Chapter 40

“Slowly look back, the evenings that belonged to each other.”

“Red, red, it’s still you, the brilliant sun you gifted to my heart.”

“……”

The song rang out. Secretary Kim’s Cantonese pronunciation was very standard, and she sang professionally. Her stage presence was also quite natural.

She wasn’t like the little Yellow Warbler. Li Zhuiyuan remembered that when the little Yellow Warbler first held the microphone to speak, her Mandarin was mixed with Nantong dialect.

But Li Zhuiyuan still thought the little Yellow Warbler sang better.

It was precisely this song, sung by the little Yellow Warbler at the beginning, that had led him down a path he had never imagined before.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to find a forced practical reason.

For example, the little Yellow Warbler had poured her emotions into the song back then, while Secretary Kim was only thinking about finishing the daytime program quickly so she could go dig up a grave in the evening.

At first, there wasn’t the slightest ripple on the surface of the fish pond.

But as Secretary Kim sang to:

“Come day even if thousand thousand songs, drifting to a far place my road; Come day even if thousand thousand evening stars, bright over tonight moon…”

Li Zhuiyuan’s body swayed slightly. He felt a wave of drowsiness, and a familiar chill vaguely transmitted from his shoulders, like old leg pain predicting a change in the weather.

He knew the little Yellow Warbler was listening, and it seemed she was having trouble holding back.

Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay awake. He absolutely couldn’t go to the underworld at this time.

“Drip woo!————”

An ear-piercing static sound came from the speakers. Everyone on the scene covered their ears. Small children started screaming, and the people from the opera troupe on stage also rushed forward to adjust the equipment. It was clear they were both familiar and unfamiliar with the equipment.

They should all know how to operate and use it, but they didn’t use it much daily.

The equipment was old, and the troupe feared losing work, so it shouldn’t be like this in principle.

Li Zhuiyuan slowly pressed his hands down, making a quiet gesture.

He didn’t know if the little Yellow Warbler could see it, or if she could understand his meaning.

But losing control of her emotions now would only alert this group of water monkeys and make them prepare early.

Just bear with it.

Wait until the evening to deal with it properly.

Soon,

The static disappeared, and the equipment returned to normal.

This situation was quite common on today’s performance stages. The villagers, who had been covering their ears in discomfort, now continued to chat and laugh. No one left.

Secretary Kim held the microphone and kept apologizing to everyone. Then the background music started again, and she resumed singing “Thousand Threshold Songs”.

Her eyes showed impatience. If before she had some professional quality to back her up, now she was just going through the motions. She simply didn’t sing the chorus herself and handed the microphone to the audience below the stage.

During the first chorus, there were some outgoing adults and noisy children who sang along in their respective versions of Cantonese, but when she continued to hand out the microphone for the second chorus, no one followed, and the scene completely quieted down.

“Sing, ah, sing, ah.”

“Hurry up and sing, ah, sing, ah.”

Someone below was urging.

Secretary Kim still maintained a professional smile and just muddled through the song, not caring at all.

When the song ended, Secretary Kim threw the microphone to the person next to her and walked to the corner to talk to several people.

A person dressed very exaggeratedly went on stage and performed card magic.

Li Zhuiyuan followed a group of children and leaned towards the stage side, barely hearing Secretary Kim and the others complaining about why it wasn’t over yet.

He had just noticed that the opera troupe had about ten people, all speaking Mandarin with the same accent.

And for this banquet, the cooks and those responsible for washing vegetables, bowls, and serving dishes were all villagers invited by the village head.

This meant that this branch of water monkeys was concentrated within this opera troupe.

However, one place still needed attention. Were there still sentries arranged on the periphery?

When the magic performance ended, Li Zhuiyuan applauded along with everyone else while slowly retreating, leaving the crowd watching the performance.

By Da Beard’s house, Runsheng was already waiting on the tricycle.

Li Zhuiyuan got in the car: “Runsheng bro, ride along this small path to the village road, keep riding forward, don’t stop.”

“Okay!”

Runsheng started riding, and Tan Wenbin’s voice came from behind: “Wait for me, wait for me!”

On the village road, the tricycle was in front, followed by a running big boy.

This scene was full of life and could avoid arousing suspicion as much as possible.

On the electric wire tower in the farmland west of Da Beard’s house, there was an electrician wearing gray-white work clothes sitting on top.

This should have been a very normal picture, but Li Zhuiyuan was working backward from the result to find evidence.

He quickly discovered that this electrician was not normal. There were two bags hanging on the shelf next to him, containing food and water.

But this place was not a desolate mountain or a remote area with no one around. If he wanted to eat or drink, he could easily come down to the ground. There was really no need to bring it up there.

“Runsheng bro, turn around, go the other way.”

“Okay!”

As the tricycle turned around, Tan Wenbin finally climbed onto the car. He panted and said: “You…you didn’t abandon me.”

“Binbin bro, we need you now.”

“Really me?”

When the tricycle rode to the east side of Da Beard’s house, another electric wire tower appeared in sight in the distance.

“Binbin bro, get down and chase the car and run.”

“Ah?”

“Bro, quickly.”

Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t joking, Tan Wenbin immediately jumped off the tricycle, resumed his previous appearance, and chased after the car while shouting “I’m still not on the car yet” and waving his arms exaggeratedly.

As the car approached that electric wire tower, there was also an electrician on top, but perhaps because the west side was connected to the main road via the village road, while this side was the village interior, he seemed relatively lazy, just leaning against the beam with a cigarette in his hand.

“Runsheng bro, go south, to Aunt Zhang’s small store.”

“Okay.”

Going south, they saw another person, but this person’s situation was a bit poor. He didn’t have an electric wire tower, only an electric wire pole, so he could only use tools to hang himself up there.

Out of caution, after passing him, Li Zhuiyuan continued south to Aunt Zhang’s small store and bought some things.

Tan Wenbin asked for a pack of Xiao Su cigarettes.

Of course, he paid for it himself.

He skillfully tore open the packaging paper, then peeled open a corner of the cigarette box, inverted it in his palm, flicked it a few times, and several cigarettes fell out halfway.

“Runsheng, want one?”

Runsheng turned his head to look, then continued to focus on riding: “No smoking.”

“Little Yuan bro, want one?”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

Tan Wenbin had no choice but to bite one, take out a match, block it with his palm, and light it.

“Hiss…cough…cough cough cough…vomit!”

He first choked and coughed continuously, then his tears flowed, and finally, he dry vomited.

