My mind replayed the words of my master, who had told me that upon encountering a destiny of "utterly wicked," I should ask nothing, inquire nothing, and leave immediately. If the client insisted on holding me back, I should use force, but refrain from killing anyone, and the rest would be handled by him.
At first, I didn't understand. It was just the destiny of a dead person; what could be so significant?
At most, I wouldn't read the fortune for the intended recipient and wouldn't take their money.
However, the day after I read a destiny of "utterly wicked," as soon as my master stepped out of the house, his head was split open by falling roof tiles. There was no prior warning, as if someone had deliberately thrown tiles from the roof.
My master had to get six stitches at the hospital. We thought that was the end of it, and he resigned himself to bad luck.
The threshold of my master's house was an old-fashioned double door that opened inwards. In front of the door was a threshold about knee-high. I heard it was built to prevent mice from entering the house. I scoffed at this; what threshold could stop a mouse?
My master, with his bandaged head, looked rather dejected. He had a dark expression all the way, muttering curses, complaining about losing half a month of drinking, and how he should have slapped the client a few more times.
After getting out of the car, I carefully helped my master towards the house. As we neared the door, I specifically checked the interior, but saw no tiles about to fall. For this, my master gave me a flick on the neck.
To prevent my master from falling, I first stepped over with one foot, then straddled the threshold, and then helped my master to follow.
When my master took his first step over, nothing seemed unusual. But as he was about to bring his second leg over, I felt his body suddenly become heavy, as if I weren't supporting a thin old man, but a two-hundred-pound fatty.
No matter how hard I tried, my master, pulling me along, fell to the ground. Fortunately, before we hit the ground, I acted as a cushion, preventing my master from being disfigured. However, my right hand, unable to brace properly, struck the threshold, and my master was once again admitted to the hospital.
We thought this incident was finally over, but who would have thought that even being in the hospital wouldn't bring an end to the misfortune? Whether it was a blocked IV drip, a nurse missing the vein when giving an injection, or the bed collapsing, my master encountered every kind of bad luck imaginable.
During the month my master was hospitalized, the entire hospital was in chaos. There was always some problem or another, not only tormenting my master terribly but also causing several doctors and nurses to resign.
It wasn't until my master was thoroughly enraged that he had me go home to retrieve his birth chart, which was pressed under a wooden immortal shrine. Only then did things begin to calm down, though it still caused my master to be unlucky for nearly half a year.
Therefore, the first thing my master did after recovering was to find that family. But when he arrived, the family had already moved. None of the neighbors knew where they had gone. It was said they moved in the middle of the night.
It was also the only time I saw my master suffer a loss. It was then that my master warned me: I could read any destiny, but if I encountered a divination that I couldn't resolve between Yin and Yang, I should give up immediately, because such divinations were beyond my ability to resolve.
Recalling my master's experience, I picked up the phone, intending to call him.
However, after hesitating several times, I didn't press the call button.
Firstly, I didn't want to trouble my master again. Although my master didn't say anything verbally that time, I understood that he had suffered for me. With his profound cultivation, he was almost tormented to death. If it were me, I might have been played to death.
Secondly, I was afraid of hearing that the phone was turned off again. My master had been turning off his phone for several days, which was quite unlike his usual behavior.
Now, I truly wished I could immediately get on a bus and go back to see what had happened to him, but with the warning from the man in the red suit, I had to consider whether to leave forcefully.
The fact that the man in the red suit delivered Wang Jun's head demonstrated that they could be ruthless even to their own subordinates who failed to perform their duties. For me, an outsider, it would be no different.
My expression shifted several times as I tidied up everything on the desk and put it into my bag.
Zhang Dabiao, standing nearby, looked at me with some confusion.
"Young brother, did you find it?"
I shook my head. "I didn't find it. Her destiny has been tampered with. This is a confrontation between me and someone else."
Zhang Dabiao was taken aback. "How come I didn't see that?"
