Chapter 1, Ancestral Grave

Han Sheng squeezed out of the crowd and hurried home

Han Sheng, you must remember to hold your breath when prying open the coffin lid, as there is a miasma of the corpse inside the well-sealed coffin, and inhaling it can make you ill. The father raised the hoe

"Caw caw." Two crows stood on the overgrown grave, gazing this way

What about the other graves? Han Sheng asked

Han Sheng shouted loudly, driving away the two black crows.

The bones were carefully placed one by one into a cloth bag, the fascia between the bones had long since disappeared, leaving the joints disconnected and easy to pick up. Finally, I held the skull and gently stuffed it into the bag

"Let us choose an auspicious day instead." The father grasped Han Sheng's hand and pulled him up.

Upon hearing this, Han Sheng felt a surge of fear in his heart

"Well, it is usually a light gray color, and there is also black, resembling thick smoke, which is quite ominous. The most terrifying is the red corpse energy; once it touches you, there is no hope," my father explained.

Oh. The sound should echo indoors

Han Sheng turned back to look and saw his father sway a few times, then take a pill from his pocket and put it in his mouth. It turned out that his father had been prepared all along

The father shook his head

In the early morning, the sparrows in the yard chirped incessantly. Han Sheng started the fire early and cooked some sweet potato porridge. Life was tough, yet he added a bit more rice into the pot, for today was different from usual

The father continued to clear away the loose soil, forcefully pried open the coffin lid, and then jumped up, gasping for breath with his mouth wide open

"Toad mandala powder? Can this substance produce toxic corpse gas?" Han Sheng inquired

"Father, I have finished picking up the items," Han Sheng shouted

At this moment, during the hour of Chen, a ray of sunlight slanted down and illuminated the earth pit

The bones of our ancestors cannot see the sunlight, Han Sheng, the scent of the corpse has already dissipated, you should go down and collect the bones for your great-grandfather

Father sighed and said, "Your great-grandfather was also a physician, probably fearing that someone would rob the tomb, so he placed toad venom inside."

Father sat down to one side, lit a cigarette, and the scent of tobacco spread out, causing the swarm of mosquitoes to retreat back into the bamboo forest

The father was digging the soil with a hoe, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Han Sheng handed over a towel and, taking the hoe, started working. After all, he was young, strong, and his speed noticeably increased.

In the bamboo forest, a thick mist envelops the surroundings, and swarms of mosquitoes flap their wings, eyeing these two passionate humans with a predatory gaze. Han Sheng couldn't help but shiver; these mosquitoes bite silently, leaving small welts that itch intensely, making one wish to dig out the flesh entirely.

There is, but it is generally not visible to the average person

Indeed, the years are too distant; we can only trace back to your great-grandfather's generation. Let me see, tomorrow is the day of Gengxu, which is suitable for breaking ground and relocating graves. We shall go tomorrow during the Chen hour

The father jumped up, grabbed the umbrella, stood on the mound of earth, and opened the umbrella to block the sunlight

Wait until the corpse's aura dissipates before going down. Father lit another cigarette.

"So how does the most powerful red corpse energy come about?" Han Sheng felt increasingly stimulated upon hearing such a rare matter for the first time

***

After finishing their meal, he and his father set out with a hoe, a shovel, an umbrella, and two cloth bags

Zhu Hansheng is twenty years old this year. He usually apprentices at home with his father, who is a barefoot doctor, doing trivial tasks such as gathering herbs in the mountains and grinding and mixing medicines. Although he has an introverted personality, he is honest and kind-hearted, and the elderly in the village all like him very much

"Father has never encountered such a thing in his entire life," he said.

A scattered yellow-brown skeleton lies quietly in the coffin, with the scent of damp soil and plant roots wafting through the nose

"Father, I cannot see the dark energy," Han Sheng supported his father.

Although this medicine is said to have only anesthetic effects, when combined with the putrid substances produced during the decomposition of a corpse, it will generate a highly toxic black corpse qi

Our Zhu family's ancestral grave is located at Linggu Cave, and it has been there for many generations, hasn't it

"Father, why do we need to move all the graves in front of Linggu Cave?" Han Sheng asked his father

Han Sheng reluctantly turned around to follow, no wonder some say that Wuyuan is the most beautiful village in China, this is undoubtedly true

Han Sheng's mother passed away early, and it was his father who single-handedly raised him with great difficulty, relying on a bit of inherited medical skills to barely make ends meet. In the old days, traditional Chinese medicine often involved some aspects of feng shui. His father had previously provided consultations on ancestral graves for others, but later faced criticism during the Cultural Revolution, being accused of feudal superstition. Since that time, his father has never mentioned this matter again

The notice stated: According to the instructions of the County Revolutionary Committee, all graves located along the road to Linggu Cave must be relocated within fifteen days. Graves that have not been relocated by that time will be considered ownerless and will be uniformly leveled by the town's Revolutionary Committee with the organization of the core militia. We urge the broad revolutionary masses to actively cooperate. The notice is signed by the Nanshan Town Revolutionary Committee of Wuyuan County, with a bright red seal below.

