Chapter 45

"What?! Grandpa broke his leg!"

Run Sheng was completely stunned. He had been found by Grandpa Shan by the river. Although the two often lived hand-to-mouth, they went without food together, forging a sincere and deep bond.

Tan Wenbin's eyebrows shot up in excitement; he felt like doing a few ballet pirouettes on one foot. He finally had a chance to see a drowned body!

Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, felt a pang of guilt. Calculating the time, it was roughly after he had gone to Xiting Town and won money playing cards, when Grandpa Shan took half his winnings.

Ah, it seemed that ill-gotten gains were indeed difficult to spend.

"What are you standing there for?" Li Sanjiang shouted at Run Sheng. "Hurry up and get your gear ready to go!"

"Oh, okay." Run Sheng immediately went inside to grab his things. This time, he wasn't just going to see his grandpa; he also had a job to do.

"Uncle Li, I want to go too. Take me with you."

Tan Wenbin was practically clinging to Li Sanjiang, afraid of being left behind again.

"Alright, alright, I'll take you."

Li Sanjiang readily agreed because the call had informed him that the drowned body was floating and sinking in a section of the river. Several villagers had seen it, but when they gathered people to search, they couldn't find it again.

Such a drowned body wasn't dangerous; it just required effort to find. Bringing an extra person along was only sensible.

"Great-grandpa."

"What is it, Little Hou Yuan?"

"I want to visit Grandpa Shan."

"Of course, let's go together."

Run Sheng, eager to see his grandpa, pedaled the tricycle at top speed.

The three people sitting behind him were awkwardly gripping the sides of the vehicle.

The middle section of the tricycle was occupied by three large bundles of equipment.

Li Sanjiang's gear, Li Zhuiyuan's gear, plus Run Sheng's own equipment—Run Sheng had loaded it all.

"I say, Hou Run Sheng, why did you bring so much stuff? We're going to retrieve a drowned body, not build a house for your family."

Run Sheng didn't reply; he was cycling too fast, and the whistling wind drowned out the complaints from behind.

Li Sanjiang didn't bother to argue further. He pulled out his compass from his pocket and began to seriously calibrate it.

Li Zhuiyuan took out his purple compass from his bag and started calibrating it as well. If they were going to look for a drowned body, this was certainly necessary.

As for the one in his great-grandpa's hand, it couldn't find drowned bodies; its only use was to take everyone to the South Pole to find penguins.

Just outside Grandpa Shan's house, through the half-collapsed wall, they could see him sitting alone in the courtyard. His leg, in a cast, rested on a nearby bench. He was peeling and eating a sweet potato, his dentures set aside.

Li Sanjiang got off the tricycle, his voice preceding his arrival.

"I say, Shan Pao, even if your teeth are bad, you shouldn't go drinking thin gruel!"

The sweet potato slipped from Grandpa Shan's hand and fell to the ground. He knew that old man had found out about him falling into the cesspit. His old face immediately turned red, and he quickly grabbed his walking stick, intending to get up, jump back into the house, and close the door.

But in his haste, he lost his balance and fell directly to the ground instead.

Footsteps were already approaching from behind him.

Enraged, Grandpa Shan fiercely pounded the ground with his fist, biting his lip tightly!

Li Sanjiang reached out, helped him up, and guided him back to his seat, then patted the dirt off his clothes.

Grandpa Shan, still fuming, said, "Who asked you to come?"

Ignoring his grumpy retort, Li Sanjiang chuckled, "Shan Pao, if something happens, you still need to send someone to tell me. After all, we've been old friends for so many years. Seriously, don't just leave without a word; I'd be lonely."

These words were sincere, and the expression on Grandpa Shan's face softened.

"Hou Sanjiang..."

"Even if you're going to die, don't die in a cesspit! It's good that you were found early, but if you'd been soaking there all night, when I came to hold your funeral and conduct the rites, I'd have to endure the smell while changing your burial clothes. How disgusting would that be!"

Grandpa Shan was speechless.

