The Twelfth Chapter

Mr. Ning's words left everyone present exchanging glances. That was the "Star of Solitude," and everyone knew the weight of those four words.

It was easy to laugh it off when seen on TV, but having such a person around was a different story.

Zhan Hongye coughed lightly, breaking the stagnant atmosphere in the private room. "Ahem, Mr. Ning is quite straightforward. Brother-in-law, please don't take offense."

How could Dong Zhenghao not take offense?

Liu Mumu was his biological daughter and was currently living in his home.

Who knew when, with one careless mistake, his entire family would suffer misfortune!

He looked at Liu Mumu, who seemed to be in a daze, with a complex expression and eagerly asked Mr. Ning, "Master, is there any way to prevent her from affecting her family?"

"That's not difficult. Just avoid meeting, don't get too close, and maintain distance."

"But she's already been living at home for several days."

Seeing Dong Zhenghao's anxious look, Mr. Ning comforted him, "Mr. Dong, there's no need to be nervous. Short-term contact won't have a significant impact. At most, it will result in financial loss or minor injuries; it won't be life-threatening."

This matched everything perfectly!

Ever since he met Liu Mumu, Dong Zhenghao felt his luck had turned for the worse. A business partner died, he lost a large sum of money, and then his son broke his leg and was hospitalized.

It turned out it was all Liu Mumu's doing!

His younger aunt had said before that she had bad luck and would bring misfortune to the family. He hadn't believed it then, but now he had no choice but to believe it.

Dong Zhenghao had already secretly decided in his heart that no matter what, he had to send her away once he got back. He absolutely could not keep her at home.

A hint of doubt arose in Jiang Jia's heart. Why were Master Ning's words different from what they had agreed on before?

Regardless, their goal for today had been achieved. She sidestepped others and raised her glass to Jiang Li.

Jiang Li smiled silently, feeling that this younger sister wasn't as detestable as she thought.

"Master Ning, you speak so casually about severing family ties. Aren't you afraid of making a mistake and harming someone?" Liu Mumu, having listened to them talk for so long as if no one else was there, finally spoke.

Master Ning seemed to find her words somewhat amusing. "Heh, I have never made a mistake in my calculations. I know you resent me, but this is your fate. I only speak what I calculate."

"Alright, Master Ning is just telling the truth. Don't make a fuss," Dong Zhenghao reprimanded.

In just a moment, he had become a supporter of Master Ning and was even more unwilling for Liu Mumu to say anything unpleasant and offend this master.

Liu Mumu ignored Dong Zhenghao and met Master Ning's gaze for a moment. "You can only calculate this far. It seems your earlier words weren't just humility; you truly don't deserve the title of master."

"Young lady, there's no need to try and provoke me."

"You calculated for my father for so long and only came up with useless things. Did you calculate his fate?"

Master Ning frowned. "You understand fortune-telling?"

"Better than you. It's not surprising that you know I have the fate of the Heavenly Fiend Clash Four Pillars. Anyone who has read a divination book knows about this fate. But to be called a master, yet not even be able to see the Four Pillars Hidden Fate, how do you have the face to tell fortunes for others?"

Master Ning was stunned at first, then he abruptly turned to look at Dong Zhenghao, and quickly began to count on his fingers.

The more he calculated, the more horrified he looked.

The Four Pillars Hidden Fate was a very concealed destiny, capable of blocking all negative influences brought by the Star of Solitude. Who would have thought that a father and daughter would have such complementary fates?

Seeing this, Zhan Hongye interrupted their confrontation and said with a chuckle, "It seems even masters can make mistakes. Brother-in-law, don't mind. Let's eat and chat."

He wanted to change the subject, but how could Liu Mumu let him have his way? She was already five-tenths full, and whether others were hungry or not was none of her business.

"Don't, I haven't finished speaking yet."

She tapped her cup with her chopsticks. When everyone looked at her, she leaned forward slightly and said to Master Ning, whose expression had turned unpleasant, "There's something I've wanted to ask since I saw this fortune-telling master: do you have a Diviner's License?"

Master Ning was taken aback by her question, then reacted. Instead of answering, he asked, "How do you know about the Diviner's License?"

