Corpse Retriever

“Not really. At least, I didn’t see it. He gives me the feeling of one of those old upperclassmen at school.

How do I put it? Like he’s already made peace with life and death. Maybe one day when he dies, if he could crawl out of his own coffin, he’d happily play the suona for himself.”

Fan Shulin found that feeling bizarre too. The other party was only a freshman. What exactly had he gone through to turn out like this? Still, the guy really was interesting. Time and again he got coerced by him, yet kept finding himself growing more and more fond of him.

That fondness definitely did not come from the red envelope, because if he really did end up treating someone to death here on his own initiative, then not only his career, but possibly his whole life, would be over.

“Come on, let me check you over.”

“Okay, Brother Fan.”

After the examination, Fan Shulin froze for a moment and said,

“My God, you’ve recovered this well?”

At that moment, Tan Wenbin could not help hearing the words Tan Wenbin had said to him last night echo again in his mind.

Could it bethat I really am Bian Que reborn, Hua Tuo returned to life?

…

While one flower blooms on each branch, let us speak of both in turn.

The two visitors had come in with overwhelming momentum, only to leave as smoothly and swiftly as spilled mercury.

Uncle Qin was still all right. He merely smiled and did not hurry to roll his sleeve back down. He was waiting, waiting for instructions from the old lady inside.

Aunt Liu, on the other hand, was genuinely a little angry.

These past days had not been kind to her at all. She had urgently needed a fight to let off steam, yet right after she had tied up her hair, they left.

Still, she did not let her hair down again right away. Who knew? This time the old lady might call on her instead of Ah Li.

Back when Li Zhuiyuan had still been getting his hair cut by Aunt Liu, it was from her that he first learned about the Officers of the Command Banner.

That showed how familiar Aunt Liu was with that tradition.

In her view, if the old lady sent Ah Li, Ah Li would still have to take his time setting things up. But if she herself went, would that not be much simpler?

No matter how formidable those yin gods were, she had never heard of them being able to detoxify poison or cure illness.

And even if some of them really could, by the time you invited them down one by one in spirit medium ritual and queued up for a turn, it would already be too late.

Tan Wenbin scratched his head. At this moment, he finally realized something.

Damn it, I was the one who led the Imperial Japanese Army into the village.

“Brother Yuan…”

“Go upstairs. Grandma is still waiting to give you your lesson.”

“Ah, okay.”

The noon meal of rice with flat beans was still cooked by Uncle Qin, because Aunt Liu had not merely temporarily lost her sense of taste and the like. It was disordered, which meant… she might think putting half a bowl of salt into one bowl of soup made it taste better.

And the decline in the household meals made the old lady feel even more on edge. Logically, at a time like this, she as the family elder should have stepped up. Since she could not, it only made her feel even more useless.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over to Uncle Qin and said, “Uncle, those two came for me.”

Just as seeing Mao Chang’an’s habit of walking with his hands behind his back in the General Temple had been enough to tell he was a Corpse Retriever, the way those two had walked just now also carried traces of the Three-Step Praise.

Of course, even without looking at their steps, the faint hazy signs of incense and candlelight above their heads meant they could enter spirit medium ritual at any moment, or were even already preparing to do so.

Uncle Qin looked at Li Zhuiyuan and smiled. “I know.”

“Uncle, I’m in the middle of crossing the river.”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

“Then you and Aunt Liu just now…”

Li Zhuiyuan knew clearly that the two of them had truly been ready to step in.

By normal rules, if trouble was drawn to him because he was walking the river and the family intervened, then the family would bear the karmic backlash.

They definitely knew that. In fact, when the two of them had separately been instructing Runsheng and Yin Meng, they were already enduring a certain degree of backlash.

But on his end, he had already grasped the pattern of walking the river.

The first wave had just ended, and the second had not yet risen.

So the two who had just arrived had not been pushed here by the river water.

That meant they were not, in karmic terms, enemies who would fight him to the death.

And it also meant… he really could ask Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu to step in and deal with these two outsiders not sent by the river.

Of course, Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu did not know any of that.

“You’re one of the children in this family.

Besides, if someone comes knocking at our door and really pushes open that courtyard gate, then the only choice is to beat them to death. There isn’t a second option.

That has nothing to do with whether or not you’re walking the river right now.”

Li Zhuiyuan smiled when he heard that.

