Chapter 130

Jiangshui’s hint was, of course, never going to be that simple.

The simple one was Li Zhuiyuan.

In daily life, there were pitifully few people or things that could truly make Li Zhuiyuan care.

That was his weakness. Because of it, it was hard for him personally to trigger karma, so he needed Tan Wenbin and the others to help him come into contact with it.

But it was also his strength. He could stand from a third-party perspective, examine these clues, draw conclusions, and search for patterns.

Still, the Professor Zhu before him was an exception.

Li Zhuiyuan had long since realized that he had a higher degree of acceptance and tolerance toward certain specific kinds of people.

Professor Zhu had earned Li Zhuiyuan’s approval, and the boy was willing to interact with him.

Other people had to sort through dozens, hundreds, or even more karmic clues every day, checking them one by one. On Li Zhuiyuan’s side, the number was extremely limited. He had finally accepted this one clue not long ago, and now it had actually developed a problem.

Unless the river water had somehow failed to splash toward him, then as long as even a single drop had landed on him, from Li Zhuiyuan’s point of view—

Professor Zhu... was already soaked through.

“Then let’s go now.”

“All right.”

Code of Conduct for River Walkers:

First: when a karmic clue first appears, the danger level in the early stage is generally quite low.

Second: a newly emerged karmic clue needs to be handled carefully. You have to follow its course and disturb its development as little as possible, in the hope of obtaining more information.

So Li Zhuiyuan did not ask Professor Zhu to wait while he went to fetch a companion.

The professor had only invited him. The professor’s wife, gravely ill, had only wanted to see him. If he brought along another person, the original course of events might change.

The residential compound where Professor Zhu lived was not on campus, but in an old staff housing complex outside the school.

The environment there was nice. In front of it ran an artificial river, and Professor Zhu’s home was on the first floor of the building by the water.

The small yard attached to the first floor was full of flowers, obviously tended and carefully pruned.

When he pushed open the door and entered, the room held the smell of Chinese medicine mixed with a faint orchid fragrance. It was not especially pleasant, but compared to most households with a sick person, it was honestly quite good.

“Xiao Yuan, should I get you something to drink?”

“Professor, water is fine.”

“Water? All right.”

Professor Zhu poured Li Zhuiyuan a cup of tea. When he brought it over, Li Zhuiyuan stood up from the sofa and accepted it with both hands.

Then Professor Zhu pointed toward the bedroom and excused himself. He first knocked gently on the door and called out twice. Only after receiving a weak response from inside did he open the door and go in.

Sitting on the sofa, Li Zhuiyuan studied the living room.

There were many books there, not the decorative kind used for display. Every stack had been placed where it would be convenient for someone to pick up and read.

An easel stood in the corner, draped with a white cloth. On either side were piled sheets of drawing paper, some sketches and some oil paintings.

The room was not large, and there were many things in it, making it feel a bit cramped. Yet the overall atmosphere was very comfortable.

On the way over, Professor Zhu had briefly told Li Zhuiyuan about the family. Because of his wife’s health, the elderly couple had never had children. They had supported each other and stayed by each other’s side all the way to now.

Li Zhuiyuan set down his teacup and leaned lightly back against the sofa. He sensed something beside him tipping over and reached out to steady it. It was a picture frame.

The frame had originally been wrapped in oiled paper, but someone had opened it. When it had been set down again, the opening had been deliberately turned inward, as though whoever placed it there did not want others to see it.

After it fell over, the frame inside slid more than halfway out.

The frame was entirely black, with carved funerary patterns along the edges. Combined with the black-and-white photo in the center, it was obvious this was a funeral portrait.

The woman in the picture was old, but her brows and eyes were still gentle. Even the dense wrinkles on her face could not conceal her dignified, graceful bearing.

This had probably been taken in advance after she learned her body was failing.

Many elderly people did this. First, to be prepared and spare their family from scrambling if they really passed away. Second, because people who died from illness often did not look especially good in death, so it was better to take the portrait while they still looked all right, to preserve a final bit of dignity for the funeral.

Only, the funerary patterns on this frame... looked a little too professional.

It was not merely that they looked the part. When his fingertips brushed over them, he could clearly feel the fine internal branching beneath every single funerary line. This was standard scripture-style engraving.

