Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 379

Upon hearing about the winning travel destination, Chen Xiyuan's already anxious heart finally sank to the bottom.

Oh no, now I'm in a real mess.

She had originally intended to bring her younger brother's great-grandfather to her home as a guest, partly to repay the favor of having stayed at his house and eaten and drunk so much. Aunt Liu had told her that the food expenses for everyone in the family were paid by Grandpa Li.

Secondly, the younger brother can stay at his own house for a while longer, making it easier to steal more things from his own house.

Right now, she really didn't want Grandpa Li to go.

Despite the fact that her grandfather had always been at a disadvantage and the one being bullied in his interactions with her grandmother throughout their lives, she was well aware of her grandfather's keen insight.

It is said that when he was still in his mother's womb, before he was born, his grandfather gave his mother's family a generous gift, which elevated the status of his mother's family, saying that his mother was a great contributor to the Chen family.

Therefore, there's no reason why something that even you can see out of your own mind could be kept from your grandfather.

"Ayou, what should I do?"

"Hmm? What do you mean, what should we do? Let's just go. Walking on the beach and strolling through the coconut groves would be nice."

Lin Shuyou felt that the award was "obtained" by Chen Xiyuan, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with Grandpa Li going to Hainan.

Chen Xiyuan didn't know how to explain for a moment, so she could only ask, "In the past, when Grandpa Li won the prize, did he always go to the lottery?"

Lin Shuyou: "We'll see."

When it came to the "Code of Conduct for Walking Along the River" and the fact that Grandpa Li often fetched water from the river for them, Lin Shuyou felt that he could not reveal it without permission.

He had been "whipped" by the Three-Eyed One, and Zhao Yi had extracted all sorts of information from him in various ways. He learned from his mistakes and eventually developed a sense of vigilance and discretion.

Chen Xiyuan: "Then I'll go back and tell my little brother the truth. I can't let him misunderstand that I had ulterior motives."

Lin Shuyou: "Hahahaha!"

Chen Xiyuan: "What are you laughing at?"

Lin Shuyou: "It's nothing. I just think that Brother Xiaoyuan is so smart, he definitely wouldn't misunderstand people."

"Yes, indeed, the little brother is so smart, and I am so..."

Chen Xiyuan came to her senses and stared at Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou turned his head away, scratched his head, tried to hold back his laughter, blushed, but then couldn't help but laugh again.

In the past, I was always the one being teased and amused, and only realized things later. This is a rare opportunity for me to experience it for myself. I realized that Three-Eyed and Brother Bin have always been so happy.

Unfortunately, those outside the team are still outsiders; those who have lit lamps and worshipped the Dragon King can no longer follow others across the river.

Therefore, other teams can only cooperate; they can't really join their group, at least not before Xiao Yuan's trip to Jiang ends.

Lin Shuyou started to miss Mengmeng. When Mengmeng was around, he could be considered her equal.

He wasn't worried at all that Mengmeng would definitely come back. What he was worried about was that Mengmeng would secretly study hard during her time in the underworld.

“Youhou, little girl, come here.”

Li Sanjiang waved in front of the mourning hall.

"Here comes Grandpa Li!"

Chen Xiyuan went over first.

Lin Shuyou locked the tricycle and tore up the lottery ticket, throwing it into the vegetable garden next to him.

Manager Liu had previously cursed that all of Grandpa Li's family would die in an orderly fashion, but besides Grandpa Li, Brother Yuan, and a few others, there were also two, no, three branches of the Dragon King's family in Grandpa Li's house.

He cursed the three Dragon Kings' families to their faces, and both he and Chen Xiyuan heard it clearly. This sin of his mouth has gone far beyond what is allowed.

"Come here, Youhou."

"Here comes Grandpa Li."

The Lu family is referred to as the Old Lu family in other places.

The "Lord Lu" that Li Sanjiang mentioned was lying on an old bamboo bed in the mourning hall.

Because Li Sanjiang arrived late, his funeral clothes and makeup had already been prepared for him.

Lu Hou's son, Lu Junzheng, therefore negotiated the price with Li Sanjiang again.

Li Sanjiang felt guilty and agreed to cut the vegetarian meal fee in half.

Lu Jun smiled with satisfaction.

There are many things to do when you sit in a vegetarian restaurant, both inside and outside. Moreover, those who invite you to sit in a vegetarian restaurant will get a discount on their own paper offerings. Just because he arrived a little late, he got a 50% discount, which was a big loss for Li Sanjiang, but he was too lazy to argue about it.

Life experience tells me that you can never out-calculate someone who's so calculating in front of a funeral altar; don't waste your energy on them.

Li Sanjiang took out cigarettes from his pocket, and accidentally pulled out the two packs that Manager Liu had given him.

Lu Jun saw it and immediately said:
“Uncle Li, those who are helping with the work can only take one bag each.”

Li Sanjiang spread his hands at Lu Jun: "Don't you recognize this cigarette brand? It's from your family. These two packs are mine. I forgot about them. Hurry up and give me one pack."

Lu Jun: "Uncle Li, you can smoke first, you can smoke first."

With that, Lu Jun left, pretending to be busy with other things.

Li Sanjiang deliberately walked to the table where people were registering favors, nodded to the person helping with the registration, and turned sideways to make sure Lu Jun could see what he was doing.

In rural areas, those who can be registered in the social register are usually of high status and have a clear understanding of right and wrong. The man smiled and took out two packs of cigarettes from a plastic bag and handed them to Li Sanjiang.

The cheapest cigarettes are not popular with locals; they are supplied by the tobacco bureau. Otherwise, no store would stock them. These cigarettes are eventually sold off at a discount.

Using this kind of cigarette to do business is truly a waste of money.

Li Sanjiang accepted one pack, returned the other, then took out his own cigarettes, offered one to the other person, and said:

"This matter has been handled poorly. I just went in for a look, and Marquis Lu doesn't even have an ice coffin."

"Sigh, who can argue with that? The food was terrible too. Everyone who just finished the first batch is complaining to me."

Ice coffins were indeed rarely used in the past, but in recent years they have gradually become a standard feature. Firstly, renting one for two days doesn't cost much, and secondly, if the weather isn't extremely hot, it doesn't even need to be powered on.

It would have looked more dignified to have the deceased lie in an ice coffin to receive condolences from relatives and friends. Now, they just put an old bamboo bed with a straw mat underneath, which is really sloppy.

