That tone... it sounds like he's looking for trouble!

Old Cui grumbled all the way back home. The moment he caught sight of Su De, his face instantly broke into a wide smile as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed one over.

"Ah-De, how come I never heard you mention your younger brother is such a capable man?"

Su De chuckled awkwardly as he accepted the cigarette.

"A-Chen did mention he was setting up a stall in the city, but nothing ever happened before, just the other night..."

He recounted the story of how Su Chen killed the mountain sprite to save him, then scratched his head.

"Old Cui, where did you hear about my little brother? You even asked him for a divination?"

"Heh, calling the Master capable is an understatement! He has supreme abilities, let me tell you..."

Old Cui started from his trip to Chunming Street yesterday, chattering away without stopping.

Seeing that Su De was listening intently, Old Ginger nudged him on the shoulder.

Su De got the hint and hurriedly kept working while listening.

When he heard that Old Cui's prospective daughter-in-law had been reduced to a skeleton because someone had forced her into a nether-marriage, Su De couldn't help crying out in shock, "Who is it? How could anyone be so vicious?"

"Right? Isn't it vicious? It's simply heartless! That old hag's grandson died, and instead of burying him, she kept him right there at home..."

Town of Shuitou.

Old Woman Liu stared at the empty coffin, her tears completely dried up.

Footsteps sounded from outside. "Old Woman Liu, go to the police station to pick up the ashes."

Only then did she gather her spirits. Wearing a hat that concealed almost her entire face, she finally stepped out.

Even so, the townspeople still pointed at her as she passed.

Yet the moment she looked back, their eyes would instantly dart away in evasion.

Old Woman Liu let out a cold snort.

These people were all accomplices to evil.

They deserved to die, every last one of them!

However, besides the Xu family, the one who deserved to die the most was that young man.

At this thought, Old Woman Liu gnashed her teeth.

No rush. There's no rush.

Once I bury my grandson, I'll settle accounts with all of you properly.

On the way to the city, Su Chen told Zhao Dongsheng about A-Liang learning to drive.

"Ha! Since the Master has spoken, forget about teaching him how to drive—even if you asked me to climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire, I wouldn't hesitate for a second."

"It's just that little A-Liang here... my temper is a bit fiery. If you can't learn and I end up yelling at you later, don't go crying on me, alright?"

A-Liang waved his hands repeatedly. "No, I won't, Uncle Zhao."

And so, Zhao Dongsheng began explaining the key points of driving to A-Liang while steering the vehicle. To make it easier for A-Liang to observe, he even pulled over halfway and had A-Liang sit in the front passenger seat.

Upon arriving at Chunming Street, Su Chen fished out a twenty-yuan bill and handed it to A-Liang, admonishing him, "Learn well from Uncle Zhao. If there's anything you don't understand, ask boldly, understand?"

A-Liang pushed the money back. "Little Uncle, no need. Mom and Dad gave me money."

They gave me ten yuan, which is more than enough.

Su Chen glared at him. "Take it when I give it to you. The city isn't like the town; there are plenty of places to spend money. Don't be too stingy, you hear me?"

"I know, Little Uncle."

Watching A-Liang get back into the car and drive away, Su Chen finally led A-Peng inside.

"Well, young man, is this child yours too?"

"Mn. Second one, A-Peng. Say hello to Grandpa Zhang."

A-Peng hesitated for a moment before obediently greeting the old man.

All the way down the street, A-Peng felt as though his throat was going to grow hoarse, and he pouted his little lips.

As they passed a stall, his eyes widened, and his steps slowed down instinctively.

Su Chen noticed and came to a halt.

"Want to eat some?"

Remembering how his father had ignored him earlier when he cried, A-Peng hesitated.

"Do you want to eat it or not? If you don't want it, I won't buy it."

Only then did A-Peng nod hastily. "I want to!"

"If you want something in the future, just say so. The adults will consider whether it can be bought, and we'll explain the reason to you. Understand?"

A-Peng took the sugar figurine, his smile revealing eight teeth.

