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Chapter 13: Making His Presence Known
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 09:39:26 +0000 UTCWhen Chen Xiao was suddenly pinned to the ground in the Chen family courtyard, he was completely stunned. With this abrupt action, more young men, all seemingly under twenty years old, began pouring into the courtyard one after another.
His aunt stood in the middle of the yard, unsure of what to do. Ershun was both terrified and angry, while Sibao burst into tears in fright.
The elderly, women, and children were powerless in such a situation. Chen Xiao struggled with all his might, but the strength of the person pinning him down was overwhelming—he couldn’t move at all. Feeling both suffocated and enraged, he shouted hoarsely, “Who are you people? What do you want? Let me go!”
A smug-looking figure entered the courtyard from outside and said, “You’ve been exposed for using evil techniques. The immortal master has ordered me to bring you to him.”
Ershun, furious, retorted, “Fan Shiming! Don’t talk nonsense! My family would never use any sort of evil technique!”
Fan Shiming sneered at her. “The Wu family has already confessed! Stop denying it. Take them all to the Wu family!”
Chen Xiao’s aunt, along with Ershun and Sibao, was driven out of the courtyard and forced to follow the group escorting Chen Xiao. When they arrived at the Wu family home, the once lively atmosphere was gone. Neighbors and guests had fled, leaving only the Wu family, who stood nervously in the main hall.
At the center of the hall, the immortal master from Chongxuan Sect sat with a grim expression, as though it could drip water. On the table beside him lay a red string.
Chen Xiao was shoved into the hall and, upon seeing the scene, felt a chill in his heart. While arranging the feng shui layout, he had only considered its potential usefulness in this world. He had never thought about how others might perceive the practice of feng shui or the consequences it might bring.
In his past life, feng shui had been practiced for thousands of years. Except for a brief period when it was labeled as superstition, feng shui masters had always been held in high regard. This lack of caution was why Chen Xiao had never thought such a practice might be viewed differently here.
A sense of regret welled up within him—this was a profound lesson he would not forget.
Chen Xiao was forcibly made to kneel before the immortal master. Truthfully, in both his lives, aside from being forced as a child or bowing to his teacher during apprenticeship, he had never knelt for anyone. It wasn’t about pride but rather a reflection of the environment he had grown up in. Being forced to lower himself and submit to power and authority like this felt deeply humiliating—something hard for someone from a modern, self-assured background to accept.
However, Chen Xiao wasn’t an ordinary person. Understanding the reality of the situation, he refrained from resisting out of misplaced pride.
“Immortal Master, I’ve brought the person who used evil techniques to bless himself,” Fan Shiming said triumphantly. His tone was so smug that the immortal master frowned in annoyance. With a cold glance, the immortal master silenced him, forcing Fan Shiming to tone down his gloating.
The immortal master studied Chen Xiao carefully. It was clear at a glance that Chen Xiao was an ordinary person with no cultivation. There was no trace of evil energy on him, nor any remnants of energy from using forbidden techniques.
Still, the immortal master remained cautious. If the boy had hidden his true abilities deeply, making a misjudgment could be disastrous.
After some thought, the immortal master turned to survey the room. He said slowly, “Stand up and explain yourself. What is the story behind this red string? Where did it come from?”
Having already investigated the situation, the immortal master knew the red string had been gifted to Wu Xinzhi by his fiancée, a girl from the Chen family. He had heard Fan Shiming and Wu Xinzhi’s accounts, but not yet from the Chen family. Among the group of elderly, women, and children brought here, Chen Xiao seemed the only one old enough to provide answers.
Chen Xiao felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, the immortal master wasn’t the type to pass judgment based on one-sided accusations. Given a chance to speak, he was confident he could set the record straight.
He rose to his feet and raised his head slightly, allowing the immortal master to see his face clearly while keeping his gaze lowered to avoid appearing disrespectful. As a former feng shui master who had dealt with countless people, Chen Xiao understood that a demeanor of modesty and respect could leave a favorable impression on those in power.
“Immortal Master, if I may explain,” Chen Xiao began. “This red string is nothing more than an ordinary thread, woven by my cousin—Wu Xinzhi’s fiancée. She crafted it while offering her heartfelt blessings for him. It carries only her sincerity and good intentions, not any evil techniques. Please see the truth of the matter.”
The red string was indeed ordinary in its appearance. What wasn’t ordinary was the feng shui energy imbued in it. However, since it had no discernible aura, even an immortal master couldn’t see anything unusual about it. Its sheer ordinariness was what made the immortal master hesitate to make a swift judgment.
He felt unsettled. He needed to be sure whether his earlier decision to question Wu Xinzhi was influenced by his own thoughts or something more insidious. Until he was certain, he couldn’t relax.
Fan Shiming grew agitated at Chen Xiao’s calm demeanor. He had expected Chen Xiao to panic and confess everything, leading to Wu Xinzhi’s immediate removal from the selection list and his own replacement.
