Zhou Lao is one of the top Feng Shui masters in China. If even he cannot solve the problems in the Moon Bay community, then other masters will definitely be powerless as well. He made it very clear before that unless one has the ability to move mountains and fill seas, it's impossible to change the Feng Shui in the Moon Bay community. It's not a problem that can be solved by human or financial resources alone; it requires divine power.
Bai Mu led a group of subordinates to the gate of the community, feeling reluctant to leave and looking back with a heart full of helplessness and sorrow. He had been the one to advocate the construction of this project in the first place. When the renderings were just released, they had received countless praises. The fourth phase of the villa area was built at the foot of the mountain by the lakeside, with beautiful scenery and diverse weather patterns. The villas were not even under construction yet before they were snatched up by the powerful and the wealthy. At that time, he was living in a glamorous manner, but how could he have imagined that in just a short six months, he would have fallen to his current situation?
Bai Mu's eyes were slightly dim, but his expression remained calm and composed as he withdrew his gaze and ordered, "Let's go, back to the company for a meeting."
"Bai, since the Feng Shui cannot be changed, what should we do about the upcoming projects?" An executive asked, full of concern.
"We'll discuss it at the meeting," Bai Mu's tone carried a hint of authority. He could see that the people in the company were already starting to get agitated.
Several executives opened their mouths, seeming hesitant to speak up. Just then, a voice with a hint of mockery suddenly came from a distance, "Bai Mu, it's been a long time. How have you been lately?"
Everyone turned to look, their expressions all somewhat strange. They all recognized the newcomer, and the current crisis of Ding Sheng International was greatly related to his wanton behavior. He was named Bai Lin and was adopted by the Bai family. He and Bai Mu had grown up together, from kindergarten to university, to graduate school, almost always in the same class, never leaving each other. After graduating, they both entered the Bai Group to work together.
Bai Lin was treated by Bai's father and mother as if he were their own child, just as Bai Mu was. They never showed favoritism. Being adopted by the Bai family was the greatest luck of Bai Lin's life. If he was grateful, he should have been a dutiful son to his adoptive parents and assist Bai Mu. However, he gradually became uncontrollable in his ambition, using his position to embezzle a great deal of the company's assets.
If Bai Mu had not been vigilant and immediately hired a team of top international accountants and lawyers to audit the company's accounts, Ding Sheng International would have likely been emptied by Bai Lin. Bai Mu was very disappointed in his good brother's actions and had initially intended to hand over the evidence to the police, but this had been strongly opposed by Bai's father and mother. They called back Bai Lin for a reprimand and destroyed the evidence in his presence, attempting to make him regret his actions.
But Bai Mu knew that Bai Lin would not regret his actions and would only become more audacious. As expected, when he lost the incriminating evidence, Bai Lin turned against the two elders and took the embezzled money to strike out on his own, leaving behind an extremely absurd demand: to keep their son's life, they had to exchange all of Bai's assets!
Bai Mu had laughed then, even more determined to cut off ties with Bai Lin, but Bai's father and mother had looked pale and hesitant. It was also on that night that Bai Mu found out how special his destiny was. He had major deficiencies in his birth horoscope, all five elements conflicted with each other, and a life of constant suffering from various illnesses was in store. As he grew up a little, he would always encounter various dangerous situations, all of them fatal.
The local saying "even chokes on a sip of cold water" seems to be talking about Bai Mu.
Afterward, it was not known where Bai's father and mother found a Taoist priest to change their son's destiny, and gradually his situation improved.
The Taoist priest gave Bai Mu a blessed safety jade pendant and sent Bai Lin to the Bai family, saying that although Bai Lin's destiny was not good, it complemented Bai Mu's birth horoscope. As long as the two of them stayed together, Bai Mu could live his life safely. From then on, all dangers stayed away from Bai Mu, while Bai Lin settled down in the Bai family. He was ostensibly the adopted son of the Bai family, but in fact, he served as Bai Mu's pillar, supporting his precarious fate.
