Chapter 176

Early in the morning, inside the courtyard of the earthen building, Runsheng was cooking breakfast.

Breakfast was very simple: a large handful of noodles were thrown in first, then some vegetables and cured meat were added. That was it.

After coming here, everyone’s three meals a day basically consisted of putting staple food together and stewing it randomly, mainly for convenience.

There was no other way; among a house full of grown men, Runsheng still had the best cooking skills. The only woman was willing to help, but no one dared to let her near the rice pot.

“Did you add salt?” Yinmeng asked.

Runsheng: “Added.”

“Oh, good.” Yinmeng put the small spoon back into the salt jar, then placed the jar on the ground.

Runsheng bent down, picked up the salt jar, and continuously added several spoonfuls of salt to the pot.

Yinmeng emphasized: “I know this is salt.”

Runsheng emphasized: “I know this is for everyone to eat together.”

Yinmeng was used to it. She sat to the side, her palm spread open, and the black, cockroach-like Gu insect crawled out from her sleeve onto her palm.

As Yinmeng’s palm constantly turned and her fingers changed positions, the Gu insect, like a mountain climber, continuously advanced and climbed.

Yinmeng played very happily.

The door of the earthen building was pushed open, and Xue Liangliang walked in leading two people.

One was Cui Hao, the other was Li Ren.

They two had been called down from the mountain temple by Xue Liangliang.

Although Li Ren’s leg injury hadn’t fully healed, he could still walk with the support of a wooden stick.

The two were disheveled, bearded, and their arms and legs had thinned. Although they had lost a lot of weight, they looked more energetic.

However, their eyes still flickered with fear and caution. Obviously, the ghost encounter experience had left them with a profound psychological shadow.

Yinmeng curiously asked Xue Liangliang: “How did you get them to come down?”

Xue Liangliang sat down and replied: “I told them the construction team would return in the morning. If they didn’t come down, the matter of their unauthorized absence would not be hidden, and they would be fired by the unit. Then they came down.”

Hearing this, Yinmeng somewhat wanted to laugh, but still held back and continued playing with the Gu insect in her hand.

Perhaps life on the mountain was too difficult and they had had enough; perhaps the fear of being fired suppressed the fear of ghosts.

In any case, they resigned themselves to their fate.

After washing, cleaning up, and shaving, the two changed into clean clothes.

When the construction team arrived, their former colleagues saw them in their current state, and everyone’s hearts involuntarily felt sympathy.

Even the biggest leader began to reflect on whether he had gone too far. These two people were just not likable in personality; they didn’t deserve this.

Xue Liangliang helped them keep the matter of their absence a secret.

He felt that ordinary people in that situation, being scared and running away, was human nature.

Next was the formal handover and integration of work.

Actually, there were no technical problems, mainly just matters that were not suitable to speak openly about.

Finally, still in a small closed-door meeting, Xue Liangliang patted his chest and guaranteed that during the New Year period, he had invited a great virtuous monk from Guiyang to perform a ritual here.

Although everyone still felt somewhat uneasy in their hearts, as they continued working and discovered there weren’t many strange accidents, they naturally began to slowly accept it.

Just like Cui Hao and Li Ren, as they gradually came into contact with the villagers and their colleagues, they began to think that they hadn’t seen ghosts, but had experienced severe hallucinations after mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms that day.

Li Zhuoyuan, leading Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou, wearing safety helmets, also joined the work.

After all, they had studied this, and it could be considered a rare internship opportunity. What should be done had to be done.

Watching the originally stalled construction site change day by day, they indeed felt a sense of achievement in their hearts.

However, Li Zhuoyuan generally stayed with Xue Liangliang, holding the blueprints; Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou were more on the front lines.

The village became lively again because of the return of the construction team.

Many people who did supporting businesses for construction sites also appeared successively, such as construction site catering. They often understood the progress of the project better than ordinary workers.

After the project here was finished, they would go find the next target. Doing this had little competition pressure, stable customer sources, and although it was hard and required frequent travel, the income was quite considerable.

The residence next to the earthen building had a room rented by two older sisters. A sign hanging on the door read “Massage, Cupping,” and business was also very prosperous.

Many workers would sneak out for a massage in the middle of the day, otherwise they would have to queue up after work in the evening.

