With a sharp sound, “Bang!”
It felt like just a brief moment, or maybe an eternity had passed.
When Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, he found himself lying on his bed.
He sat up, surveying his surroundings intently. He needed to confirm not only whether he was in his own room, but also if he was still trapped in a dream.
After a long while, Li Zhuiyuan was sure that this was reality.
Yet, he could still hear the crisp sound of the talisman slapping against the tile floor as his great-grandfather had done.
Then everything went black.
What happened next was a blur.
He didn’t even remember when the fortune-altering ritual ended, or how he managed to leave his great-grandfather’s room and return to his own.
He looked down at the blanket draped over his knees. Normally, he would cover his stomach with the quilt when he slept, using his own method of folding it.
This meant that it wasn’t his great-grandfather who returned his unconscious self to bed, since the blanket was folded in his own way.
Li Zhuiyuan got out of bed and glanced at the clock on the wall—it was five in the morning. Ah Li usually came around six.
Having been through multiple journeys into the underworld, he couldn’t help but feel anxious and restless as he woke up, instinctively wanting to confirm what was real and what was a dream.
It was like walking outside, after a short while, suddenly stopping, worried that he had forgotten to close the door behind him.
However, every time he woke up to see Ah Li sitting in a chair, he could skip that step.
Feeling a bit thirsty, Li Zhuiyuan went to his desk to grab a cup, only to discover that it was filled with ashes.
He quickly began inspecting his notebook, which appeared neatly organized, but he could still see signs of pages being torn out.
The torn pages, however, weren’t from his own writings.
His gaze drifted to the pen holder on the desk, containing four pens placed just the way he liked them. Yet, the pen he used most frequently had nearly run out of ink.
A strange image floated into Li Zhuiyuan's mind:
Late at night, he was sound asleep while a stranger sat at his desk, using his pen to write in his notebook.
In the end, this person tore out whatever they had written, set it alight, and dropped it into his cup.
Li Zhuiyuan opened the drawer, revealing his spare change, perfectly intact.
His books, homework, and pen holder were all arranged just so, leading him to suspect:
Was the person who sat here last night writing actually himself?
But if it was indeed himself, then why burn what he had written?
Was there something he couldn’t allow himself to see?
Furthermore, the act of burning it indicated that last night, he seemed to have known he would lose this memory.
Li Zhuiyuan flipped through the books on the desk, not expecting to find clues, as he never had the habit of writing in his books.
However, upon picking up the lower volume of "Records of the Righteous Path Subduing Demons" and turning to the last page, he saw a change—one character had been crossed out and replaced with another.
—Written by Wei Zhengdao.
It was changed to
—Written by False Wei Zhengdao.
Li Zhuiyuan frowned. He could almost confirm now that the person sitting at the desk last night was indeed himself.
Because no family member, thief, pervert, or ghostly entity would engage in such a dull act.
Only he would have taken some twisted pleasure in the previous notion of “wiped out by the Righteous Path.”
“What on earth did I do?”
Li Zhuiyuan walked over to the wardrobe in front of the mirror.
The moment he locked eyes with his reflection, a wave of panic washed over him, and he quickly looked away.
The icy feeling of detachment surged from the depths of his heart once again, and this time it was particularly fierce and intense.
He hugged his head with both hands, mumbling the names of people in his circle, this time focusing on Ah Li and his great-grandfather, while the rest, including his parents, were merely mentioned in passing.
Finally, that feeling faded.
As Li Zhuiyuan let go, he squatted on the ground and turned back to look at himself in the mirror, and the two of them were both gasping for breath.
Once he had calmed down completely, Li Zhuiyuan stood up, picked up the washbasin, and prepared to wash his face to shake off the lingering grogginess.
As he opened the door, the door next door swung open at the same time.
Li Zhuiyuan and Li Sanjiang stepped out simultaneously.
“Cough…”
The cool morning breeze hit his face, and Li Zhuiyuan couldn’t help but cough.
“Pat! Pat!”
“Damn it!”
At that moment, two birds flew by overhead, dropping a little gift from nature at the same time.
Li Zhuiyuan stared at the bird droppings that had landed at his feet, realizing that if he hadn’t suddenly stopped coughing, they would have dropped right onto his head.
