Corpse Retriever

Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze sharpened slightly. He beckoned to them, and a faint stream of black qi swirled around his fingertips, carrying a pressure that ordinary ghosts and specters found hard to resist.

Just by virtue of having learned The Twelve Edicts of Fengdu and being, in effect, the Great Emperor of Fengdu’s only living “successor,” the boy naturally held a kind of innate suppression over ordinary ghosts and spirits in this world.

A pity that because of a few small misunderstandings, the Great Emperor of Fengdu was still mad at him.

The three children left their “father” and followed Li Zhuiyuan back to the Spirit Hall.

Li Zhuiyuan patted Wu Yougen on the shoulder and told him that his older brother hiding off by himself looked very bad.

Seeing that the spirit money in the brazier would keep burning for quite a while, Wu Yougen got up and went to look for his elder brother.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down on a small stool.

He had no intention of stopping the three from continuing their revenge, but their most direct enemy was already dead. And though the three children had taken form, their hands were still clean for now.

Once they were stained with human blood, they would no longer be able to reincarnate.

Unless the three of them happened to meet someone like Tan Wenbin again, someone sincerely willing to share enough merit with them.

But that was almost impossible.

So while they were still clean, it was best to stop here.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the yellow paper by his feet and folded three little boats.

Their mother had given him a red envelope the first time they met, that crumpled bill.

He would treat it as payment for these three paper boats to carry them into reincarnation.

The three children seemed to understand what it meant. Whenever they stayed by Li Zhuiyuan’s side, the ferocity on their faces faded, and they became much calmer.

But instead of rushing to take the paper boats, they all looked together toward the inner room.

That was where their mother was.

She had drunk pesticide and been saved, but her body had collapsed, and she would need a long time to recover.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and said, “Go on.”

The three children ran into the room.

After a while, they came running back out.

Seeing that they were ready, Li Zhuiyuan tossed the three paper boats he had folded into the brazier one by one.

As the paper boats burned, each of the three children also found a paper boat appearing in their hands.

A yin-ferry boat folded by the Dragon King’s own hand, carrying the Dragon King’s blessing, enough to protect them and help them be reborn into a good next life.

This was, in truth, another kind of expenditure of his own merit.

But the last time it had been more like a fine. This time, it was a voluntary donation.

Compared to the merit he had gained this trip by establishing a ritual ground in Nantong and from his team slaying demons and subduing evil, this tiny loss was barely worth mentioning.

The three children, together with the paper boats in their hands, began to fade away.

They were too little. They did not know how to bow or give thanks. They only smiled at the big brother in front of them as they disappeared.

There was not a trace of malice in those smiles, only the pure innocence of children.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head away and refused to look at them. Even now, he still disliked the innocent smiles of children.

In his heart, he merely told himself that this was a very worthwhile deal.

And, while he was at it, he might as well let the Heavenly Dao see it too: Look, Wei Zhengdao and I really are different.

Only Li Zhuiyuan himself had overlooked one thing, or perhaps deliberately blurred it in his mind.

If he truly felt nothing and saw it as nothing more than a transaction, then he would not have needed to come up with so many reasons for it.

“My children, my children, my children!”

The woman’s figure appeared at the doorway.

Her face, which had been deathly pale before, now showed a faint flush of color. Even her overall spirit seemed much better than before.

Li Zhuiyuan only needed one glance to understand that when the three children had gone back into the room to see their mother, they had left something behind for her.

Her body had gradually broken down because she had borne them, and after losing them, her grief had been so overwhelming that she had drunk pesticide.

Compared with their hatred toward their “father,” these three children had always retained attachment toward their mother. Otherwise, witnessing her drink pesticide would not have triggered such intense resentment in them.

Wu Yougen came back, looking bewildered. He had not been able to find his elder brother.

When he saw his sister-in-law come out, lightly dressed, he immediately walked over. He kept his distance and did not dare touch her, only repeatedly saying, “Put on more clothes, put on more clothes.”

Li Sanjiang woke up. Yawning, he stepped out from behind the hanging curtain.

Four people from the Wu family had died all at once. At the funeral, the fourth son’s wife had only shown her face and left, while the third son’s pregnant wife had not come at all. Her parents had taken her to the hospital for an abortion.

