After walking around the grave once, I had my own thoughts and realized how serious the problem was. The Tang family had been schemed against—someone took advantage of the fact that the old master of the Tang family died on a day of 重丧 (a taboo day for funerals) and set up a Yin Sha Feng Shui formation around the grave.
This Yin Sha Feng Shui formation not only destroyed the Feng Shui of the area but also attracted fierce ghosts. The souls buried there could not rest in peace, and naturally, the fortune of the Tang family would sharply decline. Over time, not only would their wealth be lost, but their lives might also be in danger.
At that moment, I also understood why we had encountered such powerful ghosts on the way here.
"Master, is there a problem?" Old Tang anxiously asked since I hadn't spoken.
I nodded. "There is a problem, and it's not small. If it's not resolved, the Tang family's business will decline, and the direct bloodline might not survive past six months."
Upon hearing this, Old Tang's expression immediately turned very grim, and he understood the seriousness of the situation.
"Master, how can this be resolved?" Old Tang asked anxiously.
My master had told me that the greatest taboo in the Jianghu (martial world) is Feng Shui battles—destroying another's Feng Shui setup. Obviously, the Tang family's Feng Shui had been tampered with. If I intervened, I would definitely offend the person who set up the Feng Shui formation.
But since this person used Feng Shui techniques against ordinary people, it was clear he was not a good person. If I didn't act, the Tang family was doomed.
Saving a life is better than building seventy-seven pagodas; especially when it's for the entire Tang family. With that in mind, I said to Old Tang, "Old Tang, I do have a method to break the formation. But this is your family's ancestral grave—you should first report the situation to your family head. If he agrees, I can help."
"Master is right. I will report to the family head immediately," Old Tang said, pulling out his phone to call. Seeing the time, I stopped him and said there was no rush; it could wait until tomorrow. Old Tang trusted me completely and nodded repeatedly.
Because Old Tang was worried about Tang Ze, we drove directly to the hospital. In the ward, Tang Ze lay weakly on the bed, his head wrapped in bandages, his right arm in a sling. He looked very listless, half asleep.
Tang Ze was worse than when I had seen him earlier that day. Earlier, I had only seen faint black qi around his forehead (印堂). Now the black qi was streaming from his temples and the tip of his nose, and it kept flowing into his mouth.
This sight shocked Old Tang, whose face showed a mixture of suspicion and fear.
"Master, have you found out what's wrong with Aze?" Old Tang asked nervously, looking at Tang Ze with concern.
I took a yellow talisman from my bag and stuck it on Tang Ze's bedside. "This will temporarily preserve his life. We will wait until your family head arrives to examine further."
The grave is a matter of great importance to a family. There are some things Old Tang wouldn't understand or decide on, so it's better to talk directly to the head of the Tang family.
Old Tang thanked me repeatedly and said he would contact the family head as soon as possible. Worried about Tang Ze, he stayed at the hospital overnight and arranged for a driver to take me to a hotel to rest.
The next morning, just after I had breakfast in the hotel lobby, Old Tang arrived with a man in his fifties.
The man was very tall—about two meters—with a thin frame and slightly hunched, perhaps due to his height. He wore plain cloth clothes, had prayer beads on his wrist, and a jade pendant around his neck. His eyes lacked spirit, as if he had just woken up.
"Master, let me introduce you. This is the head of our family, Tang Tianhai."
"Family head, this is the master I mentioned."
I glanced at Tang Tianhai. His appearance was decent, but there was faint black qi on his face that only someone experienced could notice.
"Master, hello," Tang Tianhai politely extended his hand.
Feeling a little awkward, I cupped my fists and said, "Hello, Mr. Tang."
Tang Tianhai did not take offense and withdrew his hand. "May I ask your honorable name? Yesterday, Old Tang kept calling you 'master' but didn't know your name."
"Chen Taiping."
"Master Chen, I didn't expect someone so young to have such skill. Truly a hero appears in youth. Your future is boundless," Tang Tianhai said with a big smile, full of compliments.
I didn't quite know how to respond to the flattery, so I just smiled and said, "Mr. Tang, let's get down to business."
Tang Tianhai looked slightly embarrassed but quickly recovered and said, "Alright, let's talk business."
I briefly explained the situation with the Tang family grave, telling Tang Tianhai that his father had died on a 重丧 day, which required special treatment. Instead, someone had taken advantage of this to harm the whole family.
