The Yin-Yang Master saw that Old Master Zhao still didn't believe him, and he was almost in tears: “Just believe me, stop digging. Otherwise, it won't be a good thing for you or the entire Xiushan Village!”

Old Master Zhao still refused to believe him: “No, I must dig it out today to see if what you said is true or false.”

“Fine, you dig. Fortune or disaster is your business, it has nothing to do with me. At worst, I won’t take this job from you.” The Yin-Yang Master was helpless and angrily instructed: “Remember, dig three feet down, and you will see that stone, identical to a coffin, and brown in color. But at that moment, when you see the coffin lid above it, you absolutely must not dig any further down, or this place will truly be ruined. If you bury [the site] then, you won’t gain fortune, but your descendants will all die untimely deaths and be disgraced. This is not a joke.”

Old Master Zhao acted as if he hadn't heard, saying, “Is that so? I’ll just take a look; it shouldn't be ruined, right?”

The Yin-Yang Master sneered, “Believe it or not. Also, once the ‘Stone Coffin’ is broken, three curses will follow: First, the spiritual energy will leak out, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to rumble. The coffin will appear, accompanied by lightning and thunder. Second, the mountain of Xiushan will collapse, pressing down on the stone coffin—once this place is revealed, it will bring six months of torrential floods. Third, three months from now, a child will be born in the village who will drown in three days.”

After speaking, he didn't even ask for his hard-earned money and left down the mountain without looking back.

This finally frightened Old Master Zhao. Thinking that the Yin-Yang Master actually gave up the payment, perhaps what he said was true—that the stone coffin was right under his hoe? If this place was truly the birthplace of the stone coffin, then digging it up would indeed ruin everything. It seemed this Yin-Yang Master did have some skill; he wasn't just someone who grew up drinking plain boiled water.

Realizing this, he was suddenly startled and understood the seriousness of the matter. He quickly refilled the pit he had just dug, even covering the top with some dry grass and a large spread of branches, to prevent nearby villagers from discovering it and causing malicious trouble. He had practically gained an immense, free advantage—not only securing a prime piece of Feng Shui land but not spending a single penny.

When a person is happy, their spirits soar, and their horse rides swiftly. Old Master Zhao returned home overjoyed. He thought that having secured such an extraordinarily auspicious spot, surely after his death, he would enjoy bliss in the Western Paradise? He was grinning from ear to ear while indulging in these pleasant fantasies. Unfortunately, his son, Zhao Shan’s grandfather, saw this joyful demeanor. He curiously asked his father, “Dad, why are you so happy about something?”

Unable to contain his inner joy, Old Master Zhao whispered mysteriously to his son, “Son, your old man hired a Yin-Yang Master who found a great piece of land, right at Siyuling on the back mountain. You all are going to be prosperous.”

“Is that so? Siyuling does have a good spot, but it’s never been found. Which Yin-Yang Master did you hire? Can he be trusted?” his son asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

“Absolutely trustworthy, but you must never tell anyone else, not even those inside our own house. Otherwise, if the news gets out and someone ruins it, it’ll all be over.” After saying this, the father recounted the general process of consulting the Yin-Yang Master for the land to his son in detail.

The son was overjoyed after hearing this, but he did not keep the secret as promised to his father. He became careless and shared the news with his wife, thinking she would be on his side and no trouble would arise.

But the wife also failed to keep the secret. However, she didn't tell outsiders; she only told her own family. She figured her immediate family couldn't truly be considered outsiders. But among her family was a younger brother-in-law who was known for being a notorious gossip. The son's wife overlooked this fact. The big-mouthed brother-in-law couldn't hold back the wind and, upon hearing the news, started spreading it like a revolutionary slogan: “Ah, my sister and her family have found a geomantic paradise!”

In just a few days, the news that Old Master Zhao had located a “geomantic paradise” spread throughout Xiushan Village. Immediately, everyone erupted like a shaken pot, rushing to Siyuling to see the spectacle. The only thing they could be grateful for was that Old Master Zhao, being shrewd and cunning, had handled the initial cleanup of the site well, so everyone left disappointed without finding anything.

