Chapter 38: A Brutal Death from Backlash

Watching Kenji Sato writhing on the ground in agony, Masao Takahashi felt an overwhelming sense of urgency, yet he was utterly helpless, forced to watch as the man rolled in pain. Everything Kenji Sato had inflicted upon the stone ox was now rebounding upon him. Masao Takahashi realized with horror that the Earthly Fiend Ox-Dissection formation had been broken.

He was deeply perplexed: who could have broken such a formation? Even for a master of Feng Shui, identifying the seventy-two Earthly Fiend nodes was no simple task. Kenji Sato, the youngest and most brilliant Yin-Yang Feng Shui master of the Nine Chrysanthemums School, had spent five full days locating those seventy-two points when he first laid the trap. The difficulty of the task was immense. To break the formation, one had to precisely identify every node in the correct sequence; the slightest error would result in total failure, and the one attempting the break would be struck down by the backlash of the Earthly Fiend energy.

Had Masao Takahashi known that Li Chengfeng had identified all seventy-two nodes in the correct order in under half an hour—without even using a compass, relying entirely on finger-calculations—he might have fled back to Japan immediately, never daring to set foot in China again to oppose Li Chengfeng.

Masao Takahashi tried to rush Kenji Sato to a hospital, but realized it was too late; the man had already lost all signs of life. He knelt on the ground, wailing over the corpse. "Kenji-kun, your brother is arriving in Qingzhou in a few days! You cannot die! If you die, how am I supposed to answer to him?"

He wept bitterly, unable to accept the reality of Kenji Sato’s tragic end. They had dismantled many superior Feng Shui formations across China without incident, yet this time, the backlash had claimed a life. Most terrifying was the gruesome state of the body—too horrific to look at. Seventy-two blade-like gashes had appeared mysteriously across Kenji Sato’s body, and from each wound, a wisp of black, baleful energy escaped into the air. Masao Takahashi collapsed, trembling, his eyes filled with terror. Deep down, he swore a silent oath to avenge his fallen comrade.

Meanwhile, Li Chengfeng circled the two stone oxen once more. The bleeding had stopped, though tiny cracks remained. If all went well, the oxen would soon absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and moon, naturally repairing the fissures over time. The piercing, mournful lowing of the oxen had also ceased, leaving the area in total silence. As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Li Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

Some villagers, still uneasy, asked with concern, "Mr. Li, is it truly finished? Will there be any more deaths in our village?"

"There shouldn't be," Li Chengfeng replied offhandedly, before remembering something and adding, "For the next few days, you had better have someone guard the two stone oxen. Those two Japanese men will surely return." He was unaware that the Yin-Yang master who had laid the formation had already suffered the backlash and perished.

The villagers nodded and, after a brief discussion, decided to arrange shifts to guard the oxen day and night, ensuring no further harm would come to them. Having resolved their great crisis and saved the entire village of Shiniu, Li Chengfeng was met with looks of profound gratitude. The villagers crowded around him, showering him with thanks and inviting him to their homes for a meal. The middle-aged woman, in particular, grabbed his arm and began tugging him toward her house.

Li Chengfeng felt quite helpless. That was the nature of the Feng Shui profession; one was respected everywhere, but once a client’s problem was solved, it was hard to refuse their hospitality. Fortunately, Wang Bin stepped in to rescue him, saying to the woman, "Auntie, he’s my classmate. If he’s going to eat, he should come to my house first."

"How can he go to yours? Let go of his arm!" The woman smiled sheepishly and reluctantly let go. Under the respectful gazes of the villagers, Li Chengfeng followed Wang Bin into the village. The place, which had once been filled with the sounds of chickens and dogs, had now fallen into a deep, peaceful quiet.

Chatting as they walked, the two soon arrived at Wang Bin’s home. After exchanging pleasantries with Wang Bin’s parents and placing the health supplements he had bought on the table, Wang Bin’s parents, who were simple and kind-hearted, beamed and said, "You child, you shouldn't have gone to the trouble of buying gifts!"

"Uncle, Auntie, it’s been a long time since I visited. It’s only right that I bring you some supplements."

Wang Bin’s mother prepared a table full of dishes but forbade Li Chengfeng and Wang Bin from drinking, insisting that children shouldn't touch alcohol. The meal was warm and intimate, giving Li Chengfeng a sense of home. It reminded him of his grandfather, whom he hadn't visited since reopening the Suiyuan Hall. He made a mental note to return and see the old man once he was finished with his current affairs.

After the meal, Li Chengfeng went to Wang Bin’s bedroom. Wang Bin then asked with a grin, "Tell me, what did you come here for?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Can't I come visit you without an ulterior motive?"

"Cut the act. If you didn't have a reason, you wouldn't have come."

Li Chengfeng smiled and revealed the purpose of his visit. Wang Bin was baffled when he heard that Li Chengfeng was looking for a hairless crow and a starved bat. "What on earth do you need those for?"

"To curse someone."

Wang Bin was stunned. He couldn't fathom how the corpses of an ordinary bird and a bat could be used to harm someone. He had never heard of such a thing in his life. He worried that his friend might be trying to experiment with some kind of dangerous virus, which was illegal, and he hurriedly urged Li Chengfeng to drop the idea.

Li Chengfeng then explained his plan to use the folk forbidden art of "Three Corpses Blocking Wealth" to teach the Shenghai Gold Shop a lesson.