Chapter 20

After begging for mercy, the two elderly people gradually settled down.

They were dead.

Their eyes were wide open, the corners of their sockets split, staring straight at the ceiling;

The veins in their necks were bulging, and the blood vessels beneath their skin appeared black;

Their hands and feet were curled beneath them, as if bound by invisible ropes; their final cries were like the wails of those facing execution.

The doctors and nurses entered; they arrived quickly, but they left them no time.

Neither the terrifying amount of blood nor the physical state of the two elderly people made any further resuscitation efforts meaningful.

Next came the task of dispersing the crowd gathered outside the ward and calling the caregivers to clean the room.

The relatives were called to the office for follow-up procedures.

Li Sanjiang saw his great-grandson. He pulled Li Zhuiyuan out in confusion and asked, "Shouldn't you be with your grandfather picking river silt? How did you find your way here?"

Xue Liangliang took out his student ID and handed it over, saying, "Uncle, I'm a student at Haihe University. I was originally working on the river projects. I was bringing a sick classmate to the hospital, and since Xiao Yuan knows the way, I let him lead the way. I've already explained this to Xiao Yuan's grandfather."

"He knows the way?" Li Sanjiang pointed at Li Zhuiyuan while looking at Xue Liangliang. "He hasn't been back to the hometown for long and hasn't even been to the city. What kind of way does he know?"

Xue Liangliang: "Actually, I just like the kid quite a bit, so I thought I'd bring him along for a little outing on my way."

Li Sanjiang took Xue Liangliang's student ID, examined it carefully, and then returned it, seemingly accepting the reason. After all, at present, the prestige of a university student was still quite high.

At that moment, the middle-aged couple from the ward walked out of the doctor's office and came straight toward Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang sighed at them and said, "My condolences."

Li Zhuiyuan guessed that they were likely Yingzi's uncle and aunt.

However, the couple didn't seem to have much reaction to the grief of losing their kin; or rather, they were being pressed by something more urgent. They each grabbed one of Li Sanjiang's hands, speaking in low, agitated voices

"Uncle Sanjiang, please, save me, save me."

"Yes, Uncle, help us, it's truly too terrifying."

Li Sanjiang glanced at Li Zhuiyuan beside him, signaling for them to walk with him to the terrace on each floor before they spoke.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't insist on following. His third aunt was still going through the formalities in the doctor's office, and Yingzi was sitting on a bench, looking lost and distraught.

Having just witnessed such a terrifying scene and experienced the death of relatives, the blow was naturally immense.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down to comfort her, and in the process, he managed to ask about what had happened.

Yingzi's maternal grandparents worked at a private aquaculture farm. Half a month ago, while dredging the enclosure, they unexpectedly unearthed a small coffin.

The coffin was entirely red. It was unknown how long it had been submerged, but it hadn't decayed at all; instead, it had become even more vividly crimson from the soaking.

The elderly couple called the boss over. According to local custom, this small coffin had to be offered incense and burned in ritual before being pushed into the river.

But the boss was from out of town and didn't believe in such things. He called two workers to help him pry the coffin open with tools.

Inside the coffin was the corpse of a young girl, about eight years old, wearing a black cotton jacket and embroidered shoes. She must have been buried in winter. When first opened, she actually looked quite fresh, without a hint of decay.

It almost made everyone think she was someone who had just been buried!

But unexpectedly, within just a few puffs of smoke, the once-supple corpse suddenly turned ashen and grey. The flesh dissolved rapidly, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton wrapped in a black cotton jacket.

The female corpse wore a set of jewelry: a jade hairpin in her hair, a ring on her finger, and a gold ring around her neck.

Besides that, there was a porcelain bottle inside the coffin covered in talismans, along with a piece of black wood carving.

The carving featured a line of large characters

"The corpse suppresses evil spirits; merit aids ascension."

Below it was a line of smaller text and a signature

"Whoever sees these words must not desecrate the remains, nor touch her belongings. Quickly seal the coffin and cast it into the river to avoid great calamity.