Li Sanjiang pulled out two cigarettes, put one in his own mouth, and slipped one into Grandpa Shan's. Then, with a glance, he called out,

"Zhuangzhuang."

"Coming!"

Tan Wenbin pulled out his matchbox, struck a match, and lit the cigarettes for Li Sanjiang and Grandpa Shan in turn.

"Shan Pao, come stay with me. You can return after your injury heals."

"No, I won't. It's just one broken leg; I can eat and drink on my own. It's no big deal."

"Then let Run Sheng come back and look after you?"

Grandpa Shan mumbled for a moment, then still shook his head, "No need. Run Sheng is doing well staying with you, eating well, sleeping well, and growing stronger. The boy is living a good life; why would I hold him back?"

This sounded touching, but Li Sanjiang waved his hand and said, "Hou Run Sheng, quickly go inside and check the rice jar and oil container."

Run Sheng ran into the house and quickly ran back out, exclaiming in surprise, "Grandpa, did you really sell all the rice, flour, and oil I bought for you last time?"

Those items would have to be scraped out of the jars and sold piece by piece. Just how desperate must he have been to do that?

Grandpa Shan blew out a puff of smoke, hoping to shield his embarrassed face with it.

"I don't know what happened those two days. I kept getting good cards but always lost. I kept losing, yet it kept giving me hope. It was truly bizarre."

"Ha, so you don't want Run Sheng to come back because you're afraid if he does, you won't even have enough sweet potatoes to eat, right?"

Grandpa Shan turned his face away, saying nothing.

"I'm telling you, old Shan Pao, you're a grandpa, for goodness sake. Even if you don't leave anything for your grandson, don't be such a spendthrift. In a few years, when Hou Run Sheng wants to find a partner, which girl's family would agree to him, looking at this dilapidated house? Now look at me, how I'm saving up for my Little Hou Yuan's future. It's hard to say about the city, but among the girls in the surrounding villages, won't my Little Hou Yuan be able to pick and choose freely?"

Grandpa Shan immediately caught the key point and asked, "What's wrong? Little Hou Yuan can't go back to the capital?"

Li Sanjiang's expression changed, and he took a hard drag on his cigarette.

"What did you do? The boy's Beijing residency permit is gone?"

"You shut up!"

"Don't tell me to shut up again, or I'll have a good talk with you about the benefits of a residency permit."

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Grandpa Shan and asked, "Grandpa Shan, your leg isn't serious, is it?"

"Not serious, not serious. It'll be fine with some rest," Grandpa Shan waved his hand, looking a bit embarrassed.

He hadn't realized it when he took the money last time; it was only later, back at the card table, that he understood clearly. It turned out the main player was the younger boy, not the older one, and Run Sheng had merely run an errand, with Little Hou Yuan providing the capital. Yet, he had actually taken half the money.

But the money was already lost and couldn't be returned. Thinking about what he had done, he felt utterly ashamed.

"Hou Run Sheng," Grandpa Shan looked at Run Sheng, "From now on, you must listen to Little Hou Yuan."

Since he had no money to repay, he could only offer a person instead.

Run Sheng nodded, "Grandpa, I understand."

"Are you here? I said, are you here?" The local village chief's shouts came from outside; he had made the earlier call.

Grandpa Shan, still unaware of the situation, asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Sanjiang retorted impatiently, "If it weren't for the drowned body here, we wouldn't have known you broke your leg!"

"Well, then hurry up and get to work. Get the job done."

"Mhm."

Just as Li Sanjiang was about to stand up, he heard his great-grandson say, "Great-grandpa, you can stay here and chat with Grandpa Shan. Brother Run Sheng can go alone."

Grandpa Shan said anxiously, "Isn't Run Sheng still a bit unreliable?"

Li Zhuiyuan replied, "Grandpa Shan, Brother Run Sheng used to be unreliable, but he's changed since following my great-grandpa. You'll see if you wait."

Grandpa Shan pursed his lips, "You, Little Hou Yuan."

Li Sanjiang, however, was pleased to hear this and patted his knee.

