"Alright, Brother Han, have him sign the Life Contract. I’m buying all his Destiny Stars, and I’m not paying a single coin." After speaking, Li Qingxian looked at Shenn Goudan with a smile. "Are you willing to sign and leave your mark?"
"I am!" Shenn Goudan said.
"Give it to him."
Shenn Goudan unhesitatingly dipped his thumb in seal paste and pressed his thumbprint onto the Life Contract.
Li Qingxian also left his mark, and immediately felt an indescribable connection form between them.
The Life Contract was formed.
Li Qingxian tossed the waist token in his hand to Fann Xing and said, "Take my waist token, get a release document processed, and free this kid."
"Huh?"
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
"But... even if Lord Zhou has a lot of influence, Lord Wang is the one in charge of this matter..." Fann Xing stammered.
"Just tell them that Zhangg Fugui, the Disciplinary Officer of the Imperial Prison Department, owed Zhou Chunfeng twenty-six favors, and now he owes twenty-five," Li Qingxian said.
Fann Xing and the prison guards looked bewildered. ’Someone actually dares to call in a favor from Zhangg Fugui?’
Han Anbo and Yur Ping gave Li Qingxian a thumbs-up.
"What are you standing around for?" Li Qingxian said.
Fann Xing hurriedly took the waist token and left.
Shenn Goudan’s lips trembled as he looked at Li Qingxian, his head in the clouds, completely dazed.
Of the other eleven prisoners, some were filled with suspicion, others with hope.
"Sir, I’m willing to sell my fate, to sell everything!" a scruffy man shouted.
Li Qingxian glanced at him and said, "Wait a moment."
"Okay."
Li Qingxian said, "Protect me. I’m preparing to cultivate a Fate Skill."
"Yes, sir!" The prison guards quickly moved to stand between Li Qingxian and the prisoners.
Han Anbo drew his saber, and seeing this, Yur Ping and the other prison guards also drew their blades.
Li Qingxian took out a Spirit Awakening Talisman and stuck it to the Life Contract. With a slap of his right hand, the Life Contract and the Spirit Awakening Talisman burned up together, transforming into a wisp of Spiritual Qi that entered his Spirit Platform and formed Magic Text.
Li Qingxian closed his eyes tightly, his mind focused on his Life Mansion.
Atop the rockery in his Life Pool, the gleaming golden Destiny Fishing Rod stood erect.
To take a destiny, one must use a Life Artifact.
This Destiny Fishing Rod was forged from a Life-Taking Life Artifact into a Life-Hunting Artifact; it possessed the ability to take destinies itself.
Only when hunting for destinies does it require consuming Qi Fortune.
Strands of invisible Magical Power descended from the heavens. Some flowed into the fishing rod, while the rest flowed into his consciousness.
Li Qingxian’s consciousness manifested as a foot-tall figurine with his own refined features.
Li Qingxian raised his right hand, and the ten-foot-long gold fishing rod quivered slightly and flew into his grasp.
The Magic Text of the Life Contract descended from above and landed before him. It suddenly exploded, scattering into large, pitch-black characters that danced through the air like a flock of wild geese.
Li Qingxian began to chant the Life-Taking Skill.
The black characters descended, forming a ring around Li Qingxian that began to rotate slowly.
After he finished chanting the Life-Taking Skill’s Magic Curse for the third time, the black characters linked into a single line that extended into the void.
At the end of the void, a brilliant light flared, revealing a dilapidated house with an open wooden door—a Life Mansion.
The black characters formed a long bridge, leading directly to the door of Shenn Goudan’s Life Mansion.
Li Qingxian flicked his wrist, and Magical Power surged forth.
The Dark Gold Hook cut through the void with a WHOOSH, landing inside Shenn Goudan’s Life Mansion and flying toward a Celestial Destiny Star: Withered Earth, Shrivelled Seed.
Just as the hook was about to make contact, an invisible wind blew past, knocking it off course.
His Magical Power depleted, the hook returned.
’Just as I thought. The Life Mansion, Life Land, Life Pillar, Destiny Star... all of these forces are working against me...’
Li Qingxian infused more Magical Power, adjusted his angle, and cast the hook once more.
An invisible force swept by, and the hook was deflected.
A third cast, another miss.
Fourth, fifth, sixth...
’No wonder they say Fate Skills are imprecise. Even I, who can clearly see the Destiny Star, am being affected by the power of the Fate Grid. It must be even harder for Fate Masters who can’t see them to take a destiny.’
