His initial guess seemed further confirmed when he saw the bowl on the ground in front of Li Sanjiang. Not only did it contain water, but two perilla leaves were also floating in it.

If Li Sanjiang had simply wanted water to drink, there was a table nearby where he could have placed it, rather than directly on the muddy ground.

This gesture seemed to convey respect:

“Please, rest and have your tea; for everything else, you don’t need to lift a finger.”

Li Zhuiyuan approached curiously, thinking, “Is Great-Grandpa pretending to be asleep?”

But if Great-Grandpa truly didn’t want to get involved, why did he come to officiate the ritual?

If it was just for the fee, why did he drag Liu Jinxia and Grandpa Shan into it?

Grandpa Shan, who often struggled for his next meal, might agree to such a miserable outcome for money, but Liu Jinxia came from a well-off family. Why would she agree to this?

This inconsistency in behavior made Li Zhuiyuan question his established impression of his great-grandpa for the first time.

“Li Sanjiang! Li Sanjiang!”

From behind him came Grandpa Shan’s roar. His mouth was bloody, and he held a handful of old teeth, his expression twisted into an extreme grimace.

“Oh my goodness!”

Li Sanjiang startled awake, his body trembling, nearly falling off his chair. He then looked around groggily, his gaze landing on Grandpa Shan’s face:

“Hey, what happened to you? You look like a mess!”

“Li Sanjiang, you beast! You animal!”

Grandpa Shan’s chest heaved with anger. He had been so terrified he’d wet himself and lost a row of teeth, only to turn and find Li Sanjiang still sound asleep, with sleep in his eyes. He nearly choked himself to death.

Li Sanjiang then looked at Liu Jinxia, whose face was so swollen it looked like two pleated steamed buns had been applied to it. His mouth twitched, and he almost burst out laughing:

“Liu the Blind, what happened to you?”

Liu Jinxia closed her eyes and remained silent; even speaking made her cheeks ache.

She was also angry, but being from the same village, she had long been aware of Li Sanjiang’s “abilities.” Although it felt unfair, she knew it was a predictable outcome.

“Hey, where are those three from the Niu family? They’re gone!”

Li Sanjiang grew anxious. Where were the hosts?

Grandpa Shan had to force himself to calm down. He wanted to grit his teeth but couldn’t find any, so he bit his lip and said:

“Around eight o’clock, Liu the Blind first told me it was cold. That’s when I realized my spot was drafty, and Old Lady Niu was back.”

“What? It’s been half a year. She can still return as a spirit?”

“She’s not a ghost; she’s a walking corpse!”

“A walking corpse? Are you kidding me? Someone who’s been dead and buried for half a year can become a walking corpse?”

“She is a walking corpse. Water seeps from her shoe soles, leaving wet trails when she walks. When I fought her for a bit, she had that watery corpse smell characteristic of a walking corpse. My eyes aren’t blind, and my nose still works. I’ve been retrieving bodies my whole life; I couldn’t possibly mistake a walking corpse!”

“And then?”

“Then…”

“Why stop? Did you not deal with her?”

“If only I could be ten years younger…”

Grandpa Shan didn’t finish his sentence. He hadn’t managed to deal with Old Lady Niu and had even fallen into her trap, which was truly humiliating.

At that moment, he finally began to accept his age.

If not for Liu the Blind’s warning tonight, he might have been directly ensnared, skipping the “struggle” altogether.

“I said, where are the Niu family members?”

Li Sanjiang asked again. This was no longer just about money. If waiting for them to officiate the ritual led to the host family being completely wiped out, their reputation across these ten li and eight villages would be ruined. Who would dare invite them again?

Runsheng: “Niu Lian is digging a hole at her mother’s grave.”

“Then why didn’t you go save her?”

Runsheng glanced at Li Zhuiyuan standing nearby and said, “There wasn’t enough time. I brought Xiao Yuan here first to wake you all up.”

“Let’s go to the graveyard!” Li Sanjiang slapped the stool and looked at Grandpa Shan and Liu Jinxia. “You two… stay here and rest for now.”

His gaze seemed to imply, “How could you two be so useless?”

Grandpa Shan’s chest began to heave violently again, his recently calmed emotions now re-agitated.

