Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 23

The woman from before was now standing inside the archway. The umbrella in her hand was gone, and she was holding the porcelain vase in both hands.

At this time, Xue Liangliang was surprised to find that after coming under the archway, not only did the pulling force of the water disappear, but even the previous horrible feeling of suffocation disappeared.

He immediately began to breathe deeply, however, he just kept doing this action without getting the desired effect.

My mouth and nose seemed to be blocked, and no fresh air came in at all.

He suddenly realized that what had changed was only his feelings, but the reality before him had not changed.

He is still at the bottom of the river.

But how is this done?
He is good at swimming. When he was a child in his hometown in Anhui, he often played in the water and swam with his friends. After going to college, he would occasionally go to a swimming pool with his classmates to swim several laps.

But he didn't think he was such an outrageous swimmer. After being in the water for so long, he had already exceeded his breath-holding limit.

I touched under my ear and it was still the original skin, with no gills grown.

He even looked back and looked behind him and further away. He wondered if he had drowned long ago, and now he was just...

Xue Liangliang hugged his head tightly, trying to force himself to calm down. This method, which was very effective in exams and when looking at design plans, was useless at this moment.

He was still panicking, his body was still shaking, and his teeth were still chattering.

He was very scared. He was scared of the environment at the bottom of the river, of the memorial archway, and of the woman standing inside the archway holding a porcelain vase. He desperately wanted to escape from here, if possible.

At this time, the woman moved and began to walk inside.

Xue Liangliang did not move. He did not dare to walk into the archway, nor did he dare to actively explore the town.

However, after creating some distance between the woman and him, that terrible feeling of suffocation reappeared.

Xue Liangliang had to stagger forward a few steps quickly, and the feeling of suffocation disappeared again.

He understood that as long as he was too far away from that woman, that feeling would appear.

The woman continued to walk in front, and Xue Liangliang had no choice but to follow her and enter the archway.

He had no choice. For someone who had just experienced the suffocation of despair, going back to experience it again would be several times or even dozens of times more tormenting.

There was clearly no connection between the woman and him, but there seemed to be a chain, one end in the woman's hand and the other around his neck.

Behind the archway are more than thirty consecutive steps leading down.

Xue Liangliang couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. Logically speaking, unless the specific terrain and environment forced them to be built in this way, most of the ancient villages and towns with archways would not choose this kind of layout where the archways sink as soon as they enter the main gate.

The ancients preferred to raise the terrain a little bit, with the archway at the front and the terrain at the back raised a little, so that it could show more momentum.

Here, not only is it not raised, but it is also deliberately sunken, and the sunken area is so big.

No wonder the buildings in the town looked very hazy when I looked here from the outside before, because half of them were actually covered, leaving only the upper half visible.

In addition, the shape of the steps is also very strange. Generally, the edges at both ends are designed to be smooth and glossy, and most of the area in the middle is steps for people to walk up and down. But here, there is a huge smooth surface in the center, and the steps for people to walk are on both sides. Not only are they very narrow and small, but also very steep.

When walking down, Xue Liangliang sometimes had to turn sideways, as if everyone walking here had bound feet.

After going down the stairs and coming to the flat ground, what comes into view is a stone brick road that is not very wide and even seems a bit cramped.

Moreover, these bricks are not laid flat. All of them are stood upright with the small end facing upwards. This not only consumes more bricks but also increases the construction workload.

At the same time, due to the erosion of time, even the best ancient roads will have bumpy surfaces. And here, because of the strange brick design, it is impossible for you to find an open space for your feet to land steadily.

Every time you take a step, only a small part of your foot is solid, and the rest is empty. You have to walk very carefully, otherwise you may sprain your ankle and fall if you are not careful.

Fortunately, the woman holding the porcelain vase in front didn't walk too fast, so Xue Liangliang was able to keep up with her.

After getting used to the road conditions, Xue Liangliang began to look at the houses on both sides.

