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Translator: Silavin
In the early morning, the host Family specially cooked white rice and even slaughtered a chicken, insisting on treating Doctor Zhu and his Son to a meal.
Unable to refuse, the Father and Son had no choice but to eat before leaving.
Before going, Doctor Zhu checked the pulse of the woman who had just given birth. Feeling that her pulse was neither irregular nor faint, but smooth and strong, he nodded and told her to rest for a few more days. She was going to be fine.
The baby in the Mother’s arms had just finished being nursed and was half-asleep with eyes half-open.
Hansheng looked at the child, feeling warm inside. This was the first little life he had saved.
The infant opened her eyes and turned to give Hansheng an eerie smile…
However, Hansheng had already turned away at this moment, so he did not catch it.
“I want to check the burial location where the woman fainted,” Doctor Zhu said to the male host.
The male host led them to the burial ground. Sure enough, it was through the bamboo forest path, arriving at the abandoned graveyard Hansheng had visited last night.
Doctor Zhu squinted as he surveyed the area for a moment, secretly alarmed. “This place is called ‘White Tiger Holding a Corpse’, a place of great misfortune!”
“Dad, what is ‘White Tiger Holding a Corpse’?” Hansheng, seeing his Father talk about Feng Shui, asked with interest.
His Father pointed at the surrounding terrain and explained, “Look at the layout of this place. The Blue Dragon to the east is crouched and jealous of its Master. The White Tiger to the west is squatting and holding a corpse. All sides are low-hanging, with winds from eight directions, the ground remains soaked, and the grass is foul and filthy. It’s truly an inauspicious place.”
Hansheng pointed at Shen Caihua’s grave and asked his Father. “Dad, look at this grave. It’s so strange. There’s only one name written on the tombstone. Isn’t that a bit suspicious?”
The male host standing nearby interjected. “The woman buried here had hanged herself. Her Husband’s Family absolutely refused to let her into the Ancestral Gravesite, so they hastily buried her here.”
“Why wasn’t she allowed into the Ancestral Grave?” Hansheng asked.
The male host sighed and told a tragic story.
Shen Caihua was a miserable woman. She had fair skin and a pretty face, who wore two long black braids. Unexpectedly, her husband was infertile, reportedly because he fell from a tree as a child and damaged his testicles, so he could not have children. But after a year of marriage, Shen Caihua became pregnant. Her husband’s Family interrogated her severely, but the woman refused to say who the other man was, even when they broke both her legs.
“Why did she not report them to the town?” Hansheng asked angrily.
“It wouldn’t have helped. Shen Caihua had no Family, and her Father-in-law was the head of the Town Revolutionary Committee. Where could she report her misgivings? She only had a rope to hang herself with. It’s a pity that she took the child in her belly with her. There goes, two lives lost.” The male host said regretfully.
“No wonder. It seems like Shen Caihua’s resentment will be hard to disperse,” Doctor Zhu sighed.
Hansheng asked: “What about the man she was involved with? Why did he not come forward? He should have taken responsibility for his actions.”
“To this day, no one knows who that coward is!” The male host said contemptuously.
“Dad, is the Yin Energy from Shen Caihua?” Hansheng asked.
“That’s right. Shen Caihua’s resentment is hard to dissipate. First, because the child in her womb died before birth. What Mother would not grieve for her own flesh and blood? Second, because that heartless man never had the courage to come forward and take responsibility. I think she must have been heartbroken and in utter despair when she chose to take her own life…” His Father explained.
“Then, my Wife…” the male host seemed to realise something, mumbling.
Doctor Zhu nodded and sighed: “Poor woman. Why take out your anger on others?”
※※※
Hansheng looked at Shen Caihua’s lonely grave. The deep crack was still there, but not a single Mole Cricket could be seen.
In his heart, he felt grateful to this unfortunate woman. If he had not caught those few Mole Crickets at her grave, the pregnant woman and the baby in her womb surely would not have survived.
“Dad, isn’t it just superstition that the resentment of the dead can affect the living?” Hansheng asked doubtfully.
Doctor Zhu hesitated for a moment, then explained. “Traditional Chinese medicine emphasises the balance of Yin and Yang. It is said that the human body contains both Yin and Yang Energies. The energy condenses into the bones, and when a person dies, if the bones have not completely decayed, it can exist underground for many years. Yang Energy emerges during the day and hides at night, while Yin Energy emerges at night and hides during the day. They keep changing with the time. Shen Caihua’s resentment is just too strong. It had disrupted the balance of Yin and Yang. Her Yin Energy even escapes during the day, which would quickly be damaged by sunlight and thankfully wouldn’t last long.”
“How does the ‘White Tiger Holding a Corpse’ location harm Shen Caihua?”
“It’s a harmful earth to be placed in. The corpse’s energy will quickly disperse, and insects will eat away at it until nothing remains. If there are descendants, they might face punishment and misfortune.” Doctor Zhu shook his head.
“My Wife fainted right in front of Shen Caihua’s grave,” the male host pointed.
Hansheng looked over, and it was exactly where the ground had a crack.
“What does the Yin Energy want to do by invading a pregnant woman?” Hansheng pondered.
“Exchanging the foetus,” his Father explained solemnly. “Shen Caihua’s resentful had not creased. She could not bear to let her own foetus die just like that. By coincidence, a pregnant woman passed by, so she was willing to use up all her Yin Energy to swap out the foetus. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is called ‘Ghost Foetus’. But you can rest assured, it has been driven out by the medicine’s power.”