But Chen Xiao’s composed and respectful response was far from what he had anticipated, and it left Fan Shiming with a growing sense of unease.
Yes, it should be Ershun and Sanshuan. Here's the updated translation:
He really disliked the feeling of being unable to predict or control the situation, and he was filled with intense anger. Why couldn’t the Chen family just honestly admit their mistake instead of fabricating customs that didn’t even exist?
This made Fan Shiming impulsively shout, "Stop making excuses!" He quickly turned to the side and said, "Immortal Master! We’ve never had such a custom here. He must have made it up! Please don’t be deceived by his sweet words."
Chen Xiao calmly turned his head to look at the furious young man. "This method is something I learned from the county town. As the saying goes, ‘Different places, different customs.’ It’s not surprising if you’ve never heard of it. In the county town, people use it to pray for their family’s well-being, and it’s said to be very effective. I suggested my younger sister try it out, as she is compassionate and wants to protect her fiancé with all her heart."
Not only did Chen Xiao defend himself, but he also worked to win favor in front of the Wu family. Otherwise, the Wu family, who had been treated unfairly over something as trivial as a red string, would likely blame Ershun in their hearts. Indeed, Wu Xinzhi, who had been standing with a gloomy expression, softened when he saw Ershun, who was both aggrieved and fearful.
The Immortal Master had already been displeased with Fan Shiming’s tone. After hearing Chen Xiao’s explanation, he took the red string again and examined it with his spiritual energy. It reacted the same way as before, without any response, and he began to believe Chen Xiao.
As the situation began to tilt in favor of the Chen and Wu families, Fan Shiming grew more anxious. "Immortal Master, don’t believe him! If it weren’t for doing dark rituals, why would his family be so eager to start construction? The Chen family is poor and has no money. They must have set up a dark ritual altar at home. If they had money, they would have used it to buy land or livestock, not waste it on building a house!"
The Immortal Master’s gaze grew cold. He shouted, "You’ve seen this ritual altar with your own eyes? How dare you fabricate such lies! I guarantee that your fate will be miserable if you keep making baseless accusations!"
His voice was chilling, sending a shiver down Fan Shiming’s spine.
At this point, there was no room for retreat. After all, his family was the largest in Fancun, so he still felt some confidence, convinced that the Immortal Master would give his family some face. After all, his family had once produced a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Steeling himself, Fan Shiming said, "Although I didn’t see it with my own eyes, someone did." He turned and called out to one of his subordinates, "It’s him! His father went to help the Chen family and saw the strange things at their house with his own eyes!"
The subordinate, feeling a bit scared under the intense gazes of everyone, knew the Chen family was close to his own. However, forced by Fan Shiming, he had no choice but to repeat what his father had told him about the strange happenings at the Chen family’s house.
"The Chen family’s house construction had two strange actions: they changed the location of the front door and the stove. The front door was fine before, and there was no need to change the direction of the stove. It’s really odd and unnecessary."
With this accusation, they all marched to the Chen family’s house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, the Immortal Master from the Chongxuan Sect became serious. He sensed a subtle difference from the rest of Fancun, though he couldn’t explain it. He walked around the courtyard, his sharp eyes scanning the other Chen family members before settling on Chen Xiao.
At this moment, Chen Changgen and Sanshuan, who had been out tending the cows, returned. The family huddled together, uneasy and helpless. Only Chen Xiao stood alone, trying to maintain her composure, making her stand out even more.
"You..." The Immortal Master began, then closed his mouth. He took a step back, lowered his hands, and slightly bowed. "Greetings, Martial Uncle."
Chen Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly looked up, only to be overwhelmed by a massive aura that seemed to sweep toward him, engulfing him. A man dressed in black with long, jet-black hair descended silently, landing before Chen Xiao.
Seeing Chen Xiao, the man paused, then turned to look at the Immortal Master of the Chongxuan Sect, who was still bowing nearby. Everyone present now realized that the Immortal Master overseeing the test was actually the disciple of the man in black, which explained why he was treated with such respect.
"Rise." The man’s voice was deep and pleasant. Chen Xiao struggled not to fixate on his imposing aura.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle, for coming. I’ve encountered a troublesome matter." The Immortal Master spoke, his lips barely moving as he sent a message to his Martial Uncle. The air became silent, and no one dared to speak. Though they were all curious, they couldn’t bring themselves to glance up.
"Hmm..." The man hummed, raising his hand to send a wave of energy over the area. While others couldn’t sense it, Chen Xiao noticed his aura sweeping through the entire Chen family courtyard like a plow breaking the earth. "Hmm?" The man’s eyes flickered with surprise. He didn’t speak directly, instead sending another message to his disciple.
The Immortal Master then asked Fan Shiming’s subordinate and confirmed that the decision to change the house had been made by Chen Xiao.
The man nodded slightly, his gaze locking onto Chen Xiao’s face. At that moment, Chen Xiao’s heart raced wildly.
Author's note: Chen Xiao: My heart’s racing, but not because he looks too good!