— Lady of the Bai Family"

Yingzi's grandparents began begging the boss to quickly seal the coffin as instructed and push it back into the river. But the boss was stubborn, thinking the jewelry in the coffin must be valuable and that the porcelain bottle was likely a treasure. He took everything. As for the coffin and the bones inside, he found a pit near the riverbank and buried them.

Then, the terrifying events began to unfold.

First, the boss mysteriously disappeared. Then, Yingzi's grandparents began having constant nightmares, seeing the young girl coming for revenge. Soon after, both of them fell ill and were admitted to the town clinic, eventually developing tendencies toward self-harm.

That day, while the third aunt had gone home to get food, the two elderly people told Yingzi they wanted to drink water with orange crystals and made her leave them alone. They then secretly ran to the rooftop, intending to jump. Fortunately, the great-grandfather happened to arrive just in time to stop them.

After this incident, the town clinic was unwilling to keep them. After all, if the two elderly people actually committed suicide in the clinic, it would cause massive trouble for the facility. Thus, they had to be transferred to the City People's Hospital.

However, the symptoms of the two elderly people grew increasingly severe. Only through the sedatives administered by doctors and strict supervision by family members were they prevented from continuing their self-destruction.

Yet, who could have known they would end their lives simultaneously in such an inconceivable and terrifying manner?

After listening to Yingzi's story, Li Zhuiyuan asked

"What about the two workers who helped the boss open the coffin?"

"That... I don't know. I never heard them mention it."

"Sister, your Southern Grandpa and Grandma... they were mentally lucid at first, right?"

"Aside from when they were having episodes, they were normal. Just fifteen minutes before they vomited blood, they were still chatting with me, talking about finding a partner for me after I get into university."

At this moment, the third aunt poked her head out from the doctor's office and waved them over

"Yinghou, come help Mom fill out these forms."

"Coming, Mom."

After Yingzi left, Li Zhuiyuan realized that at some point, Xue Liangliang had sat so close that he was intentionally eavesdropping.

Facing Li Zhuiyuan's gaze, Xue Liangliang didn't blush; instead, he said somewhat excitedly, "I caught on. You're intentionally fishing for information."

"I'm comforting my sister."

"Phew... you gave me a scare. You have no idea—when I heard those two elderly people shouting 'Lady of the Bai Family' at the ward door just now, my heart jumped into my throat. I thought it was because I smashed that statue and caused harm, or maybe because I happened to bring Zhao Hequan, who is still a victim, to this hospital today and triggered something. Sigh."

Li Zhuiyuan realized that Xue Liangliang had also noticed the inscription on the base of the statue.

"Brother Liangliang, don't worry. The timing doesn't match, and the ages don't match either."

The coffin was unearthed at the aquaculture farm half a month ago, while Xue Liangliang and Zhao Hequan smashed the statue yesterday. The two events were not linked.

"The age, though... that's uncertain, isn't it?" Xue Liangliang asked doubtfully. "In the past, when communication and transport were inconvenient, the statues might not have been made so precisely. Perhaps the statue we dug up from the river was originally a little girl herself?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "They aren't the same."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Because he had seen that woman. Although her physique and state were similar to the statue—perhaps amplified—there was no way she could be an eight-year-old girl.

"But they are both called 'Lady of the Bai Family'," Xue Liangliang mused. "Could 'Lady of the Bai Family' be a collective title? Like a professional group? For example, members of a certain Taoist sect being collectively called 'Heavenly Master of Mount X'?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and added, "It could also be a surname."

For some reason, the image of the memorial tablets of the Qin and Liu families in the eastern room where Liu Yumei lived flashed through Li Zhuiyuan's mind.

"Are they all surnamed Bai?" Xue Liangliang interlaced his fingers. "It's very possible. 'Lady of the Bai Family,' according to the local dialect, could indeed be understood as 'the woman from the Bai family'—a respectful title born of awe for someone with great abilities."

Li Zhuiyuan gave an affirmative grunt, his eyes turning toward the terrace. His great-grandfather, Yingzi's uncle, and aunt had not yet finished their discussion.

Xue Liangliang reached out and gently nudged Li Zhuiyuan's arm, asking cautiously, "Um, regarding what your sister said... do you have any other thoughts?"

"There are quite a few omissions and fabrications."

