Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 486

Zhao Yi walked from the foot of the mountain to the top, passing the scenic area's ticket checkpoint along the way.

His bamboo house was built right in front of the Lushan Waterfall, in the heart of the scenic area.

The staff member held out his hand to Zhao Yi, asking to see his ticket.

Zhao Yi waved his hand impatiently and called out, "Nine rooms."

Seeing that they were locals, the staff let them pass.

Zhao Yi didn't rush to the top of the mountain, but instead went to the bottom of the waterfall pool.

Chen Jing had been soaking in it for several days, and his whole body was bloated and white.

Face up, eyes open, but no light in them.

Zhao Yi picked up a stone and threw it at Chen Jing, cursing:

"Ah Jing, don't actually drown here and become a corpse demon. I'm not confident I can control you."

Chen Jing slowly turned his head to look at Zhao Yi by the pool, and spoke in an extremely hoarse voice:

“Brother Yuan…Brother Yuan…”

"Alright, your brother Yuan is fine. Thank you for your performances these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jing immediately sat up, and then his whole body plummeted down, sinking to the bottom with a "glug".

Zhao Yi had no choice but to take off his clothes, jump into the water, pull Chen Jing out of the water, and carry him back to the bamboo house on the mountain peak.

The checkpoints outside my own house have all been removed, and even the ticket checkers have returned to their original positions; they must have been completely removed.

Since he can already receive the results through his own established channels, it would be pointless for the other party to keep an eye on him to see if he would tip him off.

"Alright, Mr. Li, now you can continue drinking your beverage, prepare to choke to death."

Back home, after leaving A-Jing in Xu Ming's care, Zhao Yi went into his study and took out a stack of letters from his pocket.

As I flipped through the pages, I pulled out a letter with an interesting signature—Tao Zhuming.

I opened the letter and spread it out on my desk.

The letter contained a lot of information, but it was all nonsense about how a day apart feels like three autumns; the real point was on the bottom line.

Tao Zhuming did not write this letter to seek cooperation with me. In fact, he has been approached by many companies so far, but Dragon King Tao is not among them.

"Brother Zhao, I'm just curious whether Ling Wuxing has contacted you."

……

Li Zhuiyuan inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner on the offering table.

Grandma Liu wasn't home, so the boy would come to burn incense every day.

It's quite convenient. There's no need to prepare or replace the offerings. The food that's usually placed on the altar isn't for offerings, but rather Grandma Liu's own snacks.

Since the spirits in the house have all died, there's no point in offering sacrifices to them. So, the rituals are naturally simplified. Even the burning incense and candles have excellent fragrance and insect-repelling effects, focusing on practicality.

Stepping out of the east room and standing on the dam, I looked up and saw the sky ablaze with red clouds, much like the face of a stone frozen red in winter.

On the village road ahead, Stone was being kicked along by his father from behind.

After being kicked to the ground, Shi Tou rubbed his buttocks as he stood up. Not daring to delay, he continued to walk forward, sobbing, afraid that if he slowed down, he would be kicked again soon.

The redness on his face wasn't from the cold winter, but from being slapped.

Although they were far apart, Li Zhuiyuan could still hear the curses coming from Stone's father:

"You little brat, you're not learning anything good, all you do is go to the arcade all day!"

In the early days, arcades were high-end venues, usually only found in city parks and cultural centers. Later, they were opened to private individuals, and with the influx of pirated game cabinets and boards, they quickly covered not only every corner of the city but also became very popular in towns and villages. Some people didn't even need to be in the town; a few resourceful individuals could set up a few machines in their homes in the village and collect money by selling game tokens. Locally, this was called "selling game boards."

When Li Zhuiyuan first arrived in Nantong, there were no arcades in Shigang Town yet. So that summer, he was taken by Panzi and Leizi to catch fish and shrimp in the village. If he had come a year later, his two older brothers would probably have taken him to the arcade in town.

Children simply cannot resist its allure; the arcade is their holy land. Even if they don't have money to buy a game console, they can enjoy watching others play all day long.

Of course, in my midnight nightmares, there's always the chance that, just as I'm excitedly manipulating the joystick and pressing the buttons, my father's face will suddenly appear reflected on the brightly colored and incredibly exciting screen.

