Li Zhuiyuan was still in the exploratory learning phase with this method of controlling dead-flippers, so the present situation left him somewhat baffled.
One thing, however, was certain: Ah Li was definitely no dead-flipper.
*Which means… am I the dead-flipper?*
Li Zhuiyuan took a moment to seriously recall his childhood, confirming that he merely suffered from the same mental affliction as Li Lan. He hadn't quite been expelled from humanity and reclassified as a floating corpse.
Then what in the world was going on here?
This was the downside of teaching oneself out of books. Without a master to guide him, without a structured curriculum, he had no comprehensive theoretical framework. Sometimes he could unravel deeply complex matters, yet when confronted with elementary concepts, he was left scratching his head in bewilderment.
Under such circumstances, the greater a person’s learning talent, the easier it was to stray off course.
Still, since he had come this far…
Li Zhuiyuan looked ahead at Ah Li, cocooned in darkness, and took a step forward.
The instant his foot touched down, everything around him seemed to spin in a blur. A dizzying sensation, countless times more intense than carsickness, violently rattled his consciousness.
Fortunately, it came and went like a squall. When his surroundings finally quieted down, Li Zhuiyuan found himself sitting on a low wooden stool, his feet resting against the door threshold before him.
He knew this posture well. For a very long time, the girl had sat like this throughout the day.
"*Wuwuwuwu…… wuwuwuwu……*"
It sounded like weeping, yet also like the low whimpering of an animal, drifting near and far.
Just outside the doorway, separated by the mere line of the threshold, was an intensely realistic scene, yet it was drenched in a bizarre, eerie ink-wash style.
A dwarf only a few inches tall, clad in yellow robes, rode a miniature horse and drove a cart with a yellow canopy. He flashed past the doorway, veered around a bend, and galloped off into the depths of the dark clouds ahead.
A python slithered through the grass before the entrance. It had only one head, but two serpentine bodies branched out below, winding and tangling around each other as it crawled.
Out in the vegetable patches ahead, several figures dressed as farmers were tilling the ground with hoes. Tied to the left side of their waists were water gourds; tied to their right were their own severed heads.
Farther off by the riverbank, several women squatted doing laundry, pounding away incessantly with wooden mallets. But what they were beating were not dirty clothes—they were wailing infants, crying in agony.
The world beyond the door was dynamic. Whenever he shifted his gaze, the things visible outside shifted with it.
All at once, every manner of ghost and monster crowded into view. Some were recorded in ancient tomes, while others were entirely unheard of.
Li Zhuiyuan raised his eyes. Dark, heavy clouds hung across the sky, within which some colossal figure seemed to loom.
He tried to focus his vision, but could never catch a clear glimpse.
Li Zhuiyuan looked behind him. There stood an offering table crowded with ancestral memorial tablets.
At first glance, an inexplicable sense of safety welled within him.
Yet swiftly followed by a profound wave of disappointment.
Not only were these tablets devoid of luster, they were utterly dilapidated, crisscrossed with shocking, jarring cracks.
Li Zhuiyuan felt that since they appeared here, they ought to have served some purpose.
In truth, their function was broken. An oil lamp stood before each tablet, yet not a single drop of oil remained in the basins; obviously, no spiritual light could ever kindle upon them again.
Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the world outside had fallen deathly quiet, and the light had dimmed.
He turned back toward the doorway, only to find a pitted, mottled wall completely sealing the entrance shut.
*Hum!*
The next instant, a crack split down the middle of the wall, then ripped violently open to reveal a massive, slanted eye.
Li Zhuiyuan's soul suffered a violent jolt, and a piercing roar rang in his ears.
The scenes before him dissolved entirely. He seemed to awaken, yet he could see and hear nothing.
Out on the second-floor terrace, the boy opened his eyes in a daze. Rising from the rattan chair, he swayed from side to side, staggering closer and closer to the balcony's edge.
Just then, a small hand caught his, pulling him back.
Li Zhuiyuan stumbled back down into the rattan chair, staring blankly ahead.
Only after an unknown stretch of time did sensation slowly creep back into the boy, immediately trailed by a splitting headache. Clutching his head in both hands, he bowed in agony.
Gradually, he steadied himself and turned toward the girl beside him.
She was watching him too, a faint trace of anticipation flickering in her eyes, as if awaiting his assessment.
He had just visited her "home"—inside her heart—and witnessed a terror sufficient to haunt a person for a lifetime.
