The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

Xiao Jin nodded emphatically, squatted down, drew a circle on the ground with her finger, and said seriously, "Then let's set up a formation by the lake to suppress its energy and prevent it from running to the shore."

"Buy some time, then figure out a way to seal it off completely."

"This formation is called the Five Elements Suppressing Ring. It uses the power of the five elements to harmonize the yin energy and control it first."

She recited a list of materials: one of each of the five colors of stone, five peach wood nails, cinnabar powder, red rope, five coins from the Five Emperors, coarse salt, and three sticks of fine incense.

Yun Ziqian immediately ordered people to prepare, and within half an hour, everything was gathered and delivered.

Under the cover of night, the group, armed with flashlights, split up and acted according to Xiao Jin's instructions.

"The east belongs to wood, so place a bluestone facing the center of the lake." Xiao Jin stood on tiptoe on the central earthen spot, pointing in the direction with her little arm. Her voice was childish but clear and logical. "Dig the pit half a foot deep, and first lay coarse salt at the bottom to ward off yin energy."

"Draw the character 'thunder' on the stone with cinnabar, then press five-emperor coins on it, making sure the top of the character faces the center of the lake."

Yun Ziang was in charge of digging the western gold position pit. As he dug, he muttered to himself, "Goodness, this is the first time in my life I've ever dug a pit by a lake in the middle of the night. Who would believe me if I told them?"

Despite complaining, his hands moved with surprising speed.

Yun Ziqian buried the red stone in the fire position in the south. His movements were steady, and he did every step according to Xiao Jin's instructions without being careless.

Five pits were quickly dug, and five-colored stones were buried one after another. Peach wood nails were driven diagonally next to the stones, with only a short section sticking out, like five sturdy stakes.

"Next, let's connect."

Xiao Jin held one end of the red rope and started from the central earth position, pulling it to the east, south, west, and north, wrapping it around the peach wood nail, and finally drawing a perfect pentagon shape on the ground. The red line was taut and straight, encircling the entire lake center within the formation.

Finally, she placed a flat tile in the very center, inserted three thin incense sticks, and lit them with a tinderbox. The incense smoke rose straight up, without the slightest deviation.

Xiao Jin took half a step back, standing at the center of the formation, facing the center of the lake. She made a simple hand seal and quietly recited the Demon-Suppressing Incantation:

"The Five Emperors of the Five Directions guard the Four Cardinal Directions, keeping mountains immovable and rivers indestructible. Yin energy returns to its source, and Yang energy returns. So be it!"

After reciting the words, she dipped her fingertip in cinnabar, gently touched it to her forehead, and then slowly blew a breath toward the center of the lake.

The wind suddenly stopped.

The wisps of black mist that were originally drifting close to the water's surface toward the shore seemed to have hit an invisible wall, paused for a moment, and then slowly retreated back toward the center of the lake.

The churning waves on the lake subsided, and even the eerie chill faded considerably.

The three incense sticks on the tile burned steadily, their smoke columns straight and perfectly aligned.

"It's done." Xiao Jin breathed a sigh of relief and clapped her hands.

Yun Zi'ang stared in disbelief, waving his hand in front of him: "It actually works? Why do I suddenly feel less cold?"

"The formation can hold for seven or eight days." Xiao Jin looked up at Yun Ziqian. "It won't be able to escape or hurt anyone in the next few days. But it can't be dragged out for too long, otherwise its strength will increase and the formation will be broken."

Yun Ziqian nodded, his gaze fixed intently on the center of the lake.

Just as he was about to say something, the old boatman who had been in charge of steering the boat and hadn't said a word suddenly came over, looking a little hesitant: "Mr. Yun, this young boatman... I heard you talking about what's at the bottom of the lake, and it suddenly reminded me of something."

"Before this place became a resort, it was a village called Zhenjiao Village. I live next door to Zhenjiao Village," the old boatman rubbed his hands together. "This lake is known to outsiders as Chenlong Lake, but the old folks in the village call it Zhenjiao Lake."

"Zhenjiao Lake?" Yun Zi'ang was completely bewildered. "Could there be a dragon down there?"

The old boatman smiled upon hearing this: "Didn't they say there's a dragon here?"

"I heard from the older generation that an ancient general is buried at the bottom of the lake. He's very fierce, but I don't know his background or name. If you want to know the details, you have to go to the village and find the old village chief. He's over eighty years old now. He heard his grandfather talk about it when he was a child, so he knows a lot."

"Zhenjiao Lake... General's Tomb..." Yun Ziqian repeated softly, vaguely understanding the situation. "Thank you. We'll visit tomorrow."

The old boatman quickly waved his hand: "I'm glad I could help."

The group returned to the hotel that night, and nothing happened.

The next day at dawn, Yun Ziqian asked someone to contact the old village chief of Zhenjiao Village.

After breakfast, he took Xiao Jin and drove to the old village chief's house.

The village was demolished, and most of the residents moved to the city following the policy.

The old village chief didn't go; he went to the next village and lived with his daughter.

The town wasn't big; the village was located on the northwest side of the lake, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and many elderly people sat at the village entrance basking in the sun.

The car was parked at the entrance of the village, and someone led them to the old village chief's house.

The courtyard gate was open, and an old man with gray hair sat on a bamboo chair weaving a bamboo basket. His back was hunched over, but his hands moved very steadily.

Hearing footsteps, the old man looked up, his eyes still bright, and slowly asked, "Are you the ones looking for me?"

