For the next two days, except for eating, Chen Ling spent most of his time in his room reading calligraphy and painting talismans, trying not to be alone with the old ancestor as much as possible, for fear that he would say something shocking unexpectedly.
While the master was not paying attention, he took out the cursed whip from the telescopic stick and sneakily hit it twice.
Ever since he witnessed the power of the curse whip on ghosts last time, Chen Ling has been in awe of this thing. At the same time, he is eager to try it out and always wants to try it out again.
Knowing that his ability was not enough to fully control the cursed whip, he asked Wu Weiwei to help him find a willow whip from somewhere else to practice.
He took the fake curse whip and went to the back mountain of Yuhe, and whipped the ground hard, repeating it over and over again, and managed to whip away several clumps of dry weeds.
Wu Weiwei was a serious person, he clapped and cheered: "Brother Chen is awesome!"
Chen Ling moved his wrist and took back the willow whip, which he carefully rolled up and wrapped around his forearm. Seeing that it was still early, he hooked Wu Weiwei's shoulder, climbed over the top of the mountain, and arrived at the construction site.
Contractor Yang is serious and responsible. He will not interfere with his boss's plans like some other contractors. He strictly follows the drawings and plans provided by Chen Ling and has now dug half of the first step.
Looking at the arc-shaped area near the foot of the mountain, Chen Ling asked, "How many days will it take to finish digging the first step?"
"It will take at least three more days, and the soil has to be compacted after the work is done." The contractor habitually wanted to give people cigarettes, but then he remembered that the young boss didn't smoke, so he turned his hand and was about to pass it to Wu Weiwei.
Wu Weiwei waved his hand and said, "I don't smoke either."
The contractor smiled and said, "I remember Mr. Zhao didn't smoke either."
"My master only likes wine." Chen Ling raised his hand and pointed to the northeast corner and northwest corner near the lake: "Leave those two places, I will erect a stone statue there when the time comes."
"Okay, I'll have someone circle the two plots of land so that we don't forget about them later."
"Well, thank you for your trouble."
"Oh, how can that be? This is my job." The contractor smiled as he remembered something. "Mr. Chen, your Yuhe Mountain is really starting to come alive. These past two nights, when the workers were playing cards, they often heard crickets chirping. It's no longer dead silent as before."
Thinking about what happened when he first came here, he said embarrassedly: "To be honest, when I first brought the workers here, I was really scared. There is no mountain like Yuhe Mountain..."
It was lifeless, with no living creatures except the villagers at the foot of the mountain.
If he had not conducted a survey before and asked around after receiving Chen Ling's intention to cooperate, he would have thought that this place was a mass grave.
Chen Ling used the same excuse: "The soil quality was not good before, so plants couldn't grow new buds, and animals and insects naturally didn't want to come."
"That's right." The contractor nodded. When he heard a worker calling him, he gestured to Chen Ling and left.
Chen Ling took Wu Weiwei to the edge of the black water. The lake was quite large, with something like a disgusting film floating on the surface. Looking from top to bottom, the soil beneath the shallow water was also pitch black.
All things have spiritual energy, but Yuhe Mountain only has dead energy.
But it was this place that miraculously alleviated his tendency to be haunted.
The scene of Zhao Xunchang abruptly changing the subject appeared in Chen Ling's mind. He stared at his reflection in the black water in a daze. His master was hiding something from him, something very important.
"Brother Chen." Wu Weiwei's elbow suddenly bumped over.
Chen Ling came back to his senses: "What's wrong?"
"Your phone is ringing." Wu Weiwei said, "I called you several times but you didn't respond. What are you thinking about? You are so focused."
"What do you want to eat later?" Chen Ling asked vaguely, lowered his head and took out his cell phone. It was Ding Junyuan calling.
"Mr. Chen, I'm at the foot of Yuhe Mountain. There is a fork in the road right in front of me. Which way should I go?" Ding Junyuan felt embarrassed after saying this. He was in a heavy and complicated mood the last time he came here. He just followed Chen Ling's instructions and didn't write down the route specifically.
"Take the road on the left." Chen Ling pulled Wu Weiwei along the edge of the Black Lake, ready to pick someone up. "Mr. Ding, why are you here?"
"I'm giving you the labor fee for the previous delivery. By the way, I helped to bring the stele here."
“…” Chen Ling stood there stupidly holding the phone. The ancestor’s tombstone was ready.
Ding Junyuan drove the car around several houses with red bricks and green tiles, and drove about one kilometer before arriving at Chen Ling's courtyard.
