Twenty minutes later, Da Ben drove into a residential community called Hongjun Community, located in the city center.
The community looked quite old-fashioned, reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s, yet it was shaded by ancient trees, filled with birdsong, floral fragrance, and a warm, harmonious atmosphere. After getting out of the car, Shui Miao saw many elderly people practicing swordplay, walking with caged birds, playing chess, or doing tai chi. Unlike other communities that were often deserted and cold, this one was lively and vibrant.
“Hehe, this community is mainly home to retired senior officials. Even when driving through, we can’t honk the horn—these old folks are quite formidable. We’d better hurry upstairs,” Zhang, the director, whispered with a smile before heading toward a stairwell.
The staircase was worn and damaged, missing corners and edges, yet the walls were surprisingly clean, without a single scrap of posted advertisement.
“Shui Miao, we’re not even allowed to talk loudly here. When I was little, I once got scolded for reciting lessons outside. Don’t let their kind appearances fool you—they have pretty bad tempers. If it weren’t for my dad, I wouldn’t even want to live here,” Zhang Hanya whispered softly beside Shui Miao.
Shui Miao remained silent, thinking to himself that indeed, these elderly people had all once been officials with deep backgrounds. Their personalities were stubborn and authoritarian, traits that hadn’t faded with age. Yet, there were benefits to living among them—being around such people made navigating the bureaucracy easier, as they were essentially a microcosm of the officialdom. No doubt Director Zhang lived here for that very reason.
“Oh, right, Xiao Shui, your mother and the others should have already arrived.”
On the third floor, Director Zhang opened the door to his apartment, and indeed, everyone had already arrived.
Director Zhang introduced Shui Miao to his wife, Zhao Li, who was very warm and welcoming. Upon seeing Shui Miao, she praised, “Xiao Shui, your face really does show great fortune! Although you’re a bit thin, your spirit and eyes—how can they be so bright and sharp?”
“Hehe, Xiao Shui, you see, my wife once studied face reading. Her father was a renowned master of physiognomy. That’s how she saw something special in me, and now look—I’m a director!”
“Oh, hush you! Flattered much? Without me, you wouldn’t have this good fortune!”
“Haha…”
Everyone laughed, the atmosphere light and cheerful.
After entering the house, Shui Miao subtly activated his spiritual vision and began examining the feng shui and energy flow of the apartment.
Zhao Li noticed the sharp gleam in Shui Miao’s eyes and grew excited, “Xiao Shui, your cultivation must be really strong! Your gaze is just incredible!”
“Auntie, I’ve just made minor progress,” Shui Miao smiled gently, then turned his gaze toward the kitchen diagonally across the room. He studied Zhao Li’s face and noticed a faint yellowish hue mixed with a murky aura. The kitchen, in particular, was filled with this heavy, impure energy. He asked gently, “Auntie, are you feeling unwell at all?”
“…”
His words immediately silenced everyone.
Zhao Li was momentarily taken aback, but knowing that Shui Miao’s sharp eyes indicated real ability, she quickly replied, “Actually, you’re right. I’ve been feeling a bit off since I came back from the market. My head feels heavy, and I was wondering if maybe I’m catching a cold.”
“I’ll go check the kitchen…”
Shui Miao strode toward the kitchen, with everyone curiously following. Zhang Hanya was the most curious, standing very close to Shui Miao, which made Chen Xiang visibly irritated.
Suddenly, a gust of fresh air blew in from the window Shui Miao had just opened, and Chen Xiang’s mood instantly shifted. She thought to herself, *How hard it must be for Shui Miao to be alone in this big city! Now that he’s finally found someone capable, I, as his little sister, shouldn’t be a burden to him.*
The fresh air was from the breeze Shui Miao had let in by opening the window. Additionally, Shui Miao had sensed Chen Xiang’s jealousy toward Zhang Hanya and had subtly sent out a pulse of calming energy with his mind, which immediately shifted Chen Xiang’s thoughts.
“It’s the drain!” Shui Miao inspected carefully and found that the floor drain in the kitchen was emitting a large amount of murky energy. Looking outside, he noticed a faint dark yin energy rising from all the drain outlets. He murmured, “Could it be about to thunderstorm?”
“Yes, yes, that must be it! I was wondering why my back ached so much after coming back from the market. It must be about to rain,” Zhao Li immediately agreed.
“But it’s sunny outside!”
Zhang Hanya looked out the window and saw a clear blue sky with the blazing sun.
Shui Miao didn’t argue. He opened the kitchen cabinets and examined the drain system. “Exactly as I thought, Uncle Zhang. This house was built a long time ago, and the drains don’t have anti-odor features—they’re direct channels. Whenever the weather changes and rain is coming, the underground yin energy rises, bringing up the foul air from the drains. People who inhale it get sick. Since the kitchen is where the lady of the house spends most of her time, Auntie has been affected by the impure energy, which explains her frequent colds and illnesses.”
“Oh my goodness! That’s exactly it!”
Director Zhang slapped his thigh in astonishment, “That’s why she always gets sick after it rains!”
“Xiao Shui, how did you figure this out?”
Zhao Li, being an expert herself, was eager to know how Shui Miao had detected it.
Shui Miao smiled faintly, “Because of my cultivation, I can see the impure energy.”
“Wow! Shui Miao, you’re amazing! I want to learn from you!” Zhang Hanya jumped excitedly, tugging on Shui Miao’s arm.
Shui Miao smiled at Chen Xiang, “I don’t have much time. Why don’t you let Chen Xiang teach you?”
“Great!”
