Chen Xiyuan stared blankly at the extinguished lamp before her. The stark moonlight tonight could paint her face.

“I think I know why Grandpa wanted to kill you.”

Li Zhuiyuan, lying in a rattan chair, turned his head slightly to look at her back, saying nothing.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Sleep.”

Chen Xiyuan turned to look at Li Zhuiyuan. “Will Qiongya Chen family be your next target?”

“I’m tired.”

Chen Xiyuan’s lower lip was bitten until it bled. Because they had been allies, no, friends, she knew even more clearly how terrifying it was to be an enemy of the young man before her.

“I…”

If the second lighting of the lamp had succeeded, the pressure in her heart might have lessened significantly, allowing her to speak more smoothly. Now, she found that no matter what she said, she had no reason, let alone a stance.

Li Zhuiyuan pulled back the blanket covering him and sat up from the rattan chair. “Good night.”

The young man entered the room and closed the screen door. As he passed the wardrobe, his peripheral vision caught his reflection in the mirror: a grim expression, cold eyes. That familiar feeling was about to return. It seemed he had to quickly revive his main body.

Lying on the bed, the folded blanket rested on his stomach.

Outside the screen door, Chen Xiyuan stood for a moment. Then, she turned and left.

Li Zhuiyuan did not comfort her, or rather, at this moment, not comforting her was the best comfort. Because whether he appeared aggressive or generous, he would be forcing her to make a choice. There was no need for that.

Perhaps, hidden beneath Old Master Chen’s “yes” answer was some underlying reason. He might have been unwilling to say, unable to say, or forbidden to say. But as Li Zhuiyuan told Liu Yumei earlier in the day, he was too lazy to inquire. The other party had almost killed him, and had personally admitted it. To proactively seek out the reasons behind it would be too much self-abasement.

Li Zhuiyuan could wait for Old Master Chen to explain, but that wouldn’t prevent him from now on from treating Old Master Chen, and even the Qiongya Chen family, as his next opponents. The young man disliked this kind of secretive drama. Even if, hypothetically, they eventually presented an overwhelmingly justifiable reason, all the consequences caused in the interim were still theirs to bear!

Closing his eyes, Li Zhuiyuan fell asleep again, and the bed beside him was once again filled with a fragrant aroma.

When Chen Xiyuan returned to Dahuzi’s house, Zhao Yi was still awake. He had his feet propped on the balcony railing, reading “Zoujiang Behavior Guidelines” by the moonlight. He turned a page, saw Chen Xiyuan still standing nearby, and looked up at her, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Chen Xiyuan: “There’s something I want to ask you.”

Zhao Yi: “Ask me?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Maybe because you have experience in this area.”

Zhao Yi: “I have experience in this area? Oh, I see, hehe.”

Chen Xiyuan: “You know already? Did Xiao Didi tell you?”

Zhao Yi smiled: “Does it need to be told? All men understand.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Hmm?”

Zhao Yi: “Marrying two wives and maintaining a harmonious family relationship indeed requires great wisdom.”

Chen Xiyuan clenched the green flute in her hand, her aura gradually sharpening.

Zhao Yi immediately hunched over, waving his hand: “Did I guess wrong?”

Chen Xiyuan glanced at the distant night sky, loosened her grip on the flute, her expression forlorn. She left the balcony and went into her room.

Zhao Yi resumed his previous posture of propping his legs and reading. It seemed that the lightning strike was indeed related to the Chen family. Li obviously didn’t want to involve her, and he would be out of his mind to share his experience and offer advice to her now.

Soon, Zhao Yi saw Chen Xiyuan appear on the dam, carrying a hiking backpack identical to Li’s team. She had left. It wasn’t exactly an unannounced departure, as she couldn’t say goodbye to anyone. She had to return to Hainan Island, she had to go home, she had to find her grandfather. Not to ask anything, but to go back and face her past, to face the Longwang Chen as she perceived it.

Zhao Yi retracted his gaze, turned another page, and murmured, “No debt, light body, huh, no home, also a light body.”

When Chen Xiyuan walked out of Siyuan Village’s village road entrance and reached the main road, a black car drove by and stopped. The driver was a kind-faced woman. At this hour, it would be hard to hitch a ride here. Seeing a young girl standing by the roadside, she decided to give her a lift.

