Chapter 27

Li Zhuyuan hung up the phone and asked the shop owner, "How much?"

The owner swallowed with some difficulty. He still felt the boy was just being mischievous and playing pretend, but to be safe, he pressed the speakerphone button and then hit redial.

The brief ringing tone made the owner's eyebrows twitch. Once the call connected, a dispatcher's voice came through

"Hello, this is the Tongzhou Public Security Bureau..."

*Click!*

The owner hung up immediately. He stared at Li Zhuyuan in disbelief; he hadn't expected the boy to actually call the police!

"Xina Kangzi, what on earth are you doing!"

The owner ran from the counter toward the neighboring shop like a madman. He had to go spread the word; he couldn't let them get caught red-handed when the police arrived.

Li Zhuyuan glanced at the telephone. He had originally thought the owner would redial just to say, "It was just a child playing around, please don't take it seriously, sorry for the trouble."

Instead, as soon as the owner confirmed he had dialed the emergency line, he hung up in terror, never having considered that possibility.

Nevertheless, Li Zhuyuan left the phone fare on the counter and took two candies from a jar as change.

In those days, once the outer wrapper was peeled off, there was often a layer of sugar coating inside that could be dissolved in the mouth, but Li Zhuyuan was in the habit of picking it off.

By the time the sugar coating was cleaned away and the candies had been in his mouth for a while, the shop owner still hadn't emerged from the video parlor.

Li Zhuyuan knew the owner had likely run into trouble inside.

Sighing silently, Li Zhuyuan decided it was best to move further away.

After the cars on the road passed, he crossed to the opposite side. However, feeling the straight-line distance was still too close, he walked a long way toward the west and stopped in front of a bicycle repair shop.

From here, he could watch the situation at the video parlor from across the street, and when the police arrived, they would have to pass by his position first.

Before long, Li Zhuyuan saw a police motorcycle driving up, followed by a police car.

The two vehicles stopped in front of the video parlor, and six uniformed officers stepped out. Four entered through the front door, while two circled around to the back.

The arrival of the police vehicles attracted the attention of many nearby. Some evening strollers and neighboring shop owners gathered to watch the commotion.

Li Zhuyuan did not move closer; he remained where he was, quietly waiting for the outcome.

In less than two minutes, a policeman ran out of the video parlor in a state of panic, his face filled with disbelief.

Li Zhuyuan's heart skipped a beat: *Could it be that even the police are in trouble?*

However, seeing that the officer went to the police car to grab a walkie-talkie and speak, and seeing another officer emerge from the parlor afterward...

Li Zhuyuan knew. The *Zhang* (Miasma) had broken.

In *The Record of Righteousness Subduing Demons*, the "Zhang" was discussed in a dedicated volume, referring generally to a special environment formed when a "dead-fall" (a corpse or entity) settles and lingers in a certain place.

That volume detailed many methods for investigation, analysis, and breaking such a phenomenon.

But obviously, in Wei Zhengdao's era, there were no telephones or people's police.

Soon, waves of reinforcements arrived. Among them was a middle-aged plainclothes officer with a chin covered in stubble. After getting out of the car, his gaze swept quickly across the surroundings.

Though it was inappropriate to describe a police officer this way, this man gave Li Zhuyuan the sensation of being watched by a hawk; his gaze was far too sharp.

To Li Zhuyuan's surprise, the man did not go to the video parlor. Instead, he pushed through the crowd, seemingly heading toward him.

But his movement was interrupted by the shouts of his colleagues behind him, forcing him to turn back.

At that moment, people were being led out of the video parlor one by one.

They all appeared limp, looking as if they might trip and fall at any moment, yet their faces were flushed and their heads were swaying violently.

The middle-aged officer stepped forward, grabbed one person's arm, and pushed upward on the forearm—a classic movement used in massage therapy.

Immediately after, he released the arm and grabbed a second and third person, performing the same action.

"Captain Tan, what's going on?"

Tan Yunlong shook his head. "It doesn't look like they're 'using' [drugs]."

