When Chen Xiyuan heard the destination of the prize-winning trip, her already anxious heart finally sank completely.

Oh no, she was in a predicament where she couldn’t clear her name, no matter what.

Before, she genuinely thought of inviting her young cousin’s great-grandfather to their home as a guest. Firstly, it would repay the kindness of him letting her stay at his house and eat heartily. Aunt Liu had told her that Li Daye paid for everyone’s food at home.

Secondly, her young cousin could stay at their house for a longer time, making it easier for him to sneak things out of their home.

But now, she truly didn’t want Li Daye to go.

Despite her grandfather being constantly at a disadvantage and often bullied in his lifelong encounters with her grandmother, she knew very well how discerning her grandfather was.

It was said that even before she was born, while still in her mother’s womb, her grandfather had sent generous gifts to her mother’s maiden family, elevating their status and calling her mother a great benefactor of the Chen family.

So, if she could see something, there was no reason her grandfather couldn’t.

“A-You, what should I do?”

“Hm? What do you mean, what should you do? Just go. Stepping on the beach and strolling through the coconut groves would be great.”

Lin Shuyou simply thought that Chen Xiyuan “drew” this prize, but he didn’t see any problem with Li Daye going to Hainan.

Chen Xiyuan was at a loss for how to explain and could only ask, “Did Li Daye always go when he won a prize in the past?”

Lin Shuyou: “It depends.”

Involving the Rules of Traveling the River and Li Daye’s frequent fetching of river water for them, Lin Shuyou felt he shouldn’t reveal it without permission.

After all, he had been “whipped” by San Zhiyan, and had various pieces of information extracted from him by Zhao Yi in various ways. He learned from his mistakes, and his vigilance and sense of proportion had finally developed.

Chen Xiyuan: “Then I’ll go back and confess to my young cousin. I can’t let him misunderstand that I had ulterior motives.”

Lin Shuyou: “Hahahahaha!”

Chen Xiyuan: “What are you laughing at?”

Lin Shuyou: “Nothing. I just think Xiao Yuan Ge is so smart, he definitely wouldn’t misunderstand people.”

“Hmm, indeed, my young cousin is so smart, and I am so…”

Chen Xiyuan replayed the conversation and stared at Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou turned his head, scratched it, held back a laugh, and blushed. Then he couldn’t resist and laughed again.

In the past, he was always the one being teased and slow to catch on. For once, he could experience how happy San Zhiyan and Bin Ge had always been.

Unfortunately, an outside team is an outside team. Those who have lit lamps and worshipped the Dragon King can no longer follow others to Travel the River.

So, outside teams can only cooperate; they can’t truly join their group, at least not until Xiao Yuan Ge finishes Traveling the River.

Lin Shuyou began to miss Mengmeng. When Mengmeng was around, he could compete with her as rivals.

Mengmeng would definitely come back in the future; he wasn’t worried about that. He was worried that Mengmeng would secretly study hard during her time in the underworld.

“You Hou, Xi Yatou, come!”

Li Sanjiang waved from in front of the mourning hall.

“Coming, Li Daye.”

Chen Xiyuan walked over first.

Lin Shuyou locked the tricycle and incidentally tore up the prize slip, throwing it into the nearby vegetable patch.

Manager Liu had previously cursed Li Daye’s whole household to die neatly, but besides Li Daye, Xiao Yuan Ge, and them, there were also two, no, three branches of the Dragon King’s family.

To curse three Dragon King households directly, and to be clearly heard by him and Chen Xiyuan, the karma accumulated was boundless.

“Come, You Hou, over here.”

“Coming, Li Daye.”

Lu Hou’s family, in other places, was referred to similarly to the old Lu family.

The “Lu Hou” in Li Sanjiang’s words was currently lying on an old bamboo bed inside the mourning hall.

Since Li Sanjiang arrived late, the burial clothes and makeup had already been taken care of by someone else.

Lu Hou’s son, Lu Jun, was thus renegotiating the price with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang felt he was in the wrong, so he agreed to cut the fee for the sitting rituals by half.

Lu Jun smiled, satisfied.

There were many tasks involved in sitting rituals; everything inside and out needed to be managed, and inviting someone to perform the rituals while also buying their paper offerings would get a discount. Just because he was a little late, Li Sanjiang suffered a significant loss by cutting the price in half, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue.

Life experience taught him that when people haggle over every penny in front of a mourning hall, you can never out-negotiate them, so don’t waste your energy.

Li Sanjiang took out a cigarette from his pocket and accidentally pulled out the two packs that Manager Liu had given him.

Lu Jun saw them and immediately said:

“Li Daye, those helping out can only take one pack each.”

Li Sanjiang spread his hand towards Lu Jun: “Can’t you tell this brand of cigarette is what your family hands out? These two packs are mine; I completely forgot. Quick, give me a pack.”

Lu Jun: “Li Daye, you smoke first, you smoke first.”

With that, Lu Jun left, pretending to be busy with other things.

Li Sanjiang deliberately walked to the table where personal offerings were being recorded, nodded to the person helping with the record, and at the same time, turned his body sideways, deliberately letting Lu Jun see what he was doing.

In the countryside, those who can record the book of offerings are generally not of low status and are clear-headed. That person smiled, took out two packs of cigarettes from a plastic bag, and handed them to Li Sanjiang.

The cheapest cigarettes, which locals don’t like to smoke, are all supplied by the tobacco bureau; otherwise, no shop would even stock them. These cigarettes are eventually sold at a discount.

Using such cigarettes for business is truly a sign of poor taste.

Li Sanjiang took one pack and returned the other. Then he pulled out his own cigarette, offered one to the other person, and said:

“This whole affair, sigh, I just took a look inside, Lu Hou doesn’t even have an ice coffin.”

“Sigh, who isn’t saying that? The food prepared is also terrible. The first batch of people who just finished eating all complained to me.”

Ice coffins were indeed rarely used in the past, but in recent years, they have gradually become a standard. Firstly, renting one for two days doesn’t cost much, and secondly, if the weather isn’t scorching, it doesn’t even need to be powered.

Having the deceased lie in an ice coffin to receive condolences from relatives and friends looks more presentable and solemn. Now, they just have an old bamboo bed with a straw mat underneath, which is truly sloppy.