"Alright, let Hou Run Sheng go find that drowned body first. If there's any problem, come back and call me immediately."

Having successfully coaxed his great-grandpa to stay home, Li Zhuiyuan immediately waved at Run Sheng.

Run Sheng understood. After hoisting a set of body retrieval tools onto his shoulder, he tossed Little Yuan's set to Tan Wenbin.

The three then followed the village chief to a section of the river. The river itself wasn't very wide, but both banks were covered in woods, and the reeds along the shore grew densely, severely obstructing their view.

"This is the section. For the past few days, many people have told me they saw a dead body floating here. I brought people over a few times, but we couldn't find it. It's truly strange. How about you search first? When you find it and need help, come to the village and call me. I have some urgent matters to attend to."

Run Sheng nodded. "Okay, Village Chief, you go ahead and take care of your work."

The village chief took out cigarettes and offered one to Run Sheng, who declined. Little Yuan was too young, so in the end, Tan Wenbin took one and tucked it behind his ear.

After the village chief left, Li Zhuiyuan stood by the river, holding his compass.

The village chief likely left because he didn't have much hope of finding the floating body that day. He had probably organized search parties for this section of the river before, all to no avail. Hiring body retrievers was a last resort, at least it showed the villagers they were trying.

Tan Wenbin was fully in character, asking seriously, "Brother Little Yuan, should Run Sheng and I split up and walk along the riverbanks to check?"

"Brother Binbin, you go. Brother Run Sheng, you stay with me."

"Is it because my observational skills are better than his?"

"It's because I'm afraid I'd be in danger if Brother Run Sheng isn't by my side."

"Then... then I'll stay by your side and protect you too."

Li Zhuiyuan knew he was being overly cautious. No strange incidents had occurred in the village, and the villagers who saw the drowned body had left safely, indicating that it was likely just an ordinary floating corpse.

However, given that Siyuan Village had even seen a water burial from the Southern Liang period, he truly didn't dare to be overconfident now. It was better to proceed with caution.

Holding the compass, he walked slowly along the riverbank. After a considerable distance, he found no anomalies in the feng shui energy, and naturally, no drowned body either.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Could it have drifted to another section of the river?"

"Possibly," Li Zhuiyuan pointed at the water's surface. "It could also be that there's an opening somewhere under the river, sucking the body down."

"Such a thing exists?"

"Like the plug at the bottom of a bathtub at home."

"Doesn't that mean we'd have to dive to find it? I mean, you brought so much gear, why didn't you think of getting some oxygen tanks?"

Run Sheng replied, "This equipment is specifically for drowned bodies that can move."

"Oh, good stuff," Tan Wenbin patted the burlap sack on his back.

Unknowingly, they had reached a bend in the river, where a recently built bridge stood ahead.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped. They had already covered the section of the river the village chief described, yet still found nothing.

Tan Wenbin nudged Run Sheng's arm and asked, "Um, have you ever encountered a situation like this before, where you came to retrieve a drowned body but couldn't find it?"

"Yes, I have. I remember back then, my grandpa and great-grandpa would set up an altar and perform a ritual to 'call the person,' making it float to the surface."

Hearing this, Tan Wenbin leaned closer to Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Brother Little Yuan, do you know how to do that?"

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly.

Tan Wenbin quickly added, "It's okay, it doesn't matter if you don't. You're still the best in my heart, brother."

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. He did know how.

Both Wei Zhengdao's and the Qin and Liu families' texts actually recorded many methods for "calling people."

The problem was, his great-grandpa and Grandpa Shan might have only learned the superficial forms. If they succeeded, it was attributed to their profound skill; if they failed, it was because the drowned body was unusual. Essentially, it was all about luck.

But he himself truly knew how to set up offerings based on feng shui to attract them. He genuinely knew how.

Yet, the more he truly knew, the less he dared to use it carelessly. What if the drowned body had already drifted away and wasn't here? Besides, there were many graves nearby, and the situation in the river was unclear. If he truly set up an offering, what if it didn't summon the drowned body but instead attracted something inexplicable?

