Chapter 37: A Mere Trifle

"The furnace... it's so dark..."
"It smells so foul..."
Li An trembled, his white soul-form beginning to disintegrate.
Chen Fan did not hesitate; he raised his hand, and the soul-form slowly dissipated.
"Why didn't you keep asking!" Jiang Mingyuan exclaimed, his voice filled with agitation. They had reached the most critical point!
"Can't you see? If we kept going, his soul would have scattered completely." Even Buddhist chants intended to forcibly calm the mind could not suppress the terror buried deep within a person's soul. Chen Fan said indifferently, "Besides, can't you tell? He already gave us the clue."
"What clue?" Jiang Mingyuan and Fu Ankang asked in unison. The former sounded skeptical, while the latter was filled with curiosity and anticipation.
"The time and method of his death." Chen Fan paused, then continued, "When the earthquake hit Liangmian Mountain, Li An didn't die. He was abducted and thrown into a furnace to be refined into an elixir. His daughter was taken as well... her fate was likely the same as his. And who would do such a thing?"
"Who?" Curiosity was written all over Fu Ankang's face.
Jiang Mingyuan glanced at Fu Ankang, his face twitching. He couldn't understand it; when he used to discuss Feng Shui, Fu Ankang always looked calm and was never this curious.
"An evil cultivator nearing the end of his lifespan." Chen Fan said calmly, "He is using this 'Earth-Guardian Life-Preservation' Feng Shui formation to absorb spiritual essence and extend his life. The earthquake at Liangmian Mountain back then was likely not a natural disaster. It was an evil cultivator altering the destiny of the land, turning a 'Field of Return' into an 'Earth-Guardian Life-Preservation' site."
"So..." Before he could finish, Jiang Mingyuan interrupted.
"No, no, no!" Jiang Mingyuan shook his head. "This is a 'Field of Return' site. When was it changed to 'Earth-Guardian Life-Preservation'? I just checked it..."
Chen Fan said nothing. He stood up, grabbed Jiang Mingyuan by the collar, and hauled him out of the teahouse.
"Open your eyes and look closely. Tell me if this is 'Earth-Guardian Life-Preservation' or not." Chen Fan pointed toward the fractured peaks of Liangmian Mountain.
"The mountain has collapsed into the abyss, severing the Jia entrance..." Jiang Mingyuan gasped, "The 'Field of Return'... it really has become an 'Earth-Guardian Life-Preservation' site!"

Feng Shui is sometimes like this; as long as someone points the way, it is like parting the clouds to see the moon.
Jiang Mingyuan’s expression trembled. He said in a deep voice, "It seems things are quite tricky. It has been many years since I last dealt with an evil cultivator. I hope my old tricks still hold up."
Jiang Mingyuan broke free from Chen Fan's grip. He didn't dwell on Chen Fan's rough handling but immediately turned to Fu Ankang. "Little Fu, you must leave Liangmian Mountain immediately! There is no time to waste. That evil cultivator is refining elixirs here, and by taking on this project, you are essentially destroying his cauldron! This evil cultivator will surely hunt you down—it will be a fight to the death!"
Fu Ankang, however, seemed to lose his nervousness. He asked solemnly, "Old Master Jiang, how confident are you?"
"Not much, only about seventy percent." Jiang Mingyuan said modestly, though he lifted his chin with a hint of pride.
Chen Fan shook his head slightly from the side. The moment Jiang Mingyuan uttered those words, he had already glimpsed the causal threads involved. On Jiang Mingyuan’s face, the same signs of impending death that plagued Fu Ankang had begun to appear. After all, Jiang Mingyuan had gotten the priorities wrong from the start. He wanted Fu Ankang to leave while he stayed behind, but in reality, those fleeing the mountain were even more prone to danger. Especially since Fu Ankang was already under the influence of the cursed Feng Shui. Once he left, even if he weren't killed by the evil cultivator, he would encounter other fatal accidents.
"Fu! Chairman Fu!" Little Li’s breathless voice called out, his face deathly pale.
"You're back... what happened to you?" Fu Ankang nodded toward Little Li, only to notice the next second that his professional suit was covered in dust.
"It’s all thanks to Master Chen! He saved my life!" Little Li hurriedly handed the iced cola he was holding to Chen Fan.
Chen Fan took it, twisted off the cap, and took a silent sip. "Remembering my words is what saved your own life."
"Little Li, what is going on?" Fu Ankang asked, confused. Jiang Mingyuan frowned.
Little Li hurried to explain, "Just as I drove out of Liangmian Mountain and passed the third intersection, I saw a mother and daughter crying by the side of the road. I wanted to stop and check, but I suddenly remembered Master Chen's warning, so I didn't look. I stepped on the gas and crossed the intersection. The moment I started moving, a dump truck overturned right behind me."

Little Li’s face still bore the shock of someone who had narrowly escaped death. He sighed, "If I had left even a few seconds later, that truck would have crushed me flat."
Fu Ankang’s expression trembled. He reached out and patted Chen Fan on the shoulder. "Master Chen, thank you. If not for you, Little Li would have..."
"A minor disaster, nothing more," Chen Fan said with a faint smile.
Jiang Mingyuan’s expression turned grim. He hadn't even realized that Little Li would face a life-or-death crisis. Chen Fan’s skill in physiognomy... was actually superior to his own! But Chen Fan was just a young man! How could he possibly compare to him?
*Forget it!* he thought. *Being good at reading faces doesn't mean his true power is strong. Some Feng Shui masters spend their whole lives reading faces, only to end up frailer than ordinary old men in their twilight years! When we finally suppress the evil cultivator, we will see who is strong and who is weak!*
"There is no use talking about this now," Jiang Mingyuan shook his head slightly, his voice heavy. "We must find a way to leave Liangmian Mountain first."
"If you were the evil cultivator, do you think you would let Fu Ankang leave?" Chen Fan’s single question left Jiang Mingyuan silent.
If he were the evil cultivator, and Fu Ankang was trying to break his Feng Shui formation—and seemed determined not to stop until he seized the mountain—then there would be only one path left. Kill! Kill Fu Ankang! Tell the city of Qingcheng that anyone who dares to touch Liangmian Mountain will die!
"Then I shall root this evil cultivator out..." Jiang Mingyuan said, enunciating every word, "...and kill this damned thing!"
The moment the words fell, Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. Immediately after, dark clouds gathered over the dome of Liangmian Mountain, looking as though a violent storm was about to break.