Grandma Liu said her granddaughter wasn’t just autistic. Now, Li Zhuiyuan believed her.

“Uncle Sanjiang! Uncle Sanjiang!”
Behind him, Niu Fu’s voice and footsteps were getting closer. The girl’s gaze continued to follow him.

He couldn’t let her keep staring…
Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the girl, stopped four meters from the threshold, then moved two steps sideways, blocking her view of Niu Fu with his body.

It would have been simpler to walk up to her and cover her eyes with his hands, but he didn’t dare. Grandma Liu’s previous warning was certainly not unfounded, especially considering the bloody lesson learned by Li Sanjiang.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed the girl’s eyelashes trembling slightly. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his approach as a stranger, or because of what she “saw.”

However, the girl did not turn to try and see past him. Instead, she returned her neck to its previous position, her gaze level. She was still again.

Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely afraid she might suddenly lunge at him and bite him. This was his first time being so close to her. Her vintage attire suited her perfectly; it complemented her beautifully. As she sat there, it felt as if he were the outsider, having intruded upon her era, her private garden.

Liu Yumei walked over then, gently placing a hand on Li Zhuiyuan’s shoulder. “Xiaoyuan,” she murmured, “Grandma reminded you not to get too close to A’li.”
“I remember, Grandma.” Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the threshold in front. “I won’t go any closer.”

Perhaps their previous interactions had left Liu Yumei with a good impression of the boy, as she couldn’t resist teasing him, “So, what do you think? Isn’t my A’li pretty?”
“Yes, very pretty. Just like you.”
“Heh heh heh…”
Liu Yumei laughed, amused. She stepped inside the house and glanced at the six-tiered wooden shelf in the inner room, filled with ancestral tablets. Those on the left were surnamed Liu, and those on the right, Qin.

She picked up an empty small plate, selected a few pastries from the offering tray below, then turned and walked out, handing the plate to Li Zhuiyuan. “Here, Grandma wants you to have some snacks.”
“Thank you, Grandma.” Li Zhuiyuan reached out and took it.
“They’re from the offering tray, so they’re clean.”
“Mhm.”
Li Zhuiyuan didn’t mind. He picked up a piece of shortbread, took a bite, and found it soft, delicate, and richly flavorful.

“Is it sweet?” Liu Yumei asked.
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. “It’s delicious, not sweet.”
Liu Yumei sat on the threshold, watching Li Zhuiyuan. “When is your mother coming to pick you up and take you back to Beijing?”
“Whenever Mom has time.”
“Do you miss your mom?”
“Yes.”
“You miss her? Why don’t I hear it in your voice?”
“I think about her in my heart.”
“You’re quite a steady character. Do you have any siblings?”
“My parents only have me.”
“Our A’li is also an only child,” Liu Yumei said, looking at the girl with eyes full of tenderness. She made a gesture as if to touch her granddaughter’s head, but then withdrew her hand.

“Grandma Liu, where are you from?”
“My ancestors were river boat people, so I don’t have a specific ancestral home. But if you really want to know, this Yangtze River is where Grandma and her grandfather came from.” As she mentioned Qin Li’s grandfather, a hint of wistfulness appeared on Liu Yumei’s face. Immediately, with that same expression, she looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan understood and asked, “You and Grandpa had a very good relationship, didn’t you?”
“Not at first. Our two families were old enemies. Then that shameless man saw me and insisted on marrying me. It made my father and my brothers so angry they almost tied him up and threw him into the river. Our families nearly started fighting again.”

Seeing that Liu Yumei wasn’t finished, Li Zhuiyuan continued to ask, “And what happened then?”
“Then, well, he tricked me into it, didn’t he? We got married and I had his children.”
“Your family accepted Grandpa?”
“Yes, they accepted him, and then they all sank into the river together.”
At this point, Liu Yumei suddenly snapped back to reality. How did she get talking about that?

“Oh, by the way, Xiaoyuan, why did your parents get divorced?” After asking, Liu Yumei regretted it slightly. How could she ask a child such a thing?
“Because they couldn’t live together anymore.”
“Was it your father’s fault?”
“Dad loved Mom very much.”

