Several people stood anxiously in the room. When Uncle Huzi and I entered, Zhang Yucheng, like someone clutching at a lifeline, quickly approached and knelt before me. "Young Master Wu, I know Yunliang was wrong to offend you, but you wouldn't kill him over this, would you? Please have mercy and spare him."
Zhang Yucheng's actions puzzled me.
Uncle Huzi quickly caught Zhang Yucheng's intention and said coldly, "Mr. Zhang, do you really think your son ended up like this because my young master harmed him?"
"It's Yunliang's fault. Just give him a small punishment. He's my only son," Zhang Yucheng said, tears streaming down his face, looking utterly pitiful.
"Mr. Zhang, in our line of work, we never harm our clients. That's the rule. I'm only a feng shui master—I don't harm people. You must be mistaken," I said.
"Then… what happened to him?" Zhang Yucheng's voice trembled.
"Today, my young master and I were helping your family find a new ancestral burial site. We just got back. There's no way we would have harmed your son. Don't think so little of us," Uncle Huzi said, clearly displeased.
"I was wrong… I was wrong. Young Master Wu, please save my son no matter what," Zhang Yucheng begged again.
I walked straight over to Zhang Yunliang and was startled by his bloodied face.
I carefully checked his pulse. It was weak but he was still alive, barely hanging on.
Seeing his condition, I felt something was strange. I turned to Zhang Yucheng and asked, "Where did he go after we left? What did he do?"
"He didn't go anywhere. He just argued with me and locked himself in his room. Yunyao called him for dinner and found him like this," Zhang Yucheng explained.
"Master of the house, could it be that the young master was distraught and took poison?" Butler Wang asked.
"No way. I know this kid. He's a troublemaker but not brave enough to commit suicide. This little matter wouldn't drive him to that," Zhang Yucheng said.
I examined Zhang Yunliang again and activated my "Heaven's Eye" to scan him. Immediately, a dense aura of death appeared around him.
I opened his eyelids to inspect his eyes. They had turned completely black—a clear sign of possession or curse.
"He's not poisoned. Someone tampered with him," I said grimly.
His condition reminded me of the shadowy figure that appeared near the Zhang family's ancestral grave last night.
Could that person be behind this? That person harbored malice against the Zhang family and had attacked them more than once.
"Who… who would do such a thing?" Zhang Yucheng said, visibly shaken.
I ignored him and looked at Uncle Huzi. "Huzi, the compass."
Uncle Huzi pulled a compass from his bag and handed it to me. Holding it, I circled Zhang Yunliang's bed. The compass needle twitched and pointed directly north.
That indicated trouble in that direction.
I searched the room thoroughly but couldn't find what I was looking for.
"Young Master Wu, what are you looking for?" Zhang Yunyao asked, curious.
"Since your brother was tampered with, there must be traces left behind. I'm looking for a talisman or suppressive object," I explained while searching.
"Could it be outside the house?" Uncle Huzi suddenly suggested.
His words reminded me. Holding the compass, I headed to the back of the house.
Behind the house was a narrow street, overgrown with weeds. Not many people passed through here.
Zhang Yunliang's room was right next to this street.
I crouched by the wall near his bed and searched carefully. The compass still pointed here.
Soon, I found a patch of disturbed ground at the base of the wall near his bed.
Although whoever did it tried to cover their tracks, I discovered the tampering.
"Huzi, bring a shovel," I called out.
Uncle Huzi returned with a shovel and started digging at the spot I indicated.
After digging about thirty centimeters, he struck something—a wooden box, similar to those we found at the Zhang family grave but much smaller.
The box was red and covered with numerous engraved talismans, some of which I didn't recognize.
I had Uncle Huzi wear gloves to avoid direct contact with the box, then carefully took it out.
Opening it, I found a cloth doll inside.
Seven iron nails were stuck in the doll's head, exactly matching the seven orifices of a human body.
Flipping the doll over, I saw a yellow talisman on its forehead with Zhang Yunliang's birth chart written on it.
Black hair was also tangled around the doll.
Seeing this, I confirmed something: the person tampering with the Zhang family's ancestral graves and attacking Zhang Yunliang was definitely the same culprit.
Zhang Yucheng and the others were shocked when they saw what was inside the wooden box.
"What is this box, Young Master Wu?" Zhang Yucheng asked nervously.
"This is a suppressive talisman. This is what caused your son's bleeding from the orifices and put his life in danger," I said thoughtfully.
"Who the hell would do this to our family? If I find out, I swear I'll kill them," Zhang Yucheng trembled with rage, his eyes full of viciousness.
I took the wooden box and led everyone back to the Zhang family's old residence.
Once in the courtyard, I looked at Zhang Yunyao, Zhang Yucheng, and Butler Wang and said solemnly, "This box must have been buried this afternoon. Did any of you see suspicious people near the Zhang family estate today?"
They exchanged glances but shook their heads.
"You didn't hear any noise when someone dug such a big hole behind your house and buried this?" Uncle Huzi asked.
"No, we didn't hear a thing," Zhang Yunyao replied.
Actually, ever since we unearthed those wooden boxes at the Zhang family ancestral grave, I had a preliminary suspicion: the person targeting the Zhang family must be a carpenter.
The method used—an evil array technique—was a dark art from the Luban school, known for craftspeople and builders.