Mysterious Crystal

After shouting, Li Qingxian slung the bundle onto his back and slipped into the woods.

Zhou Hen emerged from behind a white poplar, gestured to the driver, and crouched as he entered the forest.

Half an hour later, Li Qingxian arrived at the spot where the purple crystal had fallen in his memories, breathing heavily.

Tall red pines towered all around. The ground was carpeted with green-and-yellow pine needles, thick as a blanket, with fist-sized pinecones scattered among them. The faint fragrance of pine needles filled the forest.

Li Qingxian lowered his head and saw that his shoes were covered in mud and rotting leaves, while several tears had been snagged in his clothes.

Li Qingxian waited quietly.

Estimating the timing, Li Qingxian opened the blue cloth bundle and took out yellow paper, chicken blood, a coin sword, and other fake ritual implements used by wandering charlatans.

He drew the Goose Feather Saber and dug a small pit in each of the four directions—east, south, west, and north. He placed a peachwood talisman in each, dripped in chicken blood, and covered them with yellow paper.

Once everything was arranged, Li Qingxian held the coin sword and slowly walked around the four directions, muttering under his breath.

At first, Zhou Hen watched attentively from the tree. Before long, though, he grew tired of these common tricks of wandering charlatans and lazily surveyed the surroundings instead.

Suddenly, Zhou Hen's hairs stood on end. An incomparably distant yet irresistible vast power appeared, crushing the True Essence within him until it nearly collapsed.

Zhou Hen was horrified beyond measure. Even when he had personally faced a great Second Rank expert, he had never experienced such a feeling.

A thread of blue-white light flashed in the sky.

He looked up. The blue-white speck moved like lightning, landing in the forest in the blink of an eye and striking the clearing ahead—directly in the center of the four little pits.

White smoke rose. A purple, diamond-shaped crystal-like object lay upon the scorched earth, blue-white arcs of electricity weaving across its surface with a sizzling crackle.

Zhou Hen stood dumbfounded, utterly bewildered, as he watched Li Qingxian first bow respectfully to the purple crystal and say something about "thanking the Heavenly Emperor for bestowing this treasure." Then he took out a prepared pair of wooden tongs, picked up the purple crystal, wrapped it in red cloth, and tucked it close against his body.

Li Qingxian put on a convincing show of bowing three times toward the northern sky, filled in the five pits, grabbed several handfuls of pine needles to cover them, and slung his bundle over his back.

"Uncle Zhou, let's go." Smiling, Li Qingxian headed down the mountain.

Standing in the tree, Zhou Hen racked his brains but could not make sense of what had happened.

After quite a while, once he was sure there were no enemies nearby, he stepped on a branch and flew out like a hawk, landing on another tree. With another step, he skimmed from branch to branch, catching up to Li Qingxian in just a few strides.

Following behind him, Zhou Hen asked, "What happened?"

I've been waiting for you for a long time. Li Qingxian smiled. "My Fate Arts have finally entered the gate."

"Regarding Dong Ying, Lord Zhou and I had only half believed you. We thought you were a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. But in these deep mountains and old forests, even if you exhausted countless cats, they still couldn't stumble upon a mouse this enormous. What was that purple crystal?" Zhou Hen was itching with curiosity.

"A treasure bestowed by Heaven cannot be spoken of lightly. You will know tomorrow." Li Qingxian acted mysterious and cryptic.

"Do you really understand Fate Arts?"

"My maternal grandfather was a direct disciple of the Fate Measuring Sect. You and Uncle Zhou must know that," Li Qingxian said.

"The Fate Measuring Sect has long since fallen into decline. Your grandfather was its final inheritor! If the Fate Measuring Sect possessed such abilities, would Heaven's Mandate Sect still have gotten to become Qi Kingdom's state religion?" Zhou Hen said.

"Uncle Zhou, I never expected that someone usually so quiet would have so much to say now."

Zhou Hen said coldly, "Loose lips bring trouble. You have no idea how much I suffered back then because of my foul mouth."

"The fact that Uncle Zhou is willing to speak with me means you trust me too. It is simply that Fate Arts are exceedingly profound and difficult to explain in detail."

"It's fine. I'm willing to listen," Zhou Hen said.

Li Qingxian thought for a moment. "Do you know what a Destiny Mold is?"

