Chapter 32

Li Zhuyuan had only one thought left in his mind

That was

Does the Homecoming Net still work?

Although he could not see Runsheng or the net right now, he should still be within the coverage of that net.

The shadow beneath his feet was slowly extending, swaying with a leftward tilt, which meant it was stepping slowly toward him.

The boy's internal agony and fear were intensifying.

Li Zhuyuan looked up again toward the kneeling Bao Ge and Zhao Xing. They were still wailing in pain, but their gazes were not focused on him.

Fortunately, he was not tall and was currently crouching; the figure behind him could be seen to be quite tall just from its shadow. Therefore, even if they were now on the same visual plane, one could clearly distinguish the difference from the gaze of the "two" opposite him.

This meant the Homecoming Net was still working—it couldn't see him!

But the problem now was that it was getting closer and closer. In just a few more steps, it would collide with him.

Maintaining his crouch, Li Zhuyuan began to move his feet cautiously, trying his best not to make any unnecessary noise.

He was moving toward Runsheng's position; he couldn't move in any other direction. If he left the effective range of the Homecoming Net, he would be directly exposed.

Li Zhuyuan felt like a crab, walking sideways.

On his final step, just as his foot moved away, another large, unfamiliar foot landed. Had he been half a beat slower, they would have bumped feet.

Immediately after, the other's feet entered Li Zhuyuan's field of vision. These feet were highly decayed, but the places where flesh and skin should have fallen off were instead filled with layers of yellowish-white tumors.

The color of these tumors was exactly the same as the *Taisui* in the water vat.

So, this was how the "life-preserving divine object" cherished by the Jiang family came to be?

One had to realize that they not only ate that *Taisui* themselves but also used the water from the vat every day to brew tea and cook rice.

Li Zhuyuan's gaze slowly moved upward. The entity was unclothed, much like the two sets of bones dug up from the pond; they must have been stripped naked before being buried as corpses.

Jiang Dongping, however, was wearing clothes and a watch. This allowed one to judge that this "dead corpse" was indeed transformed from a victim.

The rest of its body was similar to its feet—utterly decayed. That *Taisui*-like substance was spread all over its body, acting like glue to reattach flesh and skin to the skeleton, maintaining a relatively complete form.

Its left leg was somewhat bent and turned outward, as if it were lame, which was why it had been walking slowly and with a leftward sway.

However, in front of the tombstone, it stopped.

In the next moment, it knelt down.

Only then did Li Zhuyuan re-examine the tombstone. Previously, he and Runsheng had only felt that this tombstone was larger than the surrounding ones, making it a good hiding spot for the two of them.

Now he realized it was a joint burial tomb for a husband and wife.

Quickly scanning the words on the tombstone, Li Zhuyuan noticed the husband's surname was "Zhou."

Therefore, the dead corpse before him was most likely a person surnamed Zhou whom Bao Ge had personally buried, and what it was kneeling before might be his own parents' grave.

He had been murdered and buried by Jiang Dongping, and after transforming into a dead corpse, he had completed his revenge by coming to his parents' grave.

Li Zhuyuan noted the date of death: it was two years ago. The deaths of the old couple were only a month apart, meaning they had passed away one after the other.

Nowadays, unless one uses official channels, most movie posters are printed on calendars to increase practicality.

And the largest and oldest Wang Zuxian poster at the entrance of Sister Mei's video rental shop was also dated two years ago.

In other words, it was highly likely that Bao Ge had earned a large sum of money by helping Jiang Dongping murder and bury people, which allowed him to open a video rental shop in town with his girlfriend, Sister Mei.

The dead corpse did not kowtow; it merely knelt before the tombstone. It made no sound, yet the surroundings were filled with the screams of Bao Ge and Zhao Xing.

Li Zhuyuan finally understood. No wonder they had intentionally chosen to torture them for so long instead of killing them—because only the wails and screams of an enemy serve as the best offering.

But gradually, the dead corpse's head suddenly twitched slightly.

It was sniffing, and then it began to slowly turn its head toward Li Zhuyuan's side. It seemed to have discovered something.

The boy's heart leaped into his throat at that moment. His purpose for coming out today was to connect theory with practice, but the targets he had chosen were Bao Ge and Zhao Xing—the "伥子" (changzi/servant ghosts) who dared to come to his door to threaten and provoke him.

With himself and Runsheng cooperating with the newly crafted professional tools, dealing with them shouldn't be much of a problem.

