Chapter 6: Breaking the Evil Feng Shui

  Inside the grand Snake King Temple, only Nan San was left holding a jar, and a strong scent of sulfur wafted through the air, which was caused by the burning of the five yellows by the evil spirits. Although they had subdued the little ghost tonight, Nan San's face showed no joy whatsoever. The paths of humans and ghosts are different, the heavenly way is predetermined, life and death are destined, and as a Daoist successor, Nan San naturally understood the meaning behind it all, so what was there to be happy about?

  He took a faint glance at the ancient temple hidden in the deep mountains, and Nan San pushed open the gate and walked out. Outside, Er Shu and Lao Da Dao were both anxious, facing the constantly emerging small snakes, terrified, and seeing Nan San come out, they hastily shouted: "Nan San, there are too many snakes in this pit, I'm afraid the fire won't last much longer."

  The three of them saw the second uncle and his antics, smiled wryly, shook their heads and said: "It's nothing, let's head down the mountain. This snake won't amount to much."

  Second Uncle and Old Blade were both stunned, they had personally seen the ferocity of this little snake, how could it become so tame? They hastily inquired about what was going on, Nan San didn't hide anything, recounting everything that happened at the temple from start to finish. The two listeners' hearts grew cold, especially Old Blade, who couldn't help but wonder if there really were ghosts in this world.

  After being stunned for a few seconds, Second Uncle and the others also knew that this matter had been settled, so they put their minds at ease. The three of them descended the mountain under the cover of night. To say that walking on these desolate mountains and wild ridges at night is frightening, fortunately, Nan San was there, or else Second Uncle wouldn't have been able to put his mind at ease.

  After arriving at the village, Second Uncle originally wanted to go back and sleep well, but was stopped by Nan San: "Li brothers, tomorrow morning you help me buy some paper people and hell money, as well as incense iron ladle, go to the village temple and wait for me."

  Second Uncle was just about to ask what the purpose of preparing these things was, but Nan San turned around and went back into the house. It seemed that preparing these things was for the dead, but Second Uncle wasn't clear what they were for either, so he could only return with Old Blade.

  The next morning, Second Uncle also got up in a hurry and hastily prepared the few things that Nan San had instructed him to bring. He then went to the ancestral hall, where he found Nan San already waiting for him, holding a jar with something inside that everyone probably knew about. Nan San saw Second Uncle but didn't look up, instead taking out an eight trigrams divination plate, pricking his index finger and dripping blood onto it, causing the pointer on top to spin rapidly.

  This eight trigrams disc is a calculation method of heavenly stems and earthly branches. In Feng Shui, the eight trigrams are used to represent: Kan represents North, Gen represents Northeast, Zhen represents East, Xun represents Southeast, Li represents South, Kun represents Southwest, Dui represents West, Qian represents Northwest. Ershu didn't understand what San was doing with this disc, but saw him counting on his right hand and observing the disc with his left hand, his expression changing from clear to dark.

  After a long time, Nan Sancai put away the Luo Pan and did not enter the temple hall. Instead, he led Er Shu towards the back of the temple, where there was a small dense forest, or rather, a bamboo forest, which was usually deserted. Why? It was because this place often had domestic cats hanged to death, so it made people dare not approach. Nan Sancai saw the cat skeletons hanging in the bamboo forest, his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked even more helpless.

  He shook his head, walked forward and cut down the rope with a wooden sword, put down the cat's corpse, and immediately asked Er Shu to wash the corpse with morning dew water early in the morning, and bury it properly. Er Shu was confused, what's the use of this dead cat, why should we bury it? Nan San stared at the bamboo forest: "The bamboo forest is originally Yin, Mao represents Tai Chong, that is, representing the bamboo forest, this cat is a spiritual thing, such a death method, isn't it a bad omen? It's better to accumulate some Yin virtue!"

  After listening, Second Uncle's face turned awkward. He was also aware that in this rural area, villagers often did such things, not just to save trouble, but also because they foolishly believed in the saying that cats have nine lives. In Nan San's opinion, this notion was absurd and a misconception. Among the six domesticated animals, cats were the most sinister, with nine souls and one heart, which included the evil soul, refined soul, violent soul, greedy soul, corrupt soul, separated soul, bound soul, murderous soul, and life soul. The one heart was divided into three spirits, which is what people referred to as the "nine lives".

