Chapter 333

The morning sun was gathering its strength, poised to unleash its scorching fangs.

Lin Shuyou took ice cubes from the fridge and added them to the mung bean soup Aunt Liu had made. He first quickly drank a large bowl, shivering with comfort. Then he poured a second bowl and savored it slowly, sipping small mouthfuls in the sunlight on the courtyard outside the hall.

After finishing, he turned to look at Tan Wenbin, who was hunched over a formation book with paper and pen on top of a coffin lid. Lin Shuyou felt a slight pang of regret.

He recalled how Brother Bin used to radiate a biting chill because of the resentful infant spirits on his shoulders. Ah, thinking back, it was truly unfortunate timing. If Brother Bin had suffered his affliction during the peak of summer, in July or August, it would have been so refreshing. He could have wrapped himself in two blankets and shivered from the cold in the blazing heat of summer; the thought itself was comforting.

Tan Wenbin: "Get me a bowl."

Lin Shuyou: "Oh, okay."

Taking the mung bean soup with ice, Tan Wenbin took a sip and suggested, "I think if you made it into a slushy, it would taste even better."

Lin Shuyou: "Our fridge might have some trouble with that."

Tan Wenbin: "You could take the ice cubes out and have the spirit attendant grind them with his trident."

Lin Shuyou: "Good idea."

The formation book Tan Wenbin was reading was his own copied version. It was covered in tiny numbers and what looked like mathematical formulas, written in different colored pens. Next to it was a thick small booklet, resembling a mini-dictionary, written by Li Zhuiyuan. When studying and understanding these low-level formations, Tan Wenbin had to flip through the dictionary and make notes, which was slow but at least gave him the ability to learn independently. With Brother Xiaoyuan around, he didn't need to strive to become a master of formations. He knew that reaching that realm wasn't about effort; his goal was simply to become familiar with most types of low-level formations.

Tan Wenbin: "You should send a couple of bowls up to Brother Xiaoyuan too. No, wait, that's a whole basin! Are you planning to drink it all yourself?"

Lin Shuyou scratched his head: "I still don't think it's enough."

Tan Wenbin: "Even Runsheng can't out-eat you now."

After the Lin family summoned this spirit attendant, the spirit attendant became very busy. Once Lin Shuyou passed his initial period of fatigue, he no longer felt sleepy, but his already large appetite saw another drastic increase. In Aunt Liu's words, if his appetite kept growing like this, she'd have to use a Yellow River shovel to cook for him.

Lin Shuyou: "I just get hungry really quickly."

Tan Wenbin: "Any other effects?"

Lin Shuyou: "Yes, but it's not very noticeable. I just feel a little more energetic each day when I wake up than the day before."

Tan Wenbin: "You abominable freeloader."

The spirit attendant's gains were 100% shared with Lin Shuyou. When the Lin family deployed the spirit attendant, whether for slaying demons, vanquishing evil, or performing blessings, half the merit would fall upon the spirit attendant, which meant upon Ayou himself. Others who started a factory worried about being burdened by too many relatives joining and draining their resources. But for Lin Shuyou, it was the opposite: he alone benefited from all his relatives in the family. Although the growth was slight, it was an improvement he gained by simply sitting at home, doing nothing, essentially a windfall, making him truly enviable.

Lin Shuyou carried two bowls of mung bean soup upstairs. Just as he reached the door, the screen door opened, and Ali appeared, taking the mung bean soup and turning to go inside. Lin Shuyou glanced inside and saw Brother Xiaoyuan sitting intently at his desk, with several tall stacks of familiar-looking books in front of him. Lin Shuyou himself had read them; they were called "Records of Jianghu Oddities" and "Records of Righteous Demon Subduing." These were all basic texts, and Lin Shuyou didn't understand why Brother Xiaoyuan had pulled them out again and was reading them so seriously. However, Ayou thought it was perfectly normal for him not to understand.

Coming downstairs, he happened to see Li Sanjiang returning. Li Sanjiang glanced around, seeing Zhuangzhuang studying, and Lin Shuyou descending the stairs looking quite idle.

