Chapter 6

As the summer heat began to subside each day at this hour, even the breeze from the rice fields carried a touch of coolness.

Li Zhiyuan faced the rice fields, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths.

"Little Yuan, what's wrong? Does Grandpa smell bad?"

"No, Grandpa, I'm smelling the rice."

"Oh, did you smell it?"

"No, it's not like what's written in the articles. They say the scent of rice is so pleasant."

"Foolish child, the timing is wrong. Wait until after fertilizing or spraying pesticides, then you'll smell it. I guarantee it'll be overwhelming!"

"Grandpa, you're teasing me."

"Ha ha ha." Li Sanjiang twisted his neck and continued to carry the child along the (field ridge) path. "Now there's no scent, but after harvesting, drying, husking, and steaming into rice or making into rice cakes, with hot steam rising, the fragrance will be strong from afar."

"Grandpa, you're right."

Li Sanjiang stopped and turned to look at the rice fields: "Actually, what you read in the articles isn't wrong. For us farmers, seeing the crops grow well in the fields, having grains in the granary and rice in the pot, not worrying about hunger, our hearts are at ease. Standing anywhere, closing your eyes and taking a breath, it's all sweet."

"I understand."

"No, you don't, Little Yuan. You've never really been hungry, so you can't truly understand that feeling. For us, being able to eat our fill without worry hasn't been the case for many years.

But no matter what, it's better than before liberation."

"Hmm?" Li Zhiyuan asked in surprise, "Did people eat their fill before liberation?"

"Yes, everyone could eat their fill before liberation, no one went hungry."

"Grandpa, that doesn't sound right."

"Because animals aren't counted as people."

"Ah?"

"Little Yuan, before liberation, your grandpa also roamed Shanghai."

"Did you know Xu Wenqiang?"

"Who's Xu Wenqiang? I didn't know him. I went by boat, it was convenient, after all, Nantong and Shanghai are separated by a river.

At that time, I thought, big Shanghai, it's easier to find work there, better than farming for landlords at home.

And with good luck, I found work as soon as I arrived."

"What kind of work did Grandpa do?"

"Body collecting team."

"Did Grandpa work in a funeral parlor?"

"Heh, there were funeral parlors back then, but ordinary people couldn't go there. Once you entered, you'd have to run out in a hurry, couldn't afford to die.

I was in a body collecting team, set up by the municipal government with some donations from rich merchants. The job was to collect bodies from the streets and alleys every early morning and send them to nearby charity mortuaries.

When times were good, there were a few donated coffins, but not one per person, many people were squeezed into one coffin, packed tight.

I remember once, several children your age were collected, and it took a lot of effort to squeeze them in.

When times were bad, bodies were just wrapped in straw mats. If there was no time to burn or bury them, they were thrown into the wild dog-infested suburban graveyards.

In winter, oh my goodness, it was exhausting.

Early in the morning, you'd see many families huddled together, frozen stiff.

Little Yuan, that was big Shanghai back then, already a big city, incredibly wealthy. The rich there could afford to live lavishly, but your grandpa worked all year round, from New Year's Day to New Year's Eve, with endless work, couldn't finish it all.

At that time, I thought...

With so many luxury cars on the streets, the ten-mile foreign concessions, skyscrapers with dance halls and theaters, people entering and exiting in Western suits and wealthy ladies, yet every day, bodies of those who starved to death were collected from the alleys and lanes.

I thought long and hard, and finally understood a truth.

We all have two eyes, a nose, and walk on two legs, but only that small group of people are considered real people, the rest... no, the other heads, are all cheap lives, livestock.

Wait, no, livestock are valuable too, they get fed during hunger, but they, not even a coffin board, died and were collected because the authorities thought they affected the city's appearance."

Li Zhiyuan hugged Li Sanjiang's neck a little tighter, pressing his face against his grandfather's back: "Was that when Grandpa learned the skills?"

"Sort of. Back then, carrying corpses all day only earned enough for the day's meal; now, each one I pull up lets me eat well for a while.

Still, liberation was good, people finally became people, and became valuable."

"My dad also said that when he was a child, he was a farmhand and was beaten with a whip."

"Listen to Hanhou talk nonsense, his hair wasn't even grown when liberation came here, and those landlords were all... Hey, Little Yuan, are you talking about Hanhou?"

