When Li Sanjiang returned home carrying Li Zhuiyuan, the sky was just turning a fish-belly white with the first hint of dawn.

Cui Guiying took the child, and Li Sanjiang left after chatting with Li Weihan for a while.

Li Zhuiyuan was settled on a mat bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. He couldn’t sleep; every time he closed his eyes, he seemed to see Little Huang Ying dancing in the fish pond again.

Cui Guiying and Li Weihan didn’t go into the inner room to rest. Instead, they sat in the kitchen. The woman continuously rubbed her fingers until they were red, while the man incessantly smoked his water pipe, bowl after bowl.

Looking at the brightening sky, Cui Guiying stood up and said, “I’ll go make breakfast for the children first.”

Li Weihan exhaled a puff of smoke and replied, “It’s a bit early for that.”

Cui Guiying had no choice but to sit down again, looking at her husband. “Then how long do we have to wait?”

“Until someone notifies us.”

“Who will notify us?”

Li Weihan didn’t answer, simply continuing to suck on his pipe stem.

After sitting for a while longer, a knocking sound came from the door:

“Guiying, Guiying.”

It was their next-door neighbor, Zhao Simei.

Li Weihan tapped his water pipe and said, “The notification has arrived.”

Cui Guiying got up, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she opened the door, asking, puzzled, “What is it, Simei?”

Zhao Simei reached out, grabbed Cui Guiying’s arm, and shook it vigorously:

“Someone died at Old Man Hu’s house!”

“What?”

“Two died, Old Man Hu and his youngest son. They were just seen floating in their fish pond. Everyone’s gone to see; come on, let’s go together!”

“Let’s go!”

Before leaving, Cui Guiying shouted to the inner room, “Yingzi, the rice has been rinsed. Make breakfast in a bit.”

“Got it, Grandma.”

After receiving the reply, Cui Guiying went out with Zhao Simei.

Li Weihan waited for a moment, felt the opened pack of cigarettes in his pocket, placed his water pipe on the table, and also left the house.

Zhao Simei’s earlier knocking had actually woken the children. Knowing something extraordinary had happened, the children all got up and ran out, eager to witness the spectacle. Even though Yingzi shouted “Brush your teeth and wash your face” from behind, she couldn’t call them back.

At this moment, Old Man Hu’s fish pond was surrounded by people, and villagers continuously streamed towards it from the village road—men and women, old and young, bringing their whole families.

Two bodies floated in the fish pond. No one went to retrieve them, even though a small boat was moored by the bank. Although Old Man Hu’s family had a very bad reputation in the village, the villagers weren’t usually this cold-hearted. The reason no one helped to pull the bodies ashore was that the corpses were grotesquely bloated, like biscuits left too long in a bowl. Their skin had a semi-transparent, fleshy-crystalline color, resembling two large human-shaped blocks of pork jelly.

Many people knew that drowned bodies swell when left in water too long, but how could two people who were alive and well just yesterday become like rehydrated wood ear mushrooms overnight? This was simply too eerie, leading no one to dare approach or touch the bodies.

Old Man Hu’s wife knelt by the pond, wailing loudly. But she only knew how to cry and didn’t understand what needed to be done. When people around tried to console her, she ignored them, merely lamenting her bitter fate.

Finally, Old Man Hu’s eldest son rushed back from town. At last, there was someone to take charge. However, seeing his father and younger brother in their current state on the pond surface, the eldest son’s face twitched in fear. He didn’t dare go down to retrieve them and had no choice but to ask someone to invite Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang arrived, pushing a handcart laden with the tools of his trade. Upon reaching the site, Li Sanjiang first glanced at the situation on the pond, then immediately began waving his hands and backing away in fright:

“Damn it, I wouldn’t dare retrieve these. It’ll shorten my life, shorten my life! Find someone else, quickly, find someone else!”

