Chapter 24

Shijiaqiao was right by the road. For safety, Li Zhuyuan stood by the roadside under the bridge, glancing south every now and then to see if the car had arrived, then looking back at Uncle Qin standing beside him.

Seeing Li Zhuyuan's gaze constantly falling on him, Uncle Qin lowered his head and asked, "Is there something you want to ask?"

"Uncle, was the movie good tonight?"

"Mm, it was good. A pity you and Ali sat too far to the side; you probably couldn't see very clearly."

"I saw it clearly, and it was good."

Then, Li Zhuyuan fell silent and stopped looking at the person beside him.

Uncle Qin straightened his posture. He had originally thought the boy would ask questions regarding "that" aspect, but he didn't.

This child seemed to always know his place, which made it easy for people to feel a sense of goodwill toward him.

However, upon closer reflection, it seemed that whenever a critical moment arrived, he would break those boundaries of propriety without hesitation—just like last time and this time.

A black sedan slowed down as it approached the bridge. The window rolled down, and a woman with permed waves leaned her head out from inside.

"Hello, are you Li Zhuyuan?"

"Yes."

"Engineer Luo sent me to pick you up. Get in."

The car turned around and came to a stop.

Li Zhuyuan and Uncle Qin got into the car, both sitting in the back seat.

To save time, the car drove very fast. Consequently, to avoid bicycles and tricycles without headlights, the driver occasionally had to swerve sharply or slam on the brakes.

After sitting for a while, Li Zhuyuan felt he couldn't take it anymore; he was carsick.

Because the situation was urgent, he felt too embarrassed to ask the driver to slow down. He could only reach for the small handle on the door beside him, hoping to roll the window down a bit to let some air in.

He cranked and cranked, but the window didn't move. After a few more tries, the small handle snapped right off the door in his hand.

Li Zhuyuan could only try to fit the handle back on, leaning against the seat in frustration.

At that moment, Uncle Qin leaned over, reached out, and pressed his palm against the window.

With a piercing screeching sound, the window was forcibly pulled down.

Fresh air rushed in, and Li Zhuyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He was still a bit worried that the driver might get angry, but the driver seemed focused on the road and hadn't noticed the change in the back.

Li Zhuyuan tried turning the handle in the opposite direction and found he could roll the window back up, which finally put his mind at ease.

After helping open the window, Uncle Qin closed his eyes, appearing to be resting or perhaps asleep.

Li Zhuyuan also tilted his body slightly, resting his head against the seat back, hoping to catch a nap.

But for some reason, the car vibrated with an extraordinary tremor while driving. Especially in this position, with his ear pressed against the seat, he could actually hear the constant, rushing sound of the wind.

At first, Li Zhuyuan thought it was because the window was open and the airflow was rushing in, so he rolled the window up a bit more, leaving only a small crack.

But when he sat back in the same position, the sound of the wind in his ear didn't change at all.

Li Zhuyuan couldn't help but wonder: *Why is this Japanese car as thin as paper?*

Curiously, he reached out and pressed against the back of the seat. Then, he pressed into a hollow spot that didn't spring back.

Li Zhuyuan silently sat upright. *I guess I won't sleep then. I'll just endure it until the hospital.*

He looked out the window. The township roads currently had no streetlights, so it was pitch black outside with nothing to see, but every time they passed through a town, he could see shops and slightly denser crowds.

It was just that... the lights in those shops were so piercing.

In a trance, it felt as if the light wasn't shining into the car through the window, but rather that the entire car itself was glowing.

But this wasn't the city center, and the nighttime shops in the town didn't have dense neon lights.

The car left the township area and entered the urban district. The road conditions improved, but the traffic increased.

The drivers here seemed to have no sense of rules; lane cutters and those changing lanes without signaling were everywhere, making the driver honk his horn incessantly while muttering curses.

Listening to the authentic Nantong dialect, Li Zhuyuan felt that even his grandfather, Li Weihan, didn't speak the dialect as authentically as this man.

After an arduous journey, the building of the People's Hospital finally came into view.