The layout of the houses is very compact, and the overall architectural style is that of the Jiangnan water towns, with white walls and gray tiles.

There is a groove less than half a meter wide between the entrance of each house and the road, with stone slabs on top. This should be a drainage ditch.

Xue Liangliang couldn't understand the point of building a drainage ditch at the bottom of the river... unless this town joined the river later.

On the left side of the door of every house, there is a niche with a candle burning inside, emitting a faint green light.

At first, the doors of the houses that came into view were all closed, but soon, Xue Liangliang saw that some were open, and it was pitch black inside and he could not see clearly.

An uncomfortable feeling also emerged in Xue Liangliang's mind. This feeling did not come from inner fear and oppression, but from a sense of irrationality, especially when he saw the doors of these houses.

After thinking for a while, he finally figured it out. It was because there were no thresholds under these doors.

Modern buildings have naturally abandoned thresholds long ago, and people are used to seeing and using them, but the problem is that in traditional-style buildings, because doors are often designed to be very high and long, once there is no threshold, it will give people a very unharmonious feeling.

It's too direct and too eerie, like a monster opening its mouth, making you afraid.

"what!"

While walking, Xue Liangliang suddenly saw a person sitting in a residential building with an open door on the right.

He was so frightened that he took two steps back. The damn uneven ground made him lose his balance and he slipped to the ground. The direction where he sat down happened to be facing the door.

Inside the door, there was an old woman sitting. Her skin looked very pale and slightly swollen, as if from being soaked in water for too long.

She was wearing a blue coat, the same bright color as the shroud, but more complicated in design.

Her head, neck, and hands were covered with all kinds of jewelry.

She just sat there, as if she had been sitting there for a long time, fortunately, she had her eyes closed.

"Huh...huh..."

If her eyes were open, Xue Liangliang felt that he might be frightened to death without realizing it.

Although the environment he was in and the woman leading the way were both very strange, the unique design of the residential buildings, combined with the people sitting inside, were able to create another more impactful horror in the already strange atmosphere.

Xue Liangliang got up. He felt a sign that the suffocation was about to reappear, so he immediately jogged forward a bit, shortening the distance between himself and the woman.

In my mind, I still see the old woman sitting in the door. It is pitch black behind her and no furniture can be seen.

This makes this compact two-story house look like a tomb that belongs to her alone.

An open tomb.

It turns out that this is not a vacant and flooded town.

So, are there people in those houses with closed doors that I saw when I came in?
Those houses with open doors but no one inside, could their owners... be on the second floor?
Thinking of this, Xue Liangliang subconsciously shortened the distance between himself and the woman.

Although he was also afraid of this woman, when he thought about the fact that there were tombs on both sides of the houses and he was walking in the middle of the tomb path, he seemed to be more comfortable with the woman in front of him. At least, she would move.

As he walked, Xue Liangliang saw a second house with its door open and someone sitting inside.

This is a young girl, wearing an embroidered dress with her hair tied up high, looking very solemn. She sits there with her hands folded on her knees, her eyes closed, and her lips are particularly bright red.

After Xue Liangliang glanced at her, he shuddered and looked away.

Then, he saw a woman wearing cheongsam sitting in the doorway. She had a very thin waist and sat in a very seductive posture. Her hands were placed at her sides, and there seemed to be a smile at the corners of her mouth.

It seems to be silently attracting you to walk inside and talk to her.

Xue Liangliang discovered that the deeper they went, the more houses there were with open doors, and a greater proportion of women sitting inside.

From the time he saw the first old woman to now, he has seen more than a dozen women sitting at the door.

They were of different ages and had different clothing styles, but they all dressed very formally, much like the old people in the countryside who would prepare their own burial clothes and supplies before passing away, wanting to show their most respectable side at the funeral.

This is what they carefully designed for themselves...their appearance after death.

Because of soaking in water, their skin color is very white, even too white.

But unlike those giants formed after being soaked in water for a long time, they generally did not deform, or at least retained their original state to a great extent.

