Chapter 93.2

Li Zhuiyuan could tell the old lady was speaking with implication, but fortunately, Uncle Qin wasn’t around at the moment.

“Grandma, I’ve got a question. Aunt Liu mentioned it before, but now I’d like to confirm it with you.”

“Go ahead.”

“What impact will river-walking have on my family?”

“You’ve changed your surname and relocated your household registration—that severs ties with your family up north. And since your registration is now under Li Sanjiang’s name, that counts as cutting ties with the family down south too.

In other words, in the narrow sense, your only family now is Li Sanjiang.

Your great-grandfather’s luck runs deep. As long as he stays in his hometown and doesn’t stir, he’ll keep living in comfort.

Even if you want to visit him, you still can—just treat him the same as always. Don’t go doing any fate-altering, aura-changing, or life-extending rituals, and nothing bad will happen.

The old man’s genuinely blessed. Sharing a registration booklet with you, and even setting up a contract early to leave his estate to you—he’s bound to you that tightly.

So when you walk the river in the future and subdue malevolent spirits, the merit you accumulate will flow straight to him.

He sits at home and fortune rains from above.

It’s entirely normal for someone like him to live past a hundred in good health.”

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “What about family in the broader sense?”

“Family in the broader sense doesn’t mean your relatives up north or south. It means us—the Qin and Liu Clans.

And precisely because you’ve been initiated, your ties with the other sides have been cut even deeper.”

“If I walk the river successfully…”

Liu Yumei didn’t mince words. “Then the Qin and Liu Clans will benefit.”

“…Will A Li’s condition get better?”

“A Li’s condition has already been improving, hasn’t it?”

“The illness is still there, but she’s been learning to overcome and live with it.”

“It’ll get better,” Liu Yumei said, glancing toward A Li. “They’re nothing but defeated foes—filth and residue—taking advantage of a lull to bully us widows and orphans.”

“What should I do?”

“You don’t need to do anything special. Just do what you’re meant to do. Walk your river well. The stronger you become, the more the Qin and Liu Clans will be restored. Those who prey on the weak will naturally be scared off.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Then he fell silent.

Luckily, the wind and rain filled the quiet, making it feel less heavy.

Liu Yumei asked, “Why did you stop talking?”

“Because I’ve asked everything I needed to.”

Liu Yumei pointed toward the ancestral tablets on the offering table. “Even a rotten boat still has thousands of nails. Don’t look down on us.”

“Grandma, that’s not what I meant.”

“Afraid you’ll drag us into it?” Liu Yumei gave a little hook of her finger. The window shut. The room fell silent. “In ordinary families, when the young head out, the elders at least prepare them some travel money. Now that someone’s finally walking the river again in the Qin and Liu Clans, as family, it’s only right that we lend a hand.”

“Grandma…”

“I may be old, but I’ve lived a pampered life. I can afford to take a hit.

Your Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu—they may not be much as elders, but they can shoulder some weight too.

The new house may be small, but it still keeps out wind and rain.

If you run into something you can’t handle or someone too powerful, come back. Ask for help if you need it.

Once this door is shut, there aren’t many things in the world that dare knock and come in.

But if we go out and look for trouble, whoever we visit won’t have an easy time of it.

The tiger may be dead, but its roar still echoes. We may not be what we once were—but that’s exactly why we’ve got nothing left to lose.”

A Li nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan had seen how cautious Liu Yumei had been at Great-grandpa’s place, so he understood all too well the weight of what she had just said.

Unless he lit another lamp to officially declare the end of his river-walking,

If he ever ran into trouble out there and came running home, those who sheltered him would suffer backlash from the flow of fate.

And if anyone at home dared to step forward on his behalf, the consequences would be even harsher—possibly a life traded for a single act of intervention.

From the moment that second lamp was lit, his relationship with Liu Yumei and the others had shifted to what his great-grandfather once had with them.

They could still live together, eat together. But the moment the metaphysical got involved, it would trigger negative repercussions.

“Grandma, you saw it yourself. Though you made it official today, I’ve been groping my way along this river for a while already.

What I mean is, I’ll keep walking the way I’ve been walking.

I have my own habits, my own rhythm.

The old ways may not be the best, but they’re what I figured out for myself. They work for me.

So…

Let’s keep everything as it is?”

“Xiao Yuan, you’ve got your logic—but I’ve got my rules. You can’t just insist on your logic and ignore your grandma’s ways.

I’ve lived a dignified life. I care about face.

You’ve got to let me catch a cold, have a little cough or something.

That way, when you succeed in walking the river and I meet those old bastards again, I can pull off the humble act properly and say something like, ‘Oh, I just happened to pick up a Dragon King by luck.’”

“Well, if that’s how you want it, Grandma, then I’ll ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“You, Uncle Qin, and Aunt Liu—please keep teaching Zhuangzhuang, Runsheng, and Yin Meng a while longer.”

“That’s not even a request. We already promised you that. Twice.”

“Back then was back then. Now is now. The weight of a promise changes with the times.”

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