Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 26 Celestial Feng Shui Technique

Upon hearing this and seeing everyone's bright eyes fixed on him, Hu Bayi felt a surge of pride. He maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he was incredibly smug, thinking:
"The secret of this celestial feng shui technique lies in observing the stars, starlight, the bright moon, moonlight, and their movement. It is even necessary to observe the clouds and mist. With the combination of these factors, one can determine the auspicious land on the ground. Auspicious lands are divided into dragon veins, dragon vein tails, dragon hearts, dragon meridians, dragon heads, etc., as well as tiger veins, hall veins, etc. There are tens of millions of types such as dead veins, living veins, ominous veins, yin and yang veins, etc."

Only when the auspicious sites on earth are aligned with the stars in the sky can it be called Celestial Feng Shui. As for the superficial folk methods of finding dragon veins and locating burial sites, they are not worthy of serious consideration.

Everyone listened with great interest as Hu Bayi spoke. Although they couldn't understand his words, they still felt that what he said made a lot of sense.

Just as there are countless types of ley lines, archaeological experts know a little about them.

They also believe this to be true, like some corpses that have been buried in the ground for thousands of years without any decay, but change the moment the grave is dug up.

"The Celestial Star Feng Shui Technique, also known as the Celestial Azure Bag Technique," Hu Bayi said with a smile, seeing that everyone was completely captivated by his explanation. "It is the 'Heaven' section of the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique, and it is the most obscure and difficult chapter in the 'Heaven' section."

"I have been studying the Celestial Azure Bag Technique diligently under my grandfather's careful guidance since I was a child. I dare not say that I am proficient now, but as long as I look at the stars in the sky and compare them with the ground, I can tell the difference no matter how damaged the ground is."

Although he boasts, he knows how to keep his mouth shut.

Originally, he meant to say that he could tell whether there was an ancient tomb underground, but he changed his mind a bit.

Hu Ming secretly praised his cousin, thinking, "Not bad, he's really smart."

"Ancient emperors and nobles were the most superstitious about feng shui. They believed that the privileges they enjoyed in life should continue to be enjoyed after death, and that their descendants should also enjoy the same privileges. Therefore, they would seek out auspicious sites to build tombs in order to ensure that they and their descendants could enjoy wealth and honor after death."

Emperors believed that the rise and fall of dynasties originated from dragon veins, so they would seek out these veins and build their tombs atop the dragon's head to ensure the dynasty's longevity. They would also block other dragon veins, preserving only the imperial dragon vein tombs.

At this point, Hu Bayi took a sip of water, wanting to rest for a while. Then he turned to look at Hu Ming, thinking that Hu Ming had also learned the sixteen-character Yin-Yang Feng Shui technique. He couldn't just pretend all by himself; he had to give his brother a chance too.

"Let Hu Ming speak for the rest. He has also studied it before, and the old man taught him a lot. He is no worse than me in this regard."

"Furthermore, he read extensively from the ancient books collected by his grandfather since childhood, recognizing oracle bone script, tadpole script, and small seal script. He also knows traditional Chinese medicine!"

Hu Bayi gestured to Hu Ming to invite him, secretly chuckling to himself, "How could I leave out the task of fooling these bookworms!"
Hu Ming is getting shot even when he's sitting still; he himself didn't know he was this outstanding.

He thought he'd give this opportunity to show off to the fat guy, but then decided against it, given the fat guy's limited abilities.

"Comrade Xiao Hu, what you said is excellent! It has truly broadened our horizons!"

Professor Chen gave Hu Bayi a thumbs up, saying he was completely engrossed in the story and would have remained so if Hu Bayi hadn't stopped.

"Comrade Hu knows so much. We've really struck gold this time." Even the usually rigid Hao Aiguo was impressed by Hu Bayi's feng shui skills.

Yang Xueli's beautiful eyes lit up, and she said admiringly to Hu Bayi, "Mr. Hu is so knowledgeable. Your mastery of Feng Shui is so profound. It's hard to find a Feng Shui talent like you in this world. But what I didn't expect is..."

Then he looked at Hu Ming and said, "I didn't expect that Mr. Hu Ming knew so much more. Feng shui, traditional Chinese medicine, ancient writing, dragon vein finding, and so on, it's truly amazing!" Hu Ming was a little speechless. Although he had learned the "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique," it was only theory. He had only tried it once at Niuxin Mountain. Unlike Hu Bayi, who encountered strange things when he was a sent-down youth, Hu Bayi did not have the opportunity to practice.

Although he claimed that his feng shui skills were no worse than Hu Bayi's, he knew that in a real comparison, he was still somewhat inferior.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he thought for a moment and then said the lines that originally belonged to Hu Bayi.

"I only know a little about the art of celestial feng shui. Feng shui is known as the pinnacle of geomancy. A feng shui site can be simply summarized as a place that shelters from the wind and receives water."

"In later generations, Feng Shui was gradually extended to the art of geomancy, which, to put it simply, is a discipline that analyzes the relationship between heaven, earth, and man."

"Because the ancients pursued the state of harmony between man and nature, which required not only mountains and water, but also the sun, moon and stars. Since ancient times, people have been observing celestial phenomena and studying the changes of stars to predict good fortune and misfortune."

"When searching for auspicious burial sites, we often apply the essence of astronomy, which corresponds to the five celestial stars and twenty-four stars that correspond to the mountains and rivers of the world. Stars have good and bad qualities, and land has auspicious and inauspicious qualities."

“Auspicious land must correspond to the sun, moon and stars in the sky. The Qingwu technique, which uses the movement of stars and clouds to locate the burial site, is the most difficult celestial technique to master in feng shui!”
"The heavens have twenty-four constellations, the day has twenty-four hours, and the year has twenty-four solar terms, so feng shui also has twenty-four directions and twenty-four positions."

"If someone can observe the auspicious and inauspicious arrangement of these stars, and use a compass for location, they can find the place they are looking for."

Hu Ming omitted over a thousand words, not because he couldn't remember them, but because saying more would be pointless, since none of them except Hu Bayi could understand them anyway.

After listening, Hu Bayi slapped his forehead, realizing how forgetful he always was when he was supposed to be reciting his lines. He'd let Hu Ming, that kid, have such a good opportunity to show off.

With a beautiful woman like Yang Xueli in front of him, Hu Bayi actually wanted to show off his skills.

Professor Chen, Yang Xueli, and Ye Yixin were all so engrossed in listening that they were completely stunned.

They never expected that there would be two top masters of celestial feng shui here, who were thoroughly familiar with the art of feng shui and were saying things they had never seen or heard before.

"Comrades Hu, both of you..."

Just as Professor Chen was about to say something, Hu Ming's lips twitched and he said, "Just call me Comrade Xiao Ming!"

Professor Chen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Comrade Xiaoming, Comrade Xiaohu, you are absolutely right. You are feng shui geniuses, a gift from heaven."

"The Western Regions desert has been desertified for thousands of years. The oases of the past have turned into seas of sand. The Peacock River has long since dried up and is hard to find, not to mention the relics and ancient tombs buried in the desert."

"Since the ancients used mountains, water features, and the sun, moon, and stars to determine their burial sites, relying on celestial feng shui techniques is the simplest and most effective way for us to find tombs buried along the ancient Silk Road. With your participation, the excavation and protection of ancient tombs will proceed much more smoothly."

As he spoke, Professor Chen grasped Hu Bayi and Hu Ming's hands, holding them tightly without letting go.

(End of this chapter)