I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

Chen Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward, lit three incense sticks, and steadily placed them into the burner.

"When did you leave?"

Huang Shouzhou said in a low voice, "It's been more than three months. The illness came on suddenly, and he couldn't hold on."

"sick?"

"Yes, yes," Huang Shouzhou said. "At first, I couldn't eat anything, then I lost a lot of weight, and after a few days I couldn't get out of bed. I consulted a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner specializing in bone-setting and also Western medicine doctors, but they all said they couldn't find anything seriously wrong."

Chen Qinghe didn't respond to that, but just quietly looked at the memorial tablet.

After a long while, Chen Qinghe turned his head and looked at Huang Shouzhou, asking, "Which chapter of the Three Mysteries of Feng Shui have you studied, Senior Brother?"

"what?"

"Haven't you studied it?" Chen Qinghe asked curiously.

Huang Shouzhou opened his mouth, his face turning pale and then flushed, before he gave an awkward smile: "My master passed away early and never taught me these things."

Ten minutes later, under Chen Qinghe's calm gaze, Huang Shouzhou finally couldn't hold back any longer and explained what had happened.

That year, when my uncle Li Zhengfeng first arrived in Hong Kong, he met Huang Shouzhuo.

When he was young, his uncle was carefree and arrogant. He only regarded Huang Shouzhou as his feng shui assistant, and taught him some small tricks and methods by word of mouth, but did not systematically teach Huang Shouzhou the proper Three Mysteries Feng Shui techniques.

Later, Li Zhengfeng passed away without leaving Huang Shouzhou a single word.

To make a living, Huang Shouzhou would also use his uncle's name to take on small jobs such as looking after houses and renovating storefronts.

As the saying goes, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've still seen a pig run, right?

Having followed Li Zhengfeng around for so long, Huang Shouzhou listened and took notes, gradually learning a few impressive-sounding phrases.

Outsiders don't understand, but when they hear him talk about "bright hall," "water mouth," and "clashing evil spirits," they believe about 70-80% of it.

But if we really talk about the overall picture, let alone the lineage of the Three Mysteries Temple, he hasn't even grasped the most basic principles.

Now that my uncle has left, only Huang Shouzhou is left here to guard this place.

After hearing this, Chen Qinghe stood up and bowed to Huang Shouzhuo: "Although you are not a fellow practitioner of our Sanxuan Temple, since you are keeping vigil for our Uncle, you deserve to be called my senior brother."

This bow was something Huang Shouzhou had never expected.

Suddenly, my heart felt warm.

"But senior brother, there's something wrong with the feng shui layout of this room. Did you do it?"

Huang Shouzhou nodded awkwardly: "Master Li used to do it himself. After he passed away, I didn't know much, so sometimes I just fiddled with it according to my own understanding."

Chen Qinghe said, "Then these few places need some changes."

He turned to look at the round mirror: "A mirror hanging in the middle of the gate doesn't ward off evil spirits, it only diminishes the incense offerings. An incense table leaning to the west doesn't welcome positive energy, it only drains people's hearts. A water vat in the center of the courtyard pressing down on a line doesn't allow for shelter from the wind and the gathering of water, it blocks the flow of energy and cuts off the path."

"Has your senior been having a lot of worries lately? Things haven't been going smoothly for you, it's completely different from before?"

These words made Huang Shouzhou's heart skip a beat, and his expression immediately changed: "Good junior brother, good junior brother! You are absolutely right!"

Huang Shouzhou said with a mournful face, "Ever since Master Li passed away, nothing has gone smoothly for me!"

"At first, I could get some small jobs by relying on Master Li's name, but things got increasingly wrong later. I messed up several jobs. You're lucky you came. If you had arrived in two months, I wouldn't have been able to afford the rent here."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qinghe sighed inwardly.

Then he said, "This feng shui arrangement was originally designed to gather wealth and nourish energy, but you casually moved and changed it, blocking the draft and causing wealth to flow out. The feng shui lines are all messed up."

"Oh? Then... what should we do?"

Chen Qinghe remained silent. Huang Shouzhou, a discerning man in Hong Kong, immediately recognized Chen Qinghe's genuine talent.

Anyway, it's different from me.

When I talk to people about things like feng shui and physiognomy, I feel incredibly insecure.

But the young man's relaxed tone gave Huang Shouzhou a sense of reassurance that was hard to explain.

"We have to cling to this powerful figure; now that Master Li is gone... we can only rely on him."

Huang Shou-chou's mind raced.

He smiled ingratiatingly at Chen Qinghe and said, "Junior brother, you must be tired from your journey. Let me boil some water for you and get you something to eat. Let's rest for a bit, and I'll tell you about Master tomorrow."

Chen Qinghe turned and glanced at him.

This glance wasn't heavy, but Huang Shouzhou subconsciously tensed his back.

"Senior brother," Chen Qinghe began, "have you been using the name of the Three Mysteries Temple to take on jobs while you've been out here lately?"

Huang Shouzhou's heart skipped a beat, but he forced a smile and said, "These are just small jobs, like watching over shops and choosing auspicious days. They're just adding a little something to the temple's offerings."

"Add incense?" Chen Qinghe's gaze fell on the old incense burner, neither confirming nor denying.

Huang Shou-zhuo's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Chen Qinghe continued, "You can tell the direction a door faces, you can talk a bit about the Mingtang water mouth, and you know how to place mirrors, move jars, and change table legs, but these are all miscellaneous methods copied from outside. The Sanxuan Feng Shui method first looks at the terrain, then determines the center line, and finally discusses the opening and closing. You've completely reversed the order; the more you do, the more mistakes you make."

Huang Shouzhou, embarrassed by his words, simply stopped pretending, sighed, and lowered his voice, saying, "Junior brother, I admit, I really haven't learned much. Master's health deteriorated later, and his temper became strange; he didn't teach me much of the proper stuff. I'm all alone in this wretched place in Hong Kong. If I don't go out and find work, what will I eat and drink?"

That's somewhat true.

After listening, Chen Qinghe simply nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He has figured it out.

Huang Shouzhou was not a disciple of his master, but he was probably not a bad person, otherwise his uncle would not have kept him by his side for so long.

Based on a first glance at the feng shui layout of the house, Chen Qinghe felt that Huang Shouzhou must have left some trouble behind.

Taking on small jobs... that's probably not the case.

Chen Qinghe's eyes fell on the back room. He had just seen a bag of packed luggage in the back room, with a boat ticket on it.

Although my uncle has passed away, it seems he still left behind quite a few loose ends in Hong Kong.

Thinking of this, Chen Qinghe's gaze swept over the water vat in the courtyard, the missing corner of the threshold at the door, and the round mirror in the hall that shouldn't be there.

My uncle died suddenly, and the people guarding the temple only half understood what was going on, yet the temple's layout was changed in this way.

Whether Huang Shou-zhou did this himself or someone else came and deliberately tampered with it remains to be seen.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the alley, as if someone was walking quickly towards them.

Huang Shouzhou's expression changed slightly, and he almost instinctively glanced at the door, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.

Chen Qinghe noticed this expression and his heart skipped a beat.

It seems that not only are there problems within the temple, but Huang Shou-zhou's troubles outside have also come knocking on his door.

He didn't say anything, but simply placed the snakeskin bag against the wall and slowly rolled up his sleeves.

Three sticks of incense burned straight up in the hall, the memorial tablet stood quietly, and a slightly swaying light was reflected in the misplaced water vat in the courtyard.

Chen Qinghe looked up at the door, his expression remaining calm.