Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 17

Having personally experienced two death incidents and having just finished reading "Jianghu Zhiguai Lu", Li Zhuiyuan was originally looking forward to continuing his studies on the subject of death.

It’s like after reading the concepts, you should be given some formulas, and then see if you can find an opportunity to apply the formulas to solve the problem.

But when I took out these two books, I felt like I had just learned a little bit of a course and now I had to start two new lessons.

I turned my head to look at the box, wondering whether to put the two sets of books back and start over. But my mind flashed back to what my grandfather said to me that night:
"Little Marquis Yuan, don't aim too high. You need to start from the basics."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and said, forget it, since it has been figured out, let's just wait and see.

After reading it, maybe I can tell fortunes for the dead next time?
But this kind of self-comfort does not stand up to scrutiny.

Is it to read the faces of those dead people who have been soaked into pig skin jelly?

Or did she tell the little yellow warbler and the cat-faced old lady that they have bad fates and will die suddenly?
With mixed feelings and helplessness, Li Zhuiyuan left the basement and went upstairs with two sets of books. From below, he heard Liu Yumei's voice:
"Xiaoyuan, come down and help grandma make tea."

Li Zhuiyuan looked down and saw a light bulb hanging at the door of the east room. Liu Yumei was sitting under the bulb with a set of tea sets and a Go board beside her.

"Okay, Grandma Liu."

Li Zhuiyuan responded, put the book into his bedroom desk, wiped the dust off his body with a towel, and ran downstairs.

Even if Liu Yumei didn't look for him, he would find some alone time to talk to Liu Yumei about Uncle Qin teaching him martial arts.

Especially after getting hold of these two sets of books, the idea of ​​practicing martial arts became more urgent. Since the textbooks were off topic, he could only choose to take extra classes after class to catch up.

"Grandma, have some tea."

"Ah."

After making tea, Li Zhuiyuan sat down opposite Liu Yumei. He did not rush to talk about his own affairs, but waited for Liu Yumei to speak first before he could put forward his conditions.

After all, who has nothing to do so they would make tea before going to bed at night?
However, when Liu Yumei was about to speak, the door of the east room was opened from the inside, and Qin Li stood at the door. She was wearing a white silk pajamas, which was shining under the light.

"Ah Li, go back to your room and rest first. Grandma and Xiao Yuan have something to talk about."

Qin Li didn't move.

Liu Yumei could only wink at Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Qin Li and said, "Ah Li, go to bed first. I will get up early to read tomorrow."

Qin Li turned around and closed the door.

Liu Yumei sighed. It was okay as they were still children now. But if they grew up and her daughter was still so close to the boy in front of her and listened to what he said, she would have a headache.

However, I currently have a nasal pain problem that needs to be resolved promptly.

"Xiaoyuan, come to my house tomorrow and worship the tablets at my home."

"Ok?"

"It's just a friendly visit."

"Okay, Grandma Liu."

This is like visiting a friend's house and meeting the elderly in the family. If the elderly have been enshrined in the house, you still have to pay your respects to them.

"By the way, tell Ah Li to clean up those dirty towels and stinky duck eggs."

"towel?"

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly remembered that it was no wonder that he had to find a new towel to wash and dry every night these days. He was wondering where the dirty towels had gone, and it turned out that they were all taken away by A'li.

But what are stinky duck eggs?
Liu Yumei was a little embarrassed to speak up, but she still had to bite the bullet and explain: "Ali has a habit of taking back the things you send her home. Maybe I told her so or maybe she thought so herself. She thinks that the mourning hall should be the place where the most precious things are placed, so Ali put those dirty towels there.

That duck egg must have been peeled by you for her breakfast that day. It's already stinky.

I don't dare touch the things that A'li put there, for fear that she will get angry. You are the only one who can help me clean up.

Also, teach her not to put anything else in the funeral hall in the future."

Liu Yumei was really depressed because she had to seek help from outsiders to educate her granddaughter, whom she had raised herself.

But unfortunately, I have to open my mouth, otherwise I will have to endure the smell of rotten duck eggs when talking to the tablets every day.

I'm fine, I just smell it when I talk, but the ancestors of the Qin and Liu families are influenced by it all the time.

