In many people’s eyes, homesickness is a jar of old wine buried deep. Without lifting that wine cup, it seems inappropriate to express a common sorrow for one’s hometown.

But sometimes, it’s more like a can of Jianlibao.

Open the bottle cap with a ‘pop,’ releasing emotions along with the gas, and tears overflow with the soda. Take a sip, and bubbles dance on the tip of your tongue.

It’s like boarding students rushing home as soon as the school holiday begins, or a small child sent to another’s home who plays happily during the day but cries and screams to go home in the evening.

Tan Wenbin is the most “human” among this group of children who left home.

Therefore, his reaction was also the most excited.

It was as if only by stepping onto the family dam, giving Li Sanjiang a vigorous hug, and hearing Li Dazye call him “Zhuangzhuang” could he confirm from the bottom of his heart:

Ah, he was finally back. All the thrilling and terrifying things he encountered along the way were truly just a finished segment.

This feeling, his parents there, still couldn’t truly give him.

Li Sanjiang liked Zhuangzhuang. Of course, his favorite was definitely his great-grandson.

“Xiao Yuan Hou!”

The familiar dialectical tone was like the best catalyst.

Li Zhuoyuan’s eyes also revealed a special spirit.

Li Sanjiang bent down, intending to hug the boy, but didn’t succeed the first time. The second time, he took a deep breath before achieving his wish.

He wasn’t too heavy to lift, but he wasn’t as light as before.

Liu Yumei sat on a chair drinking tea. The weather had turned cool, and she was already wearing a light jacket. Gone was the imposing aura she had in Mountain City. At this moment, she truly looked like a refined little old lady from the countryside.

Liu Yi said with a smile: “You haven’t eaten, right? Wait, I’ll cook noodles for you all now.”

Li Zhuoyuan got down from Li Sanjiang, walked into the house, and went upstairs.

Li Sanjiang, holding a cigarette in his left hand and supporting his waist with his right, walked towards Liu Yumei and sighed:

“Children grow fast, oh. Maybe it won’t be long until I can’t even lift them anymore, oh.”

Liu Yumei picked up her teacup and took a sip, completely treating this old man’s words as nonsense.

You can carry dead weights, and you can’t even carry a living person?

The old man was simply seeing his great-grandson back, and his heart was lively again, so he wanted to find a topic to chatter about.

Seeing that Liu Yumei didn’t continue, Li Sanjiang spoke to himself again:

“Aging, ah, really. In the blink of an eye, tsk, people, ah, it’s true and false.”

Liu Yumei: “Then why not quickly prepare a coffin?”

Li Sanjiang awkwardly flicked the cigarette ash: “Um, right, it seems it’s indeed time to consider it.”

“But you can’t just consider it, you have to hurry. Earth burials are getting stricter and stricter now. If you’re late, there won’t be any loopholes to exploit, and you’ll just be pulled to the crematorium for cremation, oh.”

Li Sanjiang smiled shyly and waved his hand in response: “That’s the truth, that’s the truth.”

“Li Dazye, let me introduce someone. This is Yin Meng, from Chuan Yu.”

Li Sanjiang listened as Tan Wenbin introduced her, and the more he listened, the more he frowned. What, she wanted to live in the house in the future?

However, after hearing Yin Meng say she only needed a place to eat and live and didn’t need wages, Li Sanjiang’s heart felt comfortable. Not only did he agree to let her stay, but he also said he would pay her a wage like Runsheng and Liu Yi.

His business originally needed help. He was fine with normal small workers; what he feared was a “big Buddha” entering his home.

Liu Yumei saw the shovel head exposed in Yin Meng’s luggage and waved to her: “Girl, come over and talk.”

Yin Meng smiled and walked over.

“Want some tea?”

“Okay.”

After Yin Meng grabbed a pinch of tea leaves and put them in, she took the thermos bottle and added hot water.

Liu Yumei felt a bit of regret. She should have known earlier and let Xiao Yuan make her tea before he went upstairs.

“Where are you from?”

“Fuling.”

“Where in Fuling?”

“Fengdu.”

Fengdu, surname Yin.

Liu Yumei continued to ask, unmoved: “Near the wharf?”

“Um, my family opened a coffin shop in the county town.”

“Ghost Street?”

“Grandma, have you been there?”

Liu Yumei shook her head: “No, I haven’t.”

Ordinary people who sat at the wharf salvaging corpses wouldn’t have had the qualifications to even see her face in the past. But she did know the Yin family of Fengdu.