But this dead corpse capable of controlling *changzi* was actually somewhat beyond the syllabus. Facing such difficulty right from the start made him feel truly uncertain.

Most importantly, this dead corpse was a victim in life. If it were a transformation of Jiang Dongping, he would just do what had to be done if necessary, but for this one, taking the initiative to attack it felt somewhat inappropriate.

But just as its head turned halfway, and a little more movement would have brought its eyes face-to-face with the boy, bursts of black mist actually rose from its body, as if the moisture within it were being evaporated.

The dead corpse turned its head back to face the tombstone.

From deep within its throat came a hoarse, grating sound, and the *Taisui* all over its body began to tremble.

Li Zhuyuan had seen a similar scene with the cat-faced old woman; it happened after he provided a revenge plan, and her resentment showed signs of dissipating.

Wei Zhengdao had written in the *Chronicles of Jianghu Wonders*

[Dead corpses are born from the gathered resentment and filth of the Jianghu.]

[If the resentment is irreconcilable, they wander the marshes of the Jianghu, harming the living; they must be suppressed and killed by the Heavenly Dao.]

When reading the book earlier, Li Zhuyuan had noted that last sentence, especially the part about "irreconcilable resentment."

Since a dead corpse is born with resentment as its carrier, wouldn't it dissipate if its resentment were resolved?

Just like that black cat—it was about to complete its revenge and find liberation.

Therefore, the "irreconcilable resentment" in the book seemed to refer to cases where the enemy was no longer present or could not be found, meaning the dead corpse could not resolve itself through that method and could only wander endlessly between water systems, harming the living, necessitating their elimination.

Was it really that simple?

Then why didn't it mention "resolvable resentment"?

The *Records of Subduing Demons of the Righteous Path* contained nothing but methods for suppressing and killing dead corpses, as if, from the author's perspective, "irreconcilable resentment" was the only default option.

But he could have omitted it; the sentences would still have been coherent.

Li Zhuyuan guessed that this was likely the "political correctness" of that era: that such sinister entities as dead corpses must absolutely not harm the living.

The reason Wei Zhengdao added the phrase "If the resentment is irreconcilable" was actually a deliberate act of over-explaining. He didn't want to defy the political correctness of his time, yet he added a hint of a "backdoor" while writing his book.

Because, if the "resentment is resolvable," there was no need to teach any specific method—you just helped the dead corpse resolve the object of its resentment.

But helping an evil entity harm the living would be a classic case of "aiding the villain in his mischief."

How could a person of the Righteous Path ever do such a thing?

Do not mention "every grievance has a source" or try to argue any reasons; if political correctness could be influenced like that, it wouldn't be called political correctness.

However, Li Zhuyuan suddenly realized that every incident he and his Great-Uncle encountered seemed to follow the path of "resolvable resentment."

It seemed that the path he and his Great-Uncle were walking was indeed not the "Righteous Path."

...

The interrogation of the Jiang family members was underway.

Dead people were actually not a big deal. Whether they died of natural causes, illness, accidents, or mishaps, as long as a region's population was dense enough, it would be stranger if no one died on any given day.

But homicide was different. The public's attention to it was extremely high, and it could easily trigger social panic.

Therefore, this time, the discovery of three corpses in a single pond was an extremely serious matter. It was likely that even the Municipal Bureau was paying close attention. Tan Yunlong estimated that a special task force led by the Municipal Bureau would soon be dispatched.

Furthermore, if it were confirmed to involve organized crime or violence, a city-wide crackdown and cleanup operation would inevitably follow.

However, those were matters for later.

Walking out of the Chief's office, Tan Yunlong rubbed his nose. With such a violent case appearing in his jurisdiction, the pressure was high not just for the station, but for the entire county. The only remedy now was to solve the case as quickly as possible to strive for outstanding performance.

Pressure was being passed down layer by layer, ultimately landing on Tan Yunlong.

Tan Yunlong lit a cigarette and walked into the interrogation room. He intended to personally interrogate those Jiang family members who had attempted to stop the excavation by the pond.

The interrogation proceeded smoothly. Firstly, their psychological resilience and professional competence were poor; the Jiang family was essentially propped up by Jiang Dongping alone. Now that Jiang Dongping was gone, the remaining members were nothing but small fry.

Secondly, Tan Yunlong used suggestive interrogation, hinting that Jiang Dongping was already dead and that they should hurry up and confess, throwing all the blame onto the dead man.

