Liu Dashao couldn’t help but secretly chuckle to himself, thinking how mean he had been. He had found a terrible spot for them and was playing a trick on them as well. He didn’t show his amusement, pretending to be upset instead, “Why did you take so long? We’ve been waiting for ages.”
Wang Xiaoqiang apologized, “You see, we don’t have a white-feathered rooster at home. I had to go buy one from our neighbor.”
Liu Dashao replied, “It’s only right you should go through some trouble; isn’t this all for your own sake?”
Wang Xiaoqiang nodded eagerly, “Absolutely, absolutely. Now, where is the spot you’ve chosen for my father?”
Zhang Enpu said, “It’s just ahead. Come, I’ll show you.”
They led Wang Xiaoqiang to the Rat Origin Stone. Zhang Enpu said, “Here it is. Since you weren’t here earlier, I hadn’t yet oriented the well for this burial spot. Now that you’re here, I’ll explain how it should be done. Listen carefully.”
Wang Xiaoqiang looked around at the scattered stones and asked, “Hey, what happened here? Did someone set off explosives?”
Zhang Enpu made up a ridiculous explanation, “That’s not explosives. Who would set off explosives out here in the wild? These stones were struck by lightning after absorbing the essence of the sun and moon for centuries and were about to become demons.”
Wang Xiaoqiang exclaimed, “Ah, I see! But how come there’s such a big rat here? Who isn’t scared to be near it?” He shouted at the “rat” to scare it off, but it didn’t budge.
Liu Dashao laughed, “Take a closer look. Is that really a rat?”
Wang Xiaoqiang stepped forward, touched it, and exclaimed, “My God, it’s a stone! Who carved this? I never noticed it before!”
Zhang Enpu explained, “This is the ‘Rat Origin Stone,’ born from the essence of heaven and earth. If everyone could see it, we geomancers would be out of business. I’m telling you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime treasure spot. You’ll be successful in the future.”
Wang Xiaoqiang said happily, “Really? Then thank you so much. You truly live up to your reputation, finding a stone rat like this.”
Zhang Enpu took out a compass, placed it on the ground in front of the Rat Origin Stone to measure the directions of the trigrams, and then pulled two young bamboo shoots from the nearby bushes. Two points formed a straight line. However, in the study of feng shui, when measuring the burial spot, it is essential that “three points form a straight line.” These three points are: the head of the coffin, the foot of the coffin, and the direction the coffin faces. There must be no margin for error; otherwise, even the slightest deviation could result in vastly different consequences—good or bad fortune, and myriad complications. The direction the coffin faces is toward the case mountain and the morning mountain. The view from the coffin is also the view from the burial spot. A good view brings a bright future, while a poor one leads to misfortune. Therefore, the view and the head and foot of the coffin must align perfectly in a “three-point alignment.”
Zhang Enpu had just placed two thin bamboo shoots to determine the fixed direction of the head and foot of the coffin and the morning mountain. Once determined, they would remain in place until it was time to dig the well for the burial. Zhang continued his deception, “Wang Xiaoqiang, the direction of the burial spot must face the tree on the hill ahead. Don’t get it wrong. I’ve set it for you now, so don’t blame me later if you mess it up.”
“Of course,” Wang Xiaoqiang replied, then asked, “Can I ask, regarding this grave, which of us three brothers will benefit the most, and who might benefit slightly less? Of course, it would be best if it were evenly distributed.”
Liu Dashao thought to himself, “What a hopeless case. He hasn’t even been buried yet, and he’s already worrying that his prospects might not match those of his older and younger brothers.”
Zhang Enpu asked, “Why do you ask this?” Wang Xiaoqiang hesitated, then said, “Nothing, just curious.”
Zhang Enpu replied, “In this world, nothing is ever perfectly equal—not even death. Some people die from being hanged in anger, some die suffocated at birth, some live healthily to a hundred, and some die young from illness. How can everything be equal?”
