A curious reader had asked me whether it is possible to share how the fortune teller had known there is a marriage in hand as I have say that Ah Qiang's father had not even tell the fortune teller anything. Well, not a problem, if you will to change all the line in the original hexagram no 41 Decrease from yin line to yang and vice versa, you will get the opposite hexagram no 31 Attraction which is an auspicious divination for marriage but however it is in opposition here which had caused the problem.
Original Hexagram Hexagram 31 Attraction
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Okay, lets continue with the story....
It was nightfall when Ah Qiang's father had returned home and he was glad when he saw that a group of Ah Qiang's friend had came to visit his son. He was thinking of who to look for among his son's friends to find out more about what the fortune teller had said. Moreover, his son was still delirious and had appeared to have lost control of his mental faculty, not being able to recognised anyone when he had went to visit the fortune teller in the Morning. Xiao Kang came up to him and says: 'Uncle, it looks quite bad to me, can't the doctors do anything about it?'
Ah Qiang's Father then remember what the fortune teller had told him and asked Xiao Kang whether there was such an incident of his son kissing a dead girl corpse. Xiao Kang shook his head and says that it is impossible as nobody in his right mind would do it. Ah Qiang's father then told Xiao Kang to check with the rest of the friends when Xiao Ming, who was standing nearby and had overheard the conversation says : 'Uncle, I remember now, the last trip, we had not gone scuba diving as the weather forecast says there might be a storm and we went to the beach instead.'
Ah Qiang's Father then got curious as he was initially skeptical about what the fortune teller had told him as it looks like the latter had use spirituality to reason as his son's situation can't be explained logically. It was also the first time that he had met a fortune teller that do not uses the conventional method like the previous Bazi master he had consulted. And it had reminded him of stories of how some people got cheated by these so called artists.
He then asked: 'What happened then?'
Xiao Ming then continued: 'Well, we decided to go swimming as there was no signs of rain yet. While we were playing in the water, somebody shouted for help and we saw a girl struggling far out in the sea. She was obviously pulled out into the deeper part of the sea by the strong underwater current of which she is ignorant. Ah Qiang and I then swam out to rescue her and managed to pull her back to shore.'
'By then, she was already quite lifeless and Ah Qiang had put his finger on her nostrils and said that he needs to perform CPR as she is not breathing. You know, in this case, he have to put his mouth on to her mouth to blow air into her lungs and at the same time push her stomach to force the sea water out of her. After quite some time, she still remains the same however but by then, the ambulance people had arrived. Well, I don't know if that is what you meant by asking whether he had kissed a dead girl corpse.'
Ah Qiang's father by now was anxious: 'Well, was she dead then?'
Xiao Ming: 'Well, apparently so, as the ambulance people that came had also tried to revive her but shook their heads. Later we saw a black Mariah Hearse came and I guess that she have to be dead as they did not use the ambulance.'
Xiao Ming: 'Uncle, why did you ask about this and how did you know something like that had happened.'
Ah Qiang's father: 'Never mind, I will explained about this another day. Meanwhile, I will need your help to do some errands. Can you come by everyday to my house for time being until Ah Qiang's situation have improved?'
Xiao Ming: 'Sure, Uncle Chan.'
Well, the next day, Ah Qiang's father without wasting anytime, went straight to the fortune teller to tell him and also wanting to know how to solve the problem. He was still hesistant about cancelling the wedding as his generations had believed strongly that in bad luck period, marriage is good to clash away the bad luck which in chinese is 衝喜. However this time he had to wait till the evening as he had not made any prior appointment and there were a number of customers.
The Master: 'Well?'
Ah Qiang's father: ' It is true but he did not kiss the drowned girl as he was trying to save her life by giving her air to revive her.'
The Master: 'Well, it is the same, isn't it?'
The Master then carried on: 'To a young adolescent girl who is unconscious though considered dead, she will have thought that she is being kissed and this should be the first time for her and had made her ghost falls in love with your son then.'
Ah Qiang's father: 'Master, tell me how we can solve this problem permanently as secondly, don't tell me my son cannot get married forever and there will be no one to carry on my family line.'
The Master: 'There is of course a way, the last time you have given me your son' s bazi chart and I have checked that his longevity star is being punished this year and is not in clash. This means that he will pull through this ordeal and I am allowed to guide you.'
