"You should know the difference between a Feng Shui tomb and a grave . A grave is for burying the dead . Building a grave is to fulfill filial piety. A well-built grave will ensure a stable home and a happy and peaceful life for future generations. A Feng Shui tomb is a man-made means of seeking luck, which is the same as praying to gods, worshipping Bodhisattvas, and offering Feng Shui instruments." said the uncle.

"I know that planting a life base is a kind of Feng Shui tomb, right?" I said.

"Yes, Longhua Village has excellent feng shui. We have to thank the five old men who worked together to secure a piece of Feng Shui treasure land for us. The feng shui of both the yang house and the yin house are very good. Therefore, our five branches have been prosperous and profitable over the years. The most important thing is that everyone lives a stable life without any accidents, except for your third uncle of course." When saying this, the uncle did not show any regret for the third uncle.

When Chu Sen claimed he wasn't paying attention, he whispered to me, "Do you see the reason for this?"

"Nonsense, I'm not stupid, don't I understand interpersonal relationships?"

"I think Uncle is really going too far. Third Uncle is already injured like this, why do you always talk about him?"

"Let's not choose sides. If your uncle finds out, do you still expect him to teach you?"

"I'm just speaking from the heart. There's nothing I can do if he doesn't like it." Although he said that, Chu Sen's voice was so soft that I couldn't hear it clearly even when I got close to him.

The eldest uncle stood in front of the wooden pavilion and said, "This must be a vertical burial pit. The coffin is right under the center of the wooden pavilion. The third brother must have been standing in the center of the pavilion on the day of the accident. The few of you standing around him are actually quite close. Did you see any obvious changes in your body at that time?"

"Our ears are bleeding," I said.

"This is the reaction of having too much Yang energy. The Yin-avoidance technique must have worked. Otherwise, you guys would be in trouble too."

Chu Sen stood behind his uncle and made a face, indicating that he didn't believe what his uncle said at all. His uncle had no idea of his little trick and said, "There are some rules for digging Feng Shui tombs. On the left is gold and on the right is water, so we should dig from right to left. But this tomb has an annex, so we will dig from the annex, offer sacrifices to the Black Wood God, and then open the tomb."

Because this is the Feng Shui tomb where the Black Wood God is buried, the gravedigger cannot have any distracting thoughts, otherwise he may very likely suffer the same tragic fate as Zhao Tingting. So we can only dig it ourselves, and this is strenuous work, because since the underground tomb has been built, the pit will not be shallow, it must be at least three meters down.

Money is not easy to make. Although earning 76,000 yuan seems like a lot, it really requires hard work. However, my uncle is a hard-working person, and he is better than my third uncle in this respect. He never does the rough work with my third uncle, but my uncle does it, and he works no less than the young people. We dug from morning to evening, and I was so tired that I felt dizzy, but we finally dug out a corner of the atrium, which was an arched dome covered with red bricks.

Since we had dug the pit, we couldn't stop, otherwise we would attract bad luck. After resting for a while, we continued to dig down and finally dug out the entrance to the attic. Under the semicircular arch was a rectangular entrance, about one and a half meters high, blocked by a black wooden board.

The uncle said, "The annex and the tomb are integrated, so logically there shouldn't be a separate entrance. That's why it's called an annex, but it's actually a sacrificial area built specifically for the Black Wood God. When you go in there to burn incense and pray, you must put aside all distracting thoughts and never let your imagination wander."

After saying that, the uncle pushed open the wooden board and led us into the ear chamber which was actually the sacrificial area, carrying incense, candles and offerings.

It was already dark when they went in. My uncle lit a kerosene lamp, which was also the most commonly used lighting tool for earthworkers when entering a tomb. Although this lamp could not illuminate as far as a flashlight, it could illuminate a wider area and was perfect for a dark place like a tomb.

Although the top of the attic is semicircular, the internal layout is square. There is a black stone sculpture in the center of the attic. The sculpture is a ferocious god with two horns on its head and a ferocious face. It stares at the entrance with an extremely ferocious expression. When we entered, we faced it head-on. Although we knew that this was a lifeless statue, we still felt uncomfortable.

Although the statue looked ferocious, it was seated on a lotus with its hands clasped in front of its chest. My uncle said, "This is a Yaksha, one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons. In Buddhism, it is a guardian deity that devours evil spirits ."

