Grave Moving Brigade - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – An Irritable and Petty Ancestor

The Jiang family’s attitude towards moving their ancestor’s grave was truly strange.

If one were to say that they believed in ghosts and gods, then they were being too casual about the relocation of the grave. On the other hand, if one were to say that they didn’t believe in gods, it would be hard to believe looking at how they were willing to spend a lot of money to hire a novice like him. It seemed like a somewhat desperate attempt to find a cure.

Chen Ling remembered very clearly that the advertisement he had posted online was for the newly built cemetery in Yuhe Mountain. The relocation part was just a free service, and he had also made it clear that he was not a professional and that those who did mind about it, could contact other professionals.

“Mrs. Jiang, may I ask you why you contacted me for this and not any professionals?”

Mrs. Jiang’s face was tense and stiff, her lips moved up and down, but she didn’t utter a word.

“Is there anything you can’t tell me?” Chen Ling smiled, but his eyes turned cold. “Mrs. Jiang, it seems that you are hiding something from me.”

An awkward and anxious atmosphere arose between the two of them. After a brief period of silence, Mrs. Jiang closed her eyes tightly and said, “Before contacting you, we had already invited five other professionals.”

Thinking of what had happened back then, Mrs. Jiang felt cold all over. She raised her hand and tucked the stray strands of her hair behind her ears, using the gesture to ease the fear in her heart.

Half a month ago, Jiang Shengxing, the current head of the Jiang family, had personally invited five professionals at a high price to visit the grave.

As soon as the group walked into the woods, the leaves began to rustle, and the wind blew. At the blink of an eye, the whole forest was plunged into dim light as if it was shrouded by something huge and terrible.

The further they walked, the dimmer the light became. A while later, Jiang Shengxing even smelled a faint strange odour floating in the air. It smelled rotten, bloody, and carried a strong sense of hostility.

Jiang Shengxing’s scalp tingled. He cautiously looked at the professional and asked them if they smelled anything.

None of them spoke, but their faces looked bad, and as if they were ready for battle. Two of them had already taken out their magic tools and talismans.

As they got closer to the ancestral tomb, the forced calmness of the professional masters could no longer be retained. Very soon, they dropped the weapons from their hands and ran away with their big money sponsor, Jiang Shengxing.

After leaving the forest, one of the masters had told Jiang Shengxing in a heavy tone their family’s ancestor was too fierce, leaving them helpless. They immediately gave up the job and advised Mr. Jiang to seek help from others.

That night, Jiang Shengxing had developed a high fever and was taken to the hospital. Even after a full-body examination, the doctor could not tell what was wrong.

When the Jiang family’s side branches learned about it, they all rushed to the hospital to visit. Among them, an old man guessed that it had happened because Jiang Shengxing had rashly taken some questionable people with him and ended up offending. Thus, he was being blamed by the ancestor in such a way.

The five professional masters were all introduced to the Jiang family by acquaintances. So, no one had ever doubted their identities before.

Upon hearing the man’s guess, they sent out people to investigate the identities of the so-called masters. The results were shocking, two of the five turned out to be experienced scammers.

Mrs. Jiang ended up almost having a heart attack from anger. She called the police without saying another word and vowed to put the two men in jail for life.

In order to appease the ancestor, she took her son and daughter-in-law to the grave, kowtowed and admitted their mistakes, and said all kinds of nice things to appease the ancestor. But, everything turned out to be useless.

Mrs. Jiang, who could only wipe away her tears and worry as she watched her husband’s health deteriorate, suddenly received a message from Jiang Shengxing’s special assistant.

It was a link. Upon clicking it, a simple advertisement popped up: 【Fengshui blessed top-level property with high-end supporting facilities, and a luxurious cemetery. ||Free relocation||】

It was because of the matter of moving the grave which caused Jiang Shengxing to offend the ancestor. So, if they could help him find a suitable cemetery, then maybe his anger would subside?

With the mentality of trying out every possible way, Mrs. Jiang personally contacted Chen Ling, who posted the advertisement. In order not to scare him away, she chose to temporarily conceal certain circumstances.

After listening to the story, Chen Ling couldn’t help but mutter, “The old ancestor’s temper is too violent. Ordinary people can’t afford to offend him.”

Oh, not only was he irritable, but he was also petty. If he didn’t like scammers coming to his grave, he could have told that in the dream. Why was he blaming his descendants?

