Chapter 102

Chapter 102

◎The Funeral Nail◎

Lin Chengyi jolted awake from his nightmare in terror, drenched in cold sweat and gasping for breath. He trembled as he grabbed Xiao Ye's arm, his voice frantic and rushed: "I dreamt I was in a burial pit, a pit with a coffin. I was nailing the coffin, pitch black and completely deserted. I was hammering away at the coffin! Just me, emotionless, as if I were a puppet under some control. I held a hammer, hitting it over and over!"

The terror of the empty graveyard, the panic of losing control—even after waking, the fear clung to Lin Chengyi.

Previously, he hadn't truly grasped the reality of encountering ghosts; it was more a blend of fear and curiosity.

Now he truly understood the horror of such experiences, that bone-chilling dread. He didn't know how to describe it in words. Even seated in the private room, with the bustling traffic sounds outside the window, he remained trapped in that fear.

Xiao Ye looked at Wu Yang: "What's going on with him, dreaming of hammering a coffin in his sleep? Does such a dream hold any significance?"

Wu Yang frowned and pondered for a moment, then looked at Lin Chengyi: "First, calm down and think for yourself. When did these dreams start, roughly how many days ago?"

The person who could help him was right there, so Lin Chengyi naturally complied with whatever was asked. He wiped the cold sweat from his face and tried to think carefully, but his heart raced, his mind buzzed, overwhelmed with panic. He couldn't calm down, much less think.

After a long pause, he recalled the first time he had trouble sleeping and had vented to his sister.

Lin Chengyi quickly found the record and handed his phone to Wu Yang: "On the 28th of last month, I messaged my sister on the 29th, so it began on the 28th or early on the 29th."

Wu Yang opened the calendar, looking at the dates, his expression growing more serious: "Today is the 2nd—six days."

Xiao Ye: "Is there a problem with this timing?"

Wu Yang didn't answer Xiao Ye's question. He had a clue for now, but it wasn't fully formed. He needed to confirm further, so he asked Lin Chengyi: "You said your dreams were intermittent, not lasting till dawn?"

Lin Chengyi nodded: "Yes, I'd suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, then go back to sleep and continue dreaming. I'd sleep and wake up all night, but I don't remember what I dreamt, and I'm exhausted."

It had been like this for several days, whether day or night. As soon as he fell asleep, he'd dream, and as soon as he dreamt, he'd wake up abruptly. For days, he hadn't had a full night's sleep. Naturally, he looked disoriented, as if his days and nights were reversed.

Wu Yang said: "I suspect you might be under the influence of a ghost coffin."

Lin Chengyi and Xiao Ye both looked at Wu Yang. Lin Chengyi was confused and scared, while Xiao Ye was puzzled: "What is a ghost coffin? What will happen?"

Wu Yang: "A ghost coffin is an evil method of stealing luck. A ghost is used to nail the ancestral coffin, destroying the grave's feng shui and cutting off the descendants' fortune. At best, it leads to financial loss; at worst, it causes family ruin and death."

The feng shui of graves is highly significant. Though people are cremated nowadays, with urns placed in cemeteries, those with means still pay attention to burial locations and times, hoping to secure a favorable feng shui position to bless their descendants' fortune.

However, with widespread development, burial areas have been standardized for convenience, leaving little room for tampering. Still, some wealthy families remain meticulous about their ancestral graves' feng shui.

Considering Lin Chengyi's dream, Wu Yang said: "Your family likely has an ancestral grave buried with a coffin, and now it's probably in trouble. Based on your dream, I estimate you've already nailed six coffin nails. Originally, it might have been five, but just now, you entered the dream early and nailed the one meant for tonight ahead of time. You kept waking up, likely because your ancestors were trying to rouse you each time you entered the dream, to prevent you from continuing. But you didn't take it seriously."

Lin Chengyi: "Then why wasn't I woken up just now? No one hit me in the dream."

Wu Yang: "If you had been woken up again, unable to explain your dream, how could we help you? Your ancestors aren't foolish."