So many people invite Li Sanjiang to perform the rituals because of his good reputation. Wealthy bosses who want grandeur can be extravagant, but for ordinary families who invite Li Sanjiang to officiate, he helps them save money and arrange things tastefully.

However, Lu Hou’s family was quite well-off. Lu Hou had been in the grain and oil business for a long time, with two shops in Shinan Town, and it was said he opened another one in Shigang Town at the beginning of the year.

But his son, organizing his funeral, wasn’t just doing everything simply; he was clearly aiming to profit from the offerings.

Forget it, finish this job quickly and go home. After that, he’ll ask Ting Hou to fry some peanuts and an egg for him, and he’ll have a couple of drinks by himself. Li Sanjiang couldn’t even be bothered to follow his usual custom of having a drink at the host’s house after the rituals, for fear that Lu Jun would give him a cold shoulder again.

He raised his hand to greet them, signaling You Hou and Xi Yatou to come over.

Li Sanjiang first pointed out the performance area for Lin Shuyou, then instructed Chen Xiyuan to play a more sorrowful tune later.

Chen Xiyuan listened attentively.

Li Sanjiang suddenly remembered something and asked, “Xi Yatou, can you play the suona?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Yes.”

Li Sanjiang: “Sigh, I wish I had known earlier, I would have let you pick one from my basement. I have some there, just need cleaning. Or how about you go back and get one now? The basement key is in the living room drawer, with the flashlight.”

Chen Xiyuan was about to say that she could make suona sounds even with a dizi.

But as the words were about to come out, she coughed, as if choking on air.

Lin Shuyou: “Li Daye, let’s not bother. Miss Chen seems to have a cold; running back and forth and catching more wind won’t be good.”

Chen Xiyuan nodded to Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou avoided her gaze, feeling a little embarrassed and guilty.

Chen Xiyuan thought Lin Shuyou was trusting her musical ability and didn’t want to trouble her.

Lin Shuyou, on the other hand, knew what else was stored in Li Daye’s basement besides the opera troupe props.

Just like the Rules of Traveling the River, A-You wasn’t stingy, nor did he think it couldn’t be given away, but it had to be with Xiao Yuan Ge’s permission.

Since he was here, he had no choice but to ruthlessly crush the opportunity.

Li Sanjiang: “Alright then, just play the dizi. That’s fine too. We have few people here who can play the dizi, so let everyone enjoy some elegance.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Don’t worry, Li Daye, leave it to me!”

Li Sanjiang: “Hehe, very good, Xi Yatou is excellent, full of energy when working.”

After giving his instructions, Li Sanjiang walked into the mourning hall. His workstation was behind a small table inside the hall. He sat down, struck the wooden fish, and began chanting sutras.

When he first brought You Hou out to perform the rituals, he had to guide him. Now, You Hou was an experienced funeral officiant.

At this moment, a woman, surrounded by several female relatives, entered the mourning hall.

The woman was not young but well-preserved, clearly not someone who usually did farm work. She was Lu Hou’s wife, Lu Jun’s mother, named Ge Li, and she was the village women’s director.

Next, it was time to cry.

Li Sanjiang straightened his back, his wooden fish and chanting sounds intensified, preparing to cooperate fully with this segment.

Ge Li tried hard to cry but couldn’t shed tears. The handkerchief she had prepared to wipe tears did come in handy; she wiped hard, barely managing to redden her eyes.

However, the group of women around her cried vividly and professionally. They not only cried themselves but also helped Ge Li cry.

“My Elder Brother Lu Hou, how could you bear to leave my Sister Ge Li alone and leave first?”

“How will my Sister Ge Li live, left alone in this world?”

Ge Li could tolerate it at first, but as they got into the swing of things, her eardrums throbbed with pain. She simply stood up and left.

The people around her had just begun to stir their emotions, having barely warmed up, but seeing the main character leave, there was no point for them to stay and cry. So, they followed her out of the mourning hall.

Li Sanjiang sighed. Having performed many funeral rituals, he naturally knew that crying for the deceased was often just a customary formality, but this was the first time he had seen it done so carelessly.

He pulled out two cigarettes from his pack, lit both. One he stuck in a crack in the table, for Lu Hou, and the other he held in his mouth, not interrupting his chanting.

They weren’t from the same village, and he hadn’t interacted with Lu Hou much, but Lu Hou was an honest, good person.

He turned his head and glanced at Lu Hou, who was lying on the old bamboo bed with heavy blush on his cheeks.

Li Sanjiang frowned. In his life, he had seen countless dead people—those who sat for rituals in his home, those fished from the river, and even those he carried on his back in Shanghai during his youth.

It was like an old farmer growing vegetables; they could usually tell what condition the vegetables were in and what problems they had.

Li Sanjiang now felt that Lu Hou lying there was a little strange.

When Lu Jun came to invite him, he said his father died of a sudden heart attack.

He licked his lips and carefully scanned Lu Hou up and down. Li Sanjiang wasn’t a forensic doctor, he didn’t understand the scientific principles, but he just felt that Lu Hou’s death expression… wasn’t quite standard.

But that was the extent of it. Chanting, chanting, Li Sanjiang continued to hum, the melody gradually approaching the opening theme song of the wuxia drama Runsheng had been watching every night recently.

Outside, the second round of meals had already finished. The spread was so poor that there weren’t many substantial, greasy dishes to be seen; most of what they ate came from their own fields.

The relatives and friends had many complaints. Looking around again, they saw there was no tent set up by the funeral procession team. Since there was no performance to watch, everyone prepared to disperse and go home, only planning to return for a makeshift meal in the evening, purely out of laziness to cook at home and save some firewood.

Lin Shuyou put on his costume, preparing to go on stage.

Chen Xiyuan reminded him, “Aren’t you going to put on makeup?”

Lin Shuyou lowered his head, then looked up again. The markings of Baihe Zhenjun appeared, and his eyes became narrow and majestic, exuding immense pressure.

Chen Xiyuan exclaimed, “A-You, you are truly suited for this profession.”

Lin Shuyou laughed, “Haha, Li Daye praised me like that too!”

Before going on stage, Ge Li came out and found a bench on the dam to sit on.

Her son was busily trying to control costs, like a creditor.

She, as a relative of the deceased, looked more like a distant acquaintance.

A man walked onto the dam. When people nearby saw him, they immediately crowded around, offering cigarettes and kind words. This was the village party secretary, with half-gray hair but a sturdy build and a strong physique.

