Upon hearing this, the discussion suddenly escalated. A bunch of builders stretched their heads and asked questions. Some asked, "Is it true?" Another said, "Who would dare to do such a weird job on such an old house ?" Another asked, "Where did you put the clay jar you dug out?"

My friend and I looked at each other, and he seemed to be a little bit unconvinced.

The man continued, "I don't know anything else, but it's true that Wang Ding dug out the clay jar containing human bones. I happened to be right next to him when he threw the clay jar into the garbage truck that morning, and he told me so himself."

"Then how does he know that they are human bones?" asked a worker with a dusty head and a foreign accent.

"After the seal of the clay jar was opened, the finger bones were clearly visible. I might not have been able to identify the thigh bones or ribs, but the finger bones were very clear."

"So the clay jar contains a human hand?"

"Yeah, it's really scary. If it were me, I would quit doing this job. Wang Ding is really brave."

I asked, "Did your friend really throw the clay jar containing the human hand bones into the garbage truck?"

"Yeah, there's no point in keeping that thing."

I had a vague guess in my mind that the sudden collapse of the completed building was most likely related to the discarded hand bone, and that this man named Wang Ding might be in big trouble.

This is not just my random thought, because every construction team working here uses the same process. To put it simply, they dig a hole in each corner of the house, insert wooden stakes, fix the bottom with cement, and then cover the stakes with a layer of cement. Anyway, it is just for calculating the area during demolition and not for living. The simpler the method, the better, as long as it can stand.

There are a total of more than twenty households in this lane who are adding floors, but only No. 37 had an accident.

I thought again of the strange wind that had knocked open the door before. In fact, the wind was not very strong when it blew past my body, but it was able to knock open the wooden door with a lock. This must be wrong. Could it be that all of us have been dragged down by Wang Ding?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a little scared . After squeezing out of the crowd, I called Luo Tianbao to ask the reason.

After listening to my explanation of the whole story, Luo Tianbao said, "The wind you mentioned that knocked open the wooden door should be earth energy. I don't know much about earth energy, but it's probably equivalent to a kind of energy body. Whenever a feng shui eye is broken, a kind of energy will be released. It seems to have four colors. Golden yellow is the top earth energy, red is second, and white is even worse. If it is black, it is a sign of a very dangerous place. But the leakage of earth energy is fleeting, and although there are different colors, they are not obvious. Are you sure the smoke you saw is white?"

I thought about it for a while and said, "That should be right. The light was very good at the time, and it was just a faint wisp of white smoke. Brother, is this a bad omen?"

Luo Tianbao thought for a moment and said, "I don't really understand geomantic energy. This white is the most ambiguous of the four types of geomantic energy. It could be a bad omen, or just a normal place. It depends on the environment. But one thing is certain: this lane is definitely not a good place, so it's not surprising that something strange happened."

Without giving it much thought, I blurted out, "Brother, can you come and visit us if you're free these days?"

Luo Tianbao said in a somewhat unhappy tone, "Brother, there are so many strange things happening in this world every day. I'm just a practitioner in the funeral industry. How does taking care of so many things help my business?"

Of course I understood what he meant, so I quickly said, "I'm sorry, second brother, I'm just bored and have nothing to do."

"If you really get into trouble, our family should of course help each other, but you can just watch the affairs of outsiders as a fun thing, there's no need to tell me."

"I understand. I will never cause trouble for you again."

I was about to hang up when Luo Tianbao said, "There's one thing you should pay attention to. Since there's earth energy leaking out, it means this lane has a good feng shui layout. Once you've finished the project, you should exit immediately. I was a little surprised the other day when I learned the blue bricks were dug out from underground. I think there really is something wrong."

I didn't know what "feng shui" meant, but just hearing the word sounded mysterious, so I asked, "Brother, what does it mean that the lanes have feng shui layouts? Will this affect my project?"

"Feng Shui is a profound subject, and I only know a few things. Simply put, it's a method of determining whether an area is auspicious or inauspicious, and whether it's suitable for building a yang residence or a yin residence. Feng Shui layout is a deeper level, involving the use of artificial means to alter or stimulate the local feng shui characteristics. I'm pretty sure the blue bricks and the clay urn containing the finger bones in that alley were most likely placed there by someone. As for whether it will affect your project..."

He thought for a moment and said, "I really don't understand Feng Shui. Wait for me and I'll ask someone who knows."

After hanging up the phone, I walked to the door and looked inside. I saw no obvious changes except for some dust. So I picked up the broken lock that fell to the ground, fixed it to the wooden door with screws, and left.

After I got back, I called the "second-hand contractor" and reminded them that if they found anything strange in the basement of the alley, they must tell me and not deal with it casually.

The man's name is Wu Chen, he's in his forties and from Henan. He's an acquaintance my dad introduced me to. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, Boss Yu. I may not be in big business, but I'm an upright person. No matter what valuables the owner has buried underground, if I dig it up, I'll definitely return it intact."

I thought to myself, I hope you can practice what you preach, otherwise it will be too late to cry.

The next day when I went to the alley, I met Wang Ding in front of the old house No. 37. He was a man in his thirties, a native of Shanghai. He was tall, white, thin, and wore glasses. He looked gentle and did not look like a small boss doing construction work in the traditional sense. He was standing in the open space in front of a ruined door with a cigarette in his left hand, chatting and laughing with a few acquaintances. I also went over to him.

"Do you know? Someone called me last night and said there were ghosts here trying to catch me. He treated me like a kid. Do you think this is funny?" He spoke with a very authentic Shanghai accent, which several out-of-town contractors around him could not understand at all. Then Wang Ding explained again in unstandard Mandarin.

I asked, "Mr. Wang, who is this person calling?"

He turned his head and looked at me and said, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm the contractor for house number 12. I was really shocked when the house collapsed yesterday."

"The person who called was the landlord of the house . It's outrageous that he spread rumors about a small incident. Where are the ghosts and gods in this world ? If there really are ghosts and gods, why have I never seen them?" He said disdainfully.

"Where is the landlord? Why doesn't he come back to help even though the house has collapsed?" someone asked.

"Don't be fooled by the shabby old house. This family is very wealthy. They all live in the United States. No one has lived in the house for decades. Everyone here knows them. If you don't believe me, ask their employer."

"Boss Wang, you didn't know this house was haunted a long time ago, did you?"

"Of course I know, but I'm a materialist and have never believed in these nonsense since I was a child. You don't dare to take this business, right? I dare to take it." He looked smug, and I didn't know where his sense of superiority came from.

"But the house collapsed and you also suffered losses." I deliberately poured cold water on him.

"The owner of the house called me last night and said that the house would not be built. Not only did he settle my wages, but he also paid me an extra 10,000 yuan. Who among you is as lucky as me? You still have to work here in the dust. I was the last one to start, but I was the first to get paid. Even if there are ghosts here, they are the ghosts that protect me." He became more and more proud as he spoke.

"Yes, you are lucky." Someone said sourly.

"So people should not be ignorant. Science is the primary productive force." After saying that, he laughed.

Could it be that he just let the matter of losing the clay jar go? This man is much more awesome than Li Zhao.

I didn't stay any longer and returned to my cousin Li Zhao's house. I happened to run into him when he came to check on the progress of the project. After chatting about business, I casually asked, "Is the old house at No. 37 really a haunted house ?"

"My mother told me that the house was once occupied by a capitalist who ran a cotton mill. His son lost a lot of money gambling, so the capitalist, in a rage, cut off his son's right hand. Later, for unknown reasons, the prodigal son died. A few days later, the capitalist was strangled to death. It was said that he strangled himself to death with his right hand."