Having finished Observing Fate, he once again used Seeing the Dragon and Gazing at Qi.
Even though he had clearly seen his Fate Grid, no Destiny Image appeared above Ge Dynasty’s head.
’There’s only one explanation. This man is protected by a powerful force—either a Major Sect or a great nation’s powerful clan. He might even know his Fate Grid is special and saw that I’m a low-grade, newly promoted Fate Master who can’t do anything to him, which is why he stepped up to target me. He’s not wrong. Any newly promoted Fate Master would be helpless against him... except for me.’
One Qi Fortune Fish vanished, and the Celestial Destiny Instrument rumbled to life.
Three Destiny Images materialized above Ge Dynasty’s head.
The first showed a seven-year-old Ge Dynasty, standing in a large, three-courtyard mansion, staring blankly ahead.
A squad of soldiers escorted his father out. His father, dressed in the Senior Eighth-Grade Civilian Official’s Uniform with a green background and quail embroidery, glanced at Ge Dynasty before lowering his head and being led away.
The second image: late one night, three months ago, inside an ordinary house. A masked Ge Dynasty stood face-to-face with another masked man in black.
"You’ve done well. The Netherworld Lord sent me to reward you personally. Here are thirty thousand taels in silver notes. Half is for you, and the other half is for the grand cause. For now, continue to lie low and act as the situation demands. If you succeed in this great endeavor, you will surely rise above the rest and join me in the Upper Three Grades."
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Xie."
The third image: this morning, in the Imperial Prison Department. A Prison Guard brushed past Ge Dynasty, and a piece of paper appeared in Ge Dynasty’s hand. He opened it in a secluded spot.
Obstruct the new Fate Master.
Ge Dynasty swallowed the note in one gulp and walked on with composure.
Li Qingxian watched the second image repeatedly, memorizing the man’s voice and the look of his eyes and brows. He noticed that this person had a small, grayish-black mole on the back of his right ring finger.
Then he watched the third image over and over, memorizing the Prison Guard’s appearance.
Just as he was watching, he heard Ge Dynasty say, "Master Li, it’s been a while. Surely you have a result by now?"
Li Qingxian stopped Observing Fate and Qi and lowered his head in thought.
’Let’s see... If I were Uncle Zhou, or Han Anbo, or any high official, how could I maximize the benefit from this situation?’
Li Qingxian had met all sorts of officials these past few days and learned a lot. He was especially impressed by Wei Yong, who could lie through his teeth and remain completely unfazed, even with the weight of the Green Hat Mountain case bearing down on him.
’If I expose him on the spot, the Guard Commander and the others might be happy at first, but afterward, they’d probably curse me for being an idiot. There are hundreds of people in the Disciplinary Hall, and no one knows who Ge Dynasty’s superiors or subordinates are. If I reveal this now, I’ll only catch Ge Dynasty himself and will definitely alert the lord who gave him his orders.’
’So, Ge Dynasty is just a small fish. I have to catch that lord, or even figure out who this Netherworld Lord is, to truly maximize my gains. Once a major case like this is solved, the Imperial Court will certainly give me a huge reward, maybe even a Qi Fortune Magical Artifact. With the Imperial Court’s protection, the mastermind behind the scenes definitely won’t dare to try and kill me again. In fact, they’ll probably leave me alone for a while, fearing any association with this Netherworld Lord business.’
Li Qingxian’s mind raced. A new, golden path to survival had just appeared before him.
’I can’t alert the enemy!’
Following the methods he learned from the Fate Measuring Sect, Li Qingxian began an Inference on Ge Dynasty’s birth chart.
After a short while, Li Qingxian looked up and said, "Lord Ge, if my Inference is correct, you lived a life of luxury before the age of seven. But after you turned seven, your father met with disaster, and your family’s fortunes declined."
"That is indeed true. However, that’s nothing special. Some of my colleagues are also aware of my past," Ge Dynasty said.
Hex Lei couldn’t help but interject, "Li Qingxian has never met you before, and he only just visited the Imperial Prison Department in the last few days. How could he have possibly inquired about your past beforehand?"
The assembled officials nodded slightly.
