Chapter 32: The Deathday Rite

Of course, the girl didn’t respond—not even a flicker of acknowledgment from the corner of her eye.

Back upstairs, Li Zhuiyuan returned the first volume and pulled out the second. He resumed reading.

Having adjusted to the author’s style in the first volume, Li Zhuiyuan now found it easier to grasp the writing and even resonate with the author’s mindset. He finished the second volume in half the time it took for the first.

He promptly exchanged it for the third. By the time he finished that one, dusk was near.

Li Zhuiyuan set the book aside and looked toward Yingzi.

“Need help with anything, sis?”

“Yeah. This, this, this, and this… oh, and these too…”

Li Zhuiyuan took her pen and began writing out the solution steps, doing so in as much detail as possible so she could study them on her own. It was far more efficient than explaining everything out loud.

Watching her little brother scribble away, Yingzi couldn’t help but feel a surge of envy.

Honestly, if you took out their aunt and Li Zhuiyuan, the whole Li clan combined might not add up to a single working brain.

She truly felt lucky. Her parents were supportive enough to buy her study materials, but in this era, most prep books were crude and incomplete. Real exam questions and solutions were mostly limited to top-tier schools—and even with money, they were hard to get.

And then there was her brother—better than any workbook. Practically her personal tutor. No way her parents, open-minded as they were, could afford to hire a real teacher for one-on-one sessions.

After he finished, Li Zhuiyuan exhaled and rubbed his sore wrist.

“Sis, I suggest you really get a firm grasp on the concepts first, then tackle simpler problems to reinforce them. That’ll boost your study efficiency.”

Yingzi: But… that’s what I’ve been doing?

She lowered her head and studied his notes. They were clear, no doubt, but reading through them still felt grueling.

It was like someone forcing her brain open and jamming knowledge in—only half of it stuck.

Just then, Li Sanjiang returned. He walked into the courtyard and looked up, spotting Li Zhuiyuan and Yingzi at the southeast corner of the second floor.

He saw his great-grandson smiling, relaxed, and his great-grandniece frowning like life had no meaning.

“Hmph! That rascal—studying so poorly he’s giving his cousin a headache!”

…

Yingzi didn’t stay for dinner. Li Weihan had already instructed her not to.

Li Sanjiang did make an effort to invite her, but when she firmly refused, he let it go.

Normally, he had no high opinion of Li Weihan’s four sons—didn’t much care for their kids either. But today, Yingzi had come over to tutor Little Yuanhou.

“Little Yuanhou, share some snacks with your cousin tomorrow.”

Li Zhuiyuan, mid-meal, replied, “I already did, Great-Grandpa.”

“Mm.”

Only then did Li Sanjiang feel better. Didn’t want the girl getting upset and ditching the tutoring.

After dinner, as usual, Li Zhuiyuan went to bathe first. When he came out, he found Li Sanjiang standing on the north edge of the terrace, cigarette in his left hand, and something else in his right.

Under the moonlight, a stream arced through the air.

“Little Yuanhou, done with your bath?”

“All done, Great-Grandpa. You go ahead.”

“Mm. Wait for me in the room.”

Li Sanjiang shook his shoulders, puffed out his chest, then swung his legs forward and back.

Li Zhuiyuan got the message: he wouldn’t be needing the chamber pot tonight.

In the bedroom, the array was still there—but freshly redrawn.

He examined it with a puzzled blink. It was the same as last night’s, and yet… still different from the version in The Sutra of Golden Thread and Silken Spiral.

Not that the deviation from the book was strange—last night’s had been off too.

“But… it’s not quite the same as last night’s either?”

He could only guess that Great-Grandpa had made subtle adjustments based on last night’s results.

One, because he was still reading beginner-level material and hadn’t seen the diagram in the book.

Two, because his mind was still locked in a rigorously logical mode—not yet flexible enough to entertain alternative explanations.

Li Zhuiyuan sat in his usual spot.

Soon, Li Sanjiang walked in fresh from his bath, wearing a pair of white boxers—with a hole in them.

Just like before, he tied the black rope around himself and Li Zhuiyuan, same positions. Then lit the candle and sat down in the circle.

This time, Li Zhuiyuan paid closer attention and noticed that the talisman his great-grandpa pulled out came from inside his boxers—even though the boxers had no pockets.

Lit it. Chanted. Just before the flame reached his hand—

Smack!

He slammed it to the ground.

The candle stayed lit. The lightbulb didn’t flicker.

“Done, Great-Grandpa?”

“No. Wait a bit.”

Then Li Sanjiang pulled out another talisman. Lit it. Slammed it down harder.

SMACK!!

The wet slap of flesh made his mouth twitch in pain.

But force worked.

Whoosh—the candle went out. Overhead, the bulb flickered twice.

“Got it!”

Li Sanjiang let out a breath.

“All right, Little Yuanhou. Go sleep. Remember—don’t untie the rope.”

“I know, Great-Grandpa.”

Once he left, Li Sanjiang blew on his sore palm.

“Whew… sss… damn, that hurts.”

Then he looked at the bed, face full of dread.

“Damn it, is it another zombie meeting tonight?”

…

Back in his room, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t head straight for bed. He turned on the desk lamp, took out Volume 4, and kept reading.

After finishing that, he opened Volume 5. But before he could get far, he fell asleep with his forehead resting on the desk.

…

In the rice fields, a hunched old woman appeared. If Li Zhuiyuan had seen her, he would’ve recognized her as the one Niu Fu had carried on his back.

Bent over, her eyes glowed green. Deep lines crisscrossed her face, now slowly sprouting tufts of fine fur.

She vanished on the spot.

Then reappeared in the courtyard. Then again—inside the ground floor of the house.

She paused by the stack of paper offerings—paper people, paper horses, paper houses… Tilting her head, she smiled a strange, eerie smile.

…

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes and looked up. He’d fallen asleep reading again.

He figured he’d go pee before getting in bed—just like Great-Grandpa’s method.

He got up, went to the door, and stepped out. He didn’t notice that the version of himself behind the desk was still fast asleep.

Outside, the night breeze felt refreshing.

But soon, he heard a ruckus from downstairs.

This late at night—who was making noise?

Wait… even during the day, Great-Grandpa’s place was always quiet.

He walked to the edge of the terrace and listened.

He heard men and women talking, singing. Horses whinnying. Cats and dogs yowling. A riot of sounds. Like a carnival downstairs.

But downstairs was just piles of paper offerings.

Could it be…?

Startled, he quickly calmed himself: Oh, I must be dreaming.

Then he saw a figure in a violet qipao standing in the courtyard—Qin Li!

Wait, how did you come out of the threshold?

No…

Why are you in my dream?

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