Distorted World

Snow Rong.

On a summer night, Yang Renzhu ascended to the third floor of the Xuanxing Pavilion and turned to ask him, “People’s destinies are already predetermined and cannot be changed, right?”

Bai Changming ignored the helplessness and melancholy in Yang Renzhu’s human heart, raising a mysterious smile and nodding slowly.

That was how he saw it. When he first arrived in this strange world, he gathered information about Yang Renzhu while earning fees by reading fortunes. He had seen no fewer than a thousand horoscopes, each of which had its major life events etched and locked in place. The Eight Characters and the major influences were like routes and rivers, and individuals were like fish in the water. No matter how they struggled, they could not escape the river of fate. Moreover, most people lived their lives in a daze, never realizing the existence of the water.

After all, a few decades would pass in a flash, and fate, either favoring or indifferent, would lead everyone to their respective destinations. He viewed people and fate in this way.

He had no intention of ferrying anyone across, nor did he have much compassion. If one day he needed half the population of this world as sacrifices to find a way back to Sahel City, he would not hesitate to do so.

However, there was always a probability of encountering individuals who did not follow the script.

The young woman before him was only twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Her fate, as he deduced, was largely different from what the major influences suggested.

In the year of the Sanhe Seal Influence, she should have started school, but she actually delayed her entry by a year. Instead, she achieved academic success in a year that was supposed to be inauspicious for education. Her horoscope showed a prominent official star that was not broken, and in the year of Gui Mao, the official star was prominent and in harmony with the major influences. Any skilled fortune-teller would have predicted that she would have good luck with the opposite s*x or a significant breakthrough in her career. However, in the year of Gui Mao, she was not focused on her studies and traveled extensively. Furthermore, she remained single, with almost no romantic prospects, and she had rejected all the potential matches her parents had arranged...

Bai Changming couldn't help but take a deep breath.

“Master, I read in a book that a few characters can determine a person’s fortune, and I found it interesting, so I came to seek your guidance. Please enlighten me,” the woman said. She had a beautiful face, clear eyes, and a voice like a pleasant, clear spring. Her words held no reproach, but they left Bai Changming at a loss.

She introduced herself as Xi Xuerong, from Qinan Water Village, from a well-off family. Her father was a renowned merchant in the area, and her mother was a scholar who enjoyed researching ancient texts and secret techniques. Xuerong was twenty-three years old and had come to Liuzhou with her father, temporarily residing there.

Bai Changming, using the information gap, fed her a bunch of vague and seemingly plausible empty words and let her leave. After she turned and departed, he cast a spell to read Xuerong’s memories. Her experiences indeed matched what she had described, but her life trajectory before the age of thirteen was exactly as recorded in her Eight Characters. He carefully reviewed Xuerong’s memories from the age of thirteen and found a period that was completely blurred, as if sealed by a spell, lasting about a week. After that, Xuerong’s fate began to deviate from its predetermined path, becoming unpredictable.

To be cautious, he secretly collected information about Xuerong’s parents, whose life paths matched their horoscopes.

What a bizarre occurrence! Bai Changming finished work early that day, unable to solve the puzzle. The woman's face became an unsolvable mystery.

Could it be that she understood the underlying code of this world? Did she also grasp some similar laws, like the principles of fortune-telling?

The word "player" flashed through Bai Changming’s mind.

Time flew by, and he continued to focus on advancing his position, losing interest in following up on Xuerong’s news. The woman gradually faded from his memory.

Though he was intelligent and perceptive, he still faced setbacks and even made sacrifices when he first arrived. Anger, before it turned into emptiness, had once dulled his own pain. He was his own blade, having nothing to lose and nothing to cherish.

Lifting the long sleeve of his white robe, he revealed the skin of his left arm, where a deep, half-arm-long scar was faintly visible.