Reading Record

After pleading for mercy, the two elderly people gradually calmed down. They died. Their eyes were wide open, corners torn, staring straight at the ceiling. Veins bulged in their necks, and blood vessels under their skin appeared black. Their hands and feet were curled beneath them, as if bound by invisible ropes, and their dying screams were like laments before an execution.

Doctors and nurses entered quickly, but they didn’t have much time left. Given the terrifying amount of bleeding and the vital signs of the two elderly people at that moment, there was no point in attempting resuscitation.

Next, the onlookers outside the ward were dispersed, and the orderlies were rushed in to clean the room. Relatives were called to the office for further arrangements.

Li Sanjiang saw his great-grandson. Puzzled, he pulled Li Zhuiyuan aside and asked, “Shouldn’t you be with your grandpa at the river? How did you find your way here?”

Xue Liangliang then took out his student ID and handed it over, saying, “Uncle, I’m a student at Haihe University. I was originally working on the river project and brought a sick classmate to the hospital. Xiao Yuan knows the way, so I asked him to lead. I’ve already informed Xiao Yuan’s grandpa.”

“He knows the way?” Li Sanjiang pointed at Li Zhuiyuan while looking at Xue Liangliang. “He hasn’t been back home for long and has never been to the city. What way could he possibly know?”

Xue Liangliang replied, “Actually, I’m quite fond of this child, so I thought I’d bring him out to play while I was in the area.”

Li Sanjiang took Xue Liangliang’s student ID, examined it carefully, and then returned it, seemingly convinced by the explanation. After all, at that time, a university student’s credibility was quite high.

At that moment, the middle-aged man and woman who had been in the ward emerged from the doctor’s office and walked straight towards Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang sighed and said to them, “My condolences.”

Li Zhuiyuan guessed they must be Yingzi’s aunt and uncle.

However, the couple seemed to show no reaction to their bereavement at the moment, or perhaps something more urgent was pressing upon them. They each grabbed one of Li Sanjiang’s hands and whispered excitedly:

“Uncle Sanjiang, please, save me, save me.”

“Yes, Uncle, help us, it’s truly terrifying.”

Li Sanjiang glanced at Li Zhuiyuan beside him, then motioned for the couple to follow him to the terrace on that floor to speak privately.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t insist on following. Third Aunt was still in the doctor’s office, handling procedures, while Yingzi sat distraught on a long bench by herself.

Having just witnessed such a terrifying scene and experiencing the loss of two relatives, the impact was naturally profound.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down to comfort her, and in the process, he also discreetly learned what had happened.

Yingzi’s grandparents worked at a private aquaculture farm. Half a month ago, while dredging the enclosure, they unexpectedly dug up a small coffin.

The coffin was entirely red, and although it was unclear how long it had been submerged, it showed no signs of decay; instead, the soaking had made its color even more vibrant.

The old couple called the boss and explained that, according to local custom, the small coffin should be offered incense and burned sacrificial paper before being pushed into the river.

However, the boss was from out of town and didn’t believe in such customs. So, he called two workers, and together with tools, they pried open the coffin.

Inside the coffin was the body of a girl, about eight years old, dressed in a black cotton jacket and embroidered shoes, suggesting she was buried in winter. When first opened, the body surprisingly appeared supple and showed no signs of decomposition.

Everyone almost thought it was a freshly buried body!

But to their surprise, within the time it took to smoke a few cigarettes, the supposedly fresh corpse suddenly began to decay, its flesh rapidly dissolving until only a skeleton, still wrapped in the black cotton jacket, remained.

The girl’s body wore a set of jewelry: a jade hairpin in her hair, rings on her fingers, and a gold ring around her neck.

In addition, the coffin also contained a porcelain vase covered with talisman paper and a black wooden carving.

The carving first displayed a line of large characters:

“The corpse suppresses evil spirits, merit aids ascension.”

Below it was another line of smaller characters, followed by a signature:

“Those who see these words must not desecrate the body, nor touch its belongings. Quickly seal the coffin and cast it into the river to avoid great disaster. —Lady Bai of the Bai Family.”

Yingzi’s grandparents immediately pleaded with the boss to quickly seal the coffin lid back on as instructed and return it to the river. However, the boss was stubborn, believing the jewelry inside the coffin must be valuable and the porcelain vase likely a treasure. So, he took all the items, while the coffin and the remains were buried in a dug-out pit by the nearby riverbank.