Yet the boy offered neither comfort nor pity. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile, and he rasped in a dry voice, "How interesting."
The girl tilted her cheek slightly, and faint dimples seemed to appear at the corners of her lips.
She was happy.
When children from ordinary families invited classmates or playmates over, they were always plagued by a bit of awkwardness and trepidation.
Her home was terrifying, but no matter how frightening, it was still her home.
At times like this, sympathy, comfort, and encouragement were never what the "host" wanted; they only deepened the embarrassment.
Thus, the best way to be a guest was simply to stay relaxed and treat it like nothing at all.
A smile broke across Li Zhuiyuan's face as well. He reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose.
The girl studied his hand intently, then slowly lifted her own.
The boy leaned forward, and she gave his nose a gentle, tender tap in return.
Picking up the black-covered book once more, Li Zhuiyuan reviewed the entire sequence from before. It seemed to him that he had actually succeeded in the execution of the method, even if the final result was a failure.
Moreover, he seemed to have found a training regimen: Ah Li was his sparring partner.
Even though he had a sneaking suspicion that this sparring partner was far beyond his current league.
Still, the greater the difficulty, the faster his progress would be. At worst, it was just a headache; he could endure it.
"Ah Li, shall we go again?"
The girl nodded.
Then, the two of them lay back down together and closed their eyes.
The same beginning, the same process, the same scenes… and the same splitting headache.
Just as Li Zhuiyuan was recovering from the second attempt, Auntie Liu's voice drifted up from downstairs:
"Breakfast is ready!"
It felt very much like playing a couple of rounds of chess after waking early, passing the time until breakfast.
Li Zhuiyuan felt he had discovered a new game to play with the girl.
Breakfast consisted of congee, but there was a wide assortment of pickles—traditional Nantong varieties alongside Grandma Liu's personal preferences.
Small saucers were neatly arranged across the low table, imparting a genuine sense of occasion.
That is, if one ignored Runsheng and Binbin.
Runsheng always ate like this: morning, noon, and night, he had to light incense sticks, ladle his congee into a washbasin, dump every variety of pickled vegetable inside, stir it thoroughly, and scoop it up with a soup spoon so every bite had an even blend of congee and greens.
Tan Wenbin, meanwhile, had completely blended into the local scenery.
Li Sanjiang crossed his left leg, and Tan Wenbin crossed his right. Both cradled their congee bowls in one hand, slurping half a circle along the rim, then picked up a few strands of pickled vegetables with their chopsticks and tossed them into their mouths. As they chewed, they used the tips of their chopsticks to scratch their backs while gazing out into the distance.
After finishing his meal, Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette.
Tan Wenbin took the initiative to strike a match and light it for him.
Before the match died, he snatched a cigarette from Li Sanjiang's pack, tucked it into his own mouth, lit it, and hurriedly shook his hand out after tossing the match away.
Li Sanjiang glanced at him without saying a word.
He didn't know the word "rebellious," but having lived a long life and seen plenty, he knew this kid was right in the middle of that phase.
Ordinary children went through this as they grew up, always thinking that becoming an adult was something tremendously impressive.
Yet when his eyes shifted to Li Zhuiyuan, Li Sanjiang chuckled. His little Yuan Hou would never be so childish.
Li Zhuiyuan brought down the cash from exchanging the gold ingot and handed the bag to Li Sanjiang.
"Great-Grandpa, Uncle Ding and his folks stopped by this morning. Said they had an urgent matter and needed to rush back. They didn't wake you for fear of disturbing your sleep, so they asked me to pass this money to you."
"Is that so? Left in such a hurry?"
Li Sanjiang took the black plastic bag, peeked inside, and visibly drew several quicker puffs on his cigarette.
"Oho, that's quite a tidy sum."
"Great-Grandpa, should that be enough?"
"More than enough, for sure. Once the contract fee is paid, whatever's left goes into planting peach trees. If there's plenty of money left, we'll plant them dense; if there's less, we'll plant them sparse.
"Right then, I'm heading over to the village chief's to sign the contract, then I'll drop by the town to ask about saplings. Ting Hou, don't wait for me for lunch! Ah, if not for the sake of the house, I wouldn't bother with such a nuisance."
Li Sanjiang carried the bag and walked out. Just as he stepped off the courtyard, his voice drifted back:
"Little Cui Hou, coming over to play with little Yuan Hou?"
"Yes."
"Go on ahead, then."
