Corpse Retriever

All around them, the peach blossoms that had been drifting down suddenly fell still.

Its figure hunched over as well.

An apology, in itself, has no real meaning.

Its only function is to draw a period at the end, once one side has grown weary, exhausted, and spent.

Wei Zhengdao had not been wrong in teaching the Black Book.

Since it wanted to learn, he taught it.

But that was only the high-sounding version of things.

Putting himself in Wei Zhengdao’s place, from Li Zhuiyuan’s perspective, he could roughly guess that the Wei Zhengdao of that time did not truly care about the companions around him.

Wei Zhengdao probably really did not know the side effects of the Black Book’s secret arts back then, but with his intelligence, was it really possible that he had never even spared a thought for that possibility?

More likely, he could not be bothered to.He had simply felt it unnecessary.

Or perhaps, in the short term, using that secret art to give one of his companions an explosive increase in strength benefited the group he led.

So was the source of its anger beneath the peach tree really that it had personally borne the side effects of the secret art?

What truly tormented and plagued it was that, through that long and painful life of suppressing itself, it had gone over and over those years above ground, chewing them over in memory until it gradually reached a conclusion:

He had never really treated it as a friend.

What angered it even more was that even after so many years, even after everything that had happened, it still could not let him go.

Even in its current state, neither human nor ghost, it still hoped he might die cleanly and with dignity.

Li Zhuiyuan could understand that state. If he had not met Ah Li first, then when facing Tan Wenbin and Runsheng, the way he treated them would probably have been much the same as Wei Zhengdao had once treated his own people.

It was the past version of Tan Wenbin or Runsheng.

If Wei Zhengdao had personally told it back then that he needed it to practice this because it would benefit the team, and that this secret art might cause it severe side effects—

It probably would still have agreed. And even if it had ended up in the same miserable state, at least there would have been no resentment left in its heart.

But Wei Zhengdao back then would never have said such a thing.

Because he was repulsed by that sort of behavior, just as Li Zhuiyuan now felt pained every time he deliberately had to act as though he had “human warmth.”

People like him and Wei Zhengdao rejected that kind of emotional conduct deep in their bones.

The frozen peach blossoms began to fall once more.

It waved a hand, its mood plainly drained.

Li Zhuiyuan knew his goal had been achieved. The conversation about Wei Zhengdao ended here.

Or perhaps, after both sides had gotten the answers they wanted, the truth itself no longer mattered that much.

It turned and walked step by step deeper into the peach grove.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “I’ll keep an eye on things. If I find any part of him that hasn’t been properly destroyed, I’ll clean it up for him.”

It nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “That child—do you want to give him a name? I know you no longer care about such things, but sometimes leaving behind a little sentiment can help pass the time while waiting for death.”

“Yu.”

Yu?

Xiong Yu?

Li Zhuiyuan felt sorry for the child. He was clearly such a clever little boy, yet he had been given a name like that.

Still, whether the boy would like the name when he grew up, Li Zhuiyuan did not know. What he did know was that Xiong Shan and Lihua would be overjoyed with it.

This pair of wandering martial folk had suffered enough from having no backing or family standing. Their own ability and temperament were not enough to break through that ceiling, so they had poured all their regret into seeking protection and a future for their son.

The willingness to leave behind a name was itself a form of recognition.

Taking ten thousand steps back, once the boy grew up, if he got into trouble outside and ran back to Nantong, then knelt before the peach grove, no matter who was chasing him, as long as it had not yet been obliterated, it certainly would not stand by and do nothing.

Li Zhuiyuan said, “Then should his childhood name be Benben?”

It said nothing and kept walking deeper into the grove. Most of its figure had already vanished, though he could still vaguely make out a wave of its hand.

It could mean whatever. It did not care. Let things be. But it could also be understood as a kind of tacit approval:

Fine. Let it be that way.

Li Zhuiyuan thought: What a melodramatic person.

Someone like that, he would never bring into his team. He would not be able to stand all the fuss.

He was already someone without emotions. Was he really supposed to spend extra energy tending to all that sentimentality too?

From that point alone, perhaps when Wei Zhengdao took it in back then, he had already made an inward compromise.

Most regrets come from one’s own immaturity at the time.