"This matter has to do with Fang Huixin's daughter's ghost marriage. It's not something that can be explained in a few words. For now, come with me to find someone. He should have some information."
A "utterly wicked" destiny requires at least three generations of accumulated evil for their descendants to suffer.
Judging by Fang Huixin's daughter's birth chart, she was by no means a person of great evil.
If we were to consider Fang Huixin as the third generation of evildoers, then in this generation, she should be incredibly unlucky. Forget about getting rich or doing business; having enough to eat would be good.
But now, Fang Huixin's business is booming, and she's even involved in the most profitable antique and burial object trade. Therefore, the probability of Fang Huixin's ancestors being evil is very small.
The only remaining possibility is that Sui Wan'er had usurped Fang Huixin's daughter's remains, causing a change in her destiny.
When I saw Sui Wan'er's remains, her bones were all black, and her limbs were broken and pressed beneath her body.
The black color of her bones indicated that she had been force-fed a potent poison while alive, otherwise, her bones wouldn't have turned black.
The bone fragments suggested that her limbs were forcibly broken before Sui Wan'er died, showing the immense suffering she endured in life. Without intense hatred from someone, why would they inflict such cruel torture on her?
Therefore, I concluded that Sui Wan'er's destiny must have altered Fang Huixin's daughter's destiny. Only then could I not find her remains.
In Molu Village, I had encountered only one person capable of changing another's destiny, and that was Old Li, who was always by Fang Huixin's side.
Because I had once asked him about a "husband-killing, family-prospering destiny," he didn't answer me directly, but the changes in his pupils indicated that he knew about it.
If I hadn't disrupted that ghost marriage because of Sui Wan'er, the misfortune would likely have befallen me by now.
Naturally, I was furious that Old Li used such malicious means to switch the identities. If I were to leave now, it would be one thing, but now that they were threatening me to "stay" here, I would play along.
The man in the red suit had mentioned his surname was Li when he left. Judging by his age, he was likely Old Li's grandson.
I don't know the purpose of this, but guessing, there are only a few possibilities: establishing authority or proving something.
Regardless of the reason, I would never let him succeed.
With that thought, I grabbed Zhang Dabiao and we left the house.
The night in Molu Village was like two different worlds compared to the day. The vibrant lights and bustling sounds were insufficient to describe the scenery of the village.
In the darkness, the west and east sides of the village were like two separate realms.
One side was brightly lit and filled with people, with constant shouts of vendors and curses.
The other side had shops with doors wide open, lights flickering, and hushed conversations. Everyone entering the shops wore masks, completely concealing their faces, fearing being seen by others.
Even after being here for several days, I was still somewhat unaccustomed to their trading habits, but I could understand it; "wealth should not be exposed" is an age-old saying.
The village was divided by a Han River running through the middle. No one could clearly explain the reason for this division.
If one had to make a distinction, it would be that the east side of the village was mostly inhabited by the living, while the west side was mostly inhabited by those involved in ghost marriages and evil practices. Everyone was aware of each other's existence, but due to the presence of the Five Kings' Mansion, they generally coexisted peacefully.
With Old Ghost guiding me once before, I now navigated the familiar path back to the tavern Old Ghost had taken me to.
The innkeeper was still as hospitable as ever, but upon seeing me, his expression stiffened slightly before he greeted me warmly.
I interrupted his usual welcoming speech, "Old Ghost, is he upstairs?"
The innkeeper paused, "Which Old Ghost?"
Seeing the cunning smile on the innkeeper's face, I cursed him inwardly, thinking what a greedy fellow he was.
I casually took out some spirit money I had burned on the way and threw it to him.
Indeed, his old face broke into a smile as wide as a chrysanthemum.
"After you left yesterday, he left with them. However..."
Looking at his greedy expression, I really wanted to slap him, but without Old Ghost as my support, I held back.
I threw him another gold spirit note. "Hurry up and tell me, however what."
"However, he was arrested by General Zuo."