Corpse Recovery Diver

The young man picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Qing'an: "How is it?"

Li Zhiyuan: "Terrible."

Qing'an nodded: "Indeed."

Li Zhiyuan: "Is it missing tea leaves?"

Qing'an shook his head: "We usually drink offering wine and rarely have tea. Today, I had a sudden idea and tried a sip. It tasted terrible, so I left it on purpose, wanting you to try it too."

Li Zhiyuan looked down. Next to the teacup, there were a pair of chopsticks. He didn't reach out to pick up the chopsticks to get some food, but instead calmly said:

"I got the experience."

Qing'an: "I told you, you remind me a lot of him, but you're not him in the end."

Li Zhiyuan: "Yeah, I don't want to be the second him."

Qing'an reached out, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began writing on the white paper in front of him.

"He used to say that we ate a lot. When walking the Righteous Path, the main thought on his mind was how to feed us, worrying that we might starve to death.

But he never told us, actually, he had the biggest appetite."

Qing'an put down the brush. On the white paper was the character "stomach".

Li Zhiyuan: "Stomach is the Righteous Path?"

Qing'an: "You've seen it, are you afraid?"

Li Zhiyuan: "On the way back, I was lost in thought until just now."

Qing'an: "Me, until now."

Today, there was no music, no songs, no wine nor wind. When Su Luo stopped grinding the ink, the depths of the Peach Forest were eerily silent.

Qing'an spoke again: "He is him, you are you."

Li Zhiyuan: "You just said that."

"I know your path is difficult, but there are still opportunities. You have already figured out a way to continue." Qing'an picked up the pen again and wrote the word "For" on the paper.

After a pause, he originally intended to stop writing, but then continued to write the words "Righteous Path".

Qing'an: "This is the path for you to survive."

Li Zhiyuan: "Everything for the Righteous Path?"

Qing'an nodded.

Li Zhiyuan: "That's something I can indeed do."

Qing'an: "As long as you can, don't overdo it."

Li Zhiyuan: "Are you concerned about me?"

Qing'an: "My loss of self is already very severe. I've long felt a deep estrangement from myself. Some things, if not for you mentioning them, I would have long forgotten."

Li Zhiyuan: "Still a transaction."

Qing'an: "Yes, a transaction. This time, although we can't drink it with wine, there's an interest in tea, which is even rarer."

Qing'an referred to "overdo it" as pronouncing the character "for" with a different tone.

Then, the meaning of "for the Righteous Path" would change from:

Everything for the Righteous Path.

To,

All to become the Righteous Path.

Li Zhiyuan: "I don't have that intention."

Qing'an: "Haha, it doesn't depend on your intention, you're ultimately not him."

"Hmm." With that, Li Zhiyuan stood up, "It's late; I need to go to sleep."

Qing'an waved his hand.

Li Zhiyuan turned and walked out of the Peach Forest.

Watching the young man leave, Qing'an gently tapped his fingers on the tea table and then asked Su Luo beside him:

"He's much calmer than I expected."

Su Luo: "He's always been like that."

"No. I intentionally made tea to wait for him because I thought he would come. Now I have this feeling he came because he knew I expected him to come, and he didn't want me to be disappointed."

Su Luo: "Out of courtesy?"

"Afraid I would feel humiliated, which would make future dealings difficult, or worried I'd raise the price.

I increasingly feel that way. He and he are very similar; both of them could easily see through me. He once said that it wouldn't be surprising if I were ever fooled into seeing a gated residence."

Su Luo: "But you said, this one is ultimately not him."

Qing'an raised his hand, and the tea table instantly shattered. The teacups, brush, ink, paper, and inkstone all visibly decayed, absorbed by the surrounding peach trees.

"But in this world, for someone to resemble him is already extraordinary!"

Su Luo is a part of Qing'an.

Thus, the dialogue between Su Luo and Qing'an could be understood as talking to himself.

Su Luo: "But what if he even figures out how to learn this?"

"That's impossible!"

Su Luo: "I'm saying, what if."

"In this world, across time, there's only one Wei Zhengdao!"

Su Luo: "Just in case..."

"No just in case."

Su Luo: "What if it's just a false dream? Couldn't you quickly find the release you seek in this dream?"

"Then in this dream, I'd have to immediately start planning carefully."

Su Luo: "Plan what?"

"Plan to become... his wave."

...

"Alright, Brother Runsheng, now we can go home."

The young man breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that a necessary formality was finally over.

"Okay."

The tricycle rode onto the courtyard of Grandpa's house, and Li Zhiyuan took Alii to the door of the East Room.

The door was pushed open, and Alii walked in.

As the door closed, the young man and the girl looked at each other through the door frame.

Li Zhiyuan: "No need to get up so early tomorrow, sleep a bit more."

The girl shook her head.

If she didn't see the young man when day broke, to her, it would still be dark.

She liked to come early to the young man's room, working on drawing or crafts, occasionally looking up to see the young man still asleep.

"Alright then."

Li Zhiyuan knew he couldn't persuade her and saw no need to force the issue.

The door was closed.

Alii walked towards the bedroom.

Clad in a white nightgown, Liu Yumei sat by the bed, gently fanning herself, and asked:

"Does Xiao Yuan have something on his mind?"

Knowing the child wouldn't speak up if he couldn't be persuaded.

Alii nodded, her eyes showing a trace of worry as she looked at her older sister, who was like a grandmother to her.

Liu Yumei's heart ached at the sight. The bond between these two children ran deep, and Ting Hou wasn't at the age to see these two as the Golden Boy and Jade Girl.