So many people invite Li Sanjiang to host vegetarian feasts because of his good reputation. For wealthy bosses who want to make a grand show, they can do whatever they want. But for ordinary families, if they invite Li Sanjiang to manage the event, he can help them save money while still making the setup look presentable.

However, the Lu family is well-off. Lu Hou has been in the grain and oil business for a long time, with two shops in Shinan Town. It is said that he also opened a shop in Shigang Town at the beginning of the year.

But his son didn't keep things simple at all when arranging his funeral; he was practically trying to make money off his family's favors.

Forget it, let's finish this job as soon as possible. When I get home, I'll ask Tinghou to fry some peanuts and eggs for me. I'll have a couple of drinks by myself. Li Sanjiang is too lazy to follow his usual practice of having a drink at the host's house after the vegetarian meal. He's afraid that Lu Jun will give him a hard time again.

He raised his hand in greeting, gesturing for Youhou and Xiya to come over.

Li Sanjiang first pointed out the performance venue to Lin Shuyou, and then instructed Chen Xiyuan to play a sad tune later.

Chen Xiyuan listened attentively.

Suddenly, Li Sanjiang remembered something and asked, "Little girl, can you play the suona?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Yes."

Li Sanjiang: "Sigh, I should have let you pick one out of my basement. I have one there, you can just clean it and it'll be ready to use. Why don't you go back and get it now? The basement key is in the living room drawer, next to the flashlight."

Chen Xiyuan was about to say that she could play the sound of a suona even with a flute.

But before she could finish speaking, she coughed, as if she had choked on air.

Lin Shuyou: "Uncle Li, let's not make a fuss anymore. Miss Chen seems to have caught a cold. It's not good for her to run back and forth and get exposed to the wind."

Chen Xiyuan nodded to Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou avoided her gaze somewhat embarrassedly, feeling guilty.

Chen Xiyuan felt that Lin Shuyou believed in her musical abilities and didn't want to cause her any trouble.

Lin Shuyou knew what else was stored in Grandpa Li's basement besides the opera troupe's supplies.

Just like the "Code of Conduct for Traveling Along the River," Ayou isn't stingy, nor does he think he can't give gifts, but he needs Xiaoyuan's permission.

Since he's here, we have no choice but to ruthlessly destroy any opportunities.

Li Sanjiang: "Alright then, we can play the flute. There aren't many people here who can play the flute, so let's all be a bit more refined."

Chen Xiyuan: "Don't worry, Uncle Li, I've got it covered!"

Li Sanjiang: "Hehe, very good, little girl, you're quite good, you work with great enthusiasm."

After giving his instructions, Li Sanjiang went into the mourning hall. His workstation was behind a small table inside the hall. After sitting down, he started to strike the wooden fish and chant sutras.

When he first brought Youhou out for a vegetarian feast, he had to stand by and guide him. Now, Youhou is an experienced funeral director.

At this moment, a woman was escorted into the mourning hall by several female relatives.

The woman was not young, but she was well-maintained and looked like someone who didn't usually do farm work. She was Lu Hou's wife, Lu Jun's mother, and her name was Ge Li. She was the village's women's director.

Next, I'm going to cry.

Li Sanjiang sat up straight, raising his voice to both the sound of the wooden fish and his own chanting, ready to cooperate well with this part.

Ge Li tried to cry, but no tears came out. The handkerchief she had prepared in advance to wipe her tears did come in handy. She wiped her eyes hard and barely managed to make them red.

However, the group of women around her cried so vividly and professionally, not only crying themselves but also helping Ge Li cry.

"My dear brother Lu Hou, how could you bear to leave my sister Ge Li behind like this?"

"You left my sister Ge Li all alone in this world, how is she supposed to live?"

At first, Ge Li could bear it, but as they got into the zone, she felt her eardrums throbbing painfully, so she simply stood up and left.

The people around them had just gotten emotional, only warmed up a little, but seeing that the person in question had left, they realized there was no point in staying and crying any longer, so they all followed her out of the mourning hall.

Li Sanjiang sighed. Having done many funeral rites, he knew that mourning was often just a formality, but this was the first time he had seen it done so hastily.

He took out two cigarettes from the cigarette box, lit them both, stuck one in the crack of the table as a gift for Lord Lu, and put the other in his own mouth, so as not to delay his chanting.

They weren't from the same village, and he hadn't had much contact with Lu Hou, but Lu Hou was a genuine and nice person.

Turning his head, he glanced at Lu Hou, who was lying on the old bamboo bed with thick blush on his cheeks.

Li Sanjiang frowned. In his life, he had seen countless dead people, from those who practiced vegetarianism at home to those he fished out of the river, including those he carried in Shanghai when he was young.

It's like an old farmer growing vegetables; he has a general idea of ​​how the vegetables will grow and what problems might arise.

Li Sanjiang now felt that there was something strange about Lu Hou lying here.

When Lu Jun came to invite him, he said that his father had died suddenly from a heart attack.

Licking his lips, Li Sanjiang carefully scanned Lu Hou from head to toe. He wasn't a forensic doctor and didn't understand the medical principles, but he just felt that Lu Hou's death... wasn't quite standard.

But that was all. He continued chanting sutras, and Li Sanjiang hummed along, the melody gradually approaching the theme song of the martial arts drama that Runsheng had been watching every night recently.

Outside, the second batch of banquets has already finished. The banquet was too poor, with hardly any substantial dishes or oily food. The food was mostly grown on their own land.

Friends and relatives had a lot of complaints. Upon further inspection, they found that there was no tent set up by the funeral procession. Since there was no performance to watch, everyone prepared to leave and go home, planning to come back at dusk to have a meal together. They were simply too lazy to cook in their own stoves and save some firewood.

Lin Shuyou put on his costume and prepared to go on stage.

Chen Xiyuan reminded her, "Shouldn't you wear makeup?"

Lin Shuyou lowered his head, then raised it again, revealing the patterns of the White Crane True Monarch. Even his eyes became narrow and majestic, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Chen Xiyuan exclaimed, "Ayou, you're really suited for this job."

Lin Shuyou laughed and said, "Haha, Grandpa Li praised me like that too!"

Before going on stage, Ge Li came out and found a bench on the dam to sit down.