"Right, exactly." Xue Liangliang regained his energy. "You really did hear it. The boss disappeared, her grandparents had nightmares and physical abnormalities, but what happened to those two workers who helped the boss pry open the coffin? Why wouldn't they know? Unless..."

"Unless those two workers who helped the boss pry open the coffin *were* those two elderly people."

"Your sister is just an obedient child. What she heard and what she just told you were the words of the adults in her family. Those two elderly people who just passed away... in their story, they beautified and covered up too much.

After all, if it were truly as they said, why would they be begging for mercy before they died? That clearly shows they knew they had done something wrong. Otherwise, they would have cried out that they were being wronged.

So, if you revise the statement, it would likely be that those two elderly people were the ones who fished up the coffin and called the boss over to open it.

In fact, it might have been the boss's coffin, and he didn't intend to pry it open, but was egged on by these two.

At the very least, they were deeply involved in it; they weren't as well-behaved or innocent as they claimed."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang and blinked.

Xue Liangliang waved his hands somewhat shamefully. "I didn't say I was innocent, but regardless, I smashed the statue for the sake of the project progress, not for personal gain. Engineer Luo made that very clear to my 'Lady of the Bai Family'."

"Brother Liangliang, there's actually one more crucial point."

"Xiao Yuan, tell me, what point?"

"If Yingzi can recite the words carved on that plaque, then at the very least, she must have seen a handwritten copy.

But how could those two elderly people, in the short time after the coffin was opened, not only understand the words but also memorize them word-for-word to have them transcribed onto paper?"

"You mean..."

"Yes. The two elderly people must have received some of the items. At the very least, that wood carving was in their house."

After hearing this, Xue Liangliang nodded heavily. He then studied Li Zhuiyuan closely and asked, "Xiao Yuan, are you really just an elementary school student?"

"Actually, I'm a university student by the shores of Weiming Lake."

"Hahaha... *cough cough!*" Xue Liangliang laughed so hard he started coughing. He reached out to pat Li Zhuiyuan's back, encouraging him, "Good! Having that kind of ambition is wonderful!"

Li Zhuiyuan could only smile.

"But, Xiao Yuan, have you ever heard of the Lady of the Bai Family?"

"Brother Liangliang, I've probably spent much less time in Nantong than you have."

"Oh, true. Then I'll go to the city's local history museum to look up some materials and see if there's any record in the local chronicles."

"Brother Liangliang, you're fine now. Why are you so concerned about this? Is it... for your classmate?"

"Uh, shouldn't it be?"

"I thought you disliked him very much."

"It has nothing to do with whether I like him or not. Everyone chooses their own path in life, and I can only follow my own judgment. In the end, who is right and who is wrong can only be proven by history.

Anyway, the doctors should be starting their shift. I'll go get the reports. If there's no problem with them, I won't come looking for you; I'll go straight to the museum to research.

You live in Sinan Siyuan Village, right?"

"Yes."

"Where do you get off the bus? Since your great-grandfather is here, I won't see you home. I'll come find you tonight."

"Get off at the second entrance after Shijia Bridge and walk inward, then ask for Li Sanjiang's house."

"Are you sure people will know it?"

"Yes, my great-grandfather is very famous in the village."

"Alright. If there are no buses tonight, I'll take a taxi."

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, "Brother Liangliang?"

"What is it? Something else?"

"You seem... quite wealthy."

He said he came from a rural area in Anhui, yet his clothing and certain lifestyle habits showed no sign of being constrained.

"Oh, I run two small convenience stores and a stationery shop at school. Additionally, I've gathered a group of classmates to form a team; we take on design projects from professors or outside companies.

Opportunities are much more abundant in big cities and universities, and making money is easier. It was really tough back in my hometown; without those objective conditions. Now, I still send money to my parents every month.

Actually, technically, I could skip these internship classes, but I don't want to give up this kind of frontline training opportunity."

"Brother Liangliang, you're very impressive."

"You too, smart kid." Xue Liangliang lightly bumped his forehead against Li Zhuiyuan's. Seeing Li Sanjiang and the others returning, he stood up and left.

"Great-grandfather."

"Is that university student gone?"

"He went to see his classmate."

"Mm." Li Sanjiang nodded. "Let's go."

