Chapter 7

The so-called Lotus Cup may not be well understood by laymen, but anyone with a bit of knowledge or genuine expertise in feng shui and the esoteric arts has mostly heard of it. Gu Fenglin is no exception; he just didn't think of it just now.

Feng shui discusses "Qi," which is divided into yin and yang. It is also categorized based on its impact on people into malevolent Qi and auspicious Qi. Auspicious Qi, naturally, brings good fortune, as the saying goes, "Good luck is on the horizon, everything goes smoothly, and good fortune is abundant, turning misfortune into good luck."

However, malevolent Qi is a type of "Qi" that is detrimental to people, also known as bad luck or inauspicious Qi. Being entangled by malevolent Qi can lead to various misfortunes, or even serious illnesses. In severe cases, one might get hit by a car when going out or choke on cold water, which is not impossible.

Since there is malevolent Qi, it naturally needs to be eliminated. Therefore, feng shui has many methods and tools to regulate malevolent Qi. These tools mostly have spiritual properties and are called treasures or feng shui treasures.

In simple terms, fish tanks and artificial mountains in residential areas, among other things, have the function of neutralizing malevolent Qi. Mountains symbolize nobility, and water symbolizes wealth. When used appropriately, they can naturally attract wealth and nobility.

In addition to these, feng shui treasures with the function of neutralizing malevolent Qi include stone lions, which are often placed at the entrance of residences, and smaller ones can even be placed on desks. There are also qilins, dragon turtles, copper sheep, horses, copper elephants, pagodas, gourds, baguas, wind chimes, deities of wealth, and coins from the Five Dynasties. These items, such as qilins and dragon turtles, are all auspicious and can neutralize malevolent Qi. Qilins are auspicious, dragon turtles symbolize longevity, and the others each have their own functions, making them the most commonly used in feng shui.

In addition, there are many other treasures, such as peach wood swords, talismans, and the Lotus Cup, which fall into this category. Compared to the more common and tangible items mentioned earlier, these latter ones are more mysterious.

For example, not just any peach wood sword can ward off evil; it often needs to be consecrated and made with special techniques. Talismans are the same, and the Lotus Cup also has its own particularities.

The Lotus Cup, in fact, is exceptionally simple. All it requires is a cup of clear water and three red dates, which have the function of absorbing negative Qi. However, not everyone can achieve this effect with such simple items. At the very least, Gu Fenglin doesn't think he has this ability.

Jiang Shihao, Jiang Shiping, and the middle-aged man who hadn't spoken much might not understand the subtleties of the Lotus Cup, but Gu Fenglin was well aware. Hearing Li Chuanhe's exclamation, he was also startled and looked at Ning Yuan with anticipation.

Since Jiang Shihao and Gu Fenglin picked up Ning Yuan from the train station, Gu Fenglin had noticed that Jiang Shihao was a bit disappointed. Later, he changed his attitude because of Ning Yuan's knowledge of antiques, but Ning Yuan hadn't shown much in terms of feng shui. Now that Ning Yuan was going to use the Lotus Cup, Gu Fenglin was both excited and eager. This thing isn't something you can see just anywhere.

Seeing Gu Fenglin's expression, Jiang Shihao hurriedly asked, "Master Gu, what is this Lotus Cup, and what is its significance?"

Jiang Shihao's question made Jiang Shiping come over, and the middle-aged man who had been following Jiang Shiping, though he didn't move, was clearly listening intently. Clearly, everyone's curiosity had been piqued by Li Chuanhe's exclamation.

Gu Fenglin chuckled and said mysteriously, "Mr. Jiang, just watch. If I explain it now, it won't be as interesting later."

Jiang Shihao and Jiang Shiping, along with the middle-aged man, were a bit disappointed by Gu Fenglin's mysteriousness but didn't press further. They decided to wait and see how Ning Yuan would resolve the situation and what this Lotus Cup was all about.

At this moment, Li Chuanhe was silent, watching Ning Yuan, who was examining the fish tank, with a burning gaze, thinking of a strategy. Li Chuanhe had been the top feng shui master in Shangjiang City for many years. Although he had turned a blind eye to Gu Fenglin's return because Gu Fenglin didn't pose a threat, if Ning Yuan could really set up the Lotus Cup, it would be no small matter.

Previously, Li Chuanhe's quarrel with Ning Yuan was just a reaction to being provoked. He originally thought he was a senior master, but ended up being treated as a junior, so he wanted to regain his dignity. Now, however, it involved his own interests.

