I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

Kowloon Tong, the Fok Family Villa.

This is the residence of Huo Shichang, the second master of the Huo family. Huo Shichang and Huo Shirong are only ten years apart in age.

But these past ten years have felt like they've separated people into two different worlds.

Huo Shirong lived on Victoria Peak and controlled most of the Huo family's business. He could make the docks stop and land prices skyrocket with a single word. Huo Shichang, on the other hand, could only guard this villa in Kowloon Tong and earn some scraps of profit under the nose of the eldest son's family.

In recent years, Huo Shirong has been lacking in energy, and people outside are saying that the second branch of the Huo family is about to rise again.

Huo Shichang thought so too. Since the eldest brother was getting old, he should gradually hand over the business he was in charge of; Huo Yuncheng, that playboy, couldn't hold his own, and no matter how shrewd Huo Qingtang was, she was still a woman after all.

In the end, isn't it Huo Shichang who can truly uphold the Huo family's reputation?

But things didn't go as he expected.

Huo Shirong preferred to support Huo Qingtang little by little rather than truly hand over his assets to him; he preferred to keep control of the docks and real estate to his own people rather than let the second branch of the family touch the most crucial parts of the family.

He deliberately went to Southeast Asia to find a highly skilled feng shui master, and then spent two or three years gradually changing the feng shui of the Huo family residence on Victoria Peak. Just when things were finally in disarray halfway up the mountain, which should have been an opportunity to get involved, it was ruined by a poor boy who came out of an old alley in Sham Shui Po.

This made Huo Shichang increasingly irritable during this period.

On what grounds?

Why is it that Huo Shirong can live on Victoria Peak, while Huo Shichang can only live in Kowloon Tong?

Why is it that the best things from the Huo family always have to be sent to the eldest son's family first?

This Huo family villa is always quiet at night, so quiet that even the servants dare not drag their shoes when they walk.

But tonight, a faint sobbing sound came from the courtyard.

It was a Western dog that had been raised for two years. It had white fur, short legs, and was always good at pleasing its owner.

Just now, it stole a piece of ham from Huo Shichang's table when no one was looking.

Originally, it was just a bite to eat.

Huo Shichang glanced at it, his face showing not a trace of anger. He simply put down his wine glass and said calmly, "Drag it away and beat it to death."

The courtyard immediately fell silent.

The servants were taken aback at first, then quickly stepped forward.

The dog seemed to sense something was wrong, and it tucked its tail between its legs and tried to crawl under the table leg, but before it could get in, it was pulled out by someone.

It struggled twice, whimpering, its voice growing more and more pitiful.

The servants in the corridor turned pale, but none of them dared to plead for it.

Huo Shichang remained seated, slowly wiping his fingers as if he had merely swatted away a fly.

The dog's barking quickly turned into screams, and then quickly subsided.

In the end, only the dull thud of wooden sticks hitting flesh and bones remained in the courtyard, one after another, sending chills down one's spine.

Huo Shichang then picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and seemed to finally feel some peace and quiet.

What he disliked most was never dogs.

It's something that doesn't follow the rules; it's something that rightfully belongs to you, but some animal sticks its mouth out and touches it.

Half an hour later, the yard was cleaned up and the bloodstains were washed away.

Huo Shichang got up and went into the study, and the few people who had been waiting followed him in.

Only two wall lamps were on in the study, casting a yellowish light that cast shadows on everyone's faces.

Sitting to Huo Shichang's left were Boss Luo, who managed the docks; Manager Cai, who ran accounts for him; and a thin-faced middle-aged man in a long gown surnamed Xu, who was usually good at giving advice to others.

There were two letters in the study, sent by someone Huo Shichang had placed in the Huo residence on Taiping Mountain.

The people in the study had already read the contents of the two letters.

Huo Shichang said with displeasure, "I thought I could take advantage of this time to get involved in more matters on the mountain, but before I could even make a move, the plan on the mountain was broken. What do you suggest we do next?"

