Chapter 86: [Human Calamity]

Upon encountering a funeral procession heading up the mountain, the two cars on this side immediately stopped, pulled over to the roadside, and cleared the main road.

In the front car, He Dong had already gotten out, standing by the road watching the funeral procession. He then walked forward, exchanged a few words with several elders in the procession, and stood by the roadside to watch them pass.

Chen Yan and Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing also got out of the car and stood by the roadside waiting.

As the procession passed, firecrackers went off along the way, filling the air with gunpowder smoke. Chen Yan stared at the funeral procession, his expression turning strange.

Turning his head, he saw Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing push up her glasses and frown: "Who chooses to hold a funeral in the afternoon?"

"Indeed strange."

When Longguo people hold funerals, the process for burying the deceased follows its own set of rules; whether in the city or the countryside, the emphasis is on going up the mountain in the morning.

The ceremony of interring the body in the earth is conventionally held in the morning, and at the latest, no later than noon.

Now, however, it appeared to be four in the afternoon; at this time of year in winter, the sun was already nearly setting.

Chen Yan squinted his eyes, watching the procession slowly pass. But when he saw a filial son or grandson in the middle holding a small urn, he withdrew his gaze.

After cremation, the ashes remain, but the body, having undergone that burning, has lost all its life force; the Art of Gazing at Qi can reveal nothing from it.

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing and Chen Yan slowly walked over to He Dong. Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing spoke in a low voice: "He Dong, I saw you talking to people in the procession just now. Do you know them?"

"Yes, people from the same village." He Dong shook his head and sighed: "Someone from the Ding family at the west end of the village has passed away."

"The Ding family?" Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing asked casually.

"Yes, non-surnamed people of Hejia Village who migrated here generations ago. Although they do not bear the surname He, they have intermarried with the He family and taken root here, branching out and multiplying. Nowadays, in He Village, more than half bear the surname He, and a quarter bear the surname Ding."

Pausing for a moment, He Dong shook his head and said: "The deceased was named Ding Youquan. By reckoning, I should address him as a distant uncle by marriage. He died seven days ago. I was overwhelmed with my own affairs at the time, but I still went to pay my respects."

Chen Yan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked: "He Dong, recently, besides this Ding Youquan, has anyone else in He Village passed away?"

His sudden inquiry as a 【Young Disciple】 was actually somewhat improper and presumptuous—Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing was his nominal elder; since Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing had not spoken, by all rights, it was not his turn as a young junior to ask questions left and right.

He Dong looked at Chen Yan—however, this wealthy man of great means possessed deep reserve and showed no arrogance or pride. Though puzzled, he nodded in consideration of Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing and replied: "A few days ago, someone from the Wang family also passed away. The Wang family are also non-surnamed people in He Village. However, they have no blood relation to my family, so I did not go, only sending someone to deliver some gifts."

Chen Yan nodded and said no more.

After the funeral procession finished passing, the group got back into the cars and returned to He Village.

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Upon returning to the main residence of the He family in the village, before getting out of the car, Chen Yan instructed Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's female assistant: "When you go out later, say you are going to buy something. Then, find someone in the village to inquire about this deceased person surnamed Ding, and the other deceased person surnamed Wang that Mr. He just mentioned.

What are the circumstances of these two families? How did they die, and when did they die?

Also, inquire whether any other families in the village have had deaths recently.

When inquiring, be careful not to be too obvious."

Hearing this, the female assistant instinctively looked at Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing. Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing frowned and said: "What Senior Chen Yan says is equivalent to what I say. Go and do it with your heart!"

The female assistant got out of the car. Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing looked at Chen Yan: "Senior, do you suspect that the people who died in the village..."

Chen Yan nodded: "Yes, I have a hypothesis."

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After getting out of the car and returning to the guest hall inside the residence, that Mrs. He, Sun Chen, had already come forward to welcome them and had people bring tea.

