Volume 1 Chapter 29: Locking the Luck
In this mountain, the distance that seems very short actually takes a lot of walking. It was still noon when we saw the village, and we didn’t reach the entrance of the village until the sun was about to set.
The village was not big, and it looked like there were only a few dozen households. It was near dusk, and smoke was rising from every household. Smelling the aroma of food wafting from the village, we, who had been walking in the wilderness for many days, couldn't help but feel warm.
At this time, everyone was free. Some old people and children were enjoying the cool air in the village. They were quite surprised to see a large group of us coming in, especially when they saw the two coffins following us. They whispered to each other and talked a lot.
Liu Wen Chong is the eldest son of the Liu family. He has always been accustomed to managing family affairs and is very capable of handling things. He went up to chat with the villagers and heard some laughter. These simple mountain people quickly accepted us.
The village chief came forward to gather the villagers and arranged for us to stay. Liu Wenchong originally wanted to give these mountain people money, but in the deep mountains, even if there is money, it is useless. Later, when Liu Zian remembered that he had brought a lot of candies and snacks, he took them all out in one go and gave them to the villagers, which was unexpectedly welcomed.
There was nothing else to eat in the mountains, only wild game, such as wild boar meat, wild mushrooms, and rabbit meat. People in the mountains had long been tired of eating these things, but they were not easy to find outside. Although we were also a mountain village, these things were rare, so everyone enjoyed the meal.
After a meal, we had a good chat and learned a lot about the situation in the small mountain village. It turned out that this Maobizi Village has a long history. Many years ago, a group of villagers fled here to avoid the war. Because the village is located in a remote area and it is difficult to travel, no one is willing to move here to suffer. There were originally more than 100 households in the village, and they kept their traditions and intermarried. But in recent decades, for some reason, the village has not been prosperous, the elderly have passed away, and new people are rarely born. Now there are less than 50 households left.
Talking with the villagers about the customs of the people, Liu Wen Chong had some insights and made some comments. Uncle San drank a sip of the green fruit wine brewed by the villagers, praised it as "good wine", and said: "When I entered the village just now, I also took a rough look at the layout of your village. The village is backed by a mountain, and there is a pond to the west of the village. It is connected by a high mountain, the veins are endless, the water is clear and quiet, and the descendants are prosperous. The layout of your village is in an excellent position, and the population should not be declining, right?"
When I heard this, I couldn't help but blush. I wondered if Feng Laosan had drunk too much. Our Feng Shui technique was originally used to find a grave for the dead. Only God knows whether it is accurate or not. It can only be regarded as a formality. Now he actually uses this technique to check the layout of the village. Isn't this asking for trouble?
Unexpectedly, the village chief was delighted upon hearing this and said respectfully to Uncle San: "Mr. Feng, do you know Feng Shui?"
Uncle San waved his hand: "Haha, I understand a little, I understand a little."
The village chief stood up suddenly, and said in surprise and joy: "Please give our village some advice, Mr. Feng. Our village...ah, if it continues like this, we will be wiped out!"
Liu Wenchong interrupted and said, "Our Uncle Feng San is a famous Feng Shui master in our generation!" Upon hearing this, the village chief and other villagers were even more excited and begged Uncle San for help. I was really embarrassed . This Liu guy is really good at bragging. He is also a Feng Shui master. He is not afraid of being blown up.
Dead Face sat opposite me, drinking the tea he brewed himself, seemingly oblivious to everyone's comments. Third Uncle was thick-skinned, and after Liu Wen Chong's praise, he slapped the table and said, "Then let me analyze it for you?"
The village chief and other villagers immediately expressed their gratitude with smiles on their faces.
Uncle San stood up from the bench, put his hands behind his back, paced a few steps, turned around and said, "According to the ancient method, Feng Shui is based on Qi. When Qi is prosperous, people will be rich. From the perspective of Feng Shui, the layout of our village is originally very good, and the Qi is not false, but... it seems that some unknown object has blocked the key points, making it difficult to express Qi."
The villagers listened to my uncle's clear and logical words and nodded repeatedly. The village chief was ecstatic and rushed over to grab my uncle's arm and shook it: "Master! Really a master! Our village is saved, it is saved!"
"To be honest , a wandering Taoist priest came to our village more than 50 years ago." The village chief was very excited and rubbed his hands. "At that time, our village was very prosperous. But the Taoist priest advised us to move out as soon as possible, saying that if the village continued like this, the population would surely wither away."
