After chanting, Li Sanjiang headed towards the Li Family Ancestral Tomb in Si Yuan Village.

In crucial moments, he instinctively felt his family was reliable.

Li Sanjiang chose a tomb not far from the ancestral tomb, right by the road, and now that spot is occupied by two people, who are benefactors brought back by Zhuangzhuang.

It's actually Tan Wenbin's godfather and godbrother.

Since he encountered them midway, Li Sanjiang decided to offer incense to them too. Zhuangzhuang mentioned that they had helped him before, so he might as well help them again.

After inserting the incense, Li Sanjiang began to chant:

"The kids need to travel far again, please bless them…"

"Crack!"

Before he could finish the sentence, the two exquisitely repaired tombs split open with a big crack.

"Biesan Hou's workmanship is truly terrible!"

Biesan Hou was the village's mason, whose skills were neither great nor poor; mainly, he was cheap. The tombs had been previously repaired by people hired by Biesan Hou and had cracked more than once.

Though cursing Biesan Hou, Li Sanjiang was honest enough not to run further towards the ancestral tomb, fearing making the Old Ancestors all laugh wide open.

On the second-floor terrace, Li Zhiyuan and Alii were sitting on rattan chairs playing chess.

Zhao Yi was seated a distance away on Li Sanjiang's reclining chair, holding a notebook, writing and sketching incessantly.

Aunt Liu, as usual, leaned against the kitchen door, cracking sunflower seeds and observing the two youngsters above.

Today, there was an additional new figure, Aunt Liu also took a glimpse at him.

The young lady and the farm boy sat together, beside them was the aristocrat who nearly had an engagement with the young lady.

Aunt Liu would occasionally watch the TV at home, which often showcased these kinds of things.

Tan Wenbin was accompanying the elderly woman for tea, discussing matters related to eliminating the Lu family; since it wasn't about Zou Jiang, just personal grudges, there was no need for hidden meanings. Tan Wenbin spoke lightly, and the old lady listened comfortably.

After speaking, the old lady said, "The Chen family truly doesn't count; they can't even compare to your prospective in-laws in terms of matching status."

Tan Wenbin: "Is that matching status?"

Old lady: "Matching status is not about wealth; it's about family values and dignity."

In the living room, Yin Meng leaned against a coffin, holding the Yin Family genealogical records, reciting them.

Run Sheng sat opposite her, making paper crafts.

"Yin Anmin had three sons: Yin Ruhai, Yin Ruwang…"

Run Sheng puzzled, "What's the point of reciting these?"

Yin Meng: "We're going to meet our ancestors, it's somewhat necessary to know who's who."

Before the complete decline of the Yin Family, after death, Yin family members were pushed into the Yin Family Mausoleum by little ghosts; Yin Meng was now hurriedly catching up with the ancestors.

"Ah!"

Yin Meng, frustrated, smacked her head with the genealogical record.

"Why were there so many births, bearing so many! Why didn't they have family planning back then?"

Run Sheng: "No need to recite; just call them 'ancestors' when you meet them."

Yin Meng: "What if I encounter that one?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Run Sheng: "Call him 'Old Ancestor.'"

Yin Meng: "But I just realized, historically our family had many members, why in the end did it become single-lineage?

Not right, according to tradition, I am female; I shouldn't be listed in the genealogy, so with me, Yin Family should be extinct."

Run Sheng: "You can bring in a son-in-law."

Yin Meng: "Doesn't seem necessary, before meeting Brother Xiao Yuan, Grandpa and I didn't benefit from this surname."

Run Sheng: "You shouldn't say such things to the ancestors."

Yin Meng: "True."

After finishing tea with the old lady, Tan Wenbin went upstairs, first approaching Zhao Yi. Upon seeing densely packed names above, some encircled and some with crosses, he asked:

"What is this?"

Zhao Yi: "Contemporary genealogy."

"What are you drawing on it?"

"I'm thinking if the Great Emperor below finds a shortage of government officers, my Jiujiang Zhao family can proactively provide some."

"That's a good idea."

"I think so too. Imagine if I return to the Zhao family, fighting for power and causing trouble for those old guys would be troublesome. If there's a Book of Life and Death, it'd be simple."

"Wouldn't marking too many be a bit excessive?"

"I started with subtraction, now moving to addition."

"Then, those two names pointed by double slashes from 'Zhao Yi'—Zhao Ling and Zhao Xin, why are they crossed out?"

Zhao Yi closed the "new genealogy," winking at Tan Wenbin.

"Looks like you and your parents can't pee into the same pot."

"When I was young, if I hadn't gritted my teeth and held on, they would've thrown me into a chamber pot."

"I'm not advising you to let go. I'm just curious, did the Zhao family really lack your bites? Even with your childhood ailments, why did your parents target you? They could have just had another child."

"That house by the Peach Forest, oh, you call it Big Beard's house, right?"

"Yes."

"In that yard, there's a baby cot with a lovely child. Seeing him reminds me of my childhood, but he's far healthier and happier than I was back then."

"Hmm, what's the connection here?"

"Ask the Li-named ones; could his parents have another one?"

...

A seemingly ordinary little hill, yet inside hides an extraordinary sight.

Chen Jing sat in a bathing barrel, surrounded by pitch-black herbal liquid, his little face taut, with fresh blood constantly oozing out, tinging the herbal liquid red.

This is the first step, forcing some blood out first, then circulating in the herbal solution, finally absorbing the blood back into the body.

The entire process is horribly painful, yet it's the best way to refine the Demon Clan's lineage.

Xu Ming came over, checked the herbal solution, nodded.

Previously, he was rather concerned about the young master's decision to include this youth in the team, as the child's current abilities can't assist much, yet after ceremonial greetings, he could share in the team's merit, essentially taking on a tag-along burden.