He Dong's expression was serious; he was in no mood for small talk, so he said to Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing: "Teacher Chu, on the mountain earlier..."

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing nodded: "He Dong, let us talk. Do you prefer to do so here, or in your study?"

He Dong thought for a moment, then said to those around him: "Everyone, get out."

Then he looked at Assistant Zhao: "You stand guard outside; do not allow anyone to approach."

Assistant Zhao immediately nodded and led the housemaids out of the room.

Even that Mrs. He, after looking at her husband, was told by He Dong after a brief thought: "You go out first as well."

Mrs. He had a gentle nature and showed no dissatisfaction. She held her husband's hand and said in a low voice: "Do not worry too much. Since we have invited Teacher Chu, the matter can surely be resolved."

Having said that, she turned and went out.

In the main hall, only He Dong, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, and...

Chen Yan remained.

By all rights, since He Dong had ordered everyone out to discuss important matters with Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, Chen Yan, this 【Junior Disciple】, staying behind seemed to show a lack of propriety.

However, Chen Yan sat calmly beside Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing with a composed expression, and even Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing did not speak up. Although He Dong raised an eyebrow, puzzled, he said nothing.

After the door to the hall was closed, He Dong slowly took out a cigarette pack. After lighting a cigarette, his eyes swept over Chen Yan once, then settled on Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing: "Teacher Chu, can you speak now? What exactly is happening with my current grave? How did her remains disappear? Were they stolen by someone?"

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing shook her head: "He Dong, it is simply too short a trip for us to have resolved this matter yet."

He Dong frowned: "Did Teacher Chu see nothing? Not a single clue?"

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing said slowly: "As for clues, there are indeed some leads."

"Then speak." He Dong took a deep breath, a flash of sharpness passing through his eyes: "Regardless, I must find my mother's remains! If I can discover who stole my mother's remains, I will make them pay the price!!"

He was a billionaire; when he first started his business and accumulated his capital, who had not walked through some gray areas? Now, when he unleashed his ruthlessness, he possessed a truly startling momentum.

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing sighed softly: "He Dong, I..."

She paused, then said slowly: "I actually suspect that a spirit has emerged in this mountain!"

He Dong was stunned: "A spirit?"

"Yes, a spirit. The so-called mountain spirits are a general term. Those that are demonic creatures cultivating to become spirits are called spirits. Those that are originally spirit creatures, such as Shan Kui or Shan Xiao, are also called spirits.

There are spirits in the water, and there are spirits in the mountains.

The disappearance of the Old Grandma's remains is too bizarre to be the work of human hands—humans cannot silently and without a trace steal a body from a sealed coffin."

Hearing this, He Dong's expression grew even more solemn. He nodded and said: "After the incident occurred, I actually had people examine the coffin. The spot where the coffin nails were removed showed no signs of repeated removal...

That is to say, the coffin lid had not been opened since the burial. The first time the lid was opened was when we intended to open the coffin to move the body.

And the coffin planks were structurally intact, with no signs of having been dismantled."

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing nodded and said: "Yes, that is exactly what I mean... Such a thing cannot be humanly done. Only a spirit from the mountains has the ability to achieve this."

He Dong's eye twitched: "Do spirits truly exist in this world?"

He was somewhat superstitious himself—if he weren't, he wouldn't have befriended Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, this "Purple Elder."

But his superstition never reached the point of obsession; regarding the existence of spirits and monsters, he still harbored a degree of disbelief.

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing did not answer, merely gazing silently at He Dong. Though she spoke not, her posture already made her meaning clear: If you do not believe me, why did you seek me out?

He Dong, having grown his assets to such a scale, was naturally an extremely shrewd man. After a moment's thought, he nodded and said, "Very well. If it was a spirit that did this... then does Teacher Chu have a way to resolve it?"

"I need time," Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing said, shaking her head. "This matter cannot be settled in a day or two. For the next few days, I will stay here, and each day I will lead my people up the mountain to search, to find traces of the spirit... He Dong, I hope you can be patient and grant me some time."