What is even more difficult to understand is that the dead were either sick or injured during their lifetime or passed away naturally due to old age. In short, their basic condition would not be very good.

But among them, even the oldest woman still retained a sense of calmness.

It seemed that they did not die when their energy was running out, but chose to die on their own initiative when they still had the ability to live on.

To be honest, if there were really all kinds of tragic deaths, Xue Liangliang would not be that scared.

But it is precisely this kind of atmosphere, where I deliberately dress up well, sit here, show myself to you, or look at you, that makes him feel extremely stressed.

In a trance, I felt lost in consciousness. Was I observing them, or were they sitting in the room, observing me?

In a state of shock, Xue Liangliang bumped into the woman's back.

The woman stopped at some point.

The woman didn't move after the collision, and Xue Liangliang fell backwards to the ground.

The woman didn't look back, but turned right and walked in another direction.

Here, there is a crossroad with two small land bridges on both sides. There is no water underneath, and they are purely for decoration and feng shui purposes.

Xue Liangliang got up and could only follow the woman around the corner.

Next...the doors of all the houses on both sides were open, and there was a woman sitting in each house.

"what……"

Xue Liangliang felt that he was about to have a mental breakdown. Although they all had their eyes closed, the intensive "feeling of being stared at" still existed, making him extremely painful and confused.

He could only choose the most ostrich way, following the woman, half-lowering his head and not looking to the sides.

Although he couldn't help but see some things out of the corner of his eyes, and although his heartbeat began to get faster and faster, he finally held on.

A normal person would go crazy if he came here.

If Xiaoyuan were here, he would behave differently from ordinary people, right?
Forget it, Xiaoyuan, you’d better not come here. I don’t know if I can get out alive. No, I’m not even sure if I’m still alive now.

Finally, the houses on both sides disappeared.

Xue Liangliang stroked his forehead and took deep breaths. Even though it was just a simple action, he needed to relieve the pressure in his heart.

Then, immediately catch up with the woman.

Now, without the terrifying gazes from both sides, he could finally raise his head and look forward.

In front is a small open area, where stands an ancient building that is clearly different from other houses.

It should be the ancestral hall of Baijia Town.

Xue Liangliang couldn't help but stop and ask himself, should I go in?
Then he walked forward, as if he had a choice.

"Squeak..."

The dark door of the ancestral hall slowly opened when the woman approached.

This ancestral hall still has no threshold, and after entering, there are steps leading downwards. The middle is still a large smooth area, with only a little space on both sides for walking down.

Passing through a not very spacious square courtyard, the woman continued walking inside.

As Xue Liangliang followed her, his eyes were attracted by the old well in the middle. The well mouth was not pointing upwards, but sunken downwards, and a nearby area was also sinking downwards.

This is not something that is formed later, it is designed this way from the beginning.

There are rusty chains around the walls of the well.

This made Xue Liangliang wonder whether it was convenient for the people above to go down and get water, or for the people below... to climb up.

We have arrived at the core location of the ancestral hall.

The woman held the bottle, knelt down, and did not move forward.

Xue Liangliang approached her, came to the side, and looked at the woman again.

Why would this young woman, who was obviously dressed in modern clothes and had a worldly air, appear here, and be so familiar with this place... as if she was going home?
So, should I continue to stay here with her, or should I go inside and take a look?

With her as the center, he had a certain range of movement, but before, he had always been following behind her and didn't dare to go in front.

But he chose to continue standing beside the woman and not go anywhere.

But gradually, the feeling of suffocation reappeared.

He began to feel uncomfortable and painful, and subconsciously clutched his neck with both hands.

However, the woman was here, kneeling diagonally in front of him. Why did this feeling come again?
Xue Liangliang moved closer to the woman, but the feeling of suffocation did not disappear.

Is it useless?

He couldn't imagine that in such a gloomy and depressing place, he had to continue to endure the endless torture of suffocation. What kind of torture with no end in sight was this?

"Uh...ah..."

