Chapter 114 Weird Things About the Zhao Family
"My father went to visit the Wang family in Jinling a few days ago. I don't know what happened to him, so he suddenly came back alone. He said that he encountered trouble in the Wang family and wanted to return to the old house to worship his ancestors. If it were just that, it would be nothing, but since returning to the old house, my father has become a different person. He likes to be in a daze in a corner by himself, or dig in the yard in the middle of the night. Don't tell me how scary it is."

Sitting in the carriage, the young master of the Zhao family told Li Daoxuan about his family's affairs. He explained the various strange behaviors of the master of the Zhao family, and even Li Yanming was a little scared and crossed his arms.

"Have you found a doctor to see him?" Li Daoxuan asked.

"I looked for a doctor. Of course I could not not look for a doctor. I looked for many doctors, including famous doctors in nearby villages and towns, and even famous doctors in Jinling. I looked for them all. The medicine he drank could fill up a large jar, but there is still no improvement." The young master of the Zhao family said in distress, his brows furrowed, and a bit of melancholy revealed in his eyes.

He felt somewhat helpless about his father's illness.

"What did the doctor say?"

"At first, the doctor said that my father had an evil wind entering his body, causing him to become unconscious. He needed to bask in the sun every day and take medicine on time. But he has been taking the medicine for almost a month, and there is no improvement. In fact, his condition has become more serious. He is easily drowsy during the day and has nightmares at night. He does things like digging holes, and he is always muttering some strange words." said the young master of the Zhao family.

"Oh? Muttering some strange words? What did your father say?" Li Daoxuan asked again.

"It sounded like something about a Marquis who is not a Marquis, a King who is not a King, and Panlong Tomb. All in all, I couldn't hear it clearly." The young master of the Zhao family could only give a general idea, and he was not sure what exactly was said.

"Then we hired people to beat wooden fish and perform shaman rituals. There were also many Taoist priests who would beat wooden fish and chant scriptures to pray for blessings every day. But it was useless. Finally, my uncle went to find a master. The master said that my father had been affected by some evil spirit of a Yin dragon, and two of his three souls and seven spirits had been taken away by someone, so he became so stupid. He asked our Zhao family to set up a troupe on the two roads in the town and sing operas such as Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts and Zhenwu Conquering Demons every day to call back my father's soul."

"I see." Li Daoxuan immediately understood why there was a troupe of actors in Dingjiao Town. It turned out to be because of this reason. However, this method of using opera to summon the souls of the lost souls was ultimately not very effective.

Although actors' performances can always attract some people, they are just ordinary people after all. No matter how well the performance is done, it is difficult for it to have much effect.

Not to mention summoning spirits, even exorcism is a little short of it. You never know when there will be no one in the audience during the performance, or when the audience is full of "people".

Li Daoxuan was curious about why the Zhao family didn't find a proper master. When the young master of the Zhao family heard this, he smiled bitterly and said, "It's easy for the young Taoist priest to say that. It's not easy to find a master in this world. My family has spent a lot of money these days. Not to mention a real person with great ability, even Taoist priests and monks with some real ability are hard to find. Merchants like my Zhao family don't have the means to find a master."

After listening to the complaints of the young master of the Zhao family, Li Daoxuan suddenly realized that even in this period, there were indeed very few people who could hold the true Dharma, and it was difficult for ordinary people to meet them in their lifetime. Moreover, some of them were unwilling to enter the world and would only seek immortals and seek the Tao in the mountains.

Li Daoxuan had experienced the feeling of entering a state of meditation while cultivating immortals. That feeling of floating in the air and roaming between heaven and earth was truly intoxicating.

Therefore, in this world below the mountain, there are many fake Taoists and fake monks, but few people with real abilities.

As for why Li Daoxuan has met so many people, perhaps he will often meet people like his abilities.

"So you just happened to meet me and came to me?" Li Daoxuan said with a smile.

He really didn't expect that he would encounter trouble when passing through Dingjiao Town. According to the young master of the Zhao family, this matter might not be that simple.

As for the young master of the Zhao family, he was able to find a boy who looked only about ten years old. I'm afraid he was desperate and was trying every possible means to treat a dying horse as if it were a living one.

"I saw the young Taoist priest had long hair at first, and just now I heard him say that he was a Taoist priest from Mount Mao, and he looked very young, and he took out a certificate and a pass, so I thought that he might have met a legitimate Taoist priest. A young and talented person like the young Taoist priest must have some ability. So I came here specially to ask the young Taoist priest to visit the Zhao family." The young master of the Zhao family said respectfully. "If you can cure my father, the Zhao family will definitely offer this thousand taels of silver."

"Well, what does it matter whether it's money or not? I just can't bear to see good people suffer." Li Daoxuan coughed lightly and said in a serious tone.

He didn't pay attention to Li Yanming's strange expression, but calmly bowed to the young master of the Zhao family.

"San Wuliang, Mr. Zhao, don't be sad. Mr. Zhao will definitely be able to turn misfortune into fortune. Good people will be blessed by heaven. My surname is Li, so you may as well call me Taoist Li."

"Then I'll trouble you, Taoist Priest Li. I'm the third child in my family. My close friends call me Zhao Lao San. You can also call me that, Taoist Priest." The young master of the Zhao family returned the gift sincerely.