Soon, Cuicui stepped onto the courtyard. Her eyes swept over Li Zhuiyuan and Ah Li, a radiant smile breaking across her face.
"Brother Yuan Hou!"
As she ran over, Li Zhuiyuan took Ah Li's hand.
"Brother Yuan Hou, today is my birthday! My mom is buying me a birthday cake. Will you come over to my house for lunch?"
Cuicui's eyes brimmed with longing; she had always dreamed of having friends come over to celebrate her birthday.
"Sure, I'll go."
"What about Sister Ah Li?"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Ah Li and asked, "Do you want to go?"
Ah Li looked at the boy and nodded.
Li Zhuiyuan paused, genuinely surprised that she had agreed.
In the distance, Liu Yumei, who was still slowly chewing her breakfast, looked up in astonishment, delight showing on her face.
"Then Ah Li will come too."
"Yay, that's wonderful!"
"Though, Cuicui, you need to tell Auntie Xiang Hou to set up a separate small table. Ah Li can't be too close to strangers."
"I know! I already told my mom about Sister Ah Li last time. I'll make sure she prepares it!"
"I'm coming too," Tan Wenbin said, raising his hand.
"Brother Yuan Hou, who is he?"
"Zhuangzhuang."
"What do you mean Zhuangzhuang? My name is Binbin!"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at him. "I thought you had already accepted it."
"I just can't be bothered to argue with your great-grandpa," Tan Wenbin said, rolling his eyes.
"That's great! Brother Zhuangzhuang… oh no, Brother Binbin, you come too!"
Naturally, Cuicui wanted as many people at her birthday as possible.
Tan Wenbin yelled toward the corner where Runsheng was still shoveling down congee, "Runsheng, are you coming? There'll be cake!"
Runsheng looked at Li Zhuiyuan. Seeing Li Zhuiyuan nod, he replied, "Coming!"
Li Zhuiyuan said to Cuicui, "Um, Cuicui, you should also tell your mom to cook an extra pot of rice."
"Got it, I will! I'll head back first, then. You guys must come at lunchtime! Brother Yuan Hou, Sister Ah Li, Brother Runsheng, Brother Zhuangzhuang, bye-bye!"
Cuicui skipped and hopped all the way home, so ecstatic she looked ready to sprout wings and fly.
Tan Wenbin walked over and said, "Little Brother Yuan, shall we head to town now to pick out gifts?"
Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "I'll go upstairs to grab some money."
"Don't bother, I've got plenty here." Tan Wenbin patted his pocket.
Afraid he might become a burden to someone else's household, his parents had, for once, given him a sizable allowance.
"All right then. Brother Runsheng, let's take the tricycle into town."
"Coming!"
Runsheng lifted his basin, swept the remaining congee into his mouth, walked to the well to rinse his face, and wheeled the tricycle out.
"Ah Li, are you coming to town?" Li Zhuiyuan asked.
Ah Li shook her head.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't press her further; there were too many people in town, making it genuinely unsuitable for her.
"Wait a moment," Liu Yumei called out to Li Zhuiyuan. She reached up, removed a pair of earrings, and held them out. "This is a gift from our Ah Li."
Li Zhuiyuan didn't take them. "Grandma, this is far too valuable."
"It's not for you."
"Still, it really isn't appropriate."
"Then wait right there."
Liu Yumei turned back into the house and emerged with a stack of banknotes, placing them on the tea table.
"Go help Ah Li buy a gift as well."
"Alright." Li Zhuiyuan didn't take all of it, drawing out just a single bill. "Okay, Grandma."
After the three boys rode down from the courtyard on the tricycle, Auntie Liu walked over with a thermos of hot water to brew tea for Liu Yumei. Seeing the cash on the tea table, she asked with a smile, "What, he didn't want it?"
Liu Yumei shook her head with a wry smile. "That boy is probably afraid our money burns the hands."
"Xiaoyuan is a thoughtful child, so he easily overthinks things."
Liu Yumei shook her head. "He doesn't even consider how relentlessly tough that girl's fate is. No matter how much the money burns, she has the luck to spend it."
"I know of that girl. The village talks about how tough her family's fates are, but Xiaoyuan probably doesn't believe in such superstitions."
"He doesn't believe?" Liu Yumei lifted her teacup. "He's already reading books made of Buddha skin paper, and you think he can't see the toughness of her fate?"
"That's also possible. That boy always seems to know so much, without ever making a sound."
"These are extraordinary times, so we cannot intervene. Once Ah Li's condition is fully healed, our own shackles will loosen. When that time comes, I plan to take the lad as a registered disciple."
