Chapter 163
Chapter 163
We got into the car together.
In a little over ten minutes, we crossed almost the whole of Lianghe Town, traveling from Lianghe District Middle School at the western edge to Xingsheng Residential Compound in the southeast.
Yao Nan’s home.
Zhao Jiao was waiting anxiously in the living room–apparently, she had left work early.
That was understandable. This was a matter of life and death.
“Young Mr. Wu, you’re here? Sit and have some water. Rest for a moment. Nannan, don’t just stand there. Hurry and make your deskmate some tea.”
Zhao Jiao was all smiles and treated me exceptionally well.
As the saying went, people raised one another as bearers raised a flowered sedan chair.
Since she treated me so well, I was naturally pleased.
I smiled and waved a hand. “There’s no need to trouble yourself, Auntie. I’m not thirsty. I’ll start arranging the feng shui immediately.”
As I spoke, I looked at the white-jade dragon-turtles on the coffee table beside us.
There were five in total.
I casually picked one up.
The instant it entered my hand, it felt warm, smooth, delicate, and almost tender.
I brought it closer for a better look.
The jade possessed an inner luster, a rich and warm body, and a fine, compact grain.
It truly was superb quality!
I nodded.
“This jade is excellent, and the carving and craftsmanship of the dragon-turtles are exquisite. Your friend is very reliable, Uncle Yao.”
Yao Tianlin immediately smiled proudly.
“You’re absolutely right, Young Mr. Wu! We grew up together. When my life is at stake, he’ll naturally spare no effort to help me.”
After a pause, he pointed at the jade dragon-turtles on the table.
“Young Mr. Wu, you said we needed three jade dragon-turtles to neutralize the fire-form baleforce. We had five made, so please accept the two extras. Don’t refuse. They’re a token of our appreciation. Nannan also relies on you to look after her at school.”
Since Yao Tianlin had already put it that way, I wasn’t an indecisive person. Naturally, I accepted them with a smile.
Arranging a feng shui configuration to neutralize the fire-form baleforce affecting the Yao home wasn’t difficult for me.
I merely needed to identify the correct positions and place the jade dragon-turtles there.
I was already quite familiar with The Classic of Dwellings, so I didn’t even need a feng shui luopan. A quick calculation on my fingers was enough.
Then, with a thought, I separated a thread of qi stored in my dantian. It flowed through my meridians into my palm and entered the jade dragon-turtle…
Beside me, Wang Dachun suddenly rubbed his eyes and whispered in confusion, “Huh? Why did it look like the jade dragon-turtle in Boss’s hand suddenly began giving off waves of soft white light?”
But Yao Nan and her parents saw nothing.
I thought to myself that Wang Dachun truly possessed some talent for occult cultivation!
When he had discussed the Fubei County Gazetteer with me and accompanied me at night to the street leading to the coffin shop, he had also seen Wang Hu drifting back and forth there.
But I merely smiled without speaking.
After channeling a thread of qi into each of three jade dragon-turtles, I placed them in the corresponding positions.
For an ordinary feng shui master, this would actually have been the most difficult step.
A mere dragon-turtle ornament could not neutralize baleforce or break an inauspicious configuration.
It had to undergo consecration or empowerment first!
So-called consecration involved infusing an object with spiritual power, granting it wondrous uses.
This was originally a Daoist ritual. Buddhists were supposed to call the same act empowerment.
But after Buddhism entered China during the Eastern Han dynasty and became entangled with Daoism in nearly two thousand years of conflict and exchange… the word empowerment gradually became rare, and both traditions commonly called the process consecration.
Many ordinary people even believed consecration was originally a Buddhist term.
One hardly knew what to make of it.
Most feng shui masters didn’t cultivate magical arts themselves–which meant they possessed no spiritual power within their bodies.
Thus, even after making ornaments intended to neutralize baleforce and break an inauspicious configuration, they first had to visit a Buddhist temple or Daoist monastery and ask an expert to consecrate them.
For me, that entire complicated process was unnecessary.
I could handle it myself. All I had to do was channel qi into the figures!
…
A few minutes later…
The feng shui configuration in Yao Nan’s home returned to normal.
Standing in the living room, I could feel a fresh and soothing sensation.
Yao Tianlin loosened his tie and exclaimed delightedly, “Young Mr. Wu, this is miraculous! Lately, I always felt tightness in my chest, shortness of breath, and nervous tension whenever I was home. I thought I hadn’t adjusted to the new apartment. It seems someone had been plotting against us from the very beginning.”
He wasn’t the only one. Zhao Jiao, Yao Nan, and Wang Dachun also felt more comfortable.
Even their thoughts seemed somewhat clearer.
That was the power of feng shui!
I smiled without speaking.
Then I put the two jade dragon-turtles he had given me into the schoolbag on my back.
In the year 2000, society and the economy naturally lagged far behind today!
Collectibles, jade, and similar objects were still very inexpensive.
Such things rose dramatically in value only during prosperous times.
For example, these white-jade dragon-turtles were worth less at the time than an upscale home in a thriving small town…
Yao Nan’s parents kept the three dragon-turtles in their home as ornaments to neutralize baleforce, break the inauspicious configuration, and transform its feng shui. Unexpectedly, more than a decade later, those three little white-jade ornaments were worth several times more than their large four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment!
Of course, that came later.
With the feng shui of the Yao home resolved, it was time to drag out the culprit behind everything.
