Chapter 128.2

When she grew up, unless it was someone from those special groups, an ordinary person probably would not be able to withstand getting into an intimate relationship with her.

There really were a tiny number of people in this world like that. A man would marry a wife, and either each one would run off or each one would die. A woman would get engaged, and before the wedding even happened, her fiancé would either go mad or die of illness.

Looking at the poster Cuicui had spread open, with quite a few young male celebrities on it, Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Cuicui, do you like them?”

The little girl smiled and replied, “They’re good-looking. Just as good-looking as you, Brother Yuanhou.”

Li Zhuiyuan silently considered that perhaps he could ask Ah Li to make something like a longevity lock or a bracelet to help suppress Cuicui’s fate pattern.

The trouble was, the material would be hard to find. Jade would not do. If she wore it too long, it would shatter. It had to be metal, and ordinary metal would not work either. It had to be a special kind of gold.

Only, he was currently in the middle of River Walk. If he casually helped someone alter their fate pattern, it might trigger certain karmic consequences.

Fortunately, Cuicui was still young. Waiting a little longer would not be a problem.

As long as she did not start dating too early before he finished River Walk.

From an ordinary person’s point of view, early romance usually meant the girl got the short end of the stick. In Cuicui’s case, it might mean the boy ended up at a memorial feast.

After finishing his visit at Cuicui’s house, Li Zhuiyuan went back to Taigong’s home.

Taigong and Grandpa Shan were still lying in their own coffins, snoring away. Every now and then they even muttered in their sleep, and even in their sleep they were bickering.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Taigong once saying that when his time came, he would be buried together with Shanpao.

Now it seemed that if the two old men were really buried together, even the graveyard at night would never know any peace.

In the living room, Li Zhuiyuan admired the paper effigies that had already been made in advance. Ying’er’s craftsmanship really was excellent. Every figure was vividly lifelike, and together they gave off a chilling sense of perfect order.

It was the kind of thing where, at night, if you shone a flashlight over them, a whole row of paper figures would make you feel as though they were just about to turn their heads all at once.

Since she had made them with her own hands, that sort of effect was perfectly normal.

Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs and arrived at the terrace. The two rattan chairs, his and Ah Li’s, were still placed where they had always been.

There was no way they would be left out there all the time to be weathered by wind and sun. And judging by the marks on the ground, Taigong had probably moved them out from inside the house and set them there himself that morning.

His past was also someone else’s memory.

On many afternoons, Taigong would lie on his own long chair some distance away, fanning himself with a palm fan and smoking, smiling as he watched the two rattan chairs leaning close together ahead of him, and the boy and girl sitting together in them.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down in the rattan chair. By habit, his gaze drifted downward. The door to the east room was closed.

Li Weihan and Cui Guiying went home every night to sleep. Ying’er stayed here, but she slept in the west room, the room that had once belonged to Aunt Liu and Uncle Qin.

As for the east room where Ah Li and Granny Liu had once lived, there was still a lock hanging on the door.

At that moment, time seemed to rewind, tracing back through another cycle of winter, autumn, summer, and spring, back to that day when he had sat here holding Strange Records of the Jianghu, and in the gaps between turning pages, glanced down at the girl sitting downstairs with her feet propped on the threshold.

A page of the jianghu, a single stunning glance.

Memories were not something reserved for the old. They depended on whether you had once had enough beautiful things in your life.

Just then, Li Zhuiyuan sensed a gust of ghost wind spilling out from the room behind him and stirring his hair.

The boy pressed the red button at his wrist with his right thumb while his left hand rapidly formed a seal.

A sharp, formidable aura spread out from him.

It was an instinct, a kind of force built up from stepping over one fallen dead sinker after another, from striding across layer after layer of river waves.

Especially now, with Runsheng and the others not by his side, the boy’s sensitivity became magnified without limit.

But soon, his thumb relaxed, and the hand seal was released.

Li Zhuiyuan suppressed that instinctive reaction.

Even so, he had still frightened that wind.

With a bang, the ghost wind recoiled at once and slammed shut all the front doors and windows.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and raised both hands, spreading them open to show apology.

But after he pushed the door open, aside from the rear window still being open, the room felt bleak and empty.

After standing there for a while, he heard voices coming from the yard below, so he walked back out.

Runsheng had returned on his tricycle with Yin Meng riding along.

