After hearing Qian Qing's fantastical story, Young Master Liu sensed something odd was afoot and said to him, "Uncle, would you mind taking me to your house to have a look?"

Qian Qing was a man whose emotions showed plainly on his face. He immediately grinned wide, bowed deeply with a chuckle, and said, "If this young brother can save my whole family, Uncle will certainly thank you properly!"

Young Master Liu modestly rubbed the back of his head. "We'll see," he replied. As he spoke, he seemed to recall something and said to Gou Dan behind him, "Gou Dan, can we come back later tonight? Let's go visit Uncle Qian's place outside the village for a while!"

Gou Dan indifferently wiped his nose, hiked up his trousers, and said, "Sure, we can go. What's the big deal!"

Qian Qing witnessed this scene, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes. "And who might this be..."

Young Master Liu frowned slightly, then quickly forced a laugh. "Oh, oh, he's my helper!"

Since Young Master Liu had explained it that way, it was naturally inappropriate for Qian Qing to press the matter further. Afterward, the group boarded a small cart and left the village.

Not long after, the clip-clop of hooves stopped; they had arrived, it seemed. Young Master Liu and Gou Dan alighted from the carriage. The grand mansion before them was truly impressive—it appeared Qian Qing came from a wealthy household. Qian Qing then led Young Master Liu and Gou Dan inside, showing them room after room.

"This is the bedroom for my wife and me. Next to it is the study, and the backyard holds the kitchen," Qian Qing meticulously explained to Young Master Liu.

"Uncle, let's check the kitchen first," Young Master Liu suggested. Qian Qing nodded in agreement.

Arriving at the kitchen, Young Master Liu opened his Yin-Yang eyes and scanned the area. He detected no malevolent spiritual energy. He then hurried to the courtyard and looked around—again, nothing out of the ordinary. This was truly strange; if it wasn't the work of malevolent spirits, what could explain this situation?

This wasn't simply a matter of Qian Qing being unlucky. Moreover, from what he'd heard, Qian Qing regularly performed good deeds and accumulated Yin De (merit/virtue), so he should have been blessed by spirits and immortals. How could things be like this now?

At that moment, Young Master Liu suddenly remembered something. Could it be...?

With this thought, he hastily asked Qian Qing, "Uncle, may I ask if you've had any close relatives pass away recently?"

Qian Qing thought for a moment and replied, "My mother passed when I was very young; only my old father passed away a year ago."

This answer was exactly what Young Master Liu had anticipated. He then declared, "That settles it. Uncle suspects there is an issue with your father's grave!"

Qian Qing clearly didn't fully believe what Young Master Liu was saying. "That shouldn't be the case. When my father passed, the family held a magnificent funeral. Neighbors from ten miles around came to pay respects. We also paid a heavy sum to have an old Daoist select a prime burial spot for prosperity. It shouldn't be about the grave!"

Young Master Liu thought he needed to display a bit of skill to make Qian Qing believe him. He then asked, "Your Uncle must have ancestral tablets at home, right?"

"Yes, of course. They are enshrined in the inner room, going back from my great-great-grandfather down to my father's generation."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Liu formed a hand seal, recited an incantation, pointed it toward Qian Qing's eyes, and said, "If you don't believe me, Uncle, go to the room with the ancestral tablets. Block your left eye and see what you observe."

Qian Qing heard this and said, "Alright then, I'll take a look!"

He then led Young Master Liu to a slightly smaller room.

Opening the door revealed just one table, laden with ancestral tablets.

Qian Qing first glanced at the tablets, then covered his left eye and looked again. He paused slightly, lowered his hand, stared at the tablets, then covered his left eye and looked once more. After a long moment, he lowered his hand, his voice trembling slightly, and said,

"When... when I look at the tablets with both eyes... the tablets... my father's tablet is upside down!"

Everyone present, except Young Master Liu, gasped sharply.

"Uncle, I believe you should trust me now. I suspect the root of all this trouble lies with your father's grave!"

