The Mystical Feng Shui Files

Perhaps my expression really wasn’t great, because after Shi Dan asked me, he didn’t press further. He spent the entire afternoon polishing the ritual instruments, occasionally glancing back at me.

I sighed, sitting there sipping tea all afternoon, and it wasn’t until Aunt Liu came to call us for dinner that I suddenly remembered-I hadn’t gone to find Hu Tieming!

“Tsk!” I clicked my tongue, a bit annoyed with myself.

It’s just someone with the surname Tang, right?

Is it really that big of a deal?

Anyway, since things were already like this, I decided to stick to the plan and only after dinner did I leave the shop to find Hu Tieming.

By the time I arrived at Hu Tieming’s house, it was already eight in the evening.

“Master Jiang, you’re finally here!” He opened the door and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing me.

“What’s up? Did something happen?” I asked, puzzled.

“Not really, it’s just after you called, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling. I thought about calling you to ask, but then I felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill, seeing things that weren’t there.”

I entered the house and noticed the table in the living room was cluttered with a net bag of fruits and a can of coffee.

A ceramic cat doll serving as a coffee spoon holder, with its black and red hues, stood out conspicuously beside them.

“These are gifts from one of my students. She used to visit often, but after what you said, I didn’t dare touch them, so they’re just sitting here.”

I focused on the doll, frowning slightly, as I noticed a faint black aura surrounding it.

I picked it up, examining it closely.

“Is there something wrong with it?” Hu Tieming asked, watching me. “I checked it, there’s not even a seam.”

“Snap!”

I let go, and the doll fell to the ground, shattering.

Hu Tieming froze for a moment, then looked down, “Hey, hey, there’s something inside!”

He crouched down and retrieved a piece of silk cloth from the fragments. It was small, with eerie patterns drawn on it, and the entire cloth was stained with dark brown blood.

“This, this…” Hu Tieming was clearly in disbelief, “She, how could she…”

He had been so good to this student, and yet she intended to harm him!

Hu Tieming was visibly shaken, slumping into a chair.

“Impossible…”

I didn’t comment on the situation between him and his student, merely took the silk cloth and burned it with a lighter.

“Teacher Hu, what’s her name? What did she say today?” I inquired.

I don’t quite believe in coincidences.

Just yesterday, I burned the silk cloth from another doll she had sent, and today, she sent another one.

There’s only one possibility-she somehow found out. Hu Tieming, looking deeply affected, shook his head, “She didn’t say much, just like before. She talked about her current job and showed concern for my wife’s health. My wife usually likes her when she visits, who would have thought, who would have thought…”

“Concern for your wife?” I pondered, “Is your wife unwell?”

“She’s fine!” Hu Tieming replied, “She’s a writer, spends her days at home writing. She enjoys a cup of coffee now and then. The last doll came with the coffee, but…”

He shook his head, unable to accept that his student would do such a thing to him.

I suddenly had another idea, although it seemed a bit bizarre, so I didn’t voice it.

“You say…” Hu Tieming lifted his head, “Could the recent troubles I’ve encountered be her doing? But why? We’ve been so good to her, how could she just…”

I looked at Hu Tieming, feeling a pang of sympathy.

“Teacher Hu, we haven’t gotten to the bottom of this situation yet. It’s too early to draw conclusions.”

“It’s not her?” Hu Tieming’s eyes brightened, “I knew it! She would never do something like this.”

“Where does your wife usually write?” I asked.

“She writes at the desk by the window in our room, where the computer is.”

I nodded, “I think I might know what’s going on here. Maybe this person isn’t targeting you.”

“Not targeting me? Then… my wife?” Hu Tieming suddenly stood up, agitated, “That’s not acceptable either!”

“Listen to me!”

I patiently explained my thoughts to him and also shared what I intended to do next.

After I finished speaking, I just sat in the chair silently, waiting for Hu Tieming to process everything.

It took a while, but finally, he wiped his face with his hand and said, “Okay, I’ll do as you say!”

He then pulled out his phone and sent a message.

“Is that it?”

“That’s it! Just go about your business later, and don’t worry about me.”

“Alright…”

I left Hu Tieming’s home but didn’t actually go far; instead, I stayed downstairs, near a tree not far from the building entrance.

People often sat there to chat and play chess, and there were a few stones placed around.

I sat on one of these stones, watching the path leading to the building, my mind recalling how Tang Lian looked when she arrived today.

I had seen her twice before, once in a long dress and once in a cheongsam, both times looking like a delicate beauty.

Today, she had changed her outfit to a t-shirt and jeans with her hair in a bun, blending in with the younger crowd.

What kind of person was she, really? Her varying auras, all attractive in their own right, made her quite the enigma.

I had never seen a girl around my age who could shift her presence like her.

Especially when she smiled, her dimples seemed to speak on their own, and her large eyes could make my heart pound like thunder.

I…

I felt something was off with me, so I straightened up and cleared my throat.

Luckily, it was late, and no one was around, or I would have been embarrassed enough to hide in a tree hollow.

What really happened between the Tang Family and my master?

If there weren’t this rule about not taking jobs from any Tang, perhaps I could have really gotten to know her?

Lost in my thoughts, I noticed a figure approaching from not too far away.

As she got closer, I recognized it was a girl in a floral dress, with short hair to her ears, and a slight smile on her face.

But behind her, there were two dark shadows following.

Under the building’s lights, I noticed she also had her own shadow.

Three shadows, a sight both eerie and unusual.

When she reached the building entrance, she stopped, looking up at the building.

The shadows behind her seemed excited, chattering softly.

I frowned, sensing something off about her.

Could she be the girl Hu Tieming mentioned?

Her smile slowly widened, but from my angle, it looked oddly sinister, and goosebumps erupted on my skin.

She stepped into the building, and I followed.

Once inside, I heard her ascending the stairs, and then her voice, soft and low.

“Little one, you better stay put here, or your daddy won’t want you anymore!”

Her voice, laced with a mocking tone, uttered the coldest words, revealing a cruel nature.

I reached the staircase and saw a little boy at the second-floor turn, visibly shivering. The girl hummed and laughed as she climbed to the next floor.

I quickly approached the boy, touched his head gently, and he looked up at me, saying nothing.

“You’re useless, letting a man leave you like this, you deserve to freeze! Remember in your next life, if you want a man, you need to be cunning. Hit him, scold him, make sure he can’t leave you!”

The footsteps continued upward, and I followed to the second floor to see a woman, frozen and turning around, her face tear-streaked and trembling.

I cursed the woman upstairs under my breath, just as I heard her voice again.

“You old fool, just die and be gone, stop blocking the way!”