It was clear that his movements were very fancy, likely practiced many times in his mind, yet he couldn’t smoke.

Tan Wenbin said a bit embarrassed: “A bit nervous, want to relieve it a bit.”

Clearly, no one had told him exactly what they were doing, and he himself didn’t know what was happening, but he could still find enough sense of self-replacement.

To the north, it was simple, because Li Sanjiang’s house was originally just north of Da Beard’s house.

Midway, they passed an electric wire pole, and there was also one person hanging on the pole.

Li Zhuiyuan could now confirm that these four electricians were disguised water monkeys.

Even if they were repairing rural power facilities, they wouldn’t arrange so many people at once and so densely. Often, it was just one electrician master who checked a large area alone.

But unless intentionally, most people wouldn’t notice anything strange. Everyone was already familiar with the electrician masters who occasionally appeared on the electric wire poles, and also because they were basically not from this village or town, few people would go up and greet them voluntarily.

Back home, he went to the workshop. Li Zhuiyuan took out paper and pen and drew a rough sketch of the farmland, river, and electric wire poles with Da Beard’s house as the center.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin leaned over one on each side, also looking at the map very seriously.

In a flat rural area, there were people on all four high points. This was just what was known on the surface. There might still be undiscovered observation posts, or they might be added in the evening if there weren’t any during the day.

Originally, Li Zhuiyuan had planned to wait until nightfall, then he and Runsheng would carry tools and secretly sneak to the edge of Da Beard’s fish pond.

Now it seemed impossible. During the day, the crowds could provide cover, but there were basically no people on the village road in the evening, and when they were digging the grave, the sentries outside would definitely be more alert.

Li Zhuiyuan: “There are ten people in the opera troupe, and at least four on the periphery. Including Ding Dalin and the two who are in the hospital, the size of this branch of water monkeys is close to twenty.”

“So many people?” Runsheng scratched his head, “I thought this kind of work could be done by one or two people.”

Li Zhuiyuan smiled. Stealing from a water burial grave was originally more difficult, and the area with water systems was generally not too sparsely populated. Therefore, the scale of water monkeys was generally relatively large, primarily focusing on digging and leaving quickly.

“Runsheng bro, the problem now is how we sneak in in the evening without being discovered.”

His own preparations were all to assist the little Yellow Warbler. If he couldn’t observe from nearby, he fundamentally couldn’t grasp the right time to act. He couldn’t have the little Yellow Warbler not appear yet, and he and Runsheng fighting with the water monkeys first.

If it was really like that, it would be better to call the police now.

“Then, Little Yuan, can we not walk here?”

Runsheng stretched out his hand and pointed all the way down the river on the map.

This river was very close to Da Beard’s house and the fish pond.

“Walk in the river?”

“Right, Little Yuan, we can walk underwater and go ashore after reaching here, hiding in the haystack; for breathing, one person can bite a straw.”

At first, Li Zhuiyuan felt this suggestion was very unreliable, but after thinking carefully, it was unexpectedly feasible.

Runsheng was strong and a good swimmer. He had even more experience dealing with corpses underwater. The Twelve Pole Array Flags plus the Corpse Fisher’s Set could give him enough weight to walk underwater.

At the same time, the haystack after going ashore was originally very close to the fish pond.

The only drawback was that if he followed along, he would probably have to tie a rope around Runsheng’s body, which would look a bit awkward.

“Runsheng bro, your suggestion is very good, let’s tentatively decide on that.”

Having received approval, Runsheng’s face showed a smile. He knew that watching more movies was useful.

“Not bad, really a very good method.” Tan Wenbin nodded, “So, can you tell me what exactly we are going to do tonight?”

“Binbin bro, wait until after dinner, I will tell you everything.”

“Little Yuan bro, you won’t deceive me?”

“No.”

“Okay, I believe you.”

Dinner started very early. Everyone was called to their seats at five o’clock, and the dishes were also served very quickly.

Li Zhuiyuan took Tan Wenbin to find Li Sanjiang again and sat down to eat together.

The red glow on Li Sanjiang’s face from drinking wine at noon hadn’t faded yet. He touched his belly and didn’t feel very hungry. He just asked Ding Dalin, who was sitting next to him:

“Why is dinner so early?”

“Sanjiang Hou, you know, I’m abroad, there’s a time difference.”

“Oh, so that’s it.”

This reason was very lame, but the dishes had already started to be served, so there was no need to say more.

Moreover, the speed of serving dishes in the kitchen in the evening was also very fast, with hot dishes one after another.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that this was all to end the meal early and gain more time for digging the grave in the evening.

At the table, Secretary Kim walked to Ding Dalin’s side and whispered a few sentences.

Ding Dalin looked at Li Sanjiang: “Sanjiang Hou, do you have lanterns at home?”

“Lanterns? Yes, I do.”

Li Sanjiang’s home had some basic supplies for weddings and funerals, which were convenient to rent out.

This referred to reusable lanterns, not paper lanterns.

“We have a special custom there, in the evening, two strings of red and white lanterns must be hung on the roof of the house, but coincidentally, the lanterns we originally ordered were delayed and won’t arrive tonight.”

“That’s nothing.” Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan, “Little Yuan Hou, go back home, call Runsheng to send the lanterns over, and conveniently help them hang them up.”

“Okay, I’ll go now.”

“Eat first, then go, no hurry.”

“Not hungry, Great Grandfather.”

Li Zhuiyuan left the table, and Tan Wenbin, who was holding a chicken leg, also hurriedly followed.

He had run in the afternoon, so his digestion was also relatively fast.

When Liangliang bro told him about his experience in Bai Family Town last time, he mentioned the two strings of lanterns hanging on the door plaque of Bai Family Town.

This actually had a meaning. Red represented human affairs, and white represented ghost affairs. Hanging red and white lanterns high meant that both the yin and yang realms were unobstructed.

Bai Family Town did this because of its special nature, with the Bai Family ladies being in a semi-human, semi-ghost state.

The water monkeys doing this was also a tradition of their faction, aiming for smoothness, with the yang world peaceful and the yin world undisturbed.

However, this instead gave Li Zhuiyuan a new idea.

Back home, Runsheng had already packed the array flags and corpse fishing tools in white plastic cloth. He had a strap diagonally across his upper body.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that this was for tying himself when diving.

“Runsheng bro, the plan has changed, I found a better way to enter.”

“Ah, Little Yuan, how do you plan to do it?”

