Water Mirror
Second Master Chu then recounted the background and identity of this Old Brother Yao.
Because his surname was Yao and his given name didn't sound good, he changed his stage name to "Yao Qianshu".
The homonym is "money tree," a lucky omen.
When he was a teenager, he worked odd jobs in a theatrical troupe and met a senior master who taught him the magic of the Mirage Lineage.
The so-called Mirage Art is to create illusions by using water.
After Spirit Communication Aperture Opening and cultivating the first Mind Power, one must use a copper basin to fetch clean water and use Mind Power to create an unwanted reflection on the water.
As his cultivation deepened, he switched to using turbid water, ink, ceramic basins, and wooden basins.
When you can use any kind of vessel and the quality of the water, you've achieved a minor success.
At this point, it can not only create illusions on the water, but also three-dimensional phantoms.
Relying on this skill, Yao Qianshu traveled around performing magic tricks and eventually became a renowned magician.
For him, tricks like making coins disappear from a water glass, conjuring koi fish from a mineral water bottle, or turning cola into a beautiful woman by splashing it in the air are all easy feats.
The most remarkable skill is the "fishing dragon with a copper basin and a fishing rod".
A copper basin is placed in the hall, and people tap it with bamboo poles. Ink paintings are hung on all four sides.
He can make the fish and dragons in the ink painting fly out, with vibrant colors and lively dragon eyes.
Those present reached out to touch it, and it truly felt like touching dragon scales or fish scales, filling them with immense joy.
"This person has a good heart and has done a lot of charity work. However, he doesn't trust those superficial organizations at all. He always delivers the money to the orphanages himself and often goes to check on the situation there."
Second Master Chu coughed lightly.
"In addition, he had a bad lifestyle when he was young. He had four wives, and a lot of sons and daughters."
"Later, some disputes arose in his family over the inheritance, which were resolved by your grandfather."
Chu Tianshu asked curiously, "That's his family matter. How will my grandfather handle it?"
"Your grandfather's main responsibility was to help him detoxify and then call the police."
Second Master Chu added, "He was poisoned by two kinds of poison at the time, and was almost poisoned to death by his youngest daughter and the mother of his eldest son."
Chu Tianshu responded with an "oh".
So that's how it's solved.
Second Master Chu said, "Anyway, after that incident, he had his property notarized, divided his assets into several parts, and then lived alone by the river."
"They said on the phone that it seems there's been a problem with their spiritual practice, possibly related to a lingering illness from the past. They're barely able to move around, and doctors generally can't help. I happened to find a call record from a couple of days ago, so I called back to ask you to take a look."
Chu Tianshu nodded, "Then let's go take a look."
The two hailed a taxi and set off at the address given by Second Master Chu.
It used to only take 20 to 30 minutes to get from Chu Tianshu's home to the Yangtze River by electric scooter.
Yao Qianshu's home is across the river, but the journey is much longer.
The taxi needs to cross the Hailing Yangtze River Bridge.
Chu Tianshu hadn't been across this bridge much, but he'd heard his second grandfather talk about it many times.
It is said that when the bridge was being planned to start construction, it was estimated that it would take several years to build and would not be fully completed until 2011.
However, at that time, a group of famous feng shui masters and overseas feng shui schools chose this project to compete with each other's expertise, constantly recruiting people, increasing investment, and submitting improved construction locations, construction dates, and design plans.
Therefore, this bridge was completed and accepted last year.
Although my second grandfather did not participate in such a major event, he felt a sense of pride among his peers and inquired about these matters very diligently.
As Chu Tianshu drove onto the bridge, he rolled down the car window and looked around carefully.
It doesn't show any classical feng shui features in its appearance; it's clearly a very modern bridge.
But after the taxi drove across the bridge for a while, his keen senses allowed him to feel that there was indeed a faint feng shui aura rising up.
But this bridge is too long.
This feng shui energy, seemingly born from the momentum of the Yangtze River, appears very thin when covering such a long bridge surface.
Only a vague sense of security remained.
Driving across this bridge feels much more relaxed, like driving on an endless plain.
When Second Master Chu first inquired about these events, he chatted with people and spoke with great excitement, but he had already visited many times and no longer found them novel.
He only glanced at the scenery for a short while before losing interest and turning his gaze away.
It wasn't until they crossed the bridge and turned off the highway that Second Master Chu perked up.
The driver didn't recognize this side road either, so I had to carefully identify it and give him directions.
There is indeed a village on the riverbank, where most of the houses are multi-story buildings, and the styles of each house are about 80% similar.
Second Master Chu squinted, spotted a supermarket as a marker, and counted to the seventh supermarket after passing it.
This is it.
Chu Tianshu got out of the car with him and paid the fare.
This is a two-and-a-half-story building with an old solar water heater on the roof.
However, the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor are decorated with European-style curtains, and outside the main entrance on the first floor, there is a large red carpet and glass sliding doors.
The courtyard is just beyond the sliding doors, with a gate adorned with a gilded lion head relief.
Everywhere you look, you can tell that this house cost a fortune when it was built.
Second Master Chu patted the courtyard gate. "Old Yao!"
The gate to the courtyard was unlocked and creaked as it opened inwards.
"Old Chu?"
A voice immediately came from the second floor, loud but somewhat tense, "All the doors are unlocked, come up quickly."
Chu Tianshu sensed the tension in his voice and frowned slightly.
If it's just about asking someone to come see a doctor, isn't this a bit of an inappropriate attitude?
Moreover, this person had a strong voice and didn't seem to be so ill that he was unable to walk.
"Wait a moment."
Chu Tianshu reached out and placed a hand on his second grandfather's shoulder. "If we're on good terms, it's alright if I don't use the main entrance, right?"
Second Master Chu also sensed that something was amiss and silently nodded to him.
Chu Tianshu suddenly floated up.
His shirt and trousers made him appear tall, well-proportioned, and very powerful.
But with this one float, it seemed as light as a feather, directly crossing the courtyard and drifting to the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor.
Chu Tianshu pressed his palm against the window, using his internal energy to absorb the energy, keeping his body suspended in mid-air.
Even at such close range, he could sense that there was no sinister aura or smell of blood on the second floor.
Listening to his breathing, there was indeed only one person on the second floor; he seemed a little nervous and also a bit old.
but...
Chu Tianshu wiped his right hand slightly along the crack in the window.
The humidity on this second floor is a bit too high.
With a slight exertion of his internal energy, he shattered the window latch, and his inner force enveloped the entire window, causing it to move to the side without making a sound.
The curtains were drawn back, and he stepped into the room.
Inside the spacious room were eight mahogany shelves, each Shangdu three tiers of copper basins.
The copper basin was filled with water, and unburnt paper talismans floated on the surface.
An old man with a receding hairline and a long face sat in the middle of eight wooden frames, looking at Chu Tianshu with a shocked expression.
Hmm, it seems I was overthinking it. Everything seems normal here. It was probably a problem with his cultivation that led him to use some kind of ritual to suppress the tendency to go astray...
The moment this thought crossed Chu Tianshu's mind, he saw the water in those copper basins flowing and spinning on its own without any wind, with faint, ethereal white vapor rising from the center of the vortex.
Yao Qianshu's face showed obvious panic.
(End of this chapter)