At this moment, Master Zhu's voice sounded again, "The client's surname is Chi, implying water in the name and the date of birth indicates a water-rich symbol. Water is a flowing element, indicating 'no definite place of residence'. Therefore, a 'fixed' character is included in the name, which shows that the client's ancestors were attentive. But, unknown to them, fate can be clear or cloudy. The client has been stable for half a lifetime, and this 'fixed' character has weakened, unable to continue. Therefore, the family now has an abundance of water symbols, representing a cold and dark energy, which attracts spirits and brings unusual incidents—this is the first reason for dissipating earth energy."
"What should I do about it?" Chi Dingyao asked.
"Very simple, change the name," Master Zhu said, "Water may flow but it can't be forcefully blocked. Clearing, transforming, these are possible. Water can generate wood, and wood has a deep-rooted nature. Even if it can't be rooted, it can remain afloat on water. This is the right method for transforming water, so adding a 'wood' character to the client's name will suffice."
Chi Dingyao's face lit up, "That's simple enough."
"Not so simple," Master Zhu shook his head dismissively, "As the sticks just pointed out, the issues in your home are mainly due to the influence of underhanded people and ancestral grievances. These are problems that must be resolved."
"How do you explain the presence of underhanded people?" Chi Dingyao was vexed, "I have always secluded myself and rarely inquire about worldly affairs. How can there be underhanded people around me?"
Xiaoguan whispered to Xiaokai, "He's insinuating about you, too. I suppose he's also a bit unable to see through you and wants to send you away first."
Indeed, after Master Zhu finished speaking, Chi Dingyao's eyes turned to Xiaokai, and the look in his eyes became less friendly.
"Haha, Kai, this old man must think you're eyeing his family's wealth," Xiaoguan laughed wickedly.
Xiaokai was itching with hatred. He really wanted to punch Master Zhu in that mysterious face of his, but just the thought that he was a high-level monster that even Xiaoguan couldn't handle made him hold back.
"So, how do you explain ancestral grievances?" Chi Dingyao asked.
"Your ancestors, or you yourself in a past life, must have committed deeds that harmed the natural balance, resulting in present retribution," Master Zhu said. "If my guess is right, there should be some object related to ancestral karma still existing in your home. That's why grievances come to your door, disrupting the earth's energy. To avoid disaster, there is no alternative but to abandon that object related to ancestral karma and quiet the true self, truly achieving detachment from the world."
Chi Dingyao pondered for a long time before shaking his head, "It shouldn't be like that. My Chi family has always been built on benevolence and righteousness, never engaging in harmful deeds. In my generation, we are even more careful, nurturing moths but not harming ants. How could we have done anything that hurt the natural balance? Master, could you be mistaken?"
"Yes, absolutely." Master Zhu nodded heavily. "Donor, think carefully, have you forgotten something?"
Xiao Kai keenly noticed that Master Zhu's expression began to show a little tension, but it was very faint, he covered it well. If Xiao Kai didn't know he was a monster, he wouldn't have been able to tell.
"Haha, it's finally showing its true colors," Xiao Guan laughed. "You see, the show is on."
Chi Dingyao's expression changed, and suddenly he said, "Master, shall we go in and see the situation of the lady first?"
Master Zhu smiled, "Donor, you still don't trust me. It's okay, I'll go see the lady's condition first."
At this point, a large fat rat suddenly darted out from the shadow in the corner of the wall, crawled under the cabinet on the other side. Just as it had crawled halfway, Master Zhu suddenly glared, shouted, "Hiss!" and waved his hand. A white light flashed, and the large rat froze on the floor, let out two miserable squeaks, tilted its head, and stopped moving.
Chi Dingyao looked carefully. The rat was as big as a kitten, impaled to the floor with a bamboo skewer. The soft bamboo skewer was deeply embedded in the wooden floor, at least three inches deep. He couldn't help but marvel, and his trust in Master Zhu increased.
"He's showing off again," Xiao Guan said. "Kai, let me tell you, that rat is an illusion, it's fake."
Sure enough, just half a minute later, the large rat and the flowing blood on the floor disappeared in plain view. Master Zhu's expression became solemn as he sighed, "This rat has already become a monster. I didn't notice at first and let its spirit escape."
Upon hearing the word "monster," Chi Dingyao took a cold breath, unable to say a word.
Master Zhu turned to look at Xiao Zhu's mother, pondered for a while, then placed three fingers on her pulse and, after a few minutes, suddenly extended his other hand, quickly drew several mysterious symbols in the air. The symbols immediately shimmered like gold, seeming to possess substance. He threw the symbols onto the bed, and shouted, "Evil spirit, wake!" Surprisingly, Xiao Zhu's mother suddenly coughed and slowly opened her eyes.
