Chapter 2: Business Comes Calling

"Adjusting the environment is only the first step, meant to cut off the source of the negative influence," Yang Rui explained. "The body needs time to recover. Being blasted by malevolent energy is like being exposed to a cold wind for a long time; even after the wind stops, the stiffened parts need time to warm up and heal. I suggest you also get some physical therapy to relax your mind. As for your domestic issues..." He gave Zhang Jianguo a meaningful look. "Environmental adjustments can disperse the hostility and impulsiveness brought by external malevolent forces, allowing both sides to calm down. But as for how to handle the specifics, that depends on your own sincerity and wisdom, Brother Zhang. Only when you are calm and collected can you have a proper conversation."

Zhang Jianguo looked thoughtful, his dejected aura seemingly dissipating a little, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in his eyes. "I understand! Thank you so much, brother! As for the fee..."

"The usual rule: pay me once it works," Yang Rui said with a wave of his hand, appearing very down-to-earth. Just as he was about to take his leave, his phone rang again. Three characters flashed on the screen: Chen Bojun.

Yang Rui perked up. Chen Bojun was no ordinary client; he was the current head of the local Chen family. The Chen family boasted a rich heritage, with ancestors who had been high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants. Deep within the old district in the south of the city lay Jishan Hall, a sprawling ancestral estate passed down through generations. Yang Rui had once been hired to examine the estate's feng shui and had offered some maintenance suggestions, which was how they had established a connection. For Master Chen to call personally, his voice laced with an unusual urgency, meant the matter was surely serious.

"Master Yang! Are you free right now? It's an absolute emergency!" As soon as the call connected, Chen Bojun's raspy voice came through, struggling to maintain composure. In the background, there seemed to be faint sounds of weeping and chaos.

"Mr. Chen, please speak," Yang Rui replied immediately, locking the glass door of his shop as he spoke.

"It's Jishan Hall! Something has happened at the ancestral estate! It's bizarre! Extremely bizarre!" Chen Bojun's voice carried a terror that bordered on a breakdown. "My mother... and my younger brother, Qiming, who just returned from abroad two days ago... they've both collapsed! The doctors can't find the cause! And the house... everything in the house has gone haywire! Master Yang, you have to come over right away! Name your price!"

"Mr. Chen, calm down. What exactly is the situation?" Yang Rui asked calmly, walking briskly toward his old Jeep in the market parking lot.

"I can't even explain it clearly! It started with dizziness! The world was spinning so fast they couldn't even stand! My mother is elderly and had a fall. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt, but now she's bedridden, unable to open her eyes. She says she sees countless flashing stars and her ears are filled with a buzzing sound like clashing gongs! Qiming is in even worse shape. He... he has lost his sense of direction completely! He keeps bumping into walls in his own room! He also says his arms feel like they're being pricked by needles, going numb and tingling in waves! What's even more terrifying is that he claims he constantly hears someone scraping glass with a piece of metal right next to his ear, giving him a splitting headache! The doctors checked his brain, ears, and nerves, and they all said nothing is wrong! They prescribed some sedatives, but they're completely useless!"

Chen Bojun took a breath, his voice growing even more panicked. "The house isn't peaceful either! The century-old grandfather clock in the living room suddenly chimed frantically over a dozen times in the middle of the night, and then the hands stopped at an impossible position! The clocks hanging in several other rooms have either stopped ticking or their hands are spinning wildly! The stainless steel faucet in the kitchen was burning hot to the touch this morning! The servants say that the new area renovated near the west wing feels like an icehouse, chilling to the bone! Our old yellow dog, usually so gentle, is barking madly at the newly excavated area in the backyard where we were planning to build a landscape pool, refusing to go near it! And... and the servants heard footsteps and wall-tapping in the empty rooms in the middle of the night! But when they checked, there was nothing! Master Yang, is... is this house... haunted?"

Yang Rui furrowed his brows, his heart sinking. This description went far beyond the realm of ordinary residential feng shui. The symptoms and environmental anomalies pointed toward intense, physical-level interference. "Mr. Chen, I'll be there shortly. Before I arrive, try to keep the old madam and the second young master in... relatively quiet rooms. Keep them away from the anomalous spots you mentioned, especially the renovated areas and the newly dug foundation. Don't panic. Let me take a look first."

He hung up, stepped on the gas, and the battered Jeep roared out of the market. Thoughts raced through his mind: Large-scale renovations? Disturbing the foundation? A century-old estate? Collective, highly specific physiological symptoms and physical anomalies? This was definitely not a simple "disruption of energy fields." It was more like... some powerful natural force that had been constrained for a long time, only to erupt due to the disturbance! He suddenly remembered that inside the safe at his shop, besides his ancestral bronze compass, there was a set of simple detection equipment he had purchased years ago out of curiosity and for research purposes—a Gaussmeter and a low-frequency vibration and infrasound detector. Today, they might prove extremely useful.

Jishan Hall lived up to its reputation. The towering grey-brick courtyard walls, upturned eaves, and carved archways exuded a heavy, majestic air steeped in history. However, as Yang Rui's car drew near, an oppressive atmosphere washed over him. The newly installed aluminum alloy doors and windows looked completely out of place against the ancient brick-and-wood structure. The faint echo of an excavator drifted from the backyard, where a patch of freshly turned soil lay exposed like an ugly scar. The main gates of the estate stood wide open, with several anxious-looking servants scurrying in and out.

The butler was already waiting at the entrance, quickly leading Yang Rui through several courtyards. The interior of the house was somewhat dim, the air thick with the smell of old wood, fresh paint, and a faint, subtle hint of... rust? The atmosphere was so heavy it felt as if it could be wrung out like water.

Chen Bojun came out to greet him in the main hall. This family head, usually so calm and composed, now had deeply sunken eyes, disheveled hair, and a wrinkled suit. His entire being radiated exhaustion and terror. "Master Yang! You're finally here!" He grabbed Yang Rui's hand tightly, as if grasping at a lifesaver.

"Mr. Chen, take me to see the old madam and the second young master first. Then, tell me in detail about the exact locations of the renovations and what was disturbed." Yang Rui's voice was steady, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

After a brief visit to the bedridden and haggard Old Madam Chen, who was murmuring, "The gongs... so loud...", and Chen Qiming, who lay in bed with vacant eyes, his arms twitching occasionally as he irritably shouted, "Stop scraping! Stop scraping!", Yang Rui's heart sank even further. The symptoms were highly typical, definitely not feigned.

"The renovations were mainly in two places," Chen Bojun said, leading Yang Rui to the western side of the central courtyard. "First, to get better natural light, we demolished the old wall connecting the west wing to the garden and replaced it with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sliding doors." He pointed to the pristine, bright glass structure, which stood in stark contrast to the thick, ancient walls around it. "Second is the backyard. There used to be a small lotus pond that had fallen into disrepair. I thought about filling it in and digging deeper in that spot to make a small sunken landscape pool with rockeries and running water. But just as we finished digging the foundation, before we could even lay the bricks, things started going wrong!"