Just then, Niu Fu’s voice came from a distance behind him: “Alright, Uncle Sanjiang, it’s settled then. I’m leaving. I’ll wait for you at home.”
Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised. So fast? He secretly looked back and saw that Niu Fu, who had reached the edge of the courtyard, was still severely hunched over. Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he still immediately went to find Li Sanjiang.

“Great-grandpa, great-grandpa!”
“What is it?”
Li Sanjiang didn’t stop when he heard the call. Instead, he walked directly to the latrine, unbuttoned his trousers, and sat on the “dragon chair.” The short Li Zhuiyuan stood below, all but needing a whisk. In truth, Li Sanjiang’s latrine was quite well-built, located behind the new house, away from public view. Many other village latrines were attached to the main house, facing the village road, so sitting on them during the day felt like receiving an audience of officials, with people constantly passing by. If they saw someone they knew, they would even greet them and stop for a chat.

“Great-grandpa, you agreed to him?”
“Yes, what about it?”
“But he has, he has that thing on his back…”
“Great-grandpa knows. I wasn’t going to go, but he doubled the payment, and all three siblings added to it. So I had to go, heh heh, it was simply too much money.”
“But it’s dangerous…”
“Xiaoyuan Hou, money makes the mare go. Danger only exists when there isn’t enough money. Just you wait, Blind Liu will definitely go too.”
“Great-grandpa…”
“Xiaoyuan Hou, your great-grandpa makes a living from this. Besides, it’s fine. Your great-grandpa has seen more storms than you can imagine and hasn’t capsized yet.”

“When will you go?”
“That depends on when Blind Liu sets the date, but it should be soon. It needs to be done beforehand. Your Grandpa Han Hou just came to bring you clothes and said they’re organizing everyone to dig the river soon.”
“Dig the river?”
“Yes, it means dredging the river. It’s an old tradition of several decades. People from all the surrounding villages… no, practically all able-bodied men in rural Jiangsu have to go. So, we need to arrange the ghost birthday before the river dredging.”

“We have to hold the ghost birthday before the river dredging, or else there will be no peace at home.”

Not far from Li Sanjiang’s house, Niu Fu stood under a tree by the small river, one hand holding the tree and the other unfastening his belt, preparing to relieve himself. After he was done and buckled his belt, he inexplicably felt his back straighten a bit, and he even bounced slightly in place. Looking back at Li Sanjiang’s house nearby, Niu Fu couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “It seems Uncle Sanjiang is just as effective as Granny Liu!”

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the house and saw Aunt Liu coloring paper figures. Aunt Liu smiled and waved to him. “Xiaoyuan, want to come play?”
“No, Aunt Liu, I have something to do right now.”
“Alright, you go take care of your important business first.” Aunt Liu smiled; she found the boy’s serious demeanor truly adorable.

Li Zhuiyuan carefully moved aside a paper house blocking the staircase, walked down, and saw a rusty iron door. On the ground in front of the door was a pair of cloth shoes. Li Zhuiyuan bent down and found a key inside them. He inserted the key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open, immediately releasing a musty, dusty smell. It was pitch black inside. Li Zhuiyuan reached out and fumbled along the wall near the door until he found a string and pulled it down. “Click.” No response. He pulled twice more. “Snap!” The light didn’t come on; the string broke.

With no other option, Li Zhuiyuan ran back upstairs and found a flashlight in a drawer of the cabinet by the door. He twisted open the back cover; it was empty. Luckily, the batteries were also in the drawer. He inserted two large, plump batteries, twisted the cover back on, and tried it. It lit up. Returning to the basement, he shone the light inside. The space wasn’t very large; it wasn’t dug out to the original area of the first floor. However, there were a lot of items, neatly categorized and arranged. It seemed Great-grandpa had indeed organized it carefully back then, but he hadn’t been down here for several years, as evidenced by the thick layer of dust on everything.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to a shelf. His gaze was first drawn to a peach wood sword. He picked it up and blew on it, sending dust flying. “Cough… cough, cough…” After coughing, Li Zhuiyuan carefully examined the sword with his flashlight. It was carved with various incomprehensible patterns and adorned with reflective metal pieces, as well as some seal script characters. In short, its design was ancient and its details rich. Li Zhuiyuan observed it meticulously and attentively, until he shone the flashlight on the lower end of the peach wood sword’s hilt and read the characters inscribed there: “Shandong Linyi Furniture Factory.” Li Zhuiyuan: “…”