"And what do you intend to pass on to him? The Liu family's art, or the Qin family's?"
Liu Yumei smiled, taking it as a matter of course. "Naturally, the *Liu Clan Qi-Gazing Formula*."
"I'm afraid it won't be up to you to choose by then."
"How so?"
"He's so close with Ah Li. Once she recovers, if there's anything he wants to learn, wouldn't Ah Li teach him herself?"
"Useless. Every lineage has its own method of transmission. Even if these secret traditions are written plainly in books and laid right before someone, without a master to guide them through the gate, they can at most grasp some superficialities. They could never truly master it."
At this point, Liu Yumei felt an urge to tease her granddaughter, buoyed by the delight of seeing the girl agree to attend someone's birthday.
She went indoors and brought out a book inscribed with the words *Liu Clan Qi-Gazing Formula*.
The girl sat on her stool, feet resting on the threshold. This time, however, she was no longer merely staring straight ahead; her gaze slowly wandered, taking in her surroundings.
"Ah Li, do you think Grandma should let Xiaoyuan read this book in the future?"
Last time, when she learned the boy needed money, her granddaughter had carried off all the gold bars and cash in the room.
The boy loved books. Seeing this manual, wouldn't her granddaughter jump at the chance to deliver it to him?
Yet the girl's reaction baffled Liu Yumei. Ah Li completely ignored the book in her hands.
*Did she not see it clearly?*
Liu Yumei brought the book closer to Ah Li's face.
*Smack!*
Ah Li struck the book right out of her hand, sending it to the floor.
Liu Yumei bent down in confusion, picked it up, and blew off the dust. Rather than pleased, she grew somewhat uneasy:
*Oh my, why has my granddaughter's elbow stopped bending outward all of a sudden?*
***
"Xiaoyuan, are we heading to Shinan Town or Shigang Town?"
Tan Wenbin patted Runsheng's back and said, "Shigang Town, of course! Shinan Town barely has any shops."
"Brother Runsheng, let's head to Shigang Town then."
"Right you are!"
Tan Wenbin rested his hands on the tricycle's railings, leaning into the wind and flicking his bangs. "Don't worry, I know Shigang Town like the back of my hand. I'll definitely help you pick out great gifts."
Arriving in the bounds of Shigang Town, they passed the main gates of Shigang Middle School. Shinan had a middle school but no high school, so Ying Zi, Pan Zi, and Lei Zi attended school here as well.
Tan Wenbin pointed at the school gate and said, "Little Brother Yuan, look! That's your future alma mater."
It was the first time Li Zhuiyuan had ever heard someone append "future" to "alma mater."
Across the first teaching building hung two banners: *Today I am proud of my alma mater; tomorrow my alma mater will be proud of me.*
"Brother Binbin, aren't you going back to school in a couple of days?"
"Relax, that's not happening. Everyone banded together to write a letter to the Education Bureau reporting illegal summer classes."
"Did you organize it?"
"Heh-heh," Tan Wenbin said, tossing his head into the wind. "None other than yours truly!"
Runsheng said, "Xiaoyuan, are you going to school here later?"
"Yeah, you only just realized?" Tan Wenbin cut in.
Runsheng said, "That's great, then! Every morning and evening, I'll ride the tricycle to pick you up and drop you off."
Tan Wenbin said, "The school has dorms."
Li Zhuiyuan said, "I won't be staying in the dorms."
Great-Grandpa's house wasn't far from here, and having Brother Runsheng shuttle him back and forth was convenient. At home, there were delicious meals, good drinks, a spacious bed, and Ah Li.
"Then what about morning and evening self-study? Morning self-study starts at six, and evening study doesn't let out until ten. Think about what time you'd have to wake up and how late you'd get home."
"Then I just won't attend morning and evening self-study."
Tan Wenbin: "……"
Tan Wenbin suddenly felt that Little Brother Yuan's words made absolute sense.
If he ever dared say the same to Tan Yunlong, his father would immediately unbuckle his leather belt.
"Little Brother Yuan, then when you're in a bad mood or the weather's lousy, you might as well skip school altogether."
"Sounds good."
As Li Zhuiyuan saw it, how could going to school ever interfere with retrieving dead-flippers?
"Damn it, I'm so jealous! Why can't I be like that!"
Runsheng chimed in, "You don't have the brains."
"Shut up and focus on pedaling!" Tan Wenbin pondered for a moment. "Little Brother Yuan, got any study secrets you can teach me?"
