A cool breeze drifted in through the window, carrying a faint chill.
"Next spring, can we go to Jiangnan?"
"Yes," Zhou Chunfeng’s voice was firm and decisive.
Li Qingxian smiled happily. He bid farewell to Zhou Chunfeng and returned to Room A9 to continue flipping through his Fate Master notebooks. He searched for content related to Life Lands, reading it over and over until he gradually gained new insights.
Before long, there was a knock on the door.
"Li Ke, it’s me, Old Fann."
Li Qingxian stood up and saw Fann Xing, a Prison Guard Captain from the Imperial Prison Department, standing at the door.
"Ah, Old Fann, come in and tell me what’s on your mind."
Fann Xing glanced inside the room, seeing only Li Qingxian and Yur Ping.
"We’re all on the same side here," Li Qingxian added.
Fann Xing walked closer and said in a low voice, "Li Ke, do you remember buying a fate in Cell B3 not long ago?"
"I remember. The first fate I ever bought was in that very cell."
"At the time, some were willing to sell their fates, and some weren’t. Just now, one of the old prisoners who refused back then came to me. He said he’s willing to sell his fate now, and that it’s a good one. The conditions are a large sum of money for his family and getting his granddaughter into the Night Guard."
Li Qingxian stood up, glanced at Yur Ping, and said, "Let’s go take a look. If he really has a good Destiny Star, getting someone into the Night Guard won’t be difficult."
The three of them walked out of Room A9. Li Qingxian asked, "What’s that old man’s background?"
Fann Xing replied, "His name is Zhou Furu. I’ve told you about him before. He was a goldsmith, once famous in Divine Capital City, and he even crafted Imperial Jewelry. Later, his hands were ruined and he lost his craft, but the gold shop still kept him on to mentor apprentices. Then, the shop accused him of stealing one thousand taels of gold. That gold was intended for imperial use, and since it involved the Royal Family, the Night Guard made the arrest. After he was imprisoned, tragedy struck his family; his children were brutally killed, leaving only his granddaughter."
"And they’ve just held him here ever since?" Li Qingxian sneered.
"Yes."
"Who’s behind it?"
"There are no leads, and the old man himself has never said. That’s why I suggest you test the waters first. If his enemy is too powerful, you should reconsider," Fann Xing said.
Li Qingxian nodded.
They entered Cell B3 and had the other inmates leave. Fann Xing and Yur Ping then brought the old man out.
Li Qingxian sat behind the table in the entryway, set down his teacup, and looked up at the old man, Zhou Furu.
"Have a seat."
"Thank you, sir."
Zhou Furu sat down.
Li Qingxian observed him. The old man was covered in filth, but his eyes were sharp and his posture was straight, unlike an ordinary prisoner.
"Old sir, tell me the reason for your imprisonment."
Zhou Furu glanced down at his own two hands. They were shriveled and blackened, covered in burns.
"Sigh... When I was young, people said my life would be smooth sailing, with hardship only in my old age. I never thought it would really turn out this way. I won’t waste your time, sir. The one who had me arrested is a Middle-Grade Fate Master who took a liking to my Destiny Star. He conspired with my ’good’ employer, Bao Feng, to set a trap. First, they ruined my hands, then they threw me in prison, and finally, they murdered my family, leaving only my granddaughter. They originally planned to use this as leverage, pretending to save me in exchange for buying my Fate Grid. But they slipped up. An apprentice warned me before I was imprisoned, so I despised them and refused to ever sell my fate to him."
"They didn’t threaten you with your granddaughter?"
"I told them that if anything happened to my granddaughter, I’d kill myself immediately, making all their efforts for nothing. So, it’s been a stalemate. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned they’d arranged for my granddaughter to be inducted into the Celestial Hand Gang. That, combined with finding out your identity, made me decide I’d rather cooperate with you than with the bastards who murdered my children." The old man’s voice trembled.
Fann Xing quickly explained, "Li Ke, the Celestial Hand Gang is the number one Thief Sect in the Divine Capital Prefecture. A good kid who ends up there... their life will likely be ruined."
The old man gritted his teeth. "I don’t dare ask you to take revenge on Jia Da. I only beg you to give my granddaughter a good future, to keep her from being ruined by the Celestial Hand Gang."
"That Middle-Grade Fate Master is named Jia Da?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Furu nodded.
Li Qingxian thought for a moment, then said, "I’ll take a look at your Fate Grid first. Are you willing?"