Yao Tianlin told me what he and his wife had discovered and deduced over the past week.
They had two suspects.
The first was the owner of the brickworks at the foot of the distant mountain, directly opposite the kitchen window.
His name was Zeng Qingfeng.
Previously, Zhao Jiao had rejected several permits for his factory. He had even brought gifts to their home, only to be sternly refused.
In the end, no one knew whose connections he used, but he managed to build the noncompliant brickworks anyway.
And the three newly constructed smokestacks just happened to create fire-form baleforce directed at Yao Nan’s home!
The second suspect was the person responsible for the billboard.
These days, the town’s publicity office merely approved the specific site for a billboard. The advertiser decided exactly how it would be erected.
The billboard had been commissioned by Zhao Zhiming, an independent merchant who sold household appliances on the town’s main street.
Reportedly, Zhao Zhiming had personally directed the workers at the site while they erected it.
If the billboard’s sharp corner pointed at Yao Nan’s home, Zhao Zhiming was also highly suspicious!
Yet after thinking carefully, Yao Tianlin and his wife couldn’t recall any conflict with Zhao Zhiming–they hadn’t even known him before this.
That made sense. One was a government official, the other a prominent businessman. How could they have a serious dispute with an ordinary independent shopkeeper?
“So, Young Mr. Wu, I personally believe Zeng Qingfeng is more suspicious. My wife rejected his factory permit. He isn’t a native of Lianghe Town, but comes from Fubei County’s urban center. He has businesses in several large towns throughout the county. And from what I hear, many of them aren’t exactly clean.”
Yao Tianlin offered his opinion.
I nodded.
“Your reasoning makes sense, Uncle Yao. But let’s investigate Zhao Zhiming first.”
Since there were two suspects, we would begin with the one whose circumstances were simpler and whose influence was weaker.
Yao Nan wanted to come with us, but Yao Tianlin and I refused. We told her to remain home with Zhao Jiao. If danger arose, women were relatively more vulnerable.
As for Wang Dachun…
Yao Tianlin originally refused him too, but after thinking it over, I allowed him to participate.
The guy had developed early and eaten well. He was tall and sturdy, already over five foot seven, taller than most adults!
He also seemed to possess some talent for occult arts, so perhaps he could provide some assistance.
Thus, Yao Tianlin drove toward Lianghe Town’s main street.
Unexpectedly, although it was only four in the afternoon, Zhao Zhiming’s appliance store was closed!
Its lowered rolling shutter stood out awkwardly among all the surrounding shops that remained open.
Since no one was there, we drove directly to the brickworks at the foot of the mountain outside town.
The moment the car reached the brickworks gate, I felt that Yao Tianlin’s deduction was probably eighty percent correct!
At the very least, something was definitely wrong with Zeng Qingfeng.
The entire brickworks formed one enormous feng shui configuration–the Reverse-Bow Fire-Metal Baleforce Formation!
Despite the word “baleforce” in its name, this was actually a rather unprincipled wealth-gathering configuration.
It exploited reverse-bow baleforce and the clash between the fire and metal positions to create an explosive accumulation of wealth energy.
So-called reverse-bow baleforce was form baleforce caused by a reverse-bow road.
In feng shui, the ancients called a road whose U-shaped curve bowed outward in front of a building’s main entrance a “reverse-bow” road.
This feng shui configuration was excessively fiery and scorching. It was generally unfavorable and brought bad luck to a household.
It wasn’t as fierce as fire-form baleforce, but it still counted as an inauspicious feng shui configuration!
Most feng shui masters tried their utmost to avoid reverse-bow roads when helping clients build homes or factories.
In reality, however… only a small number of feng shui masters knew a certain secret method!
If reverse-bow baleforce was combined with a head-on clash against the Kun-metal position, fire and metal erupted while Kun-earth concealed the effect. The result became a feng shui configuration capable of creating sudden wealth.
The newly built brickworks before us formed a classic Reverse-Bow Fire-Metal Baleforce Formation.
Naturally, this wasn’t an orthodox auspicious feng shui position.
It belonged to unorthodox, heterodox methods!
Thus, its effect on wealth usually meant the more money came in, the more money went out. Wealth arrived quickly and disappeared just as fast.
Nor did the sudden riches last long. This was commonly known as becoming a mere “God of Wealth passing through”!
Upright feng shui masters generally refused to create this kind of configuration.
I looked at the brickworks and sneered.
“What a Reverse-Bow Fire-Metal Baleforce Formation! I can’t call it profoundly evil, but only someone with corrupt intentions would use it. Uncle Yao, judging from this alone, Zeng Qingfeng must be connected to the fire-form baleforce targeting your home.”
Anger immediately appeared on Yao Tianlin’s face.
He didn’t understand what the Reverse-Bow Fire-Metal Baleforce Formation was, but since I had said so, he believed me.
He also complained irritably.
“That damned Zeng Qingfeng not only uses dirty methods in business, but has rotten character too. A few months ago, he invited us to dinner and tried to give us gifts, but we refused him on the spot. While drinking, he kept boasting that he was toying with the feelings of a young woman who had returned from working in the city. He said she was completely infatuated with him. Shameless.”
Huh?!
I froze.
“A young woman who returned from the city? Could it be…”
A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through my mind.
I hurriedly asked in an urgent voice, “Uncle Yao, is Zeng Qingfeng fairly young? At least, is he considered young among Lianghe Town’s wealthy? And would his assets rank among the top ten?”