Just as things remained stable for a period, Xue Liangliang began to prepare to leave. His task was to provide technical assistance; he didn’t need to stay until the end of the project.

After consulting with the person in charge of the construction unit, the departure time was confirmed: the day after tomorrow.

Everyone began to make the final preparations before leaving, and indeed, everyone had things to do.

Wen Xiushan, supported by his disciple Acai, came to the earthen building and requested Li Zhuoyuan to go to the Miao village to help check on A-mei’s situation.

Li Zhuoyuan just brought Lin Shuyou along.

During the banquet in the Miao village that night, Li Zhuoyuan knew that the A-mei who had always been staring at him was fake.

But in that environment at the time, it was indeed inconvenient for him to expose the fake A-mei’s identity because they still needed to go to the old witch’s lair, and there was no need to alert the enemy.

Afterwards, he also didn’t go to the Miao village to inquire about the true A-mei’s situation.

Because there were only two possibilities:

Either the true A-mei was fine, or the true A-mei was already dead.

No matter which possibility, he didn’t need to inquire further.

But facts proved that sometimes you couldn’t view the world with too rational a perspective, especially when looking at people.

A-mei was still alive, but like someone possessed, she could only open her eyes and sit there blankly.

Li Zhuoyuan looked towards Wen Xiushan.

Wen Xiushan’s old face was flushed red, and he lowered his head.

It was still Wen Xiushan’s disciple Acai who explained that his grandpa had used various methods these past few days, but none could make A-mei wake up.

This explanation made Wen Xiushan even more embarrassed.

Li Zhuoyuan couldn’t understand why the elder hadn’t called him earlier.

Someone from their village was working at the construction site, and they would know that he was also at the construction site during this period.

The boy didn’t understand the deep logic of this stupid behavior, but he understood why the elder had done that.

Perhaps he felt embarrassed to invite him again, and he wanted to use their Miao village’s methods to save A-mei. In the elder’s view, this was a matter of face.

If he hadn’t tried multiple times and all failed, and learned that he would be leaving soon, he possibly wouldn’t have swallowed his pride and come personally to invite him until now.

Li Zhuoyuan checked A-mei’s situation. There was no evil aura on A-mei’s body; she wasn’t possessed, not cursed by a Gu, not cursed.

She was excessively frightened, leading to her inner closure.

That was commonly known as… being scared silly.

So, Wen Xiushan’s earlier rituals were all completely useless.

Li Zhuoyuan had someone arrange a separate quiet room. He and A-mei were alone, and he used hypnosis to enter A-mei’s closed inner world.

Half an hour later, A-mei’s crying could be heard.

Her heart’s door had opened, and the fear from that night was vented. Next, she just needed quiet rest without stimulation.

Wen Xiushan wanted to invite Li Zhuoyuan to stay for a meal to express his thanks again, but Li Zhuoyuan refused.

The problem was solved too quickly, and it was still early. He and Lin Shuyou left the Miao village.

On the way back on foot, Li Zhuoyuan again detoured to the Zhao Jun Temple on the mountain.

The originally broken and opened stele had been buried back with large stones. This should have been done by Zhao Yi.

Because Cui Hao and Li Ren didn’t have the intention, and even less the strength.

Li Zhuoyuan sat in the broken temple, feeling the wind blow, and watched the blue sky and white clouds for a while.

While emptying his mind, he also tried to imagine if the initial Zhao Wuchang, after suppressing the old witch, had also sat here like this.

Before leaving, the boy symbolically pulled some newly grown wild grass in the broken temple.

Lin Shuyou climbed to the top of the broken temple, wanting to clear some vines, and then accidentally caused another corner of the broken temple’s roof to collapse.

“Xiao Yuan Ge, I…”

“It’s nothing, the Dragon King won’t mind.”

This temple was built here originally to remotely watch and suppress the sealed old witch, not for seeking incense offerings.

Going down the mountain and returning, they met Tan Wenbin coming out from the room rented by the two older sisters next door to the earthen building.

Tan Wenbin was twisting his neck and stretching his waist, looking relaxed and comfortable.

The sign said “cupping,” and the older sisters really had jars.

However, Tan Wenbin was the only true customer who went for cupping.

The older sisters’ cupping technique was very rough, after all, they were not professional in this.

But Tan Wenbin now quite suited this rough technique. Every time cupping was done, others at most had some water mist inside, producing a few drops of water if it was extremely humid. Tan Wenbin’s jars, after being pulled out, could actually have water flowing out.

