Chapter 38: A Rockery Can Alter Feng Shui

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Chapter 38: A Rockery Can Alter Feng Shui

“You should have noticed the feng shui problem too, right?” Chen Yuan said as he looked at Yu Shenliu.

Not entirely sure, Yu Shenliu ventured, “The pond?”

Just as the girl had said earlier, there was an old building here. Zhuowen Academy had been around for many years, so the old buildings themselves should originally have been laid out with feng shui in mind. Naturally, there had been no problems for many years. But then something happened.

First, someone drowned in the lotus pond. Originally, the yin qi of the pond should have been relatively balanced, but once someone had died there, that changed the nature of the pond. In ancient times, someone would certainly have performed rites by the pond to see the deceased off or done something else to deal with the aftermath, and this problem wouldn’t have existed. The problem was that no one had done anything. As a result, the qi flowing from the pond into the Second Teaching Building was already somewhat wrong. That alone might not have been enough to cause trouble, but then the building was renovated, and the staircases were made to wind around in all directions. The yin qi flowing in from outside had no easy way to escape, so it remained trapped inside the Second Teaching Building. Over time, it inevitably began causing problems.

Chen Yuan continued, breaking the matter down and explaining it bit by bit. “I don’t know about other schools of practice, but for me, the study of feng shui is called feng shui precisely because it comes down to these two things.”

“Feng, in the school of practice I study, refers to qi—yin qi, yang qi, heroic qi, stagnant qi, water vapor, and so on. Anything that is difficult to see with the naked eye but can affect a building can collectively be called ‘feng.’”

“Shui refers to more than just lakes and rivers. Water flows downward, so observing water means observing how the terrain changes. To put it somewhat dramatically, this is what is meant by ‘seeking the dragon.’ Water itself can also represent vitality and connect with the earth’s qi.”

“So when constructing a building, you have to pay attention to ventilation, and water can’t simply be placed wherever you like, either. Zhuowen Academy must have had someone assess the feng shui before the buildings were originally constructed. But when they renovated the place later, I’m afraid they didn’t pay attention to this issue. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have caused so many problems.” Chen Yuan was somewhat exasperated. This world, after all, had never experienced a cultural rupture, so things were still fairly good in many respects. In his previous world, there was bad feng shui everywhere you looked, more than anyone could keep track of. There were plenty of people who arranged their yang residences like yin residences , too, piling up all kinds of auspicious objects such as pixiu figurines, adding various bronze vessels, and thinking that doing so would somehow fix the feng shui. It was simply laughable.

“Then how do we solve it?” Yu Shenliu listened as Chen Yuan spoke freely and wisely encouraged him to continue. Whenever Chen Yuan talked about things related to metaphysics, he seemed especially animated. And Yu Shenliu liked Chen Yuan precisely because he was so confident and commanding in his own field.

To love someone was to love the way they looked when they spread their wings and took flight.

That was how Yu Shenliu saw it. That was why he liked asking Chen Yuan questions and listening to him talk about things he might not necessarily understand.

“Tell the school to fill in half of this pond.” Chen Yuan pointed at the half of the pond without lotus flowers. “Use a rockery or a sculpture or something similar to suppress this area. As long as the arrangement is done properly, at least this building won’t be so sinister. But I’m afraid the maze problem still can’t be solved. That’s because the staircases inside the building are too chaotic.”

With just a few words, Chen Yuan had solved the problem of students jumping from the building. But…

“What about the depression?” Wasn’t Chen Yuan supposed to be dealing with the girl’s depression this time? Yu Shenliu couldn’t help asking.

Chen Yuan spread his hands. “Isn’t it obvious? Once we know there’s a problem here, we can deduce a lot of things from it. I just glanced at the class schedules posted outside several classrooms. Most of those classes were concentrated in a few particular majors. In other words, most of the students in those majors have to attend classes here, and so do their teachers. If they stay in this building for too long, it’s only natural that they would be affected by it and develop depression. That girl should be a student in one of those majors, too. At the very least, she spends a lot of time in this building.”