Because the Yin family ancestor was very famous, but it was limited to the ancestor. They had actually declined early.

“Why did you decide to come here?”

“My grandfather is gone. I don’t have any relatives there either. So I just followed Xiao Yuan ge… followed Xiao Yuan here.”

“You and A Ting can live in the west room then.”

“Um, okay. I have very good skills and can do work.”

“Don’t tell me all that, I’m not the main family.”

“Then you’re also here seeking refuge like me?”

“You could say that.”

“Noodles are ready, come eat quickly.” Liu Yi stood at the kitchen door and called out.

Liu Yumei lifted her chin: “Go eat noodles then.”

“Okay, got it.”

After Yin Meng left, Liu Yumei was lost in thought.

Liu Yi walked over, sat down next to her, and asked softly: “What’s wrong with you?”

“Feeling sentimental.”

“Because of that girl from the Yin family?”

“Yes, and no. I’m thinking, what exactly counts as family inheritance? Is it the surname, or some true exceptional skill, or is it some kind of belief?”

“How did you come up with all this?”

“After coming back from Mountain City, these things just keep turning over in my mind.”

Liu Yi covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. She knew the old lady was finding a way to justify herself.

“A Ting, what are you laughing at?”

“I’m laughing at you being stubborn.”

“No manners, slap your mouth.”

“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll hit it, I’ll hit it.” Liu Yi made a show of lightly slapping her face a few times.

Liu Yumei was also amused and waved her hand, shooing her away:

“Go, go, go, don’t put on a show in front of me, go be busy.”

“Okay.”

Liu Yi stood up and passed by the three young people who had just finished eating noodles. She said warmly: “Eat slowly, there’s still more in the pot, Auntie will fry you a few more eggs.”

Entering the kitchen, Liu Yi lifted the pot lid, humming softly as she added oil to the pot.

Old lady, let’s see how long you can be stubborn.

Thinking about the day in the future when even the noble main matriarch has to lower herself and discuss which child takes whose surname.

The corners of Liu Ting’s mouth couldn’t quite be suppressed. She was quite looking forward to it.

The weather was cool, and the screen door had already been removed.

Li Zhuoyuan pushed open the door and saw A Li standing inside.

He hadn’t seen anyone by the threshold downstairs earlier, so he knew the girl was in her own room.

On the drawing table, there were several finished paintings. Around the painting paper were door frames, the bottom edge was a threshold, and the center was filled with terrifying existences that made people’s scalps numb.

Li Zhuoyuan admired them one by one. The eerie scrolls, however, made him happier and happier.

This meant that A Li was beginning to face the past terrors she had always avoided head-on.

Her illness was moving towards recovery, taking a big step forward.

“Um, why is there still a painting pressed down here?”

Li Zhuoyuan lifted the painting on top, revealing the true appearance of the one underneath.

The painting’s perspective was from below looking up. On the edge of the second-floor balcony sat a boy holding an ancient book and reading with relish.

A Li, unexpectedly, had painted herself.

“Why didn’t you paint yourself going upstairs?”

A Li also moved this painting. The painting underneath had a level angle. It was the side profile of a boy sitting on a rattan chair, reading a book.

Next, there were two more paintings. One was at night, on the family dam, with a boy standing there and a long-haired shadow wearing a black cheongsam behind him.

The last one was in front of the Ding family’s mourning hall in Mountain City, with Ding Laoer kneeling and the boy performing the ritual for a superior inside the door for Ding Laoer.

The girl’s eyes were full of herself.

Normally, the balcony wouldn’t move, but since he was a living person, the girl’s line of sight would follow him as he moved.

He lifted his right palm again. The burn from earlier was no longer visible after applying Liu Yi’s ointment, but the lesson from last time was still there.

The girl’s illness was getting better and better, but if he encountered any problems someday, it would inevitably cause her to collapse along with him.

However, the boy didn’t feel this was a burden of responsibility, but rather a counterweight as he walked through a strong wind.

He held the girl’s hand, sat back on the second-floor balcony’s rattan chair, and the two of them very naturally started playing three games of air chess while Li Zhuoyuan also began recounting his interesting experiences after leaving Mountain City.

As he talked, the focus shifted to Yin Changsheng. The boy said with certainty that he would definitely go to Fengdu again when he grew up, striving to see that Fengdu Great Emperor, whether he was immortal or a corpse.

