"The gentleman's words are quite mysterious."
I composed myself, ignoring his gloomy and resentful remarks, and continued, "You seemed to be having a good chat with that boss earlier, and you seem to know quite a bit about this courtyard. We're just a bunch of roughnecks, at most we're just watching the show. But this artificial hill is quite strangely built."
The man in the Zhongshan suit didn't answer. Instead, he took a few steps closer to us and came in. Only then did I notice that his face was an unhealthy white, and his eyes were excessively dark, like two deep holes.
He sniffed and frowned slightly.
"You guys smell bad."
"What's that smell? The smell of sweat?"
Li Huai raised his arm and sniffed it, then looked at the strange man.
"What nonsense are you talking about? It has no taste at all."
"Hehe, it's not the smell of sweat, it's the resentment that's been there for a while, along with the dust and ash from the coffin shop, mixed with a natural malevolent aura."
His gaze swept over the three of us in turn, a smile playing on his lips.
"A craftsman, a knife-wielder, and a freak with a tough life—it's interesting that they've all come together."
The hairs on the back of my head stood on end. This guy actually passed Li Huai's expert appraisal technique!
Unlike other masters, he did not achieve his success through sight, but through smell.
And this guy could even smell my profession and Luo Tianhe's profession, he must be a dog.
Luo Tianhe took half a step forward, blocking my way, and said in an unfriendly tone, "Who the hell are you? What are you trying to do, talking all mysteriously?"
The man in the Zhongshan suit seemed oblivious to Luo Tianhe's hostility, instead letting out a soft sigh: "Who I am is unimportant. It's you lot who, not only have you gotten yourself into trouble, but you've also come to linger near the heart of that trouble. Being young and bold isn't always a good thing."
He paused, his gaze shifting in the direction we had come from: "The layout here was altered by a master craftsman at great expense by Boss Zeng. Not only the garden, but even the servants inside are different. Didn't you notice anything amiss just now?"
I didn't say anything, my thoughts racing.
This guy not only saw through our background, but also realized that we had a grudge against Zeng, the former richest man, and that we came here to cause trouble.
However, he doesn't seem to be on the same side as the former richest man; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to tell us all this, he could have just informed on us directly.
Just then, Li Huai spoke up, saying defiantly, "Who said we didn't notice? These waiters are probably not alive, and this courtyard—we felt something was off the moment we walked in!"
This guy is putting on an act. He didn't see anything wrong with it at all; he was lecherous from the very beginning.
The man in the Zhongshan suit gave Li Huai a meaningful look.
I stepped forward and said, “The layout here seems elegant, but it secretly falls into the category of gathering yin and attracting evil. The pond is in the wrong place, the artificial hill is piled up and violates the form evil, the corridor is winding like a maze, and what’s even stranger is that…”
I paused here, then pointed to the ground: "What's even stranger is the earth's energy. It's cold and damp, yet carries an unusual sweetness, as if it were nurtured by something. I wonder if you've noticed this, sir?"
The man in the Zhongshan suit didn't respond to my question. Instead, he took a few more steps forward, getting even closer to me.
"The strange thing about the artificial hill?"
His lips twitched again, but this time it wasn't a smile; rather, it looked like a twitch.
"Were you staring at those stones piled up against the west wall for several seconds just now?"
My heart skipped a beat.
When we were following them, I did glance at them several times, because I felt that the Taihu stone pile was eerie, like several figures bowing and kowtowing, or like a pile of corpses.
This is a term used in our trade of cobblers, called "Stacked Arhats' Evil," which is specifically used to suppress the yang energy of living people.
I did take a second look, but he was clearly facing away from us. Does he have eyes in the back of his head?
"It does look somewhat familiar."
I didn't say it explicitly, but rather gave vague answers.
Firstly, there are many taboos in this line of work, and some things cannot be said carelessly. Secondly, I also want to know if he really has any real knowledge.
"It looks familiar, that's why."
The man in the Zhongshan suit lowered his voice, which carried a somewhat ambiguous meaning.
"The stones there are not arranged in the style of garden art, which is transparent, wrinkled, porous, and thin. Instead, they are arranged according to the style of the ghost soldiers borrowing the way in the Five Ghosts' Wealth-Gathering Bureau. They are not Taihu stones, but Soul-Returning Stones."
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but frown.
I don't understand garden art, but I have heard of the Five Ghosts' Money-Gathering Scheme.
This is an evil technique that increases one's wealth by collecting the yang energy of passersby. It is extremely insidious and should have been lost long ago.
Suddenly, I recalled a detail: this garden is generally not open to the public, so why was Su Xiaoxiao's school able to bring students here to sketch?
"The Soul-Returning Stone?"
Li Huai couldn't help but interject, "What is that? I've never heard of it before."
"It's a stone that's been placed on top of a coffin in a graveyard, or that's been standing in front of a grave for a long time and has absorbed enough of the corpse's energy and yin energy."
Seeing that the man in the Zhongshan suit had no intention of explaining, I spoke up.
"This kind of stone, even if you expose it to the sun for three years, it will still have that cold, damp feel! Look at the cracks in the stone, there isn't a single speck of moss growing there, and even insects like ants have to avoid it."
Luo Tianhe, Li Huai looked in the direction I indicated?
"Holy crap, it really is! This stone is bare, but the weeds at the base of the wall next to it are very lush."
Li Huai exclaimed in amazement.
I sighed and continued, "The richest man in the country put this thing in his yard. It absorbs the sun's essence during the day and spews out yin energy at night. People living near this yard are prone to sleep paralysis!"
In my dreams, I often feel like something is moving around by my bedside, or I hear the sound of stones rubbing together.
If this continues for a while, those with weak bodies, especially those whose spirits are unstable, may even see blurry human faces floating on the rocks at night!
Upon hearing my explanation, both Luo Tianhe and Li Huai shuddered.
Luo Tianhe stammered, "But this garden isn't his enemy's property; it's his territory. Why is he doing all this?"
"This kind of place is not suitable for the master, but it is suitable for doing some evil magic or something."
I explained in a muffled voice.
The man in the Zhongshan suit gave me an approving look, then turned to the pool, his gaze shifting from approval to disgust, and then to some apprehension: "This water isn't flowing water, it's the Yin-Sealing Spring. Look at the edge of the pool, isn't there a ring of particularly dark marks?"
Upon closer inspection, we discovered that near the water's surface at Chibi, there was indeed a dark red ring, resembling rust.
To be honest, I had never heard of the Yin-Sealing Spring before, and I was a little confused. I looked at him with a puzzled expression.
He quickly noticed the confusion in my eyes and explained, "Those are the marks left by brushing the pool with black dog blood, rooster comb blood, cinnabar, and rust forty-nine times!"
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