Xie Qi yawned cooperatively and lay soft and limp in Qu Yanning’s arms.
Qu Yanning kissed him, half sweet, half troubled, “You’re getting better at being spoiled.”
Xie Qi twitched his ears, curling his tail around Qu Yanning’s wrist.
At noon, the courtyard was surprisingly empty.
Qu Yanning asked curiously where everyone had gone.
Zhao Dong-wei nodded toward the main hall and said, “To the Feng Shui Competition. The crowd’s there for the excitement.”
Only then did Qu Yanning realize that the Feng Shui Competition was starting tomorrow.
Today was just preparation time.
Everyone else was busy with the excitement, so it was basically just the two of them relaxing.
Zhao Dong-wei asked, “Want to go see it?”
Qu Yanning thought for a moment— he had nothing else to do— so he nodded, “Sure, let’s go check it out.”
The main hall was packed with people.
Beforehand, the Qu Family had already released some news, so each family had brought their prized disciples.
The young generation of Feng Shui Grandmasters lined up, one by one verifying their registration, then receiving their Number Plates.
Qu Yanning held Xie Qi and watched the crowd with Zhao Dong-wei.
Zhao Dong-wei’s face was full of smiles; no one knew what he was so amused about.
After registering the participants, the host explained the competition rules and the prizes for the winners.
Only then did everyone disperse.
Qu Qing Shui sat in the high seat, squinting at the guests in the hall.
He told the person beside him, “Bring the Flower Register over for me to see.”
The attendant complied, handing over the register.
Qu Qing Shui flipped through it, and not seeing any familiar names, his furrowed brows relaxed slightly.
******
The next morning, after breakfast, the first round of the competition began.
The first and second rounds were both held on the Qu Family’s Back Mountain.
A large crowd marched over; arrangements had been made at the foot of the mountain in advance.
Contestants, each with their own Number Plate, waited quietly in the Rest Area at the mountain base.
There were five judges in total, elders from the Qu Family and other families of the same generation.
Tables and chairs were set up at the foot of the mountain.
The judges smiled and sat in place, eyeing the contestants in the Rest Area, occasionally whispering to each other.
The first round tested the most basic Observation.
Many stones marked with numbers were randomly placed on the mountain.
Among them, fifty stones had been imbued with Spirit Qi.
Only those contestants who successfully found the Spirit Qi stones could advance to the second round.
At the sound of the whistle, the contestants solemnly ascended the mountain.
The mountain wasn’t steep, but it was vast and covered with dense trees and shrubs.
Finding the stones relied first on eyesight, then on Vital Qi.
Qu Yanning whispered to Zhao Dong-wei, “This kind of competition is really tough, isn’t it?”
Zhao Dong-wei shook his head.
“It tests the basics. The stones with Spirit Qi will reveal themselves to those with a solid foundation.”
Qu Yanning looked up at the mountain and saw faint golden light among the lush green.
He quietly asked Zhao Dong-wei, “What’s that golden light on the mountain?”
Zhao Dong-wei looked up with him but saw nothing.
“What golden light?”
Qu Yanning pointed to a nearby spot.
“See? That stone is shining gold.”
Zhao Dong-wei had sharp eyes and followed his finger.
Not far from the mountain base, he indeed spotted a half-buried stone, half exposed.
It was unremarkable except for a faint Five-Character marking visible on it.
“…”
Zhao Dong-wei stared at the stone in shock, then turned to Qu Yanning, “How did you see that?”
Qu Yanning widened his eyes innocently, “I just saw it.”
Zhao Dong-wei was speechless.
“People are just incomparable. If the contestants knew this, I bet they’d all choke on their blood.”
“Young man, I see your extraordinary bone structure and excellent aptitude. Are you planning to apprentice under a Master?” Zhao Dong-wei nudged him with his shoulder.
Qu Yanning shook his head.
“I already have a Master.”
Zhao Dong-wei didn’t believe him.
He had previously invited Qu Yanning to join the Feng Shui Competition, but his first reaction was that it was a scam.
Would someone with a Master react like that?
“Is your Master some kind of con artist?” Zhao Dong-wei asked.
“No,” Qu Yanning shook his head seriously.
“He’s very powerful and kind, and he’s helped me many times.”
“Impossible that he’s a fraud.”
Xie Qi twitched his ears in Qu Yanning’s arms and shot a sharp glance at Zhao Dong-wei.
Zhao Dong-wei wanted to argue but saw the serious look on Qu Yanning’s face, as if he respected his Master deeply.