This statement left many of the surrounding officers looking bewildered.

To be honest, it had initially seemed like a simple raid on prostitution and the distribution of obscenity, but once the responding officers arrived on the scene and inspected it, they had immediately reported back with excitement.

Then, the entire station went into an uproar.

Who would have thought that in this rural township, they would stumble upon a gathering spot for drug users?

Tan Yunlong knew what his colleagues were thinking, so he could only say, "This is just my personal judgment. Bring them back to the station first, then ask the town clinic to send medical staff for an examination."

"Yes, Captain Tan."

In truth, Tan Yunlong wasn't entirely sure himself, because the behavior of these people was simply too similar.

Soon, everyone from the video parlor was brought outside.

Among them, Li Zhuyuan saw Lei-zi and Pan-zi. The two of them weren't even afraid of the police; instead, they were chatting amongst themselves, occasionally high-fiving.

The two women working part-time at the parlor were the same, even proactively laughing and joking with the nearby police.

Even a blind person could see something was wrong with that behavior.

Additionally, Li Zhuyuan noticed that Brother Bao, who had been behind the woman, was missing.

But as to where Brother Bao had gone, Li Zhuyuan did not know, nor could he find him.

Next, they were led onto the police cars one by one, while the video parlor and the adjacent convenience store were cordoned off by the police.

Originally, the tip-off call had come from the convenience store, which was easy to verify, but the shop owner himself was currently twisting and turning the most. After getting into the police car, he kept making faces against the window.

Perhaps because he was the last one to go in, he was currently in the height of his high.

Li Zhuyuan looked around, feeling a bit confused. *Why hasn't Brother Runsheng come back yet?*

Just then, a pedicab was parked nearby watching the commotion. Li Zhuyuan walked over, got in, stated the location of the town clinic, and asked for the price.

After the driver quoted a price, Li Zhuyuan suddenly realized that because he had been speaking Mandarin on the phone earlier, he had naturally switched over and hadn't switched back to the local dialect. He asked the price again in the Southern dialect.

The driver gave a sheepish smile and quoted a price that was half of the original.

Upon arriving at the town clinic and walking inside, before Li Zhuyuan could ask Sister Mei where Runsheng and the others were, he saw two police officers already walking ahead.

He followed them and quickly found a quiet hospital room. On a bench outside the room, Runsheng was sitting quietly.

The police pushed the door open, while Li Zhuyuan walked up to Runsheng, gave him a gentle nudge, and asked

"Brother Runsheng, what are you doing sitting here?"

Runsheng looked up. "Xiao Yuan..."

Through their conversation, Li Zhuyuan learned what had happened after they were sent to the hospital.

First, Brother Bao's resuscitation had failed, and he was declared dead.

Upon hearing the news, Sister Mei had immediately fainted.

The old man from the pedicab had left immediately after arriving at the hospital.

Consequently, the clinic staff had asked Runsheng to stay to pay the fees, but since Runsheng had no money in his pockets, he could only sit here as a "hostage."

He figured that once Sister Mei woke up and things were cleared up, he could leave, but Sister Mei had been unconscious for quite a while.

Li Zhuyuan took the initiative to enter the room to find the police. Inside the ward, Sister Mei lay on the hospital bed, surrounded by two uniformed officers and one plainclothes officer.

The plainclothes officer had arrived first; Li Zhuyuan hadn't known this beforehand. Had he known, he might have hesitated before entering, because that man was the one who seemed to have noticed him instantly in the crowd.

Li Zhuyuan first approached the two uniformed officers to explain the situation, stating that his friends were merely doing a good deed and shouldn't be caught up in this kind of trouble.

After hearing the full story, the officers took the initiative to communicate with the clinic staff. Soon, the clinic informed Runsheng that he could leave.

"Great! I can finally go home and eat!"

Runsheng was starving; he looked as if he wanted to pick Li Zhuyuan up and sprint all the way home.

But a voice came from behind them: "Little boy, wait a moment."