The girl supported her chin with her hand, her eyes filled with a smile. The boy’s anticipation was originally just her own anticipation. If he felt the future was interesting, then she would also have longing for the future.

“Who is that little girl? Heavens, she’s so beautiful.”

Although there were examples of children who looked good in childhood but were ruined after growing up, Yin Meng felt that the little girl upstairs definitely wouldn’t. Her current appearance had too high a fault tolerance. Moreover, appearance could change, but temperament was something very difficult to change.

Runsheng: “A Li, surname Qin. But don’t approach her, she doesn’t like strangers.”

Yin Meng: “Seriously?”

Runsheng: “Seriously.”

The two of them finished eating and sat on the dam assembling paper figure frames. Yin Meng had made small coffins before, so this kind of work was even simpler.

She even asked Li Sanjiang, who was sitting there smoking, with interest:

“Li Dazye, haven’t you considered opening a coffin shop again? I can do it.”

Li Sanjiang finished his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it with the sole of his shoe:

“Don’t do it. This line is not popular here.”

He paused, and Li Sanjiang said again: “But you can customize them.”

Yin Meng said boldly: “Okay, I’ll make one for you first as preparation.”

Li Sanjiang clapped his hand: “Not bad, you can.”

Just then, Liu Yi walked over. Li Sanjiang called out to her and asked: “Want to customize one for your mother-in-law too?”

“Customize what, a coffin?”

“Right, ah. Buy the materials yourself, and our own people do it. It’s a cheap deal.”

“No need, our family doesn’t do earth burials.”

Yin Meng suddenly looked up at Liu Yi.

Liu Yi continued: “We’re following the trend of the times. We’re all planning to be cremated.”

Yin Meng lowered her head and continued working.

“Okay then. Let me think who else I can make one for. Make one for Shanpao?”

Runsheng looked happily at Li Sanjiang.

“Can’t do it. Shanpao can’t even afford food, where would he get money to customize a coffin.”

“Bigye, deduct it from my wages then.”

“Hey, Bigye is teasing you, boy. Even if he has no money, we can still afford to give him a coffin. He’s also an orphan with no father or mother and no ancestral grave. In the future, he’ll be buried with me, right next door. When I’m idle, I can just find him to chat with.

Runsheng Hou, what do you think?”

Runsheng was silent. When his grandfather was at home before, he probably didn’t scold Li Sanjiang less behind his back.

He said that every time he went out to work with Li Sanjiang these years, he suffered the hardship and sin, while Li Sanjiang got all the glory.

His grandfather said the most wrong thing he did in this life was knowing Li Sanjiang, and in the next life, he definitely wanted to stay far away from this old thing.

If they were buried together as neighbors, Runsheng was truly afraid his grandfather would be so angry he’d turn into a fake corpse.

“Runsheng Hou, I’m asking you a question!”

Even facing Li Sanjiang’s urging, Runsheng didn’t dare to perfunctorily reply “okay,” because although Li Dazye was much older than his grandfather, he always felt that his grandfather would probably pass away before Li Dazye.

If he agreed to this now, when his grandfather kicked the bucket, there would be no way to change it.

Tan Wenbin walked out of the house after using the toilet at this time, tying his pants as he said:

“I say, Li Dazye, what’s so good about your family’s ancestral grave? In my opinion, you must reselect a feng shui treasure land. This way, it can also prosper future generations, ah!

As for our Shan Dazye, unless he begs us, otherwise, don’t even think about relying on us and sharing our Xiao Yuan’s future fortune.”

“That’s right, we can’t let Shanpao take advantage.”

Li Sanjiang stood up and waved his hand: “Come on, Zhuangzhuang, accompany Bigye and me for a walk around the village. We can pick out whose grave is good on the way.”

“Want to show off? This is a big matter. I must give you good advice, ah.”

“Before we go anywhere, we still have to go to Liu Xiazi’s house first.”

“We must go. Let her customize one first. Grandma Liu has money.”

The grandfather and grandson walked down the dam side by side, chatting and laughing.

Yin Meng nudged Runsheng with her arm and asked: “Not Binbin, why is he called Zhuangzhuang again?”

Runsheng: “Recognized a dry relative.”

“Then do I want to recognize one too?”

“Then you must do the coffin well, and don’t be lazy at work.”

“Does Li Dazye like diligent and steady children?”

Runsheng hesitated for a moment, connecting it with how Li Sanjiang usually called him, and said:

“Bigye likes mules.”

