At eight, he played carefree in the sprawling five-courtyard mansion of his family.
At twelve, he tossed his books aside and ran off to the gambling dens.
At twenty, he married his current wife.
At twenty-two, he relied on consuming Elixirs to stack his True Essence up to the Eighth Grade, barely passing the Senior Ninth Grade Cyan Cloud Examination.
...
Now middle-aged, Pang Mingjing had mastered the art of reading people and sailing with the wind, a skill he’d learned since childhood. He used his "Fox Posing as Tiger’s Might" human Fate Grid to its absolute fullest.
’His "Branches Full of Peach Blossoms" is useless to me, but the "Golden Toad with Treasure" is an excellent Fate Grid. As for "Fox Posing as Tiger’s Might," it’s hard to say. After all, a Destiny Star is a Destiny Star, and a Life Formation is a Life Formation. Many ordinary Destiny Stars can unleash unimaginable power within a Life Formation. Unfortunately, both Life Formations and the Life God are profound subjects. Even my maternal grandfather didn’t learn much about them. I only know some names, with very little knowledge of the specific details.’
Having completed his Observing Fate and Qi, Li Qingxian sank deep into thought.
Pang Mingjing stood there, motionless.
He, too, had some knowledge of Fate Skills. He knew very well that Low-Grade Fate Masters could only affect ordinary people, and that newly promoted ones especially would find it difficult to use any true Fate Skills.
If Fate Skills were so easy to learn and use, the world would be teeming with Fate Masters.
He snorted coldly and closed his eyes to rest.
Li Qingxian pondered for a moment, then began Mind Guarding his Life Mansion. His Magical Power transformed into a small figure holding a golden fishing rod.
"Life and death, long life and short, such is Fate. Rise and fall, poor and rich, such is Fortune..."
Upon completing the first recitation of the Life-Hunting Skill, a Qi Fortune Fish vanished, transforming into a long bridge of white Qi that shot toward the sky. It shattered the void and opened a swirling blue vortex—a gate.
Beyond the gate, Pang Mingjing’s Life Mansion appeared.
Li Qingxian channeled his Magical Power into the Destiny Fishing Rod and cast the hook.
WHOOSH...
The hook let out a faint sound as it cut through the air, flying along the Long Qi Fortune Bridge. It passed through the gate to Pang Mingjing’s Life Mansion and soared toward the Golden Toad with Treasure Destiny Star.
At the same time, six stars appeared in the void outside Pang Mingjing’s Life Mansion, emitting a faint glow.
When the Dark Gold Hook was three feet from the Destiny Star, an invisible wind blew past, deflecting the hook and causing it to droop lifelessly.
Previously, the hook had only encountered interference when it was about a foot away from the Destiny Star.
Li Qingxian looked up at the six stars.
’A Fate Grid of wealth and status is truly something else. It’s even protected by the Destiny Stars of his Benefactors.’
Li Qingxian retracted the hook. Instead of casting again immediately, he mentally recorded all the forces and changes he had just observed.
These were changes and forces that normally only a Great Fate Master could grasp through experience and Inference.
For the rest of the time, Li Qingxian repeatedly cast his line, continuously recording the various forces and changes. He distinguished whether they came from the Life Land, Life Pillars, the Fate Grid, Benefactors, or other powers, accumulating experience for the future.
By deep night, the hook still hadn’t touched Pang Mingjing’s Destiny Star.
However, the hook could now reach within half a foot of the Destiny Star—a massive improvement.
Li Qingxian opened his weary eyes to find the others slumped over in various states of sleep. Pang Mingjing was sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall in a daze.
Yur Ping was fast asleep, snoring with his head on the table. Han Anbo looked exhausted, but his hand still gripped the hilt of his saber, his eyes fixed on Pang Mingjing.
"It’s late. Everyone, get some rest," Li Qingxian said.
The group stirred and began to settle down.
As he stepped out of Cell C7, Fann Xing hurried to his side and whispered, "While you were using your Fate Skill, a friend told me that the Ge Dynasty approached several Directors and two familiar Deputy Disciplinary Officers of the Imperial Prison Department. They accused you of acting lawlessly, of corruptly trading lives for personal gain, and of disrupting order in the Imperial Prison. They’re demanding you be removed from the Imperial Prison Department."
"What did the lords say?"
"Some just laughed it off and didn’t want to get involved. Others went to find Lord Zhou, but he said that if anything went wrong, Zhangg Fugui would take responsibility. After all, he’s the one who owes so many favors. You’ve used up seven favors now, with nineteen left," Fann Xing said.
Li Qingxian asked, "Does the Ge Dynasty have any other tricks up its sleeve?"
Fann Xing hesitated. Han Anbo spoke up, "I’m afraid he’ll drop all pretense and attack you directly in the Disciplinary Hall. The Imperial Prison Department is a crucial place. If this blows up in the Disciplinary Hall, it could escalate to the Imperial Court and have massive repercussions."
"When will Lord Zhangg Fugui be back?" Li Qingxian asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then let’s not worry about the Ge Dynasty for now. We’ll deal with it later."
