parlor to watch illicit tapes and getting rounded up in a vice raid was shameful enough.
To help them sleep better after their IV drip, both boys had received a vigorous round of encouragement with rattan switches from their fathers upon getting home.
Still, Li Zhuiyuan gathered that Brother Pan Zi and Brother Lei Zi were fiercely loyal. Despite being caught and beaten, neither of them had breathed a word about him being at the video parlor.
After Li Weihan left, Li Sanjiang called Runsheng over, and together they wheeled the paper effigies off to old Zhao's house for today's funeral rites.
Li Sanjiang invited Li Zhuiyuan along to feast at the banquet, but Li Zhuiyuan declined on the pretext that he "needed to focus on his studies at home."
Throughout the entire day, Li Zhuiyuan stayed in his room doing craftwork, mainly handling the preliminary preparation of materials.
Li Zhuiyuan also let the puppy out of its cage for some exercise. But after it tried approaching Ah Li and was scared off by the chilling aura suddenly radiating from her, it lost all interest in exploring and crawled back into its cage to sleep.
Moreover, since the previous night, aside from whimpering a few times that morning to alert him that its water bowl was empty, it hadn't barked once.
Li Zhuiyuan even suspected that even without the medicine, once it grew older and gained the capability, it might still never bother chasing mates, purely out of sheer laziness.
Initially, Li Zhuiyuan only intended to let Ah Li help with simple tasks. But discovering she picked things up quickly and worked with remarkable precision, he began treating her as a full partner.
To some extent, he had to admit her crafting skills surpassed his own.
The two passed the entire day in this rhythm, their interaction even more engaged than when reading together—though it left Ah Li thoroughly smudged and grimy.
Before dinner, Li Zhuiyuan used a towel to wipe Ah Li's hands and face, though the stains on her clothes were harder to manage.
Liu Yumei had just picked up her chopsticks for dinner when she saw the dirt-smudged boy leading her equally filthy granddaughter downstairs, shocking her so much she nearly snapped the chopsticks in two.
Her granddaughter had always been fastidious about cleanliness, yet after spending time with this boy, she didn't care in the slightest.
While her rational mind recognized that everything was progressing rapidly in a positive direction, emotionally, as a grandmother, she found it hard to stomach.
Did this scene not look exactly like a pampered daughter raised in luxury announcing one day that she wanted to run off to do manual labor and endure hardship with a penniless lad?
And she wasn't just talking about it anymore.
Liu Yumei quickly steadied her emotions. During the meal, she observed that her granddaughter no longer merely kept her head down eating; she would take a few bites, look up at the boy across from her, and sway ever so slightly.
This sent Liu Yumei's freshly calmed emotions into turmoil again... *Good heavens, this manual labor is actually working.*
After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan decided against continuing the craftwork, worried about tiring Ah Li. He planned to spend the night drawing new blueprints on his own.
After walking Ah Li back to the east room, he went upstairs, held a horse stance on the terrace, and returned to his room to draw.
Late into the night, Li Zhuiyuan stepped out to wash his face. Passing Great-Grandpa's bedroom, he noticed it was empty. Hearing the television downstairs, he walked down the stairs to find Runsheng watching television alone while chewing on incense sticks.
"Brother Runsheng, where's my great-grandpa?"
"Still drinking at the banquet, probably."
Runsheng wasn't suited to sitting at the banquet tables, so Li Sanjiang had packed a portion for him to eat by himself in a corner with his incense. After finishing, he had greeted the hosts and returned early to watch television.
"Oh, I see."
"Xiao Yuan, want to watch TV?"
"No, you go ahead, Brother Runsheng. I'm heading back up."
Back in his second-floor room, Li Zhuiyuan finished a few more blueprints. Feeling he had reached his limit for the day and seeing it was past midnight, he decided it was time to wash up and sleep.
Carrying his washbasin toward the shower, he glanced into Great-Grandpa's room and found the old man had still not returned.
Heading downstairs, he found Runsheng adjusting the channels while fiddling with the antenna.
"Brother Runsheng, Great-Grandpa still isn't back. Could he be drunk at their house?"
Li Zhuiyuan knew Great-Grandpa loved his liquor; whenever he sat the rites and attended a funeral banquet, he was bound to drink his fill.
"I don't know."
"Brother Runsheng, come with me to check. If Great-Grandpa is drunk, we can carry him back."
"Sure thing."
Li Zhuiyuan retrieved a flashlight, loaded the batteries, and headed out. Old Zhao's house wasn't far, but country paths were treacherous at night.
Walking along the rural trail, they approached old Zhao's home. Though the funeral canopy was still pitched, the lanterns were mostly extinguished; the banquet had evidently ended long ago.
Yet, as they reached the courtyard, a single light bulb was still glowing beneath the large canopy. Three men were sitting underneath it, still drinking. One of them was Li Sanjiang.
Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help sighing in amazement. It seemed Great-Grandpa had found kindred drinking companions tonight, lingering to drink and chat until now despite the hosts clearing the tables.
Runsheng, unable to wait until they reached the table, raised his hand and waved from a distance, shouting, "Old Master, they've already packed up! Let's go home!"
Hearing Runsheng's shout, Li Sanjiang turned his drunken eyes toward them and waved dismissively. "It's fine! I told the hosts I was worried their lad wouldn't find his way home tonight, so I'd sit the rites a bit longer for him. The family was thrilled—they even brought out extra cold dishes and saved us plenty of liquor!"
Li Sanjiang then introduced the boys to his two companions: "See that? That's my great-grandson. My great-grandson is handsome and clever, an absolute delight. Don't look at the wrong one, now—not that big dummy, he belongs to Shanpao's family."
Li Zhuiyuan walked up to the table, intending to apologize to Great-Grandpa's drinking companions and bring the visibly tipsy old man home to rest.
Approaching earlier, he had assumed the dim lighting had obscured their upper bodies and faces in the shadows.
Yet even now, standing right beside them, he still could not see their faces clearly. He only sensed that Great-Grandpa's companions seemed rather young. Were they unexpected cross-generational friends?
Li Zhuiyuan raised his flashlight, casually swinging the beam across their faces.
In an instant,
Li Zhuiyuan’s heart seized.
For one of the men sitting at the table drinking was Brother Bao!
The other looked familiar, though Li Zhuiyuan could not place where he had seen him. He was extraordinarily young, barely older than Runsheng.
The answer came almost immediately, for after sweeping across the two faces, the flashlight beam settled squarely on the black-and-white memorial portrait at the center of the mourning hall.
Today's funeral rites were being held for him.
And now he had taken a seat at the table,
partaking in his own funeral feast.
Chapter 27