His outburst caused an uproar among the onlookers, who began whispering to each other about what kind of evil Old Man Hu’s family had committed to attract such malevolent forces. Soon, some villagers brought up the matter of Little Huang Ying from yesterday, as the funeral service troupe had indeed almost gotten into a fight at Old Man Hu’s house. In a village, it was hard to keep secrets.

Li Weihan also spoke up, recounting to those around him his experience yesterday of taking his grandchildren out in a boat on the river. He spoke of his grandson falling into the water, having a nightmare about seeing a woman walking in the water, and being so frightened that he fell into a trance. He added that Zheng Datong’s visit was useless, and thankfully Liu Xiazi had come to handle the situation.

Immediately, many people gathered around to listen to Li Weihan’s narration, constantly offering their own opinions. Cui Guiying stood beside Li Weihan, her expression very tense. Normally, if she didn’t need to cook or do laundry, she could sit on the threshing ground with the other village women and gossip non-stop for three days and three nights. But today, she was quiet and dared not speak. Her heart felt hollow and panicked, like a thief crying “stop thief,” or a cat deliberately crying over a mouse.

Panzi, Leizi, Huzi, and Shitou also began to speak, saying they had seen a female water ghost yesterday that almost dragged Little Yuan Hou down to be a substitute ghost—she was seeking revenge!

For a while, the surroundings resembled a large open-air tea party. After the matter of Little Huang Ying had been thoroughly discussed, the villagers, still feeling unsatisfied, dug up Old Man Hu’s old grievances and trivial matters to continue rehashing.

Not long after, Old Man Hu’s second son, with his wife, and his two daughters, with their husbands, also rushed home. The two daughters hugged their mother and began crying together, while the two sons and two sons-in-law stood together, negotiating the price with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang drove a hard bargain, claiming that a double retrieval and such eerie corpses warranted ten times the usual price for retrieving a single body.

After agreeing on the payment, Li Sanjiang set up an offering table, made sacrifices, lit candles, and burned paper money. He additionally offered half an hour of chanting invocations to attract spirits, capturing everyone’s attention. Although this performance wasn’t as flashy as that of the funeral service troupe, everyone knew that the troupe was all for show, while this man was truly professional.

During this time, two Santanas drove up, both with police lights on top. People from the town’s police station had arrived. Normally, if someone drowned, it was just a drowning and not a big deal. But this time, two people—a father and son—had drowned, and it was right at their doorstep, so the nature of the incident was different.

The police came to assess the situation and couldn’t help but be stunned for a while. They had seen bloated bodies before, but never so “exquisitely” bloated. Seeing this, they had no choice but to wait until the bodies were retrieved. They didn’t interrupt Li Sanjiang’s ritual, nor did they approach, but instead returned to their cars by the roadside, smoking and waiting patiently.

Finally, Li Sanjiang finished his work. He slaughtered a rooster, sprinkled a bowl of what might or might not have been real black dog blood, and then got into the pond, paddling the boat to the center. First, he used a “guiding hook” to bring the bodies to the side of the boat, then a “soul-retrieving basket” to secure and lift them onto the boat. Next, he covered the bodies with a “home-coming net.” After paddling the boat to the bank, he bent down and, using a specific technique, lifted the body onto his back before coming ashore.

This was a very important rule in the profession of body retrievers: the retriever’s own feet must touch the shore first before the body is set down. This signifies “sending” and “carrying” the deceased “home.” Lastly, the body could only be lowered at the invitation of the family in charge. This completed the task with a proper exchange, ensuring the deceased knew they had truly returned home and wouldn’t become a wandering ghost following him.

After repeating the process twice, Old Man Hu and his son finally ceased their floating and were laid on two straw mats.

With everything done, Li Sanjiang looked at the center of the fish pond with lingering fear. He had only dutifully retrieved the bodies and hadn’t dared to explore deeper. God knew if she was still in there.

The police cordoned off the bodies, but the villagers didn’t care, still craning their necks from a distance to watch. Occasional frightened screams from children could be heard during this time. Li Sanjiang collected his payment, packed his tools, and returned, pushing his handcart with a cigarette in his mouth. The surrounding villagers all avoided him and made way; everyone steered clear of someone who had just retrieved bodies.