Mrs. Jiang was so concerned about her husband’s safety that she didn’t pay attention to the young man’s mumbling. “Actually, before I brought you here, I was still a little uncertain. I was worried that you would encounter the same situation as my husband. But when we walked in, nothing strange happened.”

As she spoke, she reached into her purse and took out the check she had prepared in advance.

“I believe that the ancestor has tacitly agreed that the matter of moving his grave must be handled by you. Mr. Chen, this is the fate of our Jiang family, so you must not refuse.” Fearing that the young man would not take the job, Mrs. Jiang quickly stuffed the check into his hand.

Restraining himself from looking at the number on the check, Chen Ling said calmly, “Mrs. Jiang, you know, our Yuhe Cemetery has not officially begun its construction yet, and Mr. Jiang Yu’s tombstone and coffin has to be custom-made. Most importantly, as far as I know, tomorrow is not a good day.”

“No matter how bad it is, there will always be an auspicious time.” Mrs. Jiang interrupted the young man, “The tombstone can be added later. As for the coffin, we have already prepared it.”

Wiping the sweat off her forehead with a crumpled tissue, Mrs. Jiang pointed in a certain direction and said, “Mr. Chen, it’s not that we are anxious, but that the matter cannot be delayed anymore. If you don’t believe me, look over there…”

Behind the grave, in an inconspicuous corner, the brown soil had actually sunk down.

For the ancestral tomb to suddenly collapse without reason is a taboo. Once it happened, bad luck would follow the descendants. In serious cases, the whole family may be destroyed. The situation of the Jiang family’s ancestral tomb is currently not that serious, but as long as it rained, the whole tomb may collapse.

Unfortunately, it happened to be the rainy season recently, with heavy rains every two or three days to relieve the scorching heat in the city.

No wonder the Jiang family was so anxious.

But among the five masters at that time, three were real experts. It made no sense that he, someone who barely knew anything, would dare to touch something that even people in the industry dared to not touch.

Chen Ling valued his life and did not agree on the spot. Because Mrs. Jiang was there, he did not make a call this time, instead chose to send a message to his master.

After sending the cause and effect, half a quarter of an hour later, a message came back, 【The hexagram is very auspicious】

With just four words from his master, Chen Ling had an idea in his mind. He agreed to Mrs. Jiang’s offer and immediately decided on the time for the exhumation. He even made a list of things, asking Mrs. Jiang to make sure someone prepared it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send someone to do it right away.” Mrs. Jiang folded the piece of paper and put it in her bag. Then she walked to the simple grave, bowed respectfully, and muttered something, but it was unclear as to what she had said.

Chen Ling waited quietly by the side, his eyes fixed on the old locust tree.

The locust tree had a strong trunk and lush leaves. Now was the most luxuriant time of the year. The branches were fully stretched to at least ten metres, lush and green. The visual impact it had is shocking, but it also brought a heavy sense of oppression.

“Mr. Chen, let’s go.” The deal was settled. Mrs. Jiang put aside her previous gloom and carried her handbag, walking in a cat-like manner, looking elegant and confident.

Chen Ling quietly followed his client out of the woods. Just as he opened the car door and was about to get in, a cold breeze suddenly blew from behind.

The breeze was so cold that it cut through the hot air and blew straight into the car.

It was so strong that Chen Ling felt as if a hand had appeared behind him out of nowhere, pressing down on his shoulder and pushing him directly into the car.

Before he could even sit down properly, something sharp scratched his neck, and the piercing chill penetrated into his bones.

He subconsciously pressed his neck with the back of his hand and found a leaf on his palm.

The leaf was emerald green with clear veins, and there was a sudden spot of bright red on the tip, like an insect’s eye or a glaring blood spot.

Chen Ling instinctively reached for the copper bell in his pocket. If he really encountered an evil thing, the Sanqing Bell should vibrate even if the bottom was blocked. Since there was no reaction, it meant that the wind that had just blown was not some evil wind.

He breathed a sigh of relief and threw the leaf out of the car.

After sending Mrs. Jiang home, the driver took Chen Ling back to Yuhe Mountain as instructed.

After getting out of the car, Chen Ling looked up and saw the grey hilltop with no grass at all. He rubbed his forehead with a headache.

