"Awakening from a grand dream, with self-awareness throughout a lifetime, abundantly snoozing in a straw cottage in spring, outside the window, the sun lingers."
Ye Feng rose from his bamboo mat, rays from the setting sun penetrated through the window, casting a warm glow on his handsome and proud face. He picked up the ancient book by his pillow, its edges slightly curled and discolored with age. He carefully blew off the dust, then started to read with intense concentration.
This old book was left to Ye Feng by his grandfather, Ye Mazie, a well-known master in ten miles and eight villages surrounding them. The old man was adept at fortune-telling, physiognomy, and resisting evil spirits. Whenever village folks lost their chickens or ducks, Ye Mazie would divinate with a single toss of his coins, accurately discerning the location. People would find their lost poultry precisely in those directions. Further, if a child was suffering from an ailment that medicine did not seem to cure, a prick from Mazie’s silver needle would effectively calm the child.
Whenever there was a wedding, funeral, or any event in the surrounding villages, it was customary to invite Mazie to cast a fortune for good luck and safety, dispelling any negative energy. In this region of Shenlong Peak, Ye Mazie was revered as a living deity, the mayor always addressed him respectfully as "Master Ye."
Ye Feng's parents died early, leaving him to be raised by his grandfather. The old man took care of him and gave him food. However, during Ye Feng's second year in middle school, Ye Mazie fell gravely ill shortly after a trip to the provincial capital and passed away.
The image of his grandfather's restless death haunted Ye Feng forever. Before dying, Ye Mazie repeatedly warned his grandson to avoid following in his footsteps, to refrain from studying the arts of heavenly secrets to prevent attracting calamities.
At that time, Ye Feng was too young to understand what these heavenly secrets were, but the image of his grandfather's vast abilities was deeply imprinted in his tender heart. As he grew older, Ye Feng found his grandfather's death to be suspicious and wanted to uncover the true cause.
Perhaps fate had a role in this. During the Qingming festival, while he was looking through his grandfather's belongings, he found an iron box containing a cloth-wrapped ancient book.
The book titled "Heritage from Qingtian," was handwritten by Liu Bowen, the founding strategist of the Ming Dynasty. As the saying goes, "Zhuge Liang was the genius of his era, while Liu Bowen was of his." Liu Bowen, known for his divine wisdom in studying astronomy and geography, was an expert in both Yin Yang & Feng Shui, and the strange ways of escaping the world. He eventually assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing the Ming Dynasty.
The "Heritage from Qingtian" recorded all of the wisdom Liu Bowen had learned throughout his life, covering Yin Yang, Feng Shui, medicine, military tactics, and astronomy. Unfortunately, the book that Ye Feng possessed was only the first part, which mainly taught methods related to Yin Yang, Feng Shui, dispelling evil, and eccentric practices.
All of Ye Mazie's skills had been learned from this book. The cover was already worn out, but the silk thread binding the book remained intact. Although the words inside the book had faded and darkened, they could still be recognized.
Nowadays, theories of Yin Yang and Feng Shui, under the wave of modern technology, have been labeled as feudal superstitions. Most people scoff at them or avoid them completely, treating them as inferior arts. However, Ye Feng didn't see it this way. In his childhood, he had seen his grandfather casting fortunes and expelling evil with his own eyes, and everyone respected him. Therefore, Ye Feng believed that these were the true teachings of Liu Bowen.
Since receiving the treasured book, Ye Feng had devoted all his time to studying it, forgetting to eat and sleep, finding more and more wonders in it.
Many of the Feng Shui restrictions mentioned in the book may seem obscure and boring to others but not to Ye Feng.
During his undergraduate years, each time Ye Feng thought about the mystery underlying his grandfather's death, he felt the urge to uncover the truth. Thus, Ye Feng gritted his teeth and read through the "Book of Changes"
I Ching
. The guys at the dorm nicknamed him "Crazy Ye." They had seen people obsessed with video games, infatuated with girls, but they had never seen someone majoring in civil engineering, holding the "I Ching" all day and reading it with obsession. If this wasn't madness, what else could it be?
