That’s right; it was the movement of air currents within the stomach. As long as he calmed his mind, he could clearly sense it.
However, this wasn’t actually stomach qi. After moving around for a while, the air currents spread to the five internal organs and six viscera. During this spread, Shui Miao could clearly feel a comfortable, cool sensation. After circulating through the internal organs, this feeling surged toward the lower abdomen (also known as the dantian). It lingered there briefly before radiating outward from the dantian once more, elevating the comfortable, refreshing sensation to an even higher level.
Could this be the legendary unblocking of meridians and activating blood circulation to remove stasis?
Shui Miao’s mind raced with wild thoughts, unsure of what state he had entered.
While practicing his breathing techniques, his eyes had remained slightly open. When the cool sensation reached his eyes, the air in front of him seemed to develop a hazy mist. Within this mist, he faintly perceived five colors: green, red, yellow, and white. Among these five colors, white and gray were more prominent, while the others were fainter.
Could it be—I can actually see the five elemental energies?
Shui Miao found it hard to believe. His grandfather had practiced for decades before being able to see the five elemental energies. How was it possible for him to see them after only a day? He must have been mistaken!
But how could he explain what he had just seen?
Excited and thrilled, Shui Miao gradually stopped his breathing exercises. As the cool sensation slowly faded, he noticed that the mist in front of his eyes also disappeared!
This only made Shui Miao more convinced that he had indeed seen the five elemental energies.
To further verify his experience, he silently recited the incantation again and resumed his breathing exercises. Sure enough, the same phenomenon occurred—whenever the cool sensation reached his eyes, the colored mist would appear again.
However, the cool sensation could only reach his eyes and no further.
In this way, Shui Miao repeatedly practiced his breathing techniques, and before he realized it, more than three hours had passed—it was already past one o’clock in the morning.
At this point, Shui Miao noticed a faint black mist rising from the ground and spreading into the hazy air.
Could this be yin energy?
Shui Miao knew that the period between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. was when yin energy was strongest. But he couldn’t understand why he could see yin energy. His grandfather had told him that one needed to practice for several decades and have a solid foundation in the five elemental energies before one could even begin to perceive yin and yang energies. So why was he able to see it now?
Wait a second—could it be because I absorbed that spirit?
A spirit, commonly referred to by ordinary people as a ghost or monster, was usually of yin nature, though some were of water nature.
Shui Miao believed that the reason for his sudden progress and ability to see these colored mists was due to absorbing that spirit.
※※※
That night, Shui Miao was so excited that he couldn’t fall asleep.
He hadn’t slept at all and had prepared congee early to wait for his grandfather’s return, eager to share the good news.
Xiong Ying had spent the entire night gambling and finally dragged his exhausted body home just as dawn was breaking. Upon returning, he didn’t eat anything but went straight into his room to sleep. He specially instructed Shui Miao to wake him up before ten o’clock, as he had something important to do. Seeing how tired his grandfather was, Shui Miao quietly closed the bedroom door and began eating his congee alone.
Xiong Ying had a gambling addiction and often lost money.
After each loss, he would always claim he had important matters to attend to. In reality, those “important matters” were simply helping people with feng shui consultations. Normally, if he had money in his pocket, he wouldn’t bother with such work. Even if people came to his door asking for help, he would refuse. But as soon as his funds ran dry, he would actively seek out clients and offer his services.
That’s why Xiong Ying never had much money.
Luckily, he lived alone without a wife or children to support. Through his cycle of gambling wins and losses, he had managed to get through life.
Shui Miao returned to the pavilion and continued his breathing exercises. After a while, he noticed that during the daytime, the mist was particularly hazy and almost no colors were visible. In bright sunlight, he couldn’t even see the mist at all! After several tests, Shui Miao concluded that he must have been incredibly lucky—absorbing a yin-type spirit and consuming a lot of wild game, which carried various spiritual energies. It was only due to this coincidence that he had managed to cultivate the five elemental breathing techniques and gained the ability to see yin energy.
Before he knew it, ten o’clock was approaching.
Shui Miao woke Xiong Ying up on time. Xiong Ying quickly washed his face and prepared to leave on his bicycle.
“Grandpa, why don’t you have a bowl of congee? I can ride the bike and take you there,” Shui Miao had already ladled out the congee.
Xiong Ying blinked and suddenly remembered something. He slapped his forehead and said, “Oh my, look at me—I forgot all about you. Alright, alright, you go pump up the tires. I’ll eat.”
Xiong Ying grabbed the bowl and gulped down the congee in no time!
Shui Miao stood there, stunned. He figured there was no point in bringing it up now and obediently went to pump up the tires.
On the way, Shui Miao rode the bicycle while Xiong Ying sat behind.
“Grandpa, can I ask you something?”
“Ask away. I’ve got time now. But once we get there, don’t start asking me a bunch of questions. Also, when we arrive, the usual rule—don’t call me Grandpa, call me Master.”
“Okay… Um, after mastering the five elemental breathing techniques, do you first see the mist and then notice various colors within it?”
“Good boy, you must’ve been sneaking a peek at my notes!”
“Huh… Grandpa, you have notes!?”
“What are you talking about? You read them and now you’re pretending you didn’t. You’re getting bolder and bolder!”
