Chapter 82: A Stroke of Divine Inspiration

The remaining two competitors were the ones I had been watching most closely. There was no need to say much about Ouyang Cuo—his abilities were apparent from his performance in the previous two rounds, making it clear he was not to be underestimated. Yet now, I found myself placing even more weight on Gu Anqi’s assessment of Teng Guoyuan. This man, who could rival Gu Liancheng—Anqi’s father—in the Hong Kong metaphysics community, possessed feng shui skills in land and geomancy that left me utterly astonished.

Perhaps it was the influence of Hong Kong’s diverse culture on Teng Guoyuan, but his feng shui arrangements ingeniously blended Eastern and Western metaphysical traditions without the slightest sense of incongruity. His gambling setup was considerably more inventive than the previous two. He used eighteen bamboo rods to form a cage that closely resembled a birdcage; atop it was a massive painting of a pirate ship, and the bamboo rods were festooned with all kinds of cacti. Beneath this peculiar structure sat numerous pots of budding, vividly colored roses. At each of the four corners of the square gambling table, he had deliberately installed claw-shaped ornaments.

Song Hui’s feng shui arrangements, each round containing two distinct formations, were already exquisite. Yet Teng Guoyuan managed to create four interlinked setups within a single arrangement—a stroke of genius, worthy of a master in Hong Kong’s metaphysics circle. You could sense his depth from the very first glance.

Teng Guoyuan’s setup, resembling a birdcage, was known in feng shui as the “Hundred Birds Returning to the Nest” formation. The gamblers were like birds, carrying food back to their nests, except in this case, it was money being delivered into the gambling den—implying a one-way flow with no return. The cacti, bristling with spines and tied to the bamboo, were like countless sharp swords piercing the cage. The originally auspicious aura of birds returning to their nest was thus corrupted; the birds became captives, unable to escape or resist. Any gambler who entered would lose everything, yet still be unwilling to leave.

I looked at the flowers on the ground—each pot contained red buds, the roses’ thorns curved like sharp fangs. When in bloom, they resembled the gaping maws of sharks, menacing and grotesque. Every gambler entering or exiting had to pass through the “shark’s jaws” at the main entrance—a vivid echo of the saying “like a sheep entering a tiger’s den.”

The eighteen bamboo rods formed a latticed cage, and with the addition of the claw-shaped ornaments at each corner, the setup became a veritable “Heaven and Earth Net”—inescapable. Witnessing this, I couldn't help but admire Teng Guoyuan’s extraordinary talent; four formations in one, each interlocking and reinforcing the others. No gambler entering his domain could hope to emerge unscathed—such intricacy was rare indeed.

Teng Guoyuan’s feng shui display had left me genuinely impressed, but my astonishment lasted only a brief ten minutes. When I saw Ouyang Cuo’s arrangement, I realized that compared to him, even Teng Guoyuan’s masterful and intricate setup seemed mere child’s play.

Unlike everyone else, Ouyang Cuo did not place his gambling den outside the villa, but chose instead Gu Xiaotian’s underground wine cellar. The cellar was modest, only able to accommodate a dozen or so people. Due to its purpose, it was constructed of wood, but Ouyang Cuo had now surrounded it with bright yellow paper. At the entrance, he had laid a layer of finger-sized pebbles.

A wine cellar is usually dark and damp, yet Ouyang Cuo had installed bright lights all around. The ceiling was covered with azure-blue paper, which, under the illumination, transformed the unremarkable cellar into a resplendent underground palace.

Like Teng Guoyuan, Ouyang Cuo placed petal-shaped decorations around the cellar. I stood at the doorway, blocking Xiao Lianshan, who wanted to enter for a closer look.

“Feng shui can harm people! We mustn’t step inside here.”

“Harm people?” Xiao Lianshan looked at the cellar below in confusion. “Brother, could the feng shui arrangement in this wine cellar really harm someone?”

I nodded, glancing at the pebbles by the entrance and speaking softly. “These stones were carefully selected. Look closely—they’re all conical, with their points facing upward. In ancient times, there was a cruel torture where spikes pierced the soles of the feet. Walking across these would make one falter with every step—before a gamble even begins, the gambler’s vitality is already wounded.”

The feet carry the entire body, bearing its weight and allowing it to travel great distances; hence their importance, as the physiognomic classics state. The state of one’s feet determines fortune or misfortune. By arranging things this way, Ouyang Cuo first strips the gamblers of their dignity and luck. As the saying goes, “grounding” oneself is vital, but if your feet are injured, you lose all connection to the earth—becoming, in essence, a ghost.

