Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 131 Spring Breeze in the Small Courtyard
Zhong Cai gave Chen Miao an address in the suburbs of Shannan City, which was in the opposite direction from the urban area where Chen Miao was located.

After another hour's drive, Chen Miao finally arrived at Zhong Cai's house.

The suburbs are mostly small, self-built farmhouses, and Zhong Cai was waiting at the gate of his own courtyard.

Upon seeing Chen Miao arrive, Zhong Cai immediately smiled.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? I just cooked a table full of food, please come in."

Upon hearing about food, Chen Miao realized he was actually quite hungry.

I've been driving all morning, and my stomach is completely empty.

As soon as Chen Miao entered Zhong Cai's house, his eyes lit up.

Although these self-built farmhouses in the suburbs look similar, Zhong Cai clearly did not follow the trend and carefully designed his own courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it had flowers, trees, vegetables, and even a two-meter-high artificial hill. At the foot of the hill was an irregularly shaped pond about three meters in diameter, in which some lotus flowers had withered, leaving only shriveled seed pods.

"Brother Zhong, your courtyard is truly... wonderful!"

Chen Miao wasn't just talking about the design and layout; there was also a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on.

After entering Zhong Cai's courtyard, he felt that most of the irritability and fatigue from his journey had disappeared.

This wasn't a change in Chen Miao's mindset because he heard about eating; it was a very peculiar feeling.

"Brother Zhong, is there some special meaning behind your courtyard?"

When Zhong Cai saw that Chen Miao had asked the question, he immediately smiled and said, "Don't rush, eat first, and I'll tell you slowly."

Upon hearing this, Chen Miao's eyes lit up.

It seems there really is some truth to this.

Soon, the food was brought to a small table in the yard.

Chen Miao turned his head and looked around, asking in confusion, "Where's Xiaobai?"

Zhong Cai's smile froze for a moment, then he said, "Xiao Bai is sleeping, we'll talk about it later."

"Come on, have a drink first. You'll be driving later, so don't drink. Feel free to drink as you please."

As he spoke, Zhong Cai finished his half-full glass of wine.

Chen Miao sensed that Zhong Cai was acting strangely, but didn't say anything.

Since Zhong Cai invited him here, he will say what needs to be said.

"Brother Chen, did you feel much better after you went into the courtyard just now?"

Chen Miao nodded.

"Your feeling is correct. As for the reason, it's the feng shui arrangement of this courtyard."

“Since my master passed away, I have traveled all over the country, wandered to many places, and learned a lot of miscellaneous things.”

"The feng shui arrangement in this courtyard is what a feng shui master taught me when I visited him once."

Zhong Cai said with a smile.

"This feng shui arrangement is called the 'Spring Breeze in the Courtyard,' haha, the name was given by that feng shui master."

"This feng shui arrangement has three characteristics: attracting wind, suppressing noise, and gathering spirit."

"Wind guiding refers to using plants and water features to guide gentle airflow, so that no matter how strong the wind is outside the yard, you will feel a gentle breeze inside the yard."

"Noise reduction refers to using natural materials to absorb negative energy. The pebbles by the pond have the effect of purifying the earth's energy. However, to form a feng shui arrangement, it is not enough. These pebbles must be placed in specific locations according to specific arrangements."

"As for gathering spirit, it is to use the growth of plants to increase wood energy, which can regulate people's emotions. This is one of the reasons why there are so many plants in my yard. Similarly, there are also stories about planting these plants. In fact, there are three ancient bronze coins buried under the green cloud grass."

"With such a combination, entering my courtyard is naturally like being bathed in a spring breeze."

"Of course, that feng shui master taught me a lot, but I only remembered these. In fact, there are many other things that can be added to make this courtyard's spring breeze layout even better."

Hearing Zhong Cai say this, Chen Miao's eyes showed a hint of envy. "That's wonderful! If I ever buy a small courtyard like this, Brother Zhong, I'll have to ask you to help decorate it!"

Zhong Cai smiled upon hearing this.

Then, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"This is the layout method of the Spring Equinox in the courtyard. Everything I know is written in it. If you meet a familiar feng shui master in the future, you can ask him to help you improve it."

"Remember, it should be someone you know well. Otherwise, it's best not to let the other person make changes randomly, since you don't know if they mean well or have malicious intent."

Chen Miao looked on in astonishment.

"Brother Zhong, this is... this thing is too valuable, I can't accept it."

Chen Miao didn't reach out, and seeing this, Zhong Cai placed the paper on the table.

"Chen Miao, this feng shui arrangement is the reward for asking you to help this time."

Upon hearing this, Chen Miao dared not accept the answer even more.
"Brother, why don't you tell me what it is first?"

Zhong Cai nodded.

"Actually, it's nothing much, I just want to leave Xiaobai with you for a while."

Chen Miao looked surprised. He didn't understand why Zhong Cai would make such an unequal deal, so he didn't speak and waited for Zhong Cai to explain.

"It's a long story."

Zhong Cai poured himself another small glass of wine.

“After I left your place last time, I took Xiaobai to see his master. That day was the anniversary of his master’s death, and I wanted to let his master know that he had gained a new grand-disciple.”

"I was fine when I went there, but when I was leaving, I passed through a village I had been to before. Someone recognized me and asked me to help them."

"Because he was an acquaintance from before, I didn't refuse and asked about the situation."

"That fellow villager's grandson had just graduated from university not long ago. I don't know what he was thinking, but he brought some of his former classmates from outside to play in the mountains. In order to have something new, they didn't play in the mountains near the village, but instead carried their bags and went deeper into the mountains."

"Then, something bad happened."

"Of the three people in the group, one of them has become obsessed."

“After he came back, he would run to the kitchen at night and make a mess of it.”

"Before this, he had never cooked, let alone in the early morning!"

"That wasn't the end of it. The next day, the person was gone!"

"After searching for a while, they learned from passersby that he had walked in one direction without taking anything with him."

"After they searched all the way, they found a place."

"A village where three young people stayed a couple of days ago."

"Their classmate returned to the village. When they tried to take him away, he said he didn't want to leave the village and his behavior was perfectly normal."

"But it's precisely because it's so normal that they find it abnormal. Who would want to live in the mountains if they came from out of town!"

"Moreover, there are no young people in that village at all; they are all elderly people who are on their deathbeds!"

"In the end, they forcibly dragged their classmate away, but the classmate disappeared again the next day! This time, they went directly to the village, and sure enough, they found him again!"

"This result chilled them to the bone, and they all felt that the classmate had caused some trouble when he stayed over."

"People in the mountains believe in these things more than they believe in hospitals."

"And so, they found me."

After Zhong Cai finished speaking, he added, "That village is called Fengmen Village."

……

(End of this chapter)