Chapter 114: Family Calamity (2)

As they walked and chatted, Zhang Enpu said, “Hmm, you already know some basic Feng Shui knowledge, that’s good. Indeed, that family isn’t living very well. To understand exactly what’s wrong, you need to study theories like the ‘Five Elements,’ ‘Eight Trigrams,’ ‘Nine Palaces,’ and ‘Qi Men Dun Jia.’ It’s quite profound! I followed my father, the previous generation’s Zhang Tianshi, and practiced for over twenty years before achieving some success. And Brother Li Lishan, whom you’ve met briefly, spent half his life in seclusion with the Quanzhen Sect. So, if you want to achieve greatness, you’re still far from it!”

Liu Dashao stuck out his tongue in fear, “Ah, forget it. I just wanted to keep you company and enjoy the mountains and waters. I didn’t intend to become a Feng Shui master. It’s too complicated; I don’t like it.”

Zhang Enpu asked, “What, do you look down on the Feng Shui profession?”

Liu Dashao replied, “It’s not that I look down on it; I genuinely dislike complex things. Feng Shui requires knowledge of both astronomy and geography, and I don’t have that kind of wisdom.”

Zhang Enpu chuckled, “Haha, I like your carefree attitude. Alright, I won’t mention it anymore. Let’s go up the mountain.”

Unknowingly, seven days had passed.

During these seven days, in his spare time, Liu Dashao kept pondering a question that had come up during his journey back with Zhang Enpu—the issues of “fate” and “unfairness.” Although he disliked fate, he believed in it. Because life is full of unfairness, Liu Dashao himself believed in fate.

This “fate,” in non-superstitious terms, could be called “opportunity” or “luck.” Luck is random, not something one can achieve through effort, and it fluctuates unpredictably, so it is inherently unfair. For instance, the greatest unfairness in life is “birth.”

Every one of us living on Earth cannot choose where we are born, whether we want to be a man or a woman, or whether we wish to be an official or a businessman. We passively accept all this in our mother’s womb. If your parents are wealthy, congratulations, you’re lucky, born under the auspices of the God of Wealth. From childhood, you can enjoy a higher quality of life without labor. If your parents are poor, congratulations too, you’re unlucky, born to be a poet or philosopher. Your life will be spent pondering why there is so much sorrow and unhappiness. You’ll wander on the edge of life until death, never understanding why you’re so miserable.

After the unfairness of birth comes the unfairness of “circumstances.” Think of Jiang Ziya, who, when he realized that even cultivating the Dao required food, went to sell flour in the street. But coincidentally, whenever he came to the street, a strong wind would blow, rendering his eloquence useless. When it rains, it pours; when you fish, a wave comes; when you plant a willow, it thrives; when you jump off a building, you might land on the head of the Old Man Under the Moon. If you gamble after a breakup, you might win a brothel. You walk carefully on the road, not tripping or bumping into anyone, but then a drunkard mistakes you for a turtle.

Tell me, what fairness is there in life? After pondering this, I’ve come to a somewhat ambiguous conclusion: if you want your life to be happy and carefree, then acknowledging this “unfairness of life” is the basic premise of your struggle. Otherwise, your life will be spent in busyness, blindness, and exhaustion.

Liu Dashao himself is a man with no ambitions. In the eyes of others, he’s the standard good-for-nothing, with no future to speak of. Elders never offer to marry their daughters to him. Because it’s clear to anyone, including Liu Dashao himself, that any woman who follows him is doomed to a life of misfortune.

And since Granny Fan and Wang Banxian passed away abruptly, Liu Dashao has become even more steadfast in his belief in inaction.

Life is too fleeting. Living today, you can’t imagine what will happen tomorrow. So, why do we strive so hard?

Liu Dashao could never understand why the heavens so easily negate the fruits of a lifetime of hard work, especially when they haven’t even enjoyed the results of their labor! It can only be said that life is too unpredictable. So rather than passively adapting to social life, it’s better to actively wander according to one’s own whims. Haha, isn’t that right?

Sadness aside, the sun won’t stop rising and setting because of your sorrow. Life is just that realistic. Everything must go on as usual. That day, what Zhang Enpu had predicted finally came true without a single discrepancy—the branch on the southeast corner of the big pine tree at the entrance suddenly withered overnight. Liu Dashao opened his eyes wide, looked and looked again—yes, it was withered.

He hurriedly ran into Zhang Enpu’s room and shouted at him, who was still in bed, “Old man, the big pine tree, it’s withered. Get up, it’s withered.”

Zhang Enpu rolled over, grumbling, clearly annoyed at Liu Dashao for disturbing his sweet dreams, “If it’s withered, it’s withered. Why are you making such a fuss? Confucius taught us, ‘Do not speak while eating, do not speak while sleeping.’ Have you forgotten? At my age, how many more peaceful nights of sleep do I have left?”

Liu Dashao gave him a look, “Cut it out, the sun is already shining on your butt, and you’re still talking about ‘do not speak while sleeping.’ Do you know what time Confucius got up? Six o’clock.”