Liu Jinxia’s expression was calm, even slightly disdainful as she glanced at Grandpa Shan: “You’ve been his old partner for so many years, taking the fall and suffering silently for so long. You still haven’t learned your lesson. You deserve this.”

Li Sanjiang led Runsheng and Li Zhuiyuan running towards the graves. As soon as they reached the edge of the field, they heard a voice:

“Mom, I’m hungry! Mom, I’m hungry! Mom, is dinner ready yet?”

A figure dressed in sackcloth ran out from ahead; it was Niu Rui. He spread his arms as if seeking his mother’s embrace. Though over fifty years old, he seemed exceptionally innocent at that moment.

“Catch him!”

Li Sanjiang directed Runsheng. He went left, Runsheng went right, blocking Niu Rui’s escape path. They then pounced together, finally pinning Niu Rui to the ground.

“Let me go! Let me go! I want my mom! I want to find my mom!”

Niu Rui struggled, but he couldn’t break free.

“Mom! I’m Fuhou! Mom! I’m Fuhou!”

Just as Niu Rui was brought under control, Niu Fu appeared in the distance. He was spinning in circles, weeping bitterly, his voice mournful and passionate, much more emotional than when he’d wailed during the daytime funeral.

Li Sanjiang, pinning Niu Rui, told Runsheng, “Go, catch Niu Fu!”

“Grandpa, can you manage?” Runsheng asked, looking at Niu Rui still struggling beneath them.

“It’s fine, I still have plenty of strength.” Although he was injured, Li Sanjiang was confident he could hold down an old man. Having carried bodies his entire life, he understood human anatomy and knew how to restrain someone.

“Alright!”

Runsheng left Niu Rui, rushed towards Niu Fu, and, with a flying tackle, pinned him down.

“Xiao Yuanhou, look for some rope, straw will do too!”

“Okay, Great-Grandpa.”

“Wuwuwu, Mom, my dearest mom, wuwuwu, oh my dear mother, hiss yowei…”

On the opposite field ridge, a woman’s figure appeared. She was disheveled and covered in blood and mud. Her hands, in particular, looked as if the flesh was tearing away, like shredded rags hanging from bones.

For some reason, she was draped in something resembling water weeds, which trailed far behind her on the ground.

She stumbled slowly and unsteadily along, heading towards the ditch ahead.

It was Niu Lian!

She hadn’t been buried alive after all; she had escaped. But given her appearance, it seemed she had been buried, not killed, and then dug herself out.

Seeing this, Li Sanjiang shouted to Li Zhuiyuan, “Xiao Yuanhou, hurry and find some rope or straw!”

The scene was what it was, but the voice in Li Zhuiyuan’s ears sounded like: “Xiao Yuanhou, quickly grab her, don’t let her fall into the ditch!”

Li Zhuiyuan blinked, looked at his great-grandpa and Runsheng, each pinning down a Niu family member in different locations, and then at Niu Lian in the distance.

He didn’t obey “Great-Grandpa” to catch Niu Lian. Instead, he ran towards the shed, where there was rope, and where Grandpa Shan and Liu Jinxia were. Although injured, they could still help tie someone up.

The reason he didn’t go after Niu Lian was simple: it wasn’t because he was young or weak. In fact, Niu Lian seemed even frailer now, and a child grabbing her sash could likely hold her back.

But the fact that the three of them, who had been together, were suddenly being split up made Li Zhuiyuan instinctively uneasy. It felt as if it had been planned, with the three Niu family members appearing one after another, waiting to be caught.

But after running for a short distance, Li Zhuiyuan stopped. He suddenly realized that even if he hadn’t gone to catch Niu Lian, hadn’t he also run away?

A chill wind swept past. Li Zhuiyuan turned around. In the distance behind him, there was only a pitch-black field. Where were Great-Grandpa and Runsheng?

At that moment, the sound of a wooden fish drum echoed nearby, mixed with chaotic chanting, like the funeral band of monks performing during the day.

Around him, figures in Taoist robes appeared, holding various ritual tools, circling him.

This sensation was like his ears and eyes were filled with clutter, making him agitated while gradually losing his perception of the outside world.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his right hand and bit down hard on his forearm. Although he put his full strength into it, and tooth marks and blood appeared on his arm, the pain was minimal.