"It's North Grandpa."

"Ha ha ha, the grandpa in Beijing?"

"Um, he said that if it weren't for really hard times, he wouldn't have followed the army to start the revolution back then."

Li Sanjiang suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at the child behind him:

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Did your North Grandpa fight in wars?"

"Um."

"Is he still alive?"

"Alive."

"Did he fight against the Japanese first?"

"Later."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

"What's wrong, Grandpa?"

"Little Yuan, are you close to your North Grandpa?"

"During holidays, we go back to have meals with mom and dad."

"What about ( means in Chinese, but in this context, it can be translated as 'other times' or 'normally')?"

"I don't go."

"Aren't you in touch anymore?"

"North Grandma and mom don't get along well."

Li Sanjiang: "..."

"Grandpa, they live together with Uncle and Aunt, mom, dad, and I live outside. Mom doesn't allow me to go to North Grandpa's place, even when dad comes home occasionally, he dares not let mom know."

" What is Lanhou thinking?"

Li Sanjiang didn't understand. He knew that conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were normal, but it depended on the mother-in-law! Such a mother-in-law, you should flatter and serve her properly, what else do you expect?

But then again, Li Sanjiang suddenly felt that this was something Li Lan would do.

In a house full of simple, obedient children, suddenly a golden phoenix emerged.

If it weren't for Li Weihan's ancestral graves being together with his, he would have thought that Li Weihan's ancestral graves were on fire, not even enough to emit blue smoke.

The girl was sweet and charming when she was young, endearing, and as she grew older, she could discipline her four elder brothers, and no matter how unruly the idle men or how gossipy the women in the village, none dared to cross her. A glance from her, with a smile on her face, could make one's heart shudder.

He remembered when she brought her boyfriend home, Hanhou and Guiying were too embarrassed to look at people, but he, Li Sanjiang, had seen the world, scrutinized him up and down for a long time, and even chatted with him;

At that time, he noticed that the man was so disciplined in front of Lanhou that he could only nod like a chicken pecking, anyone who didn't know would think that the pale-faced man was a (poor daughter-in-law) who had just been kidnapped by human traffickers into the village.

Li Sanjiang also knew about Lanhou's divorce; otherwise, Little Yuan wouldn't be temporarily placed here. Normally, when men and women divorce, people's emotional tendencies would first side with the woman, but in Lanhou's divorce... Li Sanjiang actually felt a bit sympathetic for the man. To endure for over ten years, it's not easy.

"Little Yuan, have you changed your surname?"

"Um."

"Ah."

Li Sanjiang sighed. Divorced was divorced, but you even changed the child's surname back. Not changing the surname, even after divorce, Little Yuan is still the child of that family.

"Little Yuan, take Grandpa's advice. When you go back to Beijing, find more opportunities to get close to your North Grandpa and North Grandma, understand?"

"I don't go."

"You're a good child, Grandpa won't harm you."

"I can't go. Mom will be unhappy."

"You... "

"If Mom is unhappy, she won't want Little Yuan anymore."

"Ah... what you're saying, you and your mom are mother and son, she will like you no matter what."

"No, she won't." Li Zhiyuan's voice was low but firm, "If I make Mom unhappy, she won't want me anymore, I understand her."

Li Sanjiang had to change the subject: "Little Yuan, did you bring your homework? Let your grandma bring back your homework and books tomorrow."

"I didn't bring them back."

"Ha, you're a smart aleck, deliberately not bringing the books back so you can play all you want in the countryside during the summer vacation, right?"

"Um, to play well."

"Still, you must study and go to school. This way, you can have a better life in the future. After these few days, let your sister Ying come and give you some lessons, you study well with her."

"Okay."

"That's a good boy."

The grandfather and grandson chatted all the way to a river, with fields on the bank. Following the path along the river for a while, they suddenly found themselves in an open space.

Li Sanjiang's courtyard was several times larger than Li Weihan's.

Three houses, the middle one facing north, was a newly built two-story building, but unlike the square style of Cui Cui's home, Li Weihan's new house was wide, extending from east to west, a long strip.

However, although there was a second floor, there were only a few separate rooms on the second floor, like a few building blocks on a large platform.

On either side of the new house were two bungalows, facing each other.

"Grandpa, your place is so big."

"That's for sure." Li Sanjiang's tone was proud.

