But Li Zhiyuan had settled into that position already.
He no longer cared whether he had awakened from the dream, nor did he mind whether the woman would come back; he simply maintained the same posture, his eyes half-closed.
His face still itched, forcing him to find another way to distract himself.
He began contemplating the algorithms in the eighth volume of "Yin Yang Face Reading", since he was idle anyway, had nothing else to do, and dared not do anything else, might as well continue studying.
In his mind, rows of faces kept emerging, gradually overlapping.
Li Zhiyuan could now conjure a face in his mind that could be male or female, old or young;
Upon closer inspection, he realized that from the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, to the ears, all were continuously changing.
The popular game among young girls in Beijing involved stickers that were placed on a paper model. The game included stickers of hairstyles and various clothes that you could tear off and stick on the model, sort of like a simple version of doll dressing.
Li Zhiyuan felt like he was playing this game, but his makeup kit contained far more accessories than a sticker toy box.
As he played, an idea gradually arose in Li Zhiyuan’s mind:
Could he make this face move and talk?
The first seven volumes of "Yin Yang Face Reading" involved a lot of rote memorization and calculation. In the eighth volume, there was a shift from science to mysticism, the latter representing a threshold.
Thanks to his mother frequently taking him to see a psychologist during his childhood, naively trying to meet her expectations, he even voluntarily developed a split personality based on the therapist’s guidance.
So, could the same method be applied here?
This thought startled him because he felt like he had found the key to unlocking the eighth volume!
But at the same time, Li Zhiyuan also felt danger. His previously self-created personality was entirely within his control, but what if he created a personality in his mind based on someone else’s template? Could that still be safe?
"Little Yuanhou, wake up, haha, still sleeping? We need to start work."
Li Weihan’s voice rang in his ear, followed by a rough but warm hand stroking his face.
Li Zhiyuan knew that he was truly awake now.
He didn’t know whether the woman had come back to test him after that time.
But that no longer mattered. Immersed in a learning atmosphere, he was truly oblivious to the outside world, not asleep, yet more "dead" than if he had been.
"What’s wrong, Little Yuanhou, uncomfortable sleeping outside?" Li Weihan asked concernedly.
"No, not at all, Grandpa, I slept very well."
Li Zhiyuan turned to glance toward the house, seeing that the college students were also up, washing up, and Zhao Hequan was there too, alive and chatting with classmates.
"That’s good, your uncle brought water, let’s wash up."
After a quick wash and taking their breakfast, everyone headed early to the worksite. Today’s tasks were divided by village; if completed early, they could go home and not have to stay another night.
Li Zhiyuan also went to the riverbank, this time, he slacked off, finding a rock to sit on, hand propping his chin.
He was conflicted, feeling that he had found the key to the eighth volume, but he was also afraid to try.
It vaguely felt like last time he did divination for himself.
This line of work had many taboos; no, that’s not quite right, it was essentially composed of various taboos.
The bustling atmosphere on the worksite gradually dispelled the gloom in Li Zhiyuan’s heart;
He began to see things more clearly; the first seven volumes were enough for him to read faces when idle, and the eighth should only be used in special circumstances.
Alright, time to help Grandpa and the others move mud.
Li Zhiyuan was about to get up when his gaze shifted downward and suddenly noticed a gray patch on the inside of his left forearm, and a similar patch on the corresponding spot on his right arm.
He immediately touched his face; there was no sensation, and he wasn’t itchy when he woke up, nearly forgetting about it.
It seemed he was indeed affected after all.
The absence of marks on his face could be understood; some effects in last night’s dreams weren’t necessarily manifesting on his face since his body then wasn’t his real one.
Li Zhiyuan raised his arms, examining them closely; although each spot was only the size of зa coin, this thing... might very well spread.
At that moment, two people approached from ahead - to be exact, it was Xue Liangliang supporting Zhao Hequan.
The two were in a surveying group, regardless of whether they had quarreled last night, today they still had to complete the task together.
"Brother, what happened to him?" Li Zhiyuan asked.
Xue Liangliang said, "He’s not feeling well, I’m taking him to see a doctor."
Li Zhiyuan noticed that Zhao Hequan’s neck was completely blue-black.
That’s right, he had only been hit by flesh from the woman’s face, while Zhao Hequan had been dragged away by the woman grabbing his neck, definitely a more severe case.
Li Zhiyuan greeted Li Weihan before following Xue Liangliang back to the dam where they had slept last night, where a barefoot doctor was stationed.
The doctor unbuttoned Zhao Hequan’s shirt to examine his symptoms, then his expression turned grim.
"Doctor, is he poisoned, or was he bitten by a poisonous insect?" Xue Liangliang asked anxiously.