Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 75 (End of this volume)

The morning breeze brings a moment of coolness in the summer.

When Li Zhuiyuan was brushing his teeth by the water tank on the second floor, he happened to see Tan Wenbin, who was wearing a vest and sports shorts, running down the dam with his legs raised high, starting his morning run.

Tan Wenbin has maintained this habit for half a year.

Humans are truly animals with infinite potential.

A year ago, Tan Wenbin was still a spirited young man who stole his mother's money to buy game consoles, put adult comic books in his textbooks, hid explicit magazines in his bed, and liked to put a cigarette behind his ear to pretend to be an adult.

Now, he is a self-disciplined young man who studies hard during the day, practices martial arts at night, and regards his 40-minute morning run every day as a way to relax and enjoy himself.

Because of his illness, Li Zhuiyuan sometimes feels a little dazed and unreal when looking at himself in the mirror. If Tan Wenbin could see himself a year ago through the mirror, he would probably just say that the person in the mirror must be the illegitimate child left behind by his father when he was young.
By the way, one more sentence:
"Look at this crooked and cracked melon and date, it's indeed of impure bloodline."

After washing my face, I returned to the room.

A-Li was standing in front of the drawing table drawing.

The girl's painting is a landscape, which includes not only a grand scene but also a dam.

The walls on this side are covered with paintings. There are four or five versions of the cross-river bridge from Nantong to Shanghai alone.

In one version, the bridge over the river is bustling with traffic, while the town of Baijia below the river is eerie and ghostly, a perfect combination of reality and nothingness.

At the other end of the drawing table is the boy's desk, which is filled with professional books. There are several cardboard boxes underneath, which are filled with information plans and design drawings.

These are just the ones on hand. Many of them have already been read and studied and have been sent to the east room by Li Zhuiyuan to enrich A'li's collection box.

Xue Liangliang has basically been Mr. Luo's secretary for the past six months, and Mr. Luo has been working on projects for the past six months, and often needs to travel to various places to attend seminars and briefings.

Whenever he came near Nantong, Xue Liangliang would take a day or half a day off from Mr. Luo in the name of delivering study materials to his junior fellow student.

Tan Wenbin's pager is only used to receive messages from two people, one is his father Tan Yunlong, and the other is Xue Liangliang.

Brother Liangliang would always call Tan Wenbin and then put the things on the bank of the Yangtze River. Runsheng would have to ride a tricycle all the way over there to bring back the information and design drawings, and also bring him a set of clean clothes.

In this way, the more frequently Xue Liangliang came to Nantong, the more information he found about Li Zhuiyuan.

In addition, Mr. Luo would occasionally mail Li Zhuiyuan periodicals and some relatively high-quality but non-confidential documents.

At the same time, the boy would be given questions and asked to come up with his own designs. For the sake of convenience, multiple questions would be worked on at the same time and then mailed to him together. He would then review them and send them back for his replies.

It seems like the two sides are really competing with each other, one is trying desperately to "absorb" and the other is trying desperately to "force growth".

Li Zhuiyuan had reason to suspect that the "university professional courses" he had prepared in advance were a bit beyond the syllabus.

No matter how smart a genius is, if he wants to achieve accomplishments in a certain field, he cannot escape the step of deep cultivation. In the past six months, Li Zhuiyuan has indeed spent too much time and energy on "studying".

But there was nothing that could be done about it. As long as the man under the peach forest didn't die, he would have nothing to do in the village.

Now, whenever there is an ordinary drowned person, Runsheng, Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng all rush to rescue him, and even the grandfather becomes a hands-off boss.

As for the kind of dead body that can walk ashore by itself, I haven't seen it for a long time. If I hadn't experienced it myself, I would have suspected whether it was just my imagination when I was mentally ill.

When Li Zhuiyuan got tired of drawing on the paper, he would stand up and walk to the girl's drawing table, and the girl would leave the table and come to the desk.

Li Zhuiyuan would pick up his paintbrush and paint to relax, while A'li would look through the design drawings.

The girl can understand it, otherwise she wouldn't be able to draw it.

Moreover, she seemed to be born with some special sensing ability, which could transform cold data drawings into dynamic flowing water in the painting.

Li Zhuiyuan also created a painting based on Ah-ri, but the boy still couldn't draw Ah-ri's front view, so he only drew her back.

In the painting, the girl stands on the top of a mountain, with a raging river in front of her and a group of ancient people behind her and below her.

This kind of composition is very suitable for appearing in water burial murals.

This was the boy's way of entertaining himself during his boring studies. When he woke up the next day, a boy's back was added to the girl's side in the painting.

The two were still holding hands.

The style of the painting suddenly turned into a kindergarten wall painting.

In fact, they are still children after all. Essentially, they are no different from other children of the same age playing in the mud in the village, except that their mud looks a little more advanced.

Li Zhuiyuan has already deciphered "Spring and Autumn Annals of Qi". The more you decipher the book, the more difficult it becomes and the longer it takes. Li Zhuiyuan later discovered that this book should have a code book.

Otherwise, even with one's own deductive calculation ability, it would take so much energy. Normal Qi family members would have to study hard for half a lifetime just to understand the words above, let alone want to learn it. This is obviously impossible.

The code should have been some basic thing passed down by the Qi family, similar to the "Liu Family's Qi-Watching Secrets" of the Liu family.

Precisely because of the lack of this thing, Li Zhuiyuan could only resort to the most stupid way to decipher it.

This book itself is a kaleidoscope of mechanisms. After deciphering it, it records the mechanisms and space techniques, which are the skills that the ancestors of the Qi family used to make a living. Even within the family, it must be kept secret and can only be passed on on a small scale, because it involves the secrets of countless mausoleums. Once leaked, it will inevitably incur the hatred of the ancient authorities.

The book is a good one, but it is a bit useless to Li Zhuiyuan now. His major is water conservancy engineering, and he is not required to design any "security" or "anti-theft" because there will be troops near large water conservancy projects.

Compared to the ancient times when people were afraid of invasions by tomb-robbing gangs, what we need to worry about now is defending against missiles from the air.

But it is useless now, it will definitely be useful in the future. The old professors in the staff quarters helped me decipher the coordinates in the bamboo slips. Although there are three places that are still ambiguous, the approximate locations have been determined.