It was then that Li Zhuyuan noticed the driver was staring at him and Uncle Qin through the rearview mirror. Upon realizing they were looking back, the two began to lock eyes through the mirror.

This confused Li Zhuyuan, because the driver's gaze never seemed to return to the road ahead.

And through the windshield, Li Zhuyuan could see that the car they were in had entered the wrong lane, and a truck was driving straight toward them.

"Watch out for the car!" Li Zhuyuan shouted.

But the driver still didn't move his eyes from the rearview mirror. Not only did he not brake, he actually accelerated.

At this rate, they were about to collide head-on with the truck.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes. He lifted his feet and stomped downward.

*Bang!*

Li Zhuyuan's eyes widened. He saw Uncle Qin's feet stomp right through the floor of the car!

Immediately after, Uncle Qin reached out and grabbed the boy by the neck. Li Zhuyuan felt himself being lifted up.

It was a strange sensation; you were sitting in a car, but when you were lifted, you seemed to be physically detached from the vehicle's motion. What followed defied all physical common sense.

*Rumble...*

The car seats, the rear windshield, and the trunk all crashed past his body.

He felt the impact, and it hurt a little, but it wasn't severe.

In the next instant, Li Zhuyuan found himself being held by Uncle Qin on the road. The car that had just passed by was the sedan, its rear seat pierced through with a hole.

The sedan drove forward with unstoppable momentum, crashing into the truck.

The expected sound of impact never came. Most of the sedan simply disintegrated, and the remaining parts were crushed by the truck.

Everywhere around them, bamboo strips, wooden slats, and scattered colored paper flew through the air.

The car... was actually made of paper!

Uncle Qin stepped aside, bringing Li Zhuyuan up onto the sidewalk. As the truck drove past them, they could see the driver in the cab rubbing his eyes vigorously, repeatedly checking his rearview mirror.

He also seemed to feel that he had hit something, wondering if he was experiencing hallucinations due to fatigue.

Uncle Qin set Li Zhuyuan down. Li Zhuyuan took a deep breath and asked, "Uncle, what kind of car were we just in?"

"One you've seen before. There's one on the first floor of our house."

"But..." Li Zhuyuan looked around, then looked back at the hospital building ahead, "Have we really arrived at the People's Hospital?"

"We have."

Li Zhuyuan instinctively reached out to touch Uncle Qin's arm. He couldn't tell if the Uncle before him was real or fake; he just hoped Uncle Qin wasn't "playing a trick" again.

Uncle Qin pointed ahead. "The hospital entrance is right there. Aren't we going in?"

"But, have we really arrived?" Li Zhuyuan still didn't understand.

"Otherwise?"

"How did we do it?"

Li Zhuyuan frowned. He could understand paper figures turning into living people, and he could understand the various absurdities of dreams; he could even understand that he had actually experienced riding a paper car.

But what he couldn't understand was how he had actually ridden a paper car from Siyuan Village all the way to the city!

Uncle Qin patted Li Zhuyuan's shoulder gently and said, "She carried us here."

"Huh?"

Uncle Qin didn't seem inclined to explain further. "Let's go in. If you dawdle any longer, your 'big friend' might die."

"Oh, right."

Li Zhuyuan pulled himself together and walked into the hospital with Uncle Qin. At this hour, they should go to the emergency department first to ask.

But on the steps below the building, Li Zhuyuan saw the female driver from before—the exact same clothes and the same permed waves.

The woman was holding what looked like documents or test results, looking anxious and occasionally pulling aside passing medical staff to ask questions.

Most importantly, she didn't seem to recognize them at all. Even though they were so close to her, she had no reaction.

"Uncle, is she alive?"

"Mm."

Li Zhuyuan stepped forward and asked, "Ma'am, I want to ask where Xue Liangliang is?"

"Little boy, who are you?"

"My name is Li Zhuyuan. Director Luo sent me."

"Director Luo... the car I arranged only just left. Did you come here on your own?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, I'll take you upstairs first."

The woman led Li Zhuyuan and Uncle Qin upstairs. Through brief communication, Li Zhuyuan learned that although Xue Liangliang had just finished emergency resuscitation, his condition was very poor; there was a risk of failure in all his vital organs.