Then, terrifying events began to unfold.

First, the boss mysteriously disappeared. Then, Yingzi’s grandparents began to have recurring nightmares, seeing the girl coming for revenge. Subsequently, both developed physical discomforts and were admitted to the town’s health clinic. Their condition even progressed to self-harming tendencies.

That day, while Third Aunt was at home getting food, the two elderly people told Yingzi they wanted orange crystals dissolved in water, making a fuss to send her away. They then secretly ran to the rooftop, intending to jump. Fortunately, Great-Grandpa arrived just in time, saw them, and stopped them.

However, after this incident, the town health clinic was unwilling to keep them, as a suicide attempt within the clinic would cause significant trouble for the hospital. Thus, they had to be transferred to the City People’s Hospital.

Yet, the elderly couple’s symptoms worsened. Only with sedatives administered by doctors and strict family supervision were they prevented from continuing to harm themselves.

But who knew they could end their lives simultaneously in such an inconceivable and terrifying manner?

After listening to Yingzi’s account, Li Zhuiyuan asked:

“What about the two workers who helped the boss open the coffin?”

“Uh… I don’t know, I haven’t heard them mention them.”

“Sis, your Grandpa Nan and Grandma Nan, they were relatively clear-headed at first, weren’t they?”

“They were normal, except when the episodes occurred. Just fifteen minutes before they started spitting blood, they were still chatting with me about finding a partner after I get into university.”

At this moment, Third Aunt poked her head out of the doctor’s office and waved:

“Yinghou, come help Mom fill out this form.”

“Coming, Mom.”

Only after Yingzi left did Li Zhuiyuan realize that at some point, Xue Liangliang had moved surprisingly close, deliberately eavesdropping.

Faced with Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze, Xue Liangliang didn’t blush; instead, he said with some excitement, “I figured it out, you were deliberately trying to get information.”

“I was comforting my sister.”

“Phew… you startled me. You wouldn’t believe it, when I heard those two old people shouting ‘Lady Bai of the Bai Family’ at the ward door, my heart leaped into my throat. I thought it was because I had smashed the statue again and caused harm, or that bringing the still-suffering Zhao Hequan to this hospital today had triggered something and harmed them. Oh dear.”

Li Zhuiyuan realized that Xue Liangliang had also noticed the inscription on the base of the statue.

“Brother Liangliang, don’t worry, the timing doesn’t match, and neither does the age.”

The coffin was dug up at the aquaculture farm half a month ago, and Xue Liangliang and Zhao Hequan smashed the statue yesterday. The two incidents are unrelated.

“The age, that’s not certain, is it?” Xue Liangliang asked, puzzled. “In the past, with inconvenient transportation and communication, statues might not have been sculpted with such precision. Perhaps the deity statue we dug up at the river project was originally a little girl?”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. “It’s not the same one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Because he had seen that woman; although her physique was very similar to the statue, perhaps amplified, there was no way she could be an eight-year-old girl.

“But both are called Lady Bai of the Bai Family,” Xue Liangliang mused. “Could ‘Lady Bai of the Bai Family’ be a collective title, for example, for a professional group? Like how people from certain Taoist sects are all uniformly called ‘Celestial Master of Mount So-and-So’?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, adding, “It could also be a family name.”

For some reason, Li Zhuiyuan recalled the ancestral hall in the east room where Liu Yumei lived, filled with memorial tablets of both the Qin and Liu families.

“Are they all named Bai?” Xue Liangliang intertwined his fingers. “That’s very possible. In the local dialect, ‘Lady Bai of the Bai Family’ could indeed be understood as a woman from the Bai family, a respectful title for someone capable.”

Li Zhuiyuan acknowledged this, his gaze drifting towards the terrace. Great-Grandpa, Yingzi’s uncle, and aunt had not yet finished their conversation and emerged.

Xue Liangliang reached out, gently nudged Li Zhuiyuan’s arm, and carefully asked, “Um, do you have any other thoughts about what your sister just said?”

“There was a lot of concealment and fabrication.”