He put down the peach wood sword and picked up a copper coin sword next to it. This time, he learned his lesson, first examining the hilt and then the sides of the sword. After confirming there were no manufacturing labels, he carefully inspected the blade itself. “Kangxi Tongbao, Qianlong Tongbao, Jiaqing Tongbao…” Although the coins weren’t ancient, they appeared to be genuine. However, as Li Zhuiyuan continued to shine the flashlight carefully, he suddenly noticed something else mixed in, distinctly different in size from the copper coins. He tried to pick at it with his finger but couldn’t get it off. He continued searching other parts of the sword’s body and soon found pieces of the same size. This time, he saw clearly… They were actually many 1-fen and 5-fen coins! The outside of this sword was made of copper coins, but the inside was all modern coins, and he couldn’t even find any 1-jiao ones. Although fen coins are still currency… it couldn’t be considered fake, but with such a mix, Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of unease.

He put the copper coin sword back and continued his search. He saw two very large flags. No, given their long, narrow shape, “banners” would be a more accurate description. These two banners occupied a significant amount of table space. One was entirely black, the other purple. The black one was embroidered with many skulls and flood dragons, radiating an aura of evil. The purple one was embroidered with numerous flowers, birds, and golden dragons, appearing grand and righteous.

Li Zhuiyuan tried to take one down, but found he couldn’t lift it with one hand. He had to lean closer to the table, hold the flashlight close, and continue examining it carefully. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but he felt he would find something. Indeed, on the black banner’s wooden handle, Li Zhuiyuan found a line of crooked brushstrokes: “Li’s Funeral Service Team.” It wasn’t even traditional Chinese characters; it was simplified. Li Zhuiyuan recalled that during the funeral at Old Hu’s house, the funeral service group Little Oriole belonged to also brought out many ritualistic items and props. Those things were counted by the bundle and were all packed up and thrown onto a truck after the service.

Soon, Li Zhuiyuan also found characters on the purple banner, but this time in traditional script, with an added phrase: “Xue’s Funeral Service Group, take the wrong one and your son will be born without an anus.” “Sigh.” Li Zhuiyuan sighed and pulled the banner back. The anticipation and excitement he felt upon entering had gradually faded. Now, his heart was increasingly at peace. Great-grandpa hadn’t lied to him; he had indeed collected a bunch of… junk.

When he was little, his mother often took him to her workplace. Back then, heritage preservation wasn’t as strict as it is now; many artifacts didn’t even have glass covers and could even be touched up close. So, Li Zhuiyuan had closely observed many ritualistic objects: the solemnity of Buddhism, the simplicity of Taoism, the mystery of Lamaism. He used to get a bit tired of seeing so many of them, but regardless, none of them could compare to what was before him now. At the very least… they didn’t have labels.

Indeed, on the next few Taoist robes, Li Zhuiyuan saw labels, and they even indicated sizes. On the back of one bright yellow Taoist robe, there was an unpeeled sticker that read: “Film Crew Use Only.”

Li Zhuiyuan also found three large baskets of talismans. He picked one up and examined it carefully. It felt smooth, and though he couldn’t understand the patterns, he could tell they were written beautifully, in one continuous stroke. This made him curious, so he looked through other talismans and found there was quite a variety. But soon, Li Zhuiyuan noticed something wasn’t right. When he placed two identical talismans in front of him, he couldn’t discern any difference between them; even the slight breaks in the brushstrokes at the bottom corners were identical. So… were these printed? Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes, which were beginning to ache. He even suspected that Great-grandpa had stockpiled so many items here perhaps intending to assemble a full funeral service team, complete with the tables, chairs, bowls, and paper figures upstairs, to form a complete funeral industry chain.

