"Bear with it, it won’t hurt." Jiangg Youfei’s expression was gentle, her gaze appearing even more lively under the light of the Luminous Pearl.
"Nn..." Li Qingxian grunted softly.
"When I lived in the mountains, I often took care of little dogs, little cats, and little monkeys..." Jiangg Youfei seemed to glance at Li Qingxian, her tone deadpan.
Li Qingxian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Little monkey, don’t move, or I’ll have to start over." Jiangg Youfei smoothed out the Illusion Mask again.
"Hmph." A dissatisfied sound escaped Li Qingxian’s slightly open mouth.
"Ever-changing and unpredictable, manifesting a thousand forms, by the power of this edict!" Jiangg Youfei pressed her palm against Li Qingxian’s face and activated her Magical Power.
Li Qingxian felt a creeping coolness from the mask, followed by a fine, prickling sensation that spread across his face. It was slightly painful.
"Good little monkey, it’ll only hurt for a moment." Jiangg Youfei’s voice was soft and gentle.
Li Qingxian looked at Jiangg Youfei. Her gaze was even softer than before.
He realized for the first time just how beautiful Jiangg Youfei was. Her lively eyes were beautiful, her cute, upturned nose was beautiful, and her thin, pink lips were even more beautiful.
Li Qingxian could faintly feel her breath on his face, a sweet fragrance wafting into his nostrils.
Jiangg Youfei slowly applied more force. The Illusion Mask melted, turning into a crystalline, viscous liquid that seeped under his skin.
Li Qingxian’s face gradually changed, transforming into that of a plain-looking, pale-faced middle-aged man.
The pads of Jiangg Youfei’s fingers continuously brushed across Li Qingxian’s face, massaging it gently. They felt smooth and soft.
After a moment, Jiangg Youfei withdrew her hands. She looked from side to side, then murmured in confusion, "It’s a good likeness, but something still feels off. When I disguise little cats, dogs, and monkeys, it’s always a success."
Li Qingxian looked completely helpless. He truly didn’t know if Jiangg Youfei was teasing him on purpose or was just being naively honest.
After a long moment, realization dawned on Jiangg Youfei. "It’s your shifty eyes! They’re brighter than my senior brother’s. No wonder it doesn’t look right."
’I can’t just let her treat me like a monkey,’ Li Qingxian thought. He retorted, "Sister Youfei, do you know why my eyes are so bright?"
"Why?" Jiangg Youfei blinked.
"Because they hold the brightest light in the world."
"Nonsense." Jiangg Youfei’s expression was impassive.
"If you don’t believe me, come closer and look carefully. You’ll see it. I, Li Qingxian, never lie," he said seriously.
Jiangg Youfei hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head, leaning in gently to gaze into Li Qingxian’s eyes.
After staring for a while, all she could see was the reflection of a young woman in white.
A mischievous smile appeared on Li Qingxian’s face.
Jiangg Youfei froze for a second, then seemed to understand. In a nonchalant tone, she said, "You’re the naughtiest little monkey I’ve ever met."
"See it clearly now?" Li Qingxian couldn’t help but keep smiling.
Jiangg Youfei rolled her eyes at him. "Stop fooling around! Look in the mirror."
Li Qingxian turned to look at the dressing mirror. The bronze mirror reflected a strange middle-aged man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and narrow eyes. He looked a little unsettling.
"I’m still more handsome," Li Qingxian said.
"Alright, go sleep in the guest room next door. Jinquan stayed there before. It has everything you need," Jiangg Youfei said.
Li Qingxian stood up and smiled. "Sister Youfei, was the place you used to live crawling with little animals?"
Jiangg Youfei took down the Luminous Pearl and led Li Qingxian out. "I lived on the back mountain of the Celestial Cloud Sect for over a decade. Besides Nanny Tian and my master who appeared occasionally, only the small animals kept me company."
"How did you meet Uncle Zhou?" Li Qingxian asked as they walked.
"I admire Uncle Zhou’s calligraphy. He and my master are good friends. Once, Uncle Zhou was passing by the Celestial Cloud Sect and came up the mountain as a guest. Master brought me to meet him. Master said that if there was a second person in the world who would be good to me, it would be Uncle Zhou," Jiangg Youfei said.