"Youhou."

"Yes?"

"The carpenter in West Village is building a fish pond. Go help him out. You can bring back a few fish tonight to make soup."

"Alright!"

Villagers helped each other without pay. For tasks like building a fish pond, lending a hand for half a day meant a meal and a few fish in return.

"Youhou, eat lunch at home, don't eat at their place!"

"Oh, okay."

Lin Shuyou acknowledged, then ran off.

Li Sanjiang poured himself a bowl of mung bean soup and sighed contentedly after drinking half of it. If Ayou were to eat at someone else's house, it would be like sending a bandit to feast there, turning a favor into an enmity.

Li Sanjiang wondered, "Is this boy Youhou still growing?"

Tan Wenbin replied, still flipping through his dictionary: "A good appetite is a blessing."

"That's true. If you eat well but aren't lazy, you'll never eat yourself poor."

The Li Sanjiang family was one of the few in the village who didn't raise pigs, mainly because they found it troublesome. The family's labor was busy making paper effigies and performing rituals, leaving no time to tend to livestock. Later, seeing the growing number of people in his household, Li Sanjiang had considered building a pigsty and raising a few pigs. Logically, feeding leftover food to pigs seemed quite suitable. However, for so long, the family's "mules" didn't just maintain their appetite; it increased drastically. This made Li Sanjiang feel that if he raised pigs, it wouldn't be that the pigs had no leftovers, but that he'd wake up the next day to find the pigs themselves had been eaten.

"Brother Li."

Old Man Tian arrived.

"Brother Li, the medicinal liquor I brewed is ready to drink. I'll make a couple of Jiangxi dishes for lunch. Would you like to come over for a drink?"

"Sure, but go easy on the chili."

"Don't worry, I know."

Li Sanjiang walked to the courtyard, intending to tell Tinghou in the kitchen not to make his portion of lunch... He hesitated, then decided against it, concluding it was better to have a bit extra made.

Liu Jinxia, Granny Hua, and Wang Lian arrived to play cards. Old Man Tian noticeably tensed up when he saw Liu Jinxia. Liu Jinxia smiled at Old Man Tian: "You're here too."

Old Man Tian: "Yes, I am."

Liu Jinxia: "Are you really not going back to Jiujiang?"

Old Man Tian: "Not for now."

After exchanging greetings, Liu Jinxia prepared to join the card game. Old Man Tian: "I've made some pastries. I'll send them to Xianghou later."

Liu Jinxia: "Alright, my Cui Cui loves your pastries. Tell Xianghou to give you some of our pickled garlic."

Old Man Tian: "Good, I love garlic."

Wang Lian and Granny Hua sat at the table, secretly chuckling. Granny Hua even teased aloud, "Do you like vinegar? My sister Xiahou even brews her own vinegar."

Old Man Tian: "Yes, I love it, I love it!"

Li Sanjiang urged Old Man Tian to leave and go drinking together. If they didn't go soon, he feared Old Man Tian would prepare an entire table of condiments as appetizers.

Granny Hua sighed with emotion: "If only we were young again, how wonderful that would be."

Wang Lian: "Indeed."

Liu Jinxia: "Deal the cards, deal the cards! You spend all day looking for fun, but never lose enough money to me."

As they played, Liu Jinxia realized she was indeed going to win a lot of money today. Mainly, Liu Yumei was losing heavily, always letting others win the big hands. Liu Jinxia leaned over and whispered, "Has Sister Liu had some good news?" As old friends at the card table, some things were clearly understood. Even honest Wang Lian knew she was always being looked after. When her grandchildren needed to start school, or her son needed new medicine—times when money was tight—she could always win a little extra from Liu Yumei to relieve the immediate pressure. Sister Liu had a habit: she usually lost little, but when she was in a good mood, she'd lose a bit more.

Liu Yumei: "Today I'm in a good mood. The burden on my family has lightened, and there's hope for my old age, so I can afford to lose more."