"Let's cross the bridge and walk back from that side."

Li Zhuiyuan walked onto the bridge. It was a concrete slab bridge, without railings, and its width was equivalent to three concrete slabs.

As he reached the middle of the bridge, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt a change in the surrounding energy. He looked down and saw that the compass needle was also fluctuating.

Silently reciting the "Liu Clan's Qi-Observing Art," he turned in a circle on the spot, then stopped and began calculating, watching the needles within the large and small circles on the compass.

Run Sheng stood silently beside him. Tan Wenbin, stretching his neck, curiously peeked. He thought Little Yuan looked incredibly stylish turning with the compass. It was a pity he was a bit young; if he were older, with such demeanor and presence, what small factory owner wouldn't invite him to do a turn before opening?

Li Zhuiyuan stamped his foot. He hadn't noticed it while walking along the river, but once he was on the bridge, he realized its position was exactly at the "Dragon Choking Point."

Although it was a small river, and the 'dragon' was as small as could be, the overall formation was complete.

Looking at the surrounding environment, it was very rare to see a bridge built at a river bend; they were usually constructed over straight sections.

However, even if it was a Dragon Choking Point, there was nothing particularly special about it, let alone being a malevolent spot.

But if someone intentionally wanted to use it and transform it into a malevolent spot...

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, looked at the concrete slab beneath his feet, and said, "Brother Run Sheng, go to the riverbank and look under the bridge, right where I'm standing now."

"I'll do it!"

Tan Wenbin put down his things, quickly ran off the bridge, and upon reaching the riverbank, couldn't see clearly enough. Without a word, he simply walked into the river.

Although it was a small river, it was quite deep in the middle. If there were a sinkhole or quicksand, it could easily engulf an adult.

Run Sheng squatted by the bridge and warned, "Be careful, or we'll have to fish you out later."

"The mud under this river is so deep; I just reached the bank," Tan Wenbin carefully stepped forward. His current mindset was that since he had finally bought a ticket to the amusement park, he should actively participate to get his money's worth.

Finally, he dared not go any further. Although still quite far, he could clearly see under the bridge. He looked up, his eyes widening, then immediately took a few steps back and shouted up to the others:

"Brother Little Yuan, there are large iron nails hammered into the underside of the bridge, right where you're standing!"

"Are there seven?"

"Huh?" Tan Wenbin took two more steps forward, keeping his balance as he looked up and counted. "Yes, seven."

"Is the area around the nails red?"

"Yes, it's red, like it's been painted with red lacquer."

Indeed.

What was originally a relatively ordinary Dragon Choking Point had been altered, directly transforming it into a "Dragon Bleeding" formation.

Li Zhuiyuan turned and looked towards the river bend. The vital energy of this section of the river flowed out here, while malevolent energy was intercepted. This meant a feng shui formation had been set up here, utilizing the natural environment.

But why hadn't he noticed anything unusual when he walked along the river earlier?

Li Zhuiyuan immediately thought of a possibility: The malevolent energy was being absorbed by the drowned body!

With both interception and absorption, it formed a dynamic cycle right here.

No wonder the drowned body disappeared after villagers saw it; it surfaced while absorbing the malevolent energy and sank once it had absorbed enough.

So, this wasn't just a simple case of retrieving a floating corpse; someone was orchestrating a corpse-nurturing formation here!

Li Zhuiyuan realized that if he put himself in the shoes of an evil-doer and reverse-engineered the outcome, the success rate seemed quite high.

However, he wasn't particularly happy; instead, he was somewhat troubled. Why was it so easy for him to empathize with the opposing side?

Furthermore, this feng shui formation was set up in such a petty way.

As his great-grandpa often said at the dinner table: "Seriously, you're only pouring out this much? Are you raising fish?"

If he were to set it up, he would initiate work in several more places, at least drawing in the external malevolent energy to create a counterbalance. That's what true corpse catalysis would be called. What was currently being done could only be called corpse preservation.

"It seems the books you've read aren't of very good quality."