From the Northeast to Yunnan and Guizhou, from grasslands to the Gobi Desert, from the Ten Thousand Mountains to the Thousand Island Lake, from basins to plateaus, as well as in rivers and even the sea.

The geographical coordinates span such a large area that Li Zhuiyuan felt incredible when looking at the map. However, the masked man who was born in the Spring and Autumn Period still carried the bamboo slips with him even after he became dead, so there must be a secret behind it.

Moreover, there is a place in the bamboo slips coordinates that is very close to the "Ji'an 572 Civil Defense Project Investigation Report", so it is very likely to be the same place.

In other words, the white moonlight that Luo Gong had been thinking about was also one of the nine coordinates recorded in the bamboo slips.

This made Li Zhuiyuan wonder whether the three documents that Li Lan gave him half a year ago in Beijing, corresponding to Haili, Ji'an and Fengdu respectively, also had some deeper meaning?
Li Lan, who has become completely ill and believes that she has lost her humanity, is still continuing her work. What is her purpose?
It was difficult for Li Zhuiyuan to put himself in her shoes, and he did not dare to try, but from a side view, there must be something deeper that attracted Li Lan to pursue it.

As always, Aunt Liu opens the curtain of each day:
"Breakfast!"

Li Zhuiyuan took A'li's hand and went downstairs. There was a small blackboard hanging on the side of the living room door on the first floor. It was used to keep temporary accounts, such as how many tables and chairs the east family needed and how many paper figures the west family needed. It was idle most of the time.

But three months ago, Li Sanjiang carefully wiped the blackboard with water, picked up the chalk, and wrote on it very seriously - "Hu Bai Tian".

After being told that “壹” was written incorrectly, my grandfather simply erased it and changed it to “100 days”, and continued to decrease the number in Arabic numerals thereafter.

This board was certainly not written for his great-grandson. After all, his great-grandson had been admitted in advance, and the relevant certificates were placed by Li Sanjiang under the statue of Laozi (Confucius) in the small compartment.

Li Sanjiang wrote this for Zhuangzhuang.

Today, the number "3" is newly written on the blackboard.

Tan Wenbin came back from his morning run, took a shower and changed into clean clothes by the well.

I have to say, even if his skills as a corpse retriever only helped him to strengthen his body, that was still inferior to a freak like Runsheng.

He comes from a family of police officers and has good physical genes. In addition, he works out hard and eats a lot. When he is shirtless, he no longer looks like a boiled chicken but is visibly strong.

Yin Meng’s skill in making coffins is impeccable. It is warm in winter and cool in summer to sleep in.

Every night, Tan Wenbin and Runsheng slept in the coffin, one mouthful of Li Sanjiang's and the other of Shan Daye's.

The reason why Shan Da Ye's coffin was still placed here was because Li Sanjiang was worried that if he sent it to his home, Shan Pao would lose the money and sell it.

Anyway, when Shanpao dies one day, it will still be in time for Runsheng to deliver the coffin over.

Runsheng also deeply agreed with this.

"Why is there a holiday tomorrow?" Li Sanjiang smoked a cigarette in confusion, "The college entrance examination is almost here."

Tan Wenbin said, "Uncle, our school is not a college entrance examination site. We have to go to a school that has a college entrance examination. We have two days off to prepare. We will go to the school together the day before the exam and stay in their dormitory."

Li Sanjiang asked, "Can you send me food?"

"Sure. If you don't live in the exam center dormitory, you can still go home."

"That's fine." Li Sanjiang shook off the cigarette ash, "I'll ask Ting Hou to prepare rice cakes and rice dumplings that day, and I'll send them to you on the morning of the college entrance examination."

"Hehe." Tan Wenbin didn't refuse, just smiled.

"Do well in the exam!" Li Sanjiang patted Zhuangzhuang on the shoulder, "Study hard, really, study hard."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll be fine. I've filled in the address on the admission letter. Once you've finished reading it, I'll take it home to show my parents."

"Haha!" Li Sanjiang laughed happily, "Zhuangzhuang is great. It's not in vain that he ate all my food."

After breakfast, Runsheng rode out on the tricycle, and Li Zhuiyuan and A'li sat on it.

The school is holding the final mobilization meeting for the college entrance examination today. At the request of the school, the boy has to show up today.

When I arrived at the school, the banners at the school gate and on the teaching building at the back that read "Warm congratulations to our school student Li Zhuiyuan for winning the first prize in the National Mathematical Olympiad" were still brand new, and the older "Municipal Award" and "Provincial Award" also looked very bright.

Because the school really does change its banners regularly.

"Xiaoyuan, A'li and I are waiting for you nearby." Runsheng pointed to the alley in the distance.

"Yeah." Li Zhuiyuan responded, then looked at A-li who was still sitting on the tricycle, "We'll go shopping later, and then we'll go eat fried skewers after shopping."

The girl nodded.

It is said that we will have a holiday tomorrow, but after the morning meeting, it will actually be self-study. Students can go home directly to prepare, and Tan Wenbin will also come out.

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the school holding a copy of Wei Zhengdao in his hand. Last semester, he would come back to take the exams during the monthly and midterm exams. This semester... it was his first time to step into the school gate.

The school did not urge him to go to school or take exams, but would only hint at Li Zhuiyuan's "inspiration" through Tan Wenbin.

The boy walked straight to the principal's office, attracting many teachers to follow him along the way. It would not be surprising if he could see it every day, but this was the first time the boy appeared after winning the National Olympic Championship.

Sun Qing must have been prepared, because she was not in her classroom but waiting here.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan coming, she stepped forward, took the boy's hand, and said with a smile: "Let me take a look, class teacher. Wow, long time no see, our classmate Zhuiyuan has really grown taller."

It was already strange for the head teacher to call himself the head teacher. It was even more strange for him to say "long time no see" to his own students.

But the teachers around me only looked at me with jealousy and envy, and no one cared about the grammatical error.

If you put yourself in their shoes, if they could get the title of the head teacher of the college entrance examination champion's class for free, they would be even more out of control than Sun Qing.

Write this on your resume in the future. No one who reads your resume will know that your top student never comes to class.

