Day and night tour

Chapter 354: The Appearance of Hundreds of Livestock
The paper man knocked on the door, and Yuan Buyu's door opened. The paper man walked in with a numb expression.

The door slammed shut.

Zhou Lingyi, who was standing at the exit of the bamboo forest, heard bursts of rustling sucking sounds. The sounds were rapid, like a hungry man who had been hungry for several days and saw a table full of meat. He began to swallow it in big mouthfuls, and even his chewing became rough and sloppy.

Swallowing is the main theme when a hungry man is feasting. As for whether the food is delicious, it seems less important.

Before long,

The wooden door creaked open a crack, and a paper man's skin was thrown out.

Before entering the house, the paper figure had its eyes painted by witchcraft and had eaten a live dog, so its skin had the color of a living person. Not only could faint tiny blood vessels be seen, but when it walked in the sun, it also had the wheat color that only living people have.

At this time, the skin of the paper man was no different from normal paper, whitish, with a thin layer of wax on the surface.

Zhou Lingyi walked over, gently bit her fingertips, and dripped a drop of blood on it.

When the blood fell on the cardboard, it turned into a small ball of fire that could burn away the evil spirit. In a few moments, the cardboard was burned to ashes.

After Zhou Lingyi finished doing all this, she breathed a sigh of relief and stomped her feet lightly. A breeze blew at the door, blowing away the last bit of ashes.

"Mr. Yuan, are you feeling better?"

Zhou Lingyi was not afraid of Yuan Buyu's strange behavior at this time, but Yuan Buyu considered himself a respectable man. In the first half of his life, he was a lecturer and was always elegant. In the second half of his life, he worked as a cook, so his coat and cotton jacket were always stained with oil, but his beard and hair were always clean and he never showed himself dirty. But now he has become extremely weird and has no face to show himself to others...

The requirement for appearance made Yuan Buyu unwilling to show his weird appearance to others, even to Zhou Lingyi, whom he knew well, he avoided her.

"Master Zhou, the witch has been practicing for a long time, and her blood and energy are extremely precious. It is not worth it to waste it on a useless person like me."

"The Book of Will is indeed powerful."

"Only when you personally witness the will in the Book of Will taking effect, will you understand why the storyteller is one of the top three in the world."

Yuan Buyu was in a strange state at the moment, and he lacked the confidence to speak. No matter how he spoke, he always sounded sick and lazy: "Boss Zhou, please don't waste your energy on an old man like me who is covered in dirt. Let Sister Cui cook me some delicious dishes, and I'll be on my way.
Besides, only after I have completely left Pingshui Prefecture, you can tell my disciple about my affairs and let him beware of the curse of the heavenly book. As a master, I don’t have much ability to teach my disciples. It is not good to let my disciples worry about me in the end. "

"clear."

Zhou Lingyi said she understood it, but she had already thought of how to make the next paper figure to suppress the "disaster of will" for Yuan Buyu.

"Mr. Yuan, you are the one who took the blame for my brother. How can I do nothing and watch you become a beast without will?"

Zhou Lingyi was walking towards the inner courtyard gate with a lot on her mind. She also needed to purchase materials for making paper figures. As soon as she arrived at the gate, she met her senior brother Yu Zhengyuan.

"Boss, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Wait for me?" Zhou Lingyi asked.

Yu Zhengyuan said: "Master, this time, Old Yuan is saved, little junior brother..."

"Did you tell your brother about Mr. Yuan's matter?" Zhou Lingyi's face darkened.

Yuan Buyu's disease progressed extremely quickly this time. In just one afternoon and one night, he went from being a "normal person" to the brink of becoming a "beast". Among the entire Zhou family, only Zhou Lingyi and Yu Zhengyuan knew the truth.

Yu Zhengyuan had the best relationship with Yuan Buyu. After Yuan Buyu got into trouble, he specifically instructed him not to tell Zhou Xuan about the "disaster of will" before he left Pingshui Prefecture. Yu Zhengyuan agreed to it.

"No, no." Yu Zhengyuan said, "The class leader was busy making paper figures and didn't pay attention to the outside world. Xuanzi helped the Hu family to open a hall today."

Hearing this, Zhou Lingyi's brows relaxed a little: "Being able to open a hall for the fox clan, my brother is really capable now. And then..."