After Shi Tou and his father walked past, Hu Zi appeared behind them, looking preoccupied.

He went with Shi Tou, but when Shi Tou's father came to arrest him, he happened to be using the toilet in the boss's porcelain vat. Now, he can only pray that Shi Tou will consider their brotherhood and not expose him.

Runsheng put down the phone in Aunt Zhang's convenience store. He had just spoken to Yin Meng. He chose to make the call here because mobile phones were more expensive, and he felt embarrassed to do so because there were too many people with hearing and sight in his family.

It wasn't a big deal to be face-to-face with Aunt Zhang, who was knitting behind the counter. Anyway, it was Yin Meng talking, and I just echoed her with "uh-huh" and Aunt Zhang couldn't hear anything.

After settling his phone bill, Runsheng bought some loose candy. As he walked out, he bumped into Huzi and grabbed a handful of candy to give to him.

"Thank you, Runsheng."

Tiger ran up to Stone with the candy in his hand, stuffed all the candy into Stone's pocket, and squeezed Stone's hand tightly, just like a spy movie telling his comrades on the secret front to withstand the enemy's torture.

As Runsheng walked home, a pickup truck drove past him, and the driver, Tan Wenbin, waved to him.

The car drove up to the dam, and Tan Wenbin got out, holding the intelligence he had just collected about the underworld.

The previous wave left behind many people's contact information, which is equivalent to building an efficient intelligence network.

However, under normal circumstances, reading this intelligence is as good as not reading it at all, since they are the parties involved, and the whole thing was actually a counter-planning personally orchestrated by Brother Xiaoyuan.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, there's some intelligence you absolutely have to read. I never expected to actually receive it."

"Command the Five Elements?"

"Brother Xiaoyuan, can't you guess a little more?"

"Your hints were too obvious."

Tan Wenbin handed Ling Wuxing's letter to Li Zhuiyuan.

This provides a clear opposing perspective to the Five Elements theory.

He even included the news of his grandfather's serious injury in the article.

There is no trace of humility or flattery in his words; instead, they are filled with a sense of freedom and ease.

Tan Wenbin: "One is a grandfather, and the other is a grandson. They have the same surname, so why is there such a big difference?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You think the old guys are old and decayed, but the old guys think you are young and naive. When they were young, they may have been full of vigor and ambition. People change. Even Sun Qinghua, the Valley Master in Little Hell, dared not recognize his future self."

Li Zhuiyuan handed Ling Wuxing's letter back to Tan Wenbin, who asked, "Why did Ling Wuxing's grandfather suffer a karmic backlash?"

"Because someone caused him to suffer the consequences of karma."

Upon hearing this, Tan Wenbin looked at the door of the east room and laughed, "Indeed, the old fox is the wisest."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandma Liu had no cards to play before, not because she was bad at cards, but because even though she had the worst intentions about this world, she still thought too highly of them."

They benefited from these underhanded tricks not because they were particularly skilled, but because they were utterly shameless.

Li Zhuiyuan touched his face and continued:

"Fortunately, they can't beat me when it comes to shamelessness."

Tan Wenbin smiled gently.

"Hahahahahaha."

Lin Shuyou, who was repairing the roof on the kitchen roof, couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard Xiao Yuan's lame joke.

The spirit medium: "Spirit medium, you're courting death! How dare you..."

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Xiaoyuan has already said it, so what's wrong with me just laughing?"

The boy exclaimed, "You, you, you're absolutely infuriating!"

Lin Shuyou shrugged indifferently and reached out to catch the tile Chen Xiyuan threw up from below. Unexpectedly, Miss Chen herself jumped onto the roof, picked up the tile, pinched her cheek, and asked curiously:

"Ah You, explain to me quickly, what's so funny about that?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "In addition, when Ling Wuxing's grandfather encountered the backlash of karma, the spirit of the Ling family's Dragon King could help him protect and resolve it, but the other old woman is not receiving such good treatment right now."

Tan Wenbin: "Could she...die?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's possible, but I hope she can continue to live on strongly."

Tan Wenbin: "Yes, it's too easy for her to die like that."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Logically speaking, Grandma Liu and the others should have returned long ago."

The correspondence has been received, but the people who actually went out to do the work have not yet returned.

