Chapter 2

She,

is so beautiful.

The water ripples gently, twisting light and shadow in just the right way. Paired with the gestures and posture of Little Huangying, it is as if she has been coated in a filter.

Li Zhuiyuan had been taken by his parents to see unit variety shows before and had seen many professional singers and dancers, but the impact of Little Huangying’s performance yesterday was no less on him than it was on his older and younger brothers.

Raised by his parents, he had always been well-behaved and observant of the rules. Yet, Little Huangying, under that crude shed, had shown him another kind of charm—one that belonged to the wild.

It was seductive, it was wanton, it was rustic, it was unrefined—but that scent, it was truly intoxicating.

She was coming over, getting closer and closer, like a person from a painting who had stepped out of the frame and was now walking back into it.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan had forgotten his own predicament. He seemed to have forgotten that he was still in the water, ignoring the panic of being unable to breathe and the water constantly choking his nose and mouth.

Until,

she reached out her hands.

Yesterday, when he was squeezed in the front with his brothers to watch the performance, Little Huangying had swayed her waist and sung as she came up to him. She had even specifically reached out to touch his face, because among that group of children, Li Zhuiyuan was as fair and clean as a porcelain doll.

Originally, Li Zhuiyuan had been looking forward to being touched by her again.

But,

this time, she reached out with both hands.

Both hands gripped Li Zhuiyuan’s shoulders.

"So cold... so painful..."

In an instant, the atmosphere was twisted and torn apart; the strange, inexplicable fascination vanished.

Fear finally appeared in Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes, like a person whose anesthesia had worn off, suddenly feeling the pain return.

He wanted to break free, to dodge, to escape, but those hands clamped onto him tightly, and no matter how he struggled, he could not break loose.

At this moment, a force came from behind.

Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being pulled, like a game of tug-of-war he used to play at school, only this time, he was the rope.

Finally, with a sense of detachment, Li Zhuiyuan was pulled up.

In his field of vision, he began to float, drifting higher and higher, while Little Huangying below grew smaller and further away.

Her arms were raised toward him, and between the two of them, an abyss that should never have existed gradually opened up.

"Heave!"

Fortunately, his grandson was carrying a bamboo basket on his back; Li Weihan was pulling upward by grabbing that basket.

Heavy—it was that kind of dead, leaden weight. He was clearly just a child, but Li Weihan felt as if he were wrestling with a bull in heat.

Down there, a force was preventing his grandson from coming up.

Leizi came over to help, hugging Li Weihan’s waist and pulling backward.

Finally,

"Splash!"

When his grandson was pulled out of the water, that tugging force suddenly vanished. Li Weihan, Leizi, and the newly rescued Li Zhuiyuan all tumbled onto the boat.

"Go! Quickly!"

Li Weihan didn't even have time to stand up before he roared at Panzi.

Panzi didn't drop the ball this time; he used all his might to push the pole, quickly moving toward the other side.

"Grandpa, she's coming, she's coming!"

Leizi pointed forward in terror.

Li Weihan looked over and saw that as the boat moved, that mass of black hair on the water was actually following them here.

She was chasing!

"Lei Hou, go help Pan Hou pole the boat, hurry!"

"Yes, Grandpa."

Leizi ran over, and the two brothers chanted in rhythm, exerting force together. The boat’s speed increased further.

Li Weihan grabbed a fishing rod, his expression grave. Upon discovering that the mass of hair was still closing the distance to the boat, he let out a shout and thrust the rod into the water just ahead of the hair.

The rod entered the water. It should have hit something, but it met no resistance; instead, a massive force appeared, pulling the rod downward.

"Ouch..."

Li Weihan cried out. Fortunately, he let go of the rod in time, or he would have been dragged into the water by that terrifying force.

The hair was closer now.

Standing at the edge of the boat, Li Weihan could even see the woman’s black cheongsam beneath the water.

The river was clearly flowing eastward, yet she was moving against the current.

She was walking—she was truly walking on her own!

"Hum! Hum! Hum!"

The boat began to rock, gradually becoming violent.

Li Weihan found it hard to imagine the consequences if the boat capsized and he and his grandsons fell into the water. This was no longer a matter of swimming ability; this *sidao* (drowned ghost) was incredibly evil!