Seeing that Zhang Enpu showed no reaction, Liu Dashao reluctantly walked out of the room, came to the courtyard, set up two chairs, put a green hat over his face, and lay down lazily to bask in the sun. Hehe, you have to admit, with the gentle breeze, the warm sun, the birds singing, and the flowers blooming, it was truly a luxurious enjoyment. Thankfully, the old man didn’t wake up, or else he would have missed this gift from nature.

But just as he was dozing off, fantasizing about becoming the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy, a voice suddenly came from the corner of the house, “Excuse me, does Zhang Tianshi live here?”

Liu Dashao removed the green hat and irritably turned towards the source of the voice, “Who are you?” At that moment, he finally understood how painful Zhang Enpu must have felt. That feeling was truly painful, really painful, and if you tried it, it would be even more painful.

The stranger said, “I’m here to ask Tianshi to look at a burial site. My father has passed away.”

“What, look at a burial site?” Liu Dashao suddenly stood up from the chair and saw a middle-aged man in his forties smiling at him.

The stranger said, “Yes, look at a burial site.”

“Not the southeast corner, is it?” Liu Dashao’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, “Did you come from the southeast direction?”

The stranger smiled, “Yes, my home is in that direction. I came from the mountain pass below. I heard that Zhang Tianshi is very skilled, so I came specifically to find him.”

It seemed to be the case. Liu Dashao hurriedly ran back into Zhang Enpu’s room, where he was still snoring. Without further ado, Liu Dashao lifted his pants, took a cold iron piece from the table, and poked it into his waist.

“Ah, my god!” Zhang Enpu went from snoring to screaming, “What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?”

Liu Dashao said, “Old man, get up. The person from the southeast direction has finally died. His son is here to ask us to look at a burial site. He’s waiting outside right now!”

“Really? So soon? I thought it would be around noon when I woke up. Where did I miscalculate?” Zhang Enpu jumped out of bed, forgetting to tie his belt, and came outside, “So, your old man has passed away?”

The stranger smiled, “Yes. It seems you are Zhang Tianshi. Do you have time now?”

Zhang Enpu said, “Well, I don’t have much time, but helping others is a joy. I’ll try to squeeze some time out for you!” Zhang Enpu, who had been idle for too long, still managed to put a golden label of ‘face’ on himself. Liu Dashao, standing beside him, was truly impressed.

The stranger said happily, “That’s great! Can we set off right away?”

Zhang Enpu pretended to ponder for a moment and said, “Alright, wait a bit. We’ll go in and change clothes, grab our things, and then we’ll leave.”

Liu Dashao was so startled he stuck his tongue out: “Sigh, forget it. I just wanted to keep you company and enjoy the scenery along the way. I never aspired to become a Feng Shui master—it’s too complicated. I don’t like it.”

Zhang Enpu asked, “What, are you looking down on those of us in the Feng Shui profession?”

“No, not looking down,” Liu replied. “I just genuinely dislike complicated things. Feng Shui requires knowledge of astronomy above and geography below. I don’t have that kind of intelligence.”

Zhang chuckled, “Haha, I like your carefree attitude. Fine, I won’t push you anymore. Come on, let’s climb the mountain.”

Unconsciously, seven days had already passed.

During these seven days, when he had free time, Liu Dashao kept thinking about one issue: the topic of “fate” and “injustice” that had come up during his conversation with Zhang Enpu on their journey back. Although Liu hated fate, he actually believed in it. Because life contains so much injustice, Liu Dashao himself believed in fate.

This “fate” can be described non-superstitiously as “opportunity” or “luck.” Luck is accidental, not necessarily earned through effort, unpredictable in its direction, and therefore inherently unfair. For instance, to begin with, there’s the greatest injustice of all in life—our “birth.”

None of us on this planet can choose where we are born, whether we are born male or female, or whether we will grow up to be officials or businessmen. We passively accept all of this while still in our mothers’ wombs. If your parents are wealthy elites, congratulations—you’ve had good opportunities and met the God of Wealth at birth. You can enjoy a better quality of life from childhood to adulthood without ever having to work. But if your parents are poor and penniless, congratulations again—you’ve had bad luck, but you can become a poet or philosopher. Your entire life will be spent constantly pondering why life brings so much sorrow and unhappiness. You’ll always be on the edge of existence, never understanding why you were so miserable until the day you die.

After the injustice of birth comes the injustice of “circumstances.” Take Jiang Ziya, for example, when he was cultivating Dao. Upon realizing that cultivation still required food, he went to the street to sell flour. Coincidentally, while others sold flour smoothly, every time he arrived at the street, strong winds would blow, rendering his excellent eloquence useless. Misfortunes never come singly—when he tried fishing, waves kept rising. Sometimes, unintentional actions yield unexpected results, like someone attempting suicide by jumping off a building accidentally landing on the Matchmaker’s head. A broken-hearted person goes gambling and ends up winning a brothel. You walk carefully on the road, not falling, not bumping into anyone. Yet someone behind you, drunk, mistakes you for a turtle.