He Dong pondered for a moment: "Search up the mountain? If needed, I can mobilize manpower to help you scour the hills! In He Village, mobilizing one or two hundred people is no problem. If that is not enough, I will send someone to bring more from nearby."

"No need. Searching for a spirit is something where more ordinary people bring no benefit," Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing refused. "I will simply lead my people into the mountains."

He Dong's expression grew grave. After thinking for a while, his eyes turned red once more: "Teacher Chu... why would the spirit you speak of steal my mother's corpse? It... that kind of thing, stealing a human corpse, what would it do with it?!"

"It is hard to say," Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing said, shaking her head. "However, the Old Grandma was a person of fortune, and there will be no great disaster after her passing; I calculated the Old Grandma's eight characters long ago. So He Dong need not worry too much. Perhaps the mountain spirit merely wishes to borrow the Old Grandma's immortal body to perform some spell... I know He Dong's heart will surely conjure wild guesses, but please rest assured, I will do my utmost to recover the Old Grandma's corpse."

"If there is anything else I can contribute, just ask me," He Dong sighed.

Chen Yan spoke up suddenly at this moment: "There is indeed one matter where we must ask He Dong's cooperation."

He Dong glanced at Chen Yan. For this young man who seemed to have no sense of propriety, he felt some displeasure in his heart, yet he still spoke steadily: "You speak. As long as my mother's corpse can be recovered, whatever is needed, just say the word."

Chen Yan looked at Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, then at He Dong, and said, "When the Old Grandma was buried, surely the entire village came to pay their respects?"

Although He Dong did not know why Chen Yan asked this, he still answered: "My He family has deep roots in this area. When my mother passed, indeed every household in the village sent someone."

"Then, among those who came to pay respects, surely a guest list was kept in the home?" Chen Yan continued asking.

"..." He Dong glanced at Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, but found she was not speaking, merely gazing calmly at his home.

He then nodded and said, "There is a guest list. After all, my mother always valued interpersonal relations with the villagers. Following my mother's teachings since childhood, I recorded all the guest lists, so that in the future I could repay each favor one by one."

"We need that list," Chen Yan said in a deep voice.

He Dong's eyes immediately flickered with movement. He gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice: "The list?"

He looked at Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing: "Teacher Chu... do you mean to say you suspect this matter also involves human treachery?"

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing said nothing, but Chen Yan spoke: "The Old Grandma's tomb was of excellent feng shui. Surrounded by mountains and full of water, occupying a position of strategic advantage! It was a top-tier auspicious site!

Such an auspicious site, carrying its own fortune, how could it possibly collapse from a single heavy rain and landslide, suffering such an unexpected disaster?

Moreover, it was precisely that other locations did not collapse, only the Old Grandma's burial plot did.

How could a place of excellent fortune suffer such calamity? This matter was unreasonable from the start.

We do indeed have suspicions, but many things must be investigated carefully once more."

He Dong's expression changed!

He understood what this young man was saying... carrying its own fortune, how could it suddenly suffer an unexpected disaster?

It was as if a person who was clearly very lucky could suddenly be standing inside a house and be crushed by a falling lamp?

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing sighed softly: "He Dong, we just inspected it; the feng shui of the tomb is absolutely without issue. It is a position of strategic advantage! It is not some treacherous place. Therefore, that mountain... even with heavy rain, it should not have collapsed. Even if it collapsed, it should not have collapsed at the Old Grandma's burial plot! I, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, walk the Jianghu, helping people select sites and conduct geomancy, and have never made a mistake.

To be honest with you, before coming, I even suspected in my own heart whether my skills were insufficient, whether I had failed your commission by choosing a poor burial site, causing... this unexpected disaster.

However, today on the mountain I have re-surveyed it. The feng shui is without issue. In terms of fate, it should not have suffered such a tribulation."

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