Chapter 9: The Layout of Zhai Zi

  And this coffin-shaped structure in the fortress doesn't seem to be used to trap any spirits, but rather seems to be intentional. Fei Chuan felt that something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on why.

  This coffin is unlike other buildings, only to confine a soul. The coffin is naturally formed, as if it wants to hold everything outside in it.

  Fu Chuan did not dare to easily step into the second iron gate, San Yang was preparing inside, Fu Chuan stood on the balcony of the second floor, taking in all the doubts with his eyes.

  Fu Chuan still had a small piece of gold hidden in his sleeve, which he had managed to obtain with great difficulty from Miss Hu's hands. It was for the purpose of summoning the soul that the gold had been used, and it now carried the ghostly aura of that particular ghost. In a moment, he would use the cold, dark energy of the moonlight to locate where that ghost was.

  Fuhe put that small piece of gold in a bowl of clear water, the bowl holding the clear water was placed on two green bamboo stalks, it's just the Fu family's unique way of summoning souls at the south gate, called Duanqiao Zhao Hun Fa, which is to borrow the moonlight energy to let the soul come from the Yin path and fall onto the green bamboo.

  It's said that if the Yin Road is revealed, one will be slapped twice by others. In Taoist terms, the Yin Road is the path to the underworld. The Yin Road has nine paths and thirteen turns. Without a guide, ordinary people who go down will never be able to return. Ghosts and monsters come and go through the Yin Road, so Fu Chuan must open the gate of the Yin Road.

  Xing Chengtian stood on one side and asked: "Last night I was browsing through historical books, do you know what I found?"

  "What?"

  In fact, Xing Chengtian and Fu Chuan are of similar age. He is not only an archaeologist but also the fund manager of the Fu family. Xing Chengtian's father was the first fund manager of the Fu family, and he is the second. Therefore, the two families have maintained a good private relationship for decades.

  "The Kusos are descendants of the ancient Dian Kingdom, and their beliefs differ from those of other ethnic groups in the ancient Dian Kingdom. Most people in the ancient Dian Kingdom believed in Buddhism, while these Kusos worshipped a heretical god named Ji Mi."

  "What's this about Ji Niang?" Xing Chengtian asked, putting down the sword in his hand. He was waiting to see what reaction would arise from the bowl of water on the Qing Zhu Bridge. Xing Chengtian had a premonition that things were not going to be so simple this time. The doubts he had been harboring all along, he had wanted to confide in Fu Chuan entirely, but hadn't found an opportunity yet. "Ji Niang was an evil god from the ancient Dian Kingdom era," Xing Chengtian said. "Legend has it that he was a disciple of Brahma, the Indian sky god. Later, because he defied heaven's will, he was demoted and became a stepping stone for anyone to trample on. He cultivated in the deep mountains, went through tens of thousands of years of transformation, and eventually transformed into a spirit. Later, he even cultivated from a stone into human form."

  "Listen to me, does this remind you of anything?" Xing Chengtian asked tentatively. He looked at Fu Chuan and thought he should have remembered something, but Fu Chuan's expression was calm, his tone also flat and even, saying: "In Chinese mythology, there are also stories about stones cultivating into spirits."

  "Sun Wukong." Fu Chuan said after a pause, "If I'm not mistaken, Tongtian Sect Master also had a stone apprentice, who later beat Lotus Prince and made him seek help from his master, Shi Ji Niangniang."

  "That's right, it's Shi Jia, the ancient books record that Shi Jia is a stone spirit, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, receiving the essence of the sun and moon, and after thousands of years of cultivation, still hasn't achieved true results. Later, he was burned out by Taiyi True Person with three flavors of true fire."

  "But these are just myths, legends." Although Fu Chuan knew that what he was doing had already exceeded the scope of scientific explanation, but for those ancient myths, legends and gods and spirits that appeared in ancient books, Fu Chuan always held a reserved attitude.

  Xing Chengtian said, "I'm not speaking alarmist words. As soon as I arrived here and learned about the situation, I knew it was related to the descendants of the ancient Dian Kingdom. I knew that what you told me must be connected."

  "Most of the ancient Dian Kingdom myths were passed down from ancient India and ancient China, while Shi Ji Niang Niang was the embodiment of evil spirits in ancient mythology."