Tell me, where is the fairness in life? After thinking this through, I’ve reached a somewhat ambiguous conclusion: if you want to live a happy and carefree life, the basic premise of your striving must be to accept this inherent unfairness in life. Otherwise, your entire life will be spent in a state of busyness, blindness, and physical and mental exhaustion.

Liu Dashao himself had no great ambitions. In the eyes of others, he was the typical small-time rascal, completely without prospects. Elders never considered offering their daughters to him in marriage. Because even at a glance, both others and Liu himself could tell that any woman who followed him would suffer a lifetime of misfortune.

Since the sudden deaths of Old Lady Fan and Master Wang, the half-immortal, Liu Dashao had become even more firmly committed to his belief of non-action.

Life is too fleeting. The person living today cannot even imagine what will happen tomorrow. So why do we work so hard?

Liu Dashao could never understand why Heaven so easily erased a person’s lifelong achievements before they even had a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor. One can only say that life is too unpredictable. Therefore, rather than passively adapting to society, it’s better to actively wander according to one’s own nature. Haha, isn’t that right?

Sadness aside, the sun will not stop rising and setting because of your sorrow. Life is just this realistic. Everything must go on as usual. On that day, the event predicted by Zhang Enpu finally occurred exactly as foretold: the branch on the southeast corner of the large pine tree at the gate suddenly withered overnight. Liu Dashao opened his eyes wide and looked again and again—yes, it had indeed withered.

He hurriedly ran into Zhang Enpu’s room and shouted loudly at the still-sleeping old man, “Old man, the big pine tree—it’s withered. Hurry up and get up—it’s withered.”

Zhang Enpu turned over with a groan, clearly annoyed at Liu Dashao for interrupting his beautiful dream: “So what? If it’s withered, let it be. Why are you shouting like that? Confucius taught us not to talk while eating or sleeping. Have you forgotten that? How many more peaceful sleeps do you think I have left at my age?”

Liu Dashao rolled his eyes at him: “Hmph, the sun’s already over your butt. ‘No talking while sleeping’? Do you even know what time Confucius got up? Six o’clock!”

Seeing that Zhang Enpu didn’t respond, Liu Dashao reluctantly walked out of the room, went to the Daoist hall, dragged two chairs together, put a green hat over his face, and lay down lazily to bask in the sun. He chuckled to himself: “Hey, the weather is actually pretty nice, with a gentle breeze and fragrant flowers—what a boss-level enjoyment. Thank goodness the old man didn’t wake up, or I would have missed this gift from nature.”

But just as he was dozing off and imagining himself becoming the Marshal Tianpeng, a voice suddenly came from the corner of the house: “Excuse me, does Master Zhang live here?”

Liu Dashao removed the green hat and irritably looked toward the source of the voice: “Who are you?” At that moment, he finally understood exactly how painful Zhang Enpu had felt. That feeling was truly unbearable—seriously, you can’t imagine how painful it is unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

The stranger replied, “I’ve come to invite Master Zhang to inspect a burial site. My father has passed away.”

“What? Inspect a burial site?” Liu Dashao immediately stood up from the chair. He saw a middle-aged man in his forties smiling at him.

The stranger repeated, “Yes, to inspect a burial site.”

“You don’t mean the southeast corner, do you?” Liu Dashao’s heart suddenly stirred as he quickly asked, “Are you from the southeast direction?”

The stranger smiled: “Yes, my home is indeed in that direction. I came here through the mountain pass below. I’ve heard that Master Zhang is very skilled, so I specially came to find him.”

So it was as he suspected. Liu Dashao hurriedly ran back into Zhang Enpu’s room again. Zhang was still snoring. Without hesitation, Liu Dashao lifted Zhang’s trousers, grabbed a cold iron strip from the table, and poked him sharply in the waist.

“Aiyo!” Zhang Enpu’s snore turned into a scream. “What are you doing? Do you even care if I live or die?”

Liu Dashao said, “Old man, hurry up and get up. The person from the southeast direction has finally died. His son has come here to ask us to inspect a burial site. He’s waiting outside right now!”

“Really? So soon? I was expecting this to happen when I woke up at noon. How come my calculations were off?” Zhang Enpu jumped out of bed, forgetting even to tie his belt, and rushed outside: “So, your old man has passed away?”

The stranger smiled: “Yes. You must be Master Zhang then. May I ask if you’re available now?”

Zhang Enpu replied, “Available? Not really, but since helping others is my joy, I’ll try my best to make some time for you!” Zhang had been so bored he couldn’t stand it anymore, yet he still couldn’t resist adding a bit of “face-saving” gold to his reputation. Liu Dashao, standing nearby, was genuinely impressed.

The stranger happily said, “That’s great! Can we leave immediately?”

Zhang Enpu pretended to think for a moment before saying, “Alright, wait a moment. We’ll go inside to change clothes and get our things, then we’ll be right out.”