Chapter 2: Gold Hidden Beneath the Pillow, Severing Lineage Forever

Upon seeing the arrangement of the geomantic site before him, Li Jinshan’s brows furrowed ever so slightly; he already understood the reason behind Chen Tinghai’s lack of heirs. Chen Tinghai was fated by the stars to a life of toil and hardship—such a destiny would normally doom him to a lifetime of labor without wealth, yet he possessed fortunes beyond counting. It was precisely because of the hidden gold beneath this very site that his fate had been altered.

Though the “Hidden Gold Under the Pillow” formation was a superior means to attract wealth, not just anyone could be buried in such a blessed spot. To rest in such a place, the ancestors must have accumulated immense virtue and blessings; otherwise, the fortune would harm the descendants, severing the family line. Gazing at the hill shaped like a pillow and the two graves atop it, Li Jinshan sighed.

“Brother Chen, there’s something I’m not sure I ought to say.”

“Brother, speak your mind.”

Li Jinshan stepped forward, his expression grave.

“There is a saying in the study of geomancy: ‘Hidden Gold Under the Pillow will sever the family line.’ This kind of formation demands exceedingly high ancestral virtue and blessings. Without it, the result is the end of one’s posterity.”

Hearing this, Chen Tinghai feigned alarm. What use was a fortune if it meant the end of his lineage?

“Then…what should I do?”

“Brother, is there no sacred ground that doesn’t require such virtue and blessings?”

Li Jinshan answered offhandedly, “There are such places, but…”

Before he could finish, Chen Tinghai’s eyes lit up and he pleaded anxiously, “Brother, you must help me! If not, my family line will end and all my wealth will have no heir. Please, I beg you!”

“This…” Li Jinshan frowned deeply. Because of the geomancy, Chen Tinghai’s fate was sealed—if he tried to defy the heavens and change it, he would surely suffer divine retribution. Reluctantly, he replied, “Brother Chen, your fate has already been set. There is nothing I can do. If you wish to change your destiny, do good deeds and accumulate virtue. Perhaps then, things may yet change.”

Suddenly, Chen Tinghai fell to his knees, begging bitterly. “Brother, I know you can change my fate. Please, I beg you!”

“Brother Chen, it’s not that I don’t wish to help, but if I forcefully alter your destiny, I will surely be struck down by the heavens—with the worst being death by five thunders, and at best, blindness and lameness, plagued by calamities for life.”

Li Jinshan spoke his fear plainly and refused decisively, but Chen Tinghai remained on his knees, begging and promising gratitude.

“Brother, for the sake of saving your life, for taking care of you these past months, help me just this once! If you suffer heaven’s wrath, I will mourn you and see you off at your final rest.”

Li Jinshan sighed. He was a man who repaid kindness; had it not been for Chen Tinghai, he would likely have starved on the streets. Seeing Chen’s desperate pleas, his heart softened at last.

“Very well, I will help you defy fate.”

Choosing an auspicious day, Li Jinshan prepared to relocate Chen Tinghai’s parents’ graves. During his wandering, he had discovered a supreme geomantic site known as the “Lotus Cradling Seeds”—there could be no more fitting place for Chen’s ancestors to rest.

When Chen Tinghai beheld the geomantic formation of the Lotus Cradling Seeds, he was left speechless: seven hills circled by mountains, resembling a lotus pod with seven seeds protected within. Beside these seven peaks stood a towering mountain, the master peak of the formation, like an elder watching over seven children—nature’s marvel, a masterpiece beyond compare.

“Brother, if I move my parents’ graves here, will I finally have sons?”

“Yes. The Lotus Cradling Seeds is a superior formation for bearing children—see how the seven peaks, cradled by mountains, resemble lotus seeds within the pod, signifying the birth of seven sons.”

Following Li Jinshan’s instructions, Chen Tinghai buried his parents’ remains atop the highest master peak, and beneath the seven hills, constructed seven empty tombs.

When all was completed, the earth trembled, thunder rolled across clear skies. Li Jinshan blanched in terror, and Chen Tinghai was struck with panic.

“Brother, what is happening?”

Li Jinshan remained silent. Suddenly, his vision blurred and plunged into darkness—he had gone blind. He had long anticipated divine retribution, but never thought it would come so swiftly.

After relocating his parents’ graves to the Lotus Cradling Seeds, within a year, Chen Tinghai’s several concubines and even his wife, already past fifty, each bore him a son—seven in total, just as Li Jinshan had foretold.

Overjoyed by his seven sons, Chen Tinghai treated Li Jinshan with utmost care for the first two years, giving him the finest room and lavish meals every day. But as time passed, Chen began to resent the presence of this useless blind man, deeming him unlucky and forgetting his past promises. He drove Li Jinshan from the best guest room to the woodshed, replacing fine food with leftovers.

Li Jinshan, enraged, went to confront Chen Tinghai, only to learn a truth he could scarcely accept.

With pride, Chen Tinghai declared, “The only reason I saved you two years ago was because I saw the Imperial Astronomy Token on you. I guessed you were an imperial geomancer in exile and brought you home, treating you well so you’d find me a sacred burial site to continue my family line. Now that I have seven sons, you’re useless to me. Why should I pamper you any longer? Ha!”

It was only then that Li Jinshan realized he had been used from the start. Upon learning the truth, his fury knew no bounds.

“Chen Tinghai, you ungrateful wretch! I’ll fight you with my life!”

Blinded and desperate, Li Jinshan was kicked to the ground by Chen, then locked in the stables to eat and sleep with the horses. He remained imprisoned there for over a decade, until his grandfather, Li Tiancheng, appeared and changed the course of his fate.