Chen Xiyuan thanked her and got into the car. She turned her head, looking at the quiet village scenery under the night sky, and slowly raised her hand, gently waving through the window.

The woman driver asked curiously, “Is someone seeing you off?”

Chen Xiyuan: “No, I’m alone.”

The car started and drove away. Chen Xiyuan slowly turned, looking at the two gradually blurring red and white road markers at the village entrance through the rear window. She had just waved goodbye to herself. She had left her former self in this village.

“Time for breakfast!”

Aunt Liu’s health had recovered, and she was once again in charge of the family’s three meals a day. Li Zhuiyuan walked down, holding A-Li’s hand. For the past two days, the young man had been sleepy, but always woke up on time for meals.

Li Zhuiyuan expertly helped A-Li divide various small pickles into small dishes. A-Li, after peeling a salted duck egg for the young man, peeled two more eggs. Without the domineering presence of brown sugar, the boiled eggs tasted even better.

Grandpa Great, after inspecting the repairs to the ancestral grave yesterday, was dragged off by the old carpenter for a drink and was only carried back by Uncle Qin late at night. He was still asleep now. In the days following the typhoon, there wasn’t much business, and Grandpa Great’s drinking frequency was very high. In and out of the house, he hadn’t even noticed that all the family’s mules were lying down.

Just after breakfast, Zhao Yi arrived.

Li Zhuiyuan: “She’s gone, right?”

Zhao Yi: “Hmm, she went back.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “No need to see her off.”

Zhao Yi: “Can you not combine two sentences into one? It makes me feel like an afterthought.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “When do we set off?”

Zhao Yi: “Noon. I really miss my Jiujiang, and my Lushan.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Hmm.”

Zhao Yi: “I checked Run Sheng, A-You, and Daban’s injuries this morning for you. They’re mostly fine now. Also, A-You and Daban have made significant breakthroughs.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “You worked hard.”

Zhao Yi: “You should say such polite things more often. After all, when things really happen, you don’t actually treat me as an outsider.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Are you done? I’m sleepy again.”

Zhao Yi: “Next, after the team has fully recuperated, are you going to Hainan?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I’m going to Northeast first to find my teacher. Are you coming too?”

Zhao Yi: “My point is, don’t call me to Hainan, and don’t call me to Northeast either. This time, I’ve earned a lot of merit points, so I need to plan carefully how to use them. If I immediately go with you into life-and-death challenges, what if I die before spending all the merit points? That would be a huge loss.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Indeed.”

Zhao Yi lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and then forcefully exhaled it towards Li Zhuiyuan’s face. The smoke, just before reaching him, naturally parted to both sides. Zhao Yi licked his lips and said, “I knew my feeling was right. Li, you’re a goddamn freak.”

He hadn’t practiced martial arts, walked with a limp, but this young man was practically walking on one stilt, and the stilt could continuously lengthen.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Because I read some books and saw some paintings a few days ago.”

Zhao Yi: “Li, we’re all family. The effect of that thing is really that good? Hehe, see my eyes? They’re red!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “I haven’t even started digesting that thing yet; I’ve only smelled some of it so far.”

Zhao Yi turned and left, waving his hand as he walked and shouting, “Let’s go, let’s go, home, home!”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t deflect Zhao Yi; he really did go back to his room to sleep, waking up at lunchtime. For the next few days, Li Zhuiyuan’s routine was very regular: he ate on time and slept on time. During this period, Run Sheng first moved back from Dahuzi’s house, accompanying Uncle Qin to the fields and on deliveries. Then Lin Shuyou returned. As soon as A-You came back, the village committee asked him to help repair the village’s electrical circuits. Tan Wenbin was the last to return, and his return marked the end of Benben’s tutoring class.

After another afternoon nap, Li Zhuiyuan sat on the bed, carefully savoring the feeling. The lingering tiredness from sleep was finally gone. This meant that his physical condition had recovered.