Although people in the esoteric arts are mysterious, they are not immune to worldly concerns and need to live. Their expenses are not small, especially when it comes to the four essentials: methods, companions, wealth, and location. All of these require money, so people in the esoteric arts charge for their services, such as feng shui, face reading, and fortune-telling. They don't do it for free.

Shangjiang City, although a southern city near the coast, is not a major city, but a second-tier city, and not even a leading one among second-tier cities. Therefore, the benefits are limited. Li Chuanhe didn't want someone like Ning Yuan to come and take his livelihood.

While Li Chuanhe was calculating, the female employee whom Ning Yuan had instructed to fetch the items returned with a tray. On the tray was a cup of clear water, and next to it, a container with three clean red dates.

This was the office building of a branch of the Jiang Group, so it naturally didn't have red dates. It was quite a feat for the female employee to find three clean red dates in such a short time.

Ning Yuan took the tray from the female employee and said with a smile, "Thank you, sister. I'll treat you to a meal another day."

The female employee blushed but didn't say anything, walking away to continue her work. However, her eyes occasionally glanced over, whether out of curiosity or shyness from Ning Yuan's invitation to dinner.

Under normal circumstances, if Ning Yuan had said something like that, the female employee would likely have been angry. However, the grand entrance Ning Yuan made had left her unsure of who he was.

Gu Fenglin, she knew, had been busy here for a while and seemed like a charlatan to her. She had also heard that Li Chuanhe was an even bigger charlatan. As for Ning Yuan, he looked gentle and seemed like a young neighbor. From what he was doing, he might be another young charlatan, but for some reason, she couldn't associate Ning Yuan with being a charlatan.

Ning Yuan, of course, didn't know that someone had already started to think of him as a charlatan. After taking the tray, he placed it directly above the fish tank, picked up the cup of clear water, and carefully examined it. He dipped his finger into the water, lightly flicked it, and a few droplets splashed. He then placed the cup of water on the fish tank.

Ning Yuan's actions were casual and effortless, and Jiang Shihao and Jiang Shiping couldn't see the significance. However, Li Chuanhe's pupils involuntarily contracted, and his expression became serious again.

The cup of clear water was not placed randomly. The position was important, and it needed to be placed where the malevolent Qi was strongest. Ning Yuan's casual placement was precisely where the malevolent Qi was strongest above the fish tank, without any error.

After placing the cup, Ning Yuan gently picked up the container with the red dates, examined it, and lightly pinched one, bringing it to his nose to smell it. He then gently tossed it into the cup of water, causing a few droplets to splash.

Next was the second one...

And the third one...

After all three red dates were in the cup, Ning Yuan gently placed the container on the tray, patted his hands, and then picked up the tray, walking over and placing it casually on a nearby coffee table. He then smiled and said, "That's about it. Should we wait here or go up and take a look?"

"About it?" Jiang Shihao was at a loss. He hadn't seen the significance of what Ning Yuan had done. All he saw was Ning Yuan placing a cup of water on the fish tank and putting three red dates in it. He didn't see anything else.

To put it bluntly, if he had done it, he would have done the same. It was just a cup of clear water with three red dates. Was there anything else to it?

Most importantly, a cup of water with three red dates on top of the fish tank looked very out of place. The Jiang Group is a large corporation, and they couldn't just leave it there. Those who knew would recognize it as a Lotus Cup, but those who didn't might think the employees were lazy.

Moreover, Jiang Shihao thought that out of the people present, 99.9% wouldn't recognize what this was. At the very least, if Li Chuanhe and Gu Fenglin didn't explain, he wouldn't know what it was.

Although Gu Fenglin and Li Chuanhe had explained, Jiang Shihao still didn't understand what it was for. The only thing he felt was that it looked very out of place. If he had passed by, he might have gotten angry and thrown it away.

Jiang Shihao was at a loss, unsure how to respond. He wanted to wait but was afraid of embarrassing Ning Yuan. He wanted to go up but was full of doubts.

Fortunately, Li Chuanhe spoke up. He chuckled and said, with a tone that was either admiring or envious, "Senior Ning, as the head of the Nine Profound Sect, you truly have a unique skill. I admire you. The Lotus Cup is now set up, and it won't take effect immediately. We don't need to wait here. Let's go up and take a look."

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