His condition was no longer just humid, but heavy with Yin energy.

Those two little kids had swallowed too much resentment, causing them indigestion, and even bringing suffering to him, their godfather, as well.

Li Zhuoyuan suggested that he could use arrays to remove part of the resentment and alleviate Tan Wenbin’s pain.

Tan Wenbin hesitated repeatedly, but still refused.

He said that the two kids had never had any good days since birth, and this time they could finally have a full meal, which was really not easy.

Tan Wenbin had just lit a cigarette at the door when an older sister with her hair tied up walked out from inside, holding a pack of ointment in her hand.

She said this was something she brought from her hometown and the paste was very effective.

Tan Wenbin pretended to take out money, was hit twice by the older sister, and the two laughed heartily.

Soon, another older sister came out, also holding a cigarette in her mouth, and at the same time handed Tan Wenbin a freshly woven scarf.

The scarf was not long, the patterns were not many, but the stitches were very dense.

Tan Wenbin put it directly on his neck.

These were gifts from the two older sisters to Tan Wenbin, knowing that he was leaving.

The two older sisters were both straightforward people. They didn’t force prostitution; they just came here specifically to earn some money and leave. They relied on labor to earn money. They had husbands and children at home, and their husbands also knew what they came out to do.

After returning to the earthen building, Tan Wenbin asked: “Where did Mengmeng and Runsheng go?”

Li Zhuoyuan: “They told me they wanted to go to the bottom of the lake again.”

Tan Wenbin: “Does Mengmeng still want to continue catching insects?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head.

Although it was Yinmeng who suggested it, he knew it wasn’t Yinmeng who wanted to go.

…

Runsheng: “You can stay on the shore and wait for me.”

Yinmeng: “Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. I’m not at ease letting you go down alone.”

The two continued on their way and came to the deepest part of the Zhao Jun Temple’s main hall.

The ground here was densely covered with vertically inserted crystals, and there were impact marks everywhere.

Yinmeng sighed: “It was really not easy for Xiao Yuan Ge here at that time.”

After sighing, Yinmeng’s attention was on these crystals. She tried to touch them with her hand, but found that the crystals had already deteriorated internally. After touching them, they turned into dust and fell off.

Not only because the engineering at the hydropower station changed the Feng Shui here, but also because the old witch herself was one of the necessary conditions for the formation of these crystals.

Yinmeng felt some pity.

Runsheng walked to the headless corpse of the old witch. The corpse was still there, but because the “boy” had extracted all her vitality during birth, it was equivalent to the residue of bones that had been repeatedly stewed and had no flavor left.

Yinmeng asked: “If I hadn’t helped you talk to Xiao Yuan Ge to come down, you probably wouldn’t have come down?”

Runsheng: “Hmm.”

Yinmeng: “Is it that you don’t want Xiao Yuan Ge to know that you eat these things? Actually, Xiao Yuan Ge definitely already knows.”

Runsheng: “Xiao Yuan is smart, he definitely knows.”

Yinmeng shrugged. She could understand Runsheng’s awkwardness.

On one hand, he strongly desired these things; it was almost a kind of instinct for him.

It could even be said that having incense with every meal was a substitute for “that kind of thing.”

But he always unconsciously suppressed this impulse in front of Xiao Yuan, not wanting to destroy his image in front of Xiao Yuan, even if it was self-deception.

The “boy” was blasted into ashes; not even bones remained.

It was also fortunate that this was the case, otherwise if its corpse was really left behind, looking at its face which was almost the same as Xiao Yuan’s, Runsheng really wouldn’t have been able to bite.

Yinmeng spoke again: “If that Zhao Yi had come first, would the old witch have chosen Zhao Yi as the template to give birth to a child?”

Runsheng: “Probably would.”

Yinmeng sighed: “That would probably have been easier.”

Runsheng: “Indeed.”

Squatting down on the altar again, Runsheng lowered his head and looked at the dry corpse of the Gu child in front of him.

He picked up the dry corpse, as if lifting a huge dry-fried bullfrog.

The bones were very hard and solid.

Runsheng swallowed his saliva.

Yinmeng reminded: “He is a Gu child. Everything with Gu has poison.”

Runsheng: “But, he is very fragrant.”

Yinmeng: “Then you eat.”