At every struggle session in the dormitory, Ye Feng would insist, truth is often grasped by a few, "The Book of Changes" is the ancestor of all learning, mastering "The Book of Changes", you'll become enlightened on all things. In the end, his dorm mates saw him as stubborn as a stone in a cesspit, smelly and hard, so they simply gave up interfere, letting him be a madman.
"The Book of Changes" was originally a book of divination, encompassing everything. Ye Feng has read it hundreds of times over the past few years, laying a profound foundation in metaphysics. With the recollections of some yin-yang commonalities explained by Old Ye when he was young, he has already gone through most of the yin-yang metaphysics in the "Qingtian Hermit's Book".
"Ye Feng, you lazy boy, you've digested every single book in this college. You sleep all day long. Look at young men from every other household, they are all making money outside. You're really a home-wrecker. Did we owe you in our past lives?"
The copper-gong voice of Auntie came from outside the door, every time it was time to eat, she would have to yell at the entrance, wishing that the whole village knew they have raised a big lazy ghost.
Ye Feng didn't get annoyed. Auntie was a typical rural woman, with a poisonous mouth but a kind heart. When Old Ye died, Ye Feng was only in junior high school. There were quite a few people in the village who usually benefited from Old Ye, but not many were willing to take Ye Feng in.
In the end, it was Uncle Root and his wife who took him in. These years, the couple scrimped and saved, and with some subsidies from the village committee, they managed to keep Ye Feng in university.
Auntie originally hoped that Ye Feng would find a good job after finishing university, and be a city dweller in peace. Perhaps one day they could go to the big city and broaden their views, and save face in front of fellow villagers. But she didn't expect this boy to return to the village after graduation, staying home all day reading those broken books. He didn't work, and even the three meals a day had to be called for him.
Auntie was furious. Of course she couldn't spare him with her words, feeling that all these years of hard work were wasted.
"Old Ye, Chunlan is not capable, I'm sorry that I couldn't live up to your old man's expectations. My own son is out getting involved with the underbelly of the county city. I finally got a child who reads, but he turns out to be a lazy boy. What kind of karma did I accumulate in my past life?"
Seeing that Ye Feng didn't move, Auntie started "singing" outside the door again.
Before Uncle Root and his wife adopted Ye Feng, they already had one son and one daughter. The son, Li Yong, was not much different from Ye Feng in age. Li Yong had a bad name in the village. It was said that he was a watchdog for others in the county city. Their daughter Li Xue was in her first year of university, she was well-behaved and smart, but she was rarely at home.
"Auntie, don't be angry and hurt your body. Wait for me to make money, and I will buy you a big car and a mansion. I will buy you a gold necklace. Let me tell you, the gold necklaces in the provincial city are as thick as a thumb."
Ye Feng opened the door, his hand gesturing, his eyes squinting into a line, his mouth turning up to reveal two rows of neat white teeth. His sunny smile had a touch of cheekiness.
When Auntie saw him like this, she couldn't scold him anymore, and she rolled her eyes, "This little stinker, he's all talk, I've heard you say this thousands of times since junior high school, and I have yet to see a piece of silver from you. I think you're going to drive me crazy, and I won't have the chance to enjoy the good life."
Ye Feng looked her up and down, and then smiled, "Auntie, you have the heart of a Bodhisattva, and are destined to have wealth and long life. Just wait, in no more than three years, I'll definitely buy you a big house in the city, with a BMW for transportation."
Ye Maple was not bragging—Auntie had a mole on her mouth, a slender mark between her brows, and a slightly plump round face with a prominent chin, a characteristic indicating fortune according to traditional Chinese face reading. With her long and thin nose and neatly spaced eyebrows, she was said to carry the appearance of wealth and prosperity. It was foreseen she would be blessed with wealth in her old age.
"Even a BMW to ferry me around would suffice. If you could buy me a mule to carry manure, I'd be content." Auntie broke into laughter at his jest, yet secretly felt satisfied knowing he had such intentions.