No longer interested in those items, Li Zhuiyuan walked to the very back, where there were a dozen or so boxes. He remembered Great-grandpa saying that these were left there for him to store, and they contained books. “Hmm?” Li Zhuiyuan bent down and shone the flashlight on the boxes, examining them carefully. The material… it was almost identical to a piece owned by Grandpa Zhou in the family compound, who was fond of collecting. That time, Grandpa Zhou had been so excited about acquiring a certain box that he immediately called his old friends over to show it off, and Li Zhuiyuan himself had been called to make tea. Before him now, there were three such boxes. Although the other boxes were made of different materials and colors, Li Zhuiyuan observed that their quality was not bad either. A sliver of hope began to rise in Li Zhuiyuan’s heart again. Surely, such valuable boxes wouldn’t contain books from a regular publishing house, would they? Besides, in the past, state-run publishing houses wouldn’t possibly publish books like the *Jinsaluo Sutra*, given its association with feudal superstition. Traces of seals remained on the boxes, suggesting they had been ripped off long ago. There had also been locks, but they had been pried open. Li Zhuiyuan suspected Great-grandpa had done it. So, were they really entrusted to Great-grandpa by someone else?

Even though it wasn’t locked, Li Zhuiyuan still struggled to push open the lid of the box. Once it was open, he shone the flashlight inside and immediately took a deep breath. Books, books, books! All books! And they weren’t printed; from the covers, it was clear they were handwritten. During his school days, his class would go through several sets of textbooks each semester, but he only found them interesting the first time he looked through them. Now, he finally experienced a sense of happiness from being surrounded by books. He picked up several volumes consecutively, looked at their covers, and found they were all *Records of Jianghu Oddities*, divided into many volumes. The “Jianghu” here didn’t refer to martial arts, but to actual rivers (jiang) and lakes (hu).

Li Zhuiyuan, with the flashlight tucked under his arm, opened the first volume and found that it contained not only text but also illustrations. One illustration depicted a person standing and walking in flowing water. This book actually described “dead falls”? This wasn’t the place to read. After closing the book, Li Zhuiyuan searched through the box for a while and finally gathered the complete set of books. *Records of Jianghu Oddities*, a total of forty-two volumes. The number of volumes was quite high, but it was understandable since they were handwritten with a brush, resulting in larger characters. Li Zhuiyuan decided to read this set first. It seemed to be a kind of encyclopedia specifically describing strange entities in rivers and lakes, serving as an introductory reading. Li Zhuiyuan didn’t open the other boxes; he wanted to preserve some sense of anticipation.

Next, Li Zhuiyuan began his work as a book carrier. It took him three trips to finally transport the entire set of *Records of Jianghu Oddities* to his room on the second floor. He re-locked the basement door, and instead of leaving the key in the cloth shoes, he kept it on him.

“Xiaoyuan Hou,” Li Sanjiang’s voice called from outside. “Xiaoyuan Hou, come out quickly.” Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and stepped out.
“Whoa… did you just go rolling in the mud, kid?”
“Great-grandpa, I’m going to take a bath and change clothes now.”
“Don’t rush, first look at this, heh heh. Come on, Li Hou, put it here, so our great-grandpa and great-grandson can sit side by side.”
“Alright!”
Uncle Qin carried up a rattan chair. A warmth spread through Li Zhuiyuan’s heart. He had only mentioned wanting a rattan chair to Great-grandpa yesterday, and Great-grandpa had actually bought him one today.

“Great-grandpa, I also want a desk lamp.” The light bulb in the room wasn’t bright enough; it was fine for illumination at night, but reading was difficult. Li Zhuiyuan saw that the house had oil lamps, but there was no need to endure hardship unnecessarily. “A desk lamp, for reading?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, Li Hou, go to town again and buy the kid a desk lamp. And get some more pens and notebooks. I also saw other kids had those stationery boxes… Never mind, just buy whatever you think is suitable.”
“Alright, I’ll go after dinner.”
“Don’t wait until the afternoon. There’s still some time before lunch. Go now.”
“Okay.”

