“My shoes are tattered, my hat is tattered, the kasaya on my body is tattered; you laugh at me, he laughs at me, my fan is tattered…”

Xue Liangliang reached out and turned up the volume.

The next moment, everyone in the car, except Li Zhuiyuan, began to sing in unison:

“Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha…”

The TV series “Ji Gong,” starring You Benchang, had been released several years ago but remained very popular.

When the song ended, quiet finally settled inside the car.

Yin Meng asked, “How much longer until we reach Nanjing?”

Xue Liangliang replied, “About an hour.”

“Then you’re quite close to the provincial capital.”

“Is it close?” Xue Liangliang chuckled. “Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu, but for most cities within the province, getting to Nanjing isn’t that close. In fact, it’s more convenient for people from my hometown in Anhui to go to Nanjing.”

“That’s still not considered close?”

“Well, it depends…” Xue Liangliang recalled that Yin Meng was from Fengdu, and their provincial capital was Chengdu. “You’re right, compared to your area, it’s indeed much closer. But you probably don’t usually go to Chengdu from there; Chongqing is more convenient, right?”

“Last time, when I came back with you all, we passed through Chongqing. That was my first time visiting the city in my life.”

Tan Wenbin slapped his forehead, lamenting, “You should have said something earlier! If we’d known, we would have stayed an extra two days in Chongqing to show you around.”

Yin Meng said with a hint of sadness, “I originally thought Nantong would be more fun.”

She had actually stayed at Li Sanjiang’s home for quite a while. Initially, she had visited the city center and some scenic spots, but found them uninteresting. Especially around Lunar New Year, Li Sanjiang went to Langshan to burn incense, and Yin Meng accompanied him. To her surprise, she reached the mountain peak before she even felt like she’d warmed up during the climb. So, even when she had free time and no work, she preferred to watch TV or practice her skills at home rather than go out.

Yin Meng asked again, “Is Nanjing fun?”

Xue Liangliang said, “Don’t have high expectations for natural scenery; it definitely can’t compare to your hometown. But there are many cultural and historical sites here. Oh, by the way, Xiaoyuan came to Nanjing last time just for exams and left without really exploring. Now he’ll have time to look around. Let him take you; he can be your tour guide and explain things.”

Li Zhuiyuan responded with a simple, “Okay.”

Tan Wenbin opened a bottle of soda, took a sip, and said, “Whether there are attractions or not is secondary. The main thing is whether there are any drowned bodies. We’ve finally left home, so we need to make some good money. Brother Liangliang, do you know where there are many drowned bodies near our school?”

Xue Liangliang replied, “If I knew that, would I still be alive and here with you guys?”

Tan Wenbin then looked at Li Zhuiyuan and asked, “Brother Xiaoyuan, can you find any good spots?”

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment and said, “Actually, from a Feng Shui and luck perspective, when a group like us gathers, it’s quite easy to encounter unclean things.”

“Huh?” Tan Wenbin scratched his head. “Why does that sound like a math problem?”

“Something like that. We have four body recoverers here,” Li Zhuiyuan glanced at Xue Liangliang, who was driving, “and a live-in son-in-law of the Bai family.”

Xue Liangliang interjected, “Must you always add ‘live-in’?”

Li Zhuiyuan spread his hands. “When five ‘cleaning balls’ are together, the surroundings become too clean, naturally attracting some unclean things to balance things out.”

Tan Wenbin understood. “So, you mean as long as we’re together, the probability of encountering unclean things is much higher than for normal people?”

“Yes,” Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “If you actively go looking for them, the probability will be even higher.”

Tan Wenbin clapped his hands. “That’s great then! From now on, I’ll change my morning runs to night runs by the river.”

Xue Liangliang shook his head with a sigh. “Binbin, you’re really hungry for work.”

Tan Wenbin shot Xue Liangliang a glance. “Brother Liang, you’re a full man who doesn’t know the hunger of an empty one.”

“Xiaoyuan, you can relax and enjoy yourself until the semester starts, and then you can experience university life for a while. Once the professor finishes his current work, he’ll launch a new project, and people from the school will be assigned to it. You’ll definitely be part of it.”

“Okay.”

Tan Wenbin asked, “What about me?”

Xue Liangliang teased, “Aren’t you going for night runs?”