Aunt Liu came over with tea and snacks, refilling their cups. Ever since the Old Lady took Xiaoyuan to that meeting, her whole demeanor had changed. She scolded Ali for being clumsy and for the unattractive state of the flower garden. She also complained about her own cooking not improving over the years, wondering what kind of food she was given daily. Last night, Ali had even asked her if the mistress was unwell, suggesting she check on her more often and help with her recovery. She glared at Ali. It was clear the Old Lady had simply found new confidence, reverting to her old self, and was acting up again.

Upstairs in his room, Li Zhuiyuan sat at his desk, quickly flipping through the book in his hands, his gaze sweeping over the pages. Content he had long memorized was being re-solidified. After he had reviewed both sets of books on his desk, the young man leaned back slightly in his chair. His mind was filled with the phrase "destroyed by the righteous path." When Wei Zhengdao suppressed evil spirits back then, it was always a permanent solution, leaving no future troubles. The problem was... Li Zhuiyuan re-examined the book's content. Following Wei Zhengdao's written methods to suppress evil spirits, he still couldn't completely destroy the troublesome or special ones. So, either Wei Zhengdao had exaggerated, or he had held something back. Li Zhuiyuan didn't think Wei Zhengdao was boasting. Because the young man himself was the primary victim of Wei Zhengdao's methods back then. But the young man also didn't believe Wei Zhengdao intentionally concealed anything while writing the book. Firstly, Wei Zhengdao used precious Buddha-skin paper to write the book, and secondly, it didn't fit Wei Zhengdao's character.

Ali brought the mung bean soup. The ice cubes had melted, but the soup was still cold. After Li Zhuiyuan finished drinking, he helped Ali clean up the drawing table. Today, Ali was wearing a black and gold 'horse-face' skirt with a white top, her hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Ali had worn similar styles before, but as she grew older, the impression she gave wearing them changed. Compared to the regular 'ruqun' she usually wore, this outfit made her appear more aloof and unapproachable. Of course, when facing him, Ali would immediately become very gentle.

Before lunch, Pan Zi and Lei Zi arrived on bicycles.

"Young Marquis Xiaoyuan, Young Marquis Xiaoyuan!"

"Coming."

When Li Zhuiyuan came downstairs, he saw Pan Zi and Lei Zi standing next to Tan Wenbin. Pan Zi offered Tan Wenbin a cigarette, and Lei Zi helped light it. Both wore dark blue work uniforms that had oil stains but were very new. For them, the college entrance exam was just a formality; they only needed their high school diplomas and had already been looking for jobs. Previously, there had been various rumors about where they'd work. Now, they had officially joined a state-owned enterprise called Longxing Tool Factory in Xingren Town. The factory wasn't large, but it was very profitable. Trucks lined up outside the gate every day, waiting to pick up goods, and it was quite difficult to get a job there now. They had just received their first month's salary, and compared to their previous holiday jobs moving bricks at a kiln, it was like heaven and earth.

Pan Zi had injuries on his face, inflicted by his father. His father wanted to save his salary for his future marriage. Pan Zi refused, so his father cursed him, saying he had worked so hard to raise him, "pulling him up with shit and piss..." Pan Zi retorted: "My shit and piss were washed by Grandpa and Grandma." Hearing this, his father got angry and slapped Pan Zi. Pan Zi didn't hit back but merely pushed his father away. His father kept hitting, and Pan Zi kept pushing. In the end, Pan Zi's face was bruised, and his father, losing his balance, bumped his forehead on a table leg. It wasn't serious, just bled a bit, and he kept cursing: "You little bastard, your wings have hardened; I can't control you anymore!" His wings had indeed hardened. The biggest transformation in a person's life often occurs when they can support themselves.

The first thing Pan Zi and Lei Zi did after getting paid was to buy things for Li Weihan and Cui Guiying. The cousins bought cigarettes and alcohol and sat alone with Li Weihan on small square stools in the courtyard, eating dinner, drinking, and smoking, intentionally distinguishing themselves from the other children. They bought Cui Guiying a new set of clothes. She was reluctant to wear them, but in the past few days, she had "worn" them out by talking about them so much. Each contributed half and gave Yingzi some money to buy more things she would need for university. Yingzi refused, saying she already had enough money, but the brothers scolded her, saying city girls dressed so brightly and fashionably, while Yingzi looked like a country bumpkin. They warned her not to let any guy casually drop something and lure her away after she went to university. Their sarcastic remarks made Yingzi cry, and in the end, she accepted the money with both tears and laughter.

