Chapter 10

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan felt as if a basin of ice water had been dumped over his head, his entire body plunged into a bone-chilling cold.

In a daze, it felt as if his soul had been scared right out of his body. The only reason it hadn't actually left was that this wasn't reality; his physical body wasn't here.

"Run!"

Li Zhuiyuan grabbed Qin Li’s hand and scrambled to his feet.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, the group of old women who had been washing dishes with sand earlier stood in a line before them, blocking their path.

No matter how hard Li Zhuiyuan pushed or shoved, their seemingly withered and aged bodies remained as immovable as mountains.

In his desperation, the thought that crossed Li Zhuiyuan’s mind was: No wonder Great-Grandpa’s paper-effigy business is so good; the materials and craftsmanship are truly top-notch.

In truth, there was no hope in trying to force his way through. He was still just a child with no strength, and he didn't know any of the techniques used by Great-Grandpa or Liu Jinxia.

He had originally thought he could avoid this incident by hiding, and he had almost succeeded, only to fail at the very last hurdle.

He turned around and looked at the Cat-Faced Old Lady, forcing himself to stay calm, and began to quickly search his memory for any useful knowledge.

He didn't need to look far, as he had only ever read one book, and it was just an introductory encyclopedia... of which he had only read four volumes.

It was truly a case of regretting not having read enough when the time came, but now, he could only try to force his existing knowledge to fit the situation.

As it turned out, Li Zhuiyuan actually found something that seemed to match.

Volume 3, Chapter 12 of *Records of Jianghu Anomalies* described a special type of "Dead-Returner"—the Corpse Demon.

When a person carrying deep resentment floats in water and comes into contact with the carcass of an animal that also possesses an evil, foul aura, by some twist of fate, the two merge to form a bizarre existence that is neither human nor demon.

These Dead-Returners possess special abilities. For example, the book cited a Corpse Demon in the Changbai Mountains of the Northeast, a fusion of a human and a Yellow Immortal (weasel), which could set up illusions and bewitch people's hearts before finally being destroyed by the "Righteous Path."

As for what this "Righteous Path" referred to, Li Zhuiyuan didn't know, and he felt there was no need to know, because the ending for every Dead-Returner in the book was "destroyed by the Righteous Path."

Whether they were truly destroyed, or by which sect or school—monks, Taoists, lamas, or sorcerers—it didn't matter. The author of the book seemed to use "destroyed by the Righteous Path" as a period at the end of every entry.

The Cat-Faced Old Lady before him looked very much like a Corpse Demon.

But if he were to force the concept, he had to be sure she died in the river. If she died elsewhere, she wouldn't be a Dead-Returner and wouldn't be listed in the *Records of Jianghu Anomalies*.

Yet, this old lady’s clothes were clean and dry, and her hair was gray and fluffy; she didn't look like a water ghost at all. Little Huang Ying, who was soaked from head to toe, was the standard template for that.

Li Zhuiyuan felt... this was likely beyond the scope of the book.

The Cat-Faced Old Lady retracted her head, bent down, and picked up a piece of braised pork and a chicken leg from the ground.

She had only noticed something was wrong because of these two items on the ground, as they didn't fit the simple cognitive habits of her dreams.

"What good food, how can you waste grain like this? This is going to bring..."

The last word was cut off by the Cat-Faced Old Lady. Clearly, given her current identity, saying those words was a true taboo.

She opened her mouth and, ignoring the dirt, placed the meat and chicken leg inside, chewing with great enjoyment and intoxication.

"Back then, if only I had a bowl of corn porridge, how wonderful that would have been."

Her eyes revealed a sense of reminiscence. That had been her greatest longing, even... a luxury, for a long time while she curled up on her bed, staring at the tightly shut door.

But in the end, she hadn't been able to wait for a single grain of rice or a drop of water.

The Cat-Faced Old Lady looked at Li Zhuiyuan again, but before she could speak, Li Zhuiyuan spoke first

"Hello, Grandma. Happy Birthday."

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "..."

This birthday greeting left even the Corpse Demon speechless.

After a long while, the Cat-Faced Old Lady reached out and extended her hand toward Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that there was fine fur on the back of her hand, and her fingernails were long and sharp at the tips.