“Oh, Brother Liang, I was wrong!”

“Xiaoyuan hasn’t even officially started university yet, but he’s already completed countless graduation projects.”

“I was busy with the college entrance exam! Is it still possible for me to catch up on specialized courses now? But I don’t have a brain like Brother Xiaoyuan’s.”

“Don’t worry, I was just teasing you. Xiaoyuan or I can just talk to the professor. Every project team has a labor quota, and there are only two requirements: you must be from this university’s major, and you must have all your limbs intact. Coincidentally, you meet the conditions.”

“As long as I can get in! And once I’m in, will it be like last time in Wanzhou, where I won’t have to stay at school and attend classes?”

“Yes.”

“Tsk, the difference in freedom between university and high school is really huge.”

“It’s the difference in bosses that’s huge.”

After the truck entered Nanjing city, it drove directly to the university’s North Gate, where it was stopped by a security guard. Xue Liangliang poked his head out the window and called out a few times to the guard, who then smiled and opened the gate, even skipping the registration process.

The North Gate leads directly into the living area, where the cafeterias and dormitories are located. Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin shared a room, located in the corner on the third floor of Building 9, Block B. This dorm room was quiet, and unlike other six-person dorms, it only had two beds.

“Wow, this is great,” Tan Wenbin exclaimed, unable to contain his praise after putting down his luggage.

“The housing privilege was already part of Xiaoyuan’s early admission conditions; they just put you here to be his roommate.”

“The professor is so good.”

“Don’t thank the wrong person. How could the professor care about this? I pulled some strings to get you arranged here.”

“Brother Liang, do you have that much pull at the university?”

“I’ve opened a few small businesses at the university and know some people.”

Everyone pitched in, and soon the dorm room was cleaned. After making the beds and arranging their belongings, they left the room. Xue Liangliang led them to a two-story building. On the left side of the main door hung a sign that read “University Student Activity Center,” and on the right, “Discount Store.” The store was quite large and well-stocked.

Because it was still summer break, there weren’t many students. So, at the counter, a fair-faced young man was reading a book, and an auntie was cracking melon seeds on the other side. Seeing Xue Liangliang, both of them put down their book and melon seeds and came to greet him.

“Senior, you’re here!”

“Yes, Zhihua.” Xue Liangliang patted the young man’s shoulder with his right hand and took two purchase orders from his pocket, handing them over. The young man’s eyes widened immediately upon receiving the forms.

“Senior, please listen to my explanation, I…”

“Do you know that if I reported this to the school, you definitely wouldn’t graduate?”

“Senior, I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’ll return the money…”

“No need to return it. Just organize the ledgers and other things, and then you can leave. I’ll pretend this never happened.”

“Thank you, Senior, thank you.”

The young man placed the ledgers and keys on the counter, then grabbed his book and fled as if escaping.

Xue Liangliang picked up the keys and handed them to Yin Meng. “Here, you manage this store.”

Yin Meng quickly waved her hands. “How would I know how to manage…”

“Didn’t you say you used to run a shop?”

“I did, but it almost went bankrupt.”

“It’s fine. I just renewed the contract with the school earlier this year, and it’s for three more years. This is the exclusive store in Block B. You just need to sit at the counter and be responsible for collecting money.”

“Alright then.”

“During summer break, not many people stay. When the semester starts, we’ll need to select seven or eight impoverished students from the list provided by the school to help with odd jobs and moving goods.”

Run Sheng said, “I can move the goods; there’s no need to hire anyone.”

Xue Liangliang waved his hand. “That won’t do. Providing work-study positions is a political task. Do you think getting the exclusive contract here was that easy?”

“Then I’ll stay and help too.” Run Sheng still felt that working here would allow him to be closer to Xiaoyuan.

“That’s fine,” Xue Liangliang said, pointing downstairs. “Upstairs are rehearsal rooms where preliminary rehearsals for student activities take place. Downstairs is a half-basement, which I use as a warehouse. But I’ve partitioned off several small rooms down there, all with electricity, water, and bathrooms. The only downside is the natural light isn’t great. Aunt Sun usually stays here too.”

The auntie who had been cracking melon seeds chuckled, “Yes, that’s right, I live here.”