Li Sanjiang felt something on his head, looked at his fingers stained with white, and tried to smell it with some hesitation, grimacing as though he might vomit.
He instinctively wanted to wipe it off on the wall but thought better of it since it was in front of his own home and instead walked to the water tank on the patio to wash his hands before fetching water to wash his hair.
“Great-grandfather, let me get you some hot water. You’ll catch a cold washing your hair with cold water.”
“Little Lord Yuan, go fetch me some laundry powder, and bring back a clean cloth.”
Li Zhuiyuan went to get the items first, then picked up the warm water bottle to pour hot water into Li Sanjiang’s basin, while he started brushing his teeth beside him.
“Damn, what bad luck today.”
“Great-grandfather, just think of it as a good omen from the magpies.”
“Great-grandfather, I’ve found that only you can make pointless chit-chat like this.”
“Great-grandfather, when did you go to bed last night?”
“I went to sleep right after the ritual ended. I went to bed early, which is why I got up early today.”
“Great-grandfather, do you remember what happened after the ritual?”
“What else could I have done? Of course, I went to bed!”
“Do you recall what happened after you slammed the talisman on the ground?”
“Of course I remember! How could I not? I didn’t drink last night, so I wouldn’t forget.”
“Really?”
“Little Lord Yuan, what’s wrong with you?”
“Great-grandfather, did I say anything to you after the ritual ended?”
“You said goodnight and went back to your room. What’s wrong? Did you have another nightmare?”
“No, no. I might have slept too soundly last night and can’t remember a few things.”
“That’s quite normal. Don’t think you're special. Even adults can forget things if they sleep deeply. A good sleep means the ritual had an effect.”
While they were chatting, Li Zhuiyuan noticed Ah Li walking up the stairs. Today she was dressed in an elegant lady’s outfit, looking graceful and lovely.
Li Sanjiang, rubbing his head and pouting, said, “You know, Little Lord Yuan, this girl really is beautiful. I used to think 'beautiful girl' was just flattery until I saw her.”
Li Zhuiyuan nodded, “Ah Li really is beautiful.”
In the past, the great elders derived a lot of joy from watching the younger generation play together and trying to matchmake them.
But Li Sanjiang merely shook his head and sighed, “If only she were healthy.”
The old man still remembered the scene of placing candies in the little girl’s hand, only to see her erupt in anger.
“Great-grandfather, Ah Li is healthy.”
“Alright, she’s healthy, but you aren’t, is that okay?”
“Hmm.”
Li Zhuiyuan knew he had problems, especially since they had just flared up this morning.
“By the way, Great-grandfather, Runsheng is going back to Xiting today to see Old Man Shan. I want to go with him.”
“Go ahead. Oh, wait, let me go back inside and get you some money to buy something to take with you.”
“Great-grandfather, you’re so good to Old Man Shan.”
“I’m just worried that the Shan brat will lose all his money and starve to death.”
Li Sanjiang went inside to grab some money for Li Zhuiyuan and then walked downstairs, shouting, “Ting Hou, make breakfast early today! I'm starving!”
Li Zhuiyuan looked at the money in his hands and added his leftover pocket money, smiling, realizing he had enough to spend.
Ah Li glanced at the boy and then at the money in his hand, her lashes fluttering slightly.
Outside, Liu Yumei was brewing tea.
Li Sanjiang descended the stairs, stretching lazily and remarked, “Wow, it looks like today’s weather is nice. It should be a sunny day.”
Liu Yumei replied, “Then aren’t you going out for a stroll today?”
“What’s there to stroll? In such good weather, it’s better to lie back in a lounge chair, soak up some sun, and doze off.”
Liu Yumei smiled and fell silent, picking up her teacup with her right hand’s ring and index fingers.
Just as she lifted it to her lips, the cup suddenly swayed, spilling some tea.
Ignoring her now reddened fingertips, Liu Yumei stared incredulously at the teacup, or rather, at the half-filled liquid inside.
“How could it spill so much all of a sudden?”
Though the moon waxes and wanes and tides ebb and flow, there’s generally a pattern to follow, so such a drastic change shouldn’t happen.
What on earth is going on?
At that moment, Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li descended the stairs.