  Perhaps it was San's words that made Ershu feel a bit ashamed, and he said that he would never do such things again.

  Since this place belongs to yin, why did Nan San want to come here? Later, I also heard Nan San mention that in the world, yin and yang are harmonious, all things are born and overcome each other, extreme yin must give birth to yang, and vice versa. Nan San used the Luopan calculation method to detect a hidden Feng Shui site within the bamboo forest, and then led Ershu over, with the intention of burying the small ghost in the jar here. As for how to find the Feng Shui treasure eye in the bamboo forest, this matter is not difficult for him.

  He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, folded it into a paper crane under Second Uncle's astonished gaze, then pricked his index finger and dripped blood onto the crane. After muttering to himself, the paper crane suddenly moved and flew up, leaving Second Uncle staring in amazement, his mouth agape at this strange occurrence.

  The paper crane seemed to have a spirit, flying towards the depths of the bamboo forest. Nan San called Er Shu to bring those things along and followed in the direction the paper crane flew, searching for about 100 meters. They saw the paper crane circling twice around a half-cut bamboo before falling to the ground. Seeing the bamboo, Nan San had an idea, took the paper man and incense from Er Shu.

  First, he lit two white candles tied together with a red string and burned the paper man. After doing all this, Nan San used an iron shovel to dig a three-foot-deep hole in front of the half bamboo stick, put the jar in it, and then looked at the jar with a cold face: "Little ghost, I know you died unjustly, but fate is like that, why not give up past grudges and start anew? If you are willing, either accept this arrangement or wait for the lid to be opened and your soul will scatter. How about it?"

  Second Uncle saw Nan San talking to himself, felt quite curious, but didn't dare to disturb him, could only quietly observe from the side. The two of them didn't dare speak either. After a few minutes, suddenly the two connected red strings broke, and the candle flame rose high. Only then did Nan San reveal a hint of a smile, afterwards he buried the jar, burned the spirit money, and led Second Uncle out of the bamboo forest.

  "Nan San, what just happened?" Er Shu couldn't help but ask as soon as he came out. Nan San didn't hide the truth, saying that the little ghost had agreed to enter the underworld and had cut off the red string, but was afraid of the heavy resentment, so Nan San had planned to bury the little ghost near the ancestral temple, hoping to use the temple to disperse the little ghost's resentment, so that after entering the underworld, it would suffer less.

  The second uncle finally realized, and looked at Nan San with new eyes. The strange incident was finally solved, and the news spread to the villagers' ears, becoming a topic of conversation after meals. Many people came to visit, but Nan San remained tight-lipped and didn't say much.

  The old Ba Dao and his men, who were originally stationed in the village, suddenly became low-key after hearing this rumor, and within a few days, they hastily left with their belongings. On the day of their departure, Old Ba Dao said to Nan San: "Nan San, I, Old Ba Dao, have also resigned myself to fate. Forget about the matter of flattening the graves. If we can't fight again for a few more years, then so be it. If there's an opportunity in the future, I hope to see you again."

  Nan San was also very generous, although Lao Ba didn't exert much effort with his knife. Nan San had a drink with him, and Er Shu was afraid that once Nan San finished his business, he would leave immediately. So he deliberately dragged things out, making excuses about someone's child getting sick or his daughter having stomach pain, trying every way to keep him from leaving. But Nan San wasn't a fool either; he had long understood Er Shu's intentions and didn't decline the offer. He only told Er Shu to build a thatched hut at the village entrance, preparing for a short-term stay.

  Second Uncle wouldn't dare be so slow, originally wanted to invite Nan San to stay at his own home, but Nan San firmly shook his head, only saying that he was used to coming and going alone, didn't want to trouble Second Uncle, and declined.

  It seems that many people would say that the story of Nan San has come to an end, but no, this is just the beginning. The real thrilling journey is yet to come. A wandering Taoist successor, how many stories will he unfold? Drifting and roaming in search of a place to settle down, nobody knows his past, whether it's a comedy, a legend, or simply a tragedy. Will the abandoned Taoist culture be revived again?

  Ten years of turmoil, Nan San may have escaped a disaster, but the real mastermind behind the scenes has always been pushing forward. Against the backdrop of a great era, can he turn the world upside down, fight against heaven, earth and man? Let us enter the story of a pure and bright Taoist, a true Three Talents Taoist.