This was considered an irregular operation, but if Tan Yunlong were a "good boy," he wouldn't have been relegated to a town police station.

In short, there had been a massive breakthrough and progress in the case. They had also snitched on several others, who were currently being arrested.

There was just one problem: a victim surnamed Zhou whose body had not been found.

Because this person surnamed Zhou had a fractured left leg and was a limp, while the other two sets of bones had been checked and showed no signs of fractures.

According to the Jiang family's testimony, this person surnamed Zhou was a business competitor of Jiang Dongping. Jiang Dongping had conspired with a friend of Zhou's, a man surnamed Zhao from Shijia Village, to lure him out under the guise of celebrating his son's birthday and then kill him.

That man surnamed Zhao had already been arrested. It seemed his son had just died not long ago, and the surrounding police were all saying it was retribution.

Tan Yunlong didn't believe in such things, but he didn't reject them either. If retribution for bad deeds came promptly in this world, the police would certainly be the ones most pleased to see it.

The problem now was: how could the disappearance of the victim surnamed Zhou and the mysterious death of Jiang Dongping be reasonably explained?

Of course, if one didn't pursue rationality, it could be explained that the victim's body had been moved and disposed of elsewhere, and that Jiang Dongping had died due to internal strife within the Jiang family. After all, those people weren't good to begin with; there was no harm in pinning the blame on them.

However, none of this concerned him anymore. With the case having reached this breakthrough, he could fulfill his duty.

Holding a cigarette, Tan Yunlong's thoughts drifted back to the pond that had not been recently disturbed by excavation. He was very puzzled: how had Jiang Dongping's fresh corpse been buried in there?

However, not many people knew about this, and even if the site had been carefully protected at the time, the areas that needed to be excavated had already been dug up, making it difficult to confirm that the pond had not been disturbed recently.

"Captain Tan, everything is organized."

"Mhm."

Tan Yunlong took the documents, looked through them, and nodded. "Dig deeper. Don't let a single one of the suspects escape."

"Understood."

"Is that old man Li still at the station?"

"He is. He's having a great time chatting with our forensic expert, Xiao Wang."

"Really?"

"I just went to the forensic lab to get some files. Old man Li was pointing at the corpses while talking, and Xiao Wang was taking notes like a teacher lecturing a student."

Xiao Wang was very young and had only recently started working. It was precisely because of her that the town station now had its own forensic lab setup; in the past, they either had to request someone from a hospital or borrow someone from a neighboring unit.

However, Xiao Wang had a cold personality. Several young, single male officers in the station had thought about trying their luck, but they were all rejected without hesitation, without even a shred of politeness or social pleasantries.

Tan Yunlong thought of the scene where little Li Zhuyuan was digging up corpses and could only sigh: "Actually, some folk experts do have real skills; one cannot simply dismiss them all as mere feudal superstition."

The telephone on the desk rang. Tan Yunlong picked it up, said "yes" several times in succession, and then hung up.

He stood up and straightened his clothes.

"The Municipal Bureau's special task force is here. Let's go and report our progress."

...

In front of the tombstone, the black mist rising from the dead corpse was becoming more and more abundant and rapid.

Li Zhuyuan knew it was about to find liberation.

He just didn't know specifically what was causing its dissolution process to accelerate so violently mid-way.

Could it be because the police were investigating the case?

But... was their efficiency really that high?

"Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!"

After a certain amount of black mist was expelled, the dead corpse's body shrank slightly, and the *Taisui* on its body began to crack, splashing out pus.

A thick, fishy stench immediately permeated the surroundings.

Li Zhuyuan knew this must be what his Great-Uncle and others often called the "stench of a water corpse."

A freshly dead "floater" was easy to retrieve and not particularly nauseating; it was the ones that had been dead for a long time and swelled up like pig skin jelly that were truly foul.

Even after retrieving them and bathing with soap seven or eight times, you could still smell it on your body three days later.

The *Taisui* began to crack, and the dead corpse's body lost its cohesion. The decaying flesh began to fall off rapidly, and the body gradually shrank like melting ice.

Li Zhuyuan noticed that amidst the disgusting bubbles, a black, circular object seemed to be churning inside. This object should have originally been inside the dead corpse's body.

It seemed to be a copper coin.

However, an accident occurred.

The dead corpse reached out its hand—its palm was nothing but white bone—and pointed toward the kneeling Bao Ge and Zhao Xing.