Lin Chengyi immediately made a pained expression: "Then why me? Did I do something to provoke this? If it weren't for meeting Xiao Ye today, I wouldn't have taken this dream seriously. I was planning to get sleeping pills from the hospital. If this hadn't been discovered, would my family be in danger?"

Wu Yang: "Not just in danger—everyone would likely die. Three nails steal wealth, five nails cut off vitality, and seven nails are the death nail. There's another way to put it: seven nails are also called the funeral nail."

Lin Chengyi's face turned pale, and he trembled, unable to speak.

Xiao Ye said: "You said he's already nailed six?"

Wu Yang nodded: "It's a speculation. Besides seven nails, there are also nine nails. When nine nails fall, the Lin family would not only be ruined, but their souls would also be suppressed by the one who cast the curse. The worse your family fares, the better it is for the caster. But nine nails are excessively vicious and easily lead to backlash. I suspect it's seven nails because this curse is best completed before Qingming Festival. The 4th is Qingming Festival. Based on his dream timeline, one dream equals one nail. By Qingming Festival, it wouldn't reach nine nails, but before the festival, it's exactly seven."

Lin Chengyi took some time to digest this. Only then did he begin to understand: "So it's not that I provoked someone, but someone is using me to target my family? But why me?"

He also has an older sister. His family doesn’t favor sons over daughters, and since his sister is more capable, they’ve already handed over most of the company to her. He just reaps the benefits.

Lin Chengyi doesn’t believe his sister should be the one to face misfortune, but she’s sharper and more perceptive than him. If it had happened to her, she would’ve caught on much sooner, and it wouldn’t have gotten this far.

Xiao Ye, sitting next to him, overheard his muttering and said, "Didn’t you just spell it out yourself? Your sister is smarter than you. If someone wants to deal with your family, is it easier to target you or your sister?"

Wu Yang nodded in agreement, "Although I haven’t met your sister, from your description, she seems to be a strong career woman. Such matters also depend on the person. If someone has a strong presence, they can, to some degree, ward off negative energies. If they encounter someone with a weak aura and a depleted body, it’s much easier to possess them."

He admits to having a weak presence, but a depleted body??

His self-doubt was written all over his face, and Xiao Ye chuckled, "What’s there to doubt? You lost your virginity before you were even an adult, and since then, if not every night, when was the last time you got busy?"

Lin Chengyi, being lectured by someone several years younger who wasn’t even eighteen yet, blushed but honestly confessed, "Two days ago."

Wu Yang, being a man, caught the subtext and thought, "Wow, even with ghosts haunting him and ancestors beating him up every night, he still managed to get it on. Impressive."

With behavior like that, who else would their enemy go after but him?

Lin Chengyi never saw anything wrong with his actions before. Young and full of life, enjoying himself with mutual consent and without harming anyone. But now he’s starting to think he might’ve overdone it. However, now is not the time to discuss this; he wants to know how to resolve the issue.

Wu Yang said, "You need to go back to your ancestral graves, open them up, and remove the nails. Once the final nail is set, things will get even worse. So from now on, you must stay awake at all costs. If you fall asleep, your entire family will perish."

Going back to his hometown and digging up graves isn’t something Lin Chengyi can decide alone, so he quickly informed his sister. He was at a loss and could only rely on his sister to make the decision.

Lin Chengyi’s sister is named Lin Chengyi, which means 'as one wishes.' The family had planned on just one child, but even with his mother’s IUD, she ended up pregnant again, leading to Lin Chengyi.

Another son was naturally a blessing, and the family was well-to-do. At first, they tried to groom Lin Chengyi as the heir, but he always fell short compared to his sister. Eventually, the family gave up and focused their efforts back on their daughter.

Lin Chengyi has always been the decision-maker, so her brother leans on her heavily. Once he grasped his predicament, he immediately told Lin Chengyi.

In the Lin family company office, Lin Chengyi listened to her brother’s story and glanced at the young master beside her and the Xiao Family’s young heir. After a moment of consideration, she directly said, "If I want to move our family’s graves to a new feng shui location, could Master Wu help?"

Wu Yang, anticipating skepticism, was taken aback by the request to move the graves. After a moment of thought, he said, "I can help pick a decent and secure spot, but for a top-notch feng shui site, we’d need a more experienced feng shui master."