Her son was busy doing nothing, trying to control costs like a creditor.

She, as a relative of the deceased, seemed more like a distant relative.

A man walked onto the dam, and people nearby immediately came up to him, some offering cigarettes and others saying nice things. This was the village party secretary, with half-gray hair, but he was quite big and had a very strong physique.

Lin Shuyou, who was facing the direction where the village secretary had appeared, said with a puzzled look, "He looks a bit familiar."

Chen Xiyuan looked back.

Lin Shuyou: "He looks like Lu Jun, he's the son of the deceased."

Chen Xiyuan: "Why don't we just calculate it by looking at their faces?"

Chen Xiyuan lightly plucked a few notes on the flute with her fingertips and said confidently:

"Father and son."

Lin Shuyou: "Wow~"

As Brother Xiaoyuan once said, don't be superstitious about physiognomy; it's not 100% accurate.

But here, physiognomy really doesn't apply. Anyone with eyes can see that the village secretary and Lu Jun look very alike, both with similar builds and even the same face shape.

Lin Shuyou turned his head and glanced at the portrait of Lu Hou displayed outside the mourning hall. Compared to him, he, the "father," seemed more like an outsider.

Lu Jun, who had been busy with something, ran up to the village secretary with a smile on his face. His "Uncle" sounded just like "Dad".

The people surrounding the village secretary made way for Lu Jun, and everyone smiled ingratiatingly.

However, the village secretary frowned in response to Lu Jun's enthusiasm.

The mistakes you make when you're young are the ones you've made.

Back then, there were no belts, only drawstrings on trouser pockets. When they got tangled up and couldn't be untied, he got so frustrated that he simply tore them off.

When he later learned that Ge Li was pregnant, he didn't think much of it, but he always felt it wasn't that accurate, how could it possibly be his?

As the child grew older and his features became more and more like his own, even his parents noticed and started criticizing him at home.

The elderly couple in the family were not happy about suddenly having a grandson. They had their own grandchildren and looked down on any offspring born outside the family.

Furthermore, the village secretary's own wife comes from a well-off family with many brothers. Therefore, he tries to avoid Lu Jun in the village as much as possible. But this guy always comes up to him whenever he sees him, like a clueless lapdog.

Especially after Lu Hou died, when Lu Jun came to his house to report the death, he actually cried and told him that he would only have a family left.

This really upset his wife, and she went back to her parents' home that very night.

His own children's expressions changed, and even the village secretary's face turned pale. He wanted to slap the filial son to wake him up.

Let alone children, who don't want an extra "illegitimate child" to share their inheritance, even the village secretary himself wouldn't want this child raised in someone else's home to come back and eat his food.

In fact, under normal circumstances, it is very difficult to keep such affairs between men and women in a village a secret.

The village is so small that even if nothing's wrong, you can find all sorts of strange things to do under the old locust tree if you just walk a little closer. So what if something really happens?
Furthermore, there's the appearance of the children. They're all old neighbors who've lived in the same village for generations. Even if they've been away for more than ten years, when they come home, they can easily recognize which child is playing on the road.

The gossip had already spread, but some men couldn't have children themselves, so they would have a child in name only, even if it wasn't their own, and they would accept that the child would take care of them in their old age and see them off when they died. They would even ask their wives to find a sperm donor.

There are also those who, despite their anger, clench their fists but find it inappropriate to overturn the table at that moment, so they can only grit their teeth and swallow their anger. Lu Hou belongs to the latter category. He has always been an honest person, whether in his personal life or in business, but he has a bad habit: several times a year, he would get drunk and run to the village secretary's house to curse for half the night.

The village party secretary's house was closed, and he could curse at him. Sometimes the old folks in the house would bring Lu Hou a bowl of water to moisten his throat.

His own children would even deliberately watch their father make a fool of himself, and occasionally repeat a few lines from his story.

After paying the funeral gifts and glancing briefly at the mourning hall, the village secretary left. He had deliberately delayed his arrival, as he really didn't want to attend Lu Hou's funeral.

However, he noticed as he left that there wasn't much to eat at this meal.

Ha, it's ultimately a worthless thing.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the village secretary didn't even bother to glance at Ge Li, who was sitting there.

After his biological father passed away, Lu Jun turned to look at his "biological father's" portrait.

His eyes revealed resentment and hatred.

It was as if he was blaming Lu Hou for stealing him away from his own father, preventing him from enjoying his father's love.

People around him began to comfort him, and people were also comforting Ge Li. Everyone seemed very kind and understanding.

Chen Xiyuan whispered to Lin Shuyou, "Is the atmosphere in Nantong this open?"

Lin Shuyou: "I'm from Fujian."

Chen Xiyuan: "Oh, right, but you speak Nantong dialect very well."

Lin Shuyou: "Hehe, really?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Yeah, it feels the same as me, the Nantong dialect is spoken very naturally."

Lin Shuyou: "Uh..."

Chen Xiyuan: "When does the performance start?"

Lin Shuyou: "In a little while, after they finish their performance over there."

Chen Xiyuan: "Performance?"

Lin Shuyou: "As Grandpa Li once said, those people around you who keep comforting you are actually watching you make a fool of yourself. They put on that understanding act just so they can get closer and continue gossiping about you."

Chen Xiyuan: "That's very fitting."

Li Sanjiang walked out of the mourning hall. The second batch of banquets had already ended, but no one had brought him lunch. He couldn't even have a proper meal; at least they could have brought him something to eat.

I don't mind missing a meal myself, but my two kids are with me. Especially Ah-you, who has been eating less lately. If he misses a meal, I'm worried he'll lose weight.

"Come on, have some to tide you over, then we'll go home early for dinner tonight."

Li Sanjiang handed over cloud cakes, biscuits, peanuts, and brittle.

Chen Xiyuan took it, ate a piece of cloud cake, and asked in confusion, "Uncle Li, did you carry so many things in your pockets when you went out?"

Li Sanjiang: "It was invited by Lord Lu."

Chen Xiyuan turned to the side and glanced at the portrait.

Li Sanjiang: "Eat your food, it's fine. Lord Lu is a very nice person. He won't be angry if you treat the kids to some snacks."

These foods were taken by Li Sanjiang from the offering table.

Li Sanjiang: "Hurry up and eat, then put on a good show and make sure that Lord Lu leaves in a lively and dignified manner."

