There are no small matters in a leader’s household; whatever happens in the county magistrate’s family affects the nerves of the entire county. After a thorough investigation, the Public Security Bureau finally ruled out the possibility of foul play—it could only be said that this accident was an incredible coincidence.

However, in private, everyone had another explanation: they said the county magistrate must have done something to offend the spirits, and that his family was being haunted by evil ghosts, which was why these things happened. The next one to suffer might be the county magistrate himself.

As the leader’s personal secretary, Secretary Harris owed all his power to the county magistrate; no one cared more about the magistrate’s safety than he did. Believing it was better to be safe than sorry, he decided to seek out a folk expert to exorcise evil spirits.

But in the county, there were very few people who claimed to catch ghosts or tell fortunes, and most of them were obvious frauds. After more than a month, he had almost nothing to show for his efforts. But not long ago, he heard someone mention what happened at Henry Foster’s second uncle’s house, and his eyes lit up. He found someone who had been present at the time and asked for a detailed account.

From that person, he learned that Henry Foster had studied under a mountain Taoist and was extremely skilled in feng shui. The person even showed off the concepts of straight wind, curved wind, affectionate and unfeeling wind.

Secretary Harris thought this explanation made a lot of sense. Since Henry Foster was a top disciple of a Taoist, he should also be able to catch ghosts—after all, that’s a Taoist’s specialty. So he found Henry Foster’s eldest uncle, hoping to meet Henry Foster.

After Secretary Harris finished speaking, Henry Foster fell into deep thought. The concept of ghosts and spirits was also mentioned in the Zhuge Medical Classic, but according to the records, the conditions for a ghost to form were extremely difficult, and in today’s human environment, it was basically impossible.

“Secretary Harris, it’s still hard to say whether this is really a haunting. How about this: I have a talisman here for you to give to the county magistrate. Paste it above the main entrance and burn incense in offering. If it really is something supernatural, this should have an effect!”

Henry Foster took a talisman from his pocket. The design on this talisman was different from a house-protecting charm; this one was called a “warding-off evil” talisman, meant to keep evil and filthy things outside the door.

Seeing the talisman, Secretary Harris wasn’t surprised—he already knew about how Henry Foster had used a house-protecting charm to suppress the funeral wind evil. He accepted the talisman, exchanged a few polite words, and then left.

“Xiaoyu, it’s been a long time since we, uncle and nephew, had a good chat. Don’t leave now—later I’ll have your aunt make a few dishes, and we’ll have a good talk!”

“I’ll listen to you, Uncle!”

……

The matter of the county magistrate’s family was soon forgotten by Henry Foster, because the next day, Secretary Harris, who had taken the talisman, called his eldest uncle to say that the magistrate’s daughter had indeed stopped having nightmares, and expressed his thanks to Henry Foster.

Now, Henry Foster had something important to do. Since he planned to pursue feng shui as a profession, he needed the proper tools. A compass was essential, so Henry Foster planned to go to the county seat to get one.

There was a street in the county that specialized in selling candles, yellow paper, and feng shui tools. Every year during Qingming and the New Year, Henry Foster would accompany his father there to buy yellow paper and candles to honor their ancestors.

After taking the bus to the county seat, Henry Foster strolled toward Feng Shui Street, enjoying the scenery along the way. Feng Shui Street was located in the old city district. Since going to college, Henry Foster had rarely visited the county seat, and seeing the changes in the buildings along the road, he couldn’t help but marvel at the rapid pace of social development.

Crossing the main road and ducking into an alley, Henry Foster arrived at a small street lined with wooden buildings—this was Feng Shui Street. After more than ten years, it hadn’t changed much. The street was only wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side. But since it wasn’t a festival, the street was rather quiet, with only a few people strolling about.

Henry Foster went straight to a shop selling feng shui tools. Inside, the shelves were filled with all kinds of compasses and Lu Ban rulers.

Henry Foster entered the shop. Although it was daytime, the lights were on inside. The shopkeeper, a man in his fifties, glanced at Henry Foster but didn’t come over. Perhaps in his eyes, only feng shui masters bought such tools, and feng shui masters were usually older people. Henry Foster, being so young, didn’t fit the image at all.

Henry Foster didn’t mind. He picked up a compass now and then to examine it, but his expression showed he wasn’t satisfied. Most of these compasses were machine-engraved, but according to ancient manuals, a good compass should be handwritten to carry the user’s intent. Machine-engraved ones were too rigid and lacked any aura.

“Maybe my standards are too high. Those handwritten compasses are practically magical artifacts by now—how could I find one so easily?”

A self-mocking smile appeared on Henry Foster’s lips. The Zhuge Medical Classic had a section on identifying magical tools, explaining how to tell if an item was a true artifact. A magical artifact is something that has been imbued with a master’s intent over a long period, forming a unique aura—just like jade pendants blessed by eminent Buddhist monks, which are said to ward off evil and bring peace.

A feng shui master’s compass is the same. A compass used by a master over many years will develop an aura, making it more accurate for geomancy and dragon-seeking than an ordinary compass.

“Boss, do you have any old compasses? Not these machine-engraved ones!”

Though he didn’t hold out much hope, Henry Foster still called out to the old man sitting inside.