At this moment, Li Weihan’s gaze swept to the fishing net at his feet. Without a second thought, he grabbed it and cast it over the hair, which was now less than two meters from the boat.

The net covered the surface, and its edges quickly sank halfway down.

At first, the net on the water was dragged along, but gradually, its speed slowed, and finally, it stopped.

It worked—it had snagged her!

Li Weihan rushed to the stern and snatched the bamboo pole: "You two go check on Little Yuan Hou!"

"Yes, Grandpa."

Panzi and Leizi were, after all, just big kids. The previous burst of frantic poling had left them somewhat exhausted. Once Li Weihan took over, they immediately ran to Li Zhuiyuan’s side.

"Yuanzi, Yuanzi? Yuanzi, wake up, hurry and wake up!"

"Grandpa, Yuanzi won't wake up."

Li Weihan continued to pole the boat while keeping an eye on the fishing net, which was gradually receding. He shouted back: "Is he breathing?"

"Grandpa, he's breathing!"

"Pat his back."

The brothers immediately followed instructions, one lifting Li Zhuiyuan to a sitting position while the other patted his back.

But after a long time, Li Zhuiyuan still did not wake up.

"Grandpa, it's no use!"

Li Weihan didn't answer, just gritted his teeth and kept poling, not daring to stop even to wipe the sweat flowing into his eyes.

Finally, the boat reached home. Li Weihan threw the pole aside, not bothering to tie the boat, and jumped off with Li Zhuiyuan in his arms. He was so exhausted that he stumbled upon landing, and to protect his grandson, he had to brace his knees against the blue brick steps.

"Hiss..."

His knee was scraped open, but the next moment he forced himself up and carried the child into the house.

"Guiying, Guiying!"

"Back so early?" Cui Guiying was clearing ashes behind the stove. Hearing the commotion, she stood up and, seeing her husband carrying the child, immediately cried out in alarm, "What's wrong? What's wrong? What happened to the child?"

Li Weihan first carried the child to a mat in the inner room. There were many children in the family, and the bed couldn't fit them all; it was summer, so they all slept on floor mats at night.

Cui Guiying lifted Li Zhuiyuan’s head and patted his face, but found that no matter what, she couldn't wake him. She immediately wept

"Oh, my child, my child, what has happened to you?"

"Stop howling!" Li Weihan kicked Cui Guiying’s calf. "Quick, get the child some dry clothes."

Cui Guiying hurriedly wiped the corners of her eyes and went to get the clothes.

"Panzi, go call Zheng Datong!"

"Yes, Grandpa."

Zheng Datong, whose name was Zheng Huamin, was the clinic doctor in Siyuan Village—a "barefoot doctor." Because he liked to use a large syringe to intentionally scare children, the kids gave him this nickname, and over time, the adults started calling him that too.

"Leizi, go call Blind Liu."

"Yes, Grandpa."

Blind Liu’s real name was Liu Jinxia. Her parents died early, and her uncle arranged for her to marry over from Si'an Town. In the first year of her marriage, her parents-in-law both died of illness, making many wives in the village secretly envious.

Then, in the second year, her husband got drunk at night, went to the toilet, fell into the cesspit, and drowned, leaving behind only a newborn daughter.

At that time, rumors spread in the village that Liu Jinxia had a "hard fate."

Life was hard for a widow with a child. While managing farm work, Liu Jinxia started a business helping people tell fortunes and ward off bad luck. The more the rumors spread, the more people believed in her abilities.

In those days, scratching a living from the fields only meant having enough to eat; to live more comfortably, one had to rely on other trades. Liu Jinxia relied on this trade to scrape together enough to bring in a live-in son-in-law for her daughter, Li Juxiang.

But in the second year after the son-in-law moved in, he supposedly had a sudden heart attack while planting rice in the fields and died face-down in the mud.

He left behind Li Juxiang and a newborn daughter of her own.

By now, not just the village, but people from all the surrounding towns were convinced of the fate of Liu Jinxia’s lineage, and her business became even better.

She simply rented out her fields to others and had her daughter buy a tricycle from town. Wherever there was business, she would have Li Juxiang ride the tricycle to take her there.

A few years ago, Liu Jinxia developed cataracts and couldn't see very well, which only served to complete her professional image.