Runsheng opened his mouth, about to bite down, but again closed his mouth and stopped.

Yinmeng: “What happened?”

Runsheng: “You go out for a while.”

Yinmeng: “Got it. Now you not only need to pay attention to your image in front of Xiao Yuan Ge, but also mind your image in front of me?”

“I used to eat this alone.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Yinmeng walked outside. There was a large patch of rotting flesh pieces there.

Raising her hand and flicking forward, the Gu insect flew out, fell onto the flesh pieces, turned a few circles, and then the Gu insect ran back again, climbing up Yinmeng’s pants leg, back to Yinmeng’s palm.

Yinmeng stretched out her finger, flicked it once, and flipped it over.

She laughed and scolded:

“Your mouth has become picky.”

After waiting for a long time, finally, Runsheng walked out.

Yinmeng turned to look and found that Runsheng’s eyes were not only completely red, but his facial expression was also alternating between calm and ferocious.

She had said earlier that eating a Gu child would cause problems.

Now, the problems had appeared.

Yinmeng: “Should have known earlier, should have let Xiao Yuan Ge come over to check.”

Runsheng: “Xiao Yuan doesn’t want to turn me into that appearance.”

Yinmeng: “Isn’t that right?”

Runsheng, looking at the rotting flesh pieces he had caused outside, said: “If I could be a bit stronger, after solving them at that time, I could have gone in and helped Xiao Yuan.”

Yinmeng didn’t speak.

Runsheng sat down: “You wait for me for a while. I need to rest a bit.”

Yinmeng: “Okay.”

Runsheng closed his eyes.

The pores around his body were constantly closing and opening, but the gas waves blowing out this time carried faint toxins.

The Gu insect in Yinmeng’s hand issued a warning, its two long antennae intertwining nonstop.

After putting away the Gu insect, Yinmeng retreated a distance back.

This wait lasted for more than an hour.

Runsheng stood up from the ground, opened his eyes, and this time, his eyes were completely red.

Yinmeng: “You are thoroughly poisoned.”

Runsheng didn’t speak.

Yinmeng: “Finished. Going back will get you scolded by Xiao Yuan Ge.”

Runsheng still didn’t speak.

Yinmeng: “Do you still have enough self-awareness now?”

Saying that, Yinmeng started walking out, simultaneously waving to Runsheng.

Runsheng stepped forward and began to advance.

“Huff…”

Yinmeng breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he could walk, no matter what big problem it was, back to the earthen building, Xiao Yuan Ge should have a way to solve it.

Just like this, Yinmeng led the way in front, and Runsheng followed behind.

“Later when I take you shopping for clothes, I hope you can be this obedient.”

Hearing this, Runsheng, whose eyes were completely red and expressionless, showed a pained look on his face.

Walking to the outermost platform, Yinmeng reminded: “About to go into the water.”

Runsheng didn’t walk; he stopped.

“What happened to you?” Yinmeng asked concernedly.

Runsheng squatted down and picked up a black stone. He rubbed it with his hand, and the corroded and discolored attachments on it rubbed off, revealing a soft, dark golden texture.

It was a piece of gold.

White Crane Child had killed two dead zombies here once. Those two dead zombies, like the noblewoman at the construction site, had also worn gold and silver when they were buried.

After the dead zombies died, they turned into pus, corroding and covering these jewels, but some leftovers could still be found.

Runsheng handed the gold in his hand to Yinmeng.

Yinmeng reached out and took it.

Then she raised her head, looked into Runsheng’s eyes, and found that the redness had faded, and he had returned to normal.

Yinmeng: “Are you okay now?”

Runsheng: “Hmm, I’m full.”

…

“I say, did you two fall into a money pit?”

Tan Wenbin looked at the bag Yinmeng handed him. Inside were some gold and silver.

Although the color wasn’t good, after being remelted, the amount was not light.

It was unclear when, but the team had formed a tacit understanding. This kind of spoils was first given to Tan Wenbin to handle.

Tan Wenbin would divide these, finding appropriate channels to donate most of them, leaving only a small part for his own expenses.

That was… money laundering.

Tan Wenbin: “These are historically the fat and anointing of the local people, the condensed blood and sweat of the local people. Donate the main portion to the county schools.”

Yinmeng: “You handle it. How much can you get?”

Tan Wenbin: “Enough for you to go shopping several times.”

