Chapter 65: Qimen Divination and Character Analysis (Part 2)

Character divination, also known as character reading, is an ancient method of fortune-telling that relies on the strokes, structure, shape, and meaning of written characters to deduce a person's fortune and misfortune, as well as impending good or bad luck.

Looking at the character "Gun" (meaning club or stick) written on the red paper, Li Chengfeng initially wore a smile, finding it quite amusing that the veteran General Chu would play such a game. However, after studying it for a short while, his smile gradually faded, and his brows slowly furrowed together.

In less than a minute, Li Chengfeng had already deduced the nature of the trouble Chu Yanhong was facing based on the character "Gun".

Sighing inwardly, he realized that the troubles plaguing the old general were indeed no ordinary matters; they concerned affairs of the nation and were intertwined with the people of the Island Nation.

At that moment, Hu Tianzheng, Liu Yishui, and other masters proficient in the art of character divination were all staring intently at the character on the red paper, beginning to dissect it and speculate on its hidden meanings.

Hu Yansong even took out a fountain pen, looking earnest as he wrote the character down on a piece of paper, attempting to deduce and calculate its significance through divination.

Using character divination for fortune-telling is extremely rare in modern society because the variables in character analysis are simply too vast. When different people write the exact same character, it can yield completely different interpretations, making it prone to miscalculations.

Nowadays, the most common methods of divination are the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, the Nine Palace Destinies, Mayi Physiognomy, and Plum Blossom Easy Numbers. These methods all share a foundational framework for deduction, making them much more convenient to apply.

Wang Bin and Ye Menghao looked on with curious expressions, fixing their eyes on the various masters.

Those masters who were not well-versed in character divination displayed their own unique skills. Some produced bamboo slips and ancient copper coins, walking over to Chu Yanhong to ask him to shake the bamboo cylinder and toss the coins.

Chu Yanhong showed no airs at all and was extremely cooperative, though his daughter, Chu Qingyan, wore a look of dissatisfaction. Still, she remained silent, quietly watching the various masters perform.

Li Chengfeng was also quite curious, wanting to see how these masters conducted their divinations. His gaze remained fixed on the old Buddhist monk and the shamanic medium known as the "Chuma".

He saw the old monk with his eyes half-closed, deep in meditation, while the shamanic medium, Zhang Yinchu, walked alone into a nearby room and closed the door behind him, looking rather mysterious.

Li Chengfeng genuinely wanted to know how a descendant of the Zen sect and a shamanic medium predicted fortune and misfortune, but regretfully, he could not ask too many questions and could only watch in silence.

His grandfather had once told him that Buddhism strictly forbade Zen disciples from casually helping others predict good or ill fortune, because Buddhist teachings emphasize that all things are governed by karmic affinity.

Whether blessing or disaster strikes, one must face and accept it with equanimity. Only by enduring all manner of hardships can one attain true enlightenment and righteous fruit. Consequently, Buddhist disciples rarely engaged in fortune-telling, physiognomy, or predicting fortunes.

Most divination methods circulating in modern society originated from Daoism, and it was rare to witness a Buddhist disciple practicing divination for others.

However, the fact that Buddhist disciples refrained from physiognomy, character divination, and predicting fortunes did not mean Buddhism lacked methods for foreseeing such events.

Legend had it that Buddhism possessed a supreme supernatural power known as the "Three Clearings and Six Penetrations." When a Zen disciple's spiritual cultivation reached a certain level, they could perceive a person's past lives and future reincarnations.

The "Three Clearings" referred to:
The Clarity of Karmic Destiny, which knows the birth and death aspects of oneself, others, and past lives.
The Clarity of the Heavenly Eye, which knows the birth and death aspects of oneself, others, and future lives.
The Clarity of Defilements Exhausted, which recognizes current suffering and possesses the wisdom to sever all afflictions.

The "Six Penetrations" referred to:
The Penetration of Karmic Destiny, which allows one to observe the past and present lives of all beings.
The Heavenly Eye Penetration, which enables one to see worlds within a grain of sand, the Bodhi tree within a leaf, and all mysterious existences in the universe.
The Penetration of Defilements Exhausted, which can end all afflictions and comprehend all truths.
The Heavenly Ear Penetration, which allows communication with all things in creation and the ability to hear the sounds of heaven and earth.
The Penetration of Others' Minds, which perceives the thoughts in the minds of all sentient beings.
The Penetration of Foot Divine Power, which grants freedom in transformation and travel, allowing one to traverse heaven and earth at will with nothing to obstruct them.

Because Li Chengfeng was not a Buddhist disciple, he was not deeply familiar with the cultivation methods of the Zen sect, nor did he know whether the Three Clearings and Six Penetrations could truly peer into past and future lives.

Yet one thing remained certain: the number of Buddhist disciples capable of mastering the supreme Mahayana Buddhist supernatural power of the Three Clearings and Six Penetrations must be exceedingly small.

