"The bathroom accumulates foul energy, while the bedroom is a place for rest. If the two face each other for a long time, the negative energy from the bathroom will eventually seep into the bedroom and affect the homeowner's health," I explained.

　　"Is that really a thing?" Liu Dazhuang asked, looking skeptical. "The bathroom door is usually closed. Isn’t that enough?"

　　I glanced at him and replied, "It helps a bit, but it doesn’t address the root of the problem."

　　Liu Dazhuang was taken aback and exchanged a look with Wang Mengyun before turning back to me. "So, what else needs to be done? We can’t just move to a different place—that's no small matter."

　　I chuckled. "No need for that. You just need to get a set of genuine Five Emperors Coins and place them under the bathroom threshold. That should do the trick."

　　"Five Emperors Coins..." Liu Dazhuang murmured, deep in thought.

　　"I know where we can get some. Leave this to me," Wang Mengyun chimed in.

　　I nodded and added, "That’s just a minor issue. The bigger concern is the mirror in your bathroom.""What’s up with the mirror?" Wang Mengyun asked, sounding a bit concerned.

　　"Yeah, Xiaofeng, Mengyun really loves that mirror. She picked it out herself back in the day!" Liu Dazhuang added, trying to lighten the mood.

　　I gave them a serious look and said, "In feng shui, mirrors are considered yin, which means they attract negative energy. In the mildest cases, they can bring bad luck, but if things get worse, they might even attract ghost spirits!"

　　"What?" Wang Mengyun gasped, clearly startled.

　　"Don’t go scaring us like that, Xiaofeng!" Liu Dazhuang’s voice had a definite hint of unease.

　　"Relax, Dazhuang, Mengyun. I’m just saying that’s the worst-case scenario."

　　"So, if we take the bathroom mirror down, that should fix it, right?" Liu Dazhuang asked, still sounding a little on edge.

　　I waved my hand with a reassuring smile, "I already mentioned getting the Five Emperors Coins, didn’t I? But besides that, you might want to move the mirror to another wall." I glanced over and spotted an empty spot on the west wall of their bathroom. Pointing at it, I added, "Like right there, for instance."

　　Liu Dazhuang walked over, took a quick look at the bathroom, and said, "Got it."

　　I took a moment to collect my thoughts, wandered around the house, and eventually stopped in front of the fish tank in the living room corner. Fixing my gaze on it, I said, "Mengyun, you were right. There’s definitely something wrong with this fish tank."

　　"I knew it!" She shot a glance at Liu Dazhuang before turning back to me. "Xiaofeng, what exactly is wrong with the fish tank?"

　　I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I stepped closer, staring hard at the tank. There was only one fish left inside.

　　"Come on, Xiaofeng, it’s just a decoration. What could possibly be wrong with it?" Liu Dazhuang asked, his tone full of doubt.

　　As I eyed the small stones in the tank, which seemed to faintly give off an ominous vibe, I let out a long sigh and thought to myself, "The Seven Star Glazed Array!"The Seven Star Glazed Array is a powerful energy-gathering formation, rarely seen even in the world of feng shui. It’s also known as the Seven Star Spirit Gathering Array or the Seven Star Malevolent Gathering Array. It can be used for good or evil—it all depends on how the practitioner wields it.

　　The one in front of me, however, was definitely a Seven Star Malevolent Gathering Array.

　　But what really surprised me wasn’t just that. It was the fact that the person who set it up managed to weaken its power and actually fit the array inside a fish tank. That kind of skill is no joke!

　　“Xiaofeng?” Liu Dazhuang called out to me again.

　　I looked at him, but my hand had already reached into the tank to grab those few stones.

　　“The problem lies in these stones right here!” I said, holding them up for the two of them to see.

　　“What do you mean?” Wang Mengyun asked.

　　“These stones have been tampered with. Someone set them up to form what’s called a Seven Star Malevolent Gathering Array!”

　　Wang Mengyun looked bewildered, her voice rising in shock, “Seven Star Malevolent Gathering Array?”

