Once everyone had left, Zhou Chunfeng sighed and said, "This matter has its pros and cons. The downside is that you’ve been marked by a Great Deceitful. The upside is, if you run into any minor Deceitful Demons, you can show them this. Even if they want to kill you, they’ll hesitate for a moment."
"Hesitating for just a moment is a good thing?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Can’t be helped. Deceitful Demons aren’t like people; they don’t really have a hierarchy. Of course, if it’s a Deceitful Demon affiliated with the Yellow Springs Emperor, it probably won’t harm you, but... it might capture you and offer you to the Yellow Springs Emperor."
"So much for the upside," Li Qingxian said. "Can the mark be removed?"
"I’ve never heard of it being removed, but... if your fate is strong enough, you really don’t have to be afraid."
"Why?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Do you know who founded the Black Lamp Department?"
Li Qingxian shook his head.
"The Great Fate Master, Li Xuzhong. Do you know how many of these Great Deceitful Seals he has on him?" Zhou Chunfeng said, pointing to Li Qingxian’s wrist.
Li Qingxian shook his head.
"Fourteen."
"Are the Great Deceitfuls having a party on his body? And he’s not dead?"
"Not only is he not dead, he’s planning to collect more. Do you know why the Deceitful Demons can’t do anything to him?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Why?"
"Because every time a Deceitful Demon comes after him, it inevitably runs into another Deceitful Demon, and Li Xuzhong just sits back and watches them fight. After this happened enough times, the Great Deceitfuls couldn’t even be bothered with him. But that just egged him on, and he started actively messing with them. He’s hated by men and Deceitfuls alike," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Worthy of being one of the ten greatest Fate Masters. His fate is truly unyielding..." Li Qingxian was in disbelief.
"Come on. Li Xuzhong said that this thing isn’t necessarily a bad thing," Zhou Chunfeng said, patting Li Qingxian’s shoulder kindly.
"I believe you." Li Qingxian’s mood improved slightly. ’If a Great Fate Master can handle it, then as long as I have enough Destiny Stars and Fate Skills, I can handle it too.’
Li Qingxian instructed the Imperial Prison staff to bury the ox on the spot. The grave was only to be moved after seven days, and to a normal cemetery.
Back at the Chunfeng Inn, Li Qingxian emptied the contents of his robes onto the table and quickly took inventory.
Two bottles of Spirit Gold, a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact called the "Nine-Flower Umbrella," a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact called the Clear Heart Jade Pendant that helped calm the mind, some assorted gold and silver Jade Artifacts, silver notes totaling three thousand seven hundred taels, over a hundred taels of broken silver, and over six thousand copper coins.
"Uncle Zhou, could you help me calculate the value?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng said, "The two bottles of Spirit Gold are worth twenty thousand. A typical Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact is about three to five thousand taels of silver. This Nine-Flower Umbrella is for both offense and defense, so it’s worth at least five thousand taels of silver. The Clear Heart Jade Pendant is rare and expensive, worth at least ten thousand taels of silver. Lord Xu is a man of his word; if he said ten thousand, he meant it. All that gold and silver and the Jade Artifacts are worth close to two thousand taels of silver combined."
"Over forty thousand? Is dispelling a Deceit this profitable?" Li Qingxian asked.
"You have to be alive to spend it," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Sigh, if only I had a Storage Magical Artifact." Li Qingxian glanced enviously at Zhou Chunfeng’s Qi Fortune Silver Fish Pouch as he slowly organized the items on the table.
Zhou Chunfeng pointed to a book chest by the table. "This is your first Demon Hunting trip, and I don’t have much to give you. I had someone prepare some miscellaneous items for you to take on your fate hunting."
"Let me see."
Li Qingxian opened the chest and took out the items one by one to inspect them. There was a large bundle of Daoist Sect items: expensive Golden Talisman Paper, high-quality Cinnabar, a Magic Pen, a Copper Water Basin, and more. There were also some specially prepared dry rations infused with Magical Power, a Copper Water Bowl, a flint, and other sundries. At the very bottom lay a book: the *Complete Collection of Basic Daoist Spells*.
Li Qingxian opened the book and saw it was full of Basic Daoist Skills he should learn, such as the Water Creation Technique, Fire-Igniting Skill, Fog Making Skill, and Tractor Skill.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou."
