Chen Tinghai remained oblivious to the calamity brewing for his family. Cradling his newborn grandson, he laughed as the infant giggled—until the child's breath abruptly ceased.
Horror unfolded relentlessly. Within a month, all seven of Chen's sons perished: one crushed by a collapsing bridge, another drowned in a placid lake, others vanished without trace. A dozen grandchildren followed, their lives snuffed out like candle flames.
Maddened, Chen staggered to the stables, seeking Li Jinshan. But the blind master was gone. Scrawled on the wall in ash were the words:
**"Evil's harvest is extinction."**
Chen watched his lineage wither, descendant by descendant, until madness claimed him. Villagers later found his corpse frozen to his parents' grave, fingers clawing at the earth as if digging for redemption.
"The pitiable are often detestable," Grandfather Li Tiancheng muttered, draining his wine. "Chen's ill-gotten wealth and power—stolen through Feng Shui—were reclaimed tenfold when the *Lotus Pod Formation* shattered. Had he nurtured virtue, his fate might have been kinder."
Li Chengfeng feigned skepticism, though his pulse quickened. "Grandpa, your stories are too dramatic. Got another?"
"This is no tale." The old man gestured to a chest beneath his bed. "Open it."
Inside lay a small lacquered box. Li Chengfeng lifted the lid—and froze. Resting on silk was a **golden lotus pod**, its seven hollows empty, attached to a root glowing faintly.
"This… this is the lotus you uprooted?"
"Yes. The *Seven-Seed Lotus*—a convergence of earth's veins and moonlight. Unique in this world."
Li Chengfeng's hands trembled. Here lay proof: mysteries defying modern science, truths older than civilization itself.
---
**The Oath**
"Reopen *Suiyuantang*," Li Chengfeng declared, "and I'll accept any price—even becoming like you."
Grandfather's lone eye hardened. "This path brings the *Five Curses*: widowhood, solitude, orphanhood, disability, sterility. The *Three Deficiencies*: no wealth, short life, no power. Still you choose it?"
"Without hesitation."
The old man sighed. Decades ago, he'd found this boy wailing in an alley trash heap. Fate, it seemed, had always destined Li Chengfeng for this bitter inheritance.
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