Chapter 1863 - 334:

Alii put down the cinnabar brush.

Li Zhiyuan picked up the hot water bottle and poured some hot water into the basin, wet his towel, wrung it out, and walked over to the girl.

"Close your eyes."

The girl obediently closed her eyes.

Li Zhiyuan tested the towel's temperature, then gently helped the girl wash her face.

Although Alii was meticulously dressed by Liu Yumei every day, she didn't wear rouge, so there was no worry about smudging her makeup.

After washing her face, Li Zhiyuan unfolded and refolded the towel, helping the girl wipe her hands.

The girl kept her eyes fixed on the towel.

"Always using a new towel, it's uncomfortable."

Alii shifted her gaze away from the towel upon hearing that.

The wind at dusk pulled a reluctant hint of coolness from the summer air.

Li Zhiyuan and Alii sat in wicker chairs on the terrace, playing chess under the evening clouds.

From the corner of the chessboard, Lin Shuyou's excited figure darted in.

"Brother Bin, Brother Bin, Yu Family, Langhua, Langhua!"

Lin Shuyou grabbed Tan Wenbin's arm and handed him a piece of paper with an address written on it.

Tan Wenbin took the paper and listened to Lin Shuyou's account.

The young woman's surname is Sun, named Sun Caijuan, who fell in love with her boyfriend away from home, recently got pregnant, and was preparing to return to their hometowns for a wedding when the man died from an accident.

Sun Caijuan said she cherished the relationship too much to abort the child, returned to her parents' home, and gave birth to the child.

She has a wish that she hopes her partner's parents know about the child and see the bloodline he left behind.

Tan Wenbin: "Ah You."

Lin Shuyou: "Is it a lead, is it a clue, Brother Bin?"

Tan Wenbin: "Last time, while the old ladies were playing cards, Granny Hua mentioned her neighbor. Granny Hua said Sun Caijuan used to be a mistress in Shanghai, got pregnant, returned home, delivered the child, and receives money every month to raise the child."

Lin Shuyou: "Huh? Could it be village gossip?"

Tan Wenbin: "Didn't you see her family?"

Lin Shuyou: "When I went, she was the only one there."

Tan Wenbin: "Her family not only includes her parents but also a brother and sister-in-law living together. Her mom often brags in the village that her daughter is capable enough to find a wealthy man, and the monthly amount they send is enough to cover the whole family's expenses."

Lin Shuyou: "But why would she deceive me?"

Tan Wenbin: "Maybe she has a thing for you?"

"Brother Bin, don't joke like that."

"You're the one who started joking with me first. Didn't you carefully look at that paper? The address is written so thoroughly that even without a number, finding the person shouldn't be hard, right?

And look... it's Yu Family Village."

Lin Shuyou took the paper, examined it carefully, stood in place, muttering:

"Then it's not Langhua."

Tan Wenbin patted Lin Shuyou's arm: "Alright, Langhua isn't something you hit right on the first try. Keep going, try again."

Aunt Liu: "Dinner's ready!"

After dinner, Li Zhiyuan and Alii went for a walk by the small river.

Every night the young man not only had to hold lessons for his companions but also conduct his personal training. He felt heavy mental exhaustion and fatigue, so he needed to ensure sleep and also pay attention to unwind and relax.

After their walk, Li Zhiyuan took Alii back to the East Room, then woke the sleeping Xiao Hei, taking it to the rice fields behind the house.

Opening the restrictions, he walked inside, where Tan Wenbin, Run Sheng, and Lin Shuyou were already waiting.

No one complained about the tiring lessons; they were people who had repeatedly faced life and death and knew better to cherish such opportunities.

Run Sheng was punching while mobilizing his muscles, Tan Wenbin, with closed eyes, circled like a blind person, and Lin Shuyou seriously formed seals, doing early work before the teacher arrived.

Li Zhiyuan stepped onto the altar, and the three below stopped, each standing in place.

There was no saying "hello teacher" or "hello students." The young man raised his right hand, the wave-like feeling on the ground surged again, the lesson began.

During the summer night, a person wrapped tightly in clothes was vigorously pedaling a tricycle loaded with pots, pans, and various vegetable baskets.

As if feeling the speed was not enough, he stood up to pedal.

In the process, a long tail popped out from behind.

He was startled and quickly grabbed the tail with his hand, wrapping it around his waist, then continued pedaling the tricycle.

"Food prepared in advance loses its flavor; Big Rat will cook for you right on the spot this time!"

Arriving at the village entrance where yesterday's delivery was made, Big Rat hesitated for a moment before deciding to pedal inside.

The tricycle moved slowly along the village road, unaware of which house it was for - it kept twitching its nose to sniff.

Not in search of a scent, but looking for the house with the dullest, cleanest smell.

It actually found one; the tricycle slowed down, ahead was a stone road leading to a household with a large yard.

"It seems... it's here?"

Just then, Big Rat saw a woman's figure appear on the yard, glancing in his direction.

Big Rat was instantly gripped by a feeling that his neck would be crushed; scared, he pedaled away quickly.

Aunt Liu, holding a hot water bottle, returned to the West Room.

Uncle Qin: "What happened?"

Aunt Liu: "Sigh, competition nowadays is getting outrageous, they're directly challenging at our doorstep."

Uncle Qin: "You didn't kill it, did you?"

Aunt Liu: "Your elbow sure likes to go outside."

Uncle Qin: "Just worried you'd tire yourself out getting up to cook night snacks."

Aunt Liu: "Had it even stepped off the village road, I'd prepare rat stew for you tomorrow. But Xiao Yuan sure is extravagant, using merit for midnight snacks."

Uncle Qin: "As long as the kids are happy."

Aunt Liu: "Indeed, I might be lacking worldly experience; I've almost forgotten what it was like when there was a Dragon King in the house, even this bit of merit was a treasure."

Uncle Qin: "..."

Aunt Liu: "Hey."

Uncle Qin: "What's the matter?"

Aunt Liu: "That sacrificial rat headed to Big Beard's house."

...

"Really frightened the rat, this village is terrifying!"

Pedaling until almost exhausted, Big Rat finally stopped.

Barely catching a breath, another woman walked down the yard ahead, holding an infant in her arms.

"Deadman!"

Big Rat was startled again, hastily turning the tricycle to leave, while shouting:

"If you eat children, you can't eat rats! Children taste better than rats; rats are smelly and not tasty!"

But as hard as it pedaled, the tricycle instead moved backward. Big Rat looked down, finding a peach branch had wrapped around the tricycle, pulling it backward.

Big Rat tried to jump off, but the peach branch quickly spread over, locking him tightly.

In the end,

Rat and tricycle were both pulled into the Peach Forest.

After class, Lin Shuyou, same as yesterday, waited at the village entrance for the delivery.

But he waited a long time without seeing a shadow of it.

"Huh, where did that rat go?"

——

Owed 1.5k yesterday, now 3k today, I'm designing the unfolding of the next twist in the plot, so there's some writer's block, tallying at 4.5k let's say 5k, to be made up tomorrow.