Chapter 3

Liu Shiba quickly walked into the village entrance. From a distance, he saw his grandfather, whom he hadn't seen for years, standing proudly at the door of the thatched cottage, silently gazing at him. He was taken aback for a moment, his eyes brightening, and he thought to himself:

"Huh? Didn't they say the old man had passed away? How is he still alive and kicking?"

"Old man, you're still alive...?"

Liu Shiba's eyes reddened, and he choked out a call.

In this world, Liu Shiba had only his grandfather, Liu Shiliu, as his only family. His mother had died from complications during childbirth, and his father had disappeared when he was young.

Liu Shiba's teenage and young adult years were spent living with his grandfather.

"Right! It's good that you're back. You've grown strong, you brat! You're a true Liu! Why would you want me to die? That's a heart-wrenching thing to say..."

"Old man, I received a call from the old village chief last night..."

"How could I leave this world without seeing my grandson? Come inside, I have some family precepts to pass on to you..."

Liu Shiliu nodded, took a deep breath, and sighed.

Liu Shiba is twenty-five years old. At seventeen, he left the Liu family village in Ziyun Mountain to study in Xuchang.

He is not a fool; on the contrary, he was naturally intelligent and had a photographic memory. He was always at the top of his class in school. Strangely, whenever it came to the middle school or college entrance exams, his scores were always terrible, and he failed.

His classmates all got into top universities, but he ended up in a technical school, studying construction surveying, which was a shock to everyone.

Liu Shiba's close friends and classmates were used to it because he had a nickname: Liu Beishizhi (Liu the Unlucky).

The nickname "Liu Beishizhi" was not given lightly. Since leaving the Liu family village, Liu Shiba had never had any good luck.

There's a saying that even drinking cold water can cause a toothache, which most people know is nonsense. But Liu Shiba really did experience it. Drinking a sip of soda once made him develop pulmonary edema. How bizarre is that?

In school, when Liu Shiba helped an old lady cross the street, she accidentally fell, and he had to pay hundreds of dollars in medical fees.

On rainy days, he was struck by lightning three times on the street, while the people around him were unharmed...

These days, buying lottery tickets is popular. Even the most unlucky person should win at least five dollars, right?

But Liu Shiba, in three years of work, spent all his savings on lottery tickets and never won even a five-dollar prize.

As for being hit by a car while crossing the street, that's not even worth mentioning!

In short, when a person is unlucky, even squatting to urinate can result in a snake bite. It's a miracle that Liu Shiba is still alive...

Three days later, in the early morning, Liu Shiliu finally took his last breath...

At this point, the entire village understood that Liu Shiliu had actually died three days ago. Perhaps he borrowed life from the King of Hell just to see his grandson one last time and managed to hold on for three days.

For three days, the Liu family did not leave the thatched cottage, and the light bulb inside stayed on all night for three nights.

No one knew what the Liu family discussed in the house for those three days. On the morning of the third day, when Liu Shiba finally left the thatched cottage, Liu Shiliu, the tough old man, was finally gone...

The entire Liu family village was eerily quiet that morning, except for the old peddler who frequently visited the village, whose rattle was ringing clearly...

In the countryside, there are fewer rules. The mountains are high, and the emperor is far away. Some things are not so strict, like the national requirement for cremation. After a few bottles of old wine, the village chief, Li Laifu, finally relented.

Liu Shiliu's coffin was buried in the family's ancestral field. According to his will, a stone pole, which had been used as a discarded power pole from some unknown year, was placed on his grave, right next to the tombstone.

The villagers of the Liu family village were surprised. Even those who knew nothing about feng shui knew that placing a power pole on a grave would bring bad luck.

But seeing Liu Shiba's determination, no one objected.

Liu Shiba stood quietly by his grandfather's grave for a while, lit three incense sticks, and respectfully placed them at the top of the grave, bowing three times.

Behind Liu Shiba, Li Laifu tightened his hands, a strange look flashing in his eyes, but he didn't say much.

Li Laifu's simple-minded son, however, interjected:

"Shiba, you're doing it wrong. The incense should be placed in front of the tombstone, not on the grave. Do you really think the ancestral grave can emit green smoke?"

Liu Shiba remained silent, a faint smile of kindness passing over his somber face.

"Rascal, do you have the right to point fingers? Kneel down and bow to Uncle Shiliu."

Liu Shiba didn't respond, but Li Laifu was furious and kicked his simple-minded son, Li Erdou, to the ground.

When the three incense sticks on the grave burned out, Liu Shiba put on the cloth bag his grandfather left him and prepared to leave his birthplace, Ziyun Mountain.

The entire Liu family village silently came to see him off. The old village chief, Li Laifu, said to Liu Shiba:

"The Liu family village is your root. Remember to come back and visit."

Seeing Liu Shiba walk away, Li Laifu's beard trembled, and he frowned, adding:

"Shiba, your grandfather still owes my son, Li Erdou, two thousand yuan. You must pay it back..."

Hearing this, Liu Shiba felt a warm current in his heart and secretly wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye...

Watching Liu Shiba and the black dog disappear, the entire Liu family village gradually became noisy again.

From that day on, the old peddler who visited the Liu family village every day never came again, as if he had never existed...

...

That night, Liu Shiba returned to his rented room in Xuchang and immediately took three days off from work. He needed time to digest his grandfather's will...

Pulling the curtains closed and locking the door, he kicked the black dog under the table and sat down at the desk, opening the small cloth bag his grandfather left him.

Inside the cloth bag were three items: a black metal plate about the size of half a palm, a letter, and a yellowed family genealogy. The rest was in Liu Shiba's head.

Liu Shiba carefully picked up the black metal plate. It was rectangular, with a large golden ancient character in the center: Wei!

What Liu Shiba was most concerned about, however, were the two small golden ancient characters in the lower right corner of the "Wei" character: Liu Yi.

Liu Yi?

Liu Shiba gently chewed on these two characters, his hands trembling slightly. He grabbed a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep puff, filling the room with smoke...

Next, Liu Shiba gently picked up the family genealogy, which was sewn from animal skin, and opened the first page. The first two glaring large characters in the first column were: Liu Yi.

Under his grandfather's coercion, Liu Shiba, who had been proficient in ancient texts since childhood, forced himself to read through the pages, suppressing his shock and fear:

"The first ancestor of the Liu family, Liu Yi, served as one of the eighteen commandants under the Chief of the Fajiu Corps, a subordinate of the Prime Minister Cao Cao of the Han Dynasty.

Later, he accompanied the Prime Minister in breaking into the tomb of King Liang Xiaowang, looting thousands of pounds of gold, and digging up countless Han tombs, feeling ashamed before the Han Emperor. He later faced a life-threatening disaster and went into seclusion in the Green Wilds, dying at the age of 123..."

...