There was no other way. Li Zhuiyuan opened his palm, surprised that the technique he had just taught Runsheng would so soon be needed for himself.

However, before his palm could strike his own face, a man’s voice came from behind him.

“Ah, you’ve fallen into her trap after all.”

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and saw Uncle Qin standing there. His presence immediately gave him a profound sense of security.

Uncle Qin reached out and placed a hand on Li Zhuiyuan’s shoulder. “She’s a walking corpse formed from a cat and a human, a corpse demon. She’s best at bewildering people’s minds.”

“Uncle, please hurry and help save my great-grandpa and the others.”

“Don’t worry, it’s already taken care of.”

Uncle Qin raised his right hand, and in it, he was gripping a black cat.

This black cat had half a tail missing, one blind eye, and a lame leg. Although large areas of its body were decaying, it was still struggling and moving.

Was this the animal corpse that had turned into a walking corpse along with Old Lady Niu?

“Uncle, have you subdued it?”

“Not completely yet,” Uncle Qin said with a slight smile. “This thing, like your great-grandpa, was already severely injured. Now the cat and the human have separated. I’ve only caught the cat. If we can find the human and destroy them together, this corpse demon will be dealt with.”

“Then my great-grandpa and the others…”

“A few Niu family members possessed by malevolent spirits won’t threaten your great-grandpa. Let’s go find Old Lady Niu first. Once she’s dealt with, this whole thing will be over. Come on, she’s in the old house on the west side of the village.”

Uncle Qin, holding the struggling cat in his right hand, took Li Zhuiyuan’s hand with his left and led him westward.

“Uncle, didn’t you say you wouldn’t help with trivial matters?”

“It’s past midnight. Your great-grandpa’s ritual is over, so my intervention now has nothing to do with him. I’m just passing by, saw a corpse demon harming people, and decided to take care of it.”

“Oh, I see. You’re really amazing, Uncle.”

“Heh, this is nothing. You haven’t seen truly powerful ones. This corpse demon is just a minor player. Before the Liberation, those great walking corpses in the jianghu were the real terrifying beings. Those were truly frightening.”

“If corpse demons aren’t powerful, then Uncle, tell me, what other powerful walking corpses are there?”

“There are many. In ancient times, powerful individuals of noble status who were drowned in rivers would become ‘general walking corpses.’ They often had the ability to control vengeful spirits in rivers and command ‘chang’ ghosts.

Then there are areas with water burial customs, where small river systems originally converged. But with the passage of time, as rivers changed course, breaking free from their original paths and flowing into other regions, coffins carrying bodies would accumulate grievances, forming figures akin to ‘corpse kings.’

Whenever such entities appeared, natural disasters would follow.

The most difficult to deal with are some dark Xuanmen practitioners who take deviant paths, using themselves as vessels to cultivate ‘walking corpses’ in an attempt to achieve immortality through a different means. These ‘walking corpses’ retain their former Taoist magic and divine powers. Though not the strongest or most aggressive, they are the hardest to handle because they understand the methods living people use against them.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked up and asked curiously, “Uncle, these walking corpses are so powerful, yet they’re no longer seen. Who defeated them?”

Uncle Qin replied, “Oh, they were all eliminated by the righteous path.”

Li Zhuiyuan silently pulled his hand from Uncle Qin’s grasp and stopped walking.

Uncle Qin noticed, stopped, and looked back at the boy.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t look at Uncle Qin; his gaze was fixed on the disabled, decaying black cat clutched in Uncle Qin’s hand.

The black cat’s eyes glowed eerily green, occasionally flashing with blood-red light, filled with resentment.

“Xiao Yuan, why aren’t you walking?”

Uncle Qin asked.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that as Uncle Qin spoke, the black cat’s broken lips also moved.

“Xiao Yuan, what’s wrong?”

Uncle Qin bent down, looking at Li Zhuiyuan, and simultaneously placed his right arm behind the boy, as if to embrace and comfort him.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately felt a pair of furry paws touch his neck. He quickly dodged sideways, putting distance between himself and Uncle Qin.

“Xiao Yuan, what in the world is wrong with you?!”

Uncle Qin’s tone became stern, and in the black cat’s eyes in his hand, the blood-red color overshadowed the green.

