Zhao Yi: "Indeed."

Li Zhiyuan: "Of course, except for that lazy dog, which truly went too far."

Zhao Yi: "..."

Li Zhiyuan: "There's a fundamental conflict between the Great Emperor and me, even if I serve him reverently, it can't change this situation.

As I grow stronger, the entanglements of causality on me increase.

Yin Meng follows me, and the water rises with the boat; Meng Meng's talent is not that great, but she has certainly been elevated."

Zhao Yi: "Indeed."

The lost secret technique has been recovered and mastered, used continuously; abandoned bloodlines reactivated, even if talent is mediocre, merit keeps pouring in.

If the Great Emperor were dead, these wouldn't be problems, but the issue is, the Great Emperor is still alive.

As long as he is alive, he has to endure the ever-increasing causality brought on by bloodlines and inheritors, and this causality obviously tends to keep growing.

Therefore, this meeting was always unavoidable.

A resolution is needed, a conclusion must be made, and no matter how many lazy dogs, they're just additional burdens.

When they reached the doorstep, Zhao Yi asked, "When do we set off?"

Li Zhiyuan: "The almanac says the day after tomorrow is suitable for traveling."

Zhao Yi, exasperated: "Can't we stop being so superstitious?"

For Li to start checking the almanac, it shows he isn't very confident about this endeavor, making Zhao Yi's already uneasy heart even more restless.

Li Zhiyuan: "Then you can take the Liang Sisters ahead tomorrow."

Zhao Yi: "I choose to respect traditional folk culture."

Li Zhiyuan: "Get some rest early."

Zhao Yi: "You too."

The young man stopped, turned around, and looked at Zhao Yi: "It's been a long time since I've felt such strong unease, I almost missed it."

Zhao Yi: "I thought someone like you would dislike this feeling of losing control."

"I thought so too, but then I realized, if that were true, I wouldn't have gone to Grandpa's basement to browse books back then."

Li Zhiyuan went upstairs to rest.

Lin Shuyou was pushed out of the coffin and slept on the round table.

Zhao Yi lay in the coffin, comfortably closing his eyes.

Before long, he regretted it, as the rising and falling snores sounded, like a symphony.

This bunch, as if in a competition, seemingly whoever falls asleep last, or snores the least, loses out big time!

He couldn't sleep, and his mind recalled the last thing Li said to him before going upstairs.

Mr. Li's basement.

Zhao Yi took a deep breath, his hands repeatedly crossing, as a breeze blew through the living room, forming a barrier against perception.

Then, his little finger lightly hooked, and a paperman in the corner started walking silently towards the basement, arriving before the iron door.

There was a lock on the iron door, but it was unlocked, serving a fixed purpose.

The paperman raised its arm, just about to remove the lock, when it stopped.

Zhao Yi, lying in the coffin, slightly frowned.

He thought of Old Tian.

Thanks to Mr. Li, Old Tian's legs healed, and for the foreseeable future, he dared not bring Old Tian along, afraid of Luck's backlash.

It was also known that... Li wasn't actually a direct blood relative of Mr. Li, yet Li had become Mr. Li's great-grandchild.

Zhao Yi was terrified, scared that if he opened that lock and entered the basement, flipping through those things, he might also turn into a grandchild someday.

The paperman immediately returned to its original spot, resuming normalcy.

Inside the coffin, Zhao Yi, belatedly aware, clenched his fist, cursing inwardly:

"Li, you bastard, still thinking of screwing me at a time like this!"

...

"What, going out again? And tomorrow at that!"

During breakfast, Li Sanjiang was shocked to learn this from Zhuangzhuang.

Tan Wenbin chuckled: "Mr. Li, that's how our line of work is, we're already considered lucky to be able to come back now and then; others can't go home for years."

Li Sanjiang, frowning: "You're already like this during your internship, won't you just get busier in the future?"

Tan Wenbin: "Yes."

Li Sanjiang looked at Alii, then at the old lady, saying: "It's like Yu the Great managing the flood, what happens if you get married in the future?"

Liu Yumei: "It's good for young folks to be busy, it's a chance to learn."

Li Sanjiang drank a sip of porridge with pickles, thinking: Fine, as long as you have no objections.

The weather was great today, after breakfast, everyone went about their own business.

All the paintings in the room came off yesterday, making Li Sanjiang a tad uneasy; he didn't sleep well last night, and with the news of the kids leaving again in the morning, he quietly packed some incense and candles and headed out.

At the corner of the village road was a tiny Earth God temple, without dedicated caretakers, but during festivals or passing funerals, offerings were made; small rural temples like this relied on the community.

Whenever Li Zhiyuan and the others traveled far, Li Sanjiang would always offer incense to this temple, believing as an Earth God, it governed the roads, and even if one's jurisdiction was different, colleagues could at least greet each other.

Li Sanjiang bent over, lighting incense at this temple, praying, "The kids are setting off again, please pass the word for safety."

Just after standing up.

A loud crash was heard as the Earth God temple collapsed.

Li Sanjiang had to bend over and rebuild it, which wasn't too hard, like setting up a chicken coop, quickly assembling it back, though the clay Earth God inside was broken by falling bricks.

"Peace be shattered, peace be shattered, you really didn't have to go all out."