Chapter 182
“Time for breakfast!”
The morning light at Great Grandfather’s house was announced by Aunt Liu.
Li Sanjiang picked up a bowl and ate a few mouthfuls of congee with the pickles. He swept his gaze towards Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Lin Shuyou, and nodded silently.
The mules that hadn’t been home for several days had all returned to their pens today.
Counting them one by one, not bad, not a single one was lost.
After the meal, according to custom, Xiao Yuan Hou should come accompany him for a walk to digest the food.
However, Li Sanjiang took the initiative today to call Runsheng’s name and said:
“Runsheng Hou, come, carry me to Si’an Town.”
Runsheng was startled for a moment. He originally planned to return to his old home in Xiting today to add another round of rice, flour, grains, and oil for his grandfather.
After all, the previous wave had passed for so long, and by logic, it was almost time for the next wave of river water.
He had to take care of his grandfather before going out, otherwise, his grandfather might truly starve to death.
Before, his grandfather was still young and his body could endure, he could also hold out when hungry. Now that he was old, he truly couldn’t endure hunger.
But since Brother Li had spoken, Runsheng also nodded and went to push out the tricycle at home.
Tan Wenbin put his hands on his hips and yawned at the side, saying to Runsheng, “I’ll go with you.”
“Okay.” Runsheng responded and rode the tricycle carrying Brother Li down the dam.
Li Sanjiang had originally planned to go to Shi’gang Town to try his luck a few days ago, but due to the Wu family matter, it was delayed for several days and he couldn’t make it.
This lottery group often fired one shot and changed location. After all, the short-term consumption capacity of a region was limited. Two or three days of drawing were enough, and they had to change to another place to make a living.
Now, they had just moved to Si’an Town. The distance from Siyuan Village was not far, but not too close either.
Li Sanjiang didn’t want the young people to know he was going to try his luck, afraid of setting a bad example. After thinking about it, Runsheng Hou was the most suitable person to follow.
When they got to Si’an, he would just let Runsheng wait far away and smoke a cigarette, while he would secretly buy a lottery ticket, win the prize, and then return.
Yes, Li Sanjiang had another dream last night, dreaming that he won the lottery again. This was already the umpteenth time he had had such a dream in recent days.
This time, for nothing else, even just to fulfill the dream, he had to go and try his luck.
Tan Wenbin lit a cigarette and said, “Then I’ll go to Xiting.”
Yin Meng: “I’ll go with you.”
“I can go alone, it’s not just buying some food and drinks.”
“I have experience. If you buy too much, he can take it to the gambling table and sell it, which will make it easy for him to starve to death.”
“Okay, then let’s go together.”
Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng just went to Xiting together.
Early in the morning, Great Grandfather Shan was sitting in the courtyard, drinking early wine.
There were no proper side dishes for drinking, just a plate of pickled radish, a dish of vinegar, a dish of soy sauce, and two small goose egg stones that had been sucked smooth.
The wine he drank was also cooking wine from the kitchen.
No way, Great Grandfather Shan only had these seasonings to spare now.
“Yo, Great Grandfather Shan, are you drinking?”
Tan Wenbin entered the courtyard so quickly that Great Grandfather Shan couldn’t even pack away his drinking side dishes.
The old man’s face was a little embarrassed. Letting a junior see his embarrassment, he couldn’t keep up face.
“Mengmeng, find me a clean small stone. I’ll accompany Great Grandfather Shan for two cups.”
“Smelly boy.” Great Grandfather Shan glared at Tan Wenbin in a bad mood and asked, “Where’s Runsheng?”
“Runsheng has something to do, he can’t come today. I’m just here to substitute for Runsheng.”
As Tan Wenbin spoke, he took out money from his pocket and handed it to Great Grandfather Shan: “This is what Runsheng asked me to give you.”
“Ah, good.”
Great Grandfather Shan received the money, like a warrior who had been trapped for a long time finally receiving supplies, and his high spirits were restored.
“Well, Bin Hou, you all sit at home now, eat lunch at home. I’ll go buy some dishes for you.”
“Okay, Great Grandfather Shan, go quickly.”
Of course, Tan Wenbin knew what Great Grandfather Shan was eager to do, and he didn’t stop him.
After Great Grandfather Shan excitedly ran out of the courtyard, Yin Meng looked at Tan Wenbin and said helplessly, “You shouldn’t have given him the money directly.”
“As long as the old man is happy, it’s fine. Right, go buy the rice, flour, grains, and oil.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Go watch my Great Grandfather Shan kill everyone.”