…

Days passed just like this, one day after another.

Li Zhuoyuan had only suspected before, but now he could say he was certain. The one buried under the big beard’s peach tree forest changed the feng shui of this village and even this town.

At first, dead falls followed like leeks, sprouting one after another, making people unable to cope.

Now it was good. Several months had passed without hearing any news about dead falls, making people miss them dearly.

It was estimated that this situation would continue for a few more years. Once that one completely wore out and disappeared, the dead falls nearby could reappear with their vigorous vitality and the scene of all things competing.

However, although temporarily losing dead falls, Li Zhuoyuan’s life was still very full.

He no longer went to school, but his day still followed a planned schedule.

The first thing he did after waking up in the morning was appreciate A Li’s outfit for the day.

Then he played a few rounds with A Li before going to eat breakfast.

Most of the daytime, Li Zhuoyuan was reading books.

Of the Qi family ancestor’s books, he had cracked three. He deliberately slowed down his pace, using only his surplus energy to crack one each day.

He had finished reading the Yin family genealogy. It was truly wonderful.

Inside, there were not only various researches and proofs by the Yin family people on Yin Changsheng but also many people’s travel notes. Although it was only one surname, because it had been passed down for generations since the Eastern Han dynasty, it was equivalent to many examples and experiences of corpse salvagers.

This ordinary and orthodox perspective of corpse salvagers was of great help to the present Li Zhuoyuan. Although Wei Zhengdao’s book was accurate and grand, it was somewhat lacking in being grounded.

The bamboo slips had been restored, but Xue Liangliang said he wanted to personally deliver them, so they hadn’t reached his hands yet.

Besides reading, Li Zhuoyuan would play with A Li, feel the wind, and play their private little game.

Currently, Li Zhuoyuan could very calmly stand inside the “A Li threshold perspective” and look at the “scenery.” He didn’t deliberately delay the time, woke up on time, and there were no violent side effects, at most a bit dizzy.

That old man Yin Fuhai had just called himself “sturdy.” Thinking about this period of special training, he should be able to become sturdier.

Moreover, A Li’s special training had actually just begun, because he was still standing inside the threshold. To take another step, he had to step over that threshold.

But this was too dangerous, Li Zhuoyuan didn’t dare. He hadn’t grown up yet and didn’t want to play himself into an early death.

Yin Meng almost seamlessly integrated into the local life. She was good at making paper figures and coffins. Usually, she would also accompany Runsheng to funerals to deliver tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes.

Her relationship with Runsheng was very good.

Because Binbin had to go to school every day, he never ate breakfast at home. He had to rush to school for early self-study.

However, he still didn’t go to evening self-study. Otherwise, although others lived here, they basically wouldn’t see him.

In the evening, he would stand in a horse stance and practice kung fu with Yin Meng.

Although family skills couldn’t be passed down outside, the Yin family was only left with her. Whether they were passed down or not was still up to her, wasn’t it?

Runsheng would sometimes practice together. Everyone basically started walking the path of the Yin family corpse salvagers. At least, they had an orthodox path.

This was also due to historical reasons. In the earliest period, the Yin family’s path was definitely high-end and difficult to walk. But who knew the Yin family declined early and passed down for a long time? Generation after generation of the Yin family themselves pondered how to reduce the difficulty and lower the standards. At least, they passed down the foundational kung fu.

The Qin family’s kung fu, on the other hand, maintained a high standard. It couldn’t be practiced blindly without special people guiding it exclusively. Now, only Li Zhuoyuan continued to cultivate the breath.

There was no other way. Once Qin Shu left, he never appeared again. It seemed as if he had suddenly broken clean, leaving no connection whatsoever.

Every evening, Yin Meng would teach first, and then Runsheng would teach the moves of Wei Zhengdao that he had “summarized” from Li Zhuoyuan.

The Yin family was responsible for laying the foundation, and Wei Zhengdao was responsible for raising the upper limit.

At first, the three of them practiced on the second-floor balcony. After being scolded by Li Sanjiang for disturbing his sleep, they ran to the field to practice.

Facts once again proved that excellent teaching materials combined with excellent quality would absolutely not yield bad results.

Yin Meng’s body skills had become extremely flexible. Her movements were fluid and natural.

Runsheng was even more terrifying. Now, every punch and kick brought up a whistling sound. Before, he could only rely on instinct to deal with dead falls, often pouncing on them like a wild beast to bite. Now, he was more composed, like a wild beast that had learned to wear a suit and tie, more oppressive.