After finishing his meal, Lin Shuyou clapped his hands, spun around in his chair, and went straight to the open space.

His eyes narrowed, and although his vertical pupils were not activated, his aura was already overflowing, instantly attracting the attention of everyone around him.

Then came a series of moves, which were impeccable in terms of both the display of genuine skill and the presentation of performance style.

"it is good!"

"Great!"

Hearing the cheers outside, Li Sanjiang, who was chanting sutras inside the mourning hall, smiled. Then he felt something was off; the atmosphere outside was a bit too cheerful.

Soon, the mournful sound of a flute drifted over.

Chen Xiyuan followed Grandpa Li's instructions and was to be sorrowful.

But Li Sanjiang underestimated the girl's musical talent.

Gradually, everyone present began to have red eyes, and while wiping away tears, they couldn't help but cheer for Lin Shuyou.

Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. This was good; it was the tone he wanted.

After Lin Shuyou's first performance ended, Li Sanjiang brought a brazier and placed it on the ground.

Ah You, holding a golden mace, walks three steps around the brazier in praise.

Then, he raised one mace high and lowered the other, and stepped into the mourning hall, circling around the deceased on the bamboo bed.

The style of the official generals was originally presented in this way, so Ah-you knew how to keep it in check. When he was performing, he was just performing, not catching ghosts.

But Chen Xiyuan was a first-timer in the industry, and she was exceptionally dedicated. She even followed Lin Shuyou into the mourning hall while playing the flute, and they walked around together.

Previously, she was performing for everyone outside; now, it's like she's playing a solo for the deceased.

After she followed Lin Shuyou's footsteps and came from the mourning hall to the open space outside, Li Sanjiang pointed to Lu Hou's portrait and gestured for the little girl to blow on it.

Chen Xiyuan raised her voice and looked at the portrait.

Little did they know that after the two of them came out, Lu Hou, who was lying on the bamboo bed, began to tremble violently.

When Li Zhuiyuan went out to do funeral rites with his great-grandfather, he would deliberately "avoid suspicion," which is why everything went smoothly.

Therefore, Li Sanjiang was unaware of this, nor did he know the backgrounds or statuses of the mules he often led out of his home to work.

Lin Shuyou slammed the golden mace onto the offering table, causing all the incense sticks to fly up. With another horizontal slash, all the incense sticks were lit.

It was simply magic; the people around them clapped and cheered loudly while blinking their teary eyes.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by.

Blowing three of the incense sticks off course prevented Lin Shuyou from fully succeeding in his next move. The golden mace caught the remaining incense sticks and tossed them into the incense burner, while the other three were about to fall to the ground.

Since he hadn't opened his vertical pupils, his use of physical strength was still somewhat lacking.

Chen Xiyuan shifted her body to the side, raised her right arm, and flicked the three incense sticks with her arm, sending them accurately back into the incense burner and firmly inserted.

In addition, the wind blew up a lot of the yellow paper next to them. Chen Xiyuan lifted her leg and flicked it, using a clever force to force all the yellow paper back into the fire pit to burn.

Since you've eaten their snacks, you should also offer them incense and collect ghost money.

next moment,
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Inside the mourning hall, a series of explosions rang out, followed by howls like those of wild beasts.

This is Nantong, and it's very close to Taolin, so there's no fertile ground for evil spirits to be born here.

Therefore, Marquis Lu is dead, and his death was thorough and clean.

Even the purest deceased cannot withstand such offerings from Chen Xiyuan; in a very literal sense, this is... utterly shattering the spirit of the deceased.

Chen Xiyuan stopped playing, realizing that she had done something wrong.

As soon as the flute stopped, everyone's mood returned to normal... no, it was just that the previous sorrowful melody turned into fear of the frightening noises inside the mourning hall.

The roar of that beast was the airflow that surged out when the corpse exploded, but to ordinary people, it sounded like Lord Lu died with his eyes wide open, feeling wronged!
Li Sanjiang went into the mourning hall to check on the situation. Some of the bolder ones followed him in for a peek, and then started vomiting after they came out.

People around him asked if he had come back to life.
The person on the other end answered while vomiting, "It exploded, it exploded, it really exploded everywhere!"

Ge Li sat there, her back pressed against the wall, her body trembling.

Lu Jun's face turned deathly pale. He barely managed to steady himself with the help of those around him, but his trouser legs were already stained dark – he had urinated.

"Pfft!"

One person in the crowd knelt down, kowtowing and crying out:
"Brother Lu Hou, I was wrong, I was wrong. I shouldn't have given that medicine to your son and daughter-in-law. I was blinded by greed. I knew they planned to poison you, but I still gave them the medicine for that little bit of money!"

The explosion of the corpse inside the mourning hall shattered the man's psychological defenses.

His words were heard by everyone in the room.

It's certainly an extreme view to say that officials won't investigate unless the people report it, but sometimes this kind of cover-up among family members can indeed make it easier to cover things up.

But once it's exposed, then there will inevitably be procedures to follow.

Someone reported it to the police station.

Soon, the police from the local police station arrived.

As the funeral director, he was one of the three people closest to the corpse when it exploded, and he was also taken back to the police station.

Upon arriving at the police station, many officers were taken aback:

"Why is it you again?"

The explosion of Lu Hou's corpse not only shattered that person's psychological defenses, but also traumatized Lu Jun and Ge Li. Under such circumstances, facing the solemn environment of the interrogation, they were unable to hold back any longer and confessed their actions in one question and one answer.

The captain in charge of the case, looking at the newly released statement, couldn't help but sigh:

"This is the most cooperative suspect I have ever encountered in any serious crime since I started working here."

The young police officer next to him said, "After what's happened, you're not in the mood to make excuses anymore, are you?"

"How is the body?"

"A lot of them were blown away, but the rest should still be able to be tested. The forensic doctor said that they should be able to determine whether the person died from poisoning."

The captain slammed the record on the table and scratched his hair hard: "That kid is a beast."

Marquis Lu had known for a long time that Lu Jun was not his biological son; he wasn't blind.

Moreover, it was his son, Lu Jun, who took the initiative to break this tacit understanding and say these words.

The father and son had a big argument about this, and Lu Hou fainted and was hospitalized.

While receiving treatment at the hospital, Lu Hou was diagnosed with cancer.

He doesn't plan to get treatment anymore, feeling it's pointless.