Lin Shuyou happened to be facing the direction where the village party secretary appeared and wondered, “He looks a bit familiar.”

Chen Xiyuan looked back.

Lin Shuyou: “He looks like Lu Jun, the deceased’s son.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Wouldn’t you know if you just read their faces?”

Tapping her fingertips on the dizi a few times, Chen Xiyuan confidently stated:

“Father and son.”

Lin Shuyou: “Wow!”

Xiao Yuan Ge had said not to be superstitious about physiognomy; it wasn’t 100% accurate.

But here, physiognomy wasn’t even needed. Any clear-sighted person could see that the village party secretary and Lu Jun looked very similar—the same bulky build, even the same face shape.

Lin Shuyou turned his head and glanced at Lu Hou’s portrait placed outside the mourning hall. Compared to that, this “father” looked more like an outsider.

Lu Jun, who had been scrambling about, eagerly ran towards the village party secretary, a smile on his face. His “uncle” sounded just like “dad.”

The people surrounding the village party secretary also made way for Lu Jun, all smiling in accompaniment.

However, the village party secretary frowned at Lu Jun’s enthusiasm.

Mistakes made in youth were made.

Back then, there were no belts, just trouser cords. They would get twisted, unable to be untied, and in his haste, he simply snapped them.

Later, when he learned Ge Li was pregnant, he didn’t think much of it, always feeling it wasn’t that accurate, how could it be his?

But as the child grew older and his features increasingly resembled his own, even his parents saw it and blamed him at home.

His old parents weren’t happy about suddenly having an extra grandson. They had their own grandchildren and disdained offspring from outside.

Moreover, the village party secretary’s own wife came from a good family with many brothers. So, in the village, he tried to avoid Lu Jun. Yet, this kid would always cling to him whenever they met, like a pug that couldn’t read the room.

Especially after Lu Hou died, Lu Jun came to his house to report the death, crying and telling him that he only had one family left from then on.

This deeply angered his wife, who went back to her maiden home that very night.

His own children also changed their expressions, and even the village party secretary himself looked green at the time, wishing he could raise his hand and slap this filial son awake.

Not to mention that children don’t want an extra “bastard” to share their inheritance; the village party secretary himself didn’t want this child, raised in someone else’s home, to come back and feed off him.

Actually, under normal circumstances, such illicit affairs in the village are hard to keep secret.

The village is so small that even if people just walk a little closer, rumors can blossom under the old locust tree, let alone when something actually happens;

Then there’s the appearance of children. They are all fellow villagers who have lived in the same village for generations. Even those who have drifted outside for a decade or more, upon returning home, might immediately recognize whose child is playing on the road.

Gossip had long spread. It’s just that some men can’t have children themselves, so having a child in name, even if not their own, is fine as long as they are tacitly expected to care for them in old age and bury them. Some might even encourage their wives to seek a donor;

Others, despite their anger, clenched their fists. It wasn’t the right time to cause a scene, so they could only swallow their teeth. Lu Hou belonged to the latter. He had always been an honest person, whether in life or in business. But he had a bad habit: a few times a year, after too much to drink, he would go to the village party secretary’s house and curse for half the night.

The village party secretary’s family wouldn’t open the door, letting him curse. Sometimes the old folks at home would even bring Lu Hou a bowl of water to soothe his throat;

His own children would deliberately watch their father make a fool of himself, occasionally repeating a few words.

After offering a gift and quickly glancing at the mourning hall, the village party secretary left. He had deliberately delayed his arrival, truly not wanting to attend Lu Hou’s funeral feast.

However, as he left, he also noticed that the feast wasn’t worth eating anyway.

Heh, in the end, he’s just an unpresentable fellow.

From beginning to end, the village party secretary didn’t even specifically glance at Ge Li, who was sitting there.

After his biological father left, Lu Jun turned to look at the photo of his “biological father,” the deceased.

His eyes revealed resentment and hatred.

It was as if he was blaming Lu Hou for stealing him from his biological father, preventing him from enjoying his biological father’s love.

The people around him began to comfort him, and there were also people comforting Ge Li. Everyone seemed very kind and understanding.

Chen Xiyuan whispered to Lin Shuyou, “Is the atmosphere in your Nantong so open-minded?”

Lin Shuyou: “I’m from Fujian.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Oh, right, but your Nantong dialect is so standard.”

Lin Shuyou: “Hehe, is it?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Yes, I feel like you speak Nantong dialect very naturally, just like me.”

Lin Shuyou: “Uh…”

Chen Xiyuan: “When does the performance start?”

Lin Shuyou: “In a little while, after they finish their performance first.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Performance?”

Lin Shuyou: “Li Daye once said that those around you, constantly comforting you, are actually laughing at your misfortune in their hearts. They put on that understanding act only to get closer and continue gossiping about you.”

Chen Xiyuan: “How apt.”

Li Sanjiang walked out of the mourning hall. The second round of meals had ended, and his lunch had surprisingly not been delivered. Even if he wasn’t eating at the main table, they could at least bring him something to eat quickly.

It didn’t matter if he missed a meal, but the two children were with him, especially A-You, who hadn’t been eating much lately. If he missed another meal, he would lose weight.

“Come, eat this to tide you over. We’ll go home early for dinner tonight.”

Li Sanjiang offered him cloud cake, biscuits, peanuts, and crispy candy.

Chen Xiyuan took them, ate a piece of cloud cake, and asked, “Li Daye, did you carry all these things in your pocket when you left home?”

Li Sanjiang: “Lu Hou provided them.”

Chen Xiyuan turned sideways and glanced at the portrait.

Li Sanjiang: “Eat up, it’s fine. Lu Hou was a good man; he wouldn’t mind the kids having some snacks.”

These snacks were taken by Li Sanjiang from the offering table.

Li Sanjiang: “Eat quickly. After eating, perform well and play well, so Lu Hou can leave with some liveliness and dignity.”

After eating, Lin Shuyou clapped his hands, spun out of his chair, and went straight to the open area.

His eyes narrowed. Although his vertical pupils were not open, his aura overflowed, instantly attracting the attention of everyone around him.

Following this, he delivered a series of performances, impeccable in both the display of genuine kung fu and the style of his act.

“Good!”

“Amazing!”