Tan Wenbin, who practiced with them, was so envious of their progress that he drooled. His companions were improving at a visible speed with the naked eye, but he only managed to get a physical exercise effect.

The three of them would practice moves every evening. They would always let Tan Wenbin choose one first, and then the one who was chosen would quickly knock Tan Wenbin down. After that, the two of them would practice against each other.

The only thing that could give Tan Wenbin back a little confidence was that when Xiao Yuan taught the three of them how to walk yin, he progressed the fastest.

Although Xiao Yuan prohibited the final step of complete success in walking yin, he had touched upon all the front steps clearly. In contrast to Runsheng and Yin Meng, they learned very slowly how to walk yin. But even so, Tan Wenbin also discovered something wrong. It was easy to experience sleep paralysis when sleeping at night or taking a nap in the classroom.

After telling Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan said this was a side effect. Within a few days after experiencing sleep paralysis, one must interrupt practicing walking yin.

Li Zhuoyuan indeed had no way to solve this side effect, or rather, it couldn’t be solved in the first place, because this was originally part of the content of walking yin.

But during the teaching process, Li Zhuoyuan also discovered that it seemed people with more active and sensitive thinking were more likely to learn how to walk yin.

Every once in a while, Tan Wenbin would come to find Li Zhuoyuan to take his custom exercise collection and send another copy to the school.

“Zhuoyuan Secret Volume” was selling very well in Nantong and had even sold outside the city.

Every month, there was a considerable share coming in.

Tan Wenbin had already helped Li Zhuoyuan plan a new book.

Starting next semester, instead of creating exercise collections based on knowledge points for each subject, they would create full test papers.

Because the second semester of the third year of high school was a critical point for sprinting, students and teachers had already finished reviewing the front knowledge points, and there was a great demand for full volumes.

Full volumes could be distinguished by difficulty, divided into foundation volume, simulation volume, and improvement volume.

Foundation volumes boosted confidence, simulation volumes were of normal college entrance exam difficulty, and improvement volumes were specially designed to torment people.

Originally, Tan Wenbin still wanted to suggest that Li Zhuoyuan water down the full volumes, for example, each volume would only have a few high-quality questions, and the rest could be made up casually, and then let the teachers select a few questions from the volume for students to do.

This way, it would reduce the burden of creating questions and also increase sales.

But after thinking about it, Tan Wenbin still gave up on this idea. Now was still the period for building a reputation, and they couldn’t tarnish the brand. Besides, they weren’t just earning this year’s share.

Once the brand was well-established, they could sell the “Zhuoyuan Secret Volume” label later. That would be the big profit.

Tan Wenbin was both studying and practicing kung fu. He was busy constantly every day, and his meal quantity also continued to improve. However, he didn’t get fat; instead, he got a little thinner.

“Xiao Yuan ge, are you going to participate in the final exam?”

“Um, I want to take the exam.”

“Then I’ll go with you tomorrow morning?”

“No need, I’ll go in the afternoon.”

“But language and math are in the morning.”

“I’ll take them all when I go.”

It snowed in the evening. The next day, before the sky was bright, Tan Wenbin rode his bicycle against the wind and snow to school.

At noon, Li Zhuoyuan had just finished eating lunch when he saw Principal Wu driving the school car and stopping at the head of the farmland.

Sitting in the car, Principal Wu smiled and pointed to the other seat: “Xiao Yuan, there are snacks and drinks inside.”

“I’ve eaten.”

“Then wait a moment, I’ll take them home for you first.”

Principal Wu got out of the car, carried a large bag of snacks to Li Sanjiang’s house, and came back to restart the car.

After arriving at school and walking into the principal’s office, the subject group leaders were all waiting inside.

Li Zhuoyuan sat down and began taking the final exam.

Although two subjects had already started in the morning, no one suspected that the boy would cheat by relying on leaked questions.

When writing the language composition, Li Zhuoyuan pointed to the recorder on the principal’s office desk.

“Put on the English listening.”

“Ah, now?”

Principal Wu immediately urged: “If I tell you to put it on, just put it on. Are you the teacher or is he the teacher!”

“Oh, okay.”

Principal Wu said something wrong, but no one in the room laughed because of it.

The tape was played, and the listening began:

“Excuse me… shirt price for 9 pound 15 pence.