"Xiaoyan, you're awake!" Chi Dingyao became instantly excited, grabbing Xiao Zhu's mother's hand. "How do you feel?"
Xiao Zhu's mother stared blankly at Chi Dingyao for a while before saying, "Are you... Dingyao?"
"Yes," Chi Dingyao urged anxiously. "What's wrong with you? Do you not recognize me?"
"I don't know," Xiao Zhu's mother said bewilderedly. "I seem to recognize you, but also seem not to. Are you my husband?"
The onlookers exchanged glances, and Chi Dingyao turned to Master Zhu and pleaded, "Master, what is wrong with my wife?"
"Her mind is still not completely clear due to the invasion of evil energy and Yin. I can only temporarily awaken her. If we want to solve the problem, we still need to find a fundamental solution," Master Zhu said calmly.
Evidently, Chi Dingyao's feelings for Xiao Zhu's mother were genuine. He had been quite composed, but upon seeing Xiao Zhu's mother wake up, lost his composure and asked urgently, "What should we do, then?"
"As I just said, donor must repay the grievances of the past life to solve the problem. Otherwise, not only will there be trouble this time, but also within ten years, the bloodline will be broken, causing a great tragedy," Master Zhu squinted, "Think carefully, what have you overlooked in the past. You must remember."
After saying this, Xiao Zhu's mother suddenly rolled her eyes, lay back down, and passed out again.
"It's urgent..." Master Zhu sighed deeply and unpredictably.
Chi Dingyao turned slowly. "Let me think... Master, could you stay at my house for a few days?"
"Hehe, I have always been without a fixed residence, traveling all over the world. Staying until next year is not a problem," Master Zhu said, seemingly in a good mood, making a joke.
However, Chi Dingyao didn't share his mood. He forced a smile and said, "Well, let's go out first."
"Come, let me take you to my room for a while," Xiao Zhu whispered to Xiao Kai. But Chi Dingyao interjected, "Xiao Zhu, I need to talk to you."
"Oh... alright." Xiao Zhu reluctantly stepped back and pulled Xiao Kai. "You wait for me in my room."
"Xiao Zhu, as a young lady, you should be mindful of your image," Chi Dingyao said sternly. "How can you take an outsider to see your boudoir, especially a person of the opposite sex? Did I never teach you this? And you two were holding hands again? You are from a respectable family, Xiao Zhu. How could you keep associating with disreputable people from society?"
Xiao Kai felt embarrassed and let go of Xiao Zhu's hand with a forced smile. "Xiao Zhu, I'll go with you."
"No, Xiao Zhu, I need to talk to you alone," Chi Dingyao insisted.
As the conversation reached this point, Xiao Kai, no matter how thick-skinned he was, couldn't stay any longer. "Well... Xiao Zhu, I'll go back first. Let's meet again tomorrow."
"Heh, Mr. Yan, sorry, with such a big event at home, Xiao Zhu doesn't need to go to work from tomorrow," Chi Dingyao said with a smiling yet detached tone. "Take care on your way out."
As Xiao Kai walked away, he cursed Chi Dingyao in his heart countless times. It wasn't until he was far away from the Chi family's residence that he turned around and spat fiercely, "Damn it, if it weren't for Xiao Zhu, I wouldn't bother looking at your half-dead poker face. I can't fathom how a person like you could have such a daughter as Xiao Zhu. I seriously suspect you used improper methods to win over aunty back then!"
"Kai, you can't give up," Xiao Guan suddenly popped up. "Now it's a matter of life and death."
"I know," Xiao Kai grumbled, "I've been circling around their house. I need to find a way to sneak in."
"Alright," Xiao Guan said, "I'll send you in."
"Okay," Xiao Kai said. "Go ahead with your magic."
"Stand against the wall," Xiao Guan instructed. "I'm not strong enough to control it from a distance."
Xiao Zhu's house was quite spacious, surrounded on the outside by tall walls. Xiao Kai found a corner and hid in the shadow under the wall.
"Close your eyes," Xiao Guan said in a low voice. "Don't move or make a sound. There are guard dogs on the other side of the wall. If they find you, it will be bad. I'm using the technique of escaping through earth. I'll try to stay as far as possible. Open your eyes after I'm done."
"I'm really afraid of dogs," Xiao Kai shuddered.
He closed his eyes, stood for a few seconds, and then felt himself beginning to move. Something around him was separating to the sides with a faint rushing noise, but without touching his body at all. After about half a minute, Xiao Guan said, "Okay, come in."
Xiao Kai opened his eyes and found himself standing in the courtyard. It was the path of the pavilion that Xiao Zhu had led him through. It was his first real experience of witnessing magic, and he couldn't help but marvel.