Tan Yunlong walked up to Li Zhuyuan, leaned down, and looked at the boy seriously.

"Little boy, you were the one who called the police, weren't you?"

The feedback from the dispatcher indicated the caller was a boy. Upon arriving at the scene, Tan Yunlong had immediately picked up on Li Zhuyuan's presence.

How to put it... when everyone else was crowding forward to watch the spectacle, the person standing alone and quietly on the periphery with an excellent vantage point stood out even more. Coupled with the fact that the boy's friends had brought the owners of the video parlor to the hospital, all these connections made it more than a coincidence.

"Yes, that's right, Officer. I called the police."

Li Zhuyuan did not deny it. In front of a veteran officer like this, lying was simply not worth the effort.

"Why did you call the police?"

"But... shouldn't I have?"

Tan Yunlong was momentarily speechless. Finally, he could only smile and say, "You should have. You did very well."

"Officer, can we go home now?"

"Of course." While the specific test results for the video parlor incident hadn't come out yet, regardless of the outcome, the caller should be protected. "Come, where is your home? I'll drive you back. It's not safe for a child to walk at night."

"Thank you, Officer."

Tan Yunlong had Li Zhuyuan and Runsheng get into the car. Before driving, he first removed the siren from the roof.

He didn't drive Li Zhuyuan directly home, but instead stopped the car once they reached the village road.

Li Zhuyuan said goodbye to Tan Yunlong, then got out with Runsheng to walk toward Great-Grandpa's house. At the fork in the road just before the small path, he saw Li Weihan riding a heavy-duty bicycle in a hurry, followed by four uncles, all heading toward the village exit in a frantic manner.

Li Weihan looked dead serious. Of the four uncles, two looked worried, while the other two had grim faces and were muttering curses.

"Grandpa, Uncles."

"Xiao Yuanhou, go home quickly! Grandpa and your uncles have business in town!"

At this moment, Li Weihan didn't even have the capacity to look closely at his most beloved grandson to greet him. The message the messenger had brought was simply too shocking

They said Lei-zi and Pan-zi had been caught by the police in town for using *that*!

This news was like a bolt from the blue!

They were currently rushing to the town police station. The two uncles muttering "beat those bastards to death" were the fathers of Pan-zi and Lei-zi.

Runsheng asked curiously, "Xiao Yuan, did something happen?"

"Let's just go home first. I'm hungry, Brother Runsheng."

"Yeah, me too!"

Upon returning home, Auntie Liu said with a bit of reproach, "How could you forget the time while out playing? We finished eating long ago, and your Great-Grandpa has already gone out for a stroll."

However, Auntie Liu quickly brought out the reserved food, though it didn't look quite as appetizing as before.

Li Zhuyuan had only one bowl, with rice at the bottom and food on top; Runsheng had a large basin.

Runsheng hurriedly lit some incense and took several large bites in quick succession, chewing with an expression of intoxicated enjoyment, as if he had finally recovered his strength.

In his current state, he looked even more like he was "using" than the suspects in front of the video parlor.

Qin Li sat down in front of Li Zhuyuan and watched him eat.

While they were eating, Great-Grandpa returned from his stroll and remarked with exasperation

"Damn it, why is the whole village spreading rumors that Pan-zi and Lei-zi joined a big opium gang and even have high status?"

Li Zhuyuan nearly choked on his food. As he was coughing, he felt a gentle small hand patting his back.

Li Sanjiang sat down, lit a cigarette, and continued, "You really can't tell by looking. Those two kids always seem so honest in the village. Truly, appearances can be deceiving."

"Great-Grandpa, it must be just village gossip. How could that be?"

"It's hard to say. Your Grandpa and your uncles are all at the police station right now. Xiao Yuanhou, let me warn you: everything else is fine, but you must never touch that stuff. If you touch it, your life is basically over."

"I know, Great-Grandpa."

"By the way, who were you out playing with this afternoon that you came back so late?"

"With Brother Pan-zi and Brother Lei-zi."