Li Zhuiyuan reached up and patted his forehead. *No, what on earth am I thinking?*

No, this wasn't his fault; it was Wei Zhengdao's fault.

Before, he had only read the concepts in books and hadn't felt them deeply. But once he started practicing, the sense of unease appeared. Wei Zhengdao's books were full of "righteous content," only teaching how to represent the righteous path to suppress and kill drowned bodies.

However, this fellow's narrative style and content arrangement allowed for reverse engineering in many places. Many righteous prohibitions and errors, if used in reverse, led to the opposite extreme.

This fellow was clearly waving the flag of righteousness while promoting unrighteousness.

"Little Yuan, are you okay?" Run Sheng asked with some concern.

"Brother Run Sheng, I'm fine. This place was set up by someone..."

"Wait for me, wait for me! Explain when I get there!"

Tan Wenbin came running frantically, shouting and waving his hands, terrified of missing this part of the scene.

However, his shoes and pants had just gotten wet, and he stumbled a bit while running fast. He lost his balance directly as he rushed up to Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng.

If Run Sheng hadn't been strong enough to grab him, they might all have been knocked into the river.

"Hehehe, sorry, sorry." Tan Wenbin squatted down, squeezing his pants as he spoke. "You can tell me now."

"This bridge is part of a feng shui formation set up by someone. That drowned body wasn't likely a passerby who accidentally drowned; rather, it was placed there. Someone is using this small river to nurture a corpse."

"Nurturing a corpse?" Tan Wenbin's mouth fell open. "Wow, that sounds intense!"

Run Sheng asked, "So, Little Yuan, what do we do?"

"There are two options. One, I can break his formation, and the drowned body will surface. The other, we go directly to his house."

Run Sheng was about to ask how to find him, but he held back.

Binbin couldn't hold back and asked, "How do we find him?"

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the tablet at the bridge pier. "The name of the person who funded the bridge's construction is written there."

Tan Wenbin rubbed his head. "Oh right. Damn, why do I feel so stupid?"

Run Sheng hummed in agreement.

Building bridges and paving roads has always been considered a meritorious act since ancient times. Especially in villages, with insufficient financial allocations, they often had to find ways to partially fund road and bridge construction themselves. If the costs were shared by the entire village, that was one thing, but if a single donor covered the majority, their name would typically be carved on a tablet.

Li Zhuiyuan approached the tablet. Only one name was written on it, proving that this person had paid for the bridge's construction alone... Zhou Yong.

"Let's go ask the village chief. This person should live in the village; it's unlikely they'd dump a body here and then leave for a distant trip."

"I know where he lives," Run Sheng pointed in a direction. "His house is in the northern corner of the village."

Tan Wenbin asked, "Is his family very wealthy?"

Run Sheng shook his head. "There aren't many families in the village worse off than ours, but his is one of them."

Li Zhuiyuan thought for a moment. "Then let's go to his house, lay everything out, and make it clear. That way, he won't just dump another one if we retrieve this one."

Tan Wenbin blinked and mumbled softly, "It's a corpse, not fish fry."

Run Sheng explained, "Little Yuan means that if we only deal with the corpse and not the living person, it might cause future trouble."

Led by Run Sheng, the three walked towards the northern corner of the village.

On the way, Tan Wenbin asked, "Um, should I call my dad too?"

Run Sheng replied, "Do you want your dad to know you're staying at your grandpa's not to study, but to retrieve drowned bodies?"

Tan Wenbin's voice suddenly lowered. "Isn't this a murder case? Shouldn't the police handle it?"

"Brother Binbin, this might not be a murder case. He's 'nurturing' a corpse, which you can understand as using a feng shui formation to preserve a body. If he had killed someone, there'd be no reason to go to all this trouble."

"Oh, I see. Understood."

"Brother Run Sheng, be prepared. If there's any special situation, act immediately to ensure our safety."

"Mhm, don't worry, Little Yuan. I know."

Liu Yumei, Uncle Qin, and the others were all considered "family." So, this was Li Zhuiyuan's first time encountering a peer outside, and he felt a bit nervous.