Liu Yumei’s gaze naturally turned to the boy as she carefully studied his face while her left hand, tucked in her sleeve, lightly touched her fingertips together.
As if trying to make the girl smile, Li Zhuiyuan made a silly face at Ah Li.
Liu Yumei had to stop her fingers’ movements as her expression shifted.
Turning to Liu Yumei, Li Zhuiyuan politely greeted, “Good morning, Grandma Liu.”
“Good morning, Little Yuan.”
Li Zhuiyuan headed to the kitchen to help Aunt Liu bring out porridge and pickles.
He noticed quite a few freshly made incense sticks drying in the northwestern corner of the yard and asked, “Aunt Liu, could you help me make some shorter incense?”
“Of course! How short do you want them?”
“About the same length as cigarettes in a pack.”
“But such short incense burns out quickly; what use is that? It won't last long at all.”
“It doesn't need to burn for too long; just as long as it takes to smoke a cigarette.”
“Alright, I’ll make it for you.”
“Thank you, Aunt Liu.”
After breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan set off with Runsheng.
Runsheng was excited to go home, singing as he rode his bike down the road.
He sang many songs, though he only knew the classic lines from each, while Li Zhuiyuan, seated behind him, felt as if he were listening to a mashup of songs.
Xiting Town wasn’t too far away. Runsheng pedaled quickly, and soon enough, they arrived at home.
Li Zhuiyuan looked at his house; compared to the other homes he had seen upon entering the village, this one was truly worn and shabby.
Once inside, Runsheng called out a few times but received no response, then turned to Li Zhuiyuan and said, “Little Yuan, my grandpa isn’t home; he must’ve gone playing cards. But we have rice and flour at home, so we’ll have lunch, heh heh.”
“Then let’s go find Old Man Shan.”
“Let’s go; I’ll take you there.”
There were several "halls" around the village, located within residences. The small ones had three or four tables, while the larger ones boasted ten to twenty.
The unspoken rule was that if you wanted to play cards, you had to pay for tea. If you won big, the boss would expect a portion of the prize.
Besides providing tea, sunflowers, and peanuts, the boss also helped gather players for the card tables, a skill that determined how successful the hall would become.
Since it was still summer, this wasn’t the peak season for card playing. The real busy time was around the New Year.
Those who worked away from home returned to celebrate, and many brought their hard-earned wages back after a year of not spending much, immediately changing into new clothes and hitting the card tables, all while smoking fine cigarettes purchased just for the New Year.
Of course, most of the time, they would be the ones getting cleaned out.
Every village had its fair share of people who didn’t bother with real jobs, spending their days playing cards and biding their time, relying on the New Year to strike it big and fund their living expenses for the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, those returning home rarely had the opportunity to play, leaving them at a disadvantage against the locals who were seasoned gamblers, and some even fell victim to rigged games.
As a result, many newcomers returned home after just a few days, having lost their entire year’s wages, and some went further into debt, ending up having to leave again before even celebrating the New Year.
These were the warnings Runsheng shared with Li Zhuiyuan because Runsheng heard Little Yuan mention he wanted to play cards, and thus conveyed this advice to dissuade him.
Li Zhuiyuan found Runsheng to be quite an intriguing person. Though honest by nature, he also possessed a sensitivity that allowed him to pick up on these intricacies. Of course, the aspect of him in a fight was even more shocking.
“Runsheng, you know Old Man Shan often loses at cards, why not try to persuade him?”
“He’s my grandpa. I have to listen to him, just as you’re my brother, and I have to listen to what you say.”
“You’re the older brother.”
“My grandpa says I’m a fool, and this lifetime, I can only listen to two types of people.”
“What two types?”
“One is my grandpa himself. Though he says he’s also foolish and listening to him might lead me to suffer, at least he won’t harm me.
The other is listening to the smart people's advice. Smart people might harm me, but before they do, they’ll let me enjoy some blessings first.”
Old Man Shan was playing cards at a small hall at the west end of the village, with only one table and four people playing Dou Di Zhu.
When Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng entered, Old Man Shan had just put down his cards and was counting his winnings.
“Oh, the Little Lord Runsheng is back.”
“Little Lord Runsheng, long time no see!”
