Chapter 253
Chapter 253
After finishing the entire file, Seventh Master and I were honestly speechless.
The descendants of those villagers had first smashed Thunder Ancestor’s statue, then swindled Boss Lin.
One was a man and the other a god, but both had tried to help them. Their response was to ruin them at every opportunity.
Boss Lin might have been rich, but after being cheated like this, the amount of money he stood to lose would not be measured in just a few zeroes. It would be a whole string of them.
“I’m helpless in this situation too.”
Only now did Boss Lin begin to pour out his grievances. “At first, I had no idea so many things had happened on that land. Not one person ever told me. If I’d known its history, I never would have taken on this development in the first place, let alone started construction.”
“Now I’ve been made the sucker. I’ve already signed all the compensation agreements, and I can’t use a bunch of supernatural claims as grounds to break those contracts. I have no choice but to bite the bullet and keep building. Otherwise, my losses on this project will run into the hundreds of millions.”
Hundreds of millions.
I could never earn that much in my entire life, and he had been swindled out of it in one go.
Who knew how much he had paid in compensation alone?
“Some people truly aren’t worth helping.”
Seventh Master shook his head and said to Boss Lin, “Since you’ve brought this matter to us, we’ll go take a look. You’ve invested so much money into such a large project. If this isn’t resolved properly, the losses will be devastating.”
Boss Lin was deeply grateful. “Then I’ll have to trouble you both. But I’m worried too. So much has happened there, and even two great experts couldn’t deal with those wronged spirits. I’m afraid something may happen to you.”
Seventh Master said, “Those two experts might not have been able to eliminate the wronged spirits, but they still found ways to suppress them. I’m not as capable as those two, but I do know methods of suppression. There’s always a solution if we work at it.”
We planned to reach the site at ten that night and scout the place. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we would not stay there long.
For one thing, in daylight we could only examine the Feng Shui. If the Evil Spirits did not emerge, we would learn nothing.
For another, the place was so dangerous that going at Zi Hour would be too risky. Arriving an hour beforehand was ideal. If there really was danger, we would at least have a chance to escape. If we entered at Zi Hour and a horde of ghosts came out, Seventh Master and I would be as good as dead.
Boss Lin invited us to stay at his home, which showed how close he and Seventh Master were.
But Seventh Master declined and said we would stay at a hotel. After all, living in someone else’s home would be inconvenient.
In any case, Boss Lin would cover all our expenses in Lincheng. He also offered us a fee of eight hundred and eighty thousand yuan, payable once we had resolved the matter.
We might not have stayed at his home, but we did remain for lunch.
Boss Lin had one son and one daughter. His daughter, Lin Yin, was two years younger than me. She was beautiful, carried herself with poise, and was already working in the family company.
Boss Lin’s son was only nine years old. His name was Lin Xiaohua, and he was a cheerful little boy.
But there was something sickly about Lin Xiaohua. I did not know physiognomy, but I had once read a book at Seventh Master’s place about reading the five facial features, so I had a vague understanding of some of it.
And by coincidence, several of Lin Xiaohua’s features were among the ones I understood.
His complexion was poor, his lips did not fully cover his teeth, and his voice was hoarse. His Mercury and Earth Pavilion were both sunken and narrow. Combined with several other features, they gave him the physiognomy of a short life, one that would end in childhood.
He was probably already ill, and seriously so.
At first, I wanted to warn Boss Lin to pay closer attention to Lin Xiaohua’s health. But on second thought, how could I possibly tell someone his son was destined for a short life?
After lunch, Seventh Master and I took a walk around the villa’s courtyard. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I told him that Lin Xiaohua bore the physiognomy of a child who would die young and asked whether we should warn Boss Lin.
“We can’t tell him.” Seventh Master shook his head. “I saw Lin Xiaohua back when Brother Lin’s father passed away. Even then, I could tell the boy would die young and wouldn’t live past thirteen. That year, his Zi and Wu would be in opposition, so he should die in the summer. Two Zi-Wu clashes. Nothing short of an immortal could save him.”
“I mentioned it to Brother Lin then, but I didn’t say it outright. The man had just lost his own father, after all. I only told him to pay attention to Lin Xiaohua’s health, especially anything concerning his blood.”
“The boy most likely has leukemia. It’s difficult to treat. Lasting until thirteen would already be an achievement.”
Seventh Master lowered his voice. “Brother Lin must know by now. There’d be no point in telling him again, and saying his son is destined to die young would be a cruel thing to hear.”
I nodded, but it still felt unfair. “Boss Lin is a good man. He’s always doing good deeds and accumulating merit. Why would his son end up with an illness like that?”
Seventh Master sighed. “Look at it another way. Maybe it’s precisely because he has accumulated merit through good deeds that the boy can stay with him for a few more years. Sometimes, fate is something even the Heavenly God has already arranged for you.”
“Fortune can still be changed if you work at it. But a person’s fate is extremely difficult to alter.”
By the time we returned to the living room from the courtyard, something urgent had come up at Boss Lin’s company. Apparently, people from the housing and construction department were giving him trouble again, and he had to go deal with them.
He apologized and asked his daughter, Lin Yin, to show us around. That evening, someone would drive us to the construction site.
After Boss Lin left, Lin Yin drove us around the city.
In the car, Seventh Master asked her, “Xiao Yin, isn’t there an Erlang Shen Temple around here?”
“There is, Seventh Master.” Lin Yin nodded, looking especially pretty when she smiled. “And it isn’t far from here. Would you like to go offer incense?”
Seventh Master nodded with a smile. “Since we’re already here, we should pay our respects at the local temple. Let’s go have a look.”
It only took a little over ten minutes to reach the temple.
The Erlang Shen Temple was a fairly well-known tourist attraction.
Many people knew of Erlang Shen, probably through Journey to the West.
But he was also a true deity of Daoism, honored as the True Lord of the Pure Source and Wondrous Way.
“Seventh Master, are we really going inside to worship? Will this True Lord actually protect us if we do?” I asked.
Seventh Master smiled. “Do you believe he exists?”
I shook my head. “I’m not so sure about that.”
Seventh Master asked another question. “Do you believe Thunder Ancestor exists?”
I nodded. “I’ve seen you use the Thunder Method. If Thunder Ancestor didn’t exist, how could you use it?”
Seventh Master said, “Since you believe in the Dao and believe in Thunder Ancestor, you should also believe in the True Lord of the Pure Source and Wondrous Way, who is likewise a true deity of Daoism. Why can I use the Thunder Method? Because I’ve worshipped Thunder Ancestor. Why can I invite Judge Cui’s divine presence? Because I’ve worshipped Judge Cui, and Lanjiang City has a temple dedicated to him.”
The moment he explained it that way, I understood.
To invite a deity, there first had to be a temple dedicated to that deity in the area, and you had to have worshipped there.
So that was how it worked!