"Fate Master, can you dispel this Deceit?" the Captain asked.
Sunshine Boy said, "I’ve carefully recalled the entire process. We’ve only been hit by Deceit twice. Once was around the time we entered the village, and the other was the roasted pork. This trip we’re being sent on isn’t a Deceit in itself, but it’s hard to say what will happen once we go. Has anyone heard of this Master Gua?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"You’re a Fate Master, don’t you have a way?" Hao Yunsheng asked.
"I do. Give me your Eight Characters of Birth, agree to let me perform Observing Fate and Qi on you, and then I can use the Life Acceleration Skill to strengthen your Fate Grid for the next few days. It will be enough to counter the Deceit. But you’ve been secretive and unwilling to help, not caring if we live or die. Two are already gone, yet you’re completely unmoved. Just how many people have to die before you’re willing to use your powerful Fate Grid to help us?" Sunshine Boy asked.
The Night Guards stared at Hao Yunsheng.
Hao Yunsheng quickly said, "I’m willing to help everyone, but how do I know if what you’re saying is true?"
"I’ve dispelled Deceit before."
"I don’t believe you."
A young Night Guard said, "I can testify to that. Sunshine Boy has dispelled Deceit before. You all know my second brother is an Eighth-Grade Martial Cultivator serving in the Imperial Prison West Courtyard. The day before the Demon Hunting, he came to my home to see me off. He told me Sunshine Boy had dispelled Deceit and that I should ask him for help if anything happened. There was an incident at the Imperial Prison West Courtyard a few days ago, but no one knows the details. My brother didn’t elaborate, but I’m guessing that Deceit was the one Sunshine Boy dispelled."
Sunshine Boy said, "There were three instances of Deceit that day. I dispelled two of them."
As he spoke, Sunshine Boy glanced at the man. He remembered people called him Ironsmith; his father was a blacksmith.
A middle-aged Night Guard said, "Ironsmith has always been in the Demon Hunting Bureau. We’ve known him for years. He’s never been to the Divine Capital Bureau and has no connection to Sunshine Boy, so it should be true."
"Hao Yunsheng, what do you say?" the Book Listener asked.
Hao Yunsheng lowered his head, not saying a word.
Sunshine Boy sighed. "Hao Yunsheng is afraid; it’s only natural. I can’t force him to do anything. I just want everyone to understand that I’ve done my best. I’m only a Tenth-Grade Fate Master. No matter how powerful I might seem, there’s a limit. I truly envy Hao Yunsheng’s Fate Grid. To be blunt, even if I wanted to harm him right now, it would be like a lion trying to bite a turtle—I wouldn’t know where to start, and I’d probably break my teeth trying. Think about it, everyone. If you were in my shoes, a Low-Grade Fate Master, would you try to harm someone with a Fate Grid as strong as Hao Yunsheng’s?"
"Of course not. Fate Masters all suck up to the powerful and trample on the weak. I’ve never heard of a Fate Master who goes out of their way to oppose someone with a strong Fate Grid," the Book Listener said.
The Night Guards nodded.
Ironsmith said, "No wonder you didn’t dare to talk back when Hao Yunsheng gave you a hard time on several occasions. It turns out you’re afraid of his Fate Grid."
Sunshine Boy looked embarrassed. He sighed, lowered his head, and seemed as if he didn’t want anyone to see his weakness.
Hao Yunsheng glanced at Sunshine Boy, his expression softening.
The Captain nodded and said, "It’s true. Fate Masters are always respectful when they meet someone with a good Fate Grid. I’ve never heard of one going out of their way to provoke someone like that. Hao Yunsheng, I heard you had a rough time at the Marquis Mansion, that you were badly wronged, and that’s why you’re always afraid of being harmed. But this Sunshine Boy is just a Tenth-Grade Fate Master. Even if he wanted to harm you, he couldn’t. He might even bungle it and end up harming himself."
"Plenty of Fate Masters have suffered a backlash from a Fate Grid."
Many of the Night Guards nodded in agreement.
Hao Yunsheng’s chest gradually puffed out, his complexion improved, and his cheeks even gained a hint of a healthy flush.
