Chapter 10

"Oh, Jordan! You're heading to the northern outskirts with Maddie? What are you two…" Tanya started. Jordan said cheerily, "We're going to check on someone's grave! Ms. Locke mentioned it in her livestream last night. Didn't you watch it, Mrs. Locke?" In the past, Tanya would always watch the variety shows, TV series, and even livestreams that Rebecca was in. She would even ask her friends to tune in. Could it be that Tanya hadn't watched Madison's livestream? It was evident that Tanya had thought about the same thing. Her expression became a little awkward. Madison said indifferently, "Let's go." Jordan felt a little awkward, too. "Okay." He bid Tanya farewell before following Madison into the car. It looked like the Locke family's attitude toward Madison and Rebecca wasn't as Rebecca had mentioned. The Locke family didn't seem to have neglected Rebecca because of Madison's return. On the contrary, it looked like Madison was the one being neglected. Jordan wasn't a fool. He only had to think a little to understand what exactly had happened. He couldn't help disliking Rebecca just a little. She hadn't complained about being mistreated upon Madison's return, but her ambiguous words made it easy for others to get the wrong idea. … Jordan and Madison soon arrived at the northern outskirts. Fred was waiting for them at the village's entrance with the Wallis family. He was on crutches. The Wallis family approached Jordan and Madison as soon as they got out of the car. "Is this the expert you mentioned?" Fred's father, Chuck Wallis, looked at Madison doubtfully. Wasn't she too young for this? Could she be relied on? Madison wasn't bothered by that. She said, "Take me to the graves' new location!" "Okay." Chuck decided to give it a shot. Madison was already here, anyway. What was there to lose? … The graves had been moved to a spot that wasn't too far from the village. It was close to the foot of the mountain before the village. The Wallis family walked ahead while Jordan and Madison followed them. This was Jordan's first time in a village like this, and he couldn't help feeling a little creeped out as he saw the graves around them. "Ms. Locke…" "Don't call me that. Just call me by my name," Madison said. "That wouldn't be too respectful." Jordan didn't think that was a good idea. "How about I call you Ms. Madison?" It was more affectionate than "Ms. Locke" and also more respectful than just "Madison". "Whatever." Madison suddenly stopped and pointed at two graves before them. "Are these the ones?" Fred was surprised by that. "How did you know, Ms. Locke?" Madison said, "Because they're the only ones with the Water element at its peak." "The Water element is at its peak?" "These graves are actually in a good location. There's an abundance of positive energy around it, and it should've provided many blessings for its descendants, whether in terms of health or wealth," Madison said. Chuck nodded when he heard this. "I hired an expert for a hundred thousand dollars to help me find this spot. He looked around for a long time and told me that this spot was great. But for whatever reason, our family has been facing various issues since moving the graves here." Madison approached the graves, and the realization dawned on her. "I see what's gone wrong now." "What is it, Ms. Locke?" Chuck asked. Jordan watched her curiously, too. She said, "These two drains were later dug around the graves, right?" Chuck looked at them and nodded. "There wasn't any rain when the graves were dug. At the time, my parents' graves had yet to be shifted here, and I was worried rain would ruin the graves. So, I came over to dig the drains to keep the water out." He felt a little scared as he asked, "Is the problem because of these drains?" They weren't deep. They were only about half a thumb's depth. Despite the sun shining brightly above them, there was still water streaming down the drains. "You've dug these drains in the perfect locations," Madison said. Chuck fell silent. He didn't think she was complimenting him. "This drain starts from the southeast stem and leads to the southern stem, resulting in the water coming in and out in those two directions. When water comes from the southeast stem, it affects the Earth element. Then, it leaves in the southern stem, taking whatever wealth and fortune it has with it. "The southern stem is also known as the family stem. In geomancy, these kinds of graves are called graves that are surrounded by negative energy. Not only will it affect your wealth and fortune, but it'll also affect your descendants'." Madison looked at Chuck, not sure whether to pity or admire him. "With these drains, you've turned an auspicious location for graves into deathly graves." Even a proper geomancy expert wouldn't have been able to easily accomplish something like this. Chuck paled when he heard that. "I… I only dug some drains…" "Haven't you ever heard of water being the one element that can nourish a family yet also easily harm it?" Fred looked at his crutches, then at the drains before the graves. "What should we do now, Ms. Locke?" He was filled with regret now. Madison circled the graves. "There are two suggestions I can give you. The first is to choose a new place to shift these graves, and the second is to change these graves' geomancy." Chuck asked, "What do you think is better, Ms. Locke?" "Shifting the graves, I would say. The geomancy here has already been altered once. Altering it again won't restore it to its previous auspiciousness," Madison said. Before Chuck could say anything, Fred said, "We'll do just that, then." Chuck agreed. Madison pointed at a location not far from where they were and said, "That's a pretty good spot. It's not too hot there, and the two trees will be before the graves. They'll keep your family safe and your descendants healthy." Chuck turned to look at it. "The monk did also mention that spot but said this one was better." "And he was right. This one is better than that one. However, you need to understand that everything has a limit. You've already reached the peak of your fortune, and you'll only be taking things too far by trying to increase it. "The fortune that this location brings isn't something your family can withstand. It'll only bring disaster to your family if you try to force it," Madison said. Chuck was scared yet disappointed when he heard this. Fred was much quicker to accept this than the former was and said, "I think our family's already good enough, Dad. We don't have to be too ambitious. Let's take things slowly." "Alright, then." Perhaps it really was written in the stars. This location was great for the graves, yet his cautiousness and greed had resulted in disaster in the family. "We'll do as you say, Ms. Locke." Chuck soon prepared everything Madison had asked for and covered the graves with a black cloth at noon. The graves were dug out and shifted. Once they were buried, Chuck and Fred placed some flowers before them. Chuck didn't know whether he was imagining things, but he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest immediately after the ceremony was done. He felt more refreshed and rejuvenated. This surprised him, and his admiration and respect for Madison grew. "We should be done with the ceremony, right, Ms. Locke? Can we do some repairs to the grave?" "Yeah," Madison said. Just then, Fred's phone rang. He glanced at Madison, who raised an eyebrow and said, "Answer it. It's good news." Fred answered it, and his expression went from astonished to delighted in a matter of seconds. "Really? That's great! I'll tell my father right now." After hanging up, he exclaimed, "The hospital just called to say Mom is fine, Dad. There was just something wrong with their equipment—that's why they saw something wrong with Mom's report. Their legal department said they wanted to discuss compensation with us." Chuck didn't expect things to change so soon after the graves had been shifted. "You're amazing, Ms. Locke!"