Back in the house, Cui Guiying had just finished changing Li Zhuiyuan’s wet clothes when she saw her husband rinse the blood off his knee with a ladle of well water. He then opened a locked cabinet and took out three packs of cigarettes.

He threw one to Cui Guiying and instructed: "When Zheng Datong comes, open it in front of him and give him one, then give him another when he leaves. Put the medicine fee on the tab."

Immediately after, Li Weihan threw over another pack: "Give the whole pack to Blind Liu. Don't talk about anything else."

Cui Guiying reminded him: "I heard that Blind Liu is very expensive for a house call now."

Li Weihan shook his head: "She may be blind, but she shouldn't be heartless."

Liu Jinxia’s husband had grown up playing in the mud with Li Weihan. In the years after her husband passed, when the widow and orphan were struggling, Li Weihan often sent them supplies and helped with farm work during busy seasons, which led to plenty of gossip about him back then.

Although the two families didn't visit each other much anymore, if Blind Liu dared to take his money, Li Weihan would dare to spit in her face.

The last pack was put into his own pocket.

Cui Guiying asked in surprise: "Are you going out?"

Li Weihan nodded: "I'm going to find Uncle Sanjiang."

"What! What did you run into?"

Li Weihan glanced at the children around them and glared at his wife: "Wait until I get back."

With that, Li Weihan pushed his "28-inch" bicycle out the door.

Cui Guiying sat back down by the mat, gently stroking Li Zhuiyuan and calling his name repeatedly.

A little granddaughter asked curiously: "What happened to Brother Yuanzi?"

Huzi immediately said: "I know, Brother Yuanzi ran into a water monkey and was dragged down to be a substitute ghost!"

Suddenly, the surrounding children looked terrified and backed away.

"Slap!"

A handprint appeared on Huzi’s face.

Cui Guiying scolded: "Bah, you're talking nonsense! Go outside and see if the people we invited have arrived, go!"

"Yes! Going now!"

Huzi didn't hold a grudge; although the slap hurt, he didn't take it to heart, and he ran out with Shitou and the others to look for the guests.

Cui Guiying told her eldest granddaughter, Yingzi, to bring her a bowl of water and a needle. She picked up the needle, scratched Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead and the top of his head several times, then placed the needle flat in the bowl.

There was a local custom: if someone in the family had a headache or felt unwell, they would use this needle to "call" them back.

Before long, voices came from outside: "Zheng Datong is here! Zheng Datong is here!"

Zheng Datong walked into the house carrying a wooden medical kit.

"Doctor Zheng, take a look at the child, take a look at the child."

Cui Guiying took out the cigarettes, opened the pack, pulled one out, and handed it over.

Zheng Datong took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, squatted down, looked at Li Zhuiyuan, and asked: "What happened to the child?"

"He fell into the water and won't wake up."

"Fell into the water?" Zheng Datong first pried open Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth and nose, then lifted his eyelids to look, and finally took a stethoscope from his kit to listen carefully.

When he put the stethoscope away, Cui Guiying leaned in and asked: "Doctor Zheng, how is it?"

Zheng Datong frowned and lifted Li Zhuiyuan up; Cui Guiying hurriedly helped.

After patting the child’s back and observing him for a moment, Zheng Datong laid the child back down and took the cigarette from behind his ear, putting it in his mouth.

Cui Guiying hurried to the stove to get matches, but saw that Zheng Datong had already lit it himself and took several deep puffs.

"How is it, Doctor?"

Zheng Datong looked at Cui Guiying: "How long was the child in the water?"

Cui Guiying looked at Panzi.

Panzi: "Just a little while. Yuanzi was pulled up by Grandpa as soon as he fell in."

Zheng Datong frowned and took another deep drag of the cigarette. After exhaling a smoke ring, he said: "Auntie, the child isn't drowning, and he didn't choke on water. There's nothing wrong with him."

"Then why won't he wake up?" Cui Guiying asked.

"Take the child to the town health center for another check-up; it might be something else." Zheng Datong packed his things and stood up. He was out of ideas.

Cui Guiying pulled out another cigarette and handed it to him.

"No more, no more." While saying this, he took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear.

Then, having smoked the current cigarette down to the filter, Zheng Datong stepped on the butt and whispered: "Have you asked Blind Liu to look at him?"

"Ah, yes, we have." Cui Guiying felt a bit embarrassed.