In addition to body collecting, he also did paper (paper binding) business, which required a wide space to store raw materials and finished products. Moreover, he also rented out tables, chairs, and dishes.

Whenever there was a wedding or funeral nearby, they had to rent from him, the fee wasn't high, but he had long (recovered) the cost, now it was a steadily egg-laying hen.

So, the first floor of his new house was like a large warehouse, the second floor had only three rooms, empty like an attic, he didn't care, living alone, it was enough.

Li Sanjiang put Li Zhiyuan down and held his hand to enter the middle house. Inside, it looked even more spacious, like a small factory.

On the west side, chairs and tables were neatly stacked, and large baskets were filled with various plates and bowls;

On the east side, there were paper people, paper houses, paper horses... Li Zhiyuan even saw a paper Santana.

A woman around the age of his mother, dressed plainly, was coloring. She held a palette in her left hand and a brush in her right, painting quickly and fluently.

The woman noticed the arrival, turned around, glanced at Li Zhiyuan, and asked:

"Uncle, who's this child? He looks so delicate."

"Tinghou, let me introduce you. This is my great-grandson, Li Zhiyuan. Zhiyuan, this is Aunt Tinghou."

"Aunt Ting."

Li Zhiyuan felt the generation seemed a bit off, but among people without familial relations, it was each to their own.

"Ah, what a cute child."

Li Zhiyuan took a half step back to avoid her, with a shy smile on his face.

"Uncle, you never brought children to play here before."

"Ha, no children dared to come play at my place before." Li Sanjiang took out his cigarette from his pocket, "Tinghou, this child will stay with me for a while, help him settle into a room upstairs. Oh, right, Little Yuan, are you afraid to sleep alone?"

"No, Grandpa."

"Good, nothing to worry about. Grandpa will sleep next to you. Ha ha. Alright, Tinghou, leave it to you. I'll go to the toilet first."

Li Sanjiang lit his cigarette and went out to the toilet.

"Come on, Xiaoyuan, follow Auntie upstairs."

The entrance to the stairs was blocked by so many things that it was hard to find for the first time.

Li Zhiyuan noticed that there were steps leading down from the stairwell and asked, "Aunt Ting, is there another floor below?"

"Yes, there's a basement below, the same size as here."

"Are the same things kept there?"

"No, they're all your grandpa's things. Your grandpa didn't want to throw them away, so he had a floor dug out just to store them."

"Oh, I see."

"Also, Xiaoyuan, Auntie's name is Liu Manting, you can call me Aunt Liu from now on."

"Is Aunt Liu not from here?"

"No, Auntie is from elsewhere, working as a paper binder for your grandpa."

"Are you here alone, Aunt Liu?"

"No, my husband is also here, renting your grandpa's land for farming, and helping with odd jobs like making paper and delivering tables and chairs; he should be coming back from the fields soon, when you meet him, you can call him Uncle Qin.

Also, Auntie's daughter and mother-in-law are here too, in the east bungalow you saw when you came in, my husband and I live in the west.

Auntie's whole family is here, making a living by working for your grandpa.

Before liberation, we would have to call you a young master."

Perhaps because he had just heard Grandpa's story about the body collecting team on the way, Li Zhiyuan was now uncomfortable with this joke and shook his head:

"That's feudal dross."

"Ah?" Liu Manting was stunned for a moment; it was quite surprising to hear such words from a child's mouth.

"Aunt Liu, just call me Xiaoyuan."

"Okay, Xiaoyuan. Did your grandpa mention you before? You're from Beijing, right?"

"Um, yes."

"Do you like living here?"

"Yes, it's very good."

"Aren't you bored?"

"No, there are many fun things here."

"That's great, Auntie colors paper people every day, my hands are numb from painting."

" Auntie's painting is very good, very professional. "

"What's professional? Auntie is just doing this reluctantly, I don't know how to paint."

But your posture with the palette and brush is exactly the same as the teachers from the art academy.

"Xiaoyuan wants to paint, you can help Auntie, coloring isn't difficult."

"Okay."

Since coming back to his hometown, this was the first time he had a conversation with someone entirely in Mandarin, without so much Nantong dialect and so many "Hou" suffixes.

Even his brothers and sisters who went to school only used Mandarin to "translate" for him at first, then turned back to dialect when they spoke themselves.

