Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 22

As Li Zhuiyuan was reading, he felt hungry, but Aunt Liu hadn't called for dinner yet, and she was still busy preparing the food in the kitchen.

Breakfast was brought forward because of Xue Liangliang's shout, and lunch was delayed because of Runsheng's arrival.

I guess everyone is hungry by now.

Li Zhuiyuan went to the room and selected some snacks and placed them between himself and A'li. At the same time, he made a mental note that next time Uncle Qin went to buy snacks for him, he must remind him to buy them in pairs, otherwise it would be difficult for him to choose, because A'li liked to eat the same snacks as him.

When the grandfather came back on the tractor last night, he brought himself a box of Jianlibao. Li Zhuiyuan also took two bottles, opened them and placed them in front of A'li.

Ali held the Jianlibao in both hands, lowered her head and looked at it carefully.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately said, "Drink it, and don't keep it."

Ali lowered his head even more.

"If you like, I'll get you an unopened bottle later."

Anyway, this thing has a long shelf life and is sealed. Li Zhuiyuan felt that since Grandma Liu had experienced the devastation of rotten duck eggs, she should be able to easily accept a can.

Ah Li immediately picked up the drink, took a sip like Li Zhuiyuan, then stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

"Is this your first time drinking?"

A'li looked over. Her expression was not very vivid, but Li Zhuiyuan could still understand it.

"If you like to drink, I have a box here. You can drink a bottle and take it away. When you're done, I'll ask Grandpa to buy me more."

Ah Li quickly took another sip. Although she did not do anything else, the following thought seemed to have emerged in Li Zhuiyuan's mind:
A cute little girl holding a Jianlibao, with curved eyebrows and swinging her legs happily.

"Shall we play chess?"

Upon hearing this, Ahri immediately took out the small chess box that had been placed beside her.

After setting up the chessboard, Li Zhuiyuan and A'li started playing. Both of them had always agreed to play fast chess, but this time, in the middle game, the two sides were evenly matched and kept competing until the end, when Li Zhuiyuan was narrowly defeated.

This was the most difficult victory for Ah Li since the two of them started playing chess. The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. She was not unhappy, but looked even brighter.

Li Zhuiyuan, who lost the game, smiled. This time, he had a sudden idea to apply part of the algorithm of "Theory of Deduction of Fate" to Go, which produced unexpected results.

The chessboard is still the same chessboard, but in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, it has come alive, which makes his chess techniques more flexible and varied.

However, after the second game started, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that A'li's style had also changed.

After I reminded her not to give me a handicap, she really didn't try to lose to me on purpose anymore, but she never minded playing with me a little longer. What she cared about was the experience of the process, and winning was just an inevitable result for her.

But this time, Li Zhuiyuan found that A'li's chess style suddenly became stable. Step by step, he hardly left himself any flaws and opportunities. No matter how flexible and changeable he was, it was meaningless in front of a mountain.

I lost, I was overwhelmed by the girl’s chess skills.

Yes, whether it is face reading or fortune telling, it just gives you another perspective to look at the world, and you still remain yourself.

Having an extra angle is a good thing, like having an extra pair of eyes or ears, but if you are too obsessed with it and think that you can do whatever you want once you have mastered it, it would be like a little ant standing on the elephant's head and looking around, thinking that it is that tall. That would be ridiculous.

Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan remained silent, A'li reached out and gently pulled his sleeve.

Li Zhuiyuan showed a warm smile on his face: "I was just thinking about what I read in the book, not because I lost the game. How could I be unhappy if I lost to A-Li?"

Just as I calmed the girl down, Aunt Liu downstairs finally called for dinner.

They still had separate dining tables, but after Runsheng came, Li Sanjiang finally had a lonely companion.

Li Zhuiyuan first divided the small plate for Ah Li. Just as he picked up the chopsticks and took two bites, he heard a "gurgling" sound coming from behind him, like thunder in a dry land.

I turned around and saw that it was Runsheng, who was sitting in the corner, whose stomach was rumbling.

There was a large incense stick made by Aunt Liu in his rice bowl, which was already lit. He was sitting there, waiting for the incense to burn out.