"In order to thank Xuanzi, the Hu clan of the eight prefectures of foxes gathered in Mingjiang Prefecture and presented various wild delicacies, including 100 kilograms of Ganoderma lucidum and human ginseng. However, these are not worth mentioning. The main thing is the two kings of wild delicacies."

Yu Zhengyuan said: "The first kind of mountain delicacy is the Snow Mountain Ginseng."

"The palm ginseng is such a rare thing, and those foxes are willing to give it away."

Zhou Lingyi then shook his head and said, "Big Brother, Zhang Shen's Buddha Qi is extremely concentrated, but it can't cure Elder Yuan. I can cure your strange disease."

Zhou Xuan had already found out for Yu Zhengyuan that the strange disease Yu Zhengyuan once suffered from needed to be suppressed with Buddha's energy.

Zhang Shen is famous in Jingguo for its "Buddha's Energy". If Yu Zhengyuan can take some of it, his illness will be cured.

"But Elder Yuan's illness was caused by the Heavenly Book of Will. The Buddha's energy has no effect on him."

Zhou Lingyi's face darkened as she said this, and she was about to go out to buy "paper figurine materials". Yu Zhengyuan followed her and reported, "There is another king of mountain delicacies. I asked around and heard that it can bring back the dead and turn bones white. It's called the Red Ginseng Boy."

"Well?"

Zhou Lingyi suddenly stopped and asked: "Where is the Red Ginseng Boy?"

"Outer Courtyard..."

When Zhou Lingyi heard this, she quickly walked away from her usual dignified demeanor and went to the outer courtyard.

Yu Zhengyuan followed behind and shouted, "The outer courtyard contains palm ginseng and other wild delicacies. The red ginseng boy hasn't been delivered yet."

……

The outer courtyard of the Zhou family's troupe is a sand field. In the afternoon, some idle masters would drink tea and chat here, making it like a tea plantation.

However, the outer courtyard now looks like a vegetable market.

All kinds of wild delicacies were arranged in piles and clusters, with oilcloth paper underneath. Dozens of masters were squatting and choosing, while some apprentices were discussing in groups of three or five.

When they saw Zhou Lingyi, all the masters and apprentices stood up and greeted her.

"Boss."

"Where is the red ginseng boy?" Zhou Lingyi asked hurriedly.

The master and his disciples looked at each other in bewilderment. One of the masters pointed to two unopened porcelain jars and said, "The red ginseng boy you mentioned must be a treasure. The senior brother specifically ordered that the two porcelain jars not be opened..."

Zhou Lingyi had floated to the front of the porcelain jar and removed the sealing paper. The sunlight shone into the jar and Zhou Lingyi could only see trembling little palms - the Snow Mountain Ginseng.

She sealed another jar, also containing ginseng.

"There is no red ginseng boy." Zhou Lingyi said.

At this time, Yu Zhengyuan was running out of breath, supporting his knees with his hands, and said intermittently; "Master, the Red Ginseng Boy hasn't come yet. It was Master Jian who came to the Zhou Family Class and said that the Dongshan Fox Clan would come to the Zhou Family Class and send the boy with them, but the Fox Clan hasn't arrived yet."

Since the fox tribe had not arrived yet, the Red Ginseng Boy could only continue to wait.

Zhou Lingyi finally regained his composure and instructed Yu Zhengyuan: "Big Brother, the Fox Tribe has prepared such a valuable gift, so we should also be polite. Buy some firecrackers, candies, and snacks, create a scene on the street, make it lively, and then have all the masters and apprentices stop what they are doing and wait at the door to welcome the Dongshan Fox Tribe."

At this point, she pointed to the wild delicacies that were usually seen at the vegetable market and said, "As for these wild delicacies, store them in the warehouse first. It won't look good if they are left outside. If the masters or apprentices in the team are seriously ill and need wild delicacies as medicine, please report to Second Senior Brother. I will check the receipts and arrange for their distribution."

"Understood, Boss."

Yu Zhengyuan was a capable person in the Zhou family. After Zhou Lingyi finished speaking, he did it according to her instructions, and he did every task neatly and efficiently.

Zhou Lingyi stood at the door, waiting for the fox tribe.

……

As the sun was setting, the fox tribe had not arrived yet, but Zhou Lingyi had waited for Lord Arrow and Lord Wine.