Runsheng said, "Does your dad know that you've been staying over for days and this is the first time you've mentioned studying?"
"Argh, just shut up!"
"Brother Binbin, when it comes to studying, I'm not sure how to help you."
"Like, what's your study method?"
"Studying… requires a method?"
Tan Wenbin threw out his hands, his face contorting as he asked in a shrill, mocking tone, "Studying… *doesn't* require a method?!"
"Retrieving dead-flippers requires a method."
"Ah…" Tan Wenbin resigned himself to reality. "Then can you explain problems to me?"
"I can write down the steps for you; that's faster. And I can make up some practice problems for you to solve."
Tan Wenbin silently fished out a cigarette. Without lighting it, he held it beneath his nose, sniffed it, and nodded. "Thank you, Little Brother Yuan. I'll work hard to get into the same university as you."
Runsheng said, "Then I'll ride the tricycle to take you both to college."
"Forget college for a second—you've ridden right past it! The department store is behind us, turn around!"
They pulled up outside the department store, and Runsheng locked the tricycle with a chain.
Then, the trio stepped inside the crowded building.
Under Tan Wenbin's guidance, they quickly picked out their gifts.
Li Zhuiyuan chose a music box. On Ah Li's behalf, he picked out a glass ornament, and he also bought a silk scarf for Ah Li herself.
The scarf was inexpensive, a traditional design popular in mainland television and movies at the time. Li Zhuiyuan felt it suited Ah Li's temperament; as for how to wear it, that wasn't for him to worry about.
After their purchases, Tan Wenbin led them to a nearby alley lined with street stalls selling fried skewers.
"Boss, give us some chicken skewers……"
Before he could finish ordering, Tan Wenbin spotted a scrawny classmate cornered deep in the alley by four boys.
"Don't think you can act cocky just 'cause Tan Wenbin is backing you! Let me tell you, you're dreaming!"
"Others might fear Tan Wenbin, but I sure don't! Even if his dad showed up, I wouldn't give a damn!"
Punched and kicked, the scrawny student soon crouched into a corner, clutching his head with both hands.
Tan Wenbin looked toward Li Zhuiyuan. "Little Brother Yuan……"
"Your classmate?"
"Yeah, my desk mate. He's a good guy, just a bit soft-spoken and easily bullied. Two of those four are from other classes, and two are from another school. They're always shaking him down for money."
"Oh."
"Little Brother Yuan, Runsheng, pretend you don't know me."
With that, Tan Wenbin bolted forward, disregarding the four-to-one odds. Aiming straight for one of them, he unleashed a flying kick: "Fuck your mother!"
That kick carried distinct family style.
It left Li Zhuiyuan wondering whether Officer Tan was beating Binbin or passing down martial arts on ordinary days.
Having knocked one down, the other three immediately closed in, and Tan Wenbin was promptly swarmed.
He had run in and attacked so fast that Li Zhuiyuan hadn't even had time to speak.
"Brother Runsheng, go help Binbin fight."
"Right on!"
Li Zhuiyuan turned to the stall owner. "Boss, twenty chicken skewers, three portions of fried tofu, all with sweet and spicy sauce."
Having received Li Zhuiyuan's instruction, Runsheng stepped forward, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck, his joints popping with crisp snaps.
Scenes from underworld gangster movies flashed through his mind.
Yet precisely because he took his time pondering the plot, Binbin took several extra punches.
However, the moment Runsheng joined the fray, the tide turned instantly.
He reached out, grabbed one of them, hoisted him into the air, and slapped him back and forth across the face, sending blood and teeth flying.
He still possessed some restraint, knowing he couldn't take a life, so he released his grip with a hint of regret, letting the boy collapse limply to the ground.
This ferocious display stunned the other three, leaving them paralyzed with indecision.
Runsheng kindly cleared away their doubts. Charging forward with both arms outstretched like an enraged bull, he slammed two of them brutally to the ground.
Then he delivered a kick to each. The two were literally sent airborne, crashing hard against the wall before tumbling down.
Seeing this, the last boy spun around to flee, but he was far too slow. Runsheng accelerated, caught him, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, swung him through the air in an arc, and slammed him onto the ground.
"Let me!"
Tan Wenbin yelled and charged in, raining punches and kicks upon the boy.
Seeing that was enough, he darted over to the other three to dole out some supplemental damage.