He wondered what level of cultivation Master Liaofan, the old monk before him, had attained.

Many believed that the Buddhist Three Clearings and Six Penetrations, being capable of seeing a person's past and future, far surpassed Daoist divination arts.

In truth, that was a misconception. Daoist Mahayana deduction arts vastly outshone the Buddhist Three Clearings and Six Penetrations. They were capable not only of deducing five thousand years of Chinese history but also of predicting natural and man-made disasters. Prime examples of this were the *Pushui Tu* (Tui Bei Tu) created by Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang, and the *Shaobing Ge* created by Liu Bowen.

Regrettably, in contemporary society, no one remained proficient in the supreme Qimen deduction arts. Countless Qimen techniques and mystical arcane arts had been lost in the long river of history.

Li Chengfeng sighed softly, then turned his attention to the door behind him. Straining his ears to listen, he could hear the voices of two people conversing inside, whereas an ordinary person would have heard only one voice.

Because Li Chengfeng had opened his Heavenly Eye, his refined senses allowed him to see what others could not and hear what others missed.

Li Chengfeng knew this was the shamanic medium communicating with immortals.

The so-called shamanic questioning of immortals was a method of communication between the medium and the immortal entities they worshipped. Whenever a medium consulted the immortals, they would seek a quiet and secluded place to invite out the enshrined spirits to resolve doubts and seek guidance.

Listening to the murmurs drifting from the room, Li Chengfeng felt a twinge of curiosity, wondering which lineage of immortals Zhang Yinchu, the medium from the Northeast, had enshrined.

Just as Li Chengfeng was listening intently, the voices inside abruptly ceased.

The immortal enshrined by Zhang Yinchu had sensed that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation and had switched to a different method of communication with him.

Moments later, Zhang Yinchu emerged from the room. His expression was rather unsightly; the immortal he served had informed him that someone was eavesdropping on them, though the entity could not pinpoint the identity of the eavesdropper.

Furthermore, the immortal had repeatedly warned him not to provoke this person, revealing that standing behind this individual was yet another immortal—a true celestial being. This realization was precisely why Zhang Yinchu felt so unsettled.

Who could this person be?

How terrifyingly powerful must they be to have a genuine celestial being enshrined in their home?

Zhang Yinchu could distinctly sense that the immortal he worshipped was deeply afraid of this individual.

Li Chengfeng felt a slight thrill of excitement in his heart. Today had truly broadened his horizons, allowing him to witness firsthand a shamanic medium consulting immortals. As for Master Liaofan, he remained shrouded in mystery; it was impossible to tell whether he truly wielded the supreme Buddhist supernatural power of the Three Clearings and Six Penetrations.

One had to admit that, aside from Hu Yansong, the masters present genuinely possessed some real capability. Many of them were able to deduce the nature of Chu Yanhong's trouble using their respective methods.

Only Hu Yansong had guessed it purely through clever wits.

Approximately twenty minutes later, everyone ceased their activities.

At that moment, Chu Yanhong smiled, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the various masters as he asked with great curiosity.

"Honored masters, would you mind writing down your deductions so that I may review them?"

There were eight masters present. If they were to speak their deductions aloud in public, others would overhear, easily compromising the confidentiality of their divinations.

Chu Yanhong had anticipated this, which was why he had prepared paper and pens in advance, asking the masters to write their conclusions down.

Li Chengfeng had neither paper nor pen in front of him, for everyone regarded him as nothing more than a charlatan. He remained completely unconcerned, occasionally casting his gaze between Chu Qingyan and Ye Menghao, mentally comparing the two women.

He had to admit that both women were exceptionally beautiful, making it truly difficult to tell which of them surpassed the other.

Before long, the masters finished writing their conclusions, and the bodyguards collected the papers and handed them to Chu Yanhong.

Reviewing the words written on the papers, Chu Yanhong nodded in satisfaction. All eight pieces of paper spoke of affairs of state; every single master's deduction was entirely correct.

The very purpose of his trip was indeed tied to a national matter.

Witnessing this outcome, Chu Yanhong felt deeply gratified, and with a satisfied tone, he declared:

"You gentlemen are truly renowned masters of Qingzhou City. Your calculations are all in complete agreement."

Just as Chu Yanhong was about to broach the next topic, Liu Yishui suddenly stood up. Staring at Li Chengfeng with a smug expression, he chimed in:

"Kid, didn't you claim to be a feng shui master? If you have the ability, why don't you deduce what we've written on those papers?"

Li Chengfeng was slightly taken aback. This Liu Yishui certainly knew how to stir up trouble.

Everyone present wore an expression of schadenfreude, staring at Li Chengfeng to see whether this self-proclaimed master was a fraud or the real deal.

Only Ye Guocheng kept his head lowered, wearing an awkward expression as he thought to himself that Li Chengfeng was about to make a fool of himself once again.