Hearing the cheers from outside, Li Sanjiang, who was chanting sutras inside the mourning hall, also smiled. Then he felt something was wrong; the atmosphere outside was a bit too cheerful.

Soon, a sorrowful dizi tune wafted in.

Chen Xiyuan obeyed Li Daye’s instructions to play mournfully.

But Li Sanjiang had underestimated the girl’s musical prowess.

Gradually, everyone present began to get red eyes, and while wiping away tears, they couldn’t help but cheer for Lin Shuyou.

Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. This was good; it was the kind of tone he wanted.

After Lin Shuyou’s first stage performance, Li Sanjiang brought a brazier and placed it on the ground.

A-You held the golden jian and walked three steps of praise around the brazier.

Then, he raised one jian high and let the other hang low, stepping into the mourning hall, circling the deceased on the bamboo bed.

The Guan Jiang Shou already had this style of presentation, so A-You knew the proper measure. When performing, it was a performance, not an exorcism.

But Chen Xiyuan was new to the profession and exceptionally dedicated. She actually followed Lin Shuyou into the mourning hall while playing the dizi, circling with him.

Previously, she had performed for everyone outside; now, it was like a solo performance for the deceased.

As she followed Lin Shuyou’s steps from the mourning hall back to the dam outside, Li Sanjiang pointed to Lu Hou’s portrait, signaling the young girl to play towards Lu Hou’s photo.

Chen Xiyuan raised the tune, her eyes fixed on the portrait.

Little did she know, after the two of them came out, Lu Hou, lying on the bamboo bed, began to tremble violently.

When Li Zhuiyuan accompanied his great-grandfather to handle funerals, he would deliberately “avoid suspicion,” which is why everything always went smoothly.

Therefore, Li Sanjiang was not aware of this aspect, nor did he know what kind of backgrounds and statuses the mules he often brought out from home to work possessed.

Lin Shuyou slammed the golden jian onto the offering table. All the incense sticks flew up, then with another horizontal strike, all the incense sticks were lit.

It was sheer magic. The surrounding people clapped and cheered enthusiastically, blinking their moist eyes.

However, a gust of wind happened to blow through.

It blew three of the incense sticks off course, preventing Lin Shuyou’s next move from being entirely successful. The golden jian only caught the remaining incense sticks, flicking them into the incense burner, while the other three were about to fall to the ground.

Ultimately, without his vertical pupils open, his use of physical strength was a bit lacking.

Chen Xiyuan tilted her body, raised her right arm, and the three incense sticks were bounced by her arm, accurately falling back into the incense burner and settling in.

Additionally, the wind blew up a lot of the yellow paper nearby. Chen Xiyuan lifted her leg and, with a subtle force, guided all the yellow paper back into the brazier to burn.

Since she had eaten their snacks, she would also offer them incense and collect underworld money.

The next moment,

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Inside the mourning hall, a series of explosions occurred, followed by beast-like roars.

This was Nantong, and very close to the Peach Orchard, so there was no ground for evil spirits to be born.

Therefore, Lu Hou was already dead, thoroughly and cleanly dead.

But no matter how clean the deceased, they couldn’t withstand an offering like Chen Xiyuan’s. This was literally, to the deceased… blown up.

Chen Xiyuan stopped playing. She realized she had made a mistake.

As the dizi stopped, everyone’s emotions returned… no, they just shifted from the previous musical sorrow to terror at the frightening commotion inside the mourning hall.

The beast-like roar was the airflow stirred up by the bursting corpse, but to ordinary people, it meant Lu Hou had died with grievances, and was restless!

Li Sanjiang went into the mourning hall to check the situation. Some brave individuals also followed him in for a look, and came out throwing up.

When asked by the people around if it was a zombie uprising,

They vomited and replied, “It exploded, it exploded, it really exploded everywhere!”

Ge Li, sitting there, her back against the wall, was trembling.

Lu Jun’s face was ashen, and he only managed to steady himself with the help of those beside him, but his trouser leg was already darker; he had wet himself.

“Thump!”

One person in the crowd knelt down, kowtowing and crying out:

“Brother Lu Hou, I was wrong, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have given that medicine to your son and daughter-in-law. I was blinded by greed, I knew they planned to poison you, and I still took that money and gave them the medicine!”

The explosion of the corpse in the mourning hall shattered this person’s psychological defenses.

His words were heard by everyone present.

To say that the people do not report, and the officials do not investigate, is certainly extreme, but sometimes, such concealment among family members can indeed easily cover up certain matters.

But once it’s exposed, then the proper procedures will inevitably follow.

Someone reported to the police station.

Soon, police officers from the station arrived.

As funeral officiants, and the three closest to the body during the explosion, they were also invited back to the police station.

Upon arriving at the police station, many officers were astonished:

“It’s you guys again.”

The explosion of Lu Hou’s corpse not only shattered that person’s psychological defenses, but Lu Jun and Ge Li were also mentally traumatized. In such circumstances, facing the solemn environment of interrogation, they simply couldn’t hold on any longer. In a question-and-answer exchange, they directly confessed their actions.

The captain in charge of the case, looking at the newly recorded statement, couldn’t help but exclaim:

“This is the most cooperative suspect in a heinous crime I’ve encountered since starting my career.”

The young police officer beside him said, “With something like this happening, they probably don’t have the mind to argue anymore, do they?”

“How’s the body?”

“A lot of it exploded, but the remains should still be usable for examination. The forensic team said they should be able to determine if it was death by poisoning.”

The captain put the statement on the table and vigorously ruffled his hair: “This kid, he’s truly an animal.”

Lu Hou had long known that Lu Jun was not his biological son; he wasn’t blind.

Moreover, it was his son, Lu Jun, who actively broke this silent agreement and brought it up.

The father and son had a big argument over it, and Lu Hou fainted from anger and was admitted to the hospital.

During his treatment at the hospital, Lu Hou was diagnosed with cancer.

He didn’t plan to treat it, feeling it was pointless.

He secretly made a will, but hadn’t had time to get it notarized by the village elders. It was just a draft, temporarily locked in his drawer, and then Ge Li discovered it, as this man had no secrets from her.

The will was very simple: after Lu Hou’s death, his house, savings, and shop would be divided into two shares. One share would go to Lu Jun, who had, after all, called him father for so many years, and Ge Li would also live with Lu Jun.

The other share would be donated to a welfare home in the city. He had no children of his own in his life and was happy to see other children, wanting to improve their living conditions at the welfare home.

