Chapter 34

Run Sheng cycled happily ahead, feeling that the blue sky, white clouds, fields, and irrigation canals were all so beautiful at that moment.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, every time his grandfather said to him:"Run Sheng Hou, Grandpa's going to play cards. When I win money, I'll buy you meat for dinner!"

Initially, Run Sheng genuinely looked forward to it. Later, whenever he heard those words, he would immediately run to the rice jar to check if there was enough rice left to cook a congee thick enough for their chopsticks to stand in for the evening meal.

Today, Run Sheng finally realized that playing cards... could actually win money.

Under years of family education, he had almost come to believe that playing cards was a kind of sacrifice, similar to making offerings to Bodhisattvas during holidays.

In contrast, Li Zhuiyuan, who was sitting behind him, had a less cheerful expression.

At his feet was a bag of money—loose bills, neat stacks, new notes, crumpled ones. While the absolute sum wasn't exorbitant, considering the current prices and labor costs in the countryside, it was enough for him to set up a small artisan workshop behind his great-grandfather's house.

Occasional good luck in cards was normal; who didn't get to eat dumplings during the New Year?

Essentially, it was still a matter of probability.

But when a string of luck came crashing down densely, the issue gradually transformed from probability into metaphysics.

Recalling his memory loss after the luck-transferring ritual last night, Li Zhuiyuan could now almost certainly conclude: the ritual had taken effect.

Taking effect didn't necessarily mean success; it only meant it had worked and brought about a change, and whether that change was good or bad was still open to question.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how much good fortune his great-grandfather had transferred to him, but judging by the cooperative performance of the other players at the card table, it must have been a considerable amount.

Liu Yumei had told him that his great-grandfather's good fortune wasn't easily acquired; it was more like a transaction.

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu, with their meager wages, worked like oxen and horses, doing every chore at his great-grandfather's house. What they sought was nothing more than a few coins from the hidden corners, as Liu Yumei described them.

He had taken so much at once; what price would he have to pay for it next?

At this moment, there was no overflowing happiness, only overwhelming fear.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, thinking that his act of using good fortune for gambling... was very foolish.

He felt like a short-sighted tomb robber who, after risking his life and enduring countless hardships to finally enter a tomb, only had eyes for the gold and silver coins, completely disregarding artistic treasures like clothes, bronze wares, and porcelain.

"Brother Run Sheng, don't let go with both hands.""Okay, Xiao Yuan.""Brother Run Sheng, cycle a bit slower.""Okay, Xiao Yuan.""Brother Run Sheng, cycle a bit more to the side. No, actually, stay a bit more in the middle.""Never mind, Brother Run Sheng, just cycle normally."

A sudden chill went through Li Zhuiyuan's heart. He worried if an accident might suddenly occur, perhaps a severe car crash for him.

But after a brief period of anxiety, he quickly regained his composure.

If the backlash from his great-grandfather's good fortune was merely this, it would be too cheap, almost making one feel as if they had gotten off easy.

The more this was the case, the more uneasy Li Zhuiyuan felt, because it meant that something much bigger awaited him further down the road.

The tricycle pulled into Grandfather Shan's yard. Run Sheng scratched his head and asked Li Zhuiyuan:"Xiao Yuan, can I borrow a bit of money from you first to buy some more provisions for my grandpa? I'll pay you back when your great-grandfather gives me my wages."

Li Zhuiyuan fell silent.

In the past, he would have undoubtedly said casually, "Just take whatever you need."

But this money, won not by skill but purely by good fortune, felt like a hot potato in his hands. Giving this hot potato to Grandfather Shan seemed somewhat unethical.

Li Zhuiyuan rummaged in the bag, took out a few bills. This amount didn't exceed his initial capital, so it should be fine.

"Not this much, really not this much. I just need to buy my grandpa some more rice, flour, and oil. You've given too much, Xiao Yuan.""It's fine, buy more.""Can't buy too much. If I buy him too much, he'll just sell it, and then he might not even have food to eat.""You really do think of everything.""Heh heh.""Oh, and Brother Run Sheng, you need to keep it a secret that I won money playing cards this time. Don't tell anyone.""But how do I explain the money...?""Just say you won it.""Hmm, okay.""Brother Run Sheng, where's your toilet?""Over there, go around the field ridge behind the house. It's our neighbor's toilet; we share it.""Oh, okay."