He secretly made a will, but before he could have it judged by the village elders, he only made a draft and locked it in his drawer. As a result, Ge Li found it, since this man had no secrets from her.

The will was very simple. It said that after Lu Hou died, his house, savings and shops would be divided into two parts. One part would go to Lu Jun, who had called him "Dad" for so many years, and Ge Li would have to live with Lu Jun.

The other donation was given to a welfare home in the city. He has never had any children of his own, and he is happy to see other children and wants to make their living conditions in the welfare home better.

Upon learning that half of his property was about to be stolen, Lu Jun immediately ordered someone to buy medicine and administered it to Lu Hou, causing his death.

The young officer asked, "Captain Cao, if we don't blow up this body, won't this whole thing be buried? Do you think it might really be a vengeful spirit manifesting itself..."

Captain Cao reached out and adjusted the young officer's police hat so it was on properly.

After giving him a disapproving glare, Captain Cao left the office to report the case's progress to the director.

Li Sanjiang, Lin Shuyou, and Chen Xiyuan sat in a room with tea in front of them.

This is a reception room. There's a television set on the desk, showing CCTV, which is broadcasting a special report on Hainan real estate.

The theme was learning from past mistakes, and the program concluded with many beautiful scenes of Hainan, implying that Hainan's future remains bright.

Lin Shuyou: "Were houses that expensive over there before?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Yeah, it was expensive for several years, and then the bubble burst."

Lin Shuyou: "Did you buy it?"

Chen Xiyuan: "I'm a music teacher, where would I get the money to buy music lessons? I've heard you own a lot of land, though?"

Lin Shuyou: "We have very little flat farmland like this where we live, but we have a lot of mountainous land per capita." Chen Xiyuan: "Then you're a mountain king."

Lin Shuyou smiled. He wondered what his grandfather and master would think if they knew that he had won the family fortune contest against the Dragon King's family.

Li Sanjiang remained silent throughout the entire discussion, not participating in the conversation.

Chen Xiyuan and Lin Shuyou were completely indifferent to what happened today. They had seen countless lives and deaths. Let alone corpses exploding, even corpses crawling up in front of them in a ferocious manner were commonplace for them.

But Li Sanjiang was different. Although his life was not always uneventful and he encountered quite a few strange things while retrieving corpses and meditating, he rarely felt as fulfilled as he did today!
He felt so full that he felt a little suffocated, and even his breathing became labored.

At this moment, a police officer walked in, thanked them for their cooperation, and then prepared to arrange a car to take them home.

Li Sanjiang said it wasn't necessary, since it wasn't far and he could walk home. He did ask about some details of the case, and the police officer revealed a few things.

After listening, Li Sanjiang sighed:
"What kind of mess is this?"

As they walked out of the police station, it was getting dark, but Li Sanjiang wanted to walk around by himself with his hands behind his back, with Chen Xiyuan and Lin Shuyou following behind him.

As he walked, Li Sanjiang stopped.

Chen Xiyuan: "Uncle Li, what's wrong?"

Li Sanjiang: "Youhou, are our tricycle and some other equipment still at Luhou's house?"

Lin Shuyou: "Yes, we came to the police station in a police car. Shall I go and get it now?"

Li Sanjiang: "Then you'll have to make the trip again to get the car back. If it's left for too long, it might get lost."

"Hey, okay, I'll go right away."

Watching Lin Shuyou run off into the distance, Chen Xiyuan felt relieved. The fact that he was still thinking about his tricycle at this time meant that Grandpa Li was alright.

"Little girl, tell me, doesn't looking at the sea help to relax?"

"Ah."

Chen Xiyuan knew that this was Grandpa Li's prelude, as Ayou had already told him the destination of the winning lottery earlier, but at this moment, she couldn't bear to continue to stop Grandpa Li from saying what he was about to say.

"Then let's go have some fun and see the sea. Just like you said, the sea over there is different from ours."

Chen Xiyuan did not respond.

By the time she accompanied Grandpa Li home, it was completely dark.

Aunt Liu wasn't asleep; she was still in the kitchen.

She was very interested in matters of the martial arts world, but had little interest in village affairs.

However, the three old ladies around the old lady were very efficient at spreading these things. When she went to bring the old lady some tea and snacks for today's card game, she overheard it.

Aunt Liu: "Ali rode his tricycle to the police station to pick you up. What, you didn't run into him?"

Li Sanjiang: "We came back via another small path, so we must have missed it."

Aunt Liu: "Uncle Sanjiang, shall I make you something to eat?"

Li Sanjiang waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat, I want to lie down as soon as possible."

Aunt Liu nodded.

Li Sanjiang entered the house and went upstairs.

Chen Xiyuan, who originally intended to go upstairs to explain what had happened that day to the younger brother, stopped in her tracks after seeing the younger brother accompany Grandpa Li into the room.

Aunt Liu: "Do you have an appetite?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Sister, I don't have an appetite either."

Aunt Liu: "Then eat more and fill your stomach?"

Chen Xiyuan: "Mm!"

Aunt Liu: "Go take a shower, and you can come out to eat when you're done."

Chen Xiyuan entered the east room.

Just as Aunt Liu was about to go back to the kitchen, she saw Uncle Qin ride his tricycle onto the dam.

Why didn't you pick them up and take them by car?

She doesn't believe in missing out on something like that.

"I could tell that Uncle Sanjiang wasn't in a good mood and wanted to walk around by himself, so I didn't go up. I followed him back slowly from a distance."

"He is indeed in a bad mood. Xiao Yuan went into his room to comfort him. However, he should be fine. Knowing Uncle Sanjiang's style, he'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

"By the way, Ting, you'll have to work hard tonight. My back is a little itchy, and the fur is acting up again."

Aunt Liu frowned and looked at Uncle Qin: "Impossible. I raised them myself. They've always been very well-behaved. It's not that they were naughty. The one who started this is you."

Uncle Qin: "Could you help me treat this? It's so itchy."

Aunt Liu: "Your mood has been fluctuating a lot lately. I've told you before, wait until Xiao Yuan finishes his journey across the river, wait until Xiao Yuan grows up. Why are you in such a hurry now?"
Also, you're not allowed to stare at the soy sauce bottle when you have nothing to do.

You saw that the soy sauce in that bottle had been boiled; that's why the taste and color of the dishes I cooked today didn't seem right.