“Your grandpa just mentioned you.”
The card players greeted Runsheng warmly, clearly familiar with him.
Old Man Shan stood up, patted Runsheng on the arm, and said, “Good, as expected. You’re eating well at Li Sanjiang's house; you look healthier.”
He looked like a sensible cow or sheep that would understand if it had gone to the neighbor’s field to eat. “Grandpa, Little Yuan is here too.”
“Old Man Shan.”
“Hmm, hmm, Little Lord Yuan.” Old Man Shan reached to grab the money on the table, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Bringing money to the table when playing cards brings bad luck. Let’s eat something tonight instead.”
“Alright, Old Man Shan.”
Li Zhuiyuan cast a glance at the pile of money in front of Old Man Shan and—well, it was so shallow that it couldn’t even be called a pile anymore.
The game began, Old Man Shan chatting erratically with Runsheng while keeping a cigarette in his mouth.
Li Zhuiyuan stood quietly beside and watched.
Not long later, Old Man Shan lost three hands—two as the landlord and one as a farmer.
With such a small sample size, Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t yet sure if Old Man Shan was truly unlucky, but he could at least confirm that Old Man Shan's skill was indeed lackluster.
This combination of poor skill and enjoyment made such players popular wherever they went.
However, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t plan to join this game; Dou Di Zhu moved too slowly, and there were coordination issues, making it inefficient for winning money.
He tugged at Runsheng’s arm, who caught on: “Grandpa, I’ll take Little Yuan back first.”
“Uh-huh, that’s fine.” Old Man Shan dismissed them without looking back, already too engrossed in his losses.
Runsheng pedaled quickly, taking Li Zhuiyuan to a larger hall. Outside the residential building, a tent had been set up, with eight tables of people playing—some playing Dou Di Zhu while others played bridge. At the largest round table, nine people were engaging in a game of Zha Jinhua.
For this gambling game to be enjoyable, the more people involved, the better it was for the bluffing aspect.
“Runsheng, remember what I said before?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Runsheng patted his chest and walked over to an empty seat at the round table, sitting down. “Count me in.”
The other players at the table were momentarily stunned, sizing up Runsheng.
Xiting Town was well-connected, with many players from neighboring villages playing here, so several of them didn’t recognize Runsheng.
It was mostly due to his awkward age; he wasn’t a child in stature, yet he was too grown to be considered an adult.
Players at the table usually disliked playing with children because it didn’t reflect well if word got out, and kids often didn’t have much money to wager.
The hall’s boss was a short, plump man who waved at Runsheng: “Runsheng, don’t mess around; your grandpa isn’t here. Go look elsewhere.”
“I said I want to play!”
Runsheng deliberately put on a stern face, slamming the money he had received from Li Zhuiyuan onto the table.
Seeing this, the players exchanged glances and nodded, and the boss no longer objected, turning to pour tea, muttering to himself, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
A little nervous, Runsheng kept his stern face.
One hand of the current gameplay hadn’t finished yet, with three families still waiting.
Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes scanned the nine players at the round table, carefully memorizing their features.
Zha Jinhua used three cards and required less skill than Dou Di Zhu, making it dreamier and reliant mainly on luck.
Logically speaking, it was unwise to expect stable winnings from such a game.
However, Li Zhuiyuan had his methods; after committing all their appearances to memory, he would pick up on any micro-expressions they made while drawing cards.
Smart old gamblers are skilled at hiding and even deceiving; that’s no problem, as "Essentials of Yin-Yang Physiognomy" had given Li Zhuiyuan a vast collection of facial features acting as a significant database within his mind.
No matter how well one could disguise themselves, they couldn’t conceal every flaw. While such experts indeed existed, Li Zhuiyuan believed he wouldn’t meet one in this village since they wouldn’t be as bored as he was to come to gamble here.
This round concluded, and Runsheng had passed on his turn.
For three consecutive rounds, Runsheng had discarded his cards without challenging, and when he did, he always unveiled and tossed them, showing no attempts to hide.
Li Zhuiyuan had instructed him to do this; he needed to enrich his data to understand the micro-expressions corresponding to different card types.
Of course, Runsheng’s three discards had been poor; none were worth keeping.
