Chapter 1894: You will have a blood-related disaster the day after tomorrow

At the summit of Mount Yuquan, a group of people stared strangely at the woman in black silk. Jiang Luofu, however, appeared calm. “The Libationer is my master,” she said. “In my heart, the word ‘Libationer’ means both teacher and father. Don't others who want to be the Libationer just want me to call them 'Daddy'?”

Zu An sweatdropped. “That's not how equivalency works.”

This interruption immediately eased the previously tense atmosphere.

Jiang Luofu smiled. “Ah Zu,” she said, “although we're old acquaintances, speaking objectively, I still feel that Senior Disciple Brother is more suited to take over as Libationer. You won't blame me, will you?”

Zu An sighed. “That's why I don't understand why the old Libationer threw this mess to me. I'm young and have no particular skill...”

“Mr. Zu, you mustn't belittle yourself.” Just then, an old farmer in a singlet walked over. His body was tanned dark by the sun, and a small hoe hung from his waist. However, no one would truly mistake him for a simple farmer.

“Seventh Disciple Brother!” Several people bowed in greeting. This person before them was Wang Weiyang, the Libationer's seventh disciple from the School of Agriculture.

Wang Weiyang nodded slightly, then his gaze fell upon Zu An. “Although Mr. Zu is young, his knowledge is vast, especially in the field of agriculture, which truly astounds me. The concept of hybrid rice you mentioned last time was an epiphany for me. After two years of experimentation, we're gradually seeing results. In the foreseeable future, it will surely lead to a significant increase in crop yields. It's hard to imagine how many people that will feed. For that alone, Mr. Zu deserves to be the new Libationer.”

Heibaizi also smiled. “Mr. Zu's accomplishments in chess are also quite impressive.”

The Gobang game he invented earlier truly amazed him. The threshold for Go had always been very high, making it impossible to fully popularize among ordinary people. Heibaizi didn't want his beloved game to be merely a niche hobby for a select few, but for a while, he couldn't think of a way to change that.

Until Zu An invented Gobang, he immediately felt as if he had found a treasure. Although after studying it thoroughly, he realized the game was quite simple and couldn't compare to Go at all, its strength lay in its simplicity, which allowed it to be widely promoted among the common folk, thus attracting more people to learn Go.

So, even though he later realized Zu An wasn't the chess sage he had imagined, he was still very grateful to him.

“I didn't expect Mr. Zu to be so knowledgeable! I also admire him greatly in areas like alchemy and puppetry.” At this moment, a creaking and clanking sound was heard. A colossal object slowly emerged from the distant staircase.

A small, hunched figure sat on the mechanical puppet's shoulder. It was Sheng Xuzi, the old Libationer's fourth disciple and an alchemist.

The mechanical puppet extended an arm, took a wheelchair from its back, and gently placed Sheng Xuzi into it.

Sheng Xuzi wheeled himself over to Zu An and tightly grasped his hand. “Oh, Mr. Zu, regarding the steam engine and that 'Gundam' you mentioned last time, there's still so much I don't understand. Could you please enlighten me on some of my questions?”

Zu An's expression was strange. Before, he had only mentioned these things casually, and he truly didn't understand the specific details. If the other party pressed him, he would surely be exposed. But now that he had studied the *Baopuzi Scripture*, which contained detailed information on artifact refining, he could discuss specific technical questions with Sheng Xuzi.

Qi Yaoguang, standing nearby, blinked. Her senior disciple brothers were usually very eccentric, yet today they were all acting so enthusiastic towards Zu An, as if he were their own father.

“Big Brother Zu!” Xie Daoyun's joyful voice rang out. She pointed to a lean, venerable old man beside her. “This is my teacher, Teacher, this is Big Brother Zu whom I've told you about.”

“Greetings, Master Yan.” Zu An dared not underestimate him. The grand formation on Purple Mountain was his handiwork; he had even banished Zhao Hao to another dimension.

“Young Master, you flatter me. Moreover, you are the new Libationer; it should be I who bows to you.” Yan Xian'gu said with a chuckle, secretly appraising him at the same time. He was equally astonished to find that he couldn't discern the true extent of the young man's abilities.

Qi Yaoguang grumbled. “Senior Disciple Brother, I think it's you who should be the new Libationer, as that's what everyone hopes for. This guy seems even younger than me. How could he possibly guide me in my future cultivation?”

This time, Jiang Luofu didn't agree. Instead, she secretly observed everyone. She had originally been worried that Zu An would be embarrassed, given how arrogant her fellow disciples usually were.

So she had deliberately stepped forward to oppose his appointment. After all, they were old acquaintances, and she could easily control the extent of her opposition to prevent him from becoming too embarrassed.

But she never expected that so many of her fellow disciples, except for Qi Yaoguang, would actually support Zu An.

Yan Xian'gu smiled. “Even if I were the Libationer, I wouldn't be able to guide your cultivation. I certainly don't understand astral divination and Ziwei Doushu as well as you do.”

Qi Yaoguang grumbled. “Even so, you could still guide us in other aspects, couldn't you?”

Sheng Xuzi interjected. “Senior Disciple Brother is indeed very strong, but his strength lies only in the path of runes. It's difficult for him to help us in our respective fields. Mr. Zu is different; he can genuinely assist us in our individual specializations.”

Wang Weiyang and the others also nodded in agreement.

“Perhaps it's just a coincidence. How old is he anyway? How could he possibly know so much?” Qi Yaoguang was very skeptical. “If he's so capable, let him impress me with his Ziwei Doushu and astral divination.”

