The story has ended.
Outside the window, the sunset had vanished, the last trace of twilight replaced by moonlight and the city lights.
Yan Shouyi sat by Chen Dawei's bedside, silent for a long time, as if struggling to process the story.
So, it wasn't his father who had proactively taught Uncle Chen the Little Six Ren Divine Art, but Uncle Chen seeking protection for his own son. Even Grandpa had misunderstood Father back then.
So, Uncle Chen's son had already died once. Father had exhausted all his skill to bring him back to life, but this had also sown the seeds of karma, leading to Uncle Chen's son's eventual accidental death.
So, the night Uncle Chen's son had his accident was somehow connected to him. Why had Father asked Uncle Chen to divine for him? Why not divine for himself? And what exactly had Uncle Chen divined?
Although many of the mysteries from the past had been unraveled, Yan Shouyi's heart was now filled with even more questions.
Sensing the confusion in Yan Shouyi's heart, Chen Dawei slowly continued:
"You must be wondering why your father did those things?"
"Uncle Chen, do you know?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Chen Dawei nodded. "The night we were drinking, your father told me everything, which is why I took the risk to divine for you. Come to think of it, this is just the story of three unfortunate fathers..."
Three? Besides his father and Uncle Chen, who was the third father? Yan Shouyi was even more confused.
"Descendants of Lu Ban are destined to face a life-and-death tribulation every three generations. In fact, your Yan family's tribulation for this sixty-year cycle was meant to fall upon your father!"
"Wh-what?!"
Yan Shouyi's eyes widened in shock, rendering him speechless.
Chen Dawei said, "Your father told me this himself! Your father was the one who should have faced the life-and-death tribulation! But Grandpa couldn't bear to watch his own son die, so he found a way to take on one tribulation for your father. It was precisely because of this that your grandmother and mother met their deaths! Your grandfather's blindness was also a result of that tribulation!"
Chen Dawei's words struck Yan Shouyi's heart like a hammer blow, one by one.
For so many years, he had never known how much his father and grandfather had shouldered!
He had also wondered why he had no grandmother or mother. His father and grandfather had been tight-lipped about it, never mentioning it in front of him.
He never imagined they had all died because of this...
"Grandpa couldn't bear to watch his son die, so he found a way to take on one tribulation for your father. He thought everything would be fine, but he didn't expect the life-and-death tribulation to be passed on to you. When your father learned of this, he deeply regretted it and even fell out with Grandpa, believing Grandpa shouldn't have been so selfish, sacrificing so many lives, and ultimately causing you to bear all of this. But since it had already happened, Grandpa could do nothing more. He simply did what a father should do. Afterward, your father walked the same path as Grandpa. Because the Little Six Ren Divine Art cannot divine for the fortune or misfortune of close relatives, he pleaded with me to divine for you, to figure out how to help you avoid the life-and-death tribulation!"
"So... so that's how it is..."
Yan Shouyi closed his eyes, recalling the bits and pieces of his family's past, the helplessness and fleeting pain he often saw in his grandfather's and father's eyes. He suddenly understood everything.
Tears welled up in his eyes. The usually cheerful and optimistic Yan Shouyi couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
Chen Dawei struggled to raise his head and caressed Yan Shouyi's forehead. "Shouyi, do you hate your grandfather? He transferred the suffering that should have been borne by your father onto you."
Yan Shouyi lowered his head, wiped his tears, and shook his head.
"I don't hate him. Because in my past life, I was a harbinger of death, I killed countless people and incurred infinite karma. That is why I was born into the Lu Ban family in this life to endure the suffering I deserve. Over the years, I have traveled the world with Grandpa, doing good deeds, essentially atoning for my past sins. Grandpa said that as long as I do enough good deeds, perhaps I will have a chance to survive when the life-and-death tribulation arrives."
Chen Dawei was taken aback. "Your grandfather told you all of this?"
"When a person is about to die, there is nothing left to hide. Grandpa wishes for me to live on bravely," Yan Shouyi said.
Chen Dawei looked at him with pity.
He had once treated Yan Shouyi as his own son.
Now that he had lost his own son, seeing Yan Shouyi facing such a crisis, Chen Dawei was worried for him from the bottom of his heart.
If he had the chance, he would sacrifice himself to ensure Yan Shouyi's safety.
He hadn't been able to save his son last time; this time, he absolutely could not let Yan Shouyi repeat the same fate!
Yan Shouyi was unaware that Chen Dawei, silent on his sickbed, had already made a decision in his heart.
"Uncle Chen, you've told me everything I needed to know, but I still have one last question – what exactly did you divine when you cast that lot for me back then?"
Chen Dawei replied, "Your grandfather also knew about that lot. The key to resolving your life-and-death tribulation lies with the Li family of West Lake!"
West Lake!
