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After listening to Zhou Song's explanation, Qin Xiaoya felt it made a lot of sense and was immediately relieved, but she was still very worried. She said to Zhou Song, "I don't dare to go home alone now. I'm really scared to be alone at night."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Song felt a surge of emotion. Only a fool wouldn't understand Qin Xiaoya's implied meaning. He thought to himself that a woman is a woman after all; even if she understood what was going on, it was impossible for her not to be afraid. Qin Xiaoya clearly wanted Zhou Song to accompany her, but she was too embarrassed to say it directly; women are, after all, shy.

Zhou Song said gently to Qin Xiaoya, "Xiaoya, don't be afraid. I'll come find you after I finish what I'm doing. If you're worried about being alone, I can stay with you." As Zhou Song said this, he suddenly thought of Feng Junzi for some reason.

Xiaoya encountered this situation, and with Feng Junzi not around, Zhou Song didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for him.

Part 1: Deceiving Gods and Ghosts, Chapter 11: Talking About Ghosts Without Intention

When Qin Xiaoya went to find Zhou Song, Feng Junzi and Professor Song were looking at "feng shui" near Hanlin Residential Area. Feng Junzi couldn't help but discuss yesterday's topic about the demon with Professor Song:

"Old Song, you said that demons can also be human, and that someone like Zhao Dongshan is a demon you shouldn't mess with. I don't think so. Everyone can become a Buddha, and therefore everyone can become a demon. I think it's just a matter of inner demons. That BMW driver was unlucky because he messed with Zhao Dongshan, but think about it, if the grandfather and grandson were just ordinary people, wouldn't that BMW driver be a kind of demon to them too?"

Professor Song: "What you said makes sense. Only when the human heart is filled with demons can one become a demon."

Feng Junzi seemed intent on picking a fight with Professor Song, and continued, "Actually, Professor Song, you could also be a 'human demon.' I see you as mature, composed, and elegant, looking just like the movie star Chen Daoming. You're now a famous expert, enjoying both fame and fortune. You must be very attractive to women, especially since it's so easy for you to deceive naive young girls. Honestly, how many campus beauties have you slept with at the university?"

Professor Song always felt a little intimidated in front of Feng Junzi because of the fox spirit incident: "I'm not that kind of person. Don't smear the pure university campus."

Feng Junzi said irritably, "Even if you're not that kind of person, don't bring up the words 'university campus.' Do you think your finance university doesn't have any rogue professors? Do you want me to name a few?"

Professor Song knew that Feng Junzi was telling the truth and dared not argue with him further. He had no choice but to change the topic back to feng shui. Pointing to the terrain near Hanlin Community, he said to Feng Junzi, "The term 'feng shui' is just a folk term. The formal name should be 'geography.' This kind of geography is certainly not the geography class taught in schools now. But if you remove the idealistic part of feng shui, its scientific part is actually geography and geology."

Feng Junzi: "I know. I bought a book called 'The Complete Book of Geography and Feng Shui' at a street stall yesterday. If we look at it purely from a feng shui perspective, the feng shui of Hanlin Community is really good. It is suitable for both burial and living."

“I also think that this place is indeed good according to traditional feng shui. It seems that’s true after hearing you say that,” Professor Song said thoughtfully. “But how come such an unlucky thing happened in this place with good feng shui?”

Feng Junzi laughed: "This is the conflict between superstition and science. From a feng shui perspective, this place is suitable for both yin and yang, making it suitable for building both yin and yang dwellings. Zhou Song is developing yang dwellings here now, but many years ago someone developed yin dwellings here."

Professor Song suddenly turned to look at Feng Junzi and slowly said, "Do you believe that there are coincidences in history? Zhou Song developed the Hanlin Community, and I checked the old county records of this place. There used to be a small village called Xiao Han Village nearby, and it really did produce a scholar named Han who was ranked third in the imperial examination and became a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy."

"Oh?" Feng Junzi suddenly became interested. "Do you know where that Xiao Han Village is? Isn't it near Hanlin Residential Area? This area is now part of the city."

Professor Song: "This is a place name from a long time ago. With the changes of history, I'm afraid no one can find out the original location of Xiaohan Village. I only found the record in old documents."

Feng Junzi suddenly had a vague feeling that what Professor Song said was very important. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he seemed to remember something, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. Just then, his phone rang. It was Zhou Song calling.

After listening to Zhou Song's account of the strange events Qin Xiaoya encountered over the phone, Feng Junzi said with a grave expression, "Zhou Song, your analysis of Qin Xiaoya is probably correct, but don't forget that the murder case did happen. I didn't expect things to be so complicated. If it involves a murder case, that would be terrifying. You must take good care of Xiaoya."

