Chen Xiyuan held a tray in her left hand, on which sat four cups of tea and a pack of cigarettes. In her right hand, she carried two bags, one small and one large, the small one filled with candy and the large one with steamed buns.

The girl lightly nudged the room door with her toe, but it didn’t open. Though not locked, the door was securely shut.

Her domain gently opened, covering the doorknob.

With a soft click, the handle turned on its own, and the door opened.

On the floor of the room were four small straw mats.

Li Zhuiyuan, Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and Lin Shuyou each sat on a mat, forming a circle.

Chen Xiyuan wasn’t sure if their meeting had been interrupted by her arrival, or if their silence had already been ongoing for some time.

The four cups of tea were placed in front of each person seated on the floor.

The pack of cigarettes was tossed to Tan Wenbin.

Lin Shuyou also reached out for the cigarettes, but instead caught a bag of candy.

The bag of steamed buns was placed in front of Runsheng.

The esteemed inheritor of the Dragon King’s lineage, the beloved treasure of the Chen family elder, was now running errands, serving tea and water.

Fortunately, this matter was unlikely to spread, as people would probably think anyone spreading such news had mental issues.

But Chen Xiyuan did it with pleasure. When running errands to buy things, she would fly across rooftops to save time, throwing money down and grabbing the goods, leaving the shop owner bewildered and later breaking out in a cold sweat, thinking they had seen a ghost.

There was no helping it; this meeting was, after all, due to her, and its theme and subject were of the highest possible caliber.

Chen Xiyuan believed that even her own grandfather, if he knew such a high-level meeting was being held in this humble little hotel, would undoubtedly rush over with his wine gourd and two Wenchang chickens to join in.

After distributing the items, Chen Xiyuan slowly retreated, a smile on her face, her gaze sweeping over everyone.

She knew she wasn’t suitable to attend this meeting, and even observing was a great taboo, as it involved the deepest secrets of her younger brother.

But she… just couldn’t help herself.

The girl retreated very slowly, her steps light, as if in slow motion.

Tan Wenbin tore open the cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.

Because Xiao Yuan Ge was sitting directly opposite him, Tan Wenbin turned his head and exhaled the smoke towards Lin Shuyou, who was sitting beside him.

Runsheng began eating his steamed buns, a few bites of bun followed by a small sip of tea, maintaining a steady rhythm. He had to eat something, not because he was hungry, but because coming to a meeting without a clear head and sitting for too long made him drowsy.

Runsheng’s minimum requirement for himself was not to snore during meetings.

Lin Shuyou peeled a piece of candy, put it in his mouth, and then handed his cup to Chen Xiyuan, who was still slowly backing away.

“I don’t like tea, you drink it.”

Those who had not experienced similar situations could not truly empathize with how heavenly Lin Shuyou’s action was!

“Mm.”

Chen Xiyuan took the teacup with both hands and naturally sat down on the bed behind her, then used her toe to nudge the room door shut.

Fortunately, her legs were long enough.

This made the whole series of actions appear very natural.

It was as if she had always intended to sit in that spot, with no intention of leaving, nor any reason to.

After settling down, she counted her heartbeats, one, two, three…

She heard no “Please excuse yourself,” “We need to close the door to discuss something,” or “You’re tired today, get some rest.”

The girl’s heart finally settled, and she adjusted her sitting posture.

Incidentally, her gaze met Lin Shuyou’s.

Chen Xiyuan’s current demeanor reminded Lin Shuyou of his past self.

Outside the discount store at the university, Bin Ge and the others were excitedly loading luggage into the car, preparing to return to Nantong. He stood in the corner, head down, nudging pebbles on the ground with his shoe.

Tongzi: “This isn’t something you can decide. You don’t understand the rules.”

Lin Shuyou: “It’s you who doesn’t understand Xiao Yuan Ge.”

In Ah You’s view, if Xiao Yuan Ge didn’t want Chen Xiyuan to listen in, he would never let sentimentality or awkwardness stop him. He would certainly tell her to leave directly, and then set up a formation in the room.

Xiao Yuan Ge hadn’t spoken, meaning her presence was neither prohibited nor strictly required, so Ah You didn’t mind helping his former “self” now.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Chen Xiyuan.

Chen Xiyuan’s recently settled heart leaped up again, and her hips slightly lifted from the bed.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Xu Mofan just finished his enlightenment and came out of seclusion. I’m too lazy to set up a formation. You open your domain.”

