Chapter 31: The Ninth Well (3)

  The old house that has been demolished and the houses here have two different places, one is that there are black rooms here, and the other is that the ninth well is hidden here.

  "Can you still remember the location of these eight wells?"

  I think Tao Dingtian asked too many questions, and I vaguely felt that he had the same purpose as me on this trip, so I didn't want to tell him too much. I coldly said: "It's late, go to sleep first, we'll talk tomorrow."

  Tao Ding Tian's face showed an awkward expression, and he scratched his head, saying apologetically: "At first, I thought you were here for the same purpose as me, so my attitude towards you wasn't good. Sorry about that. Even if your purpose is the same as mine, it doesn't matter. The things are here, no one can take them away, and we can only learn what we can."

  I listened to this inexplicable remark and thought there must be some misunderstanding. I hastily asked: "What did you say?"

  Tao Dingtian saw my attitude change and was very happy. He hastily said: "Do you know who my ancestors are?"

  I thought to myself, what does it matter who your ancestors are? You think I'd bring out my own ancestors just because you brought out yours and compare them? Besides, with so many ancestors of yours, which one are you even referring to? Of course, I wouldn't say this out loud, I just shook my head in confusion.

  Tao Dingtian showed a face of pride and admiration, saying: "My ancestor had a predecessor named Tao Baiwan. Although the name is very rustic and ordinary people may not know it, he had a nickname that has been passed down to this day, even after hundreds of years have passed."

  "What nickname?"

  Tao Ding Tian's face was full of pride: "Ding half a day!"

  I'm naturally familiar with the name Ding Ban Tian. When Er Lang and I first came to this old mansion, Old He mentioned him when telling us about the legend of the mansion. Speaking of which, I should thank this geomancy master from hundreds of years ago. If it weren't for his words, perhaps this mansion wouldn't have been preserved either. Of course, if the mansion hadn't been preserved back then, maybe all those things that happened later wouldn't have occurred either.

  Based on this idea, I have a feeling that can't be described towards Tao Ding Tian's identity as the descendant of Ding Half Sky. It's not good or evil, but it's different from ordinary people. I'm curious why he came here. Suddenly, an idea struck me: if he is indeed the descendant of Ding Half Sky, and if Old He's legend is true, perhaps I can learn some secrets about the old mansion from him.

  Tao Ding Tian seemed to prove his sincerity in apologizing to me, so he talked endlessly about the purpose of this trip. According to their family's oral tradition, when Ding Ban Tian returned from a trip to find a suitable burial site, he looked dejected and said that there was someone outside who was better than him, and that he would not surpass that person in his lifetime, thus giving rise to the idea of closing off the mountain and strictly forbidding future generations from learning the art of finding auspicious burial sites.

  The whole family was puzzled, but when they asked Ding Half-day, he didn't say a word. Moreover, he strictly forbade the family members from inquiring about this matter. Helplessly, the family secretly sent someone to find that rich old man, who told them that Ding Half-day had repeatedly warned him not to reveal the details of this matter, or else disaster would strike. Therefore, no matter what, he refused to say where Ding Half-day had discovered the so-called "feng shui treasure land".

  Who would have thought that this would only arouse everyone's curiosity, and in the end someone spent a lot of money to bribe one of the sedan chair bearers at the time, and asked him to search for the tomb for half a day. There was an unwritten rule that all the attendants, except for the master himself, had to be illiterate and mute, saying that this way could avoid too many people leaking the heavenly secret and suffering heavenly punishment.

  But just a few days before the two were about to set off, they were found dead in their beds, both with faces of terror, as if they had seen something extremely frightening. At that time, the two had not yet met or gathered together, but were separated by a whole mountain range, yet died at the same time, and their expressions before death were equally strange. Thinking back to Ding's words and those of the rich man, everyone suddenly thought that it must be the work of ghosts, and from then on, no one dared to go and explore where this so-called feng shui treasure land was.

  I'm naturally dismissive of such rumors, at least the official who told Er Lang where the old mansion was didn't seem to have heard anything from Er Lang, but my heart suddenly started racing violently because I thought of something: just because Er Lang didn't tell me that the official had an accident doesn't mean he really didn't have an accident. At least I knew where the old mansion was through Er Lang's words, and now Er Lang has left me forever.