After Tan Wenbin finished speaking, he ran out of the courtyard, caught up with Great Grandfather Shan, and went to the gambling village with him.
Yin Meng went out to buy rice, flour, grains, and oil. This was also a technical job, requiring careful measurement.
After Yin Meng finished buying things and put them away, Great Grandfather Shan returned dejectedly.
Yin Meng was a little surprised: Lost so quickly?
Behind Great Grandfather Shan, the corner of Tan Wenbin’s mouth was smiling.
Yin Meng said, “Great Grandfather Shan, everything is ready.”
Great Grandfather Shan smiled awkwardly at Yin Meng, and then very awkwardly hid in the room.
Yin Meng walked to Tan Wenbin’s side and asked, “All lost?”
Tan Wenbin: “Yes, all lost.”
Yin Meng: “I know he always loses, but I didn’t expect the efficiency to be so high.”
Tan Wenbin: “He doesn’t just play blindly. He throws away small cards and doesn’t try to bluff. It’s just that every time he gets a big card, he will always be strongly counterattacked.”
“Strongly counterattacked?”
“It’s just that someone at the card table will happen to get a slightly bigger card than him, it’s simply evil.”
“He should just quit gambling.”
“He can’t quit. Playing cards and losing money is also quite good. If one day Great Grandfather Shan suddenly happily shouts that he won money, that would be truly scary.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not easy to explain.”
Tan Wenbin had followed Brother Yuanzi for a long time, reading and learning non-stop. By listening and watching, he also understood some concepts of fate and feng shui.
In front of Brother Yuanzi, that was definitely not enough, but if he went into society, cheating those nouveau riche bosses, that would truly be more than enough.
Not to mention anything else, looking back now, with only Runsheng in the household registration, it was truly not easy for Great Grandfather Shan to live to this day with such a strong body.
“Since you know he will definitely lose money, why still give it to him? Why not take it to buy a few pieces of clothes for him and Runsheng?”
Tan Wenbin took out a stack of money from his pocket and handed it to Yin Meng: “Here, go buy clothes for Runsheng.”
“How much cash did you bring out today?”
“It’s still the money I gave to Great Grandfather before. I was with him at the gambling table, and the money he lost was basically all won by me.”
…
On the second-floor balcony, Li Zhuoyuan was reading a book, and A Li sat beside him, accompanying him.
The young man felt that his previous prejudice against these health books was too strong. In fact, after reading them carefully, he could still discover the wonders within.
The ideas advocated by proper health books, although the methods varied, the general direction was all to regulate the human body as a large cycle.
In other words, it was to treat the human body itself as a feng shui or an array.
This was similar to the Qin family’s dragon-watching body-refining method. Runsheng’s body’s sixteen qi gates, weren’t they just sixteen feng shui qi points?
Li Zhuoyuan closed the book and began to ponder.
Whatever book he read, he would habitually delve into it, and he used to deduce other skills as well.
It was the same with this health book.
But there was still one problem that could not be avoided: bodily development.
Whether it was health or body refining or martial arts, they were all a kind of re-development of the human body.
Therefore, before reaching adulthood, before the body’s development was complete, any re-development carried out was like killing the chicken to take the egg.
This point, Aunt Liu Yumei and Uncle Qin had already clearly stated. Even the young clansmen of the Qin and Liu families in the past, during their adolescence, were all constantly undergoing basic training and did not do the foolish thing of overdrawing in advance.
Even Li Zhuoyuan was unable to break this, because he was ultimately still a ‘person’.
No matter how mature your mind was, how much you surpassed your peers, your body still needed time to slowly grow.
But it wasn’t without gain. In fact, the benefits were very great.
Taking the essence and trick ideas of each book and consolidating them, the young man could customize a physique regulation plan for himself.
He didn’t need spirit pills or wonder drugs, he didn’t need heaven and earth treasures, he didn’t even use medicinal baths, because he could wave his hand and change the feng shui pattern he was in, and at most design a suitable array for himself during his daily breathing.
In this way, he could regulate his qi and blood and guide his meridians.
He could advance step by step towards becoming a martial arts genius.
He knew his own body best, and he was in the developmental period of a young man, which was originally a golden stage for adjustment and shaping.
Those big families often had experienced elders to guide the young clansmen. Li Zhuoyuan’s self-tuning and self-guidance were many times more efficient and effective than the former.
He was an anomaly.
