Chapter 76

When I arrived at Chan Yi Hall, QingSongShu was sitting in the main hall seeing patients, Pangzi with a lecherous expression was grabbing herbs according to the prescription, Yuan Qiu sat on a chair to the side, head down drinking tea, looking troubled.

"Sigh, you weren't saying you were preparing to open a lingerie company in Dongguan? How come you're back again?" After entering, I sat down beside Yuan Qiu and curiously asked him.

Not long ago, I had heard he was preparing to go to Dongguan to invest in the lingerie industry. Dongguan at that time was in a stage of rapid development; China's first garment city was right in Humen, so logically the prospects of this industry should be good. And at that time Yuan Qiu should have been busy in Dongguan, so how could he have free time to come find me?

At this moment, Yuan Qiu sighed, gave a wry smile, and confided in me: "Don't mention it; talking more just brings tears. Well, I've come to you and Weiqiang Brother for help!"

"Oh, what exactly is going on?" I asked doubtfully.

Under my questioning, Yuan Qiu gave a wry smile and recounted the whole story to me.

As it turned out, Yuan Qiu had run into trouble in his business, and after hearing his account I was shocked—this trouble actually came from the underworld.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, parts of the underworld were indeed still active on the mainland. Of course, most gangs were just small-time; even those that had once been powerful, under the government's strong crackdown, inevitably faced destruction.

However, some gangs are exceptions—they have long histories, deep roots, and are not easy to suppress in the short term; accurately speaking, they are extremely hard to intervene in and manage.

For example, 14, Wo Hop Wo, Yee On (simple aliases)—these three gangs are collectively known as Hong Kong's Triads, the largest gang in Hong Kong and the three major figures of the underground underworld.

In the 1990s, due to regional factors, the three major gangs had active presences in mainland Shenzhen and Dongguan. Many underground casinos, and even the backs of numerous legitimate businesses, had these figures involved. Their existence was nothing more than being driven by profit, either collecting protection money for a living or doing jobs for money.

And Yuan Qiu's Dongguan investment this time was obstructed by one of the Triads, Wo Hop Wo. The reason was simple: at that time Dongguan's lingerie market had already been monopolized by Chaozhou people. Outsiders wanting a share had to obtain approval from the so-called Chaozhou merchants' association. Of course, this also involved profit distribution; I don't know the details, but Yuan Qiu told me the conditions were very harsh.

Also because of these harsh conditions, Yuan Qiu's father fell out with the Chaozhou people. Business competition is usually open and covert; if you can't win fair and square, you resort to underhanded tactics.

Pouring oil, intimidation, human-sea harassment—using any means available, they never cease. That night, before locking the door to sleep, I found everything calm; the next morning I saw the company entrance doused with red oil. Every few days, a large crowd and several vans would gather at the entrance, deterring delivery customers. Or after work they would inexplicably provoke the staff and tease the female employees.

These lowly thugs' tactics were fully applied to Yuan Qiu's company. Of course, someone might ask at this point, won't you call the police?

Yes, Yuan Qiu tried calling the police, but what good is it? When you report them, they disperse; when the police leave, they return. A large group gathers here just to sightsee, without fighting or causing a disturbance—what can you arrest them for? They can easily find an excuse, turning provocation into mistaken identity and teasing into courtship—what can you do about them?

After listening to Yuan Qiu's lament, I felt deep sympathy for him, yet I wondered why he came to us—we don't know any Hong Kong gangsters. Although Hong Kong people firmly believe in feng shui, behind those so-called big bosses there are usually a few feng shui masters giving advice. What outsiders don't know is that people in our line, like scholars, mostly look down on each other.

In particular, the schism between the metaphysical circles of Hong Kong and the mainland is especially severe. In the 1990s, what Hong Kong folk commonly learned and passed down were the Southern Transmission Maoshan teachings and the Liu Ren Dao methods.