Yinmeng nodded satisfactorily: “Then it’s fine.”

Shopping requires money, but it shouldn’t be too much money, otherwise it will lose the fun of shopping itself.

At least, Yinmeng thought so.

Tan Wenbin smiled somewhat bitterly and scratched his head: “Fortunately, they are all donated in various ways and names. If I always donate with my own name and account, if it’s dug up later, I won’t be on the news, nominated as one of the top ten figures in Nantong?”

Xue Liangliang: “Is that all your ambition?”

Tan Wenbin: “I don’t dare to think too high. Or maybe Liang Ge can take me to buy stocks? I’ll trick my parents and my girlfriend’s parents’ pension money and invest it all?”

Xue Liangliang knew Tan Wenbin was joking. He reached out and patted his shoulder, then handed him some certificates.

It was a series of various documents, including an internship certificate, all stamped, and also some allowances and subsidies inside.

However, everyone would leave tomorrow, but the end date was set for two months later.

Tan Wenbin teased: “Liangliang Ge, this isn’t your style.”

Initially in Mountain City, Xue Liangliang borrowed the unit’s car to take them out to play, and he filled the gas and returned it himself. He wouldn’t take public advantage.

Xue Liangliang shook his head: “It can be considered an unwritten rule. External work is hard, and not many people are willing to do it. Others are not like me and have side incomes.”

In the evening, the construction team held a small internal gathering meal to see off Xue Liangliang’s team.

Recently, no accidents had occurred at the construction site. Everyone defaulted that it was thanks to the high monk from Guiyang. Of course, the high monk was invited by Xue Liangliang.

After the gathering meal, everyone rested.

Tan Wenbin went out, and then came back to the earthen building. He went to the two older sisters next door to give them return gifts, one red envelope per person. After shouting a sound, he directly stuffed it through the door seam.

Early the next morning, refusing the engineering vehicle from the construction team, everyone still chose to take Ran Dacheng’s tractor to the county.

On the way, they passed a small waterfall. A group of children from a nearby village wearing triangular shorts were playing there, jumping in the water.

This was a game and entertainment that children in the plains could only dream of.

After all, a waterfall was too luxurious.

Xue Liangliang looked towards Li Zhuoyuan and asked: “Xiao Yuan, do you want to play for a bit?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head.

Xue Liangliang: “I actually want to play for a bit.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Wait until the Nantong cross-river bridge is built. You can jump into the water freely then. The bridge is much higher than this waterfall.”

Xue Liangliang choked, then said: “It’s been hard this time. I’ve made travel plans. How about I take you to properly play in Guizhou?”

It was indeed hard this time. First, they killed evil spirits, then recuperated, and then went to work at the construction site.

Previously, they all went out to solve evil spirits and immediately returned. Indeed, it hadn’t dragged on this long before.

Xue Liangliang originally thought Xiao Yuan would refuse, but to his surprise, Xiao Yuan nodded directly:

“Agree.”

Xue Liangliang: “I was joking.”

Everyone first went to the county, then to the city, and then, directly to the provincial capital’s airport.

Currently, taking a plane was still only something most Chinese people had seen in pictures on TV.

This was also a big reason why Xue Liangliang could frequently go to Nantong in the past. He could not only complete his work and leave early, but also didn’t care about train ticket reimbursement. He bought plane tickets himself, and used the time originally spent on the road to jump into rivers.

This could also be considered a great benefit of going out with Liangliang Ge.

Even after the plane landed in Shanghai, the chartered car outside the airport was also called and booked in advance by Xue Liangliang. He was simply too skilled at this process.

But even so, after sitting in the car, Xue Liangliang still felt dissatisfied:

“Transportation is still not developed enough. Later, when the infrastructure is well built, going to any city will be more convenient and will save a lot of trouble.”

Tan Wenbin: “Then we’ll wait until later.”

Xue Liangliang: “By the time later arrives, we’ll also be old.”

As soon as they entered Nantong territory, Xue Liangliang wanted to get off first. His destination had arrived.

Tan Wenbin asked him if he would go to Li Dage’s home. Xue Liangliang said that unless there was a special situation, he wouldn’t go and asked Tan Wenbin to greet Li Dage for him.

Everyone continued to sit in this car to Shigang.