"You have to tell us the rules of burning incense."

I was about to place the incense burner on the altar, but my uncle said, "Don't put it there."

I was stunned for a moment and said, "Aren't we going to worship the statue?"

"I thought it was a place for worshiping the Black Wood God, but it's different because there is a Yaksha statue here." Uncle frowned.

My impression of "Yaksha" comes from the cartoon "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" that I watched when I was a child. The Yaksha in the cartoon had green skin and red beard, and looked ugly and scary, so I always thought that Yaksha was an evil ghost. After my uncle explained it to me, I learned that Yaksha was one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons, and also the guardian deity of Buddhism. This really subverted my "view of gods and ghosts".

Chu Sen asked, "Since this is a Feng Shui tomb for the Black Wood God, why would we build a Yaksha statue?"

"Because this person is using the Yaksha statue to suppress the Black Wood God, if we worship the Yaksha statue and then enter the Black Wood God's burial pit, who knows what will happen."

"Would it be dangerous if we opened the Black Wood God's Tomb without a sacrifice?" I asked.

"Of course there are risks, otherwise why would I dig open the ear chamber?" said the uncle with a frown.

"It's a waste of energy." After saying that, Chu Sen sat down on the concrete floor in the tomb.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel anything at first after entering the tomb, but after a while I felt colder and colder. After a few minutes, the cold air directly invaded my body and even penetrated my body, making me feel waves of bone-chilling cold.

I was so cold that I couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Don't you feel cold?"

Chu Sen grinned and said, "I'm freezing too, uncle, are you cold?"

"It's cold, but I'm used to it. This is the negative energy accumulated underground. Many people who want to enter the earthwork industry can't get over it, so they can only do work above ground."

"We can't stand it either, and it's rejected just like that?" I said quite disappointedly.

"Not so fast. It takes some time to get used to it. Don't underestimate the Yin energy in the tomb. It can cure diseases."

"Ah, isn't it said that graveyards are filled with bad luck and that staying there for too long can lead to bad luck?"

"Of course you'll be unlucky if you stay in a cemetery for a long time, but it's not bad luck if you just pass by or stay there normally. It's just a scare tactic."

"Uncle, what disease do you think this Yin energy can cure?" Chu Sen said.

"Some people have excessive internal heat, prone to nosebleeds or dry stools. Just come in and blow on the Yin Qi and these symptoms will be cured immediately."

"Really? It has this effect?" Chu Sen asked in surprise.

"There are good and bad things in the world. Nothing is completely good or completely bad. The key lies in how it is used. If a cemetery is really an ominous place, why do so many people repair tombs for their ancestors? Because they know that only when the cemetery is stable can the descendants of the family be stable. Therefore, a cemetery has never been an evil place, unless it buries people who should not be buried there." said the uncle.

I don’t know if it’s a psychological effect, but I suddenly felt that I wasn’t cold anymore, at least not as obviously as before. I even felt a little refreshed, as if I had breathed in oxygen.

Although Chu Sen seemed to have a harder time adapting than me, he didn't leave, which shows that he could also bear it. It seems that both of us have talent for this job.

After a while, the uncle said, "Don't rest yet, we have to keep digging. We have to dig up the Black Wood God's tomb."

"Uncle, I'm not being lazy, but I really can't dig anymore. I haven't exercised much in the past few years, and my physical fitness can't keep up." Chu Sen frowned.

The uncle said, "Hold on a bit. The Black Wood God's tomb won't be that difficult to dig. I estimate that we can only dig half a meter before the remaining soil collapses."

"Oh, is there a mechanism in the tomb?"

"There's definitely no mechanism, but the area where the Black Wood God is located must be filled with hidden water. Being buried underground, it attracts moisture from the surrounding area. The soil on the side of the ear chamber has been drained of moisture and is naturally hard, making it difficult to dig. The soil at the tomb is moist, so digging is much easier."

So we gritted our teeth, picked up the shovel and continued to work. Just as my uncle said, after digging half a meter down the soil layer on the Heimu God's Tomb, the entire layer of soil was completely soaked in water. The wet mud, like silt, emitted a foul smell that was almost the same as the smell of a septic tank.