Leng Chaosong derided himself, "If I had the ability to observe my heart and attain the Dao, why would I have turned to being a Demon Cultivator? Moreover, in terms of observing the heart to attain the Dao, how many in the world can compare to you?"
Li Guanshi smiled and said no more.
The two fell into silence.
The faint sunlight filtered through the window, casting a golden glow on the woman's figure. Though her face was obscured by mist and not clearly visible, one could see her neck was as smooth as silk, resembling ground jade.
Goddesses in the heavens are nothing more than this.
Leng Chaosong suppressed the lost luster in his eyes and suddenly remembered something, asking, "Haven't you found your disciple named Ye Zhuchan yet?"
"No, she's probably dead."
Li Guanshi spoke with an airy tone, his expression showing not the slightest hint of sorrow.
Leng Chaosong regretfully said, "I remember Zhuge Xuanji once said that this girl was destined for great wealth and luxury, bearing the fate of a phoenix, a mother of a prosperous nation. Even the Crown Prince had a deep affection for her and nearly succeeded in making her the Crown Princess Consort."
Li Guanshi sneered, "Although I don't fancy that girl, she is still my disciple. That trash worthy of her?"
In the entire world, very few would speak so disrespectfully about a Crown Prince, and in the Capital, under the Emperor's nose, only Li Guanshi dared to make such outrageous remarks.
Leng Chaosong shook his head, "The current Crown Prince is not like he used to be. It is said he has been favored by two great saints from Confucianism and the Military factions, who bestowed upon him the 'Nine Heavens Mandate,' enriching his imperial destiny, possibly making him a great renaissance leader in the future."
Li Guanshi frowned and cursed, "Damn good luck."
Leng Chaosong glanced at the imperial palace, hesitated, but eventually couldn't suppress his curiosity and whispered, "I've heard some secret rumors that the reason the Crown Prince has such good fortune is because the head of the Qintian Secret Skill found a strange man with short hair, dressed like a monk but not a monk, at Dragon Imperial Swamp, who had the fate of the High Heaven. Hence, he used the Qintian Secret Skill to secretly transfer the High Heaven fate to the Crown Prince. They even extracted a hidden dragon vein from that man's body…"
Before Leng Chaosong could finish, Li Guanshi interjected sarcastically, "You believe those swindlers from Qintian? Although Zhuge Xuanji is also a charlatan, at least he doesn't fabricate stories like those Qintian sorcerers. Do they think everyone is a gullible child?"
Leng Chaosong knew this woman had always loathed Qintian, he smiled lightly and tactfully changed the subject, "By the way, there are rumors from Jianghu that Wuchan Temple has found the 'Observing the Boundless Wonderful Dharma Sutra,' which has been lost for over two hundred years. Now, among the world's four great rare books, only the Taoist 'Tianyuan River Map Book' and the Yin Yang Sect's 'Shentu Yin-Yang Manuscript' remain undiscovered. The competition among the leaders of Buddhism is expected to stir up big waves..."
Leng Chaosong was about to expound his views on the future changes in the Buddhist world when he heard the woman exclaim, "Oh!"
Curiously looking at her, Leng Chaosong asked, "What is it?"
Li Guanshi looked strange as she stared at Jiang Shouzhong at the fortune-telling stall, her smile full of playfulness, "Interesting... you can observe his appearance but not his heart. You should know, there are only two kinds of people whose hearts you cannot observe, one is an immortal..."
Leng Chaosong frowned, "And the other is..."
The woman gently twirled the teacup, withdrew her gaze, looked into the tea where the tea leaves bobbed, and softly uttered two words, "A dead person."
——
"Jing'er, time to pack up."
The fortune-telling young girl, who was trying hard to concoct some stories to scare the disagreeable-looking guy in front of her, heard the familiar voice next to her and turned her head pleadingly, "Dad, it hasn't been that long, let's stay a bit longer."
Leng Chaosong rubbed the girl's head, "Listen, it's time to pack up."
He turned to Jiang Shouzhong and apologized with a smile, "I'm sorry, my daughter is naughty and has troubled you."
"It's fine, very accurate."
Jiang Shouzhong smiled faintly and got up to move the stool.
The girl apparently understood something, whispered stealthily, "Dad, has Ms. Li left?"
"Yes, she's gone. We need to leave quickly, or else we two might get kicked," Leng Chaosong pointed toward the palace and joked, "It doesn't matter if I get kicked, but it would be too unseemly if my daughter got kicked."
The girl pouted, her face showing a tiny tantrum, but still obediently helped her father pack up the stall, carrying the cactus carefully in her arms.
Leng Chaosong handed the loose silver back to Jiang Shouzhong, saying with a smile, "My daughter is just spouting nonsense; don't take it seriously. Here, take the money back."
"Dad!"
The girl became anxious, wanting to snatch back her hard-earned money, but was stopped by a stern look from the man, and she sullenly gave up.
Jiang Shouzhong waved his hand, "No need, the money should be paid."
"It's against the rules," Leng Chaosong said as he gently turned his wrist and stuffed the silver coins into the other's hand.
He glanced at the token hanging on Jiang Shouzhong's waist.
It was the Liushan Division's covert identity token.
The duty was to capture demons.
Jiang Shouzhong was stunned for a moment, then did not insist and turned to leave.
Watching the man leave, the girl muttered, "He seems so upright, yet he covets his colleague's wife too. Men are all the same after all. Dad, you too are always thinking about Ms. Li..."
"Ahem..."
Leng Chaosong choked on his daughter's words.
He smiled helplessly and changed the topic, "That lad's forehead indicates disaster, his energy is scattered; he is a man near death."
The girl's lips parted slightly, her face blank.
Leng Chaosong tapped his daughter's forehead and warned, "Don't just be kind-hearted; those who seek the Dao should avoid defying fate most. The energy of heaven and earth, warm it births, cold it kills; it's his fate, and he can't escape it."
The girl acknowledged with an 'oh' and looked at the man's departing figure with a low spirit.
Leng Chaosong murmured to himself, "That's why money from a dead man shouldn't be accepted, it's bad luck."
As he was putting away the bamboo stick holder, he hesitated for a moment, and a divination stick that Jiang Shouzhong had drawn and then put back flew out by itself as he lightly swept his hand over it.
Leng Chaosong held the bamboo stick and squinted to read it closely.
Two lines of divination text—
Born unto death are all illusions; why sorrow or joy over phantoms?
...
"Seems like demon energy?"
Jiang Shouzhong stopped walking, touching his chin.
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Shouzhong shook his head, "Forget it, I'm just marking time here anyway, earning but a few silver coins a month. Why bother playing with fate."
The man had few attachments in this strange world.
Regarding his ex-wife who had left a ludicrous divorce letter and disappeared without a goodbye, even with lingering feelings, he hardly held any hope of finding her, treating it as an illusory romance.
As for his current wife who never looked him straight in the eye, he had no interest in fostering affection.
His only concern was to seek revenge for Ye, who once considered him as her kin.
Thin clouds piled up, blocking the sunlight.
The sky, having displayed its delicate body for half a day, began to clothe itself in several thick garments.
Looking at the suddenly darkening sky, Jiang Shouzhong momentarily became dazed and murmured softly, "Better go back to sleep, hopefully not to dream of being a traitor again. Maybe, when I close and open my eyes, I will be alive?"
"Son-in-law?"
Just then, a shout suddenly came from behind him.