But as the eldest brother, Wu Youhou was the head mourner for this funeral. Anyone else could walk away from it, but he could not.

So Li Sanjiang and Wu Yougen went looking for him. They searched for a long time, and at last found Wu Youhou hanging from a tree in a remote corner of the village.

He had hanged himself.

They took him down and sent him to the clinic in town. The doctor checked him and said directly that he was beyond saving.

His death had nothing to do with the three children. By the time he decided to die, Li Zhuiyuan had already sent them off into reincarnation.

When the things he could no longer avoid or ignore turned into bloody, undeniable facts, shame robbed him of the courage to keep living.

He no longer dared to face his wife, much less himself.

Still, as a father, he truly had been unreliable. He had been that way in life, and he was that way in death too.

If Li Zhuiyuan had not sent the three children away in advance, if Wu Youhou had died before them, then the three children would inevitably have been stained with the blood of a human life because of it.

When Wu Youhou’s wife learned that her husband had killed himself, she seemed very calm. Her tears had already run dry, and her emotions had already been exhausted.

Since Wu Youhou had committed suicide and was therefore also considered to have died a violent death, Li Sanjiang suggested that they not hold a separate funeral for him.

The other four were already being buried anyway, so one more made little difference.

There was no more funeral banquet, nor did they continue hiring the funeral troupe to play and sing. Li Sanjiang simply stayed behind and kept the wake going for one extra day.

On the day they were sent to the crematorium, because five people had to be taken to be cremated all at once, the crematorium did not have enough hearses, so they had to transport them in two batches.

As soon as the bodies were burned, the wives from the third and fourth branches came back to divide the property.

That was only natural. A big family had suddenly been shattered by death, and it was bound to split apart. Especially since the wives from the third and fourth branches were still young and had no children.

Li Zhuiyuan helped Taigong pack up their things and ended up witnessing the whole division of the family property.

The Wu family’s affairs had caused a huge stir. After all, in an ordinary household, it was hard enough to gather five people to line up at the crematorium all at once.

On top of that, Luo Jinhua had earlier cursed all the family’s enemies in the village, and in front of the police had sworn and ranted endlessly. She had made the first move, so the villagers could hardly be blamed for retaliating in kind.

A great many people came to watch. Not only did the village party secretary come, but people from the town government and the police also sent representatives.

The Wu family had never split up before. Aside from the money used to subsidize the third and fourth sons’ marriages and jobs, all the household income had remained clenched in Luo Jinhua’s hands.

Now that the family was finally dividing up, the eldest and second branches could actually stand to gain a little.

The parents and relatives from the third and fourth wives’ families came to back them up, hoping to take the larger share of the family property.

It was only because officials were sitting there watching that they did not dare go too far. Otherwise, those two families would most likely have joined forces and forced an even fifty-fifty split.

Wu Youhou’s wife, the eldest daughter-in-law of the family, sat there expressionless.

She had lost her children and her husband. Her own parents were dead too, and she had no support to rely on.

What was happening now was nothing more than a repeat of the family scenes from all those past years. The eldest and second sons had clearly contributed the most to the household, yet all the good things always ended up going to the third and fourth sons.

She did not care.

But someone did.

The usually silent and taciturn second son, Wu Yougen, came out of the woodshed carrying a firewood cleaver, his eyes bloodshot.

The police and the village party secretary stepped forward to persuade him, but he rammed them aside by sheer force.

He swung the cleaver through the air and pointed it at the relatives of the third and fourth branches, roaring like a leopard:

“I can go without, but Sister-in-law can’t. With her health, she won’t survive on her own. It has to be split at least three ways, and she gets a share!

If not, I’ll kill your whole family!”

When an honest man goes mad, that is what truly terrifies people.

His expression, his tone, his eyes—everyone there believed he really could do it.

And so the scene locked into a standoff.

Only after the police and several strong young men from the village worked together to disarm him did they finally take the cleaver away, and then Wu Yougen himself was taken to the police station.

Threatening people with a knife right in front of the police could not go unpunished. Still, considering the circumstances, at most he would be kept there for a lecture and some discipline.

The village party secretary made the final call: the Wu family property would be split into four equal shares, one for each branch.

