Chapter 10

"Probably my friend has arrived, I'll go open the door." Mu Chuntao got up and went to open the door, then led a middle-aged man over.

The middle-aged man was about forty years old, with a lean build and a dark complexion. There was a hint of沧桑 (沧桑 means沧桑, but in this context, it can be translated as "weathered") in his brows. He had long hair tied into a distinctive braid, and his eyes were bright and lively, giving off a confident aura. Just by his appearance, one could tell he was a successful uncle who enjoyed outdoor activities.

Mu Chuntao led the middle-aged man towards the living room. He noticed Li Zian and lowered his voice to say, "Why is he so young? Can he really do it?"

Mu Chuntao also whispered, "He's a master, and he saved my life. I barely managed to invite him here, so you need to be polite."

The middle-aged man nodded, and his gaze towards Li Zian changed, showing a sense of respect.

Mu Chuntao led the middle-aged man over and introduced him, "Zian, this is my friend, his name is Fan Rui."

Zian, this way of addressing him was normal for Yu Meilin, but it felt a bit strange coming from Mu Chuntao. However, it was clearly not the time to correct it.

"Mr. Fan, hello." Li Zian stood up and greeted him.

Fan Rui walked towards Li Zian with a smile, extending his hands from three steps away, "Master, don't be too formal, I'm here to ask for your help."

Li Zian shook hands with Fan Rui, "Mr. Fan, please sit down. Tell me about your situation."

Fan Rui sat down and said, "It's been about a year since I got injured while rock climbing. Since then, my sleep has been very poor, and I can only sleep for one or two hours a day. I have nightmares as soon as I fall asleep. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and started taking sleeping pills. At first, they worked, but after a while, they became ineffective. Now, I almost stay awake until dawn."

Li Zian carefully observed Fan Rui. He noticed that Fan Rui's forehead was dark, and although he looked healthy, his energy and spirit were poor, giving off a sense of being strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

"I've been to the hospital several times and seen many famous doctors, but none of them have helped. Master, can my condition be treated?" Fan Rui looked at Li Zian with hope.

Li Zian continued to observe Fan Rui, feeling that something was off about him.

Fan Rui took out his phone, opened an app, and handed it to Li Zian, "Master, this is the hospital's report, take a look."

Li Zian pushed Fan Rui's phone away.

He couldn't read hospital reports; the medicine he practiced wasn't the same as a doctor's, but rather a fangshi's (a type of traditional Chinese medicine practitioner).

"Master, what...?" Fan Rui held his phone, unsure what to do.

After a moment of observation, Li Zian finally discovered what was wrong with Fan Rui.

It was the qi (energy) of his body.

The qi of the body not only indicates whether one is healthy or not but also reveals the fortune and misfortune of one's destiny. One's health issues and recent fortune can be seen from the qi of the body.

This skill of observing qi was a unique technique taught by Ji Da in the art of astrology.

Having discovered the issue, Li Zian said, "Mr. Fan, I can treat your sleep disorder with a calming soup. It's a minor issue."

Fan Rui was excited, "Really? That's great! When can I drink the soup?"

"Don't be in a hurry, let me finish speaking."

Fan Rui chuckled, "Not in a hurry, not in a hurry."

Li Zian continued, "I observe that your qi is murky, not only because of the illness but also due to the invasion of yin energy. This is the root of your problem. If the root cause is not addressed, even if you drink my calming soup, it will only treat the symptoms, not the cause."

"What is qi?" Fan Rui looked confused and a bit nervous.

Li Zian got up and walked towards the balcony.

Fan Rui asked curiously, "Master, where are you going?"

"I'm going to observe the stars."

Fan Rui was taken aback, then laughed, "Master, I came to you for a headache, not for a fortune reading. Why are you observing the stars?"

Mu Chuntao felt a bit awkward but couldn't say anything since she had invited him.

"In my practice, medicine and divination are one." Li Zian simply explained this and walked to the balcony, looking up at the sky.

The night sky was clear, with stars scattered like dust.

Ordinary fangshi observe the stars by walking in the four directions, observing the seven stars of the Azure Dragon in the east, the White Tiger in the west, the Vermilion Bird in the south, and the Black Tortoise in the north, corresponding to the changes of the Big Dipper to predict fortune and misfortune.

However, the star observation technique sealed in the Da Du Suishen furnace was different. It involved visualizing the stars in the mind, evolving and analyzing them, and then using the qi to predict fortune and misfortune, as well as the causes and effects.

Fan Rui and Mu Chuntao's attention was focused on Li Zian.

Li Zian was very focused, looking up at the stars. The balcony lights illuminated his tall and well-proportioned figure, and his strong facial features made him look like a sculpture.

Mu Chuntao's eyes were a bit dazed.

Fan Rui leaned close to Mu Chuntao and whispered, "Chuntao, what's the deal with your friend?"

"Huh?" Mu Chuntao snapped back to reality, "What do you mean?"

Fan Rui whispered, "Your friend is acting weird. I came to see a doctor, but he's observing the stars. Is he a fraud?"

Mu Chuntao smiled, "He's my best friend's husband, how could he be a fraud? Besides, have you ever seen a fraudster who looks so handsome?"

Fan Rui looked at Mu Chuntao with a strange expression, as if he had something to say.

While they were whispering, Li Zian was experiencing a magical moment in his mind. The twenty-eight constellations and the Big Dipper appeared on the Da Du Suishen furnace, with each star shining brightly, and the qi was misty.

Everything has a cause, and every cause has an effect.

Li Zian worked in reverse, using the effect to find the cause, and discovered the root of the problem from the symptoms.