As soon as Li Zhuiyuan left, Grandfather Shan ran back from outside.

Although the old man was aged and in poor health, he still had a lot of energy.

This seemed contradictory but wasn't. Such elderly people often didn't linger long on sickbeds; instead, once their time came, they departed very quickly.

It was what the neighbors often said: "I thought he was still quite robust, sigh, how did he just... disappear?"

Grandfather Shan rushed back for two reasons: first, he had lost all his money.

He had a habit: if he lost at cards, he lost, but he would never borrow money to win it back.

Second, he had heard that his own Run Sheng had won a large sum of money at the main hall!

The messengers naturally wouldn't convey the details so precisely. Since they didn't know Li Zhuiyuan, they naturally assumed it was Run Sheng who had won the money playing cards.

"Grandpa, you're back...""Slap!"

Grandfather Shan delivered a harsh slap across Run Sheng's face.

"I told you not to be bad, going to play cards!""I was wrong, Grandpa.""Where's the money?""Huh?""I asked you, where's the money you won?""It's on the tricycle."

Grandfather Shan walked over to the tricycle, saw the bag of money, and his eyes went wide.

"All this... you won it?""No, ah, no, yes, I won it.""It's not right for a child like you to have so much money. I'll hold onto it for you.""No, you can't.""What, you won money and you're reluctant to give it to your grandpa?""The capital, yes, the capital belongs to Xiao Yuan. It's his pocket money.""Oh, is that so..." Grandfather Shan separated half the money in the bag. "Then I'll hold onto your share for you.""Grandpa, this, this isn't right, this...""Alright, no more nonsense. That's how it's going to be. What are you two still doing at home?""Aren't we eating together, Grandpa? I'll go to town later and get some meat. We can have a good meal, just the two of us.""Eat what? You and Xiao Yuan Hou eat. Grandpa's busy."

With that, Grandfather Shan rushed back to the "battlefield," feeling the heavy "bullets" in his pocket as he ran, his heart greatly excited. He had never fought such a wealthy battle in his life.

Li Zhuiyuan returned and saw Run Sheng standing there, looking awkward and embarrassed.

"Xiao Yuan, I'm sorry..."

After hearing Run Sheng's account, Li Zhuiyuan was stunned.

"Xiao Yuan, I was waiting for you to come back here to ask for your permission. Let's make the truth clear. I'll go to the hall now and get your money back from my grandpa!""No need, Brother Run Sheng. We earned this together, and it's only right that Grandfather Shan gets half.""Xiao Yuan, aren't you angry?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. Not only was he not angry, but he was also a little touched.

"Brother Run Sheng, aren't you going to buy things for Grandfather Shan? Hurry up and go.""But my grandpa already took so much money...""What needs to be bought still needs to be bought.""Xiao Yuan, you're really a good person."

Run Sheng cycled off to buy things. Li Zhuiyuan found a small stool and sat down in the courtyard.

Tapping his forehead lightly, he began to recall the content in his books regarding this matter, specifically how this money should be used.

He found it. According to the logic in the book: he could use this money.

But it had to be based on fairness, or on him gaining an advantage. That is to say, when he bought things, it had to be either at a fair price or by him bargaining down the price. He absolutely couldn't let anyone selling him goods or labor feel that he was generous or that they were getting a good deal from him.

Otherwise, the other party would be sharing in this karma, because he too would have enjoyed the additional benefits of this money.

"No wonder there was the concept of guilt by association in ancient times..."

Although its practical purpose was to enhance deterrence against illegal activities, legally speaking, even children in a family benefited from the illicit gains of the family.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and stretched. Just then, Run Sheng returned.

"Xiao Yuan, I bought some cooked food. Grandpa's not here, so we'll have lunch ourselves.""Great."

Run Sheng washed the wok, lit the fire, and started cooking. Besides the purchased braised pork liver and jellyfish salad, Run Sheng also stir-fried some eggs and made a loofah soup.

However, the eggs were burnt, and the soup was gooey and far from refreshing.

"Xiao Yuan, my cooking skills are just like this."

Run Sheng took a bite of his joss stick, then ate a bite of egg with his chopsticks and took a sip of soup, as if actively testing for poison.