The relatives from the third and fourth wives’ families no longer dared voice any dissatisfaction. They even tacitly accepted leaving a share for Wu Yougen. There was no helping it. The Wu family had become too uncanny. So many people had died all at once that only one male descendant remained. He could say he did not want anything, but did you really dare give him nothing?

Who knew whether one day, after a few drinks, he might suddenly remember this and come to your house with a cleaver to “have another talk.”

The newly built brick-and-tile houses where the third and fourth branches had lived were assessed and converted into value, and the eldest and second branches would buy out their shares.

By the time all the signatures, thumbprints, and notarizing were done, it was already afternoon before the family division was finally finished.

The relatives of the third and fourth branches left immediately.

Only after they had gone was Wu Yougen released and allowed back from the police station after receiving his lecture.

When he learned that he too had been given a share, he took the initiative to find his sister-in-law and told her that he was healthy and able-bodied, so his share should go to her.

Some villagers who were still lingering around for the excitement had already begun suggesting that Wu Yougen marry his sister-in-law.

After all, her natal family was no longer there for her to return to, and she still had to keep living here. If the younger brother and the sister-in-law lived together under the same roof, then whether it was trouble or not, it would become trouble sooner or later.

These suggestions were made sincerely, with little mockery in them. The sister-in-law had lost three children, had drunk pesticide, was no longer young, and was in poor health. Even if she wanted to remarry, it would be nearly impossible. Only this second brother, who had never married, might be willing and not嫌弃 her.

She was a woman with a bitter fate. At a time like this, finding someone to rely on would be the best possible thing.

Still, these were only words for now. So many funerals had just been held, and it was not suitable to push the matter any further. Some things could only be left to time itself to bring together.

Li Sanjiang rode the tricycle and took Little Yuanhou home.

On the road, Li Sanjiang kept mulling over Wu Yougen’s sudden change.

He said that some people in this world simply wake up late, especially men.

Before marriage, before taking on responsibilities, they were either unreliable or sullen and withdrawn. In any case, they muddled through life in a daze, just like Wu Yougen had.

And it was not that Wu Yougen had secretly coveted his sister-in-law for a long time. From a man’s point of view, there was really nothing there to covet. It was simply that his father was gone and his elder brother was gone too, so he understood that now he had to shoulder things himself.

Luo Jinhua had always kept Wu Yougen under her thumb and never let him marry. If he had gotten married earlier, the Wu family would probably have split long ago.

“A man only becomes a real man once he has responsibility on his shoulders and a sense of duty in his heart.”

Li Zhuiyuan sat in the back listening to Taigong ramble on. He found himself very curious why Taigong, who had never married in his entire life, could speak of such things with such confidence.

But that was one question he would never ask.

“Little Yuanhou.”

“Yes, Taigong.”

“You’re still young now, but when you grow up, you’ll have to learn to shoulder things too.

If a burden is yours and it lands on your shoulders, then no matter how bitter, how tiring, how unwilling you are, you still have to grit your teeth and carry it.”

Perhaps because he had been so affected by what had happened to the Wu family, Taigong, who had always advocated happy education, was for once giving a lesson on responsibility.

“I know, Taigong.”

As Li Zhuiyuan answered, he quietly lowered his head.

The truth was, he had already been facing exactly that situation.

And what had happened to the Wu family was like a negative example that revealed the whole from a single detail, a warning to him.

When it is your turn to stand up, then you must stand up. Avoidance, hesitation, wavering, and inner conflict only allow things to slide toward the worst possible outcome.

A smart person merely learns things quickly; that does not mean they are born already understanding great truths. Otherwise he would not have kept losing at Go to Ah Li. He had learned how to play, yes, but had never truly studied it deeply.

For instance, Xue Liangliang, Professor Zhu, and even his own Taigong all had things worth learning from and understanding.

Only, Li Zhuiyuan had very obviously misunderstood the true direction of Taigong’s buildup.

“So, Little Yuanhou, you may still be young, but you and that girl Ah Li have been playing together for so long now. What do they call that in storytelling again? Spears and horses of gold and iron?”

“Taigong, it’s childhood sweethearts.”

“Yes, yes, that horse. That girl never went to school, and her temperament is a bit cold, but I can tell. In her eyes, there’s nothing but you.

People say you can see the old man in the child of three, and especially with that girl Ah Li, I think that even when she grows up, she probably won’t change much.