"Where are we going, Great-grandfather?"

"To get something."

Yingzi and the third aunt stayed at the hospital to handle the remaining matters. Her uncle, Zhou Hai, and her aunt, Chen Xiaoling, led Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan back home. To save time, they hailed a motorcycle waiting at the hospital entrance.

The rural single-story house was very spacious, with a courtyard facing an artificial river. A short distance south, one could see the river surface.

Upon entering the house, Chen Xiaoling went to pour water, while Zhou Hai took out a cloth bundle and opened it. Inside were a hairpin and a wood carving.

Li Sanjiang picked up the wood carving and frowned slightly at the words on it.

Li Zhuiyuan leaned in and read them aloud.

They were identical to what Yingzi had described.

"Foolish... truly foolish..." Li Sanjiang put the carving down and slapped his thigh. "Life isn't that hard these days; there's no shortage of food or drink. How did they suddenly lose their minds?"

*Thud! Thud!*

Without the restraint of being in the hospital, Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling knelt directly before Li Sanjiang, nearly kowtowing, begging Li Sanjiang to save them.

It turned out they had also begun having that dream.

After witnessing the fate of the elderly couple today, they were terrified to the point of collapse.

"Let's go. First, let's go to the farm and take a look. Do you remember where the bones were buried?"

"We remember, we remember." Zhou Hai nodded immediately. "The two of us dug the pit and buried them ourselves."

"Heh." Li Sanjiang let out a cold laugh.

The farm was not far from the Zhou family home. After leaving the village and walking along the river for fifteen minutes, they arrived.

The facility was small. Aside from the boss, there were only two employees—Zhou Hai's parents.

Therefore, in their initial account, they had not only beautified and covered up their actions from the third aunt and Yingzi but had also withheld the truth from Li Sanjiang.

"Dig," Li Sanjiang said.

"Aren't we waiting until night?" Zhou Hai asked.

It was daytime. Although few people passed by here, there was still a risk of being seen.

Li Sanjiang nodded. "Then I'll go back to the village to sleep and come back tomorrow. You dig the bones out secretly tonight."

"No, no, that won't do, Uncle. I'm afraid, I don't dare."

"So you *do* know fear!" Li Sanjiang almost roared. "If you won't dig in broad daylight, when will you? You're waiting for dark just to look for trouble, aren't you!"

"Alright, alright, we'll dig, we'll dig."

Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling each took a shovel and began to dig.

During this time, Li Sanjiang asked, "That boss disappeared. Did you call the police?"

"No." Zhou Hai answered after tossing a shovel of dirt. "We didn't dare call the police. We were greedy then; we were afraid that if we reported it, we wouldn't be able to hide what happened and the items would have to be turned in."

"What about the boss's family?"

"His hometown is in the south. He came here alone to lease the facility; he didn't bring any family."

Li Sanjiang suddenly asked in a low, eerie voice, "Don't tell me you two killed the boss and swallowed his share?"

Zhou Hai immediately cried out, "Uncle, I'm not the type of person to do something like that!"

Chen Xiaoling immediately nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't dare do something like murder. We wouldn't dare."

"Mm." Li Sanjiang didn't ask anything more. He believed these two weren't quite that extreme. He then stood up and silently prepared his offering table.

Li Zhuiyuan helped on the side.

Soon, the coffin was unearthed.

Li Sanjiang took a glance and felt a sense of relief. The coffin had been buried closed. Upon opening it, the bones inside were still intact and had not been disturbed or desecrated.

This was... a blessing in disguise.

Li Zhuiyuan approached the coffin and looked at the bones inside; it was indeed a young girl.

Li Sanjiang performed the ritual and burned paper offerings.

After completing the process, Li Sanjiang asked, "Where are the other things, especially that bottle?"

"The boss took them."

"Where does he live?"

"He lives right in the facility, in that house. After he disappeared, we went to look for him. Later, when my parents' health failed, we realized it was because of the things in the coffin, so we searched his room, but we couldn't find those things, let alone that bottle."

Li Sanjiang's brow furrowed. According to his original plan, he would return everything, perform a ritual, seal the coffin, and push it into the river, and the matter would be settled.