Zhang Hanya, being a simple-hearted girl, immediately turned to Chen Xiang, who was delighted to have her attention diverted from Shui Miao. The two went to Zhang Hanya’s room to talk about cultivation.
Yang Min and Yang Fen were both secretly pleased. They hadn’t expected Shui Miao to possess such abilities, especially in feng shui. With him around, it would be impossible for the Chen family to have bad luck.
“Incredible! This skill of yours is worth a fortune!”
Director Zhang was thrilled and quickly led Shui Miao to the other rooms, asking him to check the feng shui layout of the entire house.
Since Director Zhang was not an outsider, Shui Miao was determined to help him.
He asked for the family’s birth dates and times, determined their elemental attributes, and adjusted the room arrangements accordingly based on the Five Elements. When Shui Miao returned to the kitchen and looked outside, the wind had already picked up to a force of six or seven levels from the northeast, and dark clouds were gathering in the sky. By his estimation, heavy rain would pour within twenty minutes.
Seeing the weather change so suddenly, Director Zhang and Zhao Li were even more astonished.
At this point, Director Zhang was even considering quitting his official post to follow Shui Miao in cultivation.
Shui Miao stuffed a cloth into the drain and curiously asked, “Uncle, why do you still live here? If you can afford a Mercedes, you shouldn’t still be living in such an old place.”
“Xiao Shui, you don’t know. I live here to maintain a low profile. Also, it’s easier to handle matters here—just talking to the old folks downstairs can resolve many issues. If it weren’t for the position of director, I’d have moved out long ago.” Director Zhang, not treating Shui Miao as an outsider, whispered his true thoughts.
Shui Miao shook his head, “Uncle, you’re mistaken. When you drove up just now, over a dozen elderly residents gave you cold looks. They clearly dislike your Mercedes. Yet you keep showing off in front of them. I think you’ve made a big mistake.”
Shui Miao stood up, noticing that the impure energy in the kitchen had been blown away by the wind. He closed the window, placed a basin of water, and subtly infused it with some spiritual energy before telling Zhao Li, “Auntie, this water can help cleanse impurities. You can wash your vegetables and ingredients with it.”
“Great! I’ll do that right away!”
Zhao Li had been watching Shui Miao closely. She noticed that when he placed his hand in the basin, a faint mist rose from the water. She realized that Shui Miao’s cultivation had reached an extremely high level—his humility simply masked his true abilities.
As Shui Miao stepped out of the kitchen, Director Zhang followed closely behind.
Yang Min and Yang Fen quickly entered the kitchen to help with the cooking.
Zhao Li, not wanting guests to do chores, politely declined at first, but eventually gave in and allowed them to assist.
However, the clever Zhao Li had a hidden motive. She wanted to test the depth of Shui Miao’s abilities. She took a kettle and filled it with some of the water from the basin, then went to the balcony to water her most cherished potted plant—a *Tianzhu* flower brought back from Tibet. Due to the climate, this flower was notoriously difficult to keep alive and had already withered. If this water could revive it, it would prove that Shui Miao’s cultivation was truly profound.
After watering the plant, there was still half a kettle of water left. She placed it aside and returned to the kitchen to continue cooking.
Meanwhile, Shui Miao and Director Zhang entered the study. After witnessing Shui Miao’s recent abilities, Director Zhang had become completely obedient to him. He sought Shui Miao’s advice on how to resolve the issues. Seeing how suddenly Zhang had placed full trust in him, Shui Miao marveled at the power of belief—how it could make a mortal follow him so obediently. This made him think of an idea: perhaps he should build good relationships with the elderly downstairs, help them with their ailments, and in return, they might assist him in the future.
“That’s simple. Sell the Mercedes and do something for the elderly downstairs. That would work. However…” Shui Miao frowned, sniffed the air, and shook his head. “But this house isn’t worth staying in anymore. The energy here has already formed a pattern. Living here will age you faster.”
“Then… then I’ll move tomorrow!”
Director Zhang was startled. Aging faster was no small matter—no one could afford that!
“But I’m also worried this house might be connected to your career fortune. Unless your new home has better feng shui than this one, it’s better not to move at all!” Shui Miao rubbed his chin. “Uncle, how many other houses do you own? Why don’t you show me all of them?”
Shui Miao knew that Director Zhang was probably not a completely clean official. He must have accepted bribes and gifts.
“Hehe… Xiao Shui, since you’re not an outsider, I’ll tell you the truth,” Zhang said with a sly smile as he held up his hand and made a gesture of eight fingers.
Eight houses!
Shui Miao was shocked. Adding the one he had given to Shui Miao, that made nine!
“Uncle, this is a serious issue. I advise you to get rid of some of them. Leaving so many houses empty is not a good idea,” Shui Miao warned. “Once a house sits empty for too long, even the most auspicious one will turn into a source of bad luck. Worse, it might even attract wandering spirits, leading to unimaginable consequences!”
“Oh no! That explains why I’ve been stuck at this position for so long!”
Director Zhang’s eyes darted around as he immediately began thinking about selling some properties.
Shui Miao never expected his “Uncle” to be such a corrupt official, hoarding so many properties. He wondered whether helping him was the right thing to do and if it might bring negative consequences to his cultivation path.
As he was pondering, he noticed a yellow flower bud blooming rapidly on the balcony, visibly coming to life!
“Huh? Where did this flower get such spiritual energy?”
Shui Miao’s mind stirred, and he saw that the potted plant was wrapped in a faint glow of spiritual energy. Under its influence, the plant was continuously regenerating and blooming…
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