Because he had this ability, people of ordinary age, not to mention those who were old, many had even become neither human nor ghost. Even if they had a brain full of ideas, they couldn’t return to their youth to put them into practice.
After realizing this layer, Li Zhuoyuan even somewhat understood the way of heaven.
The young man reached out and gently patted his forehead.
What was the point of me understanding this?
Instead of empathizing with the way of heaven, it’s better to choose an undeveloped auspicious point for myself early on.
At this time, a familiar figure pushed a wooden tricycle towards him. It was Wu Yougen, the only remaining second son of the old Wu family.
He should have come to find Great Grandfather. Now that Great Grandfather wasn’t home, and Binbin wasn’t either, only Li Zhuoyuan could go downstairs to greet him.
Wu Yougen came to deliver money.
He and his elder brother originally didn’t have much money in their hands. Many items for the funeral were on credit.
Now that the family was divided and the property was divided clearly, the debts should be repaid.
Perhaps seeing the deceit and stinginess of the surrounding relatives, they were extremely grateful to Li Sanjiang, who was willing to lend a helping hand at a special time. He and his sister-in-law were very grateful.
Li Sanjiang’s several days of sitting fees, funeral benches, bowls, dishes, paper figures, etc., were all owed to Li Sanjiang. If Li Sanjiang hadn’t helped, the funeral might not have been held.
Wu Yougen held a piece of paper and a pen to calculate the fees, and also handed the money one by one to Li Zhuoyuan’s hand.
After these accounts were settled, Wu Yougen took out the gifts he had brought from the wooden tricycle, cigarettes and wine, all bought from the store. In the village, they were considered above middle grade, not the coarse grains that villagers chewed daily.
Li Zhuoyuan: “There’s no need for these. Take them back.”
The young man knew that they had just divided the family, and they had also bought the two tiled houses from Old Third and Old Fourth’s wives with the divided family money. In fact, the remaining money in their hands was really not much.
Most of it was on the houses, and the village homestead was not convenient to buy or sell, so it was truly ‘immovable property’.
Wu Yougen shook his head vigorously: “There is money. Later, the money I earn will be for me and my sister-in-law to spend. There is money.”
Before, Wu Yougen had parents and an elder brother above him. He did whatever they told him to do every day, either followed his elder brother to do odd jobs or went to farm. As long as he had food in his mouth and clothes on his body, he didn’t care about other things.
In fact, he was a good hand at farming, and he also did not bad at masonry. If the money he earned and farmed didn’t have to be handed over to the public to subsidize the families of the two younger brothers, he could at least live a comfortable life in the village.
He hadn’t been in contact before, but now he truly discovered that the money he earned could go into his own hands, and then he discovered that life could be so abundant.
“My Great Grandfather isn’t home, but even if he were, he would definitely not be willing to let me accept these things. He helped you all, probably not for these.”
Wu Yougen looked troubled and said, “But my sister-in-law instructed me that these must be delivered.”
Li Zhuoyuan suggested: “Deliver them in batches. When it’s time for festivals, visit as relatives, and send a little each time, Great Grandfather won’t be able to refuse.”
“Okay.”
Wu Yougen felt this method was very good and agreed immediately. Then, he unloaded a square table from the wooden tricycle.
“This is for Grandpa Li. It was said that he liked it.”
Li Zhuoyuan remembered this table.
When Great Grandfather sat at the Wu family’s funeral, he sat at this table to recite scriptures.
It must have been that Great Grandfather felt this table’s height was just right for him. Leaning his elbow on the tabletop and holding the side of his face with his palm, it was convenient for napping.
When he ate the funeral meal, Great Grandfather mentioned this matter with a smile, and Wu Yougen and his sister-in-law remembered it.
Li Zhuoyuan glanced at the table. The table was a bit old. Estimating roughly, it should be from the Qing Dynasty. It had been lacquered several times, and the table legs had also been repaired several times.
Not all old objects are antiques. Excluding those with special historical stories, most antiques were used by nobles of that era. Commoner’s objects, no matter how long they were stored, were not valuable.
“Then I’ll accept the table.”
“Okay, shall I put it in for you?”
“No need, just put it here on the dam first.”
“Okay.”
The money was given and the table was sent, but Wu Yougen still didn’t plan to leave, instead hesitating to speak.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes, I originally wanted to ask Grandpa Li to calculate a Bazi for me.”
Wu Yougen took out another piece of paper from his pocket and opened it. There were also two pieces of money inside.