Anyone with that sort of craftsmanship could make ancestral memorial tablets for Granny Liu’s family.

In other words, the handcrafting cost of this frame was extremely high. Sometimes it was not even a matter of money. You had to call in favors as well.

There was another detail too. Li Zhuiyuan did not know whether the photographer or the makeup artist was simply that skilled, but the old lady in this black-and-white funeral portrait somehow gave off an impression of delicate rosiness.

It was a deeply unsettling contrast, because that effect should have been impossible.

Li Zhuiyuan leaned sideways, wanting to see whether there was anything special about the glass of the frame. After checking, he found nothing unusual.

But when he looked at the funeral portrait again, it seemed to have changed ever so slightly. It was as if she had moved, and the angle of the figure inside seemed to have shifted too.

Li Zhuiyuan took out a piece of “test paper” he had drawn himself from his pocket and stuck it on. The talisman paper showed no reaction at all.

Now that really was strange. Could it actually have been just his imagination?

Although he had come here precisely to look for clues, the boy truly had not expected that the very first funeral portrait he touched after entering would leave him stumped.

Even he himself had become stuck in a triangle between science, art, and the occult, unable to tell which it was.

Footsteps sounded from the bedroom. Li Zhuiyuan set the portrait frame back in place and wedged it behind himself, preparing to let it fall over again when he stood up later so he could use that as an opening to ask about it.

Professor Zhu came out, supporting his wife.

The elderly couple shared the same surname. Both were Zhu.

After being woken earlier, Mrs. Zhu had apparently tidied herself up a little, but the sickness in her face was still obvious.

She truly was at death’s door. Her actual age might not quite be there yet, but her body had already neared a certain critical point.

“Hello, Grandma Zhu.”

Li Zhuiyuan stood up to greet her, and the funeral portrait behind him toppled over again.

Mrs. Zhu looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a smile and lightly patted her husband’s hand as she said,

“You were right. This child really is good-looking. He has that refined, scholarly air people can’t help liking.”

Everyone had their own sense of beauty. A single look at the furnishings inside and outside the home, along with Mrs. Zhu’s profession before retirement, was enough to show her tastes and interests.

Still, this was the first time Li Zhuiyuan had ever been described as having a scholarly air.

Presumably, the Dead Sinkers and malevolent spirits that had died at Li Zhuiyuan’s hands would not object to that assessment either.

“Child, sit.”

“All right, Grandma.”

As Li Zhuiyuan sat, he touched the funeral portrait frame and reached out to straighten it.

Mrs. Zhu showed no taboo about it at all. Instead, she asked on her own initiative, “Looks nice, doesn’t it?”

Professor Zhu stood up, intending to put away the funeral portrait frame. He was a little dissatisfied that his wife would ask a child such a thing, but he only smiled indulgently. He knew his wife disliked that sort of restraint.

“It does,” Li Zhuiyuan said, handing the frame to Professor Zhu while speaking to Mrs. Zhu. “Honestly, it looks even better than you do in person now.”

“Hehehe.”

Mrs. Zhu covered her mouth and laughed. This time it was no longer the reserved sort of smile. She was genuinely delighted.

If you said to most women that they looked better in the photo than in real life, they would probably be unhappy. But Mrs. Zhu wanted precisely that effect. Hearing it praised and acknowledged reassured her.

“My health is bad now, so I wanted the picture to come out prettier. That way, when I’m gone and our Mr. Zhu sits at home missing me, when he looks at my photo, he won’t get too tired of it.”

Professor Zhu chimed in, “Yes, yes, beautiful, very beautiful. Tonight I won’t put it on the offering table. I’ll take it to bed and sleep hugging it.”

Grandma Zhu blushed and spat lightly, “Pah. The child’s here. What nonsense are you saying?”

Afraid the topic would drift away, Li Zhuiyuan hurriedly asked, “Where was the photo taken? At a photo studio? One of my older brothers wants to take artistic photos with his girlfriend, and he’s been worrying over which place to pick.”

Grandma Zhu said, “At the crossroads on Zhengyang Street, Pingju Photo Studio.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll remember that.”

“The owner is young, but his skill is excellent. Very meticulous and responsible.” Grandma Zhu added, “The price isn’t expensive either. You really could recommend it to your brother and his girlfriend.”

“Then was this frame also provided by the studio?”

