Li Zhuiyuan slept deeply this time—no dreams, no getting up in the night, without even shifting his sleeping posture. It felt as though his eyelids had simply closed and opened again, and the long night was over.
Habitually turning his head, he found, sure enough, the girl sitting on the chair near the door.
But soon, Li Zhuiyuan noticed something was off: the girl had not changed her clothes.
She was still wearing yesterday's black martial arts suit, the stains picked up while rushing the work still plainly visible.
This meant the girl hadn't gone back to the east room to sleep last night; she had sat right here the entire night.
Li Zhuiyuan roughly guessed why she had done it: yesterday he had overexerted himself so severely that she was worried he might die in his sleep.
A reason that would baffle outsiders was, to her, the purest and simplest thought.
Though she had not spoken a word in front of him since the first day they met, Li Zhuiyuan found himself understanding her more and more.
He got out of bed and walked over to her.
Her face remained delicate and exquisite, without the slightest trace of weariness.
Perhaps she had often stayed up all night like this in the past; in her world, the transition between day and night had long since blurred.
Otherwise, Liu Yumei wouldn't have reminded him so often to coax Ah Li back to the east room every night.
The girl lifted her head, meeting the boy's eyes.
In her pupils, Li Zhuiyuan saw a near-complete reflection of himself.
It wasn't as if he hadn't analyzed why she treated him so differently.
It all stemmed from the night the Cat-Faced Old Woman had come. The girl had stood in the courtyard, tilted her head up, and looked at him standing on the second-floor terrace.
He was likely the very first person to step into her dream.
It was by no means a sweet dream, for her eyes could see the terrifying underside of this world.
A ten-year-old... no, she must have been like this from an even earlier, younger age.
It was hard to imagine how a babbling toddler had faced such an environment, surrounded wherever she looked by boundless ugliness and foul depravity.
She must have cried, cowered, and screamed, but the world had not changed for her emotions. In the end, she had chosen to change herself, shutting herself away completely.
Autism, obsessive-compulsive traits, mutism—all these symptoms were merely external manifestations. The true underlying cause was her rejection of all contact with the outside world.
Though it made him blush slightly, it was the truth: his appearance that night had been, to the girl, like a sudden beam of light breaking through endless night.
He was like a balcony enclosed in glass windows; she stood on that balcony, using him as a vantage to cautiously touch and perceive the outside world.
Perhaps he had merely happened, at this juncture, to temporarily bear all her passion and hope for this world.
Yet at the same time, was she not the same to him?
His mother already resented him; his father could no longer bear this family; and neither his South Grandpa nor his North Grandpa had him as their only grandson.
Yet in this girl before him, her eyes were filled with nothing but him.
Li Zhuiyuan reached out, intending to tidy the stray hair by Ah Li's ear, but the girl reached out with both hands first, looping her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his chest.
Ever since she had seen him do this to Li Sanjiang that day, she had remembered it and come to love it.
She had been secretly imitating it—clumsily, yet adorably.
Li Zhuiyuan could only pat her head and recite that familiar line:
"Whatever Ah Li wants, I'll buy it for you. I have money, plenty of money."
Though the line didn't quite suit the occasion, the girl was thoroughly satisfied.
She pulled back from his chest, gazing at him with bright eyes.
Li Zhuiyuan knew she had just been expressing her joy, celebrating his "recovery from a serious illness."
Yes, in her eyes, his utter exhaustion from pulling an all-nighter was an illness.
Li Zhuiyuan smiled at Ah Li, murmuring in his heart:
*Actually, the two of us are the same—both terribly sick.*
...
He woke up later than usual today; everyone else had already eaten breakfast.
When Li Zhuiyuan led Ah Li down the stairs by the hand, Liu Yumei was in the courtyard, her head lowered as she sipped her tea.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't dare inspect Grandma Liu's expression too closely; in any case, it wouldn't be very pleasant.
Auntie Liu set out breakfast and came over, her gaze carrying a hint.
Catching her meaning, Li Zhuiyuan said to Ah Li, "Go wash up and take a bath with Auntie Liu. If you're sleepy, go to sleep."
Ah Li obediently turned and walked toward the east room. Auntie Liu followed and closed the door.
Li Zhuiyuan sat down and began his breakfast.
As he ate, Li Sanjiang came walking back from the outhouse behind the building. Stepping over, he bent down to take a close look and said, "Little Yuanhou, your complexion looks much better today than yesterday."
"Great-Grandpa, have a seat. There's something I want to talk to you about. I was too exhausted yesterday and didn't get the chance to mention it."