Zheng Datong nodded. Panzi had told him some things on the way over. Now, he could only advise: "If he doesn't wake up by tonight, send him to town tomorrow morning."

"Alright, alright, thank you for your trouble."

At this moment, Leizi ran in, wiped the sweat from his face, and said to Cui Guiying: "Blind Liu is here."

Cui Guiying scolded: "You little brat, have some manners! You should call her Grandma Liu."

Zheng Datong knew it was time to step aside. As he walked out the door, he happened to see a tricycle being ridden over in the distance, with an old woman sitting on it.

"Heh..."

Zheng Datong suddenly remembered the various new medicines being hyped up in the newspapers lately. Wasn't he participating in that now? Hey, what was it called again?

Oh, right...

Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

Leizi had run home first to notify them. Li Juxiang was pedaling the tricycle behind, complaining: "Mom, you shouldn't have dawdled so much. We should have come earlier."

Earlier, someone from the neighboring Shigang Town had come to discuss the arrangements for her mother’s memorial service. She could have asked them to wait at home and come here first, but her mother had insisted on finishing that person’s business and then going to the toilet, dawdling before finally coming.

Liu Jinxia, sitting on the small stool in the back, exhaled a smoke ring and said irritably: "Why the rush? We aren't getting any money from their family anyway."

"Mom, are you really going to take money?"

"Bah, if they offer it, I'll take it."

"I remember when I was little, Uncle Han helped us a lot."

"Then he has four sons, why didn't he give me one?" Liu Jinxia flicked the ash. "None of them are live-in sons-in-law, and I wouldn't even ask for a dowry; he wouldn't even give me a daughter-in-law for free. Hmph!"

"You can't blame Uncle Han for that."

"I'm telling you, Xiang Hou, it's one thing for others to gossip about us—after all, people have mouths—but why do you have to demean yourself like that?"

Li Juxiang pursed her lips.

"Xiang Hou, Little Cui Hou is still young, and I don't have many years left to live. Little Cui Hou will have to rely on you in the future. So what if there's no man? I, Liu Jinxia, am going to prove that even without a man, we can still live well and eat well, better than other families!"

"We're here, Mom."

The tricycle rode up the embankment and arrived at the Li family’s door.

Cui Guiying stepped forward to help Liu Jinxia off the vehicle. Liu Jinxia patted Cui Guiying’s hand and said: "Oh, how can I let you help me? Your Han Hou is my benefactor."

"Grandma, please come and take a look at the child. He still won't wake up."

Liu Jinxia: "I heard from Lei Hou that he ran into something in the water?"

Cui Guiying: "The child’s grandfather has already gone to invite Uncle Sanjiang."

Hearing this, Liu Jinxia’s heart tightened. She grabbed Cui Guiying’s hand and urged: "Quick, take me to see the child."

Leizi had said some things when he came to pass the message, but she had thought the brat was exaggerating. Now that Li Weihan had gone to find that Li Sanjiang, this matter was truly serious!

Deep down, Liu Jinxia still remembered Li Weihan’s kindness.

Entering the house, she heard a group of children chattering. Liu Jinxia’s eyesight was poor, and it felt like walking into a duck coop. She waved her hand and scolded

"You little brats, move aside! Don't make noise, you'll disturb the Kitchen God!"

Cui Guiying hurriedly told the older children to take the younger ones outside and closed the door.

"Where is he?" Liu Jinxia asked.

"In the inner room." Cui Guiying prepared to take her in.

"Bring him to the kitchen; there’s a stove here."

"Alright, I'll go bring the child out."

With Li Juxiang’s help, Li Zhuiyuan was placed on the kitchen table.

Liu Jinxia’s old hands first touched Li Zhuiyuan’s legs, then moved all the way up to his face. After touching his face, she stopped at his shoulders and pressed gently.

Her hands, stained with the smell of smoked meat from years of smoking, and often soaked in white vinegar for maintenance, had a pungent odor.

People standing nearby could smell it; if one were to sniff it up close, a normal fainting spell might actually be cured by the smell.

Liu Jinxia felt for a while and asked: "Guiying Hou, have you 'called' him yet?"

"I have, I have." Cui Guiying immediately brought over the bowl with the water and needle, but then she screamed in fright: "Ah!"