Feng shui works the same way. Even a dragon穴 (dragon’s lair) can only guarantee that one royal descendant ascends the dragon throne; it cannot place all royal descendants there, because there is only one throne. Likewise, this burial site for your father can bring wealth and honor to your three brothers, but it won’t be shared equally. Do you understand?” Zhang Enpu intentionally probed him, but Wang Xiaoqiang, unaware of the implication, continued asking, “Can you be more specific? Who exactly will prosper the most, and who will be relatively less fortunate?”
Zhang Enpu said, “We geomancers aren’t supposed to reveal such things. Our profession has its own rules. From my experience, revealing such details often causes conflicts among siblings. The eldest might accuse the youngest of getting an advantage, the second might blame the eldest for taking credit, and sometimes they even dig up their ancestors and rebury them. Of course, as a geomancer, I don’t mind how many times they rebury their ancestors—the more times, the more business for me. But I’ve had a sudden change of heart and am thinking of your family’s well-being. Forget it, don’t ask anymore.”
Liu Dashao smirked, thinking how ridiculous Zhang Enpu was. He had already ruined the burial spot for them and was still spouting nonsense, even claiming to have a sudden change of heart. Liu Dashao thought he could have just given Wang Xiaoqiang a slap in the face with a pancake and gone home to sleep peacefully, dreaming of wealth.
Wang Xiaoqiang took out a small package from his pocket, counted out a stack of one-yuan bills, and threw them at Zhang Enpu, saying, “This is extra. Now can you tell me the truth?”
Zhang Enpu caught the money with a magician’s dexterity, weighed it in his hand, and said, “Quite a bit.”
Wang Xiaoqiang said, “It’s only fair. It’s to buy your professional integrity.”
Zhang Enpu replied, “What good will knowing the truth do you? Can you change fate?”
Wang Xiaoqiang suddenly sneered, saying in a sinister tone, “If this place benefits me less than the others, then I’d rather not bury my father here. I’ll find another spot that favors me.”
Zhang Enpu gave him a thumbs-up, saying, “Good for you. Since you’ve come this far, I’ll tell you the truth. This spot favors you the most. Now are you satisfied?”
Wang Xiaoqiang exclaimed joyfully, “Really?”
Zhang Enpu said, “Why would I lie to you? I have to earn the money you paid me.”
Wang Xiaoqiang said, “Great, thank you so much.”
At that moment, Zhang Enpu suddenly winked at Liu Dashao and said, “Grab the rooster. Let’s pay our respects to the Earth God before heading home.”
Liu Dashao took the rooster out of his pocket and handed it to Zhang Enpu, saying, “Wang Xiaoqiang, you can go first. There’s nothing more for you to do here. We’ll finish the ritual and come back soon. You don’t need to wait for us.”
Wang Xiaoqiang’s mind was already elsewhere, and once he was free of worries, he didn’t care about anyone else. He nodded quickly, “Then I’ll go first. Thank you.”
“Go ahead,” Zhang Enpu agreed, but as Wang Xiaoqiang turned to leave, he added with a fake warning, “Hey, don’t go spreading the news that this grave favors you the most to your brothers. If they get upset and accuse you of ill intentions, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
Wang Xiaoqiang said, “Don’t worry. Who would be so foolish? I’m not that stupid.”
Zhang Enpu replied, “Good, you’re not foolish. Go ahead.”
After Wang Xiaoqiang left, Liu Dashao said to Zhang Enpu, “That guy is ruthless enough. Not caring about his father is one thing, but I never expected him to act this way towards his own brothers.”
Zhang Enpu said, “What’s the big deal? I’ve seen much worse. You’re young; you need to learn more about life and stop being so naive.”
Liu Dashao shook his head, “Such a blatant approach to life is too boring.”
Zhang Enpu chuckled, “This family is in for even more chaos.”
Liu Dashao asked, “What kind of chaos?”
