Chapter 53
Chapter 53
The next day was Friday.
As usual, Old Cao was still snoring in his room when I got up. I bought steamed buns from the shop across the street, left some for him, and ate the rest on my walk.
Biology class taught us that older people needed less sleep, yet Old Cao went to bed when I did and woke far later. It was so unfair. Students had it rough.
I crossed the town’s long main street and reached Lianghe Bridge on the western edge. More and more students appeared around me, filling the morning with youthful energy. Walking with my hands in my pockets, I found myself smiling.
“Brother Wu!”
I looked back. Wang Dachun was hurrying toward me with Zeng Jin and several other followers, waving as he ran. Nearby students turned to stare.
I frowned. “Why are you shouting? I told you to rest. You’re loud enough, so I suppose you’re recovering well.”
“Of course!” He grinned and thumped his chest. “I’m strong as an ox.”
“Stop boasting. Your heels are unsteady, the skin beneath your eyes is dark, and your chin is hollow. Your face clearly shows that you’re still weak. Tell your parents to feed you better.”
Master claimed she was not skilled at divination or physiognomy, but she had taught me the basics. I suspected her idea of “not skilled” still surpassed most esoteric practitioners.
“Slow down, Brother Wu. Let’s walk side by side.”
Wang Dachun was shamelessly persistent. Since he kept answering my coldness with enthusiasm, I could hardly remain too distant. I let him accompany me to school.
At the gate, we happened upon Yao Nan arriving by a dirt road from the other direction. That side was already the outskirts, though it still held many homes. She had probably stayed with relatives the previous night.
Seeing Wang Dachun and his followers grinning beside me, she assumed he was harassing me again. She jogged over indignantly.
“Wang Dachun! Are you bullying another classmate? I’ll tell Mr. Chen. Don’t worry, Wu Zhong, but don’t fight him either or you’ll have to write another self-criticism. Come over here with me!”
Yao Nan was pretty, but no timid pushover. The girl had real courage.
Was she trying to protect me? I was honestly touched.
I smiled and was about to explain when Wang Dachun cried out, “Xiao Nan, you’ve got me all wrong! Brother Wu is my boss. How could I bully him?”
Yao Nan froze. After a long moment, she stared at him as if she had seen a ghost, then looked at me.
“You said… Wu Zhong is…?”
“Brother Wu is my boss!”
Wang Dachun planted his hands on his hips, proud as could be. Apparently becoming my follower filled him with honor.
Yao Nan’s expression turned wounded and furious. She glared at me. “So much for being a good student, Wu Zhong! It hasn’t even been half a month, and you’re already mixed up with a spoiled delinquent like him. I was wrong about you. Hmph!”
She stamped her foot and ran off.
I was speechless. What an undeserved disaster.
But we stood at the busy school gate, and Yao Nan already attracted enough attention. Chasing her would only create more misunderstandings.
She’s my deskmate, I thought. I’ll have plenty of time to explain.
It was not that I feared anything. I truly was a diligent student. My sterling reputation had been ruined by one rich brat calling me boss.
I wheeled around and glared at Wang Dachun. He immediately ducked his head like a frightened quail.
Morning study hall began once we reached the classroom. It was usually devoted to reading English aloud, so youthful voices echoed across campus.
Spoken English was not tested in small-town middle schools back then, so morning study was the one time I occasionally relaxed. I secretly tugged Yao Nan’s sleeve.
“Don’t misunderstand. That idiot Wang Dachun has nothing to do with me. He insisted on becoming my follower.”
She rolled her eyes. Her meaning was obvious: tell that to a ghost.
Without a solid reason, I would not have believed the claim either.
Yet I could neither reveal the reason nor expect her to believe it. Was I supposed to announce that I secretly practiced the esoteric arts?
Women truly were mysterious creatures.
I sighed to myself. She could believe whatever she wanted. I only needed to study hard and avoid disappointing Master.
Yao Nan did not initiate a single conversation with me that day, though she usually discussed homework problems with me.
When school let out that afternoon, I packed at top speed and staged a victorious escape, becoming the first student through the gate.
On Lianghe Bridge, Old Cao was waiting in his black homespun clothes. To my surprise, Yuan Fei–who had worked with us at Duan Family Manor–stood beside him, chatting and laughing.
They stopped when I approached.
“Hello, Mr. Yuan. What brings you here?”
“Xiao Wu, I came to arrange the feng shui of a family’s home. It was simple, so I finished quickly and visited Master Cao’s coffin shop. He told me about your classmate’s spirit possession by a Dry Immortal. It sounded strange, so I came along.”
“Wonderful. With your skills, Mr. Yuan, we’ll be twice as formidable.”
“Ha! You certainly know how to talk.”
Yuan Fei enjoyed my compliment. People got along by praising one another and lifting each other up.
We crossed the bridge and followed Wang Dachun’s directions. The hill was close, but we walked slowly because Yuan Fei studied the surrounding feng shui along the way. It took nearly twenty minutes to reach the graves scattered across the slope.
Yuan Fei surveyed the area and nodded. “The feng shui here really is good. No wonder there are so many graves.”
“Is this your first time here too, Mr. Yuan?”
As a folk Taoist master who selected grave sites and assessed feng shui, surely he should have visited the grave hills outside town.
Old Cao answered before Yuan Fei could. The unseen energy held by any auspicious site was finite. However fine its feng shui, too many graves would gradually exhaust it. Once the limit was reached, more burials could transform an auspicious site into an ominous one.
This small hill already held nearly a hundred graves and had plainly reached its limit. No new burial had probably taken place here in decades. There was nothing odd about Yuan Fei never having visited.
“I see. Book learning truly is shallow unless tested in practice.”
The Classic of Dwellings and The Book of Burial contained the highest feng shui teachings of the esoteric arts. Yuan Fei and Old Cao had likely never seen them–at least not the complete versions Master gave me.
Yet theory had to be joined with experience, and no classic covered everything. Neither book mentioned that an auspicious site had a finite capacity.
It was not yet three in the afternoon. The sun hung high and yang energy filled the world, so even the graveyard did not feel sinister.
Yuan Fei and Old Cao examined it carefully. I recalled the many books I had read and compared their teachings with the terrain.
Still, Yuan Fei was the first to spot the problem.
From the highest point, he looked down at several graves in different directions. His expression shifted.
“Something truly is wrong. Someone altered this grave hill, probably within the past year or two.”
Old Cao drew deeply on his pipe and exhaled a ring of smoke. “So there is a problem. I knew a forest sprite like the Dry Immortal couldn’t appear near town. Brother Yuan, what was done here?”
Before Yuan Fei could answer, I spoke uncertainly. “It resembles a Yin-Gathering Corpse-Nurturing Formation, but not quite. In that evil feng shui formation, the gathered yin energy should converge at the Death Gate. Here it falls on the Life Gate. Why gather the yin energy of this entire graveyard at the Life Gate?”
Yuan Fei slapped his thigh. “Impressive, Xiao Wu! You saw it too. It certainly resembles a Yin-Gathering Corpse-Nurturing Formation, but the convergence point is wrong. No wonder Old Cao says your Master is an immortal. I hope I have the honor of meeting her someday.”