The Thirteenth Chapter

"Can you tell me, how long can someone like Zhuo Ran be imprisoned after being arrested?" Liu Mumu asked.

"Don't you already have a guess?" Yan Xiu glanced at her. If she hadn't already suspected, why would she have acted personally?

He spoke, "Although exchanging lives is quite taboo, she was only attempting it. It depends on the specific circumstances, but the maximum sentence won't exceed ten years."

Liu Mumu pouted. So it was as she thought.

Yan Xiu stood up, walked in front of her, and looked down at her. "Let me say it again. Even if they are bad people, you don't have the authority to enforce the law. You can't interfere as you please. Do you understand?"

"Our master has always been willful." Liu Mumu, intimidated by his sternness, shrank back into the chair, but still spoke defiantly.

"Master needs to be obedient too. Be good." Yan Xiu softened his tone and flicked the fat rabbit on top of her head.

Fang Chuan exited the conference room and stood at the doorway talking to two subordinates.

He looked up and saw Yan Ling ascending to the second floor.

"What brings you here?" Fang Chuan raised his hand to greet her.

"I heard there was a case, so I came to take a look." Yan Ling walked towards him, without any preamble. "I just saw the injured person downstairs. I heard they are also one of the ringleaders in this case?"

"Yes. Do you have any thoughts?" After all, she was from headquarters. Fang Chuan wanted to see her capabilities.

"I have quite a few thoughts. That ringleader is going to have a tough time ahead." Yan Ling said.

"What do you mean?"

"I had someone help me push her destiny chart. Her fate is completely in disarray. It's not as simple as the Substitute Life ritual being interrupted and suffering a rebound." Yan Ling asked with some curiosity, "Do you know who did it?"

Fang Chuan tilted his chin. "The one inside. She's currently receiving a private lecture from your cousin."

Yan Ling cautiously pushed the door open a crack, took a peek, and quickly pulled back.

"Liu Mumu?" she exclaimed, "How did she do it?"

"She calculated it."

"Are you kidding me?" Yan Ling's expression was strange. "What kind of misunderstanding do you have about diviners? If they could calculate everything, they would have conquered all of humanity long ago.

Is it something that can be easily calculated when engaging in such a shady business as exchanging lives? If it were that easy to calculate, why would we investigate cases? We'd just have our masters calculate it.

Someone must have tampered with these two individuals beforehand, making it impossible to calculate."

"Then how did Liu Mumu make such an accurate judgment and happen to interrupt the ritual?" Fang Chuan was puzzled.

Yan Ling glanced at the slightly ajar door, also filled with doubt. This Liu Mumu, they called her a diviner, but her skills were very peculiar.

Perhaps her cousin knew something?

While they were both in doubt, Yan Xiu opened the door and came out. Seeing Yan Ling, he casually asked her, "You went to see the scene. Did you figure anything out?"

Yan Ling suddenly felt a shiver, as if being stared at by the Dean of Studies. She swallowed and cautiously replied, "After the rebound, Zhuo Ran and the Grass Gu master's fates are completely chaotic. There's a strange thing. Their destinies are simultaneously tainted with fiendishness. They'll have to live very carefully from now on.

As for exchanging lives, there's no need to even think about it. Zhuo Ran's destiny and the girl she targeted are probably no longer aligned."

As Yan Ling spoke, she felt it was quite coincidental that all the hidden dangers were resolved in one go.

Yan Xiu nodded. "Not bad, you've improved."

Yan Ling immediately grinned. However, remembering her cousin was watching, she forcibly suppressed her smile, but the corners of her mouth still curved upwards involuntarily.

That was her cousin, and he had praised her! She was indeed capable! She could brag about this for a whole year when she got home.

"I'll go help now."

Yan Ling, full of spirit, prepared to get to work. After she left, Fang Chuan asked Yan Xiu, "Your cousin just told me that a normal diviner wouldn't be able to calculate what happened today, let alone stop it so accurately. What's the deal with Liu Mumu?"

Fang Chuan hoped to keep someone with such abilities around.

Recruiting her into the department was out of the question, but perhaps he could fantasize about occasionally asking for her help, especially since he had Yan Xiu.

