When they reached the second home, Lianchi told Chi Yu, "This household consists of a
fatherless child
and his widowed mother. Her husband died not long ago, and his clan divided up the family's fields. This afternoon, people will come to seize their house. The mother will take her son and wander the streets, but before long, a thug from another street will assault her, and she will hang herself. The city's beggars will take the son away, break his legs, and make him beg."
At this point, even Lianchi felt some pity. "The misery of mortals truly takes countless forms. Sure enough, weakness is the greatest sin."
Chi Yu asked Lianchi, "Senior Brother Lianchi, have you done anything for them?"
Lianchi said, "I gave the mother and son some mortal gold and silver, but it was stolen. Then I rented a house for them, but that still couldn't change the mother's fate of being assaulted. So I killed that thug, but the woman was weak. Once that thug died, another would take his place."
As he spoke, he sighed a little. "If it is this mother's fate to be assaulted and die, then even if I intervene, perhaps fate will take a detour, but it will ultimately arrive at the same destination. That is destiny."
Chi Yu: "..."
Lianchi's unintentional words had struck Chi Yu's sore spot.
But he very quickly smiled again and said as though nothing were wrong, "Senior Brother Lianchi, we are cultivators. Cultivators contend with the Heavenly Dao, thinking the unthinkable and doing the impossible. There's a saying: my fate is mine to decide, not Heaven's-I won't let this mother suffer the same thing."
Lianchi laughed. "Long Junior Brother, I believe you. But what will you do this time?"
Chi Yu said, "Let's take a