  Fu Chuan didn't say a word, but Xing Chengtian could tell that he was also thinking about this matter. Perhaps this matter had indeed exceeded their imagination up to now. However, Fu Chuan felt that dragging the characters from ancient myths into it was a bit too far-fetched. Fu Chuan thought that the heavy yin energy in Shiyin Village might be because it was too remote, so it was occupied by some refined and evil spirits, resulting in such cold and evil energy.

  One hour, two hours, the gold nugget was calm and peaceful in the water, as if nothing had happened at all. The three sheep walked forward and placed the bowl of water in front of Fu Chuan: "Master, look, there's no change."

  Fu Chuan picked up the pomelo leaf in front of him and wiped his eyes. He didn't see anything either. Fu Chuan said in a low voice, "How is that possible!"

  There wasn't even a ghostly shadow, Fuchuan thought it was impossible. Since using the broken bridge to summon ghosts at the south gate of the Fu family, he had never failed. Fuchuan took out his compass, and the needle inside didn't react at all. If there were any anomalies around, the needle would spin continuously and point towards the location with a spirit body. But now, the needle was completely still.

  "Absolutely impossible!" Fu Chuan said in a low voice, Xing Chengtian walked over and also saw that the compass had no reaction at all. He had a bad premonition and said: "This place seems to have been abandoned for some time, but it's absolutely not that simple. You take a look yourself."

  Xing Chengtian took out the lucky charm from his neck, and Fu Chuan noticed that a green light was emanating from the jade pendant. Green light had never been an auspicious color, and sometimes even represented bad luck and decline.

  "This place doesn't seem like a normal spiritual place at all, everything here is too abnormal." Xing Chengtian said.

  Fuhe cursed in his heart, how could he not know? Just as the two of them didn't know what to do next, the iron gate was opened and a woman wearing a linen long dress walked out from inside. She looked about 16 or 17 years old, with a pretty face, but there was an aura of seductiveness around her, or perhaps it was evil energy.

  The woman came forward and said: "Our clan leader invites the three of you to go in for a talk."

  "Is it the clan leader or the master who invited us?" Fu Chuan thought to himself, but no matter what, even if it was a dragon's lair or a tiger's den ahead, he knew they had to go in. The three of them were not here for good intentions, so why didn't they come to invite them on the first day, and instead sent someone to invite them only on the second day? This point was very strange indeed.

  As he followed the woman, Xing Chengtian took the opportunity to give Fu Chuan a brief lesson. Xing Chengtian told Fu Chuan that in tribes like this one, which had been passed down for thousands of years, the tribal leader was the highest chief and decision-maker. Most tribal leaders also served as spiritual masters, responsible for rituals such as worshiping heaven and praying for blessings. The tribal leader-spiritual master held absolute power within the tribe, even having the power to decide life and death.

  Fu Xiang smiled gently and said with a cold glint in his eyes: "You're the only one who can tolerate me, I'm illiterate."

  Fuhe and Xing Chengtian have a relationship where they often undermine each other. Xing Chengtian is in charge of the Fu family's foundation, so every month, Fuhe has to get money from him, which makes Xing Chengtian act like a big shot in front of Fuhe.

  At this time, Fu Chuan's mobile phone rang. Fu Chuan did not expect that there would be a signal in such a place. He pressed the answer key and heard Li Baobao's thunderous roar on the other end: "Bastard! You dare to give me a blank check! It can't be cashed!"

  Xing Chengtian couldn't help but laugh when he saw Fu Chuan's expression, only Li Baobao could yell at him like that and Fu Chuan wouldn't get angry, try it with someone else.

  He followed the woman all the way into the iron gate, and what was in front of him made Fu Chuan stunned, let alone Xing Chengtian and San Yang. The inside and outside of the iron gate were simply two different worlds. The outside of the iron gate was like a ruin left after a biochemical war, while the inside was like a paradise on earth.

  The houses here are all built with the hard black obsidian outside the village, forming a divine color in the vast white fog. Although the houses are low and short, the plant roots and leaves hanging from the roof make this place look like a paradise on earth. Everything here seems to be self-sufficient, and an old woman is still using the old spinning wheel to spin yarn.