The village chief with a cat nose was furious and cursed the Taoist for cursing the village. Seeing that no one believed him, the Taoist shook his head and left the village. Before leaving, he only said that the village's luck was suppressed by foreign objects and it would be better to leave as soon as possible. Not long after the Taoist left, several newborns died in the village, and the village began to decline day by day.
Uncle San nodded, stroked his thin mustache, and said, "It's not easy to unlock the lock. We must know what the unknown object is and where it is."
The village chief and the villagers looked at each other and said in embarrassment: "It is this town lock... We really don't know what it is."
Uncle San said "hmm", sat down again, drank a sip of fruit wine, and said, "Is there anything strange in our village?"
The village chief and other villagers pondered over it. Uncle San added, "Or maybe there are some other anomalies, like any special people?"
When I heard this, I suddenly realized what was going on. I cursed in my heart, "Mr. Feng is a fox." This guy said a lot of nonsense before, but it turned out that he was waiting here. We came all the way here to find out the details of Liu Nan's biological mother Bai Mei. Liu Wenxuan brought Bai Mei back from this Maobizi Village. If we want to know Bai Mei's details, of course the most direct way is to ask these villagers.
The old fox turned the corner so smoothly that one has to admire him!
After Uncle San's reminder, the village chief clapped his hands and said, "There really is something!"
Third Uncle said "Oh", and Liu Wen Chong and his son also turned their eyes to the village chief. These people probably guessed Third Uncle's intention and were waiting to find out Bai Mei's background from the village chief.
The old village chief felt a little embarrassed when he saw so many people staring at him. He chuckled and said, "I'm a little nervous being stared at by you guys. The thing is, our ancestors passed down a rule that the forest behind Cat Nose Rock is a forbidden area and no one is allowed to enter. But this rule is very old and can be traced back to when our village was just built, at least hundreds of years ago. Now that I think about it, it probably has nothing to do with this matter."
I was waiting to hear Bai Mei's words, but I didn't expect the old man to say something like this. Uncle San said "Oh" and frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.
On the other hand, the dead-faced man who had been silent all this time put down his teacup and asked directly, "Is there a woman named Baimei here?"
The village chief was stunned for a moment, and a villager next to him reminded him: "Bai Mei, village chief, are you talking about the daughter of the Bai family?"
The village chief slapped his head and then remembered, and said, "There was a girl named Baimei in our village, but she is no longer alive. She married and moved to another place more than ten years ago. Are you looking for her?" He seemed a little surprised.
After hearing what he said, everything made sense. I saw that both the Liu family father and son were delighted. The old lady of the Liu family sat on the side, staring with her small eyes, and I didn't know what she was thinking.
Liu Wen Chong quickly said: "Yes, yes, village chief, we are actually Bai Mei's...family."
The village chief looked Liu Wen Chong up and down, wondering, "I remember the man who took the Bai family's daughter away was quite handsome. Why does he look like this now?"
I was drinking water and almost spit it out when I heard this. This old village chief is quite humorous.
Liu Wen Chong blushed and said quickly, "No, no, Bai Mei is marrying my second brother, and I am his eldest uncle."
The village chief glanced at them and nodded, "I don't think so. Did the daughter of the Bai family come back to visit her parents?" He stood up and looked at the people at our other tables, "Why can't I see her? Hey, the daughter of the Bai family hasn't been back for many years, and the villagers miss her very much!"
The old lady of the Liu family and several other Liu family members were sitting at another table. When they heard this, they slammed the table and screamed, "Don't even think about coming back for this bitch!"
The village chief and other villagers were stunned and looked unhappy. The village chief asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "Old lady, what do you mean?"
Liu Wen Chong was startled and rushed to persuade the old woman. Liu Zian kept apologizing and said that this was her grandmother who had rushed all the way here and was not feeling well.
"So it's because you're not thinking straight!" The village chief nodded and said, "I understand, I understand. How about giving the old lady a bowl of dried grass water to drink? It's quite effective."
Liu Zian was sweating all over and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, it's fine for his grandma to just rest."
Dead Face asked, "Has Bai Mei always lived in your village?"
The village chief glanced at the dead face and probably thought it was a bit strange that the man spoke without any expression, but he still replied: "The Bai family settled in our village more than a hundred years ago, but the population has never been prosperous. In recent years, only Bai Mei is left in the family."
"So is there anything special about the Bai family?" asked the dead-faced man in a flat voice.
The village chief thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "The Bai family are very nice and get along well with the villagers. If there is anything special, the Bai family are very knowledgeable and know a lot. Usually, when people in our village have a headache or a fever, the Bai family will take care of them. Why are you asking these questions?"
The old man seemed to be suspicious.
