Chapter 12

They drank until the sky turned white, and when everyone dispersed like birds and beasts, the old man August was already immobile, so they simply left him in the fat man Lu's tavern. Zhenzhibao, on the other hand, had Old Liu carry him back to the temple to keep an eye on him.

When the sky was fully bright and the ghost market crowd had all fallen asleep, the entire city temple was silent except for the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind—this was its true night, without ghosts or human traces, as quiet as a grave.

Around noon, a bustling sound suddenly came from the yellow mud road, and several men in blue clothes hurriedly arrived at the temple with two large carts. Upon arrival, a lean old man in a homespun shirt got off the front cart, scanned the surroundings, and took an ancient compass from a half-grown child behind him to determine the direction and position.

A fat man in a water silk shirt got off the rear cart and immediately ran to the lean old man, asking, "How is it? Does this place match what you calculated, Master? Is the position correct?"

The lean old man nodded and said, "It looks about right, but this is a ghost hole that benefits the soul. I need to use other methods to confirm it—Sancai, Side, take the tools and follow me to set up the layout." After saying this, the lean old man measured the steps forward, and his disciples hurriedly carried a bundle of wax rods from the cart, following closely behind. They measured a position and inserted a wax rod into the green rock crevice.

The old man quickly marked thirty-six points on the ground, and Sancai and Side inserted thirty-six wax rods at each point. Then, they took out a red rope and connected the heads of the wax rods, forming a faint lotus pattern.

The old man didn't idle either. He took out thirty-six silver bowls from a box, had someone fetch river water to fill the bowls, and after the red rope was connected, instructed his disciples to place the bowls on top of the wax rods. He then took out incense and lit it, inserting it under the wax rods one by one.

At this moment, in the city temple, the temple keeper Old Liu was leading Zhenzhibao to peek through a crack, "Watch carefully, this is the method of setting the grave site in the soil, which is quite different from what I taught you. It mainly relies on the cold mist leaking from the yin veins, while we use the mutual generation and overcoming of the five elements—look, they are about to use the finger snap to condense the pearl..."

Zhenzhibao, whether he understood or not, nodded like a drum!

Sure enough, as the lean old man walked through the array, he suddenly reached out and lightly pinched a red rope, pulling and snapping it...

Ding! Ding ding! Ding ding ding ding ding...

The red rope vibrated like water waves, emitting a buzzing hum, causing the wax rods to start shaking. The silver bowls swayed, making a thudding sound, some fast, some slow, some quick, some slow, some spinning, some trembling slightly, some standing firm like Mount Tai... It was as if they suddenly came to life, moving without any pattern!

Despite the movement and shaking, the silver bowls remained firmly on top of the rods, never falling off!

"This is...?" Zhenzhibao started to ask, but the temple keeper raised his hand to stop him, "Shh! Don't say useless things! It's already the third hour of the afternoon. If I'm not mistaken, there will be a change soon!" He pointed to the silver bowls, "Look closely, can you see anything?"

Zhenzhibao looked at the silver bowls and saw no change or abnormality, just a slight shimmer on the outside. He had a thought and asked tentatively, "Old Liu, is this the 'attracting three parts of yin energy, transforming it into a moment of yin-yang water' you taught me?"

Liu Piyun replied, "Exactly. This method first senses the yin-yang changes through the wax rods, then amplifies the yin energy through specially made silver bowls. The changes then affect the outside, forming ice fog, which causes the incense to burn at a different speed..."

Before he finished, the lean old man, seeing the shadow changes in the compass, raised his hand and pinched the red rope!

Everything stopped instantly!

Drip... A few drops of water fell from the silver bowls onto the incense!

Drip drip, all the incense went out!

The sun at the third hour of the afternoon cast its light, and the shadows of the incense and wax rods intertwined on the ground, forming a black, shadowy pattern that looked like pavilions and terraces from a distance!

The most peculiar part was that there was a vague passage in the shadowy pavilions, with the entrance exactly one foot and three inches in front of the treasure cauldron, not a bit more, not a bit less!

The lean old man took out a red wooden stake, walked to the shadow's entrance, and deeply inserted it into the ground, "Good! This is the spot!" Then he thought for a moment and said to the fat man in the water silk shirt, "The grave site has been found. Now, all you need to do is buy this land, Brother Sanpai. You can start negotiating, and I'll go back to supervise the preparation of the items. We can't be careless about this!"

"That's right! That's right!" The fat man, known as Brother Sanpai, agreed, "I should handle this matter myself, so I won't trouble you, Master... You rest first, and I'll come back to help you prepare the items after I settle the matter!" He then instructed his subordinates, "Take the Master back, and then accompany him to check the items at a certain place..."

After the celestial observer and his disciple left in the carriage, Brother Sanpai straightened his clothes and walked squarely to the city temple to knock on the door.

Their commotion naturally didn't escape the notice of the ghost market crowd, but since the temple keeper didn't come out, everyone just watched from their shops. Now, seeing him about to knock, they all came out of their shops out of concern.

Just as Brother Sanpai raised his hand to knock, the temple door suddenly opened, and a disheveled Taoist rushed out and collided with his stomach!

