The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and instead rushed to support the suffering youth, who cried out in terror that something had entered his buttocks, traveled upward, and reached his stomach. Hearing this, the black snake demon quickly urged Shui Miao to leave the place. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao immediately exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began vomiting and expelled three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after latching onto Shui Miao’s hand, their strength had greatly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now fully dominate them. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a boost! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, letting us latch onto his hand and absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s chase after him and absorb more—we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that fool.”
“Good idea, good idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, we’ll go find Mom now.”
After possessing the three grown men, the ghost fetuses behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled and staggered their way out of the waiting room. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary—they weren’t clinging to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their idea of seeking out their ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently following him.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around inside, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to assess the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in danger, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. There was still over an hour before the train departure—perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no, we can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend—I can’t abandon her.” Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath with a sense of frustration. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave on a whim. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by aligning with the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious task of protecting someone—it wasn’t like embarking on a journey to the West for scriptures, so what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends—a concept it found utterly baffling.
After all, demons are demons—they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, nearly deserted, and extremely old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a shop in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malignant energy, filth, and heavy negativity accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of enthusiasm, not something they can sustain for long. The same logic applies to houses. New houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good fortune, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn around. Larger houses with no Feng Shui issues can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it dictates everything.
The biggest variables affecting human fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin dwellings (ancestral graves) and Yang dwellings (living spaces). Yin dwellings influence luck more quickly, while Yang dwellings act more slowly. Experts can use Yin dwellings to alter fate—highly skilled masters can change destiny on the very same day, while ordinary practitioners may take longer. Of course, altering fate through Yin dwellings isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and if not careful, one might end up inviting misfortune instead of good luck, which would be a losing bargain. Yang dwellings influence luck more slowly, but if properly arranged, they are relatively stable and comfortable. Good Feng Shui means good style and decoration, naturally pleasing to the eye and uplifting to the mood. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good Feng Shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, the energy field of a house forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various malignant energies to gather. If newcomers with weak birth charts move in, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. There, a large, pockmarked woman with a manly build walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, sneaking around—what are you up to?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely harsh appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for the sake of Huo Xiang and her family, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! My utilities are charged per person. If you’re staying here, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses—Auntie Luo isn’t easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was famously known as “Cannon Luo” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents, and she held a deep grudge. So, whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, as Shui Miao had guessed, Auntie Luo’s birth chart was extremely strong, with a metal destiny, making her exceptionally aggressive.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, straightforward, and impartial—so the factory trusted her to manage the place.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with the van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’m going to buy a ticket and head to the campus now.” Having quickly packed her things, Huo Xiang reached out to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying the room. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the shop. It’s a new store, and we need the hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, growing increasingly restless.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang felt annoyed. She was about to speak when suddenly the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom, so how could the door have shut so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then came the sound of water from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after using it!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small, and everything was visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
As Shui Miao stepped outside the waiting room entrance, the youth suddenly vomited, spitting out three dark purple dice!
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and rushed to support the one who was in agony. The young man cried out in terror, saying something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way to his stomach. Hearing this, the black snake demon urged Shui Miao to leave immediately. Seizing the chance to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began to vomit violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three young men were horrified, and they couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their power had grown significantly. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they now had complete control. Once inside, the ghost fetuses were ecstatic. They began jumping and bouncing around like little children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, and even let us cling to his hand to absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s go after him and absorb more—we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that fool, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, we’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief exchange, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were still struggling to adapt to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary—they weren’t clinging to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days.
But their plan to seek out the ghost mother was even more malicious than clinging to Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a bit, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Holy Spirit was likely there as well.
Another thing Bai Feng mentioned was that she had seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to check on the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in danger, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building. He planned to use the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path through. There was still over an hour before the train departure—perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no, we can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend—I can’t abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure and muttering under its breath, feeling deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave him. Yet it couldn’t help feeling resentful. It had thought that by siding with the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy a life of luxury and be entrusted with important tasks. While it hadn’t expected extravagance, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious job of protecting someone. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the person it was protecting to be irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all—they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a store in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malicious energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of energy that doesn’t last long. The same goes for houses: new houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn around. Larger houses with good Feng Shui can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence influences luck more quickly, while Yang residence does so more slowly. Experts can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level masters can alter fate instantly, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep could bring misfortune instead of luck, which would be a great loss. Yang residence adjustments are slower but relatively safer and more comfortable when done correctly. Good Feng Shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely without good Feng Shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various malignant energies to gather. If newcomers with weak birth charts move in, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A stout, manly-looking woman with a pockmarked face stepped out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely harsh appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them,” Shui Miao said, pointing upstairs. Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were staying upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to trick me with excuses—Auntie Luo isn’t easily fooled.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Cannon Luo” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her unusually aggressive.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, straightforward, and impartial—so the factory trusted her to oversee the place.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a storefront and was currently unloading goods with the van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to campus now,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, reaching out to her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued cleaning. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, and the longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. She was about to speak when suddenly, the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom, so how could the door have shut so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of flushing water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just used the toilet and was now flushing it!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open…
The bathroom was small and immediately clear—there was no one inside.