"Short on pocket money?" Li Sanjiang fished in his pocket and pulled out a bill of a denomination virtually unheard of for village children's allowance, setting it down beside Li Zhuiyuan's porridge bowl. "If you're short on cash, just tell your great-grandpa. Your great-grandpa has plenty of money."
Li Zhuiyuan didn't rush to take the money, saying instead:
"Great-Grandpa, the night before last at Old Zhao's banquet, you weren't drinking alone. You were drinking with two people. One was Brother Bao, the video parlor boss the police investigated three days ago—he's dead. The other was Zhao Xing. You were in the dark and didn't notice, but he was Old Zhao's son; that funeral the other day was held for him. Neither of them were living people. They came to drink with you to ask for your help..."
"Hold on, hold on!"
Li Sanjiang cut him off, placing a hand over his forehead before resting his palm on his own forehead to compare temperatures. He muttered in bewilderment:
"Aiya, feels like you're running a bit of a fever, talking nonsense like this."
"Great-Grandpa, I'm telling the truth. The two of them drank with you because they want you to go to Shigang Town, to the home of a man named Old Jiang, to get rid of a taisui kept in a water vat in his pond. If you don't agree, they'll come back to cause trouble for you. You'd better be careful lately."
"Little Yuanhou, you mean that night, your great-grandpa was with two..." Li Sanjiang suddenly lowered his voice. "Was drinking with two dead men, and drank until midnight?"
"Yes."
"Sigh, it's your great-grandpa's fault. I shouldn't have told you about that dream yesterday. It gave you nightmares. Thinking about things by day makes you dream of them by night!"
"I didn't, Great-Grandpa. What I'm saying is real. I've already prepared some things that will come in handy so I can help resolve it when the time comes..."
"All right, all right, Great-Grandpa believes you. Come on, once you're done with breakfast, I'll take you over to Zheng Datong to check your temperature and get an injection."
Li Zhuiyuan smiled. "Great-Grandpa, you weren't scared by my made-up story at all. You're amazing."
"Heh, you little sparrow, think you can scare your great-grandpa? If I drank with people until midnight, wouldn't I know it? Runsheng Hou didn't see anyone either, only you saw them? Your story is full of holes; it doesn't hold water at all."
"Right. Next time I'll make up a better one."
"Spend more effort on your studies and dwell less on this superstitious nonsense. By the way, starting tonight, your great-grandpa will get back to turning your luck."
Li Sanjiang patted the boy on the shoulder, no longer mentioning the clinic or injections. Instead, he stepped into the house and headed upstairs; he wanted to take advantage of the daytime to catch up on sleep and restore his energy.
What if in tonight's dream he had to lead exercises for that group of jiangshi in the Forbidden City again?
Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, picked up the salted duck egg he had eaten half of, and turned it in his fingers, muttering under his breath:
"It shouldn't be like this. Why couldn't I get through to him?"
"It's only right that you couldn't."
It was Liu Yumei's voice.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked over. "Grandma Liu, what did you just say?"
"The tea has gone cold. Brew another pot. Put in fewer tea leaves; my taste is bland today."
Li Zhuiyuan nodded and set to brewing tea. He understood what Liu Yumei meant: in this household, when speaking of certain unusual matters, one must merely touch upon them without laying everything bare.
Like speaking in riddles where both sides tacitly understood.
Liu Yumei leaned back slightly in her chair, looking at the boy.
"Do you find your great-grandpa foolish at times? Like there are things he simply cannot see clearly, and words he simply refuses to hear?"
Li Zhuiyuan nodded.
"Child, that's completely normal. When people get old, they're all like that. At your age, full of vigor, you have an instinctive curiosity about new things. But normal people, once they reach middle age, grow resistant to accepting anything new and naturally drift toward being set in their ways. When they grow old, most believe in only one rule: keep rolling along according to their old habits, like rolling an iron hoop, rolling right until they tumble into the coffin. They tend to become stubborn and pigheaded. You tell them they're wrong, and they think you're just young; you tell them they shouldn't do things that way, yet they've lived to this ripe old age by that exact routine. Right or wrong doesn't matter to them. Surviving to old age is itself the best proof, a real skill. Do you understand?"
"I think I understand a bit, but I'd like to hear more."
"Heh." Liu Yumei lifted her teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Tang Yin wrote a poem called 'Song of Peach Blossom Cottage.' Have you read it?"
"I have."
"The last two lines."