“Yes, exactly!” Xue Liangliang’s spirits lifted again. “You really picked up on it. The boss disappeared, and her grandparents started having nightmares and experiencing physical abnormalities. But what about the two workers who helped the boss pry open the coffin? Why would she not know? Unless…”

“Unless, the two people who helped the boss pry open the coffin were these two elderly individuals.”

“Your sister is just obedient. What she heard and what she just told you were all things said by the adults in her family. Those two elderly people who just passed away beautified and concealed too much in their account.

After all, if what they said were true, why would they scream for mercy before dying? This clearly indicates they knew they had done something wrong; otherwise, they would have cried out about being wronged.

So, if we rephrase the statement, it’s likely that those two elderly people retrieved the coffin, then called the boss over to open it together.

It could even be that the boss found the coffin, didn’t intend to open it, but was instigated by the two elderly people to open it.

At the very least, they were definitely deeply involved and not as sensible or innocent as they claimed.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang and blinked.

Xue Liangliang waved his hand, a little abashed. “I didn’t say I was innocent, but in any case, I smashed the statue for the sake of project progress, not for personal gain. Engineer Luo already made that clear to that Lady Bai of the Bai Family.”

“Brother Liangliang, actually there’s one more crucial point.”

“Xiao Yuan, tell me quickly, what point?”

“Yingzi could actually recite the words carved on that tablet. So, at the very least, she must have seen a transcribed copy.

But how could the two elderly people, immediately after opening the coffin, not only understand the words on it but also memorize them perfectly and then recite them for someone to transcribe onto paper?”

“You mean…”

“Yes, the two elderly people must have gotten some of the items. At the very least, that wooden carving was in their home.”

Xue Liangliang nodded heavily after hearing this, then carefully observed Li Zhuiyuan and asked, “Xiao Yuan, are you really just an elementary school student?”

“Actually, I’m a university student from the banks of Weiming Lake.”

“Hahahaha… *cough cough*!” Xue Liangliang started coughing from laughter. He reached out and patted Li Zhuiyuan’s back, encouraging him, “Good, having such ambition is truly remarkable!”

Li Zhuiyuan could only smile.

“By the way, Xiao Yuan, have you ever heard of Lady Bai of the Bai Family?”

“Brother Liangliang, I’ve spent much less time in Nantong than you have.”

“Oh, right. Well then, I’ll go to the city’s Cultural and Historical Museum to look for information and see if there are any records in the local gazetteers.”

“Brother Liangliang, you’re fine now. Why are you so invested in this matter? Is it… for your classmate?”

“Uh, shouldn’t I be?”

“I thought you disliked him a lot.”

“This has nothing to do with whether I like him or not. Everyone chooses their own path in life, and I can only follow the path I’ve chosen based on my own judgment. Ultimately, who is right and who is wrong can only be proven by history.

Alright, the doctors should be on duty now. I’ll go get the report. If the report is fine, I won’t come looking for you; I’ll head straight to the Cultural and Historical Museum to check the information.”

“You live in Siyuan Village, Shinan, right?”

“Yes.”

“Where should you get off the bus? Since your great-grandpa is here, I won’t take you back. I’ll come find you again tonight.”

“Get off after Shijia Bridge, at the second intersection, then walk inward and ask for Li Sanjiang’s house.”

“Are you sure people will know it?”

“Yes, Great-Grandpa is very well-known in the village.”

“Okay, if there’s no bus at night, I’ll take a taxi.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, “Brother Liangliang?”

“What is it? Is there something else?”

“You seem… quite wealthy.”

He said he was from a rural area in Anhui, yet his clothing and some daily habits showed no signs of financial constraint.

“Oh, I’ve contracted two convenience stores and a stationery shop at school. Also, I gathered a group of classmates and formed a team. We take on design projects from professors or from outside the university.

There are simply more opportunities in big cities and universities, and it’s easier to make money. Back home, it was impossible; we didn’t have these conditions. Now, I send money to my parents back home every month.

Actually, technically, I don’t have to come to these practical training classes, but I don’t want to miss out on such frontline experience.”

“Brother Liangliang, you’re amazing.”

“You too, smart kid.” Xue Liangliang lightly tapped his forehead against Li Zhuiyuan’s. Seeing Li Sanjiang and the others returning, he stood up and left.

“Great-Grandpa.”

“Where’s that university student? Did he leave?”

“He went to see his classmate.”

