Li Zhengguo marveled at the woman's vitality; despite his torment, she could still wake up and breathe.
"This is where you will soon disappear from this world."
Lu Xiaoyun begged, "No, no, don't kill me. I'll do anything you say."
"Oh?"
Li Zhengguo's voice was cold, but Lu Xiaoyun heard a glimmer of hope.
"Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say, just spare me."
"What if I told you to have an abortion?"
Lu Xiaoyun didn't hesitate, "Do it!"
"What if I told you to get married?"
"Marry!"
"No matter who I tell you to marry?"
"Yes!"
"What if I told you to live well with that person and cut ties with your brother?"
"Fine!"
"Do you dare to swear an oath?"
"I dare!"
Lu Xiaoyun was about to raise her hand to swear when Li Zhengguo slapped it down. "Wait. When I tell you to swear later, then you swear."
"Mm-hmm."
Lu Xiaoyun breathed a sigh of relief; she would live.
But she didn't understand what Li Zhengguo was making her wait for.
She could only stare blankly as Li Zhengguo paced by the edge of the thick fog.
After an unknown amount of time, the thick fog suddenly dispersed, and Li Zhengguo grabbed her again.
...
There was only a golden lock, and Li Zhengguo couldn't extend vines to the Yin-Yang fish like his wife could.
So, he had to navigate the maze.
Looking at the white tomb in the center, Li Zhengguo didn't know if Tiantian had transmigrated to another world like him or had already entered the private treasury.
But he had to do what he wanted to do as quickly as possible.
Last time he and Tiantian had reached a dead end, so he tried a different direction.
He reached the dark of night and found another dead end.
He retreated to the edge of the maze to wait for the next day.
This time, he was lucky and quickly reached the center of the maze.
Lu Xiaoyun, weak from hunger, obediently swore the oath.
Even after swearing, Li Zhengguo didn't let her go.
He cut her palm again, squeezed out a large amount of blood, and smeared it on his left hand.
Then he lifted her left finger and hooked it onto the golden lock in his right hand.
Together, they pressed their left and right hands onto the handprints on the stone door.
After that, she plunged into darkness.
Appearing again in a gray, hazy environment, Li Zhengguo grinned.
He had guessed correctly; this should be the fifth life.
He had also bet correctly; using Lu Xiaoyun's blood and the golden lock, he had brought Lu Xiaoyun into the fifth life with him.
Patting the golden lock in his pocket, along with two bottles, Li Zhengguo felt relieved.
Carrying the unconscious person in his hand, Li Zhengguo walked onto a familiar street.
He stood by the street and waited for a while, until he met the person he wanted to meet.
Li Zhengguo used the same tactic, "Comrade, excuse me..."
Wang Weijun backed away in fear, "Don't come any closer, don't come any closer. I have nothing."
Li Zhengguo waved at him, "Comrade, don't be afraid. I just want to ask for directions."
Wang Weijun glanced at the corpse in his hand and pointed behind him, "The crematorium is to the north."
Li Zhengguo was startled and lifted his arm. "She's still alive. I just came out of a formation. I don't know what the environment outside the formation is like, so I wanted to ask a comrade for information."
"Formation? What's a formation?"
Li Zhengguo employed his usual persuasive tactics.
Wang Weijun begged Li Zhengguo to take him as a subordinate.
Li Zhengguo shook his head, "I don't take anyone. Since you don't know why the environment has changed, I'll ask someone else."
Upon hearing this, Wang Weijun quickly grabbed Li Zhengguo's sleeve and refused to let go. "Big brother, big brother, don't go, don't go. I'll tell you."
"Have you not eaten salt?"
Wang Weijun nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, big brother is amazing, big brother..."
Li Zhengguo waved his hand, interrupting his flattery, "Tell me quickly what's going on here."
Wang Weijun spilled everything, like beans from a gourd, about the time of the environmental changes and the chaos afterward.
"Big brother, look, I've told you everything. Can you..."
"No!"
Li Zhengguo flatly refused, "But I'll need your help for the next couple of days. I'll help you exchange for food."
"Okay, okay."
With food, Wang Weijun agreed to anything.
He settled into Wang's house smoothly. Li Zhengguo asked him to inquire if anyone was looking for folk remedies.
Wang Weijun's eyes lit up like a 250-watt bulb, "Big brother is truly a god. He even knows people are looking for folk remedies."
Li Zhengguo waved his hand, "Hurry up and do it."
With an extra person, the situation was completely disrupted, and this Wang Weijun had become glib.
In just half an hour, Wang Weijun returned.
Seeing the woman with a swollen belly, awake, tied to a chair in the main hall, he froze.
"Big brother, this?"
"She likes to run away."
Wang Weijun understood, "Big brother, I've already negotiated with them. Four sacks of food."
"Let's go."
Li Zhengguo, holding the ginseng essence that had been diluted long ago, walked out first.
An hour later, the two returned, carrying four sacks of food.
As soon as they opened the courtyard gate, they saw the person and chair moved to the doorway of the main hall.
Li Zhengguo sneered, "Have you forgotten your oath? Do you want to experience the fate of a dog's death?"
Lu Xiaoyun repeatedly shook her head, "I need to pee."
Need to pee? Someone who hadn't eaten or drunk for two days still had to pee?
"Heh heh, don't worry, let's fill your stomach first."
Wang Weijun became the feeder.
Li Zhengguo only asked Wang Weijun to feed her until she was half full, then whispered something to Wang Weijun.
Wang Weijun nodded vigorously.
Carrying half a sack of food, he went out and came back with two letters of introduction.
With the letters of introduction, going to the hospital for an abortion became a natural progression.
Waiting outside the operating room, Wang Weijun couldn't hold back.
"Big brother, why did you use my letter of introduction?"
Li Zhengguo lied without batting an eye, "I've been in the formation for decades, so I'm now undocumented."
"Then what about this woman?"
Li Zhengguo waved his hand, "Don't mind her past. She swore an oath that after the abortion, she would get married. Do you know anyone willing to marry this woman without a bride price?"
Wang Weijun recoiled in shock, "Big brother, you, you, you're a human trafficker?"
"Do you think someone who doesn't ask for a bride price is a human trafficker?"
Wang Weijun shook his head, "Big brother, you, do you think I'm suitable?"
"You don't mind her?"
"I don't mind. I'm the only one left in my family. I have no job, no savings, and can't afford the 'three turns and one sound'."
Such "good" conditions were perfect for Lu Xiaoyun.
Li Zhengguo took out Lu Xiaoyun's household registration book and the letter of introduction. "Alright, it's you. Go get the marriage certificate quickly, lest she runs away."
Looking at the address on the household registration book, Wang Weijun jumped in surprise, "Capital's?"
"Yes, don't worry, it's absolutely fine. Go quickly. Taking advantage of someone's predicament is the choice of a smart person."
"Heh heh." Wang Weijun grinned sinisterly, "Thank you, big brother."
When Lu Xiaoyun came out of the operating room, she was already a married woman.
It was then she realized that the man who married her was the real Wang Weijun.
Li Zhengguo made a throat-slitting gesture. "You can go find your brother. You can also tell him there are two of me, and guess if he'll believe it? To keep your life, always remember the oath you swore."
Wang Weijun stayed to look after her in the hospital ward.
Li Zhengguo returned to Wang's house and rested for a night. The next day, he left half a bottle of diluted ginseng essence, left a note, and rode away on Wang Weijun's bicycle.