Strange Search

Zhao Huai hurriedly examined the gleam in his mind.

The Mysterious Ring symbolized Great Luck—everything would go smoothly, a fine beginning.

Great Luck Overhead (Earth-Grade Upper): Gain a massive amount of Good Luck. The probability of obtaining a Fate increases, its quality rises, and you may alter the outcome of fortune or misfortune once per day.

"There's actually a new Fate?!"

"This Fate looks extraordinary. It's orange, Earth-Grade! This is unprecedented—the first time I've rolled an Earth-Grade Fate!"

Zhao Huai said in considerable surprise.

Whenever he tossed the coin and divined fortune and misfortune enough times, he would trigger another function of the coin.

Absorb Fates and defy the heavens to change one's destiny.

Yet these Fates were as mysterious as blind boxes. Their grades differed each time, as did their added effects.

The coin's Fates were divided into seven grades: Immortal, Emperor, Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow, and Human. Each was further split into upper, middle, and lower ranks. Human-Grade was the lowest, while Immortal-Grade was the highest.

This Great Luck Overhead Fate was likely the best Fate he had obtained in the past three years.

Ever since Zhao Huai had acquired the Golden Coin, he had obtained very few Fates. Of those, useful ones were scarce, while useless ones made up the majority.

The three Fates he was currently using were:

Light as a Swallow (Human-Grade Middle): Exceptional movement technique. Agility increases, and your speed surpasses that of ordinary people.

Swordplay Expertise (Yellow-Grade Upper): You adore swordsmanship. Your efficiency in practicing and cultivating the sword increases slightly.

Diligent Achiever (Mysterious-Grade Upper): Hardworking and steadfast, you toil without cease. Your cultivation speed is three times that of an ordinary person.

Light as a Swallow and Swordplay Expertise were easy enough to understand. Both were Fates related to martial cultivation that added small buffs. Though they were but a cup of water against a cartload of firewood, they were better than nothing.

Of the three, Zhao Huai considered Diligent Achiever the most useful.

The "diligent" here did not refer to obsessive competition, but to scholarly scrolls.

As the saying went, a diligent achiever was one who never tired and never ceased striving—usually a studious scholar who worked bitterly hard.

On a snowy night one year ago, Zhao Huai had happened across a young scholar heading for the capital examinations. Since it was too late and every inn had closed, the man came to the pawnshop door, hoping to stay the night.

Seeing that the scholar did not appear to be a bad man, Zhao Huai took him in after receiving a favorable indication.

And so the Diligent Achiever Fate had come to him.

It was precisely because of that threefold cultivation boost that Zhao Huai had been able to spend three years cultivating all the way to the Qi Training Ninth Layer. Foundation Establishment was now within distant sight.

That was why he attached such importance to this newly acquired Great Luck Overhead.

Absorb this Fate?

Seeing the small words appear in his mind, Zhao Huai did not hesitate in the slightest.

"Absorb it immediately."

Blazing, resplendent light bloomed within his mind, and orange radiance instantly filled his entire consciousness.

Suddenly, an invisible force was drawn to Zhao Huai, making him shudder.

Zhao Huai felt as though something truly had been added to him, yet he could not tell what it was.

Good Luck was formless and traceless, impossible to see or touch. It could only be experienced slowly.

"Great Luck Overhead can increase both the probability and quality of obtaining Fates. Does that mean I can obtain more Fates?"

Zhao Huai knitted his brows and pondered. "But I still don't understand this ability to alter fortune and misfortune. Does it directly change the coin's divination result?"

For the time being, he suppressed his doubts and examined the items inside the ring.

In the end, apart from a thick Sheepskin Scroll, an Ancient Sword, and a bottle of pills, there was nothing else.

The writing on the Sheepskin Scroll was obscure and difficult to understand. He had no idea what medicine the bottle contained. Only the ancient-looking sword was incomparably sharp, gleaming with a ghostly light.

None of these three items appeared particularly astounding, which truly dampened his excitement. He had thought an old grandpa might emerge, or at the very least, that there would be some heaven-shaking cultivation art or treasure hoard.

"These three things can be called symbols of Great Luck? They shouldn't be this simple, should they?" Zhao Huai asked with a suspicious expression.

