Tan Wenbin took out his tools from the backpack and made prints of the patterns around the well.
Brother Xiao Yuan had never instructed him to do this, probably because Brother Xiao Yuan would not care about such a minor protective Array.
Tan Wenbin planned to make prints and take them back for his own study, having personally experienced the damage caused by the Array, it could better combine theory with practice.
"It looks like I’ll need to get a camera."
After finishing these tasks, Tan Wenbin waved to Hu Yiwei and walked out of the house.
Li Zhiyuan returned to the Xue family.
Mr. Xue sat in the courtyard smoking despondently, while Mrs. Xue, who hadn’t gone out to play cards, sat opposite him, idly touching her fingers in a daze.
Despite the festive couplets and the character for ’longevity’ abundantly adorning the courtyard, the elderly couple wore worried expressions.
"Uncle Xue, Aunt Xue."
Upon hearing Li Zhiyuan’s voice, the two elders were momentarily stunned, then they both rushed over, with Aunt Xue even pinching Li Zhiyuan to ensure the young man was intact.
Mr. Xue: "Child, you’re finally back. We were worried you might have gone to..."
Li Zhiyuan had left a note when he went out, but obviously, the elders didn’t completely believe it, guessing in their hearts whether the boy might have gone to Zhengmen Village.
"Uncle Xue, how could I dare go to such a dangerous place?"
Mr. Xue gently pushed Mrs. Xue: "Go on, go make some food for the child."
"Alright, sure." Mrs. Xue immediately nodded with a smile.
"Uncle Xue, Aunt Xue, I’ve been out too long this time. I have to rush back to Jinling School now, or the teacher will fail me. I’ll skip the meal. I came specifically to say goodbye and to thank you for taking care of me these days."
"It’s like caring for our own child, no need to be so polite."
"That’s right, Brother Liang has gone to Nantong so many times this year, hasn’t he been taken care of by you every time? We owe your family a lot."
Brother Liangliang did indeed come to Nantong often, but he didn’t frequent the Grand Master’s House much, as most of the time he seemed in a rush to jump into the river as soon as he arrived.
"By the way, Uncle Xue, there’s one more thing. I just spoke with Brother Liangliang on the phone, and he asked me to tell you in advance to adopt the simpleton into your family."
Li Zhiyuan pulled the simpleton forward.
Upon hearing this, both Mr. and Mrs. Xue frowned.
Giving the simpleton some leftovers, or a bit of food and drink during holidays or events was fine.
But to actually take someone in and care for them... most people couldn’t accept that.
This wasn’t about adopting a worker or having an extra pair of chopsticks at the table; caring for someone with an abnormal mind at home would require a lot of attention.
Even within a family, individual status is determined by productive income, which is why Mr. and Mrs. Xue couldn’t urge Brother Liangliang to marry and have children as forcefully as other parents might.
"Well then... let him stay at our place for now." Mr. Xue decided to keep the simpleton first, and then call his son to find out what he actually meant.
Li Zhiyuan of course knew how troublesome it was to take care of a simpleton, but his actions were not purely out of gratitude.
The simpleton was not just any ordinary village guardian; having him at home not only ensured the family’s safety but could also improve their fortune.
Such people were like living talismans, sought after by others in vain.
"Then I’ll be off now, no need to see me out. Goodbye, Uncle Xue, Aunt Xue. Goodbye, simpleton."
Li Zhiyuan walked to the courtyard gate, joining Run Sheng and heading towards the alley.
The simpleton peeled off the candy wrapper, put the candy in his mouth, and drooled while giggling:
"Hehehe, Dragon King, hehehe, Dragon King..."
The five of them took a delivery truck back to the county and then found a van to head to Jinling overnight.
By the time they arrived at the school, it was noon. After eating at Old Sichuan, everyone dispersed.
Li Zhiyuan and Tan Wenbin returned to their dormitory, Run Sheng and Yin Meng went back to the store, and Zheng Jiayi went to the counselor’s office to find Fatty Wu, also helping Tan Wenbin with his leave excuse.
After washing himself with cold water at the sink, Tan Wenbin returned to the dormitory and pondered setting up a simple shower area, mimicking the one at Mr. Li’s house, with a bucket overhead, a showerhead below, and a large basin to stand in while washing, with waterproof sheets around.
Then he’ll ask Lu Yi to help wire it so they can boil water with an electric heater in the dorm.
Tan Wenbin was now familiar with the dormitory supervisor, so he didn’t have to worry about inspections.
After getting Li Zhiyuan’s agreement, Tan Wenbin set to work; he went to the store to get the materials and also called Run Sheng, who had just showered, and Lu Yi, who was manning the cashier, to come help.
Li Zhiyuan tidied up his things, shouldered his backpack, and headed to Liu Yumei’s house.
He sat at the edge of the courtyard on a stool, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
Aunt Liu held a sea bowl in her left hand and sharp silver chopsticks in her right, meticulously extracting embedded objects from Uncle Qin’s body.
With each removal, she dumped it into the sea bowl with a crisp "ding-dong".
"Xiao Yuan." Uncle Qin smiled upon seeing Li Zhiyuan enter through the door.
"You’re back, Xiao Yuan?" asked Aunt Liu with concern.
"Yes, I’m back." Li Zhiyuan replied, approaching.
The sea bowl held by Aunt Liu was filled with black, long fingernails and sharply pointed teeth with barbs.
And in Uncle Qin’s body, there were still many remnants; some embedded incredibly deep.