Xue Liangliang also knelt down, wailing in pain.

His consciousness became blurred again and again at this time, and then regained clarity again and again. He hated this current clarity of mind because it made his spirit be repeatedly whipped and tortured.

With a "thump", Xue Liangliang leaned forward and fell sideways.

Because there was no threshold, strictly speaking, half of his body had entered the core of the ancestral hall.

At this moment, he suddenly found that the feeling of suffocation had eased.

After a brief hesitation, he immediately moved his body further inside, and the feeling of suffocation was reduced again.

He understood that the woman holding the vase was useless. The chain that was holding her was broken, and the new chain was inside!

He continued to crawl a little further until the feeling of suffocation completely disappeared and he was finally able to stand up.

Looking back, it was pitch black outside the door, and only the woman holding a vase at the door could be vaguely seen.

Looking in front of him again, he saw a huge red coffin.

There was a shelf under the coffin to raise it up, so when Xue Liangliang stood on tiptoe, he could only vaguely see a little bit of the yellow lining inside the coffin. He could not see anything inside unless he climbed onto the coffin.

With trepidation in his heart, he slowly moved around the coffin, preparing himself that something might pop out at any moment.

However, after he walked around the coffin, nothing scary happened.

Opposite the head of the coffin, there should be an altar table or tablet stand, but there is none, only an armchair.

On both sides of the coffin are blue brick walls.

The ancestral hall in the center of Baijia Town seems too simple and deserted, like a house that has been built and renovated but not yet occupied.

But is it really like this?
Xue Liangliang's mind flashed with the women sitting in the houses he passed along the way. If everyone died at home, there seemed to be no need to place tablets in the ancestral hall.

So, is there a way out here?

Xue Liangliang did not give up on saving himself. He vaguely felt that the way out should be in this ancestral hall.

Next, he plucked up his courage and stopped just circling the coffin. He started to move around a wider area, sticking to three walls and groping as he walked. He made a complete circle.

He would even knock on the bricks with his hands to see if he could find a hollow secret door. At the same time, he would stomp his feet on the ground extra hard when walking to feel out whether there was a tunnel.

Unfortunately, he didn't find it.

The area here is actually not too big, but it is too empty, so empty that it is difficult to hide anything.

So, what about the top of the head?

Xue Liangliang raised his head and looked upward. It was a very ordinary old-style roof with beams. There was no way for him to climb up and feel around unless he found some tools.

But, do we go to those houses to look for tools?
When Xue Liangliang thought of those women sitting behind the doors of the houses, he felt a chill on his back. He wanted to go around them and search their houses... He would rather stay here.

"Ok?"

However, after walking around for a long time and arriving at the entrance, Xue Liangliang was surprised to find that the woman who was kneeling there holding the porcelain vase was gone.

No one knew where the porcelain vase had gone.

This sudden change made Xue Liangliang feel terrified again. The woman who had followed him all the way was actually the most familiar "thing" to him here.

Her disappearance is equivalent to putting herself back into confusion and loneliness.

He wanted to look for the woman to see if she had changed her kneeling position or gone to some other place, but when he was about to walk towards the door, even though he was still some distance away from the door, the feeling of suffocation appeared again!
However, I didn't have this feeling when I just walked into the door before.

Xue Liangliang took a deep breath of air that didn't exist at all, then he rushed to the door with all his strength. The suffocation came again, and he endured the pain and went outside. He looked around, but he didn't see the woman. She really disappeared. She was really not here anymore.

At the same time, the outermost door of the ancestral hall that I had entered through earlier had been closed at some point.

And now, it was his limit, he didn't even have the ability to run to the yard.

He could only run back quickly, his feet began to feel weak, and he fell to the ground, his body like a shrimp that was being squeezed dry of water.

Finally, he crawled to the coffin again, the feeling of suffocation subsided, and he was redeemed again.

But when he raised his head and looked toward the bottom of the coffin, he couldn't help but wonder: Is this really salvation?
After recovering for a while, he got up and began to move tentatively to the side.