Zhou Song seemed a little startled by Feng Junzi's reminder: "Yes, how could I not have thought of that? Feng Junzi, what should we do now?"

Feng Junzi: "Why don't you go find Chang Wu and ask him about the details of that murder case? Also, Professor Song told me to remind Xiaoya to think about whether there is someone special who wants to deal with her. I think that possibility is too high." Chang Wu was Feng Junzi and Zhou Song's classmate in middle school. After graduating from middle school, he went to police academy and is now in Binhai, where he is the director of a police station in a certain district.

After finishing his call with Zhou Song, Feng Junzi relayed the matter to Professor Song. Professor Song's reaction was calm; he said, "You should ask the police, but I think you're overthinking it. This matter is probably unrelated to the murder case. Someone just used a coincidental murder as a pretext to make Qin Xiaoya think those five thousand pairs of left-foot leather shoes were ominous and wanted her to get rid of them quickly. Feng Junzi, you're a smart man; why are you thinking so negatively?"

Feng Junzi knew in his heart that he was being too concerned and said to Professor Song, "Old Song, you have a clearer perspective as an outsider."

Professor Song continued, "Just listen to that ghost story. It's so poorly made up. If I were to make it up, it would scare Qin Xiaoya half to death. But what's strange is that these five thousand pairs of leather shoes are worth one million. It's not a huge amount, but it's not a small amount either. It's not a particularly large sum for a rich person. Why go to all these tricks? It seems like they're deliberately targeting Qin Xiaoya."

Upon hearing this, Feng Junzi was eager to return to Binhai and immediately took Lao Song to the construction site.

Part 1: Deceit and Deception, Chapter 12: Money Can Make Ghosts Move House

“Why isn’t Boss Zhou here? The construction site is in chaos. Everyone’s saying it’s an unlucky thing, and the workers don’t want to work anymore. Mr. Feng, you told us to get rid of the dead bodies quickly, but I’m afraid it won’t be that easy. I want to talk to Boss Zhou about the project payment,” said Manager Liu, the person in charge of the construction unit. He had small eyes and a typical Vietnamese face.

Feng Junzi didn't even look up, and said calmly, "Don't talk about the project payment yet. According to the agreement, the first payment will only be made when the project reaches ground level. If you quit now, you won't get a penny. I'll find someone else. Since President Zhou asked me to handle this, I'll have the final say. If you don't believe me, give Zhou Song a call."

Manager Liu immediately took out his phone and called Zhou Song. After saying a few words, he hung up, still saying to Feng Junzi, "Isn't what you're doing bullying people? Aren't you being reasonable?"

Feng Junzi said calmly, "You can also go to the court to reason with them. Go tell the judge that you are afraid of ghosts and dare not do it, and ask the court to ask Boss Zhou for money on your behalf, and they will not pursue your breach of contract."

When Manager Liu saw Feng Junzi's attitude, he didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only say, "Mr. Feng should think about us workers. If the workers don't want to work, there's nothing I can do. Who would want to be haunted by evil spirits? There are rules to follow when doing business."

Seeing that the hard approach had worked, Feng Junzi decided to try a softer one. He raised his head, pointed at Professor Song, and said, "Manager Liu, don't worry. Do you know who Boss Zhou invited this time? This is the renowned Chinese studies master, Professor Song Zhaonan, who is proficient in Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Even the mayor of Guangzhou City treats him with utmost respect. With him here, what problem can't be solved?"

Manager Liu looked at Professor Song with surprise and said, "I've seen Professor Song on TV before. It's great to have you here, but how do we solve the problem of the migrant workers?"

Professor Song found it amusing, finally understanding why Feng Junzi had dragged him along. Since Feng Junzi had said so, he had no choice but to maintain the facade. Pointing at Feng Junzi, he said to Manager Liu, "Manager Liu, do you know who this Mr. Feng is? Do you think Boss Zhou just randomly picked someone to help you? This Mr. Feng Junzi is a true expert who can manipulate the earth's energy and dragon veins. What is a mere residential community to him?"

Feng Junzi cursed Professor Song inwardly, but had no choice but to go along with it: "Manager Liu, you don't need to worry about the workers. I've already taken care of that. Besides, I just surveyed the site and found that the feng shui here is good. In the next few days, Professor Song and I will find out the locations of all the tombs in the community, and then we can start clearing them as soon as possible without delaying your project."

Manager Liu asked with skepticism, "Are the migrant workers really okay?"