However, Grandma Liu disliked the hassle of parting and returning, always leaving decisively and returning without prior notice. Tan Wenbin: "Brother Xiao Yuan, do you need me to arrange someone..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "No need. With Uncle Qin, who is in his prime, here, they will be fine. They probably finished their business there and went to another place before returning. They should be back soon."

Actually, Li Zhuiyuan has another method that can predict roughly when Grandma Liu and the others will be able to return home.

However, presenting this method as a method feels rather strange.

That means when Grandpa finishes his busy schedule and starts sleeping at home... then Grandma Liu and the others will be back soon.

Tan Wenbin turned around and said to Ayou on the roof:
"Ah You, hurry up and paint the kitchen walls too."

Lin Shuyou: "But, wouldn't it be too obvious if we just painted the wall? Aunt Liu will definitely find out when she comes back."

Tan Wenbin: "You've already punctured the pot and blown up the stove. Do you think Aunt Liu won't notice after you just fix it up like this?"

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, you should have said so earlier. I was still deliberately aging the materials based on my memory. If I had known we were going to renovate, I would have driven a tractor to bring back a truckload of cement and tiles and used them to decorate everything."

Tan Wenbin: "You still have the nerve to blame me? If I find out again that you dare to use the golden mace to cook for us, I'll hypnotize you into taking a bath in a porcelain vat!"

Chen Xiyuan: "Hahahaha!"

Miss Chen's sudden laughter interrupted Tan Wenbin's conversation with Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou: "No, you really want to see me thrown into the latrine?"

Chen Xiyuan: "They can't beat me when it comes to being shameless, it's hilarious, hahaha!"

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the living room.

Mu Xueci's body is still placed in the coffin. It's winter now, so leaving it there for a few days won't hurt.

My great-grandfather has been very busy these past few days, with lots of work and drinking engagements, he's barely home. Yesterday morning he came back to get his ID card, saw the coffin lid was closed, and even smiled as he went over to pat it and called out:
"Youhou, the sun's already high in the sky, are you still sleeping in?"

As they were leaving, they ran into Chen Xiyuan, who had come from Big Beard's house. Li Sanjiang said to Chen Xiyuan, "Your Granny Tinghou made some smoked meat at home. Go back and ask her to make some for you."

Li Sanjiang was unaware that Aunt Liu had been away from home for several days. Chen Xiyuan thought that Aunt Liu had really left behind smoked meat before she left, so she came back and searched for it but couldn't find it. In the end, she asked Tan Wenbin and finally understood what Grandpa Li had mistaken for smoked meat.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down on the bench in front of the coffin.

The boy glanced at the book "The Secret Scroll of Tracing Ancestors" lying next to him out of the corner of his eye.

People don't talk to themselves for no reason.

Grandma Liu truly understood the hints I gave her after our conversation that day, and they yielded results far exceeding my expectations.

Mu Qiuying walked in: "Brother Xiaoyuan, when do you think it would be appropriate for me to take Grandma's body back?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "No rush. When the time comes, we'll go with you and help transport the coffin back."

Mu Qiuying was deeply moved and said, "Brother Xiaoyuan, you still have things to do, I can't let my business delay you..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's alright. Tingfeng Gorge isn't far from the Qinling Mountains, so it's on the way."

"Yes, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Mu Qiuying turned around, intending to help paint the wall, when the boy's voice rang out behind her again:

"By the way, does Mu Family Village have any local specialties?"

“Local specialties…” Mu Qiuying replied, “Brother Xiaoyuan, don’t worry, when you arrive at the village, we will definitely do our best to entertain you with all the local specialties…”

Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand, interrupting Mu Qiuying:
"My description is inaccurate; it should be called a new specialty product."

"A new specialty product?" Mu Qiuying looked blank. "I...I don't know."

"It's okay if you don't know. When you get back, dig around for me. If you find anything, give it to me as a gift between friends."

"Yes, I will mobilize the rest of the village to help you find new local specialties, Brother Xiaoyuan."

"Thank you."

Mu Qiuying went out to paint the walls.

Li Zhuiyuan folded a corner off the yellow paper in his hand and threw it into the brazier in a broken state, burning it for Mu Xueci.

