Since returning to the dormitory, Yan Shouyi had been unable to stop grinning foolishly.
Sometimes, mid-smile, he would let out a strange yell.
This greatly startled Long Feicheng.
Just as Yan Shouyi stepped out of the shower, Long Feicheng splashed him with a headful of black dog blood.
Immediately after, he grabbed a black donkey hoof from who-knew-where and started banging it against Yan Shouyi's head.
Yan Shouyi wiped the black dog blood from his face and asked, "Are you crazy?"
Long Feicheng replied, "Brother Yan, you're not yourself today. You must be possessed. Your brother here is going to help you exorcise the evil!"
As he spoke, he raised the black donkey hoof to strike Yan Shouyi again.
Yan Shouyi quickly dodged and explained, "I'm fine!"
"Fine? Impossible! Who laughs non-stop like you when they're normal? It's creepy. You're definitely possessed!" Long Feicheng didn't believe him at all.
Seeing Long Feicheng about to splash him with more black dog blood, Yan Shouyi quickly said,
"I'm laughing because I'm happy!"
"What could possibly make you laugh like you're possessed?!"
"Lin Zhitong and I have officially become a couple."
"Pfft, haven't you guys been official for a while? I've been calling her sister-in-law for two weeks!" Long Feicheng asked, bewildered.
Yan Shouyi felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Anyway, it's not what you think. I'll go clean up first, and then I'll explain everything to you. Oh, by the way... where did you get that black dog blood?"
Long Feicheng mumbled, "There's a repairman for electric bikes near the north gate. They have a big black dog, so I paid him a hundred yuan to let the dog bleed a little."
"Black dog blood can indeed drive away evil spirits, but next time, before you splash it, make sure the person is actually possessed. Otherwise, not only will you waste money on black dog blood, but you'll also have to compensate them for their clothes."
After saying this, Yan Shouyi dejectedly went back to take another shower, and his clothes needed washing again.
Once he was finally tidied up, he went out to the corridor outside the dormitory, shirtless, and called for Long Feicheng. He recounted everything that had happened that day.
After listening, Long Feicheng remarked, "So, you and sister-in-law each have an arranged marriage?"
"Yes, so I plan to break off my engagement tomorrow and propose to the Lin family," Yan Shouyi nodded.
"Exciting, so exciting!" Long Feicheng exclaimed excitedly. "Brother Yan, will you take me with you when you break off the engagement tomorrow?"
"This is my private matter. Why are you meddling?"
"Thirty years east, thirty years west, never mock a young man for being poor!"
"What are you talking about?"
Long Feicheng burst into laughter. "I have a premonition that the situation when you break off the engagement tomorrow will be incredibly dramatic, so I absolutely must tag along and witness it!"
Yan Shouyi was speechless. "The Li family might not even want this marriage. They'll probably be happier than me if I break it off. Things will likely go smoothly."
"You can't be sure!" Long Feicheng acted as if he had better foresight than Yan Shouyi, firmly asserting that something would happen tomorrow.
Yan Shouyi was not convinced, for the reasons he had stated earlier.
He had already seen the faces of the Li family today. If they knew he was the fiancé of their precious daughter, they would likely be so angry they'd cough up several pounds of blood. Therefore, they would surely be delighted rather than upset if he broke off the engagement.
However, since Long Feicheng insisted on going, Yan Shouyi reluctantly agreed. In fact, having Long Feicheng accompany him wasn't so bad. While he wasn't afraid to go to the Li family alone to discuss breaking off the engagement, he would still feel a bit uncomfortable.
...
The next morning, Yan Shouyi was awakened by his phone ringing. Upon answering, he discovered it was Lu Jingsheng.
Lu Jingsheng had gotten excessively drunk yesterday and only sobered up this morning. After hearing about what happened yesterday from Tong Jiuhua, Lu Jingsheng was filled with regret and called specifically to apologize to Yan Shouyi.
Lu Jingsheng was an elder, and for him to apologize to Yan Shouyi, Yan Shouyi naturally had to give him a way out, especially since he was the master of the woman Yan Shouyi admired.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi very politely forgave Lu Jingsheng and they agreed to finalize the Nine Dragon Sha Array together as soon as possible.