Xue Liangliang continued, “My point is, you two can check out the environment downstairs. If you think it’s suitable, you can stay here for now. I also have a rented apartment off-campus, and I’ll give you the keys and address. The main reason is that living outside is far, and entering and exiting the campus gates can be troublesome.”

Xue Liangliang handed a key and a paper with an address written on it to Run Sheng. Run Sheng didn’t take them, pointing downstairs instead. “Then we’ll just live down here.”

“You should still take the keys to the outside apartment; I have more.”

“Okay.”

“First, let’s move your things, then we’ll go eat. Most of the school cafeterias are closed now, with only a few small windows open, and there’s really not much food. There’s an authentic Sichuan restaurant just outside the North Gate.”

The downside of the half-basement rooms was poor natural light and susceptibility to dampness. However, for Run Sheng and Yin Meng, this was no problem at all. If they were afraid of dampness, what kind of body recoverers would they be? Tan Wenbin was particularly pleased with the rooms there. If he didn’t need to stay in the dorm with Xiaoyuan, he would genuinely want to sleep here, especially since he had grown accustomed to sleeping in coffins for so long.

Actually, if it weren’t for the fact that Yin Meng was a woman, someone like Run Sheng could have simply moved into the dorm. At most, he’d have to grease the palm of the dorm supervisor. As for the student union doing room checks, they were insignificant.

The little black dog they kept at home had also grown up, but it still spent its days eating and sleeping, entering a purely retirement life even earlier than Li Sanjiang. Run Sheng unloaded it, along with its cage, from the truck and moved it into his room in the basement.

After exiting the North Gate, they arrived at the Sichuan restaurant. The large sign read “Old Sichuan,” and the smaller one read “Wanzhou Grilled Fish.” Despite it being a holiday, there were still several tables of customers in the restaurant, which was an incredible achievement for a restaurant near a university. Currently, most of the shops on the nearby street were closed and would only reopen after the students returned for the semester.

After Xue Liangliang entered the restaurant, the owner, his wife, daughter, and son-in-law all came out to greet him, appearing overly enthusiastic. Yin Meng was delighted to hear her hometown accent, so Xue Liangliang asked her to go to the kitchen to oversee the ordering. After all, it was still the off-season, so there wouldn’t be too many ingredients prepared. They couldn’t just order anything from the menu on the wall.

Tan Wenbin picked up the teapot on the table, poured water for everyone, and then asked Xue Liangliang, “Brother Liang, it seems you’re a regular here.”

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his teacup and said, “This restaurant belongs to Brother Liang.”

“Brother Liang, really?” Tan Wenbin blinked hard.

Xue Liangliang nodded. “After returning from Wanzhou last time, I invested in this restaurant. I hired the owners and their family, but they also have a share in it; they’re not purely working for me.”

“Brother Liang, you’re amazing! Why don’t you do business full-time? I think you could make a fortune that way.”

“Why didn’t you get involved with the ‘Zhuiyuan Secret Scrolls’?”

“I…”

“There’s no joy in making money compared to building a dam.”

Li Zhuiyuan took a sip of tea, then silently put the cup down. He had grown accustomed to Liu Yumei’s tea and was now particular.

The dishes arrived quickly, including a grilled fish. “Heh,” Xue Liangliang picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of fish. “My main reason for investing in this place was to make it convenient for myself to eat here.”

Run Sheng remarked, “Then it should be opened by the Yangtze River; that would be more convenient.”

Xue Liangliang turned and yelled towards the kitchen, “Cook another pot of rice! We have someone here with a huge appetite; not enough rice won’t shut him up!”

After dinner, Xue Liangliang drove the truck away; he needed to report back to Engineer Luo. Run Sheng and Yin Meng went to the store to quickly get familiar with it during the off-season.

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin returned to the dorm. Tan Wenbin, while taking their clothes out of the luggage bags and hanging them up, said:

“Xiaoyuan, do you think the student who was originally managing the store was intentionally made to leave by Brother Liang?”

“Yes.”

“I even suspect that Brother Liang specifically arranged for someone to tempt him into taking kickbacks just to get rid of him. But why do that? If he was dishonest, why didn’t he fire him earlier?”

“Brother Liangliang no longer has the energy to manage school affairs. If someone else took over, they might also be corrupt, but this person was less so.”