The police began their formal investigation. Their temporary office was set up at Old Man Hu’s house, and the village Party secretary assisted, helping to call people, boil water, and serve tea. Old Man Hu’s wife couldn’t offer a clear explanation; she had simply woken up to find her husband not beside her, and it was outsiders passing their fish pond who discovered the father and son floating in the water and called her.

The deputy chief leading the team asked the village Party secretary if anyone in the village had a grudge against Old Man Hu’s family. The secretary cleaned his ear and replied blandly:

“Oh, there were quite a few.”

Subsequently, those with grudges lined up to give statements. Li Weihan, who had recounted the story of Little Huang Ying, as well as Panzi, Leizi, and the others, were also called in for questioning. Initially, the police thought another body had been found and even dispatched officers to search the river section with Li Weihan, but they found nothing. Moreover, Li Weihan’s account was too outlandish, so it could only be regarded as a superstitious tale told by an old village man to his grandchildren. It was unclear whether to treat this statement as valid. Seeing that no one believed him, Li Weihan grew anxious, repeatedly insisting that his encounter was real and pestering the police and those around him to believe him. He was finally coaxed away by the village Party secretary.

The funeral service troupe that had caused trouble yesterday was also summoned for investigation, but they had gone to the neighboring village for business the day before the incident and the entire troupe had alibis. As for Little Huang Ying’s disappearance and the complications involved, first, the person or body could not be found, and second, the responsible parties, Old Man Hu and his son, were already dead. So, she could only be reported as missing for now. The incident of the father and son drowning was ultimately closed as an accidental drowning, essentially meaning that Old Man Hu and his son had been drinking at night, got carried away, went on a drunken spree in the fish pond, and then both drowned.

Old Man Hu’s family also didn’t insist on further investigation because after the funeral, the two sons and two daughters started arguing about dividing the family property, having a nasty public spat that added another topic of conversation to the village gossip.

That day, it was already dusk when Li Weihan and Cui Guiying finished giving their statements and walked home with the children. The children walked ahead, while the elderly couple walked behind. Cui Guiying patted her chest and asked with lingering fear, “Why did you volunteer to speak up, and then get called in for questioning by the police? You scared me to death!”

Li Weihan casually tossed the empty cigarette pack from his pocket onto the roadside, pressed his lips together, and said:

“Uncle taught me that. You have to say it, you can’t keep it bottled up. Zheng Datong and Liu Jinxia also know something about Little Yuan Hou’s matter.”

Cui Guiying complained, “Just inform them and keep it a secret.”

Li Weihan shook his head. “Even if adults know how to keep a secret, can children keep it without spilling it?”

“This…”

Li Weihan sighed deeply and said:

“Uncle said the best way to keep a secret is to tell it in public.”

Most of the villagers went to Old Man Hu’s fish pond to watch the spectacle. Li Zhuiyuan didn’t go. He lay on the bed, unable to sleep, so he moved a small stool and sat in the courtyard outside, gazing at the distant farmland. After a while, his older sister Yingzi, who had finished washing the dishes, also came out. She first brought out a square stool, placed stationery, books, and homework on it, and then sat on a smaller stool. A makeshift desk was thus formed, and the bright sun served as her lamp.

Yingzi’s parents didn’t pay much attention to her studies, but they never said things like “girls going to school is useless,” “better to marry early,” or “find connections to get a job at a textile factory to make money.” They paid her tuition fees when they were due before the semester, and she didn’t need to be shy or feel guilty about asking for materials fees and such; it was normal to ask. However, everything pales in comparison. Compared to other girls’ families in the village, Yingzi’s parents’ purely hands-off and uninvolved approach ironically became an example of valuing their daughter’s education.

