Chapter 39: Two years (Part 2)

I found Uncle Wang in Duyun City without any problems, and I also met my junior apprentice, Chengzhen. Uncle Wang didn’t waste any time. Before I had a chance to say hello to Chengzhen, he said to me, “Fengshui is a complex subject. You are a disciple of Brother Jiang, and you have inherited the Shan family line. You can’t use your heart too much, so I will teach you the part of Fengshui that deals with the living environment. In the future, even if you go to someone else’s house to set up a Fengshui layout, you won’t get into too much trouble.”

I used to think that Uncle Wang was just like my master, a bit of a joker, but I never thought that when he got serious, he didn’t say a word of nonsense.

“Let’s start tonight. I hope you can arrange your time well every day. You mustn’t lose the things of the Shan School!” Uncle Wang said very directly, but then he twitched and said, “No matter your master or your uncle, we can’t look after you forever. There will always be times when you have to face things on your own. You mustn’t lose the things of the Shan School. In the future, whether it’s Chengqing, Chengxin, or Chengzhen, they will all help you.”

After saying that, Uncle Wang stopped talking nonsense and threw me a booklet. It was some introductory notes he had written himself, which roughly explained the principles of feng shui for a Yang house in a very simple and easy-to-understand way. I was told to take a break and start reading it, and to ask him if I didn’t understand something.

After receiving the booklet, I felt a little heavy. Is this happening again? It was as if I was being told something. I thought of what Brother Chengxin had said, and I felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

It was Chengzhen who was the most carefree, as if she hadn’t heard a word. Or maybe she had really taken it to heart, but just like me before, she didn’t want to think too much.

The days following Master Wang were as he had said, drifting. I couldn’t understand what Master Wang was looking for, and he never stayed in one place for long, always leaving in a hurry.

I don’t know if I’m sensitive, but I always feel disappointed when he leaves a place.

In addition, the days I spent with Uncle Wang were also quite… eventful, because one of Uncle Wang’s favorite hobbies was pretending to be a spiritualist, acting like a crazy person, and going around telling people about feng shui. Who would believe him?

Following him, I realized the suffering of Sister Chengzhen. She was often called a liar and even driven out of her home. Who wouldn’t feel bad? But Uncle Wang was still happy about it. He said, “After seeing the ups and downs of human nature, especially the coldness, my heart doesn’t hurt so much.”

I don’t quite understand, but my sister Chengzhen explained it to me once: “People who know the pulse of others are actually suffering. Some things, if you don’t hope for them, then you won’t be disappointed.”

“People aren’t that bad, are they?” I’ve experienced so many separations since I was a child, but I have many happy memories, so I don’t think people are that bad.

“That’s my master’s personality. He always likes to dwell on the nitty-gritty and magnify the ugliness of human nature. I, on the other hand, like to look at the bright spots, so I’m happier than she is.” When my junior sister Chengzhen said this, I suddenly understood why Master Wang would take a girl who was so easygoing and had nerves thicker than a man as his apprentice.

At least, such a disciple will not be tortured by seeing too much ugliness when she inherits the Xiangzi school. Looking at Uncle Wang’s miserable face, I knew that it was a manifestation of heavy psychological pressure.

Although I only learned about y谩ngzh谩i f膿ngshu菒 from him, I was exposed to it and also learned the art of physiognomy. Getting started is a subtle psychology, and understanding people’s psychology is really not a pleasant thing.

Although I am a sensitive person, sometimes I think I would rather live a little more confused.

From another perspective, such days are peaceful and happy. I have a very regular routine every day. Except for the time I spend traveling, I can study and absorb what I need to learn, no matter which city I am in or if I am just on the train.

It was like going back to the days when I and my master lived in the bamboo forest.

And such days are also full of a sense of security. I don’t have to worry about waking up one day and finding myself alone on the road again, or about someone telling me that I have to leave because of the situation. I can see Uncle Wang and Chengzhen every day, and I don’t have to worry about them leaving. This is a sense of security for me.

In addition, these days are also enjoyable. Uncle Wang is really rich, and I have seen the true power of the people of the Xiangzi school. Although Uncle Wang likes to play the role of a charlatan in the folk world, in fact, he has many connections, and those connections are relatively high-end. They all believe in his geomancy, and this is where his income comes from. So we don’t worry about food or clothing, and we can eat whatever we want and buy whatever we want without too much pressure.