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and rushed to support the one who was in agony. The suffering youth cried out in terror, saying something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way into his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urged Shui Miao to leave immediately. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began to vomit violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hands earlier that day, their strength had significantly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they now had full control. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic. They began jumping and skipping around like little children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even let us attach to his hands and absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s go after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. Maybe we should go back and tell Mom about this. Let her deal with that fool. What do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were still unaccustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. They didn’t cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days.
However, their idea of seeking out the ghost mother was even more malicious than clinging to Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a bit, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to check the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in trouble, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building. He would use the Dragon-Seeking Ruler to carve a path. There was still over an hour before the train departure; perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend. I can’t abandon her.” Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath. It felt deeply frustrated. Tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao, it dared not simply leave. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy a life of ease and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious job of protecting someone else. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be somewhat irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all, incapable of understanding human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a shop in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of feng shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malignant energies, hidden filth, and heavy gloom abound.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of energy, not something they can sustain for long. The same goes for houses. New houses bring new atmospheres, full of vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good fortune, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn. Larger houses with no feng shui issues can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent feng shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, feng shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence affects luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence acts more slowly. Masters can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level masters can alter fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. There are many frauds nowadays, and a misstep might not only fail to bring luck but could also invite misfortune, resulting in a net loss. Yang residence adjustments are slower but, if done correctly, are relatively stable and comfortable. Good feng shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude. How could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good feng shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies moving in will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, gathering various malignant energies. If newcomers have strong birth charts, they might withstand it, but those with weaker charts might fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives, which wouldn’t be surprising.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A stout, mannish-looking woman with a pockmarked face walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely harsh appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs. Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“See them? They didn’t mention you! I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her aggressively confrontational.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlord, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—forthright and upright—so the factory trusted her, and she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to the campus now.” Having quickly packed her things, Huo Xiang reached out to her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying up. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the shop. It’s a new store, and we need the help. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, and the longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. She was about to say something when the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom. How could the door have shut so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled and turned to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then came the sound of flushing from the bathroom, as if someone had just used the toilet!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open…
The bathroom was small, and everything was visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Great, great! Finally, we can control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That person was really nourishing, making us so strong all at once.”
“Ha ha, he was so foolish, capable of expelling us but didn’t. He even let us attach to his hand to absorb various energies. Let’s chase him again, absorb more, and we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran off. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that fool!”
“Good idea! Mom is so powerful, she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, let’s go back and find Mom now.”
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and rushed to support the one in agony, who cried out in terror that something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way into his stomach. Hearing this, the black snake demon urged Shui Miao to leave immediately. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly retreated from the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began vomiting and threw up three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pants legs of the young men, entered their bodies through their buttocks, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hands, their power had grown significantly. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now fully dominate them. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t. Instead, he let us attach to his hands and absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s chase after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he’s run away. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that fool.”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. The ghost fetuses did not cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their plan to seek out the ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently haunting Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a while, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing Bai Feng mentioned was that she had seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City to check on the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang was in trouble, he decided on the spot to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. There was still over an hour before the train departure; perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without hesitation, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend. I can’t just abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, muttered under its breath as it watched Shui Miao’s retreating figure, and felt deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave on a whim. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy a life of luxury and be highly valued. While it hadn’t expected extravagance, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious task of protecting someone. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it realized the person it was protecting had a screw loose, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
After all, demons are demons; they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a store in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of feng shui principles.
Aging inevitably leads to decay and rot.
Malignant energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of energy that doesn’t last long. The same logic applies to houses. New houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for fortune to gradually improve. A large-scale house with good feng shui can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent feng shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but it doesn’t mean destiny determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, feng shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence influences luck more quickly, while Yang residence does so more slowly. Experts can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level masters can alter fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep could bring misfortune instead of luck, resulting in more loss than gain. Yang residence adjustments are slower but relatively safer and more comfortable when done correctly, as good feng shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good feng shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various malignant energies to gather. If newcomers have strong birth charts, they might withstand it, but those with weak charts may fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives, which wouldn’t be surprising.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A pockmarked, burly woman who resembled a man walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely fierce appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents, and she held a deep grudge. So, whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was extremely strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her exceptionally aggressive.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, straightforward, and impartial—so the factory trusted her, and she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a store and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to the campus,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, reaching out to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying up. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother. Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, and the longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. Just as she was about to speak, the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang!
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom, so how could the door have closed so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled and turned to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet.
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small and immediately apparent—no one was inside.
Shui Miao’s worry about being persistently pursued and killed in seven days proved unnecessary.
However, their idea of seeking help from the ghost mother was even more sinister than chasing Shui Miao relentlessly.
Bai Feng secretly monitored them, knowing their intention to return and find their mother.
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and instead rushed to support the one who was in agony. The young man, terrified, said that something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way to his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urgently advised Shui Miao to leave the place. Shui Miao, also eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, immediately retreated from the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began to vomit violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three young men were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the trouser legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their strength had significantly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they were now fully capable of doing so. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic. They began jumping and bouncing around like little children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even letting us attach to his hand and absorb various energies. Let’s go after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that foolish guy, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled and staggered their way out of the waiting room. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. The ghost fetuses did not cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their idea of seeking out their ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently haunting Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly monitoring them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around inside, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building was not far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to assess the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in trouble, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building immediately. He planned to use the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path through. There was still over an hour before the train departure; perhaps he could make it in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend; I can’t abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building was not far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath. It felt deeply frustrated. Tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao, it dared not simply leave. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and even sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious job of protecting someone else. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be somewhat irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
After all, demons are demons; they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, sparsely populated, and extremely old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a store in such an old area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably leads to decay and rot.
