Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Cutting Down the Tree

The next morning, Li Xu checked his intelligence report as usual after waking up.

[Today’s Intelligence: There is a tree at Wang Ming’s house in Shangwang Village. The tree is hollow. His house faces south, and there is a withered tree on the property... It belongs to the Innate Trigram of Kan, a symbol from Fu Xi’s divination... The Kan trigram represents the ears, and since the tree in the You position is infested with insects, it foretells that a person with a You-aligned fate will also suffer from an insect infestation in their ears...]

Li Xu stared at the report, a bit dumbfounded.

’This is way too abstract,’ he thought.

He could understand that feng shui could affect a person’s health.

The ancients, when surveying feng shui, would often consider the effects of the terrain on health, such as avoiding living in places with heavy humidity or strong drafts.

But to link feng shui so specifically to a particular ailment, even down to the detail of an "insect infestation in the ears," was far beyond the scope of his medical training. It sounded more like some kind of mysterious metaphysics.

To be precise, it was true feng shui.

’The Innate Trigram of Kan?’

’Fu Xi’s divination?’

’An infested tree in the You position foretelling harm to the ears of a person with a You-aligned fate?’

To Li Xu, these terms were as incomprehensible as a foreign language.

Li Xu rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He didn’t understand it, but he could choose to follow the instructions.

After all, the intelligence system had never been wrong.

Li Xu asked Wang Baimu and confirmed that Wang Ming was indeed the husband of the woman from yesterday.

’The "person with a You-aligned fate" must be referring to his children.’

Li Xu decided to go to Wang Ming’s house to take a look.

"Village Chief Wang, I’d like to go to Wang Ming’s house first to check on the two children."

Wang Baimu led Li Xu toward Wang Ming’s house.

Wang Ming’s house was not far from the village square, a typical rural courtyard home.

As Li Xu reached the courtyard gate, he immediately spotted the "large, hollow tree" mentioned in the report.

The tree was clearly quite old. Its trunk was thick, but at about a man’s height—roughly four feet up—there was a hole the size of a bowl. The wood around the opening had rotted, and inside it was pitch-black, with the faint traces of insect damage visible.

Its withered branches reached for the sky, looking especially bleak against the white snow.

Wang Ming’s wife—the woman from yesterday—heard someone at the gate and came out of the house.

She was surprised to see Li Xu. "Doctor, what brings you here?"

Li Xu said, "I came to check on the children. How are their ears? Any improvement?"

The woman shook her head, looking dejected. "Sigh, it’s the same as ever, not any better at all. They still can’t sleep at night from the pain and won’t stop crying."

Li Xu nodded upon hearing this.

Then he walked a circle around the withered tree.

He really couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

He gave up trying to figure it out.

"Ma’am, I suggest you cut down this withered tree in your yard."

The woman asked, confused, "Cut down this tree? Doctor, this tree has been here for decades and has always been fine. Why cut it down?"

She found Li Xu’s request rather bizarre.

Li Xu knew she wouldn’t understand if he tried to explain feng shui directly.

He considered his words, trying to explain in the simplest terms possible. "Ma’am, although this tree has been here for decades, it’s dead now, and the trunk is hollow and full of insects. This year, the Tai Sui is in the Mao Position, and the Disaster Killing is in the You Position. This is based on the calendrical directions from the time of Yao and Shun."

The woman listened in a daze, having no idea what Li Xu was talking about.

All this talk of Tai Sui, Disaster Killing, Mao Position, and You Position was complete gibberish to her.

Although Wang Baimu, who was standing to the side, was also completely baffled, he understood one thing: having a dead tree in the yard was generally not a good thing.

Wang Baimu helped persuade her. "Wang Ming’s wife, Doctor Li must have his reasons. Besides, a dead tree in the yard is an eyesore. If a strong wind blows it over one day, it could hit the house or hurt someone. Even if it has nothing to do with the children’s illness, it’s best to cut it down for good luck."

Although the woman was half-believing and half-doubting, she agreed since both Doctor Li and Village Chief Wang were saying so. Plus, she was at her wit’s end with her children’s illness. "All right, then. Since the doctor and the village chief both say so, we’ll cut it down. It’s just... I’m a woman, so it’s not easy for me. When my husband gets back..."

Wang Baimu waved his hand. "Wang Ming’s wife, don’t you worry about it. I’ll go get a few young men from the village to come over and cut this dead tree down today."

A short while later, Wang Baimu returned with several strong young men from the village.

Carrying saws, axes, and other tools, they made short work of the hollow, withered tree, cutting it down.

After the withered tree fell,

the cut trunk revealed dense insect trails, along with many frozen insects and even more eggs.

When the villagers saw this, they all clucked their tongues in amazement, agreeing that the dead tree was indeed a bit unlucky.

After dealing with the withered tree,

Wang Baimu took Li Xu to the town.

to handle the leasing of over two hundred mu of mountain land around Bailingyu Village.

The town officials were even more puzzled when they learned that Li Xu wanted to lease the mountain land in Bailingyu Village.

After all, the village was deserted, and no one wanted to go there.

Li Xu presented the relevant documents and paid the rent.

The staff efficiently processed the paperwork for him.

With the lease agreement signed,

Li Xu entrusted Wang Baimu with looking after the Bailingyu Village land, which included preventing damage from wild animals and conducting simple patrols.

Li Xu promised to pay Wang Baimu a monthly salary.

Wang Baimu happily agreed.

With his business concluded, Li Xu planned to stay for two more days before leaving and returning to Feng City.

...

The symptoms in Wang Ming’s two children’s ears had shown slight, but not obvious, improvement after they took the Chinese medicine Li Xu had prescribed.

However, on the very night the withered tree was cut down, the two children actually slept soundly, no longer crying from the pain as they had the past few days.

The next morning, the woman was pleasantly surprised to find that the swelling around her children’s ears seemed to have lessened, and the discharge had also decreased.

Although she was puzzled, she didn’t overthink it, assuming that Doctor Li’s medicine was finally starting to work.

By the fourth day, the change was even more pronounced.

The swelling around the two children’s ears gradually subsided, the discharge almost completely stopped, and the red, inflamed skin began to return to its normal color.

Most importantly, the children’s spirits improved significantly. They were no longer so listless and even began to react to sounds from the outside world.

Although their hearing hadn’t fully recovered, it was much better than before.

This change left the woman both shocked and overjoyed.

Whenever she went out, she told everyone she met.

The villagers were all amazed when they heard the news.

"My god, Doctor Li is a miracle worker!"

"After they cut down that dead tree, the kids’ illness actually got better. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?"

"I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Doctor Li must have some incredible skills. If he said to cut down the tree, he must have had his reasons."

"It’s definitely thanks to Doctor Li. I’ve been drinking the medicine he prescribed, and my legs have felt much better these last two days."

"That’s right, I feel much better too."

The woman went to Wang Baimu’s house, wanting to thank Li Xu in person.

"Doctor Li has already gone back."

"What? Gone back where?"

"Back to the city, of course."