Chapter 159: A Turtle Hidden in a Sophora Tree
"It is indeed fate." Li Daoxuan responded.

"So, Third Young Master, look, are there any dirty things in our village? You are a Taoist priest from Maoshan, can you see anything?" Li Laosan asked Li Daoxuan with some anticipation.

After hearing his words, Li Daoxuan took a sip of tea and frowned in thought. After a while, he slowly replied, "If what my uncle said is true, this thing should be an evil ghost. It specifically lures children to play in the water and then drowns them. I haven't seen the pond yet, so I can't say anything about it. If possible, please take me to see the situation."

"You, are you willing to take action?" Li Laosan heard this and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

When Li Daoxuan heard these words and saw Li Laosan's expression, he understood in his heart that what Li Laosan said about strange things was false, and what he really meant was that he was waiting to ask for his help.

Ever since the boy from Li Tie's family drowned, some inexplicable strange things have always happened in the village. For example, the chickens raised by some families always crowed in the middle of the night, and when they woke up the next day, they found that several chickens were dead; the dogs of some families also kept howling, but when they got up to check, they found nothing. There are also children at home who always say that they can see the reflection of people in the window, but when the adults go out to check, there is no one. Some people also say that there is always a strange gurgling sound coming from the well in the village, but there are many villagers who come to fetch water for drinking, and they don't see anything unusual.

In short, these strange things happen from time to time, making everyone in Lijia Village feel a little uneasy.

Although no one was killed, it was still a big commotion.

The village chief had asked Taoist priests and monks for help, but it was useless. He asked someone to perform a ritual the day before, but there were still some strange noises at night.

The village also organized patrols, but apart from hearing some strange noises, they found nothing.

The chickens and ducks that were supposed to die would still die, and strange things that were supposed to happen would still happen. There was no improvement, but nothing worse happened either. Gradually, the villagers of Lijia Village seemed to have become accustomed to it, but in fact, no one was at peace in their hearts. They just had to live their lives as usual, and could not let these strange things disrupt their lives.

If there could be a way to solve the problem, who in Lijia Village would be unwilling to do so?
When Li Laosan saw Li Daoxuan coming today, he suddenly decided to talk about these things. After all, in his mind, the third young master who could go to Maoshan to become a disciple must be very powerful.

But for Li Laosan, although he was an elder, his status was far inferior to Li Daoxuan. He dared not order Li Daoxuan around, nor did he dare to ask Li Daoxuan to take action directly. He was also afraid from the bottom of his heart that Li Daoxuan would make a mistake. He could only tell Li Daoxuan the whole story while testing Li Daoxuan's attitude.

After many twists and turns, he didn't expect that the Third Young Master actually agreed to this matter, which made Li Laosan very happy and he went out to look.

"After all, it's Lijia Village's business. I can't just sit there and do nothing." Li Daoxuan said with a smile.

Lijia Village is Mr. Li’s hometown. His ancestors in this life have all lived here. Although Mr. Li and his entire family now live in Jinling, the old house is also in the village. It would be bad if something happened to the old house.

It was precisely because of these thoughts that Li Daoxuan wanted to help Lijia Village.

"Third Young Master is so kind!" Li Lao San was so moved that he was about to kneel down and kowtow to Li Daoxuan. However, Li Daoxuan was quick and pulled Li Lao San up.

"Uncle, you are Daoxuan's elder, how can you perform such a great ceremony?" Li Daoxuan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Third Young Master, you are so kind-hearted that you can be considered the benefactor of the village. It is only right that I, Li Laosan, kowtow to you." Li Laosan wiped his tears and smiled.

"Uncle, you are embarrassing me." Li Daoxuan said with a wry smile. "Since Daoxuan said he would help, he will definitely help. Uncle, why don't you take me to see the place where Li Tie's child drowned, so that I can know what caused the trouble."

"That's fine, that's fine!" Li Laosan nodded repeatedly. "Then shall we go now?"

