Tuzi Ye saw in that coffin not his mother but his daughter-in-law, also A Fa's mother.

  Whether he fired that shot or not, nobody knows. But on that day, his wife was indeed wearing a small jacket made of blue flowered cotton fabric, which he had personally gone to the town to buy the cloth and asked Old Cao tailor to make it for her.

  In that coffin lay a person, also a woman, not wearing a phoenix coronet and embroidered skirt, but indeed his wife.

  The Rabbit Grandfather finally returned safely, whether it was his good fortune or something else, Ah Fa didn't know. Anyway, when he came back, his daughter-in-law was also gone, missing too. From then on, the villagers started gossiping that the old man had lost his daughter-in-law and the son had also lost his wife, so now it's Ah Fa's turn to get married again, but this time with a cripple, which is quite difficult.

  Later, the woman he married was a bit silly in rural language, and she didn't think much before doing or saying anything, but her housekeeping skills were quite good. Maybe because of his disability since childhood, Ah Fa had been a loner since he was young, and he hadn't studied much, but there were many writing materials at home, and now he admitted to learning Taoist magic symbols with Cha Wenbin.

  Entering that cave will definitely lose one's wife, which has almost become a curse for their family. This matter would not be comfortable for anyone. So A Fa also went out to make a name for himself in his youth, and he went to their ancestral home: Juran.

  Jiurong, famous for its Mao Mountain, is one of the three major sacred places of Taoism and also one of the few places in China where Taoist incense is still thriving. He went to Jiurong for two reasons: to learn about Taoism and to break a curse. For three generations, his family's incense had not been prosperous, and two generations of women had mysteriously disappeared, all encountering the same strange occurrence. As a man with a strong sense of strategy, he wanted to break the century-old curse that had haunted his family.

  Learning to be a Taoist depends on one's innate talent and destiny. Ah Fa is an intelligent person, but his body has defects. People with some reputation were unwilling to accept him as an apprentice. In the end, when he was in dire straits, he met a wandering Taoist who took him in as a disciple.

  A Fa's mind was preoccupied with past events, so his desire to learn the Tao was urgent, which happened to be a major taboo in the Taoist school. The most important thing for those who practice the Tao is to have a calm and peaceful heart, follow nature, and there is no shortcut. Although A Fa's natural talent was above average, he didn't have a heart that sought the Tao, so after San Dao accompanied him for three years, he finally sent him back to his hometown.

  A Fa was able to learn something there, the thing that made him most proud was that he stole something from the Daoist's sleeve. This thing was something that even Lian Chao Wen Bin had never seen before, and it was also the reason why he kept looking at it in a daze.

  This object has a name called Linghun Pearl, its appearance is somewhat ordinary, a round jade pendant with dark green color, about the size of a glass marble.

  As soon as he took it out, Zha Wenbin sucked in a breath of cold air. What kind of soul-suppressing bead was this? He only took one glance and knew the origin of this thing.

  Taoist exorcists often use a thing called "dead jade". In the eyes of practitioners, this jade is divided into many grades. Internationally, such things are distinguished by origin, luster, transparency, color and texture. But in the eyes of Taoists, there are only two kinds of jade: dead and alive.

  What is living jade, it's said that good jade relies on people to nourish it, especially women. Generally, when women wear jade accessories, they wear them on their left hand, the left side has always symbolized vitality. If a person's mindset is always upward and radiant, then the jade accessory she wears will also become more and more lustrous, the patterns inside the jade will grow along with it, becoming more and more beautiful, sparkling and translucent, this is living jade, jade resonates with human hearts.

  There is also a type of jade called "dead jade", which is mostly made of poor quality material, and even if worn, it will not become warm and smooth, nor can it sense the wearer's aura. Therefore, Taoist priests use this kind of jade as the best tool to trap vengeful spirits, confining them inside and isolating them from the world.

  The jade that has been buried for a long time, generally in the soil, will react with certain metal elements in the soil over time, causing black substances to seep into the veins of the jade. Experienced people who dig up this kind of stone, which looks like jade but is not as beautiful, will rebury it and respectfully burn incense and paper offerings.

  It's just this kind of craftsmanship, but some people use it to create another kind of article. Many people like to be active at night and don't interact with the living, instead specializing in playing with ghosts. Some Taoist priests take good jade and seal a small ghost soul inside the jade. This method has been passed down for not too long, only about 100 years, and is based on the invention of the Nanyang generation's降头 (a type of supernatural being).