He stopped himself, thinking that this ‘powerful’ Master was probably just an unknown, low-profile person, otherwise he would have taught Qu Yanning Feng Shui by now.
The competition lasted three hours.
During a break, Qu Yanning returned with the cat to eat, then came back.
By then, contestants had started returning from the mountain, some carrying dull stones, others with two stones glowing faintly gold.
When all contestants came down, the host arranged them into five groups for the judges to evaluate.
The judges worked faster than expected.
Contestants only had to pass their stones before the judges for results.
After half an hour, the host announced the results: only forty-eight contestants advanced.
Two fewer than expected.
The qualifiers were reassigned new numbers and given small wooden plaques.
The first round officially ended.
The second round would be held tomorrow.
With no more excitement to watch, Qu Yanning carried Xie Qi back, and he and Zhao Dong-wei pondered going crab catching by the sea.
“The island’s environment is great, so the crabs must be fat,” Zhao Dong-wei said longingly.
This season, the crabs were indeed plump.
The three of them agreed to borrow a car and a bucket, then headed to the ocean’s embrace.
A yellow-robed Taoist saw them carrying buckets and curiously asked what they were doing.
“Going crab catching by the shore,” Zhao Dong-wei said excitedly.
“Are you coming?”
The younger Taoist’s eyes brightened as he looked at the elder Taoist.
“Senior Brother, let’s go too.”
So they borrowed another bucket, and the four of them set off straight for the beach.
Crabs mainly hid among the reefs.
They stopped at a reef group, carried their buckets, and ran barefoot onto the sand.
Qu Yanning carried the bucket and the cat straight to the rock piles.
He placed the bucket on a flat stone, rolled up his pants, and asked the cat, “Want to come with me?”
Xie Qi glanced at the puddles in the rock crevices, then tapped the bucket disdainfully.
“All right, you watch the bucket then.”
Qu Yanning bent down and flipped over stones on the beach.
As Zhao Dong-wei said, the island’s good environment produced especially fat crabs.
Under the stones, baby-fist-sized crabs stood their ground, claws raised fiercely in confrontation.
Qu Yanning was quick and skillful, pinching the crab’s shell from behind with his thumb and forefinger, then tossing it swiftly into the bucket.
The wide-eyed crabs scrambled inside the bucket, making thumping sounds.
Qu Yanning enthusiastically flipped more stones.
Before long, he had caught over a dozen dumbfounded crabs.
“Damn! Where do you think you’re going?”
Zhao Dong-wei chased after a fast-running crab, kicking over his empty bucket on the sand.
Qu Yanning laughed and watched a while before stepping forward to block the crab’s path.
With a quick grab, he tossed it into the bucket.
Zhao Dong-wei gave him a thumbs-up and sat on a rock, panting.
“These crabs look silly, but they’re quick. Before your hand gets there, they vanish.”
“Really?” Qu Yanning pointed to his bucket, “I think they’re easy to catch.”
Xie Qi also patted the bucket that thumped with restless crabs inside.
Zhao Dong-wei glared at the crawling crabs and said, “I don’t believe I can’t catch one!”
He rolled up his pants, determination in his eyes, and resumed the chase.
Qu Yanning happily kissed the cat.
“I’m watching you. Tonight, I’ll cook crab for you.”
Xie Qi purred happily and slapped a restless crab in the bucket.
Before the tide rose at dusk, the four flipped every stone in the reef group.
Qu Yanning caught the most, already filling half a bucket with crabs.
Zhao Dong-wei eyed his bucket with jealousy, then looked at his own, feeling clearly outmatched.
The two Taoist brothers also caught a good number, working together—one catching, one blocking—filling nearly half a bucket.
The four returned laden, ready to steam the crabs for dinner.
……
“What is he doing?”
Qu Qing Shui stood by the desk, holding a brush steadily in hand.
Small, neat calligraphy formed on the paper beneath his skilled wrist.
“He went to watch the competition in the morning. After it ended, he went to the seaside with the Zhao family young master and brothers from the Eight Trigrams Monastery to catch crabs. Now they’re steaming the crabs in the Guest Courtyard.”
Qu Qing Shui chuckled lightly.
His wrist trembled slightly, and an errant stroke ruined the whole page.
He set down the brush and casually asked, “Are the crabs he caught good?”
The person standing respectfully below considered and replied, “His crabs are the best.”
Tapping his fingers on the desk, Qu Qing Shui smiled and waved his hand.
“Go on, keep an eye on them.”