"That, I do know. A Destiny Mold isn't any one specific thing, but a general term. Everything related to Fate Arts counts. Specifically, there are Destiny Spirits, Destiny Pillars, Destiny Patterns, as well as things like overcoming, imprisoning, death, draining, depletion, generation, union, flourishing, gathering, support, and so on. I know all that," Zhou Hen said.

Li Qingxian nodded. "Ever since Heaven's Mandate Sect emerged, our Anya Continent..."

"Mention Anya less and Qi Continent more. Back then, who knew how many people violated a taboo out of habit by using the old name and could never again enter court as officials," Zhou Hen said.

Hearing Qi Continent, Li Qingxian recalled something and asked, "Since there's no one around, I want to ask about some royal secrets."

Zhou Hen said, "Don't let Lord Zhou find out."

"Rest assured. Rumor has it that the Founder of Great Qi was descended from the Snowfield People, that he was a horse bandit on the grasslands in his early years, then became a pirate, obtained an ancient inheritance in the Western Sea, cultivated peerless divine arts, seized the position of martial alliance leader, overthrew the An Dynasty, and occupied the magpie's nest. Is that true?"

Zhou Hen smiled. "That hasn't been a secret for a long time. It is true that Qi Taizu began as a horse bandit and pirate. It is also true that he obtained the inheritance of an ancient great sect. And it is all true that he later became martial alliance leader and founded the Qi Dynasty. Still, you people from the Eastern Ding Kingdom have always disliked Qi Kingdom, so you tend to dress it up a little."

"You even know that my maternal grandfather came from the Eastern Ding Kingdom?"

"Nothing can be hidden from the Night Guard." Zhou Hen gave Li Qingxian a deep look.

"Will my Eastern Ding Kingdom bloodline bring trouble?" Li Qingxian asked.

"In the first few decades after Great Qi was founded, Eastern Ding Kingdom bloodlines truly were troublesome. Later, the Eastern Ding Kingdom, like the other small countries, submitted as a vassal. More than a century has passed, so it no longer matters much. What's more, the ancestors of the Eastern Ding Kingdom came from a distant and mysterious eastern realm. Let alone Qi Taizu—even the forces of evil demons, puppets, and fiends fear them. That is why we often say that as long as the Eastern Ding Kingdom remains peacefully in one corner and does not contend for the realm, it will still exist even after Qi Kingdom is destroyed." After speaking, Zhou Hen lowered his eyes slightly, concealing his gaze.

"That's good, then."

"But if the two countries go to war, Eastern Ding Kingdom bloodlines will likely be the first to suffer. By the way, continue talking about the purple crystal," Zhou Hen said.

"Let's talk about it after we return. Saying it twice would be tiring," Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Hen eyed Li Qingxian suspiciously. "You're not going to make it up on the road, are you?"

"Uncle Zhou, go ask around the outer district. Am I, Li Qingxian, the sort of person who does that?" Li Qingxian feigned anger.

"Back in the outer district, the Military and Horse Bureau beat you until you were like a rat crossing the street. What reputation did you have left?" Zhou Hen asked in confusion.

"The Night Guard's intelligence is inaccurate!" Li Qingxian muttered as he walked on.

After taking a few steps, Zhou Hen sighed. "Don't dwell on what happened when you were young. It was the trouble Mr. Gangfeng caused, yet you ended up being bullied by the subordinates and children of those political enemies. Still, take your revenge slowly. There's no rush. There will always be opportunities!"

"Yes, slowly. No rush..." Li Qingxian said.

The two fell silent and hurried down the mountain.

They boarded the carriage together. Zhou Hen closed his eyes to rest, returning to his usual appearance of a cold, murderous god.

Bored out of his mind, Li Qingxian tried to make conversation, but Zhou Hen only gave brief replies.

Li Qingxian forced himself to read Explanation of the Seven Stars Determining Fate for a quarter of an hour, then continued reading the second part of Chronicles of the River-Guarding Hero.

On the road, they encountered the Ye Family brothers returning. Their cursing could be heard from far away.

Night fell and the city gates closed. With the Night Guard's waist token, Li Qingxian returned to the Divine Capital.

Night Guard Yamen, Chunfeng Residence.

The room was brightly lit, with its doors and windows wide open.

Insects chirped and birds called outside, yet not a single mosquito could be found indoors.

After Ye Han's subordinate finished reporting, he bowed and withdrew.

Ye Han bent ninety degrees at the waist and deeply saluted Zhou Chunfeng. "My parents gave me life, but Mr. Spring Breeze saved me. I will never forget your kindness for all eternity."