And this was not even the most insidious part—Ouyang Cuo’s cunning went further. The wine cellar, by nature a dark and humid place, had been transformed with dazzling lights and a blue ceiling, making it seem like another world. Those who entered would lose all sense of time, drifting in a trance, like wandering spirits.

“It doesn’t seem as serious as you say,” Yue Qianling remarked. “Ouyang Cuo seems to have quite a flair for decoration. The yellow paper and bright lights make the wine cellar look like a royal palace!”

“Do you know what wine cellars are made of?” I countered.

“Wood, right?”

“And can a wine cellar be exposed to sunlight?”

“Of course not!”

“Now, do you know what else is made of wood and kept away from sunlight?” I asked solemnly.

Yue Qianling shook her head, looking puzzled.

“A coffin,” I said quietly. “This place may look like a royal underground palace, but Ouyang Cuo’s true intention is to turn it into an underground tomb.”

Yue Qianling’s mouth hung open for a long time before she could speak.

“This lavish palace-like arrangement tricks gamblers into thinking that gambling here is an honor. But once locked up underground where sunlight never reaches, day and night lose all meaning. The gamblers, like those hypnotized, will gamble endlessly. In the end, it becomes a matter of gambling with their blood and lives. The living gamble for food, the dead need only a coffin.” I took a deep breath, my voice low. “Since all the gamblers become the walking dead, it’s easy to guess who the real winner is.”

Xiao Lianshan, alarmed, nodded and pointed at the petal-like decorations.

“Let me guess—those are also purposefully arranged by Ouyang Cuo, aren’t they?”

“I counted just now. There are exactly fifty-two layers of these petal-shaped ornaments—no more, no less. From a distance, they look like a blooming lotus.” I pointed at them. “The petals are forged from metal, pointing upwards like sharp blades, forming a dragon’s claw. This is the ‘Dragon’s Teeth Drawing Water’ formation!”

After touring Gu Xiaotian’s villa and inspecting the feng shui gambling setups of the other five, I concluded that while each had its own merits, none could compare to the spot I had chosen.

The villa itself was built according to the design of “Azure Dragon Playing with Water”—a rare and prosperous yang residence formation, said to bring wealth and fortune. Yet the place I’d chosen was right at the dragon’s tail. The tail of a divine dragon, if provoked, could unleash thunderous force and sweep everything away. Any gambling setup placed here would see all fortune whisked away.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. I suddenly realized that the other four had left me no room to maneuver—no matter what kind of feng shui arrangement I made, it was futile. I had become the target of everyone else; the four had tacitly formed an alliance. Their feng shui setups not only helped them win but also suppressed me, each of their formations’ most inauspicious positions aimed directly at me. To break free, I would have to dismantle all four simultaneously—an almost impossible task. In feng shui, the five elements interact and restrain one another; when the four combine their forces, there are no flaws. Even with unparalleled skill, I could not withstand them.

I kept all this to myself—for if Yue Qianling overheard, her face would surely darken. Still, I told myself that perhaps, if luck turned for the gamblers today, I might yet stage a dramatic comeback.

But in reality, the five professional gamblers facing me seemed to be having nothing but good luck. According to the rules, each match lasted two hours, with five thousand chips per person. Not even halfway through, the chips before my dealer had dwindled to less than two thousand, while the other four surged ahead. Especially at Ouyang Cuo’s table—five gamblers had entered, one had already fainted, and the remaining four had all lost the will to fight.

My performance in the first two rounds had made me the center of attention. Even Gu Xiaotian kept a close eye on me, coming to inspect my table; the outcome left him somewhat disappointed. I overheard his conversation with Kong Guan clearly.

“This young man seems to be at the end of the road,” Gu Xiaotian said.

“The tall poppy gets cut. His metaphysical skills are impressive, but he’s still too young and lacks cunning,” Kong Guan whispered.

“Winning the first two rounds so spectacularly was bound to make him a target. The tall poppy principle—he still doesn’t quite get it, it seems,” Gu Xiaotian nodded with a sigh.

Wei Yu’s lips moved silently—being mute, his words were in lip-readers’ code, but after decades at his side, Gu Xiaotian and Kong Guan understood him perfectly.

Kong Guan frowned, pondering a moment before saying, “You mean… he knew this spot was the most inauspicious, the others’ feng shui setups all aimed against him, and yet he still chose it—could he have another plan?”