Upon reaching the second floor, Liu Manting opened a door, inside was simply furnished, with an old-fashioned bed and a wardrobe, besides that, not even a stool, but it was very clean, obviously often cleaned.

"Xiaoyuan, you'll stay here, Grandpa is next door. You can stay here for a while, I'll bring you a basin, towel, and spittoon."

"Thank you for your trouble, Aunt Liu."

"This child, so polite."

Liu Manting went out, Li Zhiyuan looked around his room and also came out, really... there was nothing much to see.

The second floor was like a large terrace, with three rows of clotheslines standing in the center, no balconies or railings around.

Walking to the side, here you could see the courtyard in front, and the river and fields in the distance.

Li Zhiyuan thought that a chair could be placed here, sitting and daydreaming would definitely be very enjoyable.

Not far from the ridge, a middle-aged man was walking towards here with a hoe on his shoulder. The man was tall, and the parts not covered by his white vest showed clear muscles, which were shiny and textured in the afterglow of the sunset.

He must be Uncle Qin, Liu Aunt's husband.

It seems that Uncle Qin wasn't a farmer before.

Farmers, though generally strong, were rarely able to develop such虎背 (tiger back) muscles due to their diet and living habits; they were usually lean and wiry.

Looking down, towards the left.

"Um?"

Earlier, when entering, the stacks of firewood in the courtyard blocked the view, so the east bungalow's door wasn't visible. Now, standing on higher ground, he could see it.

Inside the bungalow's doorway, a girl about his age was sitting.

She was wearing a red embroidered blouse, black pants with white patterns, her hair was combed into a bun, and on her feet were a pair of pale green embroidered shoes.

This set of clothes was very retro, with no modern elements at all, yet it didn't look old-fashioned.

Because it wasn't a simple piece of cloth that her mother had made for her, the details of her clothes were very delicate, obviously costing a lot of labor and thought, and the overall coordination was very harmonious, giving off a dignified aura of a young lady from a good family.

Most importantly, the girl had a fair complexion, eyebrows like a new moon, though she had a melon-shaped face, she had a touch of baby fat that was just right, she was like a meticulously carved work of art, one couldn't find even a hint that needed to be changed; any addition would be a desecration and a sin.

At this moment, she was sitting on a stool inside the threshold, with her feet on the threshold, looking straight ahead.

The last stubborn rays of the setting sun cast a line of light and shadow, right across the threshold in front of the house, where her feet were placed.

Li Zhiyuan lowered his head; staring at someone for too long was impolite, although... she was really beautiful.

She must be Liu Aunt's daughter.

Looking up again, he noticed that she was still in the same position, still looking straight ahead.

Normally, he should have noticed by now, being such a big person standing on the second floor, she should have noticed as well, at least glanced at him.

Unless she was daydreaming too deeply.

Li Zhiyuan waved his hand, he was sure this gesture would catch her attention, but... it didn't.

The girl remained in that position, motionless, not looking up, not turning her head, not even blinking.

Could she be blind?

Li Zhiyuan called out, "Hello."

The girl still didn't react.

Deaf and dumb?

Li Zhiyuan felt a surge of deep regret.

At this age, children's hearts were pure and clean, without the complexities of adult gender differences. Even Li Zhiyuan was the same.

He simply felt heartbroken at the thought that if the girl in front of him had a disability, it would be like a bloody gash slashed across a beautiful thing, regardless of gender, anyone would feel deeply regretful.

"Xiaoyuan."

Liu Aunt's voice came from behind, she walked up to Li Zhiyuan and said with a smile, "Xiaoyuan, she's Auntie's daughter, Qin Li."

Li Zhiyuan nodded.

"That's enough, Xiaoyuan, come in first, Auntie will tidy up the things for you."

Li Zhiyuan was a little surprised, because Liu Aunt only introduced her daughter's name, without any further information. Usually, one would ask about age, divide into elder or younger sister, and add a sentence like: You two can play together.

After the things were neatly arranged, Liu Aunt patted her hands and said, "The toilet is at the back of the first floor, you can use the spittoon in the room at night."

"Okay, I know, Aunt Liu."

"That's it, I'll go cook dinner now, I'll call you when it's ready."

"Um."

Walking out of the room again, Li Zhiyuan's gaze unconsciously fell upon there.