Chen Xiyuan nodded, uttering a “Mm” as steadily as possible.

Subsequently, her domain expanded, encompassing the entire room.

Chen Xiyuan lowered her head, blew on the surface of the tea, took a sip, then sat up slightly, adjusting the hair around her ears.

If Lin Shuyou’s earlier action had warmed her heart,

Then her younger brother’s words and arrangement had deeply moved her, making her feel acknowledged and integrated.

Tan Wenbin’s exhaled smoke ring faltered slightly, as he had almost failed to suppress the corners of his mouth.

His Xiao Yuan Ge was most adept at manipulating people’s hearts; even the one under the peach blossom forest was practically hooked.

Right now, this was also a deliberate move to further strengthen the relationship between their side and Chen Guniang. Without the intense and dangerous environment of the waves, they had to cultivate delicacy in daily ordinariness.

Chen Guniang not only had the protection of the Dragon King’s lineage but was also favored by the Heavenly Dao. She could not only participate in the meeting but also had to be placed next to Xiao Yuan Ge, serving as a reverse reference point for him.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Tell me your thoughts, everyone say something.”

Previously, meetings didn’t have this process; after Li Zhuiyuan spoke, Tan Wenbin would elaborate. This time was different; everyone had to speak.

Because, legally speaking, his three companions were all his “creditors.”

Runsheng swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth and said, “Mine is Xiao Yuan’s.”

No amount of merit, fortune, Heavenly Dao, or lamp-lighting could leave the slightest wrinkle on Runsheng’s deliberately flattened mind.

He had simply heard Xiao Yuan say that in the past, he would take an invisible kind of “money” from him without asking.

So, just take it.

If he had it, Xiao Yuan could take it freely. If he didn’t… then he would go out and seize it.

Runsheng finished speaking, concise as ever, catching Lin Shuyou, who had prepared his speech, off guard. He could only say with a slight stumble:

“Xiao Yuan Ge, even if the Heavenly Dao didn’t give you merit, didn’t we earn the merit we have through you?

It’s like Jianlibao. Every time we go out, we carry some for you in our backpacks. When you want a drink, isn’t it natural for you to take it from our backpacks?

So, I think whether the Heavenly Dao gives Jianlibao directly to you, Xiao Yuan Ge, or…

Whether the Heavenly Dao gives merit directly to you, Xiao Yuan Ge, or first puts it with us for you to take, makes no difference.”

Lin Shuyou had always been clear. Back then, even the old temple of Guanjiangshou could stifle his master and grandfather, and now they had all brought Guanjiangshou under their command.

Without Xiao Yuan Ge, he, Bin Ge, and Runsheng would never have reached this point, let alone contend with other aristocratic family inheritors on the river without falling behind.

Tan Wenbin glanced at Lin Shuyou in surprise. This speech was Ah You’s best performance since he started attending meetings.

Since what he needed to say had already been said by Ah You, Tan Wenbin decided to lighten the atmosphere of the meeting:

“I was wondering why my dad got promoted so fast these past two years. I thought he was always riding on my coattails. Turns out I’ve been embezzling team funds.”

Lin Shuyou: “Hahahaha!”

Chen Xiyuan: “Hehehe.”

Tan Wenbin turned his head to look at Chen Xiyuan, who was sitting on the bed behind him: “Outer team, it’s your turn.”

Chen Xiyuan’s expression rapidly switched several times from smiling to serious. Finally, she lightly coughed and said:

“I have a doubt. If it’s just a matter of distribution, then the total amount of merit after each wave should remain unchanged. But I don’t think that’s the case for you.”

Lin Shuyou: “Hmm? But when I, Bin Ge, and Runsheng caught your dizi, we all lit up three sections. Three three-sections combined should be equivalent to your one four-section brightness, right?”

Chen Xiyuan: “But my merit has always been in use. First, I like to spend it, giving merit to those in need.

Second, although walking the river used to feel simple to me, I’ve had a lot of fortuitous encounters, both in and out of the waves, which have greatly helped my strength improve. Many times, I’ve felt like it was being forced upon me.

Do you all feel this way?”

Lin Shuyou scratched his head and replied, “We actually do, but it’s been forced upon us by Xiao Yuan Ge.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then the problem arises: Little brother himself has no merit, so where did he get the things he gave you?”

Lin Shuyou fell into thought.