So you choose [b] item, and in test paper on mark it out…”

After Li Zhuoyuan finished writing the composition, he wrote the physics test paper. After finishing physics, the English listening had been played for a long time. Li Zhuoyuan picked up the English volume.

“I’ll play another one…”

Li Zhuoyuan quickly finished the listening questions.

The teachers knew better and closed their mouths.

In fact, after learning the Yin family’s twelve methods, Li Zhuoyuan also discovered that his ability to do multiple things at once had been further strengthened.

After finishing the test paper, many subjects had already given him a perfect score on the spot.

Principal Wu’s old face was beaming with joy, and he leaned over to massage the boy’s sore wrist.

“Xiao Yuan, the National Olympiad is about to begin. Is there any inconvenience for you here?”

“I can go.”

“That’s good, that’s good.”

At this time, Mr. Yan, the math group leader beside him, also said with a smile: “Then let’s go early, so Xiao Yuan can have a good time in Jingli.”

Wu Xinhan glared at Mr. Yan and scolded: “Are you out of your mind trying to confuse me? Xiao Yuan grew up in Jingli.”

“Oh, right.” Mr. Yan patted his hairline behind his forehead, “I forgot.”

“Principal grandfather, are we going by train?”

“Taking the train is too tiring, ah. We, ah, will go by plane.”

Wu Xinhan and a group of teachers accompanied Li Zhuoyuan out of the office and saw him off to the school gate.

At this time, one round of exams had just finished, and the third-year high school students were stretching and walking out of the exam room.

Zhou Yunyun, the class monitor who was clearly not in the same floor’s exam room, happened to meet Tan Wenbin outside the exam room.

“How was the exam?” Zhou Yunyun handed over a large white rabbit milk candy.

Tan Wenbin took the candy, then reached into his pocket and fumbled around, pulling out a chocolate wrapper, but the chocolate inside had already been eaten halfway during the exam.

Zhou Yunyun didn’t mind and naturally reached out to take it.

But she saw Tan Wenbin put the remaining half of the chocolate into his own mouth.

“Ai ya, I’m really hungry.”

Zhou Yunyun naturally curved her outstretched hand halfway and smoothed her hair.

Tan Wenbin saw the boy surrounded by a crowd of teachers and leaders at the school gate. He didn’t wave and shout but smiled, then walked back to the classroom.

After sitting in his seat, Tan Wenbin put the small coffin stationery box on the desk.

Earlier, he had carried the coffin into the exam room.

Zhou Yunyun sat in Li Zhuoyuan’s seat, opened his pencil case, and pulled out a slip of paper from inside.

“Shall we check the answers?”

Tan Wenbin shook his head: “No need to check.”

“Afraid of affecting your state for the next exam?”

“No, I think I did well.”

“Can’t you change a stationery box?”

“No.” Tan Wenbin turned his head to look at Zhou Yunyun, “You don’t find it pleasing to the eye, why did you still ask me for one? And I haven’t seen you use it either.”

Zhou Yunyun was momentarily speechless. She had asked for one, and Tan Wenbin had given her one, but she had only put it in the deepest part of her drawer and hadn’t used it.

One reason was that it indeed looked a bit uncomfortable, and the second reason was that they hadn’t established a relationship. What would it mean to use a coffin stationery box together?

If they truly established a relationship, she, she, she… would use it.

Mainly, she found herself liking this big boy more and more. Before, she just appreciated his swagger and carefree attitude as a good student.

Later, his studies got better and better, and somehow, his whole temperament also changed. Although he was still lazy and shapeless, his eyebrows were becoming more and more attractive, very appealing.

If before, there was mutual affection, but they both tacitly kept their distance and didn’t break the point, now Zhou Yunyun was more active. She had even hinted several times that they could establish a relationship, but the male had no reaction.

Even Zhou Yunyun herself didn’t understand what was wrong with her.

But actually, this was also very normal. Not to mention high school students now, even university students’ eyes still held the clarity of staying in the ivory tower.

And Tan Wenbin had experienced life and death crises several times. Although there was no change in his appearance and age, mentally he had already formed a dimension-reduction strike against his classmates.

But the more it was like this, the less he would accept Zhou Yunyun’s hints. He was young, so studying was still the main thing. Don’t delay her.

Most importantly, he was now like riding a fire wheel every day, busy constantly, and had no leisure to talk about love at all.

Early love was not as interesting as dead falls.