Actually, when the brothers were growing up at their grandparents' house, they were quite immature. Li Weihan and Cui Guiying were not prejudiced against girls; otherwise, they wouldn't have supported Li Lan's studies. However, girls in the countryside matured earlier, so Yingzi often helped with housework, while the brothers, despite being older, would eat when tired from playing and go out to have fun after waking up.

Now they came to Li Sanjiang's house to find Xiaoyuan, carrying a large bag of snacks and dragging two large boxes of soda on the back of their bicycles. The soda wasn't Jianlibao; it was bottled, and after drinking, they had to return the empty bottles for a deposit. Its advantage was its cheapness; if they had bought genuine Jianlibao, their wages wouldn't have been enough for such extravagance. Regardless, it was a thoughtful gesture.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered that when he first arrived in Nantong, these two had taken him to run wild all over the village. Later, they had even taken him to the town's video parlor to watch adult films. Both of them had even been taken to the police station because of it. Looking at them now, with cigarettes dangling from their mouths, intentionally unshaved beards, and dressed in work uniforms, they still looked young in age, but they carried themselves with the demeanor of adults. People often lament how fast time flies, but human changes often catch time itself off guard. Only two years had passed, but in perhaps another two years, they would be married. Another two years after that, their children would be born, and Li Zhuiyuan would have nieces and nephews. Having grown up together at their grandparents' house, their relationship would surely become much more distant once they had their own families. But no matter how far apart they grew, it wouldn't deteriorate into the terrible relationship that now existed between his four uncles' families.

Tan Wenbin invited them to stay for lunch, but they waved their hands, saying they had already eaten, though it was clear they hadn't. After they finished their cigarettes, they left their gifts and cycled away. They had made this special trip partly because they used to freeload on many snacks sent by Young Marquis Xiaoyuan's mother. And thoughtlessly, they would even take Young Marquis Xiaoyuan to Aunt Zhang's convenience store and make him pay for things with his pocket money. Now, remembering these incidents, both brothers felt their faces flush with embarrassment. Of course, what they didn't realize was that their younger brother, whom they thought they were tricking, was actually humoring them as if they were children themselves.

Granny Hua: "You know, these two kids are really different from their parents' generation."

Wang Lian: "The children have grown up and become sensible."

Granny Hua: "Xingren Town is quite far from here. They ride their bikes to work early every day and ride back after work. That's about three hours round trip."

Wang Lian: "Probably more than that."

Granny Hua: "They're earning their money through hard work."

Wang Lian: "But they're also generous."

Liu Jinxia: "Hanhou and Sister Guiying are finally enjoying some good fortune. After one harvest after another, they deserve to have a prosperous year."

Liu Yumei played a card. Granny Hua exclaimed in surprise: "I've won!" Liu Yumei picked up her teacup, took a sip, ignored her winning hand, and responded to Liu Jinxia's comment: "That's right."

In the afternoon, Li Zhuiyuan went through both sets of books again. After reading, he sat in his chair, feeling as if a crowd surrounded him, chirping and chanting, "Destroyed by the righteous path." Li Zhuiyuan rarely approached problems irrationally. His current state indicated that he could no longer face the present issue from a rational perspective. The most absurd thing was that Li Zhuiyuan had a vague feeling that the answer might be right in front of him, but he hadn't yet discovered it.