Li Sanjiang then looked at Li Zhuiyuan again and said seriously, “When your grandfather came earlier, I told him to have Ying Hou come over this afternoon to tutor you.” After speaking, a mischievous “Ha, you didn’t see that coming, did you?” expression actually appeared on Li Sanjiang’s old face. “Huh?” Li Zhuiyuan’s face showed disappointment. He had planned to focus on his reading and didn’t want to tutor his sister. When his sister was doing her first-year high school summer homework, she actually didn’t have too many questions she didn’t understand. Now, his sister was already preparing for her second-year high school courses, and there weren’t too many questions she understood.

Li Sanjiang reached out and ruffled Li Zhuiyuan’s hair, saying earnestly, “You, my boy, you’re like your mother. Isn’t it a pity not to use such a brilliant mind for studying?”
“But, Great-grandpa…”
“No ‘buts.’ Study hard, get into a good university like your mother, that’s the right path, understand?”
“But Great-grandpa, I’m already taking university classes.”
“Heh, you dare to fool your great-grandpa? Your great-grandpa hasn’t eaten pork, but he’s seen pigs run, hasn’t he? Listen to me, it’s settled! Oh, by the way, Li Hou, when you go to town later, buy some snacks for the kid, whatever you see, and get some for your daughter too.”
“Okay, Uncle.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Uncle Qin, pointed to the southeast corner of the balcony, and said, “Uncle, could you help me move the rattan chair over there?”
Uncle Qin: “Of course.”
“What are you putting it there for?” Li Sanjiang, seeing that Li Zhuiyuan didn’t want the rattan chair next to his own, walked curiously to the southeast corner. Good heavens, he looked down and saw the little girl sitting within the threshold of the east house. “Hey, Xiaoyuan Hou, why are you putting it here?”
Li Zhuiyuan: “Great-grandpa, I think the feng shui is good here.”
“Bah!” Li Sanjiang laughed and cursed. “You think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You just want to look at that pretty girl.” Qin Li was indeed a good-looking girl; otherwise, Li Sanjiang wouldn’t have offered her candy earlier, but that girl was truly fierce.

Uncle Qin moved the rattan chair, then greeted Li Sanjiang, indicating he was about to go to town to buy things. After Uncle Qin left, Li Sanjiang pulled Li Zhuiyuan aside, pointing a finger at him as he warned, “Let me tell you, Xiaoyuan Hou, just look at that girl, but don’t think about getting close to her or playing with her. Otherwise, she’ll scratch your face. Look how fair and delicate your face is—what a pity it would be if it got scarred. How would you find a wife then?”
“Okay, Great-grandpa, I understand.”
“Besides, why pick a girl with a problem in her head, no matter how pretty she is, it’s useless. Do you really want to take care of her for the rest of your life?” These words, Li Sanjiang had found inconvenient to say when Qin Li was present earlier.
“I understand, Great-grandpa.”
“Never mind, you’re still young. Why am I telling you all this? It’s still early for you to marry. Alright, Great-grandpa is going out for a bit, I won’t be back for lunch. You eat by yourself.”
“Mhm.”

Li Sanjiang walked downstairs with his hands behind his back, humming a tune. When he reached the courtyard, he looked back up at the balcony, a smile appearing on his face. Xiaoyuan Hou asked him for things, and he didn’t begrudge the money; he had plenty! He suddenly felt that spending the money he earned on his children was also a kind of happiness. Before, he thought Han Hou was pathetic for being a “son-slave,” especially since his sons weren’t very filial. But now, he suddenly understood some things. What if raising children wasn’t just for securing one’s own old age, but simply because it felt interesting and made one’s life more fulfilling? “I raised you, and I don’t ask for your gratitude. After all, I did it for my own life’s fulfillment.” Hey, that feeling wasn’t bad either. Li Sanjiang shook his head. Oh well, what was the point of thinking about this now? He was already nearing the grave; his life was destined to be childless.

