"Boss Wu, what happened to you?"
Chen Yi immediately recognized the man—it was none other than Boss Wu, the same person who had purchased his gold bars a few days ago.
Boss Wu's complexion was sallow, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked as though he hadn't slept in days.
When Chen Yi last saw him, Boss Wu had been impeccably dressed and full of vigor. In just a few days, he seemed to have aged years—his transformation was startling.
Upon closer inspection, Chen Yi noticed a dense aura of malevolent energy lingering over Boss Wu's forehead. The area from the crown to the glabella, known in physiognomy as the Palace of Career and Status, was shrouded in this ominous energy. Such a sign could only mean that his professional life had encountered serious trouble.
"Brother Chen, something terrible has happened. You've got to help me this time!"
"Relax, Boss Wu," Chen Yi said with a faint smile. "It seems like your business is in trouble, am I right?"
He handed Boss Wu a small folding stool, motioning for him to sit and explain slowly.
"Yes, exactly," Boss Wu said as he struggled to sit down, his large belly making the task awkward and uncomfortable. Hearing Chen Yi's words, he froze for a moment before his face lit up with hope, as though he had finally found a lifeline.
"Brother Chen, I won't hide it from you. My shop has been plagued with strange incidents these past few days. Every day, one of my employees faints. Isn't that bizarre?"
As it turned out, Boss Wu's jewelry store had been experiencing a series of inexplicable events. First, the chandelier in the lobby inexplicably fell, injuring a customer. Then, one by one, his employees began fainting for no apparent reason—on average, one person per day.
What made it even stranger was that these employees would wake up as soon as they were taken to the hospital, requiring no medical intervention.
At first, Boss Wu thought it was just a coincidence, perhaps due to the employees' own health issues. But today marked the third case, all with the same symptoms: fainting inside the store, waking up shortly after leaving, and no detectable issues upon examination at the hospital. They appeared perfectly healthy.
The series of events had thrown the store into chaos. Employees were whispering rumors—some speculated that the store had offended a deity, while others accused Boss Wu of secretly committing immoral acts, which were now coming back to haunt him.
Boss Wu had already received several resignation letters. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before everyone left, forcing him to shut down the business entirely.
"Brother Wu, this is no simple matter," Chen Yi said, shaking his head with an air of mystique. "The malevolent energy is targeting people directly—it's either evil or deadly. This is a calamity destined in your fate."
Chen Yi's tone was deliberately grave, his demeanor enigmatic. By pinpointing the issue with Boss Wu's business right away, he aimed to instill confidence in his abilities, ensuring that Boss Wu would trust him completely and not mistake him for a fraud.
The more difficult Chen Yi made the situation seem, the higher the price Boss Wu would be willing to pay—a tactic Chen Yi had perfected over time.
Luo Yan often accused Chen Yi of being a con artist, a charlatan. In some ways, her criticism wasn't entirely unfounded.
As expected, Boss Wu panicked upon hearing Chen Yi's words. He leapt up from the stool despite his bulk and exclaimed, "Brother Chen, you can't just leave me hanging! Name your price—whatever it is, I'll pay it without a second thought!"
In any negotiation, the worst mistake one can make is revealing their bottom line. Once the other party knows it, they'll exploit it to the fullest.
But Boss Wu, desperate and overwhelmed, couldn't afford to think strategically.
"Brother Wu, let me be honest with you," Chen Yi said, narrowing his eyes like a cunning old fox. "I usually charge 400,000 yuan for a Feng Shui consultation. The gold bars I sold last time? That was just my commission from a recent job."
Four hundred thousand yuan! That was enough to buy an apartment in Quancheng. It was an outrageous demand, practically daylight robbery!
Boss Wu cursed inwardly, but he dared not show his frustration. Gritting his teeth, he replied, "Four hundred thousand it is. But you must promise to resolve this!"
"Deal. If I can't fix it, I won't take a single cent," Chen Yi said, his face lighting up with joy. He had expected Boss Wu to haggle, but the man's "generosity" took him by surprise.
"Brother Chen, can we start now?" Boss Wu asked anxiously. His store was in turmoil, and he couldn't afford to waste another moment.
"Of course, now is as good a time as any," Chen Yi replied. After all, when it came to making money, there was no such thing as inconvenience.
He was also eager to uncover the root of the problem—what could be causing such immediate and dramatic effects?
Feng Shui typically operates with a certain latency. Even if a formation is disrupted, its effects usually manifest gradually, like water slowly eroding stone.
For Boss Wu's jewelry store to experience such a rapid succession of incidents—first a death, then a falling chandelier injuring a customer, followed by employees fainting—it was clear that the Feng Shui situation had reached a critical level.
If left unchecked, who knew what might happen next?
Half an hour later, Chen Yi arrived at the bustling commercial street with Boss Wu.
As soon as he stepped into the store, Chen Yi was taken aback. The malevolent energy inside was far more intense than he had anticipated.
Having entered the Divine Intent Realm, Chen Yi's spiritual perception had become extraordinarily sharp. In the oppressive atmosphere of the store, even breathing felt laborious.
No wonder the employees kept fainting. Working in such an environment, it would be more surprising if nothing happened.
Unlike Chen Yi, who possessed heightened spiritual awareness, the employees had no way of sensing the danger they were in, even as they stood in its midst.
Outside, the commercial street was bustling with pedestrians, but the store itself was eerily deserted. It was as if an invisible force repelled anyone from entering.
This was the so-called "sixth sense" at work.
Though people couldn't consciously perceive the presence of malevolent energy, their instincts warned them of danger, urging them to steer clear.
Inside the store, the employees huddled in small groups, chatting animatedly. Chen Yi overheard snippets of their conversation, which revolved around ghosts and supernatural phenomena.
Clearly, they had sensed something was amiss. Though they couldn't pinpoint the cause, their subconscious minds had linked the malevolent energy to the paranormal.
"With no customers, they've had plenty of time to relax," Boss Wu said awkwardly, rubbing his hands together. "Brother Chen, have you figured out what's wrong? Is it a Feng Shui issue?"
Though he spoke softly, his words were loud enough for the employees to hear. They looked up curiously, their eyes fixed on Chen Yi.
"Isn't that the guy who carried gold bars in a sack the other day? Could he really be a Feng Shui master?"
"Probably. He must know a thing or two; otherwise, why would he carry gold bars like that?"
"I'm not so sure. He's so young—what could he possibly know?"
"Don't judge a book by its cover. Appearances can be deceiving!"
Chen Yi heard their whispers but paid them no mind. Smiling faintly, he turned to Boss Wu and said, "Brother Wu, your store is saturated with malevolent energy. It's at least twice as strong as when I was last here. Have you recently acquired anything new, particularly antiques?"
Such intense malevolence was unprecedented. Chen Yi couldn't immediately identify its source, but his first suspicion was an object imbued with Yin Sha—an antique nurtured for centuries in a place of death.
"Antiques? No, we primarily deal in jewelry, not antiques. And we haven't brought anything new into the store recently," Boss Wu replied, shaking his head.
Chen Yi frowned, his expression growing serious. If the problem wasn't inside the store, then the source must be outside.
"Let's take a look outside, Brother Wu," he suggested.
The commercial street was alive with activity, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows and slightly easing the oppressive summer heat.
As soon as they stepped out of the store, Chen Yi felt a palpable sense of relief. Turning to Boss Wu, he asked, "Do you feel like you can breathe easier out here?"
Boss Wu took a deep breath and looked at Chen Yi in astonishment. "Now that you mention it, I do feel more comfortable. I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out. The store is just a few steps away, and it has air conditioning—why does it feel so stifling inside?"
Air conditioning wouldn't make a difference. Even a powerful industrial fan wouldn't dispel the oppressive atmosphere inside.
Just a few steps away, the difference in malevolent energy was like night and day.
After a moment's thought, Chen Yi offered a simple explanation: "The commercial street is like a flowing river, its crowds carrying both positive and negative energies. Any malevolent energy that escapes your store is quickly swept away. That's why it feels different."
"Can you fix it?" Boss Wu asked, half-understanding but not entirely grasping the concept.
"I can't say for sure yet," Chen Yi replied, scanning the surroundings. He noticed nothing unusual nearby. "But the problem must be at the back."
Boss Wu's eyes lit up at this revelation. He turned to look behind the store, only to see a cluster of tall buildings. Confused, he asked, "Brother Chen, I don't see anything unusual. Are you sure?"
"I don't see anything either," Chen Yi admitted.
"Then how do you know the problem is back there?"
"I guessed."
"You guessed? Are you kidding me?" Boss Wu broke out in a cold sweat, beginning to doubt whether he had chosen the right person for the job. Was this really something that could be solved by guessing?
Chen Yi's claim wasn't entirely baseless. He hadn't found any visible source of malevolence, and the back of the store was obscured by tall buildings. His "guess" was more of an educated deduction.
"Wait for me, Brother Chen!" Boss Wu called out as Chen Yi strode ahead. Panting heavily, he hurried to catch up, grumbling, "Brother, don't joke around like this. My heart can't take it!"
The two made their way to the southern end of the commercial street, winding through alleys until they reached the area behind Boss Wu's store. There, they found a construction site nearing completion—a large residential complex, still unoccupied.
At the center of the site was a small plaza, dominated by a striking red metal sculpture.
The sculpture resembled a rising flame, its peak adorned with eight smaller flames. One of these flames was angled directly toward the back wall of Boss Wu's store.
Beneath the flames, eight stone-paved paths extended outward like spokes on a wheel.
Chen Yi's pupils contracted sharply as he took in the scene, his breath catching in his throat.
A dense, almost tangible aura of malevolent energy coiled around the flame sculpture like a serpent. At its peak, the energy split into eight smaller streams, each following the path of a flame.
These streams of energy were unnervingly peculiar. Instead of dispersing randomly, they converged into straight lines, shooting skyward.
The eight stone paths appeared to be the conduits directing this energy.
At the ends of these paths, however, the streams of malevolence lost their cohesion, scattering in all directions. Unfortunately, one of these paths led directly to Boss Wu's store, enveloping it in its sinister influence.
This was the work of a master—a true expert!
Chen Yi couldn't help but admit that he lacked the skill to create such a formation.