This was something he had thought of before coming. He even had the money for calculating his fortune ready.
Li Zhuoyuan reached out to receive the money and paper. The paper had the Bazi of two people written on it.
“Yours and your sister-in-law’s?”
“Right.”
“Do you want to calculate if they match?”
“They should match.” Wu Yougen said very firmly.
Li Zhuoyuan nodded, knowing what he meant. This was to make a fake match.
Wu Yougen continued: “I asked my sister-in-law, but she was unwilling, saying she didn’t want to become my burden and was afraid of holding me back.”
The matchmaking market is always very realistic. Everyone here will be labeled with a corresponding price tag. Sometimes, it’s even more accurate than a farmer’s market.
Wu Yougen is not young, but his body is good, he is honest, has skills, and his family members are all dead. There are no in-laws above him.
With these conditions, it’s impossible to find a young unmarried girl, but pretty widows or divorced women with children are truly popular.
As soon as the funeral was over, matchmakers came to ask Wu Yougen for his intentions.
But Wu Yougen’s heart was only for his sister-in-law.
He had overheard the words of the villagers on the day the funeral ended.
He had no improper thoughts about his sister-in-law before, and he still didn’t now, but he didn’t want to see his sister-in-law lonely and without support.
Now that the family was finally peaceful, if he married another wife and lived in the family, he was afraid it would become the kind of life full of scheming again.
He was very straightforward and spoke to his sister-in-law, but his sister-in-law refused.
Calculating a Bazi was a simple matter for Li Zhuoyuan. These two people’s Bazi did not conflict.
As for Bazi matching, it was originally a very small probability. As long as they didn’t conflict, there was no problem. Life was lived by people, not dictated by Bazi.
“Then go back and just say that my Great Grandfather calculated it and it matches very well. I will tell Great Grandfather about this matter.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
Wu Yougen left with satisfaction.
On the dam, Liu Yumei, who was always sitting there drinking tea, heard the entire conversation.
She was a little strange. When did this child’s patience suddenly become so good, and recently he had been helping people with this kind of couple matters.
In the past, this was something unimaginable. Liu Yumei saw Li Zhuoyuan’s first face and knew that this child was precocious, but the more precocious a person was, the more indifferent they were to emotions.
Li Zhuoyuan stretched out a hand and lifted the square table, moving it into the house.
Uncle Qin happened to be returning with a hoe at this time and saw this scene.
Martial artists were originally more sensitive to strength. He couldn’t help but look at Liu Yumei.
After hesitating for a long time, he walked over and asked in a low voice, “Mother, did you teach Xiao Yuan martial arts?”
Liu Yumei put down her teacup and picked up a piece of pastry to take a bite: “I didn’t.”
“Then Xiao Yuan…”
“Xiao Yuan, this child, practiced the breathing and basic skills you taught him every day before. It was only in the past few days that he started hitting a set of self-created loose punches in the morning to loosen his bones and regulate his qi and blood.”
“But this strength…”
Liu Yumei said indifferently, “A Li, there are differences between people.”
Uncle Qin: “…”
Liu Yumei laughed. She didn’t know why, but she was a little happy.
The old lady stood up. She didn’t even drink her tea. A new batch of tablets had just been added to the east room, and she wanted to go chat with them again. Well, while the ancestors were still complete.
Uncle Qin walked into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cold tea to drink.
Aunt Liu was cracking melon seeds and glanced at Uncle Qin, saying, “You also learned to flatter.”
“Huh?”
“Forget it, you don’t need to learn this.” Aunt Liu sighed, “I’m thinking too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing, you just often mention Xiao Yuan to Mother, compare yourself to Xiao Yuan, anyway you’re used to it. It’s better to use this to exchange for Mother’s happiness.”
“I know, I will. Mother is more and more like Xiao Yuan now.”
“A child like Xiao Yuan, as long as he isn’t sick, will be liked.”
Aunt Liu took the decoction from the stove and carried it to the east room.
Inside the east room, Liu Yumei’s voice could be heard chatting with the tablets:
“Now I look at Xiao Yuan, this child, the more I look, the more I like him.”
Aunt Liu deliberately pinched her throat and said, “Oh dear, if you want to recruit a son-in-law, you can only recruit the honest kind, you can’t recruit that kind of river dragon, otherwise the family fortune will all be given away.”
Liu Yumei turned her head, her face pulled long, looking at Aunt Liu. Immediately, she broke out in laughter herself:
“Your skin is itching again, go slap yourself.”