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and glanced at the tattered straw mat in the corner of the living room. Every day, after he finished eating, he would also drop some food and pour some water into the straw mat. Xiao Hei might not have the ability to eat right now, but Li Zhuiyuan needed to feed it daily to remind himself that Xiao Hei was still alive; otherwise, after such a long time without food and water, his subconscious would believe Xiao Hei was dead. Fortunately, each time he pressed the straw mat, there would be a response from inside, although it showed a trend of gradually weakening.

Dusk, draped in twilight. The door to the east room was closed; A-Li was taking a bath. Li Zhuiyuan sat on the dam, waiting. The door was pushed open from inside, and A-Li, having bathed and changed into a plain dress, walked out. With just a glance, A-Li knew what Li Zhuiyuan was going to do. She followed the young man to the back of the house and entered the Dao場 (Daochang, or spiritual training ground).

Li Zhuiyuan sat on the altar, A-Li stood behind him. This scene was like when Li Zhuiyuan was at his weakest a few days ago, when A-Li would stand outside and pay attention to any movement while he bathed. The young man began to absorb the “gift” left by the giant turtle. This process was not complicated, but it was very dangerous, akin to drilling a hole in a dam to draw water. In A-Li’s eyes, the young man’s body was constantly trembling, and a little blood was oozing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The intense fluctuations on the spiritual level caused a chain reaction in his body, which was why Li Zhuiyuan had to wait until his body had recovered to a certain extent before starting.

In the depths of his spiritual consciousness, the darkness that had previously engulfed everything began to recede. Grandpa Great’s house reappeared, followed by the fields, trees, and river near the house… until the entire Siyuan Village was re-manifested here. The scars left by the battle were all erased, and everything returned to its former appearance. The difference was that this time there was no sloppy sky or houses with only one wall; even the dandelions blown by the wind were incredibly delicate.

Previously, maintaining such an effect to deceive the giant turtle’s eyes required Li Zhuiyuan to push himself to the extreme, and the time was limited. Now, maintaining this was no longer a strain for Li Zhuiyuan; it could continue to operate at such a high standard indefinitely.

After it ended, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes. Before he could stand up from the altar, the convulsive paralysis throughout his body forced him to prostrate himself on the ground. Blood gushed from his nose, quickly staining the altar beneath him red and spreading down the steps. A-Li knelt down to help the young man stop the bleeding. After a long struggle, the frightening nosebleed was finally brought under control, and Li Zhuiyuan gasped for breath.

He realized that he was approaching a critical point. In short, it was the contradiction between his increasingly strong spiritual intensity and his lagging physical body. His spiritual level was too powerful, and this ordinary young man’s body was gradually unable to bear it. He couldn’t practice martial arts yet, so the improvement of his physical quality could only rely on slow growth over time, which was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water. Imposing a spiritual seal on himself was a good method, but it still couldn’t solve the problem that when he really needed to use it, his body would still show these symptoms. The best solution was to constantly consume energy efficiently, keeping the spiritual and physical levels consistently below the warning line.

The main body. Once the main body reappeared, it could gain more spiritual energy than in the past to continue its beloved research and deductions. The young man had never expected that his heart-devil and main body, once adversaries, were now inseparable from him.

A-Li brought water and carefully cleaned the blood from Li Zhuiyuan’s face. Li Zhuiyuan lay on the altar for a while longer. After his breathing stabilized, he walked out of the Daochang with A-Li’s help.

Upon reaching the living room, Li Zhuiyuan sat on the ground beside the tattered straw mat. A-Li picked up the purple-gold compass, her fingertips twirling it. With a “click” sound, a groove appeared in the compass. The girl tilted the groove towards one end of the straw mat and poured out, and copper coins rolled into it. Li Zhuiyuan also reached his hand into the straw mat, found the dog’s paw, and clasped it. As for the copper coin, Li Zhuiyuan guessed it was probably held in Xiao Hei’s mouth.

The resentment brought about by the copper coin’s restoration was actively absorbed by Li Zhuiyuan, with the young man himself controlling the intensity. More importantly, when the young man closed his eyes, in the “Siyuan Village” deep within his spiritual consciousness, he saw Xiao Hei lying on the dam, barely alive. It was difficult to use specific words to describe the dog’s current misery, but it was still alive. Xiao Hei whimpered, its cloudy eyes blinking repeatedly, looking at the young man in front of it.

