"Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts?" Daphne frowned, as if the term sounded vaguely familiar. She pondered hard before her eyes suddenly darted through the crowd and locked onto me.
"Him?" Daphne murmured, her expression showing clear surprise.
Raul Master nodded. "Yes, Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. The Thousand-Year Tattoo Technique is no small matter, though few still know this yin-related magic nowadays. I once knew a practitioner, but he seems to have retired from the yin-yang world - no one knows his whereabouts now."
"What the hell? You?" Stella appeared even more shocked than Daphne, unable to suppress her exclamation.
If even Raul Master and the gathered experts couldn't solve this, how could I possibly break the formation? Stella looked as astonished as if she'd eaten something disgusting.
But just then, Raul Master's ears twitched. Stella's face immediately darkened. "Crap!" she muttered.
Straightening up like a startled rabbit, Stella made some excuse about having free time for tea later before attempting to slip away, already backing up through the crowd.
"Stella, come out!" Raul Master's command froze Stella in her tracks. Knowing escape was impossible, she could only hang her head and shuffle forward to face her master.
"Master..." Stella's tone mixed penitence with petulance, but Raul Master's face remained dark as charcoal - her usual cute act wouldn't work this time.
"What are you doing here tonight? You haven't come for weekend practice in ages. Look how far you've fallen behind Luna," Raul Master scolded.
"Well... you see... my studies keep me so busy, and I... uh..." Stella stammered before suddenly brightening. "Wait! Master, don't be angry yet - let me introduce someone! He's the inheritor of Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts!"
The treacherous girl had thrown me under the bus to avoid punishment.
"Roger, get out here!" Stella crooked her finger at me.
No choice now - it was do or die. Stein and I pushed through the murmuring crowd to stand before Raul Master.
The gathered experts reacted with disbelief:
"What the hell? This kid? So young - can't be real!"
"That brat's barely grown his first beard! If he can break the Seven Fiends Formation, I'll fuck a five-speed electric fan!"
"I expected some master - just some punk kid? What formation can he break that we old-timers couldn't?"
"Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts? Tattoos? That actually works? Never heard of it!"
None thought much of me, their expressions full of mockery. At my age, I probably didn't look capable - yin-related magic typically requires decades to master.
"Stein?" Raul Master addressed Stein as we emerged.
"Greetings, Raul Master," Stein bowed, indicating they had met before. Apparently Raul Master might know my grandfather.
"Since Stein follows you, you must be... Rhett's grandson?" Raul Master inquired further.
I nodded in confirmation. Raul Master laughed and announced to Mr. Dai that the Dai family was saved - no sacrifice needed, as Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts should be able to break this Seven Fiends Formation.
"Him... really break the Seven Fiends Formation?" Not only Daphne, but even Mr. Dai sounded skeptical about me.
Beyond my young age, they'd barely heard of Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts, considering it merely some low-class craft.
How could tattoos break a Malevolent Array when so many masters stood helpless? And I was just some kid?
Mr. Dai didn't believe it. Nobody believed it. Only Daphne remained half-convinced - partly because I represented her last hope. If I failed, she would die!
Ignoring the crowd, Raul Master asked me directly: "Kid, can you break this Seven Fiends Formation?"
I shook my head. "No way."
Boos erupted immediately. Daphne's emotions crashed again as she said bitterly, "I knew it. How could some tattoo artist solve what even masters couldn't?"
"However," I continued, "I have a way to alter this graveyard's feng shui pattern without moving the coffin or disturbing the corpse."
Raul Master's tightly knitted brows relaxed upon hearing this.
Yet others remained unconvinced, especially Gabriel - I was clearly stealing his million-dollar opportunity.
"Impossible! Reorganizing feng shui requires removing the coffin and relocating the body," Gabriel insisted.
I shook my head. "Not necessarily. Just because other yin arts can't do it doesn't mean my Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts can't."
By tattooing the corpse with yang-themed designs, I could revive the graveyard's feng shui - though tattooing a corpse would be my first attempt.
