Chapter 46: Loss of Mental Equilibrium

Hearing this, Tang Meng finally took off the oversized sunglasses that covered almost half of her face. A pair of expressive, bright eyes were revealed, matching her fair and delicate face, exuding a noble yet lazy aura. Even Ma Yunfei, who was well accustomed to her presence, missed a beat in his heart, let alone Qin Hu, who was seeing her true appearance for the first time and stared blankly with fixed eyes. Tang Meng pouted her sexy lips slightly, cast a reproachful glance at Ma Yunfei without a word, and strode inside.

Ma Yunfei offered Qin Hu a bitter smile, shrugged, and hurried to catch up.

Watching the receding figures of the two, especially Tang Meng’s swaying and graceful silhouette, Qin Hu's Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously, and a trace of burning desire flashed in his eyes.

Yang Rui at the entrance was still locked in an internal battle. Just then, Qin Hu glanced back at him, his gaze cold and unfriendly. Startled, Yang Rui quickly squeezed out a flattering smile, bowing and scraping as he retreated. Since he couldn't afford to offend them, he could only run away! He knew his own limitations well enough.

After backing away a few paces, Yang Rui turned around with a pretentiously dashing movement, tossed his head, straightened his back, and walked off with an expression that seemed to say, "As if I even care!"

"Young man, what's wrong? Were you chased out?" a gossipy old man teased.

"As if!" Yang Rui stubbornly insisted. "Didn't you hear? They invited me in! I was the one who didn't want to go in! Can't be bothered to deal with them!"

"Pfft—!" As soon as his words fell, they immediately drew a chorus of merciless boos from the surrounding crowd.

Yang Rui’s skin was as thick as a city wall; this little bit of criticism was nothing more than a light drizzle. Keeping his expression completely unchanged, he smoothly changed the subject, which happened to be his specialty: "Hey, let me ask you folks, does anyone know what that 'Pu Ming Xuan' inside is actually doing for a living?"

This question successfully piqued everyone's curiosity.

"I heard from the cousin of the second daughter of my eldest aunt's female cousin's brother-in-law," a middle-aged man lowered his voice mysteriously, instantly capturing everyone's attention, "it seems to be a place specially set up for physiognomy and geomancy!"

"Pfft—!"

"Hahaha!" The crowd instantly burst into even louder laughter.

"What kind of international joke is this? Whose brain got flooded with water to open a fortune-telling parlor in this prime location? Do you know how much the rent is for a year?!"

"Exactly! The streets are already full of roadside fortune-tellers; who would come all the way here to spend money foolishly? How much would they have to charge per reading just to break even?"

"If I say you guys are ignorant, you still refuse to believe it!" The middle-aged man wore a look of disdain. "The richer people are nowadays, the more particular they are about these things! Unlike us ordinary folks."

Yang Rui deeply agreed with this statement; he had encountered several such big-spending clients himself, and thinking back on them still left a lingering aftertaste. Besides, judging by the setup inside, it really didn't look unreliable.

"I also heard," the middle-aged man continued, spinning an even more mystical tale, "that the boss here drank foreign ink in America, and what they studied was specifically the skill of predicting people's fortunes!"

"Utter nonsense! Which American university has a major in fortune-telling? Even if you're going to lie, at least make it somewhat believable!" Several girls, who were obviously visual fans of Ma Yunfei or Tang Meng, immediately stood up to fight for the boss.

"Believe it or not! If you have the guts, go inside and ask yourself!" The middle-aged man was refuted to the point where he found it hard to maintain his ground.

As soon as he said this, everyone's gazes swished and uniformly focused on Yang Rui, who had just returned in defeat.

