Chapter 495: Seven-Star Lotus Diagram

Zhang Hanya, without a second thought, bit straight into Shui Miao’s neck, showing no restraint at all—truly fierce.

Shui Miao, having tasted bitterness, dared not act recklessly again, and could only shut his mouth and keep silent.

Not knowing whether Shui Miao was really sick or not, Zhang Hanya felt uneasy inside and quickly rinsed her mouth with Coca-Cola. Watching this, Shui Miao felt both annoyed and amused.

Near Jingshui Village stood a factory building, brightly lit at this moment, with over a dozen armed special police officers patrolling and maintaining security.

The police couldn’t help but take it seriously—after all, a thousand-year-old bronze coffin had been unearthed in the village, causing public unrest. Locals were claiming the coffin belonged to their ancestors, and villagers gathered in increasing numbers, uncles, aunts, and distant relatives all flocking in, clearly ready to forcefully storm the warehouse and grab a share. Therefore, the police had no choice but to deploy heavily armed special forces, which temporarily subdued the crowd.

A thousand-year-old bronze coffin—any single antique taken from inside could be worth tens of millions, enough for several generations to live comfortably.

There were also onlookers hoping to stir up trouble, take advantage of the chaos, and fish in troubled waters, all gathering into the village.

“Wu wu wu…”

As Shui Miao turned the car into the village, three police cars came from behind, sirens wailing as they sped up.

“Dad! Dad!”

Seeing the license plate on the police car, Zhang Hanya immediately stuck her head out and shouted loudly.

One police car immediately pulled over by the roadside.

“What are you doing here? Making trouble!”

Director Zhang got out of the car with a stern face, firing off questions rapidly, “Do you even know what kind of situation this is? If those crazy people find out you’re my daughter, do you know what they might do to you?”

“Dad! Shut up!”

Zhang Hanya couldn’t help but shout, instantly leaving Director Zhang stunned. “Dad, can’t you see who’s with me before you scold me? He’s the son of your sworn brother Chen Yiren—Chen Shuimiao.”

Zhang Hanya shifted all the blame onto Shui Miao.

Shui Miao had already gotten out of the car and approached Director Zhang, bowing politely, “Uncle Zhang, hello!”

“What? What? What?”

Director Zhang was momentarily stunned, “This… how is this possible?”

“Alright, stop stuttering like that. Auntie Yang has already woken up, and we even had dinner together. You’ve been too busy, so I didn’t have time to tell you. If you don’t believe me, call Auntie Yang and check,” Zhang Hanya said, pulling out her phone to offer her father.

“Get out of the way…”

Director Zhang pushed Zhang Hanya aside, circled around Shui Miao twice, and finally laughed, “Haha! Indeed, he’s my brother’s son! No doubt about it, no doubt at all!”

Director Zhang’s words made Shui Miao feel quite uncomfortable—could it be that Director Zhang used to be part of the underworld?

“Uncle, I’d like to see that thousand-year-old bronze coffin.”

“See the bronze coffin!?” Director Zhang was taken aback, “Why would you want to see that?”

Zhang Hanya frowned, “Dad, what’s the big deal? It’s just a look, we won’t take anything.”

“Wants to take something?” Director Zhang glared, “You little brat, it must be you spreading rumors around. This matter is supposed to be strictly confidential. You actually…”

“Uncle, if it’s inconvenient, it’s okay.”

Shui Miao didn’t want to waste time arguing.

Hearing this, Director Zhang immediately turned to two young officers inside the car, “Xiao Sun, Xiao Yang, lend your uniforms for a bit, and then you two can drive back and go off-duty.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Sure thing!”

The two officers, not wanting to work overtime, immediately started taking off their clothes upon hearing this.

Soon, the police car drove away.

Shui Miao and Zhang Hanya put on the uniforms.

Director Zhang warned Zhang Hanya repeatedly not to cause trouble or look around recklessly—it could cost him his job.

Though these words were directed at Zhang Hanya, they were meant for Shui Miao to hear.

After finishing his instructions, Director Zhang got into Shui Miao’s car.

When they arrived outside the warehouse, Shui Miao parked the car, and a middle-aged officer responsible for maintaining order approached.

The officer recognized Zhang Hanya. He hesitated slightly, understanding the situation, and calmly said, “Director, I think things should be under control. We’ve installed cameras all around—I don’t believe these villagers would dare to attack the police.”

“Don’t let your guard down. For money, these people are capable of anything.”

Director Zhang waved his hand authoritatively.

“Yes, sir!”

The officer saluted and quickly left.

Two police cars had just arrived, carrying eight officers dispatched from the station for overtime duty.

Hearing about some suspicious outsiders with strange accents coming to the village, they had no choice but to strengthen security.

Director Zhang turned around and led Shui Miao and Zhang Hanya toward the warehouse entrance.

The commanding officer of the special forces team, Captain Luo, was a good friend of Director Zhang.

Captain Luo often drank with Director Zhang and immediately recognized Zhang Hanya. However, he knew it was just childish curiosity, so with a knowing glance at Director Zhang, he let them in.

This used to be the village machine tool factory, which had gone bankrupt and remained empty ever since.

As soon as they entered the warehouse, Shui Miao smelled a strong earthy odor, mixed faintly with a heavy, sinister energy.