Before Zu An could reply, Xie Daoyun eagerly interjected, “Big Brother Zu is indeed very good at fortune-telling. Why don't you do a reading for her?”

Her proud tone was as if she were promoting her own lover.

This startled the others. Zu An knew this too?

Qi Yaoguang was suspicious. “You understand this too?”

“Just a little.” Seeing Xie Daoyun's expectant look, Zu An didn't want to let her down.

“'Just a little'? What a boast,” Qi Yaoguang put her hands on her hips. “Then tell my fortune. See if anything significant will happen to me in the next few days.”

Zu An hesitated. “Do you have a tortoise shell or copper coins?”

Qi Yaoguang pouted. “You need someone else's tools for fortune-telling?”

Despite her words, she still pulled a tortoise shell from her storage pouch. “I acquired a tortoise shell long ago, but never had a chance to use it. You can borrow it. I don't have any copper coins, though.”

She specialized in astral divination, which was not the same school as what Zu An was skilled in.

“I have some, I have some!” Xie Daoyun took a few copper coins from her purse and handed them to Zu An, her beautiful eyes sparkling.

Qi Yaoguang almost covered her face with her hand. She was trying to help Senior Disciple Brother, but his own disciple was effectively siding with the "opponent."

Yan Xian'gu, on the other hand, smiled benignly, seemingly not minding this at all, but rather more curious about how Zu An would perform the divination.

Zu An smiled at Xie Daoyun. He then picked up the tortoise shell, waved it over her palm, and directly drew the copper coins into it.

With a casual flick of his hand, the tortoise shell began to spin rapidly in mid-air.

Qi Yaoguang scoffed. She thought, *It's not like he's shaking dice; why make it so flashy?*

However, her expression quickly turned serious. As Zu An lightly tapped his finger, ancient, profound glowing lines suddenly appeared on the tortoise shell, subtly aligning with the fundamental principles of the cosmos.

As the saying goes, “all methods lead to the same origin.” As an expert in this field, she immediately sensed the extraordinary nature of the phenomenon. A look of surprise appeared on her face as she thought, *Does this guy really understand this?*

At this point, the tortoise shell began to vibrate rapidly. Then, copper coins were ejected, floating in mid-air, subtly connected by some strange pattern.

“Huh?” Seeing the divination result, Zu An was clearly a bit bewildered.

Qi Yaoguang couldn't help but laugh. “You couldn't figure it out, could you?”

She had almost been fooled by this guy.

Zu An's expression seemed puzzled, and he stammered. “I... I did figure it out, but it's a bit contradictory...”

Hearing him say this, Xie Daoyun grew worried. The other Libationer disciples, however, became even more curious.

Jiang Luofu smiled. “Go on, tell us what you found.”

Zu An was a bit embarrassed, but he still replied. “I calculated that Miss Yaoguang will experience a 'calamity of blood' the day after tomorrow. I initially thought it was a very ominous sign, but upon closer inspection of the divination, there was no indication of danger at all. In fact, it seems she can safely pass through this 'calamity of blood' without doing anything. I'm not sure where I went wrong...”

After all, this was his first time performing divination since learning the *Baopuzi Scripture*; his skills were still a bit rusty, so it wouldn't be unusual to make a mistake.

At this moment, Qi Yaoguang's pretty face flushed crimson. “Pervert!”

This guy had actually predicted her menstruation cycle so accurately! She had never told anyone such a private detail.

Everyone present was intelligent and quickly understood, each offering a knowing smile.

Zu An immediately became mortified. *I really didn't mean it; who would have known I'd divine something like this?*

Sheng Xuzi was laughing the hardest. “Junior Disciple Sister, surely you have no objections now?”

“Even if I don't object, what good would it do? The few of you only have four votes, and even with mine, that's only five. We have a total of twelve disciple brothers and sisters. That's not even half, so how can we easily accept him as the Libationer?” Qi Yaoguang grumbled.

Just then, Jiang Luofu suddenly spoke. “That might not be true. Second Disciple Brother has a deep connection with him. Third Disciple Brother met him previously in Cloud County and approved of him quite a bit. Sixth Disciple Sister and he are practically family, and Ninth Disciple Sister also has a very good relationship with him. Aside from Tenth Disciple Brother, who hasn't met him, almost all of our fellow disciples have a very good relationship with him.”

Zu An was startled. He wondered who she was referring to as Second Disciple Brother and Ninth Disciple Sister; he had no recollection of them. More importantly, how could their relationships with him be so good?

Yan Xian'gu spoke up at this moment. “Therefore, Teacher's arrangement was not without reason. He is the most suitable candidate for the new Libationer. Yan Xian'gu greets the Libationer!”

As he spoke, he took the lead and bowed.

Xie Daoyun immediately beamed with delight and respectfully bowed. “Xie Daoyun greets the Libationer.”

The others looked at her strangely, thinking, *Why does it look like she's bowing to her husband?*

Sheng Xuzi, Heibaizi, Wang Weiyang, and Yin Shi were already supporters of Zu An. They seized the opportunity to bow and said, “Sheng Xuzi, Heibaizi, Wang Weiyang, and Yin Shi greet the new Libationer.”

Jiang Luofu looked at the young man before her, filled with a myriad of emotions. Not long ago, he had to respectfully call her 'Principal' in her presence, and now, so soon, it was her turn to bow to him.

However, she had already intended to help him, so she also bowed and said, “Jiang Luofu greets the new Libationer.”

Finally, only Qi Yaoguang remained. Remembering his “miraculous” divination skills, she eventually lowered herself and said, “Qi Yaoguang greets the new Libationer!”