Negative energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has seen elderly people full of energy, bouncing around? Even if there are, it’s only a momentary burst of enthusiasm that doesn’t last long. The same logic applies to houses. New houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn. Larger houses with no Feng Shui issues can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence influences luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence does so more slowly. Masters can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level masters can alter fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters; one misstep could bring misfortune instead of luck, leading to more loss than gain. Yang residence adjustments are slower but, if done properly, are relatively stable and comfortable. Good Feng Shui means good style and decoration, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good Feng Shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, the energy field of a house forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various negative energies to gather. If newcomers have strong birth charts, they might manage, but if not, they could fall ill, spend money on remedies, or even lose their lives—none of which would be surprising.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. There, a stout, man-like woman with a pockmarked face emerged. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely fierce appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a sour mood. But for the sake of Huo Xiang and her family, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Ma’am, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! My utilities are charged per person. If you’re staying here too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her aggressiveness particularly intense.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlord, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. This room was originally part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, upright, and trusted by everyone, so she continued to manage the place.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a storefront and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’m going to buy a ticket and head to campus,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, stretching out her hand to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued cleaning. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not into you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, and the longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. She was about to say something when suddenly, the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom either. Why would the door suddenly shut so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of flushing water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just used the toilet and was flushing it!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small, and everything was visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
Additionally, Bai Feng had seen Huoxiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Initially, Shui Miao wanted to leave immediately and return to Zhonghai to assess the situation. However, upon hearing that Huoxiang and her family were in danger, Shui Miao decided to confront the haunted building head-on, using the Feng Shui measuring rod to carve a path. With over an hour until the train departed, he might still make it.
Without hesitation, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Upon hearing this, the Black Snake Spirit panicked, exclaiming, “Wait, wait! We couldn’t even handle the young ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huoxiang is my friend; I can’t just abandon her.” Learning the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao started running.
“But that doesn’t mean we should go and get ourselves killed…” The Black Snake Spirit blinked, watching Shui Miao’s back, murmuring in frustration. Bound by the Yin Spirit’s command to protect Shui Miao, it naturally couldn’t just leave. Yet, it felt resentful, having believed that after sacrificing its physical form to serve the Yin Spirit, it would enjoy privileges and recognition. It never expected to be assigned such a burdensome protective duty, not even as meaningful as a pilgrimage to the West. Worse still, it found the one it was protecting reckless, risking his life for some so-called friend, which it couldn’t comprehend.
After all, a demon is a demon, incapable of understanding human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao overlooked one thing: Bai Feng flew, so when she said “not far,” it didn’t necessarily mean it was actually close. As a result, after running nonstop for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a quiet, nearly deserted old street.
Everything on this street was old-fashioned.
Looking around, the worn-out pavement, aged shops, and vintage houses all bore an ancient style.
With limited funds, Huo Yuanliang’s wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of relocating to a big city where her daughter studied, choosing to rent a place here, fitting her mood. However, opening a shop in such an outdated area clearly violated major Feng Shui taboos.
Old age inevitably brings decay and corruption.
Negative energies, filth, and bad luck accumulate.
The three young men panicked, forgetting about attacking Shui Miao as they rushed to support their suffering companion. The young man cried out in terror, saying something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way into his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urged Shui Miao to leave immediately. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began vomiting violently and expelled three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their power had grown significantly. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now do so with ease. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a boost! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even letting us attach to his hand and absorb various energies. Let’s chase after him and absorb more—we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he’s run off. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that foolish boy, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, we’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled awkwardly out of the waiting room. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary—they weren’t clinging to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days.
However, their plan to seek out their ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently haunting Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly observing them and knew they were returning to their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around inside, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Additionally, Bai Feng had seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City to check on the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang was in trouble, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. With over an hour until the train departure, he might still make it.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no, we can’t even handle the young ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend; I can’t abandon her.” Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure and muttering under its breath, feeling deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved—it had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious task of protecting someone. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all, incapable of understanding human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, nearly deserted, and extremely old street.
Everything on this street was antiquated.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a shop in such an old area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and corruption.
Malignant energy, filth, and heavy negativity accumulate here.
It’s akin to people: children are naturally vibrant and full of energy. Who has ever seen elderly individuals brimming with vitality, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s merely a fleeting burst of energy that doesn’t endure. The same principle applies to houses: new homes bring fresh atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good fortune it brings varies. Generally, a house can usher in about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t imply that fortune arrives immediately upon moving in. Firstly, the homeowner’s birth八字 must be robust enough, and secondly, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually shift. Larger houses free from Feng Shui issues can bring about fifty years of good fortune. Some houses that align harmoniously with the owner’s destiny and boast excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good luck.
A person’s destiny is innate, but it doesn’t mean destiny determines everything.
