Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

"Mouse, what's wrong?"

I looked at Cui Hao in confusion.

Apart from emitting a cold air, there is nothing unusual about the Seven Star Nail.

Why did Cui Hao tremble all over and scream in surprise?

Cui Hao slowly raised his hand for me to see.

The sharp tip pierced into the palm of my hand, and bright red blood beads emerged from the wound.

What's even weirder is that the Seven-Star Nail is sucking blood!

The golden seven-star nails turned blood-colored!

The blood spiraled upward from the tip, wrapping around the four-sided nail body like a coiled dragon and spreading to the nail head.

"Brother, I won't die, right?" Cui Hao asked with trembling lips.

I picked up the seven-star nail that had absorbed blood.

It doesn't feel cold like other seven-star nails, it even feels warm.

It's really strange!

But I don’t understand what’s going on, so I can only ask Taoist Master Zhang.

"What do you feel?"

Cui Hao felt it for a few seconds, then shook his head and said, "Nothing much, just like usual."

"Then you won't die. Go to sleep quickly."

I said as I put away the seven-star nails.

Cui Hao smiled innocently and said, "That's right. If there really was a problem, it would have happened by now."

We both fell asleep quickly.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already noon the next day.

I was woken by the sound of carpentry work in the yard.

I stretched, washed up and walked out of the room.

I saw Lao Li sitting in a chair, directing his two apprentices to make a coffin.

"Brother Li is busy." I greeted him with a smile.

Old Li, who was wrapped in bandages, rolled his eyes, pouted and threw his head back.

"The coffins are in the backyard. Let Jiang Yatou pick one."

"Ah? It's done so quickly?" I said in surprise.

Old Li scoffed, "You don't understand, do you? The coffin needs to be painted after it's finished. Even if it's just a coat of black paint, it has to dry in the shade for ten days."

"It would take two to three months to make a good coffin with three, five, or seven coats of paint."

"The backyard is a sample made earlier. Take a bite and use it first."

Only after hearing the explanation did I come to my senses.

The most time-consuming process in making a coffin is painting.

After applying the primer, you need to apply varnish. The better the coffin, the more layers of varnish it has.

This is to increase the coffin's corrosion resistance.

"But we still have to be cautious when it comes to relocating graves. As the old saying goes, nine out of ten attempts to relocate graves fail. It's not that easy to move a grave," Old Li reminded.

I really don't understand the rules of relocating graves.

So after hearing what Lao Li said, I couldn't help but become curious.

I brought a chair and sat next to him, took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

"Brother Li, can you tell me in detail what are the requirements for moving graves?"

"Hey, you little brats really don't know the rules of moving graves. You're not even in the funeral business, so you don't understand the rules."

There are many rules for relocating graves, and ordinary people don’t really understand the ins and outs of it.

Apart from Taoist priests and Feng Shui masters, the only people who understand the rules of relocating graves are people in the funeral industry.

Those who sell gold ingot candles, make paper people and paper horses, and make coffins and tombstones are all considered marginal figures in the funeral industry, and they know a thing or two about funerals.

Old Li took a puff of his cigarette, raised his head, squinted his eyes and said proudly, "As the old saying goes, when you're poor, you don't change your family, and when you're rich, you don't move your grave."

"People believe that burial brings peace. Relocating graves is like making our ancestors feel uneasy."

"If the ancestors are not at peace, the descendants will lose their protection and will naturally be plagued by disasters."

"So unless there are any problems like the grave collapsing, water intrusion, or the grass and plants on the grave withering for no reason, we won't move the grave easily."

"Girl Jiang wants to move her father's grave. It would be best if she could burn some incense in front of the grave and ask her father's spirit for his opinion. If the spirit agrees, then we can arrange for the move."

"Otherwise, even moving to a good feng shui location might not be of much use."

There is some truth in what you said.

Many great figures encountered setbacks after their success and thought that moving their graves could change their fate, but they ended up falling into ruin even faster after moving their graves.

It seems that I have to go to Jiang Nanle's father's grave first to burn incense and ask her father if he is willing to move the grave.

"Then how can we know whether the deceased agrees or not?" I asked.

"First, light the incense and place the ends of the three incense sticks in front of the grave. Then pray. After the prayer, observe the length of the three incense sticks after the ash falls off."

"In the past, there was a legend called the Twenty-Four Incense Charts, which specifically used the tips of incense to predict good or bad luck."

"I can't explain that to you right away. When Miss Jiang goes to the grave to ask about it, I'll go with her."

"Thank you, Brother Li. How about we leave later?"

"That's right, but I can't make a wasted trip, right?" Old Li said as he pointed to the bandages on his body.

It means that he is injured and can't help for free.

I'm impressed by his stinginess.

No, this is not stingy.

Whenever he gets the chance, he will put some money into his own pocket.

"I will definitely not let you go in vain."

"Haha, okay, it's better to hurry up early than late. Let's set off after dinner."

After lunch, everyone got on the donkey cart.

Ershuan spread a thick layer of straw on the cart and helped Lao Li lie down in the cart.

Cui Hao, Jiang Nanle and I followed the car slowly, carrying incense, candles, valuables, fruits, snacks and other funeral supplies.

When we were nearing Zhitun Village, we saw a large group of people gathered at the entrance of the village.

The group of people looked very festive in their red clothes and colorful decorations.

There were also two tall horses wearing red flowers on their heads, pulling a carriage with a big red quilt cover as a carriage cover.

Obviously this is the procession to pick up the bride.

At that time, it was considered a great honor for villagers to use a horse-drawn carriage to pick up their brides when they got married. It was not until the 1980s that bicycles and tractors became more common.

But what puzzled me was that it was already past noon, but the wedding procession was still staying at the village entrance and not going in.

Usually the bride-picking party sets out in the morning and brings the bride back before noon.

The wedding started at noon, and the bride and groom started the feast after the ceremony.

If a wedding fails to start at noon, there is a 99% chance that something has gone wrong.

Old Li obviously had the same idea as me. He sucked his teeth and said, "Oh, the wedding procession won't enter the village. There will be something exciting to watch."

"Last time, I was stopped and beaten by these villagers. I cursed them in my heart. Look, this is my retribution!"

"Ershuan, help me up quickly. I want to have a good look at the excitement."

It seems that Lao Li is not only greedy for money but also holds grudges.

The last time they came to Zhitun Village for scout, they were caught and severely beaten by the villagers. He still remembers this incident clearly.

Jiang Nanle's face was tense, and he suddenly quickened his pace and ran towards the village.

I couldn't catch him right away, so I had to chase after him with Cui Hao.

When I arrived at the village entrance, I heard the people who were sending the bride off talking.

"On such a happy day, my father-in-law hanged himself on the front door of his own house. What kind of thing is this?"

"I just asked around with the villagers, and they said our in-laws are terrible people. They swallowed up their brother's property a few days ago and even sold their brother's daughter to a fool as his wife."

"Retribution, it must be retribution!"

"We can't get married. We can't push our daughter into this fire pit. Let's go home!"

"That's right! This marriage can't happen. Turn around!"

I was shocked when I heard it.

Could it be that Jiang Nan was worried that her uncle had hanged himself on the gate?

This is too bizarre!