Before 1977, students who wanted to go to college depended on recommendations from their leaders.

Although there were also exams, the results were kept confidential.

Because my father joined the National Revolutionary Army in 1948, I never got a chance for a recommendation.

Diao Laijin's elder brother, Diao Laijin, was the county magistrate, and he himself was the village head, so his first four sons were recommended for college.

When it was the turn of the fifth son, Diao Shida, the college entrance examination was restored.

That year, I was the only one in the village who got admitted.

Diao Laiyin probably thought of many ways, but at that time, the county magistrate of Gucheng County was caught cheating in the exam, and dozens of people were arrested, making the college entrance examination even stricter.

Diao Laiyin didn't dare to cheat, so he used his family's method.

During the three days of the college entrance examination, Qiugue had a fever and fell unconscious. In fact, her spirit was tricked out and attached to Diao Shida’s body to take the exam. When she woke up, she thought it was a dream.

On the night she married Diao Shida, she saw his admission notice and talked about the college entrance examination, only to discover that Diao Shida hadn't gone to the exam at all. It was herself.

But no one would believe this no matter how she explained, so she went mad.

I was puzzled.

"Since Diao Shida was already admitted, why did he still marry Qiugue?"

Li Laosi said:

"I've seen that kid Qiugue. She has life but no fortune. If nothing happens, she'll spend her life arrogantly busy for nothing. But if a master sees her, they can recognize at a glance that she is prime material for Yin wealth."

According to ancient views, a wife is a husband's wealth.

One should marry a wife whose Eight Characters (Bazi) can restrict him. If restricted, the wife becomes the husband's wealth.

This means she brings prosperity to her husband.

Wealth is divided into Yin and Yang, and the prosperity a wife brings can also be Yin or Yang. Some prosper in life, some after death.

As Li Laosi spoke, I shuddered as if sensing something.

Li Laosi continued:

"Have you ever heard this saying? 'In life you are his person, in death you are his ghost.'

Diao Laiyin turned Qiugue into a ghost for the Diao family, a gold-eating hungry ghost.

For generations to come, she would swallow gold and steal vital energy for them.

I understood. No wonder the ingots in front of my family’s ancestral grave were all swallowed by Qiugue.

Diao Laijin, Diao Laiyin, and the two sons in the family had all remarried.

All four first wives had died violently within a few days to half a year.

Either they suddenly died of illness or were killed in accidents.

Thus, there was a saying in the village that the Diao family was cursed for wives.

Li Laosi took a piece of white paper and drew the positions of the Diao family's violently dead wives' graves.

There were a total of five, forming a formation called "Blood Energy Tomb Suppression."

The key point of this formation was the fifth one to die, Qiugue.

With Qiugue's grave, the formation was complete.

"Last year when your family’s ancestral grave emitted green smoke, it was because they had already acted to steal your family’s land energy. It was the Diao family’s ancestors who were happy, not yours."

"What kind of land energy does my family have?" I asked.

Li Laosi said, the slope of your family’s ancestral grave was called Phoenix's Return. There are Phoenix branches in the earth vein, which means many scholars could come out of it.

I suddenly realized:

"The Diao family first used magic to cheat Qiugue into taking the exam for Diao Shida, then turned her into a gold-eating hungry ghost after her death, and now they still want to use her grave to form the Blood Energy Tomb Suppression to continue stealing my family’s land energy?"

Li Laosi nodded.

"Then why didn't Qiugue speak to me during the séance?"

Li Laosi hesitated for a moment and slowly explained to me:

The Diao family cut out her tongue and sealed it in a tablet.

The tongue is connected to the heart, making it easier to control her.

Because Qiugue had lingering thoughts for me and had not wholly lost her humanity, even though she became a gold-eating hungry ghost, she couldn't be fully tamed, and often caused disturbances.

The Diao family had long prepared to kill me. They first used paper figurines to cast spells on me, bribed Sixth Uncle to put a ghost-summoning talisman on me, and secretly cast spells to make a group of ghosts impersonate Qiugue to harm me.

"Only when you die, and Qiugue no longer has ties, completely losing her humanity, would she become the Diao family’s ghost," Li Laosi said.

Hearing this, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

I had harmed Qiugue.

Caixiu also chimed in:

"What a vicious family, they all deserve to die!"

I begged Li Laosi to save Qiugue.

Li Laosi felt helpless.

