Chapter 118

It was not just Old Xue who was being mischievous. The ancestral graves of the Zeng and Zheng families had also split open with excitement.

Although the three senior brothers now had no regrets left even after death, Li Zhuiyuan could not very well leave their corpses exposed in the wilderness.

So everyone had no choice but to spend quite a bit of time rebuilding their ancestral graves. The cracked coffin lids were nailed back down using array flagpoles as makeshift nails.

Li Zhuiyuan even ran across all three hills and added a shovelful of earth to each family’s grave.

Once the work was done, everyone prepared to head down the mountain and return to Min’an Town.

Leaning on his shovel, Tan Wenbin glanced toward the slope behind them and burst out laughing.

After being blasted awake by the fool’s fart, the six students had somehow remained there all this time. Some were crying, some were staring blankly, and some were arguing.

If ordinary people had gone through such a nightmare journey, having a mental breakdown would have been perfectly normal. But these six were, after all, an expedition team, and they had chosen to ignore warnings and go to Zhengmen Village through the main entrance on their own. Now that they had been rescued, they were still acting like this, which really was a little absurd.

The town was already very close. From any slightly elevated spot, you could see its outline. If something still happened to them here, then they would only have themselves to blame.

Li Zhuiyuan could not be bothered with them anymore and led the others straight down the mountain.

By the time they got back to town, it was already afternoon.

The old storyteller was carrying his instrument and little stool toward the long corridor. When he saw the group, his eyes widened and he hurried over at once, staring first at Li Zhuiyuan, then at Runsheng, then Yin Meng, and finally Tan Wenbin.

He seemed anxious, gripping Tan Wenbin’s hand tightly, lips pressed together, looking as though there were something important he wanted to say but could not remember at all.

In the end, Tan Wenbin draped an arm over the old man’s shoulders and talked with him for a while before finally sending him off in a daze toward the long corridor.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the convenience store and saw the shopkeeper aunt arguing with the deliveryman.

“I only ordered one batch of goods, and you brought me three. How am I supposed to sell all this before the year of the monkey?”

Li Zhuiyuan signaled that he wanted to make a phone call. The aunt nodded, then went right back to bickering with the county deliveryman.

He first called the paging station, which then helped page Xue Liangliang.

After hanging up, Li Zhuiyuan looked at the candy on the counter, picked up the whole tray, and handed it to the fool.

The fool happily stepped forward and stuffed the candy into his pockets. As he stuffed them in, they kept dropping out, quickly drawing nearby children over to help pick them up.

The phone rang, and Li Zhuiyuan answered it.

“Hello, is that Xiaoyuan?”

“It’s me, Liangliang-ge.”

Xue Liangliang fell silent and did not speak again right away. With the situation still unclear, and with him being stuck far away and unable to help at all, it was best not to say anything unnecessary.

“Liangliang-ge, everything at home is fine now.”

“Huu...”

A long exhale came from the other end, followed by heavy breathing. When he finally spoke again, his voice had a trace of choking emotion.

“Thanks, Xiaoyuan.”

“Liangliang-ge, there’s a fool in your town. Do you know about him?”

“I do.”

“Tell your parents to keep him at home and raise him.”

“Okay.”

Xue Liangliang did not ask why. He agreed immediately.

Li Zhuiyuan hung up and paid both the phone bill and the candy bill.

Then he turned to his companions and said,

“We’re not staying here tonight. We’re heading straight back to Jinling. If there’s anything you still want to take care of, do it now.”

Everyone split up.

Yin Meng and Zheng Jiayi returned to the old Zheng house.

The three members of the eldest branch of the Zheng family were already blown to pieces.

They had been innocent, including Zheng Jiayi’s parents. Who could have imagined that, while living perfectly ordinary lives, they would end up suffering at the hands of their ancestor’s master from three hundred years ago?

But Yin Meng had not returned to mourn them. She went upstairs, entered the bedroom, and smashed the crock she had used earlier to hold vegetables.

When she came back downstairs and stepped into the courtyard, she saw the neighbor who had lent her the kitchen before. The woman was standing at the gate and peering inside.

Zheng Jiayi asked, “Auntie, what is it?”

“I came to ask whether that crock was done being used.”

Yin Meng said, “I broke it. I already left the money in your kitchen, including payment for the pot.”

Before leaving with the dishes, Yin Meng had also deliberately poked several holes in the cooking pot.

“I got the money, I got it, haha.”

