CHAPTER 514: CHAPTER 94_2

Li Zhiyuan re-hung the towel and returned to his desk.

Before, he would actively search for corpses when he was bored, but now that he had confirmed himself as a River Crossing practitioner and obtained the "Name List" from Alii.

Next, his actions should be guided primarily by "elective tasks," trying to avoid any potential karmic consequences in real life.

Li Zhiyuan turned his body and looked at Tan Wenbin’s desk behind him, where the "Jianghu Chronicles" was still lying.

Wei Zhengdao’s book was full of personal additions.

Reflecting back, it all seemed like he made this whole dumpling feast just to serve a side of vinegar.

Even if Tang Qiuying was wronged and murdered, all he needed to do was place himself in the "saw a ghost harming people and thus intervened to eliminate it" Righteous stance, and the past consequences would then have nothing to do with him.

No wonder in Wei Zhengdao’s "Jianghu Chronicles" and "Righteous Demon Extermination Records," every corpse he mentioned met their end "vanquished by the Righteous."

It turns out that being "vanquished by the Righteous" was a form of disclaimer.

Li Zhiyuan flipped open a notebook and picked up a fountain pen.

These principles and rules were not enough if only he understood them; the entire team had to be clear about them.

So, Li Zhiyuan planned to write a "Zoujiang Code of Conduct."

River Crossing was the current primary conflict.

The focus now was to link with actual situations and figure out how to carry out River Crossing more effectively.

In daily life, it’s correct to avoid becoming mired in or involved with karma as far as possible, but this didn’t mean one couldn’t live a life.

Maintaining a network of social interactions and keeping a regular routine were also necessary.

Because once River Crossing starts, whether you like it or not, the river will keep pushing dreadful things your way wave after wave.

If you lock yourself up completely at home or seek seclusion on a remote mountain peak, you’re inviting the corpses to knock on your door directly.

But if you have a network of social interactions, a community, and the "Name List" from Alii, it’s like having a cushion that provides a buffer.

Binbin’s glimpse of Granny Yu’s photo in the police archives was the perfect example.

This way, it became a case of "sighting" her first, then making preparations while seeking her out, rather than having Granny Yu show up at your bedroom door at night, lantern in hand:

"Clumping footsteps... child... grandma’s here."

The fountain pen twirled in his hand, not yet touching the paper.

Because Li Zhiyuan discovered that while it was easy for him to understand, it was quite difficult to write it down for Binbin, Run Sheng, and Yin Meng to understand as well.

This was no less challenging than what Liu Yumei was busy with – translating a cultivation technique, turning abstract feelings into specific text descriptions, was truly not easy.

He pondered back and forth, feeling that examples might be the best way to illustrate.

If he survived the incident with Granny Yu, he could record the previous events and her case as examples, and then generalize and analyze the rules and patterns.

But if he did that...

Li Zhiyuan turned again to look at the stack of ancient books on Binbin’s desk:

Wouldn’t he have to write a set of books just like Wei Zhengdao?

What should the title be?

At that moment, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Tan Wenbin walked in holding a bag, placed the turtle stove on Li Zhiyuan’s desk, and then said, "Brother Xiao Yuan, I’ve called my dad; he said he’ll be here soon."

"Alright, let’s go find the location of the corpse now."

"How are we going to find it?"

"Brother Binbin, you’ll have to work hard and put on these high heels."

"Uhh... huh?"

"Someone else wearing them wouldn’t be appropriate, an inexperienced person might have an adverse effect; probably the only experienced one is Lu Yi."

"I’ll wear them then, no need to involve Lu Yi, after all, I’ve eaten so many of his red sausages."

Yin Meng and Run Sheng were in special training, and it wasn’t certain if they could join in for this event. Plus, in Li Zhiyuan’s plan, it was crucial for the two of them to complete this special training to play a greater role in future River Crossing activities.

Interrupting the training and starting over was like allowing Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu to suffer karmic harm twice, paying double the price, which was not worth it.

Tang Qiuying was afraid of him; even during the sand table writing, she dared not touch his hand, so he couldn’t wear the shoes either.

Lin Shuyou was even less suitable; who knew if his vertical pupils would activate upon putting them on.

After weighing his options, it seemed that Tan Wenbin was the only one available to do the job.

"Brother Xiao Yuan, should I put them on now?"

"Right."

"Then... can I wash my feet first?"

"Sure."

Tan Wenbin chuckled at the pair of high heels on the desk, "See, Aunt Tang, I’m good to you, right?"

The high heels wobbled slightly in response.

After switching to slippers and grabbing a bar of soap, Tan Wenbin went to the sink to wash up, and then returned to sit by the bed and started wiping his feet with a dry towel.

Li Zhiyuan brought the high heels over to him.

"Whoa, Brother Xiao Yuan, it feels a bit awkward."

After carefully drying his feet, Tan Wenbin slid them into the high heels.

"Eh, Brother Xiao Yuan, wait, they seem a bit small, I can’t fit into them, pass me the carving knife from the desk, I’ll need to pare down my feet to fit."

"Thwack!"

The carving knife was tossed onto Tan Wenbin’s bed.

Tan Wenbin picked up the carving knife, unsure, "Really, brother, are we doing this?"

"It was your idea."

"It was just a joke, I’m not one of Cinderella’s stepsister’s siblings brought by the wicked stepmother."