It likely intended to end this offering and take these two *changzi* with it, but it had somewhat miscalculated its own rate of dissolution. The hand it had just raised gradually fell back down, powerless.

In comparison, that black cat was much more clever. When the black mist rose from its body, it was able to suppress it itself, stubbornly waiting until its revenge was complete.

Moreover, that black cat understood some of the rules of the Righteous Path; it had more than once expressed shock and incomprehension at his help.

But this dead corpse clearly lacked that ability, which meant it... had lost control.

Having lost their shackles and oppression, even though Bao Ge and Zhao Xing were broken all over, the two of them slowly stood up.

Currently, they looked like heavily damaged, chipped plastic mannequins from a clothing store entrance.

But the malice in their eyes was even more intense. Clearly, the previous torture had completely ignited all the hostility within them.

They did not walk toward this side, but instead walked toward another tombstone.

Although it was empty, Li Zhuyuan knew clearly that it was the place where the two thugs were kneeling in reality.

"Crack..."

The dead corpse had almost completely merged into the pus, leaving only a head with some *Taisui* and flesh. It struggled to turn its head, and the nearby bony arm also moved slightly toward Li Zhuyuan.

Li Zhuyuan blinked. It was quite strange; he seemed able to sense what this dissolving dead corpse was trying to express.

Just as he could read Ah Li's subtle facial expressions and movements, he could understand this.

Li Zhuyuan nodded and said, "Go in peace. You must believe that the police will bring justice for you."

Then, Li Zhuyuan added, "As for those two, I will deal with them for you."

As soon as the boy finished speaking, the flesh on the dead corpse's head also peeled off. It completely turned into a pile of white bones, completing its dissolution before its parents' tombstone.

Li Zhuyuan didn't like it when innocent people died, and he would end with a sigh: "Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent."

But in such a situation, as an onlooker, one would sometimes try to beautify things as much as possible to comfort oneself.

For example, he currently felt: this family was finally reunited.

This was the kindness and blessing from the boy.

Because even now, Li Zhuyuan could not be one hundred percent certain of one thing.

That was, while the Homecoming Net could indeed hide him from Bao Ge and Zhao Xing, would it really work against a dead corpse capable of controlling *changzi*?

If it truly worked, then why did it turn its head toward him after kneeling down?

Was it possible that...

It had actually been able to see the two youths hiding behind his parents' tombstone all along?

"Clink..."

A crisp sound rang out. The pitch-black copper coin rolled down the white bones and rolled all the way to Li Zhuyuan's feet.

Li Zhuyuan did not dare to reach out and grab it directly; he suspected that this strange phenomenon was triggered by it.

He didn't want to grow *Taisui* all over his body.

Suddenly, Li Zhuyuan began to feel dizzy, and his whole body felt sore and aching.

He could roughly guess what was happening outside, because soon, Runsheng's shouting reached his ears

"Xiao Yuan, don't sleep! Wake up, wake up!"

Li Zhuyuan opened his eyes. Runsheng was grabbing his shoulders and shaking him hard.

"Phew... Xiao Yuan, you're finally awake."

"Brother Runsheng, do you know just how strong you are?"

"Ah, sorry, they stood up."

Li Zhuyuan turned his head to look. The two thugs had finished kneeling and were walking toward them. They were already very close, but because they were within the Homecoming Net, they could not see the two of them.

"Xiao Yuan, what should we do!"

Runsheng's right hand gripped the Yellow River Shovel tightly; he had wanted to move for a long time.

"Brother Runsheng, cripple them."

"Right!"

Runsheng immediately let out a low growl, his muscles tensing. With a pull of his left hand, he lifted the net, and with his right hand holding the Yellow River Shovel, he charged forward.

Seeing the living people suddenly appear, the two thugs were startled for a moment and retreated repeatedly.

But Runsheng didn't care; he swung the shovel and struck one of the thugs in the arm.

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking bone rang out. That arm was instantly ruined, but the thug did not scream in pain. Instead, he bent over, swung his body, and used his other hand to grab Runsheng, wedging his head and shoulder against Runsheng's waist to entangle him.

Runsheng raised the shovel, intending to strike his head, but remembering Xiao Yuan's instruction to only cripple them and not kill them, he could only flip the shovel over. Using the handle as a lever between himself and the thug, he used his chest as a fulcrum and exerted force, prying the thug off himself like a bottle opener.

But behind him, the other thug rushed forward with his mouth open, biting down on Runsheng's arm like a mad dog.

