Corpse Recovery Diver

"Oh, San Hou, what's up, what's happened?"

Li Sanjiang didn't recognize him.

Usually, people he didn't recognize coming to find him were all for that kind of matter.

"Someone in the family passed away, we'd like Mr. Li to come over."

This was business.

Li Sanjiang: "What day?"

Wu Jianhua: "Today, if Mr. Li is available now, you can come with me, I'll bring you back afterwards."

"Today?" Li Sanjiang responded, "A young child has passed away at home?"

Normally, when a child dies, the burial is handled hastily without making a big deal out of the white affair.

"Yeah. My older brother's child passed away."

"Alright, I'll go over then."

Li Sanjiang turned back and looked at the house.

Run Sheng went to deliver something to Lin Shuyou after breakfast, Xiong Shan was at the clinic with Lin Shuyou, Uncle Qin went out too, Zhuangzhuang "returned to his hometown."

The house suddenly became extremely empty.

Li Zhiyuan finished drinking his porridge and stood up: "Grandmaster, I'll go with you."

Li Sanjiang hesitated for a moment, usually, he wouldn't have Little Yuanhou go out with him to work, but this time he did need an assistant.

Never mind, it's not a complicated matter anyway, it'll be done and over quickly.

"Little Yuanhou, let's go."

Wu Jianhua: "I'll give you a ride, the kid can sit on the front bar, Mr. Li you can sit in the back."

Li Sanjiang: "I still have to bring tools, you can't carry them all."

Li Zhiyuan pushed out the tricycle from home.

After packing the tools, Li Sanjiang said: "Little Yuanhou, come, you sit in the back, I'll ride."

"Grandmaster, I can handle it."

"Little one, you're still so young, your body hasn't fully developed yet, don't overexert, it'll cost you in the future."

Li Sanjiang didn't know much about martial arts, but throughout his long life, he had seen too many instances where kids who ate poorly or did heavy work too early developed growth issues when they grew up.

Li Zhiyuan actually could handle it, but he didn't argue with Grandmaster and obediently sat in the back.

Wu Jianhua led the way on his bike, while Li Sanjiang followed on the tricycle.

The two rode side by side on the road with little regard for road manners, chatting as they went.

Li Zhiyuan faced backwards, watching the traffic.

After a round of conversation, they clearly understood the situation of the Wu family.

Mr. Wu was Wu Changshun, he had four sons.

The eldest and second son were born from his first wife, the eldest was almost forty, the second two years younger, named Wu Youhou and Wu Yougen respectively.

The third and fourth sons were born from the second wife after the first one passed away, the third son was Wu Jianhua, the fourth Wu Jianxin.

The eldest, Wu Youhou, was married, but his wife had been pregnant three times, including this one, with two stillbirths and one premature death.

The second son, Wu Yougen, was also quite old and had never married.

Wu Jianhua said it's because his half-brother was taciturn and didn't like talking, so he remained single.

Wu Jianhua was twenty-three, Wu Jianxin twenty-one, both married, and Wu Jianhua's wife was currently pregnant.

This time, Wu Jianhua was asked by his father-in-law and wife to invite Li Sanjiang, not by his family, to perform rituals to rid the family of bad luck, fearing it might affect the unborn child of Wu Jianhua's wife.

Upon reaching Sanxin Village, the Wu family had a yard, Wu Jianhua rode his bike directly in, while Li Sanjiang parked his tricycle on the road outside.

As he got off to take the tools, Li Sanjiang muttered: "It's really true that with a stepmom comes a stepdad."

Li Zhiyuan knew what Grandmaster meant, that Wu Yougen's taciturn nature alone shouldn't prevent him from getting a wife, and if it was a matter of family conditions, the stepmother's children, the much younger third and fourth sons, were already married.

The youth helped carry the tools together and walked into the Wu family yard.

This consisted of an old bungalow and two new brick houses.

The third and fourth sons lived in each new brick house, while the eldest, the unmarried second son, and the two parents lived in the old house.

The child's body was placed in a cabinet inside the house.

The child was three years old, died of illness.

Li Zhiyuan walked up to take a look, the child was thin, with facial features lacking, indicating innate deficiencies, most likely poorly developed in the womb.

Mr. Wu Changshun sat on the old house's threshold smoking a water pipe.

The second son Wu Yougen sat quietly on the steps.

The eldest Wu Youhou stood by the cabinet, blankly staring at the child inside.

The child's mother lay on the bed inside, Li Zhiyuan glanced in from the doorway, the woman on the bed was very thin, and the room was filled with a strong medicinal scent.

This couple were almost forty, and the deceased child was only three, quite a late arrival in rural terms, moreover there had been two prior miscarriages.

The couple had made considerable efforts for the child's sake, yet now, it was all in vain.

Li Sanjiang held the Peach Wood Sword, first swiped across Wu Youhou's body a few times, then patted his shoulder: "Condolences."

Wu Youhou sighed with sorrow, nodded with great difficulty, closed his eyes, and said: "I guess, I'm just not meant to have this fate."

Li Sanjiang then entered the house with the Peach Wood Sword, Wu Youhou's wife wasn't asleep, her eyes were open, likely having just cried her heart out, now dry-eyed and staring numbly at the beams.

The Peach Wood Sword swiped over the woman's body a few times before starting to chant, interspersed with several comforting words.

Li Zhiyuan held a banner for Grandmaster, following him closely.