The next morning, my master and I packed our things, ready to leave Yao Village.

　　As we passed the village chief’s house on the way out, I noticed the locust tree at his door had been chopped down, leaving nothing but a bare stump. Staring at that stump, for the first time, I truly felt the weight of feng shui—something invisible yet so real. And in that moment, I had a deep, newfound respect for my master.

　　"Let’s go, Gouwa!"

　　"Got it!"

　　I hurried to catch up, and the two of us followed the narrow path west, heading toward the county town.

　　Growing up, the farthest I’d ever been was the county town, and even then, it was only because my grandpa brought me along when he sold goods, carrying that old pole across his shoulders.

　　"Master, are we really going to the county town?" I asked.

　　"Yep. First to the county, then we’ll catch a ride to the old city of Guangji Mansion to find your senior sister."

　　"Senior sister? I have a senior sister?"

　　"Yes, her name’s Jiang Xuerou. She’s a few years older than you, works as a teacher at a middle school in the old city of Guangji Mansion."

　　"My senior sister’s a teacher?"

　　I asked because not just anyone could be a teacher. You had to go to school, be educated, and even pass a teaching qualification exam to become official. In our village, most folks stopped school after elementary. If you could read a few words, that was enough. Becoming a teacher? That was a whole different level.Certified teachers were hard to come by. Take Yao Village, for example—its elementary school had five or six teachers, but only one was actually certified.

　　"Hmm? What’s up?"

　　"Nothing... really, it’s nothing."

　　"Hurry up!" my master urged, picking up the pace. It was clear he was in a rush.

　　We sped along the whole way, and I stuck close to him, not daring to fall behind.

　　On the bus, a group of people were chatting loudly, but somehow, I still managed to drift off. I only woke up when the bus gave a sudden jolt, swaying from side to side. By then, it was dark, and everything had gone quiet. I glanced around and saw that everyone was asleep.

　　As for my master, he was right next to me, dozing off.

　　I yawned, ready to nod off again, when something caught my eye. I glanced toward the front, and it scared the life out of me.

　　The driver’s seat... was empty!

　　But the bus was still moving, and the steering wheel? It was turning all on its own!

　　"Master! Master!" I whispered, nudging him awake.

　　"What is it, Gouwa?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

　　"Look!" I pointed toward the driver’s seat.

　　He squinted at the front, and just as he did, the driver suddenly popped back into view, leaning in from the side like he had been reaching for something.

　　"Nothing to worry about, he probably just dropped something," my master muttered, then turned over and went right back to sleep.I lowered my head, thinking, Did I just imagine that? No way. How could the driver bend down to pick something up while driving? Even if he dropped something, he couldn’t just take his hands off the wheel, right?

　　From my angle, I could see the whole steering wheel clearly, but only part of the driver’s seat. Maybe he really bent over with both hands to grab something, and I just caught it at the exact moment?

　　Something didn’t sit right with me, but since nobody else on the bus seemed to notice, and my master didn’t say a word, I figured I’d better just try to sleep again. Still, my curiosity nagged at me, so I couldn’t help but sneak another glance.

　　What I saw next made my blood run cold.

　　The driver turned his head, locked eyes with me, and gave me this creepy, distorted smile.

　　That smile sent a wave of chills through my body, and I immediately squeezed my eyes shut, terrified.

　　When I finally mustered the courage to open them again, the driver was back to normal, just steering the bus like nothing had ever happened. It was as if the whole thing was just in my head.

　　Did I really imagine it? I thought. Still groggy, I eventually drifted back to sleep.

　　The next thing I knew, my master was shaking me awake.

　　“Gouwa! Gouwa!”

　　“Huh? Master?”

　　“We’re here!”

　　I blinked hard to shake off the grogginess. “Here? At Guangji Mansion?”

　　“Yep, grab your stuff, we’re getting off!” my master said, already standing and moving toward the door. I scrambled to gather my things and hurried after him, following him off the bus.We hadn’t gone far when I saw an ancient city rising ahead. Just by looking at it, you could tell it had been there for centuries. A moat encircled it, and though the city walls were still standing, they were worn and crumbling, the marks of time clearly etched into them.

　　“This place is over two thousand years old,” my master said. “It’s the best feng shui spot for huandred miles.”

　　“Two thousand years?” I looked at him in disbelief. Wow, I’m really learning something today!