Sun Qing led Li Zhuiyuan to the principal's office, where Teacher Yan, Teacher Su...that is, Li Zhuiyuan's teachers in all subjects were all there.

A camera was also set up in the office.

Next, Li Zhuiyuan stood in the center, smiling, and kept changing various arrangements behind and to his sides.

After the filming, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help rubbing his cheeks. Although he is a very good actor, he felt a little sore at this moment.

Then, Wu Xinhan took the boy to the school auditorium.

The seat in the middle of the long table facing downwards was occupied by Li Zhuiyuan, while the principal and vice-principal sat on both sides of the boy.

Senior high school students are gradually entering the venue. Li Zhuiyuan noticed that many of them were wearing bright yellow talismans, which are the lucky charms of the Zhuiyuan Secret Scroll.

When the boy failed in drawing the talisman and was thinking hard about what the talisman could be used for, he really didn't expect that it could have such an effect.

Especially the group of boys sitting in the first two rows, they simply spread out the talisman paper and stuck it on their foreheads, hoping to absorb more of the prodigy's luck at this moment.

This scene looks like there are two rows of people sitting upright in front.

When interests are involved, young people become superstitious, which even the elderly may find too feudal and superstitious.

Li Zhuiyuan saw Tan Wenbin sitting below and making faces at him, then Zhou Yunyun came over, and the boy sitting next to Tan Wenbin consciously gave up his seat.

The principal and several teacher representatives began to speak.

Unlike the Hundred Days Oath-Taking Rally, we have to boost morale and even pay to invite "speech experts" from outside the school to come and give them a boost.

The main purpose of this conference is to relieve stress and tell students that the college entrance examination is not the only path in life. At the same time, teachers of various subjects also pointed out some points to pay attention to during the exam.

Wu Xinhan turned around and asked the boy in a low voice: "Xiaoyuan, do you want to say a few words?"

Li Zhuiyuan made his final speech with a very brief joke:
"Everyone remember to write 'solution' first when answering a question."

The crowd below was stunned at first, then burst into laughter, and then there was warm applause. Many people waved the "Zhuiyuan Secret Scroll" and talisman paper.

After the meeting, Li Zhuiyuan walked to the school gate accompanied by Wu Xinhan and other leaders and teachers.

The boy could feel the sadness coming from those around him, because everyone knew that after leaving the campus this time, it would be difficult to see them again.

The boy was very grateful for the school's kindness, so he stopped by the flower bed at the school gate.

Ignoring the sign that read "No entry to the flower garden", the boy walked in, bent down under the ginkgo tree, picked up a few leaves, and put them in his book.

This was also the reason why he brought the book in this morning.

Wu Xinhan took off his glasses and cried.

The teachers also had tears in their eyes.

Seeing the principal crying, the other teachers and leaders also cooperated silently and wiped their eyes.

Although, the feelings are not that deep nor the expressions are that strong, it cannot be considered fake.

Because sometimes tears fall just to leave some wet marks in the book of life for easy recollection.

The senior year classroom has gone crazy.

The students tore up their papers and notebooks and scattered them downstairs.

The younger students downstairs and in the junior high building opposite lay on the balcony and watched the seniors having seizures, feeling envious and longing.

It was a rare occasion that the teachers didn't come to maintain order, and the school cleaning lady was happy to pick up the sacks and start packing the waste to sell.

Tan Wenbin rested his head on his hands, put his feet on the desk, and looked at the classmates who were shouting around him in a semi-lying position.

If he hadn't met Brother Xiaoyuan, if he hadn't experienced those things half a year ago, he would still be the Left Protector, and would be the one taking the lead and having the most fun.

At least you should stay sober when others are going crazy. I am afraid that I will even have to tear up my textbooks and become an idiot who won’t even have any serious books to read in the last two days.

But now, he just thought his classmates were so cute. He could enjoy this atmosphere, but he was too lazy to move to join in.

With the help of brother Xiaoyuan, his scores in several mock exams were very stable and he was always ranked at the top of the class. As for the college entrance examination the day after tomorrow, he just regarded it as a process that he had to take and there was nothing to be nervous about.

Zhou Yunyun sat in Li Zhuiyuan's original position. The surrounding environment was noisy and everyone's voice was drowned out.

The female squad leader mustered up her courage and whispered in Tan Wenbin's ear:
"Tan Wenbin, I like you."

When Tan Wenbin heard it, his first reaction was to pretend he didn't hear it.

But then he thought this was not appropriate, so he turned his head to look at Zhou Yunyun. The girl was not shy or retreating, and was very frank.

Tan Wenbin instinctively wanted to reach out and hook the squad leader's chin, and then imitate Gao Yanei's tone:

"Come on, girl, give me a smile."

But in the end, the boy just stretched out one arm and gently patted the monitor on the back in a half-hug posture.

Many classmates nearby saw this scene, but no one made a fuss because it was too clean, as clean as if they were saying goodbye to their classmates in advance.

"Come on, let's get into a good university together!"

Neither agree nor refuse, it’s not a promise but more like a blessing.

Zhou Yunyun also returned the hug generously, and the two of them briefly smelled each other's scent.

Youth, if you talk about it, there will be no regrets.

Then, Tan Wenbin picked up his schoolbag, jumped over the desks in a cool manner, went to an empty table and put the potted plant into his schoolbag, and then squeezed out of the crowd while shouting.

After indulging yourself, it is inevitable to feel a little depressed.

When they sat down to eat fried skewers after shopping at the small commodity street with Xiaoyuan, Tan Wenbin was busy chopping the two remaining pieces of fried tofu on the plate with a skewer.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a piece of paper and gently wiped the sauce off the corner of Ah Li's mouth.

Then he turned his head to look at Tan Wenbin and deliberately asked, "You confessed to the squad leader and got rejected?"

Tan Wenbin: “Yeah.”

Runsheng glanced at Binbin without saying anything. He lowered his head, took a bite, and continued eating the chicken skewers.

This fried skewers stall is right on the corner of the street, and their table is in the most secluded place. Only here can Ari sit down quietly and eat something.

Li Zhuiyuan said: "Since it is your own choice, just don't regret it."

"No regrets." Tan Wenbin took a sip of soda and burped. "Brother Xiaoyuan, our future is to die in the vast ocean. Only in this way can I live up to the biceps I worked so hard to train!"

