Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 13

Why does this towel look familiar?

Liu Yumei recalled, isn't this the one that the boy from the Li family wore on his shoulder today?

"What's going on here?"

Liu Yumei wanted to take the towel off, but just as her hand was about to touch it, she stopped.

She turned her head and looked into the inner room. At the door, there stood a girl.

"Ari, you were already lying down, why are you getting up again?"

The girl said nothing.

"Ari, did you put this towel there?"

The girl didn't answer.

"Ari, this is the place for the memorial tablets. It's the most precious place for offerings. You can't just put anything here. The towel should be put where it belongs. Grandma will collect it and wash it for you, okay?"

The girl's eyelashes began to flutter.

"Then leave it there, leave it there, it's quite good here, haha, it's quite good."

The girl regained her composure.

"Ari, go to sleep. Grandma won't touch it. I promise that when you wake up tomorrow, you will still see it here."

The girl turned and went inside.

Liu Yumei sighed, and then a smile appeared on her face again. She just noticed that this time when Ah Li was about to get angry, only his eyelids twitched slightly, but his body did not tremble. This was also a kind of progress.

Over the years, they have been trying to prevent Ahri from having an attack, not only because she would cause harm to herself and those around her when she was in a rage, but also because her condition would become more serious after each attack.

At the moment, the most important thing is to treat A'li's illness, everything else is secondary.

Liu Yumei finally found her husband behind the tablets of her two brothers.

"I have wronged you after all. You have been living with my two brothers for a while. You didn't fight, did you?"

At that time, the old man pursued me shamelessly, but was often beaten up by my brothers. Even after I married him, he and my brothers would quarrel and almost fight every time they drank.

The difference is that before the marriage, it was his brothers who picked on him, but after the marriage, he would tease his brothers every time under the influence of alcohol, and even shamelessly shouted:

"Come on, hit me! If you have the guts, just beat me to death. If you kill me, your sister will have to remain a widow in my place!"

The brothers were so angry that they kept complaining about how they were blind and had been deceived by him.

Actually, apart from being a little narrow-minded and holding grudges, the old guy is really good to me.

She gently wiped her husband's tablet with a handkerchief and said, "Old man, this is your granddaughter's request for you to make room for her things. Please bear with it."

After saying that, Liu Yumei made some space for the tablets and placed the tablets of her husband and her father together.

"Talk more to my father. A son-in-law is half a son."

Although the dirty towel placed right in the middle was a bit of an eyesore, Liu Yumei still spoke with joy:

"You guys, don't be angry with A'li. It's all your fault that A'li is in this state now. Who told you to die so simply and heroically all those years ago, without leaving any incense or support for your descendants.

This kid from the Li family is called Li Zhuiyuan. It’s a nice name and he’s an interesting person, but he’s extremely precocious.

I have seen many smart kids, but this is the first time I have seen someone like him.

The feeling this kid gives me, apart from that bit of childishness, is that he seems to be deliberately acting like a child.

It's a pity that such people often don't live long.

But it's hard to say. He lives with Li Sanjiang now and is a relative of Li Sanjiang. It should be much easier for him to share Li Sanjiang's fortune than it is for us.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

I just hope he can help our A'li slowly cure her illness. Our A'li has suffered too much and this is not what she deserves.

You all, when Chen Jiang died, you all shouted that it was for a new world.

The world is too big for a woman like me with narrow eyes to accommodate it. I can only look at my own granddaughter and hope that she can smile happily and speak openly like other little girls.

If you are still alive in heaven..."

At this point, Liu Yumei couldn't help but roll her eyes at the tablets, and her tone turned to anger and complaint:
"If you had followed the old rules and left some spirit behind before you died, my granddaughter wouldn't have become like this!"

……

After taking a shower, Li Zhuiyuan went to find a towel, scrubbed it clean with soap, and hung it on the clothesline.

Passing by Li Sanjiang's bedroom door, he hesitated for a moment, but finally pushed the door open and entered.

On the bed, Li Sanjiang was holding a cigarette, crossing his legs, humming a little tune, and falling asleep.

