Chapter 038: A Secret Arrangement of Peach Blossoms

The violent backlash energy, having lost its target, rampaged blindly across the bottom of the mine pit. It surged and dissipated like a headless fly, sweeping up the twisted ritual formation, the shattered bone banners, and the dim Yin-Yang blood-sha tokens, churning them into a scene of utter devastation. Finally, it slowly subsided, leaving behind only a pungent, scorched stench.

The bottom of the mine pit fell into a deathly silence.

Bai Shi had long since collapsed to the ground, his trousers soaked in terror. Staring at the hellish scene before him, he trembled like a leaf in the wind, his eyes vacant, muttering mindlessly, "Demons... they are all demons..."

Yang Rui stood at the edge of the pit, his face pale as parchment. His body swayed slightly, and the wound on his back throbbed with pain from the immense expenditure of mental energy and vital essence. He looked down coldly at the shattered Bai Shi at the bottom of the pit; there was no joy of victory in his gaze, only icy disgust and a trace of imperceptible exhaustion.

He stowed away the dim Star-Fixing Compass, took one last look at the wreckage, turned, and vanished silently into the shadows above the mine. From start to finish, he had not exchanged a single word with Bai Shi.

His goal had never been to simply kill Bai Shi. That would be too lenient, and too likely to invite trouble upon himself. What he wanted was for Bai Shi to disappear silently, in a way that seemed "perfectly reasonable," while consumed by fear and despair. Eliminating Qu Tiankui tonight and pulling out Bai Shi's last claws were merely the first step. The true game had only just begun.

The bloodshed at the Black Stone mine was skillfully concealed beneath the deathly silence of the abandoned mining district. Qu Tiankui’s total disappearance was like a pebble tossed into the ocean, failing to stir even a ripple. Bai Shi, now a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, lived in constant dread. He raised his security to the highest level, rarely venturing out and surrounding himself with bodyguards. He no longer trusted any Feng Shui masters, believing only in cold, hard security and thick barriers of money.

However, money could buy bodyguards, but it could not buy peace of mind. Fear, like a maggot in the bone, gnawed at his nerves day and night. He became irritable and prone to outbursts, suffering from insomnia and vivid nightmares, finding only brief, numb relief in alcohol and debauchery.

In the tranquil courtyard of Xiyuan Village, Yang Rui seemed to have truly begun a life of seclusion. He spent his days recuperating, studying ancestral texts, and occasionally walking through the village to chat with Auntie Zhou. Su Jin visited him several times, bringing news of the stalled investigation into the Hengtai Group, and keenly sensed an unusual calmness—and a sense of detachment—lingering about him. When she tentatively asked about the Black Stone mine, Yang Rui merely said dismissively that he had dealt with "Old Ghost Qu" and that Bai Shi was no longer a cause for concern, telling her not to worry.

Su Jin looked into his calm, waveless eyes, but her suspicions only deepened. She knew Yang Rui too well; he was not the type to suffer a blow without fighting back. Qu Tiankui was dead, yet Bai Shi remained at large—how could he be so composed? She sensed, vaguely, that Yang Rui was plotting something—something he did not want her to participate in, or even know about. This filled her with a sense of unease and an inexplicable feeling of loss.

A few days later, on a moonless, starless night, Yang Rui left Xiyuan Village silently, moving like a phantom blending into the night. He bypassed all potential surveillance, changed transport several times, and finally arrived at the perimeter of an upscale villa district on the other side of the city. The area was nestled between mountains and water, with a secluded environment and tight security. One particular European-style villa, located in a relatively remote spot with its own private garden and swimming pool, was brightly lit, with faint sounds of music and the laughter of men and women drifting from within.

The owner of the villa was a third-tier starlet who had recently secured a wealthy benefactor; her stage name was "Lillian." Her "benefactor" was none other than Bai Shi, still shaken and in need of extreme sensory stimulation to numb his mind.

