Corpse Retriever

The figure asked, “Learn it on the spot?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “Yeah!”

The figure beckoned to him.

Li Zhuiyuan crawled forward a few steps and came up close.

Smack!

The figure rapped him on the head with a knuckle.

“Ow.”

The figure laughed and cursed, “You little old thing, learn it on the spot? Do you think you’re me?”

“My brain’s pretty good.”

“That much is true.”“So I really can’t learn it?”

“What would you learn this stuff for? Just wait for someone else to break the deadlock for you.”

“But who knows how long that’ll take? And what if the real me doesn’t actually have that much time to wait?”

“Your concern isn’t unreasonable, but your method isn’t feasible.”

The figure stood up, as though flicking a vague sleeve, then started walking back.

Li Zhuiyuan got to his feet as well and followed behind him.

“But what if?”

“There is no what if. Even if you put me in your position, I couldn’t make that what if happen. The time is too short. There’s no point in it. Don’t worry. Those two will stay locked in stalemate for a while longer, but one of them is definitely going to lose patience first.

After all, getting dragged in here is humiliating and baffling in itself.”

“I want to learn.”

“Do you know what I hate most in this life?”

“Teaching people?”

“Exactly. Every time I have to teach someone something, I first have to mash it up, chew it to pieces, cook it down into a flavor they can swallow, then hold a spoon and feed it to them one bite at a time.”

“I can hold my own spoon.”

“Heh.”

“You do not have anything else to do right now anyway.”

“I would rather sit down and chat with you a little longer than start lecturing.”

“I do not even know what I am really like in reality. Talking to you would feel a little detached.”

“Weren’t you chatting just fine earlier? Was it only because you wanted to coax me into helping you?”

“Yes.”

“Even that ‘yes’ was probably meant to make me happy, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Heh heh.” The figure stepped into the corridor, his gaze sweeping past the third exam desk, where there was an unfinished painting waiting to be completed. “You might actually have some talent.”

“I told you. I learn fast.”

“But this field is different from learning other things. It is not the same at all. And right now, you do not even have the basics.”

“That just means I have lots of room to improve.”

“You’re so annoying.”

“Sorry.”

The figure dragged his foot across the ground. Very quickly, a complicated yet freeform pattern was traced out.

“Come on. Find the position of the array eye for me.”

After saying that, the figure sat back down in the chair.

The moment he sat down, he saw the boy already standing inside the pattern.

The figure shot to his feet.

Because the spot where the boy was standing was exactly where the array eye was.

The figure said, “Give me your reason.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “No reason.”

The figure said, “Make one up.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “I went with my gut.”

The figure said, “That’s actually a very good reason. There is indeed a kind of person who is born with a natural affinity for formations.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “You mean me?”

“But people like that usually have a hard time reaching the level of a true formation master.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “My professor said something similar. He said children like us are too smart, have not really suffered through learning, and are prone to thinking too highly of ourselves and overlooking the importance of the platform.”

“Your professor knows what he’s talking about. In this world, ninety-nine point nine percent of people do not need to compete in talent at all. Hard work alone is enough.

Only the tiny handful at the very top need to compete in talent, and those people are often even harder-working than everyone else.

Do you understand?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “I do. You’re praising yourself.”

The figure bent down and traced the ground with his fingertip. Soon, an even more complex formation pattern appeared.

When he finished, the figure clapped his hands.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “It’s incomplete.”

The figure kept clapping. “That’s right. I want you to complete it.”

Li Zhuiyuan picked up a stone, crouched down, and started filling it in.

Literally filling it in. No thinking, no hesitation. He simply drew.

The figure stopped clapping.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up. “It’s done. It should be right, right?”

The figure asked, “Continue?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Okay.”

The figure drew in front, and Li Zhuiyuan completed things behind him.

At first, the two of them remained one in front of the other as they moved through the corridor.

But drawing took longer, while completing was quick. Gradually, Li Zhuiyuan drew level with the figure.