“Mm.” Li Sanjiang nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going, Great-Grandpa?”

“To get something.”

Yingzi and Third Aunt remained at the hospital to continue handling subsequent matters. Her uncle Zhou Hai and aunt Chen Xiaoling led Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan back home. To save time, they hailed a motorcycle waiting for fares outside the hospital.

The rural single-story house was very spacious, with its courtyard facing an artificial river. A short distance further south, one could see the river surface.

Inside the house, Chen Xiaoling went to pour water, while Zhou Hai took out a cloth bag, opened it, and revealed a hairpin and a wooden carving.

Li Sanjiang picked up the wooden carving and frowned slightly at the characters inscribed on it.

Li Zhuiyuan leaned closer and read it aloud.

It was exactly as Yingzi had recounted.

“Foolish… truly foolish…” Li Sanjiang put down the wooden carving, patted his leg. “Life isn’t that hard now, is it? You’ve got enough to eat and drink, so why did you suddenly get greedy and lose your mind?”

“Thud!” “Thud!”

Without the inhibitions they had at the hospital, Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling knelt directly before Li Sanjiang, practically kowtowing, crying out for him to save them.

It turned out they had also started having that dream.

After witnessing the fate of the old couple today, they were terrified to the point of collapse.

“Let’s go to the aquaculture farm first. Do you remember where the remains were buried?”

“Yes, yes, I remember.” Zhou Hai immediately nodded. “We personally dug the pit and buried it.”

“Heh.” Li Sanjiang sneered.

The aquaculture farm was not far from the Zhou family’s house; it was a fifteen-minute walk along the riverbank after leaving the village.

The farm was small, with only two employees besides the boss: Zhou Hai’s parents.

Therefore, in their initial account, they not only sugarcoated and concealed their involvement from Third Aunt and Yingzi but also withheld the truth from Li Sanjiang.

“Start digging,” Li Sanjiang said.

“Shouldn’t we wait until night?” Zhou Hai asked.

It was daytime, and although few people passed by there, there was still a risk of being seen.

Li Sanjiang nodded. “Then I’ll go back to the village to sleep and come back tomorrow. You can secretly dig up the remains tonight.”

“No, no, Uncle, I’m scared, I don’t dare.”

“So you know fear!” Li Sanjiang nearly roared. “If you don’t dig in broad daylight, when will you? Are you waiting for it to get dark to cause trouble?”

“Okay, okay, we’ll dig, we’ll dig.”

Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling each took a shovel and began to dig.

During this time, Li Sanjiang asked, “The boss disappeared, did you report it to the police?”

“No.” Zhou Hai replied after shoveling some earth. “We didn’t dare to call the police. We were greedy then, afraid that if we reported it, the truth couldn’t be hidden, and we’d have to hand over the items.”

“What about the boss’s family?”

“His hometown is in the south. He came here alone to run the farm; he didn’t bring his family.”

Li Sanjiang suddenly asked in a low voice, “You didn’t perhaps do something to the boss and take his share, did you?”

Zhou Hai immediately cried out, “Uncle, I don’t have the guts to do something like that!”

Chen Xiaoling immediately agreed, nodding, “We wouldn’t dare commit murder, we wouldn’t dare.”

“Hmm.” Li Sanjiang didn’t ask anything further. He believed these two wouldn’t be so outlandish. He then stood up and silently began preparing his offering table.

Li Zhuiyuan helped him.

Soon, the coffin was dug out.

Li Sanjiang glanced at it, and a weight lifted from his heart. The coffin had been buried closed, and when opened, the remains inside were still intact, not disturbed or desecrated.

This was… a blessing in disguise.

Li Zhuiyuan approached the coffin and looked at the remains inside. It was indeed a female child.

Li Sanjiang performed a ritual, then burned paper offerings.

After completing the ritual, Li Sanjiang asked, “Where are the other items, especially that bottle?”

“The boss took those.”

“Where does he live?”

“He lives right on the farm, in that house. We looked for him after he disappeared. Later, when my parents started having health problems, we realized it was due to the items from the coffin, so we searched his room, but we didn’t find those things, nor did we see that vase.”

Li Sanjiang frowned. Originally, according to his plan, putting all the items back, performing another ritual, then sealing the coffin and pushing it into the river would have settled the matter.