Li Qingxian continued, "According to your birth chart, your marriage is flawed. You suffered from heartbreak around the age of twenty, then again later, and married very late."
Ge Dynasty laughed. "I was married at eighteen. My wife and I treat each other with the utmost respect, as several of my colleagues from the Imperial Prison Department can attest. I have not remarried, nor have I suffered any so-called heartbreak."
"This..." Li Qingxian’s face showed hesitation. "What about your relationship with your father? Is it strained?"
Ge Dynasty sighed. "It seems your Fate Skills haven’t even reached the entry level. My father was indeed imprisoned and stripped of his official post, but he was always very good to me, and I respect him immensely. He went into business afterward, and our family has been well-fed and well-clothed. There has never been any discord between us. You can all verify this by asking our neighbors."
"This..." Li Qingxian lowered his head, a troubled expression on his face.
Seeing this, Wei Yong’s face flushed with delight.
Seeing this, Ye Han’s eyes gleamed.
Wei Yong’s lips moved, but he ultimately kept them shut and said nothing.
Ye Han, however, glanced toward Songg Yanxue as a thought surfaced in his mind.
The Cowardly King gave Ge Dynasty a deep look, then turned to Li Qingxian. "Everyone here has a basic understanding of the fundamental laws of Fate Skills. For someone so young, and having just been promoted, to accurately deduce that his family’s fortune fell when he was seven is already remarkable. However, your last two inferences were incorrect. We’ll call it a draw. Court dismissed."
The Cowardly King’s expression was grim.
The sedan chair was lifted high, and all the officials rose to their feet.
The air seemed to freeze. The lower-ranking officials didn’t dare to breathe.
For a long while after the Cowardly King had left, the Disciplinary Hall remained silent. Many people stared at Li Qingxian with strange expressions.
He had been built up so high, only for it all to amount to nothing more than a lot of thunder and a few drops of rain. He must have taken a huge blow.
The officials stood and began to leave the Disciplinary Hall one after another.
In the group heading to the Demon Hunting Bureau, Disciplinary Officer Songg Yanxue walked at the very front.
The other officials discussed in low voices. Some believed Li Qingxian’s fame was undeserved, while others thought he was simply young and his future potential remained to be seen.
Someone asked Ye Han for his opinion. Ye Han glanced at Songg Yanxue’s back, sighed, and said, "I had a slight acquaintance with Li Qingxian before. He used to be a rather honest fellow, but after Entering Grade, he became a bit arrogant and stopped associating with me. I don’t doubt that he knows Fate Skills, but as for this so-called Life Refining Device, it’s hard to determine if it’s real or fake."
"If even Ye Han is saying that, there’s probably more to this matter than meets the eye."
"Could it be that they also know the Street Patrol Room is about to be dissolved, so they’re propping up a Fake Fate Master?"
Songg Yanxue remained silent.
Not far away, in the group heading to the Divine Capital Bureau.
Everyone rushed to comfort him.
"Qingxian, you’re still young. Setbacks like this are completely normal."
"You were able to figure out what happened to him at age seven. That’s already incredible. How old are you? If you could predict everything correctly now, what kind of monster would you be by the time you reach our age?"
"That’s right. Even the young geniuses from the Celestial Fate Sect wouldn’t be that much stronger than you."
"With your level of skill, you’d be more than qualified to be a direct lineage disciple in any ordinary Fate Skill Sect."
The crowd offered kind words of comfort, but Li Qingxian kept his head bowed the entire time.
As they neared the Chunfeng Inn, the officials dispersed.
"Come inside with me," Zhou Chunfeng said.
Li Qingxian entered the Chunfeng Inn, his head still lowered.
Many looked back, becoming even more certain that Zhou Chunfeng would not give up on Li Qingxian.
The moment he stepped into the room, Li Qingxian—who had been the very picture of dejection just a second before—plopped lazily into a chair.
Zhou Chunfeng sat down, looked at him, and chuckled. "Alright, so you know how to put on an act. You think I don’t know you? Even if you tore a hole in the sky, you wouldn’t care. It’s good that you pretended to be upset. It’ll make people mock you a little less."
Li Qingxian leaned back comfortably in his chair and said leisurely, "Uncle Zhou, there’s a big problem with this Ge Dynasty."