Suddenly, he heard voices in the distance. Xiao Kai quickly crouched down and hid behind a rockery. He heard Master Zhu say, "Tomorrow at noon, a great benefactor with extraordinary powers will appear in the southeast. The benefactor's arrival is fleeting, and Donor should send someone to search at the exact time. If the benefactor can be brought back, solving the problem won't be difficult."
"Okay, I'll go see for myself tomorrow and make sure to invite the benefactor back," Chi Dingyao had evidently started to follow Master Zhu's advice. "Thank you so much, Master. Without you, I would have been helpless in a few more days."
"Yes, it's really dangerous," Master Zhu also expressed his emotions. "Especially with insidious people around, aggravating the situation. If it's delayed for another day and the insidious people take control, the consequences will be irreparable."
"It's a pity that my daughter was deceived by sinister evildoers," Chi Dingyao mourned as he walked away slowly with Master Zhu.
Xiao Kai's seven orifices emitted smoke, but the outburst still persisted. His teeth were grinding loudly, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Xiao Guan, let's go to the southeast tomorrow to see what kind of auspicious person we can find."
"Where's the auspicious person?" Xiao Guan sneered, "They are just a few more monsters."
Xiao Guan left the Chi family and returned to the office. It was already past two o'clock in the afternoon, and there was no one in the office except a person in a cleaning uniform sweeping the floor. Xiao Kai patted the person's shoulder and asked, "Hey, where did they all go?"
The person looked up, surprising Xiao Kai as it turned out to be Jia Zhengjing. Xiao Kai was about to apologize when Jia Zhengjing showed a very friendly smile and said, "Assistant Yan, they are in a meeting, seems like discussing cooperation with Zhongxing Realty. Manager Xiao is not here, so Director Xiao personally came to preside over."
"Oh," Xiao Kai cautiously asked, "You... you are..."
Jia Zhengjing straightened his chest and said, "I am now the deputy manager of the cleaning department."
Xiao Kai suddenly remembered the appointment that seemed to have been made a few days ago. He looked at Jia Zhengjing's current appearance with an apron, broom, and bucket, not knowing what to say. He went back to his seat, feeling bored, and absentmindedly took out the book.
"Assistant Yan, you seem to like reading," Jia Zhengjing approached with nothing much to say, "Hey, the last time you were reading this book as well, right?"
"Yes," Xiao Kai covered the book's cover with his sleeve and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to take a look," Jia Zhengjing, a little embarrassed, pointed to the book on Xiao Kai's desk. The two were very close, and with his finger, Jia Zhengjing accidentally touched the cover of the book. A very faint yellow light flashed from the book, then Jia Zhengjing suddenly slipped and fell backward, knocking over the water bucket behind him. The dirty water soaked him completely, and as he tried to get up, the broom, losing the support of the bucket, fell on his head.
Xiao Kai was dumbfounded.
"Hahaha, I can't stop laughing," Xiao Guan laughed in Xiao Kai's mind, "Just because of his qualifications, he thinks he can touch the book of nothingness. He is obviously going to be punished by the heavens."
"Wow, does this book have this ability?" Xiao Kai asked in disbelief, "If that's the case, if someone wants to deal with me, I can use this book to touch them and they'll be punished by the heavens?"
"In theory, it should be like that," Xiao Guan said, "But how can they let you touch them? If you can touch them, it's better to just take a knife and attack them."
As they were speaking, Jia Zhengjing got up unsteadily and removed a piece of paper from his head, smiling awkwardly, "Fortunately, I reacted quickly..."
His words were cut off as the hanging clock fell silently on his head, and he fell to the ground without a sound...
In the evening, Xiao Kai was still thinking about the incident of the heavenly punishment during the day. After thinking for a while, he took out the book and placed it on the table, carefully studying it.
"Kai, can you drop another drop of blood?" Xiao Guan said, "See if you can release more power for me, so I can deal with the monsters tomorrow."
Xiao Kai nodded, bit his finger, and dropped a drop of blood on the book. He felt the pages ripple suddenly, his head felt slightly dizzy, and then it seemed like something had been added.
"It didn't work, Kai," Xiao Guan said, "I don't feel anything."
"I feel something, like I learned something," Xiao Kai said with a furrowed brow as he read, "Seal... Demon... Spell, what is this?"
"Can it be used?" Xiao Guan was surprised, "It's actually the Seal Demon Spell!"
"... I don't know," Xiao Kai murmured a few words, but those lines in his mind were very vague, and the pronunciation seemed very strange, making it impossible for him to read them successfully.
"Try again?" Xiao Guan suggested, "If it's really the Seal Demon Spell, then we have nothing to fear from the monsters tomorrow."
"Is the Seal Demon Spell very famous?" Xiao Kai asked, "Tell me about it."