In addition, she was also afraid that something new would be placed in the mourning hall in the future. Recently, she had been eating jelly fish with porridge for breakfast. She was really afraid that if she was not careful, A'li would take home a bowl of jelly fish that she and Xiaoyuan had eaten and put it in the main seat of the mourning hall.

"I understand, Grandma Liu. I will come to pay my respects to the tablet tomorrow."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't ask why they didn't go to pay their respects now. He knew that Grandma Liu didn't want Ah Li to think that she was telling tales.

"Well, very good." Liu Yumei nodded with satisfaction, her eyes fell on the chessboard, "Look, do you like this chessboard?"

Li Zhuiyuan took a closer look at the chessboard. It was an old item from many years ago. If you smelled it carefully, you could smell the scent of sandalwood.

Especially the chess pieces. Grab a few in your hand and they are round and cool. Although their temperament and luster are consistent, you can still see a little difference if you look closely, which means that these chess pieces are not made from molds on an assembly line, but are dripped out using ancient methods.

"Grandma Liu, this is good stuff."

Li Zhuiyuan has become somewhat immune to the good stuff Liu Yumei occasionally takes out.

Nowadays, although the label of "ten thousand yuan household" has gradually faded, it is still jaw-dropping that one can display such wealth so lavishly.

"Since you and A-Li can play Go, I'll take this thing out for you to play with. You can take it back to your room later."

"Okay, then leave it with me for now."

Liu Yumei nodded with satisfaction and was about to see the guest off when she heard Li Zhuiyuan say:
"Grandma Liu, I have been weak and sick since I was young, so I want to exercise with Uncle Qin."

Liu Yumei glanced at the boy in front of her. Although his fair and tender skin did not seem to match the appearance of a strong man, he did not look frail or sickly at all.

However, she immediately understood what the boy meant. In the past, she would have brushed him off with a few words without hesitation, but now she had just asked him for help...

Never mind, I’m just teaching some Kung Fu or something, it’s not against the rules, and I’m not teaching anything else.

"Okay, I'll go talk to your Uncle Qin."

"Thank you grandma."

"Come on, let's play the next game."

"it is good."

Liu Yumei felt a little uncomfortable being bullied by a child. She had not originally planned to play chess, but in the end she couldn't help but play a game.

Then she regretted it, and when the game reached the middle stage, she felt that the situation was hopeless.

Li Zhuiyuan initially thought that since he had gotten the upper hand anyway, he might as well vent his anger by beating up on Grandma Liu. He took it for granted that Qin Li's chess skills were all taught by Grandma Liu, and that he was definitely no match for the old lady.

But as he played, he suddenly realized that Grandma Liu's chess skills were not as good as his.

With my mental arithmetic, I can barely be considered an amateur expert, while Grandma Liu is at most a mid-amateur level.

"Grandma, I'm sleepy. How about we not get off the bed?"

"Well, then go to bed."

"okay."

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, put away the chess pieces, and went back upstairs carrying the chessboard.

Liu Yumei walked into the house and came to the bedroom. Qin Li was sleeping with his eyes closed, listening to the boy's words.

A loving smile appeared on her face.

one way or another,

My own A'li is increasingly showing more of that little girl vibe.

"Our Ah Li's illness will definitely be cured, definitely."

……

When I arrived at the second-floor terrace, I saw my grandfather standing on the edge, just finished urinating, and was in the final stage of shaking himself.

"What are you holding?"

"Grandma Liu, lend me your chessboard."

"You still need to concentrate more, read more books, and study hard."

"I know, Master."

"Well, something happened at Yinghou's home, so he can't come for a while, so you should hurry up."

"What happened at Sister Yingzi's house?"

"It is said that her Grandpa Nan and Grandma Nan are both sick and are lying in the hospital. Yinghou and her mother are taking care of them there."

Sister Yingzi’s Grandpa Nan and Grandma Nan should be her grandparents.

Li Zhuiyuan finally understood why Sister Yingzi had not come to him for tutoring these days. No matter how poor her comprehension ability was, she should have finished reading the last set of questions long ago.

"Do we need to go visit?"

"What the hell, her mother's family is in Jiuxu Port, and it takes several transfers to get there. Besides, if she is really dying, it will be your grandfather who will go. What am I going to see?"

