Chapter Twenty: Yang Xiufeng's Decision

  Fortunately, it wasn't long before my second uncle arrived. I don't know who informed him, but from a distance, he saw me squatting there and his face turned as black as coal. He couldn't help but let out a cold hum: "Little Hai, what are you doing to me again? Look at the state you're in..."

  The people around saw that Second Master had arrived, and they all made way for him, watching with a mindset of onlookers. However, Second Master didn't want to get entangled, and he ignored Fat Aunt, grabbing my arm instead: "Let's go, don't make me lose face here, what are you doing running out in the morning with your butt exposed? You're really going to drive me mad!"

  "I didn't want to be like this either, I was driven out by the two of them, not even giving me a piece of clothing. Do you think I wanted to? My heart is also very resentful, really wanting to cry, but unfortunately as a man, I'm too embarrassed to cry."

  The Second Master was taken aback, and his face turned black in an instant. He glanced at the Da Chun's house, and suddenly thought of something: "Could Da Chun and his wife have done such a thing? Did you tell them something?"

  He was stunned for a moment, scratched his head and dryly laughed, but didn't dare to look at Second Master: "I just casually mentioned it, and as a result, the couple took me out and abandoned me."

  "Deserved it," Second Master hummed, and immediately let go: "Dachun's wife was afraid of this thing since she was a child, her family had a big fight when she was young. You insisted on telling them, no wonder they threw you out. Deserved it, I was thinking of picking you up tomorrow, but now it's good, come with me."

  He pulled me towards the south of the village, but not in the direction of home. I was about to ask, but soon understood that we were going to Li Shengli's old mansion. It didn't matter where we went, as long as we avoided Old Lady's ghost. But walking like this seemed a bit too leisurely. Before I could say anything, Second Master spat and said: "You can't go back home, no matter what, or you'll leave footprints behind."

  I'm so frustrated that I have nowhere to go back home, fortunately, after walking a few steps, I saw the fat dog holding my clothes and coming over, with a sly smile on his face, sizing me up and down, making faces at me. I didn't have the mood to pay attention to him, quickly putting on the oversized clothes he brought, no matter how ugly they looked.

  It wasn't long before they arrived at the abandoned mansion in the south of the village, a distant earthen house with broken windows and doors. Fortunately, it had been cleaned up yesterday, so it was still relatively clean. The waist-high weeds outside the courtyard had also been cut down, and a layer of lime powder had been sprinkled on top, which reflected a faint glow in the early morning sunlight, revealing that there were glass fragments mixed in with the lime.

  "Grandpa, what's the point of sprinkling this lime?" I was very curious and really didn't understand what sprinkling lime was for.

  The old man turned his head and glared at me, but still explained to me: "Lime is a yang thing that can isolate yin energy. This is why some tombs are paved with a layer of lime. Not only can it prevent dampness, but also prevent the corpse from absorbing yin energy and turning into a zombie. However, since corpses are now cremated, this custom has been lost."

  So, I nodded, and the fat dog next to me winked at me. I knew he wanted to ask about those glass things, which was exactly what I was curious about. Seeing that Second Master's face was still calm, I hesitated for a moment before asking in a low voice: "What's the point of mixing these broken glasses in there?"

  "Lime belongs to yang, glass belongs to yin. Lime blocks the yin energy from the ground, but glass can absorb the beneficial yin energy from the sky. This makes the surrounding air confusing, and even if a ghost finds its way here, it will be led astray and easily guided away." Second Master explained this to me in a calm tone, pausing for a moment before continuing: "There are many legends that say mirrors can hide ghosts. Some say that at midnight, you can see the ghosts inside the mirror. Whether or not this is true, it's because mirrors are made of glass, which can condense yin energy. It's not entirely unfounded. If a mirror absorbs too much yin energy and can't dissipate it, it will form a special existence. Evil spirits and ghosts will hide inside, and that's the truth. I heard a Taoist priest talk about this before, which is why there's the legend of mirror ghosts."

  "I know, Second Uncle. When arranging furniture at home, mirrors can't be placed opposite the bed head. It's because mirrors have ghosts and can absorb people's souls..." Fatty Dog suddenly chuckled to himself, seemingly excited about his knowledge. Indeed, there is such a saying in bedroom feng shui, and there are also legends that mirrors can absorb souls, but who knows if it's true or not."

  Who would have thought that the second master was so pleased with himself, but he just hummed and said: "You know nothing. The reason why mirrors can't be placed opposite the bed is that when you sleep, sometimes your hair gets messy, and it's very likely to be scared by the shadow in the mirror. Sometimes when your body is weak, you're prone to soul loss after a fright, which has nothing to do with ghosts or monsters. Mirrors can't absorb people's souls either, but it's just a rumor that's been passed down."