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes fell on the obviously over-inflated schoolbag beside Tan Wenbin. Inside was a potted plant that had been placed on Zheng Haiyang's desk.

There are some things Binbin never forgets.

This is also what Li Zhuiyuan admires most about Tan Wenbin. After all, he lacks emotions and can even separate himself from his own mother.

Just at this moment, a few guys whistling reached out and pressed down two young students at the next table, saying that they were short of money recently and wanted to borrow some money.

Tan Wenbin picked up the plate with sauce in front of him and poured it directly on the head of one of the men.

As soon as the opponent turned around, Tan Wenbin kicked him in the heart and knocked him to the ground, and then kicked him again, and the opponent rolled out.

This is a move designed to kill the dead. When used on a living person, the force is even more terrifying.

Seeing this, the other two companions started to use the tools around them to attack, some holding a bottle of citric acid and some holding a bamboo stick.

Runsheng looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who nodded as he opened his mouth and took a bite of the starch sausage handed to him by A Li.

Runsheng stood up and walked over.

Tan Wenbin retreated behind Runsheng while swearing.

It wasn't because he was afraid or because he felt he couldn't win, but because he had an exam soon and couldn't afford to hurt his hand.

Soon, several thugs were beaten to the ground by Runsheng. They no longer had the arrogance they had when they wanted to extort pocket money from others. Instead, they were foaming at the mouths with blood, crying and shouting that they wanted to call the police.

Runsheng counted the teeth on the ground with the tip of his shoe. Seeing that the number was not enough, he stepped on the one with the best teeth.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

After the other party spit out his teeth, Runsheng finally felt relieved.

At this time, a police car drove over from a distance. It was not here to respond to a call, but was probably passing by on official business and saw the fight.

Tan Wenbin picked up his schoolbag, patted it gently, then put it on his shoulder, whistled, and nudged Runsheng with his arm:
"Come on, the cop is here."

Runsheng took a glance and replied, "It's your father."

The door of the police car opened and Tan Yunlong got out. On the way here, Tan Yunlong took off his police hat and kicked Tan Wenbin several times.

There was no other way. He just sat in the car and pointed to the front and said to his colleagues: "This is my son."

Then, even through the car window, he could see his son's lip shape when he said the word "tiaozi".

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Tan Wenbin kept dodging, but fortunately his father knew his limit and didn't raise his foot high, only kicking his calf, so the pain was not a problem.

After venting his anger, Tan Yunlong asked, "What's wrong?"

Tan Wenbin: "A local thug who collects protection money."

"You beat him up like this?"

"We are doing what is right and are doing our part to build a harmonious society."

The two students who had been oppressed for money had originally run away, but when they saw the police coming and looking for Tan Wenbin and Runsheng, they were afraid that they would be misunderstood, so they immediately ran back to testify.

Tan Yunlong said, "Your mother and I will go to Uncle Li's house to bring you some rice dumplings in the evening. Your mother has dug out all the cheongsams she wore when she was young."

"Can my mother still wear that cheongsam now?"

"I took it out in advance without telling your mother and asked a tailor to help me make it bigger."

"Okay, Captain Tan."

"Again poor?"

"I'm really not poor. I'm just glad you have this method. Otherwise, a miracle like me wouldn't have been born."

"Take the exam well."

"Yes sir!"

……

The college entrance examination was held at Pingchao Middle School. Tan Wenbin went to the school the night before and took a bus organized by the school to the examination site with his classmates. At night, he also stayed in the dormitory for lower-grade students who were temporarily on vacation.

Early in the morning, Tan Wenbin ran to the school gate. There were many parents gathered there, each bringing their own breakfast.

While eating rice cakes and rice dumplings, Tan Wenbin muttered, "Uncle, you asked Runsheng to take you here on a tricycle so early in the morning? This is quite far."

"No, Principal Wu drove here to pick Xiaoyuan up to take him to the test center, and I just took a ride."

"Where's Xiaoyuan? Has he eaten? Oh, no, Xiaoyuan doesn't need to eat this."

"How can that be possible? I made him eat it this morning. It's an exam after all, and Principal Wu brought it himself."

"Okay, I'm done eating, sir."

"Come on, Zhuangzhuang, just skip the difficult questions and do everything you can. Just try your best..."

Tan Wenbin listened to Li Sanjiang's nagging patiently, but Li Sanjiang only heard a few words and this brat didn't even wave his hand and say "I know, stop talking" to stop nagging, but instead put him on the front line.

"Okay, Uncle Li, I understand."

Tan Wenbin opened his arms and hugged Li Sanjiang, then turned to find the head teacher.

Li Sanjiang smiled. He always favored Xiao Yuanhou the most, but Xiao Yuanhou was too sensible and well-behaved, so in life, Zhuangzhuang was the one who best matched his temperament.

Seeing Zhuangzhuang walking away, Li Sanjiang waved at his back again:
"Take the test well, kid."

In other classes, the homeroom teachers personally collected and put away the admission tickets, but in Li Zhuiyuan's case, it was Principal Wu who was in charge. When he got off the bus, the pencil bag, admission ticket and other items were handed to the boy.

The first subject in the morning was Chinese. Li Zhuiyuan spent a little more time on it than usual because he had to write more beautifully.

When it came to the second math exam, Li Zhuiyuan finished the paper quickly. Before handing it in early, he tried to substitute the thinking that he had given to Tan Wenbin and reviewed the math paper.

Then he blinked.

Because he found that from Tan Wenbin's perspective, this math paper was too difficult.

No, it should be that the difficulty level is seriously beyond the standard for this year's candidates.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little confused: Who asked such a question? Does he have a grudge against the students?

Although everyone has the same set of difficult questions, students who don't have good psychological qualities may lose their minds after taking the math test.

Li Zhuiyuan handed in his paper early and got into Principal Wu's car. Principal Wu opened the thermos bucket for Li Zhuiyuan to eat.

"Grandpa Principal, the math is a little difficult this time."

"Ah?" Wu Xinhan was stunned at first. If the first prize in the National Olympic Competition is difficult, then how terribly difficult must the mathematics in this session be?
“For ordinary students.”