Once a person has gotten over being hungry, the feeling of hunger is often not that strong, but when delicious food is placed in front of them again, the dormant feeling of hunger will return double.

This feeling of having something so close yet having to endure the timer and wait is indeed a torture for Runsheng.

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously, "Brother Runsheng, do you have to wait until the incense is burned out before you can eat?"

"Yeah, that's right." Runsheng swallowed hard, then made a stirring motion with his hands, "You have to mix it with incense ash before you can eat it."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered this habit, which Runsheng had told him before, but what he wanted to ask this time was: "Brother Runsheng, is there a big difference between eating it mixed with ash after cooking and eating it directly?"

"Ah?" Runsheng was stunned for a moment. "I really haven't thought about this. Don't normal people have to wait until the incense is burned out?"

"But would a normal person mix rice with incense ash?"

"Then... let me try?"

Runsheng took out the incense from the rice bowl, took a bite of the unlit end. While chewing, not only did he not show any pain on his face, but his brows relaxed, as if he found it particularly refreshing.

Then, he picked up the chopsticks and impatiently scooped a few big mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. After swallowing it, he looked at the incense in his hand with a look of surprise and exclaimed:

"Xiao Yuan, I really ate it, and I don't feel sick anymore!"

Aunt Liu makes incense using traditional methods. Although this thing is not meant to be eaten, it's not a big deal if you really eat it. Well, considering Runsheng's spleen and stomach, even a small thing might have little impact on him.

Runsheng happily took a bite of the delicacy, then shoveled away the rice with great effort. He was eating with such great joy that it seemed as if what he was holding in his hand was not a delicacy but a scallion to go with the rice.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Brother Runsheng, would you like some sauce?"

"Sauce?" Runsheng thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes."

Aunt Liu got up and went into the kitchen, brought Runsheng a bowl of salty sauce for his breakfast porridge, and placed it on his small table.

Runsheng picked up the big incense, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite. It was so delicious that his eyebrows almost flew up.

"Xiaoyuan, you are amazing. This is much more delicious than waiting for the incense to burn out before eating it."

Runsheng seemed to have opened the door to a new world and he ate with great relish.

Li Sanjiang took a sip of white wine, and looking at Runsheng's eating posture, he couldn't help but laughed and scolded:

"Damn it, I'll have to find a way to get you some authentic Northeastern soybean paste. It tastes good with anything."

Li Zhuiyuan drank a mouthful of soup, looked at Li Sanjiang, and asked, "Grandpa, have you been to the Northeast?"

Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, sat with his legs apart, and posed like a mountain eagle:
"Of course I have been there. Back then, I was drafted into the army and sent directly to the Northeast. Later, I was very agile and ran all the way from the Northeast to Shanhaiguan."

Once he opened his mouth, he couldn't stop talking. Li Sanjiang took another sip of wine and continued:

"After entering the customs, I planned to walk back south along the railway, but before I had gone far, I was drafted again, given a set of clothes, and pushed to the front line to fight again.

But this time I had experience, so I took advantage of the fact that Shangguan was drunk, took advantage of the opportunity, and sneaked away with a group of people at night.

When we were almost reaching Xuzhou, our hometown was right in front of us, but then we were caught again.

But this time it happened very quickly. On the third day, the team I was in was disbanded. The platoon leader originally wanted to reorganize us, but I worked hard to get him to do it, and the entire platoon that was about to be reorganized was disbanded again.

After that, I became more cautious and didn't dare to walk along the railway or the main road anymore. I just walked where the road was smaller and there were fewer people. Only then did I return home safely.

After I got home, I felt uneasy again and was caught again. But I had gained experience in sneaking away. If they caught me during the day, I could sneak back at night.

After that, I went home and hid myself secretly, not daring to go out anymore, and I hid in Ansheng all the time."

Li Zhuiyuan exclaimed: "Grandpa, you are really amazing."

My grandfather actually participated in all three major battles.

Although they are on the opposite side, they are also constantly contributing to the front battlefield.