After all, the instructions on the wooden carving were very clear. Now that at least two, possibly even three, lives had been lost, and blood had been spilled, whatever resentment that entity held should have been appeased.

But the prerequisite was that all items be returned, or at least if jewelry was lost, it could be overlooked, but the vase with the talisman paper absolutely could not be left out.

The words on it clearly stated that her corpse was used to suppress evil spirits!

Li Zhuiyuan then asked, “Uncle and Auntie, does the boss have any other connections here?”

Li Sanjiang immediately understood and pressed, “Yes, yes, are there any other people he knew? I’ve heard that bosses from the south often keep mistresses.”

Chen Xiaoling shook her head. “I haven’t heard of any.”

Zhou Hai scratched his head. “I think so, there are two. One is a widow living in Jiuxuigang Town, and the other is a woman from a karaoke bar in the city.”

“Can you find them?” Li Sanjiang asked.

Zhou Hai shook his head. “I only heard my parents talking about them during meals, but I don’t know where those two actually live, and I can’t find them.”

Li Sanjiang took out his cigarette pack, pulled out two, handed one to Zhou Hai, and said:

“Call the police. Let the police search.”

“What?”

“What?”

Zhou Hai and Chen Xiaoling were both stunned.

“I said, call the police. Report the disappearance and this incident.” Li Sanjiang pointed at the coffin. “Let the police search. Ask if the items are with them. I reckon that boss probably isn’t around anymore either.”

“But we…”

“Uncle, if we call the police…”

“You didn’t kill anyone, what are you afraid of? Ha, even if nothing from this coffin was missing, and I successfully returned the coffin to the river today, I’d still tell you to report it.

For matters like this, it’s much better for the authorities to handle it. You’ll be much safer.

If you don’t want to call the police, that’s up to you, as long as you’re not afraid of ending up like your parents did today.”

“We’ll report it, we’ll call the police!” Zhou Hai made up his mind.

“Alright, fine. Move the coffin and the offering table into the house for now. Before the authorities take over, don’t let the candles go out, and don’t extinguish the paper ash. Make whatever amends you can.

You two divide the tasks.”

“Got it, Uncle. Xiaoling, you go call the police. I’ll watch the offering table here.”

“Okay, good.”

Subsequently, Li Sanjiang took Li Zhuiyuan and sat on the steps outside the door, smoking incessantly.

“Great-Grandpa, aren’t we going home?” Li Zhuiyuan asked.

Li Sanjiang pointed to the house behind him. “If I leave now, Zhou Hai will be alone with that coffin inside. I’m afraid he’ll be scared senseless.”

After a pause, Li Sanjiang continued, “Last night, your great-grandpa, I, also had a dream.”

“Huh?” Li Zhuiyuan finally realized the seriousness of the situation. “Great-Grandpa, you had a dream too?”

“I dreamed of that little girl standing before me on the rooftop of the town health clinic, asking me why I helped them, and by what right. She also told me that since I interfered, she would make me die too.”

Li Sanjiang took a deep drag from his cigarette, slowly exhaling through his nose:

“Damn it, even I was startled by today’s scene.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded in understanding. That scene today was indeed frightening.

Moreover, he felt that the Lady Bai of the Bai Family dug up at the river project and this child Lady Bai of the Bai Family, although possibly from the same lineage, had distinctly different temperaments.

The Lady Bai of the Bai Family from the river project could accept his apologies, receive his offerings, and even listen to Engineer Luo’s nagging.

One could say she was very reasonable.

But this Lady Bai of the Bai Family was much more ruthless, killing as easily as drinking water.

“Actually, what does it have to do with me? She’s blaming me for coming to the clinic that day and saving those two old people, but I can’t just stand by and watch them die, can I?

Never mind. I haven’t been too deeply involved. Once the police arrive, I’ll give a statement, absorb some of the official aura, and then that entity probably won’t bother me anymore.”

Li Zhuiyuan understood. So that was Great-Grandpa’s plan.

No wonder. Previously, whether it was Little Oriole or the Cat-faced Old Woman, they were within a controllable range, but they couldn’t compare to how fierce this Lady Bai of the Bai Family was. Even Great-Grandpa couldn’t handle her.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly frowned. He recalled content from “Strange Tales of Jianghu” and found a case that was very similar to this Lady Bai of the Bai Family.

