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墨書 Inktalez
There are still some taboos that young people today tend to overlook. For instance, when a snake or a hedgehog appeared in someone's home during childhood, adults would warn against harming them, claiming they were "wealth spirits." The presence of such creatures was believed to signify the arrival of fortune, and harming them would bring misfortune in the future.
However, snakes are indeed frightening. As the older generation passed away, many of these taboos gradually faded from the memories of the youth. If a snake was spotted, it was certain that no one would keep such winding creatures in their home.
When Brother San was in elementary school, the school was surrounded by earthen walls. On the eastern side, there was a large ditch, and after school, to take a shortcut home, students would often climb over the walls and cross through the ditch.
One summer, after a night of rain, Brother San noticed that much of the mud from the school’s earthen walls had been washed away. At one spot, beneath the wall's foundation, a complete skeleton was exposed, with ribs arranged neatly. Later, when the school installed water pipes and excavated the ground, they also unearthed copper coins from the Qing Dynasty and more remains. The village elders claimed that the school had been built later; during earlier times of war and chaos, it was unknown whose body had been buried there.
Under normal circumstances, such places were considered "unclean." However, with the construction of a school where innocent children gathered, it accumulated positive energy. This excess of positive energy would cause any spirits or ghosts to retreat.
Yet if a household lacked sufficient positive energy or if their house was built in an inappropriate location, it could attract vengeful spirits.
Speaking of which, when Brother San was building his house, land was scarce. Eager to marry, he chose a piece of barren land on the village outskirts that had only grown weeds for many years without any crops. After applying to the village for permission—having worn out the patience of the village officials—the collective ownership rules of that era allowed him to proceed.
Brother San eagerly began laying the foundation.
That evening, he left behind a large amount of construction materials and tools at the site. Since it was on the edge of the village and he feared theft, he decided to sleep on-site with his bedding. After a long day’s work, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
In a daze, an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared from nowhere. Without saying a word, he swung his cane at Brother San and shouted angrily: "Who told you to come to my home? Get out!"
Brother San raised his right arm to shield himself while trying to explain: "Don’t hit me! Listen to me; this is land allocated to me by the village!"
Suddenly waking up, he realized it was just a dream and didn’t think much of it.
When morning came and workers arrived to start their tasks, Brother San felt that his right arm had lost strength and was aching slightly. Rolling up his sleeve revealed a large bruise on his arm. Even more astonishingly, no matter how straight they tried to lay out the lines for construction, the walls built by experienced workers ended up crooked and uneven. To make matters worse, during work one morning, a worker suddenly fell from the scaffolding and left in anger after throwing down his trowel.
Construction had to be halted.
The older villagers said that this barren land used to be a graveyard for a scholar from the late Qing Dynasty. As time passed and their family fortunes declined without descendants to maintain it, it eventually appeared as flat ground. Now that Brother San intended to build on this ancestral burial site, it was understandable that the original inhabitants were displeased!
The worker who fell from the scaffolding also recounted: "We were working when an old man with a white beard came over swinging his cane: 'You can’t build here; get out!' Then I just blanked out and fell…"
What happened next?
Under the guidance of a so-called "master," Brother San purchased incense and paper offerings—making paper replicas of cars, buildings, and even child figures typically burned only for filial piety—and performed rituals. Eventually, he succeeded in completing his house.
After that, Sister Three married into their family and children were born without any issues.
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