The whole process took only a few minutes. After observing the stars, he left the balcony and returned to the living room.

Fan Rui smiled, "Master, what did you discover by observing the stars?"

His smile indicated that he didn't believe it, and his words had a hint of mockery.

Li Zian said calmly, "Xin Huo rushes to Kui Xing, Tu Fu fails to form a sieve. To be healthy and peaceful, you need to cut ties with an unclean relationship."

"What... does that mean?" Fan Rui didn't understand at all.

Mu Chuntao looked interested, "Zian, explain it quickly."

Li Zian said, "Xin Huo is Xin Yue Huo, and Tu Fu is Nu Tu Fu, both are constellations among the twenty-eight. The former governs heart fire, and the latter governs the female. Xin Huo rushing to Kui Xing and Tu Fu failing to form a sieve means that Mr. Fan has a mistress, and his wife has been affected. In ancient times, women used sieves to sift through grains, removing the chaff and keeping the essence, ensuring a smooth and prosperous home. But because of the mistress Mr. Fan keeps, the sieve in your home is no longer effective, leaving the chaff and removing the essence. To be healthy and have a harmonious family, you need to end the relationship with that woman."

Fan Rui was speechless.

He had a mistress, and even Mu Chuntao didn't know about it, but this young master could tell just by observing the stars. How bizarre!

Mu Chuntao looked at Fan Rui, "Mr. Fan, is this true?"

Fan Rui nodded, a bit dazed.

Mu Chuntao's gaze shifted to Li Zian, her eyes shining, "Zian, you're amazing!"

Li Zian continued, "The woman is from the south, she is twenty-two years old, and she is still in school, right?"

Fan Rui was surprised, "Master, how do you know so clearly? Did you see it in the stars?"

Li Zian leaned close to Fan Rui's ear and whispered, "The woman Mr. Fan keeps is like a white tiger on an ivory tree, am I right?"

Fan Rui was instantly amazed!

The master could actually see this secret in the stars, he must be a true master!

"Master, how... how did you know?" Fan Rui finally recovered.

"Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed," Li Zian said.

Actually, there were no secrets; it was just the result of star observation. He didn't want to explain it to Fan Rui, and even if he did, Fan Rui wouldn't understand.

Mu Chuntao asked curiously, "What did you say?"

Li Zian smiled, "Some things are better left unsaid."

Mu Chuntao pouted, "It's definitely not something good."

Fan Rui suddenly bowed deeply to Li Zian, "Master, I was a bit disrespectful earlier, please forgive me."

Li Zian waved his hand, "No need to be formal, but about the calming soup..."

Fan Rui followed, "Master, don't worry. As long as you can cure my insomnia, I'll pay whatever you ask."

Li Zian smiled, "You misunderstood. I just arrived in Shanghai and don't have the materials. I need to prepare them before I can make the soup for you."

Fan Rui said anxiously, "Master, tell me what materials you need. Give me a list, and I'll have my company buy them immediately. They'll be here in less than an hour."

"Since you're in such a hurry, I'll give you a list." Li Zian said, and he asked Mu Chuntao for paper and pen, writing a list on the coffee table.

The list included herbs and ingredients like Huang Qi, ginseng, Tian Ma, tangerine peel, cinnamon, licorice, pigeons, ginger, and scallions. There was also a special ingredient called furnace body mud, which was the mud from his body, but he didn't write that on the list.

As his practice of food therapy developed, Li Zian increasingly realized that his furnace body was a treasure. Not only could his blood be used as medicine, but even the mud and hair from his body appeared in many secret formulas.

The Da Du Suishen furnace was indeed mysterious, but he knew very little about the incense burner attached to it.

Fan Rui took the list to the balcony to make a call.

With money and connections, it didn't take long for someone to deliver the ingredients for the soup.

Li Zian went to the kitchen to make the soup, closing the door so that Fan Rui and Mu Chuntao wouldn't see him rubbing mud off his body.

Half an hour later, Li Zian came out of the kitchen with a soup pot. As soon as he opened the lid, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

Fan Rui eagerly poured a bowl, drank a mouthful without even using a spoon, and said with a smile, "Delicious, to think a medicinal soup can taste so good. Master, you're amazing."

Li Zian smiled, thinking to himself, if you knew the soup contained mud from my body, would you still think it tastes good?

"Can I drink it?" Mu Chuntao asked.

Li Zian said, "This is a medicinal soup. Since you're not sick, it's better not to drink it."

Mu Chuntao smiled, "If I get sick in the future, will you make soup for me? I hate taking medicine."

Li Zian: "..."

Fan Rui drank several bowls of soup in one go. After the last bowl, he yawned and fell asleep on the sofa, snoring loudly.

Mu Chuntao was surprised, "He... fell asleep just like that?"

Li Zian said, "The calming soup has a soothing effect, so it's normal for him to fall asleep."

"Your soup is more effective than sleeping pills. I bet he'll often ask you for soup in the future."

"No problem. He's your friend, and I'll definitely help him with his sleep issues, but you need to persuade him to end the relationship with that woman."

"Sure, no problem." Mu Chuntao looked at Li Zian and smiled.

Li Zian asked curiously, "Why are you smiling?"

Mu Chuntao smiled, "Yu Meilin is so boring. She married such an amazing husband but keeps it a secret. Is she afraid someone will take him away?"

Li Zian couldn't resist her gaze and felt a bit awkward, so he said, "It's getting late, I should go back."

"Stay a bit longer, let's have a drink, okay?" Mu Chuntao's eyes were full of expectation.

"No, no." Li Zian left even faster.

Alcohol can lead to indiscretion. If he got drunk and something happened, it would be bad.