For example, I always thought that Uncle Wang was stingy, but during our time in the Northeast, he paid for a lot of wild ginseng for me, so that I could not stop practicing the mountain-character meridian. This is the “rich and arrogant” of the face-character meridian!

The five branches of metaphysics are indeed a mutually complementary relationship. Using everything to support the mountain’s practice can lead to the Dao, but the five branches are not something that can be easily learned. I’m afraid that only my master’s kind of freak can concentrate on one person. For the rest, it is indeed necessary for the five branches to help each other.

However, I often feel discouraged and think that they are helping me.

From another perspective, these days were a relatively happy and fulfilling period of my life. I almost forgot the mark that I would never be able to wash off, and I was also about to forget that the Miao people had not let me go.

Yes, I was happier, as long as I didn’t think about painful things, such as not being able to contact my parents, or worrying about my master and friends, or the Hmong people…

Time passed by in a flash, and before I knew it, it was already spring 1993.

On this day, we were in Guilin, Guangxi. We had been in Xi’an, Shaanxi, for the previous two days, but for some reason, Master Wang kept saying, “Guilin’s scenery is the best in the world. I miss it. Let’s go and take a look.”

So we rushed to Guilin.

Guilin is very beautiful, with green mountains, clear waters, strange rocks, and beautiful bamboo. It seems to have condensed all the beauty of nature here, living up to its reputation as the best in the world.

But in the midst of such beautiful scenery, Uncle Wang said to me, “Chengyi, we should part ways.”

My heart sank. Although I had been prepared for this, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

I knew that I would not be able to see Uncle Wang and Sister Chengzhen again, but it would be different. It would be like saying goodbye to someone you have lived with for a while. You know you will see them again, but that time will never come back. In fact, sometimes we are not saying goodbye to a person, but to a period of our lives.

People are afraid of such farewells, which is why they desperately seek stability in this world, which may be cold or warm. After experiencing so many farewells, the heart will be hurt.

It’s good to be a Taoist, it’s good to have the ability to exorcise demons, it’s good to have a wonderful life, but is this suffering good?

No matter if it is good or bad, this is my life. Although I was feeling down, I still said calmly, “I understand, Master. Are you leaving today?”

When I finished speaking, Sister Chengzhen’s eyes were already red. It was rare for her to be so emotional, after all she was still a girl.

However, I was very calm, and even before Master Wang answered, I was able to comfort her a little. I had experienced this many times, and I had long since gotten used to covering it up.

“Yes, you’re leaving today, going to Kunming. When you get there, go to a flower shop in XXX, and someone will pick you up.” Uncle Wang spoke very calmly, and I believed that he was really calm. I didn’t want to think about it.

I simply said a good word and wanted to turn and leave, but when I saw that my junior sister Chengzhen had already shed tears, I walked over to her and scratched her nose, saying to her, “Don’t cry. I’m leaving, and Yuanxi will come to find you in a few days. Isn’t it better to have a girl to keep you company than me?”

Hearing my words, Sister Chengzhen’s face finally looked better, and she stopped crying. Yes, we are all lonely. Since we were young, we have been following our masters or wandering, or living in a semi-isolated way. It is not easy to have someone to accompany you.

Like me, even if I was studying, I didn’t have much contact with my classmates, let alone playing together. Because I had a lot to learn, I often thought to myself with a self-deprecating smile, my classmates played football and basketball. Me, I played with ghosts…

Seeing that Chengzhen was feeling better, I wanted to turn around and leave, but I didn’t expect Uncle Wang, who had always been so calm, to suddenly stop me.

I turned around and heard him say to me, “You’ve met all my clients, and they’ve all met you. You can make a living from now on, but don’t ruin my reputation in the field of feng shui! Remember, I can pretend to be a spiritualist, because I’m a master, but you can’t pretend to be a spiritualist.”

After saying this, Uncle Wang threw a notebook at me. I took it and opened it. It was full of Uncle Wang’s important clients.

My hands trembled with emotion, but I still stuffed the notebook into my pocket and walked away without looking back.