“Tsk, Brother Liang is truly generous, giving away a store as soon as we arrive. From now on, whatever we eat or drink, we can just get it directly from Run Sheng, hahaha.”

Li Zhuiyuan sat down at his desk but didn’t immediately open the book in front of him. Instead, he tilted his head to look at the trees outside the window. He remembered first meeting Brother Liangliang on the embankment of the ‘Pick River’ back home. At that time, Brother Liangliang already showed a completely different temperament from others, but he still had a youthful shyness and awkwardness about him. Over the past year, Brother Liangliang had followed Engineer Luo, traveling across the country, and had indeed become much more mature and capable. Indeed, everyone was changing. For example, Tan Wenbin, who, after hanging up his clothes, changed into a vest and sports shorts.

“Brother Binbin, are you really going for a night run?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why did you just shower?”

“I was afraid you’d be too embarrassed to shower alone.”

“Oh.”

“Alright, let’s go, Brother Yuanzi.”

“Be careful.”

“The way you’re talking, how could I encounter unclean things on my first day in school, before classes even start?”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“Heh, I did it on purpose.”

After Tan Wenbin went downstairs, he saw the dorm supervisor moving things and voluntarily helped her. He was then invited to her office for a glass of water and a chat. By the time he ran out of the dorm building, it was already ten o’clock at night. The discount store not far away still had its lights on. Tan Wenbin started running in the opposite direction, planning to circle back and, if Run Sheng and the others were still there, go to the store for a soda.

The places he had seen during the day looked different at night, and since it was a holiday, the campus felt empty and quiet. Tan Wenbin ran to a small artificial lake. It was called a lake, but it was really just a larger pond. He hadn’t run long along the lakeside when he heard the distinct sound of someone running behind him. Moreover, the person behind him actively spoke up: “Hey, student, hello!” Tan Wenbin immediately sped up, changing from a jog to a sprint.

“Hey, student, why are you running?”

After running a considerable distance, Tan Wenbin gradually slowed down and stopped. When he looked back, he found no one there.

“Yeah, why was I running?”

He was the one who wanted to try his luck, but when he actually might have encountered something, his first reaction was to run. “I must have been living too comfortably for too long and haven’t gotten into the right mindset yet. Hmm, it’s definitely not a case of ‘Lord Ye’s love of dragons’ for me.”

Inside the dorm room, Li Zhuiyuan was reading under his desk lamp. The new environment provided an excellent atmosphere for reading.

Click… clack… click… clack…

Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the dorm, approaching from far away. Li Zhuiyuan looked up. It wasn’t Tan Wenbin returning, because Binbin wouldn’t be running in high heels.

Click… clack… click… clack…

The sound got closer and closer, finally stopping at the end of the hallway on this floor. Immediately after, a soft scraping sound. It was a turn, facing the dorm room door.

Thump… thump… thump…

Knocks came from the door, each one muffled, echoing in the cold hallway.

“Brother Binbin, you actually don’t even need to go for night runs.”

Li Zhuiyuan closed his book, opened his desk drawer, and took out a purple whip. A total of four Demon-Subduing Whips were made. The others were black; only Li Zhuiyuan’s was purple. This was because Ah Li had peeled off all the leftover outer skin from the old spirit tablets and wrapped it on, piece by piece.

Gripping the whip, he stood up.

Click!

Li Zhuiyuan turned off the desk lamp. The light in the dorm room suddenly dimmed. Too bright a light could ruin the atmosphere. The knocking on the dorm door paused for a moment. Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the dorm door, turning off the ceiling light on the way. The dorm room plunged into complete darkness; this was the ideal background setting.

The knocking from outside the door became hesitant. The boy stood at the door and said, “The door isn’t locked.” The knocking stopped abruptly. The boy reached out and grabbed the doorknob. Without hesitation, with a creak, he pulled the door wide open.

Outside, there was no one.

Li Zhuiyuan, still holding the whip, stepped out of the dorm and deliberately closed the dorm door behind him.

Bang!

From the other end of the hallway, the “click-clack… click-clack…” sound of high heels echoed, but no figure was visible. Li Zhuiyuan actively walked towards the sound. Seeing that he wasn’t closing the distance, the boy gradually started to run.

Click-clack! Click-clack! Click-clack!

The high heels became faster and faster, and also receded further and further, until finally, they completely disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped.

It ran away.