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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." Their presence signified the arrival of fortune, and harming them would bring misfortune in the future.
However, snakes are indeed frightening. As the elders passed away one by one, many of these taboos gradually faded from the memories of the younger generation. If a snake was spotted, it was certain that no one would keep such winding creatures in their homes.
When Brother San was in elementary school, the school was surrounded by earthen walls, with a large ditch outside the eastern wall. To take a shortcut home after school, students would often climb over the wall and cross through the ditch.
One summer, after a night of heavy rain, Brother San noticed that much of the mud from the school’s earthen wall had been washed away. At one spot, a complete white skeleton was exposed beneath the wall’s foundation, 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 human remains. The village elders said that the school was built later on; 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, since it had become a school where innocent children gathered, it accumulated positive energy. With an abundance of this energy, even ghosts and spirits would retreat.
Yet if a household lacked sufficient positive energy or if their home was built in an inappropriate location, it could attract vengeful spirits.
When Brother San built his house, land was scarce. Eager to marry, he chose a piece of barren land on the edge of the village that had only grown weeds for many years without any crops. After applying to the village for permission—having worn out the patience of village officials—the collective ownership rules of that era meant they had no choice but to agree.
Brother San eagerly began laying the foundation.
At night, he left behind a large amount of construction materials and tools at the site. Since it was on the outskirts of the village and he feared theft, Brother San brought bedding to sleep at the construction site. After a long day’s work, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as he lay down.
In a daze, an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Without saying a word, he swung his cane at Brother San while shouting angrily: "Who told you to come to my home? Get out!"
Brother San raised his right arm to shield himself while explaining: "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 continue their tasks, Brother San felt an unusual weakness in his right arm accompanied by a dull pain. Rolling up his sleeve revealed a large bruise on his arm. Even more surprisingly, no matter how straight they tried to mark the lines for construction, the walls built by the experienced workers turned out crooked and uneven. To make matters worse, during work one morning, a worker suddenly fell from the scaffolding and left in frustration after throwing down his trowel.
Construction had to be halted.
The older villagers claimed 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 with no descendants to maintain it or add new graves, it gradually appeared as flat land. Now that Brother San intended to build on this ancestral burial ground, it was no wonder that the original family spirits were displeased!
The worker who fell from the scaffolding also reported seeing an old man with white hair approach him wielding a cane: "You can’t build here; get out!" Then he found himself dazed and falling off…
Later on?
It seemed that under guidance from a "master," Brother San purchased incense and paper offerings and prepared paper replicas of cars, buildings, boys and girls—items typically burned only for filial piety—and conducted a ritual. Eventually, he succeeded in completing his house.
Afterward, third Sister moved in and their child was born; everything went smoothly and favorably thereafter.
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