The girl was still in the same position, still looking straight ahead, as if she had been frozen in time.

At this moment, he saw Uncle Qin walk up to the threshold, squat in front of her, and speak to her gently.

But throughout, the girl remained in that position, not moving an inch, not looking up, not turning her head, not even blinking.

The feeling was that although she was there, she had no perception or contact with the world around her.

Uncle Qin noticed Li Zhiyuan and waved, "Hello, little friend."

Li Zhiyuan responded, "Uncle, hello."

"Xiaoyuan, come down for dinner!" Li Sanjiang's voice came from downstairs.

Li Zhiyuan was a little surprised, so soon?

Going downstairs, among the gaps between the paper people on the first floor, two square wooden stools were placed together as a dining table, with a plate of braised pork head meat, a plate of braised pork ears, a plate of cold-mixed kelp, and a plate of fried peanuts.

No wonder it was prepared so quickly, it must have been bought from the market during the day.

"Sit." Li Sanjiang opened the bottle cap of the white wine and poured himself a full glass.

Li Zhiyuan sat on the small stool opposite, looking at the high pile of rice in front of him.

"Grandpa, I can't eat this much."

"Ho, Grandpa knows that." Li Sanjiang smiled, "You start eating, what's left is mine."

"Oh."

Li Zhiyuan began to eat.

Li Sanjiang offered him a cup, "Xiaoyuan, want to have a sip?"

Li Zhiyuan shook his head, "Children can't drink alcohol."

"Right, that's correct." Li Sanjiang was just teasing, he took back the cup and took a big sip, then continuously picked up several peanuts and put them in his mouth, "At Hanhou's place, there's no such good food, right?"

"The pickles your grandmother makes are also very delicious."

"Ha."

Li Sanjiang put a piece of pig's snout on Li Zhiyuan's bowl,

"You grandfather and grandmother are foolish, they spoil those brats. In my opinion, you should only take care of your children's generation, and also your grandchildren's generation, by the time you're over half your life, you're just a slave to your children.

Actually, if your grandfather's family didn't have so many children and so many mouths to feed, you wouldn't have to drink thin porridge either, he could have a little wine every night."

Li Zhiyuan ate silently, not responding.

"You're different." Li Sanjiang waved his hand, "Your mother paid, you're not a real wolf among your uncles, they're the real white-eyed wolves."

Li Zhiyuan continued to eat.

"Soup is here." Liu Aunt came with a large bowl of loofah egg drop soup and placed it on the stool, "Eat away."

Then, she left, Li Zhiyuan realized that Liu Aunt's family didn't eat with Grandpa.

"Xiaoyuan, there's something Grandpa has to remind you. While you're staying here, you can wander around everywhere except one place, the east house."

The east house was where the girl was sitting.

"Why?"

"Tinghou's daughter is in the east house." Li Sanjiang poked his temple with the end of his chopsticks, "That little girl has a problem here, don't get close to her, or you might get scratched or bitten."

Scratches and bites?

It was hard for Li Zhiyuan to imagine that the girl called Qin Li would be associated with such behavior.

"I know, Grandpa."

"Good, eat your meal. After eating, Grandpa will perform a ritual for you."

Li Zhiyuan finished his meal first, put down his chopsticks, and Li Sanjiang then ended his drinking, took the rice bowl to eat.

The toilet was behind the house, Li Zhiyuan walked out and wandered around the courtyard, just in time to see the little girl being led to stand up by an old lady and walked to the dining table inside.

She must be Liu Aunt's mother-in-law.

In this old lady, Li Zhiyuan seemed to see the shadow of his own grandmother, both had a grace and elegance.

The girl sat at the dining table, not picking up her chopsticks, the old lady was next to her, constantly whispering.

When Li Zhiyuan came back from the toilet, he saw the girl start to eat, she only ate what was in her own bowl, the old lady used a small dish to serve her.

He noticed that the old lady's eyes swept over him, but she didn't greet him, Li Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment, and didn't go to say hello either.

Back inside, Li Sanjiang had already eaten, Liu Aunt was tidying up.

"Xiaoyuan, the bathroom is in the most inner room upstairs, Auntie has already poured hot water for you, it might be a bit hot, you can add some cold water yourself."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Coming to the second floor, Li Sanjiang was already lying on an unknown wicker chair from where, his left hand holding a toothpick and his right hand holding a cigarette, humming a tune and belching.

