“…The key isn't what talisman I draw for him, or what formation I set up,” Li Guangyue's gaze met the woman’s calmly, his words clear and strong. “It’s about you, especially you, madam. In my eyes, you are shrouded in a restless ‘crimson chi,’ sharp as needles, and perpetually in a tense, ready-to-attack state. Due to the limitations of life, your family becomes the most direct and helpless recipient of these ‘prickles.’ Can you truly put your heart at ease, relax your mindset, and loosen the ‘strings’ at home?”
Li Guangyue held up two fingers:
“First, give your husband at least a month of peaceful rest. This is the medicinal catalyst; family harmony is the root.”
“Second, take half of the attention you focus on your child’s grades and turn it back to the person beside you, who has carried half a lifetime of burdens for you and this family. Once his suppressed emotions dissipate, the family’s atmosphere will naturally clear. A peaceful home with a harmonious aura is the best ‘Wenchang Bureau.’ When the child’s mind is steady and his spirit is clear, his potential will naturally be unleashed. Otherwise, with constant tension at home, the more you pressure him, the heavier that stone in his heart will become. How can he spread his wings and fly?”
These words were like a booming drum and a clear bell, yet also like a gentle knife, precisely dissecting the deep-seated issues within this family. The woman looked into the Master’s eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through people’s hearts, and recalled her past complaints about her husband and her harsh criticisms of her son. For the first time, her face showed a look of sudden realization and a trace of… shame. The man, who had been silent all along, also slowly raised his head, a faint glint appearing in his clouded eyes.
Li Guangyue knew that he had done all the guiding he could. He then turned to look at Baoli and nodded slightly. Baoli understood, stepped forward, and began to quietly explain the specific acupressure massage techniques and the usage and taboos of a few common herbs to the couple, whose expressions were a mix of complexity, as if they had much to ask but didn't know where to start.
Sigh! He sighed deeply in his heart. I’m someone who opens a shop to help people see ‘spirits,’ earning a hard-earned living by discerning yin and yang and harmonizing Fortune. How come lately, one after another, I've almost become a consultant specializing in mediating family disputes and resolving psychological issues? Has the direction of my work veered off course?
As his thoughts drifted, Li Guangyue remembered the elite couple from before, whose path was blocked by a ‘destiny mark,’ and even earlier, the Zhang family’s karmic debt entangled with lives and neglect… It seemed that increasingly, the root of many ‘problems’ was not simply clashing with malevolent spirits, but more often stemmed from the imbalance of the human heart itself, the clash of desires, and the distortion of relationships. These negative energies accumulated and transformed, eventually manifesting as ‘debts’ that affected Fortune and invited disaster.
“Could it be… the world has changed? Or have people’s hearts become more complex?” He rubbed his temples, which still felt a bit swollen, finding these ‘cases’ that required delving into the heart and painstakingly unraveling layers to be more draining than confronting a fierce evil spirit.
…
Suppressing the tumbling, off-course thoughts in his mind, Li Guangyue gathered the paper in his hand, which completely recorded the problem and resolution process for the couple just dealt with, onto the pile of ‘achievements’ already processed. The papers rustled slightly as they touched. Looking at today’s achievements, he wondered if the feedback he’d report later would match the expenses. He raised his hand to rub his slightly aching eyes; he had overused his eyes again today.
Just then, Baoli gently pushed the door and entered, his footsteps still silent. Li Guangyue looked up and gave him an inquiring look.
“Brother Guang,” Baoli approached, his voice lowered, “the fifth person we were scheduled to see… hasn't arrived yet. However, the guest scheduled for sixth place has arrived and is waiting outside. What do you think… should we wait a bit longer, or…?”
Li Guangyue heard this, looked up at the time, and the hour hand pointed precisely to seven in the morning. The morning light grew brighter, casting long shadows on the floor through the window lattice.
“That’s good…” he murmured to himself, perhaps relieved that it was still early, or perhaps giving himself a moment to breathe. After continuously dealing with several mentally taxing matters, even he needed a moment to recover.
After a moment of thought, he instructed Baoli, “Since the scheduled person hasn’t arrived but the next one has, there’s no need to wait in vain and risk delaying things… Please have the next person come in first.”
“Okay…” Baoli responded, turned, pushed the door open slightly, and nodded towards the outside. Immediately, a woman in her thirties came scurrying in with slightly hurried steps.
Li Guangyue picked up the cup of slightly cooled tea beside him, took a gentle sip to moisten his dry throat, and then gestured to the chair by the tea table, saying calmly, “Please, have a seat and wait a moment.”
After the woman entered, her steps faltered. Under Baoli’s silent guidance, she slowly, almost tentatively, sat down on the designated chair, her hands placed neatly on her clasped knees. Her posture conveyed a sense of caution, which created a subtle contrast with her somewhat capable short hair and delicate features.
While she was settling in, Li Guangyue put down his teacup and subtly let his gaze linger on her face for a moment. Her short, ear-length hair was meticulously styled, accentuating a face with clear features and a quite heroic look, a hint of her former capability still visible in her brows. However, even the most delicate makeup couldn’t hide the fine lines around her eyes, nor the dispelling fatigue hidden deep within those eyes, which should have been bright. If not for these traces left by time and worry, one would never believe, just by her outline, that this was a woman past thirty.
He put down his teacup and looked at her with a gentle gaze, cutting straight to the chase without further pleasantries: “What is it you seek?”
The woman seemed taken aback by the directness. The fingers on her knees unconsciously curled inward. She took a deep breath, as if mustering her courage, before looking up at Li Guangyue, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor and difficulty: “Master, it’s like this… I want you to look into my marriage prospects.” She paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts, her brow furrowing involuntarily, revealing a deep sense of distress.
