As night fell, the residual heat lingered. By the banks of the Min River, countless insects swarmed around several high-powered spotlights, while the croaking of frogs rose and fell from the riverside mudflats.
A truck delivered a custom-made Xuanwu stone statue. With the help of a crane, the statue was lifted into the air. Workers were busily preparing to bury it in the riverbed.
Standing on the bank, Zhang Guodong was sweating profusely. In contrast, Master Huang, dressed in a robe, hadn't a drop of sweat on him. This air of a master impressed Zhang Guodong.
"It's normal to sweat from internal heat when affected by the fire element," Master Huang explained. "Once the Xuanwu statue is in the water, there will be no more worries, and President Zhang's project can proceed as planned."
Zhang Guodong was overjoyed. He felt less stifled now that his mood had lifted. "Master Huang, I can't thank you enough for your help this time. I'll transfer the remaining payment to you shortly. I'll need your continued assistance in the future."
Zhang Guodong had only recently entered the industry and hadn't yet established connections with many masters. He seized this rare opportunity to interact with Huang Hai, wanting to make the most of it.
In the real estate business, everyone believed in Feng Shui. Was it excessive to spend a few million on a project worth hundreds of millions for peace of mind?
Moreover, the impact of Feng Shui was immense. The same plot of land, with different Feng Shui arrangements, could yield vastly different results.
Places with poor Feng Shui made occupants feel weak and tired, leading to irritability, followed by business troubles and family discord.
Places with good Feng Shui made occupants feel refreshed and spirited, mellowing their tempers and making them more amiable. It was only natural for business to prosper and families to live in harmony.
The principles passed down by our ancestors, when broken down, were quite simple. Yet, grasping their intricacies remained profoundly mysterious.
Master Huang nodded with affected aloofness, deliberately avoiding topics of money to appear less vulgar.
Not far from the construction site, worker Wu Yuchun stood by the riverbank, a large bag tucked into his arms, smoking a cheap cigarette.
Soon, Yan Shouyi appeared. Like Master Huang, Yan Shouyi was not sweating, and his robe looked spotless.
Upon seeing Yan Shouyi, Wu Yuchun grew anxious. "Little brother..."
"Did you prepare what I asked for?" Yan Shouyi inquired.
Wu Yuchun quickly stopped speaking and handed the large bag to Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi crouched down and opened the bag. Inside were the clothes of the deceased, some plane tree wood freshly broken from the riverbank, and three still-warm boxed meals.
"I was afraid you might be hungry, little brother, so I grabbed three extra boxed meals when collecting dinner," Wu Yuchun said honestly.
Yan Shouyi's eyes lit up. He hadn't eaten dinner yet. In his line of work, one of the three blessings—fortune, longevity, or prosperity—was always missing. Yan Shouyi lacked "prosperity." Despite his great abilities now, he often struggled to put food on the table.
This was not the time to eat. Yan Shouyi set the boxed meals aside, took out the plane tree wood, and fiddled with it in a corner. Wu Yuchun, curious, wanted to see what Yan Shouyi was doing, but Yan Shouyi turned away with a mysterious air. Wu Yuchun only saw Yan Shouyi pull out a red thread from his bag; he saw nothing else.
However, that single red thread was enough to astonish Wu Yuchun. The red thread's material was indiscernible, but its color was a radiant red, as if dyed with blood. It looked particularly eerie under the moonlight.
After a moment, Yan Shouyi turned back, holding a small figurine made from the plane tree wood. It had a head, torso, and limbs, with crudely drawn facial features on its head. The figurine was simple in structure, yet for some reason, the moment Wu Yuchun saw it, he felt as if he were looking at his deceased younger brother.
Yan Shouyi used scissors to cut a piece of cloth from the deceased's clothes and quickly fashioned it into a small garment, dressing the figurine. Wu Yuchun felt it looked even more alike, rendering him momentarily speechless.
"Do exactly as I tell you in a moment. Don't be afraid. We're retrieving your own brother; he won't harm you."
Wu Yuchun shivered. "The less you say, the better. The more you say it, the more I feel scared..."
Strange, it's such a hot day, why do I feel a chill and break out in a cold sweat?