Shui Miao thought perhaps the bronze coffin had been buried underground for too long, causing such a heavy aura.

The warehouse was spacious, at least 300 square meters.

The gray-black bronze coffin was placed on thick steel benches, about a meter off the ground. From afar, it looked like a small boat, over three times larger than a regular coffin. At the moment, three experts were carefully cleaning the dirt off the coffin, while two elderly men were energetically arguing nearby.

Director Zhang immediately headed toward the two old men.

Shui Miao, however, paused, carefully examining the massive bronze coffin.

Unlike regular coffins, this bronze one was covered with lotus patterns across its surface. Both ends bore the Big Dipper constellation patterns, and even the lid had a similar seven-star design.

Seeing this, Shui Miao couldn’t help but ponder: Legend says the Six Stars of Nan Dou govern life, while the Seven Stars of Bei Dou govern death. This bronze coffin had seven-star patterns on three sides—once someone is already dead, why emphasize death so much? Could it be that someone wanted to completely destroy the ghost soul inside the coffin, or perhaps doing so could prevent the soul from reincarnation?

“Hey, Professor Ma, there seems to be a seven-star formation at the bottom too!”

A middle-aged man cleaning the bottom of the coffin suddenly exclaimed in curiosity.

This voice immediately caught the attention of the two arguing elders.

An old man, simply dressed, wearing glasses, with a white beard, looking about seventy years old, walked over, waving his hands repeatedly, “Don’t clean anymore! This thousand-year-old bronze coffin is a mysterious seven-star coffin. It has seven-star formations on all four sides. Once opened, calamity will surely follow, and the nearby villagers will suffer. From a Feng Shui perspective, the seven-star S-shape gathers energy, and who does this energy go to? Definitely the ancestor inside the coffin! Listen to me, don’t open the coffin. Hurry up and find a good place to bury it so the ancestor can rest in peace.”

This elder was the village Feng Shui master, named Zhang Shanren, highly respected, caring about the villagers’ safety, and unwilling to show disrespect to ancestors. Since he arrived, he had been urging everyone to bury the coffin to let the ancestors rest peacefully.

Although Zhang Shanren said this, no one dared to let him go. If he were to spread this information among the villagers, the police might really lose control.

The other elder, around sixty years old, named Cai Enkang, dressed in white top and black trousers, holding a paper fan, with the front side of the fan displaying the Yin-Yang fish of the Eight Trigrams, and the reverse side featuring the cursive characters for “Feng Shui.”

Cai Enkang was the president of the City Yi Li Association, an expert in Feng Shui, the Eight Trigrams, and the I Ching.

Cai Enkang had two missions this time: first, to inspect the bronze coffin and make a judgment. Second, to keep Zhang Shanren calm and prevent him from inciting the villagers.

The three people currently cleaning around the coffin—Professor Ma, Xiao Nan, and Feng An—were all archaeologists.

Hearing Zhang Shanren’s words, Cai Enkang quickly added, “Master Zhang, you’re mistaken. Although this bronze coffin has seven-star formations on all four sides, two sides bear lotus patterns. The lotus represents vitality, purity, and benevolence. I’m certain the coffin’s owner was a woman. Now, think about the entire layout—what could be the designer’s intention? Obviously, it was to torment the woman’s soul. The four-sided seven-star formations prevent her from escaping, while the flourishing lotus patterns on two sides give her life force. This means she can neither live nor die! Therefore, as descendants, how can you bear to let an ancestor who has suffered for a thousand years continue to suffer?”

Cai Enkang was eloquent, and his words left Zhang Shanren speechless.

“I can’t argue with you, but I know things aren’t as you say. If any disaster occurs after you open the coffin, you’ll all be responsible!” Zhang Shanren angrily walked away and sat down on a chair.

Cai Enkang shook his head helplessly, at a loss for words.

At this moment, Professor Ma stood up seriously and spoke, “This bronze coffin is somewhat unique. Some situations we’ve never encountered before. For example, this coffin is intact—we haven’t found a way to open it yet. Also, just now, while I was cleaning, I vaguely heard sounds like lake waves coming from inside the coffin. Did anyone else hear it?”

Professor Ma looked at Xiao Nan and Feng An.

Xiao Nan and Feng An stood up. Xiao Nan said, “I faintly heard a strange wind sound—very sharp and thin.”

Feng An scratched his head, “I didn’t hear anything, but I feel increasingly cold.”

“Uncle, your complexion seems a bit off. It might be because you’ve inhaled too much negative energy, causing a weakening of your internal energy, resulting in a cold condition,” Shui Miao observed everyone’s faces carefully and noticed that Feng An’s face was pale, with a faint trace of icy coldness surrounding him.

“Let me check!”

Upon hearing this, Cai Enkang quickly examined Feng An’s face closely and felt his forehead, immediately saying, “You need to leave here quickly. Drink plenty of ginger tea, then run five kilometers. When you stop, make sure to go into a warm room. If you keep pushing yourself like this, I guarantee you won’t make it past two o’clock tonight—you’ll collapse from internal organ damage caused by excessive negative energy, fall seriously ill, or even risk your life.”

“In fact, everyone here has already been affected by negative energy invading their internal organs.”

Shui Miao suddenly spoke up again.