Yingzi knew this was due to the influence of her paternal aunt, Li Lan. Her aunt had single-handedly changed her fate through studying, becoming the pride of her grandparents. Even her father and uncles would unconsciously puff out their chests with pride whenever they mentioned her aunt to outsiders. However, Yingzi’s academic performance was only average, even though she genuinely worked hard and never slacked off. Of course, her grandparents wouldn’t have intentionally sacrificed their sons just to educate their daughter. It was simply that her father and uncles truly couldn’t grasp their studies. This made her wonder, had all the brains of the old Li family gone to her aunt?

At first, this thought was just a fleeting idea, not a strong one. But then, on the second day Little Yuan Hou was sent here, he sat beside her, a bit reserved. When she was struggling with a math problem for a long time, a quiet voice whispered in her ear:

“Square root of 3.”

After that, whenever Yingzi had a problem she couldn’t solve, she would ask Li Zhuiyuan to do it. Yingzi also noticed that Little Yuan Hou barely needed to think; he could just glance at a problem and state the answer. Perhaps for him, the biggest trouble came from having to write out the solution steps, otherwise, his foolish sister wouldn’t understand! And she was already in her first year of high school, mind you.

Yingzi had asked him what school he attended in Beijing, and Li Zhuiyuan replied: “Young Prodigy Class.” Yingzi unconsciously interpreted “Young Prodigy Class” as elementary school. She mused to herself, *As expected of an elementary school student from the capital, the curriculum is surprisingly advanced.*

Li Zhuiyuan simply sat there, staring blankly, occasionally snapping out of his daze to help his sister with a problem, then returning to his vacant gaze.

Feeling a pen cap lightly poking him, Li Zhuiyuan turned to look at the problem, but instead saw his sister pointing towards the west side of the courtyard. There was a set of steps, and at the bottom stood a little girl in a floral dress. It was Cuicui, Liu Jinxia’s granddaughter. She stood there timidly, not daring to come up.

Yingzi frowned at Li Zhuiyuan, motioning him not to pay attention to her. In the past, she would have directly told Cuicui to leave, as all the children in the village had a consensus not to play with her. But yesterday, Liu Jinxia and her daughter had, after all, come to their house to “treat” her brother’s illness, so she was embarrassed to say anything now.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked towards the edge of the courtyard, approaching Cuicui. He smiled and asked, “You’re here. Is there something you need?”

Cuicui looked in another direction, twirling the hem of her skirt with her fingers, and said, “I came to play with you.”

“Okay,” Li Zhuiyuan turned and waved to his sister Yingzi. “Sis, Cuicui and I are going to play.”

Yingzi said nothing, sighed, and lowered her head to continue her homework.

Actually, there wasn’t much to play with. Often, it was just a matter of not wanting to stay home, so they would run to a friend’s house, call the friend out, and then all wander aimlessly together. Cuicui looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who had walked out with her, with a smile in her eyes. This was the first time she had gone to someone else’s house to call them out, just like the other children in the village.

However, she still didn’t dare to step onto other people’s courtyards without permission. Children her age might not understand many things, but they were more sensitive, and she didn’t want to receive those disapproving glances from adults.

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, my mom said you were sick yesterday?”

“Yes.” At the reminder, Little Huang Ying’s image resurfaced in Li Zhuiyuan’s mind, and his smile gradually faded.

“Ah?” Cuicui immediately apologized, “I won’t talk about it anymore, I won’t. Being sick is indeed difficult.”

Li Zhuiyuan felt his pocket and said apologetically, “Uh, I forgot to bring you snacks.” It wasn’t actually that he forgot; his grandparents weren’t home, and the snack cabinet was locked and couldn’t be opened. His sister Yingzi seemed to know where the key was hidden, but Li Zhuiyuan knew that if he asked her for help, she would speak ill of Cuicui to him inside the house.

“Snacks? We have some at my house, lots of them. Let’s go eat them at my house.”

“To your house?”

“Yes, let’s go play at my house.”

“Okay.”