The Li family!
Yan Shouyi suddenly understood again.
So, back then, Grandpa taking him to the Li family of West Lake for an engagement wasn't about finding a good girl for him, but to help him resolve his life-and-death tribulation!
But what secrets did the Li family of West Lake hold? How could they resolve his life-and-death tribulation?
Could the key to resolving the life-and-death tribulation be the Li family of West Lake, the girl he was engaged to?
Thinking of this, Yan Shouyi's mind became a jumble, yet a familiar figure couldn't help but surface in his thoughts.
If fate had arranged it this way, did he still have a chance to resist?
Yan Shouyi frowned deeply.
"Shouyi, Uncle doesn't know what you've been through all these years, but no matter what you decide to do in the future, at least you must survive first," Chen Dawei advised.
Yan Shouyi seemed somewhat absent-minded. "I understand..."
"You can go. You've learned a lot today and you must need time to digest it. Let Xiao Long come in; I have something to tell him," Chen Dawei said.
"Okay, Uncle, you rest well. Don't worry about the medical expenses; I'll visit you often."
After speaking, Yan Shouyi bowed deeply to Chen Dawei again before leaving the ward. However, he was clearly still preoccupied, even forgetting to close the ward door.
Stepping out of the ward, Yan Shouyi bumped into Long Feicheng, who was idly standing in the corridor. He then remembered that Chen Dawei wanted to see Long Feicheng and asked him to go in and keep Chen Dawei company.
He returned to the same window, lighting one cigarette after another.
...
"Xiao Long, what did Uncle Chen tell you when he called you in just now?"
On their way back, Yan Shouyi asked Long Feicheng.
Long Feicheng grinned. "It wasn't anything major. He just asked me to make a few calls for him to contact his old flames, as he was worried his old flames might find new lovers after he'd been missing for a week. Also, he asked me to learn skills from you, saying I could learn anything except the Little Six Ren Divine Art."
Yan Shouyi chuckled awkwardly. "Not learning the Little Six Ren Divine Art is the right choice. Not just the Little Six Ren Divine Art, you'd best not learn any of the Lu Ban Sect's techniques. But apart from that, I'll teach you anything you want to learn in the future."
"Really? What else is there to learn besides the Lu Ban Sect's techniques?" Long Feicheng grumbled.
"There's plenty. Only one-third of the techniques in the Lu Ban texts are our own; the rest are skills our ancestors learned from various sects. For example, the Golden Light Divine Incantation from Mount Longhu, the Palm Lightning from Mount Mao, and I can even teach you corpse herding."
"Is that true? Are they that amazing?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would Old Jin value us? Isn't it precisely because our Lu Ban texts contain the ultimate skills of his Qihuang Sect?"
Long Feicheng's eyes lit up. "Then I'll learn them, I'll learn them all!"
"But there's one thing I must remind you: after learning them, don't show them off casually to others. After all, what I'm teaching you are the exclusive skills of other sects. If you happen to run into the rightful owners, they might make things difficult for you," Yan Shouyi warned sternly.
Long Feicheng patted his chest. "Don't worry about that. I, Long Feicheng, am not the type of person who flaunts his abilities!"
Yan Shouyi was silent for a moment. "Your greatest strength is your confidence."
"That's a given."
Upon reaching the bus stop outside the school, Yan Shouyi didn't rush back to school. Instead, he uncharacteristically pulled Long Feicheng to go drinking.
This greatly startled Long Feicheng, as in his eyes, Yan Shouyi didn't seem like the type of person who enjoyed drinking.
However, he couldn't resist Yan Shouyi's enthusiasm. The two of them drank at a roadside stall outside the school until midnight.
Long Feicheng wasn't drunk, but he didn't expect Yan Shouyi to become completely inebriated. Only when it was time to pay did Long Feicheng realize Yan Shouyi's ulterior motives. He could only take out his private savings from his pants to settle the bill.
The stall owner was even more dumbfounded. The two young men had only ordered a plate of peanuts and two skewers of lamb, yet they had drunk over thirty bottles of alcohol.
Finally, as Long Feicheng carried Yan Shouyi on his shoulder, he sighed deeply with resignation:
"Brother Yan, I know you're troubled. I don't have much skill, and I probably can't help much, but no matter what storms come, your brother will stand in front of you. I'll go through fire and water with you, and we'll face hardships together. But you'd better be like my master said, and bless me with great wealth! I, Long Feicheng, have no other wish than to be rich, with many wives and concubines. Your brother is counting on you for this!"
Yan Shouyi: "Ooooh!"
Long Feicheng exclaimed in surprise. "Brother Yan, did you agree?"
Yan Shouyi: "Ooooh... Oh... Owww!"
"Damn it, don't you vomit on me! This is my only set of clothes! ... Brother Yan!!"