The story splits into two, each telling its own part.
Let's talk about Hu Guo Hua, who bought a paper figure that day.
He had no qualms.
Every day, he ate, drank, gambled, smoked, and whored.
In just two days, he squandered the twenty dollars his maternal uncle had lent him for his marriage.
On the third day, he was destitute.
He couldn't even buy a single grain of rice.
His addiction to opium flared up.
He was scratching his head and itching his ears, with no way out.
Borrowing money?
Who would lend him money?
His reputation as a drug addict had turned sour.
Throughout the ten miles and eight villages, relatives and neighbors.
Upon seeing him, they felt as if they had encountered a plague god.
Forget about money, they wouldn't even give him a grain of rice.
Driven to desperation, he had no choice.
He pawned the pair of sandalwood boxes left by his mother for some money.
He managed to hold on for a while.
But how much money could he get from pawning them?
He indulged in eating, drinking, gambling, smoking, and whoring.
Before long, he had squandered it all.
Now he had nothing left to pawn.
If things had gone as before.
Hu Guo Hua might have encountered the big rat again, allowing him to live a carefree life for a while.
But Zhang Chen had snatched the big rat away.
Hu Guo Hua was helpless.
Even worse.
His uncle was supposed to visit tonight.
He had pawned everything, even the door panels of his house.
Only then did he manage to scrape together a few coins.
He bought some rice and flour.
He tidied up the house.
As evening arrived.
His uncle came.
Hu Guo Hua used the same trick.
He hid the paper figure under his blanket.
He claimed he had caught a cold and couldn't get out of bed.
He thought he could fool his uncle and get through this.
But his uncle, upon hearing that his niece was sick.
How could he bear it?
He insisted on going inside.
Hu Guo Hua's heart skipped a beat, thinking, "Oh no."
But what could he do now?
At that moment.
The paper figure suddenly walked out of the inner room.
Due to the darkness of night.
His uncle's eyesight wasn't very good.
Plus, the paper figure was crafted just like a real person.
Seeing it, Hu Guo Hua's uncle was overjoyed and beaming with smiles.
He held Hu Guo Hua's hand, shedding tears of joy.
His wayward nephew had finally turned over a new leaf.
But Hu Guo Hua's face turned pale with shock.
He had bought a paper figure.
Now it was alive?
It was even making dinner for his uncle.
He knew this was a sign of evil spirits.
He sat there with his uncle, terrified, and chatted with him for a long time.
As his uncle left, he handed Hu Guo Hua ten dollars.
But after his uncle left.
Hu Guo Hua dared not go back.
That night, he went to the county town.
First, he went to the opium den to enjoy himself.
Then he went to the brothel, playing until dawn.
He didn't stop until all his silver coins were gone.
He returned home with a heavy heart.
But the paper figure had already returned to its original state.
Hu Guo Hua, emboldened.
Tried to burn the paper figure.
But unexpectedly, the paper figure suddenly spoke.
…
“Thirteen Mile Shop!”
“Grave Without A Tombstone!”
“Burial Goods!”
…
Hu Guo Hua was startled by these words.
He saw the paper figure had returned to its original state.
He mustered his courage and burned the paper figure.
But he didn't dare go there.
However, his hunger was unbearable.
Hu Guo Hua was already penniless.
His uncle had given him ten dollars, but he had squandered it all.
In less than a day.
He was not only hungry.
His opium addiction flared up, and he couldn't bear it anymore.
That night, he gritted his teeth.
He shouldered a shovel and headed towards the Thirteen Mile Shop.
…
As the old saying goes.
If you change something insignificant.
Something extraordinary may happen in the future.
Later generations call this the butterfly effect.
It's similar to the story of the horseshoe in ancient tales.
And Hu Guo Hua's journey.
Was due to the insignificant event of Zhang Chen intercepting the big rat.
It caused him to dig up the grave at the Thirteen Mile Shop years ahead of time.
But Zhang Chen didn't know this.
These days, he was immersed in his cultivation.
His progress in the hidden weapon techniques in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record was rapid.
His Jade Hand, immune to all poisons, was also making progress.
He had even prepared for his trip to Bottle Mountain.
Of course, he had visited the barren grave along the way.
But the Dragon Qi in the Dragonfly Dabs Water Cave was almost nonexistent.
The world's topography and Feng Shui.
Were formed by the gathering of Dragon Qi.
Since the spiritual energy in this world was depleted.
Only in mountains, rivers, and underground Dragon Veins could there be remnants of spiritual energy.
But this Dragon Qi could only be condensed in Feng Shui treasure sites.
However, such places take hundreds of years to form.
The spiritual energy in the Dragonfly Dabs Water Cave was naturally inferior to those large tombs.
Its inherent spiritual energy was very limited.
The speed of its condensation was extremely slow.
After visiting several times, he knew that it wouldn't be condensed in a short time.
It would take a year or two.
It couldn't possibly be restored to its previous state.
There was another strange thing.
The grave mounds…
It was as if someone had dug them up.
The one next door was the same.
He guessed.
It was probably those who couldn't survive nearby who came to dig up some burial goods.
He hadn't thought about the female corpse not being dead.
After all, it had been burned to ashes, how could it possibly revive? It's too far-fetched.
The reason why he went there tonight.
Was mainly because he had nothing else to do.
Although the spiritual energy in the Feng Shui treasure site was condensing very slowly.
Every bit counts.
He wasn't choosy.
The sky was lit by a faint moon.
Zhang Chen traversed the forest and mountains.
Not long after.
He suddenly saw a figure ahead.
He was taken aback.
Who would be in this place in the middle of the night?
They must have nerves of steel.
But upon closer inspection… why did it look so familiar?
He took a second look.
Huh.
Wasn't it Hu Guo Hua?
What was he doing with a shovel and a sack, carrying a lantern in the middle of the night?
It looked like he was going to dig up a grave.
“Hmm?”
Zhang Chen suddenly froze.
Wasn't this the situation when he went to dig up the grave at the Thirteen Mile Shop?
But he remembered it wasn't until years later.
When he returned from the army.
He was desperate and took a gamble.
How come it was so early?
“No, I intercepted the big rat. He must be desperate!”
Zhang Chen's mind raced as he guessed the reason.
But…
Didn't he destroy the female corpse?
Why would he come?
Zhang Chen frowned.
He decided to follow him and see what was going on.
Not long after.
Hu Guo Hua had found the place.
It was on the other side of the barren grave.
Not far from the Feng Shui treasure site.
But because the trees blocked the view, Zhang Chen had never walked inside.
He saw Hu Guo Hua pass through the forest.
He went there.
At a glance, Zhang Chen's brows furrowed.
In the middle of the grave mound.
A coffin stood upright on the grave mound.
It was exactly like the female corpse's coffin.
“A second zombie?”
Zhang Chen was stunned.
The book didn't mention this.
Could this place also be a Feng Shui treasure site?
Thinking about it.
He saw that Hu Guo Hua had already dug up the coffin.
But compared to the previous red lacquered coffin.
This coffin was much more humble.
“No, it's still the same one!”
Zhang Chen's heart pounded as he squinted his eyes, his Purple Extreme Demon Eyes already observing…