Bai Lin was adopted when Bai Mu was only two and a half years old, so he did not know about these secrets. But Bai Lin was already six years old and had started to remember things, so he knew everything; he just pretended not to know. At first, he lived in the Bai family in fear of being abandoned, but then, seeing that Bai's father and mother truly treated him well, he gradually relaxed.
When he was fifteen or sixteen, Bai Lin entered the social circle of the upper class and understood the vast difference in treatment between an adopted child and a biological one. Regardless of how excellent he was, as long as he stood by Bai Mu's side, he would be reduced to a mere accessory. Bai Mu was the true pride of the family, while he was nothing.
From an unknown time, he became increasingly resentful of Bai Mu. Driven by malice and curiosity, he found an excuse to leave Bai Mu and played outside for a day and night. It was on this day and night that Bai Mu encountered a car accident. If Bai's father and mother had not found Bai Lin in time and brought him to Bai Mu's hospital room, the grass on Bai Mu's grave would probably have grown meters high by now.
When Bai Lin entered the hospital room and saw the sharp constant beeping of the cardiac monitor suddenly calm down upon his arrival, and then saw Bai's father and mother beg him not to leave Bai Mu like clinging to a last straw, Bai Lin's restless heart exploded with joy and satisfaction. It turned out that he was not an adopted son at all but Bai Mu's master, with the fate of this person always in his hands. If he wanted the person to live, they would; if he wanted them to die, they would!
That day was the closest Bai Mu was to facing death, and it was the most gratifying day of Bai Lin's life. He no longer pitied himself or felt remorse; he began, extremely cautiously, to usurp everything Bai Mu had, until half a year ago when Bai Mu had him expelled from the company on charges of occupation in his official position.
He was furious because in his understanding, Bai Mu was just a tool for making money, so how dare he resist? He decided to teach Bai Mu a profound lesson, and the reality also pleased him very much. Without his suppression, Bai Mu's misfortune had not only affected him, but had also spread to the people closest to him.
Half a month after Bai Lin left, Bai's old man suddenly died of a heart attack at home, and another half month later, Bai's father and mother were killed in a car accident, leaving Bai Mu to hastily take over the Bai Group. Initially, the projects he heavily invested in were running smoothly, but later on, they encountered difficulties, and it seemed as though the entire Ding Sheng Group was about to get mired in trouble.
Bai Lin, who had long regarded Bai family's enormous wealth as already in his pocket, couldn't sit still any longer and appeared in the Moon Bay community, preparing to have a serious conversation with Bai Mu. However, Bai Mu did not want to deal with him, and walked straight to his car.
Bai Lin blocked Bai Mu's path and sneered, "You don't want more people to know about your mess, do you?" He then looked meaningfully at several vice presidents who had come with him.
Bai Mu showed contempt in his eyes but still walked to a quiet place and said in a deep voice, "What do you want to talk about?"
"Didn't my parents tell you as they were dying? You can't live a day without me," Bai Lin said, somewhat pleased with himself.
"You don't deserve to call them your parents. I've been doing just fine without you for the past six months," Bai Mu's hands, hidden in his pockets, had already clenched into fists, yet he remained composed on the surface. For the sake of the family's foundation, he could bow to anyone, but he would never compromise with Bai Lin.
"Is that so?" Bai Lin pointed to the red string hanging around Bai Mu's neck and sneered, "Don't play dumb. I know you've been relying on this jade pendant. I heard from Liu La, just yesterday, your pendant broke, and it can no longer protect you, right? Otherwise, as an atheist, how could you have brought in Zhou Lao to change the Feng Shui? Have you had several accidents in the past six months, been to the hospital several times? Should I count for you? If you want to live, you better hand over the position of company president and transfer all your shares to me."
Bai Mu looked at him with a mocking gaze, as if watching a clown. Regardless of whether he was still alive or not, the Bai Group would always be led by someone surnamed Bai.