"I know, I know."

Uncle Qin pushed open the door to the west room and hid inside.

He walked to the mirror hanging on the wall, turned his back, turned his head to the side, and took off his short-sleeved shirt. On his back, long, black shadows could be vaguely seen, slowly emerging and becoming increasingly ferocious.

……

"People, so true and false."

Li Sanjiang lay on the bed, a cigarette between his fingers, having just recounted the events of the day to Xiao Yuanhou.

Although Li Zhuiyuan had already heard Aunt Liu mention it before, it didn't stop him from listening very attentively just now.

The boy could sense that his great-grandfather was getting old.

Li Zhuiyuan still remembers that summer two years ago, at his grandparents' house, when his great-grandfather placed an incense burner into his arms.

That night, the old man led himself to the bearded man's house, intending to lure the little oriole there as well.

In the end, the bearded father and son walked into the fishpond and died. The old man who witnessed it all just muttered, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor," but he didn't take it to heart at all. The next day, he happily came to retrieve the bodies and made another fortune.

But now, Grandpa is clearly not as open-minded as he was back then.

Young people looking back at themselves two years ago will find the changes drastic, yet there is a common stereotype that the elderly, even if they continue to live for another five, ten, or even twenty years, are living the same life according to a template.

But that's not the case.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the elderly people around him, such as Grandma Liu and Liu Jinxia, ​​had changed quite a bit.

Seeing that the ash on his grandfather's fingertips had grown long, Li Zhuiyuan picked up a beverage can and leaned over. Li Sanjiang shook the can into the mouth, and there was still a little bit of white residue left. Reluctant to throw it away, he put it to his lips and took a big sip.

"Hoo... Sigh..."

He let out a heavy sigh.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Go out for a walk, it's good, Grandpa."

Li Sanjiang neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandpa, I heard from Brother Liangliang that college graduates are not as sought after as they used to be. Even if I can get a job, it will still be quite difficult to get married and buy a house on my own."

"Waiting for the company to allocate housing takes a long time, and the apartments are poorly designed and small."

Li Sanjiang's eyelids twitched, and his eyes seemed to sparkle again.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandpa, you are really good at taking care of and teaching children. I would like you to take care of my future children as well."

The beard on Li Sanjiang's cheeks trembled, like battle flagpoles rising again.

"I can't take care of you anymore, your mother is here..."

Li Sanjiang wanted to slap himself; why did he have to bring up something he didn't want to talk about?

“My mom will abandon the child.”

"Well, let's not talk about your heartless mother. But there are still your grandparents, they're still young."

"They don't look as healthy as you, Grandpa. Besides, they've taken care of so many kids, they're probably tired of it."

"Hehe, how could I possibly get tired of taking care of my own child?"

“Their sister Yingzi had such a hard time getting into university, but Grandpa, you could just take on anyone and they’d be the top scorer in the college entrance exam.”

"Hahaha!"

Li Sanjiang sat up in bed and reached out to pinch the boy's face in front of him.

It feels so delicate and warm to the touch. Once you hold it, you don't want to let go, but you know your fingers are rough and you're afraid of hurting your child if you use too much force.

He could easily tell that the child was saying these things on purpose to comfort himself.

He felt both embarrassed and proud.

"Grandpa, go have some fun, relax, and when you come back, you can start living a good life and working hard. At your age, this is the time to strive."

"Alright, alright, child, go to sleep. Your great-grandfather is fine. Who do you think I am? I've seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the past. Today is just a small scene!"

Li Sanjiang's voice regained its strength.

"Yes, Grandpa, you should go to sleep early too."

Li Zhuiyuan went out and returned to his room.

Ah Li is still in the room.

The armor was almost completely repaired, so the girl planned to stay up all night and go to Cui Cui's house later.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down opposite A Li.

He knew that today's scene was really nothing to his grandfather; it was just that some long-suppressed emotions had been triggered by the events of the day.

The old man, who was used to living alone, had already chosen his grandfather, Li Weihan, to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days, but then adopted him instead.

Having ties, having something to rely on, having happiness—all of this is built on the foundation of being needed.

In his grandfather's eyes, he felt that he needed him less and less, and this sense of loss grew layer by layer in his heart.

If you've never owned it, you won't feel a sense of loss.

It was my own schooling, college entrance exam, university, and then work—it all happened so fast. What others experience in twenty-odd years, I condensed into just two years for my great-grandfather.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Actually, my grandfather has been helping me all along, but he himself didn't know it."

After Ah Li finished carving the last line, she looked up at the boy and handed him three stacks of playing cards wrapped in fluffy cloth.

The boy didn't take the talisman; instead, he grabbed the girl's wrist.

“Ah Li, you’ve been helping me all along too.”

Ah Li turned her head to the side and looked under the cabinet.

Li Zhuiyuan put away the talisman armor, walked to the cupboard, took two cans of Jianlibao (a popular Chinese herbal tea), and walked out of the room with the girl, sitting on a rattan chair.

Open the drinks, insert the straws, one can per person, sit there, enjoy the evening breeze, and look at the starry sky.

There was no chess game, no talking, no communication; they simply sensed each other's presence, lost in pure reverie.

In the past, Li Zhuiyuan could not understand why people's emotions would go through a low point.

Like Li Lan, he felt that this fluctuation was a very low-level burden.

Now, he has some understanding: the trough is meaningful. As long as you can get out of it, it is a preparation for rushing to the peak again.

Chen Xiyuan sat downstairs eating alone, while Aunt Liu kept bringing her dishes.

While eating, she would occasionally look up and see that her little brother hadn't finished yet, so she would continue eating in silence for a little longer.

My sister is right, appetite comes from food, and she's finding it increasingly appealing to eat.

When the food in the kitchen was almost all used up and there was nothing left to cook, Aunt Liu wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

There used to be three big eaters in the family, but now they've become normal eaters. And this new girl is even bigger than all three of them.

Li Zhuiyuan led A Li downstairs by the hand, and Chen Xiyuan put down her chopsticks and followed along to take A Li back to Cuicui's house.

On the way back, Chen Xiyuan confessed to Li Zhuiyuan about her change in attitude towards inviting Grandpa Li to her home.

After listening, Li Zhuiyuan said calmly:

"I believe in the family traditions of the Chen family."