Runsheng simply watched Tan Wenbin incessantly shouting "*A-tah, a-toh!*"
He knew that if he struck again, he might not be able to stop himself.
"*Phew……*"
Tan Wenbin finally finished. All four boys lay on the ground, groaning in agony.
"Damn, that felt good! So damn good!"
Tan Wenbin raised his arms. Even if he hadn't seen a dead-flipper, this exhilarating brawl made the whole trip worthwhile.
Once Tan Wenbin finished comforting his classmate, he and Runsheng ran back. By then, Li Zhuiyuan was already seated at a simple wooden table by the stall, munching on skewers.
He hadn't been worried in the least; after all, Brother Runsheng was someone capable of physically taking on ordinary dead-flippers.
Tan Wenbin sat down and said excitedly, "Xiaoyuan, seriously, Runsheng is tailor-made for the criminal underworld. He could definitely carve out a massive territory and become a mob boss!"
Li Zhuiyuan laid down his skewer, pulled a napkin from the dispenser on the table, and wiped his mouth. "And then get locked away by your father."
"Uh……" Tan Wenbin choked on his words, having no choice but to lower his head and eat.
Runsheng lit an incense stick and said, "Xiaoyuan already said there's no future in running with gangs."
"Oh, right. Just now Zheng Haiyang wanted to come thank you and treat us to skewers, but I turned him down. His parents work as sailors, so he usually lives with his grandparents."
Since they still had lunch to attend, this was merely a snack to hold them over.
Of course, filling one's belly on fried skewers in this era was already quite luxurious; most kids could only afford a skewer or two to satisfy a craving.
When they returned home, Li Zhuiyuan saw Liu Yumei sitting there, weighed down by heavy thoughts.
*What happened this time?*
As Li Zhuiyuan approached, Ah Li rose and came forward to meet him.
Seeing this, Liu Yumei finally let out a sigh of relief. She had genuinely feared that her granddaughter would ignore the boy again like last time, slipping back into her illness.
Now it seemed she had worried over nothing.
She felt her life was truly absurd—here she was, worrying because her granddaughter *hadn't* carted off their possessions to give to a boy.
"Ah Li, here's the gift I bought on your behalf." Li Zhuiyuan handed the glass ornament to Ah Li. "And this silk scarf is for you."
The scarf was inexpensive, but Li Zhuiyuan felt it matched Ah Li's demeanor; as for styling it, that wasn't something he needed to concern himself with.
After having Auntie Liu dress Tan Wenbin's scrapes, the group set off for Cuicui's house. Li Zhuiyuan walked behind holding Ah Li's hand, while Runsheng and Tan Wenbin strolled ahead.
From far off, they could see Cuicui standing on her courtyard, craning her neck in eager anticipation.
"Brother Yuan Hou, you're here!"
"Cuicui, this is my gift, and this is from Ah Li."
"And these are from us!"
"Thank you! Thank you, everyone!"
Lunch was almost a carbon copy of the arrangements at Li Sanjiang's home. Li Zhuiyuan and Ah Li shared a table, Runsheng took a table to himself, and the only one allowed at the main table was Tan Wenbin.
Li Juxiang cheerfully portioned out dishes from one table to the next.
Liu Jinxia tossed back a cup of liquor. She was quite pleased to see her granddaughter's birthday so lively, but having a sharp tongue by habit, she muttered under her breath, "Quite the gathering of oddballs."
Custom called for guests to linger for a bit after the meal. Everyone gathered on the courtyard, where Cuicui brought out a rubber band and hitched it between two long benches to play jump-rope.
She originally wanted to invite Ah Li to join, but Ah Li shook her head in refusal.
In the end, Tan Wenbin jumped with Cuicui. He was surprisingly skilled; in this era of sparse entertainment, jumping rubber bands wasn't solely for girls—boys played it too.
While they were playing, a man leading a young boy walked up to the courtyard. Business had arrived.
Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang ushered them into the inner room.
Before long, the boy emerged and stood to the side, watching Tan Wenbin and Cuicui.
"Want to play together?"
The boy nodded shyly.
Initially, Li Zhuiyuan hadn't felt anything off, and Ah Li hadn't paid the boy any special attention, which proved there was nothing unclean on him.
Yet the moment that shy expression appeared, Li Zhuiyuan's eyelids drooped.
He was adept at observing and equally skilled at acting, so he noticed that the boy's subtle shift in expression was overly performative.
Sure enough, after joining the game, the boy began chatting up Cuicui, cleverly extracting plenty of details about Liu Jinxia's household.
