A young man in his twenties said, “If all of us leave the village, there won’t be anyone left for important matters. It’s better if a few of us stay behind, otherwise one day when you go keep my grandpa company, there won’t be anyone to send you off!” He laughed heartily. Nowadays, young people tend to be quite impudent.
The old man became angry and retorted, “You rascal! You can’t say anything nice, but you’re certainly good at saying things like this!” Everyone burst into laughter.
As they joked around, it was time for the burial. Liu Dashao went through the procedures, the coffin was lowered into the ground, and snowflakes began to fall again. This year’s snowfall seemed particularly heavy. However, Liu Dashao sensed a chill in the air and couldn’t help but recall the land issue. After the burial, he asked the Luo family to burn extra stacks of spirit money near the grave. Standing in front of the grave, Liu Dashao called out, “Esteemed spirits, what happened last night was unavoidable. For details, you can ask the local deity. I’ve already apologized to the land god, and now I apologize to you all, hoping you will forgive my transgressions.”
A group gathered around and asked, “Master, what’s going on?”
Liu Dashao replied, “Nothing serious. Some spirits are nearby and a bit upset, but I believe they’ll be magnanimous.”
He then looked toward the sky and said, “If you agree, just take the money with you!”
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew through. The ashes of the burned spirit money scattered in the wind, blown far and wide. Feeling the chilling presence, everyone instinctively gathered closer.
Liu Dashao exhaled in relief—at least those minor spirits had forgiven him. However, as the saying goes, great deities are easy to appease, but minor ghosts are hard to deal with. He could relax knowing the land god had accepted the offering, but these minor spirits were unpredictable. He couldn’t be too cautious about their greed. Therefore, he asked the group, “Who caught the rooster we just released? Can I have it?”
The rooster, known as the coffin-stepping chicken, served two main purposes: first, to guard the heavenly soul of the deceased within the coffin so it couldn’t escape; second, to intimidate nearby minor spirits and prevent them from causing trouble.
A young man in his early twenties brought over a newly matured rooster and looked at Liu Dashao, saying, “Master, do you want this chicken? The previous masters would release it and let us catch it ourselves, and whoever caught it could keep it!” He didn’t know this was merely a customary game among the feng shui masters.
Liu Dashao replied apologetically, “I don’t want the chicken for myself. We’ve encountered some trouble today. The land deity issue is resolved, but now there’s a more serious matter. As the saying goes, great deities are easy to appease, but minor spirits are hard to guard against. These spirits have left happily, but we can’t be sure they won’t cause trouble later. I need this rooster for a ritual.”
Upon hearing it was for a ritual, the young man quickly handed it over.
Liu Dashao took the rooster and chanted an incantation. Suddenly, the rooster became dazed and unconscious. He placed it on the ground, where it stood motionless before collapsing. Liu Dashao dug a small hole on the grave mound, buried the rooster, and then placed a small stone in front of the burial mound. Thus, the old lady’s grave, now lacking its heavenly soul, became the rooster’s tomb. He told Luo Ping’an, “When you come to build the grave mound later, just pile the earth on top. Don’t dig up the rooster—remember that!” Luo Ping’an sensed the unusual nature of the situation and could only nod in agreement.
By the time everything was completed, it was already eleven o’clock. Everyone headed back to the village. Suddenly, another gust of cold wind blew through. Liu Dashao knew those minor spirits were up to mischief again. He stopped walking, and the others followed suit. Normally, once the rituals were completed, everyone would go their separate ways, but today’s events had intrigued them, and they wanted to stay with Liu Dashao to witness more unusual happenings.
Facing the direction of the old man’s grave behind him, Liu Dashao warned, “I advise you not to cause trouble. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not warning you!” As soon as he finished speaking, the group was still puzzled and about to ask questions when they suddenly heard a chilling, mournful cry coming from the direction of the old man’s grave. No one asked anything—they didn’t know how to ask. But in their hearts, they all understood one thing: the ghosts had been outsmarted!