Chen Xiyuan said with great emotion, "My grandfather would be very happy if he heard you say that."

Li Zhuiyuan genuinely respected the Chen family's traditions, but the young man believed more in the sword in Grandma Liu's hand, Uncle Qin's fist, Aunt Liu's poison, and his own potential.

From another perspective, if his great-grandfather were really detained by the Chen family patriarch, wouldn't that be another blessing from his great-grandfather?
Of course, things won't go that far; Chen Xiyuan underestimated her grandfather's vision.

Chen Xiyuan: "Did you give Zhao Yi and the others a lesson today?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Chen Xiyuan: "Could you teach me while you're at it?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I have a gift that I can give to you when I return from Hainan."

Chen Xiyuan: "What gift?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "A book, a book I wrote myself, which records my experiences and insights from traveling along the river."

Chen Xiyuan: "After reading that book, will I be able to become as smart as you, little brother?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes, you can see the motives and purpose of the river more clearly now."

It is better to teach people to fish than to teach people.

Rather than letting Chen Xiyuan remain confused, it's better to help her see through the fog.

Zhao Yi doesn't need it, since he prefers equivalent exchange and believes in not accepting rewards without merit.

On his way home, in the woods by the river, Runsheng had just finished burning paper money.

During the day, he went to see Grandpa Shan. When Grandpa Shan saw that Runsheng had come alone, he was very depressed.

But Grandpa Shan didn't say anything and invited Runsheng inside for a meal.

Runsheng checked the rice container and oil can at home and found that there was still plenty left, so he didn't need to restock.

Even as he was about to leave, the old man stopped him and stuffed a wad of banknotes into his pocket.

This stack of banknotes was noticeably thicker than the one he had given to his grandfather before.

Grandpa Shan added some money to the money Runsheng had given him and then returned it to Runsheng.

“Lord Runsheng, open a savings account and save the money. You should also be careful with your spending. I can still retrieve corpses and help you earn some more money.”

"It's not Mengmeng's fault. Mengmeng is a good girl. It's your grandpa's fault, it's our family's situation, that we're not good enough for such a good girl."

Even though Runsheng explained many times that Mengmeng didn't leave because she disliked him for being poor.

But Grandpa Shan has his own set of principles.

The girl has been taken home more than once, but she always goes back to Sichuan and Chongqing and never comes back. Isn't it because she was scared away by her family's conditions?

Runsheng was helpless; he couldn't very well tell his grandfather that Mengmeng was currently being kept in the underworld by her parents.

Even if I told him, and even if my grandfather believed me, he would probably think that Mengmeng had suddenly fallen ill and was already dead.

Tonight, while burning paper money, Runsheng wrote down Grandpa Shan's thoughts on yellow paper and used the Gu worm to burn it.

After the yellow paper had burned completely, a line of characters appeared on the ground that was much neater than the original ones:
"Let Grandpa play cards instead..."

Runsheng conducted a test and found that paper can only be burned once a day at most; burning more than that is useless.

Therefore, he and Yin Meng could only exchange this one sentence once a night.

The evening breeze scattered the writing, but Runsheng continued to sit there.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't disturb her, signaling the very curious Chen Xiyuan to be quiet, and then took a detour back to the dam area of ​​his home.

Chen Xiyuan went back to the east room to sleep, while Li Zhuiyuan stood there for a while longer, his gaze falling on the door of the west room.

The room was quiet, without any formations or restrictions, but there was an aura inside that absorbed all the activity within, preventing even a trace from leaking out.

Waiting is a way of seeing if I need to help.

There was no response from inside, so Li Zhuiyuan felt relieved and went upstairs to take a shower and go to bed.

Teaching other classes certainly wouldn't be as dedicated as teaching your own, but the boy didn't hold back on anything he needed to teach. The intensity of his teaching was double that of teaching Tan Wenbin and his classmates.

Three days of classes, all completed in one day.

When Xu Ming walked out of the dojo after class, all the hair on his body had turned into green shoots, the kind that could be picked and used for cooking.

The Liang sisters forgot who was the older sister and who was the younger sister, arguing endlessly and constantly asking those around them for directions. After asking, they would quickly forget again and fall into another argument.

Chen Jing, on the other hand, ran out on all fours like a wolf, chasing after his dog, Xiao Hei. The "wolf" and the dog circled the field ten times.

Since our little black dog came to this place, even if all the exercise he did in the past two years were doubled, it still wouldn't be as much as he is today.

In the end, Zhao Yi found a rope and used it to lasso Chen Jing.

This isn't a case of going astray; rather, it's a deeper understanding of and absorption of the snow wolf's power. The side effect is that Chen Jing will retain many wolf-like habits for a while, but he'll gradually recover in a couple of days.

Li Zhuiyuan's time is very precious right now. Before returning to school for the meeting, he needs to use forbidden evil arts to exorcise the three evil spirits he captured. Currently, he has already selected three corresponding evil arts from the "Record of Subduing Demons with the Righteous Path".

After returning to school, I quickly dealt with the matter, went through the procedures, met with Engineer Luo and Professor Zhai, and then I had to rush to save the Zhou family of the government agency and the Ding family of the river valley.

After that, I have to come back, upgrade and renovate my dojo, and then I have to go to Hainan.

While busy with the affairs of the Chen family, I also need to take some time to accompany my grandfather to relax.

In the past, the boy felt that the interval between the two waves was too long, and he would even shorten the interval several times to bring the river water in ahead of time.

Now, he's worried that the interval might be too short, preventing him from finishing all the things he wants to do.

As for "Walking on the Riverbank," he has already started planning. He has started a new book, but he is not in a hurry to write a title. He is using a commemorative blank booklet given to him by the publisher, with the cover titled "The Secret Scroll of Tracing Ancestors."

The boy felt that using this name to record his experience of "walking along the river on the shore" was quite appropriate.

Lying in bed, lost in thought, the boy noticed movement in the west room; a faint aura was being released.

It was very faint; Grandpa was already asleep, snoring loudly, completely unaware.

Just to be on the safe side, Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed, opened the door, and set up a temporary isolation array at the entrance to his great-grandfather's room.

He was on the great-grandfather's household register, so he could be more at ease in front of the great-grandfather.

But Uncle Qin and his group are different. If they get involved in something that alarms the old master, they will suffer a backlash from the old master's good fortune.