  As they spoke, they had already arrived at the courtyard. The courtyard was also covered with lime, but what was different was that there were salt crystals mixed in with the lime. Seeing Second Master's expression turn solemn, I didn't hesitate to ask: "What is the purpose of mixing salt into the lime in this courtyard?"

  The Second Master turned around and gave me a stern look, humming heavily: "How did you little brat know that there was salt inside? Wasn't it you who coaxed over Da Chun's eldest son yesterday?"

  I was stunned, and for a moment I didn't know what to say. My face twitched and I forced out a dry laugh, scratching my head. Fortunately, the second master didn't dwell on it: "Lime is a yang-natured heat, while salt is also an extremely yang substance. When they are mixed together, they can complement each other, increasing the yang energy and completely blocking the yin energy. And I've called over the village's most yang-abundant fat dog, Da Zhuzi, and Da Chun, originally to make the yang energy even more abundant. With yang energy flourishing, yin energy will decline, and evil spirits won't dare approach, allowing you to safely pass the night."

  As I walked into the house that had already declined, I found that beds and tables were already set up inside, and even food and drink were fully prepared. I don't know where they temporarily pulled out an electric wire from, it seemed like they wanted to stay for a few days. However, the people accompanying me made me feel somewhat depressed. Apart from Fat Dogzi and Big Zhuangzi, who are both well-known foolish people in the village, is this what is meant by having strong yang energy? I couldn't help but wonder, does being foolish mean having strong yang energy?

  Of course, I naturally didn't dare to say it out loud. Not to mention whether the second master would get angry or not, I reckon that fatty and big pillar would both beat me up severely. Sitting down on the bed, the second master said in a low voice: "Alright, from now on, you three just stay here and don't go anywhere else. If you still don't listen, when old lady wakes up again, Walker won't be able to save you."

  "Don't worry, Second Uncle, we'll take good care of Xiao Hai." Da Zhu Zi chuckled and turned his head to look at me, giving me a chill, I reckon this was something that Second Master had instructed them beforehand.

  As I saw the second master turn around to leave, I still had Yang Xiufeng on my mind. I suddenly stood up and wanted to chase after him, but unexpectedly was caught by Dazhu immediately. After a moment of stunned silence, I shouted: "Master, what about Xiaofeng's family?"

  "Mind your own business," Second Master turned back and glared at me with a somewhat gloomy face: "I have my own way of keeping track, I'll try to help them as much as possible, but how much I can help... Ah..."

  I couldn't help but sigh and laugh bitterly, and after the second master left, I fell onto the bed, my mind wandering aimlessly, wondering how Yang Xiufeng was doing.

  After waiting for a while, feeling uneasy in her heart, she wanted to call Yang Xiufeng, only to remember that her phone was also left at Dachun's house. She thought for a moment and simply reached out to touch the fat dog: "Fat dog brother, lend me your phone for a use."

  Fat dog didn't say a word and threw the phone to me, unfortunately I really couldn't remember Yang Xiufeng's phone number, her phone number was stored in my phone, it seemed that I still had to get my phone back. After a moment of contemplation, I came up with an idea, directly dialing the village's Shuangzi who had a good relationship with me, asking him to go to Dachun's place and bring my phone and luggage over.

  The little rascal was quite efficient in doing things, and before long, he brought my stuff over. However, Da Zhu Zi and Pang Gou Zi didn't let him in, so he handed over the stuff at the door and left. Besides, I didn't want to drag him into this matter either, although he couldn't understand why and had no choice but to leave.

  After the taxi left, I made a phone call to Yang Xiufeng. It rang for a while before she picked up. As soon as we connected, there was a long silence until I asked: "Xiufeng, are you okay?"

  "I'm fine—" Yang Xiufeng sounded tired, but was still willing to talk to me: "I heard that this morning you were chased out by Big Spring Brother and ran around the village in these shorts for a circle—"

  Who said that, it's really too ridiculous. I just pretended not to hear and changed the subject: "Xiaofeng, did my second uncle go to your house?"

  "She's here, she came yesterday too, and even asked Second Uncle to find several tractors for no apparent reason," Yang Xiufeng's words left me perplexed as well. The arrangements made by Second Master were all strange, but then I heard Yang Xiufeng continue: "Just now, Second Master came again and had Second Uncle buy a truckload of lime, saying that today we must all leave home and hide from Grandma's seventh day memorial service."

  It seems that Second Master has already made arrangements, I let out a sigh of relief, but it's a pity for Second Master, and for a while, we fell silent. Yang Xiufeng also seemed to have nothing much to say, so we remained silent for a long time. It wasn't until then that I muttered: "You be careful yourself, if anything happens, just give me a call."