But inwardly, he gave himself a warning. It seemed he needed to go make a little report to Granny Liu.

Because judging from Uncle Qin’s attitude, he truly was willing to pay the price of karmic backlash to help him deal with the Dead Sinkers.

Not only for his sake, but also because he wanted, to some extent, to make up for regrets from his youth.

Unfortunately, the understanding of walking the river he now had in his head and was about to summarize into writing could only be shared with his own team. He could not explain it to them in detail, or they would be dragged into it for no reason.

He could tell Ah Li, though. He himself had no secrets from Ah Li.

First, because Ah Li would not tell anyone else.

Second, because of the relationship between him and Ah Li, and because he was using the Dead Sinkers outside Ah Li’s threshold as a question bank, the two of them were already entangled together.

This river was something he and Ah Li were walking hand in hand.

In essence, Ah Li had joined the team even earlier than Runsheng, who nominally came first.

All of a sudden, a possibility occurred to Li Zhuiyuan.

If outsiders who read the book he wrote would become entangled by it, then when he had once sat on the second-floor terrace of Taigong’s house reading Wei Zhengdao’s book, did that not mean the entanglement had already begun?

And then he thought of that evil book wrapped layer upon layer in his dorm room…

Compared with the book he was going to write and Wei Zhengdao’s book:

You?

And you dare call yourself “evil”?

Upstairs, Liu Yumei had originally been sitting there drinking tea.

When the two men had just approached, the old lady’s gaze had sharpened. In the latter half of her life, what pricked her most easily was outsiders no longer holding the Dragon King’s clan plaque in awe.

Well now, someone had actually dared come knocking.

The spark in the old lady’s heart had already been lit. She had even started thinking about how, after dealing with those two, she would follow the vine to the root and clean up the forces behind them as well.

When a tiger lies low, if it does not brutally deal with the first creatures bold enough to creep close, then afterward it will attract a whole pack of things hoping to feed on carrion, and they will harass you without end.

But when those two immediately lowered their banners, gave up, and passed by the gate without entering as smoothly as if they were merely out for a stroll, Liu Yumei was amused enough to laugh out loud.

The spark in her heart scattered away.

She even found it a little interesting.

In the end, it was just like how she had ordered Uncle Qin to plant vegetables and melons in the courtyard instead of flowers.

Because of Little Yuan entering the household and walking the river, the old lady felt secure and peaceful now, not as sensitive as she had been before.

The world had always been like this. The life and death of many people depended only on a single thought in certain people’s minds.

Tan Wenbin came upstairs. As he did, he had already been working up the right mood. The moment he stood before the old lady, he began his performance:

“Old Madam, you have to stand up for me. I was just wandering around by myself minding my own business, and people secretly followed me. They were not planning to do something improper to me, were they?”

One was a thousand-year-old fox. The other was in the middle of sticking fox fur onto himself.

In this family, only Little Yuan could really trade moves with the old lady.

Liu Yumei put down her teacup and said, “All right, all right. If you want to plead for their family, just say so. There’s no need to twist around with all these little tricks over such a small matter.”

“Heh heh heh.” Tan Wenbin began making tea. He had learned the skill in the dorm room, asking Little Yuan to teach him. He remembered every single step.

Liu Yumei waved a hand. “No tea. Pour me some rice wine instead. I haven’t been sleeping well lately. A little drink will help.”

“Sure.” Tan Wenbin brought over the bottle of rice wine and switched to another set of cups. As he poured, he said, “It’s not really that I want to plead for them. I just didn’t handle the matter properly myself.”

“Oh?”

“I got the younger one taken care of, but I didn’t expect the older ones to come so fast. That was my oversight.”

To dig into it, the matter really could not be blamed on Tan Wenbin. He had already handled Lin Shuyou’s side, and Lin Shuyou had cooperated almost surprisingly well. He had practically cried and begged for Brother Yuan’s secret method.

But where things went wrong was this: even if Lin Shuyou had been told to keep his mouth shut and could not talk about the specifics, he still lay in his hospital bed laughing and shouting things like “great fortune,” “a grand opportunity,” “the seat of honor at New Year’s dinner,” and “a separate page in the family genealogy.”

In the eyes of the family elders, the scene looked exactly like their own foolish son being sold off and still happily helping count the money.

“Tell me the details. What exactly happened?”

“Right away.”

