Chapter 50: The Towel

Fortunately, once he held her hand, she calmed down. That meant he had to keep holding it.

Runsheng looked a little awkward, seemingly about to stand up. He could tell that this absurdly beautiful girl was clearly uncomfortable around him.

“Runsheng-ge, don’t take it personally. Ali’s always been scared of strangers, it’s not about you. In this house, only Granny Liu and I can really get close to her. Now that she’s fine, stay seated.”

“Oh right, Runsheng-ge, do you and Grandpa Shan often go corpse retrieving together?”

Sure enough, at the mention of Dead Sinkers, Runsheng immediately looked more natural and confident. “Yeah. These days it’s mostly my grandpa setting up the offering table onshore, and I do the retrievals.”

“Let me tell you, just three months ago I hauled up a Dead Sinker. A dead infant. That thing—seriously wicked stuff, I’m not kidding.”

“Did you run into a xuǎn’er?”

Runsheng blinked. “What’s a xuǎn’er?”

“It’s what we call a river sinkhole—sections that are prone to sudden drops or whirlpools.”

Runsheng slapped his thigh excitedly and blurted, “How’d you know that?”

Then, seeming to realize something, he chuckled. “Your great-grandpa told you?”

“Read it in a book.”

“A book?” Runsheng glanced at the volume lying open on the wooden stool in front of them, flipping through a few pages. “Ugh, these characters make my head hurt. This book’s got that stuff in it?”

“Yeah, this whole set has a lot.”

The Records of Strange Happenings in the Martial World had detailed entries on drowned infants. Given how common the custom of infant drowning used to be in many regions, these types of Dead Sinkers were anything but rare.

This particular type of Dead Sinker shared a terrifying trait: overwhelming, purposeful malice.

Most Dead Sinkers, if you didn’t cross their path or ran away fast enough, would leave you alone. But drowned infants? They would circle a specific area, actively seeking people out.

Their usual tactic was luring victims into dangerous parts of the river, using terrain to kill them.

Even a small stream could be deadly—veteran fishermen had lost their lives this way. These spirits sometimes even used tricks, like tangling swimmers’ legs with aquatic plants to make them drown from exhaustion.

Many of these drowned infants had died before or just after birth. Driven by intense resentment and rage, yet lacking power or special abilities like other Dead Sinkers, they could only use the terrain itself to enact revenge on the living.

Runsheng was clearly shocked. “I can’t believe someone actually wrote a book about our line of work.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. “Apparently.”

Runsheng laughed. “Who’s got that kind of time? Writing about corpse retrieval?”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t know how to respond. He had no idea who the author was, but he had a hunch—every chapter ended with the Dead Sinker “destroyed by the righteous path.” Maybe the writer’s name even had the word “righteous” in it.

Runsheng added, “What’s even weirder is that someone actually wants to read stories about corpse retrieval.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “…”

So far, The Records of Strange Happenings in the Martial World was absolutely loaded with useful knowledge.

“Runsheng-ge, tell me more about that case.”

“Oh, right! That day I ran into a whirlpool. Boat capsized. I got trapped in the riverbed mud. Lucky I held my breath and clawed my way up. Barely made it out. If I hadn’t, I’d have been buried alive.”

“That sounds terrifying,” Li Zhuiyuan added. “You’re amazing, Runsheng-ge.”

Lucky that Little Oriole only wanted him to guide the way that day. If it had been a drowned infant instead, he’d probably already be past his seventh-day death rite by now.

“Heh, well, mostly I was starving that day—me and Grandpa were planning to finish the job quick and eat well at the client’s place, so we skipped lunch. If I’d had food in my belly, maybe I wouldn’t have been tossed around like that.”

“Then this time, better eat your fill before heading out.”

“Of course! I love your great-grandpa’s place—always get fed real good here!”

“Did you manage to haul up that drowned infant?”

“Hell yeah. That thing was sneaky. Once it saw it couldn’t drown me, it tried hiding in the weeds. I dove and chased it through the underwater grass.