In the ward, Luo Tingrui was standing by Xue Liangliang's bed, looking at him with an anxious expression.

He truly didn't understand why a mere stumble from a swaying boat and falling into the water—despite being rescued immediately—would lead to this situation.

At this moment, Xue Liangliang's face was pale, and he was still talking nonsense

"No, no, no, I don't want to stay here. I won't be a live-in son-in-law. I won't be a live-in son-in-law."

Luo Tingrui adjusted his glasses. He didn't understand why Liangliang would talk in his sleep like that.

He hadn't even introduced his daughter to him yet, and the boy had no interest in being a live-in son-in-law. So, whose family was forcing him?

But who could possibly force him?

Luo Tingrui knew about Xue Liangliang's situation at school. The kid was quite good at making money, and he had no intention of staying at the school or in the local area, nor did he plan to join a stable government institution. He was wholeheartedly preparing to go to the Great Southwest to participate in construction after graduation.

To be honest, with the status of an outstanding graduate from Haihe University, combined with the current job conditions and environment in the Southwest, anyone would be overjoyed to go there; there would be no need to use connections or "back doors."

But as for the current delirium—while he didn't understand it, he could at least understand the words. The nonsense Xue Liangliang had said earlier was

"Don't lock me up, don't hit me, don't choke me. It hurts so much, it hurts so much. Please, let me go, stop torturing me..."

At that time, Luo Tingrui had even begun to suspect whether Xue Liangliang had experienced some kind of inhumane torture in his childhood that had left him with trauma.

The ward door opened, and Li Zhuyuan entered with Uncle Qin. Luo Tingrui nodded to Li Zhuyuan, but his gaze focused on Uncle Qin.

It was normal to ignore a child; in his mind, he was guessing that the man who could help must be this middle-aged man.

The doctors had already stated they had done their best. Although he was currently hooked up to monitoring equipment, they could only continue to observe passively. If his vital signs deteriorated further, the outcome would be irreversible.

Luo Tingrui was not a narrow-minded person. Recalling Zhao Hequan, who was currently lying in the hospital, and the events that had transpired with Xue Liangliang, he had reason to suspect that the matter involving that divine statue was not yet over.

"You go out first."

"Yes, Director." The woman was dismissed from the ward by Luo Tingrui.

Immediately after, Luo Tingrui pointed to himself and asked, "Do I need to go out?"

Uncle Qin didn't answer. Instead, he walked straight to the other side of the bed and placed his hand on Xue Liangliang's forehead, rubbing it gently.

Soon, cold sweat broke out on Xue Liangliang's face, and it was a large amount, quickly soaking the pillow.

Luo Tingrui picked up a towel, intending to help wipe it, but as soon as he wiped, he felt the sweat was unexpectedly greasy, like lubricant used in a workshop.

How could human sweat be like this?

At that moment, Uncle Qin clenched his fist and punched down toward Xue Liangliang's abdomen.

"No!" Luo Tingrui didn't have time to stop him.

*Bang!*

Li Zhuyuan noticed that Uncle Qin's fist didn't actually land on Xue Liangliang; it stopped short. Yet, the quilt on Xue Liangliang's body still dented inward rapidly.

A piercing scream instantly echoed through the entire ward.

Li Zhuyuan immediately covered his ears, but it was useless. His eardrums hurt so much they felt as if they were about to be pierced; his entire brain felt as if it were being repeatedly struck by an iron hammer.

Luo Tingrui only faintly heard a strange sound, then looked at Uncle Qin in confusion. Finally, he looked at the boy who was curled up tightly in the corner, wondering what was wrong with him.

And Uncle Qin's gaze shifted toward Li Zhuyuan.

A look of surprise flashed in Uncle Qin's eyes, because he hadn't expected Xiaoyuan's perception in this regard to be so acute.

The words Liu Yumei had once told him echoed in his mind: *Only teach him martial arts.*

Uncle Qin swallowed hard.