"Oh? You are also the third child? That's a coincidence, I am also the third child in the family." Li Daoxuan heard what the third young master of the Zhao family said and was happy to establish a relationship with him. After a while, the two of them felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

As the carriage stopped, Zhao Laosan got off, had Li Daoxuan and Li Yanming helped down, and then he rode ahead.

He pointed to a rather grand courtyard not far away, which was the Zhao family.

"Please follow me, Taoist Li." Zhao Laosan led the way and Li Daoxuan followed.

He shouted to open the side door of the yard and extended his hand to invite the two people in.

Generally, the main door of such a wealthy family would not be opened except on major festivals or when ministers and high officials came. No matter whether it was a relative of the Zhao family or anyone else, they had to go through the side door to visit the Zhao family.

Li Daoxuan didn't care much about this kind of rules. He knew that this kind of thing was normal. After all, he was just a little Taoist priest, not a real Taoist priest as everyone knew. So it was understandable that the Zhao family didn't open the door. As long as they could make money, it didn't matter whether the door was opened or not.

Following Zhao Laosan into the yard, Li Daoxuan stood in the yard and looked around. He used Dan Qi to focus on his eyes and tried to open his eyes to see the fortune of the Zhao family.

Although this technique of looking at qi cannot currently reveal any feng shui fortune, some clues can still be seen from the people in the Zhao family's courtyard.

For example, the heads of the servants who came and went were covered with white mist, and the mist above Zhao Laosan's head was even thicker. This was because he was haunted by evil spirits, and there was a sign of funeral and death in the house.

Retracting his magical eye, Li Daoxuan looked at the feng shui of the courtyard again.

Moss grew on the corners of the walls, and weeds grew thickly on both sides of the gravel path.

On the contrary, the grass and trees in the corners of the house were withered and yellow, and there were many dead needles scattered under the Podocarpus planted in the yard.

Li Daoxuan estimated the direction and found that the corner with withered and yellow grass was roughly located in the northwest Qian position, which determined the rise and fall of the head of the family.

The Zhao family compound is often cleaned by servants, and the Podocarpus is an evergreen tree. There are still dry needles under the tree, which have obviously just fallen.

Looking at the scattered needles of the Podocarpus, it seems that the leaves have been falling for a long time.

Pine, cypress, locust, elm and willow are collectively known as the five Yin woods. Generally speaking, they are not planted in Yang houses, but the Podocarpus is an exception.

Temples and Taoist temples grow Podocarpus carpioides to ward off evil spirits and avoid harm. Planting Podocarpus carpioides outside homes and in courtyards, as long as the location is right, can protect the health and longevity of the people in the house, and can also bring wealth and good luck to the owner of the house. As the saying goes, "If there is a Podocarpus carpioides in the house, the family will not be poor for generations."

However, the location of planting this holly is very particular. For example, according to the Eight Houses Xuan Kong Method, the Five Ghosts and the Disaster Positions should never be planted with holly. If the house is a sign of loss of people and money, then planting holly in the Longevity Position and the Shengqi Position will have the effect of amplifying the auspiciousness of the house.

Officials can use it to get promoted and have a smooth career. Merchants can use it to prolong their lives and make more money.

However, although this Podocarpus is good, it cannot be planted in the wealth position of the house. Unless, this house is a situation of five ghosts' luck.

Li Daoxuan looked around and thought to himself that the feng shui layout of the house was actually quite decent and there was nothing wrong with it.

However, as winter turns to spring, the season when yin turns to yang, the grass and trees in the yard are withering. This shows that there is evil in the house and people cannot live there permanently.

If you live there for a long time, you will definitely get sick and bad omens will appear.

"Master Li, is there any problem in this courtyard?" Zhao Laosan asked when he saw Li Daoxuan stopping and looking around.

"Has this house been decorated by someone?" Li Daoxuan asked casually when he saw that the house was well arranged and obviously had the advice of an expert, but the dead tree image did not say anything.

"This house was left by our ancestors. It looks pretty much the same as it did originally, and hasn't been changed much." Zhao Laosan answered truthfully. Li Daoxuan nodded after hearing this.

"Master Li, there's nothing to see in this courtyard. Please come inside and sit down." Zhao Laosan invited politely.

Li Daoxuan kept some of the situations in the Zhao family in mind and agreed casually. As soon as he followed Zhao Laosan into the living room, he saw a man with a gloomy face walking out.

When the man saw Zhao Laosan bringing two boys in again, he said sarcastically, "Laosan, who did you bring back again? Do you think our family is making too much money? You can invite anyone back, but you brought a kid in this time. You really don't feel sorry for selling your father's land. Don't forget that the Zhao family still has me and my elder brother."

"You!" Zhao Laosan was a little angry, but after thinking about it, he held back, took a breath, calmed down, and introduced Li Daoxuan to the newcomer, "Second brother, this is the Taoist priest from Maoshan I just met. He may be able to cure Dad's strange disease."

"Maoshan Taoist priest? Just this kid? Haha, don't try to make me laugh." The second son of the Zhao family laughed.

Li Daoxuan, who was standing aside, looked fine, but Li Yanming was looking very angry.

(End of this chapter)