"Oh."

"Go back to the house and go to bed early."

"Grandpa, do you have a magnifying glass?"

"Magnifying glass?" Li Sanjiang thought for a moment, "Look in the groove of the stove to see if there is one. I wanted to use it to start a fire, but later I found that it was not as good as a match. What do you want that thing for?"

"Read a book."

The characters on those two sets of books are really too small.

"Is it so hard for you to read? Do you even need a magnifying glass? How about I take you to the optician's shop in town and get you a pair of glasses?
Forget it, the glasses shop in town is probably not up to standard, so I'll take you to the People's Hospital in the city to get a pair of glasses."

"No need, sir. I'll just take a look at the picture. I'm not nearsighted."

Li Zhuiyuan first went into the bedroom to put down the chessboard, then ran to the kitchen downstairs. Sure enough, he found the dusty magnifying glass in the groove of the stove. After cleaning it, he returned to the bedroom and turned on the desk lamp.

The first thing I took out was "A Detailed Explanation of Yin-Yang Physiognomy", which consists of eight volumes.

Turning the page, there is no preface or introduction, not even a mark indicating the first article, just the content.

Li Zhuiyuan took a magnifying glass and looked at it carefully.

After reading three densely packed pages in a row, Li Zhuiyuan discovered something was wrong.

These three pages actually have a lot of words, and they are all talking about the same thing - eyebrows.

From the direction and angle of eyebrows, density and thickness, length and color... there are nearly a thousand types in total.

Starting from the fourth page, it starts talking about bags under the eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan did not continue reading, but turned two pages back and confirmed that it spent two large pages talking about bags under the eyes.

Next, let’s talk about eyelids.

Li Zhuiyuan had a vague guess in his mind... Although it was not marked as the first article, what it talked about in the early stage might all be about "eyes", right?

But after procrastinating for so long, it is still just a part of the "eye".

Li Zhuiyuan turned to the last page of the book and found that it was about wrinkles at the corners of the eyes... or the eyes.

Then, he took out the second book, read the front page and turned the pages to the back. Well, the first three pages were all about earlobes.

Turn to the last page and we'll talk about hard of hearing.

I picked up the third volume and quickly confirmed it using the same method. Yes, it was talking about the philtrum, which is the area between the lips and nose.

So, the first four books talk about: eyes, ears, mouth and nose respectively.

Logically speaking, the five facial features refer to eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Here, the eyebrows and eyes are combined into one volume, without opening the eyebrows as a separate volume.

It's quite good.

Skipping the basic concepts, Li Zhuiyuan took out the fifth volume and read the first page carefully... He didn't understand.

But I roughly found the feeling. It seems to be in permutations and combinations. Each combination corresponds to a short text description, and it is extremely concise.

The general meaning is that due to space limitations, many things have been omitted, and readers should understand them themselves.

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes, so, is this fortune-telling?

It’s not like a fortune teller comes up to you and says: “Your forehead is dark, there may be disasters in the near future.”

According to the logical narration of this book, it should be: Do you know how many permutations and combinations there are in the expression of Yin Tang?
Li Zhuiyuan couldn't understand why a fortune-telling book that was clearly about feudal superstitions could exude a strong sense of scientific rigor.

How much energy does the author of this book have to carefully observe the faces of so many people?
No, it is impossible for one person to do it, not even for a sect.

If this book was not written blindly, the author must have collected and researched countless relevant works and notes of his predecessors before he was able to summarize and conclude it.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the sixth book and read the first page carefully.

His forehead was covered with sweat and his earlobes were red, which was usually a sign of his brain thinking quickly when solving a problem.

After reading the first page, he still didn't understand the content, but he understood the rules.

If the fifth book is a permutation and combination based on the first four books about eyes, ears, mouth and nose, then the sixth book is a permutation and combination of permutations based on the former.

If you can still rely on rote memorization to pass the fifth book, then the sixth book involves mathematical calculations, and the amount of calculations is too huge.

Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and opened the seventh book.

He read the first page very quickly this time because he was just confirming his guess.

Sure enough, the seventh book is a further improvement on the sixth book, and the difficulty of understanding and calculation is not simply doubled.

"call……"

Li Zhuiyuan really wanted to wash his face, but after hesitating for a moment, he opened the eighth book.