A pair of hands appeared on either side of his head and began to gently press. At first, it was unfamiliar, and the pressure wasn't quite right, but soon it found its rhythm. The buzzing in the young man's ears diminished and then disappeared. Ali had seen Aunt Liu massage Grandma Sister's head like this before. Just now, sensing the violent fluctuations in the young man's mind, she had naturally walked over, wanting to help him find relief. Li Zhuiyuan took Ali's hand and said, "It's alright, I'm fine now." People often instinctively cherish things that are too beautiful, not daring to overindulge, hoping they will last a long time. Ali looked at the young man very seriously. After her grandmother took the young man out that time, her grandmother had changed, and the young man had changed too. Li Zhuiyuan leaned his head forward, letting his forehead touch the girl's. "It's alright, I'm fine."

So many names were suddenly added to the list of enemies. Li Zhuiyuan wasn't anxious about whether he could successfully exact revenge in the future. His anxiety was... how to prevent a resurgence after taking revenge. It wasn't just evil spirits that were hard to suppress and destroy. Sometimes, those righteous individuals were even harder to thoroughly eliminate. If they wanted to cling to life, as long as they were willing, they had far more methods and means than traditional evil spirits. In other words, when they were willing to pay any price to survive... they became evil spirits.

Downstairs in the courtyard, calls for Li Sanjiang could be heard. Someone had come to invite Li Sanjiang to perform a ritual. Grandpa Patriarch had gone to Big Beard's house in the morning and hadn't returned yet. Most likely, the two old men were drunk. After lunch, Tan Wenbin went to Shigang Town to visit his grandparents from both sides of the family. Runsheng was in the fields, and Ayou was fishing. So Li Zhuiyuan went to Big Beard's house by himself to find Grandpa Patriarch. He also wanted to go out for some fresh air.

Arriving at Big Beard's house, he saw Benben in a crib in the courtyard, holding an empty plastic cup. First, he raised it in salute to the peach grove, then tipped his head back and pretended to drink it all in one gulp, a self-styled heroic drinker. Xiao Yingying stood beside him, hands on her hips, watching the child's actions, her suppressed resentments from death threatening to resurface. Smart children learn too early and too quickly. The one in the peach grove was always drinking and clamoring for snacks to go with his alcohol, and now the two old men were drinking here too. Influenced by what he saw and heard, the child would probably go looking for the wine jar as soon as he could get out of his crib and run. Li Zhuiyuan's arrival made Benben flop backward in the crib, "drunk" and unconscious. Led by Xiao Yingying, Li Zhuiyuan saw the two old men lying on the sleeping mat, sound asleep in their drunken stupor. At this point, there was no way to wake them up. Xiao Yingying offered to cook a hangover soup, but Li Zhuiyuan declined. At their age, setting aside the headache afterward, getting drunk once was actually a form of enjoyment. Walking back to the courtyard, Benben, who had just managed to sit up, "plop," "drunk-fell" back down again.

Since he was already there, Li Zhuiyuan simply walked directly into the peach grove ahead. Unlike previous times of playing music, singing, drinking, or painting, the peach grove was unusually quiet today. Su Luo leaned against a peach tree, dozing. Qing An floated face-up in the pond. Both were drunk, but Su Luo was likely genuinely intoxicated, as his actions and sensations were entirely under Qing An's control. One could even say Su Luo was merely one of the countless faces on Qing An's being. The one floating in the pond, however, was merely feigning drunkenness. He couldn't possibly get drunk; an indescribable torment constantly plagued him. Li Zhuiyuan's arrival broke the tranquility, interrupting Qing An's act and pulling him out of character. He was angry.

Distorted faces, one after another, surfaced from beneath the pond. Men, women, old, young... and many were not human faces at all. They were not individual entities but had long merged and adhered to Qing An. Li Zhuiyuan crouched by the pond and asked: "There's something I've always wondered: why did you choose to suppress yourself here back then?"

A woman's face rose, its neck like a serpentine body, coiling out of the water to appear before the young man. It spoke in an eerie, sharp voice: "Because the underground of the Central Plains was too crowded."

Li Zhuiyuan: "But if you wanted peace and quiet, there were plenty of other places to choose from."

"Hee hee hee... hee hee hee..." A distorted face floated out. It had only one eye, and the eyeball constantly bulged, with trickles of pus oozing from it. "Want to ask something... you'll need some snacks for drinks... hee hee hee!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I want to know why you chose Nantong as your place of suppression."

