Chapter 069 Water Observation
Although it was noon, it was fortunately a cloudy day with no sun, but the temperature was not low either, and Chen Duo was sweating all over as she walked.
"How do I check?" Chen Duo asked, fanning himself with his hands.
The two have already entered Wenlan Middle School, but this place is neither big nor small, and the thing seems to be hidden underground. How can they do it? Do they have to find a hoe and a shovel to dig the ground?
As he was speaking, Xu Lai took out a bottle of mineral water from his bag and placed it next to him.
"You brought some water. Why didn't you say so earlier?" Chen Duo took it, unscrewed the lid and took a sip.
"This water is not for drinking." Xu said.
"If water is not for drinking, then what is it for?" Chen Duo took another sip.
"How to make it." Xu said, and took out a bowl from his bag.
"Are you serious?" Chen Duogang thought he was just talking nonsense.
"What do you think?" Xu came to see her.
Chen Duo was a little embarrassed: "Is it okay if I drank too much? Or...I should go buy another bottle?"
"It's okay." Xu Lai took the bottle and poured the water into the bowl.
When Chen Duo heard him say he was going to do it, she became extremely curious and went over to watch him fiddle with it.
Xu Lai picked up the bowl of water, handed it to her and said, "Here, take it."
"Oh." Chen Duo took it with both hands and held the bowl of water carefully. "Is this okay?"
"Okay, just stand up straighter and keep it steady." Xu said.
Although Chen Duo was not an insider in the industry, she knew that this was a very serious matter and she did not dare to be careless. She followed and held the bowl of water carefully and levelly in front of her chest.
After a while, Xu Lai took out a thin needle as thin as an ox hair, flicked his finger, and the needle fell on the bowl of water. But it did not sink, but floated on the water.
Chen Duo was amazed. The needle was extremely thin. If it was carefully placed flat in the water, it might not sink due to the buoyancy of the water. But it was strange that it could remain intact when it was flicked out by hand.
She slowed her breathing and held the bowl of water motionlessly. After a while, she saw the needle slightly turn on the water and the needle tip changed its position.
"Did it move by itself or was it blown by the wind?" Chen Duo couldn't help but ask.
Xu Lai gestured and said, "Take a few steps over here and try to make the water level."
Chen Duo took a breath and moved in the direction he said, keeping her arms straight. Although she moved, the bowl of water did not shake much.
"Landlord, have you practiced this before?" Xu Lai was quite surprised.
"Of course." Chen Duo didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of shaking the water bowl. She had participated in etiquette training courses for a while, which included a similar project.
She stood at the position Xu Lai mentioned, and saw that the needles hanging above the water in the bowl moved slightly to another direction.
"What kind of magic is this?" Chen Duo asked after staring at the tip of the needle for a while.
Xu Lai observed the surrounding terrain and said, "The water observation method is also called the floating needle method."
"What is it used for?" Chen Duo looked at the needle tip spinning around, which was quite magical, but she couldn't figure out what it was used for.
"It determines the direction of the flow of vital energy." Xu said.
This water-watching method is a secret method passed down from the Qingwei School. It uses a special technique to float the needle into the water and let it hang on the water surface.
In terms of the Five Elements of Yin and Yang, water itself is Yin, so it will be slightly affected by the direction of Yang energy. The tension on the water surface will change depending on the strength of the Yang energy.
The Qingwei School's method of observing water is based on this principle, using the direction of the needle tip in the water to determine the direction of the flow of Yang Qi.
Of course, there are other more profound and advanced methods to determine the direction of Yang energy, such as the method of Nine Stars, which uses the phases of the Big Dipper to determine the seven levels of Yang energy.
However, this astrological method is extremely complicated to operate and requires extremely high conditions. It is necessary to observe the phases of the Big Dipper for nine consecutive days and make calculations based on them. Therefore, although this method is extremely accurate, it is too troublesome.
Although the accuracy of the water observation method is very rough and only an approximation, it is easy to operate and can be used in emergencies.
"Can the flow direction of Yang Qi be measured?" Chen Duo found it incredible.
"Yes, in fact, in rural areas, animals like mice and rabbits can naturally sense the direction of Yang energy, and their holes are dug along the direction of Yang energy." Xu said.
"Is it true?" It was the first time that Chen Duo heard such a statement. She was thinking about finding a place to dig and see if it was really true.
"I'm talking about the more wild places. Don't even think about it in the city. There are too many interferences and the little animals would have been confused long ago." Xu said.
Chen Duo didn't know whether he was serious or just making it up, so she asked, "Then why are we testing this?"
"Find the entrance." Xu said.
"What entrance are you looking for..." Chen Duo said this, and suddenly something came to her mind, "Are you looking for the entrance down?"
"Yeah, do we really have to find an excavator to dig it down?" Xu said, and pointed forward, asking her to go to that direction.