Li Zhuoyuan, sitting in the front passenger seat, would gaze out of the car window, calculating the time to get home based on the car’s speed.

He didn’t know why he wanted to do this, but he just wanted to.

At the bottom of the lake, when facing that “eight-year-old self,” he was able to wake up from the illness relapse so quickly also because he was already very different from the past.

Compared to normal people, he still had emotional deficiency, but compared to his past self, he was already emotionally rich.

When they arrived home, walked along the village road towards home, then turned onto the new wide road to great-grandfather’s home, and saw the slender figure sitting on the second-floor balcony, Li Zhuoyuan had a dream-like feeling.

Tan Wenbin took out his written notes. On the way back, he had been writing and drawing, preparing a story for Liu Grandma.

For this, he specifically consulted Xiao Yuan Ge. This time the allusions should be more comfortable to listen to than in the past.

Li Sanjiang was not at home; he had gone to attend a funeral, bringing Qin Shu and Xiong Shan along.

Actually, bringing one Xiong Shan to attend a funeral was already very exaggerated; he even brought Qin Shu.

This configuration, not to mention attending a funeral, would be more than enough even for a collective burial of a Jianghu sect.

The next day, there was an even bigger event. An old overseas Chinese from Shigang town, who wished for his leaves to fall back to their roots, was holding a special grand funeral.

This was a true Nanyang overseas Chinese returning to the country to invest, not like Ding Dalin who was fake.

His son was willing to spend money to make a grand show. This time, Li Sanjiang not only continued to bring Xiong Shan and Qin Shu, but also pointed out Runsheng, Tan Wenbin, and Lin Shuyou, which was equivalent to bringing Li Zhuoyuan’s Dragon King team over.

Qin Shu was already accustomed to this. He had lived here in his early years and always did this.

Tan Wenbin and the others were also happy to cooperate with Li Dage, like following him out to play.

Inside the house, it was much quieter.

Li Zhuoyuan and A Li first drew pictures in the house. After they were tired of drawing, the two walked to the balcony rattan chair and sat down, playing chess while watching the scenery.

Liu Yumei sat downstairs drinking tea, looking up at the two above from time to time, with a smile on her face.

The joy of raising grandchildren with candy was no more beautiful than this.

Liu Yi, before preparing dinner, held sunflower seeds, leaned on the kitchen door frame, cracking seeds while watching the two children upstairs.

Even the most rapid river waves, after slapping past, the river surface would return to a period of calm.

Li Zhuoyuan was grateful to Liu Yumei in his heart.

Indeed, because he had suddenly lit the lamp, his physical configuration when walking the river was far inferior to Zhao Yi’s.

But the old lady had, for him, redrawn the atmosphere of “home.”

She was already exhausting her ability, giving everything she could to him.

After dinner, Li Zhuoyuan walked into the east room.

The original altar tablets had already been rearranged back here.

Familiar table, familiar stool, familiar candles, familiar layout, and familiar names and new tablets.

Li Zhuoyuan sat on the chair, facing the altar tablets.

Liu Yumei usually liked to sit here and chat with the tablets.

Li Zhuoyuan had nothing to say.

A Li always stood quietly beside him. She was waiting for the boy to finish, so she could go up and select tablets as materials.

Finally, Li Zhuoyuan finished looking and stood up.

A Li went forward and selected the ancestors.

Then, Li Zhuoyuan accompanied A Li as she shaved the object he had stared at earlier into wood shavings.

In the countryside, dinner was eaten early. Families didn’t need to wait for children to come back from school to eat; they ate even earlier.

Cui Cui, after eating dinner at home after school, would bring her homework and come to Li Sanjiang’s home to do it.

She wanted to find A Li to play.

Although, most of the time, A Li would draw by herself, do handicrafts, and sit on the balcony watching the scenery, she wouldn’t pay attention to her.

Cui Cui didn’t need attention either. As long as Sister A Li was beside her, she was content.

Sometimes, after finishing her homework, she would help grind ink and wash brushes. After A Li did handicrafts, she would help clean up.

When accompanying A Li sitting on the balcony together in a daze, she would involuntarily secretly smile.

When doing homework, if she encountered problems she couldn’t solve, she only needed to show a bitter face and scratch her head, and A Li would pick up a pen and help her write the process and answer.

Previously, when Li Zhuoyuan helped Tan Wenbin tutor for the college entrance exam, A Li also watched from the side.