Everyone has their fate.

It's your fate that you went to college and became an urban resident.

It's Qiugue's fate to be a hungry ghost for seven lifetimes.

It's the Diao family's fate to use these methods to steal others' luck.

Everyone can only live according to their fate.

I cursed:

"Why should some people be born as consumables, while others are born to eat people without spitting out bones?"

Li Laosi said casually:

"Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, even in a beehive there are worker bees and a queen bee. This is the way of heaven."

"Can't help?" I asked.

"Can't help, it's also for your own good."

"I don't believe in this way of heaven."

"I don't believe in gravity either, does it disappear?"

When Li Laosi said this, a green-headed fly kept circling him.

I suddenly reached out and grabbed it, showing it to Li Laosi, saying:

"Since you understand the way of heaven, calculate whether this fly will live or die? If you get it right, I'll believe you."

Li Laosi glanced at it for a while, smiled, and said:

"It won't die in your hands today."

I smiled, squeezed hard, and opened my hand to show him.

Unexpectedly, the fly flew away from my palm.

It turned out the two flies were mating, and I didn't see clearly, crushed only one, leaving the other.

When I tried to catch it again, the widowed fly had already flown away in panic.

Li Laosi laughed:

"See? You can't even change the fate of a fly, let alone a gold-eating hungry ghost."

Slap!

Caixiu, without me noticing, grabbed a flyswatter, hit the fly down, and shouted to me:

"It's not dead yet!"

I looked at the struggling fly on the ground and stomped on it hard, crushing it to pieces.

Then I looked at Li Laosi:

"This time, I changed the fly’s fate!”

Li Laosi quickly said:

"I said it wouldn't die in your hands, now it’s dead under your feet!"

Caixiu also said on the side:

"Uncle Si, you’re playing with words, that’s cheating!”

It was the first time I saw Li Laosi a bit flustered.

He said to me somewhat awkwardly:

"Chaoyang, I don't want to intervene in this matter. First, I don't want to get involved in this karma, secondly, there’s another reason."

"What?" Caixiu asked.

"This Old Master Lu is my grandfather's master."

"Ah?" Caixiu and I were both shocked.

I pointed at him furiously.

"No wonder you know these things, you’re one of them?"

Li Laosi quickly explained:

"No, no, law is without good or evil, it depends on how it's used. It’s he who used it for evil."

"Then you should disciple him all the more!"

Li Laosi sighed:

"There’s a rule in the sect, interfering with a method set by your own sect will invite a five-thunder striking punishment. I took a deadly oath. My grandfather suffered for this, I can't intervene again."

I was instantly speechless.

Caixiu thought for a while and suddenly said:

"Uncle Si, no one said you can't intervene with your feet or mouth, right?"

Li Laosi nervously said:

"This matter can't be twisted with words."

Caixiu said:

"We don't need you to twist words, just say two random things, is that okay? Nonsense!"

Li Laosi scratched his head and said:

"What does a remote-controlled airplane fear the most? A broken remote control, once the remote control burns out, the airplane is free."

"If you can speak, then speak more!" Caixiu urged him.

Li Laosi continued:

"Once the airplane's free, the one controlling it before will be in big trouble."

As soon as I heard it, I was ready to leave immediately.

Li Laosi reminded me again:

"Changing your own fate relies on skill, changing others' fate comes at a cost, have you thought it through?"

I nodded.

Caixiu was also a bit worried.

"Stealing something isn’t easy, should we change the method?"

I said no need.

Just as I was about to leave, Caixiu handed me a small wooden stick.

She said it was a treasure made from a branch that grew for seven years on a child's grave, and it could open any lock with one poke.

I looked at it suspiciously, half believing and half doubting.

Li Laosi had a heartbroken look on his face beside me.

"I worked so hard to refine this treasure, and you just give it away?"

Caixiu laughed.

"You gave it away, I can use it to unlock doors if I want, or give it away if I want. You can’t control it."

Then Caixiu reminded me:

"But this thing can only be used once."

Seeing the small stick being easy to carry around, I accepted it.

Caixiu also gave me a black shirt.

"Is this also a magic tool?" I asked.

"You’re stealing at night, it’s easy to be seen wearing white."

I changed into the black shirt and borrowed some other things from Caixiu. After all preparations were made, I set off.

Finally, Li Laosi said:

"Chaoyang, you haven't been to my house tonight."

I acknowledged.