Tan Wenbin began organizing his words. For the sake of not causing backlash to the old lady’s body, he could not say it directly. He could only keep speaking in analogies, hints, and indirect allusions.

It was exhausting, but at last he managed to explain the whole thing.

The old lady was tired from listening too. It got so bad she wanted to speak bluntly and say: enough with the riddles, I would rather cough up a little blood than waste this much brainpower.

But when she heard the ending, the old lady’s eyes suddenly widened, and the Chenghua doucai chicken cup in her hand was crushed to powder.

“What nerve!”

Tan Wenbin froze. Huh?

Liu Yumei was genuinely angry now, because she felt she had been taken advantage of.

On her side, they had spent a whole year building a good relationship. Her own granddaughter had been at his side, and they had even given him the inheritances of both families before finally bringing him through their own door. What an enormous price had been paid for that?

And yet that man had wanted to demand the secret method inheritance with nothing but empty words.

It was the same as if the Bodhisattva their family had painstakingly worshiped day and night was taken away by someone else just to shake sticks and tell fortunes.

Since ancient times, if you dared covet my family’s secret methods, that meant a mortal feud!

The old lady lowered her head and looked at Tan Wenbin. She knew he probably did not understand. As for Little Yuan, whether he understood or not did not matter. Little Yuan probably simply did not care.

But this family was not running a charity hall. Whether I care or not is my business. How dare you set your sights on it?

In the old days, if you wanted to seek secret methods or invite the higher house to sort out and reorganize your family’s inheritance system, the premise was that you had to lead your whole family into my household as servants for a fixed term, and only after that term ended could you leave. Or else you served as my advance force and worked for me until half your family died.

But soon, Liu Yumei realized something was off. If this was truly such a heaven-sent opportunity, then why had those two just come knocking in that manner?

In the end, Tan Wenbin’s level was only high-school Chinese. He simply could not quote the classics and explain things the way Little Yuan could. It was already good enough that he managed to tell the story from start to finish. You could not expect him to flesh out every character in it too.

Liu Yumei asked, “That boy… is he a little stupid?”

“Hm?” Tan Wenbin nodded. “Not stupid, but kind of simple and honest.”

“Heh…” Having finally sorted out the cause and effect, Liu Yumei was amused again.

That family really was interesting. Twice now they had angered her, and twice now they had managed to make her laugh.

“Tell Little Yuan that the secret method…” Liu Yumei got halfway through the sentence and stopped. “Forget it. Don’t tell Little Yuan. His own affairs are for him to decide himself.”

“Ah, all right.”

“And also, go deal with this matter again. They’re still over there. They don’t dare come any closer anymore, but they certainly won’t dare leave either.”

“Sure, Old Madam. Just give me the word.”

“I have nothing to say.”

Tan Wenbin carefully studied the old lady’s expression and confirmed that this was not some deep hidden meaning. She really did seem to have been rendered speechless by the whole thing.

“Then I’ll go right away.”

“Wait a little longer. Today’s lesson still hasn’t been given. As for them, leave them hanging for a while more. Let them suffer a bit longer. They brought it on themselves.”

“Go ahead, I’m listening.” Tan Wenbin had originally been crouching beside the old lady in attendance, but now he pulled out a stool and sat down.

“Zhuangzhuang.”

“Yes, I’m here.”

Tan Wenbin immediately stood up again.

Granny Liu did not usually call him by the childhood nickname Taigong had given him, but every time she did, it meant she had something serious to instruct or teach him.

From another angle, that meant the nickname really had been chosen with care.

“Are you trying to imitate Little Yuan?”

“Old Madam, listen to you. Isn’t that only natural? That’s called… following the example of the worthy.”

“But does Little Yuan really like what he is now?”

“I…”

“You need to know in your own heart what should be learned and what should not. Think back to when you first met him. Why was Little Yuan willing to be friends with you? It couldn’t possibly have been because you were like him.”

“I…”

“In this life, people are always doing one thing: constantly picking things up, then constantly putting them down. What’s most frightening is refusing all along to let go, just holding something up and carrying it.

No matter what happened to you in the past, no one is telling you to forget it. But what should be let go, should be let go.

Even if someone still sits in your heart, he probably would not want you exhausting yourself by carrying him there forever, turning him into your burden for nothing.

Zhuangzhuang, you know how to comfort and cheer up others. But don’t spend all your time making others happy and forget about yourself.”