"I am." Zhou Furu’s gaze was fervent.
Li Qingxian began Observing Fate and Qi.
A tomb appeared above the old man’s head. He was a man marked for death.
Next, Li Qingxian entered his Life Mansion. It was an impressive two-story wooden building, not much different from the Life Mansions of the Middle-Grade Officials he had encountered before.
He walked to the entrance. The main door was closed, but a transparent Spirit Talisman materialized above it, from which a voice emerged.
"Jia Da, a registered disciple of the Nine Lives Pavilion, sends his greetings to a fellow practitioner. This person has already been claimed by me. Should we meet, I will host a banquet and offer a generous reward as thanks to my fellow practitioner."
Li Qingxian recalled his Fate Master notebooks mentioning this practice.
Some Fate Masters, when they desired a person’s Fate Grid but couldn’t take it immediately, would use a Fate Sealing Skill and a Life Talisman to warn off other Fate Masters and prevent them from poaching it.
If the other party backed off, they would meet, and the first Fate Master would host a banquet and offer some gold and silver as a show of gratitude.
If they chose to interfere, the lightest consequence would be having a mediator arrange a match in a Life Play. A more serious response would be to engage in a Life Comparison. The gravest outcome would be a fight to the death.
’Nine Lives Pavilion? The name sounds impressive, but I’ve only heard of it. I don’t know the specifics...’
Li Qingxian pondered for a moment, then withdrew from the Life Mansion and sent a message to Guo Xiang.
"Old Guo, do you know of the Nine Lives Pavilion? Tell me about it."
"Give me the details first, then I can tell you more."
Li Qingxian considered it. Guo Xiang was a good guy who had always looked out for him, so he recounted the entire situation.
Guo Xiang sneered. "Jia Da, you say? I’ve heard of him. He’s a notorious family-annihilating Fate Master in the Capital City who forced his way to the Sixth Grade. He’s behind several cases, but his clean-up is so thorough he’s never been caught. The Government Office doesn’t investigate, and other Fate Masters who want to clean up the scum can’t find any evidence. As for the Nine Lives Pavilion, it’s a trashy Little Fate Sect that specializes in fraud and deception. Do you know what people call them?"
"What do they call them?"
"The child-snatchers of the Fate Sects. They’re even worse than the Yapo."
Li Qingxian said, "I think I understand."
A Yapo just traded in people, but child-snatchers drugged and abducted children to sell.
"Since this is Jia Da’s work, don’t worry about it. Just break his seal and tell him my name. If he comes looking for trouble, I’ll handle it for you."
"So commanding, Brother Guo! Are you sure?"
"A piece of trash like him? I’d be happy for him to cause trouble for me so I could get rid of him."
"But his sect..."
"The Nine Lives Pavilion is just a Small Sect. Their Sect Leader is only Fourth Grade. Jia Da was an Independent Cultivator who joined them later. The Nine Lives Pavilion wasn’t even willing to take him as an official disciple. They’re just using each other."
"I see."
Li Qingxian listened as Guo Xiang shared a bit more about the Nine Lives Pavilion before ending the transmission and shaking his head in resignation.
’I never expected the Nine Lives Pavilion to be so wretched. They’re purely the dregs of the Fate Sects.’
Li Qingxian thought for a moment, then entered Zhou Furu’s Life Mansion again. He performed a Fate Sealing Skill and projected his voice.
"I am Guo Xiang of the Black Lamp Department! This man is under my protection!"
After imitating Guo Xiang’s voice, Li Qingxian used his Fate Sealing Skill to break Jia Da’s. He had expected it to take some effort, but Jia Da’s Fate Sealing Skill turned out to be weak. A simple tap from his Destiny Measuring Ruler was enough to shatter it.
Li Qingxian walked to the door, which now stood wide open.
The four Life Lands—childhood, youth, middle age, and old age—were arranged in sequence, receding into the distance like steps.
The old man had a total of eight Destiny Stars across his four Life Lands. Most of them were ordinary, but one Destiny Star in his Youth Life Land was different from all the rest.
Within that Destiny Star, a four-foot-long cleaver materialized, chopping down again and again, seemingly striking at empty air.
But upon closer inspection, one could see that every single chop landed on the very tip of an inch-long strand of hair, splitting it vertically in two.
Human Destiny Star: Slicing the Vellus, Dissecting the Awn.
The Fate Technique states: "Slice the downy hair, divide the silken awn. The whole ox is no longer seen, and the blade moves with ample room."