One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

When Jiang Shou gave his diagnosis of "sallow complexion, dark eyes, and fatigue," the air in the hall seemed to freeze for two seconds.

The old woman was the first to react, her cloudy eyes instantly brightening with a startling light. She nodded repeatedly, excitedly slapping her thigh: "Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly it! Every night, just as I fall asleep, it's like I'm being held down by a ghost, unable to breathe! Oh my, Little Celestial Master has truly inherited the essence of Old Immortal Jiang! He recognized it at a glance!"

However, Wang Daqiang, who was standing to the side, only frowned.

After a brief moment of surprise, a look of doubt and helplessness returned to his tired face. He sighed and tugged at his mother's sleeve: "Mom, what kind of 'true inheritance' is this? Didn't we just say at the door that I had nightmares all night? And when you were kowtowing to the statue, you kept muttering that I was being paralyzed by a ghost and hadn't slept well... This hall is so small, anyone who isn't deaf can hear you!"

Wang Daqiang's logic was extremely rigorous. In his view, the young man in front of him, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, was simply a con artist trying to take advantage of his mother's recent prayers to put on a show of being a big shot.

He turned his head, staring at Jiang Shou, his tone laced with undisguised annoyance and sarcasm: "Young Master Jiang? Since you're so amazing, then tell me, how do you cure my ailment? Can you prescribe me a few doses of sedatives on the spot?"

Jiang Shou secretly gave the fat man a thumbs up. This guy might be weak, but his mind was really clear. No wonder he's a boss.

If he hadn't been carrying around a cheat code for the Cold Season, he would have called the fortune teller an idiot and called the police if he'd encountered one on the street.

However, since we've already decided to take on this business, we have to keep up the act to the very end.

Jiang Shou's hands remained firmly behind his back, his gaze not only unwavering but also filled with a hint of pity as he looked at Wang Daqiang, his tone as flat as a dry well:

"Medicine can't cure all diseases, and Buddha only helps those with affinity. Tranquilizing medicine can heal your physical body, but it can't cure the evil spirits in your home."

"A curse?" Wang Daqiang sneered, his eyes fixed on Jiang Shou. "Young man, your kind of swindling tricks might fool an old woman like me who's desperate for a cure, but they won't fool me. I, Wang Daqiang, have been doing construction work for so many years, what kind of scoundrels haven't I seen? Out of respect for Old Immortal Jiang, I won't bother with you, but please don't try to curse me with this feudal superstition."

As he spoke, he turned and pulled his elderly mother away.

"Qiangzi! Shut up!" The old woman was exasperated. She forcefully shook off her son's hand and slapped Wang Daqiang on the back. "How dare you speak to the Little Celestial Master like that! You're trying to drive me crazy!"

After scolding her son, the old woman quickly turned around, clasped her hands together, and bowed repeatedly to Jiang Shou, her face full of apology: "Little Celestial Master, I'm so sorry, so very sorry. My son is tormented by nightmares, making him irritable and outspoken. Please don't take it to heart. I believe you! You just mentioned the evil spirit in the house… what exactly is this evil spirit? And how can we dispel it? Please have mercy and save him!"

Seeing the old woman's sincere and anxious appearance, Jiang Shou felt a pang of pity. But while he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually panicking.

Breaking the evil spirit? He only looked up the Three Pure Ones on Baidu yesterday. How could he possibly break it? His words just now were purely a forced interpretation of the "answer" in the Suihan Order. If he were to actually perform a spell to break the evil spirit on the spot, he would be exposed in no time.

Jiang Shou took a deep breath and used the ultimate technique of delaying tactics—feigning profundity.

He shook his head slightly and sighed, "Grandma, dispelling evil spirits isn't like buying vegetables at the market, where you can just pay and take them away. It requires observing the energy of the house and looking at the feng shui. It's already late today, and your son's heart isn't sincere. Forcing it will only intensify the evil energy."

Seeing the old woman's somewhat desperate eyes, he changed the subject: "However, meeting is fate. If you are willing to believe me, give me your address and phone number. Tonight I need to make some preparations before the ancestral master. Tomorrow morning, I will personally come to your door to remove this evil spirit from your home."

Upon hearing that there was still a chance for things to turn around, the old woman was overjoyed, tears welling up in her eyes. She repeatedly expressed her gratitude: "Thank you, Little Celestial Master! Thank you, Little Celestial Master! Our family runs a building materials supermarket called 'Daqiang Building Materials' in the town center of the neighboring Lingxia Town."

