Chapter 2: The Qi of the Five Elements

“That’s right, I’m a super Feng Shui master,” laughed Xiong Ying as he picked up the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured himself a large bowl of white liquor, then poured half a bowl for Shui Miao. “Today I’ll mainly teach you the concept of Feng Shui and how to harness luck. You can drink a little—it won’t be a problem—but from now on, you must never drink again. Although liquor tastes good, it contains too much fiery and negative energy, which is extremely harmful to your body, especially when you start cultivating inner energy.”

“Grandpa, I don’t really like drinking. You have it,” said Shui Miao.

In order to learn Feng Shui, Shui Miao—who normally could drink up to three taels of white liquor—decided on the spot that he would give up alcohol forever.

“Hehe, good! That’s exactly the kind of seriousness I want to see,” Xiong Ying chuckled, nodding approvingly as he picked up the half bowl of liquor and downed it in one gulp.

Xiong Ying had an amazing alcohol tolerance. Shui Miao had never seen him drunk, so there was no need to urge him to drink less.

Shui Miao picked up his spoon and began eating the vegetable tofu soup.

Xiong Ying had been a vegetarian since childhood, only occasionally eating fish he had caught himself. He otherwise avoided all meat. According to him, this was part of his philosophy of health and self-cultivation. Nowadays, food—especially meat—was rarely safe to eat. Beyond that, his main reason for avoiding meat was that animals carried strong negative and resentful energies. Practitioners who consumed them would accumulate this negative energy within themselves, which could affect their health. In severe cases, it could even erode one’s spiritual cultivation and neutralize the spiritual energy painstakingly cultivated.

Therefore, the table was simple: aside from a steamed flatfish, everything else was vegetarian.

After eating a couple of bites, Xiong Ying turned to Shui Miao and asked, “Child, do you know what Feng Shui is?”

“Mm, I know a bit,” Shui Miao put down his chopsticks and nodded. “In ancient times, Feng Shui was known as Kan Yu or Di Xiang, which means reading the land’s fortune. Historically, Feng Shui has split into two major schools: the Form School and the Compass School. Their methods differ, but their purposes are the same—dealing with yin dwellings (graves) and yang dwellings (houses). But in my opinion, nowadays the biggest profit potential lies in yang dwellings.”

Shui Miao had searched online for information about Feng Shui before, so he could give a general explanation. In today’s society, there were plenty of wealthy businessmen who believed in Feng Shui. With the right skills, making a fortune through Feng Shui was actually quite easy.

But Xiong Ying shook his head after listening. “Your motivation is still money. But do you know that you were born with a lack of wealth? That’s precisely why I named you Shui Miao.”

“What? I was born lacking money?” Shui Miao was slightly taken aback. He didn’t know his exact birth date and time, so he had never been able to ask a master to read his fate. “Grandpa, do you know my birth details?”

“Uh, no, I don’t,” Xiong Ying hesitated slightly, his eyes flickering as if hiding something. After a pause, he quickly waved his hand. “I deduced it from your facial features. But that’s not important. That’s not what we’re here to discuss today. Now I’m going to tell you my understanding of Feng Shui. Forget everything you knew before. From now on, you must follow exactly what I teach you.”

Shui Miao sensed there was something more behind his words, but at the moment, his main focus was on learning about Feng Shui.

“Grandpa, your Feng Shui techniques seem really unique,” Shui Miao said. He had often followed Xiong Ying out in the past. Whenever Xiong Ying assessed the Feng Shui of a yin or yang dwelling, he never brought any tools. Upon arrival, he would just glance around and immediately point out the problem, explaining it in the simplest and most direct way, and then resolve it.

Xiong Ying’s skill was amazing. He didn’t look like a typical Feng Shui master, yet his assessments had never been wrong. That was exactly why Shui Miao always believed his grandfather was the best. Compared to other Feng Shui masters who relied on compasses and dowsing rods, they seemed utterly inferior.

“Hehe, of course! In my youth, I was the top among my peers. Among more than ten apprentices, I had the highest aptitude—even my master admitted I surpassed him,” Xiong Ying stroked his beard proudly. Then suddenly his expression changed, and he grew serious. “Alright, let’s get back on track. Listen carefully…”

Xiong Ying was ready to begin his lesson.

Shui Miao immediately sat up straight, fully attentive.

“The universe is mysterious, the human body is profound, and Feng Shui is wondrous. We humans are small, but we have the ability to explore and think. Thinking is humanity’s greatest asset. The ancients studied nature and gained many miraculous insights—such as the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), the Yijing (I Ching), and Feng Shui, all of which modern people still struggle to fully understand. However, from my years of research, I’ve come to believe that what directly affects human destiny is a mysterious force beyond our comprehension. I believe it’s the fundamental energy of the universe. This mysterious force is often called ‘God’ by the ignorant, but that’s not the case. There are no gods in this world. Even if there were, they wouldn’t be gods—they’d simply be spiritual beings capable of harnessing spiritual energy. For example, foxes, pythons, weasels, and other animal spirits absorb earth energy and the essence of the sun and moon, gaining special abilities and living in environments suited to them. Sometimes, they can affect the minds of people with weak constitutions. But in front of me, I can easily eliminate them by simply activating the Five Elements of Yin and Yang.”

Xiong Ying’s words opened up a whole new perspective for Shui Miao.

This was a lot to take in. It contained Xiong Ying’s unique insights, his reflections on life, and his extraordinary abilities.

But the truth within these words would have to be explored and verified by Shui Miao himself.