Although it had been a long time since he had seen a dead fall recently, he wasn’t anxious. His current preparations were all for seeing bigger things later.

Principal Wu drove Li Zhuoyuan back home. When they arrived at the family dam, Li Zhuoyuan heard someone calling him from the second floor. He looked up and saw Xue Liangliang.

“Xiao Yuan!”

“Liangliang ge.”

Xue Liangliang had just taken a bath and changed into a new set of clothes.

Li Zhuoyuan felt that if he wasn’t going down the river, he might even spray perfume and style his hair.

“Xiao Yuan, I’ve put the restored bamboo slips on your desk. It did take a while, but there was no other way. I wouldn’t feel at ease entrusting such an important thing to someone else. I had to deliver it myself.”

Li Zhuoyuan didn’t believe him.

He felt that the reason Liangliang ge insisted on delivering the bamboo slips himself was to have an excuse to come to Nantong again.

Then, based on the principle of since he was already here, he would create an unavoidable excuse to go to the bottom of the river again.

“Liangliang ge, are you sleeping here tonight?”

“No.”

“Then are you going to another city overnight?”

“Um… not exactly.”

Li Zhuoyuan looked at him.

Xue Liangliang sighed and said helplessly: “Alas, I also have no other way. Since I’m already here.”

“Um.”

Who was it who desperately fought to extend the frequency of going down the river at the negotiation table before? Was it every few years now?

Now, on the contrary, whenever he had time, he would come to Nantong. Once he was here, he would go straight into the river.

“Oh, right, Xiao Yuan, remember what you said when you called me last time, that the ghost city of Fengdu buried a big secret? Will you go there again in the future?”

“Um, I have to wait until I grow up to go again. Liangliang ge, do you want to go together too?”

“Yes, ah. You must call me then, oh. However, you also need to grow up quickly, and it’s best not to delay too much after growing up, otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?”

Xue Liangliang shrugged: “Otherwise, the ghost city might be flooded.”

“Is that so? I know.”

“Remember…”

“I understand, Liangliang ge. I will keep it a secret.”

“Hehe, then I’m leaving.”

After Xue Liangliang left, Li Zhuoyuan returned to his room and looked through the bamboo slips.

The text capacity of the bamboo slips was limited, so there weren’t many words on them. And they didn’t record deeds or methods, but places.

There were a total of nine places. Li Zhuoyuan could only confirm three of them.

There was no other way. The bamboo slips were written in the Spring and Autumn period, and even their copy object might have been written earlier. Therefore, the landmarks and vocabulary were completely different from now. The exact locations of some place names were still a matter of great debate in the history circle. This was without considering the influence of geological changes.

The three confirmed places were: one was the mysterious seabed where the mask man and Zheng Haiyang’s parents all went.

One place was the ghost city of Fengdu.

The last one should be in the present highland area, near Linzhi.

Li Zhuoyuan excerpted the content on the bamboo slips. Anyway, he would soon go to Jingli and could find the grandfathers and grandmothers in the family compound to help him analyze and confirm the locations again.

Besides the bamboo slips, Xue Liangliang also brought a large pile of professional books, as well as various design plans and drawings that could be loaded into sacks.

Li Zhuoyuan felt a sense of emotion involuntarily. Liangliang ge had specially spared time to prepare these for him during busy times. It was really not easy.

Because he had flown to Jingli for the exam and would come back soon, the time wasn’t long, so Li Sanjiang wasn’t worried. If he didn’t know that Xiao Yuan Hou was coming back from Jingli, he would truly suggest that the round-trip ticket interval for the school be longer, making it convenient for a public expense trip.

Accompanied by Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan, Li Zhuoyuan arrived in Jingli and stayed in the hotel selected by the competition group.

Early the next morning, Li Zhuoyuan woke up early, even though the exam actually began in the afternoon.

Wu Xinhan asked with concern: “Xiao Yuan, are you nervous?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head and took out the breakfast coupon: “Should eat breakfast.”

In the restaurant, there were quite a few groups of teachers bringing students like this, and there were also some members of the competition group.

The hotel thoughtfully prepared local Beijing-style soybean milk. Many people from outside came to drink it.

Li Zhuoyuan drank hot milk and watched Principal Wu and Mr. Yan finish their bowls. He watched them lower their heads full of anticipation and take a sip, and finally, he watched them spit it out.

Even so, Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan still didn’t arbitrarily conclude against the taste of this soybean milk. They still suspected that they were drinking it incorrectly.

