I looked up at the podium and saw a young man in his early twenties. I recognized him—he was a Red Guard squad leader from Brooks Town, and just a few days ago, he was the most zealous one in the struggle session against my grandfather.

At that moment, I didn’t bother arguing with him, since there was simply no reasoning with someone like that. So I turned to Old Secretary and said, “Secretary, you know all about the head marker at the village entrance. You’re the village party secretary—please say something. That road really can’t be built. Unless you take a detour!”

But Old Secretary just sighed and said, “There’s nothing I can do anymore. I’m no longer the secretary. He’s the new village party secretary, just appointed by the township a few days ago. From now on, I, this old man, can’t make decisions for the village!”

Hearing this, my heart sank. It seemed there was no way to stop the road construction. How could you possibly talk to a Red Guard about evil spirits and vengeful ghosts?

Yes, just as Old Secretary said, the newly appointed cadre from the township was that very Red Guard squad leader on the podium!

His surname was Baker, and he was also from Brooks Town. He was somewhat well-known there, having just graduated from high school not long ago—one of the few intellectuals in the area.

That bastard saw me looking at him and sneered smugly, then pointed at me and said, “It’s you again, you little tumor of feudal superstition. Last time, I let you off for Old Secretary’s sake. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”

I ignored him and turned to shout to the villagers in the hall, telling everyone not to agree to the road construction. Last time when Edward fainted, you were all there. If you mess with those stone statues again, you’re just asking for death!

After I said that, everyone immediately became frightened. Clearly, Edward’s incident was still fresh in their minds! People started whispering among themselves, but no one dared to openly oppose the road construction.

At this point, the new secretary shouted at the villagers below the stage, “What era do you think this is? Where do all these monsters and ghosts come from? If anyone mentions ghosts or superstitions to me again today, I guarantee I’ll have them tied up and paraded through the streets tomorrow! Feudal superstition is unacceptable—it’s a cancer on society and the enemy of the people!”

With that big hat thrown on, the entire hall instantly fell silent. Who would dare say a word of opposition? Anyone who did would be labeled an enemy of the people and denounced by the masses!

Seeing that no one dared to object, the man named Baker continued, “What nonsense about ghosts and spirits! I’ve heard all about your so-called concerns. Isn’t it just digging up a few broken stones? Tomorrow, I’ll smash them to powder right in front of you all. In the face of socialism, all monsters and ghosts are nothing but paper tigers—they’ll collapse on their own!”

After saying this, he turned and ordered the villagers to tie me up, but Old Secretary argued with him and managed to protect me.

Although I was unharmed, the road construction was now a done deal. Work would begin tomorrow, and that bastard was even going to lead everyone to smash those head marker signs!

Chapter 7: Road Construction in the Village Again

That night, I lay awake, worrying about the road construction. I kept feeling that what Grandpa had said before was about to come true—the village would suffer disaster! Now that Grandpa was gone, I felt completely at a loss.

Although the villagers had treated Grandpa that way before, just as he said, you can’t ignore someone in trouble. You should accumulate virtue, just like Old Secretary did by saving me.

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, I took out the old book Grandpa had given me when he was in the cowshed. He had told me to take good care of it and study it thoroughly.

Taking out the old book, I saw that it was very old and worn, the yellowed pages riddled with tiny holes from insects. On the cover were the big characters: “The Immortal Classic of Dragon Seeking.”

Curious, I opened the book. Inside were both illustrations and text. Skimming through, I found that this so-called “Immortal Classic of Dragon Seeking” was indeed a great book. It was full of methods for seeking dragons and finding burial sites, as well as secret feng shui techniques, and even some so-called mystical methods for controlling fate and changing destiny.

To me, these were extremely precious. If I could master this book, I wouldn’t just be able to interpret feng shui—I could actually practice it!

Whether a feng shui practitioner is a renowned master or a novice apprentice, without the master’s true teachings, they lack the key secret techniques of the lineage and usually aren’t qualified as true inheritors. In the jargon, this is called “piao xue”—someone who entered the field halfway, or a self-taught scholar. Such people can interpret some basic yang house or yin grave feng shui, but when it comes to actually practicing feng shui, they must be careful, because interpreting feng shui and practicing it are completely different things.

There are many methods for interpreting feng shui, such as the Eight Trigrams, Qimen, Xinyi, witchcraft, and so on. But to practice feng shui, you must have solid, comprehensive skills, which usually only come from true lineage. Only then can you gain the secret techniques to control fate and change destiny. Especially in yin-yang burial feng shui, you must be extremely cautious. Without solid yin-yang feng shui skills, you must never casually perform burials for others, lest you harm your own fortune or that of others.

Yin house feng shui can bring disastrous harm, from the destruction of entire families to injury and death, sometimes within a hundred days. But with this book in my hands, I could master the secret techniques of practicing feng shui!

That night, suppressing my excitement, I studied the book intently until the middle of the night.