The most significant factors influencing a person’s destiny are: first, residence; second, fortune; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence encompasses both Yin dwellings (ancestral graves) and Yang dwellings (living spaces). Yin dwellings impact fortune relatively swiftly, whereas Yang dwellings exert a more gradual influence. Masters can alter destiny through adjustments to Yin dwellings—powerful masters can change fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. However, modifying Yin dwellings is not to be taken lightly. In today’s world, there are many fraudsters, and if not done carefully, it may attract misfortune rather than luck, resulting in more loss than gain. Adjustments to Yang dwellings are slower but relatively safer and more comfortable when executed properly. Good Feng Shui involves good style and layout, naturally pleasing to the eye and uplifting the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could fortune not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good Feng Shui.
However, houses possess their own inherent characteristics. Over time, the energy field of a house develops its own unique pattern. When individuals with different destinies move in, they are inevitably influenced by the house’s pre-existing layout, which can forcibly alter their fortune. Moreover, older houses often have missing corners and are in a state of disrepair, allowing various negative energies to accumulate. If the newcomers have a strong八字, they might be able to withstand these influences, but those with a weak八字 may fall ill, incur medical expenses, or even lose their lives—none of which would be surprising.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A pockmarked, burly woman who resembled a man emerged. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely stern appearance and seemed to have brought misfortune to several men. Shui Miao was startled. Perhaps due to some astrological incompatibility with her, his mood instantly soured upon seeing her. However, for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain courteous and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman looked at Shui Miao skeptically. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already informed him that Huo Xiang and her family were staying upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! My utilities are charged per person. If you’re staying here too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses—Auntie Luo isn’t easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s Eight Characters were exceptionally robust, and her Metal Destiny rendered her aggressiveness truly extraordinary.
Shui Miao was entangled by the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor in the factory—forthright and upright—so the factory trusted her, and she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket to the school now.” Having quickly packed her things, Huo Xiang reached out to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying up. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the shop. It’s a new store, and we need hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He wouldn’t be interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, growing increasingly restless.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang felt annoyed. Just as she was about to speak, the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom, so how could the door have closed so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after use!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaked open…
The bathroom was small and immediately visible—there was no one inside.
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and instead rushed to support their suffering companion, who cried out in terror that something had entered through his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way into his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urgently advised Shui Miao to leave immediately. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began to vomit violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pants legs of the young men, burrowed through their buttocks, and attempted to possess their bodies. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after latching onto Shui Miao’s hand, their power had grown significantly. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now do so with ease. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping around like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, just wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a boost! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even let us cling to his hand and absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s go after him and absorb more—we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. Maybe we should go back and tell Mom first, let her deal with that fool. What do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, we’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief exchange, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were still struggling to adapt to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary—they weren’t clinging to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their plan to seek out the ghost mother was even more malicious than simply pestering him.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a bit, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing Bai Feng mentioned was that she had seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to assess the situation. But upon hearing about Huo Xiang’s predicament, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. With over an hour left before the train departure, he might still make it back in time.
Without hesitation, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend; I can’t abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, muttering under its breath as it watched Shui Miao’s retreating figure, feeling deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave him. Yet it couldn’t help feeling resentful—it had thought that by siding with the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious job of protecting someone. It wasn’t like they were on a pilgrimage to the West—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the person it was protecting to be irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all—they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, dilapidated old street.
Everything on this street was old and worn.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a shop in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of feng shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malicious energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of energy that doesn’t last long. The same goes for houses—new houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn around. Larger houses with good feng shui can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent feng shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, feng shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living spaces). Yin residence affects luck more quickly, while Yang residence affects it more slowly. Experts can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level experts can alter fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep could bring misfortune instead of luck, leading to more loss than gain. Adjusting Yang residence’s energy is slower, but if done properly, it is relatively stable and comfortable. Good feng shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the mood. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good feng shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various malignant energies to gather. If newcomers have strong birth charts, they might manage, but those with weaker charts could easily fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives—none of which would be surprising.
Thus, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A stout, mannish-looking woman with a pockmarked face emerged. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
This woman had an extremely fierce appearance—who knew how many men she had outlived? Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them,” Shui Miao said, pointing upstairs. Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses—Auntie Luo isn’t easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Cannon Luo” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. The resentment ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark—Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, with a metal destiny, making her aggressively formidable.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, straightforward, and impartial—so the factory trusted her to manage the place.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to school now,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, stretching out her hand to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying up. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the shop. It’s a new store, and we need the manpower. And don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, growing increasingly restless.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang felt annoyed. She was about to say something when the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang!
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom either. Why would the door shut so loudly on its own?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after using it!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small and immediately visible—there was no one inside.
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and instead rushed to support the one who was in agony. The young man cried out in terror, saying something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way into his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urgently advised Shui Miao to leave the place immediately. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao quickly exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began to vomit violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three young men were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pants legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their strength had significantly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they were now fully able to do so. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic. They began jumping and bouncing around like little children, giggling and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us from his body but didn’t. Instead, he let us attach to his hand and absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s go after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he’s run away. Maybe we should go back and tell Mom about this. Let her deal with that foolish guy, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After chatting for a bit, they stumbled awkwardly out of the waiting room. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. They did not cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their idea of seeking out their ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently following Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly monitoring them and knew they were planning to return to their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around inside, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to assess the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in danger, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building. He planned to use the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path through. There was still over an hour before the train departure; perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend. I can’t just abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath. It felt deeply frustrated. Tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao, it didn’t dare to simply leave. However, it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and even sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy a life of luxury and be highly valued. While it hadn’t expected extravagance, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious duty of protecting someone else. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be somewhat irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
After all, demons are demons; they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. As a result, after running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, dilapidated old street.