"Simply put, the Seal Demon Spell is a kind of spell that doesn't require much power, but very few people can master it, because mastering this spell relies entirely on talent. Those who can master it can do so in a day, while those who can't, no matter how long they practice, it's useless. Moreover, this spell's effect is very peculiar," Xiao Guan explained, "It can only be used once against each demon, and once sealed, it can never be resolved. It can only seal the most important ability of the opponent, rather than completely sealing the opponent. So, this type of spell can only assist in battle, but cannot determine the outcome."
Xiao Guan paused and added, "Kai, I remember now. I was sealed with the Seal Demon Spell, so no matter how I recover, my abilities are limited because my most important ability cannot be completely restored."
"What is your most important ability?" Xiao Kai asked.
"I don't know," Xiao Guan said in distress, "I completely can't remember it."
Xiao Kai researched for a while, but the Seal Demon Spell in his mind was completely vague, and no matter what he couldn't chant the incantations, so he gave up.
The next day.
In one of the busiest sections of Nanjing Road, known as one of the most prosperous roads in S City, a unique "Occult Revival Performance" was taking place. With the improvement of people's quality of life and the development of technology, many things that were previously called "feudal superstitions" have taken on new life, and people have given them a specific name: Occult. Therefore, in many developed regions and provinces, the trend of Feng Shui, fortune telling, divination and other occult practices have become a fashion.
For example, the three people on the spotlight stage were quite representative: a monk, a Taoist, and a child.
It was said in a wuxia novel many years ago that monks, Taoists, women, and children are the people that cannot be easily provoked in the jianghu. According to this theory, the three people on stage had a mysterious aura.
Xiao Kai headed southeast all the way from Xiao Zhu's home and ended up on Nanjing Road, where he saw the performance and was immediately informed by Xiao Guan that the monster was on stage.
"Oh, so this is it," Xiao Kai immediately stopped and looked inside.
As soon as he looked, he was startled by the lively atmosphere at the venue. The entire stage was surrounded by crowds of at least a thousand people. Nevertheless, Xiao Kai didn't care about that. He desperately squeezed his way in and shouted, "Excuse me, I am here to perform!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd parted and Xiao Kai managed to make his way to the front, standing still in his place.
"Hey, aren't you here to perform?" someone asked from the side.
"Oh, I just said I came to watch the performance," Xiao Kai casually replied, "Maybe I missed a word."
The crowd gave him a collective roll of the eyes, but Xiao Kai was there to help Xiao Zhu, not bothered by their reaction. His attention was focused on the stage.
On stage, the performance had already begun with a monk, a well-known Taoist, and a child who looked around ten years old but spoke in quite an intimidating manner.
Meanwhile, the host promptly urged, "Who wants to come up and assist the three masters? You can sign up by raising your hands. The three masters will accurately provide your detailed information without any prior knowledge, accurately predict your future, and tell you how to avoid disasters."
As he was watching, Xiao Kai felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned around and saw the maid, Seventeen, whom he had met at Xiao Zhu's house the day before.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Xiao Kai asked, "I remember your master said he came to invite a noble person himself."
"Did he say that? Why don't I know?" Seventeen clearly didn't know Chi Dingyao's attitude towards Xiao Kai. Having just seen him yesterday, he thought Xiao Kai was definitely a friend of the master, so he answered honestly, "He asked me to come early this morning."
Xiao Kai was taken aback for a moment, then remembered he had overheard the conversation yesterday. Luckily, Seventeen knew nothing and he wasn't worried about being exposed. After a moment of thought, he asked, "What is your master doing at home?"
"He's acting a bit strange. Miss has always been very obedient, but yesterday she had a big argument with the master. As a result, Miss refused to come out of her room today, and the master got worried and sent me," Seventeen explained.
Xiao Kai paused and then remembered that he had eavesdropped on the conversation yesterday. He was relieved that Seventeen knew nothing and there was no danger of exposure. After a moment's thought, he inquired, "What is your master doing at home?"
"He's acting somewhat odd. Miss has always been very obedient, but yesterday she had a big argument with the master. As a result, Miss refused to come out of her room today, and the master got worried and sent me," Seventeen explained.
“Why are they arguing? Is Xiaozhu okay?” Xiaokai asked with concern. "Why are they arguing?"
"Seventeen furrowed his brows for a while and said, 'They seemed to be talking about 'women's policy' the whole time. I guess it's probably about Miss demanding gender equality, and then the master doesn't agree. It should be like that.'"
"Women's policy? What does that mean?" Xiaokai scratched his head.
"No need to think about it, it's definitely about fighting for women's rights. This kind of thing is too common," Seventeen said confidently.
Xiaokai thought for a long time before he understood. Chi Dingyao must have said "flatterer" rather than "women's policy". He was clearly trying to persuade Xiaozhu not to associate with Xiaokai. But Xiaozhu obviously didn't believe in this set, which means that Xiaozhu had an unprecedented argument with her father, all for her own sake. Thinking of this, Xiaokai was moved again.