Chapter 118: The Physiognomy Master’s Dilemma

The autumn sun set early in the west, its rays turning red as dusk colored the sky.

In 1997, Pingyang City was still far from the period of rapid development it would experience years later, but even at the city’s edges, construction sites were everywhere, with tall buildings slowly rising.

A black Santana sped along the sparsely traveled ring road.

In the back seat, Shi Linheng frowned slightly, a somewhat amused expression on his face. He gazed out the window at the passing autumn scenery, lost in thought, as if pondering something.

Yan Hongqiang drove while watching the silent Shi Linheng in the rearview mirror. This imposing, unfathomable Physiognomy Master always commanded respect and a slight fear from Yan Hongqiang, who was usually quite assertive in front of ordinary people. As he drove Shi Linheng to the logistics park construction site this time, Yan Hongqiang felt uncertain. What impression would Su Chunfeng, whom he had praised so highly, leave on this Physiognomy Master?

Even though they had only observed from inside the car through the windows, Yan Hongqiang knew Shi Linheng would surely notice something.

Unable to hold back, he asked, “Mr. Shi… at the site earlier, you noticed Su Cheng’s son, right? What do you think of that kid?”

“He is good,” Shi Linheng gave a simple assessment.

Yan Hongqiang relaxed a little, but still felt puzzled. What exactly did Shi Linheng mean by “good”? He did not ask further.

Shi Linheng did not elaborate.

However, a part of him secretly hoped that all the previous incidents related to the Wantong Logistics Park were merely coincidences, and not the result of an actual master of esoteric techniques operating behind the scenes, as he had judged and suspected. If it was all coincidence, it would mean Su Chunfeng was not an occultist, and there was no occultist backing Wantong Freight Forwarding Agency Co., Ltd. Then, Shi Linheng could take Su Chunfeng as his disciple.

This kid’s talent was simply too outstanding!

In the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts, almost everyone from any school knew that even for those with superior talent and aptitude, the ideal age to begin cultivating esoteric techniques should not exceed sixteen.

Although Su Chunfeng was about to cross the threshold of sixteen, his spiritual roots and bone structure showed no signs of fading. His exceptional aptitude truly excited Shi Linheng. From a physiognomy perspective, Su Chunfeng’s face was lively, delicate, and pure like a virgin’s, yet it also held a masculine, strong, and forceful aura. His bone structure was extraordinary, almost as if possessing the legendary appearance of Twin Souls Merged. Moreover, his bearing subtly suggested the cycle of the Five Elements, yet he was clearly not a practitioner of esoteric techniques. This was the truly rare Divinely Blessed Aspect. Additionally, from what Yan Hongqiang had described, the boy was mature in mind, sharp and intelligent, possessing considerable insight and strategic thinking even at his young age. Even Chen Xian and his daughter Chen Yufang held him in high regard. All this showed how exceptional Su Chunfeng was.

If he could take Su Chunfeng as his disciple…

As a Physiognomy Master, Shi Linheng believed this boy’s future achievements in physiognomy would undoubtedly surpass his own, making him a grandmaster of physiognomy in the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts.

To be called a grandmaster in the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts, one’s mastery of techniques must reach the Awakening Spirit Realm.

If it were practitioners of other esoteric arts, they might not see Su Chunfeng as such a prodigy. But Shi Linheng was a Physiognomy Master, most skilled at observing a person’s appearance, fortune, and bone structure. That’s why, after carefully observing Su Chunfeng, he became so excited by this idea.

Truthfully, Shi Linheng already had two disciples.

Although both of his disciples possessed superior talent and aptitude, compared to a rare genius like Su Chunfeng, the difference was like comparing a peacock to a phoenix—a world apart.

Before meeting Su Chunfeng, Shi Linheng had considered two possibilities regarding the practitioner’s tragic death on South Ring Road earlier that summer. One was that the practitioner was extremely unlucky, suffering the strongest Natural Backlash during his Art Casting and failing to survive it. The other was that behind Wantong Freight Forwarding Agency Co., Ltd., there was a master of esoteric techniques who had intervened, using their arts to kill that Half-Baked Practitioner.

At that time, Shi Linheng leaned more towards the second possibility.

That’s why, after going to the South Ring Road scene that night to investigate, he wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and quickly left Pingyang City to avoid any unexpected incidents or trouble.

After all, these were the early days of the revival of the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts. According to age-old rules—which members of the community didn’t strictly follow but used as hypocritical fronts and bargaining chips during negotiations—casually using arts to kill people was considered wicked and immoral, subject to criticism, punishment, and warnings from the community.

Most importantly, Shi Linheng worried that if behind Wantong Freight Forwarding Agency Co., Ltd. hid such a ruthless master of esoteric techniques, then this master couldn’t be unaware that Shi Linheng had helped Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd. lay a Feng Shui formation for the Wantong Logistics Park project. If this master suddenly became displeased or angry, and launched a surprise attack, it would be completely unexpected and hard to defend against.

Thus, unless he investigated, Shi Linheng could not rest easy.

Once he found out who the master was, Shi Linheng planned to take the initiative to visit and befriend them. First, he could explain the early arrangement of the Feng Shui formation at the Wantong Logistics Park to avoid misunderstandings. Second, in the foreseeable future of the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts’ revival and prosperity, he would have one more powerful ally when walking the jianghu.