Aunt Liu put down the decoction: “You drink the medicine first, and I’ll slap myself to help you get rid of the bitterness.”
Liu Yumei picked up the bowl, drank the medicine while looking at the new tablets above, and asked, “Is the lacquer material all the same color?”
“Yes, but the materials are different.”
“Did you tell A Li? You must introduce them to A Li, what materials these ancestors were made of respectively.”
“This is not necessary. A Li is more proficient in this aspect than us.”
“I was also wondering, I taught her calligraphy, chess, painting, etc. since she was a child, but in terms of forging, I’m not proficient myself, and neither are you all. Who exactly taught her?”
“That child Xiao Yuan reads a lot of books, and A Li also reads with him. She should have also read some of them.”
In the “Strange Records of the Jianghu,” Wei Zhengdao introduced many tools for talismans and paper. Although it was impossible to be very detailed, many were just a taste. But for smart people, having a picture or a sentence of introduction was enough to point the direction and solve the biggest problem.
Liu Yumei drank half a bowl of medicine in one gulp and sighed: “A Li, if she hadn’t lost the ancestor tablets and suffered that kind of thing, she would also be a very smart child. Xiao Yuan goes without saying. You say, after the two of them grow up and get married and have children, what kind of children will they be?”
Aunt Liu hesitated to speak.
Liu Yumei suddenly sighed again: “However, they two don’t seem like children at all.”
Aunt Liu comforted her: “Ultimately, it’s not us.”
“You have a point.” Liu Yumei showed a smile again, drank the rest of the decoction, and then picked up the sugar cube that should have been taken with the decoction and handed it to Aunt Liu, “You have a sweet mouth, this is your reward.”
Aunt Liu opened her mouth to receive it, sucked on the sugar, and said, “So, you must take good care of your body, in case the two of them are truly not like children, and the children they give birth to are also not like them, you will still need to help raise them.”
“That’s right, bring me another bowl.”
…
Lin Shuyou was originally at Big Beard’s house, wanting to ask Xiong Shan to introduce him to other uses of the Chen Zhou Talisman.
But having had the experience of being made to have appendicitis last time, how could Xiong Shan dare to help him ponder this on his own again.
In short, no matter how much Lin Shuyou begged, Xiong Shan remained unmoved.
Finally, with no other choice, Lin Shuyou had to help Xiao Yingying and Li Hua make paper crafts at Big Beard’s house for a while before returning.
Runsheng and Tan Wenbin weren’t there, so Lin Shuyou was a little bored and sat down on that square table.
After all, it was an old table that had been repaired. It was like an old person, sometimes it could hold on for a long time, but sometimes a single gust of wind and a rustle of grass could make its bones scatter.
As soon as Lin Shuyou sat down, he heard a ‘crack’ from under him.
“Bang!”
The table collapsed under Lin Shuyou.
Li Zhuoyuan was holding a pager and just happened to go downstairs.
He had just received a pager from Xue Liangliang and was preparing to go to Aunt Zhang’s small store to return the call.
“Brother Xiao Yuan…”
Lin Shuyou stood up a little awkwardly and said:
“I’ll repair it.”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t repair it. Chop it up and send it to the kitchen to burn as firewood.”
Li Zhuoyuan didn’t mind, it was just an old table.
The young man left home and walked to Aunt Zhang’s small store to return Xue Liangliang’s call.
The call was connected very quickly:
“Xiao Yuan, are you still in Nan Tong?”
When reading the two words ‘Nan Tong,’ Brother Liangliang’s tone was full of emotion.
“Yes.”
“I still thought you had all left.”
“I still thought you called me to tell me where I should go.”
Counting the time, it was almost time for the next wave of wave flowers.
When he received the pager, he thought it was Brother Liangliang who came to provide clues this time.
“How can I go out? The selection has just begun, and I’m having a headache.”
University students were very precious now, and their comprehensive quality and abilities were relatively high. But even so, Xue Liangliang and the group of people like Li Zhuoyuan waited for a long time, only to feel that the people they were selecting now were a little tasteless.
“Shouldn’t you arrange internships for them in advance?”
“It’s still early, it will take several months.”
“Oh.”
It seemed that this time, Brother Liangliang was not providing clues for himself.
Xue Liangliang called purely to chat.
For a person who was used to running around and being busy all over the country, returning to the campus to host work felt like a monkey being locked back in a cage.
Li Zhuoyuan just chatted with him for a while, waiting for his plan to unfold.