Lin Chengyi said, "Could Master Wu arrange that? I’m not looking for an incredibly prosperous feng shui spot for future generations, just a tranquil resting place for our ancestors."

Wu Yang nodded, "That can be arranged. I’ll contact a feng shui master for you."

Lin Chengyi glanced at his sister, "Isn’t this about the ghost nails? Why are we shifting to feng shui?"

Lin Chengyi explained, "Grandfather’s never believed in this stuff. How are you going to justify digging up the graves to him? Even with the Xiao Family’s young heir vouching for the truth, it might not be enough to convince Grandfather directly. If this matter is delayed, it could cost the entire family’s lives. We can’t afford to delay, so we’ll find a reason to open the graves, collect the bones, and relocate the graves."

Lin Chengyi nodded, then curiously asked, "Do you really believe me?"

Lin Chengyi scoffed, "Believe you? Not a chance. I just prefer to err on the side of caution."

If it’s true and she dismisses it, resulting in the family’s downfall, she’d never forgive herself. If it’s false, relocating the graves is just a matter of visiting the ancestors’ graves during the Qingming Festival to apologize for disturbing their peace.

They are her ancestors after all; they probably won’t hold it against her.

Wu Yang directly contacted Fengshui Cheng. Since the matter of the ghost nails was urgent, and they couldn’t keep Lin Chengyi awake indefinitely—if he accidentally fell asleep, it would be fatal—Fengshui Cheng came over immediately after receiving the call.

Lin Chengyi called her grandfather, not mentioning Lin Chengyi’s issue, but said she had a dream about her grandmother last night, saying the house was flooded. She feared there might be a problem with the ancestral graves, and since the graves had been there for so many years, it might be time to collect the bones and choose a new site. She planned to return early to check.

If the ancestral graves were fine, that would be best. If they were indeed flooded, they would quickly find a new location to move the graves, trying not to disrupt the Qingming Festival ancestor worship.

If Lin Chengyi had brought this up, Grandfather Lin would have thought he was fooling around, as he was known to be unreliable. But since it was Lin Chengyi, who always had a good sense of judgment, Grandfather Lin left it to her to handle.

Although this matter didn’t concern Xiao Ye, since he was involved, he wanted to see it through. Moreover, the Lin family’s ancestral graves were quite close to his family’s, both located on the same mountain. He just considered it an early return.

On the private jet, Lin Chengyi looked at Xiao Ye, who was not very old but had an exceptionally mature demeanor, and smiled, "I didn't expect Xiao Ye to be so well-versed in these things. I hadn't heard about it before."

The Xiao Family has a solid background, with members in both the military and politics. His mother's side is in business, and they have some cooperative relationships with the Lin Family. While not completely familiar with each other, they certainly know more about each other than outsiders.

Xiao Ye smiled, gently rubbing the fish-startle stone bracelet Ji Nanxing had given him, "Now you do."

Lin Chengyi: "So, are ghosts really a thing?"

Xiao Ye looked at her: "Rather than asking me these questions, you should think about who is targeting your family, with such ruthless methods that they want to wipe out your entire family."

Lin Chengyi fell silent upon hearing this. After a while, she turned to Wu Yang, who was resting with his eyes closed, "Master Wu Yang."

Wu Yang opened his eyes and met her gaze.

Lin Chengyi: "If there really is a nail in the coffin, how should we resolve this?"

Wu Yang: "Pull it out."

Lin Chengyi waited for further explanation, but after a while, seeing that Wu Yang didn't say anything more, she couldn't help but laugh, "Is that all?"

Fengshui Cheng, sitting next to Wu Yang, said, "Don't think pulling it out is a simple matter. It's a contest of skill between the two sides. If the Taoist your opponent has hired is more powerful, then the soul nail might not be easy to pull out. It's like a magical showdown. If you win, the opponent will either die or be severely injured. If you lose, not only will the Lin Family will suffer, but the person attempting to pull the nail will either be seriously injured or killed."