After Great-grandpa left, Li Zhuiyuan took a bath and changed clothes, then eagerly picked up the first volume of *Records of Jianghu Oddities*. He settled into the rattan chair, opened the book, and began to read. The characters in this book were in Slender Gold style, making it much more comfortable to read. In contrast, the characters in the *Jinsaluo Sutra* looked like squiggles. He silently wished: *I hope the characters in the other books in the boxes are also good.*

Li Zhuiyuan quickly immersed himself in reading. However, each time he turned a page, he would glance down at the girl sitting there with her feet on the threshold. He had no ulterior motives; he simply felt that looking at beautiful things was pleasing to the eye and could make one feel happier. Yet, apart from turning her gaze to look at Niu Fu’s back that morning, the girl hadn’t made any other movements.

Reading time passed quickly. In the middle, Uncle Qin returned, bringing him a desk lamp, a set of stationery, and many snacks. After reading for a while longer, Aunt Liu’s voice called from downstairs: “Xiaoyuan Hou, dinner time!”
“Okay, I’m coming down.”

Putting down the book, Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs. Lunch was still eaten in the courtyard, but he had a table to himself. On the square wooden stool were a plate of chicken with edamame, a plate of scrambled eggs with chives, and a bowl of crucian carp soup. Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t help but marvel at how good the living conditions were at Great-grandpa’s house. At Grandpa’s house, Brother Panzi and Brother Leizi were probably still eating porridge. However, he didn’t think about taking dishes back to share; he knew it wouldn’t be appropriate.

In the courtyard, Grandma Liu knelt beside Qin Li, softly whispering words of persuasion. Finally, Qin Li lowered her head and began to eat. She still ate in the same way as breakfast, her movements with the dishes and rice frequent and perfectly rhythmic.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished eating, he quickly cleared his dishes and brought them to the kitchen before Aunt Liu appeared, then washed his hands and returned to the second floor to continue reading.

The first volume of the book began by describing “dead falls,” of which there were truly many types. The kind that could walk upright, like Little Oriole, was only considered moderately dangerous in this book, perhaps even slightly less so. However, the more ferocious the “dead fall,” the more vague the recorded dates and locations became, and the more abstract the illustrations, gradually giving him the feeling of reading the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. Li Zhuiyuan thought this was normal; with such fierce “dead falls,” few people who encountered them would return alive, so naturally, the records would be vague.

“Yuanzi.” Yingzi walked over, carrying a wooden stool and a small bench. Li Zhuiyuan looked up at Yingzi. “Sis.”
“I’m here, heh heh. Here, have some candy.” Yingzi took candy from her pocket and offered it.
“Thanks, Sis.” Li Zhuiyuan unwrapped a piece of candy, put it in his mouth, then walked into his bedroom.

Yingzi opened her cloth bag, laid out her books and assignments. She curiously reached out and flipped through the book Li Zhuiyuan had left on the rattan chair, frowning slightly—she couldn’t understand the characters. Just then, Li Zhuiyuan came out with snacks and placed them beside Yingzi. “Sister, have some.”
“This is too much, how can I eat all this?”
“Take it back for everyone, just don’t let Grandpa and Grandma see.” Li Zhuiyuan had brought out the snacks Li Weihan had given him that morning; he hadn’t touched the ones Great-grandpa bought.
“You’re my younger brother, it feels strange to take your things.” Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan had already picked up his book and continued reading, Yingzi had no choice but to continue, “Yuanzi, when I get a job and earn money later, I’ll buy you more delicious things to eat.” Li Zhuiyuan looked up and smiled in response. “Okay, Sis.” Then he lowered his head and continued reading.

Seeing how engrossed he was, Yingzi also lowered her head to review her own homework. However, this time she didn’t ask Li Zhuiyuan every time she encountered something she didn’t understand. Instead, she noted it down, planning to ask all her questions at the end, so as not to disturb him.