If Wei Zhengdao had once drawn a self-portrait of his team, and if Li Zhuiyuan were lucky enough to see it one day, he would probably be able to taste the deep melancholy in it.

It disappeared.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes. Then he opened them again, ending his shade-walk.

Xiong Shan and Lihua were kneeling behind the offering table, trembling.

Because ahead of them, every peach blossom in the grove had fallen, leaving behind nothing but bare branches.

Was that the death of the heart? Letting go?

Only Li Zhuiyuan would even think to guess in that direction. Outsiders would never consider such a factor. They would only think that the being had grown enraged.

The aura it had given off earlier in its surge of emotion had made Xiong Shan and Lihua feel that it could erase them with a single thought.

Having admitted defeat by relighting the lamps a second time, they no longer had the courage to lift their heads high in the face of extreme danger.

That was also why Li Zhuiyuan would never again let them accompany him on river walks. They were not afraid of death, and they were willing to die, but buried within that willingness was a kind of cowardice and evasion.

Still, they were also a mirror that let Li Zhuiyuan see another side of a failed river walk.

And from that, one could also see Granny Liu’s ability. She had forcibly pulled Uncle Qin—who should have spent the rest of his life in decline—back into vigor and spirit. Though he no longer had the sharp edge of his youth, neither was he sunk in the heaviness of old age.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the offering table. Xiong Shan and Lihua, as though they had found their anchor, settled inwardly and slowly rose to their feet.

Holding yellow paper in one hand, the boy leaned it toward the candle to light it, then casually tossed it forward and said:

“The child has a name now. Yu. Xiong Yu.”

Xiong Shan and Lihua both froze for a moment, then immediately dropped to their knees again and kowtowed toward the peach grove.

The reason they had come here was to seek a protected future for their child. They had never expected that in less than two nights, that purpose would already be fulfilled.

This place truly was a blessed land.

“Go back. Time to rest.”

…

Xue Liangliang returned early in the morning.

He had stayed down by the river the entire second half of the night, while Liu Changping had slept in the car until dawn.

After bringing Xue Liangliang back, Liu Changping’s hired-driver job for the trip was considered finished.

He actually could have stayed a few more days. After all, his hire fee was calculated by the day, with fuel paid separately.

But the New Year was close, and because his future brother-in-law had returned, the wedding arrangements after the holiday had to be discussed all over again. He had to go back to sit in on those talks, and he also had to drink with the future brother-in-law.

Xue Liangliang paid the car-hire fee on Tan Wenbin’s behalf.

After all, on the surface the car had been hired for Little Yuanhou, but in reality it had been running all over for his business.

He had also wanted to give Liu Changping an extra red envelope, but Liu Changping firmly refused. He did, however, accept some Nantong local specialties that Li Sanjiang wanted to send him, and loaded them all into the car.

Before leaving, Li Sanjiang followed the local Nantong custom: a youngster making his first visit should receive a red envelope. That meant they were not treating him as just a driver.

Liu Changping accepted it.

But after driving off, he came back once more. He bought quite a bit of cigarettes and alcohol, and fearing Li Sanjiang would refuse them, he set them down on the widened road, laid on the horn several times, and, once he saw someone come out of the house, immediately drove away again.

Those cigarettes and drinks cost much more than the local specialties and the little red envelope.

That morning, Aunt Zhang came to call Li Zhuiyuan to the phone.

Li Zhuiyuan went to answer it. The caller was Yin Meng.

“Little Yuanhou, Granny Liu said she’ll bring Ah Li back to Nantong for the New Year, but since Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu still haven’t returned, she’ll come back a bit later and wait for them so they can come together.”

“Mm, got it.”

“That’s all. We’ll be setting out to come back this afternoon.”

“No hurry.”

“Hm? Little Yuanhou, please be more specific.”

“I was careless when I called yesterday. Since nothing’s going on now, and I’m in Nantong, I’m perfectly safe.

“So you all can also come home a bit later for the New Year.

“Runsheng still can’t get out of bed. If he comes back like this, it’ll only make Taigong and Grandpa Shan feel bad when they see him.

“As for Binbin and A-You, they can stay at school and finish their final exams. That way they won’t have to take makeup exams when school starts again next year.”