Had he not seen the coin's result, he would have begun to wonder whether he had somehow overturned his cart.

"Quick! This way!"

"Search them!"

At that moment, the rustling sound of belts striking saber hilts came from outside the pawnshop.

With cultivation in his body, Zhao Huai's ears were exceptionally keen. He immediately caught the commotion outside.

"Looks like the yamen people have arrived."

Zhao Huai said gravely.

That burly man had previously mentioned that the city was strictly investigating those who had arrived in Jinzhou over the past three years, along with unregistered residents. The purpose behind it remained unknown for now. If they truly had come to capture him, then he would have to prepare countermeasures in advance.

With the Golden Coin, wasn't turning danger into safety easy enough? Besides, his cultivation had reached Qi Refining Level 9. In the Mortal World, he had yet to encounter an opponent.

With a slight turn of his thoughts, Zhao Huai tossed the golden copper coin in his hand once more.

"There are yamen pursuers outside. What should I do now?"

"Come on, give me a definite answer."

Fortune and misfortune depend on each other. Let us see for now.

Divination Sign One: An auspicious day beneath the yellow path, outside Peach Blossom Spring. The indication you receive is "fortune."

Divination Sign Two: A home brings calamity and war. Fear breeds chaos. If you remain in the household, the indication you receive is "misfortune."

"Then I'll leave."

After reading the results, Zhao Huai put away the coin, locked the storeroom, and decisively headed out.

On the originally bustling, clamorous streets, squads of armored soldiers carrying sabers had appeared, drawing repeated sidelong glances from the public.

These soldiers were exceptionally well equipped, clad in fish-scale armor and carrying long sabers as they drove the crowds from the streets.

No commoner was unafraid. One after another, they could only sweep up their sleeves and hurry away.

"Such a huge show of force? Who are they trying to arrest?"

"Who knows? Hurry up and leave!"

"I heard from some unofficial sources that they're investigating recent household registrations and unregistered residents. Could some great bandit have fled to Jinzhou?"

"Oh dear, if a murderer has escaped here, then we're in trouble!"

Amid the crowd, Zhao Huai listened to the discussions while his mind continued to race.

Were these armored soldiers truly here to capture him? Judging from past experience, this seemed a little too much of a mobilization. During the first year of his flight south, there had indeed been many searches, and they had been very strict. After all, the new dynasty had been deeply concerned about the whereabouts of him, a remnant heir of the former dynasty.

But in the years that followed, both their numbers and their quality had declined year by year.

Those dispatched had changed from soldiers to minor clerks conducting inspections, and they no longer cared about him as much as before.

The Great Xia had only recently been established, and all things lay in ruins awaiting renewal. Naturally, they had no time to bother with a former dynasty's crown prince who could be taken or left.

Yet now, the people sent to pursue him had returned to the level of that first year. It seemed very strange.

It did not look like they were after him.

"No matter what, avoiding disaster can't be wrong."

Zhao Huai shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Since remaining in the pawnshop meant misfortune, he could not possibly gamble on it.

"How do I get through this search? I need somewhere to go."

At a loss, Zhao Huai picked up another Golden Coin from his waist and tossed it into the air.

Divination Sign One: Go to the Marketplace. The indication you receive is "misfortune."

Divination Sign Two: Go to the teahouse. The indication you receive is "misfortune."

Divination Sign Three: Go to the Drunken Flower Pavilion. The indication you receive is "misfortune."

Divination Sign Ten: Go to Wine Fragrance Alley. The indication you receive is "misfortune."

"Damn it, what kind of ghost nonsense is this?!"

Zhao Huai tossed the coin ten times in a row, only for every result to be misfortune. This meant disaster could not be avoided.

Apparently, nowhere he went would be safe.

This situation had happened before. He had to find a solution based on the results he received, thereby changing fortune and misfortune.

Yet he soon calmed down and suddenly remembered the new Fate he had just acquired.

Zhao Huai clenched his fists and declared stubbornly, "Hah! I refuse to believe it. Activate Great Luck Overhead and change one result of fortune and misfortune!"

As the coin leaped through the air again, it flipped over.

A new Divination Sign appeared before him.