"Oh, okay, I get it." Wu Xinhan first took a reassurance pill, and then immediately realized something, "Xiaoyuan, you eat first, I'll go ask around."

After finishing his meal, Li Zhuiyuan lay down in the car and took a nap.

Then, I was woken up by crying outside the car.

Turning my head, I found that many students were crying after taking the math test.

What’s even more terrifying is that there are a few students who are laughing, and their laughter is as vivid as Jigong’s, as if they have seen through the world.

Wu Xinhan returned to the car, wiping his sweat while cursing, "I found out that a bastard student stole a test paper and was caught, so the spare paper was temporarily used for this math test.

The difficulty of this backup paper is a bit exaggerated. I have asked the teachers to calm the students in each class. "

"Grandpa Principal, who issued the backup papers?"

"I don't know yet, but I think this guy will probably be scolded by students for decades."

After the afternoon exam, Li Zhuiyuan was sent home. Before dawn the next day, Wu Xinhan drove over to pick him up again.

After the exam in the afternoon, at Li Zhuiyuan's request, we waited for Tan Wenbin to come out after the exam.

"Ah, the bed in the dormitory is really not as comfortable as the coffin at home."

Wu Xinhan glanced at the rearview mirror and thought that Tan Wenbin was just making a joke.

Tan Wenbin added, "Other subjects were fine, but the math was really difficult this time. I really didn't know how to answer several of the big questions. I could only follow your instructions and write the word 'solution' first, then fill in all the formulas that seemed related."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The points will be calculated."

"Really?" Tan Wenbin blinked in disbelief. "This is math, not Chinese or politics."

Wu Xinhan also pricked up his ears. He was the principal, but he was not in charge of specific teaching work.

Li Zhuiyuan: "The questions this time are too difficult. The purpose of the college entrance examination is to rank students. When marking the papers, they will definitely try to increase the difference in scores and find ways to make up points for you. Maybe if you write a 'solution' for a big question, they can give you a lot of points."

Tan Wenbin: "Then our school won't be issuing them this time. Most of the students I know followed what you said at the pre-exam meeting and wrote down all the solutions to the questions as soon as they got the test paper."

Wu Xinhan honked the car horn happily: "Beep beep beep beep!"

...After the exam, all that’s left is to wait for the results, after all, the application form had already been filled out before the college entrance examination.

Li Zhuiyuan also officially began to prepare for his university life. The first thing he had to do was to move out all the dozen or so boxes of books in his great-grandfather's basement and dry them in the sun.

He has had so many books, documents and drawings on hand in the past six months that he hasn't gone to the basement to look for books to read for a long time.

But since I'm going to Jinling, I must choose a few more sets to take with me.

Runsheng, Yin Meng and Tan Wenbin were busy moving all the boxes up to the second floor, and then they took them out one by one and spread them out for Li Zhuiyuan to select.

In fact, the dam is more spacious, but Grandma Liu was sitting there drinking tea after all, and Li Zhuiyuan didn't want to reveal any of the Qin Liu family's martial arts there.

That would be really embarrassing.

But what Li Zhuiyuan didn't expect was that he found an even more embarrassing one.

"General Principles of Qimen".

After flipping through a few pages, the boy stood there for a long time holding the book.

You worked so hard and spent so much time and energy to decipher that set of books, only to find out that the code book was actually in the basement of your home?

Fortunately, Li Zhuiyuan did not find the written version of "Qi Shi Chunqiu" in the book below, otherwise he might really collapse.

At the moment, he could only comfort himself that the process of forced deciphering was itself a kind of learning, which could deepen his understanding and help him comprehend the Qi family's space mechanism techniques more quickly.

Worldview, morality, health preservation, replenishing yin with yang, nourishing yin with yang...

These categories make up the majority, and they are actually quite important, and can even be described as "precious", but for a teenager, they can all be swept aside.

What Li Zhuiyuan wanted mainly were reference books. In the end, he selected three sets, namely "Classic on Miasma", "Summary of Qi Forms" and "The Sutra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva".

Although Wei Zhengdao's book also talks about the method of breaking miasma, and Qin and Liu's books also talk about looking at qi, they are all a bit like formulas and not so down-to-earth. These first two books are specific examples under the formula, which can help you lay a better foundation.

The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra talks about walking in the Yin. The twelve methods of the Yin family that I learned are the basic methods of walking in the Yin. This book is more advanced. The cover of the book says:

Those who learn this method can pass through the underworld and the Yellow Springs, and go to the seat of the Bodhisattva to listen to Buddhist teachings.

Of course, this is an exaggeration, but it also illustrates the usefulness of this book. Anyway, the books in my grandfather’s basement are not full of nonsense.

What disappointed Li Zhuiyuan was that he could not find any more books by Wei Zhengdao, nor those by the Qin and Liu families.

Moreover, Li Zhuiyuan also vaguely discovered that his previous method of improving through simply "reading books" had reached a certain critical point.

Because inheritance ultimately depends on "people". Even in today's industrial age, we will face the phenomenon of technology being "lost" due to the generational gap of industrial technical workers.

For example, the things that Mr. Luo is "mailing" to himself now have long gone beyond the scope of books. Behind every piece of data and design information are the hard work of countless people in our time.

Next, Runsheng and his team packed the reclassified books back into the boxes and moved them back to the basement.

These books are treasures. Their prices are quite high now. When the antique craze comes in the future, the prices will only go higher. Especially for Wei Zhengdao, who likes to write books on Buddha parchment paper, which makes it even more precious.

It can be said that my grandfather has always lived on a pile of gold.

But... it seems that Grandpa is not short of money.

Even if the grandfather's wealth increased tenfold in an instant, he would still live the life he has now.

When Li Zhuiyuan came back from washing his hands at the well, he saw Li Sanjiang sitting on a chair in the corner of the dam, holding a pen in his hand, looking at a notebook, as if he was doing some accounting.

"Master, what are you calculating?"

"Grandpa is giving you tuition."

"Grandpa, my tuition is waived."

"What about accommodation and book fees?"

"That's exempted too."

"living expenses……"

“There are scholarships.”

"So, Xiao Yuanhou, you don't have to spend a penny from your family to go to college?"

“There should still be some money to be made.”

"Humph!"

