Chapter 27.2: The Fog Breaks

The tricycle driver gave a sheepish smile and quoted the earlier half-price fare.

When they reached the town clinic and walked inside, before Li Zhuiyuan could ask where Sister Mei and Runsheng were, he saw two police officers already ahead of them.

He followed quickly and soon found a quiet hospital room. Runsheng sat silently on a bench outside.

The police went inside, while Li Zhuiyuan approached Runsheng, gave him a gentle nudge, and asked,

“Runsheng-ge, what are you doing sitting out here?”

Runsheng looked up. “Little Yuan…”

After talking for a bit, Li Zhuiyuan finally understood what had happened after they were brought to the hospital.

First, Brother Bao's resuscitation failed. He was declared dead.

Upon hearing this, Sister Mei fainted on the spot.

The old tricycle man left right after arriving at the hospital.

As a result, the clinic staff asked Runsheng to stay behind and settle the bill. But Runsheng had no money on him, so he had to sit there like a “hostage.”

He figured once Sister Mei woke up and he explained everything, he could leave. It was just that she’d been unconscious for quite a while.

Li Zhuiyuan took the initiative to enter the room and speak with the police. Inside, Sister Mei lay on the bed, surrounded by two uniformed officers and a plainclothes one.

This plainclothes officer had arrived earlier. Li Zhuiyuan hadn’t known that—if he had, he might’ve hesitated before coming in. Because this was the same man who, in the crowd earlier, had seemed to single him out with a glance.

Li Zhuiyuan first approached the two uniformed officers, explained the situation, and made it clear that his friend had simply done a good deed and shouldn’t be dragged into any trouble.

Once the police understood the context, they went to speak with the clinic staff. Not long after, Runsheng was told he could leave.

“Great, finally time to go home and eat!”

Runsheng was starving and looked about ready to carry Li Zhuiyuan home on his back.

But then a voice called out behind them. “Hey, kid. Wait a minute.”

Tan Yunlong walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, bent down, and looked at him closely.

“Kid, you were the one who called the police, right?”

The dispatcher had confirmed that the caller was a boy. When Tan Yunlong arrived at the scene, he immediately noticed Li Zhuiyuan.

It was obvious: while everyone else had been crowding forward to see the commotion, this quiet boy had stood alone at the edge, with a perfect view. It was too conspicuous. Then, his friend had taken the arcade owners to the hospital. Add it all up, and it clearly wasn’t just coincidence.

“Yes, Officer. I made the call.”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t deny it. There was no point lying to an experienced cop like this.

“Why’d you call the police?”

“Was I not supposed to?”

Tan Yunlong was momentarily caught off guard. In the end, he just smiled and said, “You did the right thing. Good job.”

“Sir, can we go home now?”

“Of course.” The results from the arcade case weren’t in yet, but either way, they had to protect the one who reported it. “Come on, where do you live? I’ll drive you. It’s not safe for kids to walk at night.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Tan Yunlong had them get into the car, but before driving off, he removed the police siren from the roof.

He didn’t take them all the way home. Instead, he stopped the car at the village road entrance.

After saying goodbye to Tan Yunlong, Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng walked toward Great-grandpa’s house. Just as they reached the fork in the path leading to the small lane, they saw Li Weihan riding a heavy-duty bicycle, rushing toward them, followed by four uncles, all storming out of the village.

Li Weihan looked grim. Two of the uncles seemed deeply worried, while the other two had dark expressions and were cursing under their breath.

“Grandpa, Uncles.”

“Little Yuanhou, go straight home. Grandpa and your uncles have to head into town.”

Li Weihan didn’t even have time to greet his beloved grandson properly. The message from the messenger had been too shocking:

Lei'er and Pan'er had been caught by the police in town—for using that stuff!

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky!

They were rushing to the town police station now. The two uncles muttering “beat that ungrateful brat to death” were Lei’er and Pan’er’s fathers.

Runsheng asked curiously, “Little Yuan, what happened?”

“Let’s go home first. I’m starving, Runsheng-ge.”

“Right, me too!”

Back at home, Aunt Liu scolded them a bit. “You kids go out and totally lose track of time. We already finished eating. Even your Great-grandpa has gone out for a stroll.”

Still, she quickly brought out the food she had set aside. It didn’t look great by that point, but it was still warm.

Li Zhuiyuan had a single bowl—rice on the bottom, food on top. Runsheng had a big basin.

Runsheng quickly lit incense and began wolfing down food with deep satisfaction, like he’d finally regained strength.

Honestly, in that moment, he looked more like someone who had just used drugs than any of the suspects from the arcade.

Qin Li sat down in front of Li Zhuiyuan, watching him eat.

As he was eating, Great-grandpa returned from his walk, muttering:

“Damn, the whole village is saying Pan’er and Lei’er joined some gang pushing heroin. And they’re not just small fry, either.”

Li Zhuiyuan nearly choked on his food. As he coughed, he felt a soft little hand patting him gently on the back.

Li Sanjiang sat down, lit a cigarette, and added, “Never would’ve guessed. Those two always seemed like quiet kids. Just goes to show, people aren’t always what they seem.”

“Great-grandpa, it’s probably just a rumor. That can’t be true.”

“Who knows. Your grandpa and uncles are at the station now.

Little Yuanhou, let me warn you—anything else is fine, but that stuff, you must never touch it. Touch it once, and your life’s pretty much over.”

“I understand, Great-grandpa.”

“By the way, who were you out with this afternoon? You were gone so long.”

“Pan’er-ge and Lei’er-ge.”

Li Sanjiang’s face scrunched up a bit, then relaxed. He nodded slowly. “Then it’s probably just village gossip blowing things out of proportion.”

After dinner, Li Sanjiang went upstairs to wash up and sleep. He had to get up early tomorrow to sit vigil at Old Zhao’s house.

Runsheng went to the well, showered, and—still dripping wet—plopped down in front of the TV.

In the pale glow of the screen, with water streaming off him, he looked more like a Dead Sinker just hauled from the river.

Li Zhuiyuan was in the courtyard, holding a horse stance.

Ah Li stood beside him, keeping him company.

Once he’d trained long enough, Li Zhuiyuan stood up, took a deep breath, and wiped off the sheen of sweat from his body. The exhaustion of the day eased a little.

Liu Yumei had been sitting nearby, cracking melon seeds and enjoying the evening breeze. She chuckled and teased:

“What’s the point of practicing that? Look how serious you are.”

“Just think of it as morning calisthenics.”

That answer made Liu Yumei’s expression freeze. She absentmindedly chewed a seed husk instead of the seed itself.

Li Zhuiyuan realized he might have said the wrong thing and quickly added, “I just feel so much better after practicing. My body feels good, and I’m more awake. It’s kind of amazing.”

“You’re still young. Your bones haven’t fully grown yet. Not the time for hard training.”

“Okay, Granny Liu.” Li Zhuiyuan glanced at Ah Li’s belt. “Granny, doesn’t Ah Li’s belt seem a bit… off?”

When Ah Li encountered strangers or was triggered, she had a tendency to snap. Giving her a soft sword on top of that… she might actually end up hurting someone.

“Granny thinks it’s perfect. Only that belt matches our Ah Li’s outfit.”

Just as she said that, Ah Li immediately took off the belt and threw it to the ground—because Little Yuan said it didn’t fit.

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