Lu Jun, learning that half of his inheritance was about to be stolen, directly found someone to buy medicine and poisoned Lu Hou to death.

The young police officer asked, “Captain Cao, if the body hadn’t exploded, wouldn’t this matter have been buried? Do you think it could really be a wronged spirit…”

Captain Cao reached out and adjusted the young police officer’s cap.

After giving him an exasperated look, Captain Cao left the office to report the case progress to the director.

Li Sanjiang, Lin Shuyou, and Chen Xiyuan sat in a room, with tea placed in front of them.

This was a reception room, with a television on the desk playing a CCTV special report on Hainan real estate.

The theme was learning from lessons, and at the end of the program, many beautiful scenes of Hainan were shown, implying that Hainan’s future was still bright.

Lin Shuyou: “Were houses there so expensive before?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Yes, they were expensive for several years, then the bubble burst.”

Lin Shuyou: “Did you buy one?”

Chen Xiyuan: “I’m a music teacher, how could I afford one? Who hires a music teacher for tutoring? But I heard you have a lot of land at home?”

Lin Shuyou: “We have very little flat cultivated land there, but a lot of mountainous land per capita.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then you’re still a mountain king.”

Lin Shuyou smiled. If his grandfather and master knew that he had won a property comparison with the Dragon King’s family, he wondered what their reaction would be.

Li Sanjiang did not participate in the conversation from beginning to end, remaining silent.

Chen Xiyuan and Lin Shuyou were completely indifferent to today’s events. They had seen too much of life and death. Let alone a corpse exploding, even a corpse grotesquely crawling up in front of them was commonplace.

But Li Sanjiang was different. Although his life wasn’t always calm, and he had encountered quite a few strange things while salvaging bodies and performing rituals, rarely had it been as “fulfilling” as today!

So fulfilling that his heart felt somewhat heavy, and his breathing was not smooth.

At this moment, a police officer walked in, thanked them for their cooperation, and then prepared to arrange a car to send them home.

Li Sanjiang said it wasn’t necessary, as it wasn’t far and they could walk home. He did ask for some case details, and the officer revealed a little.

After listening, Li Sanjiang sighed:

“What kind of situation is this?”

As they walked out of the police station, the sky was already turning dark, but Li Sanjiang simply wanted to walk leisurely with his hands behind his back. Chen Xiyuan and Lin Shuyou followed him.

As they walked, Li Sanjiang stopped.

Chen Xiyuan: “Li Daye, what’s wrong?”

Li Sanjiang: “You Hou, our tricycle and some tools, are they still at Lu Hou’s house?”

Lin Shuyou: “Yes, we came to the police station in a police car. Should I go get them now?”

Li Sanjiang: “Then you’ll have to make another trip. Go retrieve the car. If it’s left for too long, it might go missing.”

“Alright, I’ll go now.”

Watching Lin Shuyou run off, Chen Xiyuan also felt relieved. The fact that Li Daye was still thinking about their tricycle at a time like this indicated that there were no major issues with him.

“Xi Yatou, tell me, does looking at the sea make one feel more relaxed?”

“Hmm.”

Chen Xiyuan knew this was Li Daye’s setup. A-You had already told him about the prize destination, but at this moment, she couldn’t bear to interrupt what Li Daye was about to say.

“Then let’s go have some fun. See the sea. Like you said, the sea there is different from ours.”

Chen Xiyuan didn’t respond.

By the time she walked home with Li Daye, it was completely dark.

Aunt Liu wasn’t asleep; she was still in the kitchen.

She was very concerned about matters of the Jianghu, but had little interest in village affairs.

However, the three old sisters around the old lady were very quick at spreading such news, and she had heard about it when she went to bring the old lady her afternoon tea for card games.

Aunt Liu: “A-Li rode the tricycle to the police station to pick you up. What, you didn’t run into him?”

Li Sanjiang: “We took another small path back, so we probably missed each other.”

Aunt Liu: “Uncle Sanjiang, should I make you something to eat?”

Li Sanjiang waved his hand, “No need, no need. I’m not hungry, don’t want to eat. I want to lie down early.”

Aunt Liu nodded.

Li Sanjiang entered the house and went upstairs.

Chen Xiyuan, who had originally intended to go upstairs to explain today’s events to her young cousin, stopped when she saw her young cousin enter the room with Li Daye.

Aunt Liu: “Are you hungry?”

Chen Xiyuan: “A-Jie, I don’t have an appetite either.”

Aunt Liu: “Then eat more and work up an appetite?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Hmm!”

Aunt Liu: “Go take a shower. After you finish, you can come out to eat.”

Chen Xiyuan entered the east room.

Just as Aunt Liu was about to go back to the kitchen, she saw Uncle Qin riding a tricycle onto the dam.

“Why didn’t you give them a ride?”

She didn’t believe they could miss each other like that.

“I saw that Uncle Sanjiang wasn’t in a good mood and wanted to walk, so I didn’t go up. I just followed slowly from a distance.”

“He’s indeed not in a good mood. Xiao Yuan even went into his room to comfort him. But it should be fine. With Uncle Sanjiang’s usual habits, he’ll be fine after a night’s sleep.”

“By the way, A-Ting, you’ll have to work hard tonight. My back is a bit itchy; they’re misbehaving again.”

Aunt Liu frowned, looking at Uncle Qin: “Impossible. I raised them myself, and they’ve always been very obedient. It’s definitely not them misbehaving; it’s you who’s thinking unruly thoughts.”

Uncle Qin: “Please help me deal with it; it’s so itchy and uncomfortable.”

Aunt Liu: “Your state of mind has been fluctuating quite a bit lately. I’ve told you already, wait until later, until Xiao Yuan finishes Traveling the River, until Xiao Yuan grows up. Why are you so anxious now?

Also, don’t stare at the soy sauce bottle when you have nothing to do.

The soy sauce in that bottle has been boiled by your gaze. No wonder the taste and color were off when I cooked today.”

“Got it, got it.”

Uncle Qin pushed open the door to the west room and hid inside.

He walked to the mirror hanging on the wall, turned his back, turned his head, and took off his short-sleeved shirt. On his back, faint black elongated figures were slowly emerging, becoming increasingly ferocious.

“People, how fake they are.”