"'Others laugh at my madness, I laugh that they cannot see. Remember the tombs of the heroes of Wuling, with neither wine nor flowers, tilled into fields.'"
"Indeed. You laugh that he doesn't understand; he laughs that you don't know how to live."
"Grandma Liu, do you mean my great-grandpa is deliberately playing hard of hearing, refusing to listen?"
"No. Your great-grandpa can't act half as well as you, little rascal."
"Grandma, you're joking."
"What do you think of your great-grandpa?"
"Great-Grandpa has a lot of history. Sometimes I feel like I've read him, and sometimes I find myself lost."
"You're making it too complicated. Think of it more simply, without dragging in all those twists and turns."
"Grandma Liu, you're confusing me again."
"Your great-grandpa is really just your great-grandpa. There's nothing extraordinary about the man himself. The only difference between him and anyone else is probably that he's fairly wealthy. No—he's too wealthy."
"Too wealthy?" Li Zhuiyuan began to ponder what "wealth" stood for here.
"When a person has too much money, it goes to their head. They grow self-righteous and deaf to reason. But what can you do? Who told him to be rich? Sometimes, having money really does let you do whatever you want. Plenty of things can be smoothed over with cash. But spending money to pull strings is shadowy business after all. Sometimes even the man himself doesn't know where the money went; all that matters is that at a certain point, the trouble mysteriously resolves itself, and even he feels he muddled through the crisis without knowing how. Meanwhile, the people around him catch on time after time, grinding their teeth in annoyance. Not that they truly hate him—they just can't stand it, yet there's nothing they can do. In the end, they grow numb and just accept it."
Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Grandma Liu, if you live with a wealthy man, can you pick up money and strike it rich too?"
Liu Yumei looked meaningfully at the boy before her. She knew he had understood.
"Ah, as if there were really money scattered all over the ground for you to pick up. At best, it's scraping together a fraction of a cent from some nook or cranny out in the courtyard every now and then. Who knows how long you'd have to scrape before saving enough to buy our Ah Li a piece of candy."
Li Zhuiyuan pulled out the banknote his great-grandpa had just given him and asked, "So Great-Grandpa doesn't know he has that much money either?"
"He probably only thinks he has a bit of spare change, never realizing he's filthy rich—dripping with wealth."
"Can Great-Grandpa spend this money on purpose?"
"Hehehe..." Liu Yumei covered her mouth with a chuckle. "What a silly question. If he doesn't even know he's that rich, how could he spend it on purpose?"
"Yet the money still gets spent?"
"That's right. It gets spent."
Li Zhuiyuan drank the tea in his cup in one gulp. The doubts about his great-grandpa that had lingered in his heart were finally untangled.
The "money" mentioned in their conversation stood for fortune—karmic luck and blessing.
People with immense good fortune often turned misfortune into blessing, seeing extreme adversity give way to good luck.
According to Grandma Liu, if one looked at things simply, Great-Grandpa was just Great-Grandpa—an ordinary corpse retriever in Siyuan Village.
In a way, Grandpa Shan seemed even more professional in practical skills than Great-Grandpa.
Consequently, when that good fortune manifested through Great-Grandpa, it appeared bizarre.
Because Great-Grandpa actually knew very little, and his tools were largely useless props for show. Lacking an adequate vessel to channel it, the manifestations of this so-called good luck became hard to rationalize, growing increasingly exaggerated and outrageous.
For instance, during the posthumous birthday rites at the Niu family, Blind Liu and Grandpa Shan had both been bewitched, ending up in a wretched state, yet Great-Grandpa had simply leaned back and fallen asleep, completely unharmed.
Another example was the drinking session the night before last. Great-Grandpa had thrown up at just the right moment, drifted off to sleep, and the next day assumed it had all been a dream.
And most recently, just moments ago, when Li Zhuiyuan sat face-to-face with him and formally recounted what had happened at that drinking table, Great-Grandpa hadn't absorbed a word, dismissing it as a boyish prank and tall tales.
This was already utterly unreasonable. No matter what, such a dismissive attitude defied logic.
Once could be understood, but happening every single time was more than mere coincidence.
So, was he avoiding it?
No. *It* was influencing Great-Grandpa to avoid it, nudging him toward the safest possible transition.
Great-Grandpa wasn't stupid, nor was he playing dumb. Rather, an unseen hand was plucking at him at specific moments, making his behavior look foolish.
Using this logic to trace back past events, everything seemed to make sense.