It described mystical practitioners who used their own bodies as vessels, cultivating themselves to achieve immortality through a unique spiritual method.

This kind of “dead entity” retained some Taoist magic and supernatural abilities from its life. Although not as tyrannical and terrifying as a “general’s corpse,” it was the most difficult to deal with because it understood how living people would try to combat it.

And recalling the inscription on the carving: “The corpse suppresses evil spirits, merit aids ascension.”

This completely matched up. Even if she was bodiless, she was still a “dead entity,” and a bodiless one… was even harder to deal with.

Li Zhuiyuan felt Great-Grandpa was right; reporting it to the police was best.

The police arrived, and many of them, because this incident had ostensibly resulted in two deaths and one disappearance. Although the two elderly people’s deaths were not homicides, the situation was fundamentally different.

The police secured the scene, and Zhou Hai was temporarily detained as a suspect.

Li Zhuiyuan followed Great-Grandpa to the police station to give a statement. By the time they finished and came out, it was already dusk.

Li Sanjiang even deliberately hugged the police station gate, as if worried it wasn’t enough, to temporarily absorb more “official aura.” He even started kissing the police station sign.

These actions astonished the people in the guardhouse.

But seeing that the old man wasn’t causing trouble, they could only open the window and ask:

“Old comrade, what are you doing?”

Li Sanjiang, still kissing, shouted back:

“Expressing respect.”

After doing all this, Li Sanjiang couldn’t be bothered to go back to the hospital to find Yingzi and her mother, and he also declined Chen Xiaoling’s invitation for him to stay at their house tonight.

All Li Sanjiang wanted now was to go home.

Taking a taxi back was too expensive, because at that hour, taxi drivers were unwilling to drive to the countryside unless offered a significant extra fee.

Li Sanjiang simply flagged down tractors on the road, asking them where they were going.

Li Zhuiyuan initially thought this random approach was like looking for a needle in a haystack and was just about to sit down and wait patiently. To his surprise, the second tractor Great-Grandpa stopped was delivering stone piers to Shigang Town.

This was perfect; it was completely on their way.

Great-Grandpa offered the driver a cigarette, then waved for Xiao Yuanhou to get on the tractor.

The tractor rumbled along, and Li Zhuiyuan and Great-Grandpa sat in the back, enjoying the evening breeze.

As they passed through the city, they also witnessed its bustle.

Midway, Li Sanjiang took a short nap, then woke up, feeling very happy. He proactively said to Li Zhuiyuan:

“Xiao Yuanhou, your great-grandpa just had another hazy dream. I saw that little girl again, but she was blurry and I couldn’t see her clearly. She was also speaking, but I couldn’t hear her clearly either.

It seems she’s farther away from me now. Your great-grandpa will be fine soon. Tonight, I’ll go back and burn some more incense, pray to all the Buddhas at home, and completely sever ties with her.”

“Great-Grandpa, you’re truly amazing.”

Li Zhuiyuan had once doubted Li Sanjiang’s abilities, but after the Cat-faced Old Woman said, “Your great-grandpa already lent a hand,” his doubts dissipated again.

Moreover, it seemed that no matter what problem Great-Grandpa encountered, he always had a solution, and those solutions always worked.

“Amazing for what? If it weren’t for your grandpa Hanhou’s sake, I wouldn’t have come here. I’m even embarrassed to ask for money for this, and I risked my own safety for nothing.

A complete loss, a huge loss.”

“Next time, tell my grandpa not to…”

“No, it’s not every time I encounter such unlucky and dangerous things. Your great-grandpa makes a living doing this; it’s impossible to always get the best, sometimes you just have to bite down on a pebble in the rice.

Sigh, I originally planned to continue improving your luck after returning this time, but now I don’t dare. She hasn’t completely left, and your great-grandpa doesn’t want to implicate you.”

Saying this, Li Sanjiang tapped the metal sheet behind him and shouted to the tractor driver:

“Brother, find a small restaurant up ahead. Your elder brother will treat you to a couple of drinks?”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly accept.”

“Oh, don’t be so polite. Find a place to pull over up ahead, we’ll eat and then go.”

“Alright then!”