"Hiss..."

Runsheng inhaled sharply from the pain, but the excitement on his face immediately intensified.

At this moment, he seemed like a completely different person from the usual, timid Runsheng who pushed carts and farmed.

Runsheng also opened his mouth, lowered his head, and bit down on the thug's neck.

"Rip!"

The thug only used his teeth to bite, but Runsheng used his mouth to tear!

After biting down, he immediately lifted his head and jerked, tearing away a large piece of flesh.

Runsheng's face was covered in blood, but his sense of excitement continued to rise.

To put it bluntly, a *changzi* was the lowest form of ghost;

And the ones controlling these two thugs were Zhao Xing and Bao Ge—one was a weak, pampered young master who liked to play because his family had money, and the other was a middle-aged thug who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Li Zhuyuan remembered a time during a New Year's family gathering when Grandpa Bei was lecturing his cousin, who liked to fight at school, saying: "To find a true hero among old thugs is like panning for gold in excrement!"

In short, someone truly brave would never engage in such petty thuggery.

Indeed, these two were actually intimidated by Runsheng's momentum, forgetting that they were the ghosts, and they actually turned tail to flee.

But Brother Runsheng was truly fierce.

Li Zhuyuan couldn't help but wonder: if he were to tailor a few better tools for Brother Runsheng, then even if the previous dead corpse had attacked them, Brother Runsheng might not have been unable to deal with it.

During the previous fight, Li Zhuyuan had tactfully not joined in, but now, he could act.

Holding the Seven-Star Hook in his right hand, he pressed his left thumb into the ink pad and then dabbed it onto the side of the hook. With a forceful pull, the seven sections of the Seven-Star Hook extended out, all coated with red ink.

Dropping into a horse stance and exerting force from his waist, Li Zhuyuan first swept the Seven-Star Hook toward a thug's ankle. The foremost section immediately split into two openings like a mantis claw, hooking the opponent's ankle.

"Thud..."

Pulled by the force, Li Zhuyuan leaned forward, struggling to stabilize his stance, while the thug fell face-first into the dirt.

This was a move for catching dead corpses from the second volume of the *Records of Subduing Demons of the Righteous Path*.

"AAAAAH!!!"

The thug lay on the ground, clutching his ankle and screaming.

Li Zhuyuan picked up the Homecoming Net and threw it over him.

The other thug was tackled to the ground by Runsheng. Runsheng raised his fist and punched him squarely in the face. In an instant, it was as if a dye shop had been overturned, as various colors spilled out.

Li Zhuyuan immediately shouted, "Brother Runsheng!"

Runsheng seemed to have a sudden tremor; his second punch was forcibly restrained from landing. His facial expression gradually shifted from intense excitement back to his usual honest and dull look.

Li Zhuyuan breathed a sigh of relief. If that second punch had landed, that thug would have certainly died.

It wasn't that he pitied the guy; in fact, it wasn't even that he was afraid of killing, but rather that he didn't want to be embroiled in subsequent trouble caused by a death.

"Here, Brother Runsheng."

Li Zhuyuan threw the black canvas to Runsheng. The layers of this black cloth were filled with wood-flower rolls, each one carved with patterns by Ah Li.

The purpose of this trip was to test the tools and see which ones were useful and which were not.

Runsheng covered the thug with the black canvas. Suddenly, the thug began to wail and struggle, and a bit of white smoke actually rose.

Within the white smoke, there seemed to be Zhao Xing's face, but it quickly dissipated, and the thug stopped struggling.

Runsheng moved the black canvas aside, felt for the man's breath, and said, "Xiao Yuan, he's still alive."

Li Zhuyuan nodded. The effect of this black canvas was surprisingly good, though he had to consider that the two *changzi* had been subjected to prolonged torture by the dead corpse earlier.

Immediately after, Li Zhuyuan looked at the thug covered by the net beneath him and pulled out the stack of talisman papers he had drawn himself from his bosom.

Yes, he hadn't given up yet.

After all, all the other tools were made by him strictly "following the book" according to the contents of the text; only these talisman papers truly possessed a bit of his own original attribute.

He pressed one talisman onto the thug's forehead. The talisman quickly turned black and then slid off.

He pressed another one on; it continued to turn black and slide off.

The third, the fourth, the fifth... until all the talismans he had brought were used up.

The talismans had all turned black, but not even a wisp of white smoke had emerged from the thug's body.