In the bamboo forest, scattered graves have already been seen, with some tombstones leaning haphazardly, overturned by the bamboo roots that run rampant underground. The ancestral grave of the Zhu family is still ahead, not far from the entrance of Linggu Cave.

The indoor lighting is dim, and the father sits on a chair, holding a stone pestle to grind medicine in a medicinal jar, with a scent of plant roots and soil wafting around.

The father and son returned along the same route, and by the time they reached the entrance of the village at the eastern end, their clothes were completely soaked.

Han Sheng was vigorously scraping away, and high mounds of earth had already piled up around him. At that moment, he suddenly felt something unusual in his hands. With a thud, the hoe sank down, and with a twist of his wrist, he exerted force, unexpectedly pulling out a piece of dark brown wooden board.

Han Sheng hid outside the circle, carefully observing the pit, yet he could see nothing at all.

Upon climbing a mountain peak and gazing back towards the southwest, one can see the ancient giant sequoias, 24 in total, that Zhu Xi personally planted during his return to his hometown for ancestral worship. These trees, symbolizing the 24 filial pieties, have stood silently on Wengong Mountain for over 800 years.

"Does the smell of corpses have a color?" Han Sheng asked

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Wuyuan is one of the six counties under the ancient Huizhou Prefecture and is also the hometown of the renowned Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi from the Southern Song Dynasty. As far as the eye can see, the continuous pines and bamboos conceal the Hui-style ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, characterized by white walls, gray tiles, flying eaves, and upturned corners. The curling smoke from cooking rises gently, creating a tranquil scene reminiscent of a pastoral landscape painting

The cold has set in, and the hour of Chen has passed; we should return. My father looked up at the leaden gray sky, shook his head, and said

***

"Hurry up, it's almost 7 o'clock, don't miss the time," my father urged from the front

The three thatched cottages at the east end of the village are his home, with some Chinese herbal medicines such as Codonopsis and Bupleurum planted in front of the door, while a large yellow dog lazily lies on the threshold

"Father, how could black smoke be rising from the coffin of our great-grandfather?" Han Sheng asked, puzzled.

Han Sheng stood on tiptoe to look into the pit

Han Sheng picked up a cloth bag and, gathering his courage, jumped into the pit

That night, Han Sheng lay in bed tossing and turning; digging up an old grave was a rare event, and thinking of this made him exceedingly excited

"Father, someone in town has posted a notice demanding that we relocate the ancestral grave within a specified time!" Han Sheng shouted before even entering the courtyard.

There is dark energy, dodge!" A loud shout came from behind, as my father leaped down from the air, grabbing Han Sheng and pushing him up.

Han Sheng furrowed his brows, casting a glance inside the coffin, but he did not find any burial items. There was a fine layer of dust at the bottom of the coffin, covering some of the bones. He mumbled to himself, squatted down, and began to gather the bones. It was the first time in his life that he had entered a coffin, and he felt anxious and uneasy.

It would be great if there were something in the old tomb, Han Sheng muttered to himself

"We have arrived, this is your great-grandfather's grave," my father said as he set down the hoe he had been carrying, and the tombstone was also leaning askew

Of course, you have not yet learned the methods of divination and observing the aura, so naturally, you cannot see it

My father is a barefoot doctor in the village. His medical skills are average, but his medical ethics are commendable. Relatives from the surrounding villages within a radius of ten to eight miles come to him for treatment, and they generally do not go to the town health clinic for common ailments

In front lies a lush green bamboo forest, and passing through the bamboo grove leads to the famous Linggu Cave. The mountains in this area are composed of limestone, and with the abundant rainfall in Jiangnan, many caves have been eroded, with Linggu Cave being the largest among them. It is said that no one has ever reached the bottom; merely standing at the cave's entrance, one can feel a chilling wind blowing in. Children, in particular, dare not approach, as it is rumored that the dark mouth of the cave can draw people in.

What colors are they? Han Sheng asked with great interest.

The late autumn in Jiangnan is marked by unpredictable weather; just moments ago, sunlight was streaming down, but now dark clouds have obscured the sun, and it has begun to rain heavily.

Our family is poor; what else can there be in the grave besides a handful of bones? Stop thinking nonsense; it is disrespectful to our ancestors. " Father glared at him.

In the late autumn of 1975, at the foot of Nanshan in Wuyuan, Jiangxi, a tall old locust tree stood surrounded by a group of villagers, all of whom were looking up at a notice affixed to the trunk of the tree