“Xiao Yuan, be good and come with me. We’ll resolve this together, so your great-grandpa and the others can truly be out of danger!”

This time, Uncle Qin’s lips barely moved, while the black cat’s mouth continuously opened and closed.

This scene reminded Li Zhuiyuan of a strange performance he had once seen at a school anniversary celebration in the capital. The performer stood on stage with a puppet, and as he spoke, the puppet’s mouth continuously opened and closed, making it appear as if the puppet itself was speaking and communicating.

However, what was happening before his eyes seemed to be the reverse of that stage performance.

Gradually, Uncle Qin quieted down, and the cat also became still. They seemed to have realized that the child had seen through their deception.

A strange smile began to appear on Uncle Qin’s face, and the cat’s mouth also split open, with fresh blood continuously dripping from its corners.

Immediately, everything in Li Zhuiyuan’s vision turned blood-red. Whether he looked at them in front of him or in other directions, everything was coated in a layer of bloodstains.

Li Zhuiyuan stood his ground, clenching his fists. He was very scared, but he didn’t panic and run around, nor did he scream wildly.

In *Records of Jianghu Legends and Monsters*, among the descriptions of corpse demons and other walking corpses with the ability to bewitch people, one phrase was most frequently mentioned: corpse retrievers must remain calm and not be led by the nose.

The more panicked you are, the more opportunities they will have.

Furthermore, one must not close their eyes at this moment. Closing one’s eyes is an act of cowardice and surrender, equivalent to relinquishing all initiative.

Cold sweat continuously beaded on Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead, and he swallowed frequently. His breathing became rapid, and he felt as though he was standing on a burning stove, being roasted alive.

However, a scene from the dream he had after performing the luck-transfer ritual with his great-grandpa suddenly flashed in his mind: he was standing on his bed at home, surrounded by a sea of corpses.

Everything is relative, especially fear. When you are certain that all of this is false, when you can use the genuine terror of a real dream to bolster yourself, the scene before you becomes less frightening.

The black cat’s smile gradually faded, and Uncle Qin stumbled two steps backward. His entire body decayed at an incredibly rapid pace, and within a few blinks, he was nothing but a pool of putrid water.

Suddenly, all the illusions around him vanished. The evening breeze brought fresh air, and Li Zhuiyuan relaxed, beginning to gasp for breath.

The black cat regained its freedom. It hopped and dragged its crippled body to Li Zhuiyuan, looking up at him.

Li Zhuiyuan also lowered his head, staring back.

The boy and the cat fell into a silent gaze.

It was Li Zhuiyuan who broke the silence first:

“What… what exactly do you want?”

Li Sanjiang’s logic had already confused Li Zhuiyuan, and the sequence of actions by this corpse demon made him find it even more baffling.

Was it seeking revenge?

The black cat seemed to sigh, looking utterly exhausted. It opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to speak, but no words came out, likely because Uncle Qin was no longer there.

It waved a paw at Li Zhuiyuan, then dragged its crippled body and walked westward along the path.

Li Zhuiyuan stood still, not following.

After walking a short distance, the black cat stopped, turned its head, and looked at Li Zhuiyuan. Its cat eyes glinted with mockery.

But Li Zhuiyuan still didn’t move. He possessed a strong desire for knowledge but lacked curiosity in uncertain situations, and he had no superfluous impulses of kindness.

“Meow!”

The black cat let out a sharp cry, like a child wailing. It was angry, but this time its anger was directed at Li Zhuiyuan, without any destructive intent, full of helpless, stifled rage.

“You want me to go with you?”

The black cat nodded.

“But I have no reason to go with you.”

The black cat raised its paw and pushed forward.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t understand, but after a few more pushes, he grasped its meaning.

It was referring to the last time, at the birthday banquet on the first floor, when Old Lady Niu had pushed him away from the awakening zombie at the final critical moment.

At that time, Old Lady Niu had her back to the zombie and said:

“Little one, Grandma will send you off first.”

Although Old Lady Niu ultimately didn’t die and was still alive, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t believe that scene, that action, or the kindness that peculiar old lady eventually showed, was merely an act.

Because he could tell if it was an act; he often found himself…

Damn it!

Li Zhuiyuan squatted down, bowed his head, and clutched his head with both hands.