After a long pave, the final purpose finally emerged.
“Xiao Yuan.”
“Yes.”
“Ask Binbin to help me buy some change-of-season clothes and send them over on my behalf.”
“Okay.”
“On my behalf, thank Binbin and tell him it’s trouble.”
“Okay.”
Xue Liangliang mentioned Tan Wenbin twice in a row, meaning he didn’t want Li Zhuoyuan to go.
Liangliang knew that his group was very afraid of Xiao Yuan.
After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuoyuan walked towards home.
Just as he got onto the dam, he saw Lin Shuyou walking over holding half a table leg.
“Brother Xiao Yuan, this table leg has a hidden layer inside.”
Lin Shuyou originally wanted to try to repair this table, but it was too thoroughly broken. Repairing it would be even more time-consuming and laborious than making two new tables.
He simply listened to Brother Xiao Yuan’s instructions and chopped this table up to burn as firewood.
When chopping this table leg, he discovered a small hollow inside, stuffed with a yellow silk cloth, which also wrapped a piece of broken jade.
Li Zhuoyuan received the silk cloth and opened it. Five words were written on it:
【Treasure of Mu Wangfu】
The entire silk cloth had only these five words. Li Zhuoyuan checked it carefully. There was no hidden layer, no special traces or pigments, and no need to try wetting it or roasting it with fire.
This broken jade, according to the proportion, should be one-third of the original jade.
And there were special carvings on it. It should not have been accidentally broken, but rather specially made to be used as a tool for divination and guidance.
Lin Shuyou: “Mu Wangfu?”
Li Zhuoyuan: “Yes, continue.”
Sometimes partners can indeed provide some new and strange ideas.
Lin Shuyou: “Is it the Mu Wangfu in Yunnan?”
Li Zhuoyuan: “Yes.”
Lin Shuyou: “The treasure of resisting the Qing and restoring the Ming, the Heaven and Earth Society?”
Li Zhuoyuan: “《The Deer and the Cauldron》?”
Lin Shuyou: “Right, that’s it.”
Li Zhuoyuan: “That Mu Wangfu has three points of water, this one has wood, no.”
Lin Shuyou: “Ah?”
Li Zhuoyuan: “However, it’s also in Yunnan, it should be the hereditary chieftain in Lijiang.”
The young man began to think, was this considered a kind of clue?
But if it was a clue, the distance was a bit far, Yunnan.
Moreover, the way the clue was given was truly direct enough, unexpectedly hidden inside this table leg.
Li Zhuoyuan vaguely suspected, was this considered a ‘helping hand’ from the way of heaven after his ‘justice cut’ with Wei Zhengdao?
“If that’s the case, it shouldn’t just give one clue. At least, there should be three.”
Lin Shuyou heard this and quickly said, “Brother Xiao Yuan, I’ll go chop up the other three table legs and take a look!”
“Okay, good.”
Li Zhuoyuan nodded and walked upstairs with the silk cloth and broken jade.
A Li was not sitting on the rattan chair on the balcony, so she should be drawing in her room.
Pushing open the door and walking into the room, indeed, A Li was standing in front of the painting table holding a pen and drawing.
Seeing the young man come in, the girl smiled at him.
Li Zhuoyuan walked over and looked at the painting, then noticed that the mood of the girl’s last few strokes was a little abrupt.
Ink painting pays attention to the unity of mood. It’s not that you can’t pause while drawing, but that the artist must maintain the same mood every time they lift the pen while creating.
This kind of creative problem should not appear on A Li’s body, unless her mood was affected by something.
Li Zhuoyuan didn’t speak, just supported himself on the painting table with both hands and continued to appreciate the painting.
He had once told the girl that if she encountered anything, she must tell him, whether it was dangerous or not.
Between them, the more dangerous things were, the more interesting they were.
The young man didn’t like that kind of entanglement where ‘I know it’s dangerous so I can’t tell you.’
He should worry, he should care, and he should do what needs to be done even more.
The girl stretched out a finger and placed it on the back of the young man’s palm, gently touching it.
The young man turned his head and looked at her.
The girl opened her palm to the young man, her eyes shining brightly.
“Something’s coming?”
The girl nodded.
Since the time of the dream ghosts, the things in A Li’s dreams had been as well-behaved as possible, retreating too much, making it impossible for Li Zhuoyuan to detain them.
Li Zhuoyuan was also clear that these things that were not on the table would eventually become a thing of the past.
And now, unexpectedly, something was making a comeback.
