Chapter 752: Looked at the Wrong Person?

Chapter 745: Mistaken Identity?

"Can you see the fate of the gods?"

Bi Lu said indifferently, "What does that have to do with you?"

He Lingchuan chuckled, "I've always been curious: can fortune tellers predict their own fate?"

Bi Lu was expressionless. "That's not an answer you're meant to know."

What determines the fate of the gods? The question echoed in He Lingchuan's mind, but he knew Bi Lu would never tell him the answer.

Bi Lu extended a hand to him. "Where is it?"

"These questions are too simple; they don't warrant this treasure." He Lingchuan shook the Dragon Punishment Column at him. "I have one last question: If your own fate were suddenly altered, could you foresee it?"

His own?

Bi Lu felt this was a very insightful question.

He had only just discovered that this young man was connected to him, and now the young man was asking this question.

What did the young man intend? To change his fate?

Bi Lu found it somewhat amusing.

"That depends on the level of power that alters fate," he replied. "It's too complex; I can't explain it clearly to you."

"So, even the 'God of Fate' can experience shifts in destiny that are beyond their control, right?"

Bi Lu burst into laughter. "You know nothing about the power of fate, yet you dare to speculate?"

He Lingchuan noticed that he hadn't answered directly.

"Are there many levels and kinds of power that can alter fate?"

"Power is power," Bi Lu said, extending his hand. "All questions have been answered. If you don't give me the item, the consequences will be severe."

He Lingchuan didn't want to test that outcome, so he tossed the Dragon Punishment Column to him:

"Until we meet again!"

Bi Lu looked at him carefully again, then chuckled, "Indeed, until we meet again!"

Peng Fang closed his eyes, and soon his snoring resumed.

Bi Lu departed.

He Lingchuan walked out of the cell, subconsciously looked up at the night sky again, and let out a long sigh.

The power to change fate? Wasn't this precisely the direction he had always strived for, both in the Coiling Dragon World and the real world?

***

Blackwater City, in the western part of the Kite Kingdom.

In the evening, the merchant Liu Baobao escorted a guest to an inn. The guest was a corpulent, dark-skinned man with abundant body hair and a strong odor that made one want to flee, yet he dealt in spices.

Liu Baobao highly doubted the quality of his goods.

What a pity! When He Chunhua, the former prefect of Thousand Pines Commandery, was in office, the Red Cliff trade route flourished. After a new prefect was appointed, in less than two years, business in Blackwater City became more than twice as difficult!

Otherwise, why would he be forced to plaster on a smile for this reeking fat man?

His Liu family wouldn't have even glanced at such a struggling merchant in the past!

As Liu Baobao was muttering internally, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure across the marketplace, with a half-concealed face beneath a cloak.

It was cold, so dressing like that was normal, and there was nothing particularly remarkable about the person's attire.

Yet, Liu Baobao stopped dead in his tracks.

That face was incredibly familiar to him!

How could that be? That person should be thousands of miles away!

"Brother Liu? Brother Liu?" the corpulent man called out. "What's wrong?"

Liu Baobao composed himself. He had only caught a fleeting glance before the person turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

That was towards the North City Gate.

A delusion, surely! It must be a delusion!

"Nothing, just mistaken someone. Come, let me take you to the inn."

The corpulent man rubbed his hands and chuckled, "Is staying at the Hongyun Inn also arranged by your Liu Clan Merchant Guild?"

Liu Baobao forced a smile. "Of course."

That damn fatty, always looking for a cheap deal!

The corpulent man entered the Hongyun Inn and immediately told the attendant, "I'd like an upper-class room! And plenty of charcoal to keep it warm!" Then he chuckled at Liu Baobao, "Thank you for your hospitality, Brother Liu!"

"No problem," Liu Baobao said, disinclined to stand beside him. "I thought I saw an old acquaintance just now, I'll go check. Brother Bao, you've come a long way, please go wash up and rest."

Without waiting for the fat man's reply, he turned and left the inn.

During this season, there were few foreign visitors to Blackwater City.

Although it was just an excuse to get away from the fat man, Liu Baobao became genuinely concerned about the "old acquaintance" after he stepped outside.

However, as he walked towards the North Gate, he didn't see the person he had glimpsed earlier again.

Could he have really been mistaken?

A guard happened to be walking down from above the city gate, yawning with a hand over his mouth.

It wasn't for elegance; it was because the wind was strong with sand, and he'd swallow sand if he didn't cover his mouth.

Liu Baobao happened to recognize this guard.

"Officer Chen!" he said, smiling as he approached to greet him. "Are you busy today?"

"No," the guard replied lazily. "What's there to be busy about during the Sandstorm Season?"

It was currently the Sandstorm Season; people from the north couldn't cross, and people from the south certainly wouldn't travel north. It was Blackwater City's most leisurely and safest time of the year.

"Officer Chen, you were up high just now, did you see a tall person in a cloak heading towards the North Gate?"

He asked casually, but to his surprise, the guard immediately retorted, "A greyish-yellow cloak?"

"Ah, yes, exactly! Greyish-yellow."

"He left the city."

"Huh?" This answer was completely unexpected. "Left the city?!"

North of Blackwater City lay the famous Red Cliff Road.

During the Sandstorm Season, Red Cliff Road was a dead end, a fact known to women and children alike. Why would anyone go there?

The guard continued, "I saw him heading north from the city gate tower, so I called out to him several times, but he didn't turn his head, only waved his hand a few times."

Waving his hand proved he had heard the guard's shouts.

"He's tired of living; how could I stop him? Am I right?"

To be honest, the guard couldn't be bothered to stop him.

Everyone in Blackwater City knew not to go into the desert during this season. What, you say you didn't know? Then you deserve it.

Furthermore, people went missing every year during the Sandstorm Season. Some were just desperate or at their wits' end, and they'd stand in the fierce winds, and then they'd be gone—painless and without side effects.

Liu Baobao could only nod. "Right, right."

He subconsciously glanced outside the city gate. Was he really committing suicide?

Although the deadly sandstorms of the Coiling Dragon Desert wouldn't blow directly into the city, beyond a mile north of the city gate, visibility became poor, a hazy yellowish-brown.

If it was the person from his memory, why would he choose this time to head north?

Liu Baobao could only walk back, filled with questions.

He Lingchuan tightened his cloak and strode out of the city.

North of Blackwater City, the long Red Cliff Road was deserted.

The sky and earth merged into a single murky yellow.

He heard the sentinel on Blackwater City Gate shouting at him, but he didn't turn back. As expected, the sentinel gave up after two shouts, muttering "short-lived fool" twice, and no one else came to chase He Lingchuan.

This was the edge of the Coiling Dragon Desert, where there weren't many good Samaritans eager to perform heroic deeds or persuade people to live.

His figure quickly vanished amidst the swirling yellow sand.

To outsiders, this was an act of suicide.

But only He Lingchuan knew that as the violent sandstorm rushed past him, it would automatically avoid him.

Not even a single grain of sand landed on his cloak; it remained perfectly clean.

(End of Chapter)