The gate was open, and as soon as I got out of the car I could see an old man circling a large purple-blue parrot carefully, with an expectant and loving look on his face.
He was carrying a lot of stuff and knocked on the wooden door with difficulty: "Excuse me, is Mr. Chen home?"
Zhao Xunchang put down the nuts in his hand, looked back, and raised his gray eyebrows: "It's you. Chen Ling went up the mountain to inspect the construction site. He will probably be back later. Come in and sit down first."
"Sorry to bother you." Ding Junyuan walked into the courtyard and found that it was slightly different from what he saw when he came here last time.
When he came that day, the house seemed desolate and deserted to him, standing alone away from the other houses. But today it was peaceful and leisurely, with the sun shining on the tiles, and it was peaceful and beautiful.
Zhao Xunchang looked at him for a few times, frowned and said, "Why is there still so much yin energy in you? You haven't been getting enough sun."
Ding Junyuan had an embarrassed look on his face. The sun in July and August was so hot that it could kill people. Knowing that he was weak, he only dared to stand downstairs in the morning when the sun rose to bask in the sunlight and get rid of the gloomy air.
How could Zhao Xunchang not see what he was thinking? He snorted and laughed, "If you don't want to bask in the sun, you can also buy some mugwort. Boil it in water and pour it into the bath water to soak. The effect will be almost the same."
Ding Junyuan nodded quickly, "I've made a note of it. Thank you Mr. Zhao for your advice." He put down the gift in his hand, and under the sight of Zhao Xunchang, he sat down on the stone bench with his legs together very stiffly.
From his angle, he could just see Jiang Yu's room. There were no windows on the wall facing the courtyard gate. The door was half-open, and it was pitch black inside, as if a dangerous dark monster was hiding there.
Ding Junyuan's heartbeat quickened and his hands and feet began to sweat for no apparent reason. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't control his eyes.
"Don't look blindly." Zhao Xunchang noticed his abnormality, stepped forward and stood in front of him.
Ding Junyuan shuddered, feeling a chill on his back: "Mr. Zhao, what happened just now? There seemed to be someone in that room..."
"There's nothing in that room." Zhao Xunchang held his shoulders and turned him around. "That's our financial manager's room. You know, people who often deal with evil spirits always carry something unusual with them."
Ding Junyuan didn't dare to look around anymore. He glued his eyes to the stone table and sat there like a statue.
About ten minutes later, Chen Ling came back. He walked to the table and drank a glass of water before patting Ding Junyuan on the shoulder: "Mr. Ding, what's wrong? You look so bad."
"You're scared." Zhao Xunchang pointed to Jiang Yu's room and said, "Close the door tightly. If you're not here, you can let out your anger."
Jiang Yu had lived in that room for a long time, and his aura lingered there. It was fine at first, but in the past two days even Wu Weiwei didn't dare to pass by that door.
On the contrary, Chen Ling was not affected.
After locking the door, he asked Zhao Xunchang: "Did he go out?"
Zhao Xunchang hummed and said, "Not long after you went up the mountain, the Jiang family sent someone to pick you up. It seems that they are here to invest in Yuhe Mountain."
Since it was a work matter, it was normal for him to be absent from work. Chen Ling nodded and looked at Ding Junyuan: "I originally said that I would go to Master Sun to pick it up in the next two days."
"The carving studio was closed these two days, so Master Sun had nothing to do at home, so he made the stele." Ding Junyuan had calmed down and his face was a little rosy. "The stele for the other two children is almost done. I will send it to you tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
"I can get it myself. It's quite far from the city, so I won't bother you."
"How can this be considered a trouble?" Ding Junyuan said, "You helped me solve the problem of the carving room and saved me. What's the big deal about giving me a stone tablet? It's settled. From now on, I will help you deliver all the things made by Master Sun."
Afraid that Chen Ling would refuse, he quickly lowered his head and took out a thick, heavy envelope from his bag: "This is the labor fee. I will pay the rest in three installments."
"No hurry." Chen Ling handed the money to Wu Weiwei, "Give this money to Master, and then have him transfer it to you from the account, and you transfer it to Li Hongyu."
Wu Weiwei held the heavy envelope in both hands, feeling very excited.
After all these years out there, this was the first time he had seen so much money.
After hearing what Chen Ling said, Ding Junyuan's forehead was sweating, afraid that the other party would think he was stingy. "After all, Mr. Li is helping me, so of course I should pay him. Mr. Chen, I neglected this matter. I will transfer the money to him right away."