After reading the first page of the eighth book, Li Zhuiyuan closed it.

Lean back in the chair.

He found out that he was wrong. He had been wondering why a feudal and superstitious book could exude such scientific rigor.

After turning to the eighth book,
He saw metaphysics.

The classification of eyes, ears, mouth and nose in the first four books is very much like raw data, or original numbers. The fifth to seventh books are the application of raw numbers.

To use a perceptual metaphor, it can be likened to painting. You start from the most basic points, lines, and planes, to drawing a complete object, to the layout structure, to the combination of light and shadow for three-dimensional perception...

By the time you can perfectly copy the paintings of masters and create excellent works, you have almost reached the level of the seventh book.

This eighth book... requires you to develop your own style, create a school, and become a master.

Therefore, even if this book is true, most people can only read it and cannot learn it at all, let alone the eighth book, where you have to memorize more than a thousand kinds of eyebrows.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the set of "Theory of Fate Deduction" next to him and thought, forget it, just throw it away.

I sat up straight again and opened the first volume. Hey, there is actually a preface.

Sure enough, these two sets of books are written by the same author, because the first sentence of the first line is: "After reading the previous work "Explanation of Yin and Yang Physiognomy"."

Is this a necessary prerequisite?
Continuing to read on, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that it was not the case, but that the reasoning of fate required several conditions, one was physiognomy, one was astrology, and one was the study of luck.

"Could it be that there are two more sets by the same author in the box that I haven't found?"

Soon, Li Zhuiyuan discovered that he was wrong, because in the preface, the author expressed regret that he only mastered physiognomy but was no longer able to study astrology and destiny.

In other words, astrology and luck are mutually inclusive and are not classified separately. Astrology and luck are also mentioned in physiognomy and fate.

According to the author, he feels that the true method of fortune-telling should combine these four major academic disciplines in order to truly achieve excellence.

"That is to say, after learning these four, it only improves the accuracy rate, but it is still not 100%."

The previous work, physiognomy, is one of the aids to assist in fortune-telling and improve the accuracy rate.

After finishing the preface, Li Zhuiyuan officially turned to the first page.

What appears first is a corner of a graphic. To be precise, it is just a corner of the graphic on this page, and the text is written inside the graphic.

Li Zhuiyuan turned the pages quickly, memorizing the pictures on each page in his mind. After finishing the whole book, he started to do a puzzle in his brain. He finally pieced it together, but it was still incomplete, but he could tell what it was.

It's gossip.

Therefore, when all these eight books are put together, they form a complete bagua.

And this set of books is actually... a complete new algorithm.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan had the illusion that he was not living in his grandfather's house in the countryside, but was back in the classroom in Beijing.

The old professors and their group of child students showed their sinister smiles after torturing each other.

“It really feels like studying in class.”

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the time and found that it was already one o'clock in the morning. He got up and left the house, went to the washbasin to scoop out some water and washed his face.

After he felt refreshed, he regained his fighting spirit:
"Study, study hard!"

……

In the morning, just as the sky was getting light, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, turned his head, and saw the light shining into his bedroom before the sun.

Qin Li sat on the chair, facing sideways towards him.

This is because he is afraid that it will face him like last time and scare him when he wakes up.

She was wearing a coat and skirt today, which is a lined top on the upper body and a skirt on the lower body.

The top has a dark green background with white patterns, while the skirt has a light green background embroidered with landscapes and flowers.

This made Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, who had been reading with a magnifying glass for half the night, look particularly comfortable.

After washing up, before breakfast started, Li Zhuiyuan took out the chessboard that Grandma Liu gave him last night and wanted to play chess with Qin Li.

But Qin Li looked at the normal-sized valuable chessboard and was hesitant to pick up the chess pieces.

"Don't you like it?"

Qin Li didn't say anything.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to put away the chessboard and take out the simple plastic chessboard paper that Uncle Qin bought for him in town.

After laying out the chess pieces, Qin Li immediately picked up the chess pieces and made his move.

After losing three games in a row, Li Zhuiyuan began to miss the battle with Grandma Liu last night.

However, he could also feel the improvement in his chess skills. After all, he had always been suppressed by the girl, so it was easy for him to discover and improve his shortcomings.