Fang Chuan had seen masters before. Talented ones always had peculiar temperaments and were difficult to get along with. Although Liu Mumu caused trouble whenever she could, in a sense, she was quite normal and knew her limits.

"What do you want to know?" Yan Xiu glanced at him.

"Is there really someone who can calculate anything just by casually doing so?"

"Yes."

Yan Xiu's answer was very firm.

"Then what's different about her compared to ordinary diviners?"

"That's her privacy. Don't pry casually."

"Tsk, I can't even say?" Fang Chuan was extremely curious.

Yan Xiu's expression remained unchanged, clearly not intending to tell him.

"Fine." Fang Chuan compromised. "Your cousin won't report her, will she?"

Liu Mumu's situation, in the end, was her fault. If it were handled according to procedure, it wouldn't be good for her. Headquarters always used a carrot-and-stick approach when recruiting masters or mystic masters from society. Liu Mumu would definitely be at a disadvantage against people from headquarters, which was why neither he nor Yan Xiu had planned to report it.

"She wouldn't dare."

"That's good." Fang Chuan was slightly relieved, then added, "You should properly educate that girl Liu Mumu. Next time you discover something, inform us first. Don't just rush in yourself."

"Educated," Yan Xiu's tone was calm. Whether they would listen was up to fate.

The two walked to the window. Yan Xiu looked through the second-floor glass at the scene downstairs. The ambulance had already left, and some students were being let go, their faces a mixture of shock and unconcealed curiosity.

These were all young people. Liu Mumu was around their age, yet completely different.

Diviners and Mystic Masters were slightly different. The Diviner sect relied entirely on technique and a certain amount of talent. The barrier to entry wasn't high; ordinary people could divine at home, and some were accurate.

However, there were some people with maximum talent. They didn't need to learn techniques to tell fortunes. These people were called Divine Seer by Diviners.

It meant they could see through people like gods.

Legend had it that Divine Seer never needed to calculate when telling fortunes; they only needed to look. One glance from them was as if they had personally experienced your future.

The records stated that there were only two living Divine Seer currently.

Liu Mumu should be the third.

She was young, and her destiny still had some issues, so every time she activated Divine Seer, she would encounter various troubles. But it was indeed an incredibly powerful ability.

Enough to make many covet it.

Yan Xiu wondered if her grandfather, whom she mentioned, knew about this. If he did, why had he never taught her anything?

"Yan Xiu, what's going on downstairs?"

Fang Chuan's voice interrupted Yan Xiu's thoughts. He shook his head, "Nothing, let's go."

After Fang Chuan questioned Xue Lan, another police officer came to take her statement. Liu Mumu was also questioned.

It was a hassle for over an hour. By the time they were finally let downstairs, it was completely dark outside.

By then, there were only a few people left in the lobby downstairs. The guests who had attended the banquet had already given their statements and left after providing their contact information.

Zhuo Ran had been sent to the hospital. On the table where they had been playing cards, several gift boxes remained untouched. The cards themselves had been collected as evidence.

Two people were still sitting on the stage. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Wei Xue and Qian Xiaomeng.

Qian Xiaomeng was getting sleepy waiting and had already rested her head on Wei Xue's shoulder for a nap. Seeing the two finally come down, she stretched lazily and walked towards them. "You two are finally down. Are you okay?"

"It seems we're okay," Xue Lan looked at Liu Mumu. She still didn't know what had happened and figured only Mumu understood.

Wei Xue glanced around. "Let's go back to the dormitory and talk."

No one objected. Just then, Xue Lan suddenly asked, "Did you see Xu Anze?"

Wei Xue replied, "Shortly after you were taken upstairs, he was also taken up. He hasn't come down yet. Should we wait for him?"

Xue Lan was about to say no need to wait when she saw the police officer who had questioned her earlier walking down, along with the handsome man whose aura clearly didn't belong to a police officer. Behind them, several officers were escorting Xu Anze.

Xu Anze's face was ashen, as if he had suffered a severe blow.

He saw Xue Lan standing nearby and stopped as he passed her.

The officers escorting him didn't rush them, seemingly allowing them to speak a few words.

