Li Zhiyuan sat on the ground, gently massaging his temples.
This was his first time controlling a Corpse, and he was somewhat tired, needing to quickly relax and soothe himself, since he still had much to do.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would face the biggest overdraft yet.
This kind of overdraft was very likely to cause serious damage to his body.
He knew this clearly, but he still decided to do it.
Because he was angry.
An emotion he considered precious.
At that moment, both the girl and the woman knelt down toward him.
Seeing this, Li Zhiyuan waved his hand, but to no avail.
He had already released their control; normally, they should be standing still, or one should return to the rice barrel and the other back to bed.
Helplessly, Li Zhiyuan stood up, and so did the mother and daughter.
He walked to the table and sat back down in his original spot.
The girl and the woman also got up and followed, then sat down to the right of Li Zhiyuan.
Tan Wenbin had been in a deep sleep there before.
Now, he was tightly sandwiched between them from left and right.
Li Zhiyuan didn’t bother adjusting them; this way, at least the sleeping Binbin wouldn’t fall over.
However, the expressions and movements of the seated women began to twist slightly, indicating some form of loss of control.
Although Li Zhiyuan did not understand the underlying principle, he roughly knew how to handle it:
"Don’t worry, I will fulfill what I promised you. Please be patient a little longer. Zhou Yong is just a knife wielded by others; surely you don’t want to let go of the real culprit who caused you this torment?"
Upon hearing this, both the girl and the woman calmed down.
"Brother Runsheng, control and pack Zhou Yong for now. Call me when you’re done; I’ll take a nap first."
"Alright, rest assured, Xiao Yuan."
At this moment, Zhou Yong was cornered by Run Sheng, with the Yellow River Shovel fixed at his neck, physically restraining him.
He was now very weak, still trying to push the shovel away with his hands, but he was too weak to resist.
Run Sheng walked to the sack, took out the Soul Returning Basket and the return home net, and laid them on the ground.
He took out his box of red mud, pressed his fingers into it sequentially, then followed specific steps to make hand signs, grasping the return home net at various points, and finally, clasping the net rope with both hands, clapped them sharply together, uniformly applying red marks on the return home net to ensure it would work effectively.
The whole process was smooth, had a sense of ritual, and was visually appealing, but lacked practicality. After all, not every Corpse could just stand still, giving you enough time to prepare the tools.
Of course, Run Sheng also wished to, like Xiao Yuan, just swipe some red mud on his fingertips and randomly apply it, thus ’activating’ the tools.
He had tried, but without success; Xiao Yuan’s simplicity was based on precise calculation, knowing where and how much to apply, and although Xiao Yuan had taught him, he couldn’t manage the calculations.
After preparing the Soul Returning Basket and the return home net, Run Sheng put the basket over Zhou Yong’s head, pulled it down encasing him completely, then wrapped him with the net, practically turning him into a dumpling.
Lastly, Run Sheng took out the talisman paper personally drawn by Xiao Yuan, sticking it on Zhou Yong’s head.
With each application, the color changed; he tore it off and applied a new one, continuing the color change, and after seven applications, Run Sheng finally stopped, completing the last step of the ritual.
This action even seemed to bring a hint of confusion and bewilderment to Zhou Yong’s muddy eyes.
Li Zhiyuan had told Run Sheng that the talisman paper he drew was not very useful, but Run Sheng didn’t believe it, thinking Xiao Yuan was just being humble.
After packing up, Run Sheng turned around and, carrying the corpse, lifted Zhou Yong.
That’s when Tan Wenbin woke up.
He felt so exhausted, as if his body was hollowed out.
He groggily raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked at the girl by his left, then turned his head to look at the woman by his right.
He felt as if he hadn’t woken from a dream, just closed his eyes and laid back down.
Soon, he opened his eyes again, looked left and right.
Abruptly sat up and was about to scream when Run Sheng’s hand covered his mouth.
Run Sheng removed his hand.
Tan Wenbin turned his head just as Run Sheng was pushing Li Zhiyuan from the side, and Zhou Yong on his back ended up face to face with Tan Wenbin.
Li Zhiyuan woke up, seeing that Run Sheng was ready, he also stood up, but still asked with concern:
"Brother Binbin, are you alright?"
"I...I’m fine. Oh, just a bit tired."
"You should go and sleep at Mr. Shan’s house."
"No, I can still help," said Tan Wenbin, tremulously standing up, finally freeing himself, then bending over to catch his breath heavily.
"Brother Binbin, eat more good food, nourish yourself."
"Yes, I will. I didn’t expect my body to be this weak before."
"Brother Runsheng, let’s go."
The three left the house, walked down the small dam.
Soon after, the sound of locking the door came from inside, followed by the lights turning off. Under the moonlight, at the kitchen and bedroom area, shadows of a person flashed by.
Because Zhou Yong had left the home range, the girl and the woman could only return to their previous positions, waiting for Zhou Yong’s return home.
This was the life Zhou Yong wanted to maintain.