He was horrified to find that as long as he was some distance away from the coffin, the feeling of suffocation would appear, and more rapidly.

But before, I could walk along the wall and touch the bricks with my hands.

This means that the scope of one's activities has been reduced again.

He came to the head of the coffin and suddenly his eyes blurred. He seemed to see a person sitting on the armchair facing the head of the coffin.

But when I looked again, the man was gone.

No, it’s not my eyes playing tricks on me. It may be like this in other places, but not here!
Xue Liangliang walked around the coffin again, then quickly came to the head of the coffin again.

This time, he saw that there was indeed someone sitting on the armchair, and that person... was himself!
Xue Liangliang clenched his fists. He felt like he was going crazy. He couldn't understand why that guy who looked exactly like him was sitting there.

If he is Xue Liangliang, who am I?

He reached out and touched his face and found that the touch was no different from before. After confirming that he was still himself, he looked up again and found that the armchair was empty again.

Although there was a high probability that he would see the person on the armchair again if he ran around the coffin again, Xue Liangliang did not have the courage to do it again.

At the same time, he couldn't do that anymore.

Because the feeling of suffocation appeared again, even though he was supporting the coffin with one hand, the feeling of suffocation still came.

It was shrinking, as if I had been standing in an invisible underwater bubble. The bubble had been moving before, and now it was shrinking.

Once you lose its protection, you will never find a moment to breathe.

Xue Liangliang began to press himself against the coffin. He found that the closer his face was to the coffin, the weaker the feeling of suffocation became.

But gradually, he realized that it was not enough and the feeling of suffocation was getting worse.

No, I can't, I can't do this...

Xue Liangliang put his feet on the shelf below, grabbed the edge of the coffin with his hands, and began to climb up.

After he got up there, he felt relaxed again, and he once again successfully escaped the suffocating pursuit.

But when he lowered his head and looked down, his eyes froze instantly, his mouth opened wide, his arms lost strength, and he fell down.

He saw that there was a person lying in the coffin!

A woman wearing red clothes, a red veil on her head, with her hands on her belly!

The pain after falling is secondary. The most terrifying thing is being enveloped by the feeling of suffocation again.

Before, Xue Liangliang could still run outside to check for the woman's whereabouts, but now, he seemed unable to accept it as long as he left the safe area.

If it was just suffocation originally, now it feels like a pair of invisible hands with terrifying power are strangling your neck.

You no longer just suffer from the torment of suffocation, but also the direct pain of your neck being constantly pinched and twisted.

Xue Liangliang immediately got up, put his feet on the shelf again, grabbed the edge of the coffin with both hands, and lifted himself up.

Under the stimulation of great pain and torture, he overcame his inner fear just to find that moment of comfort.

However, this comfort probably won't last long.

He tried his best not to look at the woman lying in the coffin. He shifted his gaze, from top to bottom, in the direction of the coffin head. He saw himself again on the armchair.

However, the person on the chair was wearing different clothes from the person now. He was wearing a black coat with a flowing and shiny look, purple trousers, a hat on his head, and a red flower on his chest.

It looks very much like...the way grooms used to dress.

Especially the face that looked exactly like his own, which frightened Xue Liangliang so much that tears were about to flow out.

At this moment, he felt that he, sitting on the armchair, was more terrifying than the woman in the coffin.

So, he lowered his head and looked at the woman.

When I entered the town earlier, all the women behind the doors of the houses were sitting without exception, but this woman was lying down, and she was lying in the most central position of the ancestral hall.

At this time, the feeling of suffocation reappeared.

Xue Liangliang felt like an animal being driven with a whip.

Although he already had some guesses in his mind, he still leaned his head forward, looking up, left and right to feel the changes in the intensity of the suffocating feeling.

In the end, he found that his guess was correct. The only way to be safe was to go inside the coffin.

He clung to the side of the coffin with both hands, making his final inner struggle.

