Guardian of the Dragon Vein: The World Calls Me Ninth Master

My name is Chen Jiu. I'm an orphan whom Chen Tiezhu, an old man from a family of mountain guardians, found and brought back to his village. It's 1989, in a small northern village. My adoptive father died in the mountains, leaving me only a battered compass and a pair of eyes that can see qi. From then on, I could see it all: black qi wrapped around the ancient locust tree at the village entrance; someone wearing human skin knocking on tomb doors at night; the shrine in the ruined temple worshipping not a god, but a fox that had gained humanlike intelligence; a city boss carrying a curse around his waist that steals people's years of life; and the corpse driver coming from beyond the mountain, driving not corpses, but fate itself.

Everyone says feng shui masters are frauds. But with my ability to see qi, I uncover the truth behind one scheme after another. In public, I'm the useless fool the village chief calls a freeloader. Behind the scenes, I deal with haunted houses, subdue spirits, break curses, and guard the dragon veins, making a name for myself in the world of the supernatural, one step at a time. At my side are a girl who wants to marry me, a yellow weasel spirit who calls me boss, and enemies who have their eyes on my bloodline. My adoptive father left me one final instruction before he died: “Guard the dragon veins of this world. Don't let them be severed.” But when I finally found myself caught up in the game, I realized that the people had never revered me, Chen Jiu. They revered the qi I guarded. The world is vast. Just watch how a country boy like me rises, step by step, until the world calls me Master Jiu.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.