Li Sanjiang's face wrinkled for a moment, then smoothed out as he nodded. "Then it must be just the villagers spreading rumors based on hearsay."

After dinner, Li Sanjiang went upstairs to wash up and sleep; he had to wake up early tomorrow to attend a funeral at the Zhao family's.

Runsheng went to the well to take a shower, but without even drying himself off, he impatiently turned on the TV and sat down to watch.

His dripping wet appearance, combined with the white light projected from the TV, made him look like a "dead-fall" that had just crawled out of the water.

Li Zhuyuan, meanwhile, was on the courtyard, practicing his horse stance.

A-Li stood beside him, accompanying him.

After practicing for the required time, Li Zhuyuan stood up straight and let out a long breath. A fine layer of sweat covered his body, and the fatigue accumulated during the day was greatly relieved.

Liu Yumei had been sitting on the courtyard, cracking melon seeds and enjoying the evening breeze. Seeing that Li Zhuyuan had finished his practice, she couldn't help but tease him

"What's the use of practicing this? Look at how serious you are."

"Just treat it like radio calisthenics."

This answer caused Liu Yumei's expression to freeze. Unconsciously, she spat out the melon seed meat and began chewing on the shell.

Li Zhuyuan seemed to realize he had said the wrong thing and tried to make amends: "I just feel that after practicing this, my body feels much more comfortable and my spirit is much better. It's quite miraculous."

"You're still young, your bones haven't fully grown yet. It's not suitable for you to practice hard kung fu right now."

"Okay, Grandma Liu." Li Zhuyuan's gaze shifted to the belt around A-Li's waist. "Grandma, is A-Li's belt perhaps a bit inappropriate?"

A-Li was prone to losing control when encountering strangers or stimuli; if she were equipped with a soft sword on her person... she would end up slashing people.

"I think it's quite appropriate. Only this belt can match A-Li's outfit."

As soon as Liu Yumei finished speaking, she saw A-Li immediately unfasten the belt and drop it on the ground, simply because Xiao Yuan said it was inappropriate.

At this, the old lady's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Li Zhuyuan bent down and carefully picked up the belt. Although it was very thin and soft, it could be quite dangerous if skillful force were applied to it.

"Alright, it's getting late. A-Li, it's time for you to sleep. We'll play together again tomorrow morning."

A-Li obediently went back into the house.

Li Zhuyuan apologized, "Grandma Liu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that in front of A-Li."

"I was just a bit embarrassed, but I'm not so senseless that I can't tell good from bad. I know you meant well. However, you're mistaken about one thing. It must be that your Great-Grandpa told you about A-Li. When A-Li truly has an episode, it doesn't matter whether she has a weapon by her side or not."

"What?"

"Go to your room. I heard from A-Ting that you asked her to buy a lot of things for you today."

"I just asked Auntie Liu to help me buy some school supplies."

"Then go do your homework properly. This old woman is going to sleep now."

"Goodnight, Grandma Liu."

Li Zhuyuan went up to the second floor and opened his bedroom, only to find a room filled with various materials. The once empty room had suddenly become full and compact.

"Auntie Liu's efficiency is truly high."

Li Zhuyuan walked over to a cage. Inside was a small black puppy, with a water bowl and a food bowl in the cage.

When they were downstairs, Auntie Liu hadn't mentioned a word. Clearly, she was only responsible for the shopping; how he would explain it to Great-Grandpa later was his own business.

Including, raising a small black dog.

Normally, a puppy of this age should be the most lively and rambunctious, but this puppy was lying sideways by the edge of the cage, sleeping soundly.

Even when he walked right up to it, it didn't even open an eyelid.

He confirmed it: this dog was not suitable for guarding a gate. If he let it guard the gate, it would sleep even more deeply than the owner.

However, Li Zhuyuan didn't want it for that purpose; he needed its blood.

This sounded somewhat cruel, but it wasn't. The blood of a "virgin" black dog appeared very frequently in *The Record of Righteousness Subduing Demons* and was one of the essential items for activating many tools.