It took Qian Qing quite a while to regain his composure. He finally spoke to Young Master Liu, "Young brother, tell us what to do, and we will do it. My family's fate is in your hands."

Young Master Liu looked at Qian Qing and said, "Uncle, take me to see your father's grave. Perhaps the burial location was wrong!"

Hearing this, Qian Qing turned and instructed the servants, "Get more people and bring shovels. We are heading to the back mountain shortly!"

Qian Qing led Young Master Liu and Gou Dan out of the house, followed by the servants. On the way, Gou Dan asked Young Master Liu, "Young Master, you're truly divine! How did you manage that?"

Young Master Liu said proudly, "Learned it from Master. I'll teach you when we get back!"

Gou Dan nodded happily.

Qian Qing led Young Master Liu to a mountain. This mountain bordered a waterfall, with a living spring below and the essence of the sun and moon above. If an ancestral tomb was buried here, the descendants would surely become officials or wealthy gentry. If Qian Qing's father was buried here, why would his family be facing this current misfortune? It seemed the Daoist priest Qian Qing had hired hadn't been paid in vain, as this was indeed an auspicious location for Feng Shui.

Reaching the mountainside, Qian Qing stopped before a mound of earth and said, "This is my father's grave. Little prodigy, please take a look!"

Young Master Liu hadn't guessed wrong; his father was indeed buried here. Despite the scene suggesting prosperity and renewal, there was no trace of malevolence. But why hadn't Qian Qing's family enjoyed peace and fortune instead of facing ruin? He concluded there must be something tricky about the grave itself.

So, Young Master Liu activated his Yin-Yang eyes to look into Qian Qing's father's grave. He discovered several threads of living energy inside.

Young Master Liu told Qian Qing, "Uncle, something is wrong with your father's grave!"

Qian Qing understood what Young Master Liu meant. After thinking it over, he knelt before his father's grave and said, "Father, your son is unfilial. It seems we must disturb your rest. Please do not blame me."

After mumbling a bit more, he turned to the servants holding shovels and commanded, "Start digging!"

The servants took up their shovels and began to dig.

After digging for only a short while, Qian Qing's father's coffin came into view. Qian Qing hesitated for a long moment, then looked back at Young Master Liu, as if confirming whether they truly needed to proceed.

Young Master Liu said, "Uncle, trust me. If you want to resolve the strange occurrences in your house, we must open the coffin."

Hearing this, Qian Qing seemed to make a huge decision. He looked up at the servants and commanded, "Open the coffin!"

The servants worked together clumsily to pry the coffin open. Everyone inside gasped in shock.

Qian Qing's father's body showed no signs of decay; he lay in the coffin as if merely asleep. Logically, after being interred a year ago, the body should have long since decomposed. Yet, his father appeared as if alive.

Qian Qing wailed aloud, "Father! Your son has failed you! Your body has barely gone cold!"

The sound sent shivers down Young Master Liu's spine; he could understand Qian Qing's anguish.

Young Master Liu stepped forward and told him, "Uncle, there's no need to grieve. The thing beneath your father's coffin is the greatest menace!" Hearing this, Qian Qing, without another word, ordered men to lift the coffin and place it above the grave pit.

Everyone looked down into the hole and saw an opening about the size of a basin, from which water was continuously bubbling out—it was a springhead. Two red fish were swimming slowly within the spring.

Everyone froze. Young Master Liu slowly explained, "A spring erupting beneath a grave nurtures the ancestor but curses the descendants. Uncle, the reason your father's corpse has not decomposed this past year is due to this spring and these fish. The essence and vitality of the water and fish preserved the body, but this will bring calamity to the descendants!"

Qian Qing stood stunned in place. After a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "Then... then what should be done?"

Young Master Liu continued, "Immediately order someone to seal this springhead, catch those two fish and release them alive, and then the coffin must be buried upright. Seven days of continuous incense offering will resolve the issue!"