Being agreed to, Cuicui mustered her courage and took Li Zhuiyuan’s hand. The two walked together on the field path. At this moment, she really hoped that the adults in the courtyards of the houses along the road would see her and ask, “Oh, Little Cuicui, who are you playing with?” She also hoped to meet children her age on the road, so they could see that she had a playmate too. Unfortunately, most of the villagers had gone to Old Man Hu’s fish pond to see the “pork jelly.”

However, she was still very happy; her lips couldn’t help but curve upwards. If she wasn’t holding his hand, she felt she would spin around in circles with joy.

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, do you have trouble understanding us when we talk?”

“At first, I didn’t understand anything at all. Then, if you spoke slower and used shorter sentences, I could understand. Now, I not only understand everything, but I can also say some things myself, though my pronunciation isn’t standard.”

When he was first sent to this family, he truly couldn’t understand anything the elders said to him. Only his siblings, who had attended school, could communicate with him in Mandarin Chinese. He remembered back then, every time he called Li Weihan and Cui Guiying “maternal grandparents,” they would visibly get a little upset and repeatedly correct him, telling him to call them “paternal grandparents.” Indeed, there was no term for “maternal grandparents” locally. Often, the distinction between paternal and maternal grandmothers was made by direction, for example, calling the one living in the south “Southern Grandma” and the one in the north “Northern Grandma.”

“By the way, Big Brother Yuan Hou, have you been to the Forbidden City?”

“Yes, I have.”

“I want to go too, someday.”

“Sure. If you ask me, I’ll take you.”

“Really? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“No, I’m not lying. I know the Forbidden City very well.”

In Li Zhuiyuan’s memory, for a period, Li Lan worked at the Forbidden City, and he would be left to play by himself there. Sometimes he would sit on the steps of a side gate, holding a tabby cat in his arms, watching the continuous stream of tourists entering through the main gate, spending entire afternoons like that.

“By the way, Big Brother Yuan Hou, have you ever drunk Douzhir?”

“Hmm…”

“Have you?” Cuicui asked, blinking her big eyes curiously.

“I have.”

“Is it good? What does Douzhir taste like?”

*What did it taste like?* Li Zhuiyuan’s mind replayed the scene from last week when Cui Guiying scrubbed the family’s sour vegetable vat that had gone bad.

“Some people like it, some don’t.”

“Really? Then I must try it when I go to Beijing someday.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, look, that’s my house.”

Following the direction of Cuicui’s finger, Li Zhuiyuan saw a two-story building behind a field.

“You live in a multi-story house!”

Houses of all styles existed in the village. Most were brick and tile bungalows, a small portion of very poor families still lived in earthen houses, and similarly, a small portion of well-off families had already built two-story houses.

Walking onto Cuicui’s courtyard, Li Jinxia was in the living room on the first floor, smoking a cigarette and playing bridge. Her card partners were two old women and an old man. Those who came to play cards with Liu Jinxia could also get free meals at her house, and the food was quite good, with meat and alcohol. So Liu Jinxia never lacked card partners, and she was happy to spend a bit to “buy” people to keep her company. The card table was indeed a magical place; despite Liu Jinxia having poor eyesight due to cataracts, it didn’t affect her card-playing speed at all.

“Grandma, I brought Big Brother Yuan Hou to play at our house.”

“Grandma Liu,” Li Zhuiyuan greeted.

“Mm, go play,” Liu Jinxia responded, then refocused on her cards. “Pong!”

Just moments ago, the card players had been discussing what was happening at Old Man Hu’s house. Liu Jinxia had been casually responding while blowing smoke rings. Hearing her granddaughter come in with Li Zhuiyuan, she paused slightly, narrowing her eyes through the smoke. This child was afflicted by a spirit yesterday, and this morning, Old Man Hu and his son were floating in the fish pond. If there wasn’t something fishy going on, Liu Jinxia would not believe it even if she died.

