Chapter 4: All is Well

The magnetic field disturbance from the Art Casting instantly caused a Backlash, affecting Su Chunfeng’s physical and mental state.

Since ancient times, it was said a doctor cannot treat himself, and a diviner cannot read their own fate. The speed and severity of divine retribution from performing Arts on one’s kin or oneself was absolutely the top priority feared and heavily guarded against by many Oc cultists in the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts. Fortunately, Su Chunfeng’s mind was strong enough, which was why he did not faint on the spot. If an average Mage were in his place, they might have fainted or even died under such a Backlash, which felt like being struck by thunder.

Even so, he staggered and nearly fell to the ground. He quickly supported himself by the windowsill on the side of the living room.

“Xiao Feng, what’s wrong?” Chen Xiulan looked at her son with some worry and said, “Your face looks so pale. Are you unwell?”

“It’s nothing.” Su Chunfeng forced himself to perk up, silently lamenting how weak this body was. If it were back in those days… Thinking of this, he shook his head gently and said with a smile, “I’m a bit hungry.”

Chen Xiulan said with concern, “Then go to the kitchen quickly. There are steamed buns.”

“Alright.” Su Chunfeng responded and walked out slowly with a relaxed, normal demeanor—he did not dare to walk quickly, afraid his legs might give way and cause his mother too much worry.

In the yard, next to the grape trellis, the small west room of less than fifteen square meters was the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, Su Chunfeng opened the cupboard. He took out a ceramic bowl and two pairs of chopsticks, scooped a bowl of water from the water vat, and placed it on the red-brick floor. Then he squatted down, holding chopsticks in his right hand while his left hand formed a seal. He chanted a Spell Incantation softly and slowly inserted four chopsticks into the water-filled ceramic bowl following certain steps and directions.

Something strange happened.

After each chopstick was inserted into the water bowl, it stood firmly and straight, as if stuck into soil.

Four chopsticks, four directions.

After inserting the chopsticks, Su Chunfeng began to sweat on his forehead, but he remained focused, not daring to relax in the slightest. He connected his right thumb and middle finger, bent his ring and little fingers, and extended his index finger. He gently circled it above the four chopsticks, occasionally pointing, while softly chanting a mysterious Spell Incantation.

Following the pointing of his finger, the clear surface of the water in the bowl began to ripple with strange, beautiful circles that surrounded the four chopsticks.

Only then did Su Chunfeng support himself by his knees to stand up. He walked to the cupboard to look for millet.

But after searching a bit, he could not find any millet. He had no choice but to grab a handful of flour from the flour bag as a substitute. He walked back to the water bowl, stood up straight, raised his left hand forming a seal to shoulder height, slightly closed his eyes while chanting, then loosened his right hand and gently sprinkled the flour toward the water bowl below.

The flour fell rapidly like rain into the constantly rippling water bowl.

Strangely, all the flour fell into the water bowl. Pushed by the rippling water waves, it formed circles of patterns that looked like symbols or perhaps were just random. There was no sign of it dissolving in the water. The white of the flour and the clarity of the water intertwined together.

A very strange scene!

Su Chunfeng opened his eyes, clapped his hands to remove the flour stuck to them, squatted down, and carefully observed the state of the chopsticks, flour, and water in the bowl.

He let out a long sigh of relief: “All is well.”

Then, he slumped to the ground, looking utterly exhausted. His face was pale, and sweat poured down like rain. With great effort, he pulled out the four chopsticks from the water bowl. Then, lifting the bowl to his mouth, he drank down the water along with the flour inside in big gulps. Only then did he close his eyes to rest, panting heavily.

At this moment, his head was spinning, his heart rate was unstable, and his entire body felt as if it were being pricked by needles and gnawed by insects. If not for his strong mind, he definitely could not have endured such torment.

Esoteric Techniques state: In the boundless universe, all things have their origin and belong to the categories of Yin Yang and the Five Elements.

Yin Yang, the Five Elements, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy throughout the cosmos and the world form vast yet varying Qi Fields. They blend together, maintaining an extremely mysterious and wondrous balance—scientifically speaking, it is the magnetic field; broadly speaking, it is nature. All things existing within, whether living or dead, form complex Qi Fields, large or small, interwoven with the natural world.

They complement each other, magnificent yet extremely subtle and fragile.

This kind of Qi Field, when pertaining to humans, is commonly referred to as “luck.”

In nature, the strength of large and small magnetic fields and personal luck involves various subtle changes like the balance or imbalance of the Five Elements. These interact directly or indirectly, thus exerting certain influences on a person’s future. Some affect individuals or local areas on a small scale; others affect many people and large regions on a grand scale. Some influences are short-term; others may last for months, years, or even decades.

Or perhaps even affect the luck of future generations.

Esoteric Techniques, however, operate according to the rules of this nature, either following or going against the flow. They prompt, induce, or guide changes in the fragile joints within the balance of the Qi Fields. This, in the shortest time, stimulates the operating frequency of natural rules to move in a direction, causing specific abnormal turbulence according to the caster’s will.

Therefore, no matter what kind of Esoteric Technique is performed, it will basically incur an inevitable Backlash.