“When that didn’t work, it burrowed under the riverbed. I had to dig it out like a potato—really, it looked just like one. All pale and bloated from the water, like a peeled, boiled yam.

“All it needed was some soy sauce and minced garlic.”

Li Zhuiyuan noticed Runsheng licking his lips at that point.

He didn’t want to think too hard about what that implied. Maybe Runsheng had just been really hungry at the time.

“Runsheng-hou! Runsheng-hou!” came Grandpa Shan’s voice from downstairs. “Get down here and lay Grandpa’s bed out. I’m napping before lunch.”

“Coming, Grandpa!”

Runsheng dashed off.

Qin Li opened the book on the stool herself.

Li Zhuiyuan understood what she meant—she wanted to read with him. She didn’t want to be disturbed.

“Runsheng-ge’s a guest. Tomorrow, Great-grandpa and the others are counting on him.”

Thinking about tomorrow’s trip for the Deathday Rite at the Niu household… a guy with injuries, one so old he could barely walk, one blind man…

Runsheng was probably the only reliable one.

Qin Li looked up at Li Zhuiyuan, her gaze slightly dim.

She seemed to be showing her grievance.

Li Zhuiyuan gave her hand a squeeze. “Alright, sweetheart. Let’s keep reading.”

But after Runsheng went downstairs to set the bed, he never came back up.

At lunch, Li Zhuiyuan brought Qin Li down. They saw the grandfather and grandson sprawled on a makeshift bed laid over the round table in the main room, both waking just in time to eat.

Breakfast had indeed been just that—a light meal. Lunch, however, was thoughtfully prepared by Aunt Liu, practically a small banquet.

The pair ate until their bellies bulged, then went right back to sleeping on the table-bed until dinner. After dinner, they knocked out again, snoring like thunder.

One couldn’t help but suspect they had some kind of secret technique for storing up energy ahead of time.

Li Zhuiyuan managed to read almost the whole day again, just like yesterday. Today he got through Volume 24.

With all the previous background knowledge, the later entries about Dead Sinkers were easier—just had to remember the names and traits.

He figured one more full day and he could finish The Records of Strange Happenings in the Martial World. He was already looking forward to the next set.

Oddly enough, Sister Ying hadn’t shown up today. Li Sanjiang even mumbled something about it, but with tomorrow’s work coming up, they’d have to find Hanhou afterward.

That night, once again, dreamless.

In the morning, Li Zhuiyuan woke even earlier than the day before. As he lay in bed, he realized he almost missed waking up from dreams.

Sitting up, he was startled—Qin Li was sitting in the chair by his bed.

The girl stood, lowering her head, sensing she had scared him.

He could feel her anxiety and unease.

Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed, walked over, and took her hand. “This is nice—opening my eyes and seeing you here.”

The girl lifted her head, her eyes shining.

Today she wore a white qipao, with a flowered hairpin in her hair—elegant and refined, her body radiating a soft orchid fragrance.

Li Zhuiyuan washed up, then they played three games of chess. He lost every single one, happily.

At breakfast, Aunt Liu gestured to a pair of wooden stools. “Little Yuan, you and Ali eat over here.”

Li Zhuiyuan noticed another table nearby—already set with meat and wine early in the morning. For Runsheng’s sake, incense had even been lit in advance.

The incense was still burning.

It looked exactly like a funeral feast.

Liu Jinxia had been brought by tricycle by Li Juxiang. When she saw the heavily bandaged Li Sanjiang, she nearly burst into tears, shouting:

“Li Sanjiang, you old beast, you’re not human! You’re not even human!”

Liu Jinxia cried and raged for quite a while, but in the end, she didn’t abandon the job. Instead, she coaxed her daughter back home.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li began eating their breakfast at their own table.

After a while, Li Sanjiang called out to Grandpa Shan, Runsheng, and Liu Jinxia.

“Come on, everyone’s here. Time to make offerings at the table!”

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