Feng Junzi: "Of course, no problem. If you don't believe me, go out and ask around."

After Manager Liu left, Professor Song asked Feng Junzi curiously, "How did you manage to get the workers to dig up the dead body for you?"

Feng Junzi: "It's very simple. I just told the workers who were digging the earth that whoever found a skeleton would get two hundred yuan. It has nothing to do with the project payment. They don't need to ask the foreman. They can just come to me to collect it."

Professor Song: "They'd actually do it for a mere two hundred yuan?"

Feng Junzi: "These migrant workers work themselves to the bone for only 500 yuan a month, and they are often owed wages. Now, if a skeleton is found, there is 200 yuan in cash. What's wrong with that?"

Professor Song: "Aren't they afraid of ghosts and gods?"

Feng Junzi laughed mockingly: "You think what Manager Liu said earlier was true? People who are afraid of ghosts and gods are usually one of two types: those who are well-off and those who are too well-read like you. Those people outside are digging earthworks, building roads and bridges all year round. Where don't they encounter graves and corpses? If they were afraid of this, they wouldn't be able to work. Manager Liu brought this up just to make trouble over the project payment."

Professor Song also laughed and said, "That's called ignorance is bliss."

Feng Junzi said seriously, "It's unfair of you to speak like that; it sounds condescending. I think it's more accurate to say that people with simple and honest hearts have a more peaceful mind. Don't say these migrant workers are ignorant; do you think they want to be ignorant? I see many migrant workers outside who are quite young, in the prime of their lives for university, it's a pity—"

Professor Song sighed, "Those of humble origins need to be even more self-reliant."

Feng Junzi sneered, "You make it sound so easy. Can these people outside do it? The newspapers' stories about child prodigies who collect scraps getting into Tsinghua University are like talking about aliens. Do they look like aliens? The reason these people come out to work is because they earn more on construction sites than farming at home. They work themselves to the bone and earn six thousand a year. How much is the tuition at your University of Finance and Economics a year?"

Professor Song: "The national unified enrollment is 7,000 yuan per year, the school's expanded enrollment is 10,000 yuan per year, and the self-funded students in the secondary colleges are 12,000 yuan per year."

Feng Junzi: "If you calculate it this way, most poor families can only afford to send a few children to higher education with the resources of their entire clan or village, while the rest are digging up corpses for two hundred yuan. Even I feel ashamed."

Professor Song sighed and said, "This is not your or my fault."

Part 1: Deception and Deception, Chapter 13: The Revenge of the Dead

Feng Junzi was examining the mud core brought up by the probe in an open area of the construction site with a Luoyang shovel. The situation was much better than Feng Junzi had imagined. The area and number of tombs were not large. In just half a day, he had figured out the distribution of tombs in most of the eastern part of the community and the depth of the soil layers that needed to be dug. He marked the ground with lime and told the workers to dig. He also told the workers to be careful not to break the bones so as not to disturb the spirits of the dead.

Actually, it was Feng Junzi himself who was truly afraid of disturbing the spirits of the dead. He carefully placed the probe around the edge of the tomb, avoiding the center altogether, for fear of accidentally hitting the remains below. While working, he explained to Professor Song standing beside him, "Those construction workers are actually very clever. They understood as soon as I explained. The tombs here aren't buried very deep, and they can easily tell when they've reached the boundary between the soil layers. It seems these construction workers have a good understanding of the soil's characteristics."

Professor Song asked with great interest, "If I look at the mud core brought out by the shovel, I can tell the approximate depth and shape of the tomb. But how do you know where to dig in such a large area? At least I can't see any difference from the surface."

Feng Junzi said with a bit of showing off, "These are the questions that laymen often ask when they see an archaeological excavation site. People often wonder why the excavation squares are dug in that way. How do they know which places should be dug and which places should not be dug? For example, why the Terracotta Army was not dug into a square but into a trench-like structure."

Professor Song: "Don't be so arrogant, just talk about this neighborhood."

Feng Junzi continued, "The tombs in this place are not exactly recent, but they are definitely not too old either. I estimate they are from the Republican era. Tombs from this period are relatively easy to identify from the surface. First, look at the slight undulations in the terrain, then look at the subtle differences in soil and vegetation. The base soil and the soil layers that have been turned over by humans will have differences in terms of hardness, color, moisture, and viscosity. Of course, sometimes this also requires experience."

Professor Song: "What experience?"

Feng Junzi: "An experienced person can walk over there and sometimes feel something inexplicable under their feet. It's an indescribable experience."