  Among the people I know, Chu Jiangshan was probably the first to come into contact with the old mansion. He's dead now. Next was Yang Hui, and he's also gone. Then there were me and Er Liang. It seems like everyone who mentioned the old mansion to outsiders didn't have a good ending. As I looked at the house, some difficult thoughts arose: perhaps this is the real reason why so few outsiders have entered here all these years.

  Tao Dingtian noticed that my complexion was a bit off and asked: "Are you thinking of something?"

  I naturally couldn't tell him what I was just thinking, so I casually said: "Since that's the case, how did you find this place? And judging from your appearance, it seems like you're quite familiar with the ins and outs of this matter."

  Tao Dingtian smiled and continued telling the story of his family without directly answering my question.

  After this incident, the Tao family never dared to ask about it again. The rule that Ding Ban Tian had set down for his descendants not to learn the art of Feng Shui and grave divination was also passed down from generation to generation. After several generations, the Tao family's business at that time was almost gone, leaving only those family secrets that were passed down orally from generation to generation.

  Tao Dingtian, in his own words, is the most talented young man of the Tao family in nearly a hundred years. Unfortunately, he didn't focus on studying and instead listened to the stories told by the elderly at home about Ding Bantian. He then became determined to revive the former glory of the Tao family. In his heart, Feng Shui was not a feudal superstition, but rather a very scientific and rigorous matter. Therefore, he found a large pile of related books and devoted himself to intense reading in preparation for self-study.

  I also came into contact with traditional culture for a period of time, and it can be said that the study of traditional culture must be a long-term process of silent transformation. Self-study is not impossible, as ancient scholars often said, "If you are not a good official, then be a good doctor." Those who couldn't pass the imperial examination would read more medical books, and those with high aptitude could also explore some principles through trial and error. However, all of this must be based on practical experience, which is precisely what the ancients repeatedly advocated for: the unity of knowledge and action.

  The difficulty of self-study Feng Shui is unclear, but I think it's also hard to escape this rule. Indeed, Tao Ding Tian continued to say that although he had read a lot of theories, putting them into practice was extremely difficult. The key point was that he still had to hide from the old folks at home. If they found out, they would definitely use the family rules to suppress him again.

  After talking for half a day, Tao Ding Tian still didn't tell me how he found this place. I couldn't help but ask again, and this time Tao Ding Tian answered directly: "Because I received a strange letter."

  Tao Ding Tian was unexpectedly surprised by a letter he received when he had given up on self-study and seeking a master, the content of which made him almost think someone was playing a joke on him, because in the letter, someone told him a story, a story about Ding Half Sky, and this story sounded too much like a TV drama plot.

  Although Ding Ban Tian had retired and forbidden his descendants from learning Feng Shui due to his own admission of inferior skills, he was still a master of the craft. He couldn't bear the thought of his life's work being lost, so he wrote down all his experiences in a book, which also explained why he had retired.

  Although Tao Ding Tian had always dreamed of restoring his ancestral glory, when he saw such a mysterious letter, he would not take it seriously and thought it was just a joke from one of his friends. However, before long, he received a package, which turned out to be an extremely ancient handwritten book with the signature "Ding Half Sky".

  The book was all about geomancy and finding auspicious burial sites. Even so, Tao Ding Tian didn't believe it was really written by Ding Ban Tian at first, but after reading halfway through, he became deeply convinced because the content was almost entirely different from Ding's previous books, completely beyond his imagination. Even someone as dim-witted as Tao Ding Tian could see that there was something unusual about it. Moreover, whenever the author mentioned himself, he always referred to himself as "Jin Cai", a nickname that only the Tao family knew, which was given to him by his deceased mother. The book did mention the reason for his retirement to the mountains, but didn't reveal the specific location of this auspicious site.