Data collection had been thorough since the players on the table also enjoyed revealing their cards rather than hiding them.
Li Zhuiyuan shifted closer to Runsheng, who in turn shifted his position slightly.
During the next round of cards being dealt, the cards practically fell in front of Li Zhuiyuan.
This scene caught the attention of several people at the table, who expressed dissatisfaction; Runsheng might still be considered a young man, but this child beside him was exceptionally young.
Yet, since they were all sitting together, they hesitated to voice their opinions; after all, it wasn’t uncommon for a father to hold his child while playing cards and let the child play as well.
Li Zhuiyuan took money from his pocket and tossed it onto the table before quietly taking another hand.
“Whose child is this? He’s so fair-skinned.”
“His clothes are nice too, quite fashionable.”
The players began commenting on Li Zhuiyuan.
He wore a shy smile, oblivious to the fact that from that moment on, every player around the table viewed the little boy with “open cards.”
This didn’t count as cheating because observing expressions and understanding others’ behavior was merely part of the Zha Jinhua gameplay.
After going around the table, some people discarded their cards while others continued playing.
Li Zhuiyuan turned over his cards: a pair of 5s. Though embarrassing, he noticed that one of the players was bluffing and the other couldn’t beat his 5s.
Three people played on, while others started discarding.
Li Zhuiyuan felt relieved as he “saw” he held the highest cards in the entire room.
Eventually, the last player attempted to raise the stakes to intimidate the child, but it didn’t work, and they ended up losing in the showdown.
Runsheng stood up, reclaiming the winnings, then invited the next player to shuffle and the one before him to cut and deal.
Due to Li Zhuiyuan’s small stature and Runsheng’s clumsy hands, this served the purpose of avoiding any trouble that might arise from the winnings.
The next round began.
After playing a hand and looking at his cards, Li Zhuiyuan’s face lit up: AAAs.
Then, as the other players looked at their cards, their expressions confirmed to him that he had the biggest hand in the game.
They had cheated!
Unbeknownst to them, their exchanges, which they believed looked flawless, were blatantly obvious to Li Zhuiyuan.
“I’m done.”
Li Zhuiyuan tucked his cards away and directly shoved them into the pile, casually scattering them.
“What?” The middle-aged man with a big beard suddenly stood up, pointing at Li Zhuiyuan. “You’re cheating!”
His own cheating had served as proof that Li Zhuiyuan must also be cheating; otherwise, who would discard a winning hand?
“Runsheng, take out the table money, the fee for tea, and the cleaning fee.”
“Huh?” Runsheng was puzzled but obediently complied, estimating the costs before placing the money on the table.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up and headed for the exit, saying, “Let’s break the table.”
“Bang!”
With his fist crashing down, the table shattered.
This wasn’t a matter of an ordinary person just flipping a table or a display of emotional frustration; this was the scene of a giant round table being abruptly smashed, which shocked everyone present into silence.
Li Zhuiyuan calmly gazed at the chaotic floor; he wasn’t the one cheating, but did he need to explain?
No, he didn’t.
“Let’s go, Runsheng.”
“Eh!”
A sinister smile crossed Runsheng's face as he reached out, pointing at everyone present.
This move was inspired by the movie "Gambling God," which he had seen two nights ago. If only Little Yuan used hair gel, it would’ve made him resemble the idol in Runsheng’s heart.
The big beard man didn’t dare to approach, but he stood frozen, trembling as he said, “We’ll call the police!”
This was comical; gambling houses are generally overlooked, but if pursed, they’d certainly attract legal consequences and the confiscation of all gambling money.
Li Zhuiyuan paused, turned to look at him and said, “The local police officer, Tan Yunlong, is my uncle.”
After saying this, he continued walking.
Runsheng hopped along, dragging his shoes along the ground like a typical carefree kid.
Meanwhile, Li Zhuiyuan remained calm, even somewhat serious.
Once they climbed onto the tricycle, he quickly pulled out the talisman paper, sticking it onto his forehead, shoulders, arms, and thighs, as if he were a just-prepared sacrifice.
After a moment, he checked each one again, confirming that none had changed color.
Taking back the talisman paper, Li Zhuiyuan sighed, murmuring to himself, “Fortune-altering ritual.”
(End of chapter.)