The girl no longer let herself lose on purpose, and by the third game, although she still lost, the atmosphere of a formal chess game was already created when the two of them played against each other.

But Li Zhuiyuan also knew that his limit would soon be reached. Unless he threw away the two sets of books in his bedroom and exchanged them for chess manuals to study, he would never be able to surpass the girl in chess.

But what's the point of doing this? Being competitive over unnecessary things would only seem childish.

"Ari, you played really well."

The girl seemed to be smiling. Although her expression was not obvious, the slightly trembling corners of her lips seemed to indicate what she wanted to do.

Aunt Liu called for breakfast. After breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the girl once again took the salted duck egg that he had cracked for her and hid it in her sleeve.

Li Zhuiyuan grabbed her hand and took out the salted duck egg:

"Ari, eat what you want to eat, don't hide it. If you want to collect things, I can give you some gifts later."

The girl's eyes lit up.

After breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan came to the east room as agreed. Liu Yumei was not in the room, nor did she drink tea outside the room as usual. She deliberately stayed away.

This was the first time that Li Zhuiyuan entered the east room. Looking at the tablets with the surnames of Qin and Liu on the mourning hall, he inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu.

It seemed like I had been to a similar place and had the same feeling before, but I couldn't remember where it was or who took me there.

Li Zhuiyuan leaned over and worshipped the tablet, performed his ceremony, and then began to put away the dirty towels and the stinky duck egg on the tablet.

Qin Li reached out and grabbed Li Zhuiyuan's arm. Her eyelashes didn't twitch and her body didn't tremble, but she also expressed her unwillingness.

In other words, it was Li Zhuiyuan who did the cleaning. If it was someone else, even Liu Yumei herself, the girl would have exploded long ago.

"Ari, listen. If you want to collect something, don't put it here. We can find a better place to put it. This place is used to place tablets for our ancestors. Do you understand?"

A'li lowered her head, she felt lost.

Li Zhuiyuan was thinking, what should he give her?

Sending her food is definitely not a good idea, as she will definitely secretly keep it and let it continue to get moldy.

"Ari, how about I give you that chess set? It's not new, it's the one we used to play chess this morning, in a small wooden box.

I'll keep it with you, and you can bring it to me in the morning, and we can play chess together with it."

Qin Li raised her head. Although she still had no obvious expression, one could feel that her whole person had become brighter.

Outside the door, Liu Yumei, who had been avoiding the door earlier and now quietly approached to eavesdrop from the corner, couldn't help but roll her eyes.

She could already imagine her granddaughter holding that set of cheap toys and taking good care of it.

When I walked out of the house, I saw Liu Yumei.

"Grandma Liu."

"Hey."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't rush to leave, but continued: "Grandma Liu, the weather is very good today. You should go out for a walk and breathe some fresh air. It's good for your health."

"I told Ali that he will teach you after he finishes his work in the evening. Don't be afraid of the hard work."

"How could that be? Thank you, Grandma Liu."

When Li Zhuiyuan was holding Qin Li's hand and going up the stairs, they happened to see Li Sanjiang coming down. When there was no work, the grandfather would usually get up late.

"How's your study going lately?"

Li Sanjiang forgot that he had asked this question last night. He just enjoyed the feeling of being an elder who cared about his child's studies.

After all, if he really looked into it carefully, he would probably find out what book Li Zhuiyuan had been reading recently.

Well, it was also because Qin Li had been accompanying Li Zhuiyuan in reading, and he was a little scared of the little girl and still didn’t want to get close to her.

“It’s a little difficult, but I’ll try my best.”

"Well, just try your best."

Returning to the northeast corner of the second-floor terrace, Li Zhuiyuan took out the book, put in place the magnifying glass, and took out a blank exercise book next to it.

In "A Detailed Explanation of Yin-Yang Physiognomy", there are many words and descriptions about "size" and "cutting". In addition, there are many more abstract ancient Chinese characters, which should be commonly used in old medical books.

Li Zhuiyuan could understand these words, but he had no specific cognitive concepts, so he could only write them down with a pen.

Fortunately, the former can be asked by Liu Yumei, who can see that although Qin Li's clothes are custom-made, they must have been tailored by Liu Yumei. The latter can be asked by Aunt Liu, who obviously knows medical skills.