“Master, to be honest with you,” the woman’s voice lowered, carrying a tone of weary resignation, “When I was young, I was ambitious and rebellious, so I rushed my marriage. The result… it didn't last long. So, I’ve been divorced for five or six years.” She looked up, her eyes devoid of the usual urgency of older singles, but rather a sense of having seen through things yet being unable to break free, a sort of bewilderment. “Right after the divorce, I felt liberated. I thought, I’m still young, I’ll surely meet someone suitable again. But just like that, five or six years have passed. I’ve had introductions, and I’ve tried meeting a few people myself, but… it always felt like something was missing. Either I didn’t like the other person, or they thought I was too assertive… In short, it just never worked out.”
She frowned slightly, trying to find the precise words: “And I don’t know if it’s because of my age, but forget about a serious relationship, it’s hard to even meet someone in life who makes my heart flutter a little. It’s as if… as if the part of me that pertains to ‘love’ and relationships was ripped out and completely sealed away the day I signed my divorce papers.”
She looked up, the fine lines around her eyes appearing particularly clear at this moment. The expectations of her parents and the anxiety brought by the passage of time: “I’ve already passed the threshold of thirty and am heading towards thirty-five. My parents are so worried they have blisters on their lips, constantly sighing by my ear, saying when I’m old, I won’t even have someone to pour me tea or keep me warm. What will I do then? As for myself… honestly, I put on a brave face, but inside, I’m also panicking. I’m certainly not the kind of vine that can’t live without a man; I manage my work and life in perfect order. But there are always moments, especially late at night when the day’s work is done, and I face an empty room filled only with the sound of my own breathing, that feeling of emptiness washes over me like a tide, suffocating me.” Her gaze held a final flicker of hope as she looked at Li Guangyue: “Master, I just want you to give me a definitive answer. Am I… destined to be alone for the rest of my life? Or is my true love still ahead? If it’s ahead, and hasn’t arrived, when exactly will it come?”
Her tone shifted from an initial forced composure to an outpouring, and finally to a barely perceptible plea. Li Guangyue listened quietly, his gaze gradually becoming focused and profound. When the woman mentioned words like ‘increasing age’ and ‘parents being anxious,’ he already realized this was no mere matter of bad luck or psychological barriers.
“Don’t worry… don’t worry. What’s destined will come when it’s time. If it hasn’t, it means the time hasn’t yet arrived. If it's long delayed, perhaps the opportunity hasn't presented itself, or perhaps… there are some ‘old debts’ you still need to clear, temporarily blocking this path. I’ll take a look for you.” He silently concentrated, and a yellow halo began to flow in his mind.
‘Open’
Li Guangyue looked up at the woman. He saw that she was enveloped in a rather bright, light yellow aura of Fortune, rising upwards, indicating that her personal career and life prospects were not bad, even perhaps smoother than many of her peers. However, the pink aura representing personal emotions and marital ties was in an extremely abnormal state – it wasn't simply thin or dim, but was tightly bound and confined by two extremely thin, almost transparent, yet intensely cold and lifeless gray chains, like parasitic vines entwined around blood vessels! The source of these chains did not come from external interference; its origin was deeply embedded within her innate Fortune, like an inherent brand.
This bizarre sight made Li Guangyue’s heart suddenly clench. This was by no means ordinary poor Fortune or a lack of romantic prospects; this was clearly a ‘debt lock’ involving karmic roots, bearing a kind of compulsory restraint! What did she owe? Had she wronged a specific person? Or…
Li Guangyue pondered for a moment. “Please extend your right hand and place it flat on the table.” His thoughts shifted. Both debt locks were unusual. His gaze swept over the woman’s face again. Though weathered by time, it remained well-defined with a heroic spirit, making it possible to imagine how radiant she must have been in her youth. The origin of one of the chains might lie here…
Li Guangyue raised his hand, brought his index and middle fingers together, and lightly pressed them onto the Neiguan and Daling acupoints on her wrist, while his thumb pressed against the Shangyang point at the base of her thumb. He sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness, guiding a wisp of that warm yellow halo to flow through these three acupoints and slowly into the woman’s body.
Through the perception of his ‘Heavenly Eye,’ the source and nature of one of the clearer gray chains gradually became apparent – it was not spreading wantonly, but like a viper, it was tightly coiled around the intersection of her Palace of Fate (representing one’s foundation and vitality) and her Palace of Offspring (representing connection to descendants). Wisps of lifelessness and resentment emanated from it. It was indeed so…
He slowly withdrew his fingers, the probing energy returning like a receding tide. A flash of insight into the root cause flickered deep in his eyes, followed by an almost inaudible sigh. While the repeated use of his Heavenly Eye and internal energy today hadn't fundamentally harmed him, the mental exertion was considerable.
His gaze, tinged with surprise and deeper solemnity, fell on the woman who was still waiting for the results. He collected himself slightly, organizing his words, which were somewhat blunt but necessary to ask:
“During your previous marriage, were you ever pregnant, and then… did you not keep the child?” His words were tactful, but the core meaning was clear. The woman, still immersed in the strange warm sensation from the Master’s fingertips, stiffened abruptly at his question. The color drained from her face as if a tide had receded, then a flush of abnormal redness quickly surged back. Her eyes flickered with panic for a few moments, her lips parted, but she couldn’t speak immediately.
Her fingers unconsciously curled inward, her nails almost digging into her palm. This violent change in her expression had already revealed too much. Her face shifted between pale and ashen, as if she were undergoing immense internal struggle. Finally, as if having exhausted all her strength, she finally raised her head, her voice dry and trembling as she asked, “Master… how… how did you know?” This question was almost an admission. That past, deeply buried and unwilling to be touched, was laid bare before this Master she had never met.\n\n