Why he had sometimes felt Great-Grandpa was unfathomably deep and other times utterly unreliable; why Blind Liu and Grandpa Shan always displayed that teeth-grinding exasperation toward him yet could do nothing about it. They had known Great-Grandpa for decades, and just as Liu Yumei said, they had likely grown numb and simply accepted it.
Li Zhuiyuan could hardly imagine that a person's fortune could be so profound.
He suddenly remembered when he had read Great-Grandpa's fate. That had been his very first attempt, combining physiognomy and divination, only to end up with a verdict that was completely reversed. That had dealt him a heavy blow, his first taste of failure in his studies. But what if he hadn't miscalculated at all?
After all, his subsequent readings for Xue Liangliang, Zhao Hequan, and the others had quickly been verified.
If his reading for Great-Grandpa hadn't been wrong, just how immense must Great-Grandpa's fortune be to completely override—even invert—his destined fate?
Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Has Great-Grandpa never suspected anything himself?"
Liu Yumei picked up a pastry, took a delicate bite, and replied, "Who on earth would live a whole lifetime free of illness and disaster, in comfort and ease, walking constantly by the river without ever getting their shoes wet, and actively suspect something was wrong with themselves? Who would insist on digging into and reflecting upon why their life was so smooth? And once you dug up that secret, what then—change it back? Is he crazy?"
Li Zhuiyuan realized he had indeed asked a foolish question. Who would think having good luck was a disease?
Yet he soon thought of another matter: "Then... is this wealth ever spent on other people?"
"What do you mean? You want to pick up some cash too?"
"No, I'm just making an analogy. For instance, would the effect of this wealth affect me?"
Liu Yumei pursed her lips, her eyes flickering. She seemed to want to evade the question.
Li Zhuiyuan pressed on: "Several times, when I came across 'dirty money,' my immediate reaction was to hide it from Great-Grandpa and not tell him the truth. Only after quite a while would I realize I shouldn't keep it from him. But when I actually told him about the dirty money, he never believed it. That he doesn't believe it, I can understand now. But what about the shift in my own reaction earlier? Was that influenced as well?"
"Do you want me to tell you?"
"Yes, Grandma Liu."
"I'm afraid you'll regret knowing."
"How could I?"
Liu Yumei gently stroked the rim of her teacup with her fingertip, her gaze falling upon the banknote the boy had just set down.
"Some things have long since been marked with a price in secret, and the transaction has already closed."
Li Zhuiyuan's heart jolted violently. He looked at Liu Yumei in disbelief.
Liu Yumei continued, "Tell me, ever since your great-grandpa brought you home to live, what difference has there been between you and Runsheng's grandfather?"
Li Zhuiyuan stared blankly at the ground, a chain of past events flashing rapidly through his mind.
Great-Grandpa had dragged his injured body to the Niu family to make money, and in the end, it was Li Zhuiyuan who negotiated with the Cat-Faced Old Woman, devised her revenge plan, and arranged for her to "die" beneath Great-Grandpa's peach wood sword.
Great-Grandpa had been invited to Jiuweigang to exorcise evil for Ying Zi's grandparents; Li Zhuiyuan had gone to the riverworks, contracted the corpse spots along with Xue Liangliang, and ultimately met up with Great-Grandpa at the People's Hospital.
Next, the two key figures who actually resolved the Baijia Town incident—Xue Liangliang and Uncle Qin—had both been brought in by him, while Great-Grandpa had simply gone home and slept.
And the night before last, Great-Grandpa had drunk late into the night with those two inhuman beings; in the end, Great-Grandpa thought it was a dream, Runsheng hadn't seen a thing, and the only one who witnessed the whole affair was Li Zhuiyuan himself. He had then forgone rest to craft implements through the night, preparing to fight back.
All three matters were directly connected to Great-Grandpa, yet the one who resolved them in the end seemed to have been him every single time.
Viewed that way, there truly was no difference between himself and Grandpa Shan.
"I know you can see dirty money, kid. Tell Grandma, when did it start?"
Li Zhuiyuan recalled that it began after meeting Little Oriole... No, to be precise, it had become more pronounced and intense after Great-Grandpa led him to guide Little Oriole along the yin path.
In the *Zhengdao Fumo Lu*, this trait manifested in him closely resembled "walking the yin path."
When the living accumulated too much netherworldly aura, the paths of the living and the dead became easily blurred and crisscrossed, allowing one to see things that should never be seen. The book had even noted: *Particularly severe in those of deep contemplation.*
Li Zhuiyuan looked up at Liu Yumei, not answering her previous question, but asking instead, "So that's why Uncle Qin wanted to leave and return to his hometown?"