They both drank another mouthful, this time forcing it down. Just the momentum of the aftertaste made the two people’s eyes narrow and their faces wrinkle together.

Wu Xinhan couldn’t help but ask: “Xiao Yuan, is this soybean milk really authentic?”

Li Zhuoyuan nodded: “Authentic.”

“Really? Xiao Yuan, don’t you want to taste a mouthful?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head: “No need to taste it. Just looking at your expressions, I know it’s authentic.”

“No, what’s so good to drink about this?” Mr. Yan couldn’t understand, “I’d rather change professions and teach language than drink this every morning.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Actually, not many local people drink this either.”

Wu Xinhan asked: “Then how can it continue to sell?”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Sold to tourists.”

Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan were speechless for a moment.

At this time, an old man surrounded by three people passed by. They were all wearing competition group badges.

The old man saw the boy, wrinkled his brow, and then took the initiative to walk over: “Xiao Yuan?”

Li Zhuoyuan stood up and looked at the old man: “Professor Zhu.”

“You’re back in Jingli? No, what are you doing here?”

“I came to participate in the competition.”

“What competition?”

Li Zhuoyuan pointed to the competition group badge on the old man’s chest.

Professor Zhu understood, held his breath in his throat, and finally spat it out after a long time: “Nonsense!”

Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan also stood up, began to inquire about the other’s identity, and at the same time handed out their business cards to introduce themselves.

Professor Zhu briefly dealt with them, then sat down on a chair next to him and said to Li Zhuoyuan: “What exactly have you been doing this past half year?”

“Going to school.”

“Studying in high school?”

“Um.”

Studying how to salvage dead falls.

Professor Zhu closed his eyes and strongly suppressed his anger.

Because the old professor was sitting here, he attracted quite a lot of attention. When people passed by later, they would also specifically walk over here.

More and more prominent figures gathered. Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan were silently squeezed to a table next to them.

Now sitting here, just the professors who had taught him were three, and there were also several seniors.

When they learned that Li Zhuoyuan had come for the exam, one senior immediately laughed and cursed: “Then what’s the point of taking the exam? Just give him the award directly.”

The senior hadn’t come for the exam, but for the competition group.

Professor Zhu finally calmed down and suggested: “Why don’t you not take the exam and let the competition group give you an honorary award?”

Li Zhuoyuan looked at Principal Wu sitting at the next table. Both of them nodded.

“No, I want to take the exam.”

Professor Zhu was about to lose his temper, but two professors next to him restrained him and said to Li Zhuoyuan: “Just this once, just this once!”

Li Zhuoyuan nodded: “Okay.”

Next, the professors began to persuade the boy to go back to school. After learning that the boy had already been admitted to Haihe University, everyone was dumbfounded and surprised.

Finally, only after Li Zhuoyuan told them the modified version of Liangliang ge’s “My Future in the Great Southwest of the Motherland” version, they had no way to continue persuading him.

The afternoon exam went smoothly. After Li Zhuoyuan finished the exam, he had Wu Xinhan and Mr. Yan take a taxi with him to the family compound.

As soon as he entered the family compound, the first thing he heard was the joyful voices of the old people:

“Ai ya, Xiao Yuan, where have you been this past half year?”

“Isn’t this Xiao Yuan? Ha, long time no see, you’ve grown taller.”

Before, Li Zhuoyuan had eaten at many families’ homes in the family compound, and his relationship with the old people was very good. Many of them treated the boy like their own grandson.

But soon, another piece of news spread from the mouths of the old people:

“Xiao Yuan, did you come back with your mother?”

“That’s not certain. I saw his mother also came back this morning.”

Li Lan, back?

Li Zhuoyuan handed the excerpted content of the bamboo slips to a retired history professor surnamed Zhang and left his current contact information. There were still experts in ancient Chinese and geography in the family compound. Li Zhuoyuan believed that Grandfather Zhang would call his friends.

Having completed his purpose for coming to the family compound today, Li Zhuoyuan asked Wu Xinhan to take him away. He didn’t want to see Li Lan, and he believed Li Lan also didn’t want to see him.

But the boy was wrong.

Just as he walked out of Grandfather Zhang’s door, he saw Li Lan standing there in a brown trench coat.

Beside her stood quite a few old people from the family compound with loving smiles on their faces.

Li Lan gently flicked her hair, a warm smile on her face. As she bent down to the boy, she opened her arms:

“Son, come here quickly, Mama misses you.”