The First Fate Divination

Xu Le gripped the card in silence.

He had an excellent memory, but it was more than that. It was probably an additional effect of the Soul Tree: his memories were extraordinarily vivid.

Even now, he clearly remembered the first time he activated Guyinduo Vision after crossing over.

The first distorted thing that appeared before him had been this Black Sheep Girl.

Back then, he couldn't make out the girl's face. Even now, he still couldn't.

"Is this the true Guyinduo Fate? Was the Guyinduo Secret Language something the original owner was born with, or did it come with me?"

Xu Le had been absorbed in the card for a long time. Gan watched him with a hint of concern.

"Xu Le, are you all right?"

Although Gan was reluctant to disturb a Warlock deep in thought, Xu Le really had been staring at the card for far too long.

The effects of Guyinduo Cards were incredibly complex. Even he had only mastered a superficial portion of them.

If Xu Le truly became entangled in the power of the Guyinduo Cards and couldn't escape the world of fate observation, he would be in grave danger.

As his guide, Gan had a duty to bring Xu Le back to his senses.

"Xu Le, Xu Le, wake up!"

Gan gave Xu Le several hard shoves.

Only after this outside interference did Xu Le belatedly emerge from his absorption.

"Mr. Gan, what just happened to me?"

Xu Le also felt that something had been wrong with his state just now.

He had been obsessing over why he had crossed over, what powers he possessed, and what would happen in the future.

All his thoughts had become trapped in those unanswerable questions.

Without Gan's interruption, he probably would have sunk deeper and deeper.

"Xu Le, the powers of Guyinduo are terrifying. They're chaotic and disorderly.

"Even void creatures from beyond this world, even evil gods, can only tremble before the powers of Guyinduo.

"You were clearly bewitched by Guyinduo's power just now.

"That's very dangerous.

"Although we Mediums need to harness this power, we also have to guard against it.

"Fortunately, you don't seem to have suffered any serious harm. Well? What did you see just now?"

Xu Le nodded and answered honestly:

"I saw the Black Sheep Girl."

"So you really did see her."

At a loss for words, Gan rubbed his hands together, as though trying to release his unease.

He had needed years of practice to discern some of the secrets of the Guyinduo Cards, yet Xu Le had seen them at first glance.

People really couldn't be compared.

Xu Le noticed Gan's unease and followed up:

"Is there something wrong with my being able to see the Black Sheep Girl? If there is, please make sure you tell me."

"No, not at all. I'm just a little envious of your talent. Hmm... since you can already see her, let's start with what the Black Sheep Girl represents."

"All right."

"As the first of the Guyinduo Black Cards, the Black Sheep and the Girl usually represents the source of all darkness. If you come into contact with the Black Sheep and the Girl during divination or prediction, you need to be careful. Every Warlock has their own interpretation of the other cards, to some extent. The Black Sheep and the Girl is the one exception. Its interpretation is essentially universal. In most cases, it signifies disaster and death."

Listening to Gan's explanation, Xu Le frowned slightly, then stole a glance at the card.

[Black Card-Black Sheep and the Girl]

Upright: signifies death, darkness, and impending disaster.

Reversed: the only light.

Mr. Gan hadn't mentioned the card's reversed meaning, but his explanation of its upright meaning was essentially identical.

This was a card symbolizing death, darkness, and impending disaster.

Xu Le didn't mention the card's reversed meaning, because even he didn't know what this so-called reversed meaning actually was.

Besides, interrupting Gan now would have been rude.

"The source and beginning of all darkness? I understand. Please continue."

"All right."

Gan took out a second card, depicting a puppet on strings.

Through Guyinduo Vision, this puppet appeared as a figure covered in rusty screws, controlled by countless threads.

Its mouth was smiling, but its eyes were crying.

[Black Card-Puppet on Strings]

Upright: control, mastery, a manipulated fate.

Reversed: all that is false.

"In the Medium records, the Puppet on Strings signifies control, but personally, I think the puppet may also have something to do with fate."

Xu Le's eyes brightened slightly. Gan really had an excellent grasp of things!

His personal interpretation of the puppet was entirely correct.

But just as with the Black Sheep Girl, the reversed meaning was missing.

Then, just as they had in the Headquarters Archive Room, the two began studying the Guyinduo Fate Cards, one eager to learn and the other willing to teach.

There were seven Black Cards. Besides the Black Sheep Girl and the Puppet on Strings, the others were the sun, dragon, gem, spider, and forest.

There were four Red Cards: Red Moon, angel, heart, and flower.

There were three White Cards: Jester, Four-Leaf Clover, and coin.

Xu Le listened attentively to Gan's explanations and analyses of each card's meaning, as well as the divination methods used with a Guyinduo deck.

As far as divination went, what Xu Le learned could really be summed up in a few words.

Ask first, then interpret.

Their lessons continued for several more days. During that time, Xu Le still clocked out as usual.

This went on until the afternoon four days later.