What's more, he still remembered that when he woke up, there was blood at the corner of Li Hongyu's mouth.
"No need." Chen Ling held down his hand that was about to transfer money from his phone. "We agreed on 600,000 yuan. I was able to collect and pay the Earthbound Spirit with the help of Li Hongyu. Naturally, the money should be divided among me."
Knowing that the young man was not being falsely polite, Ding Junyuan no longer insisted. After all, he was indeed a little short of money recently.
Chen Ling: "Mr. Ding, take me to get the stele first."
The tombstone was wrapped tightly in cloth and lay quietly in the trunk of the car. In order to move it into the car, in addition to Ding Junyuan himself and Master Sun, two additional strong men were found to help carry it.
Now, none of the three people present is strong.
After a period of difficult moving, they finally worked together to move the tombstone from the car to the ground.
Chen Ling shook his sore arms, thought for a while, and called the contractor to ask him to call two workers to help.
Seeing that only two workers were coming down the mountain, Ding Junyuan took the initiative to say, "Why don't I help carry it?"
"The tombstone is not very big, so there are enough people." Chen Ling said, "I saw you were looking at the watch just now. If you have something to do, go and do it first. If it doesn't work, Wu Weiwei and I can also lend a hand."
Ding Junyuan made an appointment with an engineer to help check whether the main structure of the carving room was damaged, and the appointment time was approaching.
"Okay then. I'll go first." As he said this, he hurriedly sat in the driver's seat and started the car.
The two workers were physically strong, powerful and fast on their feet, and with the occasional help of Chen Ling and Wu Weiwei, they moved the tombstone in front of the grave with great effort.
The tombstone was exactly as Master Sun had described, with a pattern of auspicious clouds with smooth lines on the top, and the rest of the tombstone was finely polished to a matte finish, which gave off a soft light when the sun shone on it.
Nine inches away from the grave, in front of the coffin head, there is a monument base that was dug on the day of the tomb relocation and sunk into the soil. There is a sunken groove in the monument base, and after the stone tablet is made, cement is added and the stone tablet can be placed directly into it.
Chen Ling went to the contractor to borrow cement, sand, a shovel and a bucket of water, and prepared to mix them himself and apply them.
Mixing cement sounds easy, but it actually requires a lot of technical skills and must be done strictly in proportion. No matter which of the two things is more or less, it will affect the bonding strength of the cement.
Brother Chen was carefully separating cement and sand on the side, while Wu Weiwei was squatting on the ground looking at the words on the tombstone. The more he looked, the more frightened he became.
Not wanting to scare the workers, he dragged them away and said, "Brother Chen, how come the owner and the person who erected this monument... are named after you and Brother Jiang?"
If this happened to anyone, it would be a horror movie.
At this moment, Wu Weiwei was deeply aware that he was standing at the climax of a horror movie.
"You're overthinking it." Chen Ling lied without blushing, "It's just the same name."
You are kidding me!
Wu Weiwei: "Then why did you erect the monument yourself?"
The temperature today was particularly high. Chen Ling was almost exhausted from the heat. He took off his white gloves and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his elbow. "Then I'll tell you the truth. This is a secret technique that is not passed on to others."
"What secret technique?!" Wu Weiwei had a strong desire for knowledge and suddenly felt that the horror film had turned into an exploration documentary.
"A highly respected fortune teller said that your brother Jiang will not live long, and we need to find someone with a horoscope that matches his to build a cenotaph for him, so that his ghost life can be passed on to the living life and confuse the Department of Life and Death." Chen Ling made up a story so convincing that he almost believed it himself.
Wu Weiwei shook his head and nodded after hearing this: "This method is indeed brilliant, but will it really not be discovered?"
"No." Chen Ling continued to make up, "Brother Jiang's fate is unusual. He is like a ghost but not a ghost, like a human but not a human. No one can find him."
Wu Weiwei: "I have heard of this kind of fate. One must be born in a yin year, yin month and yin hour, and the birth direction must be in the evil direction, otherwise the yin energy in the body cannot be suppressed."
Chen Ling: “Yes, that’s it.”
Wu Weiwei: "No wonder Brother Jiang sometimes has a fierce aura even when he's not angry but just sitting quietly. So that's how it is."
Chen Ling had no guilt for fooling people and continued to nod: "Yeah, yeah."
Wu Weiwei touched his chin, stared at his brother Chen strangely, and showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.