“The most dangerous place is the safest place. Since there are sentries on all sides at high points, we simply won’t think about going out and then coming back in.”

“Still don’t understand.” Runsheng shook his head.

“I understand a little, but I still want to hear more.” Tan Wenbin rested his chin on his hand, his eyes showing contemplation.

Li Zhuiyuan tilted his head towards him. Runsheng understood this action. He directly lifted Tan Wenbin, forcibly carried him to the workshop behind the house, then took a rope and tied his hands and feet.

“No, no, you can’t do this. Little Yuan bro, you promised you would tell me everything.”

“Um, I am telling you now.”

Li Zhuiyuan squatted in front of Tan Wenbin and told him everything about the water monkeys and the main acupoint in detail.

After listening, Tan Wenbin’s face showed an expression of extreme excitement: “So exciting!”

Immediately, he swayed his tied hands and feet: “But what are you doing this for?”

“Binbin bro, what does your grandfather do?”

“Police, ah, my maternal grandfather is also a police.”

“Then what do you plan to do in the future?”

“Anything is fine, but not being a police.”

“Don’t say angry words. Words said during rebellious periods are not accurate. You will definitely be a police in the future too.”

“I don’t want to be…”

“Mouth block.”

“Woo woo woo woo!”

Runsheng neatly blocked Tan Wenbin’s mouth.

“Runsheng bro, did you hear what Binbin just said?”

“He said he wasn’t…”

“He said in the future, he will definitely be a police.”

“Oh, right, yes, no mistake.”

“Police family, ah.”

Li Zhuiyuan leaned forward and reached out to hug Tan Wenbin.

It was too late to go to the police station and hug the plaque, so hugging you was the same, for good luck.

When Li Zhuiyuan stood up, Runsheng also leaned over and gave a forceful hug, strangling Tan Wenbin until his eyes rolled back.

“Binbin bro, we are also considering your safety with this. Next time there’s an opportunity to meet a kind dead body, I’ll take you to see it.”

“Exactly, exactly.” Runsheng echoed, “People might be much more dangerous than dead bodies.”

Next, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng together put things into the lantern covers, then carried them to Da Beard’s house.

At this time, the first batch had already finished, and the second batch was eating.

Li Sanjiang and Ding Dalin hadn’t left their seats and were still drinking wine. Seeing Runsheng come, Li Sanjiang waved his hand and urged: “Hurry up and help them hang it up.”

“Okay, Great Grandfather.”

Runsheng and Li Zhuiyuan went up to the second floor. There was a place on the second floor with an open cover and a ladder next to it, leading to the roof from there.

After setting up the ladder and carrying the items up, Runsheng began to prop up the lanterns, stringing the ropes one by one, then successively lighting and stringing them down.

The east side was red, and the west side was white.

After finishing, Li Zhuiyuan said: “Runsheng bro, I’ll go down and move the ladder back. You stay on top and get ready to receive me.”

“Little Yuan, no need to be so troublesome.”

Runsheng just jumped down, hooking his feet on the edge in time, swinging his whole body down.

Then he grabbed the ladder, swung it back relying on his waist strength, putting it back in its original position against the wall.

Immediately, he exerted force again, shrinking his upper body back and grabbing the edge with both hands, pulling himself up little by little, finally covering the opening back. The whole set of actions was done in one go.

Li Zhuiyuan only sighed in his heart once again at Runsheng’s terrifying physical quality.

But this was inherent, not something that could be envied. He just didn’t know if Uncle Qin’s body, which could grow blood gills and dive, was innate or practiced later.

Recently, due to persistent puking and horse stance practice, Li Zhuiyuan felt he had made great progress, but the hard work he accumulated over days and months might only be to catch up to others’ starting line.

At this time, a bit of exclusion and resentment towards geniuses arose in the boy’s heart. Why?

“Little Yuan, what if they come up and check?”

“Runsheng bro, there’s an ‘in case’ in everything.”

“Also true.”

The local roof was just a pure roof and wouldn’t become a place for people’s activities, so normally, except when the house leaked, no one would go up.

Most of the roof area was slanted and paved with large red tiles, surrounded by a small cement wall on all four sides. The wall was very short, not even enough for a person to squat behind, so Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng could only choose to lie down.

Runsheng was very close to the opening. He held the Yellow River shovel in his hand.

His shovel had been modified by Li Zhuiyuan, making it bigger, heavier, and with a longer edge.

If the water monkeys didn’t come up to check the roof, it was fine. If they dared to push open the cover and stick their heads out, what awaited him was a cut from Runsheng’s shovel.

Li Zhuiyuan lightly covered his chest with his right hand, sensing his heart beating fast. He was a bit nervous, but more excited.

Binbin bro, I didn’t deceive you, this is indeed fun.

The reason I didn’t bring you was because I didn’t want to increase the probability of an accident. I still want to be able to continue playing in the future.

Occasionally, Li Zhuiyuan would also lightly lift his head. He was facing the fish pond, and the opera stage was right next to the fish pond, so his vision was excellent.

Gradually, the second batch also finished, and everyone started to disperse.

Li Zhuiyuan heard Li Sanjiang’s voice. He was drunk and kept muttering while holding Ding Dalin’s hand: “Good brothers, for a lifetime!”

It was clear that Ding Dalin had been going through the motions all along. He finally managed to persuade Li Sanjiang to leave with great difficulty.

Originally, the cooks and helpers were supposed to eat the last shift, but they were all given red envelopes and allowed to take away leftovers, so everyone left happily.

The noisy and lively banquet quickly quieted down.

The large speakers and sound boxes on the opera stage were turned up and continued to play and sing.

The people from the opera troupe all came down. They didn’t help clean the bowls, chopsticks, tables, and chairs, but instead checked the house compound and the surroundings.

Secretary Kim picked up a flashlight, turned it on, and shone it around in a circle.

Soon, lights flickered in response from the high points in six places on the periphery.

One of these places was right above the haystack by the river.

Li Zhuiyuan secretly thought, ‘That was close.’ In the original plan, after he and Runsheng rowed underwater and went ashore, they would hide in this haystack. That would have been like a mouse voluntarily jumping into a mousetrap.

Below, on the second-floor balcony, there were also footsteps. People were checking the rooms one by one.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked at Runsheng. Runsheng was pressing his ear to the ground, his Yellow River shovel ready at any time.

After a while, the sound of footsteps left. Li Zhuiyuan looked through the drainage holes on the small cement wall in front and saw them gathering in the compound.

It seemed they had finished checking and had let go of the roof. The darkness under the lamp was indeed useful.

