Chapter 10: Little Master Observes the Stars at Night
Chapter 10: Little Master Observes the Stars at Night
“That must be my friend. I’ll get the door.” Mu Chuntao stood up to answer it and soon returned with a middle-aged man.
The man looked to be about forty, lean and wiry, with a dark face and a trace of world-weariness between his brows. He had long hair pulled back into a distinctive single braid. His eyes were black and lively, radiating confidence. Just by his appearance alone, he seemed like one of those successful, outdoorsy types.
As Mu Chuntao led him towards the living room, he spotted Li Zian and lowered his voice. “He’s so young. Is he any good?”
Mu Chuntao whispered back, “He’s a real Master! He saved my life. I barely managed to invite him here. Be polite.”
The man nodded. The way he looked at Li Zian changed, becoming much more respectful.
Mu Chuntao brought the man closer and introduced him. “Zian, this is my friend. His name is Fan Rui.”
‘Zian’. Yu Meilin calling him that felt natural, but hearing it from Mu Chuntao gave him a weird feeling. Now wasn’t the time to correct her, though.
“Mr. Fan, hello.” Li Zian stood up and greeted him.
Fan Rui approached Li Zian, a smile on his face, extending both hands while still three steps away. “Master, please don’t stand on ceremony. I’ve come to ask for your help.”
Li Zian shook his hand. “Mr. Fan, please sit. Tell me about your problem.”
Fan Rui sat down and began. “It started a year ago. After a rock climbing injury, my sleep became terrible. I could only sleep an hour or two a day. And when I did sleep, I had nightmares. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and started taking sleeping pills. They worked at first, but over time, they stopped helping. Now, I’m practically awake until dawn.”
Li Zian observed Fan Rui carefully. He noticed a dark spot between Fan Rui’s eyebrows. Outwardly, Fan Rui seemed like a healthy man, but his vital energy seemed weak. His spirit was lacking, giving an impression of outward strength masking inner weakness.
“I’ve been to the hospital several times. Seen every famous doctor I could find. Nothing worked. Master, can you cure this illness?” Fan Rui looked at Li Zian with desperate eyes.
Li Zian kept studying Fan Rui. He felt something was off about him.
Fan Rui pulled out his mobile phone, opened an app, and handed it to Li Zian. “Master, these are the medical reports. Please take a look.”
Li Zian gently pushed the phone away.
He didn’t know how to read medical reports. His healing wasn’t a Doctor’s healing; it was that of a Fangshi.
“Master, you—” Fan Rui held the phone, unsure what to do.
Just that brief period of observation was enough. Li Zian finally pinpointed what felt wrong about Fan Rui.
It was his bodily qi phenomenon.
A person’s bodily qi phenomenon not only indicates the state of their health but also reveals their fortune – good luck or bad luck, misfortune or blessings. Health problems, short-term luck… everything could be seen in the qi phenomenon.
Reading this phenomenon was one of the advanced skills within the Star Observation Technique passed down by Ji Da.
Having diagnosed the issue, Li Zian spoke. “Mr. Fan, this sleeping trouble of yours can be remedied with a dose of Mind-Calming Soup. That’s the easy part.”
Fan Rui’s face lit up. “Really? That’s fantastic! When can I have the soup?”
“Don’t rush. Let me finish.”
Fan Rui chuckled, somewhat embarrassed. “Not rushing, not rushing.”
Li Zian continued. “I observe your qi phenomenon is muddy. It’s not just illness plaguing you; there is also Yin energy invading your body. That is the root cause of your sickness. If the root isn’t removed, even if you drink my Mind-Calming Soup, it will only be a temporary fix, not a cure.”
“What is qi phenomenon?” Fan Rui looked confused and increasingly worried.
Li Zian stood up and walked towards the balcony.
Fan Rui asked, surprised, “Master, where are you going?”
Li Zian replied, “I need to observe the stars.”
Fan Rui was dumbfounded for a second, then suddenly laughed. “Master, I came to you for my headache, a doctor for the ailment! I didn’t come to have my fortune told. Why look at the stars?”
Mu Chuntao also looked a little uncomfortable. She had invited him here, so she couldn’t really protest.
“In my practice, medicine and divination are one,” Li Zian offered simply as an explanation. He stepped onto the balcony and looked up at the sky.
