Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: The Fengshui Killing Game

The rain over the Qinhuai River carried the scent of six dynasties' powdered rouge, mingling with the century - old rusty smell in the subway tunnel, like a spilled traditional Chinese medicine pot splashing into the nostrils. Chen Jiuzhang's knuckles turned white as he gripped the bronze compass. The diagram of the twenty - eight constellations on the compass surface glowed eerily, while the needle spun wildly like a drunken top. His phone screen lit up suddenly, revealing a message from Zhang Chengying, the food deliveryman: "Bro, what big job did you take? Need me to come to the rescue on my electric bike covered in talismans?"​"Mr. Chen, we're almost there." The client's suited figure flickered in the emergency lights, and the sound of leather shoes stepping on puddles was eerily loud. Chen Jiuzhang stared at the faint black aura lingering around the man's neck, feeling a lump in his throat. But his mind involuntarily recalled the jade pendant his mother had stuffed into his hand before she passed away - an old piece engraved with "turn bad luck into good," which was now burning hot against his chest through his clothes. Three days ago, he'd accepted this "haunted house inspection" job on the underground Xuanmen forum. The client had offered half a piece of Song Dynasty meteorite iron as payment—enough to suppress the menacing Wolf Star curse in his fate.​"The chain of your Patek Philippe watch looks quite similar to the Soul - Binding Chain pattern described in The Book of Burial," Chen Jiuzhang suddenly remarked, trying to break the eerie silence. The client's steps faltered. Chen Jiuzhang caught a glimpse of the man's knuckles turning white under his sleeves and sneered inwardly: There's definitely something fishy.​Black mucus seeped from the wall at the end of the tunnel, tracing distorted runes. Chen Jiuzhang's pupils constricted. It was the long - lost "Map of the Yellow Spring Ferry," and countless tiny ghosts in the diagram were flowing along the river towards the heart of Jinling City. Seventy - two ghostly lamps had somehow floated into the air, their oil burning with an eerie green light, turning the entire space into a ghostly realm. His phone vibrated again. This time, it was a message from Shen Qingluan, the archaeology professor: "Xiao Chen, I found in ancient books that there's a Ming Dynasty demon - suppressing formation at the bottom of the Qinhuai River. Be extremely careful." The attached picture showed crooked cinnabar annotations on yellowed pages, with a cheering - up emoji at the end.​"Mr. Chen, this wall..." The client suddenly turned around. His once - gentlemanly face was covered in blue veins, and his eyes glowed with green phosphorus. A skin - walker! Chen Jiuzhang leaped backward, his back hitting the cold water pipe, yet his mind still wandered: I should have brought a pack of spicy strips for courage. The creature grinned, revealing rows of barbed fangs. With a "tear," the human skin peeled off its skeleton, transforming into a stinking black mist lunging at him.​The bronze compass trembled violently. Chen Jiuzhang bit his tongue and flicked his blood onto the central pool of the compass. "Heaven and Earth, the profound origin of all energies!" The ancient incantation echoed through the tunnel. The 虚影 of the twenty - eight constellations emerged from the compass, forming a chain of stars that wrapped around the black mist. However, the power of the skin - walker exceeded his expectations. The stinking mist corroded the star chain, and Chen Jiuzhang felt his internal organs churning, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. In a trance, he seemed to see his father standing under the Seven Star Lamp, making a "hold your ground" gesture at him.​At that moment, the railway tracks beneath his feet let out a tortured groan. Chen Jiuzhang looked down to see dark golden liquid seeping from the gaps—the blood of the dragon vein! The modern construction team had accidentally triggered the seal of the Ming Dynasty's Dragon Well, and the Yin Qi of the Nine Netherworlds was devouring the essence of the Jinling dragon vein. To his horror, he noticed cherry - blossom - shaped seals hidden deep within the wall runes, clearly the work of Japanese onmyoji.​"The Eight - Headed Serpent Devouring the Dragon Formation..." Chen Jiuzhang wiped the blood from his mouth and pressed the Purple Star Seal onto the compass. The incomplete dragon vein suddenly awakened, and a dragon's roar rumbled from the ground. The twenty - eight constellations transformed into the seven constellations of the Azure Dragon. Its claws tore through the black mist and shot towards the ceiling. The entire subway station began to shake violently, and the thousand - year - old Bixi statue, hidden in the ceiling, fell to the ground—the dormant water - guarding beast had been accidentally awakened.​"Help! I'm afraid of heights!" As the statue fell, Chen Jiuzhang heard a familiar voice. Looking closely, it was Zhang Chengying, who had somehow rushed in on an electric bike covered in Dunjia talismans, with undelivered food still hanging from the front. "Bro, I calculated with my fingers that you were in trouble!" Zhang Chengying shouted as he threw a string of glutinous rice, but accidentally splashed the milk tea in his hand towards the Bixi. "Oh no! Will the mythical beast have indigestion after drinking bubble milk tea?"​The Bixi opened its moss - covered eyes and exhaled a cloud of turbid water vapor. Chen Jiuzhang deciphered the inscriptions on the statue's base amidst the falling debris: "The power of water suppresses demons, awakening upon encountering calamity." He bit his fingertip and drew the Taiji Yin - Yang fish on the compass, injecting his remaining blood into the eye of the formation. "Borrow the power of the dragon vein, suppress!" The 虚影 of the Azure Dragon and the Bixi roared simultaneously. The two forces collided, creating golden ripples that spread out.​The skin - walker let out a piercing scream and disintegrated into ashes in the golden light. But before Chen Jiuzhang could catch his breath, the Bixi let out a sorrowful roar—countless cracks appeared on its turtle shell, unable to withstand the rampaging power of the dragon vein. From the depths of the tunnel came the sound of chains breaking, as something ancient and evil began to stir.​His phone vibrated again. Shen Qingluan sent a new message: "I'm waiting on the surface with a first - aid kit and... your favorite osmanthus cakes." Chen Jiuzhang tightened his grip on the fragment of "The Classic of Shaking the Dragon." Watching Zhang Chengying still staring blankly at the Bixi, he suddenly felt the burning pain of the birthmark on his chest ease a little. When modern technology collided with thousand - year - old fengshui formations, and foreign spells eroded the dragon veins of China, at least in this fengshui killing game that determined the fate of Jinling, he was no longer alone.