Interestingly, Lu Jingsheng did not ask Yan Shouyi to restore West Lake to its original state.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Shouyi woke Long Feicheng. After they finished their morning routines and changed into clean clothes, they left the campus and took a bus to West Lake.
Yan Shouyi didn't quite remember where the Li family was, but since they were known as the "West Lake Li Family," they were bound to be somewhere near West Lake. They could ask around once they got there.
On the bus, Yan Shouyi took out the marriage contract signed by both parties from his satchel.
The contract was inscribed on bamboo slips. Besides stipulating the marriage and the date for the proposal, it also bore the signatures and fingerprints of both parties.
Groom: Yan Mengxiang, Yan Shouyi.
Bride: Li Chongguo, Li Qing'er.
Yan Shouyi and Li Qing'er's fingerprints were small and overlapped each other, giving a sense of destiny.
However, since Yan Shouyi was going to break off the engagement this time, he harbored no illusions about Li Qing'er. Regardless of whether Li Qing'er was ugly or not, he wouldn't care.
The bus made several stops before finally pulling into the West Lake Park station. Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng alighted, seeing the still-dry West Lake.
Long Feicheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Yan, causing West Lake to break its flow and dry up with one move, that's truly something!"
Yan Shouyi did not feel proud. He had merely done what a descendant of Lu Ban was meant to do.
The number of tourists at West Lake now was greater than usual, all eager to see the dried-up lake. The management of West Lake had now realized that a waterless West Lake was even more attractive than one with water.
Therefore, the management secretly prayed that the water in West Lake would return at a later date.
The two walked around the vicinity of West Lake and asked several elderly aunties and grandmas living nearby. Finally, they managed to locate the Li family residence.
Standing outside the Li family gate, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but marvel at the excellent feng shui of the Li residence.
The Li family's mansion was situated to the west of West Lake, built facing the lake. When the sun rose, its light refracted through the lake's water, shining onto the ceiling of the Li residence's backyard, making it sparkle. This was one of the best configurations in feng shui, truly a place that was hard to find a second of.
No wonder the Li family was known as the "West Lake Li Family," as their fortune was entirely dependent on this West Lake.
However, the current awkward situation was that West Lake had broken its flow. Every morning, instead of the morning sun, the Li residence was filled with a nauseating stench.
Yan Shouyi decided in his heart that after breaking off the engagement, he would help the Li family restore West Lake to its original state and offer his apologies, as he had indeed acted improperly.
Standing at the Li family entrance, Yan Shouyi tidied his attire, adjusted his satchel, and then stepped forward to knock.
Soon, an old butler opened the door. Peeking out and seeing that Yan Shouyi was an unfamiliar face, he asked, "Who might you be, and whom are you looking for?"
Yan Shouyi cleared his throat and replied with a full-bodied voice:
"My name is Yan Shouyi. I'm looking for Li Chongguo and Li Qing'er of the Li family!"
The old butler was taken aback. "You're looking for the master? He passed away a while ago."
The Li family patriarch had passed away?
Yan Shouyi was a little flustered and said awkwardly, "Then is Li Qing'er home?"
The butler sized Yan Shouyi up for a moment and replied, "The young lady is at home, but she hasn't been receiving guests these past few days."
"Why?" Long Feicheng interjected.
The old butler shook his head. "Not just the young lady; the Li family isn't receiving any guests these days, unless specifically instructed by the head of the family."
"But we have something very important," Yan Shouyi said.
The butler's attitude was firm. "You should come back in a few days."
It was meaningless to trouble a butler further, so Yan Shouyi had to temporarily give up and think of other ways to contact someone from the Li family.
However, before he could leave, several cars suddenly stopped outside the Li family gate. Many members of the Li family alighted from them, including Li Qing'er's father, Li Peizong.
All the Li family members, like stars surrounding the moon, surrounded two Daoist priests dressed in flowing white robes.
Seeing this, the butler immediately opened the gate wide to welcome them in.
Yan Shouyi, however, frowned. Who were these two Daoist priests?
The Li family members leading the way noticed two casually dressed young men blocking the entrance to their family estate and began to shoo them away.
"Hey, you two poor lads, get out of the way. Don't block the road!"