Ding Dalin changed into a bright yellow Taoist robe and held a peach wood sword in his hand.

An offering table was placed in front of him, with candles and offerings on it.

Ding Dalin began to perform the ritual. Unlike Li Sanjiang, Ding Dalin’s movements were very fast.

After all, the people were just performing a preliminary ritual for the water monkeys to open the grave, and his Great Grandfather sometimes had to consider the emotions of the main family and perform a bit longer to make them feel their money was well spent.

But it was undeniable that Ding Dalin’s movements and demeanor were much more standard and professional than his Great Grandfather’s.

It was quite a gap, like when Secretary Kim and the little Yellow Warbler sang during the daytime.

Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment, rubbing his forehead with his hand. What was he thinking about?

After the ritual was completed, Ding Dalin didn’t take off his Taoist robe but changed the peach wood sword to a compass and spun it around on the spot.

This compass was completely purple and very large. The carvings and inlays on it were extremely rich, and like the hanging clocks in foreign hotels, it had a row of small circles outside the large circle, each representing a different time zone.

Li Zhuiyuan pursed his lips. Compared to this purple compass, his special one was too far off. He had to calculate it correctly in his mind every time he used it.

At this moment, Secretary Kim led the way. A total of ten water monkeys all knelt on one knee in front of Ding Dalin.

Ding Dalin stared at the compass, slowly lifting his hand:

“The auspicious time has arrived, begin work!”

Everyone lifted one hand, reciting something in unison in their mouths. After finishing the recitation, they stood up and got busy separately.

The advantage of water burial graves compared to traditional earth graves was the low probability of qi leakage.

But water burial graves were more difficult and dangerous to steal from than earth graves. In any such industry, many complex rituals would be developed, not only to show respect to ghosts and gods but also to strengthen their own psychological construction.

Many things were moved out from under the opera stage. At a glance, they were two water pumps and a diesel generator.

Additionally, there were things similar to winches. Two people were neatly setting up a frame.

As the era developed, the water monkeys’ grave stealing methods were naturally also progressing.

The noise of the water pumps was covered by the speakers and sound boxes. The water pipes were extended into the river next to them. Very quickly, the water level of the fish pond began to drop at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Runsheng also moved over at this time. Anyway, there was no risk near the opening anymore.

“Little Yuan, when do you need me to go down and plant the flags, tell me.”

“Um, it’s still early.”

The opportunity to plant the flags would be when the little Yellow Warbler confronted the water monkeys. Only when they were in chaos could he and Runsheng seize the opportunity to run around the periphery and arrange things.

The fish pond began to show its bottom, exposing the rotten mud and many dead fish and crabs.

The water monkeys laughed, thinking they were getting closer to their target.

But Li Zhuiyuan knew that if there was a corpse living in any small fish pond, the aquatic products here wouldn’t be able to survive.

Therefore, this scene was really not caused by that main acupoint.

Five water monkeys wearing waterproof clothes went down into the fish pond. They held retractable iron rods in their hands and stabbed them into the ground, then took out the iron rods and took out mud from the interlayer at a specific height.

Ding Dalin sat by the edge of the fish pond. The compass had been placed to the side. Now he held a sea bowl and a wooden spoon in his hand.

The dug-out deep-layer soil was successively brought over and poured into his bowl. He picked up the wooden spoon and tasted it.

“Mom, yeah, Little Yuan, look, he’s actually eating mud.”

“Um, I see.”

Li Zhuiyuan was a little puzzled by Runsheng’s strong reaction. After all, although eating mud was strange, compared to eating fragrant you, it was still much more normal.

Although there were no related records about eating mud in the book, Li Zhuiyuan could still understand its intention. It should be a way to discern the location.

Ding Dalin took a mouthful and shook his head, and shook his head continuously five times.

The water monkeys then continued to select positions and stab in, then continued to provide new mud.

Finally, after tasting, Ding Dalin nodded and stretched out his finger to point at that position.

Everyone picked up shovels and started digging. After digging a pit, they took out steel plates one by one and began to hammer them in. There were also locks between the steel plates, which were connected after entering the soil.

After completion, ropes were tied on and connected to the winch machine. The machine started turning.

A large block of soil was dug out and dragged outside the fish pond.

Using an excavator was too conspicuous. This thing served the purpose of an excavator. Additionally, when they reached the grave later, they could also use it to violently open the cover.

Digging tunnels was too time-consuming and laborious, unless they held the banquet for a whole month.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that they didn’t use explosives not because they were kind, but purely because conditions didn’t allow it.

But even if they continued to dig in this way, the damage to the grave would be extremely great.

They only wanted to open the grave early, take out the most valuable things inside, then hurry away and sell the stolen goods abroad.

Steel plates were dug and matched with manual labor, and a very deep pit hole appeared.

Thanks to Li Zhuiyuan being on the roof now, in any other position, it would have been impossible to see these work details.

Runsheng quietly asked: “Little Yuan, is the little Yellow Warbler not at home?”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: “Should be at home.”

He still sensed the little Yellow Warbler listening to the opera in the afternoon.

“Little Yuan, ah, you say, is there any possibility that she saw so many people come to her home and was afraid, then slipped away?”

“This……”

Li Zhuiyuan was also not sure, because the fact was, the water monkeys had progressed to this step, and still no slightest abnormality had occurred.

“Jianghu Strange Records” described that corpses basically acted on instinct, but high-level corpses would develop wisdom.

This group of water monkeys was large in number and very professional, so it was normal to avoid their edge.

But Li Zhuiyuan still didn’t think the little Yellow Warbler would just run away like that.

“Dug to, dug to!”

“Found, see!”

The water monkey in the pit hole below wore a safety helmet with a light on it and cheered excitedly.

Li Zhuiyuan also saw an arc-shaped top dug out in the pit hole.

Because the silt above hadn’t been cleaned, the original color wasn’t clear, but from the shape, it looked very much like the tip of a temple pagoda.

Li Zhuiyuan’s heart suddenly trembled. It unexpectedly wasn’t an ordinary water burial grave.

Within water burials, there were many categories. The most taboo and most troublesome was this kind of temple grave.

Because its existence was often for ancient people to suppress some evil.

It could be said that in other graves, the probability of an accident was not high, but in this kind of grave, the probability of not having an accident was not high.

Just like the statue of the Bai Family ladies dug out while working in the river before, its original purpose was also to suppress something. The result was that when the chain was broken, strange things happened that evening.

