Chen Jinfa's frustration was palpable as he spoke of that so-called master.
"That phony Master Wang said he could ensure my luck would change and the project would go smoothly if he set up a feng shui formation."
"He sounded so convincing that I let him try."
"He pulled out a compass and started doing his thing all over the site, placing a stick here, a tiger statue there, and promised me it would solve everything."
"Wanting to speed up the progress, I had the workers do night shifts. But at night, many workers claimed they saw a clay doll running around, only for it to vanish when they blinked."
"One worker almost got hit by a falling brick!"
"Another was mysteriously pushed and fell off the building, ending up with broken bones."
"Thankfully, no one died, but the workers were so spooked they fled!"
"That scammer! I swear, it's not just about the money—wasting my time is the real issue! If no one works and I miss the deadline, I'll hold him accountable with his life!" Chen Jinfa spat, his face dark with anger.
The site had already been demolished, but the foundation wasn't laid yet; debris littered the area.
The large construction site was eerily empty, devoid of any workers.
"Good thing I was cautious and only paid half upfront. I've already put out a bounty for that fraud through my contacts, and once this mess is over, I'll deal with him!"
"Shopkeeper Lu, let me be clear! If you can fix this, do it; if not, don't waste my time!"
His eyes were locked on Lu Fei with intensity.
Lu Fei, unperturbed, responded, "Brother Fa, he wasn't entirely wrong. At the very least, the feng shui here is indeed problematic."
"How so?" Chen Jinfa's brows furrowed. "This location is prime—on a main road, surrounded by several shopping streets with high foot traffic!"
Lu Fei smiled slightly. "A good location doesn't equate to good feng shui. Brother Fa, look at the buildings across the street. Don't they all have sharp corners pointed directly at this site?"
Chen Jinfa squinted at the buildings. "Looks like it."
"A single sharp corner isn't an issue, but all those buildings have corners aimed here. This is called 'Sharp Corner Sha.' When these sharp corners face the main position, it often leads to accidents, fires, and even fatalities," Lu Fei explained, pointing at the buildings.
Sharp Corner Sha is a common feng shui problem, but the one here was particularly severe.
"Fires?"
Chen Jinfa's eyes widened.
"This mall did have multiple fires in the past, which severely impacted business. They blamed faulty fire safety measures, which is why we decided to rebuild!"
"Not bad, Shopkeeper Lu! Just for that, you're more capable than that phony Master Wang! He was rambling about Azure Dragons and White Tigers and some nonsense about openings and clashes."
"I, Brother Fa, appreciate skilled individuals. If you solve this for me, you won't go unrewarded!"
Admiration flickered in his eyes.
Despite his youth, this young man clearly had skills.
Chen Jinfa had deliberately inquired beforehand and learned that the Su family did indeed employ the young shopkeeper of Evil Pawnshop, which was why he reached out.
"Brother Fa, don't rush. Your site's issues might not just be feng shui-related. Didn't you find a small coffin here? Let me examine it first," Lu Fei suggested.
"I had the workers retrieve it and placed it in a temporary office."
Impatient by nature, Chen Jinfa led Lu Fei through the messy site to the makeshift office.
The office was part of a three-room setup.
One room served as an office, and the other two were rest areas for workers.
The small coffin rested in the office.
The bodyguard opened the door, and Chen Jinfa, his thick fingers adorned with gold rings, pointed to the desk.
"Shopkeeper Lu, the small coffin is on the desk. It gave me the creeps, so I had it covered with a cloth."
Lu Fei and Tiger stepped inside, approaching the desk.
After putting on gloves, Lu Fei lifted the cloth.
A small, crimson coffin was revealed.
Despite its miniature size—it was only half a meter long—the coffin's design and craftsmanship were identical to a standard coffin.
It was intricately made, with three small holes on the lid.
"Brother Fa, these holes are where the nails were, right?" Lu Fei asked.
"Exactly." Chen Jinfa nodded.
"And the nails?"
"I told the workers to discard everything at the time. We retrieved the coffin, but the nails are lost."
Lu Fei said nothing, opening the coffin lid.
Inside were only fragments of clay, with no sign of the clay doll.
"The doll shattered, and we only managed to recover these pieces." Chen Jinfa explained with a bitter smile.
Lu Fei inspected the fragments and noticed pieces resembling human nails and hair.
A realization dawned on him.
Whether made of clay, paper, or straw, as long as an effigy incorporated human items or birth dates, it could serve as a proxy for that person.
This clay doll must have been buried as a substitute for someone.
"Brother Fa, where exactly was this small coffin found?" Lu Fei asked after some thought.
"Over by the pile-driving area. I'll show you. And don't forget your helmets. If it weren't for the workers wearing helmets last night, they'd have been seriously injured!"
Chen Jinfa had the bodyguard fetch helmets, dusting them off before everyone put one on.
The bodyguard led the way to the pile-driving site.
"Here it is."
Chen Jinfa stopped in front of a large pit, where partially poured concrete piles stood.
The entire site was still in the foundational phase.
In other words, the project had barely begun before encountering trouble.
No wonder Chen Jinfa was anxious with such an inauspicious start.
"Where exactly?" Lu Fei peered into the pit.
"Right there, see it? That spot used to have a concrete pile. We found the small coffin when dismantling it." Chen Jinfa pointed to an area below.
"The small coffin was taken from inside a pile?" Lu Fei's eyebrows twitched, a hypothesis forming in his mind.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Chen Jinfa asked, eyeing Lu Fei.
"Brother Fa, are all the piles here dismantled?" Lu Fei didn't answer directly but asked instead.
"No, two piles didn't need removal, so I left them. Saving a bit here and there, you know?"
Lu Fei glanced around, noting two piles with a more weathered appearance than the others, with different coloring and greater completeness.
"Those two, right?"
"Yes, what's the matter, Shopkeeper Lu?" Chen Jinfa anxiously scratched his head. "If you know something, spit it out. I hate suspense!"
"Brother Fa, hold on. Let me check first."
Lu Fei got up and walked around the pit to the two solid piles, observing them closely before jumping in.