"If you truly feel sorry for me, then live a good life in this world. Your destiny with Shiyi is indeed a rare fate. Now that you're part of this realm, you should live well... and not let her true feelings for you go to waste!"
He then asked her,
"What do you plan to do now?"
Li Yaner spoke softly about what she had previously discussed with Shiyi. The Old Taoist Priest nodded,
"Being able to possess a corpse to return to life would be best..."
After thinking for a moment, he asked,
"Are you proficient in calculation?"
Li Yaner was taken aback and said,
"When I was studying, my math wasn't bad!"
The Old Taoist Priest had no idea what the "math" she spoke of was, but he understood that she meant she was good at calculations, so he nodded. Then, he struggled to rise, trembled as he crawled under the altar, and when Gu Shi Yi saw this from outside, he rushed in to help,
"Master, what are you looking for? I'll get it!"
The Old Taoist Priest nodded,
"Find the ancient coins from my bundle..."
Gu Shi Yi did as he was told and took out three ancient coins from under the altar table, but refused to hand them over to the Old Taoist Priest,
"Master, in your condition, can you still perform divination? Let me do it!"
The Old Taoist Priest sighed,
"Your heart is not in this..."
Letting her fight, engage in spell combat, or catch ghosts were all things she could do, but when it came to things like the cycle of the sixty-four hexagrams or the celestial movements, she would just stare blankly, roll her eyes, and no matter how hard you explained, it was all in vain!
Gu Shi Yi passed the three ancient coins with an embarrassed smile and helped the Old Taoist Priest back onto the bed, asking,
"Master, what are you calculating?"
The Old Taoist Priest replied irritably,
"I'm calculating when you can get married!"
Gu Shi Yi laughed, "Heh heh,"
"That works for me. Calculate when I will get married, when I will have a son, and when my son is born, I'll still follow you, Old Master, to learn Taoist techniques..."
The Old Taoist Priest gave her a sidelong glance,
"It's enough trouble raising just you, and now you want me to raise your son too? Do you want to work me to death?"
Afterward, he sat cross-legged there, chanting with the ancient coins in hand, and then dropped them in front of his knees. Gu Shi Yi and Li Yaner both peered closer. Li Yaner didn't understand at all, and Gu Shi Yi wasn't much better,
"Master, this... what does this hexagram look like?"
The Old Taoist Priest said,
"My mana is too weak now, and I can only see one layer..."
Saying so, he mumbled,
"Six yao ingeniously summon the six spirits, the Azure Dragon moves, the Vermilion Bird rises, Hook Chen and Teng Snake both stir, while the White Tiger and Black Tortoise harbor different intentions..."
The Old Taoist Priest's brow furrowed deeply as he stared at the three ancient coins for a long time before shaking his head and saying,
"I can't see it, I truly can't make it out..."
After thinking some more, he continued,
"This hexagram is all chaos, as if... as if..."
As if there was movement in all directions, signaling great changes in heaven and earth. With his current level of cultivation, he couldn't discern the signs. The Old Taoist Priest looked up with a strange expression at his disciple and the Little Mud Man. Gu Shi Yi, anxious, said,
"Master, can you clarify a bit? Every time you divine, it's all cryptic... It's as if you haven't said anything at all!"
The Old Taoist Priest glanced at her and after some thought, said to the clay figure,
"Looking at this hexagram, it's very chaotic, with disturbances all around. However... the South is favorable for you. If you're looking to possess a corpse to return to life, head south!"
"South?"
Gu Shi Yi thought for a moment and said,
"The South... Isn't Huangjing located to the south? Master, weren't you planning to go to Huangjing to find your disciple's nephew?"
The Old Taoist Priest nodded, picking up the ancient coins one by one and said to the clay figure,
"There's a Book of Six Yao Divination in my bundle. Shiyi isn't versed in divination, and she wouldn't understand it even if she looked. Take a look when you have time!"
Li Yaner felt a pang in her heart when she understood what the Old Taoist Priest meant, and quickly knelt down and said,
"Yes, Master!"
This "Master" was not echoed after Shiyi, but borne from her own genuine and sincere address.
Gu Shi Yi watched on the side and laughed,
"Master, you've entrusted the right person. Yaner's scores in science were the second-best in her school during college entrance exams!"
The Old Taoist Priest had no idea what "science" meant or what a "college entrance exam" was, but he guessed it meant excellent skills in calculations. He nodded then, seeing the Little Mud Man bowing silently, afraid that she would start crying again after Gu Shi Yi provoked her, he said,
"What about your meal? Is it ready?"
Gu Shi Yi said,
"It's simmering on the stove, I'll go check..."
After saying this, she dashed out and then returned,
"It's ready, Master. Let me help you out to eat..."
"Is there wine?"
"You're in this condition and still want to drink wine?"
"Why should I not drink? Even if I die, I'd like to die drunk!"
"Master, don't talk like that. It upsets me!"
"Go, go, go! Don't spoil my mood. Go and bring the wine..."