Chapter 18: Ancestral Grave

Chapter 18: Ancestral Grave

“Hmm? Liao Xiaohong, born in the 50th year of Qianlong’s reign, died in the 6th year of Xianfeng’s reign. What…what does this mean?”

Just as Ye Tian was watching the strange sight of the Yin-Yang Qi merging together, his gaze inadvertently swept over a patch of ground. Suddenly, a line of text appeared in his mind.

“Born in the 50th year of Qianlong? Wasn’t that 1785? This Liao Xiaohong was an ancestor of Liao Haode…”

Having a former Qing Dynasty scholar as his teacher, Ye Tian had memorized the reign periods of emperors and major historical events of each dynasty very well. After a quick mental calculation, he confirmed the era this person lived in.

Having confirmed this was the Liao family’s ancestral grave, the rest became easier. Anyone with a little knowledge of Feng Shui understood that the burial order in an ancestral grave had its own rules.

Generally, the eldest of a lineage had to be placed in the location with the best Feng Shui within the cemetery, meaning the central area towards the top. Children’s graves were then arranged closely below his, and grandchildren’s after that.

Due to limited land space, a typical ancestral grave held about five generations. Once the burial space was insufficient, some branches would separate and establish their own new ancestral graves.

This Liao family ancestral grave had been passed down since the Qianlong era. A hundred years could produce at least six generations, and by now, far more than five generations had been buried here. Yet no branch had split off. It seemed they had received guidance from a master and were unwilling to leave this Fengshui Treasure Land.

Looking at each name and processing the piece of information, Ye Tian felt a very strange sensation in his heart. No wonder the ancients said Fengshui Masters could communicate between yin and yang and defy heaven to alter fate. It wasn’t baseless talk.

But what excited Ye Tian the most now was that his body hadn’t undergone any changes. Apart from feeling a bit dizzy at the start, everything was normal now.

“Liao Guo Shi! Born in the early years of the Republic of China, died in 1952 AD. Had a son, Liao Haode…”

After searching according to traditional burial positions, Ye Tian finally found the information about Liao Guo Shi in a corner of this cornfield. He quickly walked over there, holding his Luopan.

“Ye Tian, no…Young Master, have you found the location of my mother’s coffin?”

Liao Haode, following behind Ye Tian, was very nervous. Ye Tian was his last hope. If he couldn’t find it, he would have to bury his father here and then leave and return to the United States.

“Let me look more…” Ye Tian waved his hand, signaling Liao Haode not to speak. Then he pushed aside the thick cornstalks and walked around that spot.

After putting on a show of comparing with the Luopan in his hand, Ye Tian stopped and said, “If I’m not wrong, it should be right here.”

“Re…really?”

Liao Haode’s voice trembled a little. He was already over ten years old when he left the Mainland, and he still had deep memories of his mother. Now that he was about to find his mother’s burial place, as her child, he couldn’t help but feel emotional.

“Heh, we’ll know if we dig it up.” Ye Tian laughed and didn’t say much more.

“Hey, you guys, come over here…”

Ye Tian heard a commotion from behind. Turning around, he saw Feng Kuang leading a few young men carrying shovels into the cornfield. Ye Tian waved to Feng Kuang, who was at the front, and said, “Bring the shovel over…”

Feng Kuang held the shovel but didn’t hand it to Ye Tian. Instead, he looked at Liao Haode and asked quietly, “Uncle, is…is this reliable?”

Hearing this, Ye Tian was somewhat displeased. He pursed his lips and said, “If you don’t believe me, then you shouldn’t have asked for my help.”

“Ye Tian, don’t listen to his nonsense…” Liao Haode tightened his face, reached out, snatched the shovel from his nephew’s hand, and handed it to Ye Tian.

Ye Tian took the shovel, which was much taller than he was. After clearing away the cornstalks in an area of about three or four square meters, he drew a line on the ground and said, “Dig from here later. Go down four chi, uh, that’s a little over one meter, and you’ll see the coffin.”

“If we don’t find it later, I’ll deal with you, kid…”

Feng Kuang shot a glance at Ye Tian, muttered under his breath, spat on his palm, grabbed the shovel, and was about to thrust it into the ground.

“Wait, did I say start digging?”

Before the shovel could touch the ground, Ye Tian let out a loud shout, startling Feng Kuang so much he quickly pulled back, almost hitting his own foot.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t we digging since you found the spot? This is my family’s land. If it gets ruined, we won’t blame you…” One of Feng Kuang’s cousins who had come along saw this and wasn’t having it, immediately glaring at Ye Tian.

Seeing the young man puffing up at him, Ye Tian waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “You can dig. Dig now, and it’s called ‘exposing the corpse.’ I don’t mind if you dig…”

In Chinese traditional burial customs, there were many things to pay attention to, especially when a coffin needed to be exhumed for various reasons after burial. There were even more rules.

Generally speaking, for such a situation, one had to find a Feng Shui master to choose an auspicious date and time, and exhume the coffin within the specified period.

If it was daytime, a canopy had to be set up above because if the remains were exposed to sunlight, it would disrupt the balance of yin and yang, greatly affecting descendants.