And the small temple for the Bai Family ladies’ single statue was simply incomparable to the arc-shaped top revealed now.

This seemed to really be a pagoda, and the structure of the pagoda body was often smallest at the top, so its overall size, how big was it?

Of course, Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t the only one surprised. As the primary person in charge on the scene, Ding Dalin’s expression became very ugly.

He disregarded his age and entered the pit, holding a flashlight to wipe away the silt and observe the details. Immediately, he seemed to discover something. His body shook, and his gaze swept to the other water monkeys around. He waved his hand.

Secretary Kim also jumped down and asked: “How?”

“This is a temple grave, can’t open.”

“Why?”

“I’ve experienced temple graves several times, and none of them were too peaceful. If this kind of grave is opened, you will definitely see evil afterward.”

“Will there be good things inside this kind of grave?”

“I said, it can’t be opened.”

“It’s come this far, and you say you won’t open it? This operation has cost so much, and we’ve lost two brothers. Now they’re still being watched by the police in the hospital and can’t come out.”

“Listen to me, you all said you wanted to listen to me, I’m the boss!”

Secretary Kim stretched out her hand, grabbed Ding Dalin’s neck, and said coldly:

“Old thing, this grave must be opened today no matter what. The police have already noticed us. We must finish this trip’s work and go hide. Without money, how can everyone hide!”

“You…you for money…no life…le…mo…”

“Without money, what’s the use of this life?”

Secretary Kim drew out a dagger and rubbed it up and down Ding Dalin’s old face: “Old thing, I’ll give you one more chance.”

“I open…I open…”

“Very good, what’s next?”

Secretary Kim loosened her hand. Ding Dalin covered his neck and answered while panting:

“Small temple graves pay attention to trap locks, big temple graves pay attention to sealing. It’s all to nail the things suppressed inside here. To open this kind of grave, there’s no other method, only to use a foolish method first, open a seam along the lower corner, then use external force to pull.”

“But I advise you, think about it again, really.”

“Ha, if you’re afraid, just go up and hide somewhere, don’t get in the way.”

“Good advice is hard to persuade…” Ding Dalin took one last look at the pit hole, then climbed out, then climbed out of the fish pond, and came to the outside.

He picked up the compass again, hugged it in his arms, and muttered nonstop in a low voice, as if praying.

“Little Yuan, wasn’t that old man originally the big bro?”

“When he can lead everyone to earn money, he is the big bro. If he obstructs everyone from earning money, then he isn’t.”

Li Zhuiyuan saw that Old Man Ding also recognized the temple grave, but very obviously, what he said now was useless.

Hooks were fixed one by one. After a signal was given here, the machine started there.

But the ropes were all taut, and yet they still couldn’t pull this top open. It only tilted this arc-shaped top.

That is to say, this pagoda tilted.

“Go down and pry!” Secretary Kim had now replaced Ding Dalin’s command position.

A group of water monkeys began to use tools to pry and smash, each busy sweating profusely. Time was also passing minute by minute and second by second.

“Little Yuan, why aren’t they open yet.” Runsheng yawned. He was a bit sleepy.

Li Zhuiyuan also felt a bit bored. Roughly estimating, this group of water monkeys had been busy for nearly two hours.

During this time, people who were exhausted left, and new people came over to continue being busy. This should be a shift change with the observation posts.

“Ka cha……”

Hearing this sound, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng immediately became alert. It seemed there was finally progress.

A gap appeared. Next, it would be easier to break the wall. Along with the “zhi ya zhi ya” sound of the winch, finally, the rope suddenly pulled back, and the arc-shaped top was flipped out whole, exposing the inside.

Currently, it was not clear whether it was the top of the pagoda or the entrance to the grave chamber.

The water monkeys had rich experience and quickly retreated. No one was foolish enough to drill inside at this time.

After a while, seeing that there was no movement inside, Secretary Kim threw several signal flares inside, but it seemed very deep inside, and the lights quickly disappeared after being thrown in.

A water monkey brought a long rod, tied a rooster to the end of the rod, and probed the rod with the hanging rooster inside. After a while, the rod was retracted, and the rooster was still alive.

“It’s safe below.”

The rod was directly thrown out and smashed far away.

Secretary Kim nodded: “Go down and explore the way.”

Two water monkeys tied ropes to themselves and formally entered the grave.

“Little Yuan, what should we do? The corpse still hasn’t come out. They won’t really succeed in stealing it, will they?”

Li Zhuiyuan sighed and said: “Then we……”

Just at this time, Li Zhuiyuan saw Ding Dalin walking towards the rooster that was still tied to the rod. He squatted down and stretched out his hand.

The rooster suddenly struggled out of the restraint and pecked fiercely at his palm.

Li Zhuiyuan saw this scene clearly from above, but even he couldn’t figure out how this rooster did it.

Because on the rod, there were still the rooster’s feathers and even chicken skin. It almost bounced out of its own body to peck people.

Moreover, after pecking people, it appeared more excited and kept making crazy “ge ge ge” calls in place.

This picture was very eerie. Although he often ate chicken meat, it was Li Zhuiyuan’s first time seeing a bloody walking chicken.

Ding Dalin at this time disregarded the bloody hole in his palm and turned his head to Secretary Kim and the group, shouting: “It’s coming out, it’s coming out, it’s coming out!”

“Old thing, be quiet!” Secretary Kim cursed.

At this time, the water monkeys were all gathered at the edge of the fish pond pit, waiting for a response from inside. Due to the line of sight, they couldn’t see the rooster.

Secretary Kim pointed at one person: “You go up and see what’s wrong with the old thing.”

“Okay.”

Before that person could go up, the two ropes transmitted a pulling movement. This was the signal from the two people who had gone in. They planned to come out.

The crowd outside all breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed safe inside. Next, they just had to wait for the two people who went in to come out and explain the situation, then everyone could go in together and move things.

Secretary Kim commanded: “Pull in the ropes.”

The people outside began to pull in the ropes, not to pull them, but to slowly lift the ropes. This meant that the two people who went in were steadily walking towards the outside.

It wasn’t long before they walked out.

“There are good things inside, many good things!”

“Too many things, but too heavy. The two of us can’t move them. There’s also a coffin, black, tied with chains, very noble. There must be treasures inside!”

The faces of the crowd showed excited expressions. Some people came up to help them untie the ropes on their bodies.

But just at this moment, those two people untied the ropes themselves.

They didn’t use their hands, but their entire bodies, from their clothes, no, from the top of their heads, they drilled out.