But one only needed to take a bit of its essence—essentially just a tiny bit of blood to be used as a catalyst.

Like how Great-Grandpa performed rituals before retrieving a corpse, often splashing blood from a basin... that was actually incorrect.

Li Zhuyuan had searched through both *The Chronicles of Strange Occurrences in the World* and *The Record of Righteousness Subduing Demons*, and he had never seen a "dead-fall" being splashed to death by black dog blood.

Moreover, what Great-Grandpa splashed didn't seem to be dog blood; it was something he had mixed with pigment beforehand. The specific type of blood used depended on whether the family had eaten chicken or pork in the preceding days.

Normally, to ensure vigorous blood energy, the most suitable blood would be taken from a black dog within a month; beyond that, the effect would be greatly diminished.

One only needs to take an amount equal to a beer bottle cap each time, then mix it with other things to create something like red ink. When needed, one simply opens the ink lid, presses a fingertip into it, and then applies it to the required area.

This amount and frequency would have a negligible impact on the dog's health; at most, one could give it a large chicken leg to replenish its strength after each extraction.

As for the method of raising a "virgin" dog, the book also contained records. It wasn't complicated; it was simply feeding it medicine.

There was a prescription in the book that even an old traditional Chinese medicine practitioner would consider a mere tonic for humans. But if a dog ate it, besides nourishing the dog's body, it would carry a side effect specific to dogs: it would greatly reduce its sexual desire.

If a dog is kept in a dark room isolated from the outside world, it can easily become mentally unstable, and if the dog blood carries "sha" (malicious energy), the effect will be poor.

But simply watching the dog is too much effort, and if you accidentally give it a chance to go out and lose its "virginity," you won't be able to verify it. If you then try to face a "dead-fall" with useless black dog blood, you'll be the one suffering the consequences. The cost is too high.

As for neutering the dog to solve the problem once and for all, that was even more inadvisable. A neutered dog's blood lacks essence and is completely useless.

Therefore, feeding the dog this kind of tonic is most suitable. As long as it is fed according to the course, it will remain a "gentleman" even during its mating season.

Wei Zhengdao was a kind-hearted man; he even mentioned in the book that when the dog reaches three or four years of age, one can stop the medicine, grant it freedom, and then find a new dog to continue the process.

As for the dogs that had taken the medicine, they were often stronger and healthier; the only drawback was that they couldn't follow the "dog path" for a few years.

But once released, they could still enjoy the vast sky and a wonderful future—it was simply a case of enduring hardship for later sweetness.

Seeing that the puppy still ignored him, Li Zhuyuan stopped paying it any attention. He took his list and began "stocking the inventory" item by item.

Fortunately, Brother Liangliang had given him a sum of money earlier; otherwise, his previous pocket money wouldn't have been enough to buy all these things.

Furthermore, this was only the first batch of raw materials; it didn't even account for the upcoming experimental loss and processing costs.

At this moment, Li Zhuyuan finally felt the pressure of economic reality.

He somewhat regretted declining the jade thumb ring that Liu Yumei had offered him.

After finishing the inventory and confirming nothing was missing, Li Zhuyuan sat back at his desk and began drawing design diagrams.

The diagrams in the book were quite crude and mostly supplemented by text descriptions; he had to translate them himself to make it easier to find someone to manufacture them in reality.

These kinds of manual books were truly difficult to digest.

Working until one in the morning, Li Zhuyuan left his desk, took a shower, and went to bed.

When he woke up the next day and turned his head, he saw A-Li, dressed in a red gown, sitting on a chair.

Li Zhuyuan felt a bit worried. If he returned to the capital and couldn't see her when he woke up in the future, would he feel a sense of loss and become unaccustomed to it?

The puppy in the cage seemed very interested in A-Li, constantly scratching at the cage with its small paws while facing her.

However, unlike other girls, A-Li had little interest in these cute little animals; otherwise, Liu Yumei would likely have set up a small zoo for her long ago.

While washing up, he heard people talking on the courtyard below; it was Li Weihan and Li Sanjiang.

