On the day I was born, dark clouds gathered, and the coal mine in the village's back mountain suddenly collapsed, killing all twenty-seven young miners.
The commotion startled my grandfather, who went out to investigate and found the courtyard covered in snakes.
He discovered that all the snakes were making a peculiar movement: biting their own tails and curling into strange serpentine circles.
Following the direction of the snakes, my grandfather saw that they were all approaching the room where my mother was giving birth to me.
Terrified, my grandfather rushed back inside and instructed my father to guard the room, forbidding anyone from entering.
My Jiang family has been practicing fortune-telling and geomancy for generations, with my grandfather being the seventeenth generation.
My grandfather was known to outsiders as a master geomancer. Three years prior, he had retired from the profession, causing a stir in the geomancy world, and returned to his hometown, Nancheng, with his entire family.
Many financial magnates were willing to spend vast sums of money for a reading from my grandfather.
My grandfather had also publicly declared that he would no longer offer readings.
However, with the current unusual events, my grandfather felt compelled to cast a divination for me.
Upon completing the divination, my grandfather's palms began to sweat, and he nearly lost his balance. His lips trembled, and he looked in my direction with profound worry.
"One Kian Qiankun, one Kan below. This child is actually a Xuan Yin Sacred Body. It's over, something bad is going to happen!"
After casting this divination, my grandfather became extremely anxious.
He then ordered my father to quickly set up Granny Liu's altar and scatter lime powder in front of the door.
On the night the altar was set up, a chilling wind blew, and the lime powder in front of the door was covered in footprints.
Whispers filled the air, but upon closer inspection, no one could be seen.
"A hundred ghosts fighting for life! A hundred ghosts fighting for life!" Seeing this, my grandfather quickly calculated, turned, and knelt before the altar, kowtowing three times.
"My Jiang family has worshipped Granny Liu for exactly one hundred and seventy-three years. I implore Granny Liu to remember the years of devotion from my Jiang family and protect my grandson's life."
The incense and candles on the altar dedicated to Granny Liu suddenly flared up, and the offerings were consumed at a visible rate.
A massive snake shadow suddenly appeared in the house, frightening my father, who quickly retreated.
"Hahaha! It's actually a Yin Xuan Sacred Body. Eating its flesh and drinking its blood will surely help me advance further!"
As the snake shadow manifested, a large black snake, flicking its tongue, was about to slither into my room.
"Presumptuous! The Jiang family has served me for years, and a mere worm dares to approach!"
A woman's voice boomed like thunder. A green snake appeared in the room, and the two large snakes began to fight fiercely.
With a pained cry, the black snake had its tail bitten off and retreated shamefully.
The murmuring outside abruptly ceased, and a roar came from within the room.
"The Jiang family has shown me kindness, and I, Liu Ruyan, will protect them. Anyone who dares to offend again will have their essence and soul burned to ashes to devour you all!"
"Get out!" the woman shouted angrily.
The evil spirits were instantly terrified and began to retreat outside.
"I'll see how long your Granny Liu can protect him. As long as there's an opportunity, we will naturally tear him apart!"
The evil spirits hissed and dispersed in an instant.
Seeing the evil spirits retreat, the young ghosts naturally dared not linger and disappeared with their cackling sounds.
Granny Liu retreated several steps, her face pale, and sat on a stool, saying, "Your grandson's body is beneficial to me. I need to inhabit your grandson's body to cultivate myself. Even then, I may not be able to protect him!"
"To ensure your grandson's survival, it is still far from enough. I have a few things to tell you. Come here, and I will tell you!"
My grandfather quickly walked over, and Granny Liu whispered a few words to him.
After listening, my grandfather's face turned instantly pale. He gritted his teeth and nodded, "I understand!"
Granny Liu transformed into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into my room.
My grandfather immediately called my father over and instructed him sternly.
"After I die, place me in the coffin and wait until your grandson turns eighteen before letting him bury me! During this time, do not tell anyone that I am no longer alive."
"Do not ask why. You only need to remember what I have instructed you to do!"
"Your grandson's destiny is too strong, and his life is fraught with tribulations. He needs a complementary destiny. When he grows up, tell him that when it comes to fortune-telling, he should only divine for the Qian, Jiang, and Wu families."
"All members of the family must not leave Nancheng before Jiang Dou turns eighteen! After he turns eighteen, he must not stay in Nancheng. He can go anywhere else, but he must not return here!"
"Do you remember all these things? If you do, go back to the house."
My father's face was filled with confusion, but he dared not disobey my grandfather's words or ask further questions. He returned to care for my mother.
From that day on, a snake-shaped mark appeared on my chest.
Just one day later, my father pushed open my grandfather's door and found that my grandfather had died.
Overnight, my grandfather's hair had turned white, and his body had shriveled like a mummy.
My father was overcome with grief and wailed before my grandfather's corpse, unable to comprehend what had happened to him overnight.
Following my grandfather's instructions, he was placed in a coffin, and the lid was securely locked.
My grandfather's room was also completely sealed. Every time I tried to enter, my father would beat me severely.
This made me very curious about my grandfather's room. Fearing my father's slaps, I would only stop to glance at his room as I passed by.
In the years I grew up, my father was very strict with me, teaching me many things related to geomancy and mystical arts.
As I grew older, the snake-shaped mark on my chest gradually faded.
On my eighteenth birthday, my father led me to the door of my grandfather's room and personally opened the rusted iron lock.
He made me kneel before a coffin and told me that my grandfather was inside, instructing me to personally handle his funeral.
My grandfather had been lying in the coffin since his death, unburied for a full eighteen years.
I asked my father why, and he shook his head, saying he didn't know, only that my grandfather's funeral had to be conducted by me.
That day, my father informed all relatives and friends, and the news of my grandfather's death spread.
Eighteen years after my grandfather's death, his fame was unaffected.
Many people attended my grandfather's funeral. Cars lined the road from our house to the end of the village. Luxury cars that had never been seen in Nancheng were everywhere.
I had never witnessed such a spectacle and was curious about what kind of person my grandfather was in life.
That night, I kowtowed three times before my grandfather and tearfully bid him farewell.
Standing up, I pulled out the steel nails of the coffin and pushed open the lid. The lid was tightly sealed, and I called several relatives and friends to help force it open.
The moment I saw my grandfather, I was completely stunned.
After eighteen years, my grandfather's body showed no signs of decay. According to what my father had told me, my grandfather's hair had turned white when he died, and his body was no different from a mummy.
I had no reason to doubt my father's words; he wouldn't deceive me about my grandfather's affairs.
However, the grandfather in the coffin not only did not have white hair but instead had jet-black, lustrous hair.
The more I looked, the more it seemed my grandfather was smiling at me.