"That's about it. There isn't actually that much material on Guyinduo Cards. Divination and foreseeing fate are both very vague things. They mainly depend on a Warlock's personal insights. After all, everyone starts from a different point, so what each person sees can be very different too."

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Gan. I'll remember it."

"No need to thank me. One good deed a day, one calamity averted a month. It's all fate's arrangement. You don't have any cards yet. This is the deck I used when I was young, so I'll lend it to you for now. Once you have the money to buy your own deck, you can return this one."

Gan had helped him so much. Xu Le had nothing to offer in return and could only repeat his thanks.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Gan."

"Once you get back, you can practice the divination procedure at home without actually activating it. When you're familiar with the divination Spell Formula, you can gradually start trying out the cards' other abilities."

"I understand."

"If you really understand, you can give it a try right now."

Gan stood and spread his hands toward Xu Le, apparently indicating that he could use him.

Xu Le, however, looked startled.

"Try it? Right now?"

"What's wrong? Am I not a suitable test subject? Opportunities like this don't come often. Once I leave, it'll be hard for you to find another Warlock whose fate you can predict."

Xu Le looked at Gan, unsure what to say for a moment. But seeing the certainty in Gan's eyes gave him some confidence too.

"All right. I'll try."

Xu Le shuffled first, rearranging the fourteen cards before handing them to Gan. Gan also shuffled the deck, then drew a card blindly.

Looking at the card he had drawn, Gan tilted his head back.

"Oh-ho, this card isn't a good omen."

Gan handed his chosen card to Xu Le.

[Black Card-Puppet on Strings]

Xu Le nodded. Divination required only one incantation seal. He prepared the Spell Formula:

"Spell Formula-All-Guyinduo Secret Words."

Just as he was about to activate the Guyinduo Card using the method Gan had taught him, his fingers suddenly stopped.

Activating the Spell Formula to perceive fate required an infusion of Red Moon Spirit.

He hadn't noticed before. Only now, when he was about to put it into practice, did he remember that he was different from ordinary Warlocks.

When he advanced to become a Warlock, he had indeed possessed Red Moon Spirit.

It had been that pool of gathered red water.

Compared with ordinary Warlocks, his total amount of Red Moon Spirit had been enormous. Gan had said that his own liquefied Red Moon Spirit formed a pool only about the size of a washbasin.

Yet the pool Xu Le had gathered after his advancement was already two meters across.

The problem now was that the pool formed from all that Red Moon Spirit had been completely absorbed by the Guyinduo Soul Tree. It was gone.

Which raised the question: without any Red Moon Spirit, how was he supposed to cast a Spell Formula?

Holding the card, Xu Le found himself in a dilemma.

"Xu Le, is something wrong?"

"Uh, no. I'm just getting myself in the right frame of mind."

Xu Le hurriedly made an excuse, then entered the Tranquil State.

Slowly closing his eyes and immersing himself in his own mental world, Xu Le began trying to communicate with the Guyinduo Soul Tree.

Unlike when he fully entered his mental world in his sleep, while awake, Xu Le could usually only activate Guyinduo Vision and enter the Tranquil State.

At his current level, interacting more deeply with the Soul Tree seemed somewhat difficult.

But there was no helping it. If there was a difficulty, he had to find a way to solve it and face it head-on.

He recalled how it had felt to control the Soul Tree's branches in his mental world before.

Xu Le slowly raised his hand, trying to control the Soul Tree growing in his mental world.

But no matter how he projected his will, it remained unmoved.

No, this isn't enough!

Xu Le's brows knitted tightly. His focus combined with the Tranquil State, and as his mind reached a state of intense concentration, a long-absent heat began spreading throughout his body.

At the same time, the Soul Tree in his mental world extended a branch.

A drop of liquid slowly dripped from the tip.

When that drop landed on the ground, Xu Le's entire mental world shook violently.

Ripples of spirit energy began radiating from Xu Le in expanding rings.

Gan looked at Xu Le in surprise, silently wondering:

It's just a divination. Does he really need to make such a production of it?

Completely unaware of any of this, Xu Le infused that Guyinduo Spirit Energy into the Black Card-Puppet on Strings.

If humans could only see the first layer of the world in their normal state,

then what Guyinduo Vision revealed could be called the second layer.

And after holding the Fate Card and infusing it with Guyinduo Spirit Energy, Xu Le saw the third layer of the world.

The threads of fate.

An extremely fine thread connected the puppet card to the point between Gan's eyebrows.

Following the thread with his gaze, he saw that the space between Gan's eyebrows had already turned pitch-black!

Xu Le immediately felt a surge of panic. This really wasn't a good omen.

He placed a finger on the thread, and a powerful sense of déjà vu arose in his mind.

Gan was like a puppet, suspended in midair by countless threads that controlled his body.

Each thread bore a name: money, power, knowledge, bonds, and... he couldn't make out the rest.

The constantly tightening threads were like countdowns. The longest had a little over four years left, while the shortest had less than a year.

When Xu Le's arrival was noticed, the threads controlled Gan's head and mouth, making him speak mechanically to Xu Le:

"One good deed a day, one calamity averted a month."