“There are good things inside, many good things!”

“Quickly go move, quickly go move!”

Two bloody people danced happily in place with their hands and feet, still urging their companions to hurry into the grave.

This strange and terrifying scene stunned all the water monkeys on the scene.

They were all old hands in this line of work, having been down many graves and having had some accidents, but none of them could compare to what they were seeing now!

After opening the grave, there was no fog, no poison, and they didn’t see a corpse. They were still sharing joy just now, and this horrifying scene just appeared so abruptly.

“Tie them up!”

Secretary Kim issued the command, then immediately turned and left the edge of the pit hole, jumped over the fish pond, and went to find Ding Dalin.

“Accident, boss!”

Secretary Kim saw that Ding Dalin was shrinking his head and leaning against the edge of a soil block. His throat was already hoarse, yet he was still muttering: “It’s coming out…it’s coming out…”

“Accident, boss, quickly come and see.”

Ding Dalin ignored Secretary Kim’s words and continued to repeat his previous words.

“I’m telling you there’s an accident!”

Secretary Kim kicked Ding Dalin in the back.

“Si la……”

A crisp sound of tearing skin and flesh. Ding Dalin’s Taoist robe and the human skin inside were still left in place, with this gray-white hair still on the scalp, and a bloody person was kicked out, rolling on the ground nonstop, staining the blood and flesh with many small mud stones.

But even so, this bloody person still continued to squat on the ground, muttering:

“It’s coming out…it’s coming out…”

Secretary Kim took two steps back, looking at all this in disbelief, because she knew that Ding Dalin had been outside the fish pond all along. If even he was like that, then the others…

Secretary Kim turned her head and looked at the pit hole in the fish pond. There, bloody people were climbing out one by one and running in circles in the fish pond where the water had been drained.

Her face was full of fear. She lifted her hand and touched her face.

The moment she touched it, her skin cracked open.

Like taking off clothes, the skin and clothes on her body all fell to the ground.

The evening wind was like a knife, cutting into her exposed blood vessels. She squatted down and began to scream.

All of this actually happened in less than a minute.

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng both widened their eyes. The two turned their heads and slowly looked at each other.

Runsheng thought according to the plot in movies, while Li Zhuiyuan pushed and imagined in his mind. In short, they had all imagined various developments for the events tonight, but they never thought it would reach this point.

The little Yellow Warbler hadn’t appeared, but the scene below at this moment was countless times more terrifying than if the little Yellow Warbler had appeared.

Even if they were water monkeys, their deaths weren’t enough to atone for their sins, but they were also a group of living people, ah, just like that, dry and crispy, like peeling shrimp, coming out naked?

Among all the corpses they had encountered before, which one could cause such a scene?

At this time, the bloody-red Secretary Kim stopped screaming. She staggered to her feet, took out a flashlight from her clothes, turned it on, lifted it over her head, and turned it left and right in a circle.

She was sending a light signal.

Soon, lights also responded from the high points in six places on the periphery, and during the response process, the lights were moving downwards.

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized that she was deliberately sending a light signal to call her accomplices outside.

And the result of calling them over was…

Why would she do that?

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly thought of a possibility: this thing wanted everyone who knew about this matter to keep it a secret forever.

So, was his current position still safe?

“Little Yuan, what’s wrong with them? Why don’t I see who did it…”

Below, Secretary Kim, who had originally returned to the house, put down her arm and began to turn around.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Run!”

Runsheng was stunned for a moment, then immediately went to the opening, just about to uncover the cover, but was patted on the back by Li Zhuiyuan several times:

“Bro, it’s too late, jump down directly, there’s a firewood stack behind the house.”

“Okay!”

Runsheng didn’t hesitate, stood up and rushed over, jumping down.

There was indeed a firewood stack below, but it wasn’t very high. The difference from falling down from the roof was still very big. After Runsheng fell, he didn’t stand steady, and his side body smashed down. Several places on his body were scraped by firewood branches.

But he didn’t even hum. He immediately forced himself to stand up and looked up. At this time, Li Zhuiyuan also jumped down.

Runsheng lifted both arms and hugged Li Zhuiyuan.

But even so, Li Zhuiyuan still felt a stuffy feeling in his chest, severe pain in his ribs, and his nose was scraped by Runsheng’s arm. Warm liquid was already flowing down.

Forcing yourself to jump down from a building like this, it was naturally impossible not to pay some price.

“Little Yuan, are you still okay?”

“Run……”

Li Zhuiyuan pointed forward. Runsheng nodded and immediately carried the boy on his back. After jumping down from the firewood stack, he quickly crossed the village road and then plunged into the farmland in front.

At this moment, he didn’t need to worry about being seen by the sentries on the periphery. One reason was that they had already left the high points, and the other was that they were running towards Da Beard’s fish pond.

Runsheng carried the boy and shuttled through the rice field. The rice ears hitting his face were very painful, feeling like cuts.

This feeling was very scary right now, because he couldn’t determine whether it was caused by the rice ears or whether his own skin was also about to break.

Li Zhuiyuan was bleeding. He wanted to lift his neck to stop the bleeding, but he couldn’t because of Runsheng running beneath him.

Runsheng was also bleeding. He was very afraid and dared not stop at all.

Since he could remember things and accompanied his grandfather to fish corpses, he had never seen such a terrifying scene.

Finally, Runsheng ran out of the farmland and onto the road, then along this road, he ran back to the house compound in one breath.

Inside the workshop, Tan Wenbin was already asleep.

Suddenly, the door was opened, and then he saw two people covered in blood come in, scaring him pale.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his head, found a crumpled piece of paper, and plugged his nostrils.

With great difficulty, the nosebleed finally stopped. He rubbed his chest again. Although his ribs still hurt, it wasn’t a big problem.

Runsheng then picked up a pair of tweezers and pulled out the thorns that had pierced his skin one by one.

After the two of them finished processing themselves, they sat facing each other, panting nonstop.

Runsheng’s eyes were full of confusion. He was badly scared.

Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes were blank. This question was beyond the syllabus.

The disturbance caused by the Bai Family ladies last time was far from being as shocking and bizarre as tonight.

After all, the Bai Family ladies’ methods could be understood and a way to counter them could be found, but the situation at Da Beard’s fish pond was fundamentally without any clue at all.

To this day, Li Zhuiyuan still had a deep sense of unreality. Why would such things be buried in Siyuan Village?

Just opening the grave cover, a large group of people came to such an end. How terrifying was the existence inside?