However, the approaching and increasingly intense feeling of suffocation greatly shortened his hesitation time.

He exerted force from his waist, put one foot on the edge of the coffin, and reached down with both hands to hug the inner wall of the coffin.

His original intention was to only let his upper body stick out and keep as much distance from the woman inside as possible.

However, he overestimated his physical strength. When he finally flipped over, he was no longer able to maintain his balance to take the next step. Instead, he lost control and fell into the coffin.

He hugged the woman, whose body was very cold and slippery.

But this kind of slipperiness is not in the conventional sense. It is more like jellyfish or some kind of secretion. In short, it makes people feel extremely uncomfortable physically.

at this time,

Xue Liangliang was horrified to find that the woman in front of him slowly raised her head.

As she moved,

The red veil that originally covered her face,
Also slowly sliding down.

"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"

On the Baijia Town archway, the white lanterns on that side suddenly turned red.

Starting from this point, the candles in the niches at the doorsteps of all the houses in the whole town also turned from dark green to red, exuding a festive atmosphere that was both eerie and creepy.

"Squeak..."

"Squeak..."

The tightly closed doors of the houses were slowly pushed open from the inside at this moment.

The woman who had the door open and was sitting inside slowly stood up.

quickly,

Women of different ages and dressed in different eras walked out of their houses, stepped on the bluestone slabs on the gutters, and came to the roadside.

They appeared from houses in various parts of the town, then lined up and moved slowly at the same speed.

The direction in which they gathered was the ancestral hall in the center of the town.

Although they all still had their eyes closed and no one opened their mouths, the rustling sound continued to emerge in the town.

At first, it was faint and chaotic, but gradually, the sound became louder and more regular.

In the end, they all merged into one unified voice, like a crowd singing, resounding over the Baijia Town:

"Blessed by the heavenly officials, the Bai family is looking for a son-in-law!"

……

"Hello, I'm Li Zhuiyuan."

"Hello, do you know Xue Liangliang?"

"know."

"I seem to have heard your voice before. My last name is Luo. Have we met somewhere before?"

"You are, Director Luo? I am the kid who was with Brother Liangliang yesterday."

"Oh, it's you."

"Director Luo, what happened?"

"Something happened to Liangliang. When he was unconscious, he kept mumbling 'Xiaoyuan' and also read out this phone number."

"Brother Liangliang, what happened to him?"

"He fell into the water on the boat and is now in hospital. The doctor said his condition is very serious."

"Can I go see him?"

"Okay, I'll send a car to pick you up right away and give you a specific location."

"Shijia Bridge in Shihnan Town. We will wait for the bus there."

"Row."

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuiyuan immediately raised his arm and found that the mark had completely disappeared and did not reappear.

So, what's going on with Brother Liangliang?

Could it be that the lady from the Bai family still holds a grudge and comes to take revenge on him?
But this shouldn’t be the case, aren’t they already broken?
Li Zhuiyuan took out some pocket money from his pocket and said to Aunt Zhang, "Aunt Zhang, I'll buy a pack of cigarettes and some candy for my great grandfather."

"Okay, I'll get it for you right away... Here, just right."

"Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

Li Zhuiyuan put the cigarettes and candies into his pocket and walked towards home with a serious expression.

He vaguely felt that this matter should be related to the Queen of the Bai family, and it was definitely not a simple case of falling into the water and fainting.

Otherwise, Brother Liangliang would not have been muttering his own name and phone number when he was unconscious.

The most important thing is that if things were not strange enough, Engineer Luo would not have sent a car to pick up his child so late at night. He must have been very anxious.

Back at the dam, Aunt Liu was clearing the dishes and cleaning, while Uncle Qin was chopping wood, all of which were tasks that had been delayed because of watching the movie.

The light in the east room was on, but the door was closed. Liu Yumei and A'li should be in the room. After watching the movie tonight, Liu Yumei's mental state was very bad.

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Uncle Qin and asked, "Uncle Qin."

"Xiaoyuan, what's the matter?"