"I have arranged for the transportation of food and medicine. Now that I have finished this work, I just happened to come over to see the Red Ginseng Boy."

Lord Jian smiled and bowed to Zhou Lingyi.

Master Jiu also said, "We have only seen the record of the Red Ginseng Boy in ancient books, but we have never seen his true appearance. I, Old Jiu, have come to see the excitement as well."

"You two adults are really well-informed."

"Hey, it's not that we are well-informed, it's that Boss Zhou is too uninformed. I came here today, but I didn't see Boss Zhou. I wonder what important matter Boss Zhou is doing?"

Lord Arrow asked.

Zhou Lingyi couldn't explain it, so she just changed the subject and said, "The fox tribe is good at running. According to the time, they should have arrived early. Could it be that the news leaked out that the red ginseng boy was taken away by other prefectures..."

"In order to transport the relief grain, the two routes of Pingshui Prefecture and Mingjiang Prefecture have become an iron wall. No one is brave enough to get involved."

Lord Arrow said comfortingly.

"Ah."

Zhou Lingyi was still looking at the distance on the street. At this time, free snacks and candies were distributed at the door of the Zhou family, and firecrackers were also set off, attracting many neighbors and passers-by, making the whole place lively and cheerful.

She vaguely remembered the day when Lady Lotus sent someone to invite Zhou Xuan to give a lecture.

On that day, Zhou Xuan, wearing a newly made gown, was carried on a sedan chair by a yellow-skinned man and stepped onto the stage for the first time in a lively manner.

"That day, it was me and Old Yuan who sent Xuan Zi away."

Now things are different.
Zhou Xuan was already able to take charge of his own affairs, leading Mingjiang Mansion forward, but Yuan Buyu - however, seemed to be on the verge of crumbling, as if he had been crushed by the wheels of a worldly life.

"Red Ginseng Boy, come here quickly."

As Zhou Lingyi was muttering, she heard someone shouting in the crowd.

"What a big fox."

"The fox has become a spirit."

"I'm afraid we'll have to drag people over to eat."

Zhou Lingyi shouted quickly: "Those are the immortals of the Hu Clan, they are spiritual and Taoist, not ordinary monsters."

With the words of the troupe leader Zhou, everyone was no longer panicked. The neighbors nearby had already known more and more that Zhou Lingyi was an expert.

Four foxes ran over and when they were in front of Zhou Lingyi, they turned into human forms.

"Dongshan Fox Clan, thank you Zhou family for opening a hall for the Hu Clan. We have prepared some small gifts and come to knock on your door..."

Before Hu Yunyi finished speaking, Zhou Lingyi grabbed the swaddling clothes from the old fox fairy's belly and said, "I am sorry for being rude. Please forgive me."

The eldest of the Red Ginseng Boys had been snatched away by Zhou Lingyi. Hu Yunyi wanted to say something, but he saw the female leader falling into the Zhou family troupe with the force of flowing wind and returning snow.

"Second brother, fourth brother, sixteenth brother, nineteenth brother."

Sister Cui ran out from the crowd, still wearing a cooking apron and sleeves.

She hugged Hu Yunyi warmly, and Hu Yunyi was still puzzled: "Little sister, why is this boss so weird? Although we are here to give gifts, but... at least be polite - don't be so quick to accept gifts, wait until we leave and then look at the gifts."

Gifts can only be opened and used after the guests leave. The people of Humen also understand this normal etiquette.

Sister Cui looked in the direction where Zhou Lingyi disappeared, scratched her head, and said, "The class owner is not usually like this."

……

At the wooden door in the backyard, Zhou Lingyi lifted a corner of the swaddling clothes and confirmed that it was a cute red baby before knocking on the door: "Mr. Yuan, I'm here to bring you medicine."

"Boss Zhou, you know very well that I am incurable."

"This is not an ordinary medicine, it is red ginseng boy."

"Red Ginseng Boy?"

The door was opened one-third, and a hand covered with black hair stretched out, took the boy, and then the door slowly closed again.

"Thank you, Master Zhou. The Red Ginseng Boy is the king of mountain delicacies and can delay the curse of the Heavenly Book for a little longer."

……

The swaddling clothes were opened, and the eldest baby saw the appearance of the person in front of him in the dim light of the room, and was immediately scared to death.