Li Zhuiyuan sensed that he was pretending to be a child.
However, Li Zhuiyuan didn't believe the boy was like him—a fellow patient. The affliction he and Li Lan shared was exceedingly rare; even psychological specialists in the capital had never encountered it, and the only plausible third person was Wei Zhengdao.
Li Zhuiyuan began studying the boy's physiognomy with care. The database of the *Detailed Exposition of Yin-Yang Physiognomy* stored in his mind could still perform a comparative match, even without conducting a formal fortune reading.
Indeed, there was a problem. Although the boy appeared to be around ten years old, the details around his brow, skin, ear canals, and teeth bore the unmistakable "growth rings" of time.
He was no boy at all—he was a dwarf!
An adult mind masquerading as a child to coax information out of a little girl—no matter how one viewed it, the thought was unsettling and deeply wrong.
"Cuicui."
"Coming, Brother Yuan Hou!"
Cuicui came running over immediately.
"Don't play with him."
"Okay, Brother Yuan Hou." Cuicui didn't ask why; she simply nodded.
"*Pfft…… heh-heh-heh.*" Beside them, Tan Wenbin burst out laughing. It was the first time he had heard Li Zhuiyuan say something so genuinely fitting for a child his age.
Li Zhuiyuan ignored him, keeping his eyes on the boy. Coincidentally, the boy was looking back at him at that very moment.
The boy put on an expression of aggrieved isolation, intentionally making sure Cuicui saw it, hoping the soft-hearted girl would return to him.
Cuicui saw it, and she did indeed feel a pang of pity, yet she had not the slightest intention of entertaining him again.
She lacked friends, but she cherished the ones she had even more. If Brother Yuan Hou didn't want her playing with someone, she absolutely wouldn't play with them.
Li Zhuiyuan caught the venomous glint flashing deep in the boy's eyes.
*Heh. How disgusting.*
At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan wondered whether he was just as disgusting.
Yet he was different: his biological age was genuine. His performance was meant to preserve his sense of self, and regardless of anything else, he was merely maintaining the demeanor natural to his age group.
This person's actual age, Li Zhuiyuan deduced, was likely north of fifty.
A fifty-year-old man disguising himself as a little boy to deliberately approach a young girl—what could his motive possibly be?
"*Wuwuwu…… wuwuwu……*"
The boy squatted on the ground, weeping.
Yet as he cried on, nobody paid him any mind. Most of the people on the courtyard listened to Li Zhuiyuan.
The boy stopped crying, stood up, and took the initiative to walk toward Li Zhuiyuan.
"Brother Runsheng."
"Yeah!"
Runsheng promptly stepped over, hoisted the boy into the air, set him down far away, and pointed a finger at him in silent warning.
The boy didn't dare throw any more tantrums; bowing his head, he stood rooted to the spot.
After a while, the man emerged. The two shared a striking resemblance; in the eyes of outsiders, they were undoubtedly father and son.
Except their roles as father and son needed to be swapped.
Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang also walked out, seeing the pair off the courtyard.
"Brother Binbin," Li Zhuiyuan pointed in the direction the pair had gone, "follow them for a stretch and observe. Don't get caught."
"Understood."
Though he didn't grasp the reason, Tan Wenbin trailed after them anyway. He was someone who easily immersed himself in the atmosphere of an assignment.
"Have some soda." Li Juxiang brought out a crate of soda bottles and set it on the courtyard.
Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Auntie Xiang Hou, what did they come here for just now?"
"That man's wife passed away a year ago. He's planning a minor posthumous birthday rite for her and came to ask Cuicui's grandma and me to perform a service at his home."
A minor posthumous birthday rite meant conducting only a Taoist memorial service without hosting a feast, usually involving just family members burning paper offerings.
"How strange. If they went through the trouble of hiring you, why not host a feast?"
"Probably because they don't get along with their fellow villagers and couldn't organize one. That man has a rather odd temper."
"What happened?"
"Cuicui's grandma asked him about specific details, but he couldn't answer. After she pressed him a few times, he looked utterly aggrieved, like he was about to burst into tears. A grown man acting like that—tsk tsk."
"Auntie Xiang Hou, could you not go perform the service at his place?"
"How could we not? We've already accepted the payment."
Tan Wenbin came jogging back. Frowning, he said to Li Zhuiyuan, "Xiaoyuan, guess what I just saw? They hadn't gone far down the road when, right by the wayside, the father actually handed the son a cigarette and lit it for him!"