Everything on this street was old and worn.
At first glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here. This decision aligned with her mindset. However, choosing to open a store in such an old, decaying area was clearly a major feng shui taboo.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malicious energy, filth, and heavy negativity accumulate here.
It’s similar to people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they occasionally exhibit such behavior, it doesn’t last long. The same principle applies to houses. New houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good fortune, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually improve. A large, well-designed house with good feng shui can bring about fifty years of good fortune. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent feng shui can bring even longer periods of luck.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, feng shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence influences luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence acts more slowly. Experts can use Yin residence to change luck—high-level masters can alter destiny almost immediately, while others may take longer. Of course, altering luck through Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep could bring misfortune instead of luck, leading to more loss than gain. Yang residence luck changes slowly, but if done correctly, it is relatively stable and comfortable. Good feng shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the spirit. Anyone living in such a house would feel happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good feng shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various negative energies to gather. If newcomers with weak birth charts move in, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives.
Thus, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. There, a stout, mannish-looking woman with a pockmarked face emerged. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
This woman had an extremely fierce appearance—who knew how many men she had outlived? Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a sour mood. But for the sake of Huo Xiang and her family, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them,” Shui Miao said, pointing upstairs. Bai Feng had already informed him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! The utilities here are charged per person. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to trick me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily fooled.” This Auntie Luo was notoriously known as “Cannon Luo” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, with a metal destiny, making her aggressiveness far from ordinary.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlord, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. This room was originally part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—forthright and upright—so the factory trusted her, and she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a storefront and was currently unloading goods with the van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to campus now,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, reaching out to her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued cleaning. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need the manpower. Besides, stop thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s mother could see right through her daughter’s intentions. Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. Since they parted, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and her longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. Just as she was about to speak, the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom either. How could the door have closed so loudly on its own?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after use!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang, however, snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small and entirely visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t necessarily devoid of good Feng Shui.
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and instead rushed to support the suffering youth, who cried out in terror that something had entered his buttocks, traveled upward, and reached his stomach. Hearing this, the black snake demon quickly urged Shui Miao to leave the place. Eager to break free from the three ghost fetuses, Shui Miao immediately exited the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began vomiting and threw up three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had escaped, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hands earlier that day, their power had significantly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now fully dominate them. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even letting us attach to his hands and absorb various energies. Let’s chase after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. How about we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that foolish boy, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled and staggered their way out of the waiting room. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary, as the ghost fetuses did not cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days. However, their plan to seek out their ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently haunting Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly monitoring them and knew they were returning to their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a bit, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building was not far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to assess the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in danger, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building immediately. He planned to use the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path through. With over an hour left before the train departure, he might still make it in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no! We can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend, and I won’t abandon her,” Shui Miao replied. Learning that the haunted building was not far, he broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate our abilities and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure and muttering under its breath, feeling deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave him. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and even sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious task of protecting someone. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found that the person it was protecting seemed to have a few screws loose, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
After all, demons are demons; they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a store in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and corruption.
Negative energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst of energy that doesn’t last long. The same logic applies to houses. New houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though this doesn’t mean luck arrives immediately upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for luck to gradually turn around. Larger houses with no Feng Shui issues can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good luck.
A person’s destiny is innate, but that doesn’t mean it determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence affects luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence affects it more slowly. Masters can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—powerful masters can alter fate on the very same day, while ordinary ones may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep might not only fail to bring luck but also attract misfortune, resulting in a net loss. Adjusting Yang residence’s energy is slower, but if done properly, it is relatively stable and comfortable. Good Feng Shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the mood. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good Feng Shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various negative energies to gather. If newcomers with weak birth charts move in, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives.
Thus, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A pockmarked, burly woman who resembled a man walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely harsh appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them,” Shui Miao said, pointing upstairs. Bai Feng had already informed him that Huo Xiang and her family were staying upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you! I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was famously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So, whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Auntie Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her aggressiveness far from ordinary.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, upright, and trusted by everyone, so she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a store and was currently unloading goods with the van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket to the school now,” Huo Xiang said briskly after packing her things, stretching out her hand to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying the room. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need hands. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, and the longing was becoming unbearable.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. She was about to speak when suddenly the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom either. Why would the door suddenly shut so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled and turned to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after using it!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaked open again…
The bathroom was small, and everything was visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
Therefore, Shui Miao disliked the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived at an old dormitory building and saw a pockmarked, masculine-looking middle-aged woman stepping out. Spotting Shui Miao, she pointed and shouted loudly, “Hey! What are you skulking around for?”
“…”
The three young men were thrown into a panic. They forgot about attacking Shui Miao and rushed to support the one who was in agony. The young man cried out in terror, saying that something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way to his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urged Shui Miao to leave immediately. Shui Miao, also eager to escape the three ghost fetuses, quickly retreated from the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man began vomiting and threw up three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three young men were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had fled, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pant legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. The ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their strength had greatly increased. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they were now fully able to do so. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic. They began jumping and skipping around like little children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That person was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, and even let us attach to his hand to absorb all kinds of energy. Let’s go after him and absorb more. We’ll become even stronger!”