"Wow, so ugly?"

"Although my eldest child was born as a medicinal herb, I am unwilling to be eaten by someone like you. I really am unwilling to accept it."

"I'm sorry, kid."

Yuan Buyu's furry hand gently stroked Da Wa's face.

The ancestral tree in the outer courtyard seemed to sense Yuan Buyu's pity for Da Wa, and one of its branches grew suddenly, crawling across the inner courtyard like a snake, and sneaking into the house through the gap in the window lattice.

……

Mingjiang Mansion, Huifeng Medical College, and pavilion on the back mountain.

This small pavilion has been regarded as Zhou Xuan's new home.

Now, the wish of "rebuilding Mingjiang Mansion" in the Book of Will has been activated, but the "Mountain Ancestor" has not been negotiated yet. Zhou Xuan has nothing to do, so he and Lu Mingkun start carpentry work.

Cut bamboo, twist straw ropes, and build a simple house. "Fifth Brother, I feel like I'm trying to survive in the wilderness."

"It's not like we're surviving in the wilderness, but we have meat to eat, wine to drink later in the evening, and even stewed wild delicacy soup. At most, we can consider this as the leisurely life of the Zhou family brothers."

Lv Mingkun cut down another bamboo, and with a bamboo knife, trimmed it to the required length, and carried it to the side of the pavilion.
The pavilion is too small, and it’s a bit crowded for several people to sleep in it. We need a big room.

Xiao Fuzi was not idle. He set up the stove and stewed wild delicacy soup. In the bucket next to him was soaking the wild rabbit that he was going to eat in the evening.

The third child who was captured by Zhou Xuan had no intention of running away at this time. He was playing with a kaleidoscope in his hand.

Its childish nature was aroused. It peered into the tube with one eye and turned the tube over to look: "Wow, this is really fun."

"Before Mingjiang Mansion was destroyed, there were many fun things. I also had a tin frog that could jump in the water." Xiao Fuzi said.

This kaleidoscope was given to him by Mu Hua, and he always carries it with him. Now that Sanwa wants to play with it, he lends it to Sanwa.

"Well, let me tell you something. You can eat me if you want, but before I die, I have to play with tin frogs and eat wild rabbit meat."

Sanwa sat on the ground and started making a wish.

Zhou Xuan, twisting the straw rope, asked, "Sanwa, you seem to be very open-minded about life and death? If you are so open-minded, why did you start running?"

"We three brothers have only one purpose: living is good, and death is nothing."

“The main theme is optimism.”

Zhou Xuan said with a smile.

pat!

Sanwa suddenly froze and the kaleidoscope in his hand fell to the ground.

"Don't break it." Xiao Fuzi went to check the kaleidoscope with great concern.

"It's over. The eldest child has been boiled to death."

Sanwa slapped his thigh and looked like he was crying, but it was just a dry howl, no tears came out.

When Zhou Xuan heard this, he stood up suddenly and asked solemnly: "Can you say it again?"

"The eldest child has been cooked and is probably on the table now."

"Are you sure?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"We three brothers are in tune with each other. I know best whether the eldest brother is okay or not," said the third brother.

Zhou Xuan was stunned on the spot.

Lv Mingkun carried the bamboo and said, "Junior brother, these three dolls are cute, but they are all medicinal herbs after all. Medicinal herbs cannot escape being boiled. You don't have to be sad."

"No... Zhou's family shouldn't cook Da Wa."

Zhou Xuan knew his sister and master too well. They were both knowledgeable and must know that the red ginseng boy had infinite benefits. According to their "frugal" lifestyle, they would definitely find a way to raise the red ginseng boy and would not eat it unless it was absolutely necessary.

And now, my sister and master are both healthy and well, so why would they rashly cook the eldest baby?
"Something big is happening in the Zhou family."

Only then did Lu Mingkun react.

"Fifth Senior Brother, I'm going to the Zhou family camp."

Zhou Xuan's soul left his body. A huge soul grabbed Sanwa and went to Zhou's class.

"I haven't had enough of the kaleidoscope yet."

The third child howled loudly.

"If I don't take you with me, you'll run away and Brother Five won't be able to catch you."

Zhou Xuan said with a heavy heart.

……

Zhou's class, under the ancestral tree,
The Fox Clan, Lord Arrow, Lord Wine, and Sister Cui all gathered together to chat about family matters.