After all, the requirements on the wood carving were very clear. Now that at least two lives—possibly three—had been lost, blood had been shed, and the resentment should have been vented.

But the prerequisite was that everything must be returned. Or, if jewelry was lost, it could be overlooked, but that bottle covered in talismans absolutely could not be missed.

The words on the carving were written clearly: the corpse was being used to suppress the evil!

Li Zhuiyuan then asked, "Uncle, Aunt, does the boss have any other connections here?"

Li Sanjiang immediately realized and pressed further, "Right, right, right. Are there any other people he knows? I've heard those bosses from the south often keep mistresses."

Chen Xiaoling shook her head. "Never heard of it."

Zhou Hai scratched his head. "I think so. There were two. One was a widow living in Jiuyu Port Town, and the other was a woman in a singing parlor in the city."

"Can they be found?" Li Sanjiang asked.

Zhou Hai shook his head. "I only heard my parents talking about it during meals, but I don't know exactly where those two live, and I can't find them."

Li Sanjiang took out a cigarette pack, pulled out two, and tossed one to Zhou Hai, saying

"Call the police. Let the police find them."

"What?"

"What?"

Both Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling were stunned.

"I said call the police. Report the disappearance and report this matter," Li Sanjiang pointed at the coffin. "Let the police look for them and ask if the items are with those women. I reckon that boss is likely gone as well."

"But we..."

"Uncle, if we call the police..."

"You didn't kill anyone, what are you afraid of! Heh, even if every single item in this coffin is returned and I successfully send this coffin back into the river today, I will still tell you to report this.

It's much better for the authorities to handle this kind of matter, and you will be much safer.

If you are unwilling to call the police, that's up to you, as long as you aren't afraid of ending up like your parents today."

"We'll report it, we'll report it!" Zhou Hai made his decision.

"Mm, alright. Move the coffin and the offering table into the house first. Before the authorities take over, do not let the candles go out, and do not let the paper ash die down. Make amends as much as you can.

Assign the tasks among yourselves."

"Understood, Uncle. Xiaoling, you go report it. I'll stay here and watch the offering table."

"Mm, okay."

Next, Li Sanjiang took Li Zhuiyuan and sat on the doorstep, smoking continuously.

"Great-grandfather, aren't we going home?" Li Zhuiyuan asked.

Li Sanjiang pointed to the house behind them. "If I leave now, Zhou Hai will be alone with that coffin. I'm afraid he'll pee himself from fright."

After a pause, Li Sanjiang continued, "Last night, I had a dream too."

"Huh?" Li Zhuiyuan finally realized the gravity of the situation. "Great-grandfather, you had a dream too?"

"I dreamed I was on the rooftop of the town clinic. That little girl was standing in front of me, asking me why I was helping them, and by what right I was helping them. She also told me that since I had interfered, I should die along with them."

Li Sanjiang took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled slowly through his nose

"Damn it, even I was terrified by today's scene."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded understandingly; today's scene was indeed terrifying.

Moreover, he felt that although the Lady of the Bai Family unearthed from the river might come from the same lineage as this young girl, their temperaments were clearly different.

The Lady of the Bai Family from the river could listen to apologies, accept offerings, and listen to Engineer Luo's nagging.

One could say she was quite reasonable.

But the Lady of the Bai Family here was far more ruthless, killing people as easily as drinking water.

"Actually, what does it have to do with me? She's blaming me for coming to the clinic and saving those two old people, but I couldn't just stand by and watch them die, could I?

Forget it. I haven't been involved too deeply. Once the police arrive, I'll give a statement. By soaking in the aura of the authorities, she probably won't touch me again."

Li Zhuiyuan understood; so that was his great-grandfather's plan.

It was no wonder that the previous encounters, whether with the Little Oriole or the Cat-faced Old Lady, had been within controllable limits. They were nowhere near as fierce as this Lady of the Bai Family; even his great-grandfather couldn't handle her.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly frowned. He remembered the contents of the *Chronicles of Strange Tales in the Jianghu* and found a case very similar to this Lady of the Bai Family.

That was a practitioner of the Mysterious Gate using their own body as a vessel, self-sealing and nourishing themselves to seek another way of achieving immortality through dissolution.