"It's not my soy sauce bottle that fell over, would you lend a hand to help?"

Uncle Qin: "..."

"It's the college student who stayed with us last night. Something happened to him and he's in the hospital now.

I won't tell anyone about this, let alone tell my grandfather, so Uncle Qin, can you help me?"

Uncle Qin felt in his pocket and took out some money: "Xiaoyuan, do you want to pay for his medical expenses? I have some money here. I'll ask your aunt for some more later and then send it all to your friend."

"Okay...thank you Uncle Qin."

Li Zhuiyuan could only nod. It seemed that he had no choice but to wake up his grandfather and ask for his opinion.

However, the old master probably had no other choice, because that day he also showed his fear of the lady of the Bai family and chose to retreat.

At this time, the door of the east room was opened from the inside.

Liu Yumei, who had changed into pajamas, walked out with her hair loose, her eyes still red.

"Ali, follow Xiaoyuan to the hospital to deliver the money."

"Okay, I know."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Liu Yumei in surprise. He just wanted to give it a try, but he didn't expect that Liu Yumei would nod so readily this time.

"Xiaoyuan, wait a moment. I'll go get the bike out."

"No need, Uncle Qin, let's go to the bridge on the south side of the road at the entrance of the village and wait. A car will come to pick us up."

"Oh, that's good. Let's go then. If we come back late and your grandfather wakes up, your aunt Liu will tell him for you. Don't worry."

"Ah."

"Do you need to get anything?"

"No, we can go now."

Before leaving, Li Zhuiyuan bowed to Liu Yumei and said, "Thank you, grandma."

Liu Yumei didn't respond and turned and went into the house.

After Li Zhuiyuan and Uncle Qin left, Aunt Liu came in with a basin of hot water. After putting the hot water on the shelf, she picked up a comb, walked to Liu Yumei's side, and helped her take care of her hair.

The rings of time will ruthlessly crush everyone. Last year, Liu Yumei's hair was only silver-gray, but now, only the surface is still this color. When you comb your hair open, you can see soft white hair underneath.

As Aunt Liu combed her hair, she couldn't help but choke up a little.

"why are you crying?"

"Didn't cry."

"Heh." Liu Yumei put the tablet she had just wiped back in her hand.

“I want to know why you agreed this time.

Even if Uncle Sanjiang doesn’t know, it really has nothing to do with Uncle Sanjiang, but Xiaoyuan also lives here after all, and he and Uncle Sanjiang are still relatives, what if…”

"Of course I know what could happen." Liu Yumei looked at the rows of tablets in front of her, "But I'm in a bad mood today, so I don't want to worry about what could happen for now."

Aunt Liu combed her hair silently and didn't say anything else.

Liu Yumei's voice suddenly rose: "Why, am I, an old lady, so old that I don't even have the qualifications to be willful?"

"No, you do, you do!"

Liu Yumei stood up, pointed at the tablets, and said excitedly:

"These guys took their fleet and went there without telling me. My whole family, no, both families, kept it a secret from me!
Well, they were all very generous, but when they died without a single one left, leaving me an orphan and a widow, did they ever think about me?

They didn't even want to keep any spirits, and sacrificed them all, leaving me looking at these lifeless tablets for decades without even a soul to talk to!

Why can they be so willful? I have to stay here carefully all the time, afraid that any mistake will cause my good fortune to backfire.

It's not fair..."

As she spoke, tears welled up in Liu Yumei's eyes. She supported herself on the altar with one hand and covered her face with the other.

Aunt Liu was heartbroken, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

A few moments,

Liu Yumei put down her hands, raised her head again, looked at the tablets, and said with a smile:

"Haha, did you see it? Did you see it? You're gone. It's only been a short while, but those white rats at the bottom of the river dare to crawl onto the shore and disgust us."

Liu Yumei's expression became solemn, and her eyes became sharp:
"Then I'll slap it back.

Let them remember,

On this river,

Who has the final say? "

(End of this chapter)