Chen Duo straightened his chest and inhaled, then carried the water bowl over. After he stood still, he spoke: "Then how do you know whether he left an entrance?"
"Of course there is." Xu said.
Chen Duo really wanted to ask him why he was so sure about the existence of this, but she knew it would be useless to ask, so she simply kept silent.
"Classmates, what are you doing?" At this time, a student passing by ran over and asked.
The way they walked and stopped while holding bowls of water was indeed quite unusual, attracting many people to stop and watch.
"Practice etiquette!" Chen Duo squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth.
"Everyone, please disperse. Don't disturb the young lady from practicing etiquette." Xu Lai responded quickly and asked everyone to disperse.
However, after this group of people left, another group of people came over curiously to take a look.
Fortunately, Chen Duo's psychological quality is not bad. She can remain calm in front of so many people. She followed Xu Lai's command and walked a dozen steps in one direction.
"Are you tired, landlord?" Xu Lai asked from the side.
"Nonsense, you try it!" Chen Duo was annoyed. She had been holding it for so long that her arms were already sore and numb.
"You've worked so hard. Put it down and take a break." Xu said, taking the bowl from her hand and putting it on the ground.
Chen Duo breathed a sigh of relief, twisted his waist, and shook his arms. He was sore all over after this trip.
She struggled for a while, and suddenly thought of something: "Why should I carry this bowl?"
"Because you are suitable." Xu said.
"What do you mean I'm suitable? You can serve the dishes too, right?" Chen Duo was furious. Could it be that this guy wanted to have some free time, so he deliberately asked her to serve the dishes?
I only heard him say: "I can do the normal water-watching ritual myself, but this time it's a little special, and I need a woman to preside over it."
"Really?" Chen Duo was skeptical.
"Of course it's true. Have you had a good rest? Shall we continue?" Xu Lai asked.
Chen Duo shook her arms, took a breath, and carefully picked up the bowl of water. She walked a few steps in the direction specified by Xu Lai, and suddenly she realized something and couldn't help but burst into tears.
It turned out that this guy invited her to lunch at noon and tried to persuade her to come along. It turned out that he just needed a woman to serve the dishes!
It was not until the evening that the two of them finally walked through every corner of Wenlan. After half a day, a lot of the water in the bowl had evaporated.
"How is it? Did you find it?" Chen Duo was so tired that she couldn't even lift her arms.
"I can't find it." Xu said.
"What do you mean?" Chen Duo was shocked. Could it be that she had been busy for a long time and it was all in vain?
"This entrance should not be inside the school." Xu said.
Chen Duo was almost speechless. It felt like she had spent the entire afternoon carrying water, but it was all in vain in the end.
"Forget it, forget it. If we can't find it, then we can't find it. Let's think of other ways." Chen Duo comforted.
Then Xu Lai asked, "Landlord, can you still hold on?"
"What?" Chen Duo's arms were sore now, and the thing he wanted to do most was to find a place to lie down.
"It looks like we can still hold on. Why don't we try over there again?" Xu said, turning around and walking out of the school gate.
Chen Duo was in tears. When did she say she could hold on? She didn't want to move at all now, okay?
"Get moving, get moving, hurry up." Xu Lai urged, coming over and dragging her arm forward.
After they arrived outside the school, Chen Duo asked, "Where are you going?"
Xu Lai pointed to the buildings around Wenlan Middle School and said, "Try those."
Chen Duo was stunned for a moment: "You mean the entrance will be in those houses?"
"It's possible." Xu Lai said as he took her over there.
The houses around Wenlan were built relatively early, even older than Wenlan Middle School, so there are no tall buildings. Most of them are two- or three-story houses, and each house belongs to an independent family.
I heard that the city had considered demolishing the entire place before, but later shelved it because the cost was too high.
Chen Duo shook her sore arms and continued to work with the water bowl in her hand. The two of them shuttled through the alleys, attracting many aunties who were buying vegetables passing by to stop and chatter.
Chen Duo had a good mental state and held the bowl steadily. After circling Wenlan for most of the way, the sky had begun to darken.
"I really can't do it anymore." Chen Duo couldn't lift her arms at all. They were sore and painful.
As she was kneading, she saw Xu Lai staring at one of the three-story buildings nearby.
"What are you looking at?" Chen Duo moved closer.
"Landlord, go over there and see if anyone is coming." Xu said.
Chen Duo didn't know what he was going to do, so she just said "oh" and ran to the entrance to take a look, then ran back and said, "No one is coming."
"Let's go." Xu said, and walked quickly towards the three-story building.
Chen Duo didn't have time to ask, so she had to chase him. She saw that the doors and windows of the house were closed, and the curtains were all drawn, covering the whole place tightly. She didn't know if there was anyone inside.