"Buzz!" Countless faces surged out of the pond, swirling around the young man, various gazes and eyes shifting over him. The peach branches all around pressed down, and an invisible pressure settled upon the young man. The young man didn't resist; he simply shifted from crouching to sitting.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Is it related to Wei Zhengdao?"

All the faces around him froze. Li Zhuiyuan asked this because he knew that Qing An was a follower of Wei Zhengdao. Such a person wouldn't just randomly choose a place with their eyes closed when selecting their place of suppression. Furthermore, when suppressing himself, Qing An must have known how long and arduous the process of self-annihilation would be.

"Splash..." All the faces receded. Qing An sat up from the pond, looked at the young man, and asked: "What exactly do you want to know?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I've encountered a problem."

"I am not your teacher."

"But you are the person in this world who knows my 'teacher' best."

"I am not."

"When Wei Zhengdao traveled the rivers back then, he was always quiet. He could defeat any competitor and overcome any evil spirit. But there were always some things that weren't so easy or convenient to resolve quickly on the spot, requiring time to..."

"There were none."

"What?"

"None."

"You mean no evil spirit ever escaped his suppression and destruction?"

"Yes."

"How did he do it?"

"Formations."

This wasn't the answer Li Zhuiyuan wanted. He, of course, knew that formations were an indispensable means to slowly wear down a troublesome evil spirit over time. But it was never 100% effective; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many evil spirits breaking free from formation loopholes.

Li Zhuiyuan: "So, you're saying that even the most powerful and stubborn evil spirits, once defeated and suppressed by him using formations, would quickly perish completely, leaving no trace or future problems?"

"Yes."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Qing An, then at the peach grove. The young man was asking something highly taboo. Though unspoken, the question had been posed.

"After learning that secret art and using it more and more, I had a vague ominous premonition. The question you want to ask now, I actually asked him too."

Clearly, Qing An hadn't received an answer; otherwise, he wouldn't still be suffering here. At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan somewhat understood how an ordinary student felt. He had come seeking a method to improve his studies, and if the answer was "study hard and diligently," it would be useless. However, the young man still wanted to try again.

"If I can learn his method, I can also help you find release sooner."

"So?"

"Tell me why you chose this place."

"Heh heh."

"You should know that I am the person in this world most adept at learning his methods."

"When we were traveling the rivers back then, we encountered a very troublesome entity. Fortunately, we eventually managed to defeat it. I thought it would be difficult to completely eliminate it, but in fact, it was suppressed and destroyed very quickly."

"It was suppressed by Wei Zhengdao in Nantong."

"Yes."

"Where in Nantong?"

"You haven't been to Langshan, have you?"

As night fell, all was quiet. Runsheng pushed out the tricycle and sat on it, waiting. Li Zhuiyuan walked to the door of the east room. With a creak, the door opened, revealing Ali in a red dress with a cloak. The young man took the girl's hand, walked to the tricycle, and helped her sit on it. Ali had often ridden Runsheng's tricycle before, especially when Li Zhuiyuan was studying in Shigang. After Li Zhuiyuan also got on, Runsheng released the handbrake and cycled down the courtyard.

Lin Shuyou sat up in his coffin, rubbed his eyes, and asked Tan Wenbin, who was still reading the formation book by lamplight next to him: "Brother Bin, aren't we going with them?"

"Do you want to put yourself out there?"

"To protect Brother Xiaoyuan..."

"This is Nantong. What needs your protection here?"

"Right, that's true."

Lin Shuyou peacefully lay back down in his coffin.

Runsheng rode quickly and steadily. Li Zhuiyuan and Ali lay side by side in the tricycle, raising their hands to play chess against the starry sky. The distribution of mountains on the ground and tombs underground was very uneven, with some areas having an extreme lack and others an overwhelming abundance. A place like Langshan, if it were in Sichuan, would be an unremarkable hill. But in Nantong, it was a top-tier attraction, almost the city's emblem. Li Zhuiyuan had never been to Langshan. Yin Meng, however, had accompanied Grandpa Patriarch up the mountain to burn incense during Chinese New Year and had come back saying her feet hadn't even warmed up before she reached the peak. The closest the young man had ever been to Langshan was meeting Grandpa Patriarch and his grandparents at the scenic area entrance before going to eat.

