Run Sheng hurriedly lit up incense, taking several big bites consecutively, chewing while wearing a face of utter enjoyment, as if he finally came around.
He looked more like someone under the influence than the people suspected in front of the video hall.
Qin Li sat down in front of Li Zhiyuan, watching him eat.
While he was eating, Grandmaster returned from his walk with food, sighing,
"Damn, how come the whole village is spreading rumors that Panzi and Leizi have joined a gang trafficking opium, and not in low positions either."
Li Zhiyuan almost choked on his rice. While coughing, he felt a gentle little hand patting him softly on the back.
Li Sanjiang sat down, lit a cigarette, and continued, "You really can’t tell, huh? Those two kids usually seem pretty honest in the village, but it’s true that you can’t judge a book by its cover."
"Grandmaster, it must be the villagers spreading nonsense, there’s no way."
"You can’t say for sure, though. Your grandpa and uncles have all gone to the police station just now.
Little Yuanhou, the grandmaster must warn you, all other matters are negotiable, but this stuff, you absolutely must not touch it. Once you do, your life is pretty much over."
"I know, Grandmaster."
"By the way, who did you go out with this afternoon, playing until so late before coming back?"
"With Brother Panzi and Brother Lei."
Li Sanjiang’s face crumpled for a moment, then he relaxed and nodded, saying, "Then it must be the villagers making a fuss over nothing as usual."
After dinner, Li Sanjiang went upstairs to wash up and sleep, as he had to wake up early the next morning to attend the ceremony at the Zhao family’s.
Run Sheng went to the well to wash himself, not even drying off, eagerly turned on the TV and sat down to watch.
His image, dripping wet with water, partnered with the white light from the TV, resembled a freshly surfaced corpse.
Li Zhiyuan was out on the compound, practicing his horse stance.
Alii stood beside him, keeping him company.
After enough practice, Li Zhiyuan straightened up, exhaling a long breath, a fine layer of sweat forming on his body, while the fatigue accumulated throughout the day eased significantly.
Liu Yumei had been sitting on the compound, cracking pumpkin seeds, enjoying the evening breeze, and seeing Li Zhiyuan finished, she teased,
"What’s the point of practicing this, looking so serious."
"Just treating it like some radio calisthenics."
This answer caused Liu Yumei’s expression to freeze, unknowingly she spat out the seed meat and chewed on shell instead.
Li Zhiyuan seemed to realize he had said something wrong, trying to amend it, "I feel like after practicing this, my body feels much better, my mind is clearer, it’s quite magical."
"You’re still young, your bones haven’t fully developed yet; it’s not suitable for practicing hard martial arts now."
"Okay, Grandma Liu," Li Zhiyuan glanced at the belt around Alii’s waist, "Grandma, do you think Alii’s belt might be somewhat inappropriate?"
Alii, prone to going on a rampage when encountering strangers or provocations, and now paired with a soft sword around her... she’d probably start slashing people.
"Grandma, I think it fits perfectly. Only this belt can match Alii’s outfit in our family."
Liu Yumei had just finished her sentence when Alii immediately unbuckled the belt and threw it on the ground since Xiao Yuan said it was inappropriate.
This made the corners of the old lady’s mouth start to twitch slightly.
Li Zhiyuan bent down carefully picking up the belt. Even though it was thin and soft, with just the right amount of force, it could be very dangerous.
"Okay, it’s getting late. Alii, you should go to bed. We’ll play again tomorrow morning."
Alii obediently went back into the house.
Li Zhiyuan apologized, "Grandma Liu, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that in front of Alii."
"Grandma was just a little embarrassed, but not unable to tell right from wrong, knowing you’re well-meaning.
However, you misunderstood something; your Grandmaster probably told you about Alii’s situation. It really doesn’t matter whether Alii has a weapon or not when she’s having an episode."
"Go back inside. I heard from Ah Ting you had her buy quite a few things today."
"Yes, I had Aunt Liu help me get some supplies for assignments."
"Well, go and finish your assignments then. I, an old woman, will go to bed first."
"Goodnight, Grandma Liu."
Li Zhiyuan went up to the second floor, opened his room, and immediately saw an array of materials filling the once empty room, making it feel much more complete and compact.
"Aunt Liu’s efficiency is truly remarkable."
Li Zhiyuan walked over to a cage where a small black puppy lay, inside was a water bowl and a food bowl.
Earlier downstairs, Aunt Liu hadn’t mentioned a word, clearly only responsible for the buying; how to explain it to Grandmaster was up to him.
Including raising a small black dog.
Logically, a puppy at this age should be the most active and playful, yet this little dog lay sideways by the edge of the cage, fast asleep.
Even when he approached, it didn’t even open its eyes.
After confirming, this dog wasn’t suited for guarding the door. If it were to guard the door, it would rest earlier, wake up later, and sleep even deeper than the owner.
However, Li Zhiyuan didn’t get it for that purpose, he needed its blood.
This sounds a bit cruel, but in fact, it wasn’t. The black puppy blood in the "Righteous Demon Extermination Records" appeared frequently, being one of the essential items for activating many tools.
But this stuff, you only take a bit of essence, just a touch of blood as a catalyst.
Like how Grandmaster would prepare rituals before corpse recovery, often splashing black dog blood with a basin...actually, it was wrong.
Li Zhiyuan flipped through "Jianghu Chronicles" and "Righteous Demon Extermination Records," and never came across a corpse being doused dead by black dog blood.
Moreover, what’s sprayed by Grandmaster seemed not to be dog blood; it was dye he prepared beforehand, depending on whether the meat served at home in the previous days was chicken or pork.