Old Luo, the dock manager, glanced at him. His face was rugged and menacing. He spoke first, "Second Master, isn't he just some young feng shui master? If you don't like him, I'll send a few men over and take care of him."

Huo Shichang didn't speak, but Mr. Xu shook his head first.

"You can't do that."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was steady: "The Huo family just acknowledged him; it would be too conspicuous to make a direct move now. Besides, someone who can understand the situation halfway up the mountain isn't some easily dismissed con artist."

Boss Luo snorted, "A mere brat, what makes him think he can turn the world upside down?"

Upon hearing this, Huo Shichang finally raised his eyes.

Whether something can cause upheaval or not has nothing to do with age.

He leaned back in his chair, his fingertips slowly tapping the table, the coldness in his eyes like the brown of tea under the lamp, pressing down layer by layer.

"How many gentlemen have gone to the other side of the mountain lately? He saw what others couldn't; he suppressed what others couldn't. Are these the kind of people we can just mess with?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

There are too many people in Hong Kong who believe in feng shui.

Who isn't worried about messing with a tough nut to crack, someone who could kill you without you even knowing how you died?

Steward Cai, adept at reading people's expressions, quickly whispered, "Second Master, now is not the time to lose your temper. Now that the man surnamed Chen has shown himself, it's best to first see how capable he really is."

Mr. Xu then chimed in, "Let's find someone to try it out first."

Huo Shichang paused in tapping the table: "How do we try it?"

"Don't use anyone from the Huo family, and don't involve Second Master's name," Mr. Xu said. "Find an outside setup, make it look natural, and let him walk right into it. If he's really capable, we'll pay him a visit then, politely inviting him over. No one will suspect that this test was orchestrated by Second Master."

Upon hearing this, Boss Luo grinned and said, "But what if he doesn't have the ability?"

Mr. Xu adjusted his glasses, a slight smile playing on his lips. "That just means he happened to get a good deal from the Huo family. Several young men like him drown in the river every year; one more won't make a difference."

The light in the study flickered softly, and the shadows of the trees outside the window pressed against the glass like layers of black water slowly rising.

Huo Shichang remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't that he didn't want to deal with Chen Qinghe; on the contrary, he really wanted to.

But it's precisely because of this type of person that you shouldn't confront them head-on while you're angry.

The most troublesome thing about feng shui masters is not their methods, but that you can't figure out how deep they really are.

If he's really capable, he might be able to turn the tables on you if you make enemies head-on; but if you don't try, how will you know if this kid is just good at watching houses or if he can unravel deeper schemes?

Thinking of this, Huo Shichang slowly nodded.

"good."

"Let's go find someone to test the waters first."

He raised his eyes, his voice not loud, but the people in the room tensed up slightly.

"If this young gentleman can really handle it, then we'll pay him a visit. We'll be very polite in inviting him and giving him a proper tour; after all, he won't know that we were the ones who let him go this time."

Neither Boss Luo nor Manager Cai responded, because they knew that Huo Shichang's tone often carried an even harsher undertone.

Sure enough, he paused for a moment, and a slight smile slowly appeared on his lips.

The smile was faint, yet it sent chills down your spine more than the dog that had been beaten to death in the yard earlier.

"But if he can't even handle this much..."

Huo Shichang's gaze fell on the few messages sent from Taiping Mountain on the table, and the gloom in his eyes slowly dissipated like ink.

"Then don't let him go back to Sham Shui Po."

After he finished speaking, the study became so quiet that only the hoarse lyrics from the gramophone could be heard spinning in circles.

No one considered whether Huo Shichang was joking or not.

Everyone in Hong Kong knows that the second master of the Huo family is far more ruthless than the eldest master.

In this Kowloon Tong villa, even a dog that eats the wrong bite of ham won't live more than fifteen minutes. If a feng shui master who ruins his plans is truly incompetent, he certainly shouldn't live either.

As the night deepened outside the window, the lights of Victoria Peak floated faintly in the distance, like another world.