Then it was no longer the same kind of thing as before. A Li was already used to those things from before, and they didn’t affect her mood while drawing.
So, this time, what was coming was a big one.
He wasn’t disdainful of a girl who was the target of those small fries, but if it had enmity with the history of the Qin and Liu families and the timing was right, he would still choose revenge.
Relatively speaking, it was also considered a kind of uprightness, but at the same time… it was also more dangerous.
Li Zhuoyuan reached out his hand, clasped the girl’s fingers tightly, and closed his eyes.
Familiar flat house, familiar offering table, familiar cracked tablets.
But this time, the color of the cracks on these tablets had changed. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, they had every color.
Because in reality, the tablets in the east room were remade, the girl had also figured out their materials long ago, and had also done ‘material return to position’ for the ancestors in her own consciousness.
It’s just that even though the color changed, there was ultimately no spirit.
Li Zhuoyuan lowered his head. Under his feet, there was a long shadow.
This was not his shadow, he wasn’t that tall.
At this moment, there was something standing outside the threshold.
Except for the first one, Grandma Yu, no other evil dared to stand so close, so arrogant.
Li Zhuoyuan turned around and faced the door.
Outside the threshold, there was a chair, and a person was sitting on it.
This person was very tall. Even in a sitting posture, he was much taller than a normal male.
He was wearing a black long robe embroidered with various flying birds and walking beasts. It was not a python robe, nor official attire. It had strict regulations, yet it could not be matched with any dynasty’s official attire in Li Zhuoyuan’s memory.
Generally, in this kind of situation, it meant that the specification system of these clothes only circulated within a small range or within the family.
Just like the Qin and Liu families, they also had their own grade of clothes for formal occasions.
He even had two sets of his own, given by Grandma Liu.
The other party lowered its head, seemingly looking down and examining.
Its head was black, only the flow of its gaze could be perceived, but the face could not be seen clearly.
Li Zhuoyuan raised his head and, after catching the other party’s gaze, confronted it frankly.
For a long time, the black-robed person let out a gloomy laugh.
Unlike the intimidation and curses of the evil spirits in the white fog before, this laughter also contained a hint of sigh.
It seemed to be a kind of helplessness after seeing that the initially hostile family had actually fallen to the point where it needed a child to support it.
Even though Li Zhuoyuan was still able to ‘confront’ it and not fall into a disadvantage, in the eyes of the black-robed person, it was nothing more than a kind of stubbornness from a young man who needed to hold up the family name.
The black-robed person’s gaze moved away from the young man’s body and swept towards the tablets on the offering table behind.
Its gaze stayed on one of the tablets for a long time.
It seemed to be recalling the years of fighting with that Dragon King.
Li Zhuoyuan knew that if he followed its gaze this time, he should be able to find the position of that Dragon King.
But he could not do so.
Someone skipping you and looking at your elder behind you was originally a kind of attitude of not taking you seriously. If you truly turned your head with them to seek the elder, you would only be lowering your own status.
Everyone knew that the Qin and Liu families were in decline, but Liu Yumei had always held on all these years, just to keep that one breath of the Qin and Liu families going.
Now, this responsibility fell on Li Zhuoyuan’s shoulders.
The young man opened his mouth and said, “If you truly want to worship, you may seek a way to come and kowtow in front of the tablets.”
The black-robed person’s gaze fell on the young man’s body again.
This time, there was no contempt, but solemnity.
He extended his hand from within his sleeve.
Li Zhuoyuan noticed that its hand was very large and very long. It was normal for someone to have such an exaggerated physique.
It was just that the five nails on its fingers were all black, emitting pure corpse qi.
This was not the qi of the deceased. There would be a special dampness in the qi of the deceased.
And this corpse qi, Li Zhuoyuan had seen it before, a long time ago. When the cat-faced old lady came to his home to borrow tables, chairs, benches, pots, bowls, and basins to hold a longevity banquet, a zombie appeared from a dream and fought a great battle with it.
This black-robed person in front of him… was a zombie?
In the other party’s palm, there was a piece of jade.
In his own hand, he had just gotten a piece of broken jade, which was just a part of it.
He saw the other party toss its palm upwards, and the jade stone separated, falling to the ground and becoming three pieces.
His guess was not wrong, this jade was indeed used for divination.
Although there were only three pieces, they could be used to deduce various things according to their angles after landing. It could be said to have infinite changes.
This kind of door could be said to be connected to a hundred others. It was nothing more than different rule forms, but the algorithm was consistent.