　　“Yep!” he responded with a meaningful glance. “It’s my first time here, too. I still don’t understand why your senior apprentice sister would take a teaching job way out here.”

　　“Huh?” I didn’t really get what my master was hinting at, so I kept quiet.

　　“Never mind. Let’s keep moving!”

　　“Got it!”

　　Guangji Mansion certainly lived up to its reputation as an old city. The houses were all low, single-story structures, many built from old blue bricks in the style of small courtyards. The doors were modest, usually with a few steps leading up to them. Occasionally, we’d pass a wealthier residence, where the doors were wider, flanked by two small stone lions.

　　After about half an hour, we arrived at one of these houses. The courtyard was small, no more than forty or fifty square meters.

　　Knock! Knock! My master knocked on one of the doors.

　　“Who is it?” A clear, melodic voice called out. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard, like a lark singing in the springtime.

　　“It’s me, Liu Guoxing! Open the door, Xuerou!”

　　The door creaked open, revealing a young woman. She looked to be around twenty, dressed in sweatpants and a plaid hoodie. Her skin was pale, her figure slender, and a long ponytail swung behind her, full of youthful energy.

　　“Master, you’re finally here!” she exclaimed with a smile.

　　“And this must be the one you mentioned...” she said, pointing at me.

　　“Yes,” my master confirmed, turning to me. “This is your senior apprentice sister, Jiang Xuerou.”

　　“Nice to meet you, Senior Sister!” I greeted her without hesitation.

　　“Aren’t you adorable!” she said with a warm smile, playfully pinching my cheek.

　　“You two can catch up later. First, I need to hear what’s going on here!” my master said.

　　“Sure thing!” she agreed.

　　We followed her into her room. It was quite small, with just a bed, two cabinets, and a desk. The center of the room was barely wide enough to walk through.

　　“So, what’s the urgent issue you needed me for?” my master asked.

　　Senior Sister poured tea for us and took a seat across from us.

　　“Someone died,” she said flatly.

　　“Give me the details,” my master urged.

　　She sighed softly before continuing, “Here’s the situation. Not long ago, the school decided to build a new dormitory, which meant the old building had to be demolished. Everything was going smoothly until, just before completion, a few workers suddenly collapsed. They began foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground!”

　　I glanced at my master. This sounded quite bizarre—no one just collapses out of nowhere and starts foaming at the mouth without any apparent cause.

　　“What happened next?” my master asked, pressing for more details.

　　Senior Sister looked at me for a moment, then continued, “At first, the school officials didn’t think much of it. They assumed they’d just send the workers to the hospital, pay for their medical expenses, and that would be the end of it. But within two hours of arriving at the hospital, all of them had died. The doctors couldn’t save any of them. Things then got even stranger. Many students reported seeing ghostly figures, and some were so terrified they ended up crying. Eventually, the school had to shut down, and all the students were sent home!”My master listened carefully, and once Senior Sister had finished speaking, he took a few sips of his tea.

　　Seeing her growing more anxious, Senior Sister continued, “Master, there shouldn’t be any feng shui issues with the school, right? I mean, this is Guangji Mansion!”

　　“That depends on the specifics of the school,” my master replied, setting his cup down. “Is there anything unusual about it?”

　　“Unusual?” Senior Sister furrowed her brow, thinking hard.

　　“Yes, like any old artifacts or peculiar beliefs tied to the school?”

　　At my master’s prompt, Senior Sister suddenly recalled, “Actually, yes. I heard from some locals that there’s a small stone turtle in the pond behind the gate. They say it’s been there for over a thousand years, and no one dares to move it. They believe it’s been guarding something.”

　　I chimed in, looking at my master, “There’s definitely a belief that stone turtles are used to ward off evil, Master, but I haven’t heard of it being applied in a school setting.”

　　“Objects meant to ward off evil can be either protective or harmful. If it’s a protective item, even if it’s damaged, it shouldn’t harm anyone, unless...” My master paused thoughtfully before continuing, “Unless that stone turtle is inherently malevolent.”

　　“Unless what?” Senior Sister asked, intrigued.

　　“Unless the stone turtle itself is an evil object,” my master said, shaking his head. “But given that it’s been there for over a thousand years, it’s unlikely to be malevolent.”

　　Senior Sister and I exchanged a glance. She then asked my master, “How can we determine whether it’s protective or malevolent?”

　　My master replied, “It’s difficult to say without seeing it in person.”