"Tattooing a corpse? What kind of yin art is this...?" Gabriel sounded incredulous.
Even Mr. Dai grew suspicious. "Can he really do it?" he asked Raul Master. Moreover, his invitation list included no one so young - was I some fraud who'd sneaked in?
Though meeting me for the first time, Raul Master vouched for me: "He'll definitely succeed! Apart from Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts, no technique can break this Seven Fiends Formation."
Raul Master's words still carried considerable weight. Mr. Dai began to trust me slightly, saying that if the formation could be broken normally, that would be ideal - but if not, he would still need to resort to Gabriel's method.
At that moment, Daphne's gaze toward me completely transformed. Her entire demeanor shifted as if she was prepared to entrust her life to me. The ice-cold beauty finally melted in my direction - because only I could save her now.
Yet I still refused to look at her, just as she had ignored me before.
Mr. Dai asked how I planned to break the Seven Fiends Formation. "This so-called Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts - does it truly work?"
"Of course," I replied. "The effects of Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts can even substitute for mountains and rivers in feng shui, making the entire hill 'come alive' again."
In feng shui tomb placement, the surrounding mountains are critically important. Their shapes and positions determine the amount of vital energy available and indicate the quality of the auspicious site.
All mountains encircling a feng shui grave concentrate qi, which in feng shui terminology is called "sand." Different parts of these sand mountains (peaks) have distinct names: the mountain top is the "head of sand," the midsection the "body of sand," and the base the "limbs of sand."
Among all surrounding mountains of a feng shui catacomb, the "Four Divine Sands" hold paramount importance.
These are the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise - positioned in four cardinal directions around the tomb.
The Vermilion Bird resides on the hill facing the grave's front. The Black Tortoise forms the dragon's tail where the feng shui grave manifests. The White Tiger and Azure Dragon flank the left and right sides respectively.
The Dai family's grave hill had suffered core destruction - hence the river below flowed backward, the hill's fortune and potential vanished, the true dragon vein was severed, and the feng shui grave dissipated.
However, if I tattooed the four Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise) onto coffins placed in the mountain's four directions, the Four Divine Sands would revive.
Even without the main dragon vein, this would restore the site to good feng shui status - though not as potent as before.
Once the feng shui corrected itself, the Corpse-Nurturing Land would remain intact, and the Dai ancestor's corpse would naturally stabilize. Then we could safely move the coffins to reorganize the true feng shui.
After hearing my explanation, everyone stood dumbfounded. My proposal sounded plausible in theory - they just didn't know whether my Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts could actually deliver such effects.
I explained that I needed time - crafting four Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts wouldn't be easy, especially when tattooing corpses. I requested two days, promising that within that timeframe I could restore about seventy to eighty percent of the Dai family's feng shui and break the Seven Fiends Formation.
Mr. Dai agreed to give me two days. During this period, I would have unrestricted access to the Dai family cemetery, accompanied by their personnel at all times. If successful, the reward would be two million plus the hand of the Dai family's eldest granddaughter - Vervacity's famous ice queen - delivered to my doorstep immediately. They wouldn't go back on their word.
The old masters now looked at me with envy. Just moments ago they'd mocked Roger; now everyone wished they were in my shoes. But for me, this undertaking carried significant pressure - four Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts wouldn't be simple to execute.
With matters settled, the group dispersed, awaiting my results. However, Raul Master remained behind, saying he and Webster wanted to visit my tattoo parlor to discuss something important.
Unable to refuse, I accompanied them back. Seeing the reopened tattoo shop, Raul Master grew emotional, mentioning my grandfather had been gone twenty years. He'd expected my grandfather to return someday - never anticipated it would be me instead.
I noted silently that Raul Master seemed quite familiar with my grandfather's history.
After reminiscing briefly, Raul Master and Webster mysteriously ushered me upstairs, excluding Stella and Stein. It appeared they wanted to discuss my grandfather... and possibly my parents.