He didn't know if Mu Family Village had any new specialties. He just felt that since Grandma Liu had given him an extra point on this test paper, she would most likely have left him some draft paper.

However, this thing can only be understood intuitively and cannot be explained in words. Even if Grandma Liu really left it behind, she could not reveal it. You have to find it by chance.

"Wait three more days, Grandma. If you don't come back soon, I won't be able to stay at home to listen to your stories. I have to set off for our ancestral home in the Qinling Mountains."

Li Zhuiyuan got up and went upstairs to his room.

Ah Li was standing in front of the drawing table, drawing.

These past few days, apart from attending classes and training, there has been nothing else to do. Ah Li doesn't need to attend classes; she only needs to observe. So, she, who is usually the busiest person preparing various tools and consumables for the entire team, is enjoying a rare moment of leisure this time.

Ah Li painted a family portrait, which Cui Cui asked her to paint. In terms of painting, Ah Li is considered Cui Cui's teacher.

In the painting, there is a spring field, with Cui Cui standing in the middle, holding her mother's hand with her left hand and her grandmother's hand with her right, smiling happily.

Cui Cui also specifically requested that two more people be added.

One is Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi is in the background of the frame, standing alone on the edge of a field, hands on his hips, with a cigarette in his mouth.

Clearly, Cui Cui had a very good impression of Zhao Yi, her godbrother. Zhao Yi also doted on his god-sister. Every time he came to Nantong, he would bring her gifts and take her to town to buy things. Moreover, Zhao Yi even helped Cui Cui attend a parent-teacher conference once.

The other one is Old Tiantou.

In the painting, only half of Old Tian's body is visible; he is leaning to the side, looking at them from afar.

This is perhaps Cui Cui's vision of a family portrait.

Ah Li looked at the boy, and the boy smiled and nodded at her.

The girl continued painting.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the girl's delicate profile.

There was something that Grandma Liu had never mentioned, and neither had Uncle Qin nor Aunt Liu, not even letting it slip. This made Li Zhuiyuan realize that he shouldn't have asked about it.

That is,
Ah Li's parents.

……

Mount Taibai is the main peak of the Qinling Mountains.

Three figures walked up the mountain path, and as they walked, they disappeared into the sea of ​​clouds.

Just as Li Zhuiyuan said to Mu Qiuying, Tingfeng Gorge is indeed not far from the Qinling Mountains in the narrow sense, so Liu Yumei made a detour to the Qin family ancestral home.

She felt both familiar with and unfamiliar with this ancestral home.

This is not where she grew up, but it has become an indelible mark on her life.

She was the eldest daughter of the Liu family and the young mistress of the Qin family. In a true sense, she was the first person to shoulder the responsibilities of both families.

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu stayed outside the ancestral home and did not come in.

Liu Yumei was enveloped in white mist as she walked through the ancestral home, isolating herself from all senses.

Since Xiao Yuan will also be coming here soon, she doesn't want her return to affect Xiao Yuan's trip and cause Xiao Yuan to misjudge the situation inside the Qin family's ancestral home.

She wasn't there to scout out the location for Xiao Yuan in advance to intimidate him, nor did Xiao Yuan need her to do so, and he wasn't a fledgling being sheltered behind her.

The special beings in this ancestral home are closely related to the Qin family's Dragon Kings of all generations, and they can distinguish the quality of the new owner of the ancestral home.

Liu Yumei did not venture too deep into the ancestral home. She avoided all the mysterious and dangerous places within the ancestral home and instead entered the outer courtyard area where the Qin family used to live.

As she walked deeper and deeper into the corridors, Liu Yumei finally arrived at her destination.

She stood at the door for a long time.

She, who had never hesitated to apologize to Heaven, now seemed to be struggling to muster her courage.

She reached out and pushed the door open.

"Squeak..."

Long-buried memories rushed into Liu Yumei's mind, causing two lines of clear tears to flow from the corners of her eyes.

In the past, no matter how dangerous or turbulent the place was, it was far less dangerous than this place. This was the forbidden area for her in the Qin family's ancestral home.

Her gaze slowly swept over the furnishings, and in a daze, Liu Yumei seemed to hear that familiar yet unfamiliar call:

"Mother... mother..."

(End of this chapter)