"Master, there is something I have thought about and I have to tell you again."

"Oh? What's the matter? Tell me."

"Niu Fu's mother came to our house last night and used the tables, chairs, bowls, chopsticks and paper figures on the first floor to hold a birthday party for herself. It was very lively and I was dragged to attend it."

Li Sanjiang frowned slightly and leaned forward subconsciously: "Go on."

"When the birthday party was almost over, a zombie appeared and fought with Niu Fu's mother. Niu Fu's mother couldn't win, so she sent me away at the last minute."

"Sent you away? Where?"

"I woke up."

“Oh.” Li Sanjiang nodded. Thinking of himself being chased by a group of zombies in his dream, he understood that Yaer must have had the same dream with zombies as he did. He comforted her, “Xiao Yuanhou, just think of it as a dream. Don’t worry, nothing will happen tonight.”

I won’t be doing the luck-changing ritual tonight, so I can get a good night’s sleep.

"But, Master..."

"It's okay, don't take it personally, I understand everything, Grandpa."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. As expected, the grandfather understood.

"Grandpa, there is one more thing. Have you noticed the problem with Grandma Liu and the others living here and working for you?"

"Of course I noticed it a long time ago, haha."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded again. As expected, the grandfather knew it.

Li Sanjiang laughed secretly in his heart: this family not only helps him with farming, but also makes paper-folding for him, and helps him deliver tables, chairs, bowls and plates for the banquet, and also takes care of cooking and cleaning...but they only want such a small amount of wages.

Hehe, if this isn’t a problem with your brain, then what is it?
These days, it's hard to find a farmhand who gets paid little, works a lot, and has mental problems, so you have to cherish him.

"Is there anything else, Xiao Yuanhou? If you have nothing else, go back to sleep. I am also sleepy, Grandpa."

"The last thing is, actually, I am the one who helps Sister Yingzi with her homework every time. Sister Yingzi's comprehension ability is average, so she learns relatively slowly."

Li Zhuiyuan discovered that after he finished speaking, Li Sanjiang pursed his lips and the sides of his face became more and more puffy, as if he was in great pain.

After ten seconds of silence, finally:

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

Li Sanjiang laughed so hard that his wounds were affected. He couldn't help but gasp for air, but he couldn't help but curse with a smile:

"You little rascal, if you don't want to study, just say so. Why do you have to make up such a lame excuse? Do you think your grandfather is a fool?

"Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense and go back to sleep. Ying Hou will definitely come tomorrow. No matter how much you play around, you can't avoid studying!"

"Good night, Master."

Li Zhuiyuan stopped arguing. Even though he was the great grandfather, he was not omniscient and omnipotent. There were always some things he didn't understand, which was normal.

Returning to his bedroom, lying on the bed, covering himself with the quilt, Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and went to sleep.

I slept very soundly and had no dreams.

At daybreak, Li Zhuiyuan woke up, sat on the edge of the bed for a while, and felt himself. He found that the quality of his sleep was far worse than when he was dreaming.

I got out of bed, picked up the washbasin, and prepared to wash up. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a girl standing at the door. It was Qin Li.

She had her hair done up today, with a wooden hairpin inserted in her hair. She wore a white top and a black horse skirt, looking delicate and elegant.

Good-looking people also need to be matched with good-looking clothes to complement each other.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Qin Li's daily clothes were not something that could be bought in stores. First, foreign trendy clothing styles were popular nowadays, and the traditional retro style was already declining and was considered tacky and not presentable. Second, Qin Li's clothes were very fine in design and workmanship. I'm afraid that they could only be made to order in small clothing workshops with a long tradition, and the price was very high.

However, judging from the way Grandma Liu casually gave a jade ring worth a three-bedroom apartment in Beijing as a gift, her family is definitely not short of money.

The ends of the girl's hair were moist, and Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but reach out and touch her hair, feeling a little moisture.

"Have you been waiting here for a long time?"

