Chapter 53

After Su Jiu finished the last sentence, his eyes looked westward, towards the end of the Chen family village, in the direction of the Ox God Cave. Then he stomped his foot hard.

The whole person descended from mid-air.

A violent tremor immediately spread from Su Jiu's right foot. This time it was a real tremor, not just a feeling.

Everyone present felt unsteady on their feet.

It took a long time, but it actually happened very quickly.

A loud rumble echoed from afar, as if trying to convey some meaning.

However, the rumble did not last long, only a few seconds, then it slowly dissipated.

"Now, try again," Su Jiu smiled, exhaled, and said to Zuo Guoqing.

Only at this moment did everyone present come to their senses.

At this moment, everyone looked at Su Jiu with shock, their eyes filled with awe and respect. What had happened today had thoroughly shaken the hearts of the people of Chen family village.

Especially the elders in the village, some of them were muttering about deities and masters.

"Okay!"

At this moment, Zuo Guoqing came to his senses upon hearing Su Jiu's words, responded, squatted down, and with both hands, easily picked up the gourd.

"Alright. The water-fetching ceremony is complete. Later, distribute the water in this gourd to everyone, one bowl per person, don't drink too much," Su Jiu instructed Zuo Guoqing.

"Yes, Master Su."

At this moment, Zuo Guoqing readily agreed.

At this moment, no one dared to look down on Su Jiu anymore. Everyone took Su Jiu's words to heart. Although the water-fetching ceremony seemed ordinary, the village geomancer Uncle San had also held it before, and everyone had seen it, but it was not as impressive as Su Jiu's.

An ordinary ceremony, in Su Jiu's hands, directly changed many people's perceptions, making everyone present respect Su Jiu.

Seeing the change in everyone's eyes, Su Jiu felt satisfied.

In fact, Su Jiu was very clear that he could have held the water-fetching ceremony even more simply.

But Su Jiu did not do so.

The first reason was that Chen Jie was his brother. For the sake of his brother's family and relatives, Su Jiu naturally did his best.

The second reason was that after this water-fetching ceremony, all the villagers of Chen family village would naturally know his abilities, earning the respect of everyone in the village and making them think he was a capable master.

This was also preparation for the next step of entering the Ox God Cave in Chen family village, to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Su Jiu was very clear that in such a relatively closed area, some people's concepts were hard to understand.

The locals had an unshakable stubbornness about the customs passed down from their ancestors.

This was also the reason why Su Jiu had been preparing methods to deal with it.

The water-fetching ceremony was now complete.

Su Jiu returned to Uncle San's house. The talisman was not yet finished.

Su Jiu continued to draw it, as this was a major matter that could not be delayed.

Upon returning to Uncle San's house, Uncle San had already woken up.

He had returned to normal and, through his son, knew that it was this Master Su who had saved his life.

At this moment, upon seeing Master Su again, he became even more respectful.

Su Jiu did not flatter Uncle San too much. After chatting with Uncle San for a few sentences, he entered the room again.

Calmly, Su Jiu settled his mind and began the important task of drawing the talisman.

Time passed quietly. In the past few days, nothing major had happened in Chen family village, everything seemed very peaceful. Su Jiu knew that beneath the calm, there was often a brewing storm.

After the water-fetching ceremony, Su Jiu knew that the thing in the Ox God Cave was definitely a conscious entity.

It was just that at the time, Su Jiu was not fully prepared and did not provoke that thing. Even when he held the water-fetching ceremony, Su Jiu did not disturb the feng shui of Chen family village.

It seemed that as long as the feng shui of Chen family village was not disturbed, that thing in the Ox God Cave would not cause any trouble.

One early morning, Su Jiu woke up.

Today was the day Chen Jie's grandparents were to be taken up the mountain.

According to rural customs, this was the most important part of the funeral. Every household in the village, as long as they had any connection to Chen Jie's family, would come to participate or set off firecrackers at the door.

This was a custom, the dead were to be respected, no matter what grudges they had with the deceased in life, they would all come to pay their respects or set off firecrackers.

Therefore, Chen family village was very lively today.

Early in the morning, people were already coming and going in Chen family village.

Some children and adults put aside their tasks to pay their respects or prepare firecrackers.

It was the same at Uncle San's house, where they got up early to prepare.

As the village geomancer, Uncle San had some rituals to perform for Chen Jie's grandparents being taken up the mountain.

For example, the final part of the coffin being lowered also required Uncle San to perform it.

Su Jiu washed up briefly and then went directly to Chen Jie's house with Uncle San.

Today, most of the people in Chen family village would have breakfast at Chen Jie's house.

Uncle San and Su Jiu were no exception.

They arrived early at Chen Jie's house.

At this moment, seeing Chen Jie again, with dark circles under his eyes and a tired face, everyone could tell that he had been busy and had not rested well over the past two days.

After all, no matter who it was, encountering such a matter would be the same.

"Little brother, are you okay?" Su Jiu greeted him.

"I'm fine, Third Brother. Don't worry about me. I truly thank you, Third Brother. When I get back to school, I'll have a few drinks with you to thank you, Third Brother," Chen Jie responded to Su Jiu.

The events of the past few days had made him reassess his third brother, completely overturning the image of Su Jiu in his mind.

He could not express his gratitude in words, but he kept it in his heart.

"It's fine, go ahead and get busy," Su Jiu said, and someone else called out to Chen Jie. As the only grandson of the Chen family, there were many things to do for such a major event.

"Okay, okay!"

Su Jiu found a table and sat down.

Uncle San started working as soon as he entered Chen Jie's house.

After breakfast, the ceremony to take the deceased up the mountain would officially begin, but there were many things to prepare and arrange beforehand, all of which needed to be handled by Uncle San.

Breakfast was early, and Su Jiu only sat for a while before all the tables were full.

Soon, the dishes started coming.

As soon as breakfast was over, the quiet Chen Jie's house started to have drums and trumpets playing again.

Su Jiu knew that this was the monks and Taoists working together to make the final funeral ceremony lively.

The tables were cleared away, and the things prepared for the ceremony were brought out. Su Jiu knew that the ceremony to take the deceased up the mountain was about to begin.

PS: Sorry, there's only one update today. I drank too much at a gathering with some comrades. This is a saved draft. I'll update 6000 words every day starting tomorrow.