Corpse Recovery Diver

"Bah, worthless thing that can't lay eggs, wasting the family's food for nothing!"

Wu Youhou's face turned pale with anger, and he walked out of the inner room.

Sitting on the steps, beside his nephew's body, Wu Yougen, the second brother, emptied his pockets and found some spare change, handing it all to his older brother.

But this money was far from enough.

The woman walked out to the small cabinet, sat down, and reached out to touch her son's body.

Wu Youhou ran out of the house, probably to borrow money from the neighbors.

Soon, he came back with some money.

In the countryside, borrowing money so quickly means you have a good reputation.

Luo Jinhua came out from the inner room, shouting, "The money you borrowed is yours to pay back, don't even think of using the family's money!"

Wu Youhou ignored her, sorted the money, and handed it to Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang could see that this family wasn't pretending just to avoid paying for the rituals.

Their living condition was indeed like this.

Li Sanjiang pushed the money back and said, "Your wife already gave me the money."

Wu Youhou: "This won't do, this won't do."

Li Sanjiang pushed Wu Youhou aside irritably, not out of pity, but out of frustration. Since they still had family finances, it meant they hadn't split the family property.

This man, too weak and useless, an adult but still not independent, Li Sanjiang truly looked down on him.

"Xiao Yuanhou, let's pack up."

Li Zhiyuan stepped forward to help pack things.

While packing the incense burner, Li Zhiyuan noticed the woman leaning against the cabinet, her eyes unnaturally bloodshot.

He walked over, without hesitation, and lifted the woman's eyelid to take a look, then asked:

"Did you drink pesticide?"

As soon as he said this, Wu Youhou and Wu Yougen became anxious and rushed forward to check on the woman.

The woman tried to push them away, but her mouth started foaming.

Wu Youhou quickly carried his wife to the village clinic, with Wu Yougen following closely.

Luo Jinhua's eyes showed a hint of joy.

It wasn't something Li Zhiyuan caught, but the old woman didn't even try to hide it.

"Oh, what a mess this is."

Li Sanjiang sighed again.

At this time, Luo Jinhua said to Li Sanjiang, "Got to bury it, find a place to bury it quickly to avoid the bad luck lingering here. There's someone pregnant at home, they can't be affected by this short-lived ghost!"

Li Sanjiang wanted to take the Peach Wood Sword and give this nasty old woman a few slashes.

According to the rules, he should be responsible for finding a burial place for the child, but since he didn't take the money for the rituals, theoretically, it wasn't his responsibility anymore.

But looking at the child in the small cabinet, Li Sanjiang couldn't bear it, so he pointed to Wu Jianhua, signaling him to come over and carry the cabinet.

Wu Jianhua stepped back a few steps, showing clear reluctance.

"You invited me here, and I haven't taken any money. At worst, I'll just leave directly!"

Luo Jinhua quickly pushed her son a couple of times, muttering, "Go quickly, at worst, take a bath afterward to ward off the bad luck."

Only then did Wu Jianhua reluctantly come over and lift the cabinet.

After that, the rest of the Wu family followed to the fields.

Li Sanjiang, after all, was an outsider, so he had to choose a burial spot in the Wu family's lands; it couldn't be buried randomly.

After a complicated process, they finally finished the burial.

Li Sanjiang wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, so he and Xiao Yuanhou walked away quickly, needing to return to the Wu family entrance to retrieve their tricycle.

The rest of the Wu family, who came to bury the child, lagged behind.

However, Li Zhiyuan had good hearing, and he could hear their conversations clearly, even from afar, despite the wind on the road.

Wu Jianhua: "Mom, do you think she can survive?"

Luo Jinhua: "They found out too early, probably won't die, it's all because of that old man's blabbering around."

Wu Jianhua: "What a pity."

Luo Jinhua: "Pity for what, even if she survives, she's completely useless, and at this age, there's no chance of bearing children again."

Wu Jianhua: "Hmm."

Luo Jinhua: "This child wasn't easy to handle, but it's a relief it's dead. Initially, less dose was used. If it had been like the previous two times when more was used, it would have been nicely dealt in the womb, saving us from wasting a few more years of food."

Mr. Wu angrily shouted: "What are you two blathering about!"

Luo Jinhua was not scared in the slightest; instead, she complained, "So what, there isn't even a ghost around, what are you afraid people will hear?"

Wu Changshun: "Stop babbling outside!"

Luo Jinhua: "If the eldest understood more over the years and didn't think about having kids, would I have to do this?

Old fool, I'm doing this for your good too.

The eldest is a failure, the second only knows farming and nothing else. The third is the filial one, the fourth sends money back from the state-run factory and has prospects.

You tell me, who are we going to rely on for support in our old age?

Besides, when the eldest's wife was pregnant the first two times, a fortune-teller said it was a girl, and I said to abort it with medicine, didn't you agree?

This just deceased child should've been gone in the womb, yet it wasn't aborted and ended up a sickly child, which household can afford to raise it?

If you ask me, the eldest is just making trouble, the second is better off without a wife. Isn't it fine, the fields he farms bring money for supporting the third and fourth families. When the third and fourth kids grow up, won't they appreciate their uncle and help in his old age too?

What's the difference between a nephew and a son? A good nephew is more dear than a son!"

All these conversations reached Li Zhiyuan's ears.

After retrieving the tricycle, Li Sanjiang secured his belongings and rode it to leave with Li Zhiyuan.

Li Zhiyuan faced backward, watching the Wu family's courtyard grow distant, knowing what those three shadows were, likely anger and resentment as they witnessed their mother drinking pesticide.

However, they couldn't take form and would soon dissipate.

When riding back on Si Yuan Village road, Li Zhiyuan spoke, "Grandmaster, let me get off first, I want to visit Big Beard's house to play with Beng Beng."

"Stay seated, Grandmaster will take you."

Hearing this, Li Zhiyuan didn't say more. After being delivered to Big Beard's yard, Li Sanjiang rode the tricycle back.

The young man walked into the Peach Forest, where Beng Beng was still kept within a small fence among the peach trees, playing with the peach blossoms.

Li Zhiyuan picked up a peach branch and started drawing on the ground.

He drew the location of the Peach Forest, roads and rivers, Si Yuan Village, Shinan Town, Shigang Town, and finally Sanxin Village.

The young man lifted his foot and kicked up a patch of peach blossoms on the ground, allowing them to fall and completely cover the map he had just drawn.

Li Zhiyuan took the peach branch and with a gentle flick, uncovered a small area, clearly revealing the location of Sanxin Village.

The meaning was simple, lifting the suppression over Sanxin Village's territory.

From deep within the Peach Forest, a faint voice came:

"You know doing this... will implicate you too..."

"I know."

"Why bother... there are countless such things in the world..."

Li Zhiyuan took out the crumpled banknote from his pocket, slowly unfolding and smoothing it in his palm:

"No choice, I accepted their money."