"Oh." Li Zhuiyuan wasn't particularly surprised. "Did you hear what they said?"
"It wasn't easy to get close on the road. They came on a tractor parked at the crossroads ahead, and they've already driven off."
Li Zhuiyuan walked inside and pushed open the door to the inner room. Liu Jinxia sat behind a desk, calculating something with a pen in hand.
"Little Yuan Hou, what is it?"
Li Zhuiyuan walked to the desk and glanced at the birth-chart characters written on the paper before her. Picking up another pen, he penned the correct result across the top.
Liu Jinxia glanced at it, puzzled. "What kind of nonsense are you scribbling?"
Clearly, Liu Jinxia didn't recognize the correct answer. She had always made calculations using her own private system; whether it was right or wrong was secondary, the primary point was that she made an effort and showed sincerity.
"Grandma Liu, were those two really father and son?"
"What else could they be? Their facial features look like they were carved from the exact same mold. Pity for that child, losing his mother so young."
"Grandma Liu, that man is the son. The little boy is the father. He's at least fifty years old—he's a dwarf."
"A dwarf?"
"Someone who doesn't grow tall."
"Oh…… really?"
"Brother Binbin followed them out just now and overheard their conversation. The man called the kid 'Dad,' and the kid called the man 'good son.'
"I didn't believe it at first either, but Brother Binbin swore on heaven that they really spoke that way."
"This……"
"So, if their father-son relationship is completely inverted, what kind of posthumous birthday rite are they really holding for that woman?"
"Indeed."
"Grandma Liu, to be safe, you'd better not go with Auntie Xiang Hou. Refund them their money."
Liu Jinxia nodded slowly, her expression grim.
"Alright."
She agreed so readily that Li Zhuiyuan was caught off guard, feeling quite unaccustomed to it.
Perhaps it was because he had spent so much time around his great-grandpa that he had grown used to the old man refusing to listen to anything anyone said.
"You're really not going? You aren't just coaxing a child, are you?"
Liu Jinxia pulled open her drawer, brought out the cash she had just accepted, and slammed it onto the table, fuming, "They gave me false family relations! Isn't it obvious they aren't sincerely conducting a service and have ulterior motives? How could I possibly bring Xiang Hou to his house? Who knows what trouble we might run into!
"Only a fool would go!"
Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt an immense wave of relief.
"Little Yuan Hou, thank you for coming to tell Grandma this."
"Grandma Liu, aren't you going to ask Brother Binbin again, or send someone to their village to ask around?"
"No need. In our line of work, the most important thing is keeping things smooth and auspicious. Even if everything you said was false, the fact that a little child came to warn me right after I took the job means that even if it's untrue… I wouldn't dare go.
"I've only got this one wretched life, and I'm counting on living a few more years to save a bit more for your Auntie Xiang Hou and Cuicui. I'm not a creature like your great-grandpa; I don't dare play fast and loose."
Li Zhuiyuan nodded, entirely agreeing with her sentiment.
After saying goodbye to Cuicui, Li Zhuiyuan was in high spirits on the walk home, his hand unconsciously swinging back and forth as he held the girl's.
Before long, she responded, adding a bit of momentum so their clasped hands swung together.
Tan Wenbin glanced back and suggested, "Little Brother Yuan, it's still early. I saw fishing rods in the house—why don't we go fishing now?"
"Not going."
"Oh, then Runsheng and I will go."
Runsheng said, "I'm not going either."
"I've noticed that whatever Little Brother Yuan says, you just parrot him! Why are you acting like a shadow?"
"I didn't call him 'Brother.'"
Tan Wenbin: "……"
When they returned home, they found Li Sanjiang sitting on the courtyard. He stood up and called to Runsheng, "Runsheng, the convenience store just called. Let's move—a job came in! We're heading to Xiting Town to retrieve a dead-flipper."
"Oh, okay. Wait, didn't my granddad go retrieve it?"
Runsheng's family lived in Xiting Town; ordinarily, his grandfather would have handled ordinary dead-flippers as a matter of course.
"Speaking of that makes my blood boil! I only found out over the phone just now! Last week, your granddad was walking home after playing cards at night and stopped by a neighbor's to use the toilet, only to fall straight into the manure pit! The neighbor heard the commotion and fished him out!
"He survived, but he broke a leg!
"That mountain bumpkin was too embarrassed to say a word and actually kept it hidden from us the whole time!"
Chapter 43