He truly detested these thoughts that unconsciously surfaced, as they constantly undermined his current identity and gradually distanced him from his surrounding relationships.

If he let this continue, he would become repulsed by all irrational behavior around him, deeming familial love, friendship, and all societal warmth as foolish wastes of time. He would become cold, like the large, brightly flickering processor in the school’s computer room.

Ultimately… he would become like his mother.

He would hate himself in that state, just as his mother hated herself.

He suddenly understood why his mother had taken him to see a psychologist repeatedly when he was young: she had realized that her son had inherited the same condition as her.

At this moment, the black cat seemed to stir, its eyes swirling with green light. Its previous enchantment had been resisted by the boy, but seeing his current reaction, a better opportunity seemed to have arisen?

But in the end, it did not act. Not because of kindness, but because it felt a surge of fear. It seemed that using its bewitching power on the boy now would trigger unimaginably dreadful consequences.

Li Zhuiyuan repeatedly muttered about his relationships, constantly telling himself, even hypnotizing himself, who he truly was and what his family connections were.

This time, however, Qin Li’s name occasionally intertwined with his thoughts.

Li Zhuiyuan vigorously rubbed his face, as if trying to force his self-identity and immersion back into place. He stood up, took a deep breath, and when he looked at the black cat again, the cat saw the warmth and kindness of a young boy in his eyes.

The black cat’s eyes began to widen. At that moment, it was almost unable to distinguish who the real corpse demon was.

“Do you need my help with something? Then lead the way. Take me to the old lady.”

The black cat nodded and continued forward. This time, the boy followed behind.

As they passed a small ditch, without any warning, the black cat suddenly disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan was familiar with this ditch. He had washed his hands here earlier that day, and to keep Uncle Qin around, he had even considered picnicking on the rocks nearby.

Three concrete slabs were laid across the ditch for crossing. Li Zhuiyuan walked onto the slabs, looked around, but still couldn’t find the black cat.

But if it wanted to lead him somewhere, it shouldn’t have disappeared halfway.

Li Zhuiyuan looked down at the gaps between the concrete slabs beneath his feet. The gaps were wide, about half a palm’s width.

Below, water flowed continuously.

Then, a bulge appeared in the water, and an old woman’s face slowly emerged, meeting Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze through the cracks in the concrete slabs.

She was hiding there.

Even with some mental preparation, this kind of entrance still sent a chill down Li Zhuiyuan’s spine. But he forced himself to suppress his unease and managed a small smile at the face below.

“Whoosh…”

The water continued to flow, and the old lady’s face drifted along with it. After she moved beyond the concrete slabs, a louder gurgling sound erupted.

She stood up in the ditch. The ditch was deep, and she was short. She shouldn’t have been walking underwater; it was more like she was floating while maintaining a standing posture.

Only the part above her shoulders was still above the water.

She didn’t look like she did at the birthday banquet. Though she had been skin and bones then, she still appeared human.

But now, only shreds of clothing remained on her, and her body was largely decayed, with many wormholes and rat bite marks visible.

It was as if a stronger current in the ditch could completely break her apart.

This was her true form. She had become like this because she hadn’t had the protection of a coffin when she was buried.

She floated in the water, and Li Zhuiyuan walked along the path beside the ditch, following her.

With a body, she could now speak.

If one were to only read a description, this scene might sound kind and heartwarming: an old grandmother talking with her grandson on a summer evening.

But paired with the actual visual, it was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

“When she was very young, she was trafficked into the Niu family as a child bride. She didn’t even have her own surname.

Her husband died young, and she raised her children alone. During the most difficult times, none of her children starved or died prematurely.

After her children grew up and started their own families, she helped them raise their children, and then their grandchildren too.

Back then, she could still do housework, look after children, cook, and do some farm work. She was content, feeling useful to her children.

She was that kind of person: nameless in childhood, and in old age, after a lifetime, she never had a moment to herself. She was like a cartwheel, just endlessly turning.

On smooth paths, she spun a bit faster and more easily; on rough paths, she stumbled along… but she still managed to get by.

She never complained, believing that life should just be endured.”

“Later, she grew old. She couldn’t look after children, couldn’t do farm work, and couldn’t even light the stove anymore. Her children and grandchildren all thought she was useless, a burden.