"Bai Mu, you don't want to act like you have no shame, do you? Believe it or not, you'll definitely have an accident today! Without my restraint, you'll choke on even a sip of water and die!" Bai Lin was furious, then turned to the several vice presidents who were waiting on the side and said, "I'll give you a piece of advice: from now on, it's best not to ride in the same car as Bai Mu. He's a bane on this world, spreading misfortune to everyone around him. How did the old man and my parents die, have you all forgotten? And how the company's projects have all encountered crises, haven't you witnessed that? It's a matter of life or death to be associated with him!"
Bai Lin's words caused panic among the executives. Indeed, Ding Sheng International had had terrible luck over the past half year, losing money regardless of what they invested in, and things not going their way in their work. And it had been even worse for the Bai family. The old man, Mr. Bai, and Mrs. Bai, one after another, encountered mishaps, as if they had been cursed.
Not to mention the Moon Bay community, where so many problematic Feng Shui layouts had converged, it was unprecedented and unheard of. It was not just a matter of bad luck; who would encounter such a situation? The faces of several high-ranking executives grew increasingly grim, and it seemed that some of them were believing Bai Lin's words.
The driver, who was about to open Bai Mu's car door, stood as if petrified, now fully convinced. So this was the reason Bai Mu could maintain his job despite getting into a dozen or so car accidents a month? It wasn't that his driving was poor; rather, it was Mr. Bai's terrible luck! Driving for such a person, they would eventually be run over!
The driver broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead and was hesitating whether to quit right then and there when Bai Mu bypassed him and sat in the driver's seat, stepping on the gas and quickly leaving. His profile was as hard and cold as a block of iron, but his heart was even harder than that. Previously, he had never believed in fate, but after losing several loved ones one after another, he had no choice but to face this cruel reality. If kneeling before Bai Lin to eke out a living meant choosing death, he would choose death.
He had already prepared his will, stating that if he died, all of the Bai family's property would be donated to charitable organizations, with Bai Lin receiving nothing except a heap of debt.
But Bai Mu was truly unwilling. He had so many ambitions left unfulfilled, so many wishes yet to be realized. His life had ended in such a ridiculous and tragic way as it had just begun. How good it would be if he had died from illness upon birth? Then, his grandfather, father, and mother would not have been implicated and lost their lives.
At that moment, Bai Mu thought of many things. He forgot to let go of the gas, resulting in the car speeding up more and more. Moon Bay was halfway up the mountainside, and the return route was a downhill road. Even with good luck, driving too fast could lead to danger.
Knowing Bai Mu had prepared his will, and seeing how determined he was to die, made Bai Lin furious. He couldn't believe Bai Mu's backbone was so solid, that he would be willing to risk everything for the sake of the Bai family.
The several vice presidents were also in a hurry and quickly drove to pursue. The mountain road was full of bends, and one careless move could lead to an accident. The high executives were all in a state of panic, and more than once, they almost collided with an oncoming car. However, Bai Mu's car skillfully avoided these dangers one after another and smoothly returned to the city, then drove into the Bai family's old mansion.
The heavy iron gate kept the cars of the vice presidents outside, while Bai Mu's car, which had been speeding all the way, had already safely parked in the Bai family's private garage.
Watching the disappearing taillights, one of the vice presidents stuck their head out of the car window and said in a disapproving tone, "Who said Mr. Bai is a jinx? We drove so carefully and almost got into accidents, but he drove so fast and nothing happened to him! I think he has pretty good luck!"
"Bai Lin is best at spreading rumors and scaring people. Can we believe what he says? Let's leave it. Mr. Bai is in a bad mood today; we shouldn't bother him," another vice president said.
Several cars left one after another, and the last vice president, who had come later, learned that Bai Mu had already safely arrived at the Bai residence and was left speechless. Was it really true that Mr. Bai, who would have various accidents once every twenty four hours and be sent to the hospital, merely managed by leaving him for a month? It was unbelievable!