That works too?

Yu Shenliu’s eyes widened.

“Actually, the environment is still just the environment. If someone is mentally resilient enough, they may not necessarily be affected by it. As for her, she’s been suppressed by her mother for a long time, so she already had something that could trigger her. Add the influence of the environment, and it’s perfectly normal for her to become depressed in such a short period of time.” Chen Yuan stood up. “When are you planning to have someone take care of this?” His gaze drifted toward the lotus pond, indicating that he was referring to the problem of filling it in. “It’d be best if you had me there to keep an eye on things. Otherwise, who knows if they’ll try to get clever and end up doing something unnecessary.” Wasn’t that exactly how this building and the lotus pond had gone from a feng shui treasure spot to what they were now?

“Of course I’ll have you there. Otherwise, where would I find a metaphysics master?” Yu Shenliu smiled and said jokingly, “But how much… ‘sincerity’ are you planning to ask for?” He had picked up Chen Yuan’s way of putting things, though there was a teasing note in his voice.

“You can just claim the expense for me. As long as it’s enough to cover costs, that’s all that matters.” Chen Yuan wasn’t particularly concerned about it. Even if his client was the government, there was nothing particularly special about that as far as he was concerned. Back then, although they were always saying that Party members couldn’t have religious beliefs, weren’t a whole bunch of government officials still scrambling to believe in this religion or that one? When building a high-rise, they even had a marble yin-yang symbol put into the floor. Who knew which ignorant charlatan had done that? Who arranges indoor feng shui by making it that obvious? Other people concealed their arrangements and made them unobtrusive, without leaving any trace. Yet that person had taken several million yuan in fees and produced something like that. It was utterly humiliating!

“That little?” Yu Shenliu raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. Generally speaking, if someone got the chance to do business with the government, shouldn’t they take the opportunity to charge as much as possible? After all, in most people’s eyes, the government wasn’t short of money.

“What good would asking for more do?” Chen Yuan countered. “Where would I even spend that much money?”

That question left Yu Shenliu momentarily at a loss for words. He had instinctively assumed that Chen Yuan should ask for a large sum of money. After all, just look at the fees Chen Yuan normally charged. They were by no means cheap. But then again, Chen Yuan didn’t usually buy any random odds and ends, nor had he shown any interest in a luxurious lifestyle. It seemed he really didn’t have anywhere to spend the money. Yu Shenliu shook his head. “You really are quite open-minded.”

Chen Yuan smiled. “Since I’ve chosen the path of metaphysics, I shouldn’t think about using metaphysics to amass wealth. Having enough to get by is enough. Being too greedy for more won’t end well.” This was also one of the taboos of practicing metaphysics. Anyone who truly intended to use metaphysics to amass wealth would inevitably suffer the consequences.

There were many taboos related to metaphysics. This was merely one of them.

“All right.” With a sigh, Yu Shenliu got to his feet as well. “Let’s take care of this this afternoon. Yuanyuan, come with me. It’ll be easier for you to see what’s going on.”

Yuanyuan?

Chen Yuan stared at Yu Shenliu in surprise. He hadn’t misheard him, had he? What kind of way was that to address someone? Yet Yu Shenliu’s expression was completely calm, as though he had merely called him by name without a second thought.

Inside, however, Yu Shenliu’s heart was pounding like a drum. It had taken all his courage to call him that, and it was a form of address he had thought about for a long time. Calling Chen Yuan directly by his name had always felt a little too distant, while the other ways of addressing him all seemed somewhat strange. Although Yuanyuan sounded a little feminine, it was easy enough to say. After agonizing over it for ages, he had finally managed to call him that just now.

After saying it, Yu Shenliu still had to pretend to be calm, as though he had simply called him that on a whim. He was so nervous that his back was starting to sweat.

