Li Qingxian said, "Why did you say you suffered blessed affliction three times, when your Fortune Mirror shows four floating Fortune Characters?"
Xu Changren smiled smugly. "The more Fortune Characters you have, the easier it is to ascend. I suffered blessed affliction three times but received four blessings, which means my luck is pretty good too. The luckiest person suffered blessed affliction just once, but when he looked in the mirror, all nine blessings had arrived. He ascended the very next day. How enviable."
A man in plain cloth clothes behind them could not help asking, "Does ascending really mean becoming an immortal?"
"How could ascension be true or false? Ascending means truly becoming an immortal. Don't doubt it. Every person who ascends here turns into a streak of white light and flies to the Ascension Tree in the Upper Mountain District. Through that tree, they enter the Immortal Realm," Xu Changren said.
Han Anbo stared at Xu Changren's belly and slowly asked, "Then don't the places where you suffered blessed affliction hurt?"
The corner of Xu Changren's mouth twitched. Then he smiled and said, "Some hurt, some don't. It varies from person to person. The doctors say the pain has nothing to do with blessings. Old ailments cause it. We must believe the doctors and the mayor."
Everyone exchanged looks, their brows deeply furrowed.
After a long silence, Li Qingxian said, "Let's go register at the government office. On the way, tell us why we need to go to the Upper Mountain District."
Han Anbo handed Xu Changren another three taels of loose silver.
Xu Changren hesitated for an instant, then pushed it back and declared with righteous conviction, "You gentlemen have treated me generously. How could I take an inch and demand a mile? From now on, whenever