Li Qingxian tried again and again. After a long while, the Dark Gold Hook finally landed on the Destiny Star. Its tip pierced the surface, firmly snagging it.
An immense suction force came from the Destiny Star, pulling the line taut and nearly yanking the rod from his hands.
Li Qingxian channeled Magical Power into the Destiny Fishing Rod.
At first, the Destiny Star didn’t budge. But as more and more Magical Power flowed from the Destiny Fishing Rod, the star began to tremble slightly.
Li Qingxian gripped the rod with both hands, continuously pouring Magical Power into it.
A moment later, Li Qingxian felt the rod go slack. His consciousness-form stumbled back a few steps as the hook, now carrying the Destiny Star, flew out of Shenn Goudan’s Life Mansion.
Li Qingxian reached out to grab the Destiny Star, but it detached from the hook, flew over to the rockery in his Life Pool, and with a slight shudder, began to float in mid-air.
A look of joy appeared on Li Qingxian’s face.
’So the rockery is a place to store Destiny Stars. This way, I won’t have to spend a fortune building a Destiny Star Ship.’
Looking at the Destiny Star, Li Qingxian smiled. He glanced over at his own pathetic thatched hut and his empty Life Pillar and thought, ’Best not to court death. I’ll keep this kind of Destiny Star as bait.’
Sensing he had almost no Magical Power left, Li Qingxian withdrew from his Life Mansion and focused on his Spirit Platform to recover his strength.
Once his Magical Power was restored, he heard someone speaking outside and opened his eyes.
Fann Xing was standing beside him, holding a document.
"Is it done?" Li Qingxian asked.
Fann Xing said, "Reporting to you, sir. This is the release document from the Imperial Prison Department. It bears the Great Seals of three of the department’s lords. Shenn Goudan wasn’t a main culprit, or even an accomplice. At most, he was just being held to assist an investigation. He can be released directly without going through the Disciplinary Officer or the Guard Commander."
Li Qingxian took it, glanced at it, and placed it on the table before looking at Shenn Goudan, who was still in a dream-like state.
"From this day on, you are no longer a prisoner. Take this document. You can leave the Imperial Prison Department." Li Qingxian held the release document down and slowly pushed it forward.
Shenn Goudan’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. He stared blankly for a long moment, then suddenly burst into tears, dropped to his knees, and began kowtowing frantically to Li Qingxian.
THUD! THUD! THUD...
"Wuu... wuu..." He cried and kowtowed, trying to speak his thanks, but couldn’t even form a complete word.
"Help him up," Li Qingxian said.
Han Anbo and Yur Ping went forward and lifted the skinny Shenn Goudan up, one on each side.
Shenn Goudan’s face was a mess of tears and snot, and he cried as if his heart was breaking.
No one present was left unmoved.
"Sigh, the poor kid..." Han Anbo sighed.
After crying for a long time, Shenn Goudan slowly stopped, though he couldn’t stop choking on his sobs.
"I... thank..." He still couldn’t speak a full sentence.
"Take your time," Li Qingxian said with a smile.
Shenn Goudan nodded lightly, sniffling softly.
Fann Xing leaned in from the side and whispered, "Lord Li, even though you have Lord Zhou’s waist token, to just release him like this... what if he’s actually involved in a case...?"
"Zhangg Fugui is the one releasing him. The Imperial Prison Department’s Great Seal is on it. What does that have to do with me, Li Qingxian?" Li Qingxian retorted.
"Yes, yes, yes..." Fann Xing nodded repeatedly. ’This lord really has what it takes to be a Disciplinary Officer,’ he thought. ’His shamelessness is cast from the very same mold as Zhangg Fugui’s.’
Li Qingxian glanced at the top of Shenn Goudan’s head. The grave mound and white bones that had been there were gone, replaced by a patch of fertile black earth that had just been tilled.
His Twelve Longevity cycle had stabilized across four phases: Decline, Sickness, Embryo, and Nurturing. He had now entered the Embryo phase.
Li Qingxian said, "Brother Han, you’re well-connected. Find a livelihood for this kid. I’ve read his fate; he’s a good person."
"Leave it to me," Han Anbo said.
Across from them, Shenn Goudan’s eyes welled up with tears again. With a PLOP, he fell to his knees and started kowtowing once more.
Li Qingxian said, "Get up."
Han Anbo and Yur Ping once again helped Shenn Goudan to his feet.
Li Qingxian closed his eyes and focused his spirit, taking a destiny once again. He fished away Shenn Goudan’s second Destiny Star: "Chaotic World Floating Duckweed."
With the experience from last time, the process was much quicker.