Li Zhuyuan listened quietly from upstairs for a while.

The police had arrested people and taken them to the station yesterday. After an inspection, they found that no one was using *that*. However, among the four thugs who had left earlier, a leader in a suit was found to be involved with the substance.

The guy had originally been lying at home when the police arrived to request his assistance with the investigation. He was so terrified that he confessed everything immediately. He was just a small-timer who had just found an upstream contact and intended to distribute the stuff to make quick money; now, the police had followed the trail straight to him.

As for what happened to the people in the video parlor, the police's explanation was that the gas valve on a small stove in a corner of the parlor hadn't been closed properly, causing everyone to suffer from gas poisoning, which led to many people experiencing hallucinations.

Li Sanjiang asked in surprise, "Is that how gas poisoning reacts?"

Li Weihan responded, "That's what the police said. After Pan-zi, Lei-zi, and the others were given IV drips and returned home, they became normal again."

Li Sanjiang said with lingering fear, "Good heavens, city people take such big risks with gas. Our earthen stoves are much better."

Li Zhuyuan went downstairs and greeted Li Weihan. Li Weihan patted Li Zhuyuan's head and took the opportunity to scold Pan-zi and Lei-zi again as typical examples.

Even though they hadn't used *that*, going to a video parlor to watch those kinds of videos and getting caught in a vice raid on obscenity was quite embarrassing.

After Pan-zi and Lei-zi finished their IV drips and returned home, to help improve their sleep quality, they were "strongly encouraged" by their two uncles with rattan canes.

However, Li Zhuyuan could also tell that Brother Pan-zi and Brother Lei-zi were very loyal; even though they had taken a beating for their own trouble, they refused to mention Li Zhuyuan's involvement with the video parlor.

After Li Weihan left, Li Sanjiang called Runsheng to help him push the paper offerings to the Zhao family's house, where the funeral was being held today.

Li Sanjiang invited Li Zhuyuan to come along so he could eat at the banquet, but Li Zhuyuan declined, using the excuse that he "needed to stay home and study diligently."

For the rest of the day, Li Zhuyuan stayed in his room doing handiwork, mainly the basic preparation of materials.

He also let the puppy out of the cage to run around, but after the puppy attempted to approach A-Li and was startled by the sudden chill emanating from her, it lost interest in exploring and actually went back to the cage to sleep.

Moreover, from last night until now, aside from a few "woofs" this morning to remind him that its bowl was empty, it hadn't barked again.

Li Zhuyuan even suspected that even if he didn't feed it that medicine, once it grew a bit larger and gained that function, it wouldn't go out to mess around because it was too lazy to move.

Originally, Li Zhuyuan only intended to try having A-Li help him with some simple tasks, but after discovering that A-Li was a quick learner and very meticulous, he began treating her as his official collaborator.

To some extent, Li Zhuyuan even had to admit that A-Li's manual dexterity was superior to his own.

The two of them spent the entire day in this atmosphere; the sense of interaction was even stronger than when they read books together, though it did leave A-Li quite dirty.

Before dinner, Li Zhuyuan used a towel to wipe A-Li's hands and face; the dirt on her clothes was harder to deal with.

Just as Liu Yumei picked up her chopsticks to eat, she saw the dirty boy leading her equally dirty granddaughter downstairs, startling her so much she nearly snapped her chopsticks.

Her granddaughter had a germaphobia and needed to remain clean at all times, yet after being with this boy, she didn't even seem to care about that anymore.

Although she knew rationally that everything was developing rapidly in a positive direction, emotionally, as a grandmother, she still found it somewhat difficult to accept.

Wasn't this scene exactly like her daughter, who had been raised in luxury, suddenly saying one day that she was willing to go out and work hard with a poor boy?

And she wasn't just talking about it anymore.

Liu Yumei quickly composed herself. While eating, she observed that her granddaughter was no longer just bowing her head to eat; she would take a few bites, then look up at the boy in front of her, followed by a slight, subtle swaying of her body.