However, she didn’t utter a sound to stop her granddaughter from playing with Li Zhuiyuan. *What a joke,* she thought. *They’re all jinxes. What’s the point of one jinx disliking another?*

Cuicui led Li Zhuiyuan through the hall to the inner room, where Li Juxiang was sitting on a stool, picking vegetables. Seeing her daughter bring someone home, she was surprised. As soon as she saw it was Li Zhuiyuan, a smile uncontrollably bloomed on her face. This reminded her of her own childhood, of scenes playing with Li Lan.

Li Juxiang immediately got up, wiping her hands on her apron. “Have a seat, Little Yuan Hou.” Then, she promptly went into the house and brought out many snacks and treats to entertain him. Liu Jinxia’s family was indeed well-off, and Cuicui was the only child, so she enjoyed a snack privilege that other children in the village envied. Li Juxiang also opened two bottles of citric acid soda, giving one to Li Zhuiyuan and one to Cuicui. This carbonated drink, shaped like a beer bottle, was inexpensive and very popular. The children were too lazy to pour it into bowls and would drink directly from the bottle, imitating the adults’ bold manner when drinking.

“Little Yuan Hou, how is your mother?”

“She’s fine, Auntie.”

“I heard your mom, she got a div—” Li Juxiang suddenly realized it was inappropriate to ask a child this and quickly corrected herself. “Your mom and I used to play together a lot when we were little. We were very close.”

“Oh, Mom talked about you. Auntie Xiang Hou, Auntie Xiang Hou.”

Generally, the suffix “Hou” was used only between elders and peers; juniors were not supposed to use it. But Li Juxiang was certainly not angry; on the contrary, she was delighted. She could imagine Li Lan talking about her to her son, using the name “Xiang Hou.” This proved that she hadn’t forgotten her.

“Your mom was very smart back then, and her grades were good. Not like me; I get a headache just looking at books.” Li Juxiang tucked a strand of hair behind her earlobe. “When will your mom come home to visit?”

“My mom is busy with work. She said she’d come pick me up after she’s done.”

Cuicui spoke up, “Mom, I’m taking Big Brother Yuan Hou upstairs to play.”

“Mm, go ahead. Take good care of Little Yuan Hou.”

Cuicui pulled Li Zhuiyuan’s hand. When they reached the stairs, she skillfully took off her shoes and changed into slippers. Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan also began to take off his shoes.

“No, Big Brother Yuan Hou, don’t take them off. Just come on up.”

Li Zhuiyuan still took off his shoes, intending to go up barefoot. Cuicui had no choice but to hand him her mother’s slippers to wear.

Wearing the large slippers, Li Zhuiyuan followed Cuicui to the second floor and into her room, where a black and white television sat. Liu Jinxia’s family had bought a television long ago, but she hadn’t announced it. The villagers were distant towards her family, and she couldn’t be bothered to invite people over to watch TV at her house.

Cuicui turned on the standing electric fan, but the blades didn’t move. “Huh, is the power out?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “The plug isn’t in.”

“Heh, you’re right!” Cuicui bent down, picked up the plug, and inserted it into the wall socket:

“Whirr… Whirr… Whirr-whirr… Whirr-whirr-whirr—”

The heavy fan blades slowly began to turn, emitting a heavenly sound that dispelled the midsummer heat.

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, do you want to watch TV?”

“Either is fine.”

Cuicui turned on the television, then twisted the dial. After one full turn, there were only a few channels, and half of them were static.

“Jing Gege, are you alright?”

“Rong’er, I’m fine.”

“Hmph, Ouyang Feng, you…”

Every summer and winter vacation, *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* was regularly shown on TV. The two sat on the edge of the bed and watched TV for a while when Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt sleepy. He hadn’t rested since last night. Earlier, he had been overly emotionally tense, but now that his emotions had subsided, fatigue quickly set in.

Cuicui mistakenly thought Li Zhuiyuan didn’t want to watch TV, so she got off the bed and began showing him her fabric dolls, toys, and picture books in her room. Although very sleepy, Li Zhuiyuan still watched her, trying his best to respond to each of her introductions. The little girl was immersed in the joy of sharing, but she soon realized she wasn’t hearing any responses. She turned to look at the side of the bed and found Li Zhuiyuan leaning against it, fast asleep.