Such a "dead corpse" possesses some of the magical powers and divine abilities they had in life. Although they aren't as domineering and terrifying as a "General Corpse," they are the most difficult to deal with because they understand the methods living people use to combat them.

Recalling the line on the carving: *The corpse suppresses evil spirits; merit aids ascension.*

It all clicked perfectly. Even if she had no physical form, she was still a "dead corpse," and a formless one... was even harder to deal with.

Li Zhuiyuan felt his great-grandfather was doing the right thing; calling the police was best.

The police arrived, and many of them. Because of this incident, there were officially two deaths and one disappearance. Although the cause of death for the two elderly people was not homicide, the situation had changed.

The police controlled the scene, and Zhou Hai was temporarily detained as a suspect.

Li Zhuiyuan followed his great-grandfather to the police station to give a statement. By the time they finished, it was dusk.

Li Sanjiang even went so far as to hug the doors of the police station, as if worried it wasn't enough and wanting to soak up more of the "official aura." He even kissed the police station sign.

This behavior startled the people in the guardhouse.

But seeing that the old man wasn't there to cause trouble, they could only open the window and ask

"Old comrade, what are you doing?"

While continuing to kiss the sign, Li Sanjiang shouted back

"Expressing my respect and love!"

After doing all this, Li Sanjiang couldn't be bothered to go back to the hospital to find Yingzi and her mother, and he declined Chen Xiaoling's invitation to stay at their house tonight.

Right now, Li Sanjiang only wanted to go home.

Taking a taxi back was too expensive; at this hour, taxi drivers were unwilling to drive into the countryside unless paid extra.

Li Sanjiang stood by the road and flagged down tractors, asking where they were headed.

Li Zhuiyuan had thought such a gamble was like looking for a needle in a haystack and was about to sit down and wait, but unexpectedly, the second tractor his great-grandfather flagged down was delivering stone blocks to Shigang Town.

This was perfect; it was incredibly convenient.

His great-grandfather gave the driver a cigarette and motioned for Xiao Yuan to hop on.

The tractor went *da-da-da* along the road. Li Zhuiyuan and his great-grandfather sat in the back, feeling the evening breeze.

As they passed through the city, they witnessed the urban bustle.

Midway, Li Sanjiang took a short nap. When he woke up, he was very happy and said to Li Zhuiyuan

"Xiao Yuan, your great-grandfather just had another hazy dream. I saw that little girl again, but she was blurry and indistinct. She was speaking, but I couldn't hear her clearly.

It seems she is moving further away from me. Your great-grandfather is almost out of the woods. Tonight when we get back, I'll burn some more incense and worship all the Bodhisattvas in the house to completely sever ties with her."

"Great-grandfather, you're amazing."

Li Zhuiyuan had once doubted Li Sanjiang's abilities, but after the Cat-faced Old Lady's remark that "your great-grandfather has already lent a hand," his doubts had vanished.

Moreover, no matter what happened, his great-grandfather always seemed to have a way, and those ways always worked.

"Amazing my foot. If it weren't for your grandfather Hanhou's sake, I wouldn't have run all the way here. I'm even embarrassed to take this money, and I've even put myself in danger for nothing.

What a loss. A total loss."

"Next time, tell my grandfather not to..."

"Don't. It's not like we encounter such unlucky and dangerous things every time. I'm a man who makes a living from this, but I can't have meat at every meal; occasionally, I'll still chip a tooth on a stone in the rice.

Sigh, I was thinking of continuing to bring you good luck after we returned this time, but now I don't dare. She hasn't left completely, and I don't want to implicate you."

As he spoke, Li Sanjiang tapped the metal sheet behind him and called out to the tractor driver

"Brother, find a small restaurant up ahead. Can I treat you to a few drinks?"

"How could I accept that?"

"Hah, why be so polite? Find a place to stop up ahead, eat, and then we'll go."

"Alright then."

The tractor stopped in front of a small restaurant. After getting off and going inside, Li Sanjiang first ordered a jin of yellow wine, two cold dishes, and two hot dishes, and also ordered a separate portion of egg fried rice for Li Zhuiyuan.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished his meal, he sat aside waiting, while his great-grandfather and the driver chatted enthusiastically.