Good fortune is good; it doesn't distinguish between good and evil. It only stands on the side of the patriarch and follows the principle that with great power comes great responsibility.

Grandma Liu and the others took the good fortune in Grandpa's life very seriously, but only Li Zhuiyuan knew that they had actually underestimated it.

After finishing these tasks, as Li Zhuiyuan turned to return to his room, he saw Aunt Liu standing at the door of the west room.

She must have sensed an aura leaking out, so she came out to check.

"Xiao Yuan, are you hungry? Do you want some midnight snacks?"

These were polite words, meant to express gratitude. Clearly, what happened between her and Uncle Qin in the west room was not yet over.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "Aunt Liu, I'm not hungry, I want to sleep."

At this moment, the window of the east room was pushed open, and Chen Xiyuan poked her head out:
"Sister, I'm hungry, I want to have a midnight snack."

Aunt Liu smiled wryly and said, "Then you can hold on a little longer, and I'll make it for you later."

"Okay, sister."

Aunt Liu went back into the house and closed the door.

Inside the room, Uncle Qin sat cross-legged on the floor, shirtless.

On his back, there were a total of nine long black shadows moving irregularly.

When Uncle Qin taught Runsheng the "Qin Family Observation of Dragons Method," he used a traditional method: he used the freshest coffin nails, still exuding the aura of a zombie, to carve a sea of ​​qi into Runsheng's body.

In fact, Uncle Qin himself was also a practitioner of this method, only in a different form, and his experience was many times more terrifying than Runsheng's.

Uncle Qin: "I told you, they're not behaving very well."

Aunt Liu: "It's you who's being disobedient. You're the one who made them restless. Ali, I'll secretly help you suppress them one more time. If this happens again, I'll tell the mistress."

Before we moved to Uncle Sanjiang's house, it was the mistress who ordered me to seal these nine life centipedes inside your body in the form of the Nine Soul Lock.

You are not allowed to open the seal on ordinary days because I am afraid that you will inadvertently reveal too much power.

Even when you go out to carry out those missions, the matriarch will instruct you in advance on how many you can untie at most, and would rather you be seriously injured than allow you to fully unleash your power.

In the martial world, the thing that people fear most about our family is the mistress's sword. The two of us are just extras that people are wary of, but the sword that the mistress truly nurtures is you.

You should be clear about your position.

"You are our family's last resort."

Uncle Qin: "It's not like that anymore."

Aunt Liu: "Xiao Yuan is still young, so he is still you. I really don't understand why you suddenly couldn't hold back?"

Uncle Qin closed his eyes.

Aunt Liu placed her fingertips on Uncle Qin's back, using her nails to cut and dig a bloody hole, then pulled it out.

A long centipede poked its head out of the bloody hole.

Aunt Liu reached out to stroke it.

She raised him, so he's naturally close to her.

"hiss……"

But the next moment, the centipede suddenly lunged forward. Even though Aunt Liu managed to pull her hand back in time, her fingertip was bitten and bled.

With a quick twist of her palm, she forced the poison out. Aunt Liu took a deep breath and said in disbelief:

"Why is this happening?"

Uncle Qin: "A-Ting, I've told you before, it's not my problem, or at least not entirely my problem. Now, do you believe me?"

Aunt Liu noticed some raised marks on the centipede's head, that it had fewer legs than before, and that there was a layer of silver around the edges of its body.

“Ali, I believe you now. The Nine Soul Lock I placed on you is actually transforming on its own.”

How did you do that? You clearly failed to cross the river. The Nine Soul Lock can only suppress your strength and help you build up momentum, but it can't help you improve anymore.

Could it be because of the breakthrough in your state of mind you had recently?

Uncle Qin: "Your state of mind and physical experience have no direct relationship, and even less to your destiny. They are just restless on their own."

Aunt Liu: "Then why..."

Uncle Qin: "I have a doubt about something."

Aunt Liu: "Go ahead."

Uncle Qin: "I will tell you my guess, but you must not tell the mistress. As you said, we should not see, interfere in, or teach Xiao Yuan about his affairs."

If the mistress were told, she would certainly try to stop it, given her stance.

Aunt Liu shook her head: "No, I will never lie to the mistress. If the mistress asks, I will tell the truth!"

But if I don't tell her, then she won't know how to ask.

Uncle Qin: "Xiao Yuan might be preparing to avenge me."

Aunt Liu: "Help you get revenge?"

Uncle Qin: "My attempt to cross the river failed. I was defeated by that conspiracy and ambush. Although I managed to escape with my last breath, I surrendered twice."

But my spirit, my beliefs, my light, my past are all frozen there.

Ah Ting, you've never crossed the river, so it's hard for you to understand how I feel.

The Qin Family's Method of Observing Dragons: One can lose, but one cannot admit defeat. I admit defeat.

But if someone can help me win it back, then while I won't necessarily win and pretend nothing happened, at least I won't lose as much, and I'll be able to make up for some of it.

Aunt Liu: "I don't really understand what you mean, but I do believe that Xiao Yuan is really working to avenge you. My wife and I both believe that Xiao Yuan is the mastermind behind the changes in the Ming family."

The mistress vacated the room for Chen's maid, perhaps because she didn't know how to explain this to Xiao Yuan.

I wanted to stop him, to persuade Xiaoyuan to think things through more carefully and not rush things, but... who can teach Xiaoyuan?

Uncle Qin: "Check them all. This one isn't the biggest problem."

Aunt Liu: "You want me to help you break all the seals? I can't do that."

Uncle Qin: "Inspect one, then seal it back."

Aunt Liu: "Nine times of punishment."

Uncle Qin: "I can handle it."

Aunt Liu sealed the life-saving centipede back in, and then made an incision on Uncle Qin's body to take out the second life-saving centipede.

The changes they underwent varied, and they all possessed a certain ferocity, showing no mercy to their former owners and readily launching attacks given the opportunity.

By the time he checked the last item, Uncle Qin's face was covered in sweat, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

The last centipede had clearly visible horns on its head, and its entire body was silver. Its tentacles, which should have been densely packed, were now just four clumps stuck together.

It was the quietest, but the look in its eyes was the coldest.

Uncle Qin opened his eyes, his gaze already almost unfocused: "How are you?"

Aunt Liu: "It's transforming into a dragon."

—This chapter still has 10,000 words left, I can't fit it all in the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)