"So you’re close to me because I know Uncle Zhou?"
Jiangg Youfei, walking ahead, said, "Close? Don’t be ridiculous. It’s probably because you’re more like one of the little monkeys from the mountains, always causing trouble."
Li Qingxian was exasperated.
Arriving next door, Jiangg Youfei pushed the door open and said, "You’ll stay here. Don’t go barging into my room. I set up an Array Disc before bed. The little monkeys at home were often struck by Thunder Fire."
A hint of vigilance flashed in Jiangg Youfei’s sparkling eyes.
"Don’t you worry. I’ve been running around all day and I’m dead tired. I’m more worried you might take advantage of me," Li Qingxian said.
"Such a glib-tongued little monkey. If it were anyone else, I’d have torn that mouth of yours off by now." After speaking, Jiangg Youfei left the Luminous Pearl and turned to leave.
Li Qingxian watched her back disappear through the doorway, smiled, and entered the bedroom.
Li Qingxian lay on the bed, his mind full of thoughts about when Zhou Chunfeng would propose, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, Li Qingxian emerged from his bedroom, washed up, and stepped outside.
The east had not yet brightened; the sky was a sheet of pale blue, and the world was silent.
Li Qingxian leaned on the railing and gazed out at the Capital.
The highest point in the Capital was not the five Evil God Statues, but the four statues of the Qii Country Emperors on Xun Mountain in the northwest.
Once his head was clear, Li Qingxian went into Jiangg Youfei’s chambers.
A short while later, the two of them emerged.
Li Qingxian now looked identical to Lü Ren, wearing a blue Daoist Robe embroidered with a Tai Chi Bagua, and on his head, a black, roof-shaped Pure Yang Daoist Crown. His face was pale, and his exposed skin looked waterlogged, making his whole body seem white.
Jiangg Youfei had a new addition to her waist: a small, light silver brocade pouch embroidered with a lotus flower.
Li Qingxian asked and learned that the brocade pouch was a gift from her master’s wife, meant to bless her with a safe journey.
After breakfast, the two of them called for Zhou Henn, and together with ten disciples from the Celestial Cloud Sect, they set out.
Outside, over twenty horses and four carriages were waiting. Li Qingxian boarded the largest black-roofed carriage, Zhou Henn entered the carriage compartment, and the rest mounted their horses, guarding the carriages as they slowly descended the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, a squad of Night Guards from the Divine Capital Bureau merged with their group. The leader was a Junior Sixth Grade expert.
The sun rose, illuminating the world.
Across the morning fields, an earthen-yellow road stretched to the horizon, flanked by neat, verdant farmland.
The carriage was shielded by thick gauze. Bored, Li Qingxian picked up the *True Meaning of the Seven-Star Destiny*, which he still hadn’t finished. He read for a quarter hour before putting it down.
He had finished both volumes of *River Guardian Heroes*, but the story still hadn’t reached the part about rescuing the Worthy Crown Prince. The library didn’t have the third volume, and he heard from one of the old Night Guards that the author had entered the palace and no longer had time to write.
To pass the time, Li Qingxian had prepared a new book called the *New Qii Swordsmen Map*.
This book was written in the early years of the Qii Country’s founding and was filled with descriptions of the horrific tragedies in the Human World, where people of the Old Dynasty were poisoned and beheaded by Qii.
The carriage rumbled forward.
Tired of reading, Li Qingxian set the book aside.
From within the carriage, Zhou Henn spoke in a low voice, "You still haven’t told me about the purple crystal."
"Fate Skills are too profound. I’m afraid of revealing celestial secrets," Li Qingxian said pretentiously.
"Cut the crap. Fate Masters often gather to analyze and perform Divination, even competing with the Celestial Destiny Chessboard," Zhou Henn said.
"You really are my dear uncle. I’ve only just begun learning Fate Skills, and you’re bringing up the Celestial Destiny Chessboard? Why don’t you just ask me to set a Great Trend Formation? Or learn how the Celestial Fate Sect determines the National Fortune?" Li Qingxian retorted.
"What do you think of my Fate Grid?" Zhou Henn asked.
