Dream Walker: Feng Shui Master Bai Ya

The next morning, the phone rang early, startling Shang Muchen.

The person who answered the phone was Li Weiqiang, the captain of the criminal investigation team.

"Little Shang..."

"Good morning, Uncle Li, yawn—"

"Why are you everywhere...?" Li Weiqiang's voice was full of doubt on the phone.

"Huh? What did you say? *yawn*" Shang Muchen rubbed his eyes and struggled to get up.

"Last night, a fire broke out in the residential area of ​​Tengfei Electronics Company. A unit in Building 6, Unit 1, Room 101 was robbed and burned."

"Ugh... yawn—what's wrong?"

"I need to ask you about someone, Crippled Ma. Do you know him? His house was broken into last night and then burned down."

"Huh?" Shang Muchen immediately sobered up. "What happened? How's Uncle Ma?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. Ma Housheng, nicknamed 'Ma the Cripple,' where is he?"

I checked the surveillance footage, and you were among the last people he saw.

Okay, today is Sunday. If you're free, come to the Municipal Bureau and explain the whole situation to me.

Li Weiqiang commanded in an unquestionable tone.

"Sigh, okay."

Helpless, Shang Muchen recalled his fourth uncle's advice and deeply felt that his words, "Mind your own business," were correct.

After washing up and having some breakfast, Shang Muchen took the subway to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Li Weiqiang didn't take him to the interrogation room. Instead, he led him to the reception room by the door, grinning mischievously, and said, "Little Shang, I'm not trying to scare you, but looking at your deadpan face, do you think you're in trouble?"

"No!" Shang Muchen retorted stubbornly. "I am an upright person who never does anything wrong, and I am not afraid of being questioned."

Uncle Li, please ask whatever you need to say.

"Hehe, actually, I don't have much to ask you about Ma Housheng," Li Weiqiang laughed.

"We found a farewell letter from him. He said he was going to find aliens, so he burned down his house and left home alone. His whereabouts are unknown."

He has no family, is a bachelor in his sixties, and not very bright. He'll be back in a few days; nothing will happen.

"Wow! You're trying to scare me!"

"Nonsense, if I didn't scare you a little, would I have tricked you into coming here?" Li Weiqiang said with a smile, patting Shang Muchen on the shoulder. "I really do have something to ask of you."

Originally, I wanted to ask your fourth uncle for help, but that old slippery eel, Shang Laosi, wouldn't answer my calls.

"If you have anything to say, I'll just pass it on to Fourth Uncle. Don't scare me next time," Shang Muchen said, sticking out his tongue.

"It's not a question, it's a job. Will you take it or not?"

"Work?" Shang Muchen asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "What kind of work do you have?"

"Look at what you're saying, what do you two, uncle and nephew, do?"

"A feng shui master."

"Yes, I have a job related to feng shui. Do you want to take it?"

"Ha, how could I dare to take your job? Is it official business or private work?" Shang Muchen asked with a worried look.

"It's half official business and half personal work," Li Weiqiang said with a smile. "But it's not entirely official business; there are personal matters involved as well."

Shang Muchen observed Li Weiqiang's expression, noticing his ambiguous smile, which wasn't serious but rather playful. Clearly, it wasn't anything of great importance. He pondered...

I'll just say a few nice words to him and get rid of him; I just can't afford to offend him.

"Uncle Li, you've already put it this way, and I've been brought here by you, so it would be unreasonable not to help."

Tell me, what is it?

"Don't ask me to assist with any investigations or anything like that. I'm pretty clueless; I can't pull off any supernatural detective tricks."

"Hey, do we need you to investigate a case?" Li Weiqiang laughed when he saw Shang Muchen agree, and said, "Let's get the price straight up."

How much do you charge as a feng shui master? I heard it's quite expensive.

"How dare I ask for a price from you, sir? You decide what to pay."

"Okay, I'll charge you the expert consultation fee of five hundred a day. I'll pay you for a week now, is that alright?"

"Whatever you say," Shang Muchen said, not daring to haggle. "Could I call my fourth uncle...?"

"That won't do! You have to sign a confidentiality agreement and you can't tell your fourth uncle!"

"Hmph, that grandson Shang Laosi is avoiding me. I'm really not going to tell him any of the fun stuff." Li Weiqiang snorted coldly, then laughed again.

Shang Muchen thought to himself, something's not right. Li Weiqiang is the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team. How could he be so free to play with me?

There's definitely something fishy going on here!

I need to be extra careful.

"I agree to all your conditions. Now, tell me what's on your mind," Shang Muchen said with a shrug, feigning nonchalance.

"The matter is very simple. The company cafeteria is being renovated, and the chimney needs to be rearranged. The plan drawn on the blueprints is that the chimney will be placed right next to my office."

I thought to myself, how can I stand being surrounded by smoke and fire every day?

I need your help to find an excuse to change the location of the chimney.

The head of the engineering department is a huge believer in feng shui; he says nothing else matters, feng shui is the most effective.

Upon hearing this, Shang Muchen frowned inwardly.

Is it really necessary for me to come up with excuses for something so simple?

Besides, if you try to explain it using feng shui principles, will people really listen?

Not right.

Shang Muchen became more cautious and didn't completely believe Li Weiqiang's words, but he still refused him.

"Uncle Li, please take me to your office."

"Okay."

Without further ado, Li Weiqiang led Shang Muchen into the municipal bureau building, winding through the streets until they arrived at a spacious office in a corner on the second floor.

"This is it, look." Li Weiqiang pointed out the window.

Shang Muchen leaned out of the window and saw materials being piled up downstairs, in preparation for the demolition of the old roof of the canteen.

Just then, Li Weiqiang's cell phone rang.

"Feed? Oh. Ah? Yes..."

He walked out while answering the phone.

Shang Muchen's eyes darted around, and he thought, "No, I can't stay alone in the deputy captain's office of the criminal investigation team. Otherwise, if something happens later, I won't be able to explain myself."

Thinking of this, he hurried after Li Weiqiang and walked out of the office.

As soon as Li Weiqiang saw Shang Muchen following him, he pretended that the phone call was very secret, lowered his voice, and quickly walked towards the stairwell.

Shang Muchen followed closely, keeping up with him until they reached a crowded area outside the building. Only when they saw a security camera did Shang Muchen stop and stand under it, watching the flow of people coming and going in the office building.

Li Weiqiang put down the phone, looked back at Shang Muchen standing honestly under the camera, nodded, walked over, patted Shang Muchen on the shoulder, and said very kindly:

"Xiao Shang is indeed reliable."

"Uncle Li, what are you saying?" Shang Muchen said with a wry smile. "If I'm left alone in your office and something goes missing, I can't bear the responsibility."

"Good, you're quick-witted and thorough. Come with me."

With that, Li Weiqiang led Shang Muchen toward the back of the office building.

"Weren't you going to show me the cafeteria?"

"That was a test for you just now," Li Weiqiang said with a smile. "People say that you, 'White Crow' Shang Muchen, are young and reliable, but I don't quite believe it."

I just tested you, and you were right.

Now, let's get down to business.

Shang Muchen smiled wryly, thinking to himself, "No wonder Fourth Uncle didn't want to deal with Li Weiqiang. This guy is indeed complicated."

However, "someone" says I'm reliable, but who is this "someone"?