Qing An wanted to learn the black book's secret art, and Wei Zhengdao taught him. Qing An also wanted to learn the method of suppression and destruction, but Wei Zhengdao didn't teach him. Because he had once suppressed a very troublesome evil spirit with Wei Zhengdao in Nantong, and that spirit had perished quickly, Qing An eventually chose to seal his gradually spiraling self in Nantong. He might have believed Nantong had a special quality that could accelerate the demise of suppressed entities, or it could have simply been for good luck. As it stood, neither seemed to fit.

Runsheng: "Xiaoyuan, we're here."

The main entrance of the scenic area was pitch black. Even outside peak season, the scenic area was crowded during the day, but after it closed at night, there was no one around except for a few on duty. Li Zhuiyuan took out some money and had Runsheng slip it into the crack of the ticket booth as their entry fee. Runsheng took the money, ran to put it in, then ran back.

"Xiaoyuan, here."

"Brother Runsheng, why is there so much left?"

"There's a notice on the ticket window: ages six to fourteen or heights between one and one and a half meters get half-price tickets."

"That's still not right."

"University student IDs also get half-price tickets, Xiaoyuan. I've seen yours; you have one."

According to Runsheng's calculation, his own ticket had been discounted by half, and then by half again. "That shouldn't be how it's calculated." However, Li Zhuiyuan decided not to dwell on it, put the money away. There probably weren't many people like him who were both a "child" and a "university student."

Runsheng took out the Yellow River shovel, had Ali stand on it, then he lifted the shovel with one hand and vaulted over the wall with the other. As he easily got over, Ali landed steadily. Li Zhuiyuan didn't take a running start. He simply jumped, used his hands for a quick boost, flipped over, and landed. Ali watched the young man's movements, her eyes shining like stars in the sky. For martial arts practitioners, such a wall was nothing. Li Zhuiyuan didn't practice martial arts, but his physical fitness, built on daily high-standard training, far surpassed that of his peers.

While climbing the mountain, Runsheng walked behind. Li Zhuiyuan and Ali walked hand in hand up the steps. Along the way, Li Zhuiyuan also saw a small attraction: a hole carved into the mountain, displaying statues of underworld deities and ghosts. A normal person would find them eerie even during the day, and terrifying at night. But to Li Zhuiyuan, these figures felt somewhat familiar.

Langshan was truly not tall. Anyone with normal physical fitness could climb to the summit in one go. Yet, despite this, there were cable lines overhead, meaning that even on such a low mountain... there was still a cable car available. Upon reaching the top, the view dramatically opened up. The sight of the Yangtze River estuary was breathtaking, like a vast hanging landscape painting. Especially at night, with countless lights twinkling below, the river flowing into the sea in the middle, and the brilliant Milky Way above, each distinct feature intertwined and merged. One could say that although it wasn't a towering mountain range, it could still offer a magnificent and grand vista. The ticket wasn't expensive, and it wasn't tiring.

Li Zhuiyuan took out Tan Wenbin's camera. Ever since Tan Wenbin acquired his snake eyes, the camera had been gathering dust at home. Li Zhuiyuan first took photos of Ali with the camera. No need to find a position or angle; the more beautiful the subject, the less professional skill the photographer needed. After taking photos of Ali, Li Zhuiyuan asked Runsheng to help take a few joint photos of him and Ali. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan took a few photos of Runsheng. Ali disliked seeing strangers. Even when accompanying her for walks in the village, he had to try to stick to open, deserted field paths. Therefore, this was likely Ali's first official trip since she could remember, and they had paid for tickets.

After this, Ali stepped back, and Runsheng moved to a lower step. The young man alone ascended the large incense burner platform in the middle of the summit. Merging geomantic omens with his formation perception, he slowly shifted his gaze, beginning to survey the area below. In the past, this method was used to locate tombs. Now, the young man was searching for traces of the suppression formation from back then. Although Qing An hadn't given the exact location, he had provided a clue, and Li Zhuiyuan found it. It was still a desolate, empty plot of land, close to a small shipyard.