Li Qingxian suddenly understood and almost laughed out loud.
’So Zhou Henn wants me to perform a Divination for him, but he’s too embarrassed to ask directly.’
Li Qingxian cleared his throat and said, "You are a dignified Fourth Grade Martial Cultivator, while I am still Ungraded. If I carelessly read your Fate Grid, I will surely suffer a backlash."
"Don’t try to deceive me. If I were on guard against you, you would naturally suffer a backlash. But if I am the one asking, actively requesting you to perform a Divination, you won’t suffer any backlash," Zhou Henn said.
"You know quite a lot," Li Qingxian said.
"Do you know the Life Acceleration Skill?" Zhou Henn gave Li Qingxian a deep look.
"Do you know what the Life Acceleration Skill is?" Li Qingxian asked.
"It accelerates the Fate Grid for a temporary boost. It makes the good better, and the bad worse," Zhou Henn said, his tone flat.
Li Qingxian hadn’t expected Zhou Henn’s understanding of Fate Skills to be so far beyond that of an ordinary person. He fell silent for a long time, glanced at the hideous scars on Zhou Henn’s face, imagined the consequences of refusing, and said, "Wait until I’ve Entered Grade."
"Fine."
The temperature in the carriage seemed to drop.
Li Qingxian picked up the *New Qii Swordsmen Map*, read for a moment, then tossed it aside. He began to earnestly read the *True Meaning of the Seven-Star Destiny*, pondering how he would perform a Divination for Zhou Henn.
A complete Divination is divided into four steps: Arrangement, Deduction, Fortune-setting, and Judgment.
Each step has a different process.
Arrangement is to determine what exists within the Life Mansion. Deduction is to determine the complex relationships. Fortune-setting is to judge recent luck. Judgment is to point out past and future events.
Skills like the Life Acceleration Skill fall under the category of Fate Skills. They are based on Divination but are also superior to it.
Only by mastering at least one Fate Skill can one become a Fate Master.
Otherwise, no matter how strong one’s Divination is, they are merely a Jianghu Sorcerer, unable to grace the grand halls of power.
The most basic Arrangement is divided into five to seven sub-steps: first, arranging the Four Pillars; second, setting the Life Land; third, deducing the Destiny Stars; fourth, calculating the Life Gods; fifth, inspecting hidden elements. As for the last two steps, it is said that only a very few Sects know of them.
Li Qingxian decided to first try arranging his own Four Pillars, as practice for swindling... no, for performing a Divination for Zhou Henn.
He was born in a Jiazi Year, on the twenty-third day of the fifth lunar month, just before noon. That meant he was born in the Jiazi Year, Geng-Wu Month, Ding-Hai Day, and Bing-Wu Hour. His Eight Characters were Jia-Zi, Geng-Wu, Ding-Hai, and Bing-Wu.
Li Qingxian looked and couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t expected the legendary Fate Grid "Zi-Wu Double Embrace" to appear in his own destiny.
Among the Eight Characters, having two "Wu" and one "Zi" signifies a life of great nobility.
Different schools have different explanations for the Zi-Wu Double Embrace. Some say Zi and Wu are the residences of the northern and southern sovereigns; others say Zi is the Emperor’s throne and Wu is the palace’s main gate. But fundamentally, it’s always related to Emperors and is certain to bring great nobility.
But then Li Qingxian’s smile vanished. ’I’ve already died once. How can this be called a fate of great nobility? Did the Zi-Wu Double Embrace embrace me to death? And as a pair, at that?’
Li Qingxian recalled the relevant Life Books and realized his joy was premature. Some books pointed out that the theory of the Zi-Wu Double Embrace was not precise and that other factors had to be considered.
Li Qingxian thought about it. ’With my current half-baked skills, it’s a wonder I can even deduce the Eight Characters. I shouldn’t even think about other factors.’
Orthodox Fate Skills, aside from being based on a person’s year, month, day, and hour of birth, must also consider other elements. Ultimately, through the Secret Skills of various schools, one deduces what Destiny Stars a person possesses, whether they can form a Life Formation, and if anything has sublimated into a Life God. It was far more complex than he had imagined.