Yang Rui crept into the shadows of the villa's back garden like a gecko. He did not rush to act, but like the most seasoned hunter, he first carefully sensed the environment. He took out the Yang family’s ancestral compass—not the Star-Fixing Compass, but a Sanhe compass used for geomantic positioning. The dial was clearly layered, with the "Heavenly Pool" in the center and fine calibrations for the Twenty-Four Mountains and Seventy-Two Dragons on the outer rings.

Holding his breath, he balanced the compass on his palm and leveled it. The magnetic needle in the Heavenly Pool trembled slightly before stabilizing. Yang Rui’s gaze was sharp as he read the information on the dial:

* **Orientation:** The main building sat on the Xu Mountain facing the Chen direction.
* **External Factors:** The sharp, sloping terrain behind the villa emitted Sha energy from the Yin direction. The irregular pool in front caused the water energy to scatter, primarily located in the Xun and Si positions.
* **Internal Leakage Point:** Combining the orientation with the landforms and water energy, Yang Rui’s focus finally locked onto the southwest corner of the villa, at the junction of the Kun Palace and the Wei position, near the foundation. The Kun Palace governs women, the spleen and stomach, and also signifies absorption and accumulation. However, because the soil here was near the pool—meaning "water invading earth"—and influenced indirectly by the mountain Sha—"wood overcoming earth"—it appeared volatile and damp. This was the "Earth Gate," the point where the life force of the entire layout was most prone to exhaustion. Crucially, the Seventy-Two Dragon Fenjin line on the compass showed that this point pressed directly onto the "Xin-Xu" Fire Dragon line. Xin-Xu belongs to Yin Fire; the Fire Dragon is volatile and irritable. In this volatile, damp soil, instead of nourishing, it acted like damp wood smoldering in a fire, easily generating symptoms of depletion and licentiousness. The master bedroom was located in the Li direction relative to the Xu Mountain, directly affected by this leakage point.

"Xu Mountain facing Chen, the Earth Gate opens at the Kun Palace and Wei position, the Xin-Xu Fire Dragon trapped in damp mud..." Yang Rui whispered to himself, gaining a more precise grasp of the natural "Peach Blossom Calamity" hidden here. What he needed to do was to tap lightly on this natural "pathogenic point" with symbolic items to stimulate the false fire of the Xin-Xu Fire Dragon, amplify the depleting nature of the Kun Palace and Wei position, and guide it precisely toward the Li direction of the master bedroom—much like poking a hole in an anthill on a dam.

From his cloth bag, he took out several inconspicuous items:

A smooth, mutton-fat white jade peace buckle. It was meant for warding off evil and calming the spirit, belonging to the Earth and Metal elements.

Three willow leaves, thin as cicada wings and a vivid, dripping green. These symbolized fragility and fickleness, belonging to the Wood element, and willow branches were often seen as magnets for "Yin" Peach Blossom energy.

A small pinch of pink crystal sand, fine as dust, wrapped in red paper. It was crushed, synthetic rose quartz; its energy was weak, but it symbolized Peach Blossom luck and belonged to the Fire element.

A slender crow’s feather that shimmered with a dark, oily luster in the moonlight. This symbolized ill omens, depletion, and the drawing of Yin energy, belonging to the Water element.

Avoiding all security cameras and infrared sensors, he glided like a ghost to the predetermined Kun Palace-Wei position, the foundation leakage point corresponding to the Xin-Xu Fenjin line. The soil here was noticeably softer and damper than elsewhere.

Yang Rui moved with extreme speed, yet with the utmost gentleness. He dug a shallow pit in the damp soil with his fingers. He first buried the white jade peace buckle at the bottom, jade side down, metal setting facing up. Normally, Earth produces Metal and Metal produces Water in a harmonious cycle, so this object could anchor a house. But by burying it upside down in the damp, stagnant Kun position, its Earth-Metal nature was twisted and suppressed. It was like inserting a stone in reverse into an anthill on a dam; instead of reinforcing it, it would accelerate the erosion of soil and the depletion of vital energy, secretly aligning with the false fire of the Xin-Xu Fire Dragon.