Li Zhuiyuan understood this. You couldn't expect someone who rarely got to eat proper meals to have excellent cooking skills.

After the meal, Run Sheng cleaned the house and the yard, then got on his bike and took Li Zhuiyuan home.

Turning from the main road onto the village path, they saw Pan Zi and Lei Zi, covered in dirt, pushing a cart of bricks.

At that time, summer jobs were hard to find even in the city, let alone in the countryside.

More distant places were inconvenient for commuting, so a kiln factory close to home was considered a relatively good option. Although it was hard work, the pay was daily.

It was also quite suitable for young people like Pan Zi and Lei Zi to earn some money for themselves during the summer vacation.

"Brother Pan Zi, Brother Lei Zi!""Hey, Yuan Zi.""Hey, Yuan Zi."

Pan Zi had a blood scab at the corner of his mouth, and Lei Zi had bruises around his eyes – these were all marks of paternal love.

"Yuan Zi, good thing you left early that day, haha.""Exactly, it's a good thing you left first, otherwise you would have been stuck in the police station with us, and had to get your blood drawn too.""Brothers, thank you for not mentioning me.""How could we? We're brothers; how could we betray a brother?""Exactly, you're our little brother. How could older brothers not protect their younger brother?"

In truth, they weren't so brave as to intentionally conceal it for Xiao Yuan. Rather, they knew very well that if they told their fathers and grandfathers that they dared to take Xiao Yuan Hou to watch adult films, they would likely be beaten even more severely.

"Brothers, are you heading back to the kiln?""Yes, we're delivering bricks to the kiln today," Lei Zi said, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket—whoever gave it to him, he didn't know. He put it in his mouth, smoothly took out a match to light it, took a drag, and then handed it to Pan Zi.

Pan Zi took it, inhaled, and handed it to Run Sheng.

This practice of a few brothers sharing one cigarette was very common at the time. Cigarettes could even be sold individually at the convenience store.

Run Sheng shook his head, pulled out a joss stick, lit it with a match, took a puff, and blew out a smoke ring.

Pan Zi and Lei Zi stared in disbelief and asked, "What are you smoking?"Run Sheng replied, "An authentic cigarette."

Immediately, Run Sheng offered the burning joss stick to them, intending to share.

Pan Zi and Lei Zi quickly shook their heads, declining the offer.

Then, Pan Zi looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "Xiao Yuan, tomorrow Sihai Zi's family is building a fish pond. We're going to help out. Do you want to come? They'll provide a meal, and you can even take some fish.""I won't go. Great-grandpa hasn't allowed me to go out recently. Today was an exception, just to accompany Brother Run Sheng to deliver things to his grandpa.""Oh, is that so? What a shame.""Then we'll bring you a fish tomorrow night.""No need. You take them home to eat. Brothers, you're busy. I'll head back now.""Okay, Yuan Zi. We'll find you another time to hang out."

After the tricycle had traveled a short distance, Run Sheng asked curiously, "Xiao Yuan, do you not want to hang out with those brothers of yours?""No, they're quite good to me.""Then why...""Brother Run Sheng, I just don't plan on going out much recently."

Until he resolved the issue of good fortune on himself, Li Zhuiyuan decided not to go out unless absolutely necessary, especially avoiding places involving water.

Pan Zi and Lei Zi asking him to watch them build a fish pond was already a significant taboo area. He worried that if he went now, who knew what else besides fish might be "dug out."

Back home, he didn't see A Li sitting behind the threshold of the East House on the courtyard. Li Zhuiyuan guessed the girl must be in her room now.

She had indeed changed a lot, no longer simply sitting there in a daze. Even when he wasn't around, she would make some spontaneous movements.

Liu Yumei sat on a chair at the entrance of the East House, her hands folded in front of her, eyes closed as if napping.

Sensing someone had returned, she slowly opened her eyes, casually looking at the boy again. At the same time, the fingers of her left hand, which were folded under her right, began to make calculation gestures.

Then, she had to stop again.

Because the boy turned his head, showing her the back of his head, and while asking Aunt Liu in the West House what was for dinner and how the joss sticks were coming along, he maintained that posture and walked into the house.

A doubt arose in Liu Yumei's mind: Was it a coincidence or intentional?

It must be a coincidence. If it were intentional, that would be too absurd.

