The room was dimly lit with the vintage wall sconces that hung on the mute coloured walls like earrings. The thick black velvet curtains hide the mullioned windows across the dark walls leaving only a shy peak of the woods beyond.
At the centre of the room, the light bulb which was in centre shone dimly on the table. Lan Shang and Master Shao were both looking distressed like they had just ran a marathon, as they both tried to pry their eyes into having a proper vision of the Old Sage.
The Old Sage on the other hand, was somewhere beyond Earth, like he was going through a spiritual revelation as his hand was extremely busy with the pebbles. Then he stopped, Lan Shang and Master Shao immediately composed themselves,
"Why have you come?" The Old Sage asked, his voice was slightly hoarse and shaky.
Finally he spoke, it was obvious they had been there for long. Master Shao signalled Lan Shang to speak first; she contorted disapprovingly at first but agreed anyways.
She exhaled deeply before speaking,
"I came.. no, we came to ask you what the future might bring for our son, Shao Jinhai." Lan Shang asked while rubbing her sweaty palms over her thighs.
The Old Sage cleared his throat huskily,
"I do not dare to predict the future..." he stopped and began to roll the pebbles on his hand again.
"But let me see what I can see..."
He closed his eyes again, murmuring inaudible words and opened them sharply, staring at the two people before him, he wasn't particularly staring at them but something else.
Lan Shang and Master Shao, not knowing how to react, looking blank and rendered motionless on the arm chair, It will be polite enough not to interrupt him.
"I see her..." He began with his eyes closed, he looked like he was struggling from inside, struggling to get away from the revelation or wanting to see more of it.
"Lin Hua's fate... It is repeating itself again. You mustn't do anything to alter it or else, Shao Jinhai might die..."
"What?!"
Lan Shang was looking like a bomb about to detonate after she heard it, Master Shao placed his hand on hers to slightly relief her current disposition.
The Old Sage opened up his eyes, the skin around his eyes was wrinkled and bulgy.
Beads of sweat forming on his forehead and falling down to his bushy brows like oil spill.
This time Master Shao spoke,
"I don't dare disrespect, but our son's life is in danger if we don't do it accordingly, and what is this Lin Hua's fate all about?"
"That's all I am privileged to see..." The Old Sage replied curtly.
Lan Shang was reflecting and debating on what the Old Sage had just said, soothing away the creases in her agonized frown she stood up, bowed and left. Watching his wife leave the room in such, Master Shao also didn't hesitate.
He was outside the Temple, scrutinizing the surrounding if he could find Lan Shang anywhere;
Then he saw her, walking along the pavement into the mansion, he pursued her.
In the study, Lan Shang was pacing back and forth, her breath was heavy and rough, she didn't spare her fingers nails as she chewed her grief off it like her life depended on it.
Master Shao opened the door scarcely, peeping through the space provided.
Seeing that she was in there, he got in and closed the door behind him.
"You don't have to be agonised." Lan Shang's heart twinged, anger thrummed through her veins.
"I don't have to be agonized? Shao Honghui I can't believe you're telling me this..." Lan Shang barely mentions Master Shao's full name, she does that only if she was extremely agitated.
"I mean just give me a hell of a good reason why I shouldn't be agonized! I went through hell to bear Shao Jinhai, I can't let anything happen to my son.. I can't take this, I just can't..."
Lan Shang slowly began to shed tears and finally broke down to tears. Master Shao helped her up and sat her down on the chair, he patted her shoulder soothingly.
"It's going to be fine, I guarantee you that." Master Shao spoke in a way that he tried to suppress the fury and sadness in her.
It did work, partially. Lan Shang snivelled, before speaking,
"I can't let my son be with that Guo Daiyu for too long, remember what the priest told us; she's bad luck, and an obstruction to the gem we are yet to discover, the woman that will destroy this curse looming around for decades."
Master Shao sighed,
"She doesn't seem bad..." He concluded,
"What?! Do not try to change your words, I have heard a lot about her in town. She's such a rotten egg, I only accepted to get her married into this family because I didn't want my son to die, since he had come of age for the the curse to take full effect, and now he's hesitating." Lan Shang paused to catch her breath.
She continued,
"We agreed to get him married to Ming Yue, but she's too nice and I can't let her into such mess. We need to get rid of Guo Daiyu as soon as possible, if not things might get worse."
Master Shao blinked twice and exhaled deeply,
"This is such a heavy and risky task, if Shao Jinhai finds out, he won't forgive either of us."
"I don't care, as long as he is safe from that filthy so called ghost, Lin Hua."
Unknown to them, an unidentified was eavesdropping on their conversations. The person dressed in disguise left hastily, afterwards.