Ah Qiang's father: 'So what should I do now?'
The Master: 'All-right, but you must promise one thing first before I tell you.'
Ah Qiang's father: ' I will promise you anything that I am able to do for my son's sake.'
The Master: 'Okay, first cancel the wedding and tell everyone that they will not get married. Secondly, you have to find out where she is buried. Then look for a Taoist master to do religious rites to help her get reincarnated earlier. Tell the master that you want her to be reincarnated and not destroyed or imprisoned by him. This will solve the problem immediately. However, I have checked and find that she will needs at least three years before she will be allowed to get reincarnated. I want you to make sure that your son do not get married until after the third year have passed from the date of the ceremony.'
Ah Qiang's father: 'Okay, this sounds easier than I thought and you have my words that my son will not get married for these three years. I would come back and give you a bigger red packet (Ang Pow) when all this have been settled.'
Ah Qiang's father went back and saw that Xiao Ming was already waiting for him as instructed. He then told the latter to tell all his classmates that the wedding is off. He also ask Xiao Ming whether it is possible to find out where the dead girl was buried. He was glad when Xiao Ming says that he knows a girl classmate of the deceased who had went on that outing that day and will be able to find out her grave. He also told Xiao Mei about the situation and the need to call off the wedding and to inform her parents and relatives.
The next day, Xiao Ming called and told him the burial place and Ah Qiang's father went to look for a famous Exorcist master instead who was recommended strongly by his friend who told him that it is better as the master have the power to protect them as well as do the religious rites. However, he comes with a hefty price tag which to Ah Qiang's father is not a problem if it can protect his family line.
The Master initially was reluctant to do the reincarnation rites as he preferred to have the spirit exorcised instead. However, after Ah Qiang's father had offered to pay him more as what the Blind Duke had stated in his conditions, he agreed. The Master then put up talismans at all the doors of the premises apart from giving the family members, each a special talisman to be carried at all times. He then did a house spiritual protection rites and put up an altar with the chinese ghost catcher deity Zhong Kui 鐘馗 at the living hall.
Surprisingly, Ah Qiang's condition started to improve immediately after all this were done. By the third day, he had revert back to his super fit conditions as with that of a sportsman. He had no inkling of what had happened all this time, just remembering glimpses of a shadowy girl figure that seems to be sitting by his bedside while he was delirious. His father then told him that he can only marry Xiao Mei after the third year as he is in bad luck without telling him everything as he do not want his son to think of the dead girl.
Well, everything was fine and the years passes by till the middle of the third year when Xiao Mei found that she had gotten pregnant. By right, this is an joyous occasion for everyone as the Chan family now have another member to carry on the family line. However, Ah Qiang's father was in a dilemma as he had remembered the promise he had made to the Blind Duke. He told Ah Qiang that Xiao Mei can go ahead and give birth to the baby and stay with them in a separate room until after this coming chinese new year where they can then offically get married. But Ah Qiang was adamant, insisting that by now so far, everything was fine and it is not appropriate to have the child born out of wedlock as Ah Qiang is also a man of principles which is why he have many friends who admired him. He also told the father not to be too supersitious and also said that it have been the wish of everyone including the grandparents for him to get married soon and have children to carry on the family line. Ah Qiang's father then reluctanly agreed to have the wedding held as soon as possible before the birth of the child.
Well, on the wedding day, everything proceed well and everybody had a good time. After a tiring day of ceremony and the boisterous wedding dinner with Ah Qiang's young friends getting Ah Qiang tipsy. Ah Qiang's father had on seeing this made the couple leaves with him earlier and asking Xiao Ming, the Best man to entertains the friends and relatives. On reaching home, everybody had then cleaned up and prepared to go to bed when suddenly there were loud wailing cries of a young girl outside the house. Ah Qiang's father told everyone to ignore it and to go to bed. After an hour or so, the sounds then stopped which Ah Qiang's father was immediately thankful for. Ah Qiang was already drunk to hear this sad cries although Xiao Mei was not but she was not afraid as she had strong survival instincts now that she was with child and she was not going to allow anything to stand in her way as she believed that both she and Ah Qiang have not done anybody injustice by getting married due to circumstances.