"Dirty money has to be spent somewhere. Either you keep your head down and treat yourself as an ordinary person, or you wait to be mysteriously pushed forward to shoulder disasters and take the fall. I know what books you've been reading these days, kid. You're utterly obsessed with this business of dirty money."
"Grandma Liu, why did you go out of your way to tell me all this today?"
"Because you're sharp. Even without a master to teach you, just by reading on your own, you pick things up astonishingly fast. I was afraid that if I didn't warn you, before long you might figure out a way to break that fortune of your great-grandpa's."
"But why would I do that?"
"That's none of my concern. All I know is that you might soon have the ability to pull it off. I still have to go on living here with Ah Li, and I don't want you spoiling the harmony of this place."
"Can it be broken?"
"It can," Liu Yumei affirmed. "No matter how rich you are, when you run into a truly tough nut to crack, money becomes useless. Li Sanjiang's fortune is only enough to throw his weight around in a little backwater like this. That's the first reason."
Pausing, Liu Yumei continued, "An old man in his twilight years has lived by his own habits and rhythm his whole life. If anyone disrupts that rhythm, the old man himself falls into disarray. What could have been a long life might end with not much time left to live. That's the second reason."
"Then what I just did..."
"Your great-grandpa lives in that rare state of blissful ignorance amidst genuine confusion. Yet you wanted to wake him, to forcefully straighten him out. That was already an intrusion on his way of life—it's just that you haven't succeeded yet. Once you acquire more knowledge, master greater abilities, and demonstrate higher skill, when it's no longer just words from your mouth, you really could force him straight. So, do you know what to do now? Old child, old child—when people grow old, they become just like children. Humor him more. Isn't that what you're best at, little rascal?"
Li Zhuiyuan buried his face in both hands and rubbed it slowly.
Liu Yumei sipped her tea while observing the boy's reaction. When his hands left his cheeks, what appeared before her once more was a clean, adorable face wearing an innocent smile.
It made her itch to reach out and pinch his cheeks, yet emotion and reason clashed sharply within her.
"Grandma Liu, where is Brother Runsheng?"
"He went out early this morning to tend to the peanuts. He should be back soon. What do you want to do?"
"I ordered some custom-made items. I need Brother Runsheng to go with me to pick them up."
"And then?"
"Then, of course, I'll do what I need to do."
Liu Yumei straightened up and leaned closer, staring intently into the boy's eyes. "You still want to go through with it?"
"What else?"
"Don't you feel resentful? Or wronged? Aren't you afraid?"
"No. All I know is that Great-Grandpa truly dotes on me."
Even if, seemingly, he was warding off disasters on his great-grandpa's behalf.
Yet, first of all, this was the path he had chosen. Secondly, each time had stemmed from his own voluntary concern for Great-Grandpa, choices he had made of his own free will; no one had coerced him.
Most importantly, Great-Grandpa himself understood none of this. He genuinely cherished his great-grandson beyond measure.
Even if everything had been marked with a price and the transaction completed, so what?
He, Li Zhuiyuan, was willing.
Li Sanjiang was still Li Sanjiang. Even knowing these things, Li Zhuiyuan's feelings and attitude toward Great-Grandpa hadn't changed. No, there was a slight change: from now on, he could humor him with a clear conscience, a child humoring an old child.
Liu Yumei scrutinized him closely, trying to catch even the faintest trace of extraneous emotion on his face, but she failed.
Yet how... how was this possible?
Even between flesh-and-blood parents and children, when it came to matters like this, even if they didn't fall out on the spot, an uncomfortable rift would inevitably form.
Yet the boy before her had instantly retained only a few lines of the simplest logic, strangling every unnecessary emotion dead in its tracks.
It was terrifying. Was this child fundamentally devoid of emotion?
"There's something Grandma wants to ask you. That time the paper offerings at home were ruined by the rain, your great-grandpa was badly injured, wasn't he? Before that, what had he done?"
Li Zhuiyuan blinked his clear, large eyes and gave the teapot a gentle shake.
"Grandma, the tea is all gone."
"Then brew another pot."
"I can't drink any more, my belly is full."
Li Zhuiyuan patted his stomach lightly, stood up, and began clearing away the tea set.
Just then, Runsheng returned, carrying a hoe over his shoulder.
"Brother Runsheng, come with me to the Old Carpenter's to pick up some things."
"Sure thing!"
Runsheng went to the well, drew a bucket of water to rinse his feet, and pushed the handcart behind Li Zhuiyuan all the way to the Old Carpenter's house.
