A fate that did not match the face

The guests and crew had all been badly frightened. They had only agreed to come because they wanted to thank Qi Gu.

After a few bites, they lost their appetites and took it upon themselves to grill meat for Qi Gu.

Qi Gu had not experienced such warmth in a long time. His eyes curved as he enjoyed the perfectly grilled meat, juicy and tender inside with a crisp exterior.

"Master Qi, it was all thanks to you that our crew managed to finish filming safely," director Song An said earnestly, his foxlike eyes full of gratitude. "For the next episode, I'll make sure to choose the location carefully. We won't run into anything dangerous like this again. I guarantee all you'll have to do is explain a few things!"

"I'll transfer the tips we received during this episode to you, and I'll raise your appearance fee for the next one, too." Song An was thoroughly sincere, afraid that another production team would swoop in and steal someone with Qi Gu's drawing power.

Such things were a dime a dozen in the entertainment industry.

At the mention of money, Qi Gu's clear, half-narrowed almond eyes flew wide open. "You must pay in installments. Five thousand a day. Remember that!"

Although Qi Gu's rules struck him as truly strange, he was a master, after all. A little eccentricity was normal.

Song An respectfully made a note of it.

Once they finished talking, Mu Xingchen turned his sparkling, downturned puppy eyes toward Qi Gu and ingratiatingly placed a piece of freshly grilled pork belly on his plate. "Master, do you think I have any talent for the mystical arts?"

His desire to become a disciple could not have been more obvious.

Qi Gu studied Mu Xingchen and saw the Canopy Star in his fate, which suggested he had talent. But Qi Gu's lineage was in decline, and he himself was barely scraping by. Taking on a disciple would hardly be ideal.

"Yes, but I'm not planning to take disciples for now. You can try other schools." Unversed in tact, Qi Gu pointed out his intention outright.

Fortunately, Mu Xingchen was not one to mind such trivialities. He only said, "Not for now means you might later, right? Then let me get in line first. Master, whenever you feel like taking a disciple, just say the word. I'll come right away with apprenticeship gifts, kneel three times and kowtow nine times, and serve you the initiation tea!"

With a reliable master right in front of him, why look farther afield?

Qi Gu: "..."

Seeing that he had not refused, Mu Xingchen immediately changed Qi Gu's contact name on WeChat to "Young Master."

After changing it, Mu Xingchen lowered his voice and told Qi Gu, "Master, just let me know if you ever need anything. I might not be doing that well myself, but my family has clout in the entertainment industry. Helping you fight smear campaigns and things like that won't be a problem!"

By now, he firmly believed that Qi Gu had been smeared by his unscrupulous manager.

One look at his master showed how clear and unclouded his spirit was. How could he possibly be the sort to bully employees and sleep around?

Qi Gu gave him a faint smile and thanked him for his kindness.

Only after everyone else had finished speaking did Vivian seem to steel herself and speak. "Master, will you have some time later? I'd like to ask you to help me find someone."

"Who are you looking for?"

Wouldn't calling the police be faster? Qi Gu did not consider child trafficking. After all, Vivian's full forehead indicated good fortune, and her children's palace showed an outstanding child. There was no way she should suffer the pain of separation from her own flesh and blood.

"My son. When he was one, our nanny took him away and sold him. I called the police immediately, but technology was less advanced back then, and there were fewer ways to investigate. It's been so many years, and we still haven't found anything. I've also sought help from some masters of the mystical arts, but they all said my face indicated a harmonious family, that I shouldn't have suffered such a calamity. None of them could divine where my child was, either. But my child really is missing!" Tears welled in Vivian's eyes, wetting the fine lines at their corners.

"They weren't wrong. Your face really does show no sign of losing a son. What's more, your son should have the fate of a top scholar, with excellent grades. By now, he should already have achieved some measure of success." Qi Gu's usually casual tone grew slightly solemn.

His master had told him of an evil art that could exchange people's fates, but it took a terrible toll on the practitioner's cultivation and lifespan. In principle, no practitioner should be willing to perform it, even for money.