Professor Song joked, "You look like a veteran. Why don't you become an archaeologist or just a tomb raider?"

Feng Junzi smiled bitterly and said, "It's a pity that I will never become that kind of talent. I'm not afraid to tell you, but I'm much more timid than I seem. I'm afraid of seeing dead people. Although I told the workers to dig, I didn't even dare to look at what they dug up myself."

Feng Junzi was so engrossed in talking that he didn't pay attention to where he was digging. He landed a little too close to the center of a tomb, and by the time he realized it, the shovel had already pulled out the core of the burial. Feng Junzi saw a small, white piece of bone fragment inside the core, and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He stopped talking to Professor Song.

Feng Junzi was a little flustered and tried not to think about what had just happened. He then went to dig in another spot. Perhaps his hand was not steady, or he hit a rock on the ground, because Feng Junzi's hand trembled. With a "crack," the long handle of the Luoyang shovel suddenly and inexplicably broke in half. Feng Junzi's hand was exerting force downwards when the broken handle struck his left foot hard.

The two gasped simultaneously, and Professor Song quickly asked, "Feng Junzi, are you alright?"

Feng Junzi's foot was in excruciating pain. He forced himself to untie his shoelaces to check the injury. Fortunately, he was wearing a pair of thick canvas sneakers today. The jagged wood stumps only pierced a small part of the shoe surface, leaving a few shallow wounds on his foot. There wasn't much blood, but it had already stained his socks red.

Feng Junzi gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not seriously injured, but that hit was pretty hard, and I twisted my ankle." As he spoke, he suddenly remembered the small piece of white bone from earlier, which seemed to be a piece of human foot bone. An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart, and he felt as if every pore on his body had opened up.

Professor Song was unaware of Feng Junzi's deep thoughts. Seeing that he was alright, he joked, "You shouldn't have said you were a coward earlier. Even ghosts are afraid of evil people. Hearing you say you're a coward will only embolden you."

Feng Junzi was startled. He felt that although Professor Song was joking, there seemed to be some truth to what he said. However, he didn't want to explain too much to Professor Song, so he said to Professor Song, "Old Song, I can't finish it today. Anyway, there's not much left. You can finish the rest for me. You've been watching for a long time, so you must have learned it by now. I've marked the general parts. You can draw the specific locations with lime lines later."

Professor Song feigned displeasure and said, "So you dragged me, a great expert, out to investigate folk customs just to do your hard labor? I'm on a treacherous ship now, so I have no choice but to do this. I think only the two of us can do this kind of work in this godforsaken place."

Feng Junzi went back to apply medicine to the back of his foot, while Lao Song changed his shovel handle and continued probing the mud core. He didn't think it was as complicated as Feng Junzi had imagined; instead, he found it quite interesting. Just then, his phone rang, and upon checking the number, he saw it was that "vixen" calling.

Professor Song felt a sudden stirring within him when he saw the number. Men's psychology can be strange sometimes. Back in Binhai, a "vixen" had come knocking on his door, scaring him so much that he fled to Gwangju, too afraid to even answer the phone. But now, receiving a call from her in Gwangju, he felt no apprehension or unease; instead, he felt an itch all over his body, a surge of excitement.

Professor Song picked up the phone and, without waiting for the other person to speak, said in a very sweet voice, "Baby? Did you miss me?"

"Of course I miss you! I came all the way to Binhai to look for you, but you weren't there. I'm so disappointed," came a sweet and magnetic female voice from the phone.

Old Song squinted and answered in a gentle tone, "Oh, what a coincidence. There's a research project in the south that invited me here. If I had known you were coming, I would have declined no matter what. You have no idea how much I miss you."

"Really? What have you been thinking about me? Tell me what you've been thinking about me?" The voice on the phone seemed to send a tingling electric current through Professor Song, and his ears also felt hot.

"I dreamt about you last night, about you and me..." Professor Song's voice grew softer and softer, and his expression became increasingly ambiguous. What followed was content that was inappropriate for children.

As dusk approached, Professor Song held a Luoyang shovel in one hand, questioning the spirits of the dead beneath, while in the other hand he held a telephone, exchanging lewd words with a "fox spirit" a thousand miles away. At this moment, he had forgotten the warning he had given Feng Junzi about his encounter at Lingyin Temple, unaware that his actions were also disrespectful to the spirits of the dead, and he didn't even consider the unpredictable consequences this would bring upon himself.

Part 1: Deception and Deception, Chapter 14: The Secret Deep Underground

The next day, the "ghost digging" operation in the entire Hanlin residential area was basically over. Professor Song went out for a stroll, since he was already there, he should at least investigate the "folk customs." Feng Junzi's foot injury had healed, and he came to the construction site alone with a Luoyang shovel.

