Chapter 19: The Ancestor Appears

"An-ancestor... is that really you?" Master Qingyang asked, his voice trembling with nerves.

"If you know it is me, why haven't you knelt to pay your respects? Have the people of Mount Longhu become so devoid of manners?" the shadow replied, its tone filled with dissatisfaction.

*Thump.*
*Thump.*

Upon receiving confirmation from the shadow, the master and his disciple were overcome with excitement and immediately knelt before it. They never imagined that the ancestor they had worshipped for decades would suddenly appear before them, let alone engage them in conversation. Both felt their hearts racing with profound emotion.

Seeing their devout attitude, the shadow nodded in satisfaction.

"Master Ancestor, if I may be so bold, why have you graced this place with your presence?" Master Qingyang asked, looking at the shadow in bewilderment. Mount Longhu had dedicated personnel specifically appointed to tend to the ancestor's shrine; why would he appear here?

"Hmph."

No sooner had Master Qingyang finished speaking than the shadow let out a cold snort. The ghostly fires atop the surrounding burial mounds flared even brighter. Master Qingyang grew instantly tense, fearing he had offended his ancestor. Daoist Qingxu, paralyzed with fear, retreated a few steps from his master, terrified that his ancestor’s wrath might implicate him as well.

"I did not come here for any reason other than for your sake," the shadow said coldly.

Hearing this, the master and disciple exchanged looks of confusion. For our sake? They could not fathom why their ancestor would go to such lengths for them.

"Have you two set your sights on this feng shui treasure land—the 'Twin White Tigers Embracing'—at the Su family ancestral graves?" the shadow asked.

The pair was stunned. How could their ancestor possibly know about this?

"With all due respect to our ancestor, your disciple was entrusted by others to locate a site for them, which is how we found this place. Is there something improper about it?" Daoist Qingxu asked, still perplexed.

"Improper? It is highly improper," the shadow replied, shaking its head.

This left the two even more confused. It was merely the ancestral grave of a wealthy merchant; why would their ancestor take such a keen interest in it?

"Do you even know who the ancestors of the Su family are?" the shadow suddenly asked.

The two men looked at each other. "Ancestor, the Su family is nothing more than a clan of wealthy merchants. Their ancestors must have been low-born traders," Daoist Qingxu said.

No sooner had he uttered these words than the surrounding ghostly fires flared to more than double their size, as if his words had deeply enraged the ancestors of the Su family. This bizarre phenomenon terrified Daoist Qingxu so much he felt his heart might stop.

"I... I... I am sorry! That is not what I meant!" Daoist Qingxu cried out, bowing toward the surrounding graves to apologize.

However, the flames did not subside; instead, they burned more fiercely, creeping toward him. Panic-stricken, he turned to the shadow. "Ancestor, save me!"

The shadow then bowed toward the surrounding graves. "Noble ones, my junior is ignorant and spoke out of turn. I hope you will grant me the favor of sparing his life."

Upon hearing this, the master and disciple were struck with astonishment. Their own ancestor had actually addressed the Su family’s ancestors as "Noble ones"? Could it be that someone from the Su family had ascended to become a deity in the heavens?

"Still haven't slapped yourself?" the shadow bellowed at Daoist Qingxu.

*Smack! Smack! Smack!*

Without a moment’s hesitation, Daoist Qingxu raised his hands and began striking his own face. He did not hold back; he struck with genuine force. Strangely, the moment he began, the ghostly fires began to dim. Seeing this, he hit himself even harder, his already swollen face puffing up further. Yet, he did not care; he only wished to appease the wrath of the Su family ancestors.

"That is enough. Out of respect for me, they have decided not to hold you accountable," the shadow said. The flames returned to their original size.

"Thank you, Ancestor," Daoist Qingxu said, kowtowing three times with great respect. He was certain that if not for his own ancestor, he would have been burned to death.

"Ancestor, who exactly are the ancestors of the Su family?" Master Qingyang finally couldn't help but ask.

"Because they were buried in this feng shui treasure land, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth daily, all the ancestors of the Su family have ascended to the immortal ranks," the shadow said solemnly. "Do you dare to show them disrespect?"

The master and disciple were even more shocked. With so many ancestors in the celestial ranks, the Su family’s influence in the Heavenly Court must be immense! How could they possibly afford to offend them? Cold sweat broke out on both of them.

"Fortunately, I have some acquaintance with the Su family's ancestors. Once I learned of this, I rushed here to stop you. I never imagined you would be so oblivious to my intentions that I would have to risk punishment from the Heavenly Court just to appear and explain this to you, all to prevent the legacy I founded on Mount Longhu from being destroyed by your hands," the shadow said, sounding as if he were lamenting their lack of wisdom.

The two finally understood that the previous manifestations were not evil spirits, but their ancestor trying to stop them from disturbing the Su family. The fact that they had failed to recognize his good intentions and had forced him to risk divine punishment filled them with deep guilt.

"Since you know the truth now, leave the mountain at once! Do not disturb the Su family's ancestors again," the shadow commanded. "And mark this well: do not harbor any more designs on this land. You must protect it and ensure no one else disturbs the Su family. Consider this your chance to redeem your sins."

Master Qingyang bowed respectfully to the ancestor and prepared to leave. However, Daoist Qingxu looked conflicted. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke up: "Ancestor, it was the current Prime Minister, Fan Zeng, who entrusted me to find a feng shui site for his family graves. I have already promised this location to the Fan family. If we abandon it now, I fear they will not let it go easily."

When he had first found the spot, he had been eager to tell Fan Wei, hoping to gain his favor. Now, if he were to tell Fan Wei that the site was off-limits, he feared the consequences.

*BOOM.*

The surrounding ghost fires suddenly erupted in a furious blaze. Daoist Qingxu turned deathly pale, knowing he had offended the Su family ancestors once more.

"You brought this upon yourself; you must resolve it yourself. If you cannot, I will have no choice but to hand you over to the Su family ancestors for judgment," the shadow said with disdain. "If that happens, mere destruction of your body and soul will be a mercy. They will likely tear your soul from your body and cast it into the eighteenth level of hell, where you will suffer for eternity."

Hearing this, and seeing the raging fires, Daoist Qingxu felt as though his soul were about to fly out of his body.

"Yes, yes, I understand! I will do everything in my power to protect this land for the Su family," he said, nodding frantically. Only then did the fires subside.

The master and disciple bowed respectfully to the dark silhouette and descended the mountain. Once they had departed, Chen Fan stepped out from behind a burial mound, holding a portrait of the Mount Longhu ancestor in his hand.