To perceive her divination, one would need to be at least at her level of mastery in divination. How could that be possible?

She knew this child was reading books, and she knew this child had built a number of practical tools based on designs in those books. With each encounter, she learned how intelligent this child was.

She had already elevated this child highly in her mind, grudgingly admitting that he had indeed embarked on this path. But no matter what, he couldn't possibly have reached such an outrageous level.

Liu Yumei had always been in this house, so she was certain the boy had no teacher; Qin Li had only taught him some basic horse stance. If merely reading books could lead to such a level, then hadn't her entire life been lived in vain?

It was just today's incident that felt off. How could Li Sanjiang's good fortune have depleted so much all at once?

She would have to observe again tomorrow. If Li Sanjiang's fortune could slowly recover, then everything would be as usual. But if it continued to deplete like this, then things would be troublesome.

Distraught, Liu Yumei stood up. She wanted to go back inside and chat with "everyone."

She sat down in front of the altar, picked up a shortbread, and was about to start talking when she suddenly looked at the ancestral tablets on the altar with a puzzled expression:"Why does it feel a bit sparse?"

Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs and saw Li Sanjiang washing his hair with laundry detergent beside the water vat.

"Great-grandpa, didn't you wash it this morning?""I was just lying there taking a nap. Don't know where that dead bird came from, but it pooped on my head again. Don't know what's wrong today, getting bird poop on me twice in one day, really bad luck."

Li Zhuiyuan probably guessed why.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, why are you back so early? Didn't Shan Pao ask you to stay for dinner?""Grandfather Shan is busy playing cards.""Ha, that old geezer, always up to his usual tricks. Oh, right, did you buy the things?""Yes, bought them. Rice, flour, and oil are all stocked up. Great-grandpa, you really do care about Grandfather Shan.""Of course. If he starved to death, I wouldn't have anyone to help me when there's big work to be done. Although Shan Pao has a bad temper, he's capable and always comes in handy."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, indeed.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, what's in that black bag you're carrying?"Li Zhuiyuan held up the bag of money in his hand: "I bought some candy for A Li. Great-grandpa, would you like to try one?"

Just like last time, Li Zhuiyuan still planned to ask Aunt Liu to handle the purchasing and price negotiation for him. With Aunt Liu's expertise, the money would certainly be spent wisely.

If he went himself, being inexperienced and not frequently buying things, he could easily be overcharged.

Merchants set prices based on the customer, and Li Zhuiyuan understood that. That's why he didn't go himself; he wasn't a misfortune spreader, and those small vendors didn't deserve such bad luck.

In fact, downstairs just now, Li Zhuiyuan had intended to give the money to Aunt Liu, but then Grandma Liu Yumei was secretly watching him.

Really, watching in the morning, watching in the afternoon, she never seemed to get tired.

"I don't eat that. Get me another towel.""Okay."

After getting a towel for Li Sanjiang, Li Zhuiyuan walked towards his own room.

On the way, he pushed open Li Sanjiang's bedroom door, intending to check the formation on the tiles again, only to find it had been wiped away.

To this day, he didn't understand how the formation could still be effective when he had clearly tampered with and modified it yesterday.

He took a few steps back, turned sideways, and looked at his great-grandfather, who was still washing his hair.

The most helpless part was that he couldn't discuss this with his great-grandfather, even though his great-grandfather was the most important person involved.

Because Li Zhuiyuan knew that even if he asked his great-grandfather to recreate the formation he had drawn last night, his great-grandfather would surely draw a new one.

Arriving at his room door, Li Zhuiyuan pushed it open and saw A Li sitting on a small stool, carving wooden scrolls with a carving knife.

He hadn't actually told A Li that the black canvas was broken, but the girl discovered it herself and proactively helped him replenish the wooden scrolls.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the opposite side of the girl and watched her carve intently.

This scene was very similar to how the girl used to watch him read diligently.

As the girl carved, she would occasionally lift her eyes to look at him, much like his own responses to her when he was reading.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that this was probably the most comfortable way for friends to interact.

No compromises, just pure enjoyment.

After watching quietly for a good while, Li Zhuiyuan's previously anxious heart seemed to have completely calmed down.

He stood up and walked to his desk, intending to put the money he had won inside.

He opened the drawer and saw that it was not only filled with four stacks of brand-new money but also six small gold bars.