The night was clear, the stars like scattered dust.
An ordinary Fangshi observing the stars would pace the positions of the Four Symbols, watching the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon in the East, the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger in the West, the Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird in the South, and the Seven Mansions of the Black Tortoise in the North – correlating their changes with the shifts of the Big Dipper to decipher fortunes and misfortunes.
The Star Observation Technique sealed within the Great Sluggish Cauldron, however, was different. It brought the stars into his mind, letting the Cauldron analyze and evolve their patterns. Combined with the observation of the qi phenomenon, it revealed an individual’s fortunes, misfortunes, and every cause and effect.
Fan Rui and Mu Chuntao’s gazes were both fixed on Li Zian.
Li Zian, gazing intently at the starry sky, looked focused. The balcony light bathed his figure – tall and well-proportioned, his face strongly defined, like a statue.
Mu Chuntao’s eyes seemed a little dazed.
Fan Rui leaned closer to her. “Chuntao, what’s this friend of yours all about?”
“Huh?” Mu Chuntao snapped back to attention. “What did you say?”
Fan Rui whispered, “This friend of yours… he’s all mystical fluff. I came for a cure, and he goes to watch the stars! Could he be a fraud?”
Mu Chuntao smiled. “He’s my best friend’s husband. How could he be a fraud? Besides, have you ever seen a fraudster this handsome?”
Fan Rui gave her an odd look. His eyes seemed heavy with unspoken words.
While they were whispering, Li Zian’s mind was conjuring a wondrous scene. The Four Symbols and their Twenty-Eight Mansions, the realm of the Big Dipper, manifested above the Great Sluggish Cauldron. Stars sparkled within it, shrouded in swirling mist-like energy.
Everything has a cause; every cause has an effect.
Li Zian reversed the approach. Starting from the effect – the illness – he sought its cause, tracing it back to its origin.
The entire process took only minutes. The Star Observation complete, he left the balcony and returned to the living room.
Fan Rui laughed. “Master, observing the stars so late at night… what did you discover?”
His laugh betrayed his disbelief, and his words held a hint of mockery.
Li Zian spoke calmly. “Xinhu clashes with Kuixing star,
Tufu’s winnowing basket fails near;
Want your health and safety clear?
Cut off the unclean ties you once held dear.”
“Huh… what does that mean?” Fan Rui didn’t understand at all.
Mu Chuntao looked intrigued. “Zian, explain it quickly.”
Li Zian obliged. “Xinhu refers to Xinhu, the Heart-Moon Fox. Tufu refers to Tufu, the Female Earth Bat. Both are among the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The former governs the heart and fire; the latter governs the lady of the house. ‘Xinhu clashes with Kuixing star, Tufu’s winnowing basket fails near.’ This indicates that you, Mr. Fan, have a woman outside, and this has affected your wife as well. In ancient times, women used winnowing baskets to sift grain, shaking away the chaff to keep the good seeds, ensuring the family had food and peace. But because of this woman you have outside the home, the winnowing basket in your house isn’t holding its shape. It isn’t taking the good stuff; it’s keeping the bad. If you want good health and peace in your home and life, you need to make a clean break with that woman.”
Fan Rui stared, stunned.
He did have a mistress. Not even Mu Chuntao knew about it. Yet this young Master had figured it out just by looking at the stars! How bizarre was that?!
Mu Chuntao turned her gaze to Fan Rui. “Brother Fan, is this true?”
Fan Rui, seemingly disoriented, nodded numbly.
Mu Chuntao’s eyes snapped back to Li Zian, shining with admiration. “Zian! You’re incredible!”
Li Zian continued. “The woman came from the South. She’s twenty-two this year, still studying. Isn’t that right?”
Fan Rui gasped, shocked. “Master! How do you know such details? All from the stars?”
Li Zian leaned close to Fan Rui’s ear and whispered. “That person you keep outside, Mr. Fan… she has a White Tiger coiled on her Ivory Tree. I’m correct, am I not?”
In an instant, Fan Rui looked upon Li Zian as if he were a Celestial Being!
The Master had divined this secret from the stars?! This was the real deal!
“Master, you… how did you know?” Fan Rui could barely find his voice, fighting to recover from the shock.
“Heaven’s Secrets cannot be revealed,” Li Zian stated evenly.