Li Zhuyuan fell silent.

The fact that the talismans he drew could turn black proved they were somewhat useful, but being able to turn black was all they could do—which was practically useless.

That sense of failure, like that of a poor student, surged in his heart again.

"Brother Runsheng, the canvas."

"Coming!"

The black canvas was thrown over. Li Zhuyuan caught it and covered the thug beneath.

White smoke rose, vaguely forming Bao Ge's despairing face before quickly dissipating.

Li Zhuyuan lifted the black canvas and found that a hole had actually been burned through it. Many of the wood-flower rolls inside had turned black, with only a third remaining their original color.

This meant this tool had to be remade.

Li Zhuyuan walked to the tombstone, where a black copper coin lay.

"Brother Runsheng, dig a hole nearby."

"Understood."

Li Zhuyuan began to observe the copper coin while Runsheng dug the hole.

After a while, seeing that Runsheng was still digging, Li Zhuyuan turned his head in confusion and found that Runsheng had actually dug a deep pit large enough to bury several people.

"Brother Runsheng, what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Runsheng scratched his head and pointed at the two unconscious and bound thugs. "Aren't we burying them?"

"No, we're burying this copper coin."

"Oh, I thought wrong."

"Don't touch it with your hands; use the shovel." While reminding him, Li Zhuyuan stepped forward and applied a large amount of ink to the Yellow River Shovel.

Runsheng used the shovel to lift the copper coin and carefully placed it into the pit.

"Brother Runsheng, fix that earthen wall over there first. You almost dug up someone's urn."

"Oh, okay."

This was a graveyard, and Runsheng had dug too deep; a corner of an urn was even exposed.

After repairing the grave wall, Runsheng began to backfill the pit. Once it was filled, Li Zhuyuan used several stones to mark the spot, then bowed toward the direction of the underground urn

"Sorry for disturbing you. Please help me watch over this copper coin. Next time I come back to get it, I'll burn some paper for you."

Before confirming the function and danger of that copper coin, Li Zhuyuan would not only refuse to take it but wouldn't even touch it.

Looking down again to check Runsheng's Yellow River Shovel, he was surprised to find that the areas originally coated with red ink had all turned white.

It was understandable for things to turn black, purple, or other dark colors while digging soil, but turning white could only mean that the copper coin was truly sinister.

"Brother Runsheng, let's go."

"Going home?"

"To the police station."

"What else is there to do at the station?"

"To fulfill a vow."

...

Tan Yunlong, who had just finished a meeting with the Municipal Special Task Force, was walking back to his office while yawning. When he pushed open the door, he saw the boy sitting in his office.

Tan Yunlong picked up the thermos, poured a cup of tea, and placed it in front of Li Zhuyuan.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with doing so, and his next question was

"Where are the skeletal remains?"

"Um..." Li Zhuyuan showed a troubled expression. "Uncle Tan, you skipped a lot of steps."

"Because the last time you came into my office, it was to tell me the location of the remains. Now, you're here again."

"In the graveyard at the junction of Xijiao Village and Dongjiao Village. There are also two people unconscious nearby."

"Accomplices responsible for moving the remains?"

"That's something the police officers need to investigate."

"Thank you, Xiao Yuan. This time, you really have been a huge help from start to finish."

"My Great-Uncle always teaches me to remember the close bond between the police and the people."

"Xiao Yuan, where is your household registration?"

"Uncle Tan, don't scare the child."

"I'm just asking casually, out of concern. My son should be a few years older than you."

"Then you probably don't have a very good relationship with your son."

Tan Yunlong was choked up. It was true; he only saw his son smile at him when he bought him food or toys.

"Uncle Tan, is the case progressing smoothly?"

"The investigation is very fast. Once these remains are confirmed, the case can basically be closed."

"That's good then."

Having said that, Li Zhuyuan picked up the teacup and took a sip. It was very hot, so he just moistened his lips and put the cup down.

"Uncle Tan, I'm going home now. You get back to work."

"I'll have someone see you home."

"No need, my driver is waiting for me outside."

After the boy walked out of the office, Tan Yunlong seemed to remember something. He went into the hallway, stopped someone, and asked, "Xiao Zhang, has that old man Li left?"

"Just left, Captain Tan. Do you need me to call him back?"

"No need, it's fine. By the way, call a few people and come out with me to retrieve the remains."

"Retrieve ribs? Is there a dinner party tonight?"

...

