Chapter 43.2: Paper and Skin

"Wasn’t that Daoist emperor of the Ming dynasty the same?"

"Those emperors… they don’t love their empire or women, only themselves. At their core, they’re selfish to the bone."

"So how could they possibly care about human life?"

"Lesson learned."

"If you preserve these books and paper well, they might actually be antiques. Seems like your Taigong really stashed some treasures down in that basement."

"You already knew he had books down there?"

"He mentioned it himself. Back during the 'Destroy the Four Olds' campaign, a few folks left their things here for safekeeping. Said someone would come back for them someday. But it’s been years, and no one’s ever returned."

"Who were those people?"

"I never even looked at those books—how would I know? And now, with my old eyes, I’m in no shape to read anyway."

"That’s a real shame. Some of those books seem pretty interesting."

"When Ah Li gets better, you can read them to your old granny."

"Some I can’t read out loud. You’d have to see for yourself."

"Anything else on your mind?"

"Yes." Li Zhuiyuan opened a black plastic bag and took out a heavy gold ingot, placing it in front of Liu Yumei.

"You brat, did you go work as a Water Monkey?"

"No, wouldn’t dare."

"This is spirit gold. It’s used as a burial offering."

"It’s real gold."

"What, you looking to trade it for cash?"

"Yes."

Liu Yumei chuckled, covering her mouth. "You treating your granny like a pawn shop now?"

"A fair deal. Nothing else involved."

The truth was, he only had that one ingot left. It was payment for leasing land and planting trees. Handing it directly to Taigong would be hard to explain. And getting it exchanged for cash elsewhere would be even more trouble.

After all, Taigong just needed to hand over money at the village office and sign. But Li Zhuiyuan had more to think about.

"Alright. How much does it weigh?"

"Didn’t weigh it."

Liu Yumei hefted it in her hand. "Want me to pay you at today’s gold rate?"

"Sure. But it’s a full, intact ingot."

"You rascal. Granny’ll give you ten percent extra."

"Thanks, Granny."

That’s the perk of trading with Liu Yumei. If he’d taken it to an outside shop, they’d have cut it open, ruining its value.

"A-Ting."

"Coming." Aunt Liu emerged from the kitchen, leaned in to hear Liu Yumei’s instructions, then nodded. "Alright, I’ll head to the bank."

Liu Yumei looked at Li Zhuiyuan. "You’ll get the money tonight."

"Thank you, Granny."

"You still haven’t explained last night."

"It’s hard to put into words. But it’s settled now."

"That’s good." Liu Yumei tilted her head, watching him. "You look pale."

"Maybe I didn’t sleep well."

"No—it’s like you slept too much. Be careful. Oversleeping’s no good either. You lose track of what’s real and what’s a dream."

At that moment, the door to the east room opened. Ah Li stood in the doorway.

There’s a saying from the ancients—‘naturally beautiful, unadorned.’ It always seemed like an exaggeration. Until you saw someone in real life and realized just how true it could be.

Li Zhuiyuan had grown used to seeing Ah Li dolled up. But fresh from a shower, she looked especially radiant and delicate.

His face lit up. With her here, how could he possibly confuse dreams with reality?

Out of nowhere, Liu Yumei remarked, "I was just as pretty as Ah Li when I was young."

"You were already spotted by Grandpa when you were ten?" Li Zhuiyuan quipped.

"You rascal!" Liu Yumei swiped at him. He dodged.

Ah Li walked over. Liu Yumei got up to help fix her hair and clothes—but to her surprise, her granddaughter ran off with the boy upstairs into the main house.

For a moment, Liu Yumei looked awkward. But since she was already standing, she stretched.

"Yo, working out this late?"

Li Sanjiang and Tan Wenbin had returned, pushing an empty cart. They’d just delivered a set of tables, chairs, and dishes.

"Old bones gotta keep moving," Liu Yumei said.

"That’s true. Our mule’s sick—after one trip, I’m beat." Li Sanjiang collapsed into a chair, lit a cigarette. He needed a break.

Tan Wenbin asked, "Is Little Yuan back?"

"He is. Just went upstairs."

"Okay, Granny."

Tan Wenbin didn’t go after him. Instead, he headed to the workshop.

The moment he opened the door, a rich aroma of roasting meat hit him.

"Yo, Runsheng, how sneaky of you, grilling meat alone."

He reached over and grabbed a piece right off the grill, tossed it into his mouth without even blowing on it.

"Hot! Hot! Damn!"

Runsheng: "..."

"Crispy, not bad. You grilling pig skin? At least prep some dipping sauce—no chili, at least some salt!"

"Tastes good?"

"Yeah, pretty fresh."

"Want more?"

"Of course!"

"Here, pick a piece. I’ll slice it for you."

Runsheng laid out two skin suits on the table. "Lifelike."

He was following Little Yuan’s instructions—destroying them. But Tan Wenbin had walked in and started eating before he could say a word.

Then Tan Wenbin saw the two pale human forms lying on the table.

He froze for a full half minute, still chewing in a daze.

Then he spit it out and clutched his throat:

"Ugh!!!"

"Bathroom’s right next door. Go puke there."

But Binbin stayed put, retching on the spot.

Runsheng didn’t want a mess. He hoisted him up and dumped him in the bathroom, where he leaned on the toilet and vomited his guts out.

Back in the workshop, Runsheng cut up the rest of the skin suits and fed them to the fire, batch by batch.

The disposal was done—but the furnace would need scrubbing. Grease clung to every corner.

A ghost-pale Tan Wenbin returned, looked at the now-bare table, and asked, "That was just a hallucination, right?"

"Just dirty meat."

"You really ate that stuff?"

Runsheng shook his head. "I didn’t eat."

"Phew..." Tan Wenbin sighed in relief.

"Too clean. Didn’t soak up enough flavor."

Tan Wenbin slumped into a chair, ran his fingers through his hair. "I feel like you guys are messing with me."

"Messing how?"

"Like this whole thing’s a stage play. And at the crucial moment, I get left out. I’ve still never seen a Dead Sinker move on its own."

"Then think of it as a prank."

"But it doesn’t feel like one. Little Yuan wouldn’t lie to me about something like this."

Runsheng touched his forehead. "Food poisoning?"

Tan Wenbin shook his head miserably. He’d seen Li Zhuiyuan solving math problems while listening to him read the questions aloud. For a high school junior, that was more magical than seeing a Dead Sinker move.

"Runsheng, can you tell me what happened last night now? Little Yuan sent me to ask you."

Runsheng nodded and explained everything from the previous night and that day.

After hearing it all, Tan Wenbin turned even paler.

"So those two Water Monkeys I saw today… were actually possessed Dead Sinkers?"

"Need I say more? You just ate their skin."

"Don’t mention that. I’m trying to forget."

"Anything else you wanna ask?"

"No. Nothing." Tan Wenbin wobbled to his feet and staggered out.

"Where are you going?"

"To the corner store. I’m calling my dad to come pick me up and take me home."

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