Chapter 766: William's Romantic Calamity

The western suburbs of Philadelphia, the Main Line.

This was a community of traditional, old-money families. Mansions hidden behind century-old trees projected an air of understated luxury.

William Saint Cloud had recently purchased a new villa here.

Though it was called a villa, it was actually an estate.

The three-acre French-style estate boasted perfectly manicured lawns, a private tennis court, and a massive fountain in the northwest corner of the front yard. A marble statue of Venus stood at the fountain’s center.

Ten in the morning.

Raymond Stock, dressed in his signature Tang suit and holding a brass compass, walked into the mansion.

William, wearing a silk robe and holding a cup of sobering tea, followed behind, looking somewhat nonchalant.

If not for Leo’s earlier comment at the coffee shop—”Let him give it a try”—William would never have allowed this fellow, dressed like the owner of a Chinese restaurant, to set foot in his home.

The Thunder Celestial Master paid William’s disdain no mind.

He held the compass and walked a circuit through the living room, bedroom, and dining room, muttering incantations under his breath.

The needle on the compass quivered slightly with his steps.

When he walked into the front yard and his gaze fell upon the gushing Venus statue, he stopped in his tracks.

The Thunder Celestial Master’s brow furrowed deeply.

He raised the compass, carefully calibrated its direction, and then sighed.

“Governor.”

The Thunder Celestial Master turned around, his expression grave.

“This house faces south with its back to the north, is supported by a main ley line, and has an open and bright courtyard. It should be an excellent layout for promoting your career and gathering wealth, befitting of your current distinguished status.”

William took a sip of his tea, a smug smile playing on his lips. “You’ve got a good eye. I spent over twenty million US Dollars on this place.”

“But.”

The Thunder Celestial Master’s tone shifted as he pointed to the massive fountain.

“This fountain in the northwest corner has ruined the entire layout.”

“In Eastern feng shui, the northwest corresponds to the Qian trigram, which represents the male head of the household, power, and dignity. The west corresponds to the Dui trigram, also known as the White Tiger position.”

The Thunder Celestial Master began to break it down using his carefully packaged occult theories.

“Water is inherently an element that generates wealth, but if placed in the wrong position, it becomes a source of disaster. Your fountain’s water flows rapidly and ceaselessly, pressing down directly on the White Tiger position.”

“In feng shui, this is called a ‘White Tiger Opening its Mouth’ Sha.”

William frowned. “White Tiger Opening its Mouth? What does that mean?”

“The White Tiger corresponds to Metal and governs death and injury. When water moves, this Sha energy is born.” The Thunder Celestial Master lowered his voice. “When the White Tiger opens its mouth, it is bound to harm someone. And this type of Sha specifically curses the male master’s carnal fortune.”

“If this fountain is not filled in immediately and the water source cut off, I predict that within half a month, you will suffer a disaster involving women. You will also lose a great deal of money because of it, and it may even affect your political reputation.”

After hearing this, William was stunned for a moment, then let out a sneer.

“A disaster involving women? Lose a great deal of money?”

William reacted as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke.

“Master, you may not know me very well. I’m single. I’m involved with women every day.”

“As for losing money, I spend tens of thousands on a single bag. Your prediction is far too vague.”

William waved his hand dismissively, clearly not taking the warning seriously.

“That fountain is an original piece imported from Italy. Fill it in? Don’t even think about it.”

“I think it looks quite nice.”

“I have said all there is to say. The choice is yours, Governor.”

The Thunder Celestial Master didn’t press the issue. He put away his compass, gave a slight bow, and turned to leave the villa.

This was precisely the strategy Leo had taught him.

With arrogant rich kids like this, earnest persuasion would only backfire and cause resentment.

You make your point, leave them in suspense, and then wait for reality to deliver a harsh lesson.

「Three days later.」

A private party was being held at a top-tier private club in downtown Philadelphia.

William Saint Cloud was, naturally, a regular guest.

He’d had quite a bit to drink and was flirting with a hot-bodied socialite, who claimed to be an independent model, on a sofa in the corner.

The socialite was extremely skilled. After just a few drinks, William was already dizzy and disoriented, even offering to take her up to a private suite upstairs.

Just as the two were about to leave the private room, the door was kicked open.

Ethan burst in with three expressionless bodyguards.

“What are you doing?”

William was so startled that he sobered up halfway.

Ethan ignored William and walked directly up to the socialite.

A bodyguard stepped forward and snatched the designer handbag from her grasp.

“Let go of me!” the socialite screamed.

The bodyguard opened the handbag and found a miniature button camera hidden in a secret compartment.

Ethan tossed the small device onto the coffee table and turned to look at William.

“Governor, you were this close to being tomorrow’s leading man on social media.”

William’s eyes widened as he stared at the camera, a cold sweat instantly drenching the back of his shirt.

“Wh… What is this?”