The girl didn't say anything, just looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

"Next time, wait until I wake up, and I'll go to the east room and call you to come read with me, so you don't have to stand here and wait, okay?"

The light in the girl's eyes dimmed a little.

"I'll try to get up early from now on. If you come and I'm not up yet, you can go into the house and sit on a chair and wait. The door isn't locked anyway."

The light in the girl's eyes returned.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the clothesline and took down the towel that he had washed last night. It was hung there overnight so it wasn't completely dry, but it was usable.

He walked to the bench from yesterday, wiped it, and then put the towel on the wooden bench: "You sit down first, I'll go wash up first."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan went to wash up.

Qin Li, sitting on the bench, looked at the still clean towel. She reached out to grab it, but after thinking about it, she withdrew her hand.

After brushing his teeth and wiping his face, Li Zhuiyuan was startled when he saw Grandma Liu standing in front of him as soon as he put down the washcloth.

"Xiao Yuan, hehe, I'm so sorry to have caused you trouble."

This was the first time that Li Zhuiyuan saw Grandma Liu enter the main house and go up to the second floor. He thought that Grandma Liu had been here with Qin Li for as long as Qin Li had gotten up and waited for him.

"Grandma, I like playing with A-Li."

"Then you guys just have fun. If you have any problems just call me grandma." Grandma Liu went downstairs with a smile.

Li Zhuiyuan put the washbasin back into the house. It was too early and the sun had not risen yet. He didn't want to read.

After looking around the room for a while, he picked up a small wooden box and walked out.

"Ari, can I teach you how to play chess?"

Qin Li didn't say anything, just stared at the small wooden box.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the small wooden box. This was what Uncle Qin bought for him when his great grandfather asked him to buy snacks and school supplies.

It is a Go game. The chessboard is printed on a translucent oil paper and the chess pieces are plastic circles the size of ladybugs. In short, it is very small and simple.

But the advantage is low cost and cheap price. The stationery stores in Shi Nan Town will definitely not stock that kind of regular Go sets. Who would buy them?

"Let me first explain the rules of Go..."

Before Li Zhuiyuan could finish his words, A'li picked up a black piece and placed it on the chessboard.

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing more and made his move with the white chess piece.

After several attempts, Li Zhuiyuan confirmed that the girl could play Go.

He couldn't help but smile and immersed himself in the game.

The two of them played fast chess and didn't think much.

Gradually, Li Zhuiyuan began to feel exhausted, and finally...

"I lost."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't let the game go, so he really lost.

Although he has never studied chess seriously, he has a good brain and Go relies heavily on this ability, so without comparing himself with national players, and just considering himself as a folk enthusiast, his chess skills are not bad.

But the girl was obviously better. She must have learned it formally. She played not only quickly but also in a very methodical way.

Li Zhuiyuan did not feel frustrated about this. He knew that although he learned things quickly, it was impossible to skip the learning process.

In many fields, having a good brain is not enough; it also requires a lot of accumulation and sedimentation, and more importantly, the support of a platform.

"Ari is really amazing, are you still going to play?"

The girl circled the chess piece with her fingertips and looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. Her meaning was obvious: she wanted to play more.

Li Zhuiyuan packed up the chessboard and saw that there seemed to be a morning breeze. He found four loose cement blocks from the west corner of the terrace and used them to hold down the chess paper.

The second round of game begins.

The speed of moving the pieces was still very fast, and the more Li Zhuiyuan moved, the more he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

He felt that the girl was giving him a handicap.

Instead of feeling humiliated, he felt very happy, and then he began to make bad moves on purpose.

This time, the girl's moves began to slow down and her brows gradually furrowed.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bear to tease him any more and still won.

The girl raised her head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

There was a faint trace of pouting at the corners of her mouth, but it was not very obvious. She must be angry.

But her eyelashes didn't flutter and her body didn't tremble.

"Okay, okay, I'm wrong. I'm wrong." I looked up and saw that it was already dawn, and down below, I heard Aunt Liu's voice calling for breakfast.

Li Zhuiyuan put away the chessboard and took Qin Li downstairs to have breakfast.

