The clump of bird droppings on his head, mixed with dirt, was still stuck there firmly. It was a ridiculously comical sight.

"Uncle, I'll go get the car, you just wait—"

Before the disciple could finish, Meng Kezhong waved his hand. "It's nothing, just a minor scrape."

After saying that, Meng Kezhong shuddered with fear in hindsight, clearly recalling the thorn that had nearly cost him his life just moments before.

"That was a close call... it nearly cost me my life. Much too close..."

As Meng Kezhong patted his chest, he seemed to remember something and abruptly turned his head. He saw the faint smile on Xia Liang's face. At the same time, the other Meng Family disciples also seemed to have a collective realization, their gazes fixed on Xia Liang in utter astonishment.

The air seemed to freeze, and the silence was almost frightening.

"Three predictions, and not a single one was wrong!" someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone nodded in deep agreement.

Meng Kezhong's expression was conflicted. After a long moment, a sound cut through the air.

SLAP!

The sound was exceptionally crisp, sending a few drops of blood flying.

"Brother, you... don't do this..." Meng Kexi stammered, his flabby body trembling with fear as he rushed to dissuade Meng Kezhong.

Meng Kezhong looked at him, his face a mask of shock at his own past folly.

"Stay out of this!" he snapped, roughly pushing Meng Kexi aside. He then slapped himself ten times in a row. The sounds were loud and distinctly crisp.

When he finished, Meng Kezhong glanced indifferently at Meng Kexi. "Do you think I did that for you?"

With that, Meng Kezhong walked over to Xia Liang and bowed deeply.

"Master Xia Tian, I, Meng Kezhong, have navigated the business world for decades, but today I failed to recognize true greatness. Thank you for this wager. You've allowed me to use these ten slaps to wake myself up!"

After speaking, he bowed even lower, the respect on his face growing more intense.

"You can be taught," Xia Liang nodded. "Now, about this feng shui matter, what do you, as the eldest brother of the Old Meng Family, propose?"

Meng Kezhong replied respectfully, "I will follow the Heavenly Master's guidance in everything."

Xia Liang glanced around at the Meng Family disciples and, after a moment, spoke leisurely. "Gentlemen, I'm sure I don't need to elaborate. The men of your Old Meng Family have been having a hard time recently. Either their careers are struggling, or they've been unlucky in love. It seems like nothing is going right. Am I wrong?"

Hearing this, they all pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. Previously, they had all thought Xia Liang was a con man and hadn't considered this possibility. But now that Xia Liang had pointed it out, they started connecting the dots.

It seemed... that's exactly what was happening!

"I'll be blunt. The problem is with the feng shui of your ancestral tomb. I'm going to examine it now, but I must warn you, this process might disturb your ancestors." Having said this, Xia Liang's gaze swept over the crowd. "If anyone disagrees, step forward now!"

The Meng Family disciples looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. Who would dare to disagree at this point?

"Since there is no opposition, let's enter the tomb!"

Meng Kexi supported Meng Kezhong as they cautiously made their way up the back hill. After lighting incense and candles, the gate to the Meng Family's ancestral cemetery was opened, and Xia Liang led the two brothers inside.

"Hmm?"

The moment he stepped into the Meng Family cemetery, Xia Liang's expression changed.

"This place is no longer usable. Prepare to move the graves," Xia Liang declared after just a single glance.

The Eye of the Heavenly Dao had integrated Gold Grave Selection. He had been observing the cemetery for a while now. The blue aura above it had faded several shades and was clearly turning green.

Upon hearing that the graves needed to be moved, all the Meng Family disciples panicked. After all, the Old Meng Family had always been large and prosperous, with more than a hundred ancestors resting here. Moving the graves again would be a massive undertaking, impossible to complete in just a day or two.

Meng Kezhong was filled with trepidation. "Master Xia Tian, is there really no way to fix this?"