The woman looked a little embarrassed. They had already paid several times over, but for farming families, it hardly counted as taking advantage. She had only been thinking that if she could save something, she might as well.

Yin Meng took Zheng Jiayi’s hand and led her away.

Tan Wenbin returned to the old Zeng house. To his surprise, the courtyard had been cleaned spotless.

Sitting on the steps leading to the main hall was Hu Yiwei, unshaven and scruffy, holding a photograph in his hand. In front of him were many empty liquor bottles and jars.

Hearing movement, Hu Yiwei lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Brother... you’re back.”

To be honest, Tan Wenbin had never had a particularly deep relationship with Hu Yiwei. Their so-called “brotherhood of decades” had been more like each taking what he needed under special circumstances.

Still, seeing Hu Yiwei like this now, Tan Wenbin could not help feeling a bit sorry for him.

“I thought you’d already gone back,” Tan Wenbin said.

Hu Yiwei waved a hand, his eyes full of desolation. “Can’t go back. Really, I can’t go back.”

“Learn to let go. Pick it up again when you need to, but don’t keep carrying it all the time. It wears you out. Miao Miao probably wouldn’t want to see you like this either.”

After leaving behind those words of comfort, Tan Wenbin walked over to the well and leaned forward to look inside.

The well walls and bottom had all turned pale white, as if coated with a layer of lime. The effect was probably completely used up that night.

He took tools from his backpack and made a rubbing of the patterns around the well mouth.

Xiaoyuan-ge had not told him to do this. Xiaoyuan-ge probably did not think much of such a small house-protecting array.

Tan Wenbin planned to take the rubbing back and study it himself. After all, he had personally experienced the harm that array could do, so he felt he could better combine theory with practice.

“Looks like I need to get a camera.”

After finishing, Tan Wenbin waved at Hu Yiwei and left the house.

Li Zhuiyuan returned to the Xue home.

Father Xue was sitting in the yard smoking in silence, and Mother Xue was not out playing cards. She sat across from him, absently rubbing her fingers and staring into space.

The courtyard was covered in birthday couplets and longevity decorations, full of festive cheer, yet the old couple wore only worried expressions.

“Uncle Xue, Auntie Xue.”

When they heard Li Zhuiyuan’s voice, both elders froze for a moment, then hurried over. Mother Xue even reached out and pinched him here and there, as if to make sure the boy had come back whole and unharmed.

Father Xue said, “Child, you’ve finally come back. We were worried you had gone...”

Li Zhuiyuan had left a note before he went, but clearly the two elders had not fully believed it. In their hearts, they had been wondering whether he had gone to Zhengmen Village as well.

“Uncle Xue, how could I possibly dare go somewhere that dangerous?”

Father Xue gently nudged Mother Xue. “Go on, make the child something to eat.”

“All right, all right.” Mother Xue nodded at once with a smile.

“Uncle Xue, Auntie Xue, I’ve been away too long this time. I have to rush back to school in Jinling right now, or my teachers will fail me, so I won’t eat.

Before leaving, I specially came to say goodbye and thank you both for taking care of me these past days.”

“You’re one of our own children. No need to be so polite.”

“That’s right. Liangliang has gone to your Nantong no telling how many times this past year, and every time, hasn’t your family been the one looking after him? We owe your family a great many favors.”

Liangliang-ge really did go to Nantong often, though not all that often to Taigong’s house. Most of the time, the moment he got to Nantong, he could not wait to jump into the river.

“Oh, Uncle Xue, there’s one more thing. I just talked to Liangliang-ge on the phone, and he asked me to tell you first that you should take in the fool.”

Li Zhuiyuan pulled the fool in front of him.

Father Xue and Mother Xue both frowned when they heard that.

Giving the fool some leftovers now and then, or some food and drink during holidays or special occasions, was one thing.

But truly bringing him into the house and taking care of him...

Most people would find that impossible to accept.

This was not like taking in an extra laborer, nor simply adding another pair of chopsticks at the table. When someone is mentally unsound, how much care and attention does it take to keep watch over him at home?

Still, even within a family, a person’s standing is determined by what they produce and earn. That was also why Father Xue and Mother Xue had no way to pressure Xue Liangliang into marriage and children the way other parents did.

“Then... let him stay at home for now,” Father Xue said, planning first to keep the fool, then later contact his son by phone to ask what exactly he meant.

Of course Li Zhuiyuan knew how troublesome it was to look after a fool, but he was not doing this purely to repay the fool’s kindness.