  Little ghost, naturally refers to the soul of an unborn child who died in the womb. This kind of soul is easy to raise because it has not seen its own mother. Some Taoist priests would seal this soul into a jade stone and wear it on their body for years or find someone to raise it, using their own body as a medium through the jade stone to establish a dependent relationship with the little ghost inside.

  Because that little ghost has a very heavy and evil aura, when a living person wears it on their body, their own aura will be covered by the ghost's, and usually those wandering lonely souls and wild ghosts will take this as one of their own kind.

  A Fa came in wearing this thing and touched the hole, he didn't see his wife in the coffin, nor did he see his mother and grandmother, but only an empty coffin was placed there, with nothing inside.

  Next to the coffin was another one that was slightly larger, and no one had opened it before. He thought about whether he should open this one too. Just as he was hesitating, a person came in from the entrance of the cave. The newcomer was none other than the old Taoist priest he had met in Jingshan.

  The old man knew his things had been stolen and didn't expose him. He followed all the way to Zhejiang, just to see what kind of knot this half-road apprentice had in his heart.

  The old Taoist just came in and said one sentence, making Ah Fa retreat. The old Taoist said: "If you don't believe me, I can make a bet with you. As long as you open this coffin, you will definitely see yourself lying inside. The Feng Shui here is not something I can break, let alone you. If you want to stay alive, it's best to leave immediately."

  The old Taoist was his master after all, and seeing the serious look on his face wasn't trying to scare him, so Ah Fa followed the old Taoist out of the cave.

  Lao Dao was a man of some interest, always playing the role of master and apprentice. He gave that soul-suppressing bead to Ah Fa just like that. As he left, he told Ah Fa that if he wanted to break this situation, he would have to wait twenty years later, when someone would naturally come to resolve it.

  It's been twenty years, and in these twenty years, A Fa married and had children. He focused on being a humble farmer, giving the impression of being somewhat introverted in the village.

  Cha Wenbin listened to this somewhat long story and asked: "So, is it exactly twenty years this year?"

  A Fa nodded and said: "I think the one who can solve the problem is you."

  "Oh? Why are you so sure?" Cha Wenbin saw his calm demeanor, and for a moment, he felt that the impression of the sloppy man from before was somewhat similar to that of a Taoist.

  "Only you can see the origin of that wooden board, which is the token I used to find people." Ah Fa continued, "I don't have many skills, I can only understand a little bit, but with this pearl, I can communicate with spirits. At first, when I used it, I was a bit afraid, but later I found out that they are just us living in another world, also having emotions and thoughts. So, I got a few partners together to complete this task, the purpose is to bring you here to help me break through."

  "Was it you who single-handedly came up with both the coffin board and the Zhongzhao?" asked Cha Wenbin.

  A Fa walked a few steps, raised his head and said seriously: "I can't wait any longer. You've been to our village several times, I've seen your skills, indeed you're a master. That piece of board was dismantled from the bottom of that coffin, it was me who dismantled it, and the thing about being possessed by an evil spirit was also done by me asking a senior brother for help, please don't blame him."

  "Ah, the world is full of ghosts," said Cha Wenbin with a wave of his hand. "As long as they don't harm people, I've never interfered. Humans have their own way, and ghosts have theirs too. Although humans and ghosts take different paths, you're probably the first person I've met who can befriend ghosts. But let me give you some well-meaning advice: that so-called Soul- Descending Pearl of yours is absorbing too much of your yang energy, which might not be good for you."

  Zha Wenbin wanted to remind him of something else, but was stopped by A Fa: "I understand, so I said I couldn't wait any longer. I didn't have the confidence to persuade you to help me break the cycle, because this ancestral affair is not glorious after all, and it's not too much to say that it's a retribution. But they are my relatives after all, and even if I die, I hope to die with clarity. Unwillingly, I came up with this inferior plan to invite you here, now I wonder if Master Zha is interested in helping me break the cycle that has entangled our family for three generations."

  Cha Wenbin is not very enthusiastic about studying this type of formation. Firstly, such formations are often extremely dangerous and the degree of strangeness is no less than Zhuge Liang's Bagua Formation in the past. Secondly, most formations are set up for defense and will not be placed at the bustling entrance of a village or town, so harm to people rarely occurs, just like this tomb, where the owner ultimately only wanted to find peace and quiet.

  "Helping you break the situation, I'm not particularly interested, however, brother, I want to remind you again, don't be a pawn in someone else's game without realizing it. Do you know that the soul you summoned is male, but there's also a female ghost involved? If it's as simple as you said," Cha Wenbin pointed to the large mountain beside him and continued, "without me lifting a hand, just this brother by my side can single-handedly destroy that coffin for you!"

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