Li Sanjiang touched his hard chin and said modestly: "It's okay, it's okay, haha."

Runsheng had already finished half a bowl of rice and was taking a short break when he interrupted:

"I met a movie projector on the way here this morning. He said that the movie would be shown in the town market tonight. The name of the movie is "Crossing the River Reconnaissance".

Xiaoyuan, do you want to go and see it tonight?"

"Brother Runsheng, after we finish our meal we are going to the Niu family in Shigang."

"It's okay, it's okay." Li Sanjiang waved his hand, "Just fool around over there, we should be able to come back early and catch up."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Ah Li in front of him. He knew that the girl could not accept the scene of so many people standing close together:

"I'd better not go. I'll stay at home and read. Brother Runsheng, you and Grandpa can go and watch."

At this time, Liu Yumei suddenly said, "Ali must go, even if she has to sit far away, she has to go see this movie."

Li Zhuiyuan noticed the slight tremor in Liu Yumei's voice, turned his head and saw that she was still eating normally, but the corners of her eyes seemed a little red.

This was the first time he saw Liu Yumei lose her composure like this.

After dinner, Runsheng pushed the cart out from home, and Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan sat on it.

Runsheng's cart is very stable and you can hardly feel any bumps, but the speed is still a bit slow.

"Run Sheng Hou, in the next few days, you should learn how to ride a tricycle. It's faster."

"Uncle, why don't you buy a tractor so I can learn from it. It's faster than that."

"Do you think I look like a tractor?"

Runsheng stopped talking.

Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette, looked at Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Little Yuanhou, do you think we should buy a TV?"

"Grandpa, if you want to see it, you can buy it."

"The master is asking about you."

"Oh, I don't have much time to watch TV."

There are so many boxes of books waiting for me to read in the basement, so I don’t have time to watch TV.

"You little kid."

Li Sanjiang also wanted to use the TV to please his great-grandson, but he found that he didn't seem to be very interested. He gave him pocket money, but he only asked for things he bought himself and didn't even go to the canteen on weekdays.

Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, said excitedly, "It's good to buy a TV, good."

"Okay, push it faster. Do you still want to watch a movie tonight?"

"oh oh!"

When they arrived at the intersection in front of Niu Fujia's house, Li Sanjiang got off the car in advance, straightened his clothes, then seriously raised his peach wood sword and wiped it carefully with a cloth.

After completing these preparations, he walked into Niu Fuji's house.

The people who came to greet him were Niu Fu's two sons and two daughters-in-law. As soon as Li Sanjiang came in, they served tea and snacks, and were very enthusiastic.

Li Sanjiang sat down and started talking to them.

This type of employer is actually the easiest to deal with, because they will tell you everything like spilling the beans, and then you just need to follow their lead.

Li Zhuiyuan was looking for Niu Fu in the house. He checked several rooms but couldn't find him. This made him suspect that Niu Fu no longer lived here.

After leaving the main house and coming to the firewood room next door, Li Zhuiyuan finally found Niu Fu.

In my original imagination, Niu Fu should be lying in bed, unable to move, and being neglected...

But I still thought too highly of the filial piety of Niu Fu's children.

Niu Fu, who was paralyzed on one side of his body due to an accidental fall, did not even have a bed and was placed directly in the woodshed.

The haystack under him was his bed. On the left was a pile of dry firewood and on the right was a towering pile of miscellaneous items.

There were two bowls next to it. One bowl was filled with water and was relatively clean, while the other bowl was dirty with who knows how many layers of dirt had accumulated on it. It should be used for rice.

As for Niu Fu's clothes, his upper body was naked, with no clothes on, and he was wearing a pair of shorts on his lower body. The shorts were dirty, almost scabby and stuck to his body, and they smelled terrible.

Yes, his children didn’t even want to let him sleep in a bed, let alone wash his body or change his clothes.

Li Zhuiyuan covered his nose with his hand and moved a little closer.

The last time I saw Niu Fu, although he had a hunchback, he was strong in other aspects. After all, he was only 50 years old, and at this age in the countryside, he was still considered a "strong laborer".