Quite tacitly, the original breakfast for one person was changed to a small table with two wooden stools.

As usual, Li Zhuiyuan distributed the pickles to the girl in a small plate. After the girl started eating, he followed his custom, pried open the duck egg shell, peeled it open, and ate it with chopsticks.

Suddenly, realizing that the girl next to him had stopped eating, Li Zhuiyuan looked over and found that she was looking at the duck egg in his hand.

"I'll open one for you? But it will be hard to tell the portion size."

Qin Li still stared.

Li Zhuiyuan could only crack a duck egg for her, carefully peel off a little of the shell, and hand it to her.

Qin Li caught it with both hands, held it in his arms, and looked down at the broken duck egg carefully.

At this time, Li Sanjiang staggered down the stairs.

After looking at the double table of Xiao Yuanhou and the girl, and then at the family table of Liu Yumei, Qin Li, and Liu Ting, he silently walked towards his own small table for the lonely elderly.

Just as I was about to start, I saw a figure appear on the path in front of the dam.

A dark-skinned boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, was pushing a wheelbarrow with an old man sitting on it.

The boy was only wearing a pair of patched blue shorts, with his upper body bare, and on his feet were plastic Liberation shoes that obviously didn't fit him.

The old man had a bald head and his body had obviously shrunk due to age. He was wearing a pair of plastic slippers and holding a hookah in his hand.

Seeing this, Li Sanjiang put down his chopsticks helplessly and said, "Okay, the beggar is here."

When the grandfather and grandson got on the dam, Li Sanjiang approached them again and said hello enthusiastically, "Oh, I knew you would come today, but I didn't expect you to come so early."

The old man took a puff of his cigarette and said, "I'm on my way here at dark, so I can save myself a breakfast by coming to your place."

"Hello, Tinghou, is there any porridge left in the pot?" Li Sanjiang asked.

The old man snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "If you want to drink watery drinks here, then my visit is in vain. We want to eat solid food."

"Come on, come on, Ting Hou, go cook."

"okay."

Aunt Liu went to the kitchen to cook.

"Little Yuanhou, come here." Li Sanjiang called Li Zhuiyuan over and pointed at the old man and introduced him, "This is your old uncle Shan."

"You're talking nonsense. Why should I be a generation shorter than you?"

"Okay then, just call me Grandpa Shan."

"Hello, Grandpa Shan."

"Oh, good, a pretty boy, with delicate skin and tender flesh, very well behaved."

Li Sanjiang smiled and touched Li Zhuiyuan's head, saying, "Little Marquis Yuan."

"Master?"

The old man blushed when he heard this and said angrily, "You are so good, Li Sanjiang, you are still trying to take advantage of me!"

"Oh, I'm too lazy to take advantage of you. Aren't you about the same age as my grandfather, Han Hou?"

Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised. That is to say, this old man was so much younger than his great-grandfather, but it seemed that his great-grandfather was younger than him.

In the distance, Liu Yumei, who was drinking porridge, put down her bowl and chopsticks and picked up a handkerchief to cover her nose.

The old man had a body stench from the water, which was really disgusting. Looking at his appearance, he looked like a corpse collector. On the other hand, Li Sanjiang…had good food, a good life, and was well-fed. He was an exception among exceptions.

To put it bluntly, who would choose to do corpse recovery if they have a decent family background and a legitimate business? This inherently determines the economic status of corpse recoverers in the village. Add to that the various taboos of corpse recovery... It is rare for them to have a peaceful old age.

Liu Yumei didn't plan to continue eating. She saw her granddaughter had also left the table. Maybe Xiaoyuan was called over to recognize someone. But her granddaughter didn't go to the second floor to wait for her to read with her, but went straight back to the east room.

Ok?
Liu Yumei walked slowly back to the east room with some curiosity. When she was about to step over the threshold to go in, she saw her granddaughter coming out again.

"Or should we go find Xiaoyuan?"

The girl said nothing, crossed the dam, went up to the second floor, sat in the northeast corner, and waited for Li Zhuiyuan to finish his work so that she could read.

