Breaking Ground and Digging Up Graves

When he heard what I said, cold sweat broke out on Zhang Yucheng's forehead. Zhang Yunyao looked nervous too.

After a moment, Zhang Yucheng turned to me and said, "Young Master Wu, I don't really understand these things you've told us. We'll do whatever you say, as long as it solves the problem. If you need me to do anything, just say the word."

"First, burn those wooden boxes we dug up, along with everything inside them. Second, choose an auspicious time to break ground and dig up the graves. Every coffin in this cemetery must be unearthed and kept at your home for three days before being reburied at a suitably chosen site. Only then can we ensure the safety of the Zhang Family," I said gravely.

"When would be the best time to break ground?" Zhang Yucheng asked.

I made a quick calculation on my fingers and said, "Midnight tonight would be best."

"All right, that's settled, then. Let's go back to the old house and rest. We'll come back at midnight to break ground and dig up the graves," Zhang Yucheng said.

I nodded, then followed Huzi into Zhang Yucheng's car and returned to his old house in Yongfeng County.

Though it was an old house, Zhang Yucheng had renovated it. The courtyard was large enough to drive the car right inside.

When we arrived, Zhang Yucheng's son, Zhang Yunliang, was at home, sleeping soundly.

The sight of his son immediately infuriated Zhang Yucheng. He was still brooding over how the boy had offended me earlier that day. He woke him up, and the two had another heated argument before parting on bad terms.

Watching the father and son act like sworn enemies, I asked Zhang Yunyao, "Has your brother always been like this?"

An apologetic look immediately crossed Zhang Yunyao's face. "I'm sorry, Young Master Wu. What happened earlier was my brother's fault. He didn't know who you were, which was why he said those things. Please don't take them to heart. When we were little, my dad was busy running his business and hardly disciplined him. That made him rather extreme in his behavior, and he's always offending people. If it weren't for my dad, someone would probably have broken his legs by now."

I nearly laughed when I heard that. It was the first time I had ever heard a younger sister talk about her own brother like that.

Then I asked, "When did his nightmares start?"

"A little over twenty days ago. He has nightmares every night, dreaming that he jumps off a building, and he dies horribly every time. My dad took him to the hospital and had all sorts of tests done, but they couldn't find anything wrong. He even saw a psychologist, who said it was caused by too much stress. But all my brother ever does is eat, drink, have fun, and chase girls. I've never seen him under any stress." Zhang Yunyao was equally puzzled by it.

At that point, I couldn't help wondering whether something was wrong with the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard and whether it had any direct connection to Zhang Yunliang.

There didn't seem to be much of a gap between when Zhang Yunliang's nightmares had started and when something had gone wrong with the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard.

I wondered if perhaps Zhang Yunliang hadn't become like this because something had gone wrong with the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard.

Although problems with the ancestral graves could have a major impact on the Zhang Family and bring disaster upon them, they wouldn't cause mental problems.

Still, that was only my conjecture, not something I could be certain of.

We rested for a while at the Zhang Family's old house. Zhang Yucheng also had a tableful of food prepared, and we ate our fill.

Before we knew it, darkness had fallen.

Midnight drew closer and closer.

Just then, Zhang Yucheng developed a slight problem.

Perhaps his dutiful son had angered him too much that day, but his high blood pressure flared up. He was so dizzy that he could barely stand, leaving him unable to accompany us to the cemetery to break ground.

I told Zhang Yucheng to rest at home. All we needed was someone who could take charge to come with us.

Zhang Yucheng told Zhang Yunyao to accompany me and also ordered his son, Zhang Yunliang, to go along.

I guessed Zhang Yucheng was uneasy about letting his daughter go with me alone, so he had Zhang Yunliang accompany her.

In truth, I didn't want the boy to come. I was afraid he would only cause trouble.

He was the sort who couldn't accomplish anything but could ruin everything.

Still, Zhang Yucheng specifically warned Zhang Yunliang that he had to cooperate with me in everything. If anything went wrong, he would break his legs when he got home.

Although Zhang Yunliang readily agreed, his expression made it clear that he wasn't happy about it.

Zhang Yunyao had told me earlier that, to avoid having nightmares at night, he tried to stay awake all night and slept through the day instead.

Doing that had eased his nightmares considerably.

As a result, he was full of energy at night.

Our group, along with eight workers, soon returned to the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard.

The eight workers were actually very reluctant to help relocate the graves.

Especially after what had happened that day. They had witnessed it themselves, and Zhang Yucheng had nearly lost his life.

That was why Zhang Yucheng had doubled their wages before they agreed to come back.

After nightfall, the Zhang Family Ancestral Graveyard looked rather sinister. Wisps of white mist drifted around the graves, leaving everyone a little unnerved.

As soon as Zhang Yunliang arrived, he took out his phone and became engrossed in playing on it. He had no intention of taking charge of anything.

The sight of that spoiled rich kid made me want to give him a beating.

After a little while, I reckoned it was about time. I chose a spot and told the workers to start breaking ground and digging up the graves.

The workers were all villagers from nearby who usually worked the fields, so they had plenty of strength. In roughly an hour, they unearthed two coffins.

Bloody water still seeped out of the graves as they dug, but the workers had already grown used to it. Having experienced it during the day, they weren't as frightened as before.

Perhaps because they were so old, the coffins had rotted. When the workers lifted them out of the pits, the coffin boards broke apart, exposing the bodies inside.

The workers were all startled when they saw the bodies in the coffins.

Just as I had said earlier, this was a Yin Corpse Ground. Bodies buried here wouldn't decay even after a thousand years.

The coffins had rotted beyond recognition, yet the bodies inside were perfectly preserved, looking as though they were merely asleep.

The bodies in the first two coffins we unearthed were an elderly man and woman, presumably ancestors of the Zhang Family.

Since Zhang Yucheng had known earlier that the graves might need to be relocated, he had specially prepared several new coffins and left them in the cemetery.

So, as soon as those two coffins were lifted out, I directed the workers to remove the bodies from the shattered coffins and place them in the new ones.

We had only just lifted out two coffins when Zhang Yunyao unexpectedly received a phone call. Her face immediately tightened with anxiety.