Tan Wenbin extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand. He had to admit that while Outer Team Chen could sometimes be a bit silly, her level had always been very high.

Chen Xiyuan continued: “Any action that passes through little brother’s hands, with little brother as the main body, to help you heal injuries or improve strength, essentially does not consume merit.

Other river-walking teams have their distribution controlled by the lamp-lighter. He can be generous or stingy. Those who follow him to walk the river also hope to get a share of the merit soup to achieve their own improvement.

I can responsibly say that your team’s overall individual strength and development have long surpassed the average level of elite teams on the river.

This should mean you have an extremely generous leader willing to help his companions progress together. But the problem is, your leader simply has nothing to distribute.

So, most of your improvements since you started walking the river are essentially…”

Tan Wenbin: “Xiao Yuan Ge pushed us forward with his own abilities.”

The three of them, including when Mengmeng was still around, at every stage, Xiao Yuan Ge would deliberately plan and advance new development paths for them.

And it succeeded every time, with very obvious effects.

It was precisely because it was so smooth, so smooth that everyone thought it was normal and taken for granted.

This led to Outer Team Zhao’s感慨: “That Li fellow is really generous to his own people.”

Including themselves, even Xiao Yuan Ge himself, thought that this improvement was due to the merit of walking the river at play.

Tan Wenbin raised his hand: “I’m very curious now, how do other teams improve?”

Chen Xiyuan pointed to herself.

Tan Wenbin: “Outer team, don’t use yourself as an example. Exceptions are not universal.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then what about Zhao Yi? How strong was Chen Jing, Zhao Yi’s subordinate, before?”

Lin Shuyou: “He initially had some demon bloodline, and then for several waves, the three-eyed one protected him, preferring to be short-handed rather than let him participate.”

Tan Wenbin: “Before going to the Yu family, I fought with A Jing in the museum. This kid’s strength was just that of an ordinary wolf demon, no, far inferior to a wolf demon. Even the village’s Lion Lord and Leopard Lord could kill him back then.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then, at the Yu family, he underwent a transformation and achieved an absolute leap in strength.

According to your description, Zhao Yi had, from very early on, poured a large amount of his merit from each wave into Chen Jing, which led to the current result.

This is also a very common phenomenon among river walkers, rapid increases in strength. That’s why, throughout history, every generation has not feared death and insisted on lighting lamps and fighting for it.

I imagine this situation has not happened to you, right?”

Lin Shuyou: “We took one step at a time.”

Tan Wenbin: “We always had a steady pace of improvement. Xiao Yuan Ge had a plan.”

Chen Xiyuan: “That means even though you’ve been on the river, you’ve lived like people on land.”

Lin Shuyou: “But that’s not right. If the three-eyed one gave most of his river-walking merit to Chen Jing, then his team shouldn’t have improved much. Yet, the three-eyed one and his team have still made great progress since meeting Chen Jing.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I’m not familiar with Zhao Yi, and I don’t know much about his subordinates, but may I ask, when was the most recent improvement for his subordinate who can use wooden vines?”

Lin Shuyou: “Xiao Yuan Ge gave him a cultivation method that allowed his vines to have the additional effect of healing injuries.”

Tan Wenbin: “Before that, Xu Ming was marginalized under Zhao Yi, reduced to being Chen Jing’s nanny.”

Chen Xiyuan: “What about Zhao Yi’s twin sisters?”

Tan Wenbin: “They don’t seem to have had much improvement recently. The only time was when we were all in Fengdu.”

Chen Xiyuan: “What about Zhao Yi?”

Lin Shuyou: “The three-eyed one has improved a lot, for example, his Jiaolong skin…”

Chen Xiyuan: “Who gave him his Jiaolong skin?”

Lin Shuyou: “Xiao Yuan Ge.”

Chen Xiyuan: “From the time Zhao Yi decided to cultivate Chen Jing until this wave, if we remove little brother’s influence and intervention, how much would he and his subordinates have improved?”

Lin Shuyou: “Not much at all.”

Before each new collaboration, both parties would go through a period of adjustment. Their side often sent Lin Shuyou to probe and suppress, so Lin Shuyou had a lot of say on this point.

Chen Xiyuan: “That’s exactly it. Moreover, in cultivating Chen Jing, Zhao Yi clearly overdid it, giving him too much merit, which he couldn’t handle.