Although she was delighted with her granddaughter's changes and improvements, after the surprise gradually wore off yesterday, Liu Yumei began to feel a little sour in her heart.

This was clearly the little girl that he had brought up with great effort and care, but now all he had eyes for was Xiaoyuan.

Fortunately, they are still young and don't have that concern.

But on second thought, if he was like this when he was a child, what will happen when he grows up?
Fortunately, Xiaoyuan will return to Beijing after the summer vacation.

But what if he passed away before his granddaughter’s illness was cured?
Walking into the east room, Liu Yumei prepared to light some incense to get rid of the smell and calm her chaotic mind. Her eyes naturally swept across the memorial table.

Then she immediately turned around and looked again.

"This……"

I saw that the place where my father had placed his tablet was gone, and it was replaced by...

A cracked salted duck egg.

……

The old man’s surname is Lu, and his name is Lu Shan. He is from Xiting Town and is also the corpse lifter in the village.

The boy's name was Lu Runsheng. He was picked up by Lu Shan by the river. Although he was an adopted son, the age difference between them was too big, so Lu Shan let the boy call him grandpa.

"Little Marquis Yuan, your great grandfather and your great uncle Shan have a life-long friendship."

Lu Shan sneered: "Oh, yes, every time I am the one who takes risks and risks my life, and you pay the money."

"Hey, I believe in your ability. Besides, that little job is nothing to you. You don't need me to do it."

"You old thing, the older you get, the thicker your skin becomes."

Some jobs are more complicated and cannot be done by one ordinary corpse lifter, so he will call on his friends to do it together. Lu Shan is Li Sanjiang's familiar partner.

The two have a very good relationship, and Li Sanjiang will think of him first whenever there is a dangerous job.

For example, the Niu family’s birthday celebration this time.

Li Zhuiyuan also sensed that Uncle Shan was very dissatisfied with his great grandfather, but this was normal. Looking at the clothes worn by Uncle Shan's grandson, it was clear that they lived a rather difficult life, and as for his great grandfather... I'm afraid the daily meals at the village chief's house were not as good as his.

They are all in the same business, but their lives are so different, so they must feel unbalanced.

Aunt Liu brought the dishes. Time was tight, so she only had time to cook two dishes, one was fried sausage with garlic shoots, and the other was fried eggplant with bacon. The dishes were large in quantity and contained more meat than vegetables.

The freshly steamed rice is served in an aluminum basin, steaming hot.

When Runsheng saw the meat, he began to swallow his saliva unconsciously.

What surprised Li Zhuiyuan was that Aunt Liu, who brought the dishes, also brought a bunch of incense.

"Sister, bring me another rice bowl."

"Okay, I forgot."

Obviously, this was not the first time that the grandfather and grandson came to my great-grandfather's house. Aunt Liu had entertained them before.

Aunt Liu brought another large bowl, and Uncle Shan scooped the rice into it, then covered it with vegetables.

Then he lit the incense and stuck it into the rice and dishes on the table.

After doing all this, he began to eat the rice in front of him.

Li Sanjiang took out the white wine and poured a glass for Uncle Shan. Uncle Shan took a sip during the meal, then looked at the table and motioned Li Sanjiang to continue pouring.

Runsheng, on the other hand, just sat there, looking at the burning incense without picking up his chopsticks.

But he was obviously very hungry and couldn't wait.

Aunt Liu brought the soup over, tomato and egg drop soup with a lot of balsamic vinegar.

Uncle Shan picked up the soup bowl, poured it directly into his own basin, and continued to eat.

Li Sanjiang took out a cigarette box, pulled out two cigarettes, flicked one to him and lit one himself, cursing, "Damn it, did you come here hungry because you didn't eat yesterday?"

Uncle Shan continued to swallow, and finally picked up the basin and took all the soup into his mouth. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand with satisfaction, picked up the cigarette, tapped it on the table, and said:

"I stopped eating when I received your letter. I have been hungry for almost three days."