Hu Yunyi patted the fox fairy's swaddling clothes behind him and said to everyone, "Red ginseng boys are rare in the world and extremely difficult to catch. It's just that my eyes have their unique features, but in the long five hundred years, I have only caught three."

When he was loudly introducing the boy, the box-keeping master in the Zhou family pointed to the battlefield in front of the ancestral tree and said quietly: "This red ginseng boy doesn't seem to be hard to come by. You see, we have one in our Zhou family class."

Hu Yunyi and others looked over, and sure enough, on the battlefield, there was a red ginseng boy hanging in the air, moving his hands and feet constantly as if he was running in the air.

"Can the Zhou family grow this thing?" Mr. Jiu was also stunned and asked Hu Yunyi.

Hu Yunyi shook his head repeatedly and said, "It's the Master who has arrived."

He could see Zhou Xuan's invisible soul.

Zhou Xuan saw that he was discovered, so he did not hide, but revealed his identity and said to everyone: "Everyone, I, Zhou Xuan, have something important to do, and I will come back to chat later."

Just as he was about to leave, Sanwa suddenly shouted towards the backyard, "Da Wa, you died so tragically! Da Wa..."

"The backyard is where the master lives. Could it be that..."

Zhou Xuan had just started thinking about it when suddenly a voice came from behind him.

"Third brother, you are crying at the wrong grave."

Zhou Xuan heard the eldest child's voice, and turned around at the same time as the third child, but saw nothing.

"Big Baby, where are you?"

"Third brother, I'm going to perform a magic trick for you. Do you want to see it?" The eldest boy's hearty voice came from the ancestral tree.

"You have changed." Sanwa forgot for a moment that he was here to attend a funeral, not to have fun.

"Look, one, two, three... flowers!" The eldest boy even started a countdown game.

After a rustling sound of grass leaves rubbing against each other, the eldest boy's face suddenly appeared from among several willow leaves.

With several willow leaves around it, the cute chubby face of the baby is set off, and it really looks like a "sunflower" facing the sun.

"Big Baby, why are you like this?"

"Stop talking. My soul was captured by this tree. It's a good thing that it was captured. There was a monster in the backyard. It was so ugly... It was scary. It was wearing a storyteller's robe. Ah... I dare not recall it, I dare not recall it..."

The eldest boy controlled two leaves to cover his eyes and acted terrified.

Storyteller's robe, backyard, master, monster...

Zhou Xuan thought of this and went out again, but his master's room seemed to be sealed by some kind of restriction, and his soul could not get in.

Fortunately, Zhou Lingyi was waiting in front of Yuan Buyu's house. Zhou Xuan showed up and asked, "Sister, what happened to Master?"

"Brother, why are you here?"

"What happened to Master that he actually wanted to use the Red Ginseng Boy?"

"Your master... your master..."

Zhou Xuan said: "Sister, please open the door, I want to go in and take a look——"

"Brother, don't go into the house, you can't go into the house..."

"Then tell me what happened, Master."

Zhou Xuan was very anxious.

At this moment, the door creaked open and Yuan Buyu walked out. His face was much paler, but there was nothing strange about it.

"Disciple, I'm fine now. Fortunately, I have your boy."

Yuan Buyu said with a look of having survived a disaster.

"Master, you were fine when I came back two days ago. Why are you so sick now? What was that monster that the big kid was talking about just now?"

Zhou Xuan asked again hurriedly.

Yuan Buyu sighed and said to Zhou Lingyi, "It's time to tell Xuanzi the truth."

He then turned to Zhou Xuan and said, "Do you still remember that the storyteller god "Bifang" used the Book of Will to make a wish and curse you to death?"

"I still remember this." Zhou Xuan said.

"That wish is like a curse. General Yuan took on that curse for you." Zhou Lingyi said sadly.

"What……"

When Zhou Xuan heard this, he connected all the details from the past few days.

He first developed lesions on his body, which were discovered by Miss Qiang. Then she guessed that someone had cast a curse on him. The method of the curse came from the heavenly book of the will of the god "Bifang".

Later, Zhou Xuan went to the sky and learned the truth - "Bifang" united 17 gods to cast a curse together - the Book of Will was activated, and Zhou Xuan would die.