“Understood, Little Yuanhou. I’ll tell the others, then report back to you.”

“If they agree, there’s no need to report back. Saves the trouble.”

“Mm, understood.”

Yin Meng hung up and pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pounding wildly.

She immediately went downstairs and informed everyone.

No one had any objection to the arrangement itself, but they were all stunned by Little Yuanhou’s rare display of gentleness.

Lin Shuyou said, “Miss Qin Li isn’t with Little Yuanhou, right?”

Yin Meng said, “She isn’t.”

Lin Shuyou said, “Then... was Little Yuanhou stimulated by something?”

Tan Wenbin said, “How about this, Mengmeng? You go back first. The rest of us can take care of ourselves now. As for Runsheng, A-You and Lu Yi can help look after him. That’ll be fine.”

Runsheng nodded.

Yin Meng said, “No. If Runsheng is left in someone else’s care, I won’t feel at ease.”

After a pause, she added, “Besides, Little Yuanhou has already given instructions. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to head back alone rashly.”

Tan Wenbin said, “All right then. We’ll do as Little Yuanhou says. I should go take a look at the exam schedule too.”

He was not checking the exam schedule to confirm the test times for each subject, but to use his position as class monitor to go cultivate connections with the corresponding instructors.

College exams had always had a great deal of flexibility. Whether they were strict with you or lenient often depended entirely on the teacher’s own mood.

Over the next several days, Tan Wenbin, leaning on his crutch, invited many teachers out for meals and tea.

Teachers who had not marked out the exam scope now marked it out.

Teachers who already had marked it out gave specific sample questions.

The higher math teacher drank too much, got very happy, and directly handed Tan Wenbin the exam paper.

That made Tan Wenbin rather embarrassed. Worried the teacher might get into trouble, he took that one exam, broke it apart, reworked it into three sets, photocopied them, and handed them out to the classmates.

In short, while other classes were still tense and anxious, Class One kept receiving one piece of good news after another.

Tan Wenbin’s status as class monitor rose to an even higher level by finals.

After all, all those annoying things other class monitors did, he did none of them, dumping the lot onto the class secretary instead. And the good things other class monitors could not pull off, he pulled off many of them.

Lin Shuyou’s eyesight had recovered enough for him to read and write again. He excitedly hugged a stack of photocopied exam papers and followed Tan Wenbin back toward the dorm.

“Brother Bin, if the counselor holds another class monitor election next semester, you’ll definitely win again by an overwhelming margin.”

“If every class monitor at this school were like me, this place would become a complete cesspit.”

“Brother Bin, you don’t have to talk about yourself like that.”

“I’m only stating facts. You, on the other hand—aren’t you going back to Fujian for the New Year?”

“I’m spending New Year in Nantong. After that, I’ll go back to my hometown in Fujian.”

“Wouldn’t that be too late?”

“No. Once I return, the family will celebrate New Year all over again.”

At the dorm entrance, Zhou Yunyun stood there waiting with a bag in hand.

The moment Lin Shuyou saw Zhou Yunyun, he reacted like a mouse spotting a cat.

“Hello, Sister Yun.”

After lowering his head and giving the greeting, he ran into the dorm carrying the exam papers.

Tan Wenbin said in puzzlement, “That kid seems to have always been afraid of you.”

Back when he used to go look for Zhou Yunyun, Lin Shuyou would always disappear for half a day. At first, Tan Wenbin had assumed the kid was just tactful enough not to act as a third wheel, but later it started to seem off. It looked more like Lin Shuyou was deliberately avoiding her.

“I washed all the dirty clothes in your dorm for you. These two pieces are torn, so I’ll take them back, mend them, and bring them over again.”

“Don’t do that. If you treat me this well, I’ll get arrogant.”

“How are your injuries?”

“Not bad. I’m recovering well. I probably won’t need the crutch by the time I go home for New Year.”

“Then I’ll go back first. I still have an exam this afternoon.”

“Good luck. Try to get a scholarship.”

“You too.”

“I’ve missed too many classes. I won’t be getting one. It should go to someone more deserving.”

Zhou Yunyun stepped forward and hugged Tan Wenbin, then turned and left.

Tan Wenbin just stood there, watching the girl’s retreating figure.