But life is full of surprises; what isn't yours won't be yours. In the village, there was a homeless vagrant named Youzi. Besides occasionally stealing chickens and dogs or flirting with respectable women, Youzi specialized in doing things that harmed others without benefiting himself, because this was the only effective way for the outside world to acknowledge his existence. Although it was undeniably despicable, he didn't care. Once, finding a pumpkin in someone’s field too large, he bored a hole in it with a small knife out of sheer boredom. Even worse, he actually defecated inside the hole. Can you imagine, enough to infuriate a pig? This progenitor of malicious pranks would certainly not pass up the news of a discovered Feng Shui treasure; it would be strange if he didn't scheme against them!

So, he immediately grabbed a hoe and quietly ran off to Siyuling.

“Can’t find it? I don’t believe it; that old bastard Zhao must have left a marker!” he thought to himself. However, regretfully, everything is easier said than done. Youzi searched the ridge back and forth, conducting a grid search all day, and like the villagers, he couldn't find a single clue.

“Could it be fake news? Damn it, who was spreading nonsense that made me work so hard for nothing.”

The sky was darkening, and the night was slowly drawing its curtain across the earth. Youzi was exhausted. He dropped his hoe and lay down on the ground, intending to rest a bit before giving up for the day.

But the very instant he lay down, the moment he was about to abandon his search, he seemed to notice something. Not far from him, there were some haphazardly strewn branches. These branches were very common in Dashan Village, as people mainly used firewood. These scattered branches could be ones villagers had cut and left there to dry. Because they were so ordinary, they might have been overlooked during the search.

Youzi thought, “Could that Zhao fellow have covered it with these branches?” With that thought, he immediately jumped up and rushed over, hastily tossing the branches aside.

When he moved all the branches away, disturbed earth was immediately revealed before his eyes. Relying on his sharp intuition, Youzi was certain he had found the geomantic paradise. Excited beyond measure, he picked up his hoe and dug down. Soon, a brown stone resembling a coffin lid appeared at his feet.

“My heavens, it looks just like the real thing! I’ve struck it rich this time!” Youzi no longer doubted it. He dropped his hoe and ran toward Old Master Zhao’s house.

When Old Master Zhao learned that the secret of his "coffin site" had been leaked, he was furious beyond measure. He fiercely summoned his son before him and scolded him, lamenting his inability to amount to anything.

Old Master Zhao angrily said, “You have to tell your woman every trivial thing. Now look, your wife betrayed you, and if the ‘coffin site’ gets discovered by someone else, it might all be for nothing.”

Unable to deny it, the son, after being reprimanded by his father, went back and took out his anger on his wife: “You wretched woman, I told you not to say a word, and you insisted on not listening. Now look, your family couldn't keep their stinking mouths shut, and the whole world knows. Are you trying to ruin our entire family? Why did I marry such a disobedient wife!”

Though the wife was now part of his family, she couldn't bear such a profound personal insult. With tears streaming down her face, she slipped away unnoticed and jumped into the village pond. Fortunately, a passing neighbor discovered her in time, preventing a tragedy. This turn of events was something none of the parties involved had anticipated.

Old Master Zhao thought, “This daughter-in-law is truly something. Was it worth making such a scene just for being scolded a few times, letting outsiders see our family’s jokes? It’s a good thing I hid the ‘geomantic paradise’ so well that everyone later failed to find it, otherwise wouldn't we have lost both the treasure and the people?” He decided, “No, I must go back to Siyuling and make new arrangements, just in case. I absolutely cannot allow any more slips.”

Saying that, Old Master Zhao threw on his coat and quietly headed toward the place that would one day be his eternal resting spot under the cover of night.

“Old Zhao, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry? It’s already dark.” Halfway up the mountain, Old Master Zhao ran into the vagrant Youzi coming down the slope. Without a doubt, he had already guessed that Youzi, like those villagers, had been searching for his geomantic paradise.