After finishing the first volume, Li Zhuiyuan stood up, walked to the open area, and conscientiously performed a set of national middle school calisthenics. Many parts of the book were written in an obscure, recondite, and vague manner; he had to ponder them as he read. This was the first time he had felt so tired from reading. However, it was truly fulfilling and gave him a sense of accomplishment. Li Zhuiyuan was very happy because he could finally empathize with his classmates who struggled academically; it turned out they had always lived such happy and fulfilling lives.

After exercising, Li Zhuiyuan went to the bathroom. He didn’t need the chamber pot during the day, so he went downstairs and ran to the back of the house. On the way, he saw the girl sitting behind the threshold and even stopped to greet her: “Good afternoon.” Of course, the girl didn’t respond, not even giving him a sidelong glance.

After returning to the second floor, he put back the first volume, took out the second, and continued reading. With the first volume as a foundation for adaptation, Li Zhuiyuan gradually came to understand the author’s writing habits and could even empathize with some of their mindsets. Therefore, he finished the second volume in half the time it took for the first. He immediately swapped it for the third volume, and by the time he finished the third, it was almost dusk.

Li Zhuiyuan put down his book and looked at Yingzi, who was beside him. “Sis, is there anything you don’t understand?”
“Yes, this, this, this, this, this, and these others…” Li Zhuiyuan took his sister’s pen and began writing out the problem-solving steps. He wrote them as detailed as possible, so his sister could slowly go through them herself. At the very least, it would be much more efficient than him explaining everything verbally.

Watching her younger brother rapidly write “swish-swish” on the notebook, Yingzi felt a wave of envy. Indeed, if you removed her aunt and her brother from the Old Li family, the entire extended family might not even collectively possess one brain. She truly felt lucky. Although her parents gave her money to buy study materials, textbooks from that era were very rough, and many real exam questions and explanations were only circulated within a few top-tier schools, making them hard to obtain even if one was willing to pay. Not to mention her brother’s role, which far surpassed any textbook; he was practically her private tutor. Even if her parents were incredibly open-minded, they couldn’t afford to hire a school teacher for private tutoring.

After finishing, Li Zhuiyuan let out a long breath, rubbed his aching wrist, and said, “Sis, I suggest you really internalize the concepts first, and then use simple problems to deepen your understanding. That way, your learning efficiency will improve.”
Yingzi: *But I am doing exactly that?*
Yingzi lowered her head and began looking at the problem-solving steps her brother had provided. She could tell they were very detailed, but as she followed them step by step, she still found it difficult. It felt like her brain was being forcibly pried open, and knowledge points were being poured in slowly and with great difficulty, with half of them spilling out.

Just then, Li Sanjiang returned. He walked into the courtyard, looked up, and saw Li Zhuiyuan and Yingzi sitting in the southeast corner of the second floor balcony. He saw Li Zhuiyuan, relaxed with a smile on his face, and then Yingzi, looking dejected and weary of life. “Hmph, this brat isn’t studying seriously, he’s giving his sister a headache!”

Yingzi didn’t stay for dinner. Li Weihan had already given instructions when she arrived. Li Sanjiang actually offered to let her stay this time, but seeing her firm refusal, he relented. In the past, Li Sanjiang had always looked down on Li Weihan’s four sons, and by extension, their children, largely ignoring them. But then again, he had asked Yingzi to come tutor Xiaoyuan Hou today.

“Xiaoyuan Hou, tomorrow, share some of your snacks with your sister.” Li Zhuiyuan, who was eating, replied, “Great-grandpa, I already did.” “Mhm.” Only then did Li Sanjiang feel a bit better. He couldn’t risk upsetting the girl, or she wouldn’t come for tutoring tomorrow.

After dinner, as usual, Li Zhuiyuan went to bathe first. When he emerged, he saw Li Sanjiang standing at the northern edge of the balcony, a cigarette between his left fingers, his right hand grasping his privates. In front of him, illuminated by the moonlight, a parabolic stream of water appeared. “Xiaoyuan Hou, are you done bathing?”
“Yes, Great-grandpa, you can go now.”
“Mhm, wait for me in the room.”
Li Sanjiang shivered his shoulders, puffed out his chest, then swayed his thighs back and forth. Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, realized that he didn’t actually need the chamber pot at night.