While the figure was still drawing out one formation, Li Zhuiyuan no longer waited for him to finish setting the problem. He followed along and completed it together with him.

The two of them drew from one end of the corridor all the way to the other.

At the end, the pair, one big and one small, straightened up together and dusted off their hands together.

The figure said, “There’s a problem.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Did I draw something wrong?”

The figure said, “You didn’t draw anything wrong. I mean there is something wrong with you.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “So the real me has studied formations before?”

The figure said, “More than that.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “The real me is highly accomplished in formations?”

The figure said, “More than that.”

“Then what is it?”

“Even if the real you were so good at formations that it affected this place, that still wouldn’t make it possible for you to take one look at the formations I created myself, immediately know them, and even draw alongside me!”

“Did you leave behind any books?”

“I wrote a few.”

“Then I must have read them and memorized them?”

“Memory can’t be brought in here. You understood them completely.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Thank you.”

The figure said, “Sorry.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we can move to the next step. Do you know how to walk the shade?”

“No.”

“I’ll teach you.” As he spoke, the figure raised a hand and flicked a finger at the center of Li Zhuiyuan’s brow.

Bang!

Li Zhuiyuan’s whole body staggered backward. When he steadied himself, he felt light, as though he could float.

“Do you feel any discomfort?” The figure walked over.

“No.”

“Can you go back?”

“End this state?”

“That’s right.”

Hearing that, Li Zhuiyuan raised his right hand. He did not know why he raised it. Some kind of habit seemed to be guiding him. Then he snapped his fingers.

Snap!

When he opened his eyes again, he was back.

The figure was still standing in front of him.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “That was walking the shade? Like the soul leaving the body in strange tales?”

“More or less.” The figure turned around and picked up a brush from the table.

“How did I do just now?”

“So-so.”

As he spoke, the figure waved a hand, and a bizarre riot of light appeared before them, rings of light evolving and shifting in turn.

“How do I do this?”

“Try sorting it out.”

Li Zhuiyuan followed his instincts. His hands moved constantly in front of him, adjusting and arranging. Very soon, image after image with strange hidden meaning appeared before the two of them.

The figure said, “You must have used this method to teach people before. To teach them how to observe qi.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Does that mean the real me already has disciples?”

“That is not something worth being happy about.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “True.”

Holding the brush, the figure quickly painted a black leopard in the air. The leopard let out a roar and lunged at Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and ran.

“What are you running for? Use a spell on it!”

“I don’t know any!”

“Keep following your instincts.” The figure painted another leopard, flanking him front and back.

Li Zhuiyuan tripped and fell. Then he slapped a hand against the ground.

Buzz!

Strands of black mist shot out from beneath the two black leopards’ feet. In the next instant, both beasts were pinned down firmly.

Confusion appeared in the figure’s eyes. “What kind of thing was that?”

Li Zhuiyuan climbed back up, pointed at them, and asked, “I actually know spellwork?”

The figure said, “You already know formations, Feng Shui, and walking the shade. How could you not know spellwork? Does someone who can write poetry not know how to read?”

“If I hadn’t managed to use it just now, would you have told them to stop?”

“You know I wouldn’t have. That’s the only way to force out your potential.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“You’ve already done something far more dangerous.” The figure waved his hand, and the two black leopards vanished, leaving behind black lash marks across the ground. “I’m saying, how did you end up branching over there?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve seen his descendants before, but what they used was the Yin Clan’s Twelve Techniques.”

“Was it what I used just now? That family’s surname is Li?”

“Not that surname. And what you used was better than what his descendants use.”

“Why would that happen?”

“It’s not actually that strange. But getting too entangled with him is not a good thing.”

“Does he have a terrible temper?”

“Terrible doesn’t begin to cover it. Never mind that for now. Hah, could it be that you’re fated to clash with turtles too?”

“I’ve never kept a turtle. At least not in my current memory.”