Zhou Yong's house was even more dilapidated than Grandpa Shan's. Grandpa Shan's house at least had a broken courtyard, but Zhou Yong's didn't even have a fence, and it was still a mud house.

Currently, villagers in the countryside were all striving to build two-story houses. To still be living in a mud house without even a brick and tile bungalow truly meant being at the absolute bottom of the village's living standards.

Tan Wenbin asked in confusion, "Such a person fully funded a bridge's construction?"

Run Sheng explained, "He used to be a worker at Xingren Agricultural Machinery Factory. Later, his wife and child both fell ill, so he couldn't go to work and stayed home to farm and care for them."

Tan Wenbin asked, "Are his wife and child still alive?"

"They are. The last time I cycled past his house, I saw his wife and child sitting at the entrance, sunning themselves."

As he spoke, Run Sheng turned to Li Zhuiyuan. "That was when you, Little Yuan, were waiting for me at home, and I went to the town market to buy rice and flour for Great-grandpa. I passed his house then and saw them."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

The three walked onto a small courtyard. In the courtyard, a well was covered with a large conical hat, and the area was quite clean, partly because there wasn't much there to begin with.

The house door was closed. Tan Wenbin licked his lips and pushed it; it didn't open. He pushed again, hearing the clinking and clanging of the lock from inside.

He turned back to Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng, shrugging. "Looks like we came at the wrong time. They must have gone out; the door is locked from the inside."

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at him and retorted, "Don't you find it strange that the door is locked from the inside?"

"What's strange about that? My door also locks from the inside... Oh, wait. How could that be?"

Locking a wooden village door was different from the key locks found in family apartment buildings.

"Brother Binbin, try calling out again."

"Alright." Tan Wenbin clapped on the door and shouted, "Hey, is anyone home? Is anyone home?"

There was no response from inside.

Run Sheng then sniffed, and spread his hands. "Binbin, be quiet for a moment."

Seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan immediately took a few steps back.

He knew Run Sheng's nose was most sensitive to certain smells.

"Little Yuan, there's a faint smell of decay."

Tan Wenbin eagerly asked, "Is it a drowned body?"

Run Sheng shook his head. "Hard to say. The smell is too faint; it could be coming from something else."

Tan Wenbin guessed, "Could it be that after locking the door from the inside, someone committed suicide in there?"

Immediately, both looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the nearby window. "Let's go in and check. If we find a body, we'll call the police. If not, we'll apologize and pay for any damage."

Tan Wenbin walked up to the wooden window and pulled it. "It's locked too."

Run Sheng walked over, pushed him aside, grabbed the edge of the window, and with a pull, the entire window came off.

Then, Run Sheng squeezed himself inside.

Seeing this, Tan Wenbin gritted his teeth and followed.

"Creak!"

The lock on the wooden door was opened, and the door was pushed open. Run Sheng stood behind it.

"Little Yuan, the key was on the table, so I just unlocked it."

"Run Sheng, what are you doing? If there really is a body here, you're contaminating the scene. How are we, as witnesses, going to explain that?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked in through the front door and said, "It's fine, your dad will help us cover for it."

"But this isn't my dad's jurisdiction."

"You were playing cards in the village, and your dad took leave to come in plain clothes to catch you, then stumbled upon this house. He'd be the first witness."

Tan Wenbin swallowed. "That's perfectly reasonable."

The room was not small, but the floor was covered in small mud puddles and hadn't been paved or hardened with bricks.

Moreover, many of the wooden beams were very low, so adults had to be careful not to hit their heads when walking inside.

It was a very standard house layout: the easternmost side was the kitchen with a stove, the middle was the main hall with a long cabinet against the wall, topped with an offering table and deities' statues, and the westernmost side was the bedroom.

There were quite a lot of things in the house; many items, though clearly broken, hadn't been thrown away, yet everything was neatly organized.

Tan Wenbin went to the east end and Run Sheng to the west, while Li Zhuiyuan stood in the main hall, looking at the statues of deities hanging above.