Li Sanjiang threw away his pen and folded his arms.

Supporting my great-grandson to go to college is a burden but also a joy. Now his joy has been deprived.

He had imagined going to the post office on a fixed day every month to remit money to his great-grandson. When people on the street asked him where he was going, he would sigh and proudly raise the remittance slip: "Hey, isn't this sending money to our little Yuanhou?"

If the children didn't have enough money, they would call Aunt Zhang's grocery store and he would be happy to scrape together some money and quickly send it over to help.

Well, now the dream is shattered.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to step forward and hug his grandfather's neck: "Grandpa, the money is not enough. I have to buy books, I have to buy materials, I have to buy new shoes and new clothes, and I have to compete with other classmates."

The corners of Li Sanjiang's mouth began to curl up.

"I can't live worse than my classmates in the city. I can't let them laugh at me for being from the countryside. So, Grandpa, you still have to send me money every month."

Li Sanjiang nodded vigorously and agreed: "Yes, that's right!"

In the distance, Liu Yumei, who was drinking tea, almost spit out the tea she had just drunk.

The old lady wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and said to Aunt Liu who was standing beside her: "This brat has mastered how to coax his grandfather to perfection."

Aunt Liu reminded quietly: "The brat is here."

Li Zhuiyuan came over and saw that the tea was a little cold, so he helped to make a new pot.

"Grandma Liu, will you continue to live here after I go to college?"

"Go to your university, what do you have to do with me?"

"But……"

"But what's the matter? Do you really think you are some great person, haha."

"Yes, yes, you said so."

"People, sometimes you should not think too highly of yourself, because it is easy to fall down."

"I remember what you taught me."

"Go ahead and leave me alone."

"Hey, good."

Li Zhuiyuan ran away.

Liu Yumei gently cut the tea lid and whispered to Aunt Liu: "A Ting, we have a house in Jinling, right?"

"Yes, but it's a bit far from Haihe University."

"Then buy one nearby."

"got it."

"Alas, I did this for Ah Li's condition. Ah Li has improved a lot in every aspect over the past year. It's normal for a child I raised to have a quiet temperament. I don't expect Ah Li to be a lively and active girl, but why can't she speak?

No matter what, we have to let that brat cure our Ah Li until she can speak."

"So are you planning to take him in as your registered disciple? Aren't we going to leave here?"

"Don't worry, we need a favor from him now, and it would be inconvenient to accept him as a disciple right now.

When we get to Jinling, take some time to put the "Liu's Qi-Watching Secret" on his desk and let him study it first. When there are more things he doesn't understand, he will come to me for advice on his own, and then we can go easy on him."

"You are still thoughtful."

"Haha, no matter how smart a child is, he is still a child after all. How many ideas can he have?"

"Haha, that's true."

Aunt Liu covered her mouth and chuckled. As a bystander, she could see clearly that the boy had deliberately come over to ask for a scolding.

The old lady laughed at how Li Sanjiang was being manipulated to perfection, but in fact she herself was also being manipulated to perfection.

At dinner time, the postman arrived on his bicycle and shouted across the rice fields:

"I passed the exam, I passed the exam!"

Nowadays, if a child goes to a technical secondary school, the family has to hold a banquet, let alone a good and decent university.

Tan Wenbin immediately put down his chopsticks and was about to leave when Li Sanjiang stopped him, then took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and threw one of the unopened packs to Tan Wenbin:
"Go!"

"Hey!"

Tan Wenbin went to pick up the admission letter and was admitted to Haihe University.

In fact, he was not that excited. Even though the math paper in the college entrance examination was difficult, it did not affect his mentality and performance in other subjects. The admission letter came naturally.

However, when he was about to appear in front of everyone on the dam after passing through the rice fields, Tan Wenbin raised his admission letter and ran excitedly, shouting:

"I passed the exam, I passed the exam!"

Dinner ended with laughter and everyone chatted until late at night.

Then, those who need to go back to bed go back to bed, and those who need to go into the coffin go into the coffin.

Li Zhuiyuan took a bath, then pushed open his grandfather's door and walked in.

Li Sanjiang was sitting on the bed, counting money.

"Master."

"Hey." Li Sanjiang nodded, "This is the wedding money for Zhuangzhuang."

"Ah."

"Marquis Runsheng and Marquis Meng are also going to accompany you to Jinling, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you have to put down the rent in advance, and I can make up the difference. No problem."

"Brother Liangliang has rented a house outside the school. I live in the school, and they can live with Brother Liangliang. Brother Liangliang doesn't come home often anyway."

"But, it's not convenient to live with someone else."

"Uncle Tan wants to rent a house for Brother Binbin. This is a prerequisite for Brother Binbin to take the college entrance examination."

"That's fine, Zhuangzhuang is not an outsider."

"Grandpa, will you be lonely after we leave?"

"You are going to college. You will not stay home during the holidays. Don't worry about your great grandfather. When you are young and energetic, you should go out and try your luck. When I was young, I was also a poor man outside."

"The family matters..."

"I've already told your grandparents that they will move in with me. Your grandfather is in good health and can help with farm work, but your grandma's craftsmanship is not good enough. She made paper figures so well that even ghosts wouldn't be able to bear to look at them.

Let your grandmother be in charge of cooking, Guiying Hou is capable of cooking."

"Grandpa, did you know Aunt Liu was leaving?"

"She pickled several jars of pickles and sauces in advance, and made a large number of paper figurines at home. The meaning is very clear. I guess she will mention it to me in a few days.

I just need to find someone who is smart and capable of doing the work. I'll ask someone to find out more about it later."

"Master, as long as you have a plan in mind, that's good."

"Little Yuanhou, don't worry about your great grandfather. In this world, no one is really inseparable from anyone else." Li Sanjiang reached out and touched the boy's head. "Outside, just have fun. Don't worry about me. If your great grandfather was sick or dying, I wouldn't hide it and not call you."

"Well, I understand."

"Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I need to take care of. I have made a will in front of the village chief and others to leave these things to you.

But Da Huzi's family, bah, no, it's Dalinzi's family. Although the house and the peach forest are also under my name, they were not actually included in the will notarization that day.

In two days, I will invite the village chief and others for another meal and get the place notarized.