Doctor Zhu and his Son bid farewell to the male host and took a shortcut over the mountain to return home.
The yellow dog saw the two return and came out wagging his tail to greet them.
Hansheng had hidden the wooden box and properly stored his Great Grandfather’s bones before leaving last night. He had told his Father that he had checked and not a single bone was missing, to which his Father nodded in approval.
“Yesterday, Zhu Biao came to notify us that everyone in the village had gone to move the graves. When should we go?” Hansheng asked.
“Hmm… Today is still a good day. Let’s go now,” his Father calculated.
Hansheng’s Mother had passed away early and she was buried next to his Grandparents’ joint grave. On the fifteenth of every month, Hansheng would usually go sit by the grave, offer incense, and say a few words of remembrance.
The Father and Son prepared incense, candles, and paper money. They also brought their tools, and set off. The weather was clear, and the yellow dog followed along.
In the bamboo forest in front of Linggu Cave, villagers were moving graves in twos and threes. Swarms of Tiger Mosquitoes surrounded them, waiting for a chance for a meal.
It had to be noted that autumn mosquitoes then to be very poisonous, and their bites could cause extremely large swellings.
His Father had specially brought a medicine box in case any villager was affected by corpse gas and needed immediate treatment.
“What if we encounter red corpse gas?” Hansheng asked.
His Father shook his head.
※※※
Hansheng respectfully lit the incense and candles, burned the paper money they brought, and kowtowed to his Mother’s grave.
The yellow dog lay quietly to the side, and his Father’s eyes reddened.
“Dad, did you choose this burial location for our Family?” Hansheng stood up.
“Hmm, your Grandfather found it himself. The Feng Shui here forms a pattern called ‘Shrimp Whiskers and Crab Eyes’. Look, your Grandfather’s tomb is dug and placed in a round shape, a convex burial, like the middle like a crab’s eye. It had two mounts around to protect it externally creating a ‘Cicada Protective Elytra’. Your Mother’s tomb is a concave burial, with a hollow in between. It is as if shrimp whiskers are embracing it. With the ‘Ox Protective Horns’ protecting it externally. It’s an auspicious burial site,” his Father explained with a smile.
Hansheng looked carefully and saw that the terrain was indeed as his Father described, with one convex and one concave. It was quite peculiar.
“Dad, since it’s an auspicious site, what benefits does it bring to our Family?” Hansheng had been deeply interested in Feng Shui since childhood, but his Father was always reluctant to say much about it.
“You will become successful in the future.” His Father said with certainty.
“What success can a farmer have?” Hansheng rolled his eyes.
“The crab eye is like the second-place winner in the imperial examinations. You must not belittle yourself,” his Father said seriously.
Hansheng was quite sceptical of this though.
“Is there an even better Feng Shui location here?” he asked.
His Father looked around and then lowered his voice to whisper: “There is one eternally auspicious burial site called ‘Taiji Halo’. It’s extraordinary, capable of producing emperors.”
“Where is it?” Hansheng became excited upon hearing this.
“Shh, keep your voice down. Be careful not to let others hear of this,” his Father warned, putting his finger to his lips.
Doctor Zhu lit a cigarette, thinking that since his Son was interested, he might as well say a bit more.
“Hansheng, have you heard the story of Zhu Yuanzhang ‘burying his Mother alive’? When Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and Chen Youliang had their armies in a deadlock at Poyang Lake, Liu Bowen saw a hill in Jiangxi that looked like a coiled dragon. There, he had discovered a Taiji Halo on the dragon’s forehead. Due to the needs of war, he strongly advised Zhu Yuanzhang to quickly bury someone there to gain an advantage over Chen Youliang. However, the Zhu Family had no available coffins for burial, which worried Zhu Yuanzhang greatly.
One day, his blind widowed Mother heard her Son sighing and thought the war was going badly. She advised her Son not to fight for power and territory, saying, ‘Your Zhu Family’s Ancestral Grave doesn’t have the aura of an emperor.’ Zhu Yuanzhang told his Mother that Chen Youliang’s Ancestral Grave had the auspicious sign of ‘Double Phoenix Facing the Sun’, indicating imperial destiny, while their Zhu Family graves could not compete.
It was then that Zhu Yuanzhang told his Mother about the burial site that could surpass Chen Youliang’s, but unfortunately, they had no coffin to do a burial.
Hearing this, the blind Mother understood her Son’s thoughts. She told him to prepare the burial site, promising that by dawn the next day, a direct Zhu Ancestor could be buried there. Although sceptical, Zhu Yuanzhang followed his Mother’s instructions and had the grave dug. At dawn, the blind Mother, fully dressed, was helped to the grave. She walked into the burial chamber, stood upright, and passed away peacefully. Because her body was buried without a coffin, it was believed to bring quicker results.
Soon after, in the great battle at Poyang Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang decisively defeated Chen Youliang, laying the foundation for his imperial rule.
In reality, Chen Youliang’s Family had done good deeds for nine generations, while Zhu Yuanzhang’s Family had been bullies for ten generations. If not for the Taiji Halo overpowering the Double Phoenix Facing the Sun, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have been able to become the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.”
Dr. Zhu finished speaking and extinguished his cigarette.
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