“Of course. This frame is exquisite. I like the pattern very much, and it wasn’t expensive either. Though your brother definitely wouldn’t choose this one. They have other styles.”

One was a rehired professor, the other a retired professor. Their daily living expenses were naturally no problem, but they were far from wealthy, and their fields did not lend themselves to earning much extra on the side.

If something could make the two of them feel it was cheap, then the price definitely would not be high.

If something expensive was being sold at cabbage prices, then the studio had a problem.

After that, Grandma Zhu asked Li Zhuiyuan what books he had read. Naturally, Li Zhuiyuan was not going to bring out Wei Zhengdao.

He catered to the old lady’s tastes and named several books. Grandma Zhu asked a few questions too, and Li Zhuiyuan answered them all.

Grandma Zhu was delighted and gestured for Li Zhuiyuan to follow her into the study, where she further tested his calligraphy and painting.

Professor Zhu pushed open the door and said, “Lunch is ready. How are you two doing?”

Grandma Zhu gave a bitter smile and said, “I had thought I might offer the child a few pointers, but his attainments in calligraphy and painting are even higher than mine. If my health weren’t so poor and I still had the energy, I might even want to take him as my teacher.”

Li Zhuiyuan’s calligraphy had always been very good. When he was very little, Li Lan used to work in the study with piles of碑文 rubbings stacked on the floor, and he had crawled all over them.

As for painting, he had learned that from Ah Li.

The boy was skilled in both calligraphy and painting, though still far from a master. But Grandma Zhu was the sort who loved many things broadly—acquainted with everything, but expert in nothing—so by contrast the boy’s professionalism stood out.

Li Zhuiyuan helped Grandma Zhu out of the study and sat down to eat.

Two vegetable dishes, one meat dish, and a soup. The meal was simple, with flavors on the light side.

Grandma Zhu only took a few bites and drank half a bowl of soup before setting down her chopsticks.

Professor Zhu warmly urged Li Zhuiyuan to keep eating.

After the meal, Grandma Zhu asked Li Zhuiyuan to help her back into the bedroom. From beneath the bookshelf there, she took out a beautifully bound set of books and gave it to him as a gift.

It was not an antique, but it still had value. For an ordinary household, it counted as a substantial gift.

Li Zhuiyuan accepted it and thanked her seriously.

Grandma Zhu was very happy and held Li Zhuiyuan’s hand, talking with him for a while longer.

Because he wanted to hurry to the photo studio to take a look, Li Zhuiyuan made the excuse that he still had classes that afternoon and needed to return to school.

That startled Grandma Zhu, and she quickly called Professor Zhu over and asked, “Xiao Yuan is a student?”

“Huh?” Professor Zhu was puzzled as well. “Of course he’s in school.”

“You’re confused. That’s not what I meant.” Grandma Zhu looked at Li Zhuiyuan. “Are you a university student?”

“Yes.”

Professor Zhu slapped his forehead. “Right, right. It was mentioned a long time ago that the school had admitted a child prodigy early. Was that you, Xiao Yuan?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Not necessarily.”

“And the top scorer on the college entrance exam too?”

“Then that was probably me.”

“Heh.” Professor Zhu laughed. “I thought you were the child of some faculty member who happened to like attending my class. Never imagined you were actually a student at this university.”

Grandma Zhu reached out and touched Li Zhuiyuan’s face again. “Oh my, so you’re our top scholar. No wonder you’re so impressive.”

After bidding farewell to the two old people, Li Zhuiyuan left the residential compound and took a taxi to Zhengyang Street.

If Grandma Zhu’s physical condition had been caused by some malevolent spirit, he would have dealt with it as a matter of course.

But it was not.

Her natural limit had truly almost arrived. The only thing that could extend her life was an evil art.

Wei Zhengdao had criticized such evil arts harshly and in great detail. Li Zhuiyuan had inherited both the criticism and the detailed knowledge.

But there was truly no need to use it. Since ancient times, whenever people used evil arts to prolong life, he had never seen anyone actually get the good ending they hoped for.

The two old people themselves had long since made peace with it and could face that temporary separation, one after the other, with calm acceptance.

The only thing he might be able to do was help out with the funeral when the time came, bringing Runsheng and Binbin along, since they had no children.