Several empty cars were parked in front of the police station. Cars from the outside couldn't get in, and cars from the inside couldn't get out; people had already been sent to ask them to move.

Li Zhuyuan walked up to the "Shigang Town Police Station" plaque and spread his arms to embrace it.

He vaguely felt that the reason the dead corpse had dissipated so quickly and completely eliminated the potential threat for him had a great deal to do with this plaque.

At that moment, the cars blocking the entrance were cleared.

Li Zhuyuan turned his head and saw an old man on the other side of the door, also embracing a plaque.

The old and the young locked eyes. Both silently let go.

"Oh dear, oh dear, once I see one, I can't help but want to give it a hug." Li Sanjiang patted the dust off his clothes. "Xiao Yuan, why haven't you gone home yet?"

"I came to pick you up, Great-Uncle."

"Oh, alright, let's go home."

...

After returning home, Li Zhuyuan went upstairs to take a shower first, while Runsheng used well water to rinse himself off by the well in the courtyard.

Liu Yumei, who was drinking tea, shook her head slightly and let out a sigh.

After his shower, Li Zhuyuan came downstairs to wait for dinner.

"Xiao Yuan, come with Grandma for a moment."

Li Zhuyuan stood up and walked over. Ah Li, who had already sat down to wait for the meal, also stood up and followed.

Liu Yumei led the boy into the east room. What confused Li Zhuyuan was that Grandma Liu didn't lead him toward the ancestral tablets this time, but instead into her and Ah Li's bedroom.

Upon entering, Li Zhuyuan knew what Liu Yumei meant.

Almost half the area of the bed was taken up by neatly arranged bottles of Jianlibao, with the distance between each bottle being exactly the same.

Liu Yumei had no choice; she and Ah Li would be sleeping on the bed, and now he would have to sleep on the floor.

"Grandma Liu, is there an empty box?"

"There is, right here."

Li Zhuyuan set to work, picking up the Jianlibao bottles from the bed one by one and placing them into the box.

Ah Li stood to the side, her head lowered.

"It's so good to collect them in this box. Let's find a way to fill this box up soon, what do you think?"

Ah Li looked up at Li Zhuyuan, then turned around to take the Jianlibao from the bed and place them into the box.

Liu Yumei was already used to this; her days and nights of earnest persuasion were not as effective as a single sentence from the boy.

"Xiao Yuan, do you want to turn back?"

"I don't."

"This path is not an easy one to walk."

"Mhm. If it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting."

After dinner, Li Zhuyuan accompanied Ah Li in watching an episode of *Leo the Super Robot*, then went to the terrace alone to finish his daily horse stance training.

Returning to his desk in the bedroom, he turned on the lamp, took out his notebook, and opened to the first page, which contained the plan he had written for today's actions.

"Rip..."

The plan paper was torn off, crumpled into a ball, and thrown into the nearby wastebasket.

After today's events, Li Zhuyuan realized that no matter how good a plan was, at least half of it would be rendered void once things actually started moving.

Picking up his pen, Li Zhuyuan began to record the mistakes he had made today.

First: When encountering special, classic environments like graveyards, one should not enter too early; one must scout and confirm the situation from the perimeter.

Second: Before entering a dream to walk the Yin path, one must pre-emptively predict potential accidents.

Third: It seems that dead corpses are easier to deal with if one does not follow the Righteous Path.

Turning to the next page, Li Zhuyuan began to record the testing and usage of various tools today.

Finally, when writing about the talisman papers, Li Zhuyuan hesitated for a moment, then wrote

Function of talisman papers: Can be used to detect if there are "dirty things" nearby; they turn black if present.

Just as he put down his pen, there was a knock on the door

"Xiao Yuanhou, I'm going to take a shower. Go wait in my bedroom."

"Oh, okay, Great-Uncle."

Li Zhuyuan entered his Great-Uncle's bedroom. Just like the first two days, a circle of candles was arranged on the tiles, and a very familiar formation was drawn.

The reason he called it familiar was because this formation was slightly different from the previous few times.

And the *Golden Sand Sutra* was still spread open on the floor.

This meant that even though this formation had been drawn several times, Great-Uncle still had to continue copying it each time he drew a new one.

Li Zhuyuan picked up the book, flipped to the page on the "Fortune Transferring Ceremony," glanced at the book, and then glanced at the formation on the floor.

"Huh?"

Then, as if he were seeing things, he looked at the book again and then carefully examined the formation on the floor.