"What does that mean?" The masters Vivian had consulted before had only been able to tell her the first part. None had ever discerned any clues about her son.

Yet now Qi Gu was saying her son had the fate of a top scholar and should never have suffered the calamity of being abducted!

Her brows knitted, and an aura of authority spread from her. Her voice was grave and steeped in hatred. "Are you saying someone harmed my child behind the scenes?"

"I'll go take a look at your home in a little while... It has to be the house your child disappeared from. Then I can tell you exactly what happened," Qi Gu said.

Vivian took a deep breath, her emotions surging. "Thank you, Master!"

With that, she hurriedly took out her phone and called her husband, Han Yunshu, to tell him about it.

Her husband was just as anguished over their child's disappearance as she was.

But he had never approved of her pinning her hopes of finding their child on the mystical arts, and his response over the phone was very cold.

"This time really is different. Trust me!" Vivian said firmly.

Qi Gu was the variable that Master Hui Neng of Jinshan Temple had discovered through divination. Vivian trusted Master Hui Neng, and she also trusted Qi Gu, who had performed so impressively during the livestream.

By the time they finished eating, it was evening.

Qi Gu joined Vivian in the car driven by her family's chauffeur, heading toward her family's old residence beneath the neon lights that were gradually coming on.

Half an hour later, the car stopped outside a residence decorated in a traditional Chinese style. Rather than looking dated, it exuded a rich sense of heritage.

This old residence was the Han Family's main house, where most of the family's main branch lived.

Qi Gu examined the feng shui and found that the site sheltered wind and gathered energy. Clearly arranged by a feng shui master, it was an excellent configuration.

Han Yunshu, a refined, scholarly businessman who likewise looked young, was waiting outside. When he saw his wife return, he immediately went to her side and quietly asked whether filming had gone smoothly.

Clearly, the couple enjoyed a harmonious, loving marriage.

A little embarrassed, Vivian hurriedly tugged at her husband's sleeve. "This is Qi Gu, Master Qi. He may look young, but he's very capable. Come, say hello to him."

At Vivian's insistence, Han Yunshu coldly said, "Master Qi."

Qi Gu knew some people were prejudiced against the mystical arts and regarded them as utter nonsense. He did not care about Han Yunshu's attitude and simply turned to Vivian. "Which room was the child taken from?"

Vivian led Qi Gu toward that room.

It was a nursery. Twenty years had passed, yet none of its furnishings had changed. Everything remained as it had been, showing how deeply the couple missed their child.

Qi Gu surveyed the room from the doorway, then walked straight to the crib and reached out to pull off its bedding.

Han Yunshu seized his hand, his gaze icy. "Don't touch anything in here!"

These were the traces his child had left behind.

"If you still want to find him, don't stop me," Qi Gu said coldly.

Vivian hurriedly caught her husband's arm. "Yunshu, trust me. Please, trust me one more time."

In the end, Vivian persuaded Han Yunshu. He took a deep breath and turned his face away.

Qi Gu could not be bothered to say more, either. With one swift, decisive motion, he lifted the solid wooden board at the bottom of the crib with one hand.

Beneath the board was a thick layer of dust that had escaped cleaning. Qi Gu's movement sent it flying.

Everyone began coughing uncontrollably.

"Cough, cough, cough. Master, is there something wrong with this crib?" Vivian asked, covering her nose.

Qi Gu did not answer. A glimmer of spiritual light appeared on his fingertip, and he lightly touched the board. Strange, blood-red markings immediately emerged on its underside. Complex, barely decipherable characters written in blood densely covered the board, emanating an eerie, sinister chill.

Vivian was horrified. She had no idea how such a strange thing could have ended up beneath her child's bed.

"What is this?!" Vivian's gaze turned vicious.

"A concealment spell, hiding a long-lost Life-Exchange Evil Art. This evil art can swap the fates of two children with identical birth charts..."