"There is," Xia Liang confirmed. "However, the site has been too severely damaged. Even if we repair it, the feng shui will never be as good as it once was. At most, your Meng Family will lose its fortune and return to being common folk within two generations."

As Xia Liang spoke, he noticed a flicker of skepticism on Meng Kezhong's face.

With a small laugh, Xia Liang asked, "What? You don't believe me?"

"That is..." Meng Kezhong said awkwardly. "Of course, I believe you. How could I dare doubt your divine abilities, Master Xia Tian?"

Truth be told, Meng Kezhong still had his doubts. Two generations was at least forty years from now. Xia Liang might be incredibly skilled, but if he could predict something forty years into the future... that would make him more than human!

Xia Liang, of course, knew what he was thinking but didn't bother to call him out on it. Instead, he meandered around the various grave mounds on his own.

Then, he turned to Meng Kexi and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that Taoist Priest Chen must have set up the Golden Brick Paving Scheme for you, correct?"

Meng Kexi's eyes lit up. "Yes! Taoist Priest Chen said that paving the road with golden bricks would guarantee wealth and prosperity."

Meng Kezhong was puzzled. "Golden bricks? Where are the golden bricks?"

Xia Liang pointed to a brick on the ground, which was two sizes larger than a standard red one. The entire brick was a pale green color and was obviously quite old, its surface worn to a subtle sheen.

"These golden bricks aren't made of actual gold, as you might imagine. They are also known as Capital Bricks. In ancient times, only places where emperors resided were paved with them. This is because the bricks are perfectly formed, with a fine, dense texture and a pure greenish-blue color. When struck, they ring with a metallic sound, hence the name 'golden brick'."

Xia Liang continued to explain, "By the time of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the art of making these bricks was officially lost. Today, a single original golden brick is worth at least one-tenth of a currency unit."

"One-tenth of a currency unit?" Meng Kezhong gasped.

He shot a complex look at Meng Kexi. To think that Kexi had secretly paid so much for our ancestors!

However, Xia Liang waved his hand dismissively. "Of course, the golden bricks in your family cemetery aren't the kind I was just describing. You couldn't buy one of those original bricks today, even if you had the money. The bricks paved here were replicas made after the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The crafting method was different from the original, but that doesn't affect their purpose. Even the method for making these replicas has now been lost. However, many still exist, so they are much cheaper than the old golden bricks that cost one-tenth of a currency unit apiece."

Meng Kezhong's astonishment subsided upon hearing this, but he only grew more confused. "Master Xia Tian, if what you're saying is true, then there shouldn't be a problem with the feng shui!"

Meng Kexi chimed in. "That's right! So why is it..."

"Heh. No problem?" Xia Liang had anticipated their reactions. "Meng Kezhong, how was your fortune six months ago?"

Meng Kezhong pondered for a moment. "Honestly, it was excellent. I even closed a few big deals that, to my surprise, succeeded for no clear reason."

"And this year?" Xia Liang asked again.

Meng Kezhong's expression darkened. "This year has been terrible. I've suffered inexplicable losses, and negotiations with clients constantly fall through. I've even fired several employees over it, but the problem persists."

Beside them, Meng Kexi sighed heavily. "It's the same with the scenic area. For some reason, visitor traffic dropped by at least twenty percent this year. I invested in some thrilling new amusement rides, which boosted numbers for a while, but then an accident occurred. We had to shut down for an overhaul, and our losses far exceeded any profit."

Though the brothers were in different businesses, their experiences were uncannily similar: their losses had only begun recently.

Xia Liang thought for a moment and then said, "Paving the road with golden bricks is meant to retain wealth, which is the prerequisite for a prosperous career. However, the spring on your estate connects directly to the ancestral graves on the back mountain. Water symbolizes wealth. How can you possibly retain wealth when it's flowing away like that?"

Xia Mingjie, who had been held to the side this whole time, shuddered violently upon hearing Xia Liang's words.

He became frantic. "I had no idea the consequences would be this severe! If I'd known, I never would have dared to do it!"

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