  It's like giving a drunkard a whiff of fine wine but not letting him drink to his heart's content. Tao Ding Tian had vowed to revive the Tao family's prestige, even changing his name to Ding Tian, hoping that one day he could surpass his ancestor Ding Ban Tian. Seeing records about this feng shui treasure land made his heart itch with longing, and he yearned to see for himself what was so extraordinary about this place that even Ding Ban Tian had considered retreating from the world. Unfortunately, Ding Ban Tian left no specific address behind, leaving him to return hastily but still helpless.

  Just as Tao Ding Tian was furious and almost had the urge to kill, another mysterious letter arrived, this time not only telling him where the Feng Shui treasure land was located, but also revealing its secrets.

  I listened to Tao Dingtian say this, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest, asking: "What secret?"

  Tao Dingtian's face was mysterious, he leaned in towards me and looked around cautiously before asking: "Do you believe that there are ghosts in this world?"

  Are there ghosts in the world? I don't know how to answer this question. From my heart, I don't believe it, but recently I've encountered some things that have made me start to waver. Maybe people all have a strange habit - whenever they encounter something they can't explain, they'll use ghosts as an explanation at first. After thinking about it, I gave a vague answer to Tao Dingtian's question: "Who knows? Maybe there are."

  Tao Ding Tian's expression on his face became even more mysterious, and he said: "If there are ghosts, why can't everyone see them, or sometimes they can be seen and sometimes not?"

  I was stunned for a moment, this is a question I had never considered before. Tao Ding Tian looked at my expression and a triumphant smile appeared on his face. He pointed to the ground with his hand and lowered his voice, saying: "The secret is right here."

  Seeing me still looking confused, Tao Dingtian explained: "The ancestor of my family who is awesome in that book said that this position has a very heavy yin energy, but this yin energy is different from ordinary yin energy and does not harm the owner himself. The greatest effect of this yin energy is to condense the body."

  "Condensed body?" I was stunned for a moment, this was a term I had never heard of, and it was completely different from the secrets of the old mansion that I had imagined.

  Tao Dingtian further explained: "The reason why ghosts can't be seen by ordinary people is that the yin energy is insufficient to condense into a physical form. Although this place has extremely heavy yin energy, if it were cleverly arranged, it could bring good fortune to future generations. However, someone completely altered the layout of this place using another method, making the effect of yin energy condensing into a physical form even more pronounced, while the beneficial effect on future generations was weakened. In other words, if ghosts really exist in this world, they would be easily seen by people in this place."

  I feel like I'm listening to a heavenly book, this passage is too much like a fairy sword. Tao Ding Tian saw that I didn't believe him and hurriedly said: "My ancestor was so angry that he retreated because he couldn't completely break through this formation, today I came here to solve this puzzle and find its secret."

  Tao Dingtian seemed to be in a hurry to prove himself and continued: "My ancestors knew that the key to this formation was a formation called 'Nine Yin Condensing Body Formation', the eye of the formation is the nine-mouthed well, because the well connects to the underground yin energy, which can enhance the effect of condensing the body. Unfortunately, my ancestors only found eight wells and ended up dying in frustration. I came here to find this ninth well, didn't you say that there's another place just like this one? Tell me where exactly is the well located?"

  Looking at Tao Dingtian's eager face, I finally understood why his attitude towards me had changed so much. Unfortunately, I really couldn't help him. I didn't tell him that I was also looking for the ninth well, but only told him that the locations of the two houses' dry wells were exactly the same. Tao Dingtian's face fell in disappointment, and although he seemed to distrust me a bit, he could only give up and crawl back into his sleeping bag.

  The two of us were silent and didn't know what to say. I suddenly thought of something and said, "Maybe there's still one more person who knows where the ninth well is."

  Tao Dingtian was overjoyed and hastily asked: "Who is it?"

  I said, "That person who wrote to you! Since he knew the secrets of your ancestors, he could produce a book written in half a day and tell you the specific location of this Feng Shui treasure land. He should know where the ninth well is."

  Tao Dingtian was disappointed after hearing what I said and sighed, saying: "I've thought about it too, but unfortunately he's always out of touch with me, and I couldn't get in touch with him either."

  I couldn't help but feel a little curious and asked: "Who is this strange person?"

  Tao Ding Tian Dao said: "The signature at the end is Chu Jiang Shan."