This was a very peaceful transition in the clue. The only direction the clue from Professor Zhu’s household pointed toward was that photo studio.

But here, a problem arose in the timeline.

It was only because he had deliberately attended many of Professor Zhu’s classes that he caught the professor’s attention. Then Professor Zhu had gone home and spoken about him to his wife, which made Grandma Zhu curious enough to want to meet him. The worsening of her condition had accelerated that process.

If one insisted on extending the line farther back, then it ought to have been that he discovered the special nature of the funeral portrait at Grandma Zhu’s funeral, which would have moved the timeline much later.

But that logic did not hold.

He had only been invited as a guest because he went to Professor Zhu’s classes. If he had not gone to Professor Zhu’s classes... then the two of them probably would never have had any contact at all, and there would have been no way he would attend Grandma Zhu’s future funeral.

So if it was confirmed next that the splash he had received was real, then this time he had not been as lucky as he had been in the Yuxuzi big fish incident, where he had gotten to solve the problem far in advance.

In other words, this time, he had no first-mover advantage.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked at the cityscape sliding past outside the taxi window.

Was it because his behavior last time—entering the examination hall ahead of time—had been too outrageous... so Heaven’s Way had specifically patched that loophole against him?

If that was really the case, then he needed to seriously revise Code of Conduct for River Walkersers.

Because once the version updated, the code would no longer fit.

Second, he had to seriously consider holding back his scores.

Otherwise, if he studied how to exploit the rules with one foot, and Heaven’s Way patched those same rules with the other, would he not just be bricking up the wall and blocking off his own road ahead?

“We’re at Zhengyang Street. Where do you want to get off?”

“Sir, let me off at the intersection ahead.”

“All right.”

The taxi pulled over. Li Zhuiyuan got out, turned around, and saw Pingju Photo Studio.

The studio was not large, but it was warmly decorated. When Li Zhuiyuan walked in, he saw the owner sweeping the floor.

The owner was very young, under thirty, not especially tall, wearing a light trench coat and a brown beret. He looked spirited and alert.

“Taking photos or picking up photos?”

“Taking photos.”

“ID photo?”

“Yes.”

“What size?”

“Two-inch.”

“All right, come upstairs with me.”

Li Zhuiyuan followed the owner up the stairs. The staircase was narrow, with many turns.

Once they reached the second floor, the space widened considerably. Li Zhuiyuan sat in front of a blue backdrop.

The owner did not hurry to adjust the camera. Instead, he walked over with a comb in his right hand, first combing Li Zhuiyuan’s hair, then using his hand to tidy and arrange it.

“When you grow up, you’re definitely going to be a handsome guy. Actually, you already are. A handsome little guy.”

Li Zhuiyuan responded with a shy smile.

The owner walked behind the camera. “All right, we’re ready. Just like that, don’t move. One, two, three!”

Click.

At the instant the shutter sounded, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt his vision go black, and from all around came gurgling sounds.

The boy remained sitting exactly as before, not moving a muscle. Even his eyelids did not flicker. Yet at that same moment, he entered walking the shade.

From the perspective of walking the shade, the camera had become a gigantic eyeball.

The eyeball was covered in a dense web of blood vessels. It kept rotating, looking him over carefully from above, below, left, and right.

Gradually, Li Zhuiyuan saw his own face reflected in the huge eyeball, going from vague to clear, even taking on a faint three-dimensional quality.

It had seen him. It had remembered him.

“All done.”

The owner’s voice rang out. The huge eyeball retracted back into the camera, and Li Zhuiyuan also ended the state of walking the shade. Everything returned to normal.

“Do you want them now, or will you come back tomorrow to get them?”

“I want them now.”

“Then wait a bit. I’ll go develop them for you.”

“Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”

“Not at all.”

The owner went down the stairs. Li Zhuiyuan stood and followed him out, but when he passed the camera set up there, he still turned back to look at it.

At the viewing side of the camera, there seemed to be a residue of white pus. After it built up to a certain point—

Plop.

It dripped onto the floor.

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs.

“Sit for a bit first. There’s candy there. Help yourself.”

“All right. Thank you, boss.”

The owner lifted the curtain, opened the door behind it, and went inside.

Li Zhuiyuan took a piece of candy from the plate on the coffee table and held it in his hand, then walked over to the display cabinet.