But now, Niu Fu had lost too much weight, and he kept mumbling with his mouth open, and it was unclear whether he was talking or having an uncontrollable reaction.

When Li Zhuiyuan came in, he turned his head slightly to take a look, then moved back and looked at the roof blankly.

After watching for a while, Li Zhuiyuan came out and stood outside the woodshed, breathing in the fresh air.

"Meow."

A cat's meow was heard, and on the wall beside me, a disabled, ugly old black cat walked out.

It looked at Li Zhuiyuan and raised its paw to lick it.

"Don't you think it's too quiet?"

The black cat froze in the act of licking its paw.

"Everyone treats each other as if they don't exist, and there's a lack of interaction. If you make some noise at night, it will escalate the conflict."

"Meow……"

This time, there was a tremor in the cat's meow.

Li Sanjiang performed a ritual in the yard. His two sons, who were too busy to wash dishes for their father, now knelt in front of the altar with their wives, looking extremely pious.

After the ritual was completed, Li Sanjiang patted their shoulders one by one with his peach wood sword and said soothingly:

"Don't worry, you know what evil things your father has done. Some debts should be paid by the old man. You won't be implicated. Just put your mind at ease.

If you feel that the bad luck has not yet gone away, there is a way. You can transfer the remaining bad luck to other close relatives. However, you must keep your mouth shut and never tell anyone, otherwise you will no longer be relatives."

"Lead, lead, we lead, sir, please help us lead!"

"Forget it, let's not do it. It's too damaging to others and will ruin my practice."

Li Sanjiang started to take the red envelope, and when another red envelope was sent to him, he sighed,

"Well, if that's the case, I'll help you get rid of your bad luck, but you have to keep your mouth shut and don't let anyone know about this."

"Uncle, don't worry, we understand, we understand."

Li Sanjiang performed a ritual for them and said after finishing it:
"Okay, the remaining bad luck has been directed to the second and third brothers' homes."

With the endless thanks from the Niu family, Li Sanjiang walked out with Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng.

As they were sitting in the cart going to Niu Rui's house, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandpa, I thought you were going to lecture them."

"Preach to them? Haha, I am not crazy. Is there any need to preach to people who need to be preached even for supporting their parents?

It would be better to ask for more money so that I can buy more pork heads and wine.

I just hope that nothing will happen to the Niu family again. If anything happens, it will be hard for me to cover it up, and I’m really afraid that it will ruin the reputation.”

"Didn't you solve the death?"

"Yes, that's right."

Li Zhuiyuan knew clearly that nothing would happen again. After her three children were tortured to the end, the old lady with the cat face would disappear on her own.

When we were almost at Niu Rui's home, we saw Niu Rui squatting on the dam, decocting medicine on a small stove. Next to him were his children, who were mocking him, saying that his medicine was useless except for wasting money and that it wouldn't cure the disease.

Niu Rui had beaten someone to death when he was young. Although he relied on his biological mother, Old Lady Niu, to clean up his mess, he was still a hot-tempered person at heart.

He couldn't hold back his anger anymore, stood up, and slapped his daughter-in-law who was still holding the child.

The son roared and came up to hit Niu Rui, and Niu Rui started fighting with his son again.

Although he had a strange disease, his condition was just under control and he wrestled with his son on the ground, the fight was difficult to resolve.

Upon seeing this, Niu Rui's wife screamed and scratched Niu Rui's face, angrily scolding him for being a good-for-nothing who not only spent the family's money on buying medicine at his old age, but also dared to attack her own precious son.

The children's crying, fighting, and yelling came together, like a symphony being played on the dam.

Only when Li Sanjiang arrived did they calm down, and then all the bruised and swollen faces of the whole family were replaced with fawning smiles.

Niu Rui was rescued personally by Li Sanjiang. The Niu family also heard the voice of the long-deceased old lady Niu coming from the old house, so they naturally believed in Li Sanjiang.

After respectfully inviting Li Sanjiang into the house, everyone began to cry and beg.

After Li Sanjiang comforted them, he started to perform rituals.