That’s good. Really good, Little Yuanhou.”

Li Sanjiang held the tricycle handle with one hand and scratched his head with the other.

His great-grandson was still young. Even he felt it was a bit inappropriate to say such things to him. But he could also sense that his great-grandson was clever enough to understand, so the things that needed to be said still had to be said.

“So, Little Yuanhou, no matter what, don’t hold her back, and don’t let her down.

That snobbish old lady seems to have accepted her lot now too. She no longer puts on the airs she used to.

Don’t take her old behavior to heart. Forget it if you can. After all, it wasn’t easy for her to raise a granddaughter like that.”

“I understand, Taigong.”

“In any case, I, your Taigong, have lived through these things. I think Ah Li is a good girl. When you’re both grown, I’d be happy to see her become my great-grandson’s wife.

I’ve watched her grow up too. She’s one of ours, one of our own.”

“Taigong?”

“Hm?”

“Where exactly did you live through these things?”

Li Sanjiang’s old face flushed red. He pedaled the tricycle hard, letting the rushing wind blow away the boy’s question from behind him.

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan first went to Aunt Zhang’s little shop and called Lu Yi, asking him to beep the other four companions and tell them they could wrap things up and come back.

Then the boy went to Big Beard’s house and entered the peach grove.

It was time to remind that one there that the nap was over.

The wind rose again, just like last time, hard and painfully sharp.

Clearly, it still had not cooled down.

But this time Li Zhuiyuan did not lower his head or dodge. He stood straight and still, letting the cold, cutting wind open one little gash after another across his face.

It definitely hurt.

But this perfectly measured pain actually helped him reflect more clearly on everything that had happened these past few days.

True, in the future, whenever he was forced to choose between personal interests and responsibility, he would still feel pain.

But was this not also a kind of preparation, a way to build resistance against that torment?

When a person begins to understand and think seriously about responsibility, even their bearing starts to change in subtle ways.

And in the peach grove, no slight change could escape its notice.

The wind gradually quieted.

Petals drifted down one after another, settling lightly over the cuts on the boy’s face. When they fell away, the fine little wounds sliced open by the wind were almost completely healed.

Li Zhuiyuan felt a slight itch on his face. He raised a hand and touched it. When he realized the wounds were gone, he suddenly found it a little funny.

He had merely stood here in a daze, thinking about a few things. Yet even that had somehow been enough for the one in the peach grove to stage another whole drama of a hundred twists of sorrow.

It had probably compared him to Wei Zhengdao yet again and perhaps found that it still could not see through him.

It really was such a sentimental person.

“I’m starting to… understand you less and less…”

Hearing that, Li Zhuiyuan sighed and said:

“You must have been truly outstanding back then for Wei Zhengdao to pinch his nose and accept you as part of the team.”

That was not praise. It was helplessness, even teasing.

After all, even Li Zhuiyuan now could not tolerate having a teammate whose inner drama was this rich and whose sensitivity was this extreme.

And Wei Zhengdao back then had been in a much worse state than he was.

“Hahahahahaha…”

Yet this kind of not-really-praise was exactly what made people happiest.

The thing beneath the peach grove laughed with great delight, and even the falling petals there spun a few extra turns as they drifted down.

Its mood was so infectious that even Li Zhuiyuan was affected by it.

Without the slightest intention of performing, the corners of Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth lifted into the faintest smile.

Now he understood a little why Wei Zhengdao had kept him in the team.

Perhaps many times back then, when Wei Zhengdao looked at it, he had felt just as Li Zhuiyuan did now—speechless, but wanting to laugh.

Only Wei Zhengdao had not been able to bring things to a proper close. He had let himself down, let his companions down, and in the end left behind nothing but regret and lament in this world.

He could not make the same mistake.

Li Zhuiyuan’s gaze grew resolute.

The laughter in the peach grove immediately subsided.

“It seems… my nap… is about to end… what a rare, wonderful sleep it was…”

“If you want to sleep, you can keep your eyes closed.”

“In this world, when it comes to saying pretty things… who could compare to the two of you… heh… are you really not afraid I’ll take the excuse… and close my eyes for good?”

“I’m not.”

“Why…”

“Because from today onward, I will keep my eyes open.”