The tractor stopped in front of a small restaurant. After getting off and entering, Li Sanjiang first ordered a jin of rice wine, two cold dishes, two hot dishes, and a separate portion of egg fried rice for Li Zhuiyuan.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished his meal, he sat by, waiting, while Great-Grandpa and the driver chatted spiritedly.

Li Sanjiang then asked the owner to warm another jin of wine, and at the same time, ordered a can of Jianlibao for Li Zhuiyuan.

“Pop!”

The sound of it opening, fizzing.

Li Zhuiyuan took a sip from the can. Li Sanjiang asked, “Is it good?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

“Then shall we buy a box to take back later?”

The driver laughed, “Brother, you’re really generous with the kid.”

In those days, drinks like citric acid in beer bottles had their bottles recycled, and ordinary people could afford them. However, canned drinks were still considered too expensive by most parents.

“Heh.” Li Sanjiang patted Li Zhuiyuan’s head. “Isn’t money meant to be spent on the kids? Am I supposed to take it with me into the coffin later?”

He didn’t tell the driver that Li Zhuiyuan was his clan great-grandson.

“That’s true. My grandson is in high school right now. I have to keep driving to earn his university tuition. As long as he can get in, we’ll grit our teeth and support him, no matter what.”

“Sigh.” Li Sanjiang let out a helpless sigh, patting the back of Li Zhuiyuan’s head. “What a pity. My grandson is smart, but he just doesn’t like to focus on studying.”

Li Zhuiyuan silently took another sip of his soda.

It was almost eight in the evening when dinner finally ended. In those days, there were no checks for drunk driving. The driver, with a flushed face, took out a wrench, inserted it into the tractor’s engine, and quickly turned it, restarting the tractor.

“Come on, get in, let’s go home!”

Back in the car on the way home, Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the starry sky and began to wonder if Xue Liangliang had already arrived at Siyuan Village.

He felt he should ask more detailed questions about the statue from the river project. Since the coffin in Jiuxuigang contained a “dead entity,” perhaps that statue… was also one.

After all, although that river channel was currently being excavated, it seemed to have been a waterway in the past.

Li Zhuiyuan vaguely felt that the Bai family seemed to specialize in such matters.

When Li Zhuiyuan was not home, Qin Li would return to her usual spot, sitting on the bench just inside the door, her feet on the threshold, staring straight ahead.

Beside her, Liu Yumei was spreading out a piece of paper, sketching clothing patterns with a brush.

Her drawings were excellent and very vivid. Although they seemed unprofessional by modern garment-making standards, experienced tailors in small workshops could understand them.

Her granddaughter was still growing, so her clothes needed to be replaced every season. Liu Yumei’s greatest joy was dressing her granddaughter beautifully every morning, which would then brighten her own mood for the entire day.

Just then, Liu Yumei noticed Qin Li behind her move her head, looking towards the path through the wheat fields.

Liu Yumei put down her brush and straightened up.

She saw a young man in a blue shirt, carrying a stack of books, walking onto the courtyard.

After watching him for a while, Qin Li withdrew her gaze and continued to stare straight ahead.

It seemed this young man was “dirty,” but not obviously so.

“Excuse me, is this Li Sanjiang’s house?” Xue Liangliang asked.

“Yes, it is. He’s not home right now, and I’m not sure if he’ll be back tonight. Are you looking for him?”

“I’m looking for Xiao Yuan, Li Zhuiyuan. Does he live here too?”

Hearing Li Zhuiyuan’s name, Qin Li’s gaze turned towards him again.

“He’s not home either,” Liu Yumei replied.

“He should be back tonight. I’ll wait for him. Um, excuse me, where’s the restroom? I need to use it.”

“Behind the house.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Xue Liangliang placed the books he was holding on the table, then jogged to the restroom.

These books were borrowed from the Cultural and Historical Museum; currently, they were not strictly guarded.

Liu Yumei casually opened one of the scrolls. Upon seeing the marked passage indicated by a bookmark, her brows furrowed, and her gaze sharpened as she murmured:

“The Bai family?”

Immediately, she closed the scroll, picked up her brush again, and continued drawing clothing patterns. But as she drew, she felt a little restless, so she stopped, recalling that the young man had said he was looking for Xiao Yuan, and murmured to herself:

“How did Xiao Yuan get involved with the Bai family?”

Coincidentally, the sound of a tractor came from a distance.

