Chapter 47

Gan Su Xin left, then I and Pangzi also left.

Later we heard that Su Zhiyuan had gone mad, like an idiot, constantly murmuring Gan Su Xin's name. He finally got what he deserved. Even if Gan Su Xin forgave him, heaven would not be merciful.

Over the next few days, Pangzi and I idled in Chan Yi Hall. On the first day, someone brought a letter from Yao Yirong inviting us to a gathering.

Rumor has it that this girl's birthday is coming up, and she invited some familiar classmates to travel. Honestly, seeing that letter, my first feeling was fear, then shame—I wanted to disappear.

I definitely feel ashamed, because the person who ruined my reputation wasn't Yao Yirong but the dead fatty. I had thought it was Yao Yirong, so I held some resentment toward her. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared, my shame is understandable.

But… I don't know why; I'm just afraid—afraid to see her, even to hear her name. Don't ask me the reason; I myself don't know why I feel this way.

I originally didn't want to attend some weird gathering, but Pangzi said she has become your inner demon. If you don't apologize to her and make things clear, this uneasy feeling will likely linger in your heart, becoming an obstacle on your path of cultivation.

I didn't fully understand, but Pangzi's words made sense, so I agreed to go with him to Anhui for the gathering when the time comes.

In his spare time, Pangzi bought a fine Hetian jade pendant and sent it to Seventh Uncle.

Two days before the gathering, Yuan Qiu introduced us to another job: to do a feng shui reading for a client surnamed Chen. Let's call him Mr. Chen for now.

Mr. Chen's home is in a fancy residential complex, suggesting he's wealthy. After all, back then not all complexes had elevators, and those that did were more expensive.

When Pangzi and I rode the elevator up to his doorstep, we immediately noticed the problem.

Why? Because his front door directly faces the elevator's position. No compass is needed; anyone with a bit of perception can see it's a type of feng shui shape curse.

In feng shui there's a law about qi flow: "Auspicious qi travels in curves, harmful qi travels in straight lines."

The elevator door moves vertically, opening and closing like a tiger's mouth, and it's very noisy. When the door opens, harmful qi flows straight into the house, affecting the household. This shape curse is called an "open‑mouth curse" in feng shui, also known as a "tiger‑mouth curse"; it brings poor fortune, invites gossip, and households afflicted by it usually have unhealthy residents.

We knocked on the door and were greeted by a middle‑aged man—this must be the client who invited us, Mr. Chen.

However, the moment we stepped into Mr. Chen's house, we were stunned.

Because after entering, we were blocked by a screen that obscured the full layout. The screen's pattern is somewhat retro, filling the house with poetic feeling. Moreover, hanging from the screen are two strings of ancient copper coins, each ending in a pure white large jade pendant.

"Five Emperor White Jade," Pangzi muttered quietly.

These two strings of ornaments are exactly the feng shui curse‑neutralizing item, Five Emperor White Jade. As mentioned before, Five Emperor Coins, born of imperial authority, block curses and neutralize petty people. Paired with white jade, they not only strengthen the Five Emperor's power—neutralizing open‑mouth, Five Yellow Two Black curses—but also boost household wealth.

These two carved wooden screens are not merely decorative; in feng shui they are called a "doorway mystic gate."

Usually, to neutralize this open‑mouth curse there are internal and external methods. External: hang Five Emperor Coins or an Eight Trigrams mirror on the door lintel. Internal: raise the threshold, or set up a mystic gate to block the curse.

Nowadays times are changing, every industry is changing, and the feng shui profession is no exception. Everything is done from the most suitable angle to consider the client.

If it's a government office or an upscale Western‑style building, hanging an Eight Trigrams mirror or a bronze sword would seem feudal to laypeople or damage the building's appearance. Installing a doorway mystic gate, however, gives visitors a sense of entering another world upon entry and adds a touch of elegance to the house. Adding two strings of Five Emperor White Jade atop the mystic gate fits the elegant style—the white jade is crystal clear and translucent, complementing the carved screen, turning elegance into refinement.

From this curse‑neutralizing method two points are clear. First, the feng shui master who set up the mystic gate for Mr. Chen is certainly not pedantic and also considers others' psychology. Second, Mr. Chen's occupation is relatively respectable.

After some pleasantries, Mr. Chen got straight to the point, but his words shocked Pangzi and me.

"I believe you two little masters have also noticed that my house suffers from a tiger‑mouth curse; I'm worried about this matter and can't sleep well." Mr. Chen rubbed his forehead and said this.

I was stunned for a moment—hasn't this tiger‑mouth curse already been neutralized?

Mr. Chen said yes, it was neutralized, but the problem lies in the neutralization of this tiger‑mouth curse: since the feng shui master installed the mystic gate for him, he hasn't prospered but has instead gotten increasingly unlucky.

I asked him to tell me the details—what exactly is going on.