“She’s already gone, and you’re still staring?”

Behind him came the voice of his own father, Tan Yunlong.

“Dad, how long have you been here?”

“A little while.”

Tan Yunlong had hidden himself for a bit. After all, seeing his son’s girlfriend washing his son’s clothes, as his father, he had been too embarrassed to show his face. He could hardly walk up and say, Let me help you wash them too.

“Dad, the cigarettes are in my pants pocket.”

“You little brat.” Tan Yunlong pulled out his own pack from his pocket.

Tan Wenbin said, “Smoke mine. There’s Huazi in my pocket.”

“Heh.” Tan Yunlong reached into Tan Wenbin’s pocket, pulled out the opened pack of Huazi, took one for himself and one for his son. “Your standards have risen pretty fast.”

“I’ve been busy cultivating relations with teachers lately. How could I manage without decent cigarettes?”

“How come you only ever do this kind of shabby under-the-table stuff?”

Tan Yunlong had spent his whole life disliking flattery and pulling strings, yet the son he had produced was slick with exactly that kind of oil.

Tan Wenbin said, “It’s all right. Society doesn’t have too many scum like me.”

“As long as you know that. Oh, right. Your mother wants you to go back with her and Zhou Yunyun for New Year.”

“What about you? You’re not going back? Director Tan, that won’t do. You get promoted and immediately forget the good folks back home?”

“I’m busy over New Year. I can’t get away.”

“Then I can’t either. I’ve got people here.”

“You little punk.”

“Your old man.”

The father and son quietly smoked together.

In the end, Tan Yunlong could only say, “Then I’ll take half a day off and drive your mother and the others back to Nantong.”

“Now that’s more like it.”

“You really can’t be counted on.” But after saying that, Tan Yunlong laughed himself.

He truly lacked confidence saying those words.

“Dad, let me wish you a happy New Year in advance.” Tan Wenbin cupped his hands in greeting, then stuffed the pack of Huazi into his father’s pocket.

“Keep it. It’s not suitable for me to carry that around. Bad optics.”

“It’s fine. You can sneak a smoke in your office.”

After going back to the dorm, doing a few problems, and reviewing some likely exam material, Tan Wenbin came out again on his crutch and headed to Granny Liu’s house.

The old lady had been in better and better spirits lately. She liked finding people to chat with, but not about serious topics. She preferred everyday gossip.

So Tan Wenbin had specially collected quite a few romantic stories from around school, and had also gathered some family rumors about the teachers from Fatty Wu.

Each time he went, he would sit with the old lady over melon seeds, chatting away all afternoon, then stay until evening to mooch another meal cooked by the chef from Songxiang Tower.

These days he was on crutches and eating well, so he had put on several pounds.

“Oh, old sir, busy, are you?”

“Oh, Mr. Tan has come.”

After a brief greeting, Tan Wenbin hobbled upstairs. The moment he entered the room, he started setting the mood:

“Old Madam, that teacher I told you about last time, the one dating a student? The affair got exposed. Guess what happened...”

…

Li Zhuiyuan’s life had become very regular lately.

Aside from taking walks around the village with Taigong after breakfast and dinner each day, he spent all his remaining time reviewing and reorganizing the formations, feng shui, and arts he had mastered before.

His understanding of the underlying core had deepened, so everything had to be adapted again. Otherwise it would be like using a horse cart to pull a train engine.

It was an extremely complex and tedious systems project.

After all, for the vast majority of people, their core understanding lagged behind their practical application. When most people laid out formations or used techniques, they were operating at the level of knowing that something worked without understanding why.

Li Zhuiyuan was an exception. Even more exceptional was that his core understanding, already at a very high level, had risen by another huge margin.

A happy trouble, really.

Xue Liangliang was still staying here, and his life was also very regular.

Every day before dawn, he rode out from home on his tricycle, and did not come back until evening was nearly fully dark.

Once back, he would sleep like a log, exhausted beyond measure.

He went to bed early and got up early every day, living a fuller life than anyone else in the household.

It made even Taigong sigh again and again. “New Year’s almost here, and that kid is still so busy with work. Really not easy.”