"Lanlan," his voice was hoarse. "I didn't mean to harm you. I just wanted our future..."

Xue Lan didn't quite understand what he was talking about, but she still replied, "I don't know what you think you harmed me with, but you've got one thing wrong. Our future isn't decided by you alone. When you think like that, we were destined not to be together."

Zhuo Ran was merely the catalyst that exposed their incompatibility.

Her appearance proved that they were not suitable from the start. It was just that back then, in a very small environment, she had been lost in her feelings for him and hadn't realized it.

"I had planned to tell you yesterday, after attending Zhuo Ran's birthday banquet. It's good to say it now," Xue Lan said earnestly to the young man standing before her. "Xu Anze, I think we're not compatible. Let's break up."

Xu Anze stared at Xue Lan, whose face showed no resentment or any other emotion, only calmness. Finally, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I understand."

His gaze finally swept over the three girls accompanying Xue Lan. They were all Xue Lan's friends. Since starting university, she had become different from before.

In high school, the school was small, and while he had many admirers, few people were genuinely friends with Xue Lan.

But after university, she met these people, and she no longer relied on him for everything. She developed more ideas and became stronger.

Perhaps she was right. They were not compatible. It was a wrong relationship from the beginning, destined not to last.

Everything before had just been his self-deception.

"Take him away." After watching the breakup scene, Fang Chuan waved his hand, signaling for Xu Anze to be taken away.

As an accomplice, because the Substitute Life ritual failed to be completed, he was at most considered an attempt. If he were to be truly judged, his crime wouldn't be severe.

Although Xu Anze had always tried to downplay his involvement, Fang Chuan could roughly guess what he had done. The items belonging to Xue Lan used in the Substitute Life ritual were most likely obtained from him.

Talking about love was just a facade for a love scammer. Such a person should be kept at a distance.

Before leaving, Fang Chuan gave Liu Mumu a look that said they would talk another day.

Liu Mumu turned her face away, not wanting to talk to him.

The police were also leaving. Only then did Liu Mumu and the other three girls rush outside to hail a taxi. By the time they reached the school, there were still half an hour before the dormitory gates closed. They had made it back safely.

Once inside the dormitory, no one had the mood to wash up. Everyone gathered around Liu Mumu's desk, waiting for her explanation.

Liu Mumu organized her thoughts slightly before speaking. "Actually, when I was calculating Lanlan's marriage prospects, I discovered that Zhuo Ran planned to exchange lives with you."

Seeing their confusion, she explained, "Essentially, Lanlan and Zhuo Ran have the same birthday and time, which fulfills the condition for an exchange of lives. She felt your destiny was better than hers and wanted to swap your destinies. Originally, her misfortunes would have become yours."

Xue Lan understood immediately. "Was my poor health before related to this so-called life exchange?"

Her body's transition from healthy to weak, then back to healthy, was clearly problematic.

Before, she hadn't known, just thinking her immunity was low, and no issues could be found. Hearing Mumu say this, it immediately made sense.

"Ah!" Qian Xiaomeng shrieked, "That charm, was it that charm?"

She had personally seen the charm turn to ash in Mumu's hand.

"Yes," Liu Mumu nodded. "Xu Anze is likely Zhuo Ran's accomplice. He gave you some things to help with life exchange. The peace charm he gave you might be one of them. Your body getting worse was very likely due to these items temporarily replacing your life patterns."

"Why didn't you tell everyone about something so serious earlier? We went to her birthday banquet so carelessly, it's terrifying," Qian Xiaomeng couldn't help but complain.

"If I had told you earlier, would you have had a solution?" Wei Xue asked.

"We could have at least taken precautions, and definitely not gone to the birthday banquet."

Wei Xue helplessly shook her head. "Do you remember how long Xu Anze and Lanlan knew each other? They could plan a year in advance. Xu Anze, as her boyfriend, was even sent by them. What do you think they were planning to do to Lanlan? Did she have a chance to resist?"

After speaking, she looked at Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu nodded. "If you avoid this one, you won't avoid the next."

The best way was to destroy their plan directly when she saw it, ending it all and not giving them another chance.