Chen Ling felt that he had something bad in mind: "What did you think of?"
"Thinking of your relationship with Brother Jiang." Wu Weiwei chuckled, "I've always felt that the two of you have an unusual relationship. It's a little distant, but there's also a sense of familiarity and intimacy, especially Brother Jiang's attitude towards you... It turns out it's because your horoscopes are compatible."
Chen Ling's eyelids twitched and he had a bad feeling.
Wu Weiwei: "According to what you just said, for such an important matter, it shouldn't work if it's just a three-way match of the eight characters. You and Brother Jiang must have a six-way match at least."
Chen Ling was speechless. Judging from what he just said, he and Jiang Yu should indeed be in harmony.
You can guess without thinking what Wu Weiwei will say next.
"Brother Chen, the Liuhe horoscope is perfect for a husband and wife." Wu Weiwei was distressed, puzzled, and regretful. Why did it happen to two men
"Oh." Chen Ling didn't want to talk anymore. He put on gloves and went back to the base of the monument to continue mixing cement.
Wu Weiwei followed him and squatted on the ground to watch his operation: "You are so nice to Brother Jiang. You even do it yourself."
"Who made me the one who erected the monument?" Chen Ling picked up some cement with a trowel and turned to ask the worker who was resting nearby, "Brother, do you think this is okay?"
"Okay, that's perfect." said the worker while smoking a cigarette.
Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief, shook his sore hands, scooped up cement and poured it into the base of the monument. When the inner groove was almost half filled, he asked the workers to help embed the stone tablet, and then shoveled away the cement that overflowed from the gap.
Fearing that the old man would have high demands, he got a clean wet towel from the contractor and carefully wiped the cement slurry that had not yet dried.
Looking at the engraved stone tablet made of white marble, Chen Ling was extremely satisfied and quickly transferred an extra red envelope to Master Sun to express his gratitude.
At the Jiang family, in Jiang Shengxing's study, the man who had originally closed his eyes suddenly opened them.
Startled by the other person's eyes, Jiang Shengxing quickly stopped talking and asked tremblingly: "Sir, did I say something wrong just now?"
"No." Jiang Yu supported his chin with one hand and placed his index finger lightly on his lips. The upturned corners of his lips didn't look like he was angry at all.
After a careful observation, Jiang Shengxing felt relieved and said, "The younger generation of the Jiang family doesn't know that you are in the world of the living. Only a few older people know and they are all looking forward to finding an opportunity to meet you. If you are interested, I will arrange it; if not, I will send you away."
"No." Jiang Yu was in a good mood after sensing what happened in Yuhe Mountain.
He took a sip of tea from the cup and warned, "The seventy-two departments will make fair judgments on the good and bad things that the descendants of the Jiang family have done over the years. You just need to take care of yourself and don't worry about the rest, and don't meddle in other people's business."
"Yes, yes, you are right." Jiang Shengxing invited the ancestor to his home today. In addition to investing in Yuhe Cemetery, he was also entrusted by someone.
An old man of high generation in the Jiang family clan, his son died of illness at an early age, leaving only a little grandson, whom he usually loves like the apple of his eye.
This young man had killed someone while driving a car some time ago. In order to avoid taking responsibility, he secretly found the other party's family and asked for forgiveness.
If the family members disagree, they will find someone to threaten them privately.
Ordinary people have no power and are facing a new death. They are afraid that their elderly parents will be hurt by the anger, so they have no choice but to sign the letter of understanding.
Afterwards, I don’t know what method was used, but the young man finally got a suspended sentence.
He thought he could rest easy, but suddenly one day, the man found his grandfather and said that there was a ghost in the house and it was useless to ask people to perform rituals to exorcise the evil spirit.
Knowing that Chen Ling had some abilities and Jiang Yu was currently staying in Yuhe Mountain with him, the old man wanted to ask Jiang Shengxing to intercede, hoping that the ancestor could come out to help.
Jiang Yu has protected the Jiang family for thousands of years, and no one has ever dared to make such a request in front of the grave. Jiang Shengxing was very nervous, but before he could say anything, the ancestor had already predicted it and blocked it.
Seeing Jiang Yu's attitude, it was obvious that he didn't want to be disturbed anymore. Jiang Shengxing said respectfully: "You can stay in Yuhe Mountain with peace of mind. If you need anything, please let me know at any time. As for the Jiang family... I promise you that no one will dare to disturb us."