What the studio displayed most were photographs—children, young people, and elderly people, each age group representing a different photography style.

The children and young people all used ordinary frames.

But the funeral portrait frames for the elderly all bore funerary patterns.

There were price tags underneath, and none of them were expensive. They were prices ordinary people could normally afford.

Was there some special trick hidden in all this that he had failed to see?

But earlier, at Professor Zhu’s house, he had picked up Grandma Zhu’s funeral portrait and examined it carefully. He had found nothing abnormal.

And even with these funeral portrait frames displayed here, he still could not locate the precise weak point.

This shop definitely had a problem. When the owner had just taken his picture, he had already seen that giant eyeball.

But the problem was, if it harmed people... then there had to be some actual act by which it harmed them, right?

Back in ancient times, funerary patterns were the kind of burial detail only nobles and high officials could pursue, yet here they had been brought down to commoner prices.

And aside from being excessively delicate and lifelike, with a slight sense of movement in the image, the funeral portraits did not seem harmful in any way. No matter whether the owner was using special methods or not, from the consumer’s perspective... it simply meant he was very skilled.

Grandma Zhu’s condition came from the natural end of her lifespan, not from a malevolent spirit entering her body.

So what exactly was it after?

In truth, Li Zhuiyuan could have made his move while the photo was being taken.

And even for the sake of caution, he could call people over right now, gather everyone, and storm the photo studio.

But he restrained himself.

The less first-mover advantage one had, the less one could afford to be rash, because if he chose wrong, there might not even be time to fix it.

In the pitch-black room inside, the owner stood motionless in front of the chemical bath.

Glug... glug...

A knocking sound came from within the basin.

The owner reached in, took out two round objects, and pressed them into his eye sockets.

Thunk. Thunk.

After blinking a few times, he reached into the basin again and removed the photograph.

He turned to walk outside, but stopped at the doorway.

He touched the area beneath his eyes. Thick reddish fluid was dripping down.

Blood.

He walked back to the sink, dug out both of his eyeballs again, then picked up a hose. One end he attached to the faucet, and the other he inserted into his eye socket.

Leaning forward, he turned on the tap, and water began flushing out the socket.

In through the left socket, out through the right.

Splashing water ran for quite a while. Then he pulled out the hose, inserted it into the right socket instead, and continued rinsing.

Once he was sure it was clean, he turned off the water and pressed both eyeballs back into place.

Squish. Squish.

Taking up a dry towel, he began wiping his face, paying special attention to the area around his eyes.

He walked to the doorway again, paused, waited, and raised his hand to feel around. After confirming there was no problem, he finally pushed the door open.

Creak...

The owner came out and went to the counter, where he began trimming the photos with practiced ease. At last he took out a small envelope and packed them all inside.

“Here you go.”

The envelope was thick.

The owner had never asked him how many prints he wanted, but at that thickness, it was definitely not the cheapest package.

“How much?”

“It’s a rule in this shop. Handsome little guys don’t have to pay.”

“But that doesn’t suit my habits.”

“You’ve already paid. While taking your photo, I got to enjoy myself. We owe each other nothing.” The owner crossed his hands and waved them.

“I also need to buy a frame.”

“A frame? What kind?”

“This one.” Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the black one. “This size.”

“You should pick a different one. This is for funeral portraits.”

“I want this one. I like this style.”

The owner showed a troubled expression. After thinking it over, he finally nodded, took out the frame, and wrapped it in oiled paper.

There was a listed price beneath the frame. Li Zhuiyuan paid it, and the owner said nothing more, only accepted the money.

“Goodbye, boss.”

“Take care, handsome little guy.”

Before leaving the studio, Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze swept over the business license posted in the corner of the wall. The name beneath it was... Deng Chen.

After leaving the shop, he crossed to the opposite side of the street.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and looked at the studio again.

The owner stood behind the glass display window. On the shelf at about the height of his face, to his left was a black-and-white funeral portrait of an old woman, and to his right a funeral portrait of an old man.

He stood in the middle, staring at the boy.

Their eyes met.

Suddenly, the old man and old woman in the funeral portraits on either side seemed to smile.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and opened them again. The two portraits had returned to normal.

But this time, the smile had moved to the owner’s face. He was grinning broadly, showing two rows of white teeth.

His body seemed to be trembling.

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