Chapter 11: Ancestral Hall Feng Shui

“The Nanyue… Nanyue University School of Journalism and Communication…” Taoist Master Xuanxu repeated the excessively long “sect” name with a look of bewilderment. He wondered what kind of obscure, third-rate sect this was, and why they had chosen such a tongue-twisting name.

Xie Sui was somewhat speechless. It seemed this old Taoist was uneducated and didn’t even know what a university was.

Lin Ziyan, on the other hand, stared at Xie Sui in shock. Was the Xuanmen world so competitive these days? Did one actually need an undergraduate degree to enter the profession?

Taoist Master Xuanxu had intended to mock Xie Sui’s unheard-of “sect,” but Second Uncle Lin, who had just seen someone out, returned at that moment. Helplessly, in order to maintain his refined, otherworldly image in front of his client, Taoist Master Xuanxu merely gave a cold snort and ceased his sarcasm.

Upon his return, Second Uncle Lin looked at Taoist Master Xuanxu and Xie Sui sitting in the main hall. He let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh and said to them, “Please follow me. We are going to the Ancestral Hall to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”

Before leaving, Xie Sui thought of the 150,000 yuan remaining balance from Lin Zixin. He hesitated for a moment before asking Second Uncle Lin, “Excuse me, may I start a live stream while I examine the Feng Shui?”

Second Uncle Lin’s pace faltered, and he whipped his head around. For the first time, an exceptionally vivid expression appeared on the face of this stern, humorless man.

Translated simply and directly, that expression said: “Kid, are you out of your mind?”

The heavy atmosphere radiating from Second Uncle Lin was so intense that Lin Ziyan’s breathing slowed in fear. He silently lowered his head, trying his best to shrink his presence.

“It is like this: as you know, I was hired by Lin Zixin. He paid me a 50,000 yuan deposit to resolve your family’s issues and requested that I live stream the process for him. Once the job is done, he will pay me the remaining 150,000 yuan,” Xie Sui explained, laying out every detail of their transaction.

Second Uncle Lin was so angry he laughed. “Lin Zixin actually trusts you that much? Fine. Fine! Good!”

“Fine, you can live stream. I want to see exactly how you plan to solve this! If this is just a farce orchestrated by you and that boy Lin Zixin, don’t blame me for being ruthless. The consequences of provoking me aren’t something that can be brushed off with a simple ‘just kidding’.”

Second Uncle Lin’s expression was terrifying now. His eyes were as sharp as knives, fixed on Xie Sui like a hawk observing prey that dared to provoke it, contemplating which part of the body to start tearing into.

Because of this one request, Xie Sui was now no different from Lin Zixin, that profligate and rebellious nephew, in Second Uncle Lin’s mind. Even having Taoist Master Ganchen vouch for him was useless now. What kind of good person would associate with Lin Zixin? They were surely all deviant characters just like him.

To actually want to live stream in a place as solemn as the Ancestral Hall… should he be grateful that Xie Sui told him directly? If he hadn’t agreed, would Lin Zixin have instructed Xie Sui to sneak into the hall? Rather than letting them act on their own, it was better to keep them right under his nose.

Second Uncle Lin snorted coldly and ignored Xie Sui, walking quickly out the door.

He wanted to see what kind of trouble Lin Zixin and this junior named Xie were going to stir up in the Ancestral Hall!

Xie Sui had no reaction to Second Uncle Lin’s threat. Before arriving, he had already figured out what was haunting the Lin Family Ancestral Hall. To Xie Sui, solving that problem was as simple as reaching into the water to pick up a soda can when you already knew its location. He hadn’t wanted to take the commission originally simply because it was a hassle and he didn’t want to get his clothes “wet.”

However, with 700,000 yuan on the line, hassle didn’t matter. As long as the pay was right, Xie Sui would do anything.

This much money was practically a windfall; it would be foolish not to take it. Being set up by a client or mocked and threatened by the client’s elders was nothing. This level of cold sarcasm was far too gentle compared to the three years of bloody warfare Xie Sui had experienced in the corporate world.

Seeing the situation galloping in a direction he could no longer control, Lin Ziyan hurriedly messaged Lin Zixin to inform him of the current status.

Even Lin Zixin hadn’t expected Xie Sui to be so bold as to charge straight in front of Second Uncle and reveal their entire plan. According to his original plan, Xie Sui should have been in the hotel room he had booked. He had intended to wait a few days until Second Uncle Lin left the old mansion, then lure away the guards at the Ancestral Hall to let Xie Sui in.

But Lin Zixin was also the type who loved to watch the world burn. Since it was already done, he might as well enjoy the show. He couldn’t wait to see the expressions on those old men’s faces.

On the chat app, Lin Zixin began bombarding Lin Ziyan with messages.

Lin Zixin: Start a video stream! Do it now!

Lin Ziyan: Huh? Bro, we haven’t even reached the Ancestral Hall yet.

Lin Zixin: It doesn’t matter, start it now!

Lin Ziyan: Then I’ll go tell Xie Sui…

Lin Zixin: Are you stupid? I mean for you to start one too! If Xie Sui streams, he’ll definitely focus on the Ancestral Hall stuff and won’t catch the old men’s reactions. Hurry, hurry, I want to see the looks on their faces.

Lin Ziyan: …Al-alright.