He didn't need to guess to know who had put them there.

Although Li Zhuiyuan certainly wouldn't keep this money and gold bars, he planned to take them downstairs and return them to Grandma Liu Yumei later.

But how should he put it? It didn't stop his heart from feeling a little corrupted at that moment, especially after glancing at the black bag in his hand again...

It turned out he didn't have to work so hard.

Li Zhuiyuan found an empty box, put the money and gold bars from the drawer inside, then walked back to the girl, sat down again, and said very seriously:"A Li, thank you. I'm really happy to see what you brought me, but I can't accept them."

A Li stopped her carving knife and looked up at the boy.

Confusion showed in her eyes. She didn't understand why, after seeing the boy smiling at the money in his hand that morning, he wouldn't accept it when she offered it to him.

Furthermore, every time Li Sanjiang gave him pocket money, he took it and smiled very happily.

And she had so many things like that at her home.

"A Li, gifts also have appropriate values and meanings. Next time, before you give me something, you can ask me first. If it's suitable, I'll accept it, okay?"

A Li showed a thoughtful expression, then nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan froze. He had just seen the girl nod, and it was a significant nod, not the barely perceptible one from before.

"A Li, did you really understand?"

The girl nodded again, indicating she had understood.

"Then if you hadn't understood, how would you indicate it?"

The girl shook her head, with the same amplitude as a normal person.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. This meant the girl's condition had made significant progress today.

Although he didn't know why.

Li Zhuiyuan's smile suddenly froze for a moment. Could it be... because of him today?

Trying to push away his inner worries, Li Zhuiyuan decided to talk about something cheerful:"Aunt Liu said she bought some wood-smoked ham today, seems like it's from Jinhua, Zhejiang. We can try it tonight. A Li, have you ever eaten anything wood-smoked before?"

A Li shook her head.

"It's a special flavor made by burning this and smoking... hmm?"

Li Zhuiyuan casually picked up a wooden scroll next to him.

Last time he made the black canvas, the wooden scrolls inside were made from a piece of wood he took from the woodshed, which he then planed out with a small plane.

This time, A Li was making them herself, which meant she had planed out the wooden scrolls herself.

But why were these wooden scrolls not yellowish-white this time? Instead, they were glossy black and carried a unique, pleasant aroma.

"A Li, what kind of wood did you use to plane these?"

A Li pointed under the small table.

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head to look, and his eyes immediately widened, because underneath the table were three ancestral tablets!

"Grandma Liu, these are for you."

Inside the East House, Li Zhuiyuan placed the box containing money and gold bars on the table beside Liu Yumei.

Liu Yumei opened the box, glanced inside, and then closed it again.

"Grandma, aren't you going to count them?""They've all been returned; what's there to count?""That's good."

Li Zhuiyuan also placed a fertilizer bag on the table.

Liu Yumei opened the bag's mouth, looked inside, then immediately stood up, took out the three ancestral tablets, wiped them clean, and placed them on the altar.

"A Li, Grandma will give you anything you want to play with, but what's fun about ancestral tablets? Don't touch them next time."

Liu Yumei continued to speak softly, not scolding her granddaughter.

Then, she began to count the tablets one by one with her fingers.

She seemed to have forgotten what she had just said: "They've all been returned; what's there to count?"

"Hmm, why are a few still missing?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't respond, because the missing ones had already become wooden scrolls.

He couldn't very well bring over a whole bag of wooden scrolls, could he? Besides, half of them had already been carved with patterns by A Li.

"Xiao Yuan, did you look again? Maybe A Li took them out and they ended up somewhere else?""Grandma, I've looked. There are only these three."

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't intentionally shirking responsibility; he simply felt that Liu Yumei would definitely find it easier to accept missing tablets than 'dismembered' tablets.

"Sigh."

Liu Yumei sighed, looking at Qin Li with a hint of resentment.

The good news was that her granddaughter, who used to be disinterested in everything, was now noticeably more lively, even taking family money to give to outside men.

But you can take money and gold bars, why take ancestral tablets?

"Grandma Liu, I told A Li that she won't touch the ancestral tablets again. Isn't that right, A Li?"

A Li nodded.

Liu Yumei could only helplessly rub her forehead. Then, she suddenly trembled, looking at A Li in disbelief.