He didn't dodge, letting her hand touch his face.

The familiar sensation of ice being pressed against his skin returned—it was exactly the same feeling he had experienced in Liu Jinxia’s hall that day.

"Grandma has figured it out. You little one, not only are you handsome, but your brain is also very sharp.

That day, when my eldest son was about to leave, you intentionally let him wash his hands near you so that Grandma could leave you and return to him, right?"

"I was afraid Grandma would forget the way home."

"Really?"

"And I also felt you were more used to him carrying you on his back."

"No..." The Cat-Faced Old Lady’s fingers slid to Li Zhuiyuan’s lips. "Now, I prefer for the little one to carry me."

Following that, the Cat-Faced Old Lady looked at Qin Li, who was standing behind Li Zhuiyuan: "What a pretty little girl."

Li Zhuiyuan introduced her: "Something is wrong with her brain. She can't talk, her temper is bad, and she bites people at the drop of a hat."

"Oh, is that so? No wonder when I saw her during the day, she was just sitting there, not moving at all. Sigh, what a pity, such a pretty little girl."

As she spoke, the Cat-Faced Old Lady focused her attention back on Li Zhuiyuan’s face: "Little one, Grandma really likes you. Why don't you keep Grandma company?"

"Don't you have..." Li Zhuiyuan immediately realized something and changed his words, "Sure, I'll keep you company, Grandma."

He had wanted to say, "Don't you have your own grandson?" but that would be like poking a hornet's nest.

The Cat-Faced Old Lady nodded with a smile and said to the Fat Chef and the others: "Everyone has worked hard. Let's eat together."

According to local custom, when a banquet was held, after the first and second rounds were finished and the guests were entertained, one or two final tables were set for the cooks, helpers, and family members.

"You got it, Old Granny." The Fat Chef and the old women regained their vitality and began to tidy up to go eat.

"The little one comes too."

After giving the order, the Cat-Faced Old Lady turned and walked out of the kitchen. Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the footprints she left behind contained water stains. The cloth shoes on her feet were also exceptionally dark in color, and they made a constant "creak, creak" sound as she walked, as if they were saturated with water.

Is this... a correct guess?

"Come on, little one, let's go eat." The Fat Chef grabbed Li Zhuiyuan’s hand, interrupting his thoughts.

Seeing that the old women didn't try to grab Qin Li—clearly, the Cat-Faced Old Lady wasn't interested in this "brain-damaged" girl—Li Zhuiyuan let go of Qin Li’s hand and turned to say to her

"You go first... no, just stand here and don't move."

He didn't know where she could go anyway; it was safer to stay in the kitchen. Besides, the old lady wanted him.

Li Zhuiyuan was led out of the kitchen. The area outside, which had been packed with people, was now deathly silent.

It wasn't that there were no people; on the contrary, there were many, shoulder to shoulder, a dense, dark mass, yet no one made a sound or moved a muscle.

The original tables and chairs had been cleared and stacked against the walls. Only two slightly open areas remained.

One was set with a table of food and wine, and the other was occupied by the three performers of the children's opera.

Everyone else stood packed tightly around, waiting to watch the post-meal performance.

Li Zhuiyuan was dragged by the Fat Chef to the table.

The Cat-Faced Old Lady was already sitting in the seat of honor and patted the empty seat beside her: "Come, little one, sit next to Grandma."

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to sit down. During this, he deliberately looked in the direction he had come from, only to find that Qin Li hadn't listened and stayed in the kitchen; she had actually followed him out and was standing in the crowd, her eyes fixed on him.

If she doesn't care about you, why do you keep trying to get close?

The Cat-Faced Old Lady noticed this too and asked with a smile: "How about we call her over to sit with us?"

"No need, Grandma. She’s already eaten. She has a bad temper and is shy with strangers; she’ll easily make everyone’s meal unpleasant."

"Oh? Then why do you still play with her?"

"Neighbors, so I just bring her along to play."

"Hehe, you’re quite kind." The Cat-Faced Old Lady’s hand rested on Li Zhuiyuan’s head, stroking it gently. "My own grandsons and granddaughters, I helped raise them when they were little. Back then, they would call me 'Grandma' with every breath, but when they grew up, they all wished I would die sooner. They all felt that I was an old hag who kept them from getting ahead, from living a good life, and from making money."