However, human hearts are easily swayed by emotions; no one can completely escape this inborn condition.

Therefore, after the idea of taking Su Chunfeng as a disciple emerged, the scales of Shi Linheng’s judgment and speculation about the cause of the earlier practitioner’s death began to tilt in another direction—just as Su Chunfeng had cautiously erased traces of his own Art Casting earlier, Shi Linheng now thought that the unlucky Half-Baked Practitioner, attempting to use his arts to harm Su Cheng’s combine harvester sales agency, had failed to notice he was within the Feng Shui formation. Compounding his bad luck, he encountered abnormal local fluctuations in the Heaven-Earth Five Elements, suffered the strongest Natural Backlash, and tragically died on the spot.

Such cases of “reaping what you sow” were nothing new.

So now, Shi Linheng actually hoped that Chen Yufang would take the initiative to invite him to set up a prosperity and wealth Feng Shui formation for the Wantong Logistics Park. Because if Chen Yufang was willing to spend money on the invitation, it would indicate there was no master of esoteric techniques backing her company. Otherwise, there must be a master.

The logic was simple: if they already had a master backing them, who would spend more money to hire another master?

Wasn’t that asking for trouble?

However, several days later, Shi Linheng, still hopeful, did not receive any invitation from Wantong Freight Forwarding Agency Co., Ltd. The words Yan Hongqiang had relayed to Chen Yufang seemed to have vanished without a trace.

There was a master of esoteric techniques backing the company!

This thought once again dominated Shi Linheng’s mind. He couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful inside—that ruthless master, who casually used lethal arts, clearly knew Shi Linheng had used Yan Hongqiang and Chen Yufang to indirectly send a message, testing the waters and seeking friendship, yet remained inactive and refused to show himself.

This meant there was no hope of taking Su Chunfeng as a disciple.

Because no master of esoteric techniques would watch as such an exceptionally talented seedling was right before their eyes and not take them as a disciple.

Sitting behind his desk, looking out the large floor-to-ceiling window at the clear, high sky outside, Shi Linheng sighed softly.

The study he was currently in was located on the sixth floor of the Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd. office building, the easternmost room covering fifty square meters. Usually, aside from Yan Hongqiang and the occasional cleaning lady, no one from Hongyun Construction Co., Ltd. was allowed to enter this study. Even Yan Hongqiang’s closest friends and relatives were barred from entry.

Even when Shi Linheng was not present.

The floor-to-ceiling window of the study was absolutely unique in Pingyang City at that time, as nobody installed large floor-to-ceiling windows in buildings back then. In the middle of the study stood a pot of tall, spreading cycads, looking rather out of place. On either side of the floor-to-ceiling window were pots of alocasia, lush and elegant.

A large redwood desk faced the south wall, with its back to the north wall. To its west was the door on the south wall, and to its east was the window.

On either side of the desk were single-seat small redwood sofas. Next to each sofa stood a small square table holding a white ashtray and a small fishbowl. Each bowl contained two common red goldfish, an aquatic plant, and five colored stones representing the hues of the Five Elements.

Knock, knock, knock…

A knocking sound was heard.

Shi Linheng brought his thoughts back and said calmly, “Enter.”

The door pushed open gently. Yan Hongqiang, dressed in a suit, entered with a respectful expression. He closed the door, then turned and walked over, saying, “Mr. Shi, I tentatively asked Chen Yufang. She said the Wantong Logistics Park does not plan to invite a master to set up a Feng Shui formation for prosperity. Moreover, it is her father Chen Xian’s wish.”

“Oh?” Shi Linheng nodded, feeling both surprised and somewhat pleased inside.

“However…” Yan Hongqiang’s face showed hesitation and embarrassment.

Shi Lin raised his hand, gesturing for Yan Hongqiang to sit on the sofa. With a faint smile, he said, “Hongqiang, hesitation isn’t like you.”

Yan Hongqiang smiled wryly, shook his head, sat on the sofa beside him, and lit a cigarette. “Although the old man of the Chen family doesn’t agree to inviting you to set up a Feng Shui formation for the Wantong Logistics Park project, he had Chen Yufang pass on a message. He wishes to meet you. And Chen Xian also said that not arranging a Feng Shui formation at the Logistics Park was due to considerations of various impacts, not because he doesn’t value your knowledge of Feng Shui and metaphysics.”

Hearing this, Shi Linheng pondered briefly and quickly understood the ins and outs of the matter.

Of course, this was only his personal judgment and speculation. Chen Xian, the former Deputy Municipal Party Secretary of Pingyang City, was very interested in traditional culture and had studied it more extensively after retirement. Therefore, hearing that a Feng Shui Master like Shi Linheng was in Pingyang City, he wanted to meet him and perhaps seek advice. It wasn’t unusual nationwide for such people, who held high positions in the first half of their lives and delved into traditional culture after retirement. Some focused on calligraphy and painting, some researched the Zhouyi and the Eight Trigrams, and others studied ancient literature, opera, or ancient musical instruments. The suggestion to leave an eight-meter-wide strip on the west side of the Wantong Logistics Park was probably also Chen Xian’s idea, coincidentally aligning with principles of Feng Shui formations.