"This time... Great-Uncle actually drew it correctly?"

This should have been a good thing, but Li Zhuyuan could not feel happy.

Because when Great-Uncle drew the formation incorrectly, the effects were controllable; but who knew what would happen once Great-Uncle drew the formation correctly?

The most terrifying thing is always the unknown.

From Li Zhuyuan's standpoint, he knew the purpose of Great-Uncle transferring his fortune to him: it was to transfer away the dark aspects of himself that people in the secular world saw, so that he could become an ordinary child again and live a normal life.

But this was not what he wanted; he had already embarked on this path.

Furthermore, even without considering the possibility that Great-Uncle's blessings were so profound they might cause him to burst, what would he do with his Great-Uncle's good fortune?

Grandpa Nan and Grandpa Bei both had more than one grandson, but Great-Uncle only recognized him as his sole great-grandson.

Others might salivate over this fortune, but Li Zhuyuan had absolutely no interest in it.

"Great-Uncle, you should just enjoy your later years."

He crouched down, picked up the nearby cinnabar box and a cloth, and first wiped away a small corner at the true north of the formation, then used cinnabar to fill it back in. However, the original small corner had been facing inward, and Li Zhuyuan changed it to face outward; originally, both the north and south small corners had been facing inward.

Although he hadn't started reading books related to formations, he had copied and carved quite a few onto tools during this period, and he knew that such a conflict in details could easily cause a formation to lose its effect.

Li Zhuyuan nodded to himself: with such a large formation, changing such a small corner would likely go unnoticed by Great-Uncle.

"Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan!"

Runsheng's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming."

Li Zhuyuan went downstairs and saw Runsheng constantly moving the television antenna

"Xiao Yuan, look, why is there no picture on the TV?"

Li Zhuyuan looked at the night outside: "It looks like it's going to thunder; the signal must be bad. We have to go see Grandpa Shan tomorrow morning, so you should go to sleep early too. If the TV still isn't working tomorrow, just take it to be repaired on the way, and bring it back when you return."

"Uh, Xiao Yuan, do you have enough money to fix the TV? I heard fixing TVs is quite expensive."

If the TV were broken by him, Runsheng wouldn't dare tell Great-Uncle.

"It's fine, Brother Runsheng. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll have money tomorrow."

...

After his shower, Li Sanjiang, wearing red underwear, walked into the bedroom while wiping the water droplets off his body with a towel.

"Eh? Where is Xiao Yuanhou?"

Tossing the towel carelessly onto the floor, Li Sanjiang walked toward the bedside to get a cigarette to light.

Unexpectedly, he lost his footing on the damp towel and slipped, losing his balance.

Fortunately, although the old man was advanced in age, his body was still robust and his reactions were quick. He quickly twisted his body and braced himself with his left hand on the floor; he only bumped his knee slightly and didn't fall completely.

Climbing up with a sense of relief, Li Sanjiang looked at his reddened knee.

"Eh? It's bleeding?"

He reached out to touch it, but saw no wound. He held his hand up to his eyes to look; it wasn't blood, it was cinnabar.

Li Sanjiang looked down at the formation on the floor and found that a small area at the true south position had been wiped away by his knee.

He hurriedly dragged the cinnabar box over, intending to repair it.

"Wait, what was this part again?"

He had drawn this formation diagram many times. Although he had to follow the book every time, he had grasped the general patterns, such as the fact that the diagram was symmetrical.

He looked up at the opposite position, which was true north.

"Oh, it's an outward-facing corner."

Li Sanjiang carefully used the cinnabar to fill it in, patted his hands, and nodded with satisfaction.

Next, he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit all the candles on the floor.

Li Zhuyuan returned at this time.

"You little sparrow, I told you to wait. Why are you running around?"

"Hehe, I'm here now, Great-Uncle."

"Quick, sit inside the formation."

"Alright, Great-Uncle."

Li Zhuyuan sat in his position and specifically glanced at the true north of the formation. Yes, that corner was still facing outward.

Li Sanjiang then sat down, took a talisman from his waistband, lit it, and began to wave it while chanting.

Finally, he took a deep breath, gathering strength to strike the floor hard, because only then could he create enough wind to blow out the surrounding candles while simultaneously causing the light bulb overhead to flicker and short-circuit.

He mentally counted: one, two, three!

Holding the talisman, he struck down.

"Slap!"

Darkness

Instantly swallowed everything.