After finishing the first set, Li Sanjiang said the same words to drive away bad luck. Niu Rui's son immediately handed over another red envelope, and Li Sanjiang performed another ritual.

But before leaving, Niu Rui secretly stuffed a red envelope into his pocket, begging Li Sanjiang to exorcise evil spirits and cure his illness.

Li Sanjiang also accepted it and said that he would light a perpetual candle for him after returning, but he also told him that no matter what, he had to take the medicine on time and not stop.

This can be considered the professional ethics of a person in a niche industry. I take your money to pray for you and to provide you with psychological comfort, but you have to continue taking medicine and seeing a doctor when you are sick.

However, this instruction will undoubtedly continue to intensify the conflict between Niu Rui and his family.

Because Li Zhuiyuan knew that Niu Rui's disease could not be cured, and this would be a bottomless pit that would constantly bring you hope and deeper despair. Niu Fu completely lost the ability to take care of himself after being paralyzed, so his status suddenly declined, while Niu Rui was still in the struggling stage.

Although Niu Rui is not in such a miserable state right now, as long as the current conflicts continue to accumulate, more brilliant fireworks will surely explode in the near future.

Look at the hatred his family has towards him. The ending will not disappoint.

Therefore, when the black cat passed by him this time, Li Zhuiyuan just nodded calmly.

When he arrived at Niu Lian's house, Li Sanjiang was invited in by her family as usual.

Li Zhuiyuan did not see Niu Lian in the main house, so he went to the woodshed to look, but still didn't see her.

Finally, he saw Niu Lian tied with an iron chain next to the pigpen. On the other side was the family toilet.

This means that every time her family members come here to use the toilet, they can sit on the dragon chair and talk to her.

He is quite considerate of the old lady, fearing that she would be lonely.

The bowl she ate from was right next to the pig trough, and next to the bowl was a spoon for scooping feed for the pigs. It looked like when the pigs were fed, she would be fed at the same time.

As long as the pigs have something to eat, they will never forget her.

She is awake now and not numb. When she sees a stranger coming, she covers her face with her hands to hide her shame.

Li Zhuiyuan saw her grandson and granddaughter. One had a bandage on her head and the other had a bandage on her arm. They were probably injured when Niu Lian had an attack.

The two children spat at her and threw stones at her. They were not throwing them in a playful way, but specifically at her body.

The child’s parents also saw it, but did not stop it. Instead, their eyes were filled with hatred.

The black cat walked out from the eaves above the pigsty.

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing and walked away. Then, Niu Lian's pleading voice was heard next to the pigpen. She said that her illness had been cured and begged her children to let her go, saying that she was now well.

What greeted her were verbal abuses from her children and several fierce kicks from her son.

Niu Lian was kicked and curled up in the corner, howling like a dog.

Obviously, they believed it before and were "cheated".

The black cat jumped down step by step along the high and low objects, and finally walked to Li Zhuiyuan's feet, rubbing Li Zhuiyuan's trouser legs with its cat face.

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and touched its head.

The black cat enjoyed it so much that it almost leaned over and opened its belly.

The grandfather began to perform a ritual and, as usual, received an extra red envelope to help divert the bad luck to those two families.

When leaving Niu Lian's house and heading home, Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, held the cart steadily with one arm, and began to count with his fingers with the other hand:

"The first, second, and third families all asked the master to pass the bad luck to other families. Isn't that the same as not passing the bad luck on?"

Li Zhuiyuan corrected him: "Brother Runsheng, it's different."

"What's different?"

"Because the master collected three extra charges."

"Oh, Xiaoyuan, you are right!"

When he got home, it was just time for dinner. After eating, Li Sanjiang yawned and waved his hands: "I won't go to the movie. I'll take a shower and go to bed. I'm so tired."

The rituals today were so intensive that even a young person would not be able to endure dancing six times in one afternoon. But the old man gritted his teeth and persevered in the end. His physical fitness is truly beyond reproach.

Uncle Qin was waiting with many stools in his arms. Aunt Liu didn't even bother to clean up the dishes as usual. She put aside all the housework temporarily and waited.

Liu Yumei changed into a cheongsam, wore jewelry, and put on rouge.