At this moment, Uncle Qin had brought back the raw materials for making incense, and Aunt Liu was already preparing to make incense using the traditional method.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart, what kind of people are A'li's family...

Shaking his head and putting aside all distracting thoughts, Li Zhuiyuan officially began to recite.

There are two students in the class who really have the ability to remember everything they see.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that he could not compare with them in this aspect, the gap was very large, because he needed to pass two or even three eyes.

In the process, my neck felt a little sore because I kept bending over and holding the magnifying glass for a long time.

Li Zhuiyuan continued to read and recite with a magnifying glass in his left hand, while he pressed his neck with his right hand.

After a while, another warm and soft little hand pressed on the other side of his neck.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's lips, what an adorable obsessive-compulsive person.

Throughout the morning, except for taking Qin Li to the toilet and drinking water once, Li Zhuiyuan was reciting.

He felt that his mind was filled with all kinds of "eyes".

When I finish memorizing the “ears, mouth, and nose” at the end, there should be countless different kinds of faces appearing in my mind.

Even the hairstyle models that the largest barbershop in Beijing offers to customers are too poor and shabby for his.

After lunch, Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came.

Li Zhuiyuan was so immersed in memorizing his lessons that he didn't notice the situation on the dam. Qin Li, who was beside him, naturally didn't remind him.

When he noticed that Qin Li's body began to tremble, Li Zhuiyuan looked up in surprise and saw Cui Guiying approaching with deliberately light steps.

He hurriedly grabbed Qin Li's hand, fearing that the girl would explode at his grandmother.

Cui Guiying saw that her grandson was reading seriously. She didn't want to disturb him, so she just smiled and said, "Little Marquis Yuan, are you reading?"

"Well, grandma, where's grandpa?"

"Your grandfather is talking to your great grandfather."

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing. It has nothing to do with you."

"Is it about Aunt San's family?"

"Um... yes. They said they want to ask your grandfather to go take a look."

"Oh."

Generally speaking, when encountering a disease that is difficult to treat in a regular hospital, many family members will try unconventional methods. Moreover, it is not very common for an elderly couple to fall ill at the same time, which is indeed strange.

"This little girl is really pretty."

Cui Guiying was about to reach out to touch Qin Li's head, and Li Zhuiyuan quickly stood in front of Qin Li.

"Forehead……"

Cui Guiying was stunned for a moment and could only touch her grandson's head.

"Grandma, she's shy."

"Oh, really? We play quite well together."

After talking with Cui Guiying for a while, Li Weihan also came up to see his grandson.

However, Li Weihan only asked a few questions, such as whether she had eaten well and slept well, and then stopped talking and just looked at her.

When the time was almost right, he prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Li Weihan said, "Oh, by the way, Xiao Yuanhou, your grandfather is going on a long journey the day after tomorrow and won't be back at night. It just so happens that the villagers are going to fetch water that day, so I'll take you with me."

Cui Guiying complained: "What are you doing? Taking my son to fetch water from the river? What do you think?"

Li Weihan said unconcernedly, "It's only two days. We can sleep outside for a while. It's no big deal. This is not the past. The duration of river dredging is shorter and not so hard. Our four sons, including Marquis Lei and Marquis Pan, are going to go with me."

Cui Guiying: "Even if Uncle Sanjiang is going to Jiuxu Port and is not at home, can't Xiaoyuanhou sleep in our house?"

"Uncle said that it is not convenient to go home to sleep. After all, Xiao Yuanhou has left home and has not yet returned to secular life."

Actually, Li Weihan was thinking about his grandson originally. Besides, all the strong laborers in the family were mobilized to dig the river this time, so he wanted to take Li Zhuiyuan with him to have some fun.

"Xiao Yuanhou, are you willing to go with grandpa?"

"Yes, Master."

"Look, the kid has agreed."

Li Weihan took Cui Guiying away. He came today mainly to pass on a message to his relatives in Jiuxugang to invite Uncle Sanjiang.

It was said that a relative of a patient in the same ward came to visit, and the relative was from Shigang Town. He made the story of the corpse retriever from the Li family in Siyuan Village, Shinan Town sound miraculous.