Li Zhuiyuan listened quietly.

"I can't figure out how they became like that. Maybe it really is my fault. I lived too long and sucked up their good fortune. I failed them, didn't I?

I think I should just die early and be reincarnated; it would be better for them. Little one, don't you think so?"

If you really thought that, how could you have become a Dead-Returner?

According to the general outline at the beginning of the *Records of Jianghu Anomalies*, Dead-Returners are existences catalyzed by resentment.

If you didn't have resentment, how could you be sitting here now? Relying on longing?

"Grandma, you mustn't think that way. My mother once told me that when facing a beast, reflecting on oneself and trying to understand it are both ridiculous things."

"Oh... your mother really makes sense." After a pause, the Cat-Faced Old Lady chuckled to herself. "Hehe, I think so too, but in the end, I still feel a bit reluctant. After all, they were children I raised and brought up."

"Then did they treat you like a mother, like a grandmother?"

"In my eyes, they are still children, after all. And children are bound to make mistakes, aren't they?"

"But they are all grandfathers and grandmothers themselves now, and they have all been fathers and mothers. How could they not understand your feelings? Yet they still did that."

"That's right! They are truly hateful!!!"

The green light in the Cat-Faced Old Lady’s eyes began to swirl rapidly, and her sharp teeth protruded past her lips.

"Little one, you are so right, so very right! Grandma really, really dotes on you!"

This time, both hands grabbed Li Zhuiyuan’s face, kneading it incessantly.

Li Zhuiyuan felt his face going numb from the cold.

"Grandma... you must not let them off."

The Cat-Faced Old Lady let go of Li Zhuiyuan’s face and gripped the tabletop with both hands, her fingernails leaving ten deep gouges in the wood

"That's right, how could I let them off? These guys are even worse than us beasts!"

Li Zhuiyuan: *Worse than us beasts?*

So, the dominant force in this Corpse Demon is a cat?

The Cat-Faced Old Lady turned to look at Li Zhuiyuan and said, word by word: "Little one, watch closely. I will make them pay for what they have done!"

*Can you let me live to see it?*

Li Zhuiyuan immediately echoed: "Grandma, definitely!"

He felt no guilt in his heart for guiding her hatred; he was merely filling in the answer to a problem he already knew the solution to.

Even without his guidance, this old lady would have done it anyway. If he had tried to persuade her to let it go, his own head would have been the first to go.

At this moment, the Fat Chef asked: "Old Granny, can we start on this table?"

The Cat-Faced Old Lady asked: "Has everyone arrived?"

"It's just us here."

"What about the family?"

The Fat Chef scratched his head: "The family is just you, Grandma. None of your children came."

"Not them. If you borrow someone’s land, tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks, it’s against the rules not to invite them to the banquet."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandma, they aren't hungry. They are already asleep; don't wake them up."

"How can that be?" The Cat-Faced Old Lady suddenly turned gloomy, staring at Li Zhuiyuan. "For this final banquet, everyone must be called, otherwise it’s a breach of etiquette, and people will talk behind our backs."

"Really, there's no need, Grandma."

"Buzz!"

The Cat-Faced Old Lady grabbed Li Zhuiyuan by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air.

"Little one, you aren't being very obedient just now, hehehe."

...

At this moment, in the second-floor bedroom, Li Zhuiyuan, who was fast asleep with his forehead resting on the desk, showed a pained expression and began to suffocate.

...

"Grandma... I was wrong... I was wrong..."

Li Zhuiyuan grabbed her hand with both of his, but he couldn't pry it open at all. His legs could only kick aimlessly.

The feeling of death was so clear.

In the distance, standing in the crowd, Qin Li’s eyelashes began to flutter, and her body began to tremble, the intensity increasing with every second.

"Snap!"

The Cat-Faced Old Lady let go, and Li Zhuiyuan fell to the ground. Freed from her grip, he began to gasp for air.

*She will still kill me!*

*She isn't human; she is a Corpse Demon. Cruelty is her nature!*

Li Zhuiyuan turned to look at Qin Li in the crowd. Upon meeting his gaze, Qin Li seemed to be comforted, slowly lowering her eyes again, and her body gradually stopped trembling.