The driver didn’t drop them off at the village entrance by the road but drove directly into the courtyard, delivering them right to the doorstep.

After parting ways, Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan into the courtyard.

Just then, Xue Liangliang returned after using the restroom.

“Oh, how did you get here?” Li Sanjiang was quite surprised.

“Grandpa, Brother Liangliang came to tutor me.”

“Oh, good, that’s good. Then he can sleep in your room tonight. Young man, have you eaten?”

“Yes, I have, I have.” Xue Liangliang quickly replied.

“Alright then.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to Qin Li. Qin Li stood up, extended her hand, and actively took Li Zhuiyuan’s hand.

Immediately, her eyelashes began to flutter, and her body started to tremble slightly.

Li Zhuiyuan was surprised; why was she still… trembling, even after holding hands this time?

“A Li, let go!”

Liu Yumei’s stern voice came. Seeing that A Li wasn’t listening, she could only shout to Li Zhuiyuan:

“Xiao Yuan, let go!”

Li Zhuiyuan withdrew his hand.

A Li made a move to step forward, wanting to continue holding Li Zhuiyuan.

“Xiao Yuan, say goodnight to A Li. I need to take A Li to rest now.”

“Okay, Grandma Liu.” Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li. “It’s too late. Time to rest. We’ll read together tomorrow morning. Goodnight.”

Xue Liangliang picked up the scrolls, pulled Li Zhuiyuan’s hand, and said, “Come on, let’s go to your room to talk. I found something incredible.”

Watching Li Zhuiyuan’s retreating figure, Qin Li slowly lowered her raised hand.

Liu Yumei sighed, coaxing her granddaughter:

“There, there, he’s fine now, better than that young man.”

“Whoa, what kind of books are on your desk?”

As soon as he entered, Xue Liangliang saw several stacks of old books on Li Zhuiyuan’s desk.

“These are my hobbies.”

“Really?” Xue Liangliang flipped through the pages. “Xiao Yuan, if you have this interest, you could study humanities in the future, or go into archaeology.”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

He didn’t want to be an alumnus in the same department as his mother.

“Then what major do you want to study? Don’t tell me you’ll choose hydraulic engineering like me and aim for Haihe University?”

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment and said, “It’s not impossible.”

It was related to water.

This university seemed to align with his field.

“Well, then you’d better study hard. Haihe University isn’t easy to get into.”

“Mm.”

It would indeed be difficult. The old professors probably wouldn’t want him to transfer schools.

“Come, see what I found. You wouldn’t believe it until you look it up.” Xue Liangliang spread out the scrolls. “The Bai family is indeed a surname. Local gazetteers from the Ming and Qing dynasties mention many deeds of the Bai family, all related to eradicating monsters and quelling chaos. But it’s always ‘Lady Bai of the Bai Family,’ never ‘Grandpa Bai of the Bai Family.'”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Is it passed down only to females?”

“I guess so too. It’s probably a family that passes down only to daughters and then takes in sons-in-law. However, this custom is quite rare in this area.”

Li Zhuiyuan began looking through the scrolls and said, “Brother Liangliang, please continue.”

“The Bai family’s area of activity probably isn’t limited to just modern-day Nantong. I suspect there are traces of their presence throughout central Jiangsu. However, one thing is certain: the Bai family’s ancestral home is in Nantong.

Look at this passage here. It records a place called Baijia Town, which should be the ancestral home of the Bai family, roughly located west of Donghai Yingzhou.”

“Donghai Yingzhou?”

“It’s Chongming Island.”

“Oh, so is this Baijia Town in Shanghai or Nantong?”

Chongming Island is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, practically its gateway. Most of the island belongs to Shanghai, with a portion belonging to Nantong.

Xue Liangliang hesitated. “The description of the location here is very strange. It seems someone specifically researched it, but there might have been an error when it was written down. Following the directions recorded, I actually looked it up on an old map and found… I found it should be in the river.”

“In the river?”

“Exactly. It should be in the Yangtze River now.”

“This… must be a mistake in the record, right?”

“But this is the only place I’ve found so far that records the address of Baijia Town.

And then, I discovered something very strange.

After the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, there were no further mentions of Lady Bai of the Bai Family in the local gazetteers.

The Bai family, the Bai family members, Baijia Town, in historical records, it was as if they… vanished overnight.”