*For a child like this, should I really only teach him martial arts?*

On Xue Liangliang's side, after being "sweated out" and receiving a "phantom punch," although he hadn't woken up, he looked much more relaxed.

Only then did Luo Tingrui feel relieved, closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh.

"Ah..."

The screaming finally stopped, but Li Zhuyuan still felt a "buzzing" in his head.

He was about to use the wall to push himself up, but as soon as he lifted his head, he saw a pair of red embroidered shoes in the southwest corner of the ward. Above the shoes was a segment of a pale-blue ankle, and above that, the hem of a red skirt.

Above that, Li Zhuyuan didn't know, because he didn't dare to keep looking.

He had seen several "dead-turned" beings, but none had given him such intense alertness and pressure.

She was not an object he could observe, not even through secret glances. If he continued to look at her, something terrible would immediately happen to him.

The *Chronicles of Jianghu Wonders* recorded some powerful "dead-turned" beings, using a description like this... *to see her is to perish.*

The text used "perish" rather than "die," but sometimes "perishing" was more terrifying than death. With such an existence, even a mere visual connection would cause disaster to descend upon him instantly.

Uncle Qin noticed that Li Zhuyuan, who was crouching on the floor, had changed the direction he was facing.

He looked in the direction Li Zhuyuan had been facing previously, then looked back at Li Zhuyuan. His mouth felt dry.

It wasn't because of the figure currently standing in the corner of the ward.

It was because...

*Xiaoyuan, you can actually see her too?*

He knew Ali could see, but what was the point of Ali seeing?

She was completely enclosed in her own world, almost entirely isolated from the outside.

But this little boy could talk, act, and move about with such vitality!

Li Zhuyuan heard footsteps. It was Uncle Qin, moving from the bedside to the corner behind him.

Uncle Qin was going to find that woman.

That was indeed the case. In Luo Tingrui's sight, he saw the middle-aged man walk to the corner and stand there silently, as if facing a wall in reflection.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand. Of course, he also knew that if he could understand such things, he wouldn't be in his current department.

And Xue Liangliang, whose condition had improved, began to talk in his sleep again

"I won't live here, I don't want to stay here. I still have a career to build, I still have dreams to realize. You can't leave me here. I don't agree, I absolutely do not agree!"

Luo Tingrui was somewhat puzzled. Was it because Xue Liangliang's condition had improved that his voice sounded more confident and forceful?

Li Zhuyuan, with his back to Uncle Qin, stood up and slowly shuffled to the bedside to look at Xue Liangliang.

He hadn't heard the first two segments of the delirium, so he only heard this part. Lacking key information, he was also in a fog.

However, his own situation was also distorted; on one hand, he felt it was very dangerous, but on the other, he felt a sense of security because Uncle Qin was there.

Luo Tingrui pointed toward Uncle Qin in the corner, but Li Zhuyuan shook his head at him. Luo Tingrui understood and stood still.

Xue Liangliang stopped talking in his sleep, so the ward fell into a long, eerie silence.

Finally, Uncle Qin broke the atmosphere.

He walked back to the bedside and, in front of Li Zhuyuan and Luo Tingrui, took off his undershirt and threw it onto the IV stand.

Then, Uncle Qin began to drag his index fingers across his arms, shoulders, and chest.

With every stroke, a bruise of varying length and depth appeared.

Any such mark would make an ordinary person scream in pain, but Uncle Qin acted as if he were merely applying paint to himself.

His expression was very calm, as if he were performing the simplest, most normal task.

Luo Tingrui didn't understand what the man was doing. Li Zhuyuan, upon noticing that the bruises on the left and right sides of Uncle Qin's body were symmetrical, understood: Uncle Qin was drawing a talisman.

Using his fingers as a brush and his body as paper, the "paint" was the new wounds he was creating.

After finishing, Uncle Qin walked to the ward door and opened it.

He looked once more toward the corner where he had been standing.

He spoke

"I know what the Matriarch meant by sending me today. She wants me to tell the Bai family: The Qin family is not yet extinct!"