For an old lady of her age, she often wears makeup not to look good, but to express respect.

The movie was being shown in an open space next to the town market, and before it even started, people had already arrived to grab seats.

Uncle Qin and Runsheng squeezed in, put down the bench, and forced a space.

Given their physique, people around them dared not say anything and could only lower their heads and move their stools away.

However, Uncle Qin took out a lot of candies from his pocket and gave them to the children, and also took out cigarettes and distributed them to the adults. The people around him happily accepted them and no longer had any complaints.

Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu sat between the two of them. Although she was old, she still had a graceful figure. Looking at her from behind, she seemed out of place with the surroundings.

As for Li Zhuiyuan, he and Qin Li sat in a deserted corner far away. It was a bit far from the screen and quite off-center, so the viewing experience was not good, but it was quiet and undisturbed. In itself, such a crowded place was not very suitable for Qin Li.

There were a few small vendors pushing carts setting up stalls in the back, selling cheap snacks and toys. These vendors could also be seen at weddings and funerals, and they would go wherever there was popularity.

Some children were buying things, but more could only watch enviously from the side and give some advice to the children who had money to buy things.

Li Zhuiyuan touched his pocket. When he was living in Li Weihan's house, Cui Guiying would give him some pocket money regularly. However, every time he got the money, his brothers and sisters would gather around him and take them to Aunt Zhang's store to buy snacks for everyone.

On the second day after being sent to my grandfather's house to "become a monk", Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came to give me clothes and stuffed some money into my pocket, this time even more.

In addition, Li Sanjiang would also give himself pocket money, and Li Zhuiyuan didn't have much consumption needs in his daily life, so he saved all the money.

At least among children, he is considered very wealthy.

"Ari, sit here and wait for me."

Then, Li Zhuiyuan walked to a stall and bought two bubble-blowing toys.

After coming back, there was one for him and one for Qin Li.

While the movie was playing, the two of them kept blowing bubbles in the back.

Ah Li had a lot of fun playing and soon finished the pot. Considering that the girl liked collecting, Li Zhuiyuan bought her three more.

At the same time, I scanned three stalls and finally bought a pair of hand ropes.

In fact, there are quite a few small accessories on the stall, such as bow hairpins, colorful headbands and so on, but Li Zhuiyuan took into account that Ah Li's outfit is designed and dressed by Grandma Liu herself every day, and felt that if she wore these, the effect would be negative.

Most importantly, he knew that if he gave it to her, she would definitely wear it, so he finally decided not to deprive Liu Yumei of the joy of changing her granddaughter's clothes every morning.

Ali looked at the red bracelet on her wrist. She must like it very much because she stopped blowing bubbles.

However, she quickly looked at Li Zhuiyuan's wrist again.

Li Zhuiyuan raised her hand, revealing her blue bracelet. She was satisfied and continued to blow bubbles.

After the movie ended, Liu Yumei and the others came out.

Runsheng was very excited while watching the movie. He kept repeating the lines from the movie. He also lamented that there was no war to fight now, otherwise he could have gone to be a scout crossing the river.

Li Zhuiyuan agreed with him with a smile, and in his heart he felt that Runsheng was quite suitable for the position and his professional ability was just enough.

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu were very silent. It felt like they had just attended a relative's funeral.

Liu Yumei held a handkerchief and wiped her tears as she walked.

Li Zhuiyuan greeted her politely, but when he saw that Liu Yumei was unwilling to talk, he gave up.

As the group was walking back from the town market, they saw Aunt Zhang from the grocery store running over on the opposite village road:

"There's a phone call coming, there's a phone call coming, it's for Xiao Yuanhou!"

……

The on-site seminar on the boat on the river lasted much longer than expected. Local comrades would certainly seize every opportunity to promote this project with all their might. Luo Tingrui also played to his expertise in his professional field and began to explain some of the key difficulties of the project to the leaders around him.

In fact, most of the comrades on the ship knew nothing about water conservancy and engineering, but that did not prevent them from listening with great interest.