“It’s a setup by the energy Lobbying Group,” Ethan explained coldly. “They wanted to film an indecent video of you to use as blackmail, forcing you to vote against the upcoming bill.”

“Leo intercepted their intelligence and had me handle it.”

Ethan glanced at the trembling socialite.

“Take your things and get out. Tell the people who sent you that next time, it won’t be as simple as just confiscating a camera.”

The socialite grabbed her bag and fled in a panic.

Only Ethan and the still-shaken William remained in the room.

William collapsed onto the sofa.

He might be reckless, but he wasn’t stupid.

He knew that if a video like that got out, Evelyn would kill him.

William abruptly shot to his feet, grabbed a wine bottle from the table, and smashed it on the floor.

“Bastards!”

William roared.

“What the hell is wrong with this damn club? How dare they let someone like that in? This is the most exclusive private club in Philadelphia! I pay them hundreds of thousands in membership fees, and this is how they guarantee member safety?”

He pointed at the door and yelled at Ethan, “Get me the manager! I want him to find out everything about that woman, right now! And the people who sent her! I’ll make sure they can never show their faces in Philadelphia again!”

Ethan stopped him.

“Governor, calm down.” Ethan’s voice was steady. “Now is not the time to hold the club responsible. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough of a scene already?”

“Then what? We just let it go?” William asked, unwilling to accept it.

“Mayor Leo will handle this,” Ethan said, looking William in the eye. “He has his ways.”

“What you need to do now is go home immediately, stay in your villa, and don’t go anywhere.”

“Cancel all your private parties for the next few days.”

William wanted to argue, but he swallowed his words when he saw Ethan’s cold, hard stare.

He sank back onto the sofa as a delayed wave of fear washed over him.

“A disaster involving women… losing a great deal of money…”

William muttered to himself.

The words spoken three days ago by the man in the Tang suit in his own yard suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘If you don’t fill it in, you will soon suffer a disaster involving women, and you will lose a great deal of money because of it.’

William suddenly shivered.

An immense sense of fear and awe seized his heart in an instant.

Three days!

It had only been three days!

If Leo’s men hadn’t arrived in time, he would have been utterly ruined today.

It all came true!

Every single word the Thunder Celestial Master had said had been fulfilled with the precision of an oracle!

“The fountain in the northwest corner… the ‘White Tiger Opening its Mouth’ Sha…”

William’s eyes grew wider and wider. A powerful psychological suggestion prompted him to close the logical loop.

“Ethan!”

William leaped to his feet and grabbed Ethan’s arm.

“Quick! Help me contact that man, Raymond Stock! The Thunder Celestial Master!”

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked, feigning ignorance.

“Don’t ask! I need to see him, immediately!”

William was as frantic as an ant on a hot griddle.

“Also, get me a construction crew right now! Have them go to my villa tonight! Smash that damn fountain! Fill it with cement! Don’t leave a single drop of water!”

「That night.」

The villa in the Philadelphia suburbs was brightly lit.

Several small excavators were frantically destroying the expensive Italian sculpture.

Amid the RUMBLING, William stood on the steps, personally watching as the White Tiger’s “mouth” was sealed shut with dirt and cement. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.

「The next morning.」

A check for one million US Dollars was personally delivered by William’s assistant to the hotel where Raymond Stock was staying.

Ostensibly, it was a feng shui consultation fee.

In reality, it was William’s offering.

And with that, the first shot hit its mark perfectly.

William Saint Cloud, the nominal chief executive of Pennsylvania, had been completely transformed into the Thunder Celestial Master’s most devout believer.

…

William Saint Cloud was not a man who could keep a secret.

Especially not after he felt he had averted a disaster and, in the process, uncovered the true identity of a powerful master.

Over the next few weeks, whether on the golf courses of Chester County or at the charity galas hosted by the socialites of the Main Line, the Governor bragged to anyone who would listen about his thrilling experience with the “romance sha.”

“You have no idea! The Thunder Celestial Master took one look at that fountain and knew someone was out to get me!”

William described the events vividly, gesturing wildly, completely unconcerned with how humiliating it was that he had nearly been filmed naked.

“He even calculated the exact day the disaster would strike! If he hadn’t told me to fill in the fountain and change the magnetic field, I’d be utterly ruined right now!”

High society is a closed system where information circulates rapidly and in-group recommendations are treated with extreme credulity.

At first, the patriarchs of old-money families and the fund managers from Wall Street just dismissed it as another one of William’s crazy rants.

But soon, they confirmed something through their own channels.

A hidden plot to blackmail the Governor had indeed existed, and it had been mysteriously thwarted at the last minute.

A coincidence?

In the eyes of these tycoons worth hundreds of millions, once might be a coincidence. But when combined with William’s unshakeable conviction, it became inside information.

And so, the name “Thunder Celestial Master” spread like wildfire through Philadelphia’s circles of the ultra-rich, the wives of congressmen, and exclusive investment clubs.

It became a secret whispered only among the top echelon.