I guess, Dalinzi has been gone for such a long time, and there has been no phone call or news from him, so he is probably gone.”

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Ding Dalin and the others had been gone for almost a year.

Li Sanjiang blew out a smoke ring and smacked his lips: "Although it may not look good to eat like this, Xiao Yuanhou, you are going on a long journey after all. What if something really happens to me? Anyway, we have to be prepared for the worst.

In the village, if the rules are not made clear in advance, it will be easy to cause disputes.

Anyway, Ding Dalin and I have an agreement. The house and land are in my name, so he can live there. After he leaves, it will be given to you, Xiao Yuanhou. If he comes back someday, you can let him live there."

The day after tomorrow, Li Sanjiang set up a table of wine at Big Beard's house, invited the village chief and others to come over to make a new will, and then everyone drank.

Li Sanjiang was in high spirits today and drank too much, so Runsheng carried him back and pushed the cart over.

There were some candles and yellow paper on the car, and everyone set up an altar on the dam facing the peach forest.

Although Wei Zhengdao's friend had bad intentions, what he actually did was good things. No matter how many times people criticized him in their hearts, he did bring peace to the place for a whole year.

I guess he can live year after year, and God knows when he will finally die.

There are few pure and flawless things in this world. Many of the "protective beasts" in myths and legends from all over the world are not good things at all when you look into them carefully. We mainly judge them by their deeds rather than their hearts.

What Li Zhuiyuan performed today was a small imperial decree ceremony.

Adding the word "small" in front actually has nothing to do with the imperial decree at the end. In essence, it is similar to the villagers throwing pig heads into the water to worship the Dragon King.

Whether you like it or not, I will put a "high hat" on you first, so that even if you want to do trouble in the future, you will not be able to save face.

Li Zhuiyuan completed the ritual process very seriously, including burning paper, chanting mantras and reciting scriptures.

This set of procedures has no real effect and is pure formalism. It is far worse than just lying on the ground in the peach forest and performing a Yin-yang walk.

But this is a performance for the dead, mainly to express an attitude.

After the ceremony, Li Zhuiyuan stood in front, holding the rice wine bowl in his left hand and incense in his right hand, and moved the bottom of the burning incense in the wine bowl three times.

Behind them, Runsheng, Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng were also holding the same things and doing the same actions.

"A toast."

The three of them stepped forward together, stretched their bowls out over the dam, and poured the wine into the mud below.

Afterwards, Li Zhuiyuan went forward alone. Three wet traces could be clearly seen below the dam, but when Li Zhuiyuan poured the wine in his hand, the wine was instantly absorbed by the ground, and the ground became dry again, without even a trace of wine stains left.

This is really done.

Li Zhuiyuan could even imagine the hideous laughter of the thing underground. He really wanted to see himself practicing the methods in Wei Zhengdao's black book and end up as miserable as him.

Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed. He had already learned the Black Book and even used it several times, but there was no trace of being parasitized by the Death Doom.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan thought of a possibility.

Perhaps, while we were secretly criticizing him, he was also secretly criticizing us in secret.

Because from his "perspective", because of his existence, no dead bodies will appear nearby. This means that even if he has learned the black book, he cannot control the dead bodies and cannot "get sick".

But he had to hold on, wanting to see his own miserable end. However, the more he held on, the less likely he would die as long as he did not leave his hometown.

This is a dead end that is uncomfortable for both parties.

However, you can take advantage of this.

Going beyond the scope of previous rituals and chanting, I can talk about something else.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed his toes slightly outward, stood still, and looked forward.

"Snapped!"

He snapped his fingers, opened his eyes and walked towards the dark!
In my sight, half is real and half is gray.

Before, I didn’t learn the basics, and I thought I would have to fall asleep every time I walked in the Yin direction. Later, I gradually figured out the half-asleep and half-wakeful state, but in fact, I can directly take care of both.

Otherwise, the Taoists and monks would deal with the dirty things. If they want to see the dirty things, they have to sleep. They can see them when they sleep, but how do they deal with the dirty things?
Looking back on the road he has come, Li Zhuiyuan is somewhat impressed with himself. Just like when he was deciphering the "Qi Shi Chunqiu", he always relied on his smart brain to force himself to come up with stupid methods.

The boy didn't see "it", but a faint layer of black could be seen under the original pond in the peach forest.

"Before I met you, I could often encounter death, but after I met you, I can no longer encounter it.

Now, I am leaving home to study, and I will definitely meet a lot of dead people outside. I will use the methods in the black book you gave me.

But I don’t believe that I will become a half-human, half-ghost existence like you. I am more talented than you, I am smarter than you, and I am luckier than you.

Do not believe,

We'll see in a few years.

Oh.
correct,

If everything is fine at home, I won’t come back.”

After he finished speaking, the originally black layer of soil gradually turned blood red, but it soon disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan snapped his fingers again, ending his shadowing state and returning his vision to normal.

Tan Wenbin, who was standing behind him, also imitated the finger-snapping gesture.

Of course, he was just simply imitating Xiao Yuan's posture. He now wanted to take the initiative to walk in the Yin direction. In order to increase the success rate, he had to burn incense and recite scriptures first.

Li Zhuiyuan finished speaking, and his implication was, if you don't want me to continue to come back here and live safely, then you should continue to ensure that my hometown is safe and sound, so that I can wander around outside to my heart's content, and if I end up as miserable as you, I will come back to see you crying, so that you can get what you want.

However, to be more specific, the only relatives in my hometown are my great-grandfather, grandparents and other relatives. If I look into it more carefully and look at the relationships recorded in the household registration book, I find that there is actually only one great-grandfather in my family.

But the old man is blessed and doesn't seem to need the care of the person below.

Even if he and others left, the grandfather only needed to hire another worker and he could continue to live a comfortable life with wine and meat.

Even if we take a step back and say that there really is trouble, there are always some old men from the mountain who can come and take the blame for Grandpa.

After all, Uncle Shan’s coffin is still in the hands of Grandpa.

After leaving Big Beard's house, everyone did not go home directly, but went to Aunt Zhang's grocery store to call Xue Liangliang. Not long after, the call was returned.

Li Zhuiyuan asked about the accommodation situation there, and Xue Liangliang assured him that it was no problem and that everything had been arranged.