If little brother hadn’t happened to have the ability to remove Chen Jing’s deviation from cultivation, Zhao Yi’s investment in Chen Jing would have actually failed.

Of course, Zhao Yi probably knew this, which is why he dared to constantly pile resources onto Chen Jing.”

Lin Shuyou: “It sounds like the three-eyed one has been sucking our blood.”

Tan Wenbin: “Blood? Where is our blood?”

Lin Shuyou: “Oh right… we don’t have merit, no blood.”

Chen Xiyuan looked at Li Zhuiyuan: “Little brother, when Zhao Yi rushed us to the demon beast graveyard to find you, he said that Chen Jing would become unrecognizable when he deviated from cultivation, and that he himself had been attacked by Chen Jing. But when we arrived, I noticed obvious bruises on Chen Jing’s neck. He was choking himself in front of you, wasn’t he?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Mm.”

Chen Xiyuan noticed this detail, so Zhao Yi must have noticed it too.

But Zhao Yi himself would definitely not speak out, after all, life had to continue.

Chen Xiyuan: “Chen Jing actually recognized you more in his heart. The person he truly wanted to follow was you, little brother?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Perhaps.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then why didn’t you take him in at that time, little brother?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Firstly, I felt we had enough companions. Secondly, Chen Jing was just a blank canvas with some color at that time. Everything would have to start from scratch. I felt that helping him improve step by step until he could help the team would not be cost-effective.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Then why was Zhao Yi so confident that he could definitely complete this ‘work’?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Chen Xiyuan: “This is because your way of thinking, little brother, is different from Zhao Yi’s. You only thought you had consumed merit, but Zhao Yi, he truly had consumed it.”

Li Zhuiyuan felt that improvement and progress were like farming: one had to sow, water, weed, pest control… and finally, wield a sickle to harvest under the scorching sun, bare-chested.

But others only needed to wave their hand at a field.

Even the smartest person cannot imagine something they have never encountered, and precisely because he was too smart, he limited the scope of merit’s effect.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that, in this regard, he was actually another Chen Xiyuan.

Being too excellent and strong in a certain aspect meant that something that should have been very simple never truly had the opportunity to be experienced and understood.

Tan Wenbin: “So, other families have always lived like this.”

Lin Shuyou: “No wonder the three-eyed one improved so quickly… Turns out he was benefiting from both sides.

Not only did he get merit from his river-walking, but he also received help from our Xiao Yuan Ge. The three-eyed one has always had one foot in two rivers.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Here, another important question arises, which is what I said at the beginning: I don’t believe the situation in your team is merely a change in the distribution model.

Because your improvements mostly come from little brother.

Aside from your daily small merit expenditures—taking a ride, using an umbrella, giving back to ordinary people who helped you in daily life, including Tan Wenbin’s father’s promotion (unless your father was corrupt, engaged in malfeasance, and you still wanted him to be promoted), these merit expenses are actually very low.

For example, what I wanted to try today—restoring the disabilities and illnesses of that old couple—this kind of transformation that doesn’t deviate from the realm of ordinary people, turning decay into wonder, would require a massive amount of merit to achieve.

And you all, for example, in this wave, logically speaking, those of us blocking the door should only get to gnaw on some bones.

The most abundant merit in this wave must be yours, little brother.

I think that in all your previous waves, you were striving for maximum completion and the highest merit reward.

You’ve always been earning big money and spending little.

Accumulating wave after wave…”

Chen Xiyuan pulled out her dizi and looked at Tan Wenbin, Lin Shuyou, and Runsheng in turn:

“Each of you, lighting up four sections, would absolutely be more than enough.”

Tan Wenbin: “So, it’s not just a simple change in the distribution model, but the amount of merit is also a problem!”

Lin Shuyou: “How could this be!”

Chen Xiyuan: “I suspect the reason you three can still light up three sections is because your last wave was completed exceptionally well. I don’t know exactly how it’s calculated and deducted, but what you three currently possess… should be that tiny bit of oil residue that has to overflow after deductions.”

Runsheng sucked the crumbs of steamed bun into his mouth and said,

“Throwing scraps to beggars.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Rough words, but not rough truth. I cannot imagine that if in this wave, the roles of little brother and I were swapped, I would then have the headache of figuring out how to spend too much merit.”

The meeting was very successful.

Li Zhuiyuan barely spoke.

Chen Guniang, who had originally been so careful and afraid she wouldn’t be allowed to stay and observe, ended up becoming the moderator of the meeting.