Li Qingxian had been busy all day. He returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
The moment he opened his eyes, Li Qingxian was forced to go out with the Night Guard. In disguise, he was taken to various places around the Divine Capital to identify people.
He spent the entire day identifying people, but even by deep night, he hadn’t found the mysterious lord.
After waking up, Li Qingxian was once again forced to go out and identify people.
This time, not only were the Night Guard mobilized, but the Internal Factory also joined in for a larger-scale search.
It wasn’t until evening that Li Qingxian finally recognized the person.
The person wasn’t an Upper-Grade or Middle-Grade official as expected. A dignified Third-Grade Expert was actually disguised as a low-level Seventh-Grade official in the Demon Sect’s Ministry of Justice.
It turned out the man had not only been masked but had also used a disguise, altering his eyebrows and eyes. Even the boots and clothes he wore at the time belonged to someone else. Only the mole on his ring finger was left uncovered.
Upon returning to the Night Guard Office, Li Qingxian went straight to Room C7. He was blocked by two Eighth-Grade Imperial Prison officials, but he brandished Zhou Chunfeng’s waist token to force them aside and continued fishing for fate.
After a whole night of coming up empty, he still hadn’t caught anything.
The closer the hook got to the Destiny Star, the stronger the interference became. At this rate, it would take ten to fifteen days to succeed.
The main problem was that Pang Mingjing was protected by Benefactors.
Li Qingxian did know a few methods, but they either required expensive Life Materials or his own Grade Level was too low to use powerful Fate Skills.
That night, Li Qingxian came up with a more overt strategy.
Early the next morning, Li Qingxian had Han Anbo find people to spread rumors everywhere. The rumors claimed that Pang Mingjing was suspected of sabotaging the cooperation between the Night Guard and the Internal Factory, and that the Internal Factory was going to make a move against him, even digging up his roots. He also asked the Eunuch Jingg Guan to help by going to Cell C7 to loudly curse Pang Mingjing, ensuring the news spread throughout the Night Guard.
In the afternoon, Li Qingxian went straight to Chunfeng Inn and asked Zhou Chunfeng to send an inquiry letter to the Finance Department, asking what was going on.
Wei Yong paid a personal visit, implying that he no longer had any connection to Pang Mingjing and would absolutely not offend the Internal Factory for his sake.
With everything arranged, Li Qingxian entered Cell C7 once more.
He had Pang Mingjing brought out alone.
Pang Mingjing remained silent.
Li Qingxian performed Observing Fate and Qi, consuming a Qi Fortune Fish to build the Long Qi Fortune Bridge.
He took a closer look and breathed a sigh of relief.
The void outside Pang Mingjing’s Life Mansion, which had previously held six stars, now had only one, and it was dim and lightless.
A brief Inference revealed that the Destiny Star belonged to one of Pang Mingjing’s relatives.
Li Qingxian cast his line again. This time, on the very first try, it landed right on the Golden Toad with Treasure.
"Yes!"
Li Qingxian didn’t get careless. He continued to practice until he could hit the target every single time. Only then did he consume a Qi Fortune Fish, channeling it into the "Chaotic World Floating Duckweed" Destiny Star he had purchased earlier. He then attached the Chaotic World Floating Duckweed to the Dark Gold Hook.
The Chaotic World Floating Duckweed shrank, becoming a small star the size of a thumb pad.
Li Qingxian cast his rod.
The hook and the small star traced a graceful arc through the air, landing precisely on the Golden Toad with Treasure Destiny Star.
The small star enveloped the hook, pierced into the Golden Toad with Treasure, and latched on tight.
With a gentle lift from Li Qingxian, the entire Destiny Star flew back and hovered above the rockery in his Life Mansion.
The Chaotic World Floating Duckweed vanished, and the Golden Toad with Treasure descended.
’My little shack is finally getting its first Destiny Star!’
Li Qingxian was overjoyed. With a thought, the Golden Toad with Treasure Destiny Star flew into his Life Mansion, settled upon the Year Pillar, and hovered there motionlessly.
An indescribable aura filled the Life Mansion.
The feeling was like breathing in too much exhaust in a city and suddenly finding yourself in a great forest far from the clamor. You take a deep breath, and the fragrance of grass and trees fills your entire being—a wonderful, refreshing sensation.
The surface of the little shack now glowed with a faint, gentle light.
It was very subtle, but it was definitely there.
A wide grin spread across Li Qingxian’s face.
All these days of effort had not been in vain.
He had finally harvested a good Fate Grid.
Li Qingxian glanced at the Fox Posing as Tiger’s Might Destiny Star. If it was easy to fish out, he would take that one too.
This Destiny Star was only average in its effect, but the key was to sever Pang Mingjing’s last hope.
And so, Li Qingxian continued to fish.
The Golden Toad with Treasure was in the Youth Life Land, while the Fox Posing as Tiger’s Might was in the Middle-Aged Life Land. With the change in location, all the forces involved changed as well.
However, Li Qingxian had accumulated a wealth of experience over the past few days.
As the evening lanterns began to glow, his second catch was a success.