The next morning.
When Ji Yaozi arrived at the dining hall for breakfast, he saw Jiang Luo already sitting there, halfway through his meal. Grabbing two buns and two eggs, he walked over and sat down. “Why are you up so early today?”
Jiang Luo looked up. “Didn’t sleep a wink all night.”
“You didn’t sleep all night?” Ji Yaozi seemed to remember something and cautiously asked, “Because of what happened between you and Chi You?”
As he said this, the look in Ji Yaozi’s eyes turned sympathetic as he looked at Jiang Luo.
Chi You was someone Jiang Luo had once loved deeply. He had even started working hard and improving himself for Chi You’s sake. They’d consummated their relationship, and Jiang Luo had even sworn to avenge him. Although they’d fallen out at some point, Jiang Luo now had to pretend he’d been brainwashed and fight against Chi You. Just thinking about it, one could imagine the complicated feelings involved.
Ji Yaozi filled in the blanks himself, and the two of them nearly sighed together.
As soon as Jiang Luo saw Ji Yaozi’s expression, he knew he was letting his imagination run wild. He didn’t bother explaining and swallowed his last bite of food without a change in expression. “Old Ji, let me ask you something.”
Ji Yaozi said, “What is it?”
“Why did you have a Yuan Tian Bead?”
Ji Yaozi was stunned for a moment, then looked as though he had expected this. “I knew you’d ask that.”
He rolled a tea egg across the table, speaking slowly, “There are four days left before you go down the mountain for the tribunal. After it’s over… will you come back?”
Jiang Luo: “Take a guess.”
“You little brat,” Ji Yaozi half-laughed, half-scolded. “I’m not trying to change the subject. But you need to understand— the more you know, the deeper you get involved. Do you really want to get caught up in all this trouble?”
Jiang Luo actually laughed. “You think I’m not already involved?”
He cast Ji Yaozi a half-smile. Ji Yaozi clearly saw the restless ambition and cool disdain in his eyes— a fierce spark of soul that burned bright, unyielding, and determined.
“No matter if you tell me or not, I’m already involved. Life needs some spicy drama to make it exciting. I don’t like being dragged into things, but this— I have to figure it out.”
He was curious about many things and wanted to get to the bottom of it all. He had the strong feeling Chi You’s secrets were somehow linked to all this.
Since that was the case, how could Jiang Luo let it go?
Besides, he still had to kill the Fated One.
Ji Yaozi’s grip suddenly tightened, and the eggshell cracked in his hand. He came back to his senses and sighed. “You’re right.”
“This Yuan Tian Bead was given to me by the Fated One,” he said in a low voice after a moment. “Thirty years ago, the Fated One did a divination for the entire metaphysics world. A divination on such a scale always comes at a heavy price. The will of Heaven must not be leaked. Anyone trying to glimpse it risks their lifespan— even death. Before the Fated One, no one had ever dared attempt to divine the future of the entire metaphysics world.”
“The metaphysics world isn’t like other circles. Though small, every person in it hides great power. Feng Shui and metaphysics permeate every aspect of life, and predicting the future of even one of us is several times harder than for ordinary people. Only after the Fated One performed this divination did we truly understand how powerful he was.”
“If anyone else tried to do a divination like this— even your master Feng Li— it would’ve taken ten or more people working together, all prepared to halve their lifespans just to succeed,” Ji Yaozi’s tone grew complicated. His expression was mixed with both fear and reverence. “But the Fated One… he just went white-haired.”
Jiang Luo frowned.
“The results of his divination weren’t good,” Ji Yaozi continued. “the Fated One told us that in thirty years, the metaphysics world would face a cataclysmic disaster. The six major families and the twelve universities would all be destroyed— and it would all be at the hands of one person.”
“We searched for that person for three years and found nothing. Then twenty-seven years ago, the Fated One went to Changbai Mountain. Chi You was born— and we realized he was the one from the prophecy.”
“But the number of people who knew about this could be counted on two hands— just a handful of the older generation.”
Jiang Luo found it amusing. “Then why didn’t you kill Chi You as soon as he was born?”
Ji Yaozi gave a helpless smile. “Jiang Luo, do you know what ‘fate’ means?”
Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that said: go on.