Li Zhiyuan's eyes lingered on the rattan chair.

"Ha, tomorrow let Lihou go to the market and buy one for you too."

Lihou should be Uncle Qin.

"Good." Li Zhiyuan smiled, he did want one.

"Take a shower here." Li Sanjiang pointed, "You go first, then I'll take a shower."

"Got it."

The bathroom was narrow, apparently a later addition, with a rubber hose connected to a water tank.

Li Zhiyuan tested the water temperature, it was a bit hot, but no need to add cold water.

After quickly washing and coming out, Li Sanjiang also stood up, "Go to my room and wait for me."

"Okay."

It was already completely dark outside, the moon was in the sky.

Li Zhiyuan took another look at the east house, the door of the bungalow was closed, the lights were on inside.

Opening Li Sanjiang's door, walking in, Li Zhiyuan reached for the rope on the wall and pulled it down once.

"Click."

The light came on.

In Grandpa's bedroom, the furnishings were a replica of his own bedroom, an old bed, a wardrobe.

But in the middle of what should have been an empty area, there was a circle of dense patterns and a row of small candles, and next to it on the ground was an open old book.

Li Zhiyuan picked up the book and found that it was handwritten, not printed.

The cover read "Jinsha Luo Wen Jing."

Flipping through the contents, he discovered that they were basically all array pattern diagrams and some annotations, the drawings were very rough, the annotations were written very casually, and most importantly, the handwriting was really ugly.

It was much worse than the Chinese department's Grandpa Xu, who was good at making Dongpo pork in the family compound.

Very quickly, Li Zhiyuan found the array diagram in the book that was exactly the same as the one on the ground. It was labeled —— "Transfer of Wealth and Exorcism Array."

The effect was to transfer a person's煞气 (sha qi) (a person's evil spirit or bad luck) onto another person, with the note: "Harmful to others."

Li Zhiyuan looked at the book's diagram and then at the one Grandpa had drawn on the ground.

"It feels... like there are some discrepancies?"

But the diagrams in the book were also hand-drawn, naturally crooked, so it was hard to compare.

"It might not be that Grandpa drew it wrong, but the diagrams in the book are not standard."

Two freehand painters, even if they painted the same thing, it was really hard to compare.

At this moment, Li Sanjiang came in after taking a shower, he was bare-chested, wearing only a blue pair of shorts.

Seeing Li Zhiyuan looking at the book, Li Sanjiang laughed and said, "Ha, can you understand it, Little Yuan?"

Li Zhiyuan nodded, "I can understand."

"Good good good, you can understand, our Little Yuan is the smartest."

Li Sanjiang patted Li Zhiyuan's head, took the book from his hand, and tossed it aside.

This book was full of messy brush strokes in seal script, with connected strokes. He had to consult the retired village teacher next door several times to understand a little, that man liked calligraphy.

Later, Li Sanjiang didn't go anymore, because the last time he went to his house to see him, Li Sanjiang also brought his own paper figures;

They were given away for free, no charge, and the man's children thanked him repeatedly.

So, how could he believe that Li Zhiyuan, a ten-year-old child, could understand these.

"Alright, Little Yuan, sit there, don't move."

Li Zhiyuan obediently sat in the designated spot, Li Sanjiang then bent down to light all the candles, and took out three black ropes, tying them respectively around Li Zhiyuan's wrists, ankles, and neck. After he sat down, the other ends of the three black ropes were also tied around his own wrists, ankles, and neck.

The candlelight flickered as Li Sanjiang began to chant, he chanted quickly in Nantong dialect, which Li Zhiyuan couldn't understand even if he listened carefully.

But he felt that the tone was very similar to the little tune Grandpa was humming when he was lying in the rattan chair after dinner.

After chanting for a long time, Li Sanjiang finally stopped. He smacked his lips, probably a bit dry-mouthed, but it wasn't suitable to drink water in the array at this time, so he could only cough to clear his throat, then reached behind him, and when he pulled back, there was an extra charm in his hand.

Li Zhiyuan was curious where the charm was placed earlier. Grandpa was wearing only a pair of shorts, where was this charm stored?

He lit the charm paper by the candle and began to wave it.

"Hisss!"

Almost burning his hand, Li Sanjiang slapped the charm paper onto the ground between himself and Li Zhiyuan.