Li Zhuoyuan swept a glance downwards and saw that the other party had divined a good omen.
A hoarse voice transmitted from the black-robed person’s throat:
“My clan’s ascension is imminent, please gentleman observe the ceremony.”
As soon as the words fell, the black-robed person’s figure began to slowly fade.
At this time, those white clouds in the distant sky seemed to have something big wanting to emerge. They seemed to feel that they were okay again, and the cloud layers descended, and the noisy sound seemed to want to rise again.
But when Li Zhuoyuan’s gaze swept towards the sky, the speed of the clouds descending slowed down, and the sound inside became smaller again.
Seeing the situation, the black-robed person let out that gloomy laugh again.
The figure completely disappeared.
However, the three pieces of broken jade it used for divination before were left outside the threshold.
Was this jade an invitation?
But, there were still three pieces.
Did he need to collect three pieces of jade to make one complete one?
Or did it mean that there were originally three pieces of broken jade, and they would be given to three sides respectively?
Or… were there many people invited, and only three spots could go to observe the ceremony, so they had to rely on competition?
Li Zhuoyuan directly excluded the first possibility. Since the other party came here to invite him, it was not to let him go and do some collecting.
If the second possibility was true, it meant that the people who came out this time were working together, just like the last trip to Guizhou. This time, three teams were jointly responding.
And if it was the third possibility, where multiple sides competed for entry qualifications, getting one piece of broken jade first was not necessarily a good thing, because he might therefore become the target of other teams.
Walking the river, the final winner of each generation became the Dragon King.
Since a hundred boats contended for the flow, how could the river water not create opportunities for you all to collide and compete with each other?
Not only the Miao border would raise Gu, but these successive Dragon Kings might all be fought out in the river water.
Li Zhuoyuan opened his eyes and returned to reality.
A Li looked at the young man. She knew that this time was different from before.
It wasn’t that there hadn’t been that kind of existence briefly appearing in her dreams before, but they had never stayed this long.
Li Zhuoyuan lowered his head and put his forehead against the girl’s forehead.
“Like this, it makes sense, and it’s good to leave a painting, isn’t it?”
The girl moved her forehead away and then gently and tenderly touched him forward again. She laughed.
“Xiao Yuan Hou, Xiao Yuan Hou, your Great Grandfather has won the lottery, ha ha ha ha, I won the lottery!”
Great Grandfather’s excited voice came from downstairs.
Before winning the prize, Great Grandfather was secretive.
After winning the prize, Great Grandfather was extremely arrogant.
Sitting on Runsheng’s tricycle, on the way back, whenever he met someone he knew, Great Grandfather would always pretend to say with difficulty:
“Ai, I just scratched one, how did I win the prize? How does he have time to travel?”
When others were both envious and helping him analyze, Great Grandfather added another sentence:
“I can only let my Xiao Yuan Hou and the others go play. The children will definitely be happy.”
Li Zhuoyuan walked downstairs.
Li Sanjiang was holding the lottery ticket in his hand and just got off the tricycle.
“Xiao Yuan Hou, here you go. You can go back to your North Grandfather and North Grandmother.”
Love is exclusive, but love is also inclusive.
Li Sanjiang of course hoped that Xiao Yuan Hou could forever belong only to him, but he was clear that for the child to develop better in the future, the help from his North Grandfather’s house was indispensable.
He had always thought that girl Li Lan was strange since she was a child.
But Li Sanjiang didn’t believe that his North Grandfather and Grandmother wouldn’t dote on this genius grandson.
Li Zhuoyuan received the lottery ticket. The prize item scratched out was a seven-day luxury tour for a family of five.
However, there was still a small section not scratched. Li Zhuoyuan scratched it and then said:
“Great Grandfather…”
“Your Great Grandfather is not going. You all go play. I’ll help you prepare some local specialties to send to your North Grandfather and Grandmother.”
“Not the capital…”
“Oh dear, your Great Grandfather has many things to do here, I can’t leave. I have to earn money. Besides, you’re going to see your North Grandfather and Grandmother. It’s not appropriate for your Great Grandfather to go along, they won’t be happy.”
Li Zhuoyuan could only open the lottery ticket, hand it to Li Sanjiang, and say:
“Great Grandfather, this ticket is not for the capital.”
“Ah, why not? I also let Runsheng Hou help me look.”
“There are still two words in front.”
Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and looked carefully, then read out in surprise:
“Yunnan seven-day luxury tour for a family of five?”
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