Feng Junzi arrived at an open space in front of the construction site. This place was not marked, and Feng Junzi did not ask Lao Song to explore it or let the workers dig it. However, he felt that this place must be an artificial soil layer from a long time ago.

However, the soil here is not only significantly different from the foundation soil of the community, but also clearly different from the soil layers of the tombs excavated some time ago. The soil here is harder and lighter in color, and the mud core brought out by the probe appears to be dry, suggesting it is from a much older era. Feng Junzi didn't know what was underneath, so he didn't make a fuss and came to check it out alone.

The shovel had gone quite deep, but still found nothing. It had already gone down more than three meters, and the shovel handle was almost at its end. Since the tombs excavated recently had been very shallow, Feng Junzi hadn't prepared a longer handle to extend it. Just as he was wondering, his wrist suddenly tightened; the shovel seemed to have hit something hard in the ground. Feng Junzi's wrist paused slightly. Judging from the feel, the shovel had struck something that was neither metal nor wood, but rather stone.

Logically, this location shouldn't be bedrock, but it's normal to have rocks underground. For some reason, Feng Junzi was particularly interested in what was below, and his courage was clearly much greater than yesterday. He quickly selected several more probe points nearby, and after some time, the probe points, seemingly spaced out, formed a unique array on the ground.

Feng Junzi already had a general idea that there was something deep underground, something that seemed to be ancient. The upward-facing side of this object was rectangular, and a very flat and regular surface. Since the probe couldn't turn, he didn't know the exact shape of the object, but various associations suddenly came to mind. After thinking for a moment, he stopped using the probe and then very carefully covered the hole in the ground with loose soil, making it appear as if no one had touched it.

Feng Junzi returned to the construction site office, found the engineering design drawings, and carefully examined the spot where he had discovered the object. He realized it was an open space not far from the main entrance of the residential complex. The design was for an artificial hill landscape, with no building foundations or pipelines passing through the area. He closed the drawings expressionlessly. At that moment, Professor Song returned.

As soon as Professor Song entered, he asked, "Feng Junzi, how's the site cleanup going?"

Feng Junzi: "It went much more smoothly than we expected. We dug up a total of thirteen skeletons, which, together with the five we had already found, make a total of eighteen. Now that we've finished cleaning them up, we can go back to Binhai. We'll discuss the rest with Zhou Song later."

Professor Song: "Going back now?"

Feng Junzi laughed: "That fox spirit's inspection team has probably already left, what are you still doing here?"

Professor Song chuckled twice. Seeing that no one else was around, Feng Junzi whispered to Professor Song, "I actually found an ancient man-made burial in this community. It's obviously different from the tombs we've dug up. I don't know what it is, but it's in a place that the community construction can't reach, and I don't want to touch it."

Professor Song asked curiously, "What is it? Why don't you want to touch it?"

Feng Junzi: "I don't know what it is either. It could be an ancient tomb or some kind of artifact. I'm not touching it for three reasons. First, I don't want to cause any more trouble for Zhou Song. Unearthing these eighteen skeletons is already a huge headache; if we find anything else, I really don't know how we'll handle it. Second, if it's a really important archaeological discovery, it will definitely summon the cultural relics department, which will delay the project's progress. Zhou Song can't afford any more trouble right now. And the third reason is the most important—"

Professor Song: "Oh? What is the most important reason?"

Feng Junzi: "I think there's no difference between archaeology and tomb raiding. Both involve disturbing our ancestors. The transmission of culture relies on the sharing of knowledge and refinement, not necessarily digging up the things of the ancients. For example, Professor Song, after you die, would you want people a thousand years from now to dig up your grave? What is that? Civilizational voyeurism?"

Professor Song: "Civilized voyeurism? That's an interesting way to put it."

Feng Junzi: "So let the antiquities stay there quietly. At least that's my opinion. Even if they are discovered, let future generations discover them. Our generation has destroyed too many things."

Professor Song said thoughtfully, "People have secrets, and the land beneath our feet has secrets too. Sometimes it might be better to keep secrets. It's never a good feeling to have your privacy invaded. But if you don't dig up what's underground, aren't you afraid this neighborhood will become haunted in the future?"

Feng Junzi laughed: "The so-called ghosts are people's fear of death and the unknown world. Ghosts reside in people's hearts. Ghosts only appear when people are restless. Nobody knows what kind of ghosts are going on?"

Professor Song: "It's a pity you know now."