Smoke and Fire [GL] - Chapter 15

In the main hall, Master Shen, upon hearing Veda’s words, instantly plopped down and knelt: “Truly, truly! I didn’t think much when I was running my business, I sold, I sold pork filling mixed with some dead horse meat… just to make a small profit. Who knew it would cause a plague! Master, save me, Master, save me…”

Hearing this, Veda calmly withdrew his finger, preventing the Master from touching him. The expression beneath his mask seemed to deepen slightly.

“Please rise first,” he said calmly. “The causes of a plague are numerous; it may not necessarily be the horse meat. Moreover, an Immortal Lord from the Celestial Realm has already taken action to help. Quelling the plague is not a problem.”

“But, but…”

Hearing him say this, Master Shen did not look delighted; instead, his voice grew more worried: “Even if the plague is quelled, it has nothing to do with our Shen family! The officials will still investigate as they should, and won’t my meat shop be ruined!”

Veda lowered his gaze and said, “Considering you have offered incense for many years, I will give you a warning today: merchants value profit and lightly regard separation. The fortune of the Shen family is not in commerce.”

Master Shen was immediately overjoyed: “Good, good, good! I will sell that shop tomorrow! Then, in your view, where does our family’s fortune lie?”

“You are fated to hold an official position, and your esteemed son is also destined for high office and great prosperity,” Veda gently rotated the Buddhist beads in his hand and said faintly. “…Not having shown signs for so many years, I fear it is a matter of feng shui.”

Hearing that both he and his son were destined for official careers, Master Shen loudly kowtowed to Veda.

“Please guide me to the right path!”

Veda slightly raised his gaze, subtly glancing at the two girls peeking outside the window, and said, “I now caution you with three points. First, this ancestral home of yours is inherently structured in the posture of a coiled dragon. It must not be rebuilt, nor must you relocate.”

“But didn’t you say it was a feng shui…”

“The feng shui has a problem. This coiled dragon is a Yin Dragon. The more successful you become in the future, the more likely you are to suffer a bloody disaster,” Veda shifted the topic. “This leads to the second thing I must remind you: although the Shen family is well-fated, you must not be too ambitious, beware of extreme joy turning to sorrow.”

“Naturally, naturally!” Master Shen repeatedly agreed.

Veda continued: “In the future, when you achieve great success, some people will surely tell you that there are easier ways to dispel the Yin energy of this coiled dragon… This is the third point: you must not resort to crooked means. Devote yourself single-mindedly to Buddha for eliminating disasters, and the Buddha will naturally protect you.”

Master Shen dared not utter a word of disagreement, nodding and bowing while repeatedly thanking him, swearing his vows with such emotion that even Veda was moved and advised him not to make such venomous oaths.

Seeing this, Luo Yao sighed inwardly, thinking that Veda still had not witnessed what is called human nature.

Sure enough, Master Shen, seeing his attitude change, revealed his true nature: “Your immense kindness today is truly impossible for me to repay… I just wonder about your last point, what exactly does this ‘crooked means’ refer to?”

Seeing Veda’s displeased expression, he quickly explained: “I have no other intention! It’s just that if you caution me beforehand, no matter what others say, we will know whether this person harbors ill intent, wouldn’t you agree?”

Luo Yao was almost exasperated into laughter by this person, but Veda was completely unaware. He pondered for a moment and slightly nodded: “That makes sense.”

At this moment, Luo Yao wanted nothing more than to rush in and give him a huge slap.

But it was only a thought; this was a memory from several hundred years ago. What was meant to happen had already happened.

Veda lowered his voice and said, “The so-called Yin Dragon will continuously swallow and exhale Yin energy day and night. Usually, having males in the residence can suppress it somewhat, at most leading to some physical weakness.”

“But if no females are ever born in the residence from now on, the Yin Dragon, lacking Yin energy to nourish and absorb, will naturally cease exhaling Yin energy. It will then be no different from a True Dragon, and the Shen family’s fortune will naturally become smoother…”

He seemed a little uneasy as he said this. He paid his respects to the west, sighing: “May the Buddha bear witness, this method is truly too perverse. If someone mentions it later, Master Shen, you absolutely must not believe it lightly.”

“That is natural.” Although Master Shen said so, his eyes already carried a meaningful look.

At this point, Luo Yao understood the full picture.

The Shen family was originally well-fated, but their feng shui was ruined by the Yin Dragon. Following Veda’s unintentional reminder, Master Shen resorted to crooked means, starting the “Cleansing of Women,” and continued it for sixteen generations.

At the same time, to whitewash his actions, he even shifted the blame for the “Cleansing of Women” onto Veda, telling his descendants that these were all tips from a master, completely absolving himself. Had Luo Yao not known Veda’s character and seen this memory, even she would have been deceived.

Thinking of this, Luo Yao couldn’t help but feel a grievance on Veda’s behalf—after all, no one expected that his reputation, both in life and after, would be ruined by the words of a single mortal.

Veda, the person, received mixed reviews in the Celestial Realm.

Up to the point when the Flower God was demoted, the reviews were mostly positive; afterward, they were almost entirely negative.

—But then again, he truly wasn’t wronged in this matter: the demotion of Tan Tan was, strictly speaking, Veda’s responsibility.