“But he ran away. Should we go back and tell Mom about this? Let her deal with that foolish guy, what do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful; she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go. We’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary. The ghost fetuses did not cling to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days.
However, their idea of seeking out their ghost mother was even more malicious than clinging to Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around for a bit, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing was that Bai Feng had also seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City first to check the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang was in trouble, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. There was still over an hour before the train departure; perhaps he could make it in time.
Without hesitation, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly spoke up, “No, no, we can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend; I can’t abandon her.” Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate our abilities and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath. It felt frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave. But it was somewhat disheartened. It had thought that by pledging allegiance to the Yin God and sacrificing its physical body, it would enjoy a life of luxury and be highly valued. Though it hadn’t expected extravagance, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious task of protecting someone. This wasn’t a journey to the West for scriptures—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found that the person it was protecting seemed to have a few screws loose, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all, and they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao had overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, almost deserted, old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a store in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of feng shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and rot.
Malicious energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has ever seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they are, it’s only a momentary burst of energy that doesn’t last long. The same goes for houses: new houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though it’s not immediate upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and second, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for fortune to gradually change. Larger houses with good feng shui can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent feng shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but it doesn’t mean destiny determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, feng shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living spaces). Yin residence affects luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence changes luck more slowly. Masters can alter destiny through Yin residence, with highly skilled masters capable of changing fate on the very same day. Ordinary masters may take longer. Of course, altering destiny through Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. There are many frauds nowadays, and if not done carefully, it could bring misfortune instead of luck, which would be counterproductive. Yang residence changes luck more slowly, but if done properly, it is relatively stable and comfortable. Good feng shui means good style and layout, which naturally pleases the eye and lifts the mood. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude. How could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely without good feng shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, the energy field of a house forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, allowing various malignant energies to gather. If newcomers with weak birth charts move in, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A large, pockmarked woman with a manly build walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and spoke loudly, “Hey, what are you sneaking around for?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely fierce appearance and had likely caused the death of several men. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a bad mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman looked at Shui Miao skeptically. “Who are you looking for?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were staying upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“Looking for them? They didn’t mention you. I charge utilities per person here. If you’re staying too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I, Auntie Luo, am not easily deceived.” This Auntie Luo was famously known as “Luo the Cannon” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike for young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. She held a deep grudge! So, whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, as Shui Miao had guessed, Auntie Luo’s birth chart was extremely strong, and she had a metal destiny, making her exceptionally aggressive.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with the landlady, Auntie Luo, and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was too old and no one lived there anymore, everyone had entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Auntie Luo had been a supervisor at the factory, straightforward and upright, so the factory trusted her, and she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Auntie Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with the van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to school now.” After quickly packing her things, Huo Xiang reached out to ask her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued tidying up. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the store. It’s a new shop, and we need the help. Don’t keep thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate and doesn’t care about money. He’s clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s mother could see right through her daughter’s intentions.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him and couldn’t bear it any longer.
Seeing that her mother refused to give her the money, Huo Xiang grew upset. Just as she was about to speak, the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut!
There was no wind outside…
And no one was in the bathroom. How could the door have closed so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled and turned to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother’s hand and walked toward the bathroom door…
At that moment, the bathroom door slowly creaked open…
The bathroom was small, and everything was visible at a glance. There was no one inside.
“Looking for someone?” The woman eyed him suspiciously. “Who?”
“A few people who just moved in. I came with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs, as Bai Feng had already informed him that Huoxiang and her family were staying upstairs, even specifying the floor and room number.
“Looking for them? Then why didn’t they mention you? I charge utility fees per person. If you’re staying here too, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses. I’m not that easy to trick, I’m Auntie Luo!” Auntie Luo, known as the “Cannon Auntie” on the street, wasn’t really greedy but genuinely disliked young men. She had a daughter, around seventeen or eighteen, whose life was ruined by a group of delinquents, fueling her hatred. Thus, she refused to rent to any young men, often scolding them harshly.
The three young men panicked, forgetting about attacking Shui Miao, and rushed to support the agonized youth. The young man cried out in terror, saying something had entered his buttocks and was moving upward, all the way to his stomach. Upon hearing this, the black snake demon urgently advised Shui Miao to leave the place. Shui Miao, also eager to escape the three ghost fetuses, immediately retreated from the waiting room.
Just as Shui Miao reached the entrance of the waiting room, the young man vomited violently, spewing out three deep purple dice!
Witnessing this, the three were horrified and couldn’t help but suspect that Shui Miao might be a Gu sorcerer.
Seeing that Shui Miao had fled, the three ghost fetuses flew into the pants legs of the three young men, burrowed through their buttocks into their bodies, and attempted to possess them. These ghost fetuses had always been weak, but after attaching themselves to Shui Miao’s hand earlier that day, their power had grown significantly. Originally incapable of controlling human bodies, they could now fully dominate them. Once possessed, the three ghost fetuses were ecstatic, hopping and skipping like children, laughing and hugging each other.
“We did it, we did it!”
“Wonderful, wonderful! We can finally control a whole person!”
“Yes, yes! That guy was such a great supplement! He made us so strong all at once.”
“Haha, he was so foolish. He could have expelled us but didn’t, even let us attach to his hand and absorb various energies. Let’s chase after him and absorb more—we’ll become even stronger!”
