Chapter 45: Liu Changsheng's Scheme (1/2)

Piecing everything together, I realized Liu Changsheng had known he'd never be reincarnated and thus laid this trap. Offering the dragon grave was a ploy—he knew I'd bury him if lured here.

Despite being my grandpa's disciple, this "Golden Dragon Playing with Pearls" Hidden Dragon Tomb had been affected by Zhoujiazhuang's recent cataclysm, tearing open the dragon's mouth. Now, the hill's 裂缝 (cracks) and protruding rocks resembled a gaping blood - red maw. At midnight, it formed the image of a dragon swallowing the moon.

The moon is yin—zombies draw energy from moonlight, foxes worship it to attain human form, and it drives tides. A true dragon swallowing the moon turns it into an evil dragon, which would decimate all life within a hundred li.

Unlike Zhoujiazhuang's "Double Blade Fiend"—an act of heaven—this was a mishap. As a feng shui master, ignoring it would invite heavenly wrath. Fixing the "Golden Dragon Spitting Pearls" was no easy task:

The hill was barren because the dragon tomb 属金 (属金,metal - attribute), which 克制 (restrains) wood.Metal contains water, which nourishes life, but now the dragon's mouth gaped, leaking water qi.Metal breeds malevolence; surrounding peaks like knives 劈 (cleaved) the metal qi, spreading blade - fiend along the dragon vein.

Within 15 days, disaster would strike. To restore the tomb:

Build a Taoist temple.Place Eight Trigrams flat mirrors on walls at the 甲子乙丑海中金 (Jiazi Yichou Sea Gold) and 丙寅丁卯炉中火 (Bingyin Dingmao Furnace Fire) positions of the Twelve Earthly Branches, absorbing 煞气 (malevolence).

My head ached. "Brother Liu, we're family! You should've warned me—at least left some money for the temple!"

The scorching sun dizzied me. After trekking over mountains and miles of trails, I was parched and exhausted. Wrapping Liu's ashes in my clothes, I reached a village near Zhoujiazhuang, only to find:

Every door sealed, even the grocery store boarded up.Smoke rose from chimneys, but no dogs barked—a bad omen.

Knocking on the village committee's door, I yelled for water. No response. At the west end, a house stood open. Entering, I sensed dense yin qi and 煞气 (malevolence)—this family faced misfortune.

A burly, 1.8m young man in mourning stormed out with a shovel: "What do you want? Get out!"

"I just need water," I backed off.

His sister, an 18 - year - old in mourning, intervened: "Brother, put it down." She apologized, "I'll get you water," shooting him a glare.