Chapter 7
Evening, Stone City University of Technology .
A young man dressed in a changshan stood in front of the school gates . His shoes were worn, and he carried a bundle on his shoulders . The young man stared at the gold lettering of the institute’s name and shook his head . Then, he headed straight in .
By the time he walked in, it was approximately lunch time . He could see students walking all over the place . Naturally, that included beauties that walked in groups . Nothing could describe Ye Shaoyang’s delight; he had been on a mountain for 10 long years without many females . Finally, he thought, as he stopped the most beautiful girl in sight and asked for directions to the headmaster’s office . As he sauntered toward the headmaster’s office, located at the office of academic affairs, he made sure to admire the beauties that were around .
“Y- you are Daoist master Y-Ye?” asked a balding, middle-aged man behind an office desk . He smiled, as he reached his hand out to offer a handshake, “Welcome, welcome . You must be tired after such a long journey . ”
“Greetings Headmaster Zhu, Ye Shaoyang is fine,” replied Ye Shaoyang, as he politely shook the headmaster’s hand .
The headmaster laughed and invited Ye Shaoyang to have a seat . Then, he instructed his secretary to prepare some tea . Meanwhile, he started an enthusiastic conversation with Ye Shaoyang .
“To become an inner disciple of Maoshan Sect at such a young age, you must be extraordinary, Daoist Master Ye . Haha, no need to give me that puzzled look . Although the mass majority do not believe in these kinds of things, I do . If it weren’t for your master’s help back then and the Wealth Acquiring Charm, I may not be at my current position . Back then, I was in deep trouble because of an evil spirit . Here, look, I always have the charm with me wherever I go . ”
Headmaster Zhu took out his wallet and carefully showed his Wealth Acquiring Charm to Ye Shaoyang . Headmaster Zhu handled it like a delicate treasure .
With only a glimpse, Ye Shaoyang almost failed to hold back his laughter . This so-called Wealth Acquiring Charm was just something that Qing Yunzi mass produced in a printing shop at the foot of Maoshan Mountain . In these past 10 years, he had told the believers that these ‘charms’ had been blessed . Additionally, he sold the ‘charms’ for a few hundred dollars apiece . So, at the end of the day, the person who really acquired wealth was Qing Yunzi alone .
“I owe all I have now to your master . As such, the fact that you, Daoist Master Ye, are here, is the greatest honor that I could ever receive in this life . I have already notified your master that I shall waive all the fees that you incur at my institution . ”
“Waiving all the fees?” Ye Shaoyang felt a painful jab in his heart . Before he descended the mountain, Qing Yunzi had compassionately told him that all the fees for his normal education had already been paid for . Moreover, there would be no spare change . After that, Qing Yunzi could only gave him one thousand Yuan for his living expenses . Once this he used this up, Ye Shaoyang would have to earn his own bread .
In these past 10 years, he had acted as a nanny, an assistant, and even an errand boy . To think that literally all of his hard work and effort were only worth one thousand Yuan! The more he thought about it, the angrier he became . That old bastard Qing Yunzi was such an old and cunning fox . He played both sides to get the most out of the deal for himself .
“Daoist Master Ye, I’ve prepared most of your documents . If you would just fill in your application form, everything will be just fine . ”
After he took care of all the application procedures, Ye Shaoyang declined the headmaster’s offer to lunch . Since he came to study, he might as well act as a student . Letting a headmaster pay for lunch seemed a bit too luxurious for a normal student . The headmaster did not force Ye Shaoyang but insisted on taking him to his new dorm . Once they exited the building, the headmaster suddenly spoke, “Daoist Master Ye, this is a new administrative building that I commissioned . What do you think of its fengshui? ”
Is he testing me? Ye Shaoyang thought to himself . The divisions within Maoshan Sect were Shu, Kan, Bu, and Yi . Amongst the four divisions, ‘Shu’ was Daoist magic, which could only be passed on to inner disciples . On the other hand, outer disciples could learn the rest . ‘Kan’ was the art of fengshui, ‘Bu’, the art of divination, and ‘Yi’ the art of Chinese medicine . Ye Shaoyang was not very interested in any of those divisions except for the ones he already knew . Although he had dabbled in them a bit, his mastery of those other arts were only slightly better than the average Daoist .