The needle in the bowl hadn't just rusted; it had produced red rust, which had bled out into a halo around the needle at the bottom.

Li Juxiang, seeing this, immediately leaned into her mother’s ear to describe it.

After listening, Liu Jinxia took a deep breath and said with a grave expression: "Sister, the child has been cursed."

"Ah?" Cui Guiying was startled again and immediately begged: "Please save him, save him. My daughter only has this one child; nothing can happen to him while he's in my care."

As she spoke, Cui Guiying took the pack of cigarettes from her pocket and handed it to Liu Jinxia.

Liu Jinxia pushed it away and sighed.

Cui Guiying: "Just smoke it for now, we'll make up the payment later..."

Liu Jinxia interrupted Cui Guiying: "I won't take your family’s things. I can't take it; it burns the hands."

"Sister, don't say that, my child..."

Liu Jinxia turned to her daughter and smiled bitterly: "Did you hear that? It’s the son of the little girl your Uncle Han likes best."

"It’s Lan Hou’s son." Li Juxiang paused and added, "Lan Hou used to be very good to me."

Lan Hou was Li Lan, Li Zhuiyuan’s mother.

Back then, people in the village thought Liu Jinxia’s family was unlucky, and parents would warn their children not to play with Li Juxiang. So Li Juxiang’s childhood was lonely; she couldn't run around like other children because adults would roll their eyes at her when she visited their homes.

Li Lan didn't care about that back then and often invited her to play. This friendship lasted until Li Lan passed the university entrance exam and left the village.

Liu Jinxia closed her eyes and was silent.

Li Juxiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said to Cui Guiying: "This child is so good-looking; he looks just like Lan Hou."

Cui Guiying responded, but her attention was still on Liu Jinxia. She couldn't tell if Liu Jinxia was stalling or playing hard to get.

Li Juxiang continued: "Little Cui Hou said the day before yesterday that there was a big brother named Little Yuan Hou who gave her chocolate to eat and went to the creek to pick up stones with her."

Li Juxiang had been isolated as a child, let alone her daughter, Li Cuicui. Usually, her daughter could only stand far away, watching other children play together.

Cuicui didn't dare to get close. If she did, the children would say their parents told them not to play with her, and they would scatter.

The day before yesterday, Cuicui came home very happy, saying a very handsome big brother had played with her all afternoon. Other children told him not to play with her, but that big brother didn't care and even gave her chocolate.

Liu Jinxia opened her eyes and looked at her daughter with helplessness and heartache. Then, she turned to Cui Guiying

"Sister, let me be honest with you."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Usually, out of twenty cases, fifteen are actually nothing. I just go through the motions, and people just want peace of mind.

Of the remaining, four look like something, but turn out to be nothing.

So, at most, there is one that is a bit messy, but it’s not hard to clean up.

I won't take your money. First, your husband really did help us mother and daughter in the past, so I can't take your money. Second, the money for going through the motions isn't worth taking in a situation like this."

"But, you, the child, you have to save him, sister."

"I will help him." Liu Jinxia smiled and said, "Get me some incense ash from the stove."

"Alright."

Local earthen stoves had many grooves. One was usually behind the stove, where the Kitchen God was pasted, and a small incense burner was placed in the groove.

Cui Guiying brought the incense burner down and handed it to Liu Jinxia.

Liu Jinxia grabbed a handful of incense ash and muttered something while holding it in her hand.

It was impossible to understand what she was chanting, but she did it for a long time.

Liu Jinxia: "Cover him up."

Before Cui Guiying could understand, Li Juxiang had already covered Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth and nose with her hand.

Liu Jinxia smeared the incense ash on the child’s neck and shoulders, rubbing and rubbing, as if applying prickly heat powder.

But gradually, a terrifying scene appeared, and Cui Guiying covered her own mouth.

Because she saw two purple marks appearing on her grandson’s shoulders! They looked like two handprints!

Liu Jinxia: "So fierce... Daughter, start."

"Yes."

Li Juxiang responded, went out of the house, and brought back some things from the tricycle. She placed an empty bowl and a calligraphy brush in Liu Jinxia’s hand, poured ink into the bowl, and then took a ball of red thread from her pocket. It looked like yarn for knitting, but after it was unraveled, a fishy smell permeated the air, and Li Juxiang’s palms were stained red.

