Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Qiao Moyu. I am a junior at Nanjiang University and the sole contemporary Earth Master successor.

In ancient times, an Earth Master was another name for a feng shui practitioner.

As the old saying goes: “A first-class Earth Master observes the stars; a second-class wind master seeks the water’s source; a third-class practitioner wanders the earth.” Most of those walking the world today are merely ordinary feng shui practitioners. Those capable of mastering the arts of stargazing and qi-reading held positions in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in ancient times, serving the imperial family.

My Qiao family ancestors served as the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and were the hereditary Sect Masters of the Feng Sect.

It was summer break again, and my roommate Ling Ling invited us to her home. She is from Jiujiang City, Jiangxi, where her family runs a guesthouse on the shores of Poyang Lake. I hadn’t originally planned on going, but her next words immediately piqued my interest.

“My cousin dreamed of the Water God. He’s so incredibly handsome-handsomer than any celebrity I’ve ever seen. Words simply can’t describe him.”

According to Ling Ling, many young girls living near Poyang Lake had recently dreamed of a man with otherworldly beauty. The man would chat with them in their dreams and take them out to play.

My roommates grew excited, chattering away as they speculated about what this Water God looked like.

I was a bit curious.

“He didn’t hurt anyone? He didn’t ask them to do anything? Did the people who dreamed of him get injured or die?”

“Oh, stop it! He’s the Water God, not some monster or demon. Qiao Moyu, you’re not allowed to slander him.”

Ling Ling pouted in dissatisfaction.

I found it even stranger. Dream visitations were usually the work of Wandering Ghosts. When a person dies a violent death, their obsession becomes so deep that they seek out relatives in dreams, a practice permitted by the Ghost Envoys.

Humans possess three souls and seven po. The heavenly and earthly souls wander outside, while the life soul guards the seven po.

If a soul belonging to a complete stranger tries to enter a person’s mind, the life soul won’t recognize it and will certainly be on high guard. After being forcibly entered in a dream, the person will experience something like sleep paralysis, fiercely resisting the intruding soul and struggling to wake up.

Upon waking, they would feel groggy and take several days to fully recover.

This Water God Ling Ling described-one who didn’t harm people and asked for nothing-was truly bizarre.

Everyone was curious about this “Water God,” so once the holidays started, we took a train with Ling Ling to her home.

It was currently the flood season, and the water level of Poyang Lake was high. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows, the blue waves stretched for miles. Scraps of sunset clouds, like shredded silk, were scattered across the lake’s surface, tinting the water gold.

Lou Qianqian cheered in delight. “It’s so beautiful! Qiao Moyu, take a picture of us.”

Without waiting for an answer, she shoved a phone into my hand. The girls stood by the lake, posing for photos. Ling Ling kept barking orders, telling me to squat one moment and then to stand in a horse stance the next to get the right angle.

I was looking down, lost in thought, and just snapped a few random shots for them. When I finally finished, Lou Qianqian took the phone back. Her nostrils flared with anger the moment she saw the screen.

“Qiao Moyu! We asked you to take photos of us, but these are all selfies of you!”

“Exactly! And you still made us say ‘cheese’ and told me to stand on my tiptoes!”

Ling Ling stamped her foot in frustration.

“Huh? Really?”

I took the phone and glanced at it.

“How annoying. How can I look this good even though I didn’t wash my hair today?”

I was joking, but the next second, I froze.

On the screen, I was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, looking at the camera with an impatient expression. Resting on my right shoulder was a hand. The fingers were long, slender, and pale-strikingly prominent.

I spun around abruptly. Behind me was the entrance to Ling Ling’s family guesthouse. A few pots of flowers stood by the door, and the glass doors were tightly shut. There was no one there.

Interesting. To be this bold in broad daylight.

Is this hand a mischievous wandering soul or a ghost looking for death? Welcome to tonight’s 8:30 PM episode of the Master Qiao Column.