After both parties confirmed the date for early admission to school, Xue Liangliang took the initiative to say that considering everyone had a lot of luggage, he would drive a truck back from Jinling to pick everyone up.

While on the phone, Luo Gong's voice came from behind to ask questions. Xue Liangliang replied: "Teacher, I will drive a truck to pick up my junior brother in a while. He has a lot of luggage, a pile of books and design drawings. It is not convenient to take a train or a long-distance bus. He is still young.

It's okay, no trouble, junior brother is more important, I have the driver's license, I got it, I took the test for the convenience of construction, hehe, you can help me borrow a car when the time comes, oh, okay, okay."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Brother Liangliang was so enthusiastic that he drove here in person, it must not be just for the sake of brotherhood, he was eager for the opportunity to ask for leave from Engineer Luo.

Now that I think about it, it’s a good thing that Uncle Qin was a step slower and failed to break through Baijia Town in time.

After hanging up the phone and returning home, Li Zhuiyuan told Aunt Liu in the kitchen the date he would enter school.

Aunt Liu was a little surprised and asked, "Isn't there still a long time left in summer vacation? Are you in such a hurry to start school?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to enter the university campus."

"Okay, I'll talk to your grandfather when he sobers up."

"Okay, thank you Aunt Liu."

"It's just a small thing, why thank you? It's just a simple thing."

After Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs, Aunt Liu wiped her hands on her apron, walked out of the kitchen to the east room, and told Liu Yumei the date.

"So early? Have we booked a house yet?"

"It has been decided long ago."

"Okay then, you should pack your things too, especially A-Li's clothes and the patterns I designed. Don't forget them."

"Don't worry about that."

"Oh, by the way, there are also Ah Li's collection boxes. Please number them and make sure they are not bumped or scratched. They are all her treasures."

"I see."

The east room is a bungalow. Because there is no fire, the kitchen is not here, so it has a living room and two bedrooms. Liu Yumei and A'li sleep together in the north bedroom.

Aunt Liu walked to the door of the south bedroom, opened it, and was stunned at once. The boxes were piled up so high that they reached the door of the bedroom.

"Wow, there are so many?"

Liu Yumei sighed helplessly: "You don't know how much space those design drawings take up. Also, the son-in-law from the Bai family sent gifts so frequently."

"Don't worry, I will arrange for someone to move. The house in Jinling has a basement that can store it. As for these tablets..."

Liu Yumei looked towards the altar. At first, the tablets were all from last year, then gradually, the old and new ones replaced each other, and now, they were all brand new.

"After we go to Jinling, we will purchase some Thunderwood and carve another set. No, make two sets. Don't let us run out of materials for our crafts."

"Wouldn't it be more convenient to just give Ah Li the Thunder Wood?"

Liu Yumei shook her head, stood up, walked to the table, opened the drawer, pulled out a painting, and slowly unfolded it: "This is our A-Li's painting."

Liu Ting walked over and saw that the painting showed a house with a very high threshold. Outside the door, there were many strange walkers. The lamps on the altar inside the door were burnt out, and all the tablets were cracked.

"They are willing to do so. When A-Li stops digging them, it means that A-Li doesn't blame them anymore."

……

Xue Liangliang drove a truck to pick people up. In order not to block the village road, he simply dug a section of the land into the field. After all, it was his great-grandfather's land, and no one would say anything.

Runsheng and his crew started moving the luggage. There was indeed a lot of stuff, and an ordinary pickup truck might not be able to hold it all.

Li Zhuiyuan and A'li had already said goodbye in the room. The boy and girl had a tacit understanding and there was no sadness at all about parting.

But when they went downstairs together, the boy showed reluctance to leave in front of Liu Yumei, while the girl lowered her eyes with a lost look.

After Li Zhuiyuan got on the truck, he asked Xue Liangliang with some concern:

"Brother Liangliang, can you still drive?"

"Just sit still." Xue Liangliang started the car and said as he turned the steering wheel, "Xiaoyuan, give me your cushion. I'll cushion my waist."

……

A few days after Li Zhuiyuan and his friends went to school, Aunt Liu formally resigned from her job to Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang had anticipated this, so everyone had a simple farewell dinner. When it came time to settle their wages, Li Sanjiang gave out two extra red envelopes.

"One is yours, and the other is Ali's."

Aunt Liu looked at Liu Yumei, not knowing whether she should accept it or not.

Liu Yumei nodded: "Keep it, it's a token of your uncle Sanjiang's love."

Then, Li Sanjiang took out an even thicker red envelope and handed it to A'li carefully.

Although Li Sanjiang had seen the changes in the girl over the past year, he was still a little scared of her, especially when Xiao Yuanhou was not with her.

Liu Yumei's eyes narrowed and she asked, "Old man, what are you thinking about?"

"This is for the child. Our little Yuanhou is pitiful. His parents are divorced and left him here alone. Fortunately, there is a girl here to play with him."

When Liu Yumei saw that Li Sanjiang did not say "to give her to the great-grandson's wife", her heart warmed.

She reached out and took it:
"I accepted it for Ah Li. When I met Xiao Yuan in Jinling, I gave him a bigger one."

……

After Liu Yumei's family moved out, Li Weihan and Cui Guiying moved in immediately.

With Li Weihan accompanying him to drink and chat, Li Sanjiang no longer felt lonely.

For Li Weihan, this was the beginning of fulfilling his promise to provide for Uncle Sanjiang in his old age, even though Uncle Sanjiang was still in good health.

However, he still used this as an excuse to ask his four sons to take all the grandchildren who were living with him back home, to take care of the elderly first and then the young ones. Li Weihan could tell the difference.

Soon, someone came to the door and wanted to do paper-making.

She is a woman, she looks to be in her thirties, she seems to be quite honest and decent, she is from Shigang, her husband died, she has no children, she left her husband's family, her brothers in her natal family don't like her very much, so she wanted to work here and get food and accommodation.

Li Sanjiang asked her to make a paper-made figure first. Unexpectedly, the woman was very skillful and she made one very quickly, and the paper figure looked lifelike.

"Okay, it's you, stay. By the way, you just said your name is Ying Hou, what's your full name?"

"Xiao Yingying."

(End of this volume)

(End of this chapter)