Unfortunately, she clung to life. Even though she never sought help from her children, even if she drank cold water and ate spoiled food, she persisted like a gecko in a wall crack, always alive.

She loved basking in the sun, sitting in the courtyard for half a day at a time.

One day, she saw me, an old, ugly, and crippled cat.

Even though she struggled to survive herself, she still adopted me. Whatever she ate, I ate too.

She would hold me while sunbathing, talking to me about her youth, about the father of her children—a man whose face she had already forgotten.

She would tell amusing stories about her three children when they were young, saying her eldest son promised to give her a life of ease, where she wouldn’t have to do anything but sit in bed and have meals brought to her;

Her second son promised to buy her new clothes every season, so she wouldn’t have to wear old, patched ones anymore;

And her youngest daughter would buy her a piece of gold jewelry, like the other women in the village, so she could wear it every day.

She was always happy when she spoke of these things, but as a cat, I knew that the children and grandchildren she had raised hadn’t visited her in a long time.

Later, she fell ill.

But her worn-out wooden wheel, no matter how many cracks appeared, never fell apart.

Village officials came, saw her condition, and summoned her three children, demanding they support their elderly mother.

Her three children already resented her for living so long and refusing to die, believing she was draining their good fortune. How could they possibly support her?

Yes, they blamed her for all their children’s misfortunes, acting as if all their own failures and pathetic circumstances were her fault.

But the village officials were watching closely, and they weren’t willing to pretend.

So, by mutual unspoken agreement, they simply locked her in the old house,

—the one right there.”

Following the ditch, Li Zhuiyuan had walked a long distance. Ahead was a three-bay bungalow; the two side rooms had already collapsed, with only the middle one barely standing.

The house door was long dilapidated, and the door gods pasted on it had long since turned black.

Old Lady Niu emerged from the ditch, soaking wet. She stood before the door, not rushing to push it open, but instead surveying her surroundings with a look of deep nostalgia.

“Every day, they would come in to ‘deliver’ food, putting on a show for the villagers. But their bowls were always empty. No matter how desperately she pleaded, she couldn’t get a single grain of rice or a drop of water.

Her two sons each had excuses, claiming their children wouldn’t agree, and saying that if it weren’t for her, they would have had much better prospects.

Facing her, starving and barely breathing, her two sons acted as if they had suffered immense grievances, while she was the wicked, sin-laden culprit.

But she was incredibly resilient. She drank dew, ate moss, consumed bugs that crawled into the house, and everything else she could find—edible or not, if she could swallow it, she would stuff it into her mouth.

She truly clung to life, holding onto that last breath like a tenacious weed.

I felt sorry for her, and even more pitiful was that even then, she remembered to share half of the insects she had painstakingly caught with me. She was still thinking of feeding me, no matter how difficult her own circumstances were.

Just as she had painstakingly fed and raised her three children all those years ago.

Heheheh… Heheheh…”

Old Lady Niu began to laugh, and fine fuzz gradually grew over the gaps on her face, which had been gnawed by snakes, insects, rats, and ants.

At this point, the old woman’s cat-like face no longer seemed so terrifying.

Because it concealed the true ugliness.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly asked, “Did you eat her flesh?”

The cat-faced old lady nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“Creak…”

The house door opened automatically, emitting a harsh creaking sound.

As the door opened, sounds that seemed to have been sealed within suddenly emerged.

The three Niu siblings knelt beside the bed, their heads tied with white rope, waists wrapped in black gauze, and bodies clad in sackcloth, weeping in mourning.

Everything was just as it had been during the daytime ritual.

Li Zhuiyuan was somewhat confused. If the three Niu siblings were here, then what had Great-Grandpa and Runsheng been holding onto?

However, recalling the corpse demon’s abilities, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that what he thought was wakefulness… might actually have been a continuous state of semi-consciousness, like waking from one dream only to enter another, never fully returning to reality.

The most obvious sign was… that he hadn’t seen Uncle Qin since he disappeared.

The previous Uncle Qin was an illusion created by the corpse demon, conjured from Li Zhuiyuan’s own mind.

It had even read *Records of Jianghu Legends and Monsters* from his mind, and recited it to him.