"Pop!"

In an instant, all the candles were extinguished, and the light bulb in the room also flickered a few times before returning to normal.

Li Zhiyuan looked around and then looked at the black ropes on himself:

Was that it?

It seemed like nothing had happened.

"Alright!"

Li Sanjiang stood up, walked to Li Zhiyuan, and bent down to use his teeth and hands to break the excess part of the three ropes, but the black rope circles remained around Li Zhiyuan's neck, wrists, and ankles.

"Little Yuan, don't untie these three rope knots tonight, sleep like this, I'll cut them off for you during breakfast tomorrow."

"Okay, Grandpa."

"Good, go to sleep."

"Good night, Grandpa."

"Good night, good night."

Li Zhiyuan stood up, just as he walked to the door, he heard a "thud" behind him, turning around, he saw Li Sanjiang holding his foot and falling to the ground.

He had just helped himself bite off the rope on his ankle, and he had just fallen when he tried to bite it off.

Li Sanjiang crossed his legs, one hand behind his head, and the other waved at Li Zhiyuan:

"Go to sleep quickly."

"Okay."

Li Zhiyuan returned to his own room, got into bed, and although he wasn't very sleepy at first, as soon as he touched the bed, he felt a wave of drowsiness come over him.

He covered his stomach with a light quilt and fell asleep heavily.

Next door.

"Should be successful, right?" Li Sanjiang muttered to himself, "It must be successful, the light bulb flickered, it can't be a bad contact in the circuit."

Then, Li Sanjiang glanced at the book thrown on the ground and doubted himself: "No, the person who wrote this book probably hadn't seen a light bulb back then?"

But soon, Li Sanjiang found a new piece of evidence: "I'm thinking nonsense, the candles went out, so it must be successful."

After that, Li Sanjiang stretched, walked to the bed and lay down.

"Ah, I'm so tired today, sleeping... sleeping."

He had done so much today, from guiding the corpse to collecting bodies and drawing the array diagram. He was too old to hold out.

His head hit the pillow, and he started snoring immediately.

But as he slept, Li Sanjiang turned over, mumbled a few words, and then frowned.

He was having a dream.

In the dream,

He found himself sitting on a white marble step, surrounded by tall palace walls and magnificent halls.

To his front on the right was an archway, and to the left was a vast open area extending to a pond and a dragon bridge.

"Grandma, is this the Forbidden City?"

Li Sanjiang hadn't been to Beijing, let alone the Forbidden City, but he had seen it on calendars and outdoor movie screens, this was where the emperor lived, right?

Heh, he was actually having this dream, interesting.

Li Sanjiang subconsciously reached for his pocket for a cigarette, this had to be done, right?

But when he reached down, he grabbed something furry, looking down, there was an orange cat on his legs.

The orange cat seemed to have been asleep, woken up, and turned over不满地 (dissatisfied) .

"Get lost."

Li Sanjiang (cruelly) pushed the cat aside.

The cat landed, rolled over, stood up, and meowed at him in discontent:

"Meow!"

Li Sanjiang didn't think much of it, brushed off the cat hair from his legs, then took out his cigarette case, took out one, bit it, and took out a match to light it.

Just at that moment, there was a "squeak..." of friction, the palace gate was opened.

Li Sanjiang sucked on his cigarette, "I heard you have to buy tickets to visit the Forbidden City. I wonder if I'll be fined for evading tickets?"

Then, Li Sanjiang slapped his own head, "I'm in a dream! What tickets do I need to buy!"

He exhaled a smoke ring, and laughed triumphantly, saying:

"This is a bargain, people have to take long-distance trains to Beijing and buy tickets to get in, I'm touring it for free in my dream."

The friction sound of the palace gate finally stopped, and in front of him, three doorways, footsteps came from inside.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Dull, (regular) .

Li Sanjiang leaned forward slightly, puzzled: Do visitors have to queue and march in unison when visiting the Forbidden City?

But soon,

Li Sanjiang was stunned, because coming out of the three doorways were not tourists, but three rows of people in Qing Dynasty official robes and hats with plumes, their faces pale.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Li Sanjiang's cigarette slipped from his hand.

Suddenly, they all stopped jumping, falling into silence and death.

The next moment,

They all turned left on the spot, facing Li Sanjiang.