When he heard it was an ominous sign, Chen Bin's expression changed repeatedly. Upon seeing the photo of the incense burning, he already felt something was amiss. Three incense sticks, burning so unnaturally.
"How about this, we'll meet tomorrow." Li Se quickly replied.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Chen Bin was more willing to trust Li Se than Master Huayang.
The next day, Chen Bin drove to pick him up. As soon as he saw Li Se, he asked, "Li Se, why is it considered an ominous sign when two incense sticks burn short and one burns long?"
Li Se smiled and explained, "We first need to understand why people burn incense. In ancient times, people believed that the rising smoke from burning incense could communicate with heaven, meaning lighting incense could connect with the spirit. Especially when you make a wish, the smoke produced by the incense becomes the medium for your communication with deities. The 'Dao De Jing' states that 'Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, and two gives birth to three, which gives birth to all things.' Burning three incense sticks signifies respecting heaven, respecting earth, and respecting all beings."
Pausing, Li Se continued, "Above the nine heavens, the Dao is supreme. Among all practices, incense burning comes first. Therefore, Taoists have also summarized a 'xiang pu' based on how three incense sticks burn, essentially predicting fortune or misfortune based on variations in their length and the color changes of the smoke. This is similar to the principles of the I Ching and Bagua. Although it may be considered superstition, I cannot explain these matters with science."
Chen Bin didn't quite understand, but he knew that two short and one long meant an ominous sign. He asked, "Does this mean another employee will really die tomorrow?"
"Mm," Li Se nodded.
Returning to the processing plant, Li Se looked at the three incense sticks stuck in the ground and then at the copper coins, which were now completely blackened. He sighed, "We still have to move."
"The Chairman is here."
At this moment, many people at the processing plant exclaimed.
Chen Yongyan had arrived, and with him, naturally, was Huayang.
"You again!" Huayang said upon seeing Li Se, his face filled with disdain. "Pretending to know what you don't, and acting like a spirit medium here. Does burning incense even work? These are just superstitious things. Feng shui and metaphysics have their own systems, and you're just making things up!"
Chen Yongyan's expression was a bit displeased, but he couldn't openly reprimand Li Se. He turned to Chen Bin and said, "Bin'er, take your friend somewhere else. I want to invite Master Huayang to examine the feng shui of this processing plant."
"Dad, another employee is supposed to die tomorrow..." Chen Bin said urgently.
"Shut up!" Chen Yongyan said coldly. If the employees heard this, it would surely cause panic.
Chen Bin knew he had spoken out of turn and quickly fell silent.
"Uncle Chen, if you believe this Huayang, then Master Shangyuan is a cautionary tale." Li Se was willing to help the Chen family because of Chen Bin. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have come here at all and would have left long ago.
"The chief appraisal master of Zhongbaoge?" Chen Yongyan frowned slightly. He remembered Shangyuan had sought someone to alter his feng shui arrangements, and that feng shui master was none other than Huayang.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Huayang was somewhat annoyed at this. "It seems you know nothing. When I came yesterday, I had already visited Master Shangyuan. After my alterations to the feng shui arrangement, Shangyuan is now in good health, and his granddaughter has also recovered."
"Bullshit!" Li Se cursed angrily. "If it weren't for your alteration of the 'mountain-water-in-place' configuration, Master Shangyuan wouldn't have almost lost his life."
"You actually know the 'mountain-water-in-place' configuration!" Huayang was somewhat surprised.
Li Se sneered, "Since you know it's the 'mountain-water-in-place' configuration, you should also know it's an inauspicious feng shui arrangement. For your own gain, you proposed such a feng shui arrangement to Master Shangyuan. Do you even deserve the title of feng shui master?"
Huayang's face changed drastically, but he still refused to admit it. "Didn't you see his granddaughter recover? And I saw Master Shangyuan yesterday; he is in good health and doing very well."
"That's because I intervened," Li Se said calmly.
"You?" Huayang seemed amused.
"You don't believe me?" Seeing his disbelief, Li Se directly took out a villa key. "I'm sorry, this is Master Shang's consultation fee."
Chen Yongyan and Chen Bin immediately recognized it. This was a key to a villa in Qingshuiwan. The key was specially made, so it couldn't be fake. And Qingshuiwan villas were developed by Shangyuan's son, Shang Zhifeng.
"It's just a villa key, what does that prove?" Huayang said somewhat dismissively.
"I'm not proving anything to you," Li Se said, too lazy to bother with Huayang. Instead, he turned to Chen Yongyan and said, "Uncle Chen, if possible, please let all employees rest tomorrow and make preparations to move out of the processing plant as soon as possible. Otherwise, as I said, someone will die tomorrow!"
With that, Li Se left directly. He had said all he could, and this was out of consideration for Chen Bin. If Chen Yongyan didn't listen to him, his words would be useless.
"Dad, let all employees rest tomorrow," Chen Bin said, thinking of the ominous sign of two short and one long incense, feeling a bit worried.
Huayang, however, waved his hand and said, "Mr. Chen, I've already assessed the overall feng shui and there's no possibility of any problems. As for these three incense sticks, it's purely a coincidence."
"Mm, thank you, Master Huayang." Chen Yongyan ultimately chose to believe Huayang.
Chen Bin could only sigh in resignation, hoping that nothing would happen tomorrow.
After leaving Chen Bin's processing plant, Li Se found a small food stall and ordered a bowl of mala tang.
"Handsome guy, can I sit here?" A sweet voice sounded.
Li Se found the voice very familiar. He looked up and saw Xia Shuyu. He asked curiously, "Why are you eating at a street stall too?"
Xia Shuyu pouted and said, "Don't think I don't know you're worth tens of millions now. If you, with your net worth, can eat at a street stall, can't I?"
Of course, she wasn't really there to eat at a street stall. She just happened to be passing by and saw Li Se at this stall, so she came over.
As they ate, Li Se paid special attention to Xia Shuyu. After all, young ladies from wealthy families like her usually couldn't eat at street stalls. However, he clearly worried too much. Xia Shuyu ate with more gusto than he did.
"By the way, you're coming with me somewhere later," Xia Shuyu said.
"Where to?" Li Se asked, puzzled.
"You don't know?" Xia Shuyu looked at Li Se with confusion, then seemed to recall something and immediately patted her head. "Oh, right, it's normal for you not to know. The wife of a very important person is sick and is seeking all sorts of famous doctors. I heard the consultation fee alone is twenty million yuan. If she can be cured, you'll be rich."