“But he’s run away. Maybe we should go back and tell Mom about this, let her deal with that fool. What do you think?”
“Great idea! Mom is so powerful, she’ll definitely drain him dry…”
“Let’s go, we’ll go find Mom now.”
After being possessed by the three ghost fetuses, the three grown men behaved like kindergarten children. After a brief conversation, they stumbled out of the waiting room together. Clearly, they were not yet accustomed to walking on two legs.
Shui Miao’s worries were somewhat unnecessary—they weren’t clinging to him relentlessly to harm him after seven days.
But their idea of seeking out the ghost mother was even more malicious than persistently following Shui Miao.
Bai Feng had been secretly watching them and knew they were going back to find their mother.
Shui Miao was with the black snake demon, who had always vowed to protect him. But at this moment, even the snake demon felt uncertain. Shui Miao ran to a nearby crowded mall, wandered around inside, and as soon as he stepped out, Bai Feng found him. She told Shui Miao that the three ghost fetuses had possessed the three young men and gone to a haunted building where the ghost mother was hiding. The haunted building wasn’t far away, and the Yin Saint’s spirit was likely inside as well.
Another thing Bai Feng mentioned was that she had seen Huo Xiang and her family heading in the direction of the haunted building.
Originally, Shui Miao had considered leaving, returning to Zhonghai City to check on the situation. But upon hearing that Huo Xiang and her family were in danger, he made a snap decision to venture into the haunted building, using the Dragon Seeking Ruler to carve a path. There was still over an hour before the train departure—perhaps he could make it back in time.
Without delay, Shui Miao asked Bai Feng to lead the way.
Hearing this, the black snake demon grew anxious and quickly interjected, “No, no, we can’t even handle the little ones, and now we’re going after the old one?”
“If you’re scared, don’t come. Huo Xiang is my friend—I can’t abandon her.” Learning that the haunted building wasn’t far, Shui Miao broke into a light jog.
“But that doesn’t mean we should overestimate ourselves and rush to our deaths…” The black snake demon blinked, watching Shui Miao’s retreating figure, muttering under its breath, feeling deeply frustrated. It had been tasked by the Yin God to protect Shui Miao and dared not leave him. Yet it couldn’t help feeling aggrieved—it had thought that by siding with the Yin God and sacrificing its physical form, it would enjoy blessings and be entrusted with important duties. While it hadn’t expected a life of luxury, it never imagined being assigned such a tedious job of protecting someone. It wasn’t like they were on a pilgrimage to the West—what was the point? To make matters worse, it found the one it was protecting to be irrational, willing to risk his life for so-called friends. It was utterly baffling.
Demons are demons, after all—they simply don’t understand human emotions.
※※※
Shui Miao overlooked one thing: Bai Feng traveled by flight. When she said it wasn’t far, it didn’t necessarily mean it was truly close. After running for over twenty minutes, they finally arrived at a very quiet, nearly deserted, and extremely old street.
Everything on this street was ancient.
At a glance, there were old roads, old shops, old houses, and an old-fashioned style.
Huo Yuanliang didn’t have much money. His wife wanted to continue running her clothing store in the county town instead of moving to the big city where their daughter studied, so they chose to rent a place here, which suited her mindset. However, opening a shop in such an old, decaying area was a clear violation of Feng Shui principles.
Oldness inevitably brings decay and corruption.
Malicious energy, filth, and heavy gloom accumulate here.
It’s like people: children are naturally vibrant and energetic. Who has seen elderly folks full of energy, bouncing around? Even if they do, it’s only a momentary burst, not something they can sustain for long. The same goes for houses: new houses bring new atmospheres and vitality. Depending on the scale and style of the house, the duration of the good luck it brings varies. Generally, a house can bring about thirty years of good luck, though it’s not immediate upon moving in. First, the homeowner’s birth chart must be strong enough, and secondly, the homeowner’s character and conduct must be impeccable for fortunes to gradually change. Larger houses with proper Feng Shui can bring about fifty years of good luck. Some houses that align well with the owner’s destiny and have excellent Feng Shui can bring even longer periods of good fortune.
A person’s destiny is innate, but it doesn’t mean destiny determines everything.
The biggest variables affecting a person’s fate are: first, residence; second, luck; third, Feng Shui; fourth, accumulated virtue; and fifth, education. Residence refers to both Yin residence (ancestral graves) and Yang residence (living quarters). Yin residence influences luck relatively quickly, while Yang residence acts more slowly. Experts can change destiny through Yin residence adjustments—high-level masters can alter fate instantly, while others may take longer. Of course, adjusting Yin residence isn’t something to be done lightly. Nowadays, there are many fraudsters, and a misstep could bring misfortune instead of good luck, which would be counterproductive. Yang residence adjustments are slower but, if done properly, are relatively stable and comforting. Good Feng Shui means good style and layout, naturally pleasing to the eye and uplifting to the mood. Anyone living in such a house would be happy, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude—how could luck not follow?
Compared to new houses, old houses aren’t entirely devoid of good Feng Shui.
However, houses have their own attributes. Over time, a house’s energy field forms its own pattern. People with different destinies living in it will inevitably be influenced by the old layout, forcibly altering their luck. Additionally, old houses often have missing corners and are dilapidated, gathering various malicious energies. If newcomers have strong birth charts, they might withstand it, but those with weaker charts could fall ill, spend money on treatments, or even lose their lives—none of which would be surprising.