Hearing this, Lin Chengyi's expression became more serious. She hadn't expected the situation to be so grave. Her eyes showed hesitation, but in the end, she held back from speaking.

Xiao Ye, however, had fewer reservations and directly asked Wu Yang, "So, how sure are you?"

Wu Yang shook his head, "We need to see the condition of the grave first. But the fact that the opponent only dared to place seven nails instead of nine suggests they were playing it safe. Their skills might not be much better than mine."

Xiao Ye: "If he were to handle it, who do you think would have a better chance of success?"

This "he" clearly referred to Ji Nanxing. Wu Yang looked at Xiao Ye with a speechless expression, "Why are you comparing me, just a regular guy, to a genius in the mystical arts?"

If Ji Nanxing were here, pulling out the nail would be as easy as plucking a weed. There's no comparison.

Hearing this, Xiao Ye couldn't help but laugh, puffing up with pride. His Naonao is the greatest!

After getting off the plane, there was still a two-hour car ride. The journey itself was quite hypnotic. Lin Chengyi and Wu Yang sat on either side of Lin Chengyi, keeping an eye on him to make sure he stayed awake.

Lin Chengyi had slept for a while when he first dozed off. Now, although he was a bit sleepy, he could still handle it, so he decided to play a game on his phone.

However, the road up the mountain wasn't smooth, and the constant jolting made him feel sick before he could finish a game. He had to put his phone away.

When he shifted his attention to the scenery outside the car window, the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. He couldn't help but rub his arms and reached out to hold his sister's arm, "I've dreamed about this mountain road!"

Lin Chengyi turned to look at him, "Even if it wasn't in a dream, you should have seen it. We take this road every year when we come back for the ancestral rites."

Lin Chengyi looked confused, "Ah, but I don't have much memory of it."

Lin Chengyi didn't have much hope for him, "You've been abroad for two years and haven't been back. Every time we went up the mountain before, you were either playing on your phone or sleeping. When have you ever looked at the view?"

Lin Chengyi lowered his head and didn't dare to speak. If he had noticed, he might have sensed something was wrong in the dream earlier.

Fengshui Cheng and Xiao Ye were in the car behind. Fengshui Cheng only then realized that Xiao Ye was a friend of Ji Nanxing and said with a smile, "I thought the mystical world had another powerful Taoist, and so young too."

Xiao Ye smiled, "I'm not a Taoist, I'm just close friends with Ji Nanxing and have accompanied him in handling a few incidents, so I know a little about this stuff."

Fengshui Cheng nodded, then, thinking of a previous incident, asked curiously, "There was a man before, with a female ghost behind him, who came to me to get rid of the ghost. The ghost was his wife. It seems that case was taken care of by Young Master Ji. Do you know about it?"

Xiao Ye: "Yes, later, that man was convicted, and the female ghost moved on and was reincarnated."

Fengshui Cheng nodded repeatedly: "That's good. It's not easy to let go of one's fixations. Young Ji Yuanting is indeed talented."

The mystical arts genius had just gotten off the plane. Although his master had advised him to stay in Yulan City as a child, it was only about settling down before adulthood, not that he couldn't leave Yulan City before adulthood.

However, because of this advice, his family had always been very protective of him and rarely took him out of Yulan. This time, if it weren't for his master's summons, his elder brother and sister would definitely not have allowed his elder brother to take him out.

Biancheng is a city with a strong exotic vibe. It is close to the desert, so it has ample sunshine, and the fruits are very sweet. There are many handsome men and beautiful women, and in recent years, tourism has been vigorously developed.

Just as his elder brother had guessed, they were digging a subway here and ended up uncovering a tomb, which led to a series of incidents that had to be resolved by the authorities from the management bureau.

Ji Yuanting didn't bring an assistant, so he had to handle everything himself. Before the trip, his elder brother and sister repeatedly reminded him that Naonao rarely went on long trips, and they didn't know what was going on in Biancheng that had kept those authorities away for over a year. They told him to take good care of his brother, and if he lost him, he shouldn't bother coming back.

Ji Yuanting nearly rolled his eyes. His younger brother was almost seventeen, not three years old, so how could he possibly get lost?