When the in-laws heard that this was the village their daughter was married to, they immediately contacted the family and wanted to ask them to go out and take a look.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan went to wait on the dam. Liu Yumei did not break her promise. Uncle Qin took Li Zhuiyuan to the back of the house and began to teach him kung fu:
Horse stance.

According to Uncle Qin's request, Li Zhuiyuan began to squat, and then Uncle Qin's hands made adjustments at each force point, while he told him to pay attention to every detail.

After an hour of adjustment, Uncle Qin finally stopped talking.

Li Zhuiyuan was so tired that he was sweating profusely and his legs were shaking.

But Uncle Qin just let him rest for a while and then squatted for another hour.

When going up the stairs back to the house, Li Zhuiyuan held on to the wall.

In the evening, Liu Yumei was sitting at the door of the house to enjoy the cool air, and Uncle Qin walked over and stood beside her.

"How's it going?"

"You have a really good brain."

"No limbs?"

“No, no, what I mean is that he has a good brain and can learn things quickly. He understands things much faster than I did when I was a kid practicing martial arts. He can already feel the rhythm of rooting under his feet.

But practicing Kung Fu requires hardship after all, let's see if he can persist."

"Why, you want to accept a disciple?"

"No, I don't have that idea."

"Teach me well. Remember, I only teach you Kung Fu."

"OK, I see."

Liu Yumei returned to the house, sat in front of the tablet, picked up a piece of cake on the altar, took a small bite, and chewed slowly.

There was no foul smell in the mourning hall now, and she could feel much more relaxed.

"The Li family kid that Ah Li likes to play with has started learning Kung Fu from Ah Li. Let's see if he can stick with it. If he's smart and can endure hardships...

Oh my god, I really wonder how his mother gave birth to such a child. "

Liu Yumei was getting ready to go to bed. She wanted to let down her hair first. When she reached out to take the bronze mirror on the dressing table, she felt empty. She looked carefully, but there was no bronze mirror on the table.

But it was impossible for a thief to break into this room, and no one would touch her things, unless...

Liu Yumei walked towards the bedroom and looked at her granddaughter who was sleeping soundly with a small wooden box in her arms.

"Ari, you're not going to take my bronze mirror as a return gift, are you?"

……

For the next two days, Li Zhuiyuan lived a very regular life, reading books and doing horse stance exercises.

The horse stance was very painful on the first day, and his legs were still sore when he woke up in the morning. But on the second day, he felt much more normal. By the third day, he no longer felt the pain or fatigue.

I just squatted down in a horse stance, imagining myself as a tree growing on the ground. Following Uncle Qin's teachings, I swayed my body slightly with the rhythm of my breathing and heart rate. Even my brain, which had felt groggy after reading all day, became much clearer.

However, during these three nights, Uncle Qin didn't teach me anything else except how to do the horse stance.

Li Zhuiyuan was not in a hurry because he was making faster progress in reading.

It was not difficult for him to just memorize and pile up arithmetic. After three full days and reading under the lamp in his bedroom at night after squatting, he had already read the seventh volume of "Explanation of Yin and Yang Physiognomy".

In addition, he also read three books on "Theory of Deducing Fate" and barely mastered the basic algorithms for deducing fate.

However, he also knew that this was an early advantage gained by relying on his strong learning ability.

From now on, if you want to go further, you will have to spend time and energy to overcome it bit by bit.

Especially the eighth volume of "Explanation of Yin and Yang Physiognomy", he hasn't started reading it yet, but in his heart, he already knows how difficult it is. But this eighth volume is the most important!
However, even if I haven't achieved great success, after learning these things, I always feel itchy in my heart and eager to try and see the practical effects.

On the second-floor terrace, Li Sanjiang was lying on a rattan chair, smoking a cigarette and drinking tea, while leisurely listening to "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty" on the radio.

Li Zhuiyuan came over and asked, "Grandpa, when is your birthday?"

"What's wrong?"

"I want to remember it in advance so that I can celebrate my grandfather's birthday."

"Hey, what a coincidence! You passed it just before you went back home. You'll have to wait until next year to pass it again."

"Then tell me first so I can write it down."

"Good good."

