Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 139 The merit that grows from my land, no one can steal it! [Seeking monthly votes]

Hanging on the wall is a three-dimensional oil painting. According to classification, it should be a thick painting, where the paint is thickly applied to the canvas, and some corners are raised to create a 3D effect.

When Zhou Yi was in college, he saw a thick oil painting sketch in the art department. That thing looked almost like applying putty to the wall.

Typical impasto oil paintings depict flowers and the like, making it easy to create shapes. However, this painting in Fang Hongyan's living room features a very abstract, blood-red eye, surrounded by a lot of black clouds, giving it a distinctly cultish feel.

Zhou Yi took out his compass, and as soon as he turned it on, the needle began to swing violently in the direction of the hanging painting. Clearly, something was wrong with the painting.

Fang Hongyan's mind was no longer on making tea at this moment:
"Master Zhou, is there something wrong with this painting?"

"It's hard to say for now, but if it goes on for a long time, it will definitely affect your family's fortune and health."

Zhou Yi walked over, took a small peach wood sword from the cloth bag Li Bai was carrying, and gently ran it across the raised paint on the painting. He even tore off a small piece and placed it on the rewind talisman, carefully examining it.

"The paint in this painting contains human blood, ashes from burned hair, ashes, and probably black mud from a rotting coffin... In short, it uses all filthy things and has a strong curse power."

Although Fang Hongyan didn't understand feng shui, he knew from hearing these components that it wasn't a good thing. What kind of good person would use human blood and ashes to create a painting?

He wanted to take the painting down and throw it away, but worried it would be too late.

"Master Zhou, what's the best way to deal with this?"

Zhou Yi carefully took the painting down from the wall. The painting was encased in a frame and was quite heavy.

He was about to suggest burning it when he suddenly noticed a name and a date written on the back of the canvas:
[Fang Yuanyuan, February 13, 2003]

Fang Hongyan leaned closer for a look and asked in confusion:
"Wait, why is my daughter's name here? And the date is her Gregorian calendar birthday."

Upon seeing this date, Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat:
"February 13, 2003, was the 2th day of the first lunar month, which is also known as the taboo day of the King of Hell. Was that the day your daughter was born?"

The so-called Yama's Taboo Days, also known as Yang Gong's Taboo Days, are said to have originated from Yang Yunsong, a famous geomancer of the Tang Dynasty, who deduced from the arrangement of the Twenty-Eight Mansions that there were thirteen inauspicious days each year, which were called Yang Gong's Taboo Days. Over time, Yang Gong's Taboo Days became known as Yama's Taboo Days.

The day of Yama's Taboo is considered extremely unlucky, and it is inauspicious to do anything on it. People born on this day often have an unsettled fate.

Fang Hongyan said:
“My daughter was born on this day. When she was just a month old, a fortune teller said that she was destined to be lonely and that if she had a younger brother or sister, it would bring misfortune to the family. So we didn’t have a second child, for fear that something bad might happen to her.”

Zhou Yi felt that such a big boss was too easily swayed by one side. If he refused to have a second child just because of this concern, it would be a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Many destinies are incompatible. Even the most notorious "lonely star" destiny can be easily resolved by auspicious stars such as the Heavenly Nobleman, Heavenly Virtue Nobleman, Lunar Virtue Nobleman, and Fortune Nobleman.

Fang Yuanyuan's life of being alone might improve if she had a younger brother or sister.

However, Zhou Yi did not say these words aloud, but pointed to the painting and said:
“Originally, I planned to burn this painting, but since your daughter’s name and birth date are on it, and it involves the taboo of the King of Hell, I can’t just burn it. I have to resolve the part that is related to your daughter first.”

Fang Hongyan patted his head and said with a headache:
"This child is always causing trouble and never does anything productive."

After saying that, he transferred 50,000 yuan to Zhou Yi via WeChat on his mobile phone... The service fee had already been paid at the company, and this 50,000 yuan was the reward for solving the problem of hanging the painting.

It has to be said that they are quite capable of opening such a large shopping mall. Their approach to problems—investing money first—is a way of looking at and solving problems in a way that is worth promoting.

After transferring the money, Fang Hongyan asked:
"Will my daughter be in any danger? Should we get a deity statue for the house to protect her?"

Zhou Yi took out a talisman that could cover the sky and the sun, and pasted it in the very center of the eyeball in the painting:
“If you’re really worried, you can let her move to the apartment building in the mall. I just cleansed that place yesterday, and it’s very auspicious. Once your daughter moves there, any conspiracy against her will dissipate on its own.”

The blessed land is the natural enemy of all kinds of unorthodox practices. As long as Fang Yuanyuan moves in, no matter what the tattoo artist is planning, it will all be in vain.

Fang Hongyan found it hard to believe:
"Safer than my home?"

Zhou Yi nodded, noticing a sinister Thai Buddha statue on a display shelf not far away, and thought to himself that any place is safer than his home.

If this big boss hadn't been so lucky with money, his whole family might have already fallen victim to the scam.

Without further hesitation, Fang Hongyan took out his phone and made a call to his secretary:

"Find a clean room in the apartment building, set up a computer desk and chair, internet cable, bedding, etc. Yuanyuan is moving in today, so all the furniture should be the best, don't skimp on the price."

After hanging up the phone, he pointed to the painting and asked:

How do we solve this?

The Book of Changes says:

"I need to see your daughter first."

"Alright, I'll get her downstairs right away. I'm entrusting everything to Master Zhou. Mr. Han said you're the highest-ranking Taoist priest in Yiyang City, so please bless my daughter." Wow, this blind man's quite the smooth talker… Zhou Yi nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this."

