CHAPTER 594: CHAPTER 109_4

As the sky was just beginning to brighten, the three of them arrived at the Xue family’s ancestral tomb.

Upon arriving, Li Zhiyuan immediately sensed the extraordinary nature of the Xue family’s tomb: nestled in a valley, there were three rises and two falls, which constituted three adjacent hilltops, facing a river in front and backed by mountains—a truly auspicious site.

In the early years when selecting the ancestral tomb, the location was likely chosen by an expert Feng Shui master.

The Xue family’s tomb was situated on the central hilltop. If all went as expected, the other two hilltops would also be home to other families’ ancestral tombs.

"Uncle Xue, who owns the ancestral tombs on those two hilltops?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xue thoughtfully replied, "They should be tombs as well, but I can’t remember whose they are."

"Xiao Yuan, should I go take a look?"

"Go ahead, Brother Runsheng."

Run Sheng sprinted down, heading toward the area, while Li Zhiyuan and Mr. Xue began arranging the ritual offerings.

It wasn’t long before Run Sheng ran back, "Xiao Yuan, there are no tombs on that hilltop."

Mr. Xue exclaimed in astonishment, "How is that possible?"

Although he couldn’t recall who the tombs belonged to, he was subconsciously certain they had been there.

Run Sheng then ran off toward the hilltop on the west side and upon returning, reported, "There are no tombs there either."

Mr. Xue said in bewilderment, "That doesn’t make sense. I remember there should be tombs here; I’ll ask around when I get back to the town."

"Uncle Xue, let’s proceed with the task at hand first."

Li Zhiyuan understood that finding out whose ancestral tombs were on those two hilltops once back in town would surely yield no answers.

Moreover, the absence of something that should be present hinted at the possibility that "there is no hiding the three hundred taels of silver here."

Deep down, he had a premonition that these three spots could be akin to the "Array Eye."

Fortunately, Li Zhiyuan had already organized and confirmed his strategic approach, planning to continue with the original plan; otherwise, these three hilltops would have been critical nodes for his attempt to break through.

"Alright, I’ll pay respects to the ancestral tomb first."

Mr. Xue began the ancestral worship ritual—he sprinkled wine, burned paper money, and finally kowtowed.

As Mr. Xue kowtowed, Li Zhiyuan suddenly became aware of a slight disturbance at the very top, at the ancestral tomb’s most prominent position.

He immediately entered the Underworld state and saw a faint beam of azure light, descending from above, directly targeting Mr. Xue.

Li Zhiyuan raised his hand, instinctively wanting to block it, yet eventually let it fall.

Because this was not an evil spirit, but Qingxia.

The frequently mentioned phenomenon of ancestral tombs emitting green smoke refers to this, mistaking the Qingxia for green smoke.

Generally, only the truly virtuous ancestors who are buried in an auspicious site and descendants of pure character can receive the protection of Qingxia, also known as the blessing of the ancestors.

This was considered a blessing, with only benefits and no harms. There was no reason for him to stop it.

The Qingxia entered Mr. Xue’s body without his knowledge, and he continued to kowtow.

After the ritual was over, Mr. Xue began cleaning up, and there were no other disturbances at the tomb area.

Li Zhiyuan couldn’t help but wonder if the process was not complete yet?

If his judgment was incorrect, that it wasn’t Mr. Xue’s birthday rituals driving the main cause, but rather a certain guest who would come on the birthday that was key, then this preemptive action of his would be meaningless.

The three returned home.

Li Zhiyuan had intended to ask Mr. Xue which relatives and friends from out of town would come over for the banquet in the following month, but just as he started the conversation, Mr. Xue began to show pronounced signs of sleepiness, yawning non-stop and nearly falling asleep in his chair several times.

Mrs. Xue came out and on seeing this, quickly said, "You got up too early, go get some sleep now, and then get up later for the celebration."

Mr. Xue nodded groggily, almost falling as he tried to stand up.

"Brother Runsheng, please help Uncle Xue to bed."

"Alright."

Run Sheng reached out, almost picking Mr. Xue up single-handedly and taking him upstairs to bed.

Li Zhiyuan looked at the bench where Mr. Xue had been sitting. Was the drowsiness that intense?

Could it be that... the ancestors wanted to convey a dream?

After sending Mr. Xue to bed, Run Sheng began to hang up the birthday couplets and longevity characters.

Before long, two families of relatives arrived, followed by two neighboring families, and the courtyard quickly became lively.

At this point, the young man from the neighboring house came in with a large bamboo basket, laughing as he called out:

"Ha ha, Auntie, I went out on the boat this morning and caught a big one, I’ve never seen such a large fresh fish before, you better clean it up quickly. Let’s cook a fish soup for lunch, consider this a birthday gift from the Dragon King of the river for my uncle!"

Inside the bamboo basket was Big Fish.

Run Sheng suddenly bent down and whispered in Li Zhiyuan’s ear, "This fish is tainted."

Li Zhiyuan immediately looked towards the young man bringing the fish; the boy was barefooted, topless, with dark skin, and from his interaction with those around him, it was confirmed that he was indeed the neighbor.

On the young man, Li Zhiyuan couldn’t detect any signs; he wasn’t an evil spirit, nor was he possessed.

Moreover, his natural demeanor and micro expressions showed nothing amiss, suggesting that he hadn’t lied.

Therefore, the fish that had issues was indeed unintentionally caught by him.

But this fish might have been intentional, willing to take the bait.

Mr. Xue had just returned from worshiping at the ancestral tomb, and this fish "followed" right after. There must be a connection.

Mrs. Xue exclaimed, "My goodness, such a big fish, how can I possibly slaughter it on my own?"

"Aunt Xue, let Run Sheng help you with the fish."

"Run Sheng, can you?"

"Of course."

Run Sheng took the fish basket from the neighbor’s hands and moved towards the back kitchen, with Li Zhiyuan following.

Outside the kitchen was a small door, leading to a courtyard of a few square meters, normally unused.

Run Sheng set down the fish basket there, then turned to look at Li Zhiyuan.