Next, Li Juxiang tied one end of the red thread to her own wrist and the other to Li Zhuiyuan’s wrist. After standing a distance away, she stood still.

Liu Jinxia dipped the brush in ink and kept drawing circles on Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead, muttering things as she drew.

At first, everything was normal, and nothing happened.

But as Liu Jinxia’s speed of speech and hand movements increased, the red thread actually began to tremble.

Cui Guiying subconsciously wanted to see if the other end of the thread was being pulled by Li Juxiang, but as soon as she looked up, she saw Li Juxiang opening her mouth in great pain, and then she fell to her knees with a "thump," her upper body leaning forward as if someone were pressing her down to kowtow.

Liu Jinxia glanced at her daughter with heartache but did not slow down her speed.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

Li Juxiang fell to the side in pain, rolling on the ground with her arms wrapped around herself, her feet kicking wildly. Saliva spilled from her mouth, her eyes widened, and her face turned blue.

Cui Guiying stood by, worried about her grandson and also worried about what might happen to Li Juxiang.

However, after the pain reached its peak, Li Juxiang gradually calmed down. Finally, she lay on the ground with her limbs spread out, gasping for air.

Liu Jinxia also stopped, her body swaying, and Cui Guiying hurriedly reached out to support her.

"Go get a basin of hot water and wipe the child down."

"Yes, alright."

Cui Guiying immediately followed instructions, took a basin, uncovered the middle lid of the stove, and scooped out hot water with a wooden ladle.

After wetting a cloth, she began to wipe the incense ash off Li Zhuiyuan.

What was wiped away wasn't just the ash, but also those two purple handprints, which dissolved like paint.

Cui Guiying specifically checked the cloth and found no purple stains on it.

"Sister, is the child... better?"

Liu Jinxia took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag, then coughed violently, tears and snot running down her face. She had choked on her own smoke.

However, although Cui Guiying didn't get an immediate answer from Liu Jinxia, she noticed that her grandson, who had been unconscious, was slowly opening his eyes.

"Little Yuan Hou, Little Yuan Hou, you're awake!"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cui Guiying blankly, then looked around, and finally called out in a hoarse voice: "Grandma."

"Oh, you're finally awake. Bodhisattva bless, Bodhisattva bless."

Beside them, Li Juxiang climbed up from the ground, took a clean bowl, poured herself some water, and sipped it.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out, grabbed Cui Guiying’s arm, and leaned to the side, wanting to enter his grandmother’s embrace.

Cui Guiying hurriedly hugged Li Zhuiyuan and coaxed him: "My child, my Little Yuan Hou, my good child..."

Liu Jinxia: "You take care of the child, let him sleep again, he'll be fine when he wakes up."

Li Juxiang walked over and helped her mother out the door.

Cui Guiying said: "When Han Hou comes back, I will..."

Liu Jinxia waved her hand: "Wait until the child is completely better. We're going home now, don't see us out."

Cui Guiying really couldn't see them out; she could only continue to hold her grandson.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan, comforted in his grandmother’s arms, began to fall asleep again, but his expression was much more peaceful, unlike the heart-wrenching way he had been pursing his lips and frowning earlier.

On the way back on the tricycle, Liu Jinxia half-crouched and pulled aside her daughter’s collar to look at the bruise, asking

"Does it hurt?"

"Mom, sit down, don't fall off."

Liu Jinxia sat back down. After a long while, she slapped her thigh and cursed

"Xiang Hou, are our lives really destined to be this lowly?"

...

Li Weihan didn't return for a long time. Cui Guiying sent Huzi and Shitou to Li Sanjiang’s house to look for him. When they returned, they said that Li Sanjiang’s worker told them he had gone out to deliver paper offerings, and Li Weihan had gone to find him.

Cui Guiying understood; Li Sanjiang was delivering paper offerings. According to custom, the host would keep him for a meal, and since he liked to drink, there was no telling how long he would be. Her husband had gone to urge him.

For dinner, Cui Guiying had the older children help her cook. After dinner, Li Weihan still hadn't returned, so Cui Guiying arranged for the children to sleep in the inner room.

She herself set up a door panel in the kitchen to sleep with Li Zhuiyuan. Li Zhuiyuan was sleeping soundly.