Upon reaching the kitchen, Auntie reheated the 'Hezhe' for him, tossing in a generous serving of chili and green onions. The bowl of shiny, clear noodles was immediately filled with appetizing aroma, making one salivate. Ye Maple couldn’t care less about the heat, wolfing down the meal until not a single strand remained.
"Eat slowly, there’s more in the pot. These noodles are handmade from our own sweet potatoes, plenty to go around." Auntie lovingly watched him and served him another bowl.
"Auntie, where is Uncle Root?" Ye Maple asked.
"He's over at Lame Wang's in the neighboring village. His mother fell ill." she replied.
Uncle Root was the village’s barefoot doctor. Given that it was almost fifty miles of rugged mountainous road to the closest township clinic, it was inconvenient for the villagers over several villages to seek medical care. They usually relied on Uncle Root.
"Maple, you've finally graduated from university, and I don't necessarily expect to bask in your glory. But you can’t let your education go to waste by just staying at home." Auntie expressed her worries with a sigh.
Ye Maple placed his bowl down and contemplated in silence.
"It's not that I mind an extra pair of chopsticks at the table, but it's just a shame to not utilize your talents as a university graduate."
"Auntie, I understand. If not for you and uncle root, I would’ve ended up an unwanted child or starved to death by the roadside. Rest assured, I will one day return to the provincial city and proudly take you both there to enjoy your retirement," Ye Maple said, his eyes faintly red, flickering with stubbornness and determination.
He put down his bowl and returned to his own small room. Before the sky became dark, he reopened the worn-out book called "Legacy of Qingtian."
The big city represented hope for him, but at the same time, it was a place filled with sorrow and humiliation.
He could never forget the painful parting scene with Yaqin. Bai Yaqin was the rich and powerful lady of Bai family in the city, while he was just a poor lad from a mountain village.
He closed his eyes, and the moments spent with Yaqin flashed through his mind, one frame at a time, like a movie on replay.
She nestled in his arms, both gazing at the starry sky and making a romantic yet innocent wish.
"I wish that Ye Feng could always be by my side, follow me like my shadow wherever I go."
"Ya Qin, it will be this way. No matter where you are, I will hold your hand until the end of time."
...
When they were in school, everyone said that Ye Feng was a toad who got lucky and landed on swan meat. Bai Yaqin dismissed people's judgment and stuck with Ye Feng for four years.
However, reality was harsh. After graduating from university, Bai Yaqin was forced by her family to study abroad.
On the last night, before Ye Feng could make it to the airport to see her for the last time, her brother Bai Chaoge intercepted him outside the airport. A gang beat him within an inch of his life.
Ye Feng would never forget Bai Chaoge pointing at his bloody face, shouting: "You're just a toad that jumped out of the countryside. What gives you the right to be involved with my little sister? Ya Qin is a star in the sky, and you? You're nothing but a puddle, too murky to reflect even a single star. I, Bai Chaoge, will never allow you to marry my sister."
Ye Feng didn't fight back then. He knew what Bai Chaoge was saying made sense. Bai Yaqin was the jewel in the Bai family's crown. At school, she could accompany him for meals in the dining hall every day, but in society, would he bear to see her endure hardship? How could he shoulder this massive love?
"Ten years may pass and the fortune may change, even a river dragon has its day to ascend to the sky, Bai Chaoge, one day, I will make you willingly deliver Yaqin into my arms." Ye Feng gritted his teeth and expressed his determination.
"Ten years? You keep dreaming. If you dare show up in the provincial city within three years, I will beat you each time I see you. After three years, if you really do have capabilities, I, Bai Chaoge, will be awaiting your arrival at the Bai Mansion."
What Ye Feng didn't know was, on that day, Yaqin waited for him at the airport all night long. Facing the arranged marriage by her family, studying abroad was her last resort. Three years, this was the last chance for both her and Ye Feng, it was the only gamble she had left.