In his previous life, Su Chunfeng was not a fortune-teller in the Jianghu of Esoteric Arts, who could read people’s faces and the Feng Shui to determine unusual events; nor was he a fate-calculating Great Master, capable of using the theories of Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, Yin Yang, and the Five Elements to calculate fortune and misfortune. But after all, he was an expert in the Esoteric Arts reborn from a cultivation that had reached the Awakening Spirit Realm. Just with his powerful mental cultivation, he could observe the Yin Yang and Five Elements’s tendencies of a person or a place.

Although he could not determine the details of events, he could perceive fortune and misfortune!

However, his current physical constitution was insufficient to support performing top-tier Esoteric Arts, and performing Arts on his kin and himself was already a major taboo of Esoteric Techniques. So now, he could only use a small technique to observe the current Qi Field of his home, to roughly judge whether his family living here would be safe in the short term.

The result was, all was well.

From this, Su Chunfeng concluded that although his own rebirth this time was strange and unusual, it had not triggered too much of a response from heaven and earth. It only caused some magnetic field disturbance within the school, which made the usually low-key Wang Qimin unable to resist investigating the reason.

And his family would not suffer harm from it.

After resting a little, Su Chunfeng just began to feel much better in spirit, though the internal pain had not completely dissipated, when he heard his father Su Cheng’s rough voice from outside: “Why is Xiao Feng back?”

Su Chunfeng quickly got up, put away the bowl and chopsticks, wiped the corner of his mouth, and walked out, saying, “I came back to get a couple of books.”

“You left your books at home? How are you going to school like that?” The tall and sturdy Su Cheng scolded with a stern face. He walked to the platform on the east side of the yard, unloaded the pesticide sprayer he was carrying, and also put down the bucket filled with pesticide water. “You did well in your studies when you were little. Why can’t your grades improve after starting middle school?”

Chen Xiulan came out from inside the house, drew water from the hand pump, and brought it over. With a slight smile, she said, “You come back from work full of complaints. Can’t you rest a bit?”

Su Cheng grunted. While washing his hands, he said angrily, “If he doesn’t study hard, he’ll regret it someday!”

Listening to his father’s grumbling, looking at his father’s robust figure and tired expression… Su Chunfeng’s heart once again welled up with intense sorrow and guilt.

And also, happiness!

In his previous life, every time he heard his father scold and complain like this, he, in his rebellious teenage years, would treat it as background noise. He even felt strong resistance in his heart. It wasn’t until adulthood that he fully understood his parents’ well-meaning intentions back then and how deep love manifests as strictness. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh softly. Then he looked up seriously at his father and said, “Dad, I will definitely study hard from now on!”

“Huh?” Su Cheng, who was washing his face, turned his head and straightened his waist, looking somewhat surprised at his eldest son.

Even Chen Xiulan’s expression was a bit strange.

In the past, when this child was scolded and complained at, he would mostly show an impatient look. Though afraid of his father who always believed “strict discipline produces filial sons,” and not daring to talk back, he would still use silence and a stubborn expression to show his disdain and rebelliousness.

Today, what was going on?

It wasn’t like situations where parents forced their child to vow determination hadn’t happened before, but this time Su Chunfeng voluntarily showed determination…

Moreover, his expression was very serious, vaguely showing a hint of guilt. It was completely unlike the usual perfunctory and forced helplessness.

Splash!

Su Cheng, with a stern face, threw the wet towel into the washbasin, splashing water everywhere. He said crossly, “Speak up. Does the school need to collect money for something again?”

“No.” Su Chunfeng grinned, smiling very happily.

Su Cheng frowned. “Did you cause trouble?”

“No…”

“Brat, do you think your old man doesn’t know you, you rascal?” Su Cheng’s eyes suddenly widened like bronze bells, and his already rough voice rose several decibels.

Su Chunfeng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He pleaded repeatedly, “Dad, I really didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that I’ve been thinking a lot recently. I understand that I usually don’t study hard, and I’m sorry for the tuition money you work so hard to earn for me. So from now on, I must study hard and get into university in the future!”

Going to university!

For an ordinary farming family in this era, going to university was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—a glory, bringing honor to the ancestors, luster to the family, a path to wealth and becoming an official… So Su Cheng always kept the goal of “getting into university” on his lips, constantly motivating and pushing to educate his children. He also often said, “As long as you two brothers study hard, I’ll sell the pots and pans to send you to school! If you have the ability to study abroad, your old man will sell his blood!”

Su Chunfeng remembered this vividly.

Seeing the child vow so earnestly, Chen Xiulan was so happy she felt like crying. She smiled and chided, “Husband, Xiao Feng has ambition. He’s been understanding and obedient since he was little! Look at you, scaring the child all day, and not even believing in him.”

“Empty talk is useless. Bring back your grades and show me!” Su Cheng grunted, put his hands behind his back, and walked toward the house. Although his expression and tone remained stern and rigid, deep down, Su Cheng felt uncommonly pleased, and also a little self-blame—was he too strict with the child?

As parents, who wouldn’t hope for their child to be understanding and obedient?

Even though what his son said just now sounded somewhat pretentious to a farming family, making Su Cheng feel a bit uncomfortable for a moment, he was still happy, genuinely happy from the heart.

“Go inside and chat with your dad for a bit. I’ll go pick some vegetables.” Chen Xiulan’s face was filled with unconcealed joy.

“Okay.” Su Chunfeng agreed and turned to walk into the house. The pain that had not yet completely left his body seemed to have lessened quite a bit.