Seeing Su Chen pay fifty cents, and remembering he still had a one-yuan allowance left in his pocket, he instantly cheered up. *I can sneak back and buy one later—I can buy two!*

Licking the sweet sugar figurine, A-Peng's displeasure from earlier in the morning vanished instantly.

When they reached the small stall and spotted the picture books, he was once again captivated, unable to put them down.

"Dad, these are really pretty. Can, can I buy them to take home?"

"Alright, but today you can only pick three."

The little fellow immediately sprawled across the stall, stuck his bottom out, and began carefully selecting them.

Seeing this, Su Chen started drawing talismans.

When A-Biao came over and handed him the money, Su Chen said, "Brother Biao, deduct how much Old Zhong's cinnabar cost yesterday."

"Hey, that's mere pocket change..."

Meeting Su Chen's earnest gaze, A-Biao relented with a helpless sigh. "Fine, I took ten yuan, so this makes four hundred and ten. That work for you?"

Su Chen smiled as he collected the money.

"I'm telling you, brother, you need to draw more talismans. I sold three of them just last night, and tomorrow you're going with A-Yu to relocate the graves, so you won't be here. I'm afraid we won't have enough to sell."

"I know, I know. Aren't I drawing them right now?"

"Heh, especially the 150-yuan kind—draw more of those. Cuichen is full of wealthy people, you know."

"Alright, go burn your ghost money already and stop being lazy."

"Ha, caught me! You know, when it's cold, burning paper money really is warm, but it's also scorching hot. Good thing I didn't carry Uncle Ye around with me, or he'd be charred to a crisp."

Chattering away, A-Biao glanced down to see Su Chen resuming his talisman-drawing, leaving him with no choice but to sigh and leave to relieve Lin Jingyu.

Lin Jingyu arrived bearing news.

"Buddy, I've asked around. There's a pretty good house down by the slope that the owner wants to sell. The asking price is around twenty-five thousand, but I think with some haggling, we can probably secure it for twenty-two or three thousand. Should we head over and take a look at noon?"

Su Chen nodded. "Alright."

"Do you know how to ride a bicycle? If you do, I'll go borrow two bicycles and we can ride over quickly."

"Let's just take a taxi. I have the kid with me."

"True. Most bikes around Chunming Street are the old heavy-duty kind where you can only carry passengers on the crossbar—not very comfortable to ride. I'll go call Zhang Wei later, then."

A-Peng finally finished selecting his three picture books and excitedly brought them over to Su Chen.

"Dad, I've picked them out. These three."

Su Chen looked closely: *Wu Song Fights the Tiger*, *Shooting the Halas at the Camp Gate*, and *Broadsword Wang Wu*.

"Very good." With that, he pulled out a one-yuan note. "Here, A-Peng, give this to Uncle A-Yu. This stall belongs to him."

"Uncle, here's the money."

Lin Jingyu smiled as he accepted it and handed a ten-cent coin back to A-Peng as change. A-Peng handed the coin to Su Chen and then busily flipped open his book to read.

"Buddy, does this kid know how to read?"

"No, he hasn't started school yet."

"Oh, is this the one you mentioned yesterday who's going to school with the others?"

Seeing Su Chen nod, Lin Jingyu looked closely at A-Peng. "Buddy, all your kids love reading, huh? That's great—just like me."

Only then did Su Chen remember to ask Lin Jingyu if there was a library in the city, as he wanted to find some books recording folklore and deities.

"I have some at home. Come over to my place to grab them later."

Su Chen: "???"

"Are there many?"

"Pretty much, I guess? Maybe a few dozen?"

"Anyway, since the city library got ransacked back in the day, books like that were pretty much all destroyed. A lot of the ones at my house were shipped over from Hong Kong by a relative ten years ago, so they're much more complete."

"Then I'll drop by your place later."

"You got it."

As they were talking, someone stopped in front of the stall.

Lin Jingyu immediately chimed in to greet them, "Brother, here for a fortune-telling? Or seeking a cure?"

"Twenty yuan a time? Are you guys out here robbing people in broad daylight?"

Lin Jingyu's expression instantly turned frosty.

Judging by that tone... it sounded like someone looking for trouble!