As he finished, Uncle Qin pressed his right thumb to the center of his forehead. When he moved it away, it left a bloody streak, signifying the completion of the talisman's final stroke.

Suddenly, a wind rose in the ward.

The wind wasn't strong, it was very slight, but it was cold. Li Zhuyuan couldn't help but shiver, and Luo Tingrui did the same, crossing his arms.

This wind didn't just rise in this ward; it rose on the entire floor, and even several floors above and below, all converging here.

Li Zhuyuan saw vaguely that many shadows seemed to follow the wind, merging into Uncle Qin's body, including a red shadow from this very ward.

Was he... taking all those dirty things into his own body?

Uncle Qin stood still for a long while before taking a step back to the bedside, reaching out to retrieve his undershirt and putting it back on.

Li Zhuyuan noticed that at first, Uncle Qin's steps were somewhat stiff, and even his facial expression seemed dull, but after putting his clothes back on, he seemed to have recovered... or perhaps he had just adapted.

And the lights in the ward seemed to have become much brighter and clearer. In fact, it wasn't just here; a large portion of the building had become much more vivid.

Actually, sometimes hospital lights at night can seem dim and misty, not because of the lighting itself, but because places like hospitals tend to have "more things" in them.

And the earlier appearance of the female driver and the paper car meant that the terrifying "dirty thing" had long since covered this ward; even Luo Tingrui's actions were within its sight.

Uncle Qin looked at Luo Tingrui. "I need to go somewhere. I need a car."

Luo Tingrui: "The car I sent to pick you up should still be downstairs in the hospital."

"Director Luo, that car isn't there," Li Zhuyuan said.

"Then how did you get here so fast?"

Li Zhuyuan: "We came by human-powered tricycle."

"Then... I'll arrange a motorcycle. Do you... know how to ride one?" Luo Tingrui looked at Uncle Qin.

Uncle Qin nodded. "I do."

"Alright, I'll have someone arrange it immediately." Luo Tingrui led Uncle Qin out of the ward, called for the female staff member, gave instructions, and signaled for Uncle Qin to follow her down to get the vehicle.

As they left, Li Zhuyuan, remaining in the ward, heard Xue Liangliang's delirium

"No, I won't marry you. There is no love between us. This is our first meeting. I am not that casual about marriage. Stop dreaming!"

Li Zhuyuan couldn't help but wonder if Brother Liangliang was acting out a Qiong Yao drama in his dream.

Currently, the craze for Qiong Yao dramas was widespread, and college students were part of the audience; Li Zhuyuan often saw students on campus discussing dramas or holding novels.

At that moment, Uncle Qin walked back to the ward door. "Xiaoyuan, let's go."

"Coming, Uncle."

Li Zhuyuan followed Uncle Qin downstairs and got the motorcycle. After starting it, he turned the handle, and the engine roared.

Uncle Qin drove very fast, weaving through the urban area before heading toward the outskirts.

Li Zhuyuan sat in the back. Since there was no helmet, to avoid the wind, he could only press his face against Uncle Qin's back, his hands gripping Uncle Qin's waist.

He felt a sense of wonder. This was the same Uncle Qin who had been farming in the fields this afternoon and had just stared down the woman in red in the ward, yet now he was speeding on a motorcycle.

Li Zhuyuan felt the madness of this world.

Meanwhile, in the hospital ward, Luo Tingrui heard Xue Liangliang's delirium once more

"No, coming back once a month is impossible. My future job won't allow me to leave the construction site. That is the culmination of so many people's hard work; I cannot be that irresponsible.

Six months won't work either. Future major projects won't have such short construction periods, and not even a tiny error can be allowed.

My future is not in Nantong, nor in Jiangsu. I am going to the Great Southwest. That is my dream, my future.

So, stop dreaming. Truly, I won't marry you, and don't think you can bind me here."

Luo Tingrui took off his glasses, breathed on the lenses, and wiped them with his clothes.

He felt moved, sad, and a little amused all at once: *That brat, even in this state, he's still thinking about building the Great Southwest in his dreams.*

Putting his glasses back on, Luo Tingrui sighed.