The fool was not an ordinary village guardian. Keeping him at home would not only protect the household and keep it safe, it could even improve the family’s fortune.

A person like this was a living auspicious sign. Other people could not even get one if they begged.

“Then I’m off. No need to see me out. Goodbye, Uncle Xue, Auntie Xue. Goodbye, fool.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the courtyard gate and headed down the alley together with Runsheng, who was waiting there.

As the fool peeled open candy wrappers and popped the sweets into his mouth, drool running down his chin, he chuckled and muttered,

“Hehehe, Dragon King... hehehe, Dragon King...”

…

The five of them first rode back to the county on the truck delivering goods to the convenience store, then found a black van and drove through the night back to Jinling.

By the time they reached school, it was already noon. After eating at Old Sichuan Restaurant, everyone went their separate ways.

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin went back to the dormitory. Runsheng and Yin Meng returned to the shop. Zheng Jiayi went to the counselor’s office to find Fatty Wu and, while she was at it, help Tan Wenbin clear his leave.

After washing off with cold water at the sink and returning to the dorm, Tan Wenbin began thinking about putting together a simple shower stall in the room, modeled after the one at Grandpa Li’s house: hang a bucket overhead, attach a showerhead below, stand in a large basin while bathing, and surround it with a circle of raincloth.

Then he would get Lu Yi to help run a line so they could boil water in the dorm room with an immersion heater.

Anyway, he had already gotten familiar with the new dorm supervisor aunt, so there was no need to worry about inspections.

After getting Li Zhuiyuan’s approval, Tan Wenbin moved at once. He first went to the shop to fetch the things he needed, and also called over Runsheng, who had just finished bathing, and Lu Yi, who was working the register, to help.

Li Zhuiyuan, meanwhile, packed up his things, slung on his schoolbag, and went to Liu Yumei’s house.

Uncle Qin was back.

At that moment, he was sitting on a stool in a corner of the courtyard, leaning forward with both elbows braced on his knees.

Aunt Liu held a large bowl in her left hand and a pair of silver chopsticks with sharp tips in her right. She was extracting one embedded object after another from Uncle Qin’s body.

Each time she pulled one out, she dropped it into the bowl, producing a crisp ding.

“Xiaoyuan,” Uncle Qin said, smiling when he saw Li Zhuiyuan pushing open the gate.

Aunt Liu asked with concern, “Xiaoyuan, you’re back?”

“Mm, I’m back,” Li Zhuiyuan answered as he walked over.

The bowl in Aunt Liu’s hand was full of fingernails and teeth, all black as ink. The nails were long, and the teeth were sharp and hooked backward.

And inside Uncle Qin’s body there were still many more left. Some were embedded in terrifyingly deep places.

Some wounds were even oozing purple pus, old injuries and new injuries flaring together.

As his wounds were treated, Uncle Qin’s expression remained calm and steady.

A teasing smile appeared in Aunt Liu’s eyes.

After standing there beside them for a while, Li Zhuiyuan tactfully went inside.

Only then did Uncle Qin’s body stop tensing so much, and he could not help reminding Aunt Liu beside him, “Go a little easier.”

“What were you acting tough for just now, all stiff like that? Dead set on saving face.”

“This isn’t about face. It’s about rules.”

“Well, that’s odd. Why didn’t I ever hear you talk about these rules before?”

“Because before, there wasn’t a new pillar in the house.”

At that, Aunt Liu nodded and did not pursue it further. Instead, she reminded him, “You can’t keep pushing yourself like this. If this goes on, your body’s going to be ruined.”

“It’s my duty.”

“Didn’t the old lady say that after you came back this time, you should rest more and stop going out for a while?”

“I still have to go out when I need to. The house is setting up a new pillar. We can’t have no one from our side moving around outside.”

“By your reasoning, should I untie my apron and go running around outside too?”

“The old lady is the main beam of the house. You have to stay by her side and take care of her.”

“All right, all right, I can’t argue with you.” Aunt Liu glanced toward the door of the house. “Still, when our Xiaoyuan goes out compared to when you used to go out, it really does feel different.”

“How is it different?”

“You used to rush out in a blaze every time, then come back covered in wounds, and I’d be wiping away tears while treating you. But look at Xiaoyuan. He really just looks like he went out on an errand and came back.”

Uncle Qin smiled. “How can you compare me to him? If the two of us were really the same, then wouldn’t the old lady be worrying herself sick all day now, unable to eat or drink in peace?”