Actually, Yang Rui’s heart was itching with curiosity. Prompted by the middle-aged man, the urge to go inside and take a look grew even stronger. However, he had been scared out of his wits by Qin Hu just moments ago, and even if he were given ten times his courage, he wouldn't dare provoke him again. Being stared at by everyone like this, he hesitated for a long time, but couldn't help glancing back. Seeing that Qin Hu was indeed no longer wandering around the front hall, his little scheme flickered back to life. Gritting his teeth, he turned and walked toward the entrance of Pu Ming Xuan once more.

Seeing this "god of plague" return, the two guards immediately put on defensive expressions.

Yang Rui quickly glanced inside one more time to confirm that Qin Hu was truly nowhere to be seen, then let out a sigh of relief, plastered on a smiling face, and said to the guards, "Big brothers, don't be tense! I just want to ask you about something." He pointed inside. "Your esteemed establishment... what kind of business are you actually running?"

"What kind of business?" One guard said with extreme impatience and an intimidating tone, "No matter what business it is, anyway, it's not a place someone like you can set foot in! If you know what's good for you, clear out right now! If you don't leave, we're going to call Tiger Brother!"

Yang Rui cursed inwardly: *Damn it! You just have to poke my sore spot, don't you? Isn't this just bullying an honest man?*

Suppressing his anger, he cautiously probed, "I heard... is your place specifically for reading feng shui?"

"What feng shui?!" The guard sneered, a look of superior elitism on his face, "That's all outdated feudal superstition! Our boss is an 'asterism master,' blending the wisdom and essence of ancient and modern times, Chinese and foreign, to predict fortunes and guide people out of confusion! Do you understand, country bumpkin?"

"Alright, alright, get lost now that you know! If you dawdle any longer, I'm really going to call someone!" The other guard impatiently began chasing him away.

"All right, all right! Leaving right now, leaving right now!" Yang Rui bowed and scraped as he backed away, but inwardly cursed: *What kind of bullshit asterism master, aren't they just a fortune-teller? Is there a difference just because you change it to a foreign title? What kind of big shot are you pretending to be?* Muttering to himself as he walked, he realized after all this fuss, it turned out to be a competitor coming to smash the turf!

Having no mood to pay attention to the onlookers' continued questioning, Yang Rui trudged back home.

The impact of this incident was simply too heavy for him, and his chest felt stuffed with frustration. Why was it that whenever he relied on his own skills to do a side hustle and earn some hard-earned money, he had to be chased around by the police like a panicked chicken, while other people could openly open a storefront, legitimately hang up a business license, and have so many prominent figures show up to support them? Just because they had money? Because they had power? This was too damn unfair!

Of course, this was only one aspect. Yang Rui quickly figured out the crucial point—those people knew how to "gild" themselves, how to play the rules, and how to dance gracefully on the very edge of the law! Having figured this out, the stifled feeling in his chest finally dissipated a little.

Returning to his own little stall, Yang Rui could be considered to have "woken up to the truth." Back in the day, his ancestor Yang Yunsong was how glorious, proposing the five-formula site-selection method of "Dragon, Lair, Sand, Water, and Facing," transforming feng shui theory into practical service for the people. But by his generation, he was like a frog at the bottom of a well, his vision fixed entirely on the meal right in front of him. It seemed he truly needed to change.

As an inheritor of the Forms School of feng shui, Yang Rui had a profound understanding of his own trade—it was by no means the pure swindle and deception that outsiders perceived it to be; true profundity was hidden within it! Otherwise, he wouldn't have stubbornly guarded this legacy to the death. However, the waters in this trade ran deep; there were plenty of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and just as many wandering charlatans running their mouths, with probably eight and a half out of ten being pure bluffers.

In the afternoon, the market remained as desolate as ever. Guarding his empty stall, looking at the gray, gloomy sky outside the window, Pu Ming Xuan's glossy and bright storefront, the title of "asterism master," and Qin Hu's cold gaze spun in his mind like a revolving lantern. An indescribable annoyance and frustration clogged his chest. He abruptly stood up and pulled down the rolling shutter with a loud *bang*. "Damn it! I'm done! Going home!"