Middle-aged people are habitually dismissive of the idealism of the young, viewing it as immaturity, yet they rarely reflect on whether they are the ones who have lost their way.

"Liangliang, if you can recover this time, I will personally take you to the Southwest."

...

The car reached the riverside. Li Zhuyuan got off, and after Uncle Qin propped the bike up, he clapped his hands, his gaze toward the river filled with complex emotions.

Li Zhuyuan remembered Liu Yumei once saying that her ancestral home was on the river.

Throughout history, great rivers have always been the cradles of civilization.

The sands on both banks were accumulated by countless joys and sorrows, and held untold stories and mysteries that had settled at the bottom of the river over the years.

It seemed like the place Brother Liangliang mentioned—the one the local chronicles got wrong about Baijia Town... Li Zhuyuan faced the direction of Chongming Island and roughly estimated the position and distance.

A suspicion gradually rose in his heart

*Could Baijia Town really be right there, at the bottom of the river?*

Uncle Qin began to undress. Unlike in the hospital where he only removed his undershirt, this time he stripped completely, folding his clothes neatly on the shore and weighing them down with a pebble.

Next, Uncle Qin first rolled his neck, then placed both hands under his ears and tore downward with force.

Li Zhuyuan heard the sound of flesh tearing. Looking closely, he saw five long wounds appearing under both of Uncle Qin's ears.

As these wounds bled, they also continuously opened and closed.

Like... bloody gills.

Immediately after, Uncle Qin began to stretch his body. With every movement, there was a crisp cracking of joints, accompanied by the tearing of certain tissues.

Soon, many dense, stretch-mark-like lines appeared on Uncle Qin's body.

However, they weren't on his abdomen, but were evenly distributed across his arms and legs.

After finishing the stretching, Uncle Qin stopped and stood in place, adjusting his breathing. The bloody wounds under his ears opened and closed in rhythm with his breath.

Li Zhuyuan felt that Uncle Qin was different now; his physique had undergone a significant change.

"Xiaoyuan."

"Mm."

"Watch something good from the shore."

"Okay, Uncle."

Uncle Qin nodded, then bent down. Under the moonlight, he began to run.

He didn't run very fast, but his movements were extremely coordinated. He ran to the water's edge, leaped, and plunged into the river, vanishing instantly.

Like a fish returning to the water.

Li Zhuyuan looked at the now-calm river surface, then at the clothes Uncle Qin had left on the shore.

He raised his hand and lightly tapped his forehead. Only after the event happened did he truly react

"He really... just went down like that?"

Li Zhuyuan had been standing at first, but after a while, his legs felt sore, so he sat down.

Time passed continuously. Uncle Qin had been down for a long time, and there was no movement on the river, not even a single unusual bubble.

But all he could do now was wait.

Li Zhuyuan yawned. He looked toward the horizon; the night was like a piece of clothing that had been washed many times—the original dark color was thinning, and before long, it would turn pale.

Shaking his head, Li Zhuyuan forced away his drowsiness. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he stood up again to continue watching the river.

This time, he saw movement.

In the middle of the river, a figure seemed to appear and then vanish. Just as Li Zhuyuan thought he was seeing things, he saw Uncle Qin walking out of the water at the riverbank.

His body was covered in shocking wounds, many of which were black and oozing pus.

The most terrifying was the one on his chest, so deep that the white bone inside was almost visible.

Yet, Uncle Qin acted as if nothing had happened. He crouched by the river and began to wash his body with the river water.

Li Zhuyuan brought the clothes over. As he got closer, he saw many long fingernails and teeth embedded in Uncle Qin's wounds.

Seeing this, one could imagine how that swarm of things had rushed onto him to bite him frantically.

At the same time, Li Zhuyuan noticed a clear sense of indignation in Uncle Qin's eyes.

Uncle was angry.

"Uncle, how was it?"

"Not great."

"Did you fail?"

"It was almost a success." As Uncle Qin spoke, he reached out and pulled out a long fingernail himself.

"And then?" Li Zhuyuan stood behind Uncle Qin, reached out to grab a finger that had pierced into his back, and pulled it out with force. The finger was actually still moving; though it was a human body part, it felt like a freshly cut piece of snake.