Li Sanjiang lay on the bed, a cigarette between his fingers. He had just recounted today’s events to Xiao Yuan Hou.

Although Li Zhuiyuan had already heard it from Aunt Liu before, it didn’t prevent him from listening intently just now.

The young man could feel that his great-grandfather was old.

Li Zhuiyuan still remembered that summer two years ago, at his grandparents’ house, his great-grandfather placed an incense burner in his arms.

That night, his great-grandfather led him to Dahu Zi’s house, the purpose of which was to lure Xiao Huangying there as well.

Ultimately, Dahu Zi and his son died in the fish pond. His great-grandfather, who witnessed it all, merely muttered, “Every wrong has its source, every debt its master,” but actually didn’t take it to heart at all. The next day, he happily went to salvage the bodies and earned another sum.

But the great-grandfather now clearly wasn’t as open-minded as he was then.

Young people looking back at their two-year-old selves might feel immense change, yet there’s a common stereotype that elderly people, after reaching a certain age, even if they live another five, ten, or twenty years, seem to live in repetitive patterns.

But that’s not the case.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the elderly people around him, like Grandma Liu and Liu Jinxia, actually showed very clear changes.

Seeing the ash on his great-grandfather’s cigarette grow long, Li Zhuiyuan picked up a soda can and held it out. Li Sanjiang tapped the ash into the can opening, but a little white bit remained. Unwilling to discard it, he brought it to his mouth and took a deep puff.

“Hoo… sigh…”

He let out a heavy sigh of smoke.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Go out and clear your mind, it’s good, Great-Grandfather.”

Li Sanjiang was noncommittal.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Great-Grandfather, I heard from Brother Liangliang that current university students aren’t as sought after as before. Even if I can get a job, it’s still quite difficult to get married and buy a house on my own.

We’d have to wait a long time for the unit to allocate housing, and even then, the layouts are poor and the area is small.”

Li Sanjiang’s eyelids twitched, and his eyes seemed to rekindle with light.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Great-Grandfather, you’re really good at raising children and teaching kids. I want you to raise my children in the future too.”

The whiskers on Li Sanjiang’s cheeks trembled, like battle flags, standing erect once more.

“Great-Grandfather, I can’t raise them anymore. You have your mother…”

Li Sanjiang wanted to hit himself in the mouth, for bringing up an awkward subject.

“My mother would abandon the child.”

“Well, let’s not talk about your heartless mother. But aren’t your grandparents still there? They’re younger.”

“They don’t look as healthy as you, Great-Grandfather. Plus, they’ve raised too many children; they’re probably tired of it.”

“Hehe, how could you ever get tired of raising your own children?”

“The Sister Yingzi they raised found it so hard to get into university, but any child you, Great-Grandfather, raise casually will be the top scorer in the college entrance exam.”

“Hahaha!”

Li Sanjiang sat up from the bed, reaching out to pinch the young man’s face.

The skin felt incredibly delicate, warm, and once he pinched it, he didn’t want to let go. Yet, he knew his fingers were rough and feared hurting the child if he used too much force.

He couldn’t help but understand that the child was deliberately saying these words to comfort him.

He felt both very humiliated and very proud.

“Great-Grandfather, go have some fun, clear your mind. When you come back, live well, work well. At your age, it’s prime time for striving.”

“Alright, alright, child, go to sleep. Your great-grandfather is fine. What kind of person am I? I’ve seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood in my younger years. Today, it’s just a small scene!”

Li Sanjiang’s voice regained its vigor.

“Okay, Great-Grandfather, you go to bed early too.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked out and returned to his room.

A-Li was still in the room.

The F甲 was almost fully repaired, and the girl planned to pull an all-nighter before going to Cui Cui’s house later.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down opposite A-Li.

He knew that today’s events were truly nothing for his great-grandfather; it was just a certain long-standing emotion that had been suppressed, brought to the surface by the continuous events of the day.

His great-grandfather, accustomed to being alone, had originally chosen his own grandfather, Li Weihan, to help him through his old age and burial. Then, midway, he adopted him.

With ties, with a purpose, with happiness, all of this was built on the foundation of being needed.

In his great-grandfather’s eyes, he himself needed him less and less, and this sense of loss piled up layer by layer in his heart.

If he had never possessed it, there would be no sense of loss.

It was his schooling, college entrance exam, university, and then work that happened too quickly. The experience that others had over twenty years, he had condensed into two years for his great-grandfather.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Actually, Great-Grandfather has always been helping me, he just doesn’t know it himself.”

A-Li finished carving the last pattern, looked up at the young man, and handed three stacks of poker cards wrapped in furry fabric to him.

The young man didn’t take the Fulu armor, but instead grabbed the girl’s wrist.

“A-Li, you’re the same; you’ve always been helping me.”

A-Li turned her head and looked under the cabinet.

Li Zhuiyuan put away the Fulu armor, walked to the cabinet, took out two cans of Jianlibao, and walked out the door with the girl. They sat on the rattan chairs.

They opened the drinks, inserted straws, one can each, sitting there, feeling the evening breeze, and gazing at the starry sky.

No chess, no talking, no communication. They simply sensed each other’s presence, perfectly idle.

In the past, Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t understand why human emotions had lows.

Like Li Lan, he felt that such fluctuations were a low-level burden.

Now, he understood a little. Lows have meaning; as long as one can emerge from them, they are a build-up before another charge towards the peak.

Chen Xiyuan sat alone eating downstairs, and Aunt Liu kept bringing her dishes.

As she ate, she occasionally looked up. Seeing that her young cousin was not yet finished, she continued to eat a bit more.

A-Jie was right; appetite comes from eating, and she was getting hungrier the more she ate.

When the dishes in the kitchen were almost all gone, and there was nothing more to make, Aunt Liu wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

Before, there were three big eaters in the family. Now, those three had returned to normal appetites, but this new girl ate more than all three of them combined.

Li Zhuiyuan led A-Li downstairs, and Chen Xiyuan put down her chopsticks, accompanying A-Li back to Cui Cui’s house.

On the way back, Chen Xiyuan confessed to Li Zhuiyuan about her change of heart regarding inviting Li Daye to her home.

After listening, Li Zhuiyuan said calmly:

“I trust the family values of your Chen family.”

Chen Xiyuan said with great emotion, “If my grandfather heard you say that, he would definitely be very happy.”