Night fell, and Li Sanjiang brought his “large team” back.

Li Sanjiang led the way, chatting about the main family’s meals today. It was evident that great-grandfather had drunk and eaten happily.

Before going to bed at night, Li Zhuoyuan would, as usual, sit face to face with great-grandfather for a while, except when great-grandfather was drunk.

After covering great-grandfather with a quilt, Li Zhuoyuan returned to his bedroom, picked up a pen, and wrote in the “Zhuyuan Secret Volume.”

The last wave was not extracted from A Li’s dream by him, and later it was discovered to involve Zhao Yi’s team.

He had to newly incorporate this rule pattern.

Although doing it personally and completing it in advance could earn all the merits, it was also necessary to consider risk hedging.

This time it was Zhao Yi; he understood him too well, so it didn’t matter. But what if it was that kind of hothead?

Those who could be calculated were smart people, while those stubborn fools were instead immune to all poisons.

As the difficulty of later waves increased, this kind of cooperation mode would inevitably appear more frequently, and a plan needed to be prepared in advance.

He looked at the time, put down the pen, and turned off the desk lamp.

Before going to bed, Li Zhuoyuan walked past the painting table and saw that A Li still hadn’t finished that painting.

This time, after listening to his narration, A Li made improvements to the layout of the painting.

She divided one painting into five scenes, corresponding to Lin Shuyou, Yinmeng, Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and himself, respectively.

This was the first time they had entered the painting.

However, the boy understood A Li’s original intention.

Painting this way could compress Li Zhuoyuan’s scene, only needing to paint the scene of Li Zhuoyuan confronting the big-bellied old witch, without going into detail, and painting in that “eight-year-old boy.”

In A Li’s imagination, this painting album was for them to flip through and appreciate together later. She didn’t want the boy to frown and feel uncomfortable every time he flipped to this page.

Yesterday he slept too early, and woke up excessively early. When Li Zhuoyuan came out holding a basin to wash, he just saw A Li walking up.

Today, she was wearing a white skirt. The clothes covered the early morning sunlight, yet were covered back by the girl herself.

Li Zhuoyuan: “We’re going fishing today.”

A Li blinked her eyes, turned, and walked down the stairs.

Soon, the old lady’s voice came from downstairs: “Dirty is dirty.”

The clothes she custom-made for her granddaughter, except for the ones the boy liked, her granddaughter would wear more times, for example, the horse-face skirt from before.

Many other clothes were worn once and then put away.

It wasn’t that A Li didn’t wear old clothes, but Liu Yumei liked to design clothes. If a piece of clothing was worn for a long time, her design would be useless.

Liu Yumei had a bit of a perfectionist complex in this regard. Every set of clothes for her granddaughter required corresponding accessories and hairstyles.

Changing a set of clothes meant she had to start from scratch.

After washing up, Li Zhuoyuan walked into the east room somewhat embarrassed.

Liu Yumei glared at the boy unhappily, implying: You kid are just troublesome.

Li Zhuoyuan took the comb from Liu Yumei’s hand and, according to her instructions, combed A Li’s hair.

Liu Yumei then went to find new accessories.

The white skirt was changed to a black one, dignified and elegant.

After eating breakfast, Li Zhuoyuan went fishing with A Li.

The boy held the girl’s hand and used the “Qin Clan Observe Jiao Method” to observe the density of fish schools on the river surface, then selected the most suitable fishing spot.

If he still felt the fish were not fast enough, Li Zhuoyuan could use the “Liu Clan Observe Qi Secret,” wave his hand in front, change the Feng Shui pattern of this area, and attract the underwater fish schools over.

If a Feng Shui master and a fishing enthusiast saw this scene, they would probably vomit blood.

Too many fish were caught.

Li Zhuoyuan released many of them, then, carrying enough to make a pot of fish soup for the family, returned with A Li.

Just after returning home, they saw Li Weihan standing there.

“Xiao Yuan Hou, this is a letter from your mother.”

“My letter?”

“Yes, your mother still remembers you.”

Ever since the household registration change incident, Li Sanjiang had put Li Lan in the same rank as his “brothers.”

Li Weihan and Cui Guiying also didn’t dare to mention Li Lan too much in front of Li Sanjiang.

But elders always liked to muddle through, hoping for family harmony, even if just on the surface.