Wei Yu nodded.

“That makes sense. Anyone who’s made it this far isn’t just making up the numbers. He could have avoided this—any other spot would have been better than here, yet he chose to go against the grain…” Gu Xiaotian trailed off, glancing at the dwindling chips before my dealer, still puzzled. “There’s not much time left. If things keep going like this, he’ll soon be eliminated. If he really has some ingenious plan, now is the time!”

No sooner had Gu Xiaotian finished speaking than the artificial hill’s fountain behind my feng shui table erupted right on schedule. The fountain design echoed the famous Twelve Zodiac Heads of the Old Summer Palace, spraying every two hours—once per traditional Chinese “shichen.” All twelve animal heads sprang to life, water arching into the air, dazzling under the lights.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous noise drew everyone’s gaze skyward—the Flower Bay fireworks festival had begun. The entire night sky was illuminated by a riot of colors, the fireworks forming beautiful patterns like falling blossoms.

“Nine points for the banker! Banker wins!” my dealer’s voice snapped the onlookers’ attention back from the dazzling sky.

If Xiao Lianshan remembered correctly, this was the first time tonight my dealer had won!

In the following rounds, the dealer kept revealing nines, effortlessly sweeping past the five professional gamblers at my table. The chips, once down to less than a thousand, began to climb back up, surpassing two thousand as time ticked down to its final third.

I glanced at the sky, a strange smile playing at my lips, as if the fireworks themselves were the signal for my counterattack. I felt not the least excitement at the sudden reversal.

Wei Yu furrowed his brow, pondering, then slowly relaxed, his face showing a hint of astonishment.

Kong Guan’s expression mirrored Wei Yu’s as he turned to me. “No wonder you chose this spot—tonight, you have the perfect confluence of timing, location, and people!”

“How did things turn around like this?” Gu Xiaotian asked in confusion.

“This is called ‘Earth, Water, Heaven, and Fire.’ Heaven is yang, earth is yin. The fireworks in the sky represent fire among the five elements, while the fountain below is water. The fireworks fall, the fountain rises—water and fire blend, yin and yang unite. This is the highest level of feng shui, and it also corresponds to the ‘Water and Fire Already Together’ hexagram in the I Ching. It’s a stroke of genius!” Kong Guan exclaimed.

During their conversation, the chips in front of my dealer kept growing. I had already recovered the original five thousand, and gained an extra three thousand on top.

“So it’s as simple as that,” Gu Xiaotian mused. “As long as you have a fountain and fireworks, you can be unbeatable?”

Wei Yu shook his head, lips moving. Kong Guan nodded. “Just as Wei Yu says, feng shui relies on interplay and restraint. The other four aimed all their destructive positions at this young man, their combined elements forming a flawless cycle. But the ‘Water and Fire Already Together’ hexagram means that when things reach their peak, they begin to decline; conversely, when misfortune reaches its extreme, fortune arises. Layer misfortune upon misfortune and it turns to good!”

Gu Xiaotian nodded in sudden understanding. Two of the professional gamblers had already lost all their chips and left, while I was unstoppable, sweeping aside all opposition.

In fact, I had seen from the start that the villa was built upon the “Azure Dragon Playing with Water” formation. I placed my gambling table at the dragon’s tail, not out of ignorance, but foreseeing that the dragon’s tail could unleash devastating force. But now, with water and fire in harmony, the fountain became a pearl, and the Azure Dragon Playing with Water became the Azure Dragon Playing with a Pearl. Because the pearl was at the dragon’s tail, the dragon would inevitably turn its head, changing the entire feng shui of the villa. The spot I’d chosen now became the main position for wealth!

Wei Yu’s lips moved again, his expression growing ever more astonished. Kong Guan laughed and came over, saying, “You actually used your opponents’ force against them, harnessed timing and placement to shift the feng shui—astonishing! So young, and already peerless!”

“Just lucky,” I replied with a faint smile.

“Haha, no wonder Yue Leiting has had such good luck lately—he has someone like you at his side,” Gu Xiaotian laughed.

By now, only one gambler remained at the table. Nearly everyone had gathered, three deep, to watch my relentless victory. Yue Leiting stood beside me, grinning from ear to ear.

At last, the final gambler lost his last chip and rose from the table. I turned to Yue Qianling at my side, grinning mischievously.

“Don’t forget—you owe me a fireworks show.”