"I'm asking you. Please answer me directly: do you have one or not?"

Master Ning's tone turned cold. "That has nothing to do with you."

Liu Mumu leaned back. "I'm afraid it has quite a bit to do with me."

She looked around. "You don't have a Diviner's License, and you're spouting nonsense to harm me. It's perfectly fine for me to report you for fraud under the guise of being a diviner."

"Mumu, perhaps Master Ning has his reasons for not having that license. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it," Zhan Hongye tried to mediate, as he was the one who invited the master.

No one present was foolish. How could they not see that the initiative was now in Liu Mumu's hands, and the root of it all was the Diviner's License she mentioned?

No one understood how Liu Mumu suddenly knew so much about fortune-telling, except for Dong Zhenghao, who seemed to be deep in thought.

Liu Mumu smiled at Zhan Hongye. "You think what he sells is good and are willing to patronize him, that's fine. But if he insists on forcing a sale on me, reporting him for operating without a license only shows that I am an upright person."

She looked up at Master Ning. "Don't you agree, Master Ning?"

Master Ning suddenly stood up, his chair making a loud clatter.

Liu Mumu raised her phone and took a picture of him. "What, trying to run? No need to bother. Reporting scammers with photos is enough now. I have your photo; it's useless even if you run to the ends of the earth."

"What do you want?" Ning Yuan, who had been trying to leave, stopped abruptly. His expression was somewhat contorted with frustration.

"You said the wrong thing and hurt someone. Don't you need to apologize to the victim?"

Ning Yuan gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry. I calculated incorrectly."

He said it through gritted teeth, clearly forced to back down.

Liu Mumu pouted, clearly displeased. "Your attitude isn't very sincere, but fine, I'll be magnanimous."

Before the other party could breathe a sigh of relief, she added, "I also suffered quite a blow. Shouldn't I get some compensation?"

"You should!"

Liu Mumu rattled off her bank account number. Not long after, she received a sum of money that was enough to keep her happy for a month.

Looking at the text message from the bank, she poked at her phone, rereading it several times. Without looking up, she said, "You won't be foolish enough to report me for extortion, will you?"

"I understand the rules." Master Ning sat back down, his face grim.

What he had given her wasn't compensation; it was hush money.

You can only walk by the river for so long before your shoes get wet. He was now like an unlicensed vendor caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

No one had expected this seemingly unremarkable young girl to be part of their circle, let alone to have found his Achilles' heel.

It was a shame this was in Qing City...

He cursed inwardly, realizing he had lost face and dignity today.

For the rest of the meal, only Liu Mumu savored her food. The others had lost their appetites.

Finally, the meal ended. Zhan Hongye proposed they take their leave and left with Jiang Jia and Master Ning, leaving the three of them, a "plastic family," sitting together.

Dong Zhenghao hesitated, then finally spoke, "How about I buy you a new villa? You can move there?"

The previous conversation had ended too abruptly, and he couldn't grasp the hidden meanings in their words. Regardless, his own life was certainly more important.

However, seeing as his daughter had displayed some rather… unique abilities, he felt it was best not to offend her too severely.

"Scared of dying?"

Dong Zhenghao nodded, steeling himself.

"Don't be afraid. Grandpa personally calculated my fate. Although my destiny is a bit troublesome, your life is fortunate enough to counteract the calamities brought by my fate."

Dong Zhenghao remained unconvinced. "Really?"

Liu Mumu stood up. "Dad, you don't actually think I want to live with you because of some earth-shattering father-daughter affection, do you?"

No, Dong Zhenghao had always believed she was after his assets.

"I recall you already promised me before. It wouldn't be wise to break that promise now. What if I get angry and resort to unconventional methods? Want to try?"

Dong Zhenghao quickly dodged his daughter's approach. "No need!"

Then, still uneasy, he repeated his question, "Will it really have no impact?"

"It won't affect you anyway. Trust yourself." She then glanced at Jiang Li, who had been silently observing them. "If it affects someone else... you can just get a new wife, can't you?"

With that, she left the private room with light steps, ignoring Jiang Li's expression.

Dong Zhenghao: ...

Suddenly, he felt a tiny bit tempted.