"Okay..." Qian Xiaomeng thought about it and felt it made some sense. "But you should have at least kept us informed. If you faced danger alone against them, we wouldn't have known what was happening."

Everyone agreed with Qian Xiaomeng's words.

"Alright, I'll be more careful next time," Liu Mumu agreed readily. Although there was no real danger for her, she accepted the concern from her friends.

She had seen everything Zhuo Ran would do and who would help her complete the ritual from beginning to end. The possibility of an accident was slim, and even if an accident did occur, it wouldn't be her.

With her Star of Solitude destiny, if Zhuo Ran bumped into her, she definitely wouldn't be the one to suffer misfortune.

However, Liu Mumu still apologized to Xue Lan. "Sorry Lanlan, for keeping this from you."

Xue Lan quickly shook her head. At the time, she was only thinking about romantic entanglements and whether to break up. Mumu, however, was thinking about how to save her. How could she blame her?

Knowing what she had almost gone through, she couldn't relax at all. Fortunately, the matter had already been resolved.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm glad I only found out the truth at the end. Knowing this kind of truth wasn't that important to me."

If she had known earlier, she feared she would have completely broken down. Only after everything was over did she feel relief, and even her resentment towards Xu Anze had dissipated before it could even arise.

When he was arrested in handcuffs, he had already become an insignificant passerby in her life.

"Ah, right Mumu, did that police officer know you?" After finishing the unpleasant business, Xue Lan finally had the mind to ask about other things. "Oh... we've had a few interactions, we're somewhat acquainted," Liu Mumu replied slowly, referring to the acquaintance made from being brought into the interrogation room twice!

Liu Mumu suddenly brought up old grievances. He still hadn't apologized to her for a whole day!

Seeing that Xue Lan seemed quite interested, Liu Mumu casually said, "The peace charm I gave you before was drawn by the consultant from their police station. That person in the suit, you must have seen him, right?"

Before Xue Lan could answer, Qian Xiaomeng covered her face and shrieked, "Ahhh, I saw him, he's so handsome!"

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and a distinguished aura. Unfortunately, he seemed too unapproachable, the kind you could only admire from a distance.

"Right, right, I think so too," Liu Mumu's eyes immediately turned into hearts, feeling she had excellent taste.

How did the topic get sidetracked?

Wei Xue felt a mix of emotions. After thinking for a moment, she poured cold water on their enthusiasm. "Wake up. Regardless of age, status, or life experience, you two aren't very compatible."

Although, he was indeed a pleasure to look at.

"It's okay," Liu Mumu spun around. "I calculated with my ancestral coins, we are destined to be together!"

Wei Xue couldn't help but say, "That day you also used your ancestral coins to calculate Xiaomeng's first crush, and she ended up falling in love at first sight with a palm-sized kitten on the street."

The young lady had just bought the male kitten from a pet store, and Xiaomeng saw it halfway. She was so smitten she wouldn't even walk.

This was what was called a crush. Couldn't she have a crush on a normal boy? Different species meant no good outcome!

Wei Xue sometimes felt that Mumu's coins weren't that reliable, at least a little bit crooked.

Xue Lan laughed beside them, covering her mouth. Unfortunately, Xiaomeng's kitten crush already belonged to someone else; she suffered heartbreak as soon as she fell in love.

As the four of them were talking, the dormitory lights unceremoniously went out.

Eleven o'clock, lights out for the entire building.

No one had the mood for idle chat anymore. Everyone turned on their phone flashlights, placed them by their beds, and then quickly changed into pajamas, washed up, and prepared for sleep.

No matter what thrilling stories had happened, they were still ordinary students. Fortunately, there was still one day of vacation left tomorrow. After a good night's sleep, everything would be in the past.

Life would go on, and it would still be just as beautiful.

Liu Mumu had already fallen asleep peacefully. Meanwhile, in the Zhuo family residence in the capital, panic ensued due to the disappearance of Zhuo Ran and Mr. Xu.

It was late at night, but Lin Qiu couldn't sleep. She kept telling Zhuo Yongqi, who was sitting on the sofa, "Why hasn't Ranran contacted us? Did the ritual go wrong?"

Zhuo Yongqi appeared very calm and soothed his wife. "Don't worry, even if there's a mistake mid-process, it can be remedied."

