The two men entered the inner room. Zhang Enpu said, “Quickly, pack the compass into the bag. If you forget, we’re done for.”
Liu Dashao slung the bag over his back and replied, “I’ve been ready for a while. You didn’t need to remind me.”
“Good! You’ve got the potential to be a Taoist priest,” Zhang Enpu chuckled, then picked up a long robe that hadn’t been washed yet and put it on again. “However, it would’ve been better if you were a girl. At least then someone could’ve washed my clothes instead of leaving them here for three months without a wash.”
Liu Dashao waved his hand in front of his nose, “Keep dreaming. Who would want to wash your smelly clothes, girl or not?”
Zhang Enpu said, “Alright, no more joking around. Let’s go.”
Liu Dashao frowned slightly, “Old man, that guy was really strange. His own father just died, yet he was smiling like a monkey jumping out of a rock.”
Zhang Enpu sighed, “What do you know about the world? At least he smiled. It could’ve been worse—he could’ve started a fight. Do you think everyone is as foolishly righteous and sensible as you?”
After tidying up all their belongings, the three of them set off together.
The stranger’s name was Wang Xiaoqiang, who lived in the southern part of the village downstream. From the perspective of Xiushan Village upstream, their home was located in the southeast.
Wang Xiaoqiang was the second son in his family. He had an older brother, Wang Xi, and a younger brother, Wang Cai. According to his own account, his father didn’t die of illness but hanged himself out of despair. As for what caused his despair, that was a complicated matter.
Do you know why Chinese people love having many children? It’s not for fun or to fulfill some marital duty. It’s for “preparing for old age.” What does “raising children to care for you in old age” really mean? It’s like a business investment. When a couple is young and capable, they raise several children. When they grow old and become incapable, they expect their children to care for them just as they once cared for their children. It’s a long-term investment with no immediate return.
However, since it’s like a business, there are bound to be wins and losses. Some people are lucky enough to raise filial children and enjoy a happy old age. Others are less fortunate, raising ungrateful children who leave them to grow old in loneliness and neglect.
The Wang brothers were among the ungrateful ones. Wang Lao, their father, lost his wife early and raised his three sons through thick and thin. In the end, instead of receiving the love and care he deserved, he was driven out to live in a stable meant for livestock. Can you imagine how he must have felt? It’s no wonder Wang Lao couldn’t bear it anymore. One night, he took a rope, hanged himself at the front door of his home, and passed away with his eyes wide open, finally finding peace in the Western Paradise.
Family relationships are indeed subtle and complex. Naturally, one would expect a son to treat his own father with kindness. Right? But the key issue here is that after the sons married, they weren’t living alone anymore—they had their wives by their sides. It became a life shared between two people. If the wife was virtuous, there was no problem. If the husband was strong-willed, there was also no problem. But if the wife was also unreasonable and the husband was weak-willed, then chaos would ensue. Unfortunately, all three of Wang Lao’s sons were spineless.
The eldest son, Wang Xi, immediately divided part of the family property and separated from Wang Lao after marriage. The second son followed suit after he married, taking his share of the property. If the elder brothers didn’t take care of their father, why should the second brother? As for the youngest brother, with both older brothers having established their own households, it was clear he would have to bear the responsibility of caring for their father alone. However, his wife said, “Why should we? He didn’t raise just me.” So the youngest brother also ignored their father. Instead of moving out, he directly took over his father’s house and sent the old man to live among the pigs, feeding him like livestock. It’s truly a bitter irony.
The villagers often advised these sons, saying it was wrong to treat their father this way and warning them that their actions would bring retribution. But they refused to listen. The brothers even quarreled frequently, fighting every few days. Each blamed the other, never admitting fault themselves. In the end, Wang Lao lost all hope and decided to hang himself, freeing his sons from the burden of caring for him.
When the sons saw that their father had taken his own life, they actually felt a sense of relief. “Finally, this old man saw reason. I mean, what was he even doing staying alive, dragging us down all this time?” The three brothers discussed matters and suddenly became harmonious again. They decided to find a geomancer to select a good burial site, which would benefit their descendants, and then hire a Taoist priest to perform a few simple funeral rites before burying him. Having heard that Zhang Tianshi from Longhushan Mountain had arrived in Xiushui Village—slaying zombies and drought demons with his sword and helping the Zhao family continue their lineage with a single bowl of water—they considered him extremely powerful. Thus, the eldest and youngest brothers stayed home to handle the funeral arrangements, while the second brother, Wang Xiaoqiang, went to Liu Dashao’s house.