After Li Zhuyuan threw the finger on the ground, it continued to wriggle toward the river, its blood-red nail glowing with an eerie luster.

"Smash it," Uncle Qin said.

"Okay." Li Zhuyuan picked up a stone and smashed it down hard. The finger deformed but continued to wriggle. After several heavy blows, it finally rotted away and stopped moving.

"Huff... huff..." Li Zhuyuan panted, unwilling to look down at that bloody mess again.

*Splat!*

Uncle Qin pulled another finger from his body and tossed it in front of Li Zhuyuan, the meaning being simple.

Li Zhuyuan could only pick up the stone again and continue smashing.

If an early riser had passed by and seen this from a distance, they might have thought it was a heartwarming scene of a father and son.

Once he had finished cleaning out the dirty things embedded in his body, Uncle Qin picked up his clothes and put them on.

"Uncle, the wounds..."

"I'll have your aunt handle them when we get back."

"Oh." Li Zhuyuan nodded, then asked, "Uncle, is Baijia Town really down there?"

"You know so much?"

"Brother Liangliang told me."

"Mm, it's down there."

"So you just went to Baijia Town?"

"I went in. Everything was almost done, but..."

"But what?"

"You'll know when we get back to the hospital. That 'big friend' of yours... he's quite something. A real tough one. Truly, too tough."

Li Zhuyuan could tell that Uncle Qin was angry because things hadn't gone according to his plan, and the person responsible for this outcome seemed to be Xue Liangliang.

"Get in the car."

"Uncle, can you still drive?"

"Then you want to drive?"

Li Zhuyuan obediently got in.

When the motorcycle reached a residential house in the suburbs, Uncle Qin stopped first. He walked onto the courtyard, took a jacket from a clothesline to wrap around himself, and clipped his wallet to the line.

He had too many wounds; just wearing an undershirt wouldn't cover them, and he probably wouldn't even be able to enter a hospital like that.

The vehicle drove into the hospital, and Uncle Qin parked.

As Li Zhuyuan got off, he asked, "Uncle, will Baijia Town keep causing trouble in the future?"

Those Baijia Matriarchs were like ghosts that wouldn't leave; Li Zhuyuan was truly afraid another one would pop up soon.

"It will be quiet for a long time, because the greatest of the Baijia Matriarchs has already spoken."

In fact, compared to his physical injuries, the outcome of the Baijia matter was what gave Qin Li more of a headache.

His mission was to slap the Bai family back, but the slap was only halfway done, and the remaining half simply wouldn't move.

He also had to think about how to explain this to Liu Yumei when he returned.

"Uncle Qin, Grandma Liu was just in a bad mood today, but a night has passed now. I think after a night's sleep, Grandma Liu should be more peaceful."

Qin Li nodded. He felt the boy was right. He also heard that the boy was comforting him, though he had become accustomed to this behavior from the child.

"Let's go, Xiaoyuan. Let's go see your friend, and then we'll go home."

"Alright!"

Walking upstairs and back into the ward, they happened to see Luo Tingrui coming out with a thermos. "You're back. Perfect. Liangliang woke up earlier but fell back asleep. Help me check on him first; I'm going to get a bottle of boiling water."

Li Zhuyuan entered the ward and saw that Xue Liangliang had already had the equipment removed; he was no longer unconscious but in a deep sleep.

"Uncle, is he okay now?"

"He's in big trouble."

"What?"

"Ask him yourself when he wakes up. I'm going downstairs to buy some bandages." Uncle Qin stood up and left the ward.

At that moment, the sleeping Xue Liangliang began to mutter in his sleep while grinding his teeth

"Two years? Two years won't work. At least three. I can only guarantee that I'll come to see you once every three years."

Xue Liangliang rolled over, clutching his quilt, and continued his sleep-talking

"We won't have children, will we?"

Hearing Xue Liangliang's words, a look of shock appeared on Li Zhuyuan's face. He seemed to have pieced together something incredible, but because it was so absurd, he felt he must have thought wrong.