"I told you that you would starve to death, just wrap yourself in a straw mat and bury yourself. It's a sin that your child has to suffer with you."

Uncle Shan lit up a cigarette and said indifferently, "I picked him up, so he has to suffer with me. This is what he should do. I also told Run Shenghou that when I die, I will let him come to find you. He will work for you and you will provide him with food."

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm older than you, so I'll definitely walk ahead of you."

Uncle Shan blew out a puff of smoke, wrapped his tongue around his teeth, spat at the table, and said, "Forget it. You've been a nuisance for thousands of years. I don't have the confidence that I can outlive you. I even think it's taboo to compare my lifespan with yours."

Finally, the incense on the food burned out, and a lot of incense ash fell on the dishes and the rice.

But Runsheng didn't care at all. He brought the aluminum basin with rice in front of him and started eating.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask.

Uncle Shan, who was sitting opposite, saw this and said with a smile, "Marquis Runsheng ate dirty meat when he was a child, so now he has to vomit if he eats clean food. Even if he drinks a bowl of corn porridge on weekdays, he has to light a stick of incense first."

As he spoke, Uncle Shan suddenly leaned towards Li Zhuiyuan in a mischievous manner and asked teasingly:

"Little Yuan Hou, right? Do you know what visceral meat is?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Dead human flesh?"

Uncle Shan's face froze, he really didn't expect that the kid could ask back so calmly. He originally wanted to tease the child without telling him the answer, but now he was teased by the kid to the point of being at a loss.

Li Sanjiang said in dissatisfaction: "What is this old man talking about with a young boy?"

Uncle Shan pointed at Li Zhuiyuan and said, "Sanjiang, your great-grandson is quite interesting. He is a good material for our business."

"Bullshit, my great-grandson has to go back to Beijing to take the college entrance examination. There's no way he can go this way."

"Li Sanjiang, I despise you the most for looking down on our profession while trying to make money by fishing out corpses. God is really blind, why didn't he let me die but let you swallow me instead!"

"Oh, you're not convinced? Just hold it in."

"Grandpa, I'm going to read a book."

"go Go."

Li Zhuiyuan got down from the table and went to the second floor. The sun was shining brightly in the morning, shining on Qin Li's hair and horse skirt, like an exquisite sculpture.

Taking out the book and sitting down, Li Zhuiyuan said apologetically, "A guest came. I kept him company for a while. Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time."

Qin Li didn't say anything.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the book and began to enjoy the wonderful reading time today.

When he finished reading the volume in his hand and was about to change books, Qin Li suddenly stood up and looked behind him.

Li Zhuiyuan also looked over and found Runsheng standing there somewhat shyly.

He felt embarrassed because he was only wearing a pair of shorts. Normally, this kind of dress was normal in the village. In the middle of summer, the fields and dams in the village were full of shirtless boys and men.

But this outfit, in front of the boy and girl, seems to be in too stark a contrast.

Li Zhuiyuan's clothes and shoes were sent from Beijing. Although he was not particular about food and clothing, he was not used to being shirtless. As for Qin Li, it goes without saying about her.

Although Runsheng is older than them, when facing them, he feels inferior but also wants to come and play with them.

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Li's hand and said, "Brother Runsheng is a guest at home. It's okay."

Qin Li heard this and stopped looking at him.

Li Zhuiyuan was not surprised that Qin Li would take the initiative to see Runsheng. The girl seemed to have the ability to see dirty things. The way Runsheng ate before... it would be strange if there was nothing strange about him.

"Brother Runsheng, we are reading a book, come and sit with us."

"Ah, is this okay?" He wanted to sit down, but just smiled and scratched his head.

Li Zhuiyuan took the initiative to walk over and hold his wrist.

His body was so cold.

It was summer, and he had just eaten so much. Normally he should be sweating and having fever, but he felt dry and cool.

Runsheng followed Li Zhuiyuan over and sat down on the small bench.

Qin Li's eyelashes began to twitch and her body began to tremble.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to hold her hand again to see if he could calm her down. If not, he would have to let Runsheng sit farther away.

