The relationship between Wang Yi and me was rather humorous. My apprenticeship had been a forced decision, but he had been a loyal and reliable master, even giving me the Maoshan scriptures. His divine abilities had saved my life on more than one occasion. In the end, despite his greed and stinginess, he wasn't all that bad.
Before I could even start catching up, Wang Yi suddenly kicked me. I stumbled and, shocked, I asked, "Why are you hitting me? We're on the same side!"
It was the first time I'd seen him angry enough to physically strike me. Our relationship had mostly been one of equals, so it surprised me when he lost his temper like this.
Just then, another person walked into the room. The lighting inside wasn't great, so I couldn't immediately see who it was. As I tried to figure it out, the person walked straight toward me. To my surprise, it was the "familiar face"—the old man who chopped wood.
Confused, I turned to Wang Yi and asked how he and the old man knew each other.
Wang Yi snorted, but didn't answer. He walked over to the fish tank I had set up and said, "So this is the feng shui fight, huh? I should've realized sooner. I've never really seen it done properly before. You've got some skills."
His tone sounded sarcastic, like he wasn't really complimenting me. But I wasn't bothered. I quickly explained, "Master, you don't understand, this is the White Vengeful Bond, and without the goldfish to dissolve the negative energy and bring in moving water, I couldn't break it."
Before I could elaborate further, the wood-chopping old man snorted and rolled his eyes in obvious disdain.
I felt uneasy—was I wrong?
Without saying a word, the old man walked over, grabbed the fish tank, and smashed it to the ground with a loud "crash!" The two goldfish flopped on the floor, wriggling helplessly.
I was about to react angrily when the old man coolly said, "You're Li Xiaozhang's grandson, aren't you?"
I froze in shock. My grandfather had a connection here? Looking at the old man's age, he seemed to be from the same generation as my grandfather. Given my grandfather's personality, he wouldn't associate with people from cults or sinister backgrounds, which made me even more confused.
"Yes, I'm his grandson," I answered respectfully.
Wang Yi immediately bowed to the old man and said, "Brother Dao, please excuse him. He's the grandson of Master Li Xiaozhang, the feng shui master. But he later joined me in Maoshan's secret sect. This kid is still young and inexperienced, so he's made some mistakes."
"Dao brother?" I thought to myself. Wang Yi was a somewhat unremarkable character in terms of abilities, but his title was something else. A ghost-catching master from the Maoshan Sect? His connections were clearly much more impressive than I had imagined. I'd doubted his abilities before, but now I realized I had been wrong.
The wood-chopping old man waved his hand and said with a faint smile, "My name is Yuan. Just call me Master Yuan. I'm an old friend of your grandfather. Many years ago, we made a bet. I lost, and as punishment, I've been guarding this 'Wan Zang Kou' for thirty years. This year is the last. I didn't want to get involved, but when I saw you, a half-baked practitioner, trying to treat the Wan Zang Kou as if it were the Bai Yuan Kun Zhai, I almost released the Yin soldiers. I could sense the Maoshan energy around you, so I called Wang Yi to come and help explain."
"Wan Zang Kou?" I nearly collapsed in shock.
That was far more dangerous than Bai Yuan Kun Zhai. The "Wan Zang Kou" or "Meat Bag Grave" was a vast burial ground that usually appeared on battlefields. In ancient times, when too many people died in battle, their bodies were piled into a large pit and covered with earth. The cave here was most likely a mass grave where bodies had been burned, only to be dug up again.
The danger of the "Meat Bag Grave" was immense. Due to the large number of people dying in battle, the spirits here were full of resentment, killing intent, and malice. Dealing with the souls from such a place was incredibly difficult. In fact, when Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty tried to bring someone back to life, he was stopped by the spirits of the soldiers who had died in battle. Only after a large payment were the spirits convinced to let him go.
I couldn't believe I had been living in such a place, and I felt an overwhelming sense of regret. My skills were clearly still lacking. I had almost caused harm to both myself and others.
Seeing my remorse, Master Yuan let it go and continued explaining. He revealed that he was the leader of the Orthodox Dao sect and his name was Yuan Beitang. He had stayed in this area because, many years ago, he and my grandfather had made a bet. As a result, he lost and had to remain here for thirty years. After Wang Yi disappeared, he had stayed in the area, and upon sensing my familiar energy, he found Wang Yi and confirmed it was me.
Then he explained why this place had no water. According to feng shui, water was essential for gathering qi, but this location was full of killing energy, resentment, and malice. If there were any water, the combined energy of the tens of thousands of souls would be impossible to control. Therefore, this area couldn't have any water. The drainage systems around it were designed to prevent water from entering and making things even worse. The reason why the water had disappeared from the jars inside the cave was because the energy here was so dense that it absorbed any water nearby.