Li Zhuiyuan truly approved of the Chen family’s values, but the young man trusted even more the sword in Grandma Liu’s hand, Uncle Qin’s fists, Aunt Liu’s poisons, and his own potential.

In fact, from another perspective, if his great-grandfather were truly detained by Old Master Chen, wouldn’t that also be another stroke of good fortune for his great-grandfather?

Of course, things wouldn’t go that far. Chen Xiyuan still underestimated her grandfather’s broader vision.

Chen Xiyuan: “Did you teach Zhao Yi and the others today?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Yes.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then can you teach me too?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I have a gift for you when I return from Hainan.”

Chen Xiyuan: “What gift?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “A book, a book I wrote myself, recording my experiences and insights from Traveling the River.”

Chen Xiyuan: “After reading that book, will I also become as smart as you, young cousin?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Yes, you will be able to further see the motives and purposes of the river water.”

Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish.

Instead of letting Chen Xiyuan remain ignorant, it was better to help her see through the mists.

Zhao Yi didn’t need it; after all, Zhao Yi liked equivalent exchange and believed in not accepting benefits without earning them.

On the way home, by the riverside forest, Runsheng had just finished burning paper.

During the day, he had visited Grandpa Shan, who was quite downcast to see Runsheng still coming alone.

But Grandpa Shan didn’t say anything, inviting Runsheng into the house for a meal.

Runsheng checked the rice jar and oil tank at home; there was still plenty left, so he didn’t need to restock.

In fact, as he was about to leave, Grandpa Shan pulled him aside and stuffed a wad of cash into his pocket.

This wad of cash was noticeably thicker than the one he had given his grandfather earlier.

Grandpa Shan had added some money to what Runsheng gave him and returned it.

“Runsheng Hou, open a savings account and save it. Also, spend a bit more carefully. I can still salvage some bodies and earn a bit more for you.

Don’t blame Mengmeng, Mengmeng is a good girl. It’s your Grandpa, it’s our family’s conditions that don’t deserve such a good girl.”

Even though Runsheng had explained many times that Mengmeng didn’t leave because she despised his poverty.

But Grandpa Shan had his own set of beliefs.

The girl had been brought home more than once, yet she still returned to Chuanyu and didn’t come back. Wasn’t it because she was scared away by their family’s conditions?

Runsheng was helpless; he couldn’t tell his grandfather that Mengmeng was currently locked in the underworld by her parents.

If he did, even if his grandfather believed him, he would probably think Mengmeng had suffered a sudden illness and was gone.

Tonight, while burning paper, Runsheng wrote down Grandpa Shan’s thoughts on the yellow paper and sent them over using Gu insects.

When the yellow paper finished burning, a line of characters appeared on the ground, much neater than the earliest ones:

“Still let Grandpa play cards…”

Runsheng had tested it; he could only burn paper once a day, burning more was useless.

So, he and Yin Meng could only exchange one message each night with this sentence.

The evening breeze scattered the writing, and Runsheng continued to sit there.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t disturb him, signaling the very curious Chen Xiyuan to be quiet, and took a detour back to their home’s yard.

Chen Xiyuan returned to the east room to sleep, while Li Zhuiyuan stood there for a moment longer, his gaze falling on the door of the west room.

The room inside was very calm, with no formations, no restrictions, but there was an aura inside that absorbed all the movements, not letting a single trace escape.

He waited, wanting to see if his help was needed.

There was no reaction from inside, so Li Zhuiyuan was relieved. He went upstairs, showered, and went to bed.

Teaching other classes would certainly not be as dedicated as teaching his own class, but what needed to be taught, the young man didn’t hold back. However, the intensity of this teaching was double what it was for Tan Wenbin and the others.

Three days’ worth of lessons, completed in one day.

When Xu Ming walked out of the dojo after class, all the hair on his body had turned into green sprouts, the kind that could be picked and stir-fried.

The Liang sisters had forgotten who was the elder sister and who was the younger sister, constantly arguing and asking people nearby, but after asking, they would quickly forget and fall into argument again.

Chen Jing, on the other hand, ran out on all fours, like a wolf, chasing his little black dog. One “wolf” and one dog circled the fields for a full ten laps.

His little black dog, since coming to this house, had never exercised this much in two years combined, even if doubled.

In the end, it was Zhao Yi who found a rope and lassoed Chen Jing.

This wasn’t qi deviation, but a deeper understanding and absorption of the snow wolf’s power. The side effect was that Chen Jing would retain many wolf habits for a while, gradually recovering in a couple of days.

Li Zhuiyuan’s time was now precious. Before returning to school for the meeting, he had to sacrifice the three evil spirits he had captured using forbidden evil arts. Currently, he had already selected three corresponding evil arts from the Orthodox Demon Subduing Record.

After returning to school, he had to quickly handle things, go through the procedures, meet with Engineer Luo and Old Zhai, and then he would have to rush to rescue the Organ Zhou family and the Valley Ding family without stopping.

After that, he had to come back, upgrade and repair his dojo, and then he had to go to Hainan.

In addition to dealing with the affairs of the Dragon King Chen family, he also had to take time to accompany his great-grandfather and help him relax.

In the past, the young man felt that the interval between two waves was too long. Several times, he would even shorten this interval, attracting the river water earlier.

Now, he was worried that the interval might be too short, preventing him from completing everything he wanted to do.

As for “Walking the River on Shore,” he had already started planning it. He opened a new book, not rushing to write the title, and used the commemorative blank book gifted to him by the publisher, with “Zhuiyuan Secret Scroll” on the cover.

The young man felt that this name was quite suitable for recording his experiences of “Walking the River on Shore.”

Lying in bed, lost in thought, the young man sensed movement in the west room; a faint wisp of aura leaked out.

It was very faint. Great-Grandfather was already asleep, snoring loudly, completely unaware.

But to be safe, Li Zhuiyuan still got out of bed, opened the door, and set up a temporary isolation array at the entrance of his great-grandfather’s room.

He was on his great-grandfather’s household registration, so he could be more at ease in front of his great-grandfather.

But Uncle Qin and the others were not. If certain matters disturbed his great-grandfather, they would suffer the backlash of his great-grandfather’s good fortune.

Good fortune is good; it does not distinguish between good and evil. It only stands on the side of his great-grandfather, and it follows the principle of “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Grandma Liu and the others were already very cautious about his great-grandfather’s good fortune, but only Li Zhuiyuan knew that they actually underestimated it.