Seeing Ye Tian seemed a bit angry, Liao Haode hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. “Ye Tian, don’t mind them. What else needs to be done, just give the orders.”

Hearing Liao Haode’s words, Ye Tian suddenly remembered something. He looked at the young men and said, “You guys, you must not spread this matter later. Promise me, then I’ll tell you…”

Even though reading Feng Shui for people was quite fun, Ye Tian didn’t want to make a living from it in the future and then be labeled a little charlatan. Ye Tian was determined to go to university.

“Ye Tian, don’t worry, they won’t tell.”

After assuring Ye Tian, Liao Haode looked at his younger relatives and said, “If anyone finds out about this later, I don’t care who said it, none of you should recognize me as your uncle anymore.”

“Yes, Uncle, we won’t tell anyone.”

Feng Kuang and the others didn’t take Ye Tian’s words seriously, but it was different with their wealthy uncle. Not listening to him would mean cutting off their own source of money.

It was important to know that upon his return this time, Liao Haode had given each relative one thousand yuan and an eighteen-inch Shanghai brand television. In the countryside of 1986, this was a very generous gesture.

Moreover, Feng Kuang was so attentive to his uncle’s affairs for another reason. After seeing the Old Taoist’s calligraphy and paintings, Liao Haode had once mentioned that Chinese antiques, calligraphy, and paintings were very valuable in foreign countries.

The speaker might have been careless, but the listener took it to heart. Feng Kuang already had an idea then. He wanted to open a shop in the County Town, specializing in buying and selling antiques. But as a young man in his early twenties, where would he get the capital? He still needed to ask Liao Haode for help.

“Everyone listen to this young brother. Whoever speaks carelessly, I won’t let him off!”

So Liao Haode’s words carried a lot of weight in their minds, especially for Feng Kuang, who warned his cousins a few more times, putting on an attitude of following Ye Tian’s lead.

Ye Tian didn’t stand on ceremony either. Using a corn stalk, he pointed at the ground a few times and said, “You guys, bring over the canvas I told you to bring. Here, and here, drive in some stakes. Use the canvas to set up a canopy…”

Setting up the canopy also had its rules. Otherwise, it could damage the Feng Shui and Earth Qi here. The places Ye Tian pointed out were all spots where his eyes saw no Yin-Yang Qi.

“So that’s what the big piece of cloth was for. Turns out we really need it.”

After hearing Ye Tian, Feng Kuang and the others went back and carried over the canvas from the horse cart. They had borrowed it from the household in the village that specialized in handling weddings and funerals. Fully opened, it could cover the area for four or five banquet tables. One person couldn’t move it alone.

Setting up the canopy wasn’t skilled work. For a few strong young men, it was no problem at all. Half an hour later, the canopy had been set up according to Ye Tian’s instructions. Besides blocking the sunlight, the canopy was open on all four sides for ventilation.

After setting up the canopy, Ye Tian had those few people carry the coffin down from the horse cart. The coffin was much heavier than the canvas. After carrying it in, they were also panting and out of breath.

This coffin was made of fine cedar wood, with no signs of insect damage anywhere. Originally, it was reserved for an old man in the county for his own use. Liao Haode had bought it at a high price. Although it wasn’t as good as coffins made of gilded nanmu or sandalwood, it still belonged to the upper-grade category.

After placing the coffin under the canopy, Ye Tian pointed at the line he had drawn earlier and said, “Dig. Down four chi, you will definitely see the coffin…”

Having been ordered around by Ye Tian for a while, the young men also had some pent-up frustration. Without saying much, each grabbed a shovel and started digging. Before long, a pit about two meters long and wide was revealed.

While they were digging, Ye Tian stood above the pit, observing the color of the soil. After kicking apart a clump of earth under his foot, Ye Tian’s voice rang out, “Wait, stop digging.”

“What’s wrong? Ye Tian, is…is it found?”

Liao Haode started. He saw the pit was already about over a meter deep. Had his mother’s coffin been found already? But…why didn’t he see it?

Ye Tian nodded, bent down, picked up a piece of soil that was somewhat blackish in color, and handed it to Liao Haode. “Grandpa Liao, look at this. This isn’t actually soil. It’s the traces left after the coffin rotted away…”

When Ye Tian learned Fengshui Geomancy from the Old Taoist, he didn’t just memorize those Feng Shui books. He had also been to the wild graveyard at the eastern foot of Maoshan several times and was no stranger to this kind of rotten coffin wood.

After explaining a few things to Liao Haode, Ye Tian shouted to the men in the pit below, “Hey, you guys, use your hands and small shovels to brush away this soil. See if there’s a line…”

From the rotten coffin residue, Ye Tian could tell that the coffin Liao Haode’s mother used wasn’t made of good wood. After so many years, it must have completely mixed with the soil.

“Yes! Hey, there really is a line. Oh no, I…am I not standing right on my grandaunt?”

After hearing Ye Tian, a few of them brushed the ground and indeed saw a black line pattern about an inch thick. The ones with less courage immediately felt their scalps tingle. They threw down their shovels and scrambled up.