The Old Carpenter had been waiting, and the items were finished.
"Grandpa, regarding the labor fee, my great-grandpa said he'll come settle it in a while."
"Settle what fee? Consider this this old man's advance red packet for Uncle Sanjiang's presiding rites!"
"Then you'd better write it down in a notebook, lest you forget as time passes. May you live a hundred years."
Having said that, Li Zhuiyuan gave the Old Carpenter an earnest bow.
"Hehe, you little tyke, where did you pick up all these courtesies? Quite a sweet mouth on you."
The Old Carpenter took a prepared red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Li Zhuiyuan. "Here, take this to buy candy."
"I haven't paid you yet, how could I take money from you?"
"One thing at a time. Last time you came so suddenly that this old grandpa didn't have time to prepare. When a junior visits for the first time, this is what should be given—it's custom."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Li Zhuiyuan accepted the red envelope. Over on the other side, Runsheng had already loaded everything onto the cart.
After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng carried the items up to the second floor.
To Li Zhuiyuan's surprise, Ah Li, freshly bathed and changed into clean clothes, was actually waiting in his bedroom.
Once the crafted parts were brought in, she naturally began assembling them.
"Xiaoyuan, what are these things? They look a bit familiar, like items from our line of work."
After carrying the items in, Runsheng squatted by the door; he couldn't get too close to Ah Li.
"Yeah, tools of the trade," Li Zhuiyuan replied. "Brother Runsheng, go downstairs and watch TV for a bit, burn some incense, and rest up. In a little while, I'll need your help coming out with me."
"Alright, just holler when you're ready."
After Runsheng left, Li Zhuiyuan and Ah Li assembled them together. This was the easiest task, yet also the most rewarding step.
Soon, all the items were fully assembled.
Ah Li lightly interlaced her fingers, gazing at the tools she and the boy had crafted together, then glanced up at the desk, where many blank blueprints still lay.
"I'll keep drawing more in the future. When the time comes, I'll have to ask Ah Li to help me build them. I'm clumsy; without Ah Li's help, I really couldn't manage."
The girl's eyes sparkled as though stars were hidden inside.
He grabbed two cans of Jianlibao for the girl so she could sit and rest, while he began packing up this set of gear.
In total, there were six implements plus four smaller accessories.
The Luosheng Umbrella: pitch-black all over; according to the book, opening it could isolate miasma.
The Yellow River Shovel: could switch between multiple functions. When first looking at the schematics, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help thinking of a Luoyang spade, but the two served different purposes. The Yellow River shovel was mainly designed for underwater and wet, marshy riparian zones.
The Seven Stars Hook: could extend to seven segments. Corpse retrievers used it to hook floating dead-flippers from the water, but each segment bore a special design symbolizing the Big Dipper, capable of countering dead-flippers in varying states.
Next were the Soul-Returning Basket and the Homesick Net. Along with the Seven Stars hook, Great-Grandpa actually had matching tools among his gear, but they were entirely different in substance.
Great-Grandpa's gear was only meant for retrieving motionless floaters; real, moving dead-flippers could never be bound by them.
The final implement was the Sanqing Fan—a grand name. Following the book's specifications, Li Zhuiyuan had carved talismans onto each blade and filled the recessed grooves at the base with various prepared compounds.
This thing was primarily used to hit oneself.
When facing a dead-flipper skilled at enchanting minds like the Cat-Faced Old Woman, one would slap the fan against one's own face or head, and if needed, open a hidden clasp to release a specially formulated powdered mist, quickly waking oneself from illusions.
The four smaller accessories were specially prepared black dog blood ink paste, black canvas, a bagua compass, and a stack of talisman papers Li Zhuiyuan had drawn himself.
The black canvas had an inner layer filled with wood shavings, each curled shaving bearing intricate patterns carved out one by one by Ah Li with a small chisel. When dealing with a dead-flipper, one could wrap it around oneself or attempt to throw it over the dead-flipper's head; the former provided warding protection, while the latter could inflict lethal damage on the monster—at least, that was what the book claimed.
The bagua compass was rather crude: made of wood, lacking any decorative carving, looking completely unrefined. The needle inside had been ground by Li Zhuiyuan himself. He tested it—it was inaccurate.
Yet it was inaccurate in a perfectly consistent way; Li Zhuiyuan only had to mentally calculate the correction.
As for that stack of talisman papers, Li Zhuiyuan had the least confidence in them. It was his first attempt at drawing talismans; in all likelihood, they were useless.