Old Lady Niu pointed at Niu Fu and said, “When he was little, he often got sick. It was she who carried him, regardless of wind or rain, to seek a doctor. When there was no money for medicine, she would kowtow to the doctor and chop firewood or wash clothes for the doctor’s family.”

Next, Old Lady Niu pointed at Niu Rui: “When he was young, he got into a gang fight and killed someone. It was she who went to plead with the victim’s parents, helped care for them in their old age, and saw them through to their end, just so a letter of understanding could be issued. In the end, she truly served those parents well until they passed.”

Finally, Old Lady Niu pointed at Niu Lian: “When the family property was divided, she cried, saying she was also her child and couldn’t be shown favoritism. She said that even if her brothers didn’t support her in old age, she would take her in. So, she divided the meager family possessions into three equal parts.”

As she spoke, Old Lady Niu turned to Li Zhuiyuan and smiled faintly. “Do you know what Niu Lian did? Because she was too tenacious to die, Niu Lian found it too troublesome to keep up the act every day.

That night, when it was Niu Lian’s turn to ‘deliver food,’ Niu Lian dragged her from the bed and threw her into the ditch in front of the house. The next day, she claimed her old mother had fallen into the ditch while walking and disappeared.

In truth, she was already nearly starved to death then, unable to speak.

Yet in the end, she was thrown into the water… and drowned.

She just floated and floated in the water then. And I, just like you earlier, followed her along the bank, walking and walking.

Finally, I jumped onto her. I started eating her flesh. She actually had little flesh left; it was all bone, hard to chew.

But I just wanted to bite her, to eat her. I was so angry! Why was she so foolish? How could there be such a foolish person in this world?”

“And then, you died together?”

“Yes, I never expected it to turn out this way. We died, but we… came back to life, becoming this half-human, half-ghost, half-demon entity.

I think it might be because she was so foolish that even Heaven couldn’t stand it anymore.”

Li Zhuiyuan finally asked the question on his mind: “What exactly do you want to do?”

The cat-faced old lady’s expression turned grim. “I want revenge! I want revenge for her! Why do these three ungrateful wretches have the nerve to continue living comfortably?”

“But you clearly have the ability to get revenge. Why haven’t you acted?”

Hearing this question, the cat-faced old lady looked at Li Zhuiyuan with some confusion. “What you said to me at the birthday banquet that day, I thought you were just saying it to appease me and save your life. Could it be that this is what you truly think?”

“But shouldn’t one have such thoughts?”

“Your kind doesn’t allow external evils to harm living people, no matter how profoundly wicked that person might be.

That is your way, and violating it will bring about a backlash.

Hasn’t your great-grandpa taught you this?”

Great-grandpa taught me?

Li Zhuiyuan pondered this. But Great-Grandpa had clearly led Little Oriole to Big Beard’s house that night.

And after it was done, Great-Grandpa, with one hand on his hip and a cigarette between the fingers of the other, had cheerfully said that they’d have a feast in a few days.

Could Great-Grandpa’s path be different from others?

“No, now we’re talking about you. You’ve caused so much trouble, why haven’t you taken revenge yet?”

The cat-faced old lady’s face began to contort, and crisp “crunching” sounds continuously emanated from within her body. Dead earthworms and dead mice kept sliding out of her, piling up on the ground.

Then, she almost roared, her voice filled with grievance and indignation:

“I want revenge! I dream of revenge! But do you know what makes me angriest?

She and I are one. We are one entity.

Although I am the dominant consciousness and she is technically gone, her instincts remain within me.

I can feel that if I kill just one of these three people, her instincts will awaken and shackle me, and I’ll lose the chance to go after the other two!”

“So, you want to kill all three of them?”

“Of course! I don’t want to let any of them go. I don’t want to choose one out of three. I want them all to receive their just punishment!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Then don’t kill them. Don’t kill any of them.”

“What?”

Hearing this, Old Lady Niu immediately gripped Li Zhuiyuan’s shoulders, almost gnawing at his neck as she said menacingly:

“Little one, do you know what you’re saying?”

“Because there’s no need to kill anyone, and she still won’t be able to shackle you.”

“What do you mean?”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the cat-faced old lady, who was now very close, and smiled:

“Disable one, incapacitate one, drive one insane.

Then watch how the ‘good’ children they raised through their own example meticulously care for and support them.

That would be the best…

…retribution for them.”