On the far left was Guan Yin Bodhisattva, on the far right was the Jade Emperor, and right in the middle was Jesus.

It was understandable what deities villagers worshipped; a mix of Buddhist and Taoist figures was common, and even Confucian figures could be displayed, like his great-grandpa having Confucius at home.

But hanging Jesus there seemed out of place; the style and imagery clearly didn't match the other two, and anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was inappropriate.

Li Zhuiyuan walked up to the cabinet and found that the incense burners in front of Guan Yin Bodhisattva and the Jade Emperor had not been used for a very long time, accumulating thick layers of dust rather than incense ash.

However, the incense burner in front of Jesus was full of incense ash, clearly indicating frequent use.

But did Jesus consume incense?

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, wanting to open the long cabinet. This type of cabinet was designed much like a coffin; one had to lift the lid to see what was inside.

Each section of the lid had a recessed design, interlocking like a puzzle, and usually had to be opened section by section. It could store miscellaneous items or grain.

But his raised hand ultimately lowered. To be safe, it was better to wait for Run Sheng.

Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin returned.

"No one in the bedroom."

"No one in the kitchen either."

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Brother Run Sheng, can you tell where the smell of decay is coming from?"

Run Sheng shook his head. "Once inside, I can't distinguish it. That faint smell is everywhere."

Hearing this, Tan Wenbin scoffed, "Are you saying there's a corpse living and walking around in this house, leaving its smell everywhere? Isn't that a bit ridiculous?"

"Brother Binbin, are you like Lord Ye who loved dragons?"

"Huh?" Tan Wenbin immediately remembered why he had come. The image of a corpse moving and living in this house instantly flashed in his mind, and he shivered, feeling a chill.

"Brother Run Sheng, open the lid and look inside."

"Alright."

Run Sheng knew how to open this type of lid. He grabbed one side, pushed inward, and then lifted it open.

Li Zhuiyuan stood on his tiptoes and peered inside, finding it filled with rice sacks. There was a slightly pungent smell, likely from fumigation to prevent the rice from molding.

It seemed there was nothing in the main hall, as the long cabinet was the only place here to hide anything.

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the kitchen, followed by Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin.

The kitchen was a standard rural earthen stove layout, with a pile of hay and firewood behind the stove.

Tan Wenbin pointed over there and said, "I just checked there; there's nothing in the hay and firewood."

Li Zhuiyuan sequentially lifted the lids of the water jar and the rice jar. The water jar was full of water, and the rice jar was full of rice.

Tan Wenbin added, "I also lifted these lids and checked earlier; I didn't find any issues. But even if this family is doing poorly, their rice jar is fuller than Run Sheng's family's."

Li Zhuiyuan took a few more steps back, positioning himself behind Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin.

He pointed at the rice jar and said, "A family of three, using such a large rice jar, and it's filled to the brim."

Urban families buy rice when they run out, while rural households store grain. However, most of it is kept in storage, with only a small portion placed in the kitchen's rice jar for daily use, to be refilled from storage when the jar is nearly empty.

Run Sheng looked at Tan Wenbin, then at the rice jar, as if asking, "You go, or shall I?"

Tan Wenbin's body was trembling, but he steeled himself and nodded, walked to the rice jar, and reached in to push the rice aside from the middle.

As he dug through it, Tan Wenbin suddenly let out a scream:

"Aah!!!"

Then he collapsed onto the floor, scrambling backward with his hands and feet.

Li Zhuiyuan and Run Sheng stepped forward to look. In the concave area in the center of the rice jar, a clump of black hair appeared.

Inside the rice jar... there was a person!

No wonder Tan Wenbin was so terrified; who wouldn't be scared by this sight?

Especially when you could even imagine the person curled up sitting underneath the rice.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, then quickly opened them, calming himself. "Brother Run Sheng, confirm it again."

"Okay."

Without a word, Run Sheng reached in and continued to dig. Finally, a forehead appeared beneath the hair; it was indeed a person, a girl.

Continuing to dig, they could see the girl's eyes.

Her eyes were open.

The girl's eyes were completely filled with grains of rice.