Li Sanjiang ordered another jin of heated wine and also got a can of Jianlibao for Li Zhuiyuan.

*Pop!*

The sound of the gas escaping as it opened.

Li Zhuiyuan took a sip, and Li Sanjiang asked, "Is it good?"

"Yes, it's good."

"Then shall we buy a case to take back later?"

The driver laughed, "Brother, you really spoil the kid."

In this day and age, for drinks like lemon acid in glass bottles, the bottles had to be recycled. Ordinary people could afford them, but canned drinks were still considered too expensive by most parents.

"Heh." Li Sanjiang patted Li Zhuiyuan's head. "Isn't making money for the kids? Am I supposed to take it with me into a coffin later?"

He didn't tell the driver that this was his clan's great-grandson.

"That's true. My grandson is in high school. I have to keep driving to earn his university tuition. As long as he can get in, we'll grit our teeth and support him no matter what."

"Sigh." Li Sanjiang sighed helplessly and patted the back of Li Zhuiyuan's head. "It's a pity. My grandson is smart, he just doesn't like putting his mind to his studies."

Li Zhuiyuan silently took another sip of soda.

It wasn't until nearly eight in the evening that the dinner crowd dispersed. There were no breathalyzer tests these days; the driver, with a bright red face, took the crank, inserted it into the tractor engine, and turned it rapidly. The tractor restarted.

"Come, get on, let's go home!"

Sitting back on the vehicle for the journey home, Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the starry sky, wondering if Xue Liangliang had reached Siyuan Village yet.

He felt he should ask more about that statue from the river. Since the thing in the coffin at Jiuyu Port was a "dead corpse," what if that statue... was also one?

After all, although that river channel was being excavated now, it seemed it had been a waterway in the past.

Li Zhuiyuan had a vague feeling that this Bai family specialized in such matters.

...

While Li Zhuiyuan was not home, Qin Li returned to her usual spot, sitting on the bench inside the doorway, her feet resting on the threshold, staring straight ahead.

Beside her, Liu Yumei was spreading out a piece of paper, using a brush to draw clothing patterns.

She drew very well, very vividly. Although it looked unprofessional by modern garment manufacturing standards, the old seamstresses in the small workshops could understand it.

Her granddaughter was still at the age of growing, so clothes had to be replaced every season. The thing that made Liu Yumei happiest was dressing her granddaughter up beautifully every morning, so that her own mood could remain beautiful all day.

At that moment, Liu Yumei noticed Qin Li's head move behind her, looking toward the path through the wheat field.

Liu Yumei put down her brush and stood up straight.

She saw a young man in a blue shirt, holding a stack of scrolls, walking onto the courtyard.

After watching him for a moment, Qin Li withdrew her gaze and continued to stare straight ahead.

It seemed this young man was "dirty," but not obviously so.

"Excuse me, is this Li Sanjiang's house?" Xue Liangliang asked.

"Yes, it is. He's not home right now, and I don't know if he'll be back tonight. Are you looking for him?"

"I'm looking for Xiao Yuan, Li Zhuiyuan. Does he live here too?"

Hearing Li Zhuiyuan's name, Qin Li's gaze turned toward him once more.

"He's not home either," Liu Yumei answered.

"He should be back tonight. I'll wait for him. Um, excuse me, where is the restroom? I need to use it."

"Behind the house."

"Okay, thank you."

Xue Liangliang placed the scrolls in his hands on the table and then jogged toward the restroom.

These scrolls were all borrowed from the local history museum; currently, these items were not being kept under strict supervision.

Liu Yumei casually flipped through a scroll. After seeing a passage marked with a bookmark, her brow furrowed, her gaze tightened, and she murmured

"The Bai family?"

Immediately, she closed the scroll and picked up her brush to continue drawing patterns. But as she drew, she felt unsettled. She stopped again, recalling that the young man said he was looking for Xiao Yuan, and muttered to herself

"This Xiao Yuan, how could he be connected to the Bai family?"

As luck would have it, the sound of a tractor came from the distance.

The driver didn't drop him off at the village entrance but drove directly in, delivering him to the doorstep.

