The car roared to life, and they sped off toward Quancheng.
"Su Tian, it's been over half a year. You've changed so much," Wang Feng said as he drove. "Especially Fenghua. I never imagined you’d know a socialite like her. How did you meet?"
Su Tian gave him a brief explanation, which cleared things up for Wang Feng. "I see. You saved her, so it’s no wonder she trusts you so much. But you’d better be careful. I’ve heard the Feng Family has been searching for her like mad. They want to arrange a marriage between her and the Ye Family, but she ran away. The Feng Family is furious right now."
"The Ye Family? Are they that powerful?"
"I don't know much about the Ye Family. They aren't a local family, but they must be formidable. After all, if the Feng Family is desperate to align with them through marriage, they definitely have significant influence."
"I see."
Su Tian nodded, feeling a touch of wariness. He knew that even though he had acquired some abilities, it didn’t mean he could ignore everything.
The car continued for two hours until Wang Feng’s Mercedes reached a suburban area of Quancheng. Densely packed, over a dozen blue factory buildings stood there, easily capable of housing thousands of people. Of course, the area was deserted now, as the main gates were plastered with court-ordered seizure seals.
"This is our Fuduoduo snack factory. We used to have nearly two thousand workers here, running day and night. You could say this was the foundation of my family’s business. Who would have thought something like this would happen here?"
A look of desolation crossed Wang Feng's eyes. Su Tian said nothing, instead projecting his divine sense into the area.
Under his observation, he could see a mass of black mist shrouding the buildings, filled with an aura of resentment.
"Something is definitely wrong here."
Muttering to himself, Su Tian said to Wang Feng, "Can you take me inside to take a look?"
"Sure, follow me. I still know a few secret entrances."
Wang Feng nodded. They got out of the car, walked to a corner of the factory grounds, and opened a concealed door.
The moment they stepped through the door, a chilling gust of wind swept past them, making Wang Feng shiver. Su Tian squinted, but remained silent as he walked toward one of the empty factory buildings.
Once there, he scanned the structure and asked, "Have there been any accidents here in the past?"
"Actually, yes. Six months ago, workers often tripped here for no reason. A few even had to be hospitalized."
"I see," Su Tian replied. He continued walking until they reached another building.
"What about this one?"
"Something happened here, too! This is the manual packaging area. Many workers had their fingers crushed by the machines!"
Su Tian nodded and led Wang Feng to three other buildings. Sure enough, those were also the sites of frequent accidents from six months ago.
"Su Tian, you’re incredible! These are the exact five buildings where we had the most accidents! How did you know?"
Wang Feng asked, but Su Tian didn't answer. He started walking again and soon arrived at the back of the first factory. He suddenly crouched down and began to dig into the earth.
"What are you doing?"
"Stop talking and help me dig."
"…Alright."
Though Wang Feng didn’t understand, Su Tian’s display had already stunned him, so he crouched down to help.
After a few minutes of digging, they unearthed a black wooden box. Su Tian exerted force with his palm, and the box popped open to reveal a dead black dog inside.
"What… what is this!" Wang Feng exclaimed in shock.
Su Tian’s eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet, signaling for Wang Feng to follow him to the back of the next building. Soon, they dug up a second box containing a dead black sheep. They repeated this at the third, fourth, and fifth buildings, unearthing the carcasses of an ox, a pig, and a donkey.
"What… what is going on here?" Wang Feng asked, his face a mask of shock and confusion. He couldn’t fathom why there were animal carcasses on his family’s property.
"It seems my observation was correct. This is the Five-Beast Yin Curse Formation," Su Tian said. He recognized the technique because the Dongxuan True Scripture he had obtained contained a vast amount of knowledge, with Feng Shui and Taoist arts making up the bulk of it.
"Five-Beast Yin Curse Formation? What is that?"
"It has to do with Feng Shui. In modern scientific terms, you could call it a magnetic field. You know what a magnetic field is, right?"
"A little. It’s another word for someone's vibe, isn't it?"
"Sort of. Everyone has their own 'vibe' or magnetic field. A mountain or an area has its own, too. The art of Feng Shui is about observing and adjusting those fields. The location of your factory was excellent—mountains to the south, a forest to the north, and accessible roads on both sides. It was a configuration for prosperity. But someone used a sinister method to set up this Five-Beast Yin Curse Formation, breaking your original, prosperous magnetic field and turning it into a negative one."
"Damn it! Who did this?" Wang Feng was furious.
"It doesn't matter who did it; what matters is solving the problem. Since I've identified the formation, breaking it will stop the accidents at your factory."
"Really? You can break it?"
"Of course. But I need some supplies. Let's head back now, and I’ll tell you what I need while we’re in the car."
"Right!"
Wang Feng nodded excitedly. Once they were back in the car, Su Tian typed out a message and sent it to him.
"Cinnabar powder, peach wood shavings, and a portrait of Zhong Kui?"
"Yes, exactly those," Su Tian confirmed. "These are essential for breaking the formation. Take me back, get these things ready, and once you have them, I’ll come back here to break the curse for you."
"Deal!"
Wang Feng agreed and drove back toward Teng City.
By the time Su Tian got home, the sky had turned dark. After dinner with his family, he went to Fenghua’s room.
"Didn't you go have a farewell drink with your classmate?"
"No. I can help him solve his problem, so there's no need for a farewell drink."
Fenghua looked surprised. "You can help him? How?"
"His family’s problem isn't complicated. Someone tampered with their site..." Su Tian began to explain, summarizing the nature of the Five-Beast Yin Curse Formation.
Fenghua’s eyes sparkled. "Are you saying you can break it?"