Later, Zhou Xuan did encounter some strange things, such as a strange dream in which he saw dozens of accountants using abacus.

In the dream, Zhou Xuan asked the accountants: "What are you calculating?"

The account-settler responded: "I'll calculate when this young man of yours will die."

But after that strange dream, Zhou Xuan was no longer affected by the curse of the "Bifang" heavenly book.

He once thought that it was because he was above the sky and used the "Blood Well Resurrection" to force the gods in the sky to write together on the Book of Will and suppress the effect of the curse to the minimum, which stopped the curse of the Book of Will and saved him from danger.

Only now did he realize that it was his master Yuan Buyu who took the curse for him.

"Master, when did you take the curse for me?"

Zhou Xuan asked Yuan Buyu: "Don't lie to me again."

"After you learned the art of teleportation from Prince Wutou, you returned to the Zhou Clan and showed me the "Book of Will". I saw your curse in the book and transferred it to me. I am also a storyteller and can bear the curse for you."

Yuan Buyu smiled bitterly and said, "These days, I occasionally lose an old tooth, feel bone pain, and my skin itch and numbness. I thought the curse of the Book of Will would come very slowly, but I never thought that the progress of this curse seemed slow, but once it progressed, it was like a 'sickness coming like a mountain'. I just got sick yesterday afternoon, and today I am no longer human."

"Old Yuan has been cursed. He must eat the flesh and blood of living people. If he can't eat it, he will be in great pain. I can only use the witch clan's method to create a paper man that looks most like the flesh and blood of a living person for Old Yuan to eat. However, it can only alleviate Old Yuan's pain, but cannot cure Old Yuan's cursed disease."

Zhou Lingyi also admitted it.

Yuan Buyu said, "It's not a disease, it's the appearance of a hundred animals. The wish made by Bifang, after the effect of the curse was suppressed, changed from "You, Zhou Xuan, must die" to "Zhou Xuan becomes a hundred animals." "

He pushed open the door and saw that the body of the Red Ginseng Boy, who was originally a fat baby, had undergone a transformation - the eyes of a sheep, the hands of a monkey, the nose of a cow, the wings of a chicken...

It's like taking parts of hundreds of animals and chopping them off to make a human being.

Zhou Xuan could easily imagine that when the Red Ginseng Boy was not brought over, his master Yuan Buyu was such a monster.

"Xuan Zi, the curse of the Book of Will cannot be removed. The Red Ginseng Boy has a mountain spirit in his body. He can help me bear the ancestral curse for a short time. However, when he completely turns into a beast, the curse will be transferred back to me. I will experience the process of turning into a beast again, from losing old teeth to bone pain and itchy skin - within the last one or two days, I will turn into a beast."

Yuan Buyu sighed and said, "You are regarded as a person abandoned by heaven, no longer protected by heaven and earth, and your worship of gods and spirits is cut off. After you grow into a monster, you will eat people and flesh everywhere, and then heaven and earth will abandon your worship of gods and spirits, and finally die with a myriad of diseases."

"Master doesn't have any great abilities, but I can still bear the curse for you for a while."

Yuan Buyu's original plan was to leave Pingshui Prefecture as soon as possible. After he became a freak beast, Zhou Lingyi went to remind Zhou Xuan of the "Heavenly Book Curse".

In this way, the curse will not fall on Zhou Xuan until Yuan Buyu dies completely.

Even if Yuan Buyu turned into a monster, if he could live one more day, he could bear Zhou Xuan's curse for one more day...

When Yuan Buyu thought of this, he burst into tears again. It seemed that in his heart, even if the Red Ginseng Boy could temporarily bear the curse, the curse created by the Book of Will could not be resolved.

The Red Ginseng Boy's curse was no longer effective, and after Yuan Buyu once again became the "Appearance of a Hundred Beasts", his days to live were extremely limited, and the curse would sooner or later fall on Zhou Xuan's head.

Zhou Xuan's young life was still sliding towards the abyss. Maybe it would take half a month, maybe a month, but it would never be too long...

"Master, there is a way to break the curse of the Heavenly Book."

After hearing about the horror of the "appearance of hundreds of beasts", Zhou Xuan did not lose heart, but instead became more eager to fight.

"any solution?"

"Kill Bifang and take his heavenly book." Zhou Xuan said resolutely...

(End of this chapter)