Cuicui immediately stopped talking. Moving softly and lightly, she carefully came closer, gently laid Li Zhuiyuan flat, folded the thin summer quilt, and covered his stomach. Next, she pushed the electric fan towards them, pressed the small button on the back of the fan, and the fan began to oscillate. After doing all this, she moved a chair and sat by the bed, resting her chin in her hands, gazing at the sleeping Li Zhuiyuan.

After watching for a while, she secretly smiled, her earlobes flushing red. She turned her face away, but a moment later, she couldn’t help but look back at him. Time unconsciously slipped by like this.

“Little Cuicui, Little Cuicui, bring Little Yuan Hou down for dinner!” Li Juxiang’s voice called from downstairs.

Cuicui immediately went downstairs and said to Li Juxiang, “Mom, Big Brother Yuan Hou is asleep.”

“Then you come down and eat first. We’ll save some food for him.”

“No, I’m not hungry. I want to wait for Big Brother Yuan Hou to wake up and eat with him.”

Most parents in the village with a sense of propriety would stop their children from going out to play with friends around meal times, for fear of being invited to the table and appearing to be taking advantage. However, sometimes it was unavoidable, and they would naturally join the meal. Cuicui had never experienced this; she was willing to wait for Li Zhuiyuan to wake up and eat with him.

Li Juxiang smiled, nodded, and went to the living room to invite her mother and card partners for lunch. Cuicui ran back to the second floor, sat back in her spot, and continued watching Li Zhuiyuan:

“Huh?” Cuicui leaned in a bit closer, puzzled, because she noticed Big Brother Yuan Hou’s brow was furrowed. “Is he dreaming?”

“Grandma, I brought Big Brother Yuan Hou to play at our house.”

“Yes, play. Pong!”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Cuicui standing in front of him, then at Liu Jinxia playing cards with her three partners in the living room. He knew he was dreaming. The scene around him was simply too detached from reality. His vision was entirely black and white; all the people and objects seemed to be sketched with charcoal. Though they depicted the corresponding people and things, they were somewhat blurry and distorted. Crude lines hinted at an eerie randomness.

Li Zhuiyuan looked down at himself and found himself to be normal. It was the other people and objects in the dream that were abnormal. This reminded him of the tracing papers in his mother’s study—the same white background with charcoal marks.

He dreamed of the moment he and Cuicui first arrived at her house and greeted Liu Jinxia. Next, Cuicui, standing in front of him, took his hand and started walking inside. The little girl’s formerly delicate hand now felt rough and a bit painful in his, like sandpaper. He couldn’t help but pull free and stopped. Cuicui, however, continued to walk inside alone, but her arm remained in the posture of holding someone’s hand. Behind him, the four people playing cards in the living room, including Liu Jinxia, suddenly fell silent.

Li Zhuiyuan looked back and saw that all four of them were frozen still, motionless. Even the smoke rings Liu Jinxia blew from her mouth were fixed in place, not dissipating further. This stillness also gave Li Zhuiyuan an opportunity to observe. The charcoal marks on the three card partners were soft and shallow, while Liu Jinxia’s image had very thick, deep, and hard lines.

He stood there for a long time, puzzled. In the past, whenever he realized he was dreaming, he would immediately wake up, but this time, he was still in the dream. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan chose to walk inside and saw Li Juxiang sitting there picking vegetables. The lines on Li Juxiang’s figure were also very hard, very jarring compared to the thin, faint lines around her. Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Li Juxiang. Deep charcoal lines outlined the details of her expression; she was smiling, her eyes filled with reminiscence.

“Auntie Juxiang, Auntie Juxiang?” Li Zhuiyuan tried calling her a few times, and even waved his hand in front of her face, but Li Juxiang remained motionless, not even blinking.