She quickly turned around and kicked her son: "What are you standing there for! Hurry up and give the phone number to the little Taoist priest!"

Wang Daqiang couldn't persuade his mother otherwise, and fearing she might get sick from the stress, he had no choice but to take out his notebook, tear off a piece of paper, quickly write down his phone number and address, and slap it on the altar. "Fine, I'll be waiting for Master Jiang at home tomorrow to see how you break the curse in this house," Wang Daqiang said, his tone still tinged with disbelief.

"We'll see tomorrow. Take care, gentlemen." Jiang Shou nodded slightly, gesturing for them to leave.

……

Jiang Shouyi escorted the mother and son out of the gate of Shouyi Temple.

Standing on the dilapidated threshold, he then noticed a gleaming black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan parked at the end of the wider mountain road halfway up Cuiwei Mountain.

Wang Daqiang was looking down at his phone in the main hall, sending a WeChat message to the driver who was parked near the Half-Mountain Pavilion to bring the car up to pick them up.

The road leading to Shouyi Temple was so narrow that it was barely wide enough for Jiang's father's dilapidated three-wheeled motorcycle to drive in. The four-wheeled Mercedes could only wait outside.

"Wow, a Mercedes G-Class with a driver, this guy's got some big money..." Jiang Shou looked at the car, swallowed hard, and felt that the "donation money" for this deal was definitely not low.

Wang Daqiang helped his elderly mother slowly walk towards the Mercedes. A mountain breeze blew by, and Jiang Shou could still hear the old woman scolding her son from afar: "You good-for-nothing! How could you be so disrespectful to the Little Celestial Master? That old Immortal Jiang saved your grandfather's life back then! Tomorrow when he comes, you better show him some respect, you hear me…?"

Wang Daqiang didn't argue; he just lowered his head, helping his mother into the car while helplessly agreeing repeatedly. He seemed like a tough guy who didn't believe in superstitions, but he was truly filial to his mother.

I watched as the Mercedes turned around and drove down the mountain, disappearing around the bend in the woods.

Jiang Shou quickly slammed the gate of the Taoist temple shut and bolted it shut.

He leaned against the door, eagerly reaching into his inner pocket to pull out the "Suihan Order" and glance at it.

On the back of the wooden plaque, the four lines of small regular script, radiating a faint blue light, still floated silently: [Obstructions in the house bring unease to the bedside. Nightmares are not caused by ghosts, but by an inauspicious location...]

The handwriting remained unchanged, and the divination symbols did not disappear.

Jiang Shou stroked his chin, drawing on his extensive experience from playing online games in his dorm room during his four years of university, and instantly made a judgment: "Got it. This is just like accepting a quest from an NPC in a game; the quest is currently in progress. It should only disappear after I go there tomorrow to break the curse and complete the quest, and then the words on it will be settled with me."

This logic is a perfect closed loop!

only……

Jiang Shou's excitement lasted less than three seconds before completely crumbling. Why tell that mother and son he'd come tomorrow instead of showing off his power now? The reason is simple: Jiang Shou is currently a complete novice! A mere parrot reciting answers from a cheat code!

Based on the divination text of the "Suihanling" (a divination method), he knew that the person was not encountering a ghost, but rather that there was a problem with the feng shui of their home, which was being "affected by an inauspicious location".

But... what exactly is this "煞"? How did he figure it out? And how do he break free from it? He was completely baffled and clueless!

"Holy crap! Showing off is fun for a moment, and it's even more fun if you keep showing off!"

Jiang Shoumeng turned around and rushed towards the side room in the backyard.

The door was pushed open with a "bang".

He rushed to the old mahogany desk and grabbed the thread-bound handwritten copy of "Shouyi Temple: Introduction to the Three Arts" left by his grandfather.

"Feng Shui... Feng Shui... Which page is the Simple Feng Shui Technique on...?" Jiang Shou smacked his fingers and flipped through the pages of the book with a loud rustling sound.

"Found it!" Flipping to the middle to the back, a line of large traditional Chinese characters suddenly came into view: "Simplified Feng Shui Techniques: Form and Evil Elements Chapter".

Jiang Shou excitedly slammed the book on the table, pulled over the lamp, and leaned closer to take a look.

next second.

Looking at the densely packed classical Chinese texts, devoid of even a single modern punctuation mark...

Jiang Shou's body stiffened, his eyes glazed over, and his whole body went numb.

This feeling is like the night before your final exam in college, when you finally open that brand-new "Advanced Mathematics" book, only to find that you recognize every word individually, but when put together, it's like a book written in a foreign language!