Chapter 183: Back to Octagon Alley
Standing at the entrance of Qin Gang’s factory, Tang Hao looked at the factory opposite them.
The factory opposite them was much bigger than Qin Gang’s factory and had several tall buildings in its compound. Two of the buildings were built in a peculiar manner. They formed an acute angle when viewed from where he stood.
The angle was pointed straight at the entrance of Qin Gang’s factory.
In the study of fengshui, that formation was known as the Pointed Hex.
The Pointed Hex could easily change the fengshui of an area. Negative qi would be concentrated at the point where the angle was aiming at.
If someone lived or worked at the point of concentration, negative qi will enter their bodies, and their bodies would soon become sluggish and easily tired. In more serious cases, they might fall into a coma.
Usually, building walls form right angles rather than acute angles.
The two buildings pointing at the factory were built peculiarly, and it was obvious to see that it was deliberately built like that. The owner of that factory must have had fengshui knowledge, and he was using it to cause harm.
“Hmph! What an immoral person!” Tang Hao smirked coldly.
“Did you find anything, Younger Brother-in-law?”
Tang Hao pointed at the factory opposite them. “You see those two buildings?”
“Yes, what about them?” Qin Gang was surprised.
“That’s called the Pointed Hex. It’s meant to bring harm! Do you know who the owner of that factory is, or what he does?” Tang Hao asked.
“Well… I’m not too sure. I’ve heard that he’s not from Province Z. Younger Brother-in-law, do you mean that our troubles are all caused by those two buildings?”
“That’s right!” Tang Hao nodded.
Suddenly, Sun Yi’s expression changed, as though she had remembered something. “No wonder the rent here is so cheap! Turns out that there’s something weird about the place. The previous tenant also had many accidents and eventually went bankrupt.
“If we knew there is something wrong with the fengshui here, we wouldn’t have moved no matter what!” Sun Yi said regrettably.
Qin Gang started to look angry. He looked at the buildings opposite his factory and said, “Such a wicked act! Aren’t they afraid that karma might one day bite back on them?”
Then, he turned to Tang Hao and said, “What should we do, Younger Brother-in-law? I don’t think we can blow up those two buildings, right?”
“We’ve just moved here, and I don’t think we can move out soon,” Sun Yi added.
Tang Hao pondered over the problem.
If they could not move away, then the only solution was to break the formation.
The most direct way to break the formation was to remove the two buildings. That seemed impossible, given their current circumstances.
“When were the two buildings built?” Tang Hao asked.
“That should be two years ago,” Sun Yi replied.
“Did the factory change hands?”
“No!”
Tang Hao nodded and narrowed his eyes.
The owner of that factory had successfully ruined someone but did not remove the buildings. It meant that he had no moral decency. Tang Hao thought that he need not be merciful toward them if that were the case.
Tang Hao lifted his head to look at the sky.
“Bring me downtown. I need to go somewhere,” Tang Hao told Qin Gang.
“Where?”
“Octagon Alley!” Tang Hao went into the car as he spoke.
He needed several items to counter the formation, and he could find them at Octagon Alley.
“Octagon Alley? Oh, I think I’ve heard of it before. Isn’t that just a narrow, seedy alley?” Qin Gang muttered.
Even so, he sat into the driver seat and drove toward the city area. They arrived at Octagon Alley about forty minutes later.
“Wait here. Don’t follow me!”
Tang Hao got out of the car and went into the alley.
He retraced his steps and soon found the antique shop.
As usual, the shop was laid out in a classic style and was filled with various wares. A thin, elderly but spirited person in a Chinese suit sat behind the counter.
“Can I help you, Sir?” The elderly shopkeeper looked at Tang Hao and asked casually.
Tang Hao cupped his fists and bowed. “Shopkeeper!” He greeted the old man.
The old man was surprised. He stood up and carefully regarded Tang Hao. “I remember now! Didn’t you come the other day with the two Taoist masters from Mao Mountain?”
“That’s me!” Tang Hao said.
The shopkeeper smiled warmly. “I’ve misjudged you. So you’re a cultivator as well! What do you need?”
“Shopkeeper, I need a bronze figure of an auspicious beast to counter negative qi and two bronze mirrors.”[1]
The shopkeeper understood what he wanted the items for.
He thought for a while and replied. “We only have one bronze mirror now and no auspicious beast figures on hand. They can be delivered tomorrow.”
“Alright, I’ll come and pick up the goods tomorrow then,” Tang Hao said, “How much?”
“Let me ring them up. The bronze mirrors are antiques and cost thirty thousand yuan each. The auspicious beast figure is fifty thousand yuan. That’s a hundred and ten thousand yuan in total!” The shopkeeper said.
“Cash?”
“You can pay by cash or card!” The shopkeeper grinned and retrieved a POS machine from under the counter.
Tang Hao was surprised. He was not expecting to see a POS machine in that shop.
“Heheh! I need to keep up with the times!” The shopkeeper laughed smugly.
“I’ll pay by card then!” Tang Hao took out his debit card.
“The goods will arrive tomorrow noon. Come and get them by then!” The shopkeeper said.
Tang Hao waved goodbye and left the shop.
Back in the car, Qin Gang asked, “Where did you go, Younger Brother-in-law? Is there anything in this seedy place?”
“I bought something useful. We need to come back tomorrow noon to collect the goods! That’s all we can do today. Let’s go!”
“Alright! Let’s go have a meal. You rarely come to Provincial City. I need to treat you to something delicious.” He brought Tang Hao to a famous restaurant.
The next day, Tang Hao came to Octagon Alley at the appointed time and received his auspicious beast figure and two bronze mirrors.
The bronze figure was not a mundane statue. It had the effect of canceling and suppressing negative qi. The two bronze mirrors could reflect negative qi to the sender, so that they may reap what they had sown.
The car sped back to the factory. Tang Hao walked around the factory, did some rough calculations, then placed the bronze figure at a certain point in the factory grounds.
“This bronze figure can suppress negative qi. The negative qi will dissipate in a few days and the workers will be fine again,” Tang Hao said.
Then, he went to the rooftop of the office building.
One of the acute angles was pointed at this building, while the other was pointed at the workshop building.
Tang Hao placed the mirror in the rough direction where the angle was pointed, then secured it on the spot.
Then, he went to the workshop building and did the same thing.
“Remember, don’t ever move these mirrors, and protect them from any damage. You can only remove them when the opposite buildings are demolished,” Tang Hao instructed.
“Yes, yes!” Qin Gang nodded urgently.
“In about two weeks, they’ll probably realize that something fishy is going on. If they don’t demolish the buildings, they will suffer the harmful effects of the Pointed Hex,” Tang Hao said.
“That’s it, Younger Brother-in-law? There won’t be any more problems?”
“Don’t worry, it’s all fine now!” Tang Hao clapped his hands and smiled.
Qin Gang breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he slapped Tang Hao’s chest. “Don’t be in a hurry to go back, Younger Brother-in-law, I’ll bring you to have fun tonight.”
[1] The auspicious beasts of Chinese mythology are the qilin, the dragon, the phoenix, and the spirit turtle.