“I think I understand some of it. Thank you, Old Madam.”

“No need to thank me. I’m doing this for Little Yuan’s sake too. I know his temperament is cold. Back in Li Sanjiang, he would put on a very warm front, but now he’s less and less willing to act.

As the one shouting from the prow for him, you have to say what the Dragon King does not want to say. You have to handle the situations the Dragon King does not want to deal with…”

She paused, then continued,

“If there’s any shortcoming on the Dragon King, you have to fill it in, so outsiders can’t see it.”

“Hah…” A smile spread across Tan Wenbin’s face. “Understood.”

“Go on.” Liu Yumei raised a hand. “Remember, I may have nothing to say, but don’t let those two have too easy a time either.”

“Just watch, I’ll go have some fun with them on your behalf. Tonight I’ll come back and tell you all about it so you can enjoy it before bed.”

“Then it’s settled. If there’s nothing amusing in it, I won’t be able to get over this.”

“Don’t worry. Absolutely.”

…

“He’s here.”

Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen exchanged a glance, and each saw the gravity in the other’s eyes.

“Master, someone from that side has come to give our sect an answer. Whether it’ll be fortune or disaster…”

“You’re seriously still thinking about fortune right now?”

Chen Shoumen: “…”

Lin Fu’an: “If the disaster doesn’t destroy the temple, we ought to burn incense in gratitude.”

Tan Wenbin walked upstairs, smiling as he headed toward the hospital room.

Though Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen were tense inside, they still forced smiles onto their faces. The difficulty level was on par with when they had first learned spirit medium ritual in their youth.

Tan Wenbin ignored them and walked into the room. “Shuyou, feeling better?”

Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen exchanged another glance, then silently followed him in.

They did not believe this fellow failed to recognize them.

“Brother Binbin, I’m much better. Oh right, let me introduce them. This is my master, and this is my grandfather. They came to see me.”

Lin Shuyou pointed as he introduced them. His attention was all on Tan Wenbin, so he failed to notice that with each person he pointed at, that person gave a visible twitch.

Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen both stepped half a pace forward, preparing to give a jianghu salute.

With a thump, Tan Wenbin dropped to his knees in front of them.

“Uncle, Grandfather, I wronged Shuyou! I’m the one who caused him to end up in such a miserable state. I was at fault. Please punish me!”

Thump! Thump!

Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen felt as though the sky had collapsed right in front of them, and they both dropped to their knees as well.

Lin Shuyou, sitting on the hospital bed, suddenly felt that remaining seated was not really appropriate.

“Uncle, Grandfather, why are you kneeling? I’m the one who was at fault.”

Chen Shoumen said, “No, you did nothing wrong!”

Lin Fu’an said, “The ones at fault are us. It was Ayou who failed to educate us properly.”

“Uncle, Grandfather, you’re being so reasonable that I don’t know where to put myself. Fine, then, I’ll kowtow to you!”

At that, Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen no longer merely felt like the sky had collapsed. It felt as though the heavens were about to explode. What kind of kowtow was this supposed to be? Had the Dragon King’s clan sent him here to preside over the funeral rites for their temple?

“No, no, no, don’t do that.”

“Oh, all right.” Tan Wenbin sprang briskly to his feet and stepped forward to help them up. “Uncles and Grandfathers, you should get up too. Shuyou and I are buddies. I’m the younger generation, so kneeling to you is only proper. Don’t you have that custom over there of giving red envelopes after kowtowing?”

Lin Fu’an and Chen Shoumen let themselves be helped up. Their heads were still spinning, turned completely to mush. They only heard the words “red envelopes” and reflexively began patting their pockets.

If a grudge like this could truly be settled with red envelopes or anything else, then whatever was asked for, they would absolutely hand it over.

Tan Wenbin went on,

“My family elder said that now our household has fallen on hard times, even if we still have friends outside, they look down on us. When they pass by our front gate, they think the place looks shabby and won’t even step inside, afraid it’ll dirty the soles of their shoes. So they pretend not to see us and hurry away, terrified that if they stay too long, we’ll come chasing after them to borrow money. Sigh.

Hey, hey, hey, Uncle, Grandfather, don’t kneel, don’t. If you kneel, then I’ll kneel too.”

Fan Shulin happened to be making rounds and had just come back to this area. He glanced inside and said in surprise,

“Well now, sworn brotherhood within the guild, is it?”

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