This gave Li Zhuiyuan more time to think and organize his thoughts.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Meeting adjourned. Everyone’s tired today, get some good rest.”

Everyone got up and left, but Chen Xiyuan intentionally lingered.

After the others had gone, she approached Li Zhuiyuan again, crouched down, and asked,

“Little brother, was the one who designed to harm you, forcing you to light the lamps and walk the river before you were even an adult, was it it?”

Chen Xiyuan extended a finger and pointed upwards.

Li Zhuiyuan: “What do you think?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Jiejie thinks this revenge won’t be easy to exact.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Thank you.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Actually, a blessing in disguise. Since you already know you won’t get much merit from walking the river, little brother, why not stop striving for perfection when facing those waves next time? It would be safer and easier.

My grandfather always said, ‘Do as much as the merit allows.'”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: “The waves still need to be handled well, resolved as perfectly as possible.”

Chen Xiyuan was right.

But Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t do that.

He was a sword in the hand of the Heavenly Dao. The reason the Heavenly Dao still allowed him to live was because he was sharp enough to handle things.

At this stage, if Li Zhuiyuan cleverly blunted himself, it would only accelerate his own death.

Chen Xiyuan: “Why? Aren’t you angry?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “No matter what happens, one must regulate and guide one’s words and actions according to the family tradition of the Dragon King’s lineage.”

Tears welled up in Chen Xiyuan’s eyes.

She truly couldn’t imagine someone, after just realizing they had been severely wronged by the Heavenly Dao, still being willing to continue upholding righteousness and protecting the common people.

Chen Xiyuan took a deep breath, wiping away the wetness from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, as if asking, as if sighing:

“Little brother, how can you be so cold-blooded and yet so kind?”

Chen Guniang felt that all the contradictions she had encountered in her life combined were not as strong as the sense of contradiction this little brother presented.

Li Zhuiyuan only felt that the Chen Guniang in front of him was truly emotionally rich.

His answer to her just now had absolutely nothing to do with whether he was “kind.”

The reason he was treated this way by the Heavenly Dao was all because of Wei Zhengdao.

That Wei Zhengdao fellow had, in one go, collected taxes for a thousand years into the future.

He was now, in effect, paying Wei Zhengdao’s debts.

In the eyes of the Heavenly Dao, he was an absolutely untrustworthy unregistered person.

And the Qin and Liu families, these two spiritless Dragon King lineages, had become his guarantors.

At this time, even if it was just a performance, he had to play the role of a legitimate Dragon King inheritor well, otherwise, it would be digging his own grave.

Right now, what he needed most was time.

Chen Xiyuan stood up to leave. At the doorway, she turned back, crouched down, and asked:

“Little brother, Jiejie is really worried about you. What if one day you can’t take it anymore and fall into demonization?”

Li Zhuiyuan winked at her, revealing a reassuring smile.

Chen Xiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, instinctively wanting to reach out and touch Li Zhuiyuan’s face. But after spending this time together, she could no longer treat him as the adorable boy sitting at the entrance of the soup shop.

This time, Chen Xiyuan truly left the room. She was tired and sleepy and needed to go to bed.

What she didn’t know was that the “little brother” in her eyes had long since become a heart demon.

After a while, Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked out of the room.

He had slept during the day, so he wasn’t sleepy now.

At the end of the corridor, a blurry figure appeared. It was Xu Mofan, holding a gun in his right hand, slowly walking towards the young man.

There was no killing intent, nor did it pose a threat.

This was Xu Mofan familiarizing himself with his new breakthrough after emerging from seclusion.

This phantom was his externalized gun intent, similar to sword rhyme.

So young, yet already possessing insights comparable to a grandmaster of gunmanship—this was truly remarkable.

This was not a product of rapid accumulation and effect gained through opportunities and struggles on the river.

It meant Xu Mofan’s depth of understanding of gun techniques had long surpassed the speed of his current strength improvement.

Even now, under a team battle, Li Zhuiyuan was not afraid of him, and even had confidence in a high probability of suppressing him. But after re-cognizing the role of merit, the young man now truly had reservations about people like Xu Mofan.

Merit was water, and they were containers. If the river water could target him, it could also favor others.

For example, Xu Mofan in front of him, or Tao Zhuming, Ling Wuxing, or even Chen Xiyuan and Zhao Yi.