"Let's go down the mountain."

They descended the mountain more quickly. Next, guided by Li Zhuiyuan, Runsheng drove the tricycle carrying the three of them to the spot. Wei Zhengdao's abilities were beyond doubt. The formations he left behind, even if corroded by time and in a dilapidated state, should never be underestimated. Li Zhuiyuan told Ali to stay by the tricycle, then he and Runsheng walked down. The soil here was somewhat damp and soft, leaving deep footprints when walked upon. Once they stood at the precise location, the young man once again used his senses to observe.

Something was off...

Li Zhuiyuan took out his small compass, performed a final calibration, and confirmed it was indeed this location. But the contemplation in the young man's eyes deepened. Finally, Li Zhuiyuan spoke: "Brother Runsheng."

Runsheng crouched down, and Li Zhuiyuan climbed onto his back. The young man extended his right hand, and a blood mist permeated his palm, coalescing into a formation flag, which he continuously waved in all directions. As the number of waves increased, Runsheng's expression grew more and more solemn. When Xiaoyuan controlled formations in the past, his movements were never this numerous or complex. This meant the place was extremely dangerous. Runsheng slightly opened his Qimen, preparing for any potential accidents.

Gradually, the ground began to tremble slightly, and honeycomb-like holes appeared beneath where they stood. The surrounding mud and sand first continuously gathered towards this area of less than ten square meters, then collapsed. Runsheng instinctively wanted to jump out, but the young man patted his shoulder, and he remained still. The depression continued, and after reaching a critical point, the area beneath seemed to suddenly empty, and Runsheng fell.

"Thud!"

It was deep, but not extremely deep. While Runsheng was still bracing and adjusting his landing posture, his feet already touched the ground. This height was nothing for Runsheng in his current state. Li Zhuiyuan waved his hand, and a few scattered lights flickered on ahead. Soon after, half of them extinguished.

"Brother Runsheng, turn on the flashlight."

"Okay."

Runsheng turned on the flashlight. The scene ahead became clear: it was a downward slope, not too steep, and certainly not profound. Because the flashlight's beam already reached the main chamber. If comparing the formation to a tomb, it meant the main burial chamber was already exposed like this.

"Brother Runsheng, move forward."

"Okay."

Runsheng's initial tension gradually eased. Because from start to finish, Xiaoyuan had called him "Brother Runsheng." Usually, Xiaoyuan would only use his, Tan Wenbin's, and Lin Shuyou's full names without honorifics during combat or in dangerous situations. Conversely, when Xiaoyuan used an honorific, it meant this place... wasn't too dangerous? Indeed, this place wasn't too dangerous.

Li Zhuiyuan approached the grand suppression and destruction formation, set up by Wei Zhengdao years ago, with extreme caution and patience. However, earlier, while still above ground, Li Zhuiyuan had felt something was off, because the scale of this grand formation was simply too low. It wasn't merely corroded by time; it had been completely washed away by the ages. The reason Li Zhuiyuan had to wave the formation flag so many times was to temporarily complete it. Otherwise, the quicksand wouldn't have even been triggered; the formation lacked activity, and they would have had to excavate manually to get down. But for a normal suppression and destruction formation, resisting the erosion of time was paramount. After all, if the target wasn't difficult to kill, this method wouldn't be chosen in the first place. Even if Wei Zhengdao, who set up this suppression formation back then, was still traveling the rivers, his skill level could not possibly have been this limited. Furthermore, Qing An had said that the entity Wei Zhengdao suppressed back then was extremely difficult to kill.

Runsheng kept moving forward and soon reached the main chamber. The flashlight beam swept around the main area. There was no towering altar, no widespread chains, no dense killing formations... In short, nothing that should have been set up here was visible. This "sparrow" was not only tiny but also completely lacked its vital organs. In the main chamber, there was only a stone table and a stone stool. The