Yan Shouyi then took out the red thread and tied it to the figurine's left hand before tossing it into the river. The figurine, which should have floated, sank rapidly and disappeared without a trace in moments.
"Call your brother's name. Shout louder!" Yan Shouyi commanded.
Wu Yuchun trembled and quickly called out, "Yulin! Yulin!"
"Call his full name."
Wu Yuchun shouted with all his might, "Wu Yulin! Come back! Wu Yulin! Go home!"
This time, Wu Yuchun's voice carried a hint of sorrow. It seemed his emotions were stirred, and he couldn't help but vent them through his loud cries.
Yan Shouyi, holding the red thread, stared intently at the river surface, unmoving, as if fishing.
This method was somewhat similar to calling back souls in rural areas. In the past, when technology was less advanced, rural children had few entertainment options. Picking wild fruit in the mountains and fishing in the water were common activities. It was inevitable they would encounter something unclean and accidentally lose their soul, returning home to fall ill and become listless. At such times, a relative would hold the child, go to the place where the soul was lost, scatter glutinous rice, and call the child's name. As they called, the lost soul would return, the child's fever would subside, and they would no longer be foolish.
Wu Yulin had died in the river, his soul had nowhere to go, naturally becoming a wandering ghost. His body carried resentment, preventing it from floating. Yan Shouyi asking Wu Yuchun to call back the soul was to find Wu Yulin's soul; once the soul was found, everything would be easier.
The cold moonlight cast its glow upon the river, the water churning. From the construction site nearby, the shouts of workers occasionally echoed.
After three minutes like this, Wu Yuchun's throat was almost raw. Just as he was about to stop and rest, Yan Shouyi suddenly spoke towards the river, "What's down there in the river?"
Wu Yuchun shivered. "Who is little brother talking to?" He looked down and saw, by the riverbank in front of Yan Shouyi, a pair of footprints suddenly appeared on the small patch of mudflat. The toes of the footprints pointed directly towards Yan Shouyi.
Wu Yuchun burst into tears. "Brother! Brother! You died so tragically!!"
Yan Shouyi glared at Wu Yuchun. "Stop wailing. Your brother hasn't even passed his seventh day. His soul is unstable. If you shout a few more times, you'll scare his soul into scattering!"
Wu Yuchun quickly silenced himself. Yan Shouyi continued to stare at the footprints ahead and asked, "How many? ...Are they a couple? I understand."
"...Your brother asked me to find your body. Get up when you should, don't make things difficult for yourself."
"...The money will be paid, rest assured."
After a brief exchange, Yan Shouyi nodded slightly, then formed a hand seal and chanted, "The Red Emperor nurtures qi, the Black Emperor circulates blood, the Yellow Emperor governs the center, all spirits obey, the living soul come forth, the dead soul depart, the heavenly gate opens, the earthly gate opens, send the soul from a thousand miles away!"
"Rise!"
With the incantation complete, Yan Shouyi pulled the red thread, and the wooden figurine that had sunk into the river water floated up.
At the same time, Wu Yuchun saw a dark object emerge from the river surface not far away. Although its form had changed significantly, he recognized it at once as the body of his younger brother, Wu Yulin! What sent a chill down Wu Yuchun's spine was that his brother's body had the exact same posture as the figurine, face down with the left hand raised. It was as if both had been "pulled" up by Yan Shouyi with the red thread.
Wu Yuchun was overjoyed and immediately knelt down to kowtow to Yan Shouyi, expressing his gratitude repeatedly.
"You've seen the body. Go retrieve it. Don't delay too long, or it might get washed away, and I won't be able to find it anymore," Yan Shouyi said with a smile. The first time finding a body was because it held resentment and deliberately stayed at the riverbed. Now that the resentment was gone, losing it would truly mean it was washed away by the river, rendering all methods useless.
Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchun quickly boarded a prepared small boat and rowed towards the body.
With the task done, Yan Shouyi lit a cigarette and shifted his gaze from Wu Yuchun rowing the boat to the construction site. On the site, the massive Xuanwu stone statue had already been lifted into the air, seemingly ready to be lowered.
Seeing this, Yan Shouyi sighed, "If the King of Hell wants you dead by the third watch, I dare not keep you until the fifth. This is fate! My grandfather said I already carry enough karmic debt. If I meddle further, I fear eternal damnation..."