Chen Yuan looked Yu Shenliu up and down, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. In the end, he decided to let it go. Yuanyuan it was. It was the first time anyone had addressed him so intimately. Perhaps it was… interesting?

And so he let the matter pass and replied, “Mm, all right. The sooner we take care of this, the sooner we can avoid any more problems happening here.”

Chen Yuan’s tacit acceptance allowed Yu Shenliu to secretly breathe a sigh of relief. He put on an expression as though nothing had happened, smiled, and nodded, though he was secretly thrilled.

“Don’t call me by my full name anymore. It feels too formal. Just call me by my given name.” He said it as casually as if it were nothing.

Chen Yuan frowned slightly. “…Shenliu?” It felt a little strange, but since Yu Shenliu himself had asked, there was no harm in calling him that.

Yu Shenliu secretly reveled in it.

In any case, the trip to Zhuowen Academy was an enormous success for everyone involved, whether Yu Shenliu, Chen Yuan, the girl, or the city government. To put it in the sort of official-sounding language used in reports, it was a victorious trip, a united trip, an enterprising trip that had produced positive results and was well worth commemorating at length.

That afternoon, Yu Shenliu took Chen Yuan to the government offices. Although the rise of science had led more and more people to question metaphysics, metaphysics was still an important part of traditional culture and remained perfectly acceptable in Huaxia. So when Yu Shenliu openly said that the problem at Zhuowen Academy was caused by the feng shui of a particular building and that he had invited a master to resolve it, nobody said a word.

After all, even if something went wrong, Yu Shenliu would be the one responsible. And hadn’t everyone kept their mouths shut? So, following Yu Shenliu’s instructions, they notified the people at Zhuowen Academy, contacted the construction company, and prepared the necessary materials. That very afternoon, following Chen Yuan’s instructions, they filled half of the lotus pond in front of the Second Teaching Building and built a rockery there.

As it turned out, Zhuowen Academy had quite a bit of money. Once they learned that the feng shui needed to be adjusted, they immediately requested large pieces of Taihu stone to construct the rockery instead of using artificial stone. Its many holes allowed the qi to circulate freely, preventing the airflow near the entrance of the Second Teaching Building from becoming stagnant and the atmosphere from growing even more oppressive. In addition, Taihu stone had been shaped by flowing water for years, so it naturally carried a trace of water vapor.

And so, the matter at Zhuowen Academy was resolved. Some people waited to see it fail, while others genuinely hoped the rockery would work. But more than ten days later, when the students and teachers who had originally suffered from depression began recovering one after another, everyone at the city government understood what was going on.

That young man rumored to be Mayor Yu’s lover really was a genuine mystic.

After that, those who wanted to curry favor with Yu Shenliu and those who were genuinely interested in metaphysics all went to great lengths to track down Chen Yuan’s shop. They eagerly begged Chen Yuan to help them tell their fortunes, read their faces, adjust their feng shui, and so on.

Because there were so many people, Chen Yuan simply started taking appointments and handing out queue numbers. Even with so many people waiting, however, Chen Yuan still stuck to his habit of only working in the mornings and closing up at noon. His working hours were practically comparable to those of specialist clinics in his original world.

Moreover, appointments weren’t limited to same-day bookings with numbers issued only for that day. Instead, the queue just kept getting longer. As a result, the number of people making appointments only continued to grow.

There was also a five-hundred-yuan appointment fee just to get a queue number, which Chen Yuan donated to charitable organizations. That could be considered another good deed.

Even so, Chen Yuan really did have the skills to back up his reputation. After a few days, some of the people who had originally come hoping to use the opportunity to build connections with him discovered what he was really capable of. They all felt that the money had been incredibly well spent. Word spread from person to person, and before long, people were practically clamoring to get a queue number. It even got to the point where scalpers appeared, reselling appointment queue numbers.

It really was amazing that scalpers managed to crop up everywhere.

Chen Yuan, however, felt that this meant he was helping boost Huaxia’s GDP, wasn’t he? Come to think of it, he was doing a good deed after all.

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