"Northern Coffin Nail Formation?" Zhang Dabiao looked at me with some surprise, "How have I never heard of it?"
"Few people have heard of such formations. I only encountered it once in Master's book, 'Strange Feng Shui,' which recorded this type of house construction layout."
As I spoke, I pointed to several locations on the map, "Look at these spots."
Then I drew on it with my finger. The yellow paper was soft, and a scratch left a mark.
"Life Nail, Tying Line, Forget Evil Buckle?"
The three locations Zhang Dabiao mentioned were the three nailing points on a coffin.
There was a set of tedious rules for burial, one of which was called "killing the buckle," which involved nailing the coffin.
A coffin could only have three nails. The Life Nail was driven into the head of the coffin, while the Tying Line and Forget Evil Buckle were nailed to the tail. This was to inform the person in the coffin that their lifespan had ended and they should forget their ties.
There were rules for driving these three nails: they had to be driven in with three strikes, otherwise, the person in the coffin would be restless and have the urge to stay.
Looking at the circles drawn at the "killing the buckle" positions, I couldn't help but frown. Normally, there should be nothing at the "killing the buckle" positions. If there were, it wouldn't be a Northern Coffin Nail Formation but a true coffin formation.
Even an old ghost as powerful as Prince Wu would not want to live there, because once inside, there was no escape. Although Sunlight did not reach Molu Village, it would not make him comfortable after sunrise. If it had shone there for ten years, he would have long since vanished.
"Where will Sun Chuang's heroic spirit be hidden?"
"I don't know. But based on Sun Chuang's condition, it should be hidden in one of the 'killing the buckle' positions. Otherwise, that figure wouldn't have said they couldn't find him in three days, and Sun Chuang would be dead."
"If that's the case, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
I returned to my room, opened my backpack, and emptied everything inside, taking along whatever I could use.
Rooster's blood, mugwort powder, and some talismans I "borrowed" from Master before leaving, all went into my pockets for emergencies.
Before leaving, I went to Sun Chuang's room again and plucked a small tuft of hair from his fontanelle. Under the lamplight, I noticed the roots faintly emitting a chilling energy, a sign of soul damage. It looked like if Sun Chuang's heroic spirit wasn't found within a day, he would be truly finished.
With everything prepared, Zhang Dabiao and I headed towards the old house in the west of the village with our flashlights. Before leaving, I pasted a few sealing talismans on the door to prevent any evil spirits from entering Sun Chuang's body.
Sun Chuang now was just a breathing shell. Because his heroic spirit was suppressed near the Life Nail, I didn't know what means that figure used to replace the function of the three souls with the heroic spirit. He had already drained Sun Chuang, and now he was like a living dead person.
Such a physical body was exactly what lonely ghosts liked to inhabit. If they possessed it, even if I found Sun Chuang's heroic spirit, it would be useless. Sun Chuang would have become an idiot, as a physical body could not contain two souls. Sudan Novel Network
...
We walked towards the old house in the west of the village in silence.
As we were about to reach the old house, Zhang Dabiao suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed behind a large locust tree.
"Are you coming out yourself, or shall I invite you?"
I widened my eyes and looked at the locust tree. I saw nothing there and felt no chilling energy. I looked at Zhang Dabiao with suspicion.
"What's wrong?"
He seemed not to hear me. Instead, he lifted his fox fur robe with his right hand, and a bone-piercing nail appeared in his hand.
With a "whoosh."
"Bang!"
The bone-piercing nail was driven into the locust tree, almost entirely embedded.
Just as I thought Zhang Dabiao might have misjudged, a figure walked out from behind the locust tree.
"Young man, don't be so hot-tempered. I'm old and my legs aren't good, so I'm slow to come out. You can't treat me with this thing!"
I shone my flashlight under the tree.
"Old ghost?"
I never expected the person walking out from behind the locust tree to be him. After I exposed that he had used ghost bones, he left without a word. How could he be here?
"You've been following us since we left the house. What exactly do you want?"
Zhang Dabiao's hand held two more bone-piercing nails, his gaze fixed on the old ghost.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but grip the willow branch in my hand, ready to act at any moment, as I hadn't sensed the old ghost's presence at all.
"Cough cough... Didn't I say I have something to ask of you? You let me go to the old house in the west of the village. I just got back and saw you leaving. I rushed to catch up," the old ghost explained with a helpless look.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown, "We weren't walking that fast, why didn't you call out to us?"
"Are you stupid? It's almost dawn, and I have to go back as soon as the roosters crow. If it weren't for the strange weather in Molu Village, do you think I'd be in front of you?"
I blushed at the old ghost's words. I had completely forgotten that Yin beings could only move at night. As long as they didn't leave after the third crow of the rooster, they would be harmed by Yang energy, resulting in damaged cultivation at best, or complete soul dispersion at worst.
"Hmph! You still have the nerve to say that! You left without a word, why didn't you say anything? It's obvious you don't need my help anymore and are turning away!"
The old ghost smiled awkwardly, "Wasn't I rushing to gather information about the old house in the west of the village for you? You could tell I had used ghost bones, so I knew you were an extraordinary person whom I needed to find."
Although his flattering explanation felt good, I didn't believe a word he said.
"What information have you gathered? Tell me, and if it's useful, I might consider helping you."
This was the question that concerned me. If Prince Wu wasn't there, I could just take Sun Chuang's heroic spirit. If he was, it would probably take some effort.
"Young man, let me tell you, only I could go there. If anyone else went, they wouldn't come back."
Hearing this, I became nervous, "You mean Prince Wu really lives there?"
The old ghost paused, "What Prince Wu or Prince Liu? There are no ghosts there, only people."
"People? I don't know. There's an old man there who is very powerful. He discovered me before I could even enter the courtyard, and I got injured." As he spoke, the old ghost rolled up his sleeve, revealing a wound glowing red and emitting black smoke.
"Did you see who it was clearly?"
The old ghost shook his head, "That old man is incredibly powerful. It's a miracle I managed to escape. I didn't have the presence of mind to see who it was."
This puzzled me. Wasn't that place occupied by Prince Wu? What moved in there?
You must know that the old house in the west of the village was not suitable for living people at the moment. Because the "killing the buckle" positions were blocked, living there would shorten one's lifespan, leading to certain death over time.