Li Xuantong, the King of Feng Shui

My family and Granny Liu had worried themselves sick over me. My mother had almost cried herself dry.

No one knew where these people had come from, all scrambling to treat me. The middle-aged man who had just arrived was even offering me his own daughter's hand in marriage.

Naturally, my family was happy with that. If they had to choose, they would certainly pick the one offering a daughter-in-law. One master was as good as another.

But the moment the middle-aged man spoke, the old man named Shen Xiuyuan bristled with rage. Pointing at him, he trembled all over as he said, "Yang Gaoyi, never in my life have I met anyone as shameless as you! You'd even throw your own daughter into the bargain just to get a disciple. What a fine father you are!"

The burly monk spat in disgust. "Pah! You really have no shame."

"A red moon overhead, the Purple Star Lord descending to earth-taking this boy as my disciple will surely bring glory to our lineage of Master Yang's Feng Shui. This opportunity comes once in a thousand years. I can't let you lot get him. If my daughter marries this boy someday, she certainly won't be losing out. I'm simply planning ahead. Unfortunately, you're a monk with no descendants, so you certainly don't have a daughter. And you, old Shen-your daughter is probably old enough to be this child's mother. You can hardly offer her hand, can you?" Yang Gaoyi said smugly.

"That reminds me. My daughter may be a little old, but I do have two young granddaughters. We could let the boy choose between them," Shen Xiuyuan said.

"Shen, you were just accusing him of selling his daughter, and now you're being even more shameless! You won't even spare your granddaughters. Even I look down on you," Chan Master Jueming said, rolling his eyes.

While they were still arguing, a succession of car horns suddenly sounded outside.

Before long, another group walked into our courtyard.

This time, a middle-aged woman led the way. Dressed in a qipao, she carried herself with exceptional grace. She looked to be in her forties, but she had retained her charm and was still very beautiful.

Several young women followed behind her, all in their twenties and each an exquisite beauty.

The middle-aged woman approached gracefully with a faint smile. As she walked, she said, "Stop arguing, all of you. This child may be chosen by heaven, but his life will be fraught with calamities. Taking him as a disciple won't be so easy. What do you men know about looking after someone? Why not let him become my disciple? I'll care for him like his own mother. As for finding him a wife, I, Ma Yuling, have more female disciples than any of you. I'm sure to take in a few younger ones in the future, too. Once he grows up, he can choose from among my disciples. Surely that's much better than anything you can offer?"

At the sight of the beautiful woman approaching, the others froze, speechless for a moment.

Dad exchanged a glance with Grandpa and immediately said, "Oh, this is good. This is good! Women are more caring. She'll certainly take good care of our Little Jie."

Grandpa also thought she was a very suitable choice and nodded involuntarily.

So many distinguished guests had arrived that they filled our courtyard. They had even forgotten about me, still lying unconscious in bed.

The whole family was out in the courtyard choosing a daughter-in-law.

Granny Liu stood to one side, dumbfounded. After thinking it over carefully, she finally understood last night's celestial anomalies: the Yellow Immortals worshipping the moon, the red moon overhead, and the Purple Star flickering. Those Yellow Weasels and foxes had created the spectacle, deliberately manifesting the signs in the heavens to tell these experts that something had happened to me and bring them all this way to save me.

It was mainly because my destined fate was so unusual that, combined with the spells cast by those Yellow Weasels, such eerie celestial phenomena could appear.

At least a dozen cars were parked on the street outside our courtyard. Our village was remote, with nothing but dirt roads, and we could go ten days or half a month without seeing a single car. With so many suddenly parked there, all of them big Mercedes sedans, the entire village erupted with excitement. Everyone crowded around our gate to watch, wondering what had happened.

In fact, these weren't the only people who had come. Many others took one look through the gate, then turned and left.

They had also come to take me as a disciple, but the sight of the four experts in the courtyard robbed them of their confidence. They couldn't possibly compete, so they abandoned any hopes and simply walked away.

The burly monk who had arrived first glared angrily at the others. "Listen, we all walk the world of martial and mystical practitioners, so we should abide by its rules. This humble monk arrived first, and first come should mean first served. This disciple must be mine."

But old Shen Xiuyuan said, "Indeed, we should follow those rules. To take a disciple, you must first have the family's consent. Let his family choose. Whoever they pick gets him. I say we stop arguing."

"That's right. When taking a disciple, we must respect the family's wishes." As Yang Gaoyi spoke, he nudged his daughter forward and said to Dad, "Brother, we may be in-laws someday. Look how lovely my daughter is. How would you like her as your daughter-in-law?"

Dad glanced at the little girl. She really was beautiful. You couldn't find another girl that pretty in any of the surrounding villages.

The girl blinked her big eyes at Dad and greeted him with a cheerful smile. "Hello, Uncle."

"Good girl... what a good girl," Dad said, at a loss. Then he looked toward Grandpa as if pleading for help.

Dad thought it was a good offer, but Grandpa still had to make the decision.

Yet Grandpa looked just as bewildered and couldn't make up his mind.

They all gazed eagerly at Grandpa, practically ready to raise their hands and say, "Pick me, pick me! Hurry and pick me!"

Just as Grandpa was at a loss over what to do, someone suddenly squeezed through the crowd at the courtyard gate.

Compared with the four who had come before him, this man looked utterly unremarkable. He wore a ragged Daoist robe, with his hair tied in a Daoist topknot and held in place by a wooden stick. On his feet was a pair of worn-out straw sandals.

As he squeezed through, the crowd instinctively parted. Mostly, it was because the stench coming off him was enough to make their eyes sting. Who knew how long it had been since he last bathed?

"Stop arguing. There's no point. I'm taking this boy as my disciple," the old Daoist announced loudly as soon as he made his way inside.

At the sight of him, the four experts in the courtyard gaped, their expressions changing drastically.

The beautiful woman named Ma Yuling couldn't help blurting out, "Li Xuantong, the King of Feng Shui!"