If it weren't for the setback in Qing City last time, losing Ning Yuan, and being outmaneuvered by the local police, which led them to uncover some information, he wouldn't have sent Mr. Xu alone. He was worried that any larger moves would be discovered.

It just so happened that the substitute insisted on studying in Qing City, forcing his daughter to leave Jing City. It could be considered bad luck.

Past one in the morning, the Zhuo family's landline suddenly rang. Lin Qiu hurriedly answered, "Ranran..."

She couldn't finish her sentence, the rest of her words stuck in her throat.

The person on the other end of the line said something, and Lin Qiu suddenly screamed, "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean my daughter performed an illegal life exchange ritual? Where is she? What did you do to her? She's not well. If anything happens to her, I'll deal with you!" With that, she hung up the phone with a click.

Putting down the phone, Lin Qiu stiffly turned her head to look at her husband, "The Substitute Life ritual failed, and Ranran was captured. The police say she's in a coma. Husband, what should we do?"

Zhuo Yongqi stood up with a grim expression, "Let's go, we're going to Qing City." Zhuo Ran was their only child, and of course, they couldn't just abandon her.

"But will they..." Lin Qiu hesitated. Although they had connections in Jing City, this was Qing City, after all. As the saying goes, a strong dragon can't suppress a local snake. The situation in Qing City was unclear. If they rushed over, would they give those police officers an opportunity?

"It's fine, I'll tell Jiayue first." Zhuo Yongqi's younger sister, Zhuo Jiayue, had married into the Qi Family, a family that practiced metaphysics. The Qi Family and their Zhuo Family were in completely different positions; it was a century-old prominent family. Even if he were detained in Qing City, as long as his brother-in-law was willing to help, nothing major would happen.

Lin Qiu quickly nodded, "Alright, you call Jiayue, and I'll pack. We'll leave tonight."

The Zhuo couple arrived in Qing City the next morning. Lin Qiu first caused a scene at the police station, insisting on seeing her daughter. Finally, after negotiation, Fang Chuan agreed to let them see Zhuo Ran, but they couldn't get close. Lin Qiu reluctantly agreed. Upon arriving at the hospital and seeing her daughter lying in the sickroom, she tried to rush in, but the police officers guarding outside stopped her.

Standing at the doorway, Lin Qiu cried while hugging Zhuo Yongqi, "My Ranran, how can she be so pitiful? She just made a small mistake, who could be so heartless to injure her like this?"

Zhuo Yongqi patted her back and looked at his daughter inside, his eyes revealing ferocity. He turned and asked, "Comrade Police, even if my daughter did something wrong, the law will punish her. Why is she in a coma? Please give us a proper explanation."

Fang Chuan replied with a cold face, "It involves the case, so I cannot disclose details." Zhuo Yongqi gritted his teeth, unable to do anything about him.

Fang Chuan continued, "You two will also need to come to the police station with me later to cooperate with the investigation. Zhuo Ran's life exchange ritual has been ongoing for a year. A year ago, she was still in Jing City." The implication was that they were also involved in this matter.

"Of course, we are willing to cooperate with the investigation, but Officer, if you want to convict us, you need to present evidence first," Zhuo Yongqi said calmly. Fang Chuan met Zhuo Yongqi's gaze and thought to himself, This old fellow is quite calm.

"Of course," Fang Chuan said with a fake smile.

Zhuo Ran had actually woken up, but her body felt very uncomfortable, and she didn't even have the strength to open her eyes. Lying on the hospital bed, she could clearly hear her mother's crying and her father's confrontation with the police. Her Substitute Life ritual had failed. Zhuo Ran remembered. Just as she was about to open her mouth to call her mother, she suddenly heard a rustling sound from under her bed. The sound was accompanied by a pleasant, faint fragrance. She felt that in this scent, the restless Gu worms within her body had quieted down. It was like when she was a child, suffering immensely from the Gu worms, and Xu Anze suddenly appeared, calming them down. Had Xu Anze come? Zhuo Ran's consciousness began to sink. Amidst the waves of fragrance, the Gu worms that had resided in her body for over a decade left her body without her even realizing it.