...

In the second-floor bedroom, the pain on the face of the sleeping Li Zhuiyuan slowly faded, and his breathing calmed.

...

Cat-Faced Old Lady: "Little one, you have to teach them well from a young age."

"Grandma, you are right." Li Zhuiyuan climbed up and walked back to the table.

"If you feel you can't teach them well, you have to drown them early, so they don't grow up to be heartless disasters. Don't you agree?"

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a plate of braised fish from the table and swapped its position with the fried peanuts in front of the Cat-Faced Old Lady.

Then, he sat down and nodded

"That's right, yes."

"Hmm..." A smile appeared on the Cat-Faced Old Lady’s face again. She reached out and gently touched the red mark on Li Zhuiyuan’s neck. "You are such a good little one. Did Grandma hurt you just now?"

"Grandma is teaching me; I understand."

"Hmm." The Cat-Faced Old Lady looked at the Fat Chef: "Go invite them. Invite the family over to eat."

"You got it, we're going now."

The Fat Chef and the old women who had been washing dishes each rose from the table to go call the people.

When the Fat Chef walked to the stairs, the staircase that had originally disappeared appeared once again. He trotted up, his fat wobbling with every step.

Arriving at the second-floor terrace, he walked to the door of Li Sanjiang’s bedroom, pushed it open, and saw Li Sanjiang sleeping on the bed.

"Coming, time to eat!"

The Fat Chef walked to the bedside and reached out to grab Li Sanjiang’s wrist. Next, he would pull this man’s soul out and take it to the banquet.

However,

Suddenly,

The Fat Chef felt the environment around him distort. He had been standing in the bedroom, but now he appeared in a plaza surrounded by towering palaces.

Immediately after, he saw in front of him

An old man wearing white, holey boxers was at the very front, leading a group of zombies in hopping.

The old man hopped once, and the zombies behind him all hopped together.

When the old man wasn't paying attention and landed unsteadily, the zombies behind him all stumbled in unison.

The Fat Chef was so terrified by this scene that he turned pale—his face as white as paper.

Just then, the last zombie in line, who was the slowest to react, fell over. His face turned toward the back, and he saw the Fat Chef standing there.

The zombie seemed to have seen something novel and hopped toward the Fat Chef.

The Fat Chef immediately started running, and the zombie started chasing.

"Buzz!"

The Fat Chef appeared by the bedside, back in the bedroom. He reached up to touch his face and wiped off thick, greasy powder—he was so scared his makeup had fallen off.

"Thump!"

The floor suddenly trembled,

As if a colossal object had landed.

...

"Come, little one, they’ve gone to call people, let’s eat first."

The Cat-Faced Old Lady reached out and grabbed a handful of dried fruit, placing it in front of Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan looked troubled. He had tried this stuff; never mind eating it, even putting it in his mouth was unbearable.

"Eat..."

The old lady’s tone dropped.

Li Zhuiyuan could only pick one up, swallow his saliva, and put it in his mouth. In an instant, a wave of intense nausea hit him, but looking at the old lady’s expression, he could only cover his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from vomiting.

"Hmm, very good. Little one, that’s right. No matter when, you must never waste grain. Grandma, in this life, I starved before the Liberation, starved as a widow raising three children after the Liberation, and after the children grew up, they starved to death.

So, Grandma truly knows the value of grain."

Li Zhuiyuan could only nod while suppressing his nausea, but he truly couldn't swallow the food.

Just then, the Fat Chef came tumbling down the stairs in a panic, shouting loudly

"Old Granny, it's bad! Old Granny, something terrible has happened!"

"What is it?"

The Cat-Faced Old Lady stood up. This was her "territory," and she was the master here.

"Bang!"

A pair of long boots landed, smashing right onto the Fat Chef, instantly crushing him into a pile of waste paper and wooden strips.

"Ah..."

A chilling, guttural sound echoed throughout the banquet hall, causing the temperature to plummet.

Li Zhuiyuan looked up, staring in astonishment at the existence that had suddenly appeared before him.

It was a,

Zombie wearing the official robes of the Qing Dynasty, complete with a peacock-feathered hat!

——

(There will be another update before midnight.)