The construction of this bridge requires not only professional considerations, but also the integration of shipping needs, urban planning, highway construction and even military factors.

The most important factor is the speed of social development. We have learned similar lessons before. We thought the advance planning was bold and radical at the beginning, but not long after it was completed, we found that it was still too conservative.

Finally, when it was getting dark, the seminar ended.

The boat started to move towards the shore, and everyone took out cigarettes and shared them with each other.

Xue Liangliang didn't smoke, so he stood alone by the side of the boat. After learning that Baijia Town might be under his feet, he felt a little uneasy.

Suddenly, he heard some movement beneath the river.

He looked down and saw a figure emerging from beneath the water.

At this moment, a hand patted his shoulder and Xue Liangliang was startled.

Looking back, it was Luo Tingrui.

"What's wrong, Liangliang? I noticed that you were distracted just now."

"Director, I'm fine."

"Why, you don't like attending meetings like this?"

"No, Director, I may not have had enough rest. I know the importance of this kind of meeting."

"Well, since you plan to join this industry in the future, you must learn to adapt. We professionals tend to look down on administrative staff, but without efficient and stable organization, many things cannot be implemented. Sometimes, the more professional you are in some aspects, the more amateur you appear in other aspects."

"I understand, Director." Xue Liangliang knew that Luo Tingrui was giving him some advice.

"Let's go, we're going ashore. Have a good sleep on the way back, so as not to delay tomorrow's class."

"Okay, Director."

After returning to the shore and getting on the bus, Xue Liangliang sat in the back seat. Soon after the bus started, he fell asleep in a daze.

While sleeping, Xue Liangliang suddenly found that his lower body felt a little cold. He opened his eyes and was stunned. He was sitting in the car seat, but he didn't know where the water came from, and the water level had reached his waist.

He looked forward. The low lights in the car were on, so he could see the people sitting in the front and even hear their whispered conversation.

"The car is flooded, driver, master, the car is flooded!"

Xue Liangliang shouted, but no one paid any attention to him, as if no one noticed.

"Master, stop the car, the car is flooded, Master! Director, Director!"

Still no one responded to him.

Gradually, the water level reached the chest level. Xue Liangliang started to open the car window, but it was pitch black outside and the window could not be opened at all.

At this moment, a figure seemed to flash through the darkness in front of him, so fast that Xue Liangliang thought he was dazzled.

But soon, the figure appeared again, with his face pressed against the car window.

The dim light from inside the car illuminated the dim face, and it was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

"Click..."

But at this moment, the car window was suddenly opened and pulled to the maximum.

The next moment, the water in the car seemed to have finally found the only outlet, and all rushed towards him.

Xue Liangliang felt as if his entire body was squeezed out by the water. He was washed out of the car window and fell into darkness, his body continuing to drift uncontrollably.

"Crash..."

I didn't know how long I had been drifting. It was as if I was filmed by Jiang Tao. I felt a sharp pain in my body and woke up.

He lowered his head and found himself lying on the river bank, with rugged rocks below him, and his palms, arms, chest, thighs and other parts were all covered with blood marks.

There were no major wounds, but such large-area abrasions were indeed very painful.

Enduring the pain, Xue Liangliang stood up with difficulty and looked around. The moonlight above his head was shrouded in a layer of gray fog, making the environment below also hazy.

But I could roughly tell that this was the riverside, not far from where I had boarded the boat for the seminar.

But didn’t I leave Nantong by bus a long time ago? How did I get back here?

Xue Liangliang felt confused, and suddenly, he saw a woman appear in front of him.

The woman was wearing a blue skirt and a ponytail. She was holding a porcelain vase in her left hand and a black umbrella in her right hand.

Why does she hold an umbrella?

When Xue Liangliang had this thought, he realized that it was raining heavily. The huge raindrops hit his body and it hurt.

This rain...has it been falling all the time?

"Hey, who are you!"

Xue Liangliang yelled at the woman.

The woman seemed not to hear what he said, and walked straight towards the river with her umbrella.

After getting closer, Xue Liangliang saw the woman's face clearly. Her makeup and eyes were a little worldly, but she looked very young.