But with the repeated reminders, he had no choice but to comply.

After getting their luggage, Ji Yuanting pushed two suitcases with one hand and reached out to Ji Nanxing with the other: "Come on, hold your elder brother's hand. It's crowded here, and we can't risk losing you. If I lose you, I really won't be able to go home."

Ji Nanxing slapped his elder brother's palm and then took his own suitcase and pushed it forward.

Ji Yuanting followed with a smile: "Master said someone would pick us up, but I don't know if there's a sign. Master didn't give me a phone number."

Ji Nanxing: "No need for a sign."

Ji Yuanting was just wondering why they didn't need a sign when he looked up and saw a middle-aged man in the crowd wearing a large sun hat, a white tank top, and a floral shirt, waving his arms the most energetically.

Ji Yuanting's smile faltered slightly, and he chuckled: "Master is as energetic as ever."

Ji Nanxing pushed his suitcase out, and Yan Beisheng immediately caught sight of his most beautiful little disciple. If it weren't for the railing, he would have rushed over: "Xingxing! Master is here! Xingxing, Master is here!"

When Ji Nanxing and Ji Yunting walked out of the aisle, Yan Beisheng grabbed Ji Nanxing and hugged him tightly, rubbing his head: "Master's beloved disciple, it's been a year. Did you miss Master? Let Master see, oh, Xingxing has grown taller and more beautiful. Did you find a little girlfriend at school? You're in high school now; you can hold hands and have a little romance. Quick, turn around and let Master see if you've gained weight."

Ji Nanxing obediently turned around.

Ji Yuanting tried to speak up, but Yan Beisheng pushed him aside before he could.

After thoroughly checking Ji Nanxing from head to toe, making sure his beloved disciple had been well without his master for the past year, Yan Beisheng finally turned to Ji Yuanting: "Oh, the elder disciple is here too."

Ji Yuanting sighed: "I walked out with Naonao."

Yan Beisheng slapped Ji Yuanting on the back: "I saw you earlier; how could I miss someone so big? Just messing with you. Come here, my precious disciple, let Master hug you."

Ji Yuanting just opened his arms, but Yan Beisheng hugged Ji Nanxing again, rubbing his head: "Xingxing is still more pleasant to hug, unlike your elder brother, whose muscles are getting harder and harder; it makes my hands hurt."

Ji Nanxing sighed: "Master."

Yan Beisheng held both disciples' hands, smiling broadly. At nearly fifty, he was the kind of handsome older man who looked elegant when not smiling but was actually playful by nature.

When he was young, he loved teasing Ji Yuanting, especially since Ji Yuanting always tried to imitate his elder brother and act like a little adult, but Yan Beisheng could always break his composure.

He had thought that Ji Nanxing, growing up in the Ji family, would also imitate the elder Ji's demeanor and grow up to be cool and introverted. But unexpectedly, the kid was naturally like this, remaining calm and even a bit indulgent no matter how much he was teased.

It was hard to tell who was the master and who was the disciple.

Yan Beisheng led his disciples not towards the airport exit but to the shopping area inside the airport. At the entrance of the snack section, a young man who looked like a college student stood helplessly, with a pile of various-sized snack bags on the ground.

Yan Beisheng waved to his disciples: "Disciples, look! This is the treasure trove your master has gathered for you!"

Looking at the pile of food, drinks, and various small gifts, Ji Nanxing calmly took out his phone: "Where do we check out?"

Yan Beisheng pointed to the counter at the back of the store.

Ji Nanxing walked over to pay the bill, while Ji Yuanting looked at the pile of things on the ground and sighed helplessly, "There’s way too much to carry."

Yan Beisheng also sighed, "What can I do? I owe too many people. I’ve been waiting for you guys to come, so I had to make up for all the snacks and drinks I owe them."

Ji Yuanting was surprised, "Doesn’t the work assignment cover meals?"

Yan Beisheng rubbed his nose, "It covers meals, but not snacks."

Now, the kids in the archaeological team run away when they see him, all complaining that he’s drained their wallets. Without his wallet on him, what else could he do but owe them?