“That turtle holds grudges badly. They’re all difficult characters to deal with. Back then I never wanted to get involved with any of them. Hiss... no, that’s not right. Those two places should have nothing to do with you.

You weren’t the one who drew all three parties here. It wasn’t because of you. Those two were pulled in by reasons of their own.”

“Pulled in?”

“Bloodline. Curse.”

“Then were you brought in by... me?”

“At first I didn’t think it was you. But now I suspect it was.”

“You’re sure you never left behind any descendants?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then it’s not bloodline. Is there a third possibility?”

“No.”

“Then doesn’t that mean I was by you...”

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to read improper books?”

“I’m a little confused right now.”

“Write down your birth data and I’ll calculate it for you.”

Li Zhuiyuan immediately wrote down his birth data. The figure moved the brush across the paper, but he did not lower his head. Instead, he stared at Li Zhuiyuan’s face.

Whoosh!

The paper on the table suddenly burst into flame. It spread to the figure’s right hand as well. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned his left hand into a blade and, with a wet chop, cut off his own right palm.

“Ow.” The figure looked at Li Zhuiyuan again. “Heh heh. Ow.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Ow? What does that mean?”

The figure said, “You little old thing, you’re on the way... you’re on the boat.”

“Is that some kind of code?”

“Saying it directly is inauspicious.

But you are really ruthless, and really absolute, and the way you play is truly extravagant. Hahaha!”

Still laughing, the figure lifted his head and looked toward the sky above the amusement park.

“I still don’t understand...”

The figure lowered his head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan, speaking one word at a time.

“You don’t need to keep pretending to be pitiful here, and you don’t need to seek shelter either. This ditch was dug by you. All three of us bastards were brought here by you.”

Pain showed on Li Zhuiyuan’s face. He seized his own hair tightly, forcing himself not to wake up.

“There’s no need to resist anymore.” The figure let out a sigh. “You’re safe. This time, they’re going to be played to death by you.”

“If I wake up, I have to start all over again, and then I won’t remember you anymore?”

“Mhm.”

“I still want to talk with you a little longer.”

“Is wanting to talk really all it is?”

“What else would it be?”

“Put yourself in my place. What I would want would only be more. I believe you’re the same.”

As he spoke, the figure glanced at his own right arm. The hand had still not recovered and remained severed.

“Damn it. This water is still as vicious as ever.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “What do you think I’m still missing?”

“I’m not you.”

“You just said you could put yourself in my place. So if you were me, what would you think you were still missing?”

The figure stretched out a hand and pointed east and west. “The two of them are both too restrained. I’d think it was missing a bit of excitement.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Then I suppose I would think the same.”

The boy raised his head and looked at the figure’s face. Though the other person was still blurry, they could still catch each other’s gaze.

The figure said, “Then... add another spark to the fire?”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Teach me.”

The figure said, “If things keep going at the normal pace, sooner or later one of them will get fed up and casually wipe away part of what’s here. But how is that satisfying enough?

You have to make one of them so furious that he flies into a rage, so furious he loses all control, so furious he’ll stop at nothing to become that knife!”

The figure lowered his head again and looked at his missing right hand.

“How could cutting off only one hand be enough?

At the very least, you’d have to chop off all four limbs, gouge out the eyes, cut off the tongue, slice away the ears, dig out the nose, then find a fresh vat of filth and install him there properly like an offering.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Can it be done?”

The figure said, “Your ability definitely isn’t enough, but don’t worry. I’m here.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “You teach. I’ll do it.”

The figure said, “First choose one of the two. Pick which one to provoke.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Help me choose.”

The figure said, “Actually, no matter which one you provoke, it’ll bring you even bigger trouble later. But I suggest leaving that turtle aside for now.

Because the other one at least still looks human, and he is restricted. He can’t leave that place.

Most importantly, I suspect the thing that drew him here from that other place is bloodline.

Which means one of his blood descendants is standing on your side.

He definitely doesn’t care whether his line lives on or dies out, but if one of his descendants is with you, then later on at least you’ll have a way to talk to him. When it comes time to choose what punishment you die under, maybe you can pick one that’s a little quicker.”