Truth be told, it wasn’t Heaven’s Secrets at all. It was simply the result of the Star Observation. But explaining it to Fan Rui was pointless; he wouldn’t understand anyway.
Mu Chuntao asked, curious. “What did you guys say?”
Li Zian smiled faintly. “It might be best if you didn’t hear some things.”
Mu Chuntao pouted. “Definitely not something nice.”
Fan Rui suddenly bowed very deeply to Li Zian. “Master, my words were disrespectful earlier. Please accept my sincere apology.”
Li Zian waved his hand dismissively. “No need for courtesy. Only… about the Mind-Calming Soup…”
Fan Rui jumped in eagerly. “Master, rest assured! As long as you can cure this insomnia of mine, I’ll pay whatever it costs!”
Li Zian chuckled. “You misunderstand. I meant that I only just arrived in Shanghai myself. I don’t have the ingredients yet. I need to prepare them before I can brew the soup for you.”
Fan Rui hurriedly said, “Master! Tell me what you need! Give me a list! I’ll have someone from my company buy everything immediately. They’ll have it here within the hour!”
“Well, since you’re so impatient, I’ll give you a list.” Li Zian took the pen and paper Mu Chuntao offered him and wrote out a list on the coffee table.
The list included medicinal herbs like astragalus root, ginseng, gastrodia tuber, dried tangerine peel, cinnamon, and roasted licorice, along with ingredients like pigeon, ginger, scallions, etc. And there was one more thing – Furnace Body Mud. As the name implied, it was the mud scraped from his own body – something not exactly suitable to write explicitly on the list.
As his project of medicinal nourishment progressed, Li Zian increasingly felt his “furnace body” was the true treasure. Not only could his blood be medicinal, but the mud, hair, and other bodily elements he shed were appearing in multiple Secret Recipes.
That Great Sluggish Cauldron was genuinely mysterious. Yet, his understanding of the incense burner that inhabited him was far too little.
Fan Rui took the list and went to the balcony to make a phone call.
Having money and connections made things easy. Within an hour, someone knocked on the door, delivering the ingredients.
Li Zian went to the kitchen to prepare the soup, closing the door behind him so Fan Rui and Mu Chuntao couldn’t see him scraping the mud from his body.
Half an hour later, Li Zian emerged from the kitchen carrying a large soup pot. As soon as he lifted the lid, a refreshing fragrance filled the air.
Fan Rui impatiently ladled out a bowl, not even bothering with a spoon. He blew on it, took a gulp, and beamed. “This is delicious! Even medicinal soup tastes this good? Master, you’re truly amazing!”
Li Zian smiled inwardly. If someone knew there was mud scraped off his body in it, would they still find it so tasty?
“Can I have some?” Mu Chuntao asked.
Li Zian replied, “This is medicinal soup. You’re not sick. It’s better you don’t drink it.”
Mu Chuntao smiled slyly. “Well, if I get sick later, you’ll have to make me soup too. I hate taking medicine.”
Li Zian: “……”
Fan Rui downed several bowls of soup. After finishing the last one, he let out a huge yawn, slumped onto the sofa, and fell instantly into a deep sleep. Loud snores rumbled out.
Mu Chuntao was astonished. “He… fell asleep just like that?!”
Li Zian explained. “The Mind-Calming Soup has calming and sleep-inducing properties. Him falling asleep is perfectly normal.”
“Your soup is more powerful than sleeping pills. I bet he’ll be begging you for more soup from now on.”
“That’s fine. He’s your friend. I’ll make sure his sleep problems are fully resolved. But you should urge him to break it off with that woman.”
“No problem,” Mu Chuntao assured him. She looked at Li Zian, a playful smile dancing on her lips.
Li Zian found himself curious. “What’s so funny?”
Mu Chuntao giggled. “Yu Meilin is no fun at all. Marrying such an incredible husband and keeping him hidden away! Is she afraid someone might snatch you?”
Suddenly uncomfortable under her gaze, feeling distinctly awkward, Li Zian said, “Well… it’s getting late. I should head back.”
“Stay a little longer? How about sharing a drink?” Mu Chuntao’s eyes sparkled with hopeful anticipation.
“No, no. That’s okay.” Li Zian was already moving towards the door, picking up his pace.
Alcohol could lead to foolish acts. Getting drunk and causing a scene? That was definitely not good.