But starting from that day, Xue Liangliang stopped going out, because the village chief had held a meeting. The village was setting aside some residential plots and hiring laborers to build houses in advance.

This was to settle the future migrants who would be relocated from the Three Gorges area.

The village already had professional builders, but Xue Liangliang volunteered and revised some details in the housing design.

After all, self-built houses in every region carried local traditions. Xue Liangliang hoped to preserve some of the design details from the migrants’ original homes, so they might feel at least a little more comfort, a little more like home.

After the designs were revised, Xue Liangliang also joined in as a laborer.

Seeing that, Xiong Shan went too, and Lihua even helped cook meals for the work crew.

Whenever they went on their daily walks, Li Zhuiyuan would follow Taigong over to the construction site to take a look.

Li Sanjiang was old enough to understand all the more clearly how difficult this kind of relocation could be.

Aside from schoolchildren, most people in the countryside could not even speak standard Mandarin, and the Nantong dialect was especially hard to learn and understand. When outsiders were resettled here, even simple conversation with locals often had to be done with gestures and guesses.

Things like houses and land, the state could compensate for.

But there were some things it truly had no way of compensating.

That afternoon, Li Sanjiang rode his tricycle with Li Zhuiyuan and a cart piled full of goods to the post office in town.

Everything had already been packed at home. Li Sanjiang took out a little notebook and had Li Zhuiyuan write the mailing addresses.

Each package contained New Year goods, along with a letter of New Year blessings and thanks that Li Zhuiyuan wrote at Li Sanjiang’s instruction.

The destination was Shanghai.

Back when Li Sanjiang had taken Li Zhuiyuan to Shanghai to have his eyes treated, many people had helped them along the way. This was repayment in thanks. They had also sent a batch before New Year the previous year.

The goods were not many, and not expensive. In Li Sanjiang’s words, if people had helped you for no reason back then, that proved they were not the sort to seek profit in the first place. What they would value more was the sincerity.

After coming back from the post office, Li Sanjiang rode the tricycle again, taking Li Zhuiyuan to Shigang Town to buy New Year goods—not for their own household, but for Li Weihan and Cui Guiying.

Once the purchases were made, he took Li Zhuiyuan along to deliver them.

After all that running around, it was already dark by the time they got home.

Lihua was preparing dinner, and Xue Liangliang, after a full day’s labor, was upstairs taking a bath.

Li Zhuiyuan and Taigong sat out in the yard watching television.

Li Sanjiang, who knew where he had gotten hold of a bag of walnuts, sat with a cigarette in his mouth and cracked them open for his great-grandson.

Taigong cracked them one by one, and Li Zhuiyuan ate them one by one, because Taigong believed walnuts were good for the brain.

On the provincial TV channel, the news was airing. With the Spring Festival approaching, a reporter was interviewing people at a department store, asking the usual classic questions.

The replies they got were:

“New Year keeps getting less and less interesting. These days you can buy and eat anything anytime, so New Year doesn’t feel special anymore.”

“Compared to before, the festive atmosphere of New Year really has gotten weaker and weaker.”

Li Sanjiang handed the walnut he had just cracked to Li Zhuiyuan, glanced up, and cursed in dialect:

“What a bunch of posers.”

By now, Li Zhuiyuan was already thoroughly familiar with the Nantong dialect. He understood curse words too. That phrase essentially meant: putting on airs.

Just then, Xue Liangliang had finished bathing and come downstairs. Smiling, he said:

“They’re in the provincial capital, being interviewed in a department store. The people they’re interviewing are obviously from well-off families.

“The day people in the countryside also start saying New Year feels weaker and weaker and there’s nothing interesting about it—that’s when it’ll truly mean everyone’s lives have gotten better.”

At present, Li Sanjiang’s household was probably in a class of its own in the village, because Li Sanjiang earned a lot and was willing to spend it.

When Li Zhuiyuan stayed at home, there were always enough snacks and drinks for him. Even many city kids from double-income households would envy that treatment.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang. “The houses are finished?”

Xue Liangliang nodded. “Mm. Finished.”

Sure enough, before dawn the next day, Xue Liangliang was out again on his tricycle.

Then another day passed, and Xue Liangliang did not go out. Instead, he stayed obediently at home.

Because his father and mother had arrived.