Walking into Great-grandpa’s bedroom, the formation was still there, but it had been newly drawn. After examining the formation, Li Zhuiyuan blinked in confusion. He could tell that tonight’s formation was the same as last night’s, yet it still differed from the one depicted in the *Jinsaluo Sutra*. The discrepancy with the book was understandable, as it was the same last night. “But how is it also a bit different from last night’s drawing?” Li Zhuiyuan could only suspect that Great-grandpa had made minor adjustments based on the formation’s effects from the previous night. Firstly, he was still reading introductory books and hadn’t encountered formation diagrams yet. Secondly, his world was filled with rigor, and he temporarily couldn’t escape the habit of rigorous thinking to consider another possibility. Li Zhuiyuan sat in his designated spot.

A moment later, Li Sanjiang entered after his bath, wearing a pair of white underwear with a hole in it. As yesterday, he first used a black rope to tie himself and Li Zhuiyuan together, still in their usual spots, then lit the candles, and finally sat within the circle himself. This time, Li Zhuiyuan watched carefully and noticed that Great-grandpa produced the talisman paper from his underwear, which had no pockets. He lit it, chanted, and then, before it burned his hand, “Slap!” he slapped it onto the ground. The candles didn’t extinguish, and the light bulb didn’t flicker. “Is it done, Great-grandpa?”
“No, wait a moment.”
After speaking, Li Sanjiang pulled out another talisman, lit it, and repeated the action, but this time he slapped the talisman onto the ground with greater force. “SMACK!!!” The crisp sound made Li Sanjiang’s mouth twitch in pain. But great effort yielded results. With a “whoosh,” all the candles went out, and the light bulb above flickered twice obligingly. “It’s done!” Li Sanjiang let out a breath and said calmly, “Xiaoyuan Hou, go to sleep now. Remember, don’t untie the rope.”
“I understand, Great-grandpa.”

After Li Zhuiyuan left, Li Sanjiang immediately blew on his palm: “Hoo… hiss… that really hurts.” After blowing, he looked at the bed, and a pained expression immediately appeared on his face: “Damn it, it’s not going to be another zombie meeting tonight, is it?”

After Li Zhuiyuan returned to his bedroom, he didn’t get into bed. Instead, he turned on the desk lamp, took out the fourth volume, and continued reading. After finishing the fourth volume, he took out the fifth, but before he had read more than a few pages of the fifth, his forehead rested on the tabletop, and he fell asleep.

In the rice field, the figure of an old woman appeared. If Li Zhuiyuan had seen her then, he would have recognized her as the one Niu Fu carried on his hunched back. She was stooped, her eyes glowing green, and fine, dense fuzz slowly grew on her originally wrinkled face. Her figure vanished from where she stood, reappearing an instant later in the courtyard, then vanishing again. This time, she reappeared inside the first-floor room. She stopped among the piles of paper crafts, looking at the many paper figures, paper horses, paper houses… She tilted her head, a strange smile appearing on her face.

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes, looked up, and realized he had fallen asleep while reading. He planned to relieve himself quickly and then go to bed, just as Great-grandpa had demonstrated. He stood up, walked to his bedroom door, pushed it open, and stepped out. What Li Zhuiyuan didn’t notice was that the ‘he’ behind the small desk was still soundly asleep, head resting on the desk.

Stepping outside, Li Zhuiyuan felt a refreshing coolness as the evening breeze blew. But soon, he heard a noisy clamor coming from downstairs. Who was making such a ruckus so late? No… Great-grandpa’s house was very quiet even during the day. Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned over to listen. He heard men and women talking and singing, horses neighing, cats and dogs barking—all sorts of sounds. It was as if a wild party were happening on the first floor. But there was only a huge pile of paper crafts on the first floor, so… could it be? Li Zhuiyuan was startled at first, then realized: Oh, he must be dreaming. Just then, Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze swept downward, and he was astonished to see a figure in a purple qipao standing in the courtyard—Qin Li! *Huh, how did you walk out of the threshold by yourself? No,* *why are you in my dream?!*