Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

The willow-branch ghost whip strikes once, and the ghost shrinks three inches—true to the old saying. Her father had swung it with all his strength, and the moment one of the twisted souls shrank and fled, an entire horde came crashing through the door. These weren't just spirits; they were vengeful ones, their twisted faces enough to freeze any normal person in sheer terror.

Despite her father's desperate defense, one man alone could never stop a tide of ghosts. He fought with everything he had, but the yin messengers eventually overran the room. They tore the place apart—every corner, every drawer—but strangely, they all seemed blind to the wooden chest where Jiang Shiyu was hidden. It was as if the box didn't exist.

They searched and searched, but found nothing. That's when Xie Bi'an, the white-robed reaper, arrived. With a far broader knowledge than the average ghost, he immediately noticed something strange about the soul lantern. He ordered his men to extinguish it.

Jiang Shiyu's parents snapped. They knew the lantern was her lifeline. They resisted with every ounce of strength. But just when the flames were about to be snuffed out—a white snake appeared. The ever-imposing Chang Taiye struck with divine might, sending the underworld enforcers scattering. Then, it coiled itself by the doorway and stood guard.

Now, only the three of us remained—Shiyu's parents and me. But where was Yuan Beitang? He had vanished completely. The three of us exchanged confused glances until her mother suddenly said:

"Dabao, Master Yuan called once after you left."

A call? I was stunned. Wasn't he supposed to be hunting ghosts? Everyone in this business knows that when spirits are present, they disturb electromagnetic signals—cellphones won't get any reception in haunted places.

"What did he say, Auntie?" I asked anxiously.

She replied, "He said… if you come back, tell you this—just put the sacred relic into the chest, and the spiritual root inside will pass into Shiyu. But he…"She hesitated.

I could tell she was hiding something. I pressed her gently.

She sighed and finally said, "Master Yuan also said… he wouldn't be coming back. He's interfered in matters of karma… and now he has to go into hiding."

My jaw dropped.

He ran off? He wasn't rushing to fight ghosts—he was running for his life?

Karma… now it made sense.

Jiang Shiyu transferring her spiritual root to me was the cause. Her destined death today was the effect. According to karma, she should've passed on to the afterlife. But now that she would survive, that effect had been broken—rewritten by Yuan Beitang's intervention.

Perhaps this was destiny after all. And even if retribution does come… so be it. I only have two years left to live—two years to seek the legendary Nine Dragon Gate. I've got no one else in this world. Whatever punishment karma has in store… it's only my life it can take.

I entered the bedroom, holding the sacred relic, her parents right behind me. In their presence, I gently placed the relic into the red cloth covering the chest.

The dim room was suddenly bathed in crimson light.

The glow lasted nearly five minutes. The red cloth billowed like a balloon, rising and falling. That monk's sacred relic held a lifetime of spiritual power. Looking back, it's clear that Yuan Beitang had planned this from the beginning. But perhaps the six-yarrow divination at the White Pagoda changed his mind—that's why he defied all odds, escaping karma to protect us.

As the glow faded and the room calmed, I knew Shiyu was saved.I exhaled deeply and collapsed onto the ground. My legs refused to support me.

Tears welled up in my eyes—tears I couldn't stop.

I knew, from this moment on, Jiang Shiyu had 53 more years of life.

And I… had only two.

Two years to fight fate. Two years to find the Nine Dragon Gate. Two years to earn a lifetime's worth of happiness.

When I told her parents that she was safe, they wept with relief, clinging to each other like survivors after a storm.

I got up and reassured them, "Uncle, Auntie… clean up the place. Even if the enforcers come back, they can't do anything now. Shiyu's lifespan has been restored."

Still a bit skeptical, her father confirmed again and again, but only after I gave my firmest guarantee did he begin tidying up.

The house was a disaster zone. If not for the fact that this was a single-family luxury apartment, the neighbors would've raised hell by now.The golden glow of dawn began to creep through the windows.

The black-and-white reapers never returned.

Just when I thought everything had finally come to an end——a voice interrupted the silence.

A hunched, wrinkled woman, maybe in her seventies, poked her head in through the broken door.

She gently knocked.

Her voice was hoarse.

"Anyone home? I'm just a wandering old lady… could you spare me a bite to eat?"

Every hair on my body stood on end.

A single-unit apartment. No other doors on this floor.

How the hell did this old lady get here?

And who… or what… is she?