"Yeah." Jiang Yu put down the teacup, picked up the new mobile phone that Jiang Shengxing had given him on the coffee table, and flipped out the number he had just entered and saved.
The owner of the number was Chen Ling. In order to make it easier for the ancestors to find the number, Jiang Shengxing specially added an a in front of Chen Ling. No matter who he was, anyone's number had to be put behind him.
This detail was figured out by Jiang Shengxing himself.
In just half an hour of conversation, he clearly felt that the old ancestor's eyes would change as soon as he mentioned the three words "Mr. Chen".
Jiang Yu rubbed his thumb over the young man's name and clicked on the editing interface, wanting to change it to another name.
Realizing that their relationship was not close enough, he quit the interface with a rare look of frustration on his face.
Chen Ling had just returned the tools to the contractor and was walking down the mountain with Wu Weiwei. On the way, they started talking about Li Hongyu.
"He didn't reply?"
"No." Wu Weiwei said, "I was afraid he forgot to collect the money, so I called him again later and the voice prompt told him to turn off his phone."
As they were talking, they were almost at the gate of the courtyard when a white sedan passed by them.
The car sped all the way, and when it arrived at the gate of the courtyard, it suddenly braked, and the tires rubbed against the road with a sharp friction sound.
A man and a woman got out from the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. One of them went around to the trunk and pulled out a large cage.
As soon as one foot stepped over the gate, the purple-blue parrot, which had been quietly pecking its feathers, flapped its wings and flew away from the shelf. It landed on the beam, raised its tail, lowered its head, and peeked at the two strangers.
Zhao Xunchang picked up the bird feathers tenderly and put them into a small wooden box.
He closed the lid, put the box in his pocket, and then turned to look at the door: "Are you two from the Forestry Bureau?"
"Hello, Mr. Zhao, we are staff members of the bird breeding base sent by the Forestry Bureau." The girl in the red T-shirt walked forward and took out her work ID from her bag.
Zhao Xunchang felt uneasy after seeing this, so he turned his gaze to the person next to her.
The young man's heart tightened when he was glanced at by the old man's sharp eyes, and he quickly took out his work ID and handed it over.
After confirming the identities of the two people, Zhao Xunchang personally called Director Lin of the Forestry Bureau. After confirming their identities again and again, he reluctantly said, "It takes a long time to warm up. If it doesn't want to get close to people after you take it back, don't worry. Take your time. It likes to eat oranges, apples, mangoes, cabbage, and chestnuts..."
The staff listened patiently, and one of them even recorded part of it on his mobile phone in case he forgot to remember it.
No matter how much time is wasted, the little guy still had to be sent away eventually.
Chen Ling arrived just in time, and Zhao Xunchang pointed to the beam and said, "Go and coax it down."
The relationship between Chen Ling and the parrot is a bit strange. To put it in a good way, he is always laughed at by the parrot. To put it in a bad way, the little creature, which has always been both recognizable to its owner and shy about strangers, is willing to let him touch its head.
"Xiao Lan, come down." He looked up at the beautiful purple-blue color, thought for a moment, and asked his master to hand him a plump chestnut. "This is your favorite. If you don't come down, I will eat it."
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." The parrot turned around and pointed its butt at the young man diagonally below.
Chen Ling went around to the other side and asked his master to hand him another piece of fruit: "You don't want to eat this either?"
The parrot continued to turn.
Chen Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he softened his tone and said, "You're feeling uncomfortable, right? I'll go with you to the base with them, and we'll come back after we check it out."
It was not known whether the purple-blue parrot was bored of staying there or really understood what he said, but it turned its body back and stared at the young man intently, as if trying to determine how much truth there was in what he said.
The man and the bird looked at each other for three full minutes. Then the big purple-blue bird spread its wings, glided down, and landed steadily on the young man's shoulder.
The staff member hurried forward and was stopped by Chen Ling when he tried to open the cage.
Chen Ling: "I'll go with you. It doesn't like cages."
The staff looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
Zhao Xunchang sighed and kept stroking the parrot's little head, his tone full of sadness and reluctance: "Go ahead, if you don't like it, ask your brother to take you back. Grandpa is waiting for you here and won't go anywhere."
The macaw stopped pecking at the feathers and kept pushing its head against the old man's palm, repeating: "Come back, come back, I want to come back."
The scene was so sad that the girls at the breeding base had tears in their eyes.
Chen Ling was also a little sad. He patted the parrot's wings, which were folded obediently: "Don't act like a spoiled child. We'll go early and come back early."