Zhang Enpu explained, “The day their father hanged himself was considered ‘Double Mourning’ in the Yellow Path Calendar. When someone dies on a Double Mourning day, there’s bound to be more chaos.”
“Wow, that’s scary!”
Zhang Enpu said, “Exactly. According to the secret principles of Yin dwellings, ‘Double Mourning means another death, with two coffins standing in the hall.’ It means that if someone dies on a Double Mourning day, one of their family members will die within a year!”
“That’s terrifying!”
Zhang Enpu continued, “If the old man’s sons had been a bit more responsible, I would have warned them to avoid any bad omens this year to prevent heavenly calamities. But since they’ve already acted unethically, there’s nothing more I can say.”
At this moment, Liu Dashao suddenly felt a pang of conscience, saying, “Old man, we’ve already ruined their burial spot. Not telling them about such a major matter now feels just as ruthless as they were.”
Zhang Enpu asked, “Feeling compassionate again?”
Liu Dashao replied, “Don’t you feel the same? I feel that people should respond to injustice with kindness.”
Zhang Enpu laughed, “Don’t worry. Their fate is entirely self-inflicted. The old man’s choice to hang himself on the ‘Double Mourning’ day was itself a form of irony and punishment. Such retribution only befalls those who are truly wicked. We’re merely playing the role of instruments of heaven.”
Liu Dashao thought for a moment and said, “But why did even that five-step viper end up dying by our hands unintentionally?”
Zhang Enpu said, “That’s exactly the point. Everything is predetermined; fate is already set.”
Liu Dashao felt a bit more at peace. Seeing that Zhang Enpu was still holding the rooster and unsure of what to do with it, since the whole act was just a trick to deceive the Wang family, he asked, “Are you going to keep holding onto that rooster?”
“What else should I do?” Zhang Enpu replied.
Liu Dashao suggested, “Why not just let it go?”
Zhang Enpu said, “In this wilderness, it would just end up being taken by wolves.”
“Then what do we do?”
Zhang Enpu said, “If it’s going to be eaten by wolves anyway, we might as well barbecue it ourselves. I’m already hungry. We won’t go back for dinner. Today, I’ll treat you to a picnic in the wild.”
Liu Dashao was delighted, “Great idea! Too bad we didn’t bring any seasonings with us.”
“Who says we didn’t?” Zhang Enpu pulled out a plastic bag from his backpack, revealing small packets of salt, chili, and Sichuan pepper. Liu Dashao couldn’t help but admire him once again.
Liu Dashao laughed, “You’re amazing.”
Zhang Enpu said, “In our line of work, we often wander in the wild. How could we not prepare some food supplies? Isn’t life exciting and colorful?”
Liu Dashao replied, “Indeed, life is colorful and exciting, but unfortunately, this rooster’s life isn’t going to be very colorful.”
Meanwhile, after the first setback, Village Chief Zhao originally wanted to teach them another lesson with his profound wisdom. However, upon seeing their aggressive stance, he gave up. He pushed his way out of the crowd, shaking his head and muttering to himself, “Sigh, how did our village produce such people? They’re bringing shame to us all!” Liu Dashao happened to be nearby and said to him, “It seems we can only call the police now. They’ve practically committed murder.”
The village chief said, “That’s the only option. I’ll go myself. The town isn’t far from here; I can make a round trip in half an hour. Otherwise, there might be an even bigger bloodbath. This affects my performance evaluation, and if I mess it up, it’ll impact my retirement.”
“That’s right. Hurry up,” Liu Dashao urged the village chief. But just then, he noticed a group of more than a dozen people with red armbands and long bamboo spears appearing at the foot of the hill near Wang’s house.
Indeed, it was the joint patrol team. Liu Dashao was surprised. How did they arrive so quickly? Who had reported the incident before them?
The group, each armed with a gun, aimed at Wang’s front door and surrounded the only exit.
The leader shouted, “All outsiders, disperse! Perpetrators, drop your weapons!”
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