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Min Xiaomin shook her head. "I'm not afraid."

Chu Yuening took out a compass.

The small, dusty compass was a world apart from the intricately carved golden one that Master Yang had just produced.

Master Yang sneered. "If you want to try this kind of trickery again to look impressive, at least get a decent-looking compass. Don't blame me for not warning you, a compass picked up from a junkyard is useless."

Chu Yuening held onto Min Xiaomin's middle finger and swiped upward with two fingers, causing Min Xiaomin to hiss in pain.

A drop of blood welled up from her middle finger.

Chu Yuening tossed the compass into the air, swiftly changing hand seals. She pressed her two fingers together against her forehead, and the air around them began to stir.

The dull compass suddenly glowed with a golden light as the gray faded away, revealing golden runes. The blood floated above the compass, a few centimeters away, spinning rapidly around Min Xiaomin.

"Li, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Chen, Lie, Qian, Xing!"

With her two fingers still pressed against her brow, Chu Yuening opened her eyes. "Go!"

A streak of golden light darted swiftly around the hundreds of graves atop the hill, before rapidly zeroing in on one and hurtling towards it.

There was a loud boom!

The tombstone standing upright actually exploded into two halves.

Silence enveloped the area.

Nobody dared to speak for quite some time.

Many who had just doubted Chu Yuening's abilities were now trembling in fear.

A compass had actually caused a stone tombstone to shatter into pieces.

This... This level of power exceeded their understanding of geomancers by leaps and bounds.

Yang Xiuneng's face turned ashen, his eyes bulging with rage.

The mocking words he had just uttered now felt like stinging slaps in his face, with no one there to refute them.

He simply couldn't believe what was unfolding before his eyes.

The air was thick with the acrid scent of stone dust.

Chu Yuening lifted her hand, and the compass spun back to its original position.

She put away the compass and gazed at the grave, finally understanding why the Min family's bloodline had suffered so grievously. A subtle frown creased her brow.

"This is a 'Three Disadvantages, Seven Declines' burial site. The descendants of the one interred here will encounter misfortune for ten consecutive generations—loss of wealth, decline in fortune, and dwindling population, until their lineage is severed. Grandfather Min is buried right beneath us."

Village Chief Min had never heard of such malevolent feng shui; he stumbled backward in fright, caught by Ah Mao. Upon recognizing the grave, he glared furiously at Min Yan and his wife.

His cane struck the rubble loudly as he shouted with all his might.

"Exhume the grave! Do it now!"

By this point, Village Chief Min understood all too well.

It was clear that Min Yan had coveted that prime burial site and forcibly occupied the land!

Min Yan collapsed to his knees, wailing desperately, "Village Chief, the one buried there is my father! How can you allow outsiders to exhume him just with a few words? This is a sin against heaven!"

"Your father?" The Village Chief trembled with anger and slapped Min Yan fiercely. "I hope it's really your father in there!"

The villagers of Minjiacun exchanged glances. A few burly men descended the mountain, fetched shovels, and began digging.

The grave was breached. On a bright day, the black soil was strangely damp, and water even oozed out as they dug.

The tomb faced the wind, and a chilly gust whistled through.

The strong men exchanged glances, slightly unnerved by the eerie scene.

Fortunately, the coffin was soon lifted out.

Two coffins were placed side by side – one wet, one dry.

Gong Jinzhi screamed and threw herself onto the wet coffin. "Exhuming him was already an act of moral corruption. I won't let you open the coffin!"

"Amao!" The Village Chief leaned on his cane and shouted hoarsely.

The village chief's authority was considerable, and immediately, a few burly men stepped in to separate the crowd.

Both coffins were opened simultaneously.

A putrid stench of damp decay wafted out from the wet coffins, causing those nearby to wretch. As everyone's gaze fell back onto the coffins, they were filled with terror.

Lying inside was indeed Min Liangpeng, his eyes wide open, his face contorted in agony as if he had died with a grievance. The corpse lay submerged in a coffin filled with bloodwater, yet it had not fully decomposed despite the swelling.

Seeing that there was no longer any room for denial, Gong Jinzhi's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Chapter 99

Buried for Three Years Without Decaying, the Scene Reeked of Foul Odor.

The villagers' whispers began to grow louder.

"How strange! Too strange!"

"It's been three years, and Liangpeng hasn't rotted away. Could he have turned into a zombie?"

"Do you still think this is like a film with Lam Ching-Ying?"

"Master Chu just mentioned the Three Adversities and Seven Disasters Point, implying a lifetime of suffering and misfortune for ten generations!"

"Since Min Liangpeng isn't buried in the Min family cemetery, where else could he be?"

"Why bother guessing? It must be that Min Yan couldn't buy a tomb, so he occupied someone else's grave!"

"What an insidious act. The four members of the Min family truly met a pitiful end!"

Min Village Chief was fuming; he lifted his cane shakily and brought it down hard mid-air, "You ungrateful wretch! How did Uncle Liang treat you when he was alive? When you lacked money for education, he sold grain and borrowed just to support you. When there was no food, he took you in as if you were his own child. And how do you repay him? By switching the tombstones and causing the death of four members from both the Liang and Peng families!"

Min Yan, struck with pain, pleaded, "Village Chief, I swear I didn't know! I truly have no idea about this Third Misfortune and Seventh Defeat Acupoint!"

"The two youngsters leaped from the rooftop with their eyes wide open! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?" Thinking of Liang Peng's tragic suicide and the two grandchildren, Village Chief Min's heart ached terribly.

The elder is fifteen, while the younger is merely eight years old.

Four bodies, all collected by Village Chief Min himself.

"Alas! Such a tragedy!" Village Chief Min sighed with frustration, stamping the ground heavily in the mud. "Ah Mao!"

With a shout, a burly young man seized Min Yan by the back of his head and pressed his hand against the youth's back, forcing half of Min Yan's body into the coffin.