Only Liu Dashao knew the truth: those minor spirits had tried to cause trouble at the grave but had unknowingly approached the rooster’s tomb instead. It was they who ended up suffering the consequences. It seemed this matter could finally be laid to rest.
By the time they returned to Luo Ping’an’s house, it was already twelve o’clock. Suona Wang and Luogu Chen had already packed up and were waiting to leave after breakfast. The meal was finished, but the snowfall had intensified, showing no sign of stopping. Since Luo Ping’an had other matters to attend to, he bid farewell to a few people and instructed Luo Siyu to accompany and see off the three masters. At the village entrance, Luo Siyu said, “Liu Dashao, why don’t you stay at my house for a few days before leaving?”
Liu Dashao shook his head. “No, we feng shui practitioners must leave immediately after completing our rituals. We cannot linger, even in heavy rain or snow. It’s our profession’s rule.”
Luo Siyu replied, “I see, but with snow this heavy, there probably aren’t any vehicles on the road. Are you planning to walk back?”
Liu Dashao smiled. “If that’s the case, we’ll walk back regardless!”
Luo Siyu laughed. “It seems your profession isn’t easy at all! Haha.”
Liu Dashao nodded. “Of course not. Not just anyone can do what we do! Well, we must be off. Hope we meet again someday.”
Luo Siyu waved goodbye. “Farewell.” Watching the three walk away, she couldn’t help but reflect: feng shui masters weren’t easy either. She had been too biased toward them in the past.
Midway, Liu Dashao turned around and asked, “Brothers, can’t we really stay overnight? Look at this wind and snow.”
Suona Wang chuckled, “You missing that young girl, huh? Once you’re in this profession, you must follow its rules. It’s a kind of cultivation. We’re different from ordinary people. To gain greater power than ordinary folks, we must endure more hardships.”
Liu Dashao countered, “Then why did you give me the heaviest load to carry? Don’t you want to cultivate?”
Luogu Chen grinned slyly, “Hehe, we’ve been cultivating for decades already. You’ve just started. You need more practice. Only by enduring the bitterest hardships can you become superior. Don’t you understand this principle?”
Liu Dashao had no reply. Who asked him to be the youngest in the village? If he didn’t carry the heavy load, who would? Once he accepted this thought, his complaints eased.
“Still, I really want to know why we can’t stay in someone’s house?”
Luogu Chen explained, “Think about it—we carry our tools. If we stay at someone’s house, it means they have trouble. Who dares to host us? And if we stay somewhere, it’s like declaring that something unlucky has happened there. So after the rituals, we become the least welcome people. Understand?”
“Oh, that’s why,” Liu Dashao finally understood.
“But seriously, it’s really damn cold today!”
Liu Dashao chuckled, “Cold? Do you want me to give you this drum to carry?”
Luogu Chen quickly waved his hands, “No, no, you carry it. I can manage!” After receiving a disapproving look, he smiled awkwardly, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just looking out for you, afraid you might catch a chill!”
The three trudged through the snow, leaving only their footprints behind on the long mountain path. Normally, someone could walk ten kilometers in an hour, but in this heavy snow, covering three to five kilometers was already quite an achievement.
As dusk approached and the snow continued to fall, the three were worried about finding a place to rest. Fortunately, in the countryside, cowsheds were often built near mountain fields for farmers’ convenience. Therefore, finding a large cowshed became their goal. Finally, they reached a relatively flat area and spotted a large cowshed. Perhaps this was a common resting place for villagers, as it was quite clean, and behind it was a small shelter for people to rest. Though drafty, it was much better than being outside.
Arriving at the cowshed’s resting area, they gathered some firewood and quickly lit a fire. Liu Dashao only appreciated the warmth, while the two experienced funeral specialists were skilled in their ways. They took out three slaughtered chickens and a pig’s head gifted by the Luo family from their bundles, preparing for their dinner that night.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage