Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

Unless you've ever been stabbed in the gut, you'd never realize how misleading movies can be.All those scenes of warriors pierced through the belly, yet still roaring to slay dozens more—pure fiction.In reality, once your abdominal yang energy leaks out, you're no better than a deflated balloon.You won't even have the strength to scream.

I was no exception.As the blade pierced me, I collapsed.My vision blurred.But at least I knew one thing—Shi Yu's "refreshing soul" had returned to her body.So long as even one soul remains, there's still a thread of life.

Then, I fell into darkness.

How long had I drifted there?

I didn't know.Suddenly, I regained consciousness.

Opening my eyes, I saw a world of white—pure, empty, and silent.It felt like I was the only one here.

I started yelling at the top of my lungs, thinking maybe this was just a hallucination.That if I screamed loud enough, I could snap myself out of it.

No clue how long I kept yelling before a deep, male voice echoed:

"In your previous life, you were a wicked ghost drifting below the River of Forgetfulness.One day, when Earth Store Bodhisattva was preaching to a legion of spirits, you leapt from the waters and wounded a dragon maiden.Thus, your karmic entanglement was born."

I froze.

"Who are you?! Where is this place?!" I spun around, searching for the source of the voice—nothing.

"Leap before the Nine Dragons Gate—be it to ascend or descend—your fate is predetermined.You and that dragon maiden are bound by misfortune. This karma... must be severed."

My heart skipped.

He just mentioned... the Nine Dragons?

Fear and reverence surged in me.I dropped to my knees and bowed deeply.

"Grandmaster above, please accept this bow from your disciple, Zhang Dabao!"

I didn't even dare lift my head.There was no doubt—my ancestor had arrived.

But then he said I must sever ties with Jiang Shiyu.Even if he was my grandmaster, I had to ask why.

Still bowing, I said resolutely:

"I'm not a sequestered Daoist monk. Why can't I have love?"

"It is your fate.And hers."

Suddenly, the whiteness before me flickered.A giant screen appeared, like a TV display.

On it, I saw... Baden, the Thai black-robed Azan I'd run into by chance.

My eyes widened.Him?! I remembered how he had encountered us on the highway.I'd thought he was after the Yin token I held, but in truth, he was targeting Jiang Shiyu all along.

He hadn't attacked back then only because he sensed the righteous energy of Maoshan in me.

Now it all made sense.

Baden sat cross-legged inside a dimly lit chamber, surrounded by eight human skulls—four black, four white.His upper body bare, he kept devouring poisonous insects, every chew making the veins on his body bulge grotesquely.

Then the screen changed again.I cried out:

"Shi Yu!"

She wore Qing dynasty court attire, gently offering fruit to a noblewoman.Behind her, a ghost eunuch wielded a whip, lashing her mercilessly.

Every strike brought a fresh scream of agony.

I was stunned.Why?! Why is Shi Yu like this?!

Now I understood:Baden had taken her fetal soul and used it for black rituals.One of the skulls beside him held her soul.As for the angry noblewoman, she had realized she'd been deceived and was venting all her rage on Shi Yu.

But wasn't Shi Yu a child attendant of Bodhisattva Earth Store?Why didn't the Bodhisattva intervene?

I roared into the void, abandoning all pretense and formality.

"Why? WHY?!"

"Do you wish to save her?"

"Grandmaster, please... show me how!"

I fell to my knees again.

Just then, a floating green Daoist robe appeared before me.The voice spoke once more:

"Wear this. Abandon mortal attachments.Accumulate virtue. I shall grant you my Dao force and medicines.Temper your desires. Drive out ghosts.Still the six roots. Illuminate the eight consciousnesses.Empty the five skandhas. Realize the Three Mysteries.Only then can you attain the True Path."

This was the Heavenly Sutra of Attaining the Dao, spoken by Primordial Lord of Heaven in the realm of Grand Luo.The robe symbolized the Daoist gods.Wearing it meant forsaking the mortal world, walking the earth as a divine emissary, cultivating bitterly until one joined the ranks of celestial immortals.

But Jiang Shiyu… she was my earthly bond.If I donned the robe, I could never love her again.If I removed it, I couldn't protect her.

This was a test from my Grandmaster—A choice between love and transcendence.

There was no right answer.To chase love is to risk loss.To let go... is to lose all the same.

I never said "I love you" to her.But I know… she knew.That I loved her deeply.

The way she risked life and death for me—Her image flashed in my mind again and again:Her soul whipped and bloodied.Her golden skull used for black magic.Her body hanging from a willow tree.

This was no longer a test.

It was do or die.

Two hot tears slid down my face as I stared at the robe.

"Grandmaster… what must I do to be with her?"

"Ascend the Dragon Gate.Endure the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.Achieve the Dao.Soar across the Milky Way.Transcend the sun, moon, and stars.Only then can you break free from all barriers."

I clenched my fists.I had no power to choose otherwise.

The Daoist robe was a shackle, but if she could endure for me—Then I could endure for her.

I stepped forward.

Faced the robe.

Slid my arms into its sleeves.

Hairpin. Headdress. Jade ornament—everything appeared on me.

And in that moment, a part of me was sealed away—A part I could never retrieve.

"Wearing the robe means severing mortal ties.Do not yearn for love.Or you will suffer bone-breaking, skin-flaying agony."

"I understand, Grandmaster."

"I now bend the heavenly rules with supreme Dao magic, giving you two hours to settle your mortal bonds.But if your identity is revealed, all will be lost."

"I obey."

"This is the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi.When your karmic ties are resolved, it will vanish."

A jade ruyi appeared in my hand—Nine golden dragons engraved upon it, weaving through the clouds.It shimmered with divine light, pulsing with life.

"Grandmaster," I dared to ask, "What exactly… are the Nine Dragons?"

"The secrets of heaven… must not be revealed."

His voice faded again.

I bowed deeply.

The white world exploded into a kaleidoscope of color.A beam of gold struck my body.

When I opened my eyes—

I was in a truck.

I could… drive?!

I was stunned.

I instinctively pulled over, glanced in the mirror—I was now a middle-aged man in his forties.

Grandmaster hadn't just sent me back in time.He'd placed me into someone else's body—even their memories were mine to access.

Looking at the passenger seat, I found a rolling pin.I picked it up—

Dragons were carved into it?!

Wait a second… this was the Jade Ruyi?

Grandmaster really had a weird sense of humor…

Still dazed, I snapped back to reality:Shi Yu was still in danger.Time had been reversed by just one hour.

I had to hurry.

Just as I prepared to rush to Shi Yu's house and intercept Baden, I felt it—The Celestial Master Token was moving.

The evil master had succeeded.

Returning would take too long.

And once that spoiled Qing dynasty princess found out she'd been tricked, Shi Yu would suffer even worse.

I had no choice.

I sped the truck toward the Forbidden City, racing through the streets.

Ten minutes later—A figure dashed into the road, waving frantically.

I slammed the brakes—My forehead smacked the wheel hard.

Nearly killed the guy.

Fuming, I rolled down the window and shouted:

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Want to die?!"

Then I froze.

The bloodied, desperate man outside was… me.

Me, before I was possessed.The original me.

Time fractured.

Pain split through my skull.

A voice screamed inside:

"Leave now!If you stay, the law of identity repulsion will rip you apart!"

The discomfort was overwhelming.I knew—if I didn't act fast, my soul would shatter.

Grandmaster had only reversed time by hours, using unparalleled Daoist power.

If I got dragged back, Shi Yu would be doomed.The me outside had no idea what was happening.

Seeing myself like this—it was too weird.I forced down the surge in my head and barked:

"You got robbed or something? Call the cops.I drive hazardous materials. Late delivery = huge fines!"

"I'll pay you! Please—help me save someone!"

He was begging me.

I was begging me.

I clenched my fists, pulled out a phone, and pretended to call the police.Watching myself look so pitiful… it tore me up.

I climbed back into the cab, cracked open a pack of Long March cigarettes, and—

Offered me one.

"Take a smoke. Calm down.I've called the station.It's only ten minutes away. Just hang in there."

Then I lit up—My first cigarette.