Ji Yaozi said, “There are two widely known sayings in the metaphysics world. One is ‘Heaven’s will must not be revealed.’ The other is ‘A diviner must not divine for themselves.’ Anyone who knows how to divine the future knows how mysterious this craft truly is. It’s often because we know something that we end up causing the very result of that divination.”
Jiang Luo couldn’t help but think of the “Innocent Hexagram” he once divined— it was because he knew the omen and tried to avoid it that he ultimately fulfilled it.
“So we didn’t dare act rashly,” Ji Yaozi said. “Me, Dean Xu, even most of the six great families— none of us could be sure whether it was our knowing the prophecy that led us to act against Chi You, thus causing the foretold destruction… or whether Chi You was born inherently evil.”
“We split into factions. Some believed he should be guided toward goodness. Others wanted to kill him right away. In the end, the cautious side prevailed, and Chi You survived. In the years that followed, Chi You truly did well. He was kind, gentle, and outstandingly gifted, yet humble and low-key. No one could dislike him. Dean Xu even became close friends with him despite the age gap. He firmly refused to believe Chi You could be the destroyer mentioned in the prophecy.”
“Many people who didn’t know the truth became Chi You’s devoted followers. They praised him and couldn’t resist his charm. Everything seemed to be moving in a good direction. But as the thirty-year mark approached… Chi You died early.”
“Dean Xu was devastated. He and I both believed Chi You’s death was caused by those who knew the prophecy back then. They were powerful people. To prevent you from also being killed by them, we chose to hide your relationship with Chi You and didn’t let you seek revenge.”
Ji Yaozi sighed with melancholy. “Chi You died. We all thought that meant the future had changed, that the metaphysics world would no longer meet its doomed fate. When the Fated One heard of Chi You’s death, he too came down from Changbai Mountain.”
Jiang Luo, who had been quietly listening the whole time, suddenly spoke: “Wait—are you saying the Fated One stayed hidden on Changbai Mountain from the time Chi You was born until his death?”
Ji Yaozi chuckled. “The word ‘hidden’ might not be the most accurate. The Fated One has always been more of an observer. He rarely involves himself in worldly affairs.”
Jiang Luo completely ignored that remark after getting his confirmation.
He was intrigued—why would the Fated One stay in hiding for twenty-seven years?
Was it because Chi You was still alive and he didn’t dare come down the mountain?
Why wouldn’t he dare?
The prophecy said Chi You would destroy the metaphysics world after thirty years. But within those thirty years, there should’ve been no need for the Fated One to hide.
Was he afraid of Chi You?
Afraid Chi You would do something to him?
Jiang Luo found the situation more and more interesting. He had a gut feeling there were still layers to this prophecy that hadn’t been uncovered. “But then you all discovered that even after Chi You died, he came back as a much stronger malicious ghost, right?”
Ji Yaozi gave a helpless shrug and let out a bitter laugh.
“But even after he became a malicious ghost, you still don’t believe he’ll destroy the metaphysics world,” Jiang Luo muttered to himself. “Helping me is really just your way of helping him.”
Ji Yaozi’s body stiffened ever so slightly—Jiang Luo was too sharp. Thankfully, Jiang Luo didn’t press further and instead asked, “If the Fated One is that powerful, why didn’t he just take Chi You out last night?”
Ji Yaozi didn’t know the exact reason, but he had a guess. “Even though he’s called the Fated One, it doesn’t mean he’s exempt from fate. Maybe he knows that if he takes action, it’ll be pointless—or worse, might even backfire and accelerate the path fate has already set.”
Jiang Luo didn’t believe in fate in the slightest. He scoffed, “I thought you were going to say he’s just too kind-hearted to take a life.”
Ji Yaozi pressed his lips together. “Maybe. Who really knows what goes on in his mind?”
After finishing their meal, the two walked toward the hot spring pool. As they approached and caught a glimpse of the Fated One’s silhouette through the trees, Jiang Luo suddenly asked, “One last question. Just how strong is the Fated One?”
Ji Yaozi was silent for a while. As the cold soil underfoot gave way to budding spring grass, he finally said, “He’s a god.”
Jiang Luo halted mid-step, stunned.
What?
Ji Yaozi stopped as well, looking toward the distant figure of the Fated One. His voice was so soft that the wind nearly carried it away, yet the dread in it sank deep, like a chill in the bones. “He accepts our offerings. He is the closest being to a god in this world.”
“He is a false god.”