Unable to avoid it, Brother Sanpai smelled the sour and foul smell of alcohol as he fell backward, "Brother! Brother!" His brothers quickly called out and reached out to help, but it was too late—this fat meatball rolled down the temple steps!

The brothers stared at each other, dumbfounded!

The Taoist who rushed out also sat on the ground, and before they could react, he started wailing, "Oh my God, who is the blind fool blocking my door? Are you human or ghost? If you're human, at least make a sound! Look, you broke my wine gourd... What a pity, I haven't even touched this fine wine..." He cried dramatically, flailing his arms and legs, but no tears fell!

There was indeed a broken gourd and a puddle of wine on the ground.

Brother Sanpai, being an experienced man, didn't get angry when he was helped up. He stopped the two brothers who wanted to blame the Taoist and put on a smile, "Oh, I was a bit hasty today, I'm sorry! How much should I compensate you for the gourd?"

"Really?" The temple keeper Liu Piyun immediately jumped up, "Hey, do you know what kind of wine this is? Do you know how much it's worth...?" He became more and more agitated, almost poking Brother Sanpai's face!

"Wait!" The fat man showed no displeasure, just dipped his finger in the remaining wine and sniffed it, then praised, "Not bad, it's the aged liquor from Tianyi Old Shop, at least ten years old, with a fragrant and pure aroma, smooth and clean on the palate. But this wine isn't too rare, San, go back and get a barrel for the Taoist, as a gesture of apology and to calm him down!"

Someone immediately agreed and rode off, and the fat man then smiled, "Taoist Liu, do you think this is acceptable?" His handling was reasonable and well-supported, leaving the others momentarily speechless—Liu Piyun, who had intended to make a fuss, was now at a loss for words!

Liu Piyun had underestimated Brother Sanpai, who, as the head of the money and grain department in the brotherhood, had complex networks and extensive knowledge. This kind of trick with wine, tea, and gambling couldn't fool him.

"Uh, that's fine, that's fine..." Liu Piyun said a few "that's fine" and suddenly remembered something, "Right, how did you know my name is Liu?"

At this, Brother Sanpai's smile grew wider, "Taoist Liu, since you mentioned it, I'll be frank. Our head brother wants to buy this land, the city temple land," he said with a proud look, "Since we're buying the land, I naturally investigated the situation—this land has been in your hands for decades, don't try to bluff!"

"Alright!" Liu Piyun, seeing through the situation, sat on the steps, "Since you've investigated the land, I won't hide anything—the city temple has been passed down for hundreds of years, and many people have examined its feng shui. However, this grave site is not suitable for burial; it can only nurture yin energy and ghosts, and there is a ghost gate here. Without the city temple to guard it, the ghosts and spirits within hundreds of miles would run rampant... Therefore, the city temple cannot be moved, and the land cannot be sold. You should give up this idea!"

"I know, I know!" Brother Sanpai said, "We understand the situation, but our head brother said that if you agree to sell the land, we will handle the rest—find you a good business in Rongcheng and give you a large sum of money. You can live comfortably on the rent, much better than guarding this dilapidated temple..."

Before he could continue, Liu Piyun interrupted him, "Wait! I don't need you to worry about my business; I can arrange it myself. What I'm curious about is how you plan to handle the ghost gate?" He sneered, "If you think you can use some tricks to control it, I advise you to think again—this is the ghost gate, not something that can be handled by small tricks!"

Hearing this, Brother Sanpai had someone take a roll of horse dung paper from the carriage, unfolded it, and showed it to the temple keeper, "We're just building a tomb here, nothing major. We'll add two rows of stone Buddhas later, which will control the ghost gate..." He chuckled, "Don't talk about those tricks to deceive people; I know you're just after the money—fine, I'll give you a fair price, one thousand dollars. How about that, enough?"

The ghost market legend was known within a hundred miles, but few knew the details. Some even considered it a rural legend or a trick. Brother Sanpai probably thought the same, so he offered a price without much thought. However, Liu Piyun, seeing the map, had already made up his mind. He stood up, brushed off the dirt, and said firmly:

"Since that's the case, I won't waste words—this land is not for sale, you can leave!"

He then turned and closed the temple door with a bang!

Brother Sanpai was left at the door, feeling embarrassed and his face turning sour. However, he remained calm and thought through the situation. After planning everything, he called out, "Taoist Liu, Taoist Liu! Come out and let's talk, the price can be negotiated..."

After a long wait, seeing no response from the temple, his face gradually turned fierce and cruel. He spat on the ground and cursed softly:

"Damn Taoist, you're asking for it! Fine, if you insist, I won't blame you. I'll send you a coffin!"

He gave some instructions to his subordinates and was about to get into the carriage when he saw the bystanders at the shop doors. He scowled and cursed, "Look! Look! What are you looking at? You damn fools! When the time comes, I'll make you all leave! Damn it!"

This outburst seemed to ease his mind. Ignoring the angry faces of the bystanders, he got into the carriage and ordered, "Go, find Brother Wuhong!"

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**End of Chapter**