Chapter 429 - 77_4

Words : 1371 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 429: Chapter 77_4"Bro, name your price. I’ll hire you for a day to come with me." "Ha!" Lu Yi bent slightly, hugging Li Zhiyuan, "What are you talking about? Between friends, we speak up when there’s something, no need to talk about money. Wait a minute, I’ll brush my teeth." After Lu Yi quickly freshened up, he locked the dormitory door, "Let’s go, Brother Genius. Where are we headed?" "Jun Mountain." ... Jun Mountain was formerly known as Guanyin Mountain but was renamed due to Yue Fei’s resistance against the Jin here. It’s not a particularly famous tourist spot, but with its beautiful mountainous scenery, it is a great getaway near the city. Arriving here, Li Zhiyuan didn’t have any specific goals. Mainly, Tan Wenbin could handle things himself, so he came here to try his luck. If he had anticipated any danger, he wouldn’t have called Lu Yi to join him on a whim. Li Zhiyuan climbed to a hilltop and took out his compass to observe the Feng Shui of the area. Lu Yi, beside him, initially thought Brother Genius was inviting him for an outing. When he saw the young man solemnly taking out the compass for observation, he suddenly remembered what the boy had said last night. *Damn, could there really be a ghost in the dormitory?* Li Zhiyuan switched to three hilltop locations for observation. Apart from spotting several fortunate sites, he found nothing unusual. Yet, upon reaching the fourth hilltop, he discovered a peculiar area. A winding path led to a secluded spot, where the hidden dragon lay, worshiping the main city, borrowing the king’s aura. This could almost be described as a standard site for a water burial. But because it’s too standard, it’s normal for a Taoist or water spirit to take interest in it. Therefore, there was a temple there. Ancient people had the habit: in places prone to problems like haunting or mass graves, they would build a temple. Nowadays, they might build a school instead. Li Zhiyuan walked to the temple entrance. The temple was small, with a plaque inscribed "General Temple." Inside, there were elements of Buddhism and Daoism, but no monks or Taoists, only some staff, and no admission fee. Soon after entering, Li Zhiyuan sensed something was off. Even if this temple seemed incoherent, any temple should inherently feel balanced and peaceful, with only variations in intensity. However, this temple felt sticky and dense like water, and faintly, Li Zhiyuan caught a hint of a water corpse odor. His nose wasn’t as sensitive as Run Sheng’s, but having smelled it, it likely wasn’t wrong. *But what kind of corpse would be hidden in a temple?* Li Zhiyuan hesitated. If Run Sheng had been with him instead of Lu Yi, he would have boldly continued his investigation. Sёarᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, since he came here to try his luck and encountered something unusual, it would be a waste to retreat without seeing it through. *I should check it out, just look, no touching. I’m just a tourist.* Following the concentration of the water corpse odor, Li Zhiyuan gradually approached the main hall. By now, Lu Yi also smelled it and even sneezed. He pointed around and said, "They’ve planted a lot of ginkgo trees around here. I always thought they smelled nice." Li Zhiyuan ignored him and stepped into the hall, where a fierce-looking general statue stood, with a metal plaque hanging below it that bore the words "Great General." This wasn’t Yue Fei, but clearly Mo Liqing, one of the Four Heavenly Kings from the "Investiture of the Gods," the one wielding a sword. Li Zhiyuan knelt down on the prayer mat. Next to him, Lu Yi followed suit. In his eyes, Brother Genius, with his compass, had taken on a mysterious aura. Li Zhiyuan sniffed carefully and confirmed that the source of the water corpse odor was beneath the statue of the general. The statue stood on a stone platform, and there was a gap at the front of the platform, indicating there might be a compartment that could be slid open. Normally, one would perform an underworld ritual to continue investigating, but Li Zhiyuan restrained himself. The water corpse odor was evenly distributed, indicating that even if there was a corpse inside, it was dormant. *It was probably like the peach grove in front of Big Beard’s old home, a layout set by predecessors for suppression.* Li Zhiyuan stood up and suddenly noticed Lu Yi was already bowing and praying for the general to bless his parents with good health. Li Zhiyuan could only interrupt him, "Don’t worship." "Huh?" Lu Yi was taken aback, "Then..." "Follow me." Li Zhiyuan performed a ritual gesture, a bit complex, and he did it slowly. Lu Yi watched and learned, then stood up with the young man, leaving the prayer mat behind. In ordinary temples and Taoist abbeys, praying for emotional consolation is generally fine, but the dead embody evil spirits. Even if they aren’t actively harming you, just being near them can bring misfortune, unless you have deep luck to not be concerned. As for praying to the deceased for protection, that would actively invite karmic entanglement, which is highly inauspicious. Li Zhiyuan began observing around the statue of the general, and Lu Yi followed behind him. Though the young man was not very old, he possessed a unique aura that compelled others to listen to him, making them feel his words were true. After a round of observation, Li Zhiyuan sensed something was off. The layout here should have been a standard [Dispelling Evil], but it had been altered by someone. Li Zhiyuan touched a crack in the ground with the tip of his shoe, which had been chiseled out later by someone. *This made the young man feel a sense of familiarity because he liked modifying original Feng Shui layouts himself.* *However, this person who modified it later had no skill.* *Not only did they break the [Dispelling Evil] effect, but his adjustments would have directly transformed it into [Gathering Yin].* For now, I could only mark the area on my map. I didn’t yet know if this had any connection to Qiu Minmin, and it wasn’t the time to create unnecessary trouble. "Let’s go, Brother Lu." "Yes, alright." As they were about to head out of the hall, two people walked by in the opposite corridor outside. Both were male, one old and one young, and both wore badges on their chests, likely indicating they were staff here. The elder had graying hair, walked with his hands behind his back, and his shoulders sunk with his shoulder blades raised. This was the posture of carrying corpses. It was a habitual motion developed from years of carrying corpses, maintaining this body posture naturally even in normal times. Uncle Qin had said when teaching him the basics that he didn’t need to set time aside to practice; he could practice while working. The elder personified this mastery. The young man showed a bit of this trend too, though it wasn’t pronounced yet, clearly suggesting he was the elder’s successor. Li Zhiyuan didn’t expect to encounter a fellow corpse recovery diver here. However, he had no intention of greeting them, as it was possible they were the ones who created this breach in the layout. After the elder and young man walked away and separated, the young man continued forward and stopped at an office-like door, knocking on it. The door opened, and a woman stood at the threshold, speaking passionately with the young man, who seemed to be soothing her. Yet, his hand behind his back had already formed a fist, clearly annoyed by the woman before him. The two parties were unaware this scene had fallen into the sight of others. Li Zhiyuan tugged on Lu Yi’s clothes, signaling for them to leave through the back door of the hall. Once they exited the hall, they quickly left General Temple. Outside, Lu Yi couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Genius, wasn’t that woman just now our dorm manager auntie?"

Chapter 429 - 77_4

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