Li Zhuiyuan: "A Li, Grandma wants to confirm if you understand. Quickly tell Grandma that you understand."

A Li nodded again.

Liu Yumei immediately burst into tears, turned to look at the altar, and said with a choked voice:"The ancestors have manifested! The ancestors have blessed us!"

Walking out of the East House, he helped close the door. Inside, Liu Yumei was leading A Li in thanking the ancestors on the altar.

Li Zhuiyuan let out a long breath. He had managed to muddle his way through this matter.

He quickly went upstairs, brought down the bag of money, and handed it to Aunt Liu, who was busy in the kitchen.

"Xiao Yuan, where did you get all this money?"

Just then, Run Sheng was also in the kitchen, eating a joss stick and smelling the aroma from the pot as he waited for dinner. He immediately replied:"I won it playing cards!"

Aunt Liu looked at Run Sheng with a suspicious gaze; clearly, she didn't believe him.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Aunt Liu, here's the list. Please help me procure another batch of items. Also, please find two masons to help me build a small workshop behind the house, against the back wall. It doesn't need to be too big, just about the size of the woodshed."

Run Sheng said, "No need to hire anyone, I can do it. I know how to lay bricks; I built the wall around our house."

Li Zhuiyuan ignored Run Sheng's unsolicited offer. He had seen the dilapidated state of Grandfather Shan's house wall today.

He certainly didn't want the workshop to collapse on him while he was busy working inside it later.

"Okay, Auntie understands.""Also, Auntie, you need to be careful.""Careful about what?""This money isn't clean. Don't let it dirty your hands.""Hmm?" Aunt Liu touched the bag, understanding dawned in her eyes, and she nodded. "Don't worry, I understand."

Run Sheng asked, puzzled, "Does it matter if money is clean or dirty?""Yes, Brother Run Sheng. Paper money passes through many hands when it circulates, so it's bound to have a lot of germs on it.""Oh, I see."

There was still some time until dinner, so Li Zhuiyuan didn't go back to the second floor but went to the basement instead.

In "The Righteous Demon-Subduing Records," whether it was crafting tools or practicing martial arts, both required a significant amount of time and effort, making it almost impossible to achieve instant success. So, Li Zhuiyuan decided to choose another set of books to read during his spare time.

"Click!"

The flashlight turned on, and Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the boxes.

Suddenly, at the edge of the flashlight's beam, there seemed to be a wriggling dark shadow.

Li Zhuiyuan was startled and instinctively pointed the flashlight at it. The long dark shadow seemed startled too and began to slither quickly.

It was a small snake!

"Phew..."

Li Zhuiyuan pursed his lips. He was genuinely afraid something terrifying had entered the basement.

However, after moving left then right, the small snake turned and slithered towards Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't particularly afraid of snakes; he had been to some excavation sites with his mother before, where there were many snakes.

However, he wasn't professional or brave enough to ignore a snake, even a small one. So, he kept backing away, and when his back hit a box, the copper lock on it made a crisp sound.

This noise must have startled the snake. It quickly changed direction, and Li Zhuiyuan's flashlight beam stayed on it until it disappeared into a crack in the corner, a crack as thick as a finger.

After the snake left, Li Zhuiyuan turned around to look at the box he had just bumped into.

This box, being at the very edge of the stack, had never been opened by him before.

"Well, this time, it's you."

He put the flashlight on the ground, placed both hands on the box lid, took a horse stance, and exerted force.

"Creak!"

The box lid opened and flipped backward.

Li Zhuiyuan clapped his hands. He felt that his strength had increased significantly since he consistently practiced the horse stance Uncle Qin taught him. Unlike the strength increase from his physical development, this was more about the use and control of his own power.

He picked up the flashlight and shone it on the books inside the box, finding them covered in a lot of dust—not from being sealed away, but from being dusty when they were packed.

He tilted his head and blew several times, only then did the covers of the top row of books barely become visible.

Based on past experience, the books on top of each box were usually quite ordinary; the good books had to be dug out from underneath.

Li Zhuiyuan had originally intended to do the same, until he saw the titles of the two sets of books placed in the middle of the very top row.

"The Liu Clan's Qi-Sensing Manual," "The Qin Clan's Dragon-Observing Method."

Liu Clan, Qin Clan?