After parting, Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan onto the courtyard.

Just then, Xue Liangliang returned from the restroom.

"Eh? Why have you come to our house?" Li Sanjiang was very surprised.

"Grandpa, Brother Liangliang came to tutor me."

"Oh, good, that's good. Then let him sleep in your room tonight. Young man, have you eaten?"

"I have, I have," Xue Liangliang answered quickly.

"Alright then."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Qin Li. Qin Li stood up, reached out, and took Li Zhuiyuan's hand.

Immediately, her eyelashes began to flutter, and her body began to tremble slightly.

Li Zhuiyuan was surprised. Why was she... even after holding her hand...

"A-Li, let go!"

Liu Yumei's stern voice came. Seeing that A-Li wouldn't listen to her, she could only shout to Li Zhuiyuan

"Xiao Yuan, let go!"

Li Zhuiyuan pulled his hand away.

A-Li made a move to step forward, wanting to continue holding Li Zhuiyuan.

"Xiao Yuan, say goodnight to A-Li. I'm going to take her to rest."

"Okay, Grandma Liu." Li Zhuiyuan looked at A-Li. "It's too late, time to rest. We'll read together again tomorrow morning. Goodnight."

Xue Liangliang picked up the scrolls and pulled Li Zhuiyuan's hand, saying, "Come, let's go to your room to talk. I found something incredible."

Watching Li Zhuiyuan's retreating figure, Qin Li slowly lowered her raised hand.

Liu Yumei sighed and coaxed her granddaughter

"Be good, he's fine now. He's even better than that young man."

...

"Whoa, what kind of books are all these on your desk?"

As soon as he entered, Xue Liangliang saw several stacks of ancient books on Li Zhuiyuan's desk.

"It's my hobby."

"For real?" Xue Liangliang flipped through the pages. "Xiao Yuan, if you have this hobby, you could take liberal arts in the future, maybe go into archaeology."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "I don't want to."

He didn't want to be a fellow alumnus of his mother.

"Then what major do you want to take? Don't tell me you're like me, choosing water conservancy and going to Haihe University?"

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment and said, "It's not impossible."

It was related to water.

This university seemed to align with his interests.

"Then you'd better study hard. Haihe University is not easy to get into."

"Mm."

It indeed wasn't easy; the old professors probably wouldn't be willing to let him transfer.

"Come, look at what I found. I didn't know until I looked, but this is quite a shock." Xue Liangliang spread out the scrolls. "This Bai family is indeed a surname. Local chronicles from the Ming and Qing dynasties have recorded many deeds of the Bai family members, all related to exorcising monsters and suppressing chaos. But it's always the 'Lady of the Bai Family,' never a 'Grandpa of the Bai Family'."

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Is it only passed down through women?"

"I suspect so. It's likely a family that only passes lineage through daughters and then takes in sons-in-law. However, this kind of custom is quite rare in this area."

As Li Zhuiyuan looked through the scrolls, he said, "Brother Liangliang, keep going."

"The Bai family's area of activity shouldn't be limited to the current Nantong area. I suspect there are traces of them appearing throughout northern Jiangsu. But one thing is certain: the ancestral home of the Bai family is in Nantong.

Look at this passage here. It records a place called Baijia Town, which should be the ancestral home. Its approximate location is west of Donghai Yingzhou."

"Donghai Yingzhou?"

"Chongming Island."

"Oh, so is this Baijia Town in Shanghai or Nantong?"

Chongming Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, serving as the gateway to the river. Most of the island belongs to Shanghai, while a part belongs to Nantong.

Xue Liangliang said hesitantly, "The location description here is very strange. It seems someone specifically researched it, but there might have been an error when it was written down. I followed the directions recorded and actually looked it up on an old map, and I found... I found that it should be in the river."

"In the river?"

"Yes, it should be in the Yangtze River now."

"That... the record must be wrong, right?"

"But this is the only place I've found that records the address of Baijia Town.

And next, I discovered something very strange.

After the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty, no further records of the Lady of the Bai Family ever appeared in the local chronicles.

The Bai family,

The Bai people,

Baijia Town,

In the historical records, it's as if they...

Vanished overnight."