Xiong Ying took another sip of liquor and continued, “Too much theory might be hard for you to grasp. Let me first explain Feng Shui in simple terms. To summarize: one is the dwelling, two is fortune, three is Feng Shui. Besides one’s birth chart, these three factors mainly determine a person’s life. The dwelling refers to both yin and yang dwellings. Yang dwellings are where the living reside, while yin dwellings are the resting places of the dead, where yin and yang energies are hidden. The second is fortune—this kind of energy is something most people can only hope to encounter by chance. The third is Feng Shui itself. Wind represents energy, water represents wealth. There is wealth in the wind, and energy within wealth. Feng Shui contains formations, and within those formations, there are endless variations.”

At this point, Xiong Ying suddenly sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, human life is short—just a few decades. Even with extraordinary abilities, one cannot defy fate.”

This was another of Xiong Ying’s reflections on life. By “fate,” he meant one’s birth chart.

This reflection carried a sense of frustration and helplessness, making Shui Miao also feel the brevity of life.

But then, Xiong Ying’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement as he said, “But I believe there is always a way forward. In my view, within all this mystery, there is always a thread of cosmic truth to be discovered…”

This sudden burst of enthusiasm stirred something within Shui Miao.

“Grandpa, have you discovered something?” Shui Miao asked eagerly.

Xiong Ying smiled slightly and said, “This is what I’m going to teach you today—my own creation: the Five Elements Qigong.”

“The Five Elements Qigong!?”

Shui Miao had often seen Xiong Ying practicing Qigong, but he never knew exactly what kind it was. Suddenly, a thought struck him: Was it this Five Elements Qigong that made his grandfather’s Feng Shui skills so powerful?

After speaking so much, Xiong Ying seemed tired. He resumed eating, not in a hurry to continue.

Shui Miao, however, grew impatient. He scratched his head and asked, “Grandpa, what exactly is the Five Elements Qigong? Isn’t Qigong all the same?”

“Same?”

Xiong Ying chuckled coldly. “Are you joking? How dare their Qigong compare to mine? Mine is simply called Qigong in name, but in reality, it’s a cultivation method rooted in the principles of Yin Yang and the Five Elements.”

“The Five Elements cultivation method!”

Shui Miao’s heart stirred. When he heard the word “cultivation,” he immediately thought of immortality cultivation. Nowadays, novels about urban cultivation were all the rage. Could it be that he was actually going to get a chance to experience it for real?

Seeing Shui Miao’s keen interest, Xiong Ying put down his chopsticks again and began to explain calmly, “The manifestation of Feng Shui is energy. If energy can create a favorable Feng Shui environment, why can’t we absorb this energy into our bodies according to the principles of the Five Elements’ mutual generation? The human internal organs also correspond to the Five Elements. For example, Metal represents the lungs and large intestine, Wood represents the liver and gallbladder, Water represents the kidneys and bladder, Fire represents the heart and small intestine, and Earth represents the spleen and stomach. By absorbing the Five Elements’ energy into our bodies and allowing them to generate and sustain each other, we can eventually form true energy in the dantian (lower abdomen). Once that happens, we become one with Feng Shui itself!”

“Grandpa, how far have you cultivated?”

Shui Miao found himself growing more and more interested. This method of cultivation was unlike anything he had ever heard of.

“I’ve already opened my Yin Yang eyes and can see the energies of Yin Yang and the Five Elements,” Xiong Ying replied with a calm smile.

Shui Miao swallowed hard. “You mean… you can actually see the colors of Yin Yang and the Five Elements with your eyes?”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Xiong Ying looked at Shui Miao. “Before I could see Yin Yang energy, I could already perceive the energies of the Five Elements. Now, once I channel my true energy into my eyes, I can see a world with seven additional colors beyond what ordinary people can see. I can use these colors to determine whether the energies are in a state of mutual generation or mutual destruction, and then adjust the environment accordingly to influence the Feng Shui.”

At last, Xiong Ying revealed the secret behind his unique Feng Shui assessment method.

Shui Miao was stunned!

This was simply unbelievable. If this were true, then once he mastered the Five Elements Qigong, he could become just like his grandfather?

Originally, Shui Miao had thought it would take three to five years of study before he could become a Feng Shui master.

But now he realized his grandfather was not just a master—he was a genius!

“Grandpa, why didn’t you teach me this Five Elements Qigong earlier?”

Shui Miao suddenly had a question.

“Do you think anyone can learn this?” Xiong Ying frowned slightly, his tone growing serious. “Before doing anything, one must first learn to be a good person. If one cannot be a good person, how can they do meaningful things? Even if someone has great abilities, if their character is flawed, they will become a menace. In fact, I’ve been observing you all these years. When you endured humiliation and paid back the 30,000 yuan to Chen Jianguo, you showed a patience most people couldn’t bear. That proved you’ve matured. And your nature is inherently kind and upright. That’s why I’m willing to pass this extraordinary technique down to you. Once you’ve mastered it, I hope you will always remain calm and restrained, never showing off or boasting, to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble.”

“Uh… I understand,” Shui Miao replied, a hint of worry in his voice. He didn’t mention the incident where he had held a knife to Chen Jianguo’s throat, making him wet his pants out of fear. If his grandfather knew about that, would he still think of him as a mature and self-controlled person?

“Grandpa, please teach me how to cultivate the energy now!”

Shui Miao quickly glanced outside the door, fearing that Chen Jianguo might come to file a complaint. He was eager to start learning—better to master it quickly, before anything else could go wrong!