　　“It’s a formation that gathers malevolent energy,” I explained.

　　"How can that be?" Liu Dazhuang blurted out, his disbelief evident.

　　I handed him the stones and sank back onto the sofa. "Whoever set it up placed the stones in the fish tank, using the water to weaken its power," I explained calmly.

　　Looking at Wang Mengyun, I added, "So, it’s clear they weren’t trying to put you in a life-or-death situation."

　　"See, Dazhuang? I told you we should've had someone check out the house ages ago!" Wang Mengyun said, her frustration rising.

　　"I had no idea!" Liu Dazhuang shot back, sounding increasingly uneasy.

　　"Dazhuang, where did you buy this fish tank?" I asked, cutting straight to the point.

　　"Just at the flower and bird market nearby," he replied. Then, something seemed to click. "Wait, Xiaofeng, are you suggesting they did something to it?"

　　"I can’t say for sure yet, but there's definitely something off about this fish tank," I said, my tone serious.

　　Wang Mengyun’s voice went up a notch. "Dazhuang, you’d better get rid of this tank right now, or I’m packing up the kids and going to my parents’ place!"

　　"Mengyun, take it easy. We’ll get rid of the tank for sure, but we need to figure out what’s going on first," Liu Dazhuang tried to reassure her.

　　Seeing the tension rising, I quickly jumped in, " Sis Mengyun, there’s no need to panic; it’s not that serious." I glanced outside. "It’s getting late. I should head out." Then, turning to Liu Dazhuang, I added, "Dazhuang, let’s go check out flower and bird market together sometime soon."

　　I got up to leave, but Liu Dazhuang followed me to the door. "Xiaofeng, just give it to me straight," he said in a low, urgent voice. "Is what you're saying for real?"

　　I locked eyes with him, my tone dead serious. “Yeah, and let me spell it out for you—I'm the only one who dares to break this Seven Star Malevolent Gathering Array. If you think I’m bluffing, feel free to ask around.”

　　As soon as I said that, his brow tightened into a deep frown, but I didn’t wait for a response. I just turned on my heel and walked away.

　　I wasn’t trying to show off, and I definitely wasn’t lying. In our line of work, there's an unwritten rule: you don’t mess with someone else’s setup unless you absolutely have to. It’s not that we fear some kind of supernatural blowback—it’s just that some feng shui masters have a nasty reputation. If you tamper with their work, you’re asking for trouble.

　　By now, I was convinced there was a feng shui master behind all of this. And not just any amateur—this one was skilled, meticulous, a real pro. The only problem? Their intentions were far from honorable.

　　I let out a heavy sigh, mulling over the situation. Liu Dazhuang’s problem wasn’t fully dealt with yet, so I couldn’t just drop the bomb about the murder case at Huayuan Community. Timing was everything.

　　With that thought, I decided to head to He Village in the dead of night. My best lead still circled back to Xu Xiaoli—she was the linchpin to cracking this whole case wide open. There was more to her story than I knew.

　　I finally reached the village entrance just before dawn. Like last time, I didn’t barge in right away. Instead, I found a quiet spot outside the village to catch my breath.

　　After a couple of hours, I opened my eyes and looked up. The sun was already beating down, drenching the ground in its searing heat.

　　I stood up and headed toward the village. At the entrance, I spotted two old men sitting together. One leaned against the wall, basking in the sun with his eyes closed, while the other was taking drags from a dry tobacco pipe.

　　“Excuse me, sir, could I ask you about someone?” I said with a warm smile.

　　The old man with the pipe knocked the ashes out against a stone and looked up. “Who are you curious about?” he asked.

　　“Xu Xiaoli from this village. Do you know her?”

　　“Oh, I know her all right,” he said, his tone turning slightly wary. “Isn’t she that crazy lady?”

　　“Yeah, that’s her. You know her story?”

　　He took a moment to light his pipe again, letting out a long sigh. “Yeah, I know her. That poor girl’s had a rough go of it.”