As he looked around, Ye Shaoyang concluded, “This building was built on the northern side of the school while it faces the south . Its arches face the sun, which in turn gathers sun essence . The face of the building is empty, which allows the Qi from eight directions to gather . ” He paused and pointed to the steps, “I noticed it before I entered, there’s a small forest behind this building . This very setup brings the stability of a mountain because both heaven and earth are in a positive position . I must say the person who gave you such fengshui was quite capable, Headmaster Zhu .
“However, due to the arch of this building, the sun essence that it gathers is way too excessive . Moreover, since there aren’t any outlets to release it, the longer it gathers, the higher the risks of a fire disaster happening . ”
Headmaster Zhu was surprised, “Daoist Master Ye, what accurate speculations! After the construction of this building, it was as you said, two offices within mysteriously caught fire . Luckily, they were saved right on time, thus reducing our losses . But then again, the construction of this building has already been completed . It would be ridiculous to just dismantle it . If I may ask, Daoist Master Ye, are there any ways that I can save this building?”
Ye Shaoyang smiled, “Simple, you just need to construct two rectangular pools in front of this building . If the pools seem out of place, you can use them to rear some carps . Once sunlight hits the water, the vapor from the pools can dissipate some of the sun essence, thus making the fengshui of this entire building more lively . ”
Headmaster Zhu was overjoyed, and he could not stop thanking Ye Shaoyang .
Calling forth the student counselor, they arranged the best dorm and classes for Ye Shaoyang . To further prove the headmaster’s gratitude, the headmaster and the student counselor escorted Ye Shaoyang to his dorm together .
“Daoist Master Ye, would you like us to arrange a single person dorm for you?” asked Headmaster Zhu, as they arrived at the dorm buildings .
“There’s no need for that . For as long as I’ve lived, I’ve never shared a room with someone else . I would very much like to try it,” Ye Shaoyang smiled and asked Headmaster Zhu for the keys to the room . After thanking the headmaster, Shaoyang insisted on going up alone .
“Which reminds me, Headmaster Zhu, who wrote the words on the school gates?”
Headmaster Zhu was astonished, “The name of this institution you ask? I personally asked a famous calligrapher of our state to write it, Elder Lau—Lau Deming . What about it Mr . Ye, do you perhaps like calligraphy as well? Don’t you think that the writing is nice?”
Shaoyang smiled to himself again . When he saw how the headmaster praised the one who wrote it, he knew there was no need nor room for any discussions .
The student counselor casually asked, “Mr . Ye, are you perhaps familiar with calligraphy?”
Shaoyang replied, “Only a little, I did write charms for more than ten years . I’m only slightly skilled in calligraphy . ”
“I must observe your skills when I have the chance then,” the counselor said with the utmost courtesy . Despite this, he really did not think highly of Ye Shaoyang . From the student counselor’s expression, Shaoyang could see his disdain . Without any further clarifications, they parted ways after they had said their goodbyes .
“Headmaster Zhu, from that boy’s expression, it is as if he does not really respect Elder Lau’s calligraphy,” the student counselor remarked, as they made their way back to the administrative building . After all, he was in charge of inviting Elder Lau . He even knew a bit about calligraphy himself, and held the utmost respect toward Elder Lau’s works of arts .
Smiling, Headmaster Zhu said, “He’s a Daoist Master . He would be a professional in fengshui, as for calligraphy … he’s only a young man, what more do you expect him to know? ” The student counselor agreed with this sentiment and took Ye Shaoyang’s documents . He mumbled to himself, “The application form he filled in should be in this bundle right? Let me take a look at his information . How is it that he became a Daoist at such a young age?”
As they walked back to the administrative building, both the headmaster and the student counselor took a peek at Ye Shaoyang’s application form . Without any prior warnings, the student counselor stood still in his tracks, while his jaws and eyes became wide open from shock .
“What is it?” asked the headmaster . He was still unaware of the situation .
“We were wrong Headmaster Zhu,” the student counselor said, as he took a deep breath while pointing at the form shakily .
“Nothing’s wrong with it, what about it?” The headmaster frowned, as he checked the form out .
“Not what it’s about . The WRITING! His writing is extraordinary, his style is strong and this could become his personal style, maybe … he might just be on par with Elder Lau!”
Headmaster Zhu was stunned on the spot . He grabbed the form from the student counselor and took another careful look . It really was strong calligraphy, every stroke of his written words were clear and precise . His artistic conceptions must know no bounds . If his written words were at this level, his calligraphy would be unimaginable!
“This little Daoist Ye Shaoyang must really be an elite,” Headmaster Zhu said, as he forced a smile on his face .