Chapter 009: The Malevolent Grave

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"Wei, are you saying there's a feng shui problem with his house?" Uncle Wang asked me.

I nodded and replied, "Yes. It's the Grave Yin Curse."

"The Grave Yin Curse? What does that mean?" Gu Xiaogang immediately questioned me after hearing my words.

Yes, at this point I was certain—all the troubles in his family were caused by the feng shui of their house.

This Grave Yin Curse was different from the Six Spirits Heaven-Ending Curse on me. Though both are called 'curses,' they're entirely different things.

The Six Spirits Heaven-Ending Curse arose from my unique fate, meaning it was destined from the moment I was born.

His family's Grave Yin Curse, however, is the result of a feng shui disruption.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything. The question I asked you earlier, was I wrong?" I asked.

"Well... You weren't wrong. You're talking about the snake that showed up under our foundation, right? But what does that have to do with what's happening now?" Gu Xiaogang glanced at the two people lying on the deck chairs beside him and questioned me.

"Ah..." I sighed lightly and said, "We'll talk about the snake later. Let me ask you first—have you ever heard the saying, 'Big house atop a small house, two cries in three years'?"

"What big house atop small house? Never heard of it!" Gu Xiaogang replied.

"You rebuilt your house on the old foundation, right? But when you built it, you covered the entire old foundation within the new one. That's what 'big house atop small house' means," I explained.

"Everyone builds that way. Are you saying my new house should have been smaller than the old one?" Gu Xiaogang protested.

"Who told you that's how it's always done? When you rebuild, regardless if it's the same size or bigger, you must leave at least one side of the old foundation exposed—left, right, front, or back. Never completely cover the old foundation! Covering it entirely is like placing a coffin inside the new house. If your house becomes a coffin, do you think that's good?" I asked.

"Uh... I..." Gu Xiaogang scratched his head, clearly not believing me.

"You don't believe me? Think back carefully—since your new house was finished, has your family ever had peace? I won't mention everything, but haven't infants under a year old who enter your house started crying for no reason?" I asked gravely.

Gu Xiaogang pondered a moment and answered, "Actually... that's true!"

"Your mother fell ill after moving into the new house, didn't she?" I pressed.

"Yes, she was healthy before. She only got sick after moving in," Gu Xiaogang replied.

"'Big house atop small house, two cries in three years'—that's not a joke. If you don't fix this, you might soon face your second tragedy," I said seriously.

"What? Is it really that serious?" Gu Xiaogang furrowed his brow.

"And you mentioned before that your foundation had a pit, which you filled with sand and gravel. That's another problem! When building, if there's a pit in the foundation, you must throw a radish in first before filling it. 'One radish for one pit'—that's the saying," I continued.

"What? There's such a custom? How would we know? But isn't that a bit far-fetched?" He seemed to think I was exaggerating or making things up.

"Hmph, it seems you don't believe me again. The reason for throwing in a radish is to prevent people from saying your house is built in a pit. If anyone says that, it can create a Curse of Human Words," I explained.

"Curse of Human Words?" Gu Xiaogang asked, bewildered.

"Yes, it's a kind of feng shui curse. Usually, it's not destructive. But together with the previous issues, your house becomes a coffin in a pit—a grave. So the simple Curse of Human Words transforms into a powerful Grave Yin Curse," I said, looking at him.

"Well... what you said seems to make sense! I have noticed that even on sunny days, the house feels chilly," Gu Xiaogang admitted.

"Alright, that's enough about your house. Now let me tell you about the snake you killed," I said.

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"The snake? It has something to do with that snake as well?" He rubbed his arm, clearly nervous.

"Of course. If I'm not mistaken, your mother returned by possessing the snake," I said.

"What? Are you saying my mother?" Gu Xiaogang exclaimed in horror.

"Yes. So now, I suspect there's a problem with your mother's grave," I nodded.

"What should we do now?" Gu Xiaogang grew anxious.

"Don't worry. Since I've pinpointed the issues, I'll find a way to fix them. The most urgent thing is to resolve the crisis for your father and son," I said, pointing at his father and child.

"Yes, please, Mr. Yu, help us. Please save my father and my son!" Gu Xiaogang pleaded.

"Alright. Did you prepare everything I asked for?" I asked.

"Uh... yes, yes!" A woman, wiping her tears, pointed to the bundles.

Judging by her demeanor, she was likely Gu Xiaogang's wife.

"Good," I opened the bags and checked—soybeans, millet, tea leaves, salt, all ready.

"Ping, go inside and bring out their incense burner," I called to Gu Shiping.

He responded immediately, running off to fetch the incense burner.

"Uncle Wang, tie them up with the ink line," I said, turning to Uncle Wang.

He nodded, producing the prepared ink line.

"How do I tie them?" Uncle Wang asked.

"Put cinnabar into the ink, then wrap the line around their bodies," I instructed.

After that, I picked up rooster's blood and drew a talisman on each of their bodies.

"Find a clean sheet of paper and pour the incense ash onto it," I told Gu Shiping, who had come out holding the incense burner.

He answered and went to do it.

"Wei, the incense ash is ready!" A moment later, Gu Shiping handed me a bundle of incense ash.

"Alright, mix the incense ash with the salt, tea, millet, and beans," I said.

Normally, I would do these things myself, but my injury made it difficult to move, so I had them help.

Once everything was prepared, I took some paper money and burned it, reciting incantations, then placed the ashes into the salt, tea, millet, and beans mixture, stirring it with my hand. I took a talisman from the jade box and put it in.

"You, come here," I called out to Gu Xiaogang.

He hurried over.

I scooped up the mixture and said, "Hold it with your shirt."

Gu Xiaogang quickly pulled up his T-shirt and received the salt, tea, millet, and beans.

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After several scoops, I told him, "Turn around, face your front door. Hold your shirt with your right hand, grab with your left, and throw it behind you onto the two lying there."

"Alright!" Gu Xiaogang responded, checking the position of the two before turning around.

"Wait! Only throw it when I tell you!" I shouted.

Then I told the others, "Move aside, don't let him throw it on you!"

After everyone had stepped back, I signaled Uncle Wang to help me walk farther away, then called out, "Throw it now!"

Gu Xiaogang, following my instruction, grabbed the mixture held in his shirt and flung it backward onto the two.

"Don't look back! Use a bit more force! Keep throwing!" I urged.

"Yes, just like that, keep going!" Seeing him accurately hit the two with the mixture, I encouraged him further.

"Hiss... hissing..."

The salt, tea, millet, and beans scattered over the two began to crackle softly, emitting faint black smoke.

Witnessing this, the rest of the Gu family gasped.

"Heavens! Look, it's smoking!"

"Yes, but all that millet and soybeans are raw! Could there be fire on Pengpeng and Grandpa?"

"Exactly, they're all turning black, as if they've been burned."

"Sister-in-law, look—Pengpeng's complexion is much better, and Dad looks better too!"

Hearing their remarks, I frowned slightly and pointed at the child, asking the woman, "Is he your son?"

She nodded, "Yes, I'm his mother."

"What's his name?" I asked, pointing at the child.

"Pengpeng! Gu Pengpeng," she replied.

But that's strange—I distinctly remember the old man suddenly waking and calling out a different name.

He called "Dajin," yes, I'm certain he called out "Dajin."

"Who is Dajin?" I asked the woman.

She looked puzzled for a moment, then replied, "Dajin? Dajin was a dog my father kept."

"A dog?" I was startled.

Damn, so there's a dog involved here? That means my previous assumption was wrong!