And even if they were useful, was he supposed to run up to a dead-flipper, stand on his tiptoes, and jump to slap it onto its forehead?
Li Zhuiyuan pressed a fingertip against a talisman paper and flicked outward. The paper drifted about a meter away, fluttered back, and dropped to the floor behind him.
That performance wasn't even as good as a playing card.
Better test whether these talismans had any effect first. If they had even the slightest potency, next time he'd find material like playing cards to draw them on.
Regardless, the full set of implements and accessories was finally complete.
Next was testing their effectiveness.
Li Zhuiyuan went out to call Runsheng back upstairs. He intended to hand over several items for Runsheng to use. For instance, the Seven Stars hook and Yellow River shovel could only be truly wielded by someone with great strength. Even if they had zero special enchantments, Runsheng could still use them to bludgeon a dead-flipper.
Left in the room, Ah Li bent down and picked up the talisman paper from the floor.
Resting the talisman in her right palm, she pressed her left index finger against it and flicked her fingertip.
*Whoosh!*
The talisman shot out, sticking square and true right in the center of the doorframe.
Just then, Li Zhuiyuan led Runsheng inside. To keep her distance from Runsheng, Ah Li took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.
Hugging her knees, the girl sat in the corner of the bed, watching the boy explain the functions and uses of the implements to Runsheng.
After listening to the explanation and testing them in hand, Runsheng said in shock, "Xiaoyuan, my grandpa has quite a few of these things too, but they only look similar to yours. The actual difference is huge."
"Mine should be the most professional."
"I can feel it. Good stuff—truly great stuff."
Runsheng had experience retrieving corpses and had clashed with real dead-flippers before. If an implement felt right to him, that was convincing proof.
"Let's go, Brother Runsheng. We'll find a place to test them out."
"Alright!"
Setting aside everything else, those two—Brother Bao and Zhao Xing—had become chang ghosts and dared to come knocking on the door with threats. He would seek them out and settle this score first.
Runsheng carried the gear downstairs first. When disassembled, the individual parts had been awkward to carry all at once, but now he could take all the implements in a single trip.
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to the bedside and said to Ah Li, "I'm going out for a bit. Ah Li, be good, go back to your room and get some proper sleep, okay?"
After his gentle reminder, Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the bedroom.
Once the boy had left, Ah Li lay down on his bed, obediently settling in for a good sleep.
As Li Zhuiyuan passed Li Sanjiang's bedroom, the door happened to swing open. Great-Grandpa was rubbing his eyes, having just caught a nap; he planned to take a leak and then head back to bed.
"Little Yuanhou, heading out?"
"Yeah, Great-Grandpa. Brother Runsheng and I are going out to play."
"Oh, going out to play." Li Sanjiang habitually reached for his pocket again. Although he always prioritized the boy's studies, he never had the heart to deny a child's wish to play.
"Great-Grandpa, you already gave me allowance this morning."
"Then take a bit more." Li Sanjiang pulled out some loose change from his pocket. Villagers rarely kept large bills in their pockets, as they were inconvenient to break.
"Great-Grandpa, thank you."
"Heh, why are you being so polite?"
Before Li Sanjiang could finish, he found his waist wrapped in a hug. The boy's face was pressed against his belly, eyes closed.
Li Sanjiang patted the boy's head, puzzled. "What's gotten into you?"
"Great-Grandpa, you're the best."
"Haha, fine, fine, fine. Great-Grandpa will go back in and get you a few whole bills."
"No need, Great-Grandpa, this is plenty. I'm off to play."
"Remember not to come back too late. Tonight we still have to turn your luck."
"Got it, Great-Grandpa."
Waving goodbye to Li Sanjiang, Li Zhuiyuan's expression returned to calm as he descended the stairs.
He hadn't lied to Liu Yumei this morning. All he needed to know was that Great-Grandpa truly treated him well; everything else was beside the point.
Simply put, if he truly cared about that, what fundamental difference would there be between him and the three Niu siblings?
Besides, there was one thing Li Zhuiyuan had intentionally kept from Liu Yumei.
Grandma Liu lived here and described herself as someone scavenging for loose coins in corners and crevices; then Great-Grandpa turning luck for him—wasn't that equivalent to a massive wire transfer?
If that old woman ever found out, she'd probably choke with envy.
People grew more protective of their lives as they aged, and more afraid of death.
For an elder at Great-Grandpa's age to be willing to shave years off his own life to turn luck for him—that alone was enough for Li Zhuiyuan, as a junior, to do anything for him.