Fortunately, after holding her hand, she calmed down, so I had to keep holding her hand.

Seeing this, Runsheng seemed to be about to get up with some embarrassment. He could see that this incredibly beautiful girl was rejecting him.

"Brother Runsheng, please don't be so formal. Ah Li is naturally afraid of outsiders. It's not against you. In this family, only Grandma Liu and I can get close to her. Now she is fine, you can continue to sit.

By the way, Brother Runsheng, do you and Uncle Shan often go fishing together?"

Sure enough, when it comes to fishing for dead fish, Runsheng immediately becomes more natural and confident. He said, "Yes, now it is basically my grandfather who sets up the altar on the shore, and I am responsible for fishing.

Let me tell you, just three months ago, I fished out a dead body, a dead baby, that thing was really weird, really, don’t disbelieve it.”

"Did you encounter Xuan'er?"

Runsheng was stunned for a moment: "What is Xuan'er?"

"It's the kind of river where the ground easily sinks or forms whirlpools."

Runsheng slapped his thigh excitedly and asked loudly: "How did you know?"

Then, he seemed to understand and smiled: "Did your grandfather tell you?"

“I saw it in a book.”

"Book?" Runsheng looked at the book on the wooden bench in front of him and opened the page. "These words give me a headache. Is this written in the book?"

"Yes, there are many books in this set."

The "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" focuses on recording the deaths of infants, because since ancient times many places have had the bad habit of drowning infants, so the deaths of infants are endless.

There is one characteristic of this type of death, which is that it is generally carried out with extremely strong purposeful malice.

For other dead bodies, you either happen to bump into them, or quickly run away after seeing them, and most of the time you'll be fine. But baby dead bodies will deliberately circle around a specific water area and actively look for people.

The most common method is to lure people to dangerous places in the river and use the terrain to dig pits to kill them.

Even an ordinary small river can be dangerous. If you are not careful, an experienced fisherman may lose his life. They will also use some special methods, such as tying your feet with water plants while you are swimming, causing you to lose strength and drown.

Many of these babies die before they are born or die right after they are born. They have strong feelings of resentment and anger, but their own strength is weak. Unlike other types of dead, they do not have many special means. They can only use terrain to retaliate and resurrect people.

Runsheng was very surprised and asked, "Can our industry actually publish a book?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: "Of course."

Runsheng: "Who has so much free time to write about our corpse recovery?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how to answer. He didn't know who the author of the book was, but he had a vague guess. At the end of each article, the damned characters were "destroyed by the righteous path." Could it be that the word "righteous path" was in the author's name?

Runsheng added: "What's even more strange is that the book is written for people to read, but there are actually people who would read the story of recovering a corpse."

Li Zhuiyuan: “…”

At present, "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" seems to be full of useful information.

"Brother Runsheng, let's talk about what happened in detail."

"Oh, yes, I encountered a whirlpool that day, the boat capsized, and I got stuck in the mud. Fortunately, I held my breath and struggled to pull myself out, so I managed to survive it. Otherwise, I would have been buried alive in the river."

"It was really dangerous." Li Zhuiyuan added, "Brother Runsheng, you are really amazing."

Fortunately, the little yellow warbler just wanted me to lead the way at that time. If it was a dead baby they encountered, according to the date, it would be almost the seventh day after the death of the baby.

"Hehe, it's OK. The main reason is that I wanted to have a good meal at the master's house after finishing the work that day, so I went there without eating lunch. If I had eaten, I wouldn't have been embarrassed by that idiot."

"Then this time, you should eat well before going."

"Of course, I like your great grandfather's house. Every time I come to your great grandfather's house, I can eat well and have enough food!"

"Was the dead baby finally fished out?"

"It must have been fished out. It was very cunning. When it saw it couldn't kill me, it tried to hide in the water plants. I pried it along the water plants at the bottom of the water.

Seeing that it could no longer hide there, it tried to dive under the riverbed, but I dug it out forcibly like digging a potato. You can’t help but notice that it looked so white and swollen from being soaked in water that it really looked like a boiled and peeled taro.