Therefore, Shui Miao felt a strong aversion to the old houses on this street.
Following Bai Feng, Shui Miao arrived in front of an old dormitory building. A pockmarked, burly woman who resembled a man walked out. Spotting Shui Miao, she immediately pointed at him and shouted loudly, “Hey, sneaking around—what are you up to?”
“…”
This woman had an extremely harsh appearance and had likely outlived several husbands. Shui Miao was taken aback. Perhaps due to a clash in their birth charts, looking at her put him in a foul mood. But for Huo Xiang’s sake, he forced himself to remain polite and said with a smile, “Ma’am, I’m here to see someone. I’m not sneaking around.”
“See someone?” The woman eyed Shui Miao suspiciously. “Who?”
“The ones who just rented a place here. I’m with them.” Shui Miao pointed upstairs because Bai Feng had already told him that Huo Xiang and her family were living upstairs, even specifying the floor and room.
“See them? They didn’t mention you! My utilities are charged per person. If you’re staying here, you’ll have to pay extra. Don’t try to fool me with excuses—Aunt Luo isn’t easily deceived.” This Aunt Luo was famously known as “Cannon Luo” on the old street. Her greed for money was secondary; her real issue was her dislike of young men. She had a daughter who, at seventeen or eighteen, had been violated by a group of delinquents. Her hatred ran deep! So, whenever young men came to rent, she not only refused but also berated them harshly.
However, Shui Miao had hit the mark: Aunt Luo’s birth chart was exceptionally strong, with a metal destiny, making her exceptionally aggressive.
Shui Miao was stuck dealing with Aunt Luo and couldn’t go upstairs for the time being.
Meanwhile, in a room on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up. The room had originally been part of a hardware factory’s employee dormitory. Because the building was so old, no one lived there anymore, and everyone had entrusted Aunt Luo with full management. Aunt Luo had been a supervisor at the factory—blunt, straightforward, and impartial. The factory trusted her, so she had been managing the place ever since.
Thanks to Aunt Luo’s referral, Huo Yuanliang had rented a shop and was currently unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me my tuition and living expenses for school. I’ll go buy a ticket and head to campus now.” Having quickly packed her things, Huo Xiang reached out to her mother for money.
Huo Xiang’s mother glanced at her and continued cleaning. “School doesn’t start for a while yet. Why go so early? Stay home and help me mind the shop. It’s new, and we need the manpower. Stop thinking about Shui Miao. He’s delicate-skinned and doesn’t care about money—clearly a rich kid out traveling for fun. He’s not interested in you.”
A mother knows her daughter best. Huo Xiang’s thoughts were transparent to her mother.
Huo Xiang wanted the money to go to the station, hoping to catch up with Shui Miao. After parting ways, she found herself constantly thinking about him, growing increasingly restless.
Frustrated by her mother’s refusal, Huo Xiang was about to argue when suddenly, the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud “bang!”
There was no wind outside…
No one was in the bathroom—how could the door have closed so loudly?
Both Huo Xiang and her mother were startled, turning to look at the bathroom door…
“Gurgle…”
Then, the sound of flushing water came from the bathroom, as if someone had just used the toilet!
“Who… who’s in there!?”
Huo Xiang’s mother quickly pulled a pair of scissors from her bag.
Huo Xiang snatched the scissors from her mother and walked toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly creaked open…
The bathroom was small and entirely visible at a glance—there was no one inside.
Shui Miao got stuck dealing with the landlord Auntie Luo, temporarily unable to go upstairs.
Meanwhile, on the fifth floor, Huo Yuanliang’s wife and daughter were tidying up the room. Originally a dormitory for factory workers, the building was abandoned due to its age, and everyone entrusted Auntie Luo with full management. Already a supervisor at the factory, Auntie Luo was straightforward and upright, so the factory trusted her completely.
Huo Yuanliang, introduced by Auntie Luo, had rented a shop and was unloading goods with a van driver.
“Mom, give me the tuition and living expenses now. I’ll buy a ticket and go to school.” Huoxiang quickly packed her belongings and asked her mother for money.
Her mother glanced at Huoxiang and continued tidying, “School hasn’t started yet. Why go so early? Help me at the store. It’s a new shop needing staff. Don’t think about Shui Miao anymore. He’s delicate-looking, careless with money, clearly a rich kid traveling for fun. He wouldn’t look at you.”
Knowing her daughter well, Huoxiang’s mother saw through her intentions immediately.
Wanting to take the money to the station and possibly catch up with Shui Miao, Huoxiang couldn’t bear being separated from him anymore.
Seeing her mother refuse to give her money, Huoxiang grew annoyed. Just as she was about to speak, the bathroom door suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang!
There was no wind outside…
And no one was in the bathroom—how could the door shut so violently?
Both Huoxiang and her mother were startled, staring at the bathroom door…
“Grr…”
Then, splashing water sounds came from the bathroom, as if someone had just flushed the toilet after using it!
“Who… who is in there!?”
Huoxiang’s mother quickly grabbed a pair of scissors from her bag.
But Huoxiang snatched the scissors and headed toward the bathroom door…
Just then, the bathroom door slowly opened again…
The bathroom wasn’t large, clearly visible at a glance—there was no one inside.
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