Hong Kong's Maoshan is not the Jurong Maoshan of Jiangsu. Jurong Maoshan is Daoist Maoshan, while what has been widely spread in Hong Kong is the Southern Transmission Maoshan Great Manifestation of Numinous Power method, a folk doctrine. The patriarchs are Zhang, Hu, and Zhu, the three Dharma-prosperity lords, not the Three Maoshan True Sovereigns. Over the passage of time, Maoshan law has been transmitted as the Upper, Middle, and Lower Three Maoshan. It split into the Maoshan Zhang family teaching, Hu family teaching, Zhu family teaching……

I think it may be due to regional differences; the cultures of the two places differ greatly, causing practitioners from both sides to be unable to communicate properly when they meet. Like scholars, they always create some pretext to argue superiority. Scholars debate literature and calligraphy; Daoists debate the Dao and methods. Even worse, some boast that all the methods of all schools under heaven originate from our Maoshan doctrine, spread from our Hong Kong.

His words naturally provoked strong dissatisfaction from the mainland Daoist Sect. Not to mention that the mainland has representatives of various schools: the Lü Mountain Daoist method, the Great Holy Teaching of the Infant Body Unmatched, the eminent Splendid Light Teaching of martial methods, and many others; even the orthodox successor of Maoshan Dao, Hu xx, is in Jiangxi on the mainland.

Moreover, Hong Kong's Maoshan doctrine largely stems from its involvement in the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the Qing dynasty, causing many masters to flee worldwide and branch out. Hong Kong's Maoshan doctrine is merely one branch among them—how dare you claim your house is supreme?

Therefore, in the 1990s, disputes between Hong Kong and mainland metaphysical circles will surely not be few. If Yuan Qiu's intention this time was to have me ask fellow practitioners to intercede, that most likely will come to nothing.

However, before I could finish speaking, Yuan Qiu said to me: 'I want you and Brother Weiqiang to go with me to Aomen.'

'What, go to Aomen to do what?' I was bewildered—what use is going to Aomen for what happened in Dongguan?

Yuan Qiu said: 'In Aomen there is a person named Chen Zheng; his words carry enough weight that even the head of the Triads must weigh them. But I have no connection with him. This time I heard he is consulting a feng shui master to adjust the layout of a yang residence, so…'

'So you want me and Pangzi to go with you to Aomen, we'll do the feng shui for him, and you can leverage the situation to have him solve your Triad troubles?' I blurted out.

Yuan Qiu nodded and said: 'Exactly so.'

'But with our abilities, can we pull it off?' To be frank, although I know Pangzi is better at feng shui than I am, I don't know how much better. Aomen is a place where dragons and snakes mingle, casinos abound; I imagine there won't be a shortage of feng shui masters there.

Yuan Qiu laughed and said: 'Before you arrived, I had already discussed this with Brother Weiqiang and QingSongShu.'

'Oh, what do they think?'

'Going out to see the world will let you know how vast the heavens are; even if you suffer setbacks, it will still help you.' Before Yuan Qiu could answer me, QingSongShu interjected with a smile and replied.

'Right, my dad said it correctly. Isn't there a saying like that? A chick stuck in its mother's embrace will never grow, no matter what.' Pangzi, who was grabbing herbs, echoed repeatedly, but as soon as he spoke, QingSongShu gave him a glare, frightening him into shrinking back.

'What about Seventh Lord?'

'I've discussed it with Old Seven that scoundrel; we'll first pass some simple martial and medical methods to Xiaoqiang, setting the date for tomorrow… the day after tomorrow you'll set out for Aomen. After all, the application of martial methods and medical arts cannot be mastered overnight; one must practice long and let it settle to grasp their subtleties, to ward off calamity and bless people.' QingSongShu stroked his beard and said.

Since QingSongShu said so, the matter naturally became settled. As evening fell, after the patients who had come to Chan Yi Hall for treatment left, I and QingSongShu began preparing the things needed for the apprenticeship ceremony.

At night, Lord Yang Seven also arrived, wearing a bright red Daoist robe. But this time it was remarkably exceptional: the two old masters met without arguing, unusually quiet.

That night, Lord Yang Seven stayed in Chan Yi Hall. Because the apprenticeship venue was set up in Chan Yi Hall, this is the rule of the Splendid Light Teaching for accepting disciples: the master must remain in the venue the day before, and the next morning wait there for the incoming disciples.