The resurrection of Carpenter Li exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Although that wooden man didn’t look at all like Carpenter Li, his speech and behavior truly resembled the deceased Carpenter Li — of course, we can’t say Carpenter Li is dead now since he has come back to life.

However, there were still some reckless folks who mentioned this matter to Carpenter Li, even describing the cause of his death.

There was no ill intent, really, it was mainly that these villagers’ minds hadn’t quite adjusted yet. They had clearly seen Carpenter Li’s chest with a big hole, dead beyond dead... and now, how has this deceased person turned into a wooden man and come back to life?

"Well... I’m not really sure myself."

Seeing that Du Chengfeng was about to lose his temper, Carpenter Li quickly stopped him.

Then, scratching his wooden head, he looked at these familiar villagers.

"It’s probably as Brother Du said, if you can find organs with the same functions as the ones in the body, they can be replaced... replace what’s broken. So, it’s not strange for me to change a little more, right?"

As he said this, Carpenter Li reached out to Du Chengfeng.

"Oh, by the way, Brother Du, could you bring my axe over? You carved this body, right? This carving is really rough, so I need to fix it quickly..."

Receiving the axe from Du Chengfeng, Carpenter Li got busy on his own body. Clearly, the wooden man that Du Chengfeng had made was a bit below the standards for a true expert.

And as Carpenter Li began to adjust his body, the villagers looked at him with even more belief— the reason being none other than the fact that they had seen Carpenter Li work before, and the concentrated manner the wooden man demonstrated now had a glimpse of Carpenter Li’s old shadow.

So, could it be that the deceased person has truly come back to life?

"What do you mean by ’come back to life’? Brother Li wasn’t dead at all."

Du Chengfeng reiterated his statement once again.

"Partial necrosis, just partial necrosis, you understand? Replace what’s broken, change all the bad parts, and Brother Li becomes healthy again."

"This..."

The villagers’ minds also fell short for a moment. They weren’t as smart as people like Cui Yuan or Liu Bolun; such mind-blowing knowledge wasn’t something they could comprehend instantly.

But compared to those like Cui Yuan and Liu Bolun who definitely want to understand the reasoning completely, these villagers from Ji Bei had their own advantages.

They didn’t need to understand the reasoning, they just needed to know the fact was in front of them, and that was enough.

Even though he’s become a wooden man, Carpenter Li genuinely came back to life, so whatever Du Chengfeng said must be true, no matter how ridiculous the theory sounded.

"There have been bizarre things before."

The villagers from Ji Bei were quite indifferent about such matters, having seen individuals confronting groups and people turning into monsters. So a wooden Carpenter Li did not seem like such a big deal?

Indeed, it was no big deal; it was even considered a good thing because even as a wooden man, at least he was still alive.

Being alive is better than being dead, and people’s understanding has always been this straightforward.

"It’s great that you can think this way."

Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but voice his appreciation.

Yes, it was for the best if villagers could think that way. No one denied that Carpenter Li was still alive, which meant that the most challenging part had already passed.

"Strong will can change reality," this phrase rolls off the tongue easily, but actual implementation is not so simple - if it were just Du Chengfeng, things would go smoothly. But the problem lies in the fact that this matter also involves Carpenter Li himself - that’s a whole different story.

His will was strong enough, he was knowledgeable enough about this idealistic stuff, he could even revive Carpenter Li with a firm will knowing that Carpenter Li had indeed died... but the question is, does Carpenter Li believe it? And what about the other villagers? If anyone firmly believes Carpenter Li is dead, then is Carpenter Li dead or alive?

It was at this moment that Du Chengfeng realized that this "strong will" was far from as simple as he imagined.

When not only he was firm, when two opposing certainties clashed, whose certainty was truly certain? Who could truly change reality?

"Therefore, rituals are necessary, deception is required."

At this moment, Du Chengfeng suddenly realized the purpose behind the Yin people’s creation of those strange rituals.

Those rituals may serve to convince oneself, but their more crucial purpose was to make others believe.

Make others believe, bring others’ will into this grand deception, as long as a plausible reason can be found, as long as everyone firmly believes.

Anything could happen.

"So since Brother Li has recovered, it’s time to discuss the upcoming matters."

Du Chengfeng’s expression darkened.

"Regarding the previous incident, who was responsible? Did any of you see?"

"This..."

The villagers of Ji Bei looked at each other.

When it happened, they did consider investigating the perpetrator, but there were many people on the streets at the time, and they arrived only after receiving news, so finding the culprit who assassinated Carpenter Li was as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack due to the time difference.

As for searching through relationships... this was even more impossible because Carpenter Li’s friendly nature would not have any enemies, so how could someone want to harm him?

Thus, the pursuit of the perpetrator turned into a case with no clues, and even Du Chengfeng didn’t know whom to seek revenge against.

But now, Carpenter Li has come back to life.

Things have become much easier.

"...Brother Li, let me ask you something."

Du Chengfeng carefully selected his words.

"The person who harmed you before, do you have any impression of them?"

"The person who harmed me before..."

Carpenter Li scratched his wooden head, striving to recall.

"I can’t quite remember, my mind is still a bit muddled... Brother Du, this wooden head you replaced me with isn’t very functional, can’t you replace it with something better?"

"Uh, I’ll think of a solution later."

Du Chengfeng smiled awkwardly, knowing Carpenter Li would have opinions about the wooden body.

"So... Brother, do you really have no impression at all?"

"I do... I still have some."

Carpenter Li tried to remember.

"I can’t remember the face very well; the person didn’t have any distinct features... I only remember the person carried a big knife and had a sword... oh right, he came to find me to buy those weapon shafts, like those used for spears and halberds."

"...Hmm?"

Du Chengfeng’s eyebrows furrowed as this image seemed increasingly familiar to him.

"...Hmm?"

The lingering villagers of Ji Bei also turned and looked Du Chengfeng up and down.

Especially at the knife handle behind him and the sword handle at his waist.

"Hmm?"

Once he caught aware of the villagers’ gaze, Du Chengfeng finally realized.

That image — wasn’t it himself?