He had never been forced into any of this; every time had been on his own initiative, so there was no resentment to speak of.
Stepping onto the final stair, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly froze. He remembered the handwritten *Jinshaluo Wenjing* he had seen in Great-Grandpa's bedroom.
Back then, he had noticed that every time Great-Grandpa drew the array diagram, it deviated slightly from the book.
So, if Great-Grandpa had been an expert adept who drew it with pinpoint precision, maxing out the array's power and transferring that fortune directly to him—with fortune so dense it could overturn Great-Grandpa's own destined fate—wouldn't he have been blown apart by the sheer overload?
Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
Was that the karmic fortune backlash that even the Qin family avoided like the plague, terrified of provoking it?
"Whew... that was close."
Yet thinking about it from the other side, hadn't he also caught Great-Grandpa's good fortune? If he hadn't lived here with Great-Grandpa, how could he have discovered all those wonderful books in the basement? How could he have met Ah Li?
Ever since he had grown close to Ah Li, that cold, detached feeling in the depths of his heart had surfaced less and less frequently.
"Misfortune is what fortune leans upon; fortune is what misfortune lurks beneath."
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. He didn't intend to dwell on these things any longer; being happy and being himself was enough.
When he reached the courtyard, Runsheng had already wheeled out the tricycle. All the gear was loaded in the bed, covered with a plastic tarp.
*Ding-ding-ding!*
Runsheng rang the bell. Previously, he hadn't thought there was anything wrong with his tools, but after seeing fine craftsmanship, he felt like a wild boar itching for a taste of fine grain.
Li Zhuiyuan climbed into the tricycle.
Liu Yumei and Auntie Liu stood at the entrance of the courtyard.
"Xiaoyuan, don't blame Grandma for nagging. Grandma just wants to give you one final warning: think carefully. Once you go, there's no turning back."
Li Zhuiyuan patted Runsheng's back.
"Brother Runsheng, let's go. Don't look back—pedal forward!"
"Alright, hold tight!"
...
"Xiaoyuan, didn't you say we were going to Shigang? Why did you have me pedal here first?"
"Brother Runsheng, wait for me at the entrance. I'm going inside to find someone."
Li Zhuiyuan climbed off the tricycle, walked into the police station, and after asking around along the way, found Tan Yunlong's office.
At that moment, Tan Yunlong had his eyes closed, dozing in his office chair. His face had an oily sheen; he, too, had clearly pulled a brutal all-nighter.
Yet as Li Zhuiyuan walked in, he snapped his eyes open immediately, that familiar hawk-like gaze bearing down once more.
"It's you, kid?"
"Yes."
"How did you find my office?"
"I asked people."
"You know my name?"
"I asked where to find the police uncle with long, thick, slightly slanted eyebrows who looks really scary when he glares. Everyone knew who I meant."
"Hahahaha..." Tan Yunlong burst out laughing. "Alright, kid, what are you looking for me for?"
"Something important. I'm here to report a crime."
...
Stepping out through the gates of the police station, Li Zhuiyuan turned around to face the official plaque.
Then, spreading his arms wide, he stepped forward and gave the plaque a tight embrace.
The window of the guard booth slid open, and an elderly auxiliary officer poked his head out, asking, "Kid, what are you doing?"
"I want to be a police officer when I grow up."
"Good, that's great! Being a cop is good, haha, good boy."
The old auxiliary officer said no more, lit a cigarette, and quietly watched the boy continue hugging the plaque.
After hugging it for a long while, Li Zhuiyuan finally brought himself to let go.
*That should be enough rubbing, right?*
Looking down, a thick layer of dust from the plaque coated his clothes and trousers.
After a moment's hesitation, Li Zhuiyuan decided not to brush it off. He'd keep it on.
Then, he climbed onto Runsheng's tricycle.
Old Jiang's house was easy to find: a five-story custom-built villa on the edge of town, encircled by a large walled courtyard containing a pond and rockeries.
In this day and age, it could be called downright lavish.
Runsheng lifted the Yellow River shovel and said, "Xiaoyuan, let's do this. Let's storm in!"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Runsheng in slight bewilderment. Seeing he wasn't joking, he quickly grabbed Runsheng's wrist.
"No, Brother Runsheng. Just like a banquet, we aren't sitting at the first seating. We wait for the second, because what we have to deal with isn't human."
"Then who sits at the first seating? Who deals with those people?"
Before his words had even faded,
from the distance,
the wail of police sirens drifted in.
Chapter 29