Chapter 4: Clash of Ideologies

Su Jin’s gaze swept coldly over Yang Rui and the ancient bronze compass in his hand. A faint, almost imperceptible sneer curled at the corner of her lips. Ignoring Yang Rui’s outstretched hand, she strode directly toward Chen Bojun, her tone resolute and unwavering. “Uncle Chen, you are letting fear cloud your judgment. Auntie and Qiming’s symptoms, along with these environmental abnormalities, can all be explained by modern environmental science and medicine! I have already conducted a preliminary environmental screening.”

She motioned for her assistant to open the equipment case and pulled out several printed data reports. Her speech was rapid yet clear and methodical. “The data shows that certain areas of your residence, especially on the west side and in the newly constructed sections, do indeed exhibit abnormal geomagnetic disturbances, with peak intensities reaching XX microteslas. At the same time, intermittent low-frequency noise between 16 and 19 hertz was detected. These findings perfectly align with our initial assessment!”

Her sharp eyes locked onto Yang Rui’s, brimming with a defiant challenge. “The most reasonable explanation for these anomalies is electromagnetic interference leaking from the newly opened Metro Line 3 nearby! Or, more likely, the large-scale renovations have disrupted the original structural stress balance of the old house, causing slight deformations or internal friction within some load-bearing structures, thereby generating localized strong magnetic fields and structural vibration noise. This is a classic case of ‘building sickness syndrome’! The solution is to precisely locate the interference source, install professional magnetic shielding materials, and reinforce or soundproof the structure. There is absolutely no need to invoke any vague ‘negative energy’ or ‘prohibitive underground talismans’! Those are nothing but relics of feudal superstition!”

Her words were like a splash of ice water, instantly dousing the flicker of hope that Chen Bojun had just kindled, plunging him back into confusion and indecision. He looked between Yang Rui, the “experienced master” who spoke with confidence and seemed capable of solving the problem, and Su Jin, the “scientist” wielding authoritative data and speaking with certainty. Whom should he trust?

Yang Rui remained calm, meeting Su Jin’s scrutinizing gaze steadily. He pointed to the magnetic and infrasound peak values marked on her report. “Dr. Su, your data is very professional, and I acknowledge the presence of strong magnetic fields and infrasound interference. But I must respectfully disagree with your conclusions.”

“Oh?” Su Jin raised an eyebrow, folding her arms, wearing a look that said, “Let’s see what else you can come up with.”

“Firstly,” Yang Rui laid out his reasoning clearly, “the planned Metro Line 3 is over 1.5 kilometers away in a straight line, and its tunnels are sufficiently deep underground. The power-frequency electromagnetic fields and vibration noise it produces, after attenuation during transmission, would be far too weak by the time they reach your residence to account for the peak levels our instruments detected, let alone provoke such severe physiological reactions. You can verify this by consulting the metro’s environmental assessment reports and attenuation models.”

“Secondly, the notion that ‘structural stress release generates strong magnetic fields and infrasound’?” Yang Rui’s tone carried a subtle hint of mockery. “That theory is quite novel. However, stress releases typically cause only minor tremors and audible noise of very low energy and dispersed frequencies. To produce directional strong pulsed magnetic fields and high-intensity, narrow-band infrasound as you suggest—Dr. Su, in which international journal or experimental model have you seen this demonstrated? Or is this your own original theory?” His words were like silk-lined daggers, directly exposing the weak points in Su Jin’s explanation.

Su Jin was momentarily at a loss, her fair cheeks flushing slightly. Yang Rui’s doubts had indeed pierced the less rigorous aspects of her hypothesis. It was true that the metro interference was insufficiently intense, and there was a lack of solid literature supporting the idea that structural stress could produce such specific strong fields and narrow-band infrasound.

“Preposterous! Environmental factors are complex, and it’s entirely normal for unknown interference sources to exist! Further investigation is necessary!” Su Jin forced herself to remain composed and shifted the topic. “But your so-called ‘feng shui suppression talisman’ and ‘buried prohibitive objects’—do they have any scientific basis? How can you prove their existence?”

“Proof?” A gleam sparked in Yang Rui’s eyes as he raised the bronze compass again, which was still trembling violently near the anomaly point. “Both my compass and your advanced instruments clearly point to the core area of the anomaly—right near the newly dug foundation pit in the backyard and beneath the demolished old wall’s foundation! The source of the magnetic field and infrasound isn’t diffused, but highly concentrated! This matches the characteristic of ‘energy constraint points being destroyed and releasing concentrated bursts,’ rather than widespread environmental contamination.”

He moved to the edge of the foundation pit, gesturing toward the damp soil and the faintly visible old foundation stones beneath. “That former feng shui master’s technique may have had flaws, but the core of his method was to use specific materials and structures to guide energy. The ‘prohibitive object’ he buried was most likely a special alloy or magnetic stone combination capable of generating a particular counter magnetic field or absorbing and converting low-frequency energy! It’s buried right here, or at key points in the old wall’s foundation! It maintained that fragile balance! Finding it and removing or repairing it is the crucial step to calming this energy storm!”

“Absurd!” Su Jin snorted. “A rusty bronze compass as evidence? A buried piece of iron affecting the entire environment’s magnetic field and infrasound? Do you think this is a sci-fi movie?”

“Whether it’s absurd or not, why don’t we just dig and see?” Yang Rui’s words startled the room as he fixed a sharp gaze on Chen Bojun. “Mr. Chen, are you willing to take a gamble? Just dig about a meter down at the edge of the new foundation pit, at the intersection near the extension line of the old west wall’s foundation! I’m certain there’s something buried there, and it’s metal! Dig it up, and see if your instrument readings change! See if the symptoms of the matriarch and the young master improve!”

“Uncle Chen! You can’t listen to his incitement!” Su Jin grew anxious. “This is destructive probing! It has no scientific basis! What if you hit a pipe or damage the foundation...”

“I’ll take responsibility for the structure!” Yang Rui stood firm, refusing to yield an inch. “The spot I’m pointing to is far from the main load-bearing walls! Dr. Su, aren’t you a believer in science? If we dig and find nothing, or if what we find has no relevance, I, Yang Rui, will quit this line of work for good and bear all losses! But if we do find something and the environmental data improves accordingly...” He glanced meaningfully at Su Jin. “What will you do then?”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Chen Bojun looked between the two adversaries, then recalled the painful expressions of his mother and younger brother. Glancing at the foundation pit and the spot Yang Rui indicated, he bit his lip and exclaimed, “Dig! Just where Master Yang said, carefully! If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility!”

Su Jin’s face turned pale with anger but found no grounds to oppose. She could only say coldly, “Fine! Let’s see what ‘miracle’ you can dig up! Xiao Zhang, Xiao Li, set up the instruments and monitor the magnetic and infrasound changes throughout! Record all the data carefully!”

The two assistants immediately sprang into action, setting up high-precision probes near the spot Yang Rui specified, connecting them to computers for real-time monitoring. A robust gardener took a shovel and began carefully excavating within a small area less than half a square meter, precisely marked by Yang Rui. Layer by layer, the soil was dug away, revealing rubble and the old house’s original rammed-earth foundation beneath.