“No, Grandpa, I really didn’t read them!”
“Alright, alright. I was going to leave them to you anyway. If you saw them, then you saw them. Don’t argue with me. I’m already in a bad mood. Damn it, I had already won over eight thousand, and the last round was a sure win, but I ended up losing everything. They must’ve been cheating!”
It turned out that Xiong Ying was upset about losing money the previous night.
“Grandpa, you’re so greedy! If you had won eight thousand, why didn’t you set aside five thousand first?”
“You wouldn’t understand, kid. Hurry up. I promised to be there at ten-thirty. No more chatting.”
Xiong Ying was getting impatient. At this rate, with Shui Miao’s slow riding, they wouldn’t arrive even by eleven.
“Grandpa, you just hold on tight. I’ll show you what it feels like to ride in a car. I guarantee we’ll get there in ten minutes.” Shui Miao was delighted to learn his grandfather had left him some notes, so he suddenly sped up.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down… slower…”
Seeing Shui Miao’s increasing speed, Xiong Ying was startled and quickly grabbed onto his grandson’s clothes, fearing a fall. At his age, a tumble could easily result in a broken hip or worse.
Shui Miao knew what he was doing. With the road mostly empty, he exerted all his strength and delivered Xiong Ying to the destination in less than ten minutes.
North of the city, Tongyu Road, No. 39.
“Grandpa, we’re here!”
Shui Miao turned around and saw that his grandfather’s face had gone pale—his old bones had nearly been shaken apart by the bumpy ride.
“You little brat… you little brat…”
Xiong Ying pointed at Shui Miao, out of breath.
“Hey! Master Xiong! I’ve been waiting for you like a star in the sky, like the moon in the east! Finally, you’ve arrived!” At that moment, the gate of No. 39 opened, and a middle-aged man with a crew cut, smoking a cigarette, walked out. “Wow! What’s going on? You look so out of breath—did you rush here just to make it on time?”
As he spoke, the man handed Xiong Ying a cigarette.
As Xiong Ying reached for it, Shui Miao quickly interjected, “My master is a man of his word. He said he’d arrive by ten-thirty, and he never arrives late.”
“Haha, really?”
The man glanced at his watch and smiled at Shui Miao, “I made the appointment with your master for ten o’clock, actually… hehe…”
“Eh!”
Shui Miao immediately felt embarrassed—this was clearly a self-inflicted humiliation!
“Just kidding, just kidding…”
The man handed Shui Miao a cigarette too, but Shui Miao quickly waved it off with a thank you.
After taking a couple of puffs, Xiong Ying had finally caught his breath. He let out a long sigh and said, “Wang Yong, let’s go. Time waits for no one. I still have several other places to visit today.”
“Several other places?”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yong’s expression immediately changed. He became serious and said, “Master Xiong, there’s been a change here. I’m afraid you won’t be able to go anywhere else today. The Sun family has increased their offer—they’re paying this much now.”
Wang Yong held up five fingers.
“Five thousand? That’s not much,” Xiong Ying shook his head. Jobs involving several thousand yuan weren’t unusual.
But Wang Yong shook his head again. “Fifty thousand. And if you successfully complete the task, they’ll also give you a diamond VIP card to the Rose Karaoke Lounge, worth around eight thousand.”
“Wow, Mr. Sun is pretty generous!” Xiong Ying furrowed his brow. “Isn’t he just asking you to adjust the feng shui of his courtyard? Did they add more work?”
“This is a longer story. Let’s talk inside,” Wang Yong raised his hand and invited Xiong Ying and Shui Miao into the house.
Wang Yong’s house was a villa. Surrounded by tall walls, the interior was surprisingly elegant—koi ponds, rock formations, various antiques, exotic potted plants, and Western-style statues, almost everything imaginable. The feng shui layout of the house was also excellent. The main gate was bright red, with a yin-yang tai chi symbol printed on top and a golden toad engraved below, serving to ward off evil and attract wealth. On the left side was a water feature with a clear spring and a school of colorful koi, representing the Azure Dragon. On the right side stood Western-style stone lions, symbolizing the White Tiger. In the courtyard, a massive potted plant had been trimmed into the shape of an airplane, symbolizing success and prosperity. To the right of the main entrance, antique display shelves held various treasures exuding the wealth of the five elements. On the left stood a one-meter diameter crystal sphere for fortune, worth a small fortune.
In addition, the interior decor was refreshingly elegant, with simple color schemes creating an indescribable sense of comfort.
This villa, along with all its contents, was worth at least a million yuan.
Shui Miao looked around, observing the interior decorations. As he stood at the entrance and looked toward the courtyard wall, a strange feeling of oppression arose. He couldn’t understand why the wall was built so high—nearly four meters tall. That was unusually tall; normally, only prison walls were built that high. Could it be that the feng shui master who designed this house had a grudge against the owner?
Noticing Shui Miao examining the courtyard layout, Wang Yong enthusiastically asked him, “Little brother, you’ve been following your master for a long time, right? Why don’t you tell me what you think of the feng shui of my villa?”
Before Shui Miao could speak, he saw his grandfather sitting on the sofa, gently shaking his head.
Seeing this, Shui Miao’s heart stirred. What was going on? Could it be that this villa’s feng shui was actually designed by his grandfather?
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