Now that we've discovered a harmful tattoo artist, we have to bring him to justice. After all, this is a great act of kindness, and missing out on it would be even more painful than a fisherman losing a big fish.

While Zhou Yi was taking on the job, Wu Meiniang and Li Qingzhao were playing a game of catching bamboo poles with playing cards in the Zhongtian Hall of Hunyuan Palace.

The game of catching bamboo poles is quite luck-based; sometimes you can collect a whole stack of playing cards. Li Qingzhao had a lot of fun playing it.
"Sister Meiniang, isn't this the most fun way to play cards?"

Wu Zetian shook her head:
"The Immortal Master said that there are many ways to play poker, such as Dou Dizhu, Run Fast, Golden Flower, Bridge, Double Up, Texas Hold'em, and so on. If you want to learn, the Immortal Master can teach you slowly."

Li Qingzhao's eyes widened in astonishment:

"I never imagined there were so many ways to play. I want to learn them all and take them to the casinos in Tokyo."

Wu Zetian: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

No, is that all you aspire to?

To prevent a gambling addict from actually emerging from Hunyuan Palace, Wu Meiniang patiently said:

“Sister Zhao’er, don’t always think about playing. Even the immortals are working hard to earn merit and bring blessings to all living beings. You and I should work even harder to benefit the people. Besides, in your world, the Jin army will invade in twenty years. Do you want to see more suffering and death?”

Li Qingzhao naturally did not want to:
"But what can I, a woman, do?"

“There are many things you can do, such as getting close to Zhao Xu, helping him prolong his life, and using your influence to change the court and the officials… If Zhao Xu were alive, Western Xia should have been taken back. History books say that he was still holding a map of Western Xia before he died, which is truly lamentable.”

Of the eighteen emperors of the Song Dynasty, only Zhao Xu was ruthless, warlike, and ambitious, earning him the title of the Song Dynasty's version of Emperor Wu of Han. Unfortunately, he died young, never realizing his political ambitions.

Upon hearing of the reconquest of Western Xia, Li Qingzhao stopped playing cards and sincerely sought advice from Wu Zetian:
"Even if His Majesty's lifespan is extended, how will the officials in the court be restrained? The Song Dynasty has always adhered to the principle that high-ranking officials are exempt from punishment, and it is difficult to carry out government affairs based solely on verbal sparring."

Wu Zetian had a plan in mind:
"He employs cruel officials domestically and heavy military generals abroad. Once he conquers Western Xia, Zhao Xu's achievements will far surpass those of all the emperors of the Song Dynasty, and he will have absolute authority in the court."

A ruthless official can silence dissent for a short time. Once the Western Xia is conquered, officials will focus on governance and expansion, and opposition to the war will naturally subside.

Whether it will work or not depends on Zhao Xu's performance and the support provided by the immortal.

At this point, Wu Zetian sighed:

"If Emperor Li Longji or Emperor Wu of Han had given Zhao Xu twenty years, the historical evaluations of the three of them would have been even higher."

If Emperor Wu of Han had died twenty years earlier, he would not have suffered the tragedy of his senile old age and the witchcraft accusations; if Li Longji had died twenty years earlier, he would have gone from being a half-emperor to a great emperor; as for Zhao Xu, if he had been given twenty years, he would very likely have recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and restored the orthodoxy of China.

For some emperors, lifespan was a curse, but for others it was the key to turning their fate around.

In the villa district of Yiyang City, Zhou Yi and Li Bai sat in the living room for a while and met Fang Hongyan's daughter, Fang Yuanyuan.

She had dyed blonde hair, wore ripped jeans and a T-shirt that was obviously a size too big, and kept yawning as she came downstairs, looking like she hadn't woken up yet.

As soon as Zhou Yi could clearly see her features, he asked:
"Ever since you brought this painting home, have you been feeling sleepy during the day and energetic at night?"

When Fang Yuanyuan saw the painting on the wall taken down, she immediately threw a tantrum as a spoiled young lady:
"Who took down my painting? This painting was very expensive; it even had my blood in the paint. The master said he would only paint for me once in his life, and I..."

As she was speaking, Zhou Yi took out a purification talisman from his bag and quickly stuck it on Fang Yuanyuan's neck.

The Purification Talisman can eliminate distracting thoughts and calm emotions. It can also sever the constraints and controls on the metaphysical level, and is a type of purification talisman.

Fang Yuanyuan's emotions quickly calmed down.

Zhou Yi initially wanted to ask about the details of the painting, but then felt it was unnecessary to ask any further.

As Fang Yuanyuan just said, there is her blood in the paint. This delinquent girl's fate is most likely linked to the painting, and the painting is controlled by that tattoo artist... The rich heiress of a billionaire family has been trapped in this mess.

Fortunately, he encountered the I Ching; otherwise, with the evil spirits in Fang Hongyan's business and his daughter being controlled by evil cultivators, his career and family would be in jeopardy, and he would most likely spend the rest of his life in poverty.

The Book of Changes asks:

Does that tattoo artist have a shop?

Fang Yuanyuan nodded:
"Yes, there is. It's located on the antique street and is called Mingli Tattoo. It only serves two customers a day. If you want to get a tattoo from him, you have to queue up in the WeChat group in advance."

An antique-style street?
Zhou Yi planned to take a look around on his way back.

We must take good care of these good things that grow in our own vegetable garden, lest someone else steal them!
(End of this chapter)