Chapter 33: Coincidence Breaks the Formation

Shui Miao found it somewhat difficult to understand his grandfather’s intentions.

According to common sense, a person only boasts when they’re feeling proud and successful. It’s simply not normal for someone who is defeated and dispirited to keep showing off, unless they had some psychological issues.

His grandfather had been losing money constantly, clearly in a state of disappointment and frustration. There was absolutely no reason for him to show off here.

Today, his grandfather had twice asked him to observe the feng shui of this place. Shui Miao thought that perhaps his grandfather had noticed something wrong and wanted him to take a look too. However, he was still a novice, with limited knowledge of feng shui. His grandfather’s eagerness for him to examine it didn’t seem to make much sense.

After thinking for a while, Shui Miao came up with two possible explanations.

First, his grandfather might genuinely want to teach him feng shui, and today’s visit was a deliberate arrangement.

Second, his grandfather might have wanted to keep him out of the way while gambling, sending him off to wander around first. If he lost all his money, he could then ask Shui Miao for funds. In short, Shui Miao was just his backup cash supply.

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Looking at the Bagua pattern carved into the bluish stone, Shui Miao considered carefully and thought the second possibility—being a backup cash supply—was more likely.

Putting one thing aside, regardless of his grandfather’s true intentions, Shui Miao decided to study the feng shui of Li Dafu’s house first.

Back when Shui Miao had worked in Zhonghai, he had bought some books on feng shui and studied a bit of the subject.

He knew that the quality of residential feng shui was closely related to the residents’ fortune. Good feng shui could generate a positive energy field, which in turn created a pleasant living environment, making people feel happy and energetic, thus influencing their financial and career luck.

Li Dafu’s house was a place specifically used for gambling, where many people gathered, making the energy field chaotic and impure, increasing negative and unstable factors. Logically, Li’s family shouldn’t have been doing so well. However, it was clear that Li Dafu’s house had been arranged by someone with expert knowledge. Take the toilet, for example. Usually, toilets in ordinary households were built close to the house, but Li’s was unusually far away. This unusual arrangement was clearly meant to avoid the influence of impure energies.

A good house must have sufficient sunlight, fresh air, nearby clean water sources, and favorable terrain—broad, flat, and open enough to allow the gathering of good energy.

Li Dafu’s house faced south with small attached rooms facing east and west, ensuring plenty of sunlight. The north was windy, and the south rainy. Huanghai City, located in the middle, experienced moderate wind and rain, so not having a wall would actually help absorb positive energy more easily. In the Qinglong position (the left front) of Li Dafu’s house, a money tree was planted, a brilliant finishing touch. Only a master could have thought of such a clever enhancement.

As for fresh air, Li Dafu’s house also achieved this. The courtyard was clean, and the layout of the house was reasonable. Although the interior was somewhat messy, the external energy field was excellent. Additionally, the foundation of Li Dafu’s house was significantly lower than that of ordinary homes. Shui Miao thought this might symbolize the accumulation of wealth without showing off. Take, for example, the neat and precisely sized small brick wall behind the firewood pile—neither too big nor too small, neither too high nor too low. It could gather positive energy and also allow impurities to be expelled when excessive, achieving two benefits with one design.

As for the presence of good water, it went without saying. The second group of houses was surrounded by water on all sides, and Li Dafu’s house was right next to the riverbank, with reeds growing along the river. Reeds could block negative energies and retain wealth. Reeds were also called “luchai” in Chinese, where “chai” sounded like “cai,” meaning wealth, carrying excellent symbolism. Therefore, it could be concluded that this place was truly a feng shui treasure.

The only slight flaw was the terrain.

Normally, households preferred to build their homes on high ground, symbolizing continuous upward progress. However, Li Dafu’s house was clearly built too low, which although symbolizing a treasure basin, could cause impure energies to accumulate indoors for long periods, greatly affecting the residents’ health. Over time, this could threaten their well-being. However, it was obvious that Li Dafu and his wife didn’t live in the main house. They lived in a small house to the northwest. His wife was sitting there chatting with neighbors, and when Shui Miao passed by earlier, he clearly felt a different energy—warm and comfortable. The two large black cats basking in the sun lazily were the best proof of this.

However, vacating the main house raised some issues.

Abandoning the main house and choosing to eat and sleep in a small side room clearly meant the household was not properly structured—its yin and yang were reversed, and the primary and secondary positions were confused. Combined with the terrain and the presence of impure energies, it might easily attract evil spirits to occupy the main house and cause trouble. So, how had Li Dafu resolved this issue?

Could it be that the main house’s problem was also related to the feng shui arrangement and this bluish stone?

The protruding part of the bluish stone wasn’t large—about the size of a schoolbag—while the rest was buried underground.

This was his first time here, and he couldn’t possibly dig up the earth just to examine the lower part of the stone. If someone saw him, how would he explain himself?

After glancing at the bluish stone a few times, Shui Miao turned to leave, only to see his grandfather coming out as well.

Xiong Ying had watched a few rounds of gambling and felt it wasn’t yet the time to place bets. Noticing that Shui Miao hadn’t returned yet, he used the excuse of going to the toilet to come out and look for him.

Shui Miao walked up to him. Xiong Ying led him aside and whispered, “So, did you see that bluish stone too?”