At that moment, Xue Liangliang seemed to wake up. He looked at Li Zhuyuan standing by the bed, and Li Zhuyuan was looking at him.

After a moment, Xue Liangliang withdrew his gaze and sat up, leaning against the bed with a blank expression, looking as if he had just suffered a major blow.

Li Zhuyuan picked up an orange from the nightstand and began to peel it silently.

Finally, Xue Liangliang spoke. His tone was lonely, filled with deep melancholy and desolation

"Xiaoyuan, let me tell you something terrifying."

"Mm, go ahead, Brother."

Li Zhuyuan had finished peeling the orange. He took a segment and held it to Xue Liangliang's mouth. Xue Liangliang opened his mouth and ate it, and immediately, the deeply sorrowful expression was joined by a hint of sourness.

Xue Liangliang kept his mouth open, unable to speak for a moment because the emotion he had painstakingly cultivated was abruptly interrupted.

Just as he had readjusted and was about to speak, he saw Li Zhuyuan bring a second segment of orange to his mouth.

"Xiaoyuan, you eat too."

"No thanks, it's sour."

"Then you..." The second segment was placed in his mouth.

Tears welled up in Xue Liangliang's eyes. While chewing, he spoke with a trembling voice

"Xiaoyuan, your brother is getting married."

"Congratulations."

Li Zhuyuan picked up another segment and handed it over. This time, Xue Liangliang didn't resist. As he ate the orange, whether from the sourness or true emotion, tears flooded his face.

"Your sister-in-law is actually quite a good person."

"As long as she's a good person," Li Zhuyuan agreed, nodding. "My grandfather told us that when looking for a partner, the main things are character and personality. Other things, like how good-looking they are or whether they are alive or dead, don't matter."

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuyuan with a face full of misery, taking another segment of orange. "Your grandfather is quite open-minded."

"Mm."

Li Zhuyuan finally understood the logic. Uncle Qin was responsible for fighting on the front lines, while Xue Liangliang was responsible for negotiating at the table.

He and Uncle Qin had rushed from the village to the hospital and then to the river, applying pressure step by step. This allowed Xue Liangliang to gain better and better bargaining chips, forcing the opponent to keep making concessions.

Xue Liangliang himself was unaware of this.

As a result, just as Uncle Qin was about to reach their home base and was on the verge of completely resolving the issue, Xue Liangliang felt he had already secured the best possible negotiation result and signed the papers.

If he had just held out a little longer, he wouldn't have had to get married.

No wonder Uncle Qin was angry. He was fighting desperately at the front, seeing victory in sight, only to find that his own side had already sought peace.

So, Uncle Qin had left the ward to buy bandages—likely an excuse, as staying in the ward watching the man lying in bed would probably make him want to punch him to death.

Li Zhuyuan didn't have the heart to tell Brother Liangliang the truth; it would be far more bitter than the half-orange left in his hand.

The die was cast; it was a fait accompli. He could only advise him to look on the bright side, asking about happy things to ease his mind.

"Brother, does she want a bride price?"

"No need for that."

"That's good. Free love, a modern marriage."

"Actually, your sister-in-law wanted to give me a bride price."

"See? That's great. Others would be envious."

"But I resolutely refused," Xue Liangliang said, puffing out his chest like a proud little rooster.

"Mm, my Brother Liangliang is the most principled."

"Of course. I won't be a live-in son-in-law."

"I admire you."

"I've already agreed with your sister-in-law, and she agreed too. In the future, I only need to come back and see her once every three years. Other times, I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want."

"That's wonderful."

Li Zhuyuan suddenly realized his worry was unnecessary. This was Xue Liangliang, a person with an incredibly strong inner core. No matter what difficulties he faced, he wouldn't give up; instead, he could quickly complete his own self-regulation.

Otherwise, one couldn't explain the inexplicable sense of boasting in his words. Most people can find joy in suffering to stay strong, but Brother Liangliang could turn bitterness into sugar water.

"But, Xiaoyuan, I also made a concession."

"Oh?"

"I promised her that our second child will take her surname."