Tang Tianhai stood up abruptly, his expression changing. After a few seconds of silence, he sat back down and asked doubtfully, "Master Chen, are you sure?"
I smiled. "Mr. Tang, have you been having nightmares lately? Has the family business been encountering problems?"
Tang Tianhai looked at Old Tang, who shook his head, indicating he hadn't said those things. I secretly smiled—Tang Tianhai still didn't fully trust me.
Seeing Old Tang's denial, Tang Tianhai sighed heavily and said, "Master Chen, you really are a high-level expert. Since my father's death, almost every night when I fall asleep, my father appears in my dreams, cursing me as unfilial, calling me inhuman, and asking why I haven't died sooner."
"Our business has also been troubled. Several major deals were about to be signed but were suddenly canceled by the other party. On top of that, product issues have plagued the company, leaving me overwhelmed."
"I originally wanted to come pay respects to my father myself, but business kept me busy. That's why I sent Aze to visit. If it weren't for you, my son might have lost his life…"
After hearing Tang Tianhai's story, I asked if they had hired a funeral expert when his father passed.
Tang Tianhai nodded. Their family took such matters seriously and had hired a Feng Shui master to oversee everything related to Feng Shui and funerals.
Hearing this, I immediately understood: the problem lay with that Feng Shui master, who had set up the Yin Sha Feng Shui formation.
"I'm afraid that Feng Shui master you hired is the problem," I said quietly.
Tang Tianhai's eyes narrowed in anger and surprise, and his whole body trembled slightly. He turned to Old Tang and said, "Old Tang, quickly call Mr. Jin and ask where he is. Bring him here."
Old Tang nodded quickly and made the call. After a while, he returned looking troubled. He bent down to whisper in Tang Tianhai's ear that the calls went unanswered.
Tang Tianhai's face grew even darker.
"You said Mr. Jin's phone isn't answered?"
"I called several times, no response. We even sent someone to his Wan Yi Tang shop, but it's closed with a 'For Rent/Transfer' sign. Locals say the shop has been closed for half a year," Old Tang said in a low voice.
It was obvious that the Feng Shui master named Jin was suspicious—otherwise, he wouldn't have conveniently disappeared like this.
Tang Tianhai slammed the table hard and stood up.
"Jin Shunhai! I've always respected you as a descendant of the Jin family. I never thought you would want to harm my Tang family."
"Old Tang, immediately send someone to find Jin Shunhai. I want to ask him who told him to harm my family and how much they paid him to betray his conscience and try to annihilate us."
Old Tang saw Tang Tianhai's face flushed with anger and quickly tried to calm him down, promising to send people to find him. But right now, the priority was to solve the problem with the ancestral grave.
Tang Tianhai's expression eased, and he politely pleaded, "Master Chen, please help the Tang family. Name your price; whatever it is, the Tang family will pay."
I smiled bitterly inside and told him we'd talk about payment after the job was done.
Tang Tianhai asked if the solution involved moving the grave.
I told him to gather some helpers and that we needed to dig up the grave first to inspect the coffin and the body. I also told him to prepare thick gloves, a mask, and some black dog's blood.
Because it was a 重丧 day, and the Feng Shui master Jin had set up the Yin Sha Feng Shui formation, this wasn't something that could be solved by simply moving the grave.
Tang Tianhai worked quickly. By the time we arrived at the Tang family grave, about ten people were already there.
While it was bright and sunny at the foot of the mountain, the Tang family grave was covered by dark clouds, giving an eerie, oppressive feeling even in the daytime. I knew this was caused by the Yin Sha Feng Shui formation.
I didn't let the group start digging immediately. Instead, I told them to first cut down all the tree branches that blocked the sunlight around the grave. The tomb needed to be fully exposed.
Right now, there was no sunlight because the surrounding evil energy blocked it. Once the Yin Sha Feng Shui formation was broken, the sun would naturally come out.
In short, a Yin Sha Feng Shui formation is designed to attract wandering spirits and evil ghosts. Sunlight is what these hidden ghosts fear most.
Normally, it's taboo to expose a corpse to sunlight. But Tang family's old master's body was clearly not normal. We had to use unconventional methods.
After everything was done, the Tang family would need to hire someone to perform a proper soul cleansing.
Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures—this was something my senior brother had taught me.