Mr. Chen said that a few months ago he hired a feng shui master to check his house's feng shui, originally planning to renovate the kitchen. But after the master arrived, he said the house had a tiger‑mouth curse; if he didn't promptly fix the doorway feng shui, he would suffer career setbacks, run into official trouble, even have a White Tiger overhead, bringing a bloodshed disaster.

Upon understanding, he also found it to be so. Later, he promptly followed the feng shui master's instructions, installed the mystic gate and Five Emperor White Jade, hoping to neutralize the curse.

But what he didn't expect was that his previously smooth life, after altering the tiger‑mouth curse feng shui, problems arose. During this period Mr. Chen first went to the hospital, then was scammed out of some money, and then at work was berated by his leader for no reason, nearly getting demoted.

Pangzi and I were stunned, looking at each other—how did this proper curse neutralization bring about disaster?

Could it be…

Pangzi paused, then asked, "Mr. Chen, what is your profession?"

Mr. Chen replied, "I am a surgeon."

I furrowed my brows; surgeons operate with blades and are constantly exposed to sharp instruments. Among those affected by the tiger‑mouth curse, certain professions fear it not: doctors, butchers, blade shops. These professions make a living with "metal" tools; the elevator tiger‑mouth curse is also metal, so it poses no problem.

However, the most important factor is still based on the client's eight characters. If the eight characters have weak Geng metal, then the tiger‑mouth curse will actually compensate for that deficiency—harmless and even beneficial.

According to Mr. Chen, he has lived in this house for several years, always peaceful. Until that feng shui master added the mystic gate and neutralized the tiger‑mouth curse, after which he began a series of misfortunes.

Thus Pangzi and I suspected that Mr. Chen is someone with inherently weak Geng metal in his eight characters. The feng shui master who altered his feng shui happened to overlook this point.

Pangzi took Mr. Chen's eight characters and, using the Zi Ping method, examined the four pillars.

Looking at this, I could hardly believe it. This feng shui master actually forgot the most important, simplest rule in residential feng shui: determine, based on the client's eight characters, whether the pattern curse is harmful.

Mr. Chen's eight characters belong to the extremely metal‑deficient type. He is a water‑born person born in the Chou month, Wei hour; Chou month is the twelfth lunar month, which inherently hides Gui water. Wei belongs to Ji earth, which overcomes Gui water; this pattern is prosperous in curse but weak in body. If there is Geng metal in the eight characters to support the pattern, it would be the savior of the pattern, because Geng is the proper seal of Gui, and earth produces metal, metal produces water; if Geng metal is present, this pattern would be called "transforming curse into producing water (wealth)."

However, Mr. Chen's eight characters are all vast water and earth, lacking only Geng metal. Without Geng metal penetrating the pattern, his body and wealth struggle to flourish.

Therefore, this tiger‑mouth curse, for him with extremely metal‑deficient eight characters, is not only harmless but beneficial. As for why he's recently been so unlucky, it's likely due to this screen. The screen belongs to wood; wood drains metal qi, and his chart originally lacks metal, disliking wood. Now having installed this feng shui mystic gate at home, it's no wonder he's unlucky.

Pangzi and I reached a conclusion: let Mr. Chen remove the feng shui mystic gate and the Five Emperor White Jade, keeping things as they originally were.

"Is this really enough?" Mr. Chen, a bit uneasy, kept asking us: "Really no need to change anything else?"

Pangzi and I could only wryly smile and say: "Try my method for a while. If after some time you still haven't improved, I'll come back to check. I will surely be able to help you settle this."

Later he repeatedly asked whether to wear talismans or any items. We, really being pestered by him with no recourse, agreed: let him prepare some metal jewelry; after we consecrate it, we'll send it over.

To be frank, having followed QingSongShu for so long, I've also seen some diviners and feng shui masters. Originally healthy, they exaggerate causes. Drawing two talismans for the client to wear, or saying they came to check feng shui when only a minor tweak is needed, they'd still undertake a big project to alter some harmless elegant spot. Reason: it's easy to deceive people, making money easier.

Moreover, nowadays some people's psychology: if they don't spend some wasted money or carry some trinkets, they feel uneasy.

Actually, at bottom, the feng shui way cannot be separated from the simplest five‑element transformations, yin‑yang mutual generation. Anything has a simplest handling method, but people like to go around in circles, making simple things complex, then solving them with complex methods. Some feng shui masters do this to earn more money, while some peers are forced. If you don't put on a showy front, people won't believe you. If you simply solve it, they still won't feel assured.

The former perhaps is to earn some extra hard-earned money for supporting the family while solving problems for others; the latter, frankly, is just people's suspicions acting up—if they don't spend money on a decent ceremony they feel uneasy, and even after spending money they don't care whether it works. In short, they gain psychological comfort, and things go much more smoothly.