Zhao Yuezhu still hadn't noticed anything unusual about us and was still telling the story of "Tie Ban Shen Suan" (Iron Plate Divine Calculation):

That night, Qian Hong was drinking and sharpening his knife in his rented room.

As the old saying goes: a person on the verge of death relives their past. At that time, Qian Hong really thought of everything, one moment thinking of his grandfather, the next thinking of his childhood.

As Qian Hong thought, his hand stopped sharpening the knife.

Before Qian Hong went to college, his grandfather called him over and said a lot to him. He said, "After you leave, my lifespan should also come to an end. Don't come back for my funeral, no matter who sends you the message."

"If you want to show filial piety, just burn some paper at a crossroads and pour some wine for me."

Qian Hong was dumbfounded at the time. Funerals and burials are the last time a person can show filial piety in this life, so why didn't his grandfather want him to come back?

His grandfather's next words were even stranger: "Listen carefully, even if someone tells you that my grave has been dug up, don't worry about it."

"I'm definitely not in the grave. It doesn't matter if that country bumpkin digs it up."

"When you really encounter an insurmountable obstacle, then come back and find me."

"Use the skills I taught you to find my corpse. Open my right hand, and your vitality will be in my right hand."

His grandfather had always been a man of his word. Since he had made such an arrangement, Qian Hong had to listen.

Qian Hong left with three steps and a turn of his head. Not long after, someone from the village called Qian Hong, saying that his grandfather had passed away and asked Qian Hong to return for the funeral.

Qian Hong was scolded several times on the phone but didn't go back. He hid in his room and cried bitterly before going to the crossroads to burn paper for his grandfather.

That day, the ashes kept swirling around Qian Hong, unwilling to leave for a long time. Qian Hong knew that his grandfather had come; he was worried about Qian Hong.

It wasn't until Qian Hong repeatedly said to the ashes that he could take care of himself that the whirlwind dispersed.

The second year after his grandfather passed away, someone from the village sent Qian Hong a message, saying that a landslide had buried his grandfather's grave and asked Qian Hong to return to rebuild the grave.

Qian Hong refused to go no matter what, which angered the messenger so much that he almost slapped Qian Hong twice, scolding Qian Hong for being heartless and ungrateful.

Qian Hong listened to everything his grandfather said. He didn't reveal any of the skills his grandfather had taught him, and he lived peacefully for those few years.

Qian Hong didn't expect that the insurmountable obstacle his grandfather mentioned would come so quickly.

Qian Hong's obstacle was not something that could be solved with any family skills.

Otherwise, Qian Hong wouldn't be so angry that he wanted to kill someone.

After thinking it over, Qian Hong still felt that he should go back and take a look. His grandfather had never been wrong about anything. There must be a reason why he told Qian Hong to come back and find him.

Qian Hong hadn't returned to the village for more than four years. When the villagers saw Qian Hong after he returned, they turned their heads and left. Some even closed their doors, as if afraid that Qian Hong would bring them bad luck.

Who asked him not to return when his grandfather passed away! Qian Hong's reputation was ruined. There was no way to explain this to people, so Qian Hong could only lower his head and walk home.

Qian Hong's old house was still there. The weeds in the yard were taller than a person, and the house was full of the smell of moldy bedding. It took half a day of opening the windows to make it habitable.

Qian Hong wiped the table his grandfather had left behind and took out three coins from his pocket and threw them on the table. Who knew that as soon as the coins touched the table, they rolled off the surface and onto the ground.

Qian Hong's first divination attempt failed.

This had never happened before.

Qian Hong cast three divinations in a row, and each one was the same.

The divination was no longer working.

Qian Hong was immediately stunned and quickly turned out the cinnabar, large coins, and Luopan (geomantic compass) that his grandfather had hidden.

He also found the clothes his grandfather had worn during his lifetime, pulled out a few cotton threads from them, threaded them through the holes in the coins, and tied the other end to the middle finger of his left hand, slowly lifting it up.

As a result, before Qian Hong's hand could steady, the cotton thread broke into two pieces, and the large coin fell directly to the ground, breaking in half.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Qian Hong's forehead.

It was impossible for a copper coin to break in half from a fall. A broken copper coin is a sign of great misfortune in Xiangshu (Chinese physiognomy).

It represents: you have calculated an existence that should not be窥视 (kuīshì – peeped at), and you will inevitably bring great disaster upon yourself.

At that time, Qian Hong's head was full of questions.

His grandfather told Qian Hong to come back and find him, so how could he make it impossible for Qian Hong to find him?

How could Qian Hong bring disaster upon himself by looking for his grandfather?

Qian Hong thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out. If the divination was not working and the spiritual connection was blocked, the remaining tricks would definitely not work either.

Qian Hong could only ask people what had happened on the day of his grandfather's funeral. Perhaps he could ask for some clues.

However, none of the villagers paid any attention to Qian Hong. If Qian Hong had the nerve to ask them, he would probably get nothing but a scolding.

After thinking it over, Qian Hong really found someone who might be able to find out something. That person was a well-known loafer in Qian Hong's village named Er Shun. As long as you gave him money, he could do anything.

Qian Hong ran to the village store, bought a few cans of food, took a bottle of wine, and found Er Shun's house. That guy was indeed at home.