“The consequences are that serious?”

“Scared?”

“It just got more interesting.”

“Tsk.”

The figure walked out of the corridor into the open space outside.

“When I had free time before, I did write a few books, but they were all rather basic. Sorry.”

“Why do you keep apologizing to me?”

“Because I really am embarrassed. My original intention in writing those books may not have been all that friendly. Back then, I was still somewhat immature.”

“Then what about the you now?”

“I would write down something even more malicious.”

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Thank you.”

“You little old thing, watch carefully. I don’t know exactly how many of my books you’ve read, and the memories in my head right now aren’t complete either, but there are still some things I never left in any book.

So watch closely, learn carefully, understand carefully. Mere rote memorization is not enough.

The causal threads here are tangled beyond measure, and with both of those presences here, once this Nanke dream ends and the tide washes through, most of your memories from this place will probably be erased. How much you truly learn will depend, just like before, only on the parts you have fully understood.”

Formation patterns began to take shape beneath the figure’s feet. Spellwork formed with the movement of his left arm. Qi phenomena transformed with the movement of his mouth.

This was his understanding of formations, spellwork, and Feng Shui.

Li Zhuiyuan had a premonition that if he missed this chance, once he woke up and recovered his memories, he would regret it beyond words.

But what kind of teacher teaches three lessons at once?

Li Zhuiyuan began splitting his mind three ways.

In his memory, he had never tried anything like this before. There had not really been much use for it. At most, he had occasionally split his attention in two to get by.

But for some reason, handling three things at once now felt unexpectedly smooth.

The formations, spellwork, and Feng Shui the figure displayed seemed to separate themselves into three portions before the boy, all appearing on three chessboards.

The outer forms no longer mattered. He directly used black and white stones to record their inner essence.

First grasp the core feeling completely. As for the outer branches, once he had time later, he could slowly reverse them and fill them in.

The figure did not stop, and Li Zhuiyuan rapidly placed stones on all three boards to keep pace.

The boy even had enough spare attention to think about other things:

It seemed that in the future, he really liked playing Go. His skill clearly felt far better than it was now.

At the same time, the boy also felt a bit puzzled.

What kind of difficult and complicated situation would he be facing in the future, to have made using his mind three ways this smooth and natural?

Time passed little by little like this, though in a dream, one’s sense of the speed of time became distorted.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

The figure stopped teaching as well.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his head in shock and looked at him, asking in confusion, “Were you secretly trying to control me?”

Just now, he had sensed a special will trying to take control of his thoughts, and in this place, the only beings that counted as independent individuals were himself and the other man.

The figure remained silent.

Li Zhuiyuan pressed on, “Why? Why were you trying to control me?”

The figure let out a sigh. “You actually learned even that too.”

“I learned it?”

“I told you. Only things you have completely understood can appear here.”

“So what?”

The figure bent down and looked at Li Zhuiyuan, then asked carefully, “Little thing... are you sick in the head?”

Li Zhuiyuan’s pupils contracted.

The figure reached out and patted his shoulder. “No wonder I could be drawn here. I was still wondering why before. Hah. So this is where it landed.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I can’t make sense of it.”

“Little thing, since you have that illness, then you don’t age. Your real age shouldn’t be very great. Maybe only a little older than you are now.”

“My real age?”

“Because when we were drawing formations just now, I could tell. You don’t have the habit of using martial arts. You haven’t trained in them yet. You probably aren’t old enough.”

“I’m still a minor?”

“Damn it, what a beast!”

The figure suddenly roared in rage.

That anger left Li Zhuiyuan completely baffled.

“He’s still a child! How could you be this much of a beast!”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“It will definitely raise the difficulty for you. It will deliberately compete with you. It will purposely make things hard for you. Not because it has emotions, and not because it has gone bad, but because I was here.”

“Because... you were here?”

“It will never allow a second me to appear.”

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