In Li Zhuiyuan's mind, the ancestral tablets on the altar in the East House, bearing the surnames of the Qin and Liu clans, involuntarily appeared.

"It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?"

Li Zhuiyuan took out these two sets of books. They were very simple, without covers.

"The Liu Clan's Qi-Sensing Manual" had three volumes, all quite thick; "The Qin Clan's Dragon-Observing Method" had four volumes, also quite thick, and they weren't divided into volumes based on chapters.

"Did Grandma Liu put them here with Great-grandpa?"

Li Zhuiyuan quickly shook his head. No, his great-grandfather had said that the books in the basement had been stored with him for many years, but Liu Yumei and her family hadn't been living with his great-grandfather for very long.

It was even less likely that Liu Yumei knew there were books in his great-grandfather's basement and secretly put her family's unique techniques there.

Firstly, Liu Yumei had no reason to do so. Secondly, the dust on the books silently spoke of how long they had been sealed away.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the first volume of "The Liu Clan's Qi-Sensing Manual." As soon as he turned the page, he frowned. The handwriting was too messy and ugly.

It wasn't cursive or flowing script; it was more like the person who wrote it was pressed for time, writing quickly, and had no calligraphic training, resulting in simply ugly, illegible scrawls.

Many characters in it, Li Zhuiyuan even needed to infer from the context to guess what they were.

He quickly flipped through a dozen pages and found that the layout of the text varied on each page, and the volume and chapter titles weren't at the beginning of a fresh page but mixed within the content.

A scene appeared in Li Zhuiyuan's mind: someone, with their left hand continuously turning pages of an exquisite set of books, while their other hand rapidly transcribed onto a blank notebook in front of them.

While writing, they kept looking around, fearing someone might come.

Therefore, this should be a pirated copy.

Li Zhuiyuan then opened "The Qin Clan's Dragon-Observing Method" and quickly flipped through it. Indeed, it was consistent: also a pirated copy.

That almost certainly determined that these two sets of books had nothing to do with Liu Yumei.

Li Zhuiyuan remembered Liu Yumei telling him that she knew what kind of books he was reading, but judging from her tone, she probably only thought he was reading some esoteric books and wasn't aware that he was reading valuable handwritten rare editions.

Furthermore, Liu Yumei probably hadn't entered the basement. Both Liu Yumei and Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu had a good sense of propriety and didn't deeply interfere with his great-grandfather's affairs or belongings.

If Liu Yumei had been to the basement and looked through these boxes, she wouldn't have allowed these two sets of books to remain there. This would be stealing their two families' legacies, a great taboo.

"Alright, these two sets it is."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't even know if he was curious about the content of these two sets of books or about the affairs of the Qin and Liu families.

He closed the box, carried the two sets of books out of the basement, and after going upstairs to the second floor, placed the books on his desk. He then tore off each book's cover, rolled it up, lit it, and one by one dropped the burning pieces into his water cup.

To some extent, he still needed to conceal them.

These two sets, totaling seven books, had the most legible and clearest writing on their covers—the book titles themselves.

Li Zhuiyuan liked to read on the second-floor balcony, but he shouldn't accidentally let Liu Yumei look up and see the book titles.

As for A Li, who liked to sit beside him and read with him, that was fine; he didn't need to hide it, as A Li wouldn't tell on him anyway.

Aunt Liu's voice came from the courtyard:"Dinner's ready!"

Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and sat at his small table. A Li was already sitting there, waiting for him.

"Are you hungry?"

A Li nodded.

A smile reappeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He felt that if things continued to improve, the girl might not be far from being able to speak.

But what if it continued...

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"

Li Sanjiang sneezed three times in a row. He had washed his hair before dawn; he must have caught a cold.

"Great-grandpa, after dinner, I'll go with you to Dr. Zheng's to get some medicine or a shot.""No, I'm not going. It's just a small ailment, a good night's sleep will fix it."

Aunt Liu brought the soup and set it down, chuckling: "There are people in this world who are very diligent in urging others to see a doctor, but when they themselves fall ill, they refuse to go no matter what."

Li Zhuiyuan said again, "Great-grandpa, it's settled. I'll go with you later."

This time he emphasized his words, because he worried that his great-grandfather's current condition might not withstand an illness.

"Alright, alright,