Tan Wenbin had just stood up and was approaching again, but after one glance, he recoiled in fright.

Li Zhuiyuan looked away. This time, he couldn't blame Binbin for being timid; he himself found those eyes unsettling.

"Little Yuan, we can't dig any further unless we scoop out the rice or try to pull her out."

"No need. Leave it for now."

"Alright."

Li Zhuiyuan sniffed; he caught a cloying, sickly sweet smell.

"Brother Run Sheng, do you smell it?"

"Uh, no, it's still that faint smell of decay. Little Yuan, did you smell something else?"

"Why do I smell a faint fragrance?"

"Fragrance?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head and looked at the water jar. The water in it probably hadn't been changed for a long time, and combined with the dimness of the room, the water wasn't clear; it was somewhat blackened.

"Brother Binbin."

Tan Wenbin immediately shook his head frantically and called out to Run Sheng, "Brother Run Sheng!"

Run Sheng didn't hesitate. He was wearing a vest, so he didn't even need to roll up his sleeves. He simply plunged his entire arm into the water jar and began to swing it around, searching.

Finally, he pulled his wet arm out and shook it. "There's nothing inside."

Tan Wenbin suggested, "So, should we go outside first?"

Run Sheng gave him a glance. "You were the one clamoring to come, and you're also the one scared to death now that you've seen it."

Tan Wenbin replied, "Isn't this just how a normal person would react?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the bedroom, Run Sheng followed. Tan Wenbin took another look at the eyes in the rice jar...

Then he immediately turned around and high-stepped after them.

In the bedroom, there were two beds, one large and one small, both draped with blue mosquito nets and covered with sleeping mats.

On the large bed, a neatly folded quilt lay, and on the small bed, there was a blanket.

Underneath the sleeping mats of both beds, several thick layers of bedding were spread out as mattresses, making them softer and more comfortable for sleeping.

Run Sheng pointed to under the beds and the surrounding wardrobes and cabinets. "Little Yuan, I've checked all these places, and there's nothing unusual."

Tan Wenbin pointed at the quilt and exclaimed, "The quilt, the quilt! Why is there such a thick quilt in the middle of summer?"

Run Sheng walked over, lifted the mosquito net, pulled the quilt over, and unfolded it. It was indeed just a thick quilt.

Tan Wenbin stammered, "Uh..."

"Brother Run Sheng, lift both sleeping mats."

"Okay."

Run Sheng first lifted the sleeping mat on the small bed, revealing several layers of cotton wadding underneath.

Just as Run Sheng was about to lift the mat on the large bed, Tan Wenbin rushed over ahead of him, lifted the mat, and then, still clutching one corner of the mat with one hand, he stood on his tiptoes and began to tremble and spin.

This was... a spasm from fright.

Underneath the large bed's sleeping mat, there were also thick layers of cotton wadding.

But in the middle of this wadding, a person was nestled: an adult woman, very thin.

Most of the woman's body was covered by the cotton wadding, with only her face, stomach, and feet exposed.

The woman's eyes were also open, completely filled with cotton wadding, so full that they looked somewhat swollen.

Moreover, the cotton wadding in her eyes bulged upwards, as if new cotton had grown.

"Put it down, Brother Binbin."

"Okay."

Binbin released his hand, and the sleeping mat fell, covering the cotton wadding and the woman inside once more.

Immediately, Tan Wenbin moved towards Li Zhuiyuan, who avoided him. Tan Wenbin then turned to Run Sheng, reaching out and hugging him. He needed a hug right then.

He was close to tears; in fact, tears were already welling in the corners of his eyes.

He asked in a trembling, tearful voice, "Little Yuan, what do we do next?"

"Brother Binbin, don't be scared."

"I'm not scared..." Tan Wenbin took a stubborn, deep breath, but the next moment, Run Sheng pushed him away.

Losing his footing, he stumbled backward and landed on the large bed's sleeping mat.

"Ah!"

At the thought of what lay beneath him, Tan Wenbin sprang up like a coiled spring.

"I'm scared