After letting everyone in the livestream know that the delivery guy was safe, Qu Nanzhu opened the call for his third divination.
The final caller was an elderly man asking about his grandson's marriage prospects. He said the boy was almost thirty and still single, and he was getting old and worried he might never see his grandson's wedding.
After calculating from the birth date and time, Qu Nanzhu reassured the old man with a sweet smile that it would be soon. He told him to wait patiently and not rush things.
The old man said, "Good, good, good," three times in a row, and said he would invite him to the wedding banquet when the time came.
Since the offer was sincere, Qu Nanzhu nodded and agreed.
With all three divinations finished, Qu Nanzhu let the viewers chat freely as usual while he took out a small bowl of pudding to eat.
Butler Si had prepared the pudding. Ever since learning that Qu Nanzhu liked it, Huo Sili had arranged for someone to deliver it every other day.
The viewers were already used to Qu Nanzhu's pudding-eating segment, but every time, they still couldn't resist commenting on how delicious the pudding looked and how much he seemed to enjoy it.
Huo Sili stayed in the livestream for an hour that evening before leaving. He had an international video conference afterward, and frequently glancing away from the camera would not make a good impression.
His meeting only ended after Qu Nanzhu had finished streaming. Finding that the livestream was over, he went to WeChat to ask whether anything interesting had happened that day.
Qu Nanzhu told him about the fangirl and the delivery guy.
Huo: [Will that girl go in the end, then?]