As usual, this time Runsheng had only restocked supplies. He had not left any money, and the supplies could not be replenished too fully either, otherwise it would make things too convenient for Grandpa Shan to take and sell off for gambling money.

It was only because Grandpa Shan did not borrow money outside. When he ran out of cash, he simply stopped gambling and stayed home chewing sweet potatoes.

Otherwise, having an elder like that really would have been infuriating.

Yin Meng had come up with a solution. In the future, they would just send the money to Li Daye’s household, then tell Grandpa Shan that whenever he ran out of food, he could go eat at Li Daye’s place.

That way, Grandpa Shan would not have to deal with losing face, while Li Sanjiang could keep him in line and make sure he got meals but not cash.

Just then, Li Sanjiang and Grandpa Shan also woke up. Both old men still had bleary drunken eyes. After Runsheng relayed the idea, Grandpa Shan looked like he wanted to speak but stopped himself, while Li Sanjiang agreed to it right away.

Afterward, Grandpa Shan pulled Runsheng over by the wall and asked, “Weren’t you supposed to go with Little Yuanhou to college? How are you still making money?”

“Little Yuan gives me spending money.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Then you’re not going hungry?”

“I work in the cafeteria.”

“No wages?”

“No, but they feed me.”

Grandpa Shan nodded. “Well, then it really would be embarrassing to ask for wages.”

“Mm.”

“But Little Yuanhou’s money comes from that old Li fellow too. Then you give it to him, and I go eat there, so wouldn’t that still be shamelessly eating at his house?”

“Li Daye doesn’t know the truth anyway. I’ll just tell him that we made money running a shop at school.”

“That works.”

Standing on the second floor, Li Zhuiyuan heard the conversation below clearly. Obviously, Runsheng’s explanation must have been coached by someone on the way back.

Li Sanjiang cleared his throat, walked to the edge of the yard, spat into the fields, then tucked a cigarette between his fingers and cursed at Grandpa Shan:

“Look at the state you’re in. Runshenghou isn’t that young anymore. He’ll soon be at the age to start looking for a wife. What girl’s family would see that broken-down house of yours, half-collapsed and leaking from every side, and dare let her move in?

Now look at how I’ve been saving up a house and bride price for Little Yuanhou. And you? What kind of elder are you supposed to be?”

Rarely, Grandpa Shan lowered his head under the scolding and did not argue back.

“Runshenghou does eat a lot, and he’s picky about food, but he’s strong too. He’s a good worker. If he weren’t stuck dragging around dead weight like you, he wouldn’t have any trouble finding a wife.”

As he said this, Li Sanjiang walked over behind Runsheng and thumped him twice with his fist.

“Hoo... hoo...”

Ash from the cigarette in his mouth blew into his eyes.

Rubbing his eyes, Li Sanjiang muttered in puzzlement,

“Well now, that’s strange. Where’d that gust of wind come from?”

Grandpa Shan finally could not hold back anymore and shouted, “Then I’ll go jump in the river right now, and tonight you can fish me back out, all right?”

“Bullshit! When you’re alive, you won’t think properly for the child, and after you die, you still want to drag the child into feeling guilty for the rest of his life?”

Grandpa Shan was so angry he sat down on the bench by the wall. His eyes, which had only just lost their drunken redness, reddened again, but this time not from the alcohol.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips and took a deeply satisfied drag from his cigarette. Finally, he had won an argument. It felt wonderful.

Still, he did not dare keep provoking Shanpao. He was also worried Shanpao might really blow up.

“Grandpa Li!”

Lin Shuyou came back carrying a huge pile of gifts, with Tan Wenbin following behind him, eight cartons of cigarettes in his left hand and five bottles of liquor in his right.

Li Sanjiang said to Lin Shuyou with displeasure, “What’d you buy all this for? Is your family that rich?”

Lin Shuyou said, “Not that rich.”

“If you’re not rich, then why are you spending so freel—”

“My family has a temple.”

“A temple?”

“And temple property. Land, hills, incense offerings.”

“Well then, I guess you really should spend freely.”

Li Sanjiang then looked at Tan Wenbin and pointed at the cigarettes and liquor in his hands. “Zhuangzhuang, what kind of madness are you on now?”

Tan Wenbin grinned. “I took them from my grandparents’ homes on both sides. Other people gave them those things, and they had me bring them over to you. Just treating it like visiting relatives.”

“Then I still need to think of what return gift I should send.”