This caused Liu Yumei's hard-won composure to fluctuate again... Damn it, this "working together" actually works!

After dinner, Li Zhuyuan didn't plan to continue working through the night, as he was worried about tiring A-Li out; he would just draw new diagrams by himself at night.

After seeing A-Li back to the east room, he went upstairs, did his horse stance on the terrace first, and then returned to his room to start drawing.

Late at night, Li Zhuyuan left his room to wash his face. On the way, he noticed Great-Grandpa's bedroom was empty. Hearing the sound of the TV from downstairs, he walked down the stairs and saw Runsheng sitting alone, eating incense and watching TV.

"Brother Runsheng, where is my Great-Grandpa?"

"He's probably still drinking at the banquet."

Runsheng wasn't suited for sitting at the banquet table, so Li Sanjiang had packed a separate portion for him, letting him sit in a corner with his incense. After eating, he had said his goodbyes and come back early to watch TV.

"Oh, I see."

"Xiao Yuan, do you want to watch TV?"

"No thanks, Brother Runsheng. You watch it yourself; I'm going up."

Back in his second-floor bedroom, Li Zhuyuan drew a few more diagrams. He felt he had reached his limit for the day. Seeing it was past midnight, he decided to wash up and sleep.

As he took his basin to the shower, he specifically glanced at Great-Grandpa's bedroom and found that he still hadn't returned.

He went downstairs and saw Runsheng fiddling with the antenna while changing channels.

"Brother Runsheng, Great-Grandpa isn't back yet. Could he be drunk at their house?"

Li Zhuyuan knew that Great-Grandpa liked to drink, and when attending a funeral banquet, he would certainly have a good session.

"I don't know."

"Brother Runsheng, come with me to check. If Great-Grandpa is drunk, we'll carry him back."

"Alright."

Li Zhuyuan took out a flashlight and fitted the batteries. The Zhao family's house wasn't far, but the night paths were difficult to navigate.

Walking along the country road, as they approached the Zhao house, they saw that although the canopy was still up, the lights had mostly gone out, clearly indicating the banquet had long since dispersed.

However, just as they reached the courtyard, they saw a single lamp still lit under the canopy. Three people were still there, drinking; one of them was Li Sanjiang.

Li Zhuyuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly; it seemed Great-Grandpa had found some drinking buddies tonight, staying to chat and drink even after the hosts had cleared the banquet.

At that moment, Runsheng, unable to wait, raised his hand from a distance and shouted, "Grandpa! They've already cleared the banquet, let's go home too!"

Hearing Runsheng's shout, Li Sanjiang turned his drunken eyes toward them and waved his hand in response, "It's fine! I told the host I was worried his kid wouldn't find his way home at night, so I'll stay a bit longer. The host is very happy about it; he's given us extra cold dishes and more wine!"

Immediately after, Li Sanjiang began introducing his two drinking companions to his grandson: "See that? That's my great-grandson. My great-grandson is handsome and smart, very likable! Don't get him mixed up with that big dummy; that's Shan Pao's boy."

Li Zhuyuan walked to the table, intending to apologize to Great-Grandpa's two drinking companions and then take the clearly intoxicated Great-Grandpa home to rest.

When he had walked over earlier, he thought it was because the light was dim, but the upper bodies—especially the faces—of the two companions were obscured by the darkness.

But now that he was right beside them, he still couldn't see their faces clearly. He only felt that Great-Grandpa's companions seemed quite young; perhaps they were friends of a different generation?

Li Zhuyuan picked up his flashlight and pretended to swing it accidentally, sweeping the light across their faces.

In an instant,

Li Zhuyuan's heart shuddered.

Because one of the people sitting at the table drinking was none other than Brother Bao!

The other person looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him. He only felt that the person was excessively young, perhaps only slightly older than Runsheng.

However, the answer came quickly. As the flashlight beam swept across the two faces, it stopped exactly on the black-and-white memorial photo in the center of the funeral hall.

The funeral being held here today was for him.

And now, he was sitting at the table,

Eating at his own banquet.