All I need is a bowl of soy sauce and some chopped garlic.”

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that when he said this, Runsheng licked his lips.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't want to think too much about other aspects and could only assume that he was really hungry at that time.

"Marquis Runsheng, Marquis Runsheng!" Uncle Shan's voice came from downstairs, "Come down and make the bed for me. I'll take a nap before lunch."

"Here I come, sir."

Runsheng stood up and ran down.

Qin Li took the initiative to open the book on the wooden stool.

Li Zhuiyuan understood what she meant. She wanted to read with him and didn't want to be disturbed.

"Brother Runsheng is a guest. Tomorrow, Grandpa and the others will have to count on Brother Runsheng."

Think about the group that will go to the Niu family's funeral tomorrow. One is injured, one is too old to walk, and one is blind...

Only Runsheng can be relied upon.

Qin Li raised his head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan with a slightly dim look in his eyes.

She seemed to be expressing grievance.

Li Zhuiyuan squeezed her hand and said, "Okay, be good, let's continue reading."

However, after Runsheng went downstairs to make the bed, he never came back.

At lunch time, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li downstairs and saw that the father and son were sleeping on the first floor, with a bed made with a round table. They also got up and had lunch.

The amount of breakfast is indeed just breakfast, and the lunch was carefully prepared by Aunt Liu, so it can be considered a small feast.

After the grandfather and grandson had eaten their fill, they lay down on the round table bed and took a nap in the morning, and then slept until dinner time. After dinner, they fell into a deep sleep with loud snoring.

One cannot help but suspect that they have some special way of storing up energy for tomorrow's use.

Li Zhuiyuan was able to read the book almost the entire day just like he did yesterday. Today he was even more efficient and had read the 24th volume.

Because of the previous foundation and accumulation, the later deaths only require remembering their names and characteristics.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he could finish reading "Jianghu Zhiguai Lu" in another full day, and he was looking forward to the next one.

What's a little strange is that Sister Yingzi hasn't come today. Li Sanjiang muttered something, but he has something to do tomorrow, so he can only wait until tomorrow to talk to Han Hou.

This night was another dreamless night.

In the morning, Li Zhuiyuan deliberately woke up earlier than yesterday, and lay on the bed to feel it for a while. Well, he began to miss the energetic feeling after waking up from a dream.

Sitting up from the bed, Li Zhuiyuan was shocked and then found that it was Qin Li sitting on the chair in his bedroom.

The girl seemed to realize that she had scared someone, so she stood up and lowered her head.

I could feel that she was anxious and uneasy.

Li Zhuiyuan got off the bed, walked up to her, and took her hand: "It's great that I can see you as soon as I open my eyes."

The girl looked up and her eyes lit up.

She was wearing a white cheongsam today and a hairpin with flowers on her head. She looked very elegant and noble, and she exuded the fragrance of orchids.

Li Zhuiyuan washed up first, and then played three more games of chess with her, and he happily lost all three games.

When we came down to eat breakfast, Aunt Liu pointed to the two wooden stools next to us and said, "Xiaoyuan, you and A-Li eat here."

Li Zhuiyuan saw that there was another table next to him, which was filled with wine and meat early in the morning. In order to take care of Runsheng, he was considerate enough to light incense in advance.

At this time, the incense is burning;

It looks like a table of sacrificial food.

Liu Jinxia was brought here by Li Juxiang on a tricycle. Seeing Li Sanjiang, who was covered in wounds, Liu Jinxia almost cried out of fear and pointed at him and cursed:
"Li Sanjiang, you old beast, you are not a human being! You are not a human being!"

Liu Jinxia cried and made a fuss for a long time, but in the end she was reluctant to give up her job. Instead, she persuaded her daughter to go back first.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li sat at their seats and had breakfast first.

After a while, Li Sanjiang invited Uncle Shan, Runsheng and Liu Jinxia to have dinner:
"Come on, come on, everyone is here, it's time to put up the offering table!"

(End of this chapter)