“Yeah, I saw it,” Shui Miao nodded. “But I don’t know what it’s for.”

“What else could it be for? It’s for guarding the house. In feng shui, there’s a form of witchcraft called the Spirit Stone House Protection Method, which effectively wards off evil spirits. That’s exactly what it is.” Xiong Ying glanced around mysteriously before adding, “If we disrupt the function of that stone, it will change the energy field of Li Dafu’s house, which would be beneficial to me. I must win today and recover all the money I’ve lost.”

“How do we disrupt it?” Shui Miao was somewhat surprised, sensing that his grandfather was asking him to do something wrong.

Xiong Ying smiled faintly. “You just need to urinate on the stone. That can alter the energy field for an hour, after which it will return to normal.”

“I just went to the toilet, I don’t have any urine left. Why don’t you go instead, and I’ll keep watch.” Shui Miao was telling the truth. This resource wasn’t something he could produce at will—it required time to replenish.

Xiong Ying immediately frowned in disappointment. “I’ve cultivated the Yin-Yang Five Elements Qigong. My urine won’t work. You haven’t fully mastered it yet, which is why I asked you to do it. Now we have no choice but to wait. Go drink some water quickly, and I’ll go to the toilet…”

Since they had plenty of time today, Xiong Ying wasn’t in a hurry, though explaining things to Shui Miao was making him feel increasingly annoyed. Shui Miao always had endless questions, which was a terrifying ordeal for Xiong Ying, who rarely spoke much.

Watching his grandfather walk into the grass toilet more than thirty meters away, Shui Miao sighed deeply and muttered to himself, “I’ve also cultivated the Yin-Yang Five Elements Qigong! If I go, wouldn’t it be useless too? Still, this method of disrupting the feng shui setup is pretty good—simple and convenient.”

“But whether it works or not remains to be tested…”

Shui Miao wasn’t in a rush either. After all, they had plenty of time today.

However, just as Shui Miao was about to turn back, he suddenly saw a middle-aged man in his fifties running out, looking extremely anxious, as if he had a stomachache from bad food. Shui Miao’s mind quickly clicked, and he immediately called out to the old man, “Uncle Wang, my grandfather is in the toilet right now. Why don’t you just find another place to take care of it?”

As he spoke, Shui Miao subtly pointed his hand toward the direction of the bluish stone.

This was a psychological suggestion.

The “Uncle Wang” Shui Miao referred to was actually Wang Yougui, a fish and shrimp vendor who liked to come here to gamble in his spare time. Wang was in a desperate hurry. He glanced behind him, saw nothing to hide behind except the bluish stone, and without thinking much, he really ran over and squatted on the stone to relieve himself!

When Xiong Ying came out of the toilet and saw this scene, his heart immediately rejoiced.

Urinating was somewhat inauspicious, but its effect was limited.

But Wang Yougui’s messy bowel movement was far more inauspicious.

However, Xiong Ying was cunning. He immediately pointed at Wang and shouted loudly, “Hey! Hey! Hey! How can you relieve yourself here! If Li Dafu sees you, he’ll beat you to death!”

Xiong Ying’s voice was very loud, deliberately drawing attention.

“Come on! It’s just taking a dump!”

Wang Yougui thought Xiong Ying was joking and casually replied.

“A dump? You say it so easily. Look at what’s carved on that stone?” Xiong Ying’s expression was serious, clearly not joking.

The loud commotion immediately caught the attention of Li Dafu’s wife. She ran out, slapped her thigh, and hurriedly grabbed a bucket to come over…

It was the Bagua pattern…

Seeing the Bagua carved on the bluish stone, Wang Yougui’s heart immediately sank. Seeing Li Dafu’s wife rushing over with a bucket, he thought she was really coming to beat him. Scared, he didn’t even wipe his butt before pulling up his pants and running away.

Li Dafu’s wife rushed over in a panic, but didn’t chase after Wang Yougui. Instead, she lowered her voice urgently and said, “Hurry up and leave! Don’t stand there like an idiot! If my husband sees you, he’ll break your legs for sure!” After saying this, she went to the river and brought back half a bucket of water to wash away the filth.

Li Dafu’s wife’s behavior was quite unexpected.

Clearly, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Gamblers often had poor manners, and it was common for someone to just find a corner to relieve themselves. Li Dafu had a fiery temper and had actually beaten several people over such incidents. Li Dafu’s wife, Wang Cuilan, was kind-hearted and gentle. To prevent trouble, she had intervened and resolved many such conflicts.

Seeing this, Shui Miao quietly asked his grandfather, “Grandpa, will this even work?”

“It will work—at least it can disable the Spirit Stone House Protection for an hour. Let’s take this opportunity and quickly place our bets.” Xiong Ying whispered softly into Shui Miao’s ear, then patted his shoulder and walked with him toward the main house.

Wang Yougui was extremely embarrassed. He hurried to the toilet again, but his butt felt sticky and uncomfortable, making him feel nauseous inside.

“Whoosh!”

Strangely enough, just as Shui Miao and his grandfather reached the main gate, a strange gust of wind blew toward them. The leaves of the money tree rustled in the wind, and several whirlwinds carrying dry leaves and weeds swept toward the main house…