"I’ll think about it some more," Hao Yunsheng said, full of confidence.
The Book Listener glanced at Sunshine Boy, a fleeting smile touching the corners of his mouth.
As the group was chatting, Wang Laoshu approached. He had changed into a multi-colored Patchwork Robe and, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, said with a grin, "It’s time to set off, gentlemen."
A cold wind seemed to blow against the back of everyone’s necks.
The Captain forced a smile and said, "Alright, please lead the way, old man."
Wang Laoshu led the way with the others following behind, arriving at the village entrance on the west side.
A ditch encircled the village entrance. Under the moonlight, the water in the ditch looked like a strip of white silk wrapped in black cloth.
Wang Laoshu pointed to a house in the distant fields, its paper-pasted windows illuminated by a dim, yellow light.
The house was much larger than an ordinary home. Though only a single story, it was as tall as a two-story building, and its doors and windows were also larger.
"That’s Master Gua’s Gua Field. You are to go find Master Gua, ask him for a big watermelon, and bring it back to the Matriarch. You will surely be handsomely rewarded."
The men’s gazes flickered.
"What’s the reward?" the Captain asked.
Wang Laoshu chuckled. "How would we know? The Matriarch will decide as she sees fit."
"Alright, we’re going then."
The Captain took the lead, stepping onto the stone bridge over the ditch. A total of nineteen Night Guards walked along the narrow path between the fields.
The field near the ditch was a patch of green wheat, short and sparse. A gust of night wind stirred the dark green waves of grain.
After passing the wheat field, they arrived at the Gua Field.
The group stopped at the edge of the Gua Field, their brows furrowed.
Watermelon vines sprawled everywhere, their leaves overlapping. Tender yellow watermelon blossoms dotted the ground, interspersed with small, newly-fruited, emerald-green watermelons, the largest of which were no bigger than a fist.
"Let’s keep looking."
The group walked along the path outside the melon patch until they reached the end, but they still saw no ripe watermelons.
"So, what’s the plan?" the Captain asked.
The men looked at the Gua Field, then at the lit wooden hut in its center, and said nothing.
The Captain looked at the sky and said, "We have to bring a watermelon back before dawn! If we don’t, we might be stuck here forever."
The Book Listener frowned. "There must be a way to make the melons grow, or perhaps there are ripe watermelons inside that shed."
"Sunshine Boy, Hao Yunsheng, you two think of something."
Hao Yunsheng shook his head.
Sunshine Boy used Seeing the Dragon and Gazing at Qi, scanning the melon patch. He couldn’t sense the aura of any Deceit, so he looked toward the melon shed.
It was a complete blank.
"There’s something strange about that shed," Sunshine Boy said.
"Of course there’s something strange about it, but we have no choice other than to ask Master Gua. Who’s going?"
The group fell silent.
The Captain sighed, looked toward the shed, and shouted, "Is Master Gua in there?"
There was no response.
"Is Master Gua in there?" the Captain shouted again.
A sudden gust of night wind sent a chill down everyone’s spines.
"We can’t shout anymore," the Book Listener said in a low voice.
The Captain said helplessly, "We have no choice but to go to the shed. We’ll find a ridge between the furrows and walk on it. The furrows in a watermelon field aren’t obvious, so be careful. Whatever you do, don’t step on a watermelon."
The Captain focused his True Essence into his eyes, found a relatively wide path in the Gua Field, and said, "Follow me!"
The nineteen men formed a single line, entered the Gua Field, and slowly made their way inside.
Sunshine Boy was extremely cautious.
Hao Yunsheng turned his head to glance at Denggao, who was following close behind him, then shot another glance at Sunshine Boy. He walked on, lost in his own thoughts.
SQUISH...
At the muffled sound, everyone stopped and looked at Hao Yunsheng.
Hao Yunsheng’s face went pale. He slowly lifted his right foot. A small watermelon was smashed into a pulp, its green rind and white flesh mixed together.
"You..." The Captain’s face flushed with anger.
The other Night Guards gave Hao Yunsheng strange looks, remembering the herding boy’s lantern and the water-filled roasted pig.