The next few days, Ah Qiang's father was at unease about his broken promise to the Blind Duke and finally decided to pay him a visit and make a clean breast about it. He was prepared to be admonished but he was also worried now as the girl ghost had reappeared though since after that night, she had not appeared. He do not know what is going to happened next as Xiao Mei is now with child and he do not want anything to happen further.
After climbing up to the second storey of the old block of the fortune teller, he knocked at the door and was met by a young woman whom he have not seen in his previous visits. She was the daughter of the fortune teller who told him that the father was in the hospital after falling into the sea, a day ago. He then went to the hospital and saw the fortune teller lying in the bed with his disciple beside him. He then greeted the master and saw that the disciple was behaving coldy towards him, kind of ignoring him unlike when he had met them in the old house.
The Master: 'So you are here finally to tell me you have broken your promise to me.'
Ah Qiang's father: ' Master, I am here to convey my deepest apologies for breaking the promise as my son's girlfriend had gotten pregnant and they do not wish the child to be born out of wedlock. My old parents had also put pressure on me to acede to my son's request.'
The Master: ' I had initially not wanted to do any divination for you on that day as I had forgotten it was my 劫煞 Jie Sha day when I agreed to the appoinment made by my fellow villager for you. After meeting you, I had known this would happens but I had never expected the girl ghost to go all out to get me to the Netherworld for revenge at the expense of her reincarnation.'
Ah Qiang: 'How did you fall into the sea which your daughter have told me?'
The Master: 'I normally have some recreation time to relax which is needed being human even though I am blind. I will have some small drinks of wine with my fellow blind peers and play some dominoes game in a cafe near to my block which is accessible by a bridge or a walk by the beach. The bridge route is the one I always take as it is shorter and for the past 15 years, I have been doing this without mishap alone or with my disciple for company. On that night, my disciple was sick and stay at home instead of usually accompanying me.'
The Master: ' I had as usual then left early that night as my assistant was not with me. While I was walking towards the bridge, a young girl called out to me.'
She said: 'Blind Uncle, there is a hole on the bridge and the repairs people have left a sign asking people not to use the bridge, you better use the way by the beach.'
She then carried on: 'Since I am going that way, may I help you?'
'I of course agreed and say yes as I had not use that beach route for the last few years. I then turned to the right and walk onto the beach. She had then hold onto my arm as to help me and I felt the coldness immediately and I realised I have been tricked by a ghost. I struggled but was no match for her strength and in a short while, she pulled me into the water by the beach. I was also unable to shout for help as my mouth appeared to be stiffen by a frozen ice. Luckily, when I was almost up to the neck in the water, my neck protection talisman managed to come free from my shirt and float out on the water, she had then with a cry disappeared. I immediately started shouting for help as I find that my mouth was free and luckily, there was a young man passing by who came to my rescue and led me out of the water.'
'I had then caught a cold which had turned to pneumonia which is why the doctor kept me here still. Ah, it is destined to be and I am not able to blame you as this is part of my destiny.'
'Woh Xiao Ma, do not blame this gentleman as such is our destiny when we made this choice in life which is what I have been telling you all the time. Though we may have the ability to know the future but there are still times when Heaven made sports of us at its whims.'
Ah Qiang's father felt really bad about the whole matter seeing the sad look of the disciple Xiao Ma and the bed- ridden master. He had actually prepared a big wad of cash in an envelope as compensation for his broken promise and which he then left at the table beside the bed as he was afraid the master might take it as pity if he will to offer it in hand. He then bade the Master and student good-bye and left the place. He heard the Master reciting a poem to himself as he closed the room door:
'潜藏自有光明日，守耐无如待丙丁；
龙虎相争生定数，春风一转渐飞惊'
Months later, Ah Qiang's father heard from the Nanny that the Blind Duke had shifted house and that no one knows where he is staying now as the Nanny had a relative who needed his help and wanted to know if Ah Qiang's father would know his whereabouts. Since then years later, though Ah Qiang's father had indiscreetly hired private investigators to check the whereabout of this Blind Duke for he had still felt very bad about the whole episode but it was fruitless. However, he was still very grateful to that fortune teller as by now, he had four great looking grandchildren which that Blind Duke had told him apart from other major events that had came true.
The End
For Dear Nathalie, Arrrgh!!! Why have I added you on Facebook? Just Kidding, good to have you stop me from lazing around too much.....
Cheers, have a great week for all my metaphysics friends here.