The main reason was that after Xue Liangliang came out of Siyuan Village, he first went to the hospital and then to the riverside. He had no chance to look at the police bulletin board, otherwise he would have seen the woman's photo appearing there at this time. The police had already issued a wanted notice for her.

At this time, seeing that the woman was still walking towards the river, Xue Liangliang reached out and grabbed her arm holding the umbrella:
"What are you going to do? Don't think too much about it. You can't go forward!"

The woman ignored him and continued walking forward.

"Pfft..."

Xue Liangliang only felt an incredible force coming from the woman, which actually knocked him over.

Then he found that his hands seemed to be stuck to the woman's arms and he could not break free. He was being dragged towards the river by her.

This posture is really uncomfortable. Not only can I not maintain my balance, but my lower body is also constantly rubbing against the stones.

When the woman stepped into the river, Xue Liangliang was able to balance his body with the help of the buoyancy of the water. But then he felt a strong sense of choking and suffocation, which was even more terrifying.

He struggled hard, but to no avail.

The woman continued to move forward. She was walking on the bottom of the river. It was pitch black all around her. Xue Liangliang floated up. One hand was still on the woman's arm, but his whole body was above the woman.

He wanted to shout, but every time he opened his mouth, the water rushed in and completely blocked his voice.

He had to use his other hand to grab the woman's hair, and after wrapping the hair around his hand, he began to exert force.

The woman's body shape did not change at all, and she continued to move forward at the bottom of the river. Xue Liangliang's original upward force turned into a downward force, which made his whole body stick to the woman's back.

The hair began to grow incredibly long, and they were extremely tough. Even if there were only a few strands hanging there, Xue Liangliang was unable to tear them apart. Instead, the more he tried to break free, the tighter he was tied.

In the end, he was almost in a position where he was hugging the woman from behind and the woman was carrying him on her back.

The desperate feeling of suffocation continued, and Xue Liangliang could no longer calculate how long he had not breathed. He felt very uncomfortable and in pain, but for some reason, he was still conscious.

This is by no means a blessing, because it allows you to taste the suffering more clearly and intuitively.

Now, he was praying that he could drown quickly so that he could be freed sooner.

I don’t know how long it took, but light appeared in front of me.

How could there be light under the Yangtze River?
And under the light, the shadow of the house can be vaguely seen.

At the bottom of the river, there is not only light, but also real villages and towns.

Suddenly, Xue Liangliang felt that all the hair that had been binding him had flown away, and even the hand that was stuck could be released.

Instead of floating upwards, he fell to the ground.

The woman continued to move forward, following the guidance of the light, and continued to move towards the vaguely visible village.

Xue Liangliang was extremely horrified to find that there was not only the woman in front of him who was carrying him down, but there seemed to be many figures in the darkness at the bottom of the river within his sight. They were all women with long hair, wearing clothes of different styles and even from different eras.

They all had dead expressions on their faces, walked without any emotion, and were all moving in the same direction.

The water around him seemed to flow in a fixed direction. Xue Liangliang, who was slumped on the ground, felt his body being pulled in that direction uncontrollably.

He instinctively tried to grab anything that could hold onto him, but every time he tried to grab onto stones, they were overturned. When he tried to grab onto mud, he brought up a cloud of mud that quickly diluted and dissipated.

No matter how much he resisted or how unwilling he was at the moment, he could not change the reality that he was being forcibly taken away.

at last,

As I got closer to the light, I saw that it was just a beam of light from a distance, but when I looked closer, I realized that it was a collection of red and white lantern lights converging together.

The image of the village also became more three-dimensional and clearer, with houses arranged in an orderly manner. At the door of each house, there was a niche with a lamp lit that emitted a faint green light.

Right in front of him, there appeared an archway. It was very majestic and ancient, and covered with a lot of moss.

Two rows of hanging lanterns are hung on both sides, from top to bottom, from large to small.

The red lantern on the left represents joy, while the white lantern on the right represents silence.

Xue Liangliang looked at the center of the archway, where there were three words.

Read from right to left,

"Baijia Town."

(End of this chapter)