“The old lady worried little enough about you back then?”

“That’s not what I mean. Xiaoyuan and I are different, after all. At the same age, I was far behind him. When I was his age...”

Uncle Qin paused, looking puzzled. “When I was his age, the old lady only allowed me to build my foundation. She wouldn’t let me practice martial arts.”

“Isn’t Xiaoyuan the same now? His body still hasn’t fully grown. He isn’t in a hurry either. He has always known where the line is.”

“What a pity. If Xiaoyuan were in his twenties or thirties now, or even just seventeen or eighteen, even barely over sixteen, with a fully developed body that had been properly honed and some real skills trained up,

then wherever he went, no matter who he faced, things would be much smoother and easier.”

“In this world, how can there be so many things that let you be fully prepared? You saw what happened that day too. Since the lamp lit before it was even kindled, that means...”

Aunt Liu looked up at the sky.

“Probably the ones above think Xiaoyuan is already qualified to go out. Maybe even they are afraid that if he were really allowed to keep steadily strengthening his foundation, then one day there would no longer be any wave on the whole river capable of stopping him.”

After entering the house, Li Zhuiyuan first went to Ah Li’s room.

He never knocked before entering a girl’s room, because the girl could always sense his arrival early.

When he pushed open the door, the girl was lying on the bed asleep, with a neatly folded blanket covering her stomach.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled.

Because last time he had said to her, when I come next time, could you pretend to be asleep, so I can experience what it felt like when you used to come to my room looking for me?

But now it was afternoon. Even at night, the girl rarely slept much, so when had she started taking naps?

Li Zhuiyuan set his schoolbag on the table and said softly to Ah Li, “I just got back. I’m going to go greet Grandma first, then I’ll come back and talk with you.”

He closed the door and went up to the second floor.

Liu Yumei was holding a teacup in her left hand and a book in her right, reading.

When he walked closer, he saw it was Dream of the Red Chamber.

The old lady had naturally sensed the boy’s arrival long ago. She lowered the book and asked in return,

“What, now that the old lady is getting on in years, I can’t read this anymore?”

“How could that be? If you have this kind of leisurely interest, that can only be a good thing.”

“It’s been many years since I last read it. It only came back to mind these last few days, so I had Tingting find it for me and let me flip through it again. Boy, guess who I imagine myself as while reading it.”

“There’s no way I could guess. Looking through all the vividly drawn characters in that book, there really isn’t a single one as wise as you, Grandma.”

“Hehehe, you little rascal. When you’re not speaking from the heart, you’re actually at your most pleasing.”

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to the tea table and began making tea.

Liu Yumei lightly tapped the cover of the book with her fingertip and said with feeling, “At my age now, I find myself identifying more with Grandmother Jia. She was foolish, but it’s not that she did nothing. It’s just that all her efforts came to nothing in the end, so she resigned herself to fate and muddled through one day at a time.”

“Grandma, your tea.”

“Xiaoyuan, tell me, which person in that book do you think our Ah Li resembles?”

“There’s no old lady like you in that book, so how could there possibly be a granddaughter like yours in it?”

“I think our Ah Li is like Lin Daiyu.”

As she spoke, the old lady reached out and lightly pinched the boy’s jaw, saying with amusement,

“Her family died early, and in the end both the girl and her family fortune were conveniently handed over to the Jia household.”

“Grandma, no matter how bad I am, surely I’m not such a fool as to be compared to that inexperienced Baoyu?”

“That Baoyu naturally can’t compare to you. At least he first said, ‘This sister seems familiar somehow,’ then used smashing his jade as an excuse to throw a fit.

You, on the other hand, walked right over and took Ah Li away to sit with you and read.”

“That’s different. I really did meet Ah Li in my dreams.”

“All right, all right, I’m only teasing you.” Liu Yumei’s expression turned concerned as she asked, “Did the trip go smoothly?”

“Very smoothly.”

“I could tell. Your spirit is full and vigorous. You clearly did not suffer much on this trip.”

“I also met an ancestor.”

“One of the ones displayed at home?”

“Mm. From your own branch of the family.”

“Go upstairs and bring it down. I’ll explain things to you.”

“All right, wait a moment.”

Li Zhuiyuan went up to the third floor, to the room with the memorial table and Ah Li’s collection chest. His gaze swept across the memorial tablets, and he took down Liu Qingcheng’s tablet.

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