Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

But that woman—she was nothing more than a thankless white-eyed wolf. Not only did she show no gratitude to the man who had helped her, she even manipulated the tax records, skimmed off product rebates, used inferior materials, and embezzled his money. In the end, when his construction crew got into trouble, he was fined into ruin. His house was mortgaged and seized—and by then, she had secretly transferred ownership of the home into her own name.

The man bitterly lamented the injustice of heaven. He took the 500 yuan I gave him as travel fare to seek refuge with a relative far away. Watching his desolate figure disappear into the distance, I felt a thread of clarity settle in my heart. These people—there was no way they appeared here by coincidence.

First came the elderly woman—three sons, yet abandoned, and even nearly murdered by the youngest.

Then the middle-aged man—a good Samaritan who cared for a widow and child, yet ended up betrayed and penniless.

These were people who sowed good karma and yet reaped cruel outcomes. Was someone, somewhere, trying to say something to me?

I thought of Tower Bay Street, where the night parade of a hundred ghosts began with me. The old monk sacrificed himself to suppress the evil dragon, yet was torn apart. All the causes and effects—every strand of karma—stemmed from my existence. I gave the old woman food and saved her from hunger. I gave the man money so he might rise again.

In that moment, I understood. I clasped my hands in prayer and bowed deeply to the sky:

"Thank you, Grandmaster, for enlightening this disciple with two paths and showing me how to resolve my karma, so I may no longer be shackled by the karma of the Buddhist path."

You might wonder—how could two seemingly ordinary strangers help me resolve karma?

In Buddhism, karmic retribution is divided into three types:

Immediate Karma (现报): You do good or evil, and receive reward or punishment in this life.

Rebirth Karma (生报): Karma from a past life is repaid in this one—or current deeds shape the next life.

Swift Karma (速报): Karma that is repaid almost immediately, like a cause followed closely by its effect.

(Note: "作业" here refers to committing evil deeds, not schoolwork.)

I nearly died from Li Wu's sorcery. From beginning to end, the Daoist sect was involved—Yuan Beitang and Wang Yi were both Daoists. Yet when I was dying, Master Yicheng from the Buddhist sect intervened, trying to save Shiyu. That act entangled the Buddhist sect in my karmic cycle.

When Shiyu passed her wisdom root to me, my body became connected to the Buddhist path. By their karmic laws, I would be destined to become a monk. But the Grandmaster opposed this—Yuan Beitang stepped in to pull me toward a different karmic path. To save Shiyu, we had to steal the relic, and I had bowed before that monk in reverence… thus, I was drawn into Buddhist karma once again.

The Hundred Ghosts of Tower Bay—this was the evil fruit I reaped. From start to finish, this wasn't just a personal journey—it was a struggle between Daoism and Buddhism.

The old woman represented Rebirth Karma. Grandmaster showed me that she suffered in this life because of sins from a past life. By feeding her, I entered her karmic thread and resolved my own.

The middle-aged man represented Swift Karma. Giving him travel money resolved my swift karma. Otherwise, once Shiyu awakened, the karma would have bound me deeper to Buddhism, eventually forcing me to become a monk. That's why Master Miaoyin always said I had deep affinity with the Buddha.

But Grandmaster wouldn't allow that. Instead, by sheer willpower, he led these two individuals to my door so I could resolve these two karmic knots. The last remaining strand—Immediate Karma—was tied to the Daoist path. As long as I could resolve the night parade of a hundred ghosts, Buddhism would no longer be involved.

Having grasped the interwoven karmic structure, I bowed to the heavens three times. My leap before the Nine Dragon Gate—it was never just about prolonging my life. I was certain now: it concealed an earth-shattering secret… or an unimaginable opportunity. I might very well be the classic "chosen one" fated to face calamity.

I casually swept the shed snakeskin and dragon saliva into my green satchel. These were priceless treasures, rich with natural spiritual power—whether for feng shui, exorcism, or setting up protective arrays.

Black Impermanence had not returned with the ghost enforcers. I figured this, too, was due to the Grandmaster's intervention.

I walked over to Jiang Shiyu's wooden chest. By now, the room had mostly been tidied, the clutter moved to the underground garage by her father.

Dawn was breaking.

Now that the karmic chains of the Buddhist path had been severed, nothing could force me to become a monk again. Overcome with anticipation—like a groom lifting the bridal veil—I slowly reached toward the red cloth with trembling hands.

That's when I felt it—someone was standing behind me.

That person was very tall. Their long shadow completely blocked the sunlight, casting a darkness that enveloped me completely…