Leaving there, Li Zhuiyuan went to the stairwell. Before going up, he took off his shoes and walked upstairs barefoot. Arriving at the bedroom, the standing electric fan was still, no longer turning. Guo Jing and Huang Rong on the television screen were now just blurred sketches. Cuicui was pointing at one of her dolls, her mouth open as if telling a story, also motionless. The lines on Cuicui’s figure were clearer and harder than those on her grandmother and mother, almost becoming thick, hard black lines. It was as if everyone and everything else were drawn, but she was carved.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the bed; he wasn’t on it—it was empty. Not only things were still, but also sounds. Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that he hadn’t heard any sound for a long time; the entire world was terrifyingly quiet. He began to feel panicked, because he didn’t know how long he would have to stay in this dream.

He opened the door from the bedroom to the balcony. The second-floor balcony of this building was connected, covered in red and white tiles. Looking out into the distance, except for some crudely drawn shapes barely recognizable as farmland near the house, most of the area in his vision was a bleak blankness. Looking up, where the sun should have been, there was only a glowing white circle, very much like an eraser that might fall at any moment and wipe away everything here.

“Hey, excuse me, is this Granny Liu’s house?”

A voice came from the courtyard below. At this moment, it sounded so abrupt, even jarring. Li Zhuiyuan, standing on the second floor, looked down. It was a man who appeared to be around fifty, carrying an old woman on his back. The old woman was very thin; her sleeves revealed only bone covered by shriveled skin. Her hair was very long and messy, cascading down her back.

“Hey, excuse me, is this Granny Liu’s house?” the man asked again, turning in a circle impatiently with his elderly mother on his back.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t know if he should answer. Just then, the old woman who had been slumped on the man’s back suddenly lifted her head, her face directly facing Li Zhuiyuan, who was standing on the second floor. Although all figures were charcoal-drawn, the old woman’s eyes displayed a level of detail that transcended the limits of the drawing style. It was anger, malice, and venom!

The next moment, Li Zhuiyuan found that everything around him began to spin and distort, like a vortex appearing out of thin air, tearing and pulling everything, including himself, into it.

“Big Brother Yuan Hou?”

Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes and saw Cuicui’s concerned face.

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, were you dreaming?”

“Yes,” Li Zhuiyuan sat up and responded. “How long did I sleep?”

“Not long, maybe two hours. Big Brother Yuan Hou, let’s go down for dinner.”

“No, I’ll go home to eat.”

“Oh, don’t be shy, Big Brother Yuan Hou,” Cuicui said, pulling Li Zhuiyuan’s hand and leading him downstairs. “Mom, Big Brother Yuan Hou is awake.”

By this time, Liu Jinxia and her three card partners had already finished lunch and started their afternoon session. Li Juxiang smiled as she lifted the red cover from the dining table in the kitchen. Inside was the food specially saved for him. “Little Yuan Hou, come eat. I’ll warm up the soup for you.”

“Auntie, I’ll go home to eat.”

“Good boy, listen to me. Don’t be polite with Auntie. Auntie never stood on ceremony with your mother either. Besides, Cuicui specifically waited for you to wake up to eat together.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“Big Brother Yuan Hou, sit here,” Cuicui sat down first. Li Zhuiyuan went to the other side of the counter to help get bowls and chopsticks.

“No, no, no, you sit. Auntie will get them.”

“Okay, Auntie.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked back and sat down. Soon, Li Juxiang placed chopsticks and a bowl of rice in front of him. Although the dishes on the table were served in small common bowls and the portions weren’t large, it was more than enough for two children. There were two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, especially the braised pork with potatoes; only two pieces of potato were used as garnish, the rest was all meat, clearly specially picked out and saved. Li Juxiang brought a bowl of stewed fish soup, with sesame oil drizzled on top and a little vinegar added, making it fragrant, fresh, and appealing. In addition, she also opened a canned fruit cocktail, pouring a bowl for each child. It could be said that for the village, it was truly a very lavish meal.

“Little Yuan Hou, stay for dinner tonight too. I’ll make you more delicious food