Li Sanjiang told the boy his birthday. The boy asked about it in great detail, even asking about the time. Li Sanjiang didn't take it seriously and told him everything.

Next, Li Sanjiang discovered that his great-grandson was looking at him carefully for a while, and then writing and drawing on a notebook.

"Xiao Yuanhou, what are you writing?"

"calculate."

"Math question?"

"Yeah, almost."

"Let Grandpa take a look." Li Sanjiang reached out and took the notebook, and found that what was written on the notebook were not numbers, but horizontal and vertical lines that were either dense or loose.

"what is this?"

"Count the steps."

"Do all teachers teach this now?"

"Well, this way of calculating is fast."

"Oh, then you should calculate and study hard."

"Hmm." Li Zhuiyuan continued to calculate while observing his grandfather's face.

"Little Marquis Yuan, I am going to Jiuxu Port tomorrow and will not be back at night. Marquis Han said he would take you to dredge the river?"

"Well, I have made an agreement with you."

"Okay, then follow me out for some fresh air. Your grandfather misses you too. Let me tell you, your grandfather loved your mother the most back then, but now he loves you the most. Your grandfather is really partial."

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan figured it out. His brows were furrowed, and his whole body revealed a dejected look.

"Hey, Xiao Yuanhou, what's wrong with you?"

"Master, I miscalculated."

"If the calculation is wrong, then it's wrong. It's okay as long as you know it's wrong. Just calculate it again. It's not a big deal."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Based on his calculations and deductions based on his grandfather's face and fate, he concluded that his grandfather's fate was as follows:
[Died young, suffered from many diseases, had a short life span, had no money, was afraid of water, and was forbidden to take shortcuts. 】

He looked at the results of his calculations, and then looked at the grandfather lying in front of him listening to the opera.

If there are only one or two mistakes, or one or two are vague, then it's fine. After all, I haven't learned everything, so it's normal to make some mistakes.

But how did this go all wrong?
No, it's not just a simple miscalculation, it's completely the opposite!
A strong sense of frustration rose in my heart. This was an experience that I had almost never encountered in my past studies and life.

Before, I felt a little smug about my ability to learn quickly, but now, it’s all gone.

"Grandpa, I'm going back to my room to sleep."

"Okay, go ahead, go to bed early, your grandfather will pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Grandpa, you should go to bed early too."

Looking at Li Zhuiyuan's lonely back as he walked away, Li Sanjiang scratched his chin in surprise and thought:
This kid just got one question wrong, is it necessary to make such a fuss?

……

Go back to the bedroom and sit down at the desk.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the two sets of books in front of him, and suddenly he had the urge to throw away his pen and push all the books to the ground.

He didn't want to study anymore and developed an aversion to learning.

He supported his face with his left hand and played with the bronze mirror on the desk with his right hand.

That night he discovered that the small Go box had disappeared, and a very antique bronze mirror appeared in its place.

He knew that it must be A'li who took his gift and gave him another gift.

The self in the bronze mirror looked depressed.

As he watched, he suddenly felt that this was the normal behavior for someone of his age.

This time, when he faced this inexplicable emotion, he did not feel panic or fear, nor did he need to repeatedly hypnotize himself to convince himself of his identity.

I didn't expect that getting the problem wrong could have such an effect.

Li Zhuiyuan's feeling of frustration gradually subsided. He took the mirror with his left hand and continued to look at his face in the mirror. Then he picked up the pen with his right hand and began to calculate.

Let me calculate myself again.

There is a saying that a doctor should not treat himself.

But what is countless times more taboo than this sentence is...one should not calculate his own destiny.

However, Li Zhuiyuan learned fortune-telling from two sets of books he had moved out of the basement. He had no teacher to teach him, and the author of the book obviously did not consider that there would be people who could read and learn this book without knowing such basic things. It's like the first page of a math textbook, which doesn't give you a multiplication table.

Think about it, think about it,

Li Zhuiyuan felt a little dizzy.

I must be tired. Well, I'll go to sleep after I finish my calculations.

Keep counting.
Feel like you have a runny nose, do you have a cold?
Reach out and touch it, look down,
Fortunately, I don’t have a cold.

Not snot.

is blood.

"Snapped!"

Li Zhuiyuan's little face hit the desk and he passed out.

(End of this chapter)