Li Zhuiyuan had to wonder now, could Aunt Liu still handle it?

Seeing the two of them like this, Tan Wenbin knew that something big had definitely happened. He was very curious and wanted to know, but these two seemed to have forgotten that he was still tied up and gagged, so he could only attract their attention by shaking nonstop, wriggling like a happy maggot.

Finally, the two people’s gazes fell on him. Their eyes were full of surprise.

Tan Wenbin stopped for a moment, then wriggled more intensely. No, what kind of eyes were these, you actually really forgot about my existence!

Runsheng untied Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin was about to open his mouth to ask something, but immediately clamped his legs together and ran out of the workshop to the toilet.

“Little Yuan, I feel a little itchy on my body, but I don’t dare to scratch.”

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his head and saw Runsheng’s skin showing a dark red color.

He immediately lowered his head to look at himself. He also seemed a little red.

“Little Yuan, we won’t end up like that, will we?”

“No, it would have happened much earlier.”

“I’ll go rinse with well water.” Runsheng walked out of the workshop.

Tan Wenbin, who had relieved himself, then walked in. He wasn’t angry. Instead, he主动 leaned over and asked curiously:

“Tell me, what exactly happened?”

“Binbin bro, wait for Runsheng bro to tell you.”

“Heart lingering fear?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

“So serious?” Tan Wenbin hesitated a bit and asked, “Or, should we report to the police now?”

“No, absolutely not. That place, we can’t approach it now.”

Runsheng, soaking wet and only wearing pants, walked back barefoot: “Little Yuan, rinsing with well water is really useful. My skin isn’t red. Come over, I’ll rinse you too.”

Although he couldn’t understand the principle, Li Zhuiyuan still went. Several buckets of well water were poured over his head, and his body subconsciously started to tremble.

But indeed, the redness that had appeared on his body before receded.

“Little Yuan, look, our problem isn’t big.”

“Um, maybe we were a bit far away.”

“Besides, we ran fast too. It’s good you reminded me to jump directly. Otherwise, if we had waited to walk down the stairs, we might have also been cooked.”

Hearing this, a scene of a large bloody head carrying a small bloody head running in a rice field involuntarily floated in Li Zhuiyuan’s mind.

“Ah!” Runsheng’s expression changed.

“What’s wrong?”

“The array flags are still on the roof, and my set of corpse fishing tools, they’re all still there!”

Looking at Runsheng’s face full of regret and pain, Li Zhuiyuan could only comfort him: “It’s okay, Runsheng bro, we can make a new set of tools.”

Immediately, to prevent Runsheng from doing something foolish, Li Zhuiyuan reminded him: “Bro, without my agreement, you are not allowed to go back and get things secretly on your own.”

Runsheng hurriedly waved his hand: “How dare I, I don’t dare. This time I’m really scared.”

“Sleep, let’s sleep for a while first.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked upstairs. When he reached his room door, he turned around and looked in the direction of Da Beard’s house. After hesitating for a long time, he still pushed the door and walked in.

Tonight, Li Zhuiyuan had a dream, not going to the underworld, but a very simple nightmare.

In the dream, he was still lying on the roof, looking at the two rows of water monkeys kneeling below.

They drilled out of their own skin one by one, becoming bloody monkeys; then drilled back into their own skin one by one, as if putting on the clothes they had just taken off.

Throughout the process, their ear-piercing screams filled the air.

And their gaze, from beginning to end, was staring at him on the roof.

He didn’t know if it was a nightmare he had before waking up, or if this nightmare happened repeatedly. In short, when Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t bear to turn around and jump down, the moment he jumped, he woke up.

He urgently turned his head. On the chair by the room door, A Li sat there, holding a bowl in her hand.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and lay back down.

A Li saw that he was awake, ended the bowl, and walked over. This time, there was a small spoon in the bowl.

The girl also didn’t want to spill the medicine on the boy’s head again when feeding him.

Li Zhuiyuan sat up and accepted the girl’s feeding of the medicine. The spoon was quite large, and he drank it quickly mouthful after mouthful.

He had nosebleeds again last night, so he indeed needed to replenish a bit.

The girl put down the bowl, then tilted her head to look at him. She seemed to sense that the boy’s soul wasn’t settled now, and her eyes showed doubt.

“A Li, last night, I witnessed a very terrifying matter.”

The girl proactively held the boy’s hand.

Li Zhuiyuan then put the girl’s hand on his chest. After sensing this soft and warm feeling, he closed his eyes again and took a little nap.

Li Sanjiang yawned as he went downstairs. He had drunk too much wine yesterday, and now that he was awake, his head was still a bit dizzy.

However, after seeing two people sleeping on a table, hugging each other,

He still couldn’t help but raise his voice and scold: “Bastards, what kind of sleeping posture is this!”

Tan Wenbin was woken up by the shout. He tried to struggle out of Runsheng’s arm, but was powerless, only looking at Li Sanjiang helplessly.

Who knew that Li Sanjiang just cleared his throat after scolding and swaggered to the compound to stretch.

“Eat breakfast!”

Hearing Aunt Liu’s voice, Runsheng woke up and wanted to eat.

Little Yuan Hou was afraid, and he was also afraid, but Little Yuan Hou had A Li, while he only had A Bin.

Li Zhuiyuan also brought A Li down. Everyone sat down in their respective seats.

Tan Wenbin changed his seat this time and sat with Li Sanjiang.

Liu Yumei looked at Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng with curiosity. These two children probably didn’t rest well last night.

“Little Yuan, ah, come over a bit, taste grandma’s pastry here.”

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked over.

Liu Yumei handed over a piece of pastry: “Were you happy playing last night?”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t know how to answer.

Liu Yumei continued to ask: “Did you see blood?”

“Um, a lot of blood.”

“Did you make it?”

“We didn’t make anything.”

Liu Yumei took a bite of the crispy cake somewhat unexpectedly: “Then Grandma really misjudged. You are truly a tall person from a short person.”

“No, you didn’t misjudge. There really is a big king in the mountain.”

“How do you say that?”

“Got peeled off in one go.”

“Peel?” Liu Yumei found this word a bit hard to understand. If it was “swallow in one go,” it would be easier to understand.

Li Zhuiyuan really wanted to tell Grandma Liu everything that happened last night, but unfortunately, at home, he had to speak in riddles.

“Okay, finished eating.” Li Sanjiang put down the porridge bowl and stood up.

Aunt Liu said: “There’s still some in the pot.”