“Just pick some vegetables, and I’ll deliver them for you. They all eat lightly.”

“Cut the crap. Your grandparents on both sides live in Shigang, not in Hong Kong!”

Even if they lived in town, all they had to do was open a window to see the fields at a glance.

“Oh, come on, we’re family. Why draw such clear lines? If we really counted everything, I still haven’t paid Little Yuan for tutoring me. That was tutoring from the provincial top scorer. How much would that cost?”

“That made you a study companion. By rights, he should have been paying you wages.”

Tan Wenbin: “...”

Dinner was still lavish as usual, mainly because Runsheng and Tan Wenbin were there, along with Lin Shuyou, who as a martial artist also ate a great deal. There had basically been no leftovers from lunch.

That afternoon while chatting, Cui Guiying had casually asked Yin Meng how her cooking was, and Yin Meng had answered, “It’s all right.”

Before, Cui Guiying and Yin Meng had met and knew each other, but they had never really spent long periods interacting, so at dinnertime Cui Guiying had originally planned to call Yin Meng over to help out in the kitchen.

Yin Meng stood there awkwardly without moving.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng were so frightened that they hurriedly waved their hands, to the point that both of them would rather go into the kitchen themselves to help cook.

Cui Guiying was still puzzled and said, “Didn’t that girl say her cooking was decent?”

Tan Wenbin, who was helping chop vegetables, had no choice but to nod vigorously. “Her hand is injured, so it can’t touch water. Her cooking really is fine!”

After dinner, Cui Guiying and Li Weihan went home first.

Runsheng carried the television out into the yard and sat together with Tan Wenbin, making paper offerings while watching TV.

Lin Shuyou wanted to fit in too, so he started learning paper crafting as well. He was quite talented and picked it up quickly.

Yin Meng went alone to the fields behind the house to practice.

Li Zhuiyuan was not the only one trying to relive memories.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished bathing, he passed the second-floor terrace and saw that only Runsheng and Lin Shuyou were sitting in front of the TV downstairs. Tan Wenbin was squatting at the edge of the yard, smoking.

Binbin’s frequency of quitting smoking was alarmingly high.

If Li Zhuiyuan had guessed right, then besides visiting both sets of grandparents that afternoon, Tan Wenbin had probably also gone to sweep Zheng Haiyang’s grave.

The liquor he had brought back was an odd number.

Life was always good at making jokes with people. Someone so naturally gifted at making friends had been twisted into a person who no longer dared truly open his heart to others. He was afraid other people would become Zheng Haiyang, and also afraid he himself would become someone else’s Zheng Haiyang.

Li Zhuiyuan did not go downstairs to comfort Binbin, because what Binbin needed was to be alone and work through it, not extra consolation.

Besides, even if he really did need comfort, it would not have to come from Li Zhuiyuan.

Aunt Zhang’s figure appeared on the far side of the rice fields. From a distance, she made a gesture as though pinching her throat, and then launched into a plains folk song:

“Lord Binbin, your mother Zhou Yunhou is calling you on the phone~~~”

“Pfft...”

Tan Wenbin, who had been sunk in gloom, burst out laughing at once.

He could more or less guess that Aunt Zhang had not passed the message wrong. It was probably his mother Zheng Fang doing it on purpose.

Most likely, Zhou Yunyun on the other end of the line was blushing again in front of his mother.

Because Zhou Yunyun had missed too much schoolwork while hospitalized, she had not gone home this time. But since the school was on break, then judging by his mother’s usual habits, she would probably call Zhou Yunyun over to their house for the holiday.

Tan Wenbin stood up and called to Lin Shuyou, “Ayou, come with me to answer the phone.”

“Oh, okay.”

Tan Wenbin took Lin Shuyou with him to answer the call.

“Little Yuan.” Li Sanjiang’s voice came over.

“Taigong.”

Li Sanjiang smiled and sat down in his rattan chair.

“Taigong, it’s cold. Sitting out here in the wind so long, you’ll catch a chill.”

“No fear. Your taigong may be old, but it really isn’t easy for me to come down with something as minor as a headache or fever.”

In all his life, even back when he had served in the Nationalist army, even after coming down from the battlefield several times, not even a shell fragment had managed to scrape him.

The only time his health had gone bad and he had even suffered major bleeding was around the time Li Zhuiyuan had first arrived. During that period, not only did he dream at night that he was running around with zombies, he would wake up covered in wounds.

