"Okay, done!" Li Sanjiang released his hand from covering Li Zhiyuan's ears, squatted down beside the child, and instructed, "Little Yuanhou, Grandmaster will walk in front, and you follow behind slowly. Don't spill the incense burner, got it?"
"Good child, obedient."
Li Sanjiang took Li Zhiyuan out the back door, turned around, looked at Li Weihan and Cui Guiying who had followed, and said, "You two wait at home; don't come after us. Too many people make us easy to be spotted, and I'm afraid of startling her."
"Okay, uncle, please take care of it."
"Lock all the doors at home."
Li Weihan pulled his spouse back into the house and then closed all the doors and windows.
Now, on the riverside under the night sky, only Li Sanjiang and Li Zhiyuan remained.
"Wait for me a moment, Little Yuanhou."
Li Sanjiang called out and then went down the bluestone steps to the river alone. He squatted down and began to stir the water continually with his hand while muttering something quietly.
Li Zhiyuan, standing a bit away and with the voice intentionally kept low, couldn't make out what was being said.
As he murmured, Li Sanjiang's body began to tilt backward, repeatedly giving the impression he was ready to run, as if something lurking in the water might leap out at him any moment.
Finally, Li Sanjiang finished speaking, rushed back up, still panting heavily.
"Okay, Little Yuanhou, I'll walk in front, and you follow behind. Remember, no matter what happens next, no matter what sounds you hear, you must hold this incense burner tightly and never look back, understood?"
Li Sanjiang walked ahead, creating a distance of over twenty meters before turning back to gesture to Li Zhiyuan, signaling the child could follow now.
However, Li Zhiyuan stood still, not moving.
"Come on, follow me, Little Yuanhou."
"But..." Li Zhiyuan wanted to turn his head but remembered Li Sanjiang's instructions; he held the extinguished incense burner in one hand and pointed towards the river with the other, "Aren't we waiting for her?"
"Her, Little Huang Ying."
"Little Huang Ying, what about her?"
"She didn't follow along."
Li Sanjiang was taken aback, walked back, and looked down at Li Zhiyuan intently, "Little Yuanhou, do you know what we're going to do?"
Li Zhiyuan shook his head and then nodded.
Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhiyuan with some surprise, muttering, "This child, takes after your mom, smart."
Then, as if a thought occurred to him, Li Sanjiang stared into Li Zhiyuan's eyes and asked, "Can you... feel her?"
"Where is she... now?"
Li Zhiyuan opened his mouth but said nothing, as if pondering or waiting, then he spoke,
"Where?" Li Sanjiang was startled with alarm.
"Just now in the water..."
"Phew..." Li Sanjiang exhaled in relief.
Li Sanjiang subconsciously wanted to shift his gaze and look behind Li Zhiyuan, but he resisted the urge.
But even without looking, his nose picked up the pungent stench of a corpse. It was a smell he knew all too well.
Li Sanjiang swallowed nervously, thinking to call it off, but then he remembered the consequences of doing so... Damn it, why should the Hanhou family carry the burden for the sins committed by others!
"Little Yuanhou, remember what Grandmaster just told you."
Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, raised his hands high, and stood up slowly. The smell of decay grew stronger.
He then turned around, opened his eyes, and walked a distance forwards, the same distance he used to observe the corpses while poling his boat.
After taking a deep breath, he looked back over his shoulder.
Behind Little Yuanhou, holding the incense burner, stood darkness untouched by moonlight.
"Little Yuanhou, follow closely."
Li Sanjiang started walking forward, with a "ding ding ding" sound following.
He didn't take the village path but deliberately meandered along the river bank or through the small woods. Even in the dead of night with hardly any pedestrians, he had to be as cautious as possible, ensuring that no outsiders would learn of their actions.
Halfway through, Li Sanjiang stopped his steps, and the ringing of bells behind him ceased as well.
Li Sanjiang turned back and saw Li Zhiyuan still standing twenty meters away. Behind the child, he could vaguely see a shadow, clinging close.
"Little Yuanhou, keep following; we're nearly there."
Li Sanjiang continued to lead the way, walking, then pausing, with the bells following in kind.
Finally, after rounding another fish pond, they would reach Big Beard's house. This fish pond was actually owned by his family.
This time, Li Sanjiang didn't stop. Instead, he kept moving along the edge of the fish pond, but during his progress, he slowly turned back to look:
Under the pale moonlight, Li Zhiyuan held the incense burner, glancing forward at the guiding Grandmaster, then down carefully at the path.
The path was treacherous, and it was easy for a child to slip and fall, so he walked with great care. Nevertheless, his form still swayed.
Behind him followed a woman in a cheongsam, her long hair damp.
The woman seemed like a blind person, unable to see the path ahead.
And as blind people often cling to their guides, the woman's hands rested on the boy's shoulders; as the boy staggered, her form swayed along unevenly.
Li Sanjiang swallowed hard, walking backward, his foot stepping into the void for a moment, nearly losing balance. But after swaying for a bit, he steadied himself.
Seeing this, Li Zhiyuan was about to stop.
Li Sanjiang hurriedly said anxiously, "Little Yuanhou, don't stop, keep going, hold steady, we're almost there."