Cui Guiying wiped her tears while fanning the child; the child had really suffered today.

She thought of her newly divorced daughter and wondered how she was doing now.

Unlike other families who favored boys over girls, Cui Guiying and her husband loved this youngest daughter the most.

The girl wanted to study and was good at it, so they supported her, ignoring what others said about girls studying being useless and better off getting married early.

This favoritism toward her daughter naturally extended to her grandson.

Li Zhuiyuan had a dream. He dreamed he was in class at the youth academy, and the old professor on the podium closed his book and said: "Alright, class dismissed."

He walked out of the classroom with his deskmate, weaving through a crowd of tall adults.

The two of them walked into the restroom and stood on the steps of the urinal.

His deskmate had already unzipped his pants and started peeing, then urged him

"Zhuiyuan, you pee too, what are you waiting for?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. Just as he unzipped his pants, he suddenly woke up.

The dream ended. He opened his eyes and, by the moonlight outside, saw his grandmother sleeping beside him, still holding the fan.

That was close; he almost wet the bed.

Li Zhuiyuan’s memory of the day was already a bit blurry. He climbed up carefully, preparing to go pee.

The restroom was a separate small house far from the main house, with a pit dug in the ground and a large vat buried in it. A hollow wooden seat was placed over the vat. When Li Zhuiyuan first saw it, he thought it looked like a dragon throne from a movie.

Therefore, locals usually called going to the toilet "going to the porcelain vat."

At first, Li Zhuiyuan went there to pee, but later, after sharing experiences with his brothers, Li Zhuiyuan finally understood that as long as he was away from the house and the courtyard, he could mark his territory anywhere.

Going out the front door meant going past the courtyard, which was a bit far, so Li Zhuiyuan chose to go out the back door to the riverbank; it was closer.

Just as Li Zhuiyuan was getting ready, he suddenly heard a "thump... thump... thump..." sound.

He looked down and found that their boat, moored at the bank, was rocking.

Images flashed through Li Zhuiyuan’s mind. Hadn't he gone out on the boat to catch fish with his grandfather and brothers during the day?

Then, did they catch any fish? What did he have for dinner? Why couldn't he remember?

"Thump... thump... thump..."

The boat was still rocking, but there were no waves on the river, and there was no wind.

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan remembered the events of the day. He remembered the black hair, he remembered falling into the water, he remembered under the water... and along with those memories came fear.

Li Zhuiyuan’s body went limp, he stumbled, and sat on the ground. He subconsciously reached out to touch his shoulders, as if a pair of cold hands were still gripping them.

It was this sitting motion that changed his height, bringing the previously invisible bottom of the boat into his field of vision.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

It turned out there was someone under the water. Her head would surface from time to time, hit the bottom of the boat, go back down, then surface again, hit it, and repeat, tirelessly.

Suddenly, the thumping stopped, and the boat stopped rocking.

That head surfaced again. It didn't continue to hit the bottom of the boat but slowly turned around. As the wet black hair slid to the sides, it revealed half of a richly made-up woman’s face.

Her face was very white—so white that it seemed it might melt away in the moonlight at any moment.

At this moment, she seemed to have found the person she was looking for. The corners of her mouth slowly curled up, gradually revealing a smile.

Her lips were still bright red, somewhat glaring in the quiet night.

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes hard. When he looked again, he found that her upper body had surfaced, and her arms were hanging down along the sides of her body.

Not daring to delay any longer, Li Zhuiyuan scrambled up on his hands and feet and ran toward the house. He tripped over the threshold but managed to grab the door frame and steady himself.

Glancing back, Little Huangying, who had only been half-submerged in the river, had already left the water and was standing on the lowest blue stone step.

"Grandma, Grandma!"

Li Zhuiyuan ran to the door-panel bed and reached out to shake Cui Guiying, but Cui Guiying was still holding the fan, fast asleep.

"Grandma, wake up, Grandma, wake up!"

Li Zhuiyuan continued to call out, but Cui Guiying showed no signs of waking up.

"Drip... drip... drip..."

The sound of water droplets came from behind him.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and first saw a pair of red high heels, then fair, swollen ankles. The black cheongsam tightly wrapped her body, and water droplets kept falling from the hem of her clothes and the tips of her hair.

She,

was standing straight on the threshold!