But Li Sanjiang had never believed that had anything to do with Little Yuan. Even if it really did, then it still did not matter.

“Little Yuanhou, how’s college treating you?”

“Very well. Everything is good.”

“Got enough money to spend?”

“I do. Most students don’t have as much money as I do, and they don’t dress as well or eat as well as I do.”

“Heh heh.” Li Sanjiang nodded in satisfaction. “That’s right. We’re not some rich and noble family, but that’s fine. We’re willing to spend money.”

Li Zhuiyuan laughed along with him.

“Come here. Let your taigong get a good look at you.”

Li Sanjiang beckoned Li Zhuiyuan closer, reached out, grabbed his great-grandson’s arm, gave it a squeeze, then patted it with his palm.

“Our Little Yuanhou has really grown up, heh. He’s starting to have that kind of presence a big figure should have.”

“I’m a kid. Of course I grow a little every day.”

“It’s not just your height that’s growing.” Li Sanjiang pointed at his own eyes. “Your taigong’s eyes are a ruler. Believe that?”

“I do.”

“Tsk, just look. My great-grandson has the bearing of someone meant to accomplish great things. Once you’re truly grown, you’ll be incredible. All right, go back and get some sleep. You traveled today, so you must be tired.”

“Taigong, you should head back inside and rest early too. Don’t keep sitting here in the wind.”

“I know, I know.”

Li Zhuiyuan returned to his room and got into bed. After folding the blanket properly, he pulled it over himself and slowly lay down.

Not long after he closed his eyes, gust after gust of ghost wind began to blow through the tightly shut room.

This time Li Zhuiyuan forcibly held himself still and did not rush to open his eyes.

After quite a while had passed, when he could smell dampness at the tip of his nose and even began hearing drops of water falling beside him, only then did the boy slowly open his eyes.

Right above him, pressed close to the underside of the bed frame.

A black form-fitting qipao. A pair of vivid red high heels. Long, soaking-wet hair hanging down.

The scene he had seen that day after falling into the water from the boat had seemed like the beginning of a brand-new life.

And now, she had appeared before him once again.

Little Oriole’s upper body slowly lowered.

The tips of her hair gradually brushed Li Zhuiyuan’s chest, neck, chin, and the side of his face.

As she kept descending, her hair gradually spread out.

That long hair was like a piece of black cloth, wrapping both their heads inside it, the two of them face-to-face within the darkness.

She really was not beautiful. Her makeup was far too heavy.

But she really was lovely, whether in life or in death.

“Although it might anger it, I can still help set you free.”

Little Oriole was under the control of the one beneath the peach tree, but just how much control there was was hard to say. At least for now... the fact that Little Oriole could continue to exist after taking her revenge instead of dispersing was indeed because of its influence.

Little Oriole shook her head.

She refused the boy’s help.

Li Zhuiyuan understood. This was all Little Oriole’s own choice. It had not truly made things difficult for her.

Perhaps, in Little Oriole’s eyes, life as a human had left nothing worth clinging to, and it was better to go on existing like this.

Perhaps too, because of its existence, it had offset the pain of becoming a dead sinker. When it was finally suppressed and dispersed one day, Little Oriole would dissolve along with it.

Little Oriole lowered her forehead further, until at last it came to rest against Li Zhuiyuan’s forehead.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and began Walking the Shade.

“Little Oriole! Little Oriole!”

“Quick, look! Little Oriole!”

Li Zhuiyuan found that he had entered a dream. It was the funeral of Big Beard’s mother.

Little Oriole picked up the microphone and got ready to sing.

At his side were the excited Shitou, Huzi, Pan’er, and Lei’er. Children and adults alike were clapping enthusiastically together.

Little Oriole freely showed off her graceful figure and began her performance:

“Should there one day be a thousand songs of farewell, drifting along the road before me; should there one day be a thousand evening stars, shining brighter than tonight’s moon.”

The song still had exactly the same flavor as in his memory. Though only a little more than a year had passed, it had already been marked by the yellowing stamp of time.

Just then, behind Li Zhuiyuan, a man’s voice sounded:

“You’re doing River Walk...”

It was it,

the one beneath the peach grove. Through Little Oriole, it had found him.

“Yes, I’m doing River Walk.”

“Did you study the black book I gave you...”

“I did.”

“During River Walk, help me kill someone...”

“Who?”

“Wei Zhengdao.”

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