After Sir Jiang Junior had finished explaining the situation, Chen Fan finally learned what had happened at Dong Du.
Dong Du City was one of China’s centers for cultivating florals and was well known for its peony. Every year, many tourists across China would flock to Dong Du City to enjoy the view of thousands of peonies at full bloom.
Although it was not yet the blooming season, there was one kind of special peony called Winter Peony that would bloom twice in a year. It had become a novelty among the floral enthusiasts and had attracted many winter tourists.
However, things had changed lately.
The flowers in the flower bed not only refused to bloom but also seemed to be wilting.
This was a devastating blow to the city’s commerce. The peony was the pillar of Dong Du’s economy, and not only did it attract tourists, but it could also fetch a very good price on the market. Every year, the floral industry was able to rack in over a billion yuan of profit.
As the richest person in the Dong Du City, Jiang Jialiang had his skin in the floral industry and therefore, he would be hit severely by the development.
He had first turned to the local horticulturist, but to no avail, then, he invited agriculture experts from provincial research institutes. The scientists conducted a thorough examination from the soil to the water; however, they have found nothing.
Even the experts were at a loss.
Seeing the peony wilting by the day, Sir Jiang Junior decided to turn to Master Chen.
“That is indeed a big problem.” Master Wu said with a bleak face.
As a citizen of the Dong Du City, he knew the importance of peony to the local people. The health of the industry was linked to the livelihood of many citizens who were employees of the plantation.
“Wilting peony?” Chen Fan was light-hearted by the problem.
He was a cultivator of Qi, not cultivator of flowers.
Despite the fact that Chen Fan never learned horticulture, he was not without solutions. In order to fix the problem, he would set up a large Sprite Gathering Array across the plantation plant and let the peony soak in the Spirit Qi. This way, these peonies should be able to become healthy and strong in no time.
“After the scientist had given up, a lot of people believed that there is something wrong with the Feng Shui of the plantation. Since Master Chen was a powerful immortal, I believe you should be able to fix it for us.” Sir Jiang Junior siad.
“If you could fix the problem for us, we will make sure no one will ever lay a finger on the Yin Dragon Pond. ”
Chen Fan cracked a smile and didn’t say anything.
Yin Dragon Pond was secluded in the middle of nowhere, not a lot of people knew it even existed much less claiming it for themselves.
However, that did not mean Chen Fan could hide it from the other cultivators forever.
The Yin Crystal and the Spirit herb at the bottom of the pond would sooner or later attract other cultivators to this sacred ground, and by then, competition would be inevitable. Therefore, it would be ideal for Chen Fan to secure the title of the land by doing the local gentry a favor as soon as possible.
“Once the timing is right, I will help you.” Chen Fan said lightly.
Having gained Chen Fan’s assurance, Sir Jiang Junior finally calmed down.
Once they entered the Dong Du City, they pulled over next to a large peony plantation.
Many local gentries had already gathered here, listening to the opinions of horticulturalists from all over China.
“Dad, I invited Master Chen.”
Sir Jiang Junior came over to a middle age man.
“Shut up; what are you doing here?” A serious middle age man with a troubled look shouted at Sir Jiang Junior.
Sir Jiang Junior managed a smile and then said, “I have heard you have invited a Feng Shui master, so I thought I would introduce you to Master Chen.”
Jiang Jialiang grunted, and his face softened a little.
“Bring him to me.” Jiang Jialiang commanded.
Jiang Jialiang had never held high expectations for his son, and when he saw Chen Fan, he was outright disappointed. What could a sixteen year old boy do to help him with such a dire situation?
A real Feng Shui master should look like Master Huang standing next to him.
He wore an ancient style scholar hat and long white silky beard. Every word and sentence he spoke was a quote from the classics such as the I-ching. No one knew more about the Yin and Yang of the Feng Shui than Master Huang.
Jiang Jialiang nodded at Chen Fan and turned to Master Huang right away.
Master Huang was surrounded by a large crowd, and he didn’t even notice Chen Fan.
He walked and talked while holding a compass. He impressed the crowd with archaic words and quotes and installed a blind admiration into everyone’s heart.
Seeing Jiang Jialiang did not pay much attention to Master Chen, Sir Jiang Junior was going to pipe up again.
A man in his thirties tugged Sir Jiang Junior’s arm and urged him: “Your dad is busy, try not to bother him. will you?”
“Brother Cai, I am not bothering him; I am helping!” Sir Jiang Junior complained. “I made a great effort to invite Master Chen out from his seclusion, but Dad acts like he doesn’t even care.”
Brother Cai was Jiang Jialing’s secretary. Sir Jiang Junior rarely spoke to his father; instead, Brother Cai was the one who looked after him for most of the time.
Having heard the complaints, Cai Zhongxin furrowed his brows.
He looked at Chen Fan and couldn’t see anything extraordinary in this young boy. However, since he was invited by Sir Jiang Junior, he decided to let Chen Fan tag along behind the crowd.
Chen Fan didn’t mind the ill-treatment As he walked among the row of peonies, he furrowed his brows.
The leaves of the peonies were parched as if it was baked in an oven.
This was impossible! It was the middle of winter with plenty of snow. But the signs showed that the plants were suffering from over-heat.
“Wait!”
Chen Fan paused.
“What’s going on?” Master Wu asked.
“Haven’t you found the air in the garden is very hot?” Chen Fan asked.
“Indeed!” A’Xiu gasped. It was zero degrees outside, but inside the plantation, it felt as if it was spring.
“How is this possible? Could there be a large hot spring underneath us?” Master Wu asked with a big frown.
Chen Fan’s eyes lit up with curiosity. He narrowed his eyes as he started to project his Immortal Will to the underground.
Seeing Chen Fan had started working, Sir Jiang Junior waited beside him quietly. He hoped that Chen Fan was able to find the cause of the plant’s disease.
“Humf! What a load of crap!”
Brother Cai grunted.
Sir Jiang Junior was young and green; therefore he could be easily fooled. The rise in temperature was not a secret; even Brother Cai had noticed it once he stepped into the plantation.
However, the temperature was still mild, and shouldn’t have to parch the leaves.
They had consulted a geologist, and they had confirmed that there was no hot spring or any other heat source underground.
It was after every conceivable scientific test had failed to pinpoint the cause, they had resorted to asking help from a Feng Shui Master.
Suddenly, Brother Cai heard Master Huang speaking loudly.
“Brother Jiangliang, I think I have found the culprit.”
“What is it?” Jiang Jialiang looked at Master Huang expectantly.
“The peony garden is located at a gathering point of Yang Qi. In my line of work, it was called Yang Qi Locking Ground.” Master Huang said with a compass in his hand. “During a normal year, this Yang Qi will not do any harm to the plants. However, this year and this month, in particular, was of the Yang Element as well. The combination of the timing and the Yang Qi eventually become too much for the plants, hence the wilting.
“It was like a human sleeping beside a campfire during summer; heat will make his nose bleed.”
“Shoot! So what should I do?” Jiang Jialiang exclaimed.
“Don’t worry; I will set up a Feng Shui Array and connect the area with the Yin Qi to neutralize the elements. It will make this garden an even better place for flowers to flourish.” Master Huang said confidently as he ran his fingers through his long beard.
“Really?” Jiang Jialiang’s eyes were lit up with joy.
“Bull shit!”
A loud voice interrupted everyone’s joyful relief. They looked to the speaker with a great measure of rancor and surprise.
They saw a boy standing right next to the panicking Brother Cai.