As the youngest child of the Lin family, Lin Ziyan had been oppressed by his older siblings since childhood and was used to it. Their family had never been one for brotherly love or polite harmony; his older brothers and sisters were each more overbearing than the last. Lin Zixin, being his full brother, was actually considered quite good to him.

Lin Ziyan: Bro, if things go south, I’m selling you out immediately.

Lin Zixin: Yeah, yeah, I’ll take the fall. Just be quick about it, I’m waiting for the stream.

Lin Ziyan: By the way, I don’t have a streaming account…

Lin Zixin: Just start a video call so I can see the scene! Why are you so thick-headed?

Lin Ziyan: Oh.

It was only a fifteen-minute journey from the Lin Family Old Mansion to the Lin Family Ancestral Hall. While they were driving there, the eldest Lin brother—the father of Lin Zixin and Lin Ziyan, Elder Lin—also drove over to join them. Examining the Feng Shui of the Ancestral Hall required the presence of the eldest son, as resolving Feng Shui issues sometimes necessitated structural changes to the hall, and having the eldest son present allowed for immediate decisions.

The Lin Family Ancestral Hall was built against the mountain, situated at its base, while the ancestral graves lay further up the slopes.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Xie Sui noticed the small river flowing around the ancestral hall.

He squinted, looking up the mountain against the current of the water.

If he guessed correctly, the Lin family must have consulted a high-level master to examine the Feng Shui before building this ancestral hall. The positioning of the Water Mouth¹ was particularly interesting.

Miao Xiyong’s Zang Jing Yi² stated: “The Water Mouth is the place where all waters of a region converge and exit.”

The Water Mouth is the source from which river water flows out, and in Feng Shui, it carries the connotations of a ‘path of life’ or an ‘exit.’

Water governs wealth, and the Water Mouth not only controls the amount of fortune but also serves as a symbol of life, death, and future prospects. It is the very soul of a Feng Shui Formation.

Some highly skilled Feng Shui practitioners can predict the prosperity or decline of a family over several decades simply by observing the flow of the river from the Water Mouth with the naked eye.

Of course, Xie Sui did not have deep research into Feng Shui; he was merely a half-baked amateur who knew a bit of theory. However, he was certain that to lock in their wealth, the Lin family must have arranged something near the Water Mouth on the mountain.

Even though it was nearly eleven o’clock at night, Xie Sui could still clearly see a layer of black misfortune shrouding this wealth-bearing stream. But as new water continuously rushed down from the mountain, those black vapors floating above the river were being unraveled and dissipated at an extremely slow pace.

Just as Xie Sui had said before coming here, there wouldn’t actually be a problem even if they left this matter alone. The Lin family’s Feng Shui formation could even resolve this crisis on its own… though the price would likely be a total halt in business for several months.

Second Uncle Lin was also aware of this. Although they hadn’t been able to solve the ancestral hall’s problem over the past two months, several knowledgeable masters had told him that the disaster would naturally resolve itself if they just waited patiently for a few months. However, Second Uncle Lin wanted an immediate solution. The Lin family could not afford the cost of a several-month business shutdown.

The two months Second Uncle Lin had managed to squeeze out was already his limit, and that was only thanks to the Chinese New Year holiday. There was truly no more time left to delay.

An order for a standard cargo ship started at tens of millions, not to mention the container ships in those orders that cost hundreds of millions to build. If the ships currently in their hands couldn’t be launched and the orders remained undelivered, the company could file for bankruptcy in a few more months. Although the Minjiang Shipbuilding Group wasn’t the Lin family’s only industry, it was their most important one. Once something went wrong there, the Lin family’s business wouldn’t see any improvement for a long time.

This was why Second Uncle Lin had been so angry when he learned of Lin Zixin and Xie Sui’s ‘nonsense’ plan… The Lin family truly was regressing with each generation; not a single one of the younger generation was useful.

Seeing Xie Sui stop moving as soon as he got out of the car, Taoist Master Xuanxu let out a cold snort and mocked him with a strange, sarcastic tone. “What? Scared now that you’re here? It’s only natural for a half-baked brat from some pheasant sect³ no one’s ever heard of to be afraid. But it’s too late to back out now. Just wait to squat in prison for ten years. It might help you refine your character, ha-ha-ha.”

Snapping back to his senses, Xie Sui gave the illiterate old Taoist a helpless look. Unwilling to argue further, he walked quickly toward the ancestral hall.

Seeing that Xie Sui didn’t react at all, Taoist Master Xuanxu became even angrier. He gave the horsetail whisk in his hand a forceful flick and, with a speed that didn’t belong to an old man at all, trotted ahead of Xie Sui and entered the ancestral hall first.

Xie Sui stepped aside to avoid the trailing robes of Taoist Master Xuanxu and sighed helplessly.

He was genuinely afraid that this Taoist Master Xuanxu, running so fast, might trip over his own feet and hurt himself. Getting injured wouldn’t be a big deal, but he feared the old man would try to frame him for it afterward.

Why was this old Taoist so irritable? Irritability and anger are early signs of dementia, aren’t they? Is he really okay?

Counting Elder Lin, their group had driven four cars in total, all of which were parked by the river.

After everyone had gotten out and headed toward the ancestral hall, under the cover of the deep night, the flowing river water suddenly bubbled for a brief moment. A few splashes rose, as if something invisible had darted out of the water at extreme speed.

Xie Sui walked into the Lin Family Ancestral Hall with the others, his expression natural, as if he were completely unaware that an invisible thing had crawled out of the river and was following behind them.

Translator’s Notes