Li Zhuoyuan took the envelope. He didn’t know why Li Lan would send him a letter.

Li Weihan handed over money again: “This is from your mother.”

Li Zhuoyuan pushed the money back.

“Grandpa, great-grandfather will be unhappy if he knows.”

“You can…”

“I won’t deceive great-grandfather about this matter.”

“Alas, okay.”

Li Weihan knew that the child still hated his mother.

The good thing about Li Lan compared to his uncles was that Li Lan didn’t freeload off the elders. She would mail the alimony and festival gifts every month in a timely manner.

After Li Zhuoyuan started studying in Nantong, she also included tuition and living expenses.

Yes, even now, Li Lan would regularly send him money.

But Li Sanjiang didn’t allow Li Zhuoyuan to take this money, and Li Zhuoyuan himself didn’t want it either.

In Li Sanjiang’s view, those white-eyed wolf uncles, while freeloading, at least said some warm words on the surface, at least they spoke nicely. This Li Lan gave quite a lot of money, but there was really no human touch at all.

If the boy really lacked clothes, food, or money for school, then he would have to swallow his pride and acknowledge his mother’s kindness. But he had the means to provide for the boy. By not spending her money, the boy would have some confidence when facing his mother later. Working hard to earn money and solving basic needs, wasn’t it just for this smooth intent!

After Li Weihan left, Li Zhuoyuan opened Li Lan’s letter.

There were no words inside the letter, but a folded printed painting.

When the painting was unfolded, it was a corner of mountains and water, like a piece cut from some New Year painting.

But the label in the bottom right corner was still there… Beautiful Ji’an.

Li Zhuoyuan’s mind was quickly thinking.

He believed he could definitely think of the answer.

This was based on the trust between their mother and son, each in the other’s IQ.

Li Zhuoyuan had never been to Ji’an. For this beautiful border small city, the keywords he could relate to currently were only two.

One, it was recorded on bamboo slips as one of the coordinates of the Nine Secret Realms.

Another was Luo Gong.

When Luo Gong was young, he once participated in a very confidential civil air defense project. There, he came into contact with the shadow of ancient Goguryeo.

Li Lan knew his relationship with Luo Gong.

So, this was a leak to him in advance?

Li Zhuoyuan did not continue to dwell on this letter, because he knew that news should arrive very soon.

News came the next day, and it was brought by the person himself.

Several official cars drove into Siyuan Village and onto the dam of Li Sanjiang’s home.

This scene made Li Sanjiang somewhat flustered.

Luo Gong came personally. After leaving school, his status rose quickly. When he came here, local leaders would accompany him.

Xue Liangliang was also in the car. After getting off, he smiled at Li Zhuoyuan, like a small fish caught slacking.

“Xiao Yuan, get in the car.”

Li Zhuoyuan was called into the car by Luo Gong.

Luo Gong then looked towards Tan Wenbin standing beside him.

“Tan… Tan classmate, you also get in the car.”

“Aye, good.”

Li Zhuoyuan reminded: “Teacher, that Lin Shuyou classmate is also from our school. We are in the same class and participated in the internship together.”

“Hmm, let him also get in the car.”

Lin Shuyou thus also got in the car.

Luo Gong had come here for a meeting, but during the meeting, he received a notification. This notification made his emotions somewhat out of control, even somewhat disregarding some matters of face.

Everyone first took the car to the city, ate an official meal together, and after Luo Gong finished his afternoon meeting, he ordered tea downstairs at the hotel, and everyone sat around on sofas.

Luo Gong lit a cigarette and took a deep puff.

Everyone could see that Luo Gong had something on his mind. However, only Li Zhuoyuan guessed what it was.

The boy could understand Luo Gong’s current mood. That year, he was still just an ordinary investigator, limited by permissions, and knew not much about that event which he remembered for half his life. But now, with his current identity, if he could re-participate in this matter, the lingering mystery in his heart would have a chance to be solved.

There, it was the white moonlight in Luo Gong’s heart.

The power of white moonlight lies in that it will not fade with the passage of time; instead, it will become brighter and brighter, with more filtered beauty.

Luo Gong extinguished the cigarette butt, cleared his throat, and in the depths of his eyes flowed recollection, which then turned into a wisp of determination. He said in a tone that was both apprehensive and excited:

“The decision has been made to restart the Ji’an 572 civil air defense project!”