I helped Su Dazhuang put on his clothes and gave him a few sips of water to calm his nerves.
Once he settled down, I said, "Grandpa, what's happening to you is due to something wrong with your ancestral tomb. We have to break this formation before the snake around your waist fully manifests."
Considering Su Dazhuang might not be a native of the provincial capital, I added, "If it's far, I'll need to call my second uncle."
Su Dazhuang quickly shook his head and said, "Not far, not far. Years ago, I already had the ancestral graves relocated to the city outskirts."
To be honest, the old man really doesn't buy into this kind of stuff.
Otherwise, who would go to the trouble of relocating ancestral graves while their business is thriving?
Originally, I planned to let my second uncle handle it to help ease the tension between them.
But seeing the old man's reaction, I didn't push it further.
Some conflicts aren't resolved overnight.
I looked over to Huang Jiu and asked if he wanted to bring his wife along.
He puffed his chest and said with his claw pounding on it, "This little thing is nothing for Grandpa Jiu! No need for that wretched woman. Besides, graveyards are heavy with Yin energy—it's not a place for your little Cui."
I had to admit, he knew how to play me well.
I didn't want Xiaocui running around with me everywhere either, so I brought the Blood Thorn and the Five-Emperor Coins, called Su Dazhuang, and headed out.
Su Dazhuang followed behind nervously, asking if I had a solution.
I replied, "Grandpa, I'll have to see the grave first."
Huang Jiu and I had checked the old man's aura more than once but never detected anything.
That made me suspect this wasn't just a simple snake spirit possession—so I didn't make any guarantees.
Su Dazhuang adjusted his clothes and led us through a small alley to a main road.
Only then did I realize he had his driver park here while he walked to the store himself.
Just like Huang Jiu had said earlier—so concerned with saving face that he ends up suffering.
Passing a hardware store, I asked the driver to buy a hoe.
Turns out you can't find one in the city, so he brought back a shovel instead.
I tested it out—would have to do.
Seeing this, Su Dazhuang anxiously asked, "Li Yang, are you going to dig up my family's grave?"
Superstitious or not, disturbing an ancestral grave is serious business for anyone.
I reassured him, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I know what I'm doing."
He still looked uneasy.
The driver sped along, and we arrived at the graveyard before noon.
Only then did I learn that Su Dazhuang had relocated not just one grave but several.
The layout seemed quite haphazard.
But even so, the plot had been arranged by a geomancer hired by a developer.
And since Su Dazhuang didn't believe in Feng Shui, he unwittingly followed the "One White Three Clean" principle—body clean, home clean, and people clean.
In that case, moving the graves around wouldn't have caused any problems.
But the current issues were exactly what worried me.
If the Feng Shui here wasn't strong enough to gather energy naturally, and now something had gone wrong—it could only mean someone had tampered with it.
I suspected someone from Laoshan might be behind this, but checked the timeline:
When Su Dazhuang's symptoms began, Liu Changxuan and his disciple hadn't even found me yet.
He Xiongyun alone wouldn't be capable of setting up a formation like this.
And if something went wrong with ancestral graves over three generations, it wouldn't affect just one person.
There would be widespread repercussions.
So I went straight to the grave of Su Dazhuang's parents and activated my spiritual vision.
Strangely, I still saw nothing unusual.
But since I couldn't see anything on Su Dazhuang either, I kept my guard up.
I checked every Su family grave and found nothing out of the ordinary, then returned to the one for his parents.
"Grandpa, were your parents buried or cremated?" I asked, glancing at the sun overhead—noon was approaching.
"Buried," he replied.
I nodded and stayed still.
Su Dazhuang grew nervous again. "Li Yang, is something wrong?"
"Not at all," I said. "It's just that the Yang energy is too strong under the noon sun. I'll check again at exactly twelve when Yang is at its peak and Yin starts to emerge."
We're family, so I had no reason to act mysterious—I told him plainly.
He mumbled something under his breath, which I didn't catch.
At exactly noon, I reactivated my spiritual vision.
This time, I finally saw a faint black mist coiled around the tombstone.
It was weak, meaning whoever set this up wasn't very skilled.
Too bad it was family—if it were a stranger, I could have easily swindled a tidy sum.
I muttered internally and prepared to use Daoist energy to disperse the malevolent aura gathering around the tombstone.
That way, I wouldn't need to dig up the grave.
Just as I was about to act, Huang Jiu interrupted. "Xiao Li, let Grandpa Jiu show off for Grandpa Su!"
I paused and stepped back, letting him take the stage.
Perched on my shoulder, Huang Jiu turned to Su Dazhuang and said, "Grandpa, watch closely! I'll show you a trick—next time I eat at your restaurant, you better give me a free meal!"
I sighed. So that's why he was so enthusiastic—free food.
Su Dazhuang still hadn't adjusted to the fact that Huang Jiu could talk. With a twisted expression, he nodded.
Huang Jiu took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and blew out a gust of demonic energy.
As it swept over the tombstone, the faint malevolent aura began to surface, swaying like it was about to dissipate.
Just as the poison aura began to vanish, a black whirlwind suddenly rose from the burial mound behind the tombstone.
It came without warning, rapidly engulfing the area and dimming our surroundings. Then came a deep, thunderous roar.
A black dragon burst from the grave, shot skyward, then dove straight toward us with a roar.
The sound was deafening. I was knocked back but used one hand to flip up from the ground and drew my Blood Thorn, striking instinctively.
A flash of blood-red light exploded from the weapon. The black dragon roared again, its aura weakened, and it swiftly retreated back into the grave.
Su Dazhuang collapsed to the ground in fright, gasping. "What was that just now?"
"An Earthly Fiend Black Dragon!"
Golden light flickered in my pupils as I activated the second layer of my spiritual vision.
Through it, I saw the black dragon crouched atop the grave mound, glaring at us with rage.
Within seconds, my eyes throbbed in agony, and I quickly shut them.
Huang Jiu, still shaken, climbed back onto my shoulder and muttered, "How did a coiling snake turn into a black dragon?"
I didn't respond. Instead, I stepped around the tombstone and said to Su Dazhuang, "Grandpa, forgive me!"
Then I plunged the Blood Thorn into the grave mound.
The moment it touched the soil, it turned crimson.
Not daring to waste time, I grabbed the shovel and began digging at the "three-passes" point of the grave mound.
In less than half a meter, I unearthed the corpse of a cobra.
It was a snake—not a dragon.
After all, no one could get a real dragon to power a Feng Shui formation.
But why, then, did the manifestation appear as a black dragon?
And why couldn't I see anything with the first layer of my spiritual vision?
Still puzzled, I didn't dare touch the snake corpse.
I activated the second layer again, braving the searing pain in my eyes, and followed the dragon's tail for answers.