After doing all this, as he turned to go back to his room, Li Zhuiyuan saw Aunt Liu standing at the door of the west room.

She must have noticed the aura leaking out and came to check.

“Xiao Yuan, are you hungry? Do you want a late-night snack?”

It was a polite gesture, a form of expressing gratitude, clearly, her and Uncle Qin’s business in the west room was not yet finished.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head, “Aunt Liu, I’m not hungry. I’m going to sleep.”

At this moment, the window of the east room was pushed open, and Chen Xiyuan poked her head out:

“A-Jie, I’m hungry. I want a late-night snack.”

Aunt Liu gave a wry smile, “Then hold on a little longer. I’ll make it for you in a bit.”

“Okay, A-Jie.”

Aunt Liu walked back into the room and closed the door.

Inside the room, Uncle Qin sat cross-legged on the floor, shirtless.

On his back, a total of nine long black figures were moving irregularly.

Back then, when Uncle Qin taught Runsheng the “Qin Clan’s Dragon-Gazing Method,” he used a crude method: he used the freshest coffin nails, still exuding a zombie aura, to forcibly chisel into Runsheng’s Qi Sea.

In fact, Uncle Qin himself was a practitioner of this method, but in a different form, and his experience was infinitely more terrifying than Runsheng’s.

Uncle Qin: “I told you, they’re not very obedient anymore.”

Aunt Liu: “It’s you who’s disobedient. It’s you making them restless, A-Li. I’ll secretly suppress them for you one more time. If this happens again next time, I’ll tell the Mistress.

Before we moved into Uncle Sanjiang’s house, the Mistress ordered me to seal these nine life-centipedes in your body using the Nine Soul Lock.

You are not allowed to unseal them in daily life, for fear that you might inadvertently leak too much power.

Even when you carried out those missions outside in the past, the Mistress would instruct you beforehand how many you could unseal at most, preferring you to be severely injured rather than fully unleash your power.

In the Jianghu, regarding our family, the first fear is the Mistress’s sword. The two of us are merely intimidating additions, but the sword the Mistress truly nurtures is you.

You should know your position.

You are our family’s ultimate trump card.”

Uncle Qin: “Now, I am not anymore.”

Aunt Liu: “Xiao Yuan is still young, so you still are. I truly don’t understand, why did you suddenly lose control?”

Uncle Qin closed his eyes.

Aunt Liu’s fingertip rested on Uncle Qin’s back. Her nail cut and dug out a bloody hole, then she smoothly pulled.

A long centipede poked its head out from the bloody hole.

Aunt Liu reached out to caress it.

She had raised it, so it was naturally affectionate towards her.

“Hiss…”

But the next moment, the centipede lunged forward fiercely. Even though Aunt Liu quickly retracted her hand, her fingertip was bitten and bled.

Turning her palm, she quickly forced the venom out. Aunt Liu took a deep breath, disbelievingly saying:

“Why is this happening?”

Uncle Qin: “A-Ting, I told you, it’s not my problem, at least, not entirely my problem. Now, do you believe me?”

Aunt Liu looked at the slight bumps on the centipede’s head, as well as the significantly fewer legs than before, and a layer of silver on the edge of its body.

“A-Li, I believe you now. The Nine Soul Lock I placed on you… it’s actually transforming on its own.

How did you do it? You clearly failed Traveling the River, and this Nine Soul Lock could only suppress your strength and help you accumulate power, but it couldn’t help you progress further.

Could it be because you had a breakthrough in your spiritual understanding recently?”

Uncle Qin: “Spiritual understanding has no direct relation to the body, and even less to your life centipede. They are just restless on their own.”

Aunt Liu: “Then why…”

Uncle Qin: “I’m suspecting something.”

Aunt Liu: “Tell me.”

Uncle Qin: “I’ll tell you my guess, but don’t tell the Mistress. As you said, we shouldn’t watch, shouldn’t interfere with, and shouldn’t teach Xiao Yuan’s matters.

If we tell the Mistress, her stance will surely be to stop it.”

Aunt Liu shook her head: “No, I will never deceive the Mistress. If the Mistress asks, I will definitely tell the truth!”

But if she didn’t tell her, then she couldn’t ask.

Uncle Qin: “Xiao Yuan might be preparing to avenge me.”

Aunt Liu: “Avenge you?”

Uncle Qin: “My Journey on the River failed, defeated in that conspired ambush. Although I escaped with my last breath and also lit the lamp twice to surrender.

But my ambition, my belief, my lamp light, my past, were all frozen there.

A-Ting, you haven’t Traveled the River, so it’s hard for you to understand this feeling of mine.

The Qin Clan’s Dragon-Gazing Method can be defeated, but it cannot surrender. I surrendered.

But if someone can win it back for me, although I won’t just win along as if nothing happened, at least I won’t lose as much; some will be compensated back.”

Aunt Liu: “I really don’t understand what you mean, but I do believe that Xiao Yuan might truly be preparing to avenge you. Both the Mistress and I believe that the changes in the Ming family were orchestrated by Xiao Yuan.

Perhaps the Mistress cleared out the room for the Chen family girl to stay in because she didn’t know how to explain this to Xiao Yuan.

She wants to stop him, to persuade Xiao Yuan to take a long-term view and not rush, but… Xiao Yuan, who can teach him?”

Uncle Qin: “You check them all. This one’s problem isn’t the biggest.”

Aunt Liu: “You want me to open all the seals for you? I can’t do that.”

Uncle Qin: “You check one, then seal it back up.”

Aunt Liu: “Nine punishments.”

Uncle Qin: “I can bear it.”

Aunt Liu sealed the centipede back in, then opened another incision on Uncle Qin’s body and took out the second centipede.

Their degrees of change varied, and all possessed a certain special ferocity. They were utterly impolite to their former master and, given the chance, would actively attack.

By the time she checked the last one, Uncle Qin’s face was covered in sweat, and his body was uncontrollably trembling.

And the last life-centipede, its horns on its head were clear, its entire body silver, and its numerous tactile legs were reduced to four clotted lumps.

It was the quietest, but the look in its eyes was the coldest.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes, his gaze almost glazed over: “How is it?”

Aunt Liu: “It’s transforming into a jiao.”

— This chapter still has 10,000 words, it won’t fit, it’s in the next chapter.