He looked at the two figures, one large and one small, and confirmed that he had never seen them before.

"Yes." Xiao Jin nodded obediently.

Yun Ziqian chimed in from the side, "Excuse me, but I heard there used to be a general's tomb in the village?"

"We want to know the specifics of the situation."

The old man glanced at her, then at Yun Ziqian, sighed, put down the bamboo stick in his hand, and gestured for them to sit down.

"Well," the old man said slowly, "we've never actually seen the tomb, we've only heard from the older generation that there's one in that area of ​​the village."

"That general's surname is Yu, and his name is Yu Guangwen. He is the General Who Guards the North in the Great Ning Dynasty."

He slowly began to recount that dusty old story.

At the end of the Da Ning Dynasty, powerful ministers held sway in the court, and foreign enemies threatened the border. Yu Guangwen received a secret edict and led troops to guard the border.

Halfway through the war, a powerful minister colluded with the enemy, forging a secret letter accusing him of treason and sending it to the palace. The emperor, incompetent and furious, issued three imperial edicts summoning him back to the capital for questioning.

"At that time, the border was in dire straits. If he had gone back, the city would have fallen, and the people would have suffered." The old man tapped his pipe. "General Yu was a tough guy; he refused to go back. He led his troops in a desperate battle, repelled the enemy, and protected the border. But after the battle, the imperial army arrived to suppress them."

"He was unwilling to fight his own people, nor did he want to be dragged back to the capital and beheaded on charges of treason. Right there by the lake, he drew his sword and committed suicide. Before he died, he left a letter written in blood, saying, 'My heart is with the country, but I have been misled by traitors.'"

Xiao Jin clenched her little fists and frowned deeply.

Yun Ziqian listened with a somewhat complicated expression.

The old man's account was so detailed, it was as if he had been involved in that miscarriage of justice.

He recalled the history he had studied, but he had never heard of a general named Yu Guangwen.

He asked hesitantly, "Are these recorded in historical books?"

"His good deeds aren't mentioned in the history books," the old man shook his head.

"Then how can you be sure these are real?" Yun Ziqian was even more puzzled. There was no record of it in historical books, no general's tomb was seen, and there was no other evidence. How could they come up with so many details?

The old man said, "There's a stone tablet on the mountain behind our village. The college students from the village have seen it, and this is what's written on it."

"I remember that in my grandfather's generation, people often worshipped this general, but later no one remembered it anymore."

"A stone tablet?" Yun Ziqian's expression lit up when he realized the key point had been mentioned. "Is this stone tablet still there?"

The old man frowned. "This stone tablet... should still be on the mountain behind the village."

"But there is no general's tomb on that mountain."

Years ago, they all thought the stone tablet was a cultural relic. They reported it to the authorities and searched the mountain three times, but they couldn't find any ancient tombs.

"Grandpa, can you take us to see it?" Xiao Jin looked at the old village chief with her big, bright eyes, her arms clasped together. "Please, please..."

Seeing the child's expression, the old man couldn't help but chuckle and readily agreed, "Sure."

"I'll pack up; it's not far from here anyway."

As he spoke, the old man got up, went inside to get a cane, put on a hat, locked the gate, and led them outside.

They went to the back of the resort, which was still an undeveloped area.

The smooth stone path underfoot gradually turned into a dirt road overgrown with weeds.

The old man walked ahead with a cane, his steps steady. "The stone tablet is on the flat ground halfway up the mountain, exposed to the wind and sun, and no one has taken care of it for many years."

After walking for about twenty minutes, the view suddenly opened up. On the open ground halfway up the mountain, a blue stone tablet, taller than a person, stood quietly. The tablet was covered with moss, and the edges were pitted and uneven from wind and rain. The tablet was engraved with dense seal characters, most of which were blurred, and only a few strokes could be vaguely made out.

"This is it." The old man stopped and tapped the base of the monument with his cane. "When I was a child, these words were still clear, but now they're almost worn away."

Yun Ziqian stepped forward and carefully examined the stone tablet. The inscription was in ancient small seal script, and he could only recognize a few scattered characters such as "Yu Gong," "Zhenbei," and "Bianguan," which could not be connected into a sentence.

He took out his phone and took several photos of the monument from different angles, then immediately sent them to a familiar expert at the cultural relics research institute, with the following note:

Please help me decipher what's written on this stone tablet.

After sending the message, he turned to Xiao Jin and said, "The expert won't be back for a while. Let's look around the area first."

Xiao Jin didn't answer, and slowly walked around the stone tablet. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and she felt a gaze upon her, heavy and scrutinizing, but without malice. She looked left and right, but there were only trees and grass around her, not even a bird.

As she walked, her gaze fell on a black stone about half a person's height next to the stone tablet.

The stone looked unremarkable, grayish, and irregularly shaped, but it was surrounded by a very faint, warm, and deep aura, as if it had been alive for a very long time.

Unlike the malevolent energy at the bottom of the lake, this energy is very righteous, carrying a sense of weight and solidity.

Xiao Jin curiously leaned over and stretched out her little finger to gently touch the surface of the stone.

The moment my fingertips touched the cold stone surface, a deep, authoritative voice, tinged with anger, suddenly boomed in my ear:

"How dare you! Who would presume to touch me!"

The sound was muffled, like it was coming from a stone, a buzzing sound that made your ears tingle.

Xiao Jin was startled and quickly withdrew her hand, taking a small step back. Her round eyes widened as she stared unblinkingly at the black stone.

"Who's speaking?"