Luo Yao’s memory of the subsequent events was unclear. The constant memory she held in her mind concerning these two people was in a peach orchard belonging to Xuan Wu (the Black Tortoise).

She vaguely recalled that Xuan Wu had just built his sacred temple and invited many immortals to visit. Luo Yao had already been conferred as a deity then. There were too many people flattering her, and while avoiding them, she ducked into this peach forest.

The floral scent was rich, and fallen petals formed a dense layer.

She was just strolling casually when she saw, not far away, petals forming the shape of an Epiphyllum flower, which was then casually disturbed by someone, swirling into a small vortex.

Only Tan Tan in the world had the ability to command all flowers. Luo Yao was still quite mischievous then and wanted to scare her from behind.

Unexpectedly, she scared herself first.

From afar, she saw that it was indeed Tan Tan controlling the petals, but not only Tan Tan; her personal guard, Veda, was also there.

In fact, it was quite normal for these two to appear together. Because the Flower God was born late and was young, she needed a careful personal guard to protect her before she took human form. Veda was the one chosen by the Venerable.

Although the Flower God had taken human form now, they had been together for so long and were still inseparable all day.

Tan Tan truly lived up to her title of “Flower God.” After taking human form, she looked like a girl of twelve or thirteen, extremely pretty and lovely, beloved by everyone in the Celestial Realm. She was sitting on a rock at this moment, gathering her five fingers, and smilingly said, “I, the Supreme Deity, will show you something fun.”

As she spoke, she drew a circle in the air with her hands, and the light pink petals gathered around her skirt and swayed back and forth with her movements, clearly forming the style of a cloak.

“Your Highness, stop playing, be careful not to fall.” Veda laughed quietly, watching the girl hopping on the rock.

“Hmph! I, the Supreme Deity, command the blooming and wilting of flowers. Never mind the flowers in the mortal world, even the Mandarava flowers in the Ghost Realm must obey me,”

The girl tossed her cloak, raised her chin arrogantly, and pointed at him, “What right do you have to command me?”

Veda then knelt on one knee with a smile, cooperating with her: “Your Highness the Flower God is right. This subordinate overstepped, this subordinate is guilty.”

The girl hummed contentedly: “Guilty of what?”

The young man in white clothes slightly bowed his head, his voice clear and gentle:

“Of yearning for Your Highness the Flower God, a crime for which there is no pardon.”

Hearing this, Luo Yao’s heart pounded heavily.

The girl’s face flushed crimson at his words. She descended from the rock clumsily, saying softly in a chiding tone: “You, you… did you have to say it here…”

Veda probably thought she was unhappy and quickly said in a low voice, “Forgive me, Your Highness, it is my fault, I…”

His voice cut off abruptly.

Because the girl suddenly leaned close to him and quickly pecked him near his eye, her body covered in light pink petals brushing against the side of his face.

“I, the Supreme Deity, also yearn for you,” she whispered softly in his ear.

The events that followed became almost public knowledge.

The affair between the two eventually came to light, shaking the Three Realms when the Flower God was demoted.

When the girl was tightly bound by the God-Binding Rope before the Buddhist Hall, Luo Yao knelt before the Buddha for three days and three nights to spare Veda the crime of profanity, sending him to the Buddhist Kingdom for arduous cultivation.

…

The scene before her eyes dimmed and then brightened. She suddenly recovered, realizing this was another memory of Little Rong’er.

This time, it was still in the main hall. Master Shen stood before Little Rong’er with a ashen face, while Shen Ning’an desperately pulled on her arm.

“Father, who exactly have you been misled by?” Shen Ning’an’s voice trembled from extreme anger. “I understand if you make me marry, but Little Rong’er… how old is Little Rong’er? How can she survive alone?!”

Unexpectedly, Master Shen looked even angrier than her: “You are insolent! These are all cautions from a great master. If you wretched women stay in the residence, what will happen to the fortune of me and my son? Huh?!”

Shen Ning’an, however, refused to yield an inch. Her gaze was fiery: “What great master would make you force your daughters to die? I heard everything that day! It was clearly all your own despicable fantasy!”

“Insolent!”

Master Shen slapped her across the face.

“A girl from the inner chambers actually commits the dirty deed of eavesdropping. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” he pointed at his daughter and scolded, “How did I usually teach you? Women must revere their parents’ commands! You marry Young Master Li as a concubine, and your father and brother can achieve great success. Is there any part of this that makes you unwilling? Where have I wronged you?”

“I’d rather be the wife of a poor man than the concubine of a noble house,” Shen Ning’an stared at him, saying word by word.

Master Shen seemed to be completely ignited by her words, grabbing a stick and about to beat Shen Ning’an. Beside them, Madam Shen was heartbroken to see her daughter about to be beaten. She instantly flashed and shielded her daughter, taking the full force of the stick for her!

“Mother—!”

Shen Ning’an’s pupils contracted sharply, her cry cracking.

“…An’er,” Madam Shen slowly raised her head, looking at her daughter with a hint of pleading, “Your mother begs you this one time, just listen to your father…”

“Take Little Rong’er and leave this place, alright?”

Little Rong’er’s memory froze here. In the end, Shen Ning’an neither said yes nor no. She simply became abnormally calm, gently wiping away the tears on her mother’s face, and said:

“Mother, don’t cry.”