Li Zhuiyuan: “You are free.”

Xiao Hei’s dog eyes immediately widened!

Li Zhuiyuan: “I will feed you well and take care of you for the rest of your life. You can do whatever you want, no longer restricted.”

In the past, to provide high-quality black dog blood for the team, Xiao Hei had always been required to keep itself pure. Xiao Hei looked confused. It had always felt that it lived quite freely. Compared to other dogs, it ate well, drank well, and slept well; it didn’t do any of the things a dog typically should. As for the true meaning behind “freedom,” Xiao Hei was even more dismissive. It never felt like it was being restrained because it had never been interested in female dogs since it was young. Even when blood was drawn, it always looked forward to it, because it ate so nourishingly and grew so strong that its qi and blood would surge. Having some blood drawn occasionally made it feel more comfortable and improved its sleep quality.

Looking at Xiao Hei’s reaction, Li Zhuiyuan was a bit helpless. Even if he wanted to reward it, to find an opportunity to completely help it transform into a demon beast like Grandmaster Lion or Grandmaster Tiger, Xiao Hei probably wouldn’t want to. It was afraid he would take it on a Zoujiang journey, which would be too tiring.

Sensing that the timing was right, Li Zhuiyuan said, “Alright, hold on to this breath; you won’t die.”

Xiao Hei’s eyes showed determination. It hadn’t nearly had enough of this dog’s life yet!

In reality, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes. He withdrew his hand from the straw mat, the copper coin clutched between his fingers. “Run Sheng-ge, untie the knot.”

“Okay.”

Run Sheng, who had been sitting on the nearby coffin for a long time, immediately got up and untied the knot he had personally tied. The straw mat was spread open, revealing a dirty interior with water stains and a lot of uneaten food. A black dog, severely injured and completely emaciated, lay there motionless. Run Sheng fell silent.

The broken, hairless dog tail suddenly swished once. Run Sheng smiled again.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Run Sheng-ge, carry it to A-Li. A-Li has already prepared the medicine.” As long as it had this breath, Xiao Hei wouldn’t die. With time, its body could recover.

Run Sheng extended his hands, keeping some distance, towards Xiao Hei. The next moment, Xiao Hei’s battered body was gently lifted. Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes lifted slightly, surprised. Run Sheng had made a breakthrough too? This technique hinted at touching the level of “Rùwēi” (minute precision).

Back in that “world,” when Uncle Qin fought the giant turtle, Zhao Yi had tugged at Run Sheng’s eyes, urging him to watch more closely. Run Sheng found it boring and certainly didn’t understand anything. But after it ended, Run Sheng witnessed firsthand how Uncle Qin steadily lifted Xiao Yuan up to the second floor. This scene deeply touched Run Sheng, causing him to unconsciously turn his palms back and forth during his recovery days, even while sleeping.

“Xiao Yuan-ge,” Tan Wenbin walked in, holding a大哥大 (Dage Da, an old mobile phone model), his expression somewhat solemn, “Lu Yi’s call.”

Li Zhuiyuan took the phone. “Hello, Lu Yi-ge, it’s me.”

“Xiao Yuan-ge, there’s something I think I need to report to you.”

“Go on.”

“Last night, around midnight, as I was finishing the accounts and preparing to close up and return to my dorm, Liang-ge came. He said he was very hungry, and all the restaurants outside were closed, so he asked me to prepare something for them to eat.”

“Them, who else?”

“At first, it was just Liang-ge. After I cooked and served the Oden, I saw Engineer Luo had also arrived, and they were sitting across from each other, eating.”

The disappearance of Engineer Luo was a secret, and Lu Yi was unaware of it. But this news puzzled Li Zhuiyuan. Had Engineer Luo returned already? If so, Liang-ge should have notified him immediately.

“Lu Yi-ge, please continue.”

“After they finished eating, they both left. Then this afternoon, a group of people who looked like police but not entirely like police came to the shop and asked if I had seen Liang-ge last night. I told them everything I knew, then asked them what had happened. They gave me a contact number and told me to inform them immediately if I heard anything more about Liang-ge. Liang-ge is missing.”