"So powerful? Did our ancestors hire a feng shui master to relocate it?"
Zhang Ping nodded, proudly saying to Zhang Wei:
"Son, see? I was right. Our ancestors were wealthy people. Back then, to move a grave, they even set up a feng shui formation. Only rich people could do that. Lingxue, do you see any other particularities about this ancestral grave? You understand these things, I don't. Take a look and see if the feng shui formation has been damaged."
"No wonder you suddenly became rich, son. It might be due to your ancestors' feng shui and ancestral graves. I think we need to find time to hire someone to repair the ancestral graves."
Lu Lianxue tucked her hair behind her ear and scanned the ancestral grave and its surroundings:
"Uncle, the feng shui formation here is not damaged. But do you also understand feng shui, Uncle? You know that if a feng shui formation is damaged, it turns for the worse."
"Haha, my wife's distant relative told me these things. He knows some esoteric knowledge."
"I see. Uncle, the feng shui here is not damaged. As long as we follow the ancestors' rules, we can continue arranging the graves. Also, that peach tree must not be touched; it protects the feng shui formation."
"Alright, alright."
Zhang Ping nodded happily. Learning that the ancestral grave had a significant origin, he was in a very good mood and pulled Zhang Wei to start weeding.
Lu Lianxue and Qiu Xiaolin also stepped forward to help.
Seeing this,
Zhang Ping waved his hand:
"Leave this tedious weeding to us father and son. You girls arrange the offerings. Wife, take Xiaolin and arrange the offerings. Just like before, place them at each grave, especially at the grave of our ancestor Zhang Zhan. Place more there."
"Okay."
Zhang Ping's wife nodded, leading Lu Lianxue and Qiu Xiaolin to arrange the sacrificial offerings.
"Dad, why do we need to place more offerings at the ancestor named Zhang Zhan?"
Zhang Wei noticed Zhang Ping's words and asked, turning his head while pulling weeds:
"Your grandfather told me that ancestor Zhang Zhan contributed greatly to our family. It's said that he ultimately made a huge change for our family, but he sacrificed himself until death."
"Then, Dad, which grave is this ancestor Zhang Zhan you're talking about?"
"Here, it's that one."
Zhang Ping pointed to a grave within the ancestral graveyard, located in a feng shui dead spot.
Looking closely.
It was a grave that differed slightly from the surrounding ones. A lone tombstone, on a small hill that didn't seem large enough to bury someone. It looked more like a cenotaph. The tombstone was inscribed with ancient Chinese characters: Tomb of Zhang Zhan.
"Ancestor Zhang Zhan's contribution was indeed great."
Zhang Wei said suddenly, looking at the grave.
"Huh? Son, how can you tell?"
Zhang Ping was stunned for a moment, not understanding how Zhang Wei could tell at a glance. Then, as if thinking of something, he said:
"I get it. You're asking why ancestor Zhang Zhan has a cenotaph, right? I couldn't tell. Son, do you also understand feng shui? Oh, right, you and Lingxue are so close, you must understand feng shui to some extent."
"You're right, ancestor Zhang Zhan did contribute greatly. Your grandfather told me that ancestor Zhang Zhan, for the sake of the family, did not leave behind a complete corpse even in death. His body couldn't be found, so the family could only erect a cenotaph for him."
"Dad, ancestor Zhang Zhan's great contribution isn't just about not leaving a complete corpse; another reason is that his grave is located at the feng shui dead gate."
Zhang Wei didn't hide anything, as Lu Lianxue was there as a shield.
Then.
He pointed to the entire ancestral graveyard:
"Dad, look. This ancestral graveyard, Xiaoxue said it's a feng shui formation, right? And in feng shui, there's a saying about life and death relying on each other, and the cycle of yin and yang. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang set up formations to trap the enemy. Inside, there are formations with life gates to enter and death gates to die, right?"
"Our family's feng shui formation also has life gates and death gates. For the continuation of descendants, feng shui speaks of the cycle of yin and yang, life and death. Placing a grave in the death gate means it's guarding the dead spot. Being buried in this position, you understand, the death gate is certainly not a good place."
"Ancestor Zhang Zhan was buried there, sacrificing himself to guard the death gate, thereby benefiting future generations. It allows descendants to overcome dangers. Look at ancestor Zhang Zhan's tombstone; it's more broken and weathered than the other tombstones. That's actually a form of karma."
"Transferring the life and death calamities of future generations to the death gate, and guiding descendants to prosperity through the life gate."
As he spoke.
Zhang Wei's eyes flickered, and he slowly said:
"No wonder we need to place more offerings. Being buried in the death gate is no different from a sacrifice. He was a great ancestor."
"So that's how it is, son. After we finish weeding, we'll all pay our respects to ancestor Zhang Zhan."
Zhang Ping became enthusiastic upon hearing this and his gaze fell on the somewhat dilapidated tombstone of Zhang Zhan:
"Before, I always wondered why ancestor Zhang Zhan's tombstone was so broken. I thought maybe our family, besides the cenotaph, didn't even have good stone materials for his tombstone. Turns out it wasn't like that. I'll find a stonemason in a few days to replace ancestor Zhang Zhan's tombstone with a better one."
Saying this.
Zhang Ping looked at Zhang Wei with a questioning gaze, his intention obvious, asking if it was okay to replace the tombstone material.
Zhang Wei nodded:
"Of course, it's fine. What's not to be fine with? Replacing the tombstone will make it look new, which is good for ancestor Zhang Zhan."
After weeding for a full hour, Zhang Wei and his father finally cleared all the surrounding weeds.
"Husband, son, you two should rest. We'll handle the rest. Look how much you're sweating."
Zhang Ping's wife beckoned Zhang Ping and his son to rest. The remaining preparations for the ancestral worship were all undertaken by Zhang Ping's wife, with Qiu Xiaolin and Lu Lianxue actively stepping forward to help.
In response.
Zhang Wei was happy to have leisure time and took the opportunity to observe the ancestral graves more, trying to find some clues.
On the way to ancestral worship, after learning that his ancestors dug wells, and then seeing the feng shui formation at the ancestral graves, Zhang Wei had a vague guess. Perhaps his ancestors had a connection with ghost exorcists, or even with the Dragon Locking Well.
Not long after.
After some investigation, Zhang Wei didn't find any clues, but it wasn't without gain.
"Son, you're interested in our ancestors?"
"Yes, how could I not be interested? Look, our ancestors were wealthy people, and they even set up a feng shui formation. I'm curious about who our family offended, and what contributions ancestor Zhang Zhan made."
"If you're interested, we can go take a look at the ancestral residence later. Although our family, by our generation, only has us left, and you're the only descendant, perhaps you'll prosper the family line in the future."
Zhang Ping grinned, his eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally at Qiu Xiaolin and Lu Lianxue, and giving Zhang Wei a knowing look. He then nudged him with his elbow and said:
"Son, your dad isn't unreasonable. If you like both of them, you can emigrate. I remember some countries abroad allow marrying two wives, haha."
"Dad, stop talking nonsense. Speaking of which, I haven't seen the ancestral residence yet."
"You definitely haven't. According to our family's ancestral rules, only the head of the household can enter the ancestral residence. Your dad was only taken in by your grandfather when he became an adult. Now that you're an adult too, I'll take you."
"Then, Dad, is our ancestral residence grand? Haha, after all, we were a wealthy family."
"Haha, you're right, son. Our ancestral graves are here, but our ancestral residence is truly magnificent. The only drawback is that there aren't many antiques; they were all squandered by your grandfather's ancestors. All that's left is a large empty mansion, and a few unsellable old stone murals in the residence."
...