Chapter 645: Martial Champion of the Late Qing

One could see that the place where the water system was originally built had already been dug down three meters, and some old-style blue bricks and roof tiles were exposed.

This was a Yin Dwelling about three meters long and two meters wide, similar to architecture from the late Great Qing period; it was built with blue bricks and covered with roof tiles, essentially a miniature version of a residence from that time.

"Everyone, retreat outside the Peach Wood Circle," Chen Yu said. "Those born in the Year of the Dog or the Year of the Rooster, walk straight west for one hundred meters and leave; during this time, do not speak and do not look back."

"Quick, do as Mr. Chen says," Jiang Wei shouted.

Several excavator operators jumped off their machines and walked outside the Peach Wood Circle tied with red thread, and several workers walked straight west to leave.

"Brother Chen, I want to see that fellow inside," Huang Shaoming said curiously. "I've lived this long and never seen one."

"Yes, yes, I want to see it too. This fellow has been haunting my place for so long, I also want to see what kind of thing it actually is," Jiang Wei also leaned forward and said.

"You two stand in the northeast corner and hold two banana leaves over your heads; that way he won't be able to see you, but you must not make a sound," Chen Yu said.

"Alright, alright," the two nodded repeatedly and did as Chen Yu said.

Seeing that there was no one left in the circle, Chen Yu took a deep breath, walked forward a few steps, then reached out his hand and knocked three times into the void as if knocking on a door.

Following Chen Yu's three knocks, Huang Shaoming and Jiang Wei both revealed expressions of horror.

One could see the void distort, and a house appeared in front of Chen Yu.

This house was not large and was a very ancient structure with blue bricks and green tiles; the place Chen Yu knocked on was exactly the main entrance of this house.

Of course, these were invisible to the naked eye; Huang Shaoming and Jiang Wei could only see this scene because they were inside the Peach Wood Array circle.

As Chen Yu finished knocking, the door of that house creaked open.

One could see a man with a queue, wearing clothing from the Qing Dynasty, walk out from inside; the man's face was deathly pale, as if coated with a thick layer of white ash, and the clothing on his body was a Qing Dynasty official robe.

The official robe was embroidered with a mandarin duck pattern, and the top of his official hat had a giant clam finial; it looked like a Rank Six official position. Moreover, this fellow was burly, carried a saber at his waist, held his head high with his nostrils pointed at the sky, and possessed an air of condescending authority.

"Who goes there, daring to trespass into my residence? I am Hu Xu, the Martial Champion personally appointed by the Empress Dowager in the third year of the Guangxu reign." The man twitched the large saber in his hand and struck the ground heavily: "Who are you people? Why do you not kneel upon seeing me?"

Clang! Sparks flew from the ground. Huang Shaoming, who was peeking from the side, nearly screamed, but fortunately, Jiang Wei covered his mouth, so the scream did not come out.

The difference between a human and a ghost could be seen at a glance, not to mention that Hu Xu's appearance was ugly, and combined with the ash-like color on his face, the two who were seeing this thing for the first time were nearly scared to the point of wetting themselves.

"I am Chen Yu, a member of the younger generation," Chen Yu smiled and said. "Official Hu, the Great Qing has been gone for many years. In modern society, everyone is equal, so we do not kneel."

"Nonsense! You dare not kneel? I shall behead you!" Hu Xu glared, drew the saber in his hand, and slashed toward Chen Yu.

Chen Yu beckoned with his right hand, and the Li Chen appeared in his hand. Before the large saber in that fellow's hand could touch the Li Chen, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.

Only a saber hilt remained in Hu Xu's hand. His expression changed; he realized that Chen Yu was a tough nut to crack, and his tone softened immediately.

"Who are you? Why did you call me out?" Hu Xu demanded.

"It is like this, Official Hu," Chen Yu put away the Li Chen and smiled. "They are going to build a house above your Yin Dwelling, and I fear it will disturb you. So, I am now asking you to leave this place, and I will find another prime feng shui location for you. What do you think?"

"So that is why you came?" Hu Xu snorted coldly. "You people dig around on top of my house every day, making so much noise that I cannot sleep, so I gave you a little taste of trouble. This place was bestowed upon me by the Old Buddha; no one is allowed to occupy it."

Jiang Wei was furious. It was just as Chen Yu said: the reason the construction site was so restless was entirely because of this grandson's mischief.

If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Wei feared he couldn't beat him, he would have gone up and fought him to the death.

"Official Hu, there is no such thing as a Yin Dwelling in this world, so you are currently occupying a Yang dwelling with Yin," Chen Yu smiled. "Besides, you have lived here for so long; you must be tired of the surrounding environment."

"I will find you a place with good feng shui and a good environment to settle down elsewhere. You can continue your previous life; wouldn't that be better?" Chen Yu smiled.

"Dream on! This is the residence personally bestowed upon me by the Old Buddha; no one is allowed to occupy it." Hu Xu's eyes widened: "From now on, anyone who dares to build a house over my head, I will kill one for every one I see. If you don't believe me, try it."

"I've given you face, haven't I?" Chen Yu stared at this fellow. "I see that life in the Yin Dwelling is not easy, so I didn't want to haggle with you. If you move, nothing will happen. If you don't move, then go to the Underworld and explain to the Yin Official why you haven't entered the Underworld all these years."

"Brat, you dare speak to me in such a tone? You lowly commoners, how dare you not kneel when seeing me? Watch as I teach you a lesson today." Hu Xu's temper flared instantly; he roared and reached out to grab Chen Yu's neck.

"The Great Qing has been gone for so long, and you are still immersed in the days of being an official? You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit," Chen Yu sneered. "Yinxian."

Following Chen Yu's roar of Yinxian's name, a clattering sound was heard, and two thick iron chains suddenly appeared out of thin air, tightly locking around Hu Xu's neck.

One could see Yinxian, over a zhang tall, appear from a patch of black mist. His eyes were like two ghostly fires, and he exhaled Yin Qi from his nose, looking extremely terrifying.

Huang Shaoming and Jiang Wei finally broke down; the two hugged each other tightly and let out a miserable scream, a sound like a pig being slaughtered.

Yinxian glanced coldly at the two; his eyes, like two ghostly fires, emitted a terrifying aura, but his target was Hu Xu, and he ignored the two.

"Let me go! I am the Martial Champion of the third year of the Guangxu reign! Let me go!" Hu Xu screamed.

Yinxian retracted the chains in his hands, and the chains tightened suddenly. Hu Xu roared, unable to move.

Yinxian cupped his hands toward Chen Yu and bowed slightly, then pulled the chains, turned, and drilled into the black mist, disappearing from sight.

"Alright, he has been detained. Nothing will happen here from now on," Chen Yu said.

However, Huang Shaoming and Jiang Wei were deathly pale and hadn't even heard clearly what Chen Yu had just said. After a long while, the two stood up tremblingly with shaking legs.

They had clearly seen the appearance of Yinxian and Hu Xu just now. Not to mention Hu Xu, Yinxian alone made it difficult for the two to calm their hearts.

After all, Yinxian was a Yin Official whose duty was Soul Detention, equivalent to the legendary Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and his heavy armor was extremely intimidating; he really had scared these two quite badly.