These details weren’t revealed by the Wang family to Liu Dashao, as they weren’t foolish enough to publicly announce their disgraceful family matters. They intentionally committed these wrongs, not out of ignorance. Therefore, such shameful incidents wouldn’t be intentionally publicized by those who had deliberately done wrong. Liu Dashao mainly learned about this through hearsay, because he knew that the eyes of the people, though perhaps slanted, were still sharp.
After exchanging a few polite greetings, Wang Xiaoqiang led Zhang Enpu to the mountain area belonging to the Wang family.
From a general perspective of the mountain’s energy, this area was at the tail end.
In other words, the Wang family’s residence, or yang dwelling, was relatively auspicious. Moreover, considering the house itself, there was the Azure Dragon Spring on the left and the White Tiger Path on the right. The only unsightly feature was a large cliff rock resembling a toad near the front entrance. Other than that, everything else seemed quite favorable.
The first requirement for good feng shui is to retain the wind and gather the energy, with favorable conditions on both sides and proximity to mountains and water—seemingly all present here. Yet why did the old man tragically hang himself? Why did such a seemingly decent dwelling produce three such unfilial sons? Liu Dashao was eager to understand the reason. However, with Wang Cai nearby, he couldn’t directly ask Zhang Enpu. Additionally, Liu Dashao had another question lingering in his mind. As a feng shui master, should one still provide auspicious land to those with poor moral character? If even the worst individuals were given the best locations, wouldn’t that be aiding and abetting evil?
He really wanted to ask Zhang Enpu for his opinion. According to Liu’s own view, he would have chosen a terrible burial site for them, one that would bring them misfortune.
Therefore, Liu Dashao decided to send Wang Cai away. With a quick glance, he came up with a trick. He said to Wang Cai, “Wang Cai, quickly go back and catch a white rooster for us. We need its blood to worship the gods during the ‘mountain-opening’ ritual (a Taoist burial ceremony where the priest digs three scoops of earth at the burial site with a spade, symbolizing the application to the Earth God). We forgot to tell you about it earlier.”
Zhang Enpu, puzzled by this, exclaimed, “White rooster? What white rooster?”
Liu Dashao quickly shot Zhang Enpu a secret glance, signaling him to go along with the deception. “You forgot that we need the white rooster’s blood for the mountain-opening ritual?”
Zhang Enpu caught on and said, “Oh right! We need the white rooster’s blood to worship the Earth God. Oh dear, how could I forget such an important thing? Quickly go back and get one.”
Wang Cai, without asking further questions, was deceived by the two men like a fool and sent back home.
After Wang Cai had walked far away, Zhang Enpu turned to Liu Dashao and asked, “What’s wrong, kid? What did you want to tell me?”
Liu Dashao said, “Old man, the Wang family’s residence seems quite good. Why did it end up like this?”
Zhang Enpu sneered and said, “Good? Where exactly is it good?”
“Isn’t the basic five elements of the terrain all present here?”
Zhang Enpu shook his head. “Good feng shui isn’t just about having a favorable external terrain. It depends on the master of the house, the five elements layout of the house, and a comprehensive judgment of the surrounding environment’s eight trigrams.”
Liu Dashao asked, “Then is the Wang family’s house not good?”
“Of course not,” Zhang Enpu replied. “Wang Cai’s father was born in the year of Jia Zi. The orientation of their house combined with the Dui trigram of the 24 mountains behind it forms exactly a ‘hanging well death’ omen. Where is the good in that? Also, the nearby waterway is inauspicious. As stated in the ‘Hanyuan Jing’: Water near a grave site brings good fortune if it’s in a favorable position but misfortune if it’s in an unfavorable one. Their house’s waterway is exactly located in the ‘Tiansha Palace,’ where the Tiansha star is an inauspicious star. Where is the good fortune in that? Tell me, what lies directly opposite the main entrance?”
“A large cliff rock resembling a toad,” Liu Dashao replied.
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