When the river water decided it was time to eradicate him, it might accelerate the cultivation of his competitors, rapidly increasing the difficulty for him, thereby forming a绞杀局面 (strangulation situation).

And doing so would not be considered the river water breaking its own rules.

If the next wave was very difficult, then the previous wave would often have its difficulty reduced.

If he were seen as a demon, it would be understandable for the river water to focus on cultivating these righteous geniuses to slay demons and eliminate evil. The jianghu would only praise, “Heaven has eyes!”

Xu Mofan’s phantom passed by the young man.

Li Zhuiyuan retracted his gaze.

The young man could not imagine how exaggerated his and his companions’ progress would be if he always had the merit from perfectly passing each wave to distribute.

It turned out that pies could indeed fall from the sky.

But, it didn’t matter.

Along the way, even without the blessing of merit, and fearing to provoke the Heavenly Dao, not daring to practice martial arts, he could still go faster than them.

Next, he would only go faster!

You go downstream, I go upstream. If I can still win against you this way, then walking this river will be even more interesting.

At the end of the corridor, by the staircase, hung a mirror.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at himself in the mirror.

Then, the young man performed a smile, smiling for himself, offering himself encouragement.

He then turned and continued upstairs.

It was a bit stuffy indoors; he wanted to go to the rooftop for some fresh air.

“Xiao… Xiao Yuan.” Grandma Yao’s figure appeared. “Do you need a late-night snack?”

“No, Grandma Yao, please get some rest early.”

“Okay.”

As he walked up the stairs, Li Zhuiyuan once again recalled the scene of eating late-night snacks by the Nantong river that evening.

Kneeling at a grave, and the grave cracking; burning paper money, and the deceased being restless; formally granting status to a weasel, and it being grateful to tears—that was because his status was high.

But the reason the white rat underwent such a great transformation that night wasn’t because he gave a lot of merit, but because his three companions were all eating together. He was, in effect, paying with three wallets.

This time, he really had to thank Chen Xiyuan.

Without her, he might have continued to be kept in the dark about the little bit of “oil residue” the Heavenly Dao gave Tan Wenbin and the others.

Indeed, the best hiding place was right under the lamp.

When he reached the rooftop door, the young man paused slightly.

He used to think that by walking the river, he could share merit with his great-grandfather on the same household register, so that his great-grandfather would be healthy and live a long life.

He had always believed he was performing an act of filial piety, but it turned out his great-grandfather was bearing a heavy burden for him.

Even so, his great-grandfather could still lend him good fortune.

No wonder his great-grandfather would fall ill after each time he lent him good fortune.

It wasn’t that his great-grandfather didn’t have enough good fortune and had none left after lending it.

It was because he himself… was a big pit.

From this perspective, although Grandma Liu was skilled in Fengshui, and her entire family had long moved here to benefit from good fortune, she had still misjudged her great-grandfather.

Reaching the rooftop, the evening breeze blew gently, bringing coolness.

Li Zhuiyuan saw Xu Fengzhi sitting on the railing at the edge of the rooftop, a bag of peanuts, a bottle of sweet potato liquor. The old man was enjoying a sense of contentment.

“Zhuiyuan, hehe, Xiao Yuan, come, have a drink with this old man?”

Li Zhuiyuan walked over and took the wine cup Xu Fengzhi offered.

The young man did not rush to drink, but instead asked,

“Senior Xu, don’t you feel aggrieved?”

“Aggrieved? About what?”

“You diligently killed demon beasts in the Yu family ancestral home, and you vowed to guard the gate to the death when evil spirits surged, but now you’ve overdrawn everything.

Not only did you not receive any reward, but you also have to worry about the karma of the river water, not daring to attempt any treatment, merely waiting to die here, just hoping that it…”

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the sky,

“Just hoping that it can be lenient, that debts are cleared upon death. Do you think this is fair to you?”

Xu Fengzhi:

“Xiao Yuan, what is fair, and what is unfair?

There are so many unfair things in this world, countless of them. As for fair things, birth, aging, sickness, and death, those are not few either.

As for rewards or punishments, I, this old man, have traversed the Jianghu all my life, I have thought about them, but never truly cared about them.

Some things,

One cannot do them to seek reward, nor can one not do them out of fear of punishment.”

Xu Fengzhi tossed a peanut into his mouth, chewing as he also looked up at the night sky:

“People, in this life, live for themselves, not to perform for heaven.”