As he spoke, Li Qingxian picked up the orchid-carved Clear Heart Jade Pendant and hung it from his waist. He secured the Nine-Flower Umbrella to the back of the book chest, repacked it, and took out one thousand taels in silver notes and the broken silver, wrapping them in Rune Paper to keep them dry. He also placed the Divine Pattern Flying Sword, which he usually carried as a dagger, inside.
Li Qingxian looked around, went into a side room, and retrieved a small huanghuali wood box with a tiger-head copper lock. He emptied its miscellaneous contents, returned to the main room, and placed the silver notes and other gold and silver Jade Artifacts inside. He closed the lid and patted it.
"Uncle Zhou, it’s not convenient for me to keep these things, so I’ll store them with you for now. If you’re short on cash, feel free to use... hmm... just take a little. This is the betrothal gift for my future... my future wife. A certain uncle should probably add a little something to it, too." Li Qingxian looked at Zhou Chunfeng with a self-righteous expression.
Zhou Chunfeng shot Li Qingxian a look.
"Can I go to the Imperial Prison Department to get some Life Materials now?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Chunfeng glanced at the sky and said, "It’s late. Let’s deal with it tomorrow. Write down what you need, and I’ll have someone fetch it for you in the morning."
"Alright."
Li Qingxian picked up a brush and paper and wrote down the Life Materials needed for two Magical Artifacts: the Destiny Measuring Ruler and the Destiny Scale. Many future Fate Skills would require the aid of these two Life Artifacts.
After he finished writing, he handed it over. Zhou Chunfeng held the paper with both hands, his brow furrowed. After staring at it for a good while, he said, "Read it out loud for me so I can follow along."
Li Qingxian had no choice but to read it aloud again. After Zhou Chunfeng followed along, he copied it out himself by hand.
When Li Qingxian returned to Room A9, he could hear Yur Ping’s soft snores from his bed. Han Anbo sat up and asked in a hushed voice, "All done?"
"Don’t even ask. I’ve been afflicted by a Deceit," Li Qingxian whispered.
"What? What happened?"
Li Qingxian briefly recounted what had happened at the Imperial Prison.
"What a close call. But don’t worry too much. Lord Zhou is right. Being afflicted by a Deceit is nothing but harmful for people like us, but for a Fate Master, it’s a mixed blessing. If the Yellow Springs Mysterious Land ever appears again, you can be the one to dispel its Deceit. With this experience, your status is bound to rise."
"I hope so," Li Qingxian said.
"We’re going out Demon Hunting tomorrow afternoon. You should get some sleep."
"I can’t. I still have to work on Talisman Making, and I need to practice with my Life Artifacts tomorrow morning. Sigh, I also wanted to buy some fate, but there’s no time," Li Qingxian said.
"That’s an easy fix. You were just afflicted by a Deceit and dispelled it. It’s a special situation. Just mention it to Lord Zhou, and you can join the Demon Hunting Team the day after tomorrow. The Demon Hunting Bureau isn’t only sending out a team tomorrow; they’ll be sending them out whenever they find traces of the Demon Race for the foreseeable future."
"Oh, is that so? Then I’ll postpone for a day. By the way, Brother Han, you know people from all walks of life. Do you know anyone willing to sell their fate? I’m not picky. Whether their fate is good or bad doesn’t matter. I mainly want to accumulate experience with my Fate Skills."
"That’s easy. All those beggars and loafers complain about their bad fate. If you tell them you want to buy it, they’d be overjoyed. They’d probably even give it to you for free."
"No, that won’t do. A hundred taels, then," Li Qingxian said.
"No, no, that’s a terrible idea. If you really give a beggar one hundred taels of silver, he’ll be found dead in the streets the next day. How about this: I’ll find some honest, poor folk. We’ll give them just a few taels of silver and then help them find a proper livelihood. If you really feel bad about it, you can just help out with some silver the next time a family suffers a disaster. Besides, buying their fate isn’t a guaranteed success. You might just be giving them money for nothing," Han Anbo said.
"I’ll follow your lead on this, Brother Han. After all, I’m still young and don’t understand the way these things work," Li Qingxian said.
"Tomorrow, I’ll bring the people to a spot next to Night Guard Street. We can borrow an empty house, and you can go buy their fate."
Li Qingxian thought for a moment and said, "I’ll probably be buying Life Materials frequently in the future. It’s not appropriate to keep them in Room A9. Can you help me rent a normal, single-courtyard house nearby? We can hang a Night Guard plaque on it."
"Sure, I’ll take care of it all tomorrow," Han Anbo said.