Li Daoxuan looked at the sun outside, it was noon. The Yang energy was at its strongest at this moment, and it was a good time to observe the situation, so he followed Li Laosan's advice, packed up a little, curled up the little rabbit in the lapel of his shirt, and followed Li Laosan out of the yard.

Life in Lijia Village seems to remain the same. The villagers are still doing what they should have done in the past. Their ancestors have been doing these things, and their generation is no exception.

The only difference was that there were fewer children in the village. Li Laosan said that they were all confined at home by their parents and were not allowed to go out. Occasionally, when he met villagers who had finished their farm work or were leading their cattle back home, they were all a little surprised to see Li Daoxuan.

After all, many people knew the third son of the wealthy merchant Li from Jinling. When he came back to the village during the Chinese New Year, the villagers remembered this handsome young man.

They greeted Li Daoxuan enthusiastically, and Li Daoxuan responded one by one.

Walking along the dirt road to the pond at the entrance of the village, Li Laosan pointed to the pond not far away and said, "That's where the kid from Li Tie's family drowned."

Li Daoxuan looked in the direction Li Laosan pointed, and saw a pool of rippling water under a crooked locust tree. Under the midday sun, the water surface emitted fragmented sunlight, which looked quite eye-catching.

This pond is quite large, about a hundred meters long. Villagers use a lot of water here, and they also raise some fish in it.

Although the pond was bright and beautiful, in Li Daoxuan's eyes it seemed to have a very gloomy aura, completely different from what he felt when he came back last time.

I didn't expect that after just a few days, he had changed so much.

He looked at the locust tree again. Perhaps it was the mysterious feeling of a cultivator, but he felt that this locust tree was the only one that stood out and was conspicuous on the hundred-meter-long river bank.

Li Daoxuan approached slowly, his eyes sweeping down as he walked, and finally landed on the roots of the locust tree.

The color of the soil at the roots of the tree is different from the surrounding area. There is an obvious bulge and depression. It should be new soil that has been turned over. A small hole was dug but not backfilled.

When he got closer, he found some soil under the tree, and upon closer inspection, it seemed that something was buried in it. The soil did not completely cover it, and some stone surface was vaguely revealed.

Li Daoxuan squatted down and carefully brushed away the loose soil around him with one hand. Slowly, a part of the object underneath was revealed, which turned out to be the head of an old turtle.

Li Daoxuan felt the old turtle's head. The stone was extremely hard, and the body should still be connected. He thought it was a big stone turtle. He narrowed his eyes and recalled what Yuan Xiao had encountered. He asked in a deep voice, "When was this old turtle placed under the tree?"

"Old turtle?" Li Laosan was stunned by the question. He watched Li Daoxuan brush away the dirt and saw the stone turtle covered with moss. However, he was also surprised and shook his head blankly. "I don't know who put the old turtle under this tree. I haven't heard of it either."

"This pond was originally located in the Yang position, a precious place for water. It is located in the south of the village, with a cave and a mountain to watch the water. It should have been a Feng Shui treasure land, but now it has been ruined by this old turtle." Li Daoxuan pinched his fingers and looked around the pond. His eyes showed a solemn look, and his face was not very good. "The black tortoise was originally a lucky beast, sitting in the water position. But now it is under the black tortoise hiding ghost tree, breathing in and out the Yin energy. The original good Feng Shui position of this pond has been destroyed, and it has become a place where evil gathers and Yin gathers."

"Isn't this a bad idea?" Li Laosan asked cautiously.

"Of course." Li Daoxuan nodded. "The Xuanwu is in reverse position, swallowing Yin and spitting out evil. This yang position has become a yin position. If this continues, this pond will become a place of yin water. At that time, this pond will become stagnant water, and it will only gather yin and evil energy. Once the yin and evil energy gathers, the feng shui of the entire Lijia Village will be destroyed. At that time, the people living here will suffer from illness at best, and their families will be destroyed at worst."

Although Li Daoxuan's words were light, they sounded like thunder to Li Laosan.

He stood there stupidly, looking at the pond, at a loss as to what to do.

He had not expected that just a stone turtle under the locust tree beside the pond would lead to such a disaster.

(End of this chapter)