Qian Qing ordered his servants to carry out the tasks. Afterward, he led the two men down the mountain. Along the way, he offered profuse thanks, insisting that Young Master Liu and Gou Dan stay to be properly entertained. Young Master Liu explained that he was worried his family would be anxious if he stayed longer, so he couldn't remain. Qian Qing accompanied them back to the village, and at the village entrance, he escorted them to their doorstep. He pulled out a stack of banknotes and tried to press them into Young Master Liu's hand. Young Master Liu pushed it away, refusing. Qian Qing insisted that if he didn't accept, he wouldn't leave. Young Master Liu had no choice but to take the money, and Qian Qing turned and departed.

Watching his retreating figure, Young Master Liu suspected that the Daoist priest from back then must have deliberately tampered with things to harm his family. He sighed and returned home with Gou Dan.

Old Mr. Liu and his wife had already prepared dinner, waiting for the two rascals. Just as they were about to go look for them, the pair returned. After eating and washing up, Young Master Liu and Gou Dan lay down on the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep.

Young Master Liu asked Gou Dan, "Why were you so quiet all the way here?"

Gou Dan replied at this point, "Young Master, I honestly don't know what to say about what happened today!"

Gou Dan's words made Young Master Liu laugh. Gou Dan continued, "Young Master, you are amazing, just like an immortal!"

Hearing this, Young Master Liu recalled Zhang Enpu. They had been gone for several days now; he wondered where he was and when he would return.

Young Master Liu told Gou Dan, "These things were taught to me by Daoist Master Zhang, and much of it I learned from his books!"

Gou Dan patted his chubby face and said, "If only I could be like you! Then we could go out together to exorcise demons and uphold the Dao!"

Young Master Liu laughed at his naiveté. "We don't have that kind of skill. Hey, there are so many capable people in the world; we wouldn't be among them, right?"

After speaking, Young Master Liu nudged him with his elbow, but there was no response. Young Master Liu turned his head to look; Gou Dan had already fallen asleep.

This dead Gou Dan, Young Master Liu thought. He pulled the blanket up higher and prepared to sleep.

The moment Young Master Liu closed his eyes, he heard a thwack from the courtyard, as if something had struck the wall. Seeing Gou Dan sleeping soundly, he didn't wake him. Throwing on some clothes, he opened the door.

It was somewhat cold that night. Young Master Liu looked around but saw nothing. Just as he was about to close the door and go back inside, he spotted a figure crouching in the corner of the courtyard. Young Master Liu shut the door and stepped out. He activated his Yin-Yang eyes, and now he saw much more clearly: long hair covered the figure's face as it sat with its back to him—it appeared to be merely a resentful ghost. Seeing that it seemed harmless, Young Master Liu turned to go back inside, but just then, he felt a chilling gust of wind sweep past his back.

Young Master Liu cursed inwardly, Not good! The moment he turned around, a hand clamped around his throat. He couldn't move, feeling as if he were suffocating. Young Master Liu tried to push it away but couldn't reach, as he was lifted into the air, choked speechless by the fierce ghost, his ears buzzing.

Young Master Liu felt as if he were about to die. In a panic, he bit his tongue until it bled, spitting out the last bit of strength toward the fierce ghost.

A piercing shriek of "Ah!" echoed, and simultaneously, the pressure on his throat eased, causing him to drop to the ground. Young Master Liu lay prostrate, gagging repeatedly. After panting for a long time, he recovered somewhat. Young Master Liu looked up at the fierce ghost; it was now far away from him. It seemed that whatever he'd done had given it pause. Young Master Liu struggled to his feet, facing the fierce ghost, his heart filled with immense rage.

Young Master Liu let out a cold snort. "You forced me into this!"

Saying this, he quickly formed a hand seal with his right hand and chanted, "Taiyi Zhen Yuan, Wan Xie Mo Qin, Lei Zhen Ding Ting, Mo Xie Mo Jing, Ji Ji Ru Lü Ling!" With that, he pointed his hand at the fierce ghost, and it vanished instantly. Young Master Liu lost all his strength and slumped onto the ground.

Just then, a voice sounded from outside the door.