Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Am of the True Lineage of Maoshan

"Uncle Fourth, aside from the massacre by the bandits, did anything else happen?"

Li Yunfei suddenly recalled that this was indeed the case. When he was a child and his grandfather was still alive, his grandfather often told him about this. Although his grandfather had not personally experienced it, his great-grandfather had lived through those times.

But then, Li Yunfei realized that Phoenix Township had thirteen villages. If this was the situation in Qingyuan Village, the other villages were likely not much better off. In that case, there would be thirteen dungeons above level fifty just in Phoenix Township alone.

Qingyuan Village had already been abandoned, so even if it became a ghost village, it wouldn't be much of a problem. But in most of the other villages, people still lived there. If they didn't relocate in time, who knew what kind of trouble might arise.

As he was pondering this, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Li Yunfei took it out and saw that there were two bars of signal at the hydropower station—weak, but enough to make a call.

The caller was Du Hua, the owner of the chicken farm. It was already half past nine in the evening—he wondered what business Du Hua had at this hour.

He picked up the little fox, placed it on his shoulder, stood up, and walked out into the courtyard before answering.

"Hello, Mr. Du," said Li Yunfei.

"Brother Fei, I hope I'm not disturbing your rest?" Du Hua asked.

"Not at all, I haven’t gone to bed yet. Is something the matter?"

"Well, here’s the thing. A feng shui master came looking to buy a rooster from me. He’s in quite a hurry. But I already promised to reserve those eight roosters for you. Would you be willing to let him have one?"

Li Yunfei's interest was piqued. "Can you tell me what’s going on?"

"What else could it be, probably dealing with some supernatural matter," Du Hua replied.

Li Yunfei thought for a moment. "Is he there with you?"

"Yes, he’s right here," said Du Hua.

"Could you please ask him to wait a little? I’ll come over right now. Let him know I have a rooster that’s over five years old, and I can give it to him."

"Don’t worry, I’m not trying to steal your business. I can pay for all eight roosters now, at the five-year-old price. I just want to go with him and see what’s happening."

Du Hua was secretly delighted but replied modestly, "No need to be so formal, brother. How long will it take you to get here?"

"I’m at the hydropower station, it won’t take more than twenty minutes," Li Yunfei answered.

"Alright, I’ll let him know," said Du Hua.

Li Yunfei hung up, walked back to the edge of the street, and said to Uncle Fourth, "Uncle Fourth, I have something to take care of in town. You go ahead and rest."

"Do you need me to leave the door open for you?" Uncle Fourth asked.

"No need, I have somewhere to stay."

"Alright! Don’t forget to come for hotpot tomorrow."

"Will do. I’ll head out now."

With that, Li Yunfei went inside, picked up his backpack, grabbed a tactical flashlight for illumination, and set off quickly toward the hydropower station.

…

Phoenix Township, Chicken Farm.

After hanging up, Du Hua returned to the doorway of his house. There, a middle-aged man in an old blue-gray T-shirt and brown trousers was waiting.

The man’s appearance was ordinary, nothing remarkable—just like a typical country farmer. But his sturdy build beneath the T-shirt set him apart from most villagers.

"Master Yang, that young man asks you to wait a little," Du Hua said. "He’s on his way and has a five-year-old rooster for you."

Master Yang was surprised. He’d just heard from Du Hua that those three five-year-old roosters were sold to a young man for five thousand yuan—a high price. Was he really willing to give him one? That meant over sixteen hundred yuan.

He asked, "Does he have any conditions?"

"Nothing much. He just wants to go with you to see what’s going on. That young man works in your field too, probably just curious."

Du Hua had already explained this earlier, so Master Yang nodded. He figured it was likely a newcomer wanting to gain some experience.

"Where is he now? If he’s too far, I can’t wait."

"Relax, he’s at the hydropower station nearby. He has his own car, he’ll be here in less than twenty minutes," Du Hua assured him, bringing out two chairs and offering Master Yang a cigarette.

Master Yang gladly accepted, lit the cigarette, and sat down to wait patiently. There was still some time before midnight, so twenty minutes was bearable.

"Master Yang, business has been good for you lately, hasn’t it?" Du Hua asked.

Master Yang frowned and nodded slowly. "Yes, it’s been busy. These matters are becoming more frequent. It’s not even a bad year, yet I can’t figure out why this is happening."

They chatted idly. From time to time, Master Yang glanced at his watch.

A little over fifteen minutes later, an off-road vehicle turned onto the dirt road in front of the chicken farm. Du Hua stood up. "He’s here."

Master Yang also rose and followed Du Hua to greet the newcomer.

Li Yunfei stopped the car, left the engine running, and, after grabbing a bottle of cinnabar liquid, got out and headed toward the two men.

"Mr. Du," Li Yunfei greeted.

Du Hua stepped between the two men and made the introductions. "Brother Fei, this is Master Yang, a well-known feng shui master in our township, with over twenty years of experience."

Li Yunfei extended his right hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Master Yang."

"Hello," replied Master Yang, a bit unused to such an urban greeting. But he’d seen enough to know the custom, so he shook hands with Li Yunfei.

Without further ado, Master Yang got straight to the point. "Brother Fei, did you bring the rooster?"

Li Yunfei lifted the bottle in his left hand and handed it to Master Yang. "The rooster’s already been slaughtered. This is consecrated cinnabar liquid, mixed with virgin boy’s urine and rooster’s blood. This will save you a lot of trouble."

"Consecrated?" Master Yang took the bottle, a bit hesitant. "Was the ritual performed by your master, or…?"

Li Yunfei touched his nose and smiled. "I did it myself. My master is from the south, not around here."

"The south?" Master Yang noticed Li Yunfei used the term "master" in the traditional sense, not the local dialect, and was intrigued.

Li Yunfei adopted a formal tone. "I am a disciple of the Orthodox Maoshan School, from the Shangqing branch of Maoshan Taoism. Strictly speaking, I’m not a feng shui master."

"A Maoshan priest!"

Both Master Yang and Du Hua were visibly surprised. It was the first time they had met a true Maoshan priest in this remote county of Yudong.