“Ate and drank too much yesterday, so I have no appetite now.”

“Tomorrow is the vegetarian event in West Village. Runsheng Hou, you come with me to Da Beard’s…oh no, to Old Man Ding’s house, and we’ll take all the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks back. We’ll send them to that household in West Village in the afternoon. Right, we also sent a pair of lanterns yesterday, don’t forget to take them back.”

Runsheng hugged a large basin of porridge and shrank in the corner, pretending not to hear.

“Hey, Runsheng Hou, I’m talking to you. Did you hear?”

“Great Grandfather, I’m not feeling well today.”

“Okay, not feeling well, right? Then I’ll go myself. I’m not too old to walk.”

After saying that, Li Sanjiang went to push out the board cart.

Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng immediately ran up, not even bothering to eat breakfast.

“Great Grandfather, Runsheng bro and I will go collect it this afternoon. You don’t need to go.”

Runsheng also echoed: “Um, I’ll go this afternoon.”

Li Sanjiang looked at Runsheng and reached out to touch his forehead: “You don’t have a fever, ah. Where are you not feeling well?”

“Just a little, it’s okay.”

“Ha.” Li Sanjiang let out a cold laugh, reached into his pocket, took out money, and handed it to Runsheng, “After you finish breakfast, go to Zheng Datong’s place and get a good checkup. Get an injection if you need one, and medicine if you need it.”

Runsheng took the money somewhat awkwardly. He was pretending to be sick.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and took the money, putting it in Runsheng’s pants pocket.

“Great Grandfather, I’ll go with Runsheng bro later. We’ll go to Zheng Datong’s place, then go collect the bowls, chopsticks, and lanterns.”

“No problem, just go collect them. If there’s a problem, just shout, Great Grandfather, and I’ll go.”

Li Sanjiang put down the cart handle, took out a cigarette, and lit it. According to his habit, this was his post-meal stroll.

“Great Grandfather, I’ll accompany you for a stroll.”

“You haven’t finished breakfast yet.”

“I’m the same as you. Ate too well and too much yesterday. Today I’m a bit indigestion, can’t eat.”

“You didn’t eat much yesterday either. It was that Strong Strong who ate a lot.”

Tan Wenbin, who was eating porridge, looked up in some doubt: “Great Grandfather, I’m Binbin.”

“Walk, Great Grandfather, I’ll accompany you for a walk.”

“Um.”

Li Sanjiang still liked to stroll with Little Yuan Hou.

Li Zhuiyuan was worried that Li Sanjiang would just stroll to Da Beard’s house, so for safety, he stayed with him.

Indeed, as soon as they walked onto the village road, Li Sanjiang’s steps headed towards Da Beard’s house.

“Great Grandfather, let’s go to the small store.”

“Why go to the small store so early? It’s not open yet. Wait until Great Grandfather accompanies you to buy things.”

“Then let’s go to Grandma Liu’s house and have a look?”

“Blind Man Liu and I don’t have much to talk about every day.”

“Then let’s go for a walk over there. The scenery over there is not bad.”

“The scenery in this village, when did it become good or bad? Let’s go, Little Yuan Hou, let’s go see your future home.”

“My future home……”

“Wait until Old Man Ding kicks the bucket, won’t it be your home then? Let’s go take a look, see if he’s kicked the bucket,嘿嘿.”

“Great Grandfather, people just moved in. It’s not appropriate to disturb them so early, is it?”

“What’s not appropriate? Moving in isn’t a wedding.”

After walking a few steps forward, Li Sanjiang stopped himself and pondered: “It seems right too. That secretary of his, who knows what she’s used for. It’s probably still sleeping in a nest and not up yet.”

“Exactly.”

Li Sanjiang’s face showed a smile, and he quickened his pace: “Ha, then I have to go and see even more!”

Seeing that he couldn’t coax his Great Grandfather, Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to go forward and grab Li Sanjiang’s arm, telling him the truth: “Great Grandfather, something happened at Da Beard’s house last night. The entire opera troupe, including Grandfather Ding, were all skinned and died miserably.”

“Little Yuan Hou, ah, what nonsense are you making up so early?”

“Great Grandfather, I’m telling the truth.”

“Fake can’t be more fake, he he.”

Li Zhuiyuan was a bit helpless. It was always like this. At crucial times, his Great Grandfather always didn’t believe him.

“Little Yuan Hou, look, that group of people who were skinned are coming.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked up with some doubt. A truck loaded with sound box equipment drove from the front. Four people were sitting in the driver’s seat, and some were standing in the carriage behind.

They were all people from the opera troupe yesterday, all perfectly fine.

After seeing Li Sanjiang, the driver even honked the horn.

The people in the carriage behind also waved and greeted them:

“Great Grandfather Li, up so early, ah.”

“Right, ah, strolling, ah. You performed all night yesterday, and you’re up so early today, ah.”

“Got to catch the next job, ah, just make do with sleeping in the car.”

“That’s really hard.”

“See you again, Great Grandfather Li.”

“See you again.”

Li Sanjiang waved to the people in the opera troupe on the truck. Very quickly, the truck drove away in their line of sight.

“Little Yuan Hou, ah, next time you make up a story, you have to make it sound more plausible. That way, writing a composition will look good.”

Li Zhuiyuan stared at the gradually blurring truck, his hands and feet becoming cold.

Impossible, he was sure last night was not a dream, not an illusion, let alone going to the underworld. He had truly seen with his own eyes this group of water monkeys being skinned!

But then, what about the group of living people on the truck just now?

“Sanjiang Hou, ah, early, ah!”

“Early, ah, Lin Hou, you’re also strolling, ah.”

“Right, ah, old age, less sleep. Right, your household’s tables, chairs, bowls, chopsticks, and lanterns, I’ve had people tidy them up. When are you coming to drag them back, ah?”

“In the afternoon, ah, the mule at home is not feeling well. I’ll let him go see a doctor first.”

“Oh, so that’s it, ah. Yo, isn’t this Little Yuan Hou? This child is really obedient, accompanying your Great Grandfather for a stroll so early, ah?”

“Right, ah, my Little Yuan Hou is the most obedient and most filial. Come, Little Yuan Hou, and greet your Grandfather Ding.”

Actually, when he heard this voice earlier, Li Zhuiyuan’s body had already become somewhat stiff.

At this time, he turned his body with some difficulty, his eyes full of disbelief.

Because,

Secretary Kim supported Ding Dalin, standing right in front of him.

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