Chapter 46
Chapter 46
But since Master had spoken, I could not embarrass her!
I stepped forward and cleared my throat, preparing to analyze the feng shui I had observed along the way.
Before I could speak, a man behind Old Master Xiao stepped out.
“A child barely in his teens, without even a full-grown hair on his face, dares assess feng shui? What a joke! Old Master Xiao invited the master, not the disciple. This hardly follows proper etiquette.”
His hostility was unmistakable.
Anger surged through me, and I stared at him.
He wore a hemp Taoist robe similar to Yuan Fei’s, a square cap, and carried a compass. He looked respectable enough at first glance.
He had to be the folk Taoist master Old Master Xiao originally hired. Why was he still here?
I remembered Old Cao’s saying: people in the same trade were natural enemies!
During our nightly studies of coffin making, coffin bearing, spirit-paper arts, and other subjects, he had told me much that Master never mentioned.
For instance, after hiring one Taoist to assess feng shui, one generally did not hire another.
Folk arcane lineages were numerous and varied, often holding conflicting interpretations. Inviting both easily caused disputes.
Even Taoists needed to earn a living.
This was business. Bringing in another practitioner stole a client and publicly humiliated the first.
People who respected custom therefore avoided hiring two parties at once. Boss Duan’s case had been different: a folk Taoist master and a coffin bearer practiced separate, complementary professions.
Master and I had come to Xiao Family Bend for the exact same feng shui work, creating a direct conflict.
No wonder this man spoke so rudely!
I had been nervous when Master asked me to speak. His provocation instead calmed me. I snorted.
“Old Master Xiao isn’t part of the esoteric world, so he can’t be blamed for not knowing its rules. But you claim to understand feng shui. Your poor skill caused losses and forced him to find someone else. Aren’t you responsible? You’ve taken disgrace all the way home!”
Since he had torn away courtesy first, I saw no reason to pretend.
Gentleness only encouraged people like him to push further!
He had not expected such defiance from a boy and stammered, “Y-you…”
“What about me? Move. I’ll examine Old Master Xiao’s site.”
I glared and ignored him.
Alone, I would not have been so bold. I might have answered, but more mildly.
Master was here!
What could he possibly do?
Old Master Xiao studied me and smiled. “A formidable youth. What should I call you, young sir?”
“My surname is Wu.”
“Xiao Wu, Mr. Wang Beimu is merely anxious about my foundation. Please don’t take his impatience to heart, you or Immortal Lady Qin.”
“You’re too courteous, Old Master Xiao.”
I answered respectfully. He was a respected elder in Xiao Family Bend.
Now I knew the unscrupulous Taoist was Wang Beimu.
His name sounded dignified, though Beimu also resembled the words for tombstone and grave–yin-laden and perhaps ominous.
I stepped onto the new foundation and inspected it carefully…
“On the surface, the feng shui formation is flawless and highly auspicious. But anything abnormal must have a cause. A foundation that cannot be driven and seeps bloody water definitely conceals a problem.”
I recalled The Classic of Dwellings while examining the scene.
Old Master Xiao’s eldest son, Xiao Cheng, managed the family restaurant in Lianghe Town and had returned to handle the foundation trouble. He guided me.
“Young Mr. Wu, the rammer couldn’t penetrate this area. That pit is where bloody water filled the excavation when workers dug by hand.”
He pointed to a round pit about two meters wide and one meter deep.
Red mud covered its bottom, and dark-red stains marked its walls–remnants of the liquid from two days earlier.
A faint, strange, fishy odor lingered.
But it did not smell like blood!
I knew the smell of animal blood from my mother’s slaughtered poultry and human blood from the villains killed by Miss Duan’s vicious corpse…
Neither resembled this pit.
Stroking my chin, I muttered, “Neither animal nor human blood. It must be some mineral or underground water.”
“Obviously. Even a fool can see that.”
The grating voice interrupted my thoughts.
Wang Beimu stood nearby, speaking sarcastically.
I frowned but ignored him.
My priority was finding why an auspicious site displayed ominous signs. This was Master’s test!
“Boss Xiao, do you have tall rubber boots? I want to examine the bottom.”
“Yes. And please just call me Xiao Cheng.”
He had a worker bring black boots. I put them on and carefully climbed down.
I rubbed a handful of red mud and smelled it. The earthy odor of rock and minerals became clearer.
“Soil and stone are nourished by earth energy. A change in them means the energy below has changed. The underground feng shui is the problem–but that makes no sense…”
I paced, baffled.
Then I noticed a small concealed opening in one corner. It appeared natural, exposed when workers excavated.
An idea stirred.
“Boss Xiao, give me a shovel!”
He passed one down.
Several strokes enlarged the opening to the size of a fist.
I kept digging…
“Hiss! Hiss!”
Several snakes emerged.
My scalp prickled. I stumbled backward and nearly fell into the mud.
Wang Beimu mocked from above.
“A child indeed! A few harmless snakes frightened you? If you’re too scared, Uncle Wang can catch them.”
Anger flared, but I restrained it.
The work came first!
Actually, the snakes delighted me. I had begun to understand the site’s true nature.
I needed one more test…
“Old Master Xiao, Boss Xiao, ask workers to dig a pit on both the eastern and western sides. See whether the same bloody liquid seeps out. Half a meter should suffice.”
Xiao Cheng glanced at his father and nodded. “I’ll arrange it now, Young Mr. Wu.”
I climbed out, removed the boots, and stood beside Master.
Before outsiders, she remained aloof and silent.
Xiao Cheng chatted with me. Learning I attended middle school in Lianghe Town, he offered a VIP card granting free meals at his restaurant for as long as it remained open!
I politely refused.
Whether sincere or merely courteous, one should accept no reward without achievement.
Besides, the foundation problem was not yet solved…
We had to see whether the two test pits confirmed my theory.
Fifteen minutes later, workers cried out.
“Blood! The ground is bleeding again!”
“Heavens! Is something unclean buried here?”
“Did we offend the mountain god?”
They paled and stopped digging.
Seeing red liquid seep from both pits, I finally became certain.
The Xiao family was extraordinarily fortunate!
A poorly trained Taoist had accidentally found a deeply hidden auspicious formation. Without Old Master Xiao’s friendship with Village Chief Wang and our arrival, they might have abandoned it as ominous…
I cupped my hands. “Congratulations. This is indeed a supremely auspicious site–far better than the half-trained Mr. Wang Beimu claimed.”
Old Master Xiao and Xiao Cheng stared.
They expected repairs or abandonment, not this conclusion.
Wang Beimu laughed. “Brat, what do you mean?”
“You believe this is Jade Belt Encircling the Mountain–a mountain behind, encircling river ahead, gathering energy and wealth.”
“Isn’t it?” he said disdainfully.
I sneered. “Then why did construction produce these incidents? If it were merely the Jade Belt Encircling the Mountain Formation, why couldn’t you solve them?”
“I…”
He had no answer.
I declared, “Because beneath the apparent Jade Belt Encircling the Mountain lies an exceptionally rare auspicious formation: Black Tortoise Basking Its Back!”
Wang Beimu stiffened in uncertainty.
He had heard the name but did not understand it.