Yuhe Mountain is one of the ancestral properties of the Chen family. It was inherited by Chen Ling’s Grandpa a long time ago after the division of the family.

There were instances where people died and killed each other for money. Although the Chen family did not fight to death for their ancestral property, they were still completely torn apart.

Chen Ling’s grandfather was an honest man and did not want to get involved in the fight, so his other brothers and sisters divided up the shops on Wang Street and the fruitful orchard, leaving him with only a barren hill.

Originally, Yuhe Mountain was not suitable for farming due to its terrain, and the natural ecology was not damaged at all. The forest was lush with trees, birds were singing and flowers were blooming. There was always a layer of mist at dawn, which made it as beautiful as a fairyland.

One day twenty years ago, the grass and trees on the mountain withered overnight, and everything that was planted afterwards also died away. The semi-circular lake at the foot of the mountain became stagnant water, turning from clear to pitch black, and the stench exuded by it was overwhelming.

Due to environmental issues, nearby residents gradually moved away, leaving only a few households with poor economic conditions still living at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Ling’s parents told him about these things two months ago because they hoped that their son could return to live with them for a while.

Before his eighteenth birthday, Chen Ling was a typical materialistic young man. After his eighteenth birthday, he began to encounter evil spirits, all kinds of invisible and intangible things, always lurking in the darkness, spying on his life.

When he was 20 years old, on the way to a Taoist temple, his parents happened to meet Chen Ling’s current master.

The master’s name is Zhao Xunchang. He claims to be a genuine Taoist priest from Mount Longhu. He is good at exorcising evil spirits and solving problems for people.

That night, Zhao Xunchang and Chen Ling’s parents talked for a long time in the study. When they were done, Chen Ling, who was at a loss, was smacked on the head by his parents and made to kowtow to Zhao Xunchang to acknowledge him as his master.

Then he was given the land deed which was transferred to his name on his eighteenth birthday.

Hearing that he could relieve the evil spirits by staying at Yuhe Mountain with Zhao Xunchang for a while, Chen Ling told himself that it was plainNonsense. He felt that his parents must have been deceived again.

However, the slap in the face came quickly.

A miracle happened.

Less than half a month after arriving at Yuhe Mountain, Chen Ling’s condition had really improved. At least he could sleep well at night and would no longer suddenly wake up in the middle of the night from being pinched, or run into a woman with dishevelled hair and an ulcerated face when he got up at night.

The answer given to him by Zhao Xunchang was that he and Yuhe Mountain had similar auras, so it was best for him to stay there permanently.

Since he was going to live there permanently, he couldn’t just sit there and waste his time. But facing the lifeless Yuhe Mountain, Chen Ling couldn’t think of anything he could do there. Finally, he heard from his master that Yuhe Mountain was a rare blessed site for tombs, which could bring blessings and longevity to the buried and their descendants. At the same time, it could also help Chen Ling accumulate merits and resolve the imbalance of yin and yang in his body.

The overall conclusion is that it was something beneficial to both others and himself, so naturally there was no reason to not do it.

As for the adverse environment, the master had narrowed his eyes slightly and told him with an unfathomable attitude that a turning point would arrive soon.

In this way, the Yuhe Mountain Cemetery project was officially finalised, and under the operation of Chen Ling’s parents, all procedures were quickly completed.

=•°•=•°•=

The sun was still shining brightly, and, under the scorching sun, Chen Ling walked into the small house temporarily rented at the foot of the mountain.

In the yard, Zhao Xunchang was teasing his macaw bird with melon seeds.

The parrot has a rare purple-blue colour and it is the largest species in the Psittacidae family. It loves to imitate others, and is a chatterbox.

Before he had time to greet his master, he heard the parrot screaming, “You’re back! You’re back! Chen Ling is back.”

Chen Ling touched the parrot’s head as he passed by, then walked past it and went straight into the bathroom.

After solving his physiological problems, he went to the mirror at a relaxed pace to wash his hands, and then splashed a few handfuls of cold water on his face. His head, which was dizzy from the heat, was stimulated by the water and became much clearer. Casually, he pulled out a tissue to wipe the water off his face.

As he was wiping, Chen Ling noticed something was wrong.

He leaned towards the mirror, tilted his head, and carefully observed the skin on the side of his neck. A red mark appeared on the fair skin, as if someone had pressed it hard with their finger.