Chapter 10: A House Full of Human Calamities

Just as the two were immersed in the excitement of their technical breakthrough, passionately discussing the details, a distinctly displeased and mocking male voice shattered the focused atmosphere inside the tent:

“Hey! I was wondering why the ancestral home looks like a construction site. Turns out you invited two ‘immortals’ here to perform some ritual, huh? Piling stakes and drawing talismans—how much is this costing? Our Chen family fortune didn’t just blow in with the wind, you know.”

The tent flap was pulled aside, and in strode a young man in a flashy casual suit, his hair slicked back to a shine, looking to be in his early thirties. Behind him followed a lean, sharp-eyed old man dressed in a traditional Tang suit, fingers twisting a string of purple sandalwood Buddhist beads. The newcomer was none other than Chen Bojun’s half-brother, Chen Zhonghao. Rumors within the Chen family had long circulated that this second young master was deeply dissatisfied with his elder brother’s control, especially since the recent accident during the old house’s renovation, where he had not hesitated to stir trouble behind the scenes.

Upon hearing this, Chen Bojun’s face darkened immediately. “Zhonghao! What are you doing here? This is none of your business!”

“Big brother, come now,” Chen Zhonghao said with a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “The Accumulated Virtue Hall is our ancestral property, don’t I have a stake in it? I heard mother and Qiming are both gravely ill, and the house is haunted. As a son and an uncle, how could I not come to see for myself? By the way, I’ve invited a genuine expert—the vice president of the Hong Kong Metaphysics Society, Master Xuan Zhen! He’s here to help us investigate whether we’ve offended something, or perhaps… if someone is scheming against us using feng shui?” His last words were loaded with a pointed glance toward Yang Rui.

The thin old man, Master Xuan Zhen, stepped forward. His triangular eyes swept over Yang Rui and Su Jin, then glanced at the high-tech instruments inside the tent. A derisive snort escaped his nose. “Infinite Heavenly Venerable! Mr. Chen, your residence is rife with murderous qi, entangled with resentful spirits. Do you think these metal gadgets and shoddy carpentry can cleanse it? From my humble view, this is an unstable yin grave, disturbing the dragon spirit of the earth’s ley lines! Worse still, it seems someone has deliberately set a ‘Five Ghosts Bringing Wealth’ formation here, which is backfiring! We must hold a ritual, pacify the restless souls, recalibrate the compass, and expose the treacherous villain who set this trap to resolve this calamity!” His ominous words directly accused Yang Rui.

The atmosphere in the tent plummeted to freezing. Su Jin frowned in disgust, instinctively rejecting such charlatanism. Chen Bojun’s face turned ashen with fury, just about to erupt.

But Yang Rui smiled calmly. Stepping forward, he met Master Xuan Zhen’s scrutinizing gaze with composed dignity. “Your insight is certainly refreshing, Daoist. However, there is one matter I find unclear and would like your guidance on.”

“Oh? Pray, speak freely,” Master Xuan Zhen said, twirling his beads, adopting the posture of a sage.

“You claim the ‘yin grave’ is unstable, disturbing the dragon spirit. May I ask, what exactly do you mean by ‘yin grave’? Is it the ancestral burial ground of the Chen family, or some unrelocated remains beneath the Accumulated Virtue Hall? And which specific ley line dragon spirit are you referring to? What is its direction and nature? Since you can discern the ‘Five Ghosts Bringing Wealth’ formation, surely you can point out the precise locations of these ‘five ghosts’ and where the ‘wealth’ flows?” Yang Rui’s rapid-fire questions struck at the very heart of the feng shui assertions, demanding concrete details rather than vague generalities.

Master Xuan Zhen’s arrogant expression froze instantly. His spiel was a common trick among charlatans—intimidating with cryptic accusations to swindle the ignorant and profit from their fear. He had never encountered someone so expertly versed in the subject. Stammering, he replied, “This… is a divine secret not to be fully revealed! I must conduct a ritual to receive a heavenly decree…”

“No need for that,” Yang Rui interrupted, turning to point at the clear three-dimensional ley line energy map displayed on Su Jin’s computer screen. “Mr. Chen, Dr. Su’s instruments have already identified the root cause troubling your residence: a chaotic, strongly magnetic underground stratum combined with infrasound sources, what ancient people called ‘earthly calamity.’ We plan to use deeply embedded alloy guide stakes, combined with special materials and structural designs, to harmlessly divert it into the Qingxi River. All our proposals are based on physical detection data—quantifiable and verifiable. As for the ‘Five Ghosts Bringing Wealth’…”

He fixed a sharp gaze on Chen Zhonghao, whose face had turned pale. “Second young master, your Daoist guest immediately accused someone of ‘setting a harmful formation’ the moment he arrived. Does he have any solid evidence? Without proof, we cannot accept such baseless accusations. Mr. Chen, what do you think?” He skillfully tossed the ball to Chen Bojun.

Chen Bojun was already furious. Pointing a finger at Chen Zhonghao, he barked, “Chen Zhonghao! Take your ‘expert’ and get out of the Accumulated Virtue Hall immediately! If you come here to cause more trouble again, don’t blame me for forgetting our brotherhood! Master Yang and Dr. Su are here to solve problems, and I won’t tolerate your slanders!”

Unexpectedly confronted with Yang Rui’s unyielding stance and his elder brother’s firm backing, Chen Zhonghao’s face shifted between green and white. He glared fiercely at Yang Rui, then at the dizzying 3D images on the screen, realizing he had no advantage in continuing the fight. Suppressing his anger, he gave Master Xuan Zhen a meaningful look. “Hmph! Big brother, take care of yourself. Let’s go.” The two slunk away from the tent.

Though brief, this farce swept away the enthusiasm that had just been kindled for the technical discussion and exposed the turbulent undercurrents beneath the Chen family’s calm exterior.

Su Jin looked at Yang Rui with complicated eyes. His composed, incisive handling of the charlatan and his precise grasp of feng shui’s core theories had once again reshaped her understanding of this so-called “commoner feng shui master.” He seemed… to truly understand.

“Looks like the trouble isn’t just underground,” Yang Rui rubbed his brow and smiled helplessly at Su Jin. “Dr. Su, our ‘guide stake’ plan will need to be faster and more thorough. I’ll organize the blueprints and preliminary material simulation tonight. We must start small-scale lab simulations as soon as possible.”

“Leave the material ratios and electromagnetic/acoustic simulations of the talismans to me,” Su Jin said decisively this time, without hesitation. “Send me your optimized formulas and talisman designs. I’ll model and run data tonight.” She paused, then added, “And next time that Chen fellow shows up, call the police.”

Yang Rui smiled wryly and nodded. The two resumed their work, this time with less opposition between them and a growing tacit urgency and cooperation.

Yet no one noticed that as Master Xuan Zhen was driven away, his sharp triangular eyes had locked onto the antique bronze compass left on the workbench, still unpacked. A flicker of greed and suspicion flashed in his gaze. That compass, ancient in design and bearing a distinctive patina, was no ordinary artifact.

Beneath the earth, the malevolent qi surged; above ground, human calamity brewed. The feng shui formation of the Accumulated Virtue Hall entangled not only physical energies but also deep-seated desires and schemes within the human heart. Yang Rui’s compass seemed to point toward an even deeper vortex.