Chapter 1

"Who awakens first from the great dream, I alone know the course of my life. Sufficient is the spring sleep in the thatched cottage, the sun lingers outside the window."

Yefeng sat up from the bamboo mat, the sunset streaming through the window, casting a glow on his delicate and proud face. He picked up the old, slightly curled, yellowed book from the pillow, gently blew off the dust, and read it with rapt attention.

This ancient book was left by Yefeng's grandfather, Ye Mazi. He was a renowned shigong in the surrounding villages, skilled in divination, physiognomy, and exorcism. Whenever a family lost chickens or ducks, Ye Mazi would cast a divination and accurately determine their location. The villagers would follow his directions and never fail to find them. If a child was troubled by evil spirits and medicine was ineffective, a single acupuncture needle from Mazi would ensure the child stopped crying and fussing.

For every wedding, funeral, or other significant event in the surrounding villages, it was essential to invite Mazi to cast a divination for good luck, peace, and to dispel bad luck. In the Shenlong Peak area, Ye Mazi was like a living god; even the town mayor would respectfully call him "Grandpa Ye."

Yefeng lost his parents at a young age, and Ye Mazi raised him with great care, feeding him from the community. However, when Yefeng was in his second year of junior high, Ye Mazi went to the provincial capital to handle some business. He fell seriously ill the day after he returned and passed away.

Yefeng could never forget the look of his grandfather's unpeaceful death. Before he died, Ye Mazi repeatedly warned his grandson not to become a shigong or learn the art of divination to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.

At that time, Yefeng didn't understand the art of divination, but the image of his grandfather's great abilities was deeply imprinted in his young mind. As he grew older, Yefeng always felt that his grandfather's death was suspicious and wanted to uncover the true cause.

It seemed to be fate. During the Qingming Festival when he returned to pay respects to his ancestors, he found an iron box while searching through his grandfather's belongings. Inside was this ancient book wrapped in yellow cloth.

The book, titled "Qingtian Yishu," was personally compiled by Liu Bowen, the founding military advisor of the Ming Dynasty. "The Zhuge Liang of the former dynasty, the Liu Bowen of the later generations," Liu Bowen was a man of great talent, knowledgeable in astronomy, geography, and proficient in yin-yang, feng shui, qimen dunjia, and traditional medicine, ultimately helping Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty.

"Qingtian Yishu" recorded Liu Bowen's lifelong knowledge, covering yin-yang, feng shui, medicine, military strategy, and astronomy. Unfortunately, the book Yefeng had was only the upper part, which mainly discussed yin-yang, feng shui, exorcism, and traditional medicine.

Ye Mazi's skills were learned from this book. The cover was damaged, but the binding was very strong. The text, though faded and yellowed, was still legible.

In the modern technological wave, yin-yang and feng shui were often labeled as feudal superstitions, often ridiculed or avoided by the general public, considered as low-level practices. However, Yefeng did not think so. He had seen his grandfather perform divination and exorcism with great respect, so he believed it was truly Liu Bowen's teachings.

Since obtaining the treasure book, Yefeng had been engrossed in reading it, finding it increasingly profound.

Many of the feng shui techniques in the book were difficult and boring for others, but for Yefeng, they were not complicated.

During his college years, whenever he thought about his grandfather's death, Yefeng felt it was suspicious. To uncover the truth, he read the "I Ching" with great determination. His dorm mates called him "Crazy Ye," having seen people obsessed with games and girls, but never a civil engineering student who spent all day reading the "I Ching." What else could he be but crazy?

At every dorm meeting, Yefeng insisted that truth often lies in the hands of a few, and the "I Ching" is the foundation of all knowledge. Once you master the "I Ching," everything becomes clear. In the end, his dorm mates, seeing him as a stubborn stone in the outhouse, gave up on trying to change him and let him be a madman.

The "I Ching" is a book of divination, encompassing all things. Yefeng had read it hundreds of times over the years, laying a solid foundation in metaphysics. Combined with the yin-yang principles he learned from Ye Mazi in his childhood, he had already understood most of the yin-yang metaphysics in "Qingtian Yishu."

"Yefeng, you lazy brat, you've read all the books in this university into the dog's stomach. You sleep all day. Look at other boys in the village, they all work hard to earn money. Raising you is a curse, we must have owed you in a past life."

Auntie's voice, like a gong, echoed from outside the door. Every mealtime, she would shout at the door, wanting the whole village to know she had raised a big lazybones.

Yefeng was not angry. Auntie was a typical rural woman, harsh in words but kind in heart. When Ye Mazi died, Yefeng was in his second year of junior high. Many in the village had benefited from Mazi's help, but few were willing to take in Yefeng.

In the end, Uncle Laogen and his wife took him in. Over the years, they saved on food and drink, with some subsidies from the village committee, and managed to support Yefeng through college.

Auntie had hoped that after college, Yefeng would find a good job, settle down in the city, and bring them to see the big city, bringing honor to the village. But to her dismay, Yefeng returned to the village after graduation, spending his days at home reading old books, not looking for a job, and even needing to be called for meals.

Auntie was angry in her heart and could not spare him with her words, feeling that all their hard work over the years had been in vain.