PCJ – Chapter 107 The Wall Collapsed

Since then, Daoist Ma never performed rituals again. No matter how much money people offered, he stayed in the countryside and worked as a farmer.

Chen Yingang returned to school, but no one dared to talk to him. Seeing someone with completely white eyes was far more terrifying than someone with a crooked mouth. Moreover, Chen Yingang had been punished by a deity, making him seem extremely unlucky. Everyone avoided him, fearing his bad luck might rub off on them.

The Chen family didn’t dare keep the Fan Tan Patriarch’s statue at home anymore. One night, they secretly returned it to its original place. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to continue worshiping the Fan Tan Patriarch, but rather that the Patriarch didn’t want to stay in their home. Every night, the statue would cause disturbances, making life unbearable for the Chen family.

Later, Chen Jinrong and Yang Hongyan both had the same dream on the same night. In the dream, an inverted figure appeared and questioned them about when they would return the statue. After several consecutive nights of such dreams, Chen Jinrong and Yang Hongyan realized this was no ordinary dream. They consulted the village elders, who immediately understood that the Fan Tan Patriarch didn’t want to stay in their home.

Reluctantly, they returned the statue at night, covering it with soil again.

Despite Ma Lisong’s repeated warnings against playing at the construction site, he couldn’t stop the children from being drawn to the mud there. Every day, many children would go to watch the construction. Zhang Jiaohua was among them.

One morning, on his way to school, Zhang Jiaohua heard the site foreman yelling angrily.

“Who’s the scoundrel who did this? What did I ever do to deserve this? You’re hurting people with your actions…”

A group of children immediately ran over, with Zhang Jiaohua following behind. At the site, they saw that a wall that had been almost two meters high had collapsed. It looked like someone had pushed it over. Though called a school building, it was only planned to have two stories since space was not an issue in the countryside. The village had plenty of public land around the school.

The wall had been built with cement that hadn’t fully dried, making it easy to topple. Everyone assumed it was someone holding a grudge against the foreman, taking the opportunity to seek revenge by knocking down the wall at night. The foreman, Liu Guocai from the Shibei group, was thinking the same as he cursed, considering who might have a grudge against him.

Liu Guocai’s group was famous for carving stone tablets, but they were also known for their masonry skills. The group had several skilled masons, and Liu Guocai had been leading them in contracting work since the 1980s. Conflicts over job competition with other masons were inevitable, and Liu Guocai had rivals interested in the Meizi’ao school project, which he ultimately won.

“Brother Guocai, what’s going on?” Liu Yunjun, Liu Guocai’s hot-tempered cousin and a trusted aide, asked.

“What else can we do? We have to rebuild it,” Liu Guocai replied irritably.

“What if they come back and sabotage it again? We’ll never finish the school at this rate,” Liu Yunjun frowned at the fallen wall.

“I’ll stay guard tonight. I need to see who’s causing trouble!” Liu Guocai declared, then led the team to rebuild the collapsed section.

Zhang Jiaohua stood among the children, pondering the situation. The wall’s location was exactly where the Fan Tan Patriarch’s temple had been found. Chen Yingang had discovered the statue there too. The wall didn’t look like it had been pushed over; if it had, the bricks would have fallen to one side. Instead, the bricks were scattered evenly on both sides, as if something had pushed up from the base.

What’s going on here? Zhang Jiaohua wondered.

“What are you all doing here? Don’t you have classes? Get back to your classrooms for morning reading!” Ma Lisong’s shout scattered the children. Zhang Jiaohua, seeing nothing more to watch, slowly walked to the classroom.

“Zhang Jiaohua, come here,” Ma Lisong called him over.

Surprised that Ma Lisong wanted to see him, Zhang Jiaohua approached.

In the principal’s office, Ma Lisong pulled over a wooden chair, “Sit.”

Zhang Jiaohua sat down without hesitation.

“Zhang Jiaohua, I know you have abilities that other children don’t. But do you know that we live in a modern, technological society where education is very important? Even in Guangdong, you need education to get a job. You’re only in the first grade, and from what I’ve seen, you never pay attention in class. What will you do in the future? For rural people like us, there are only two paths to success: studying or joining the military. Nowadays, you can also work outside, but for any of these paths, you need at least a middle school education. You’re in the first grade and hardly know any characters. You might know Meishan magic, but can that be your main career? Who will support you in the future?” Ma Lisong spoke earnestly, feeling he needed to save this misguided child.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded but didn’t say a word, leaving Principal Ma feeling helpless. Waving his hand, he said, “Go back and think about what I’ve said.”

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t take the principal’s words to heart. Instead, he recalled a spell: “Heaven has a money star, earth has a money spirit. Yin and yang create, molding balance. Heaven and earth, different forms, same essence. I refine today, bright and clear. Fire dragon, fire horse, become spirits through fire. Containing four symbols inside, corresponding to five elements outside. Whirlwind envoy, blazing flame general. Wind spreads fire, success and prosperity. By the decree, urgent!”

This was the wealth creation spell. Zhang Jiaohua thought, if my magic were powerful, I could cast this spell and have all the money I wanted. Then everyone would work for me, and I wouldn’t need to work outside. If Principal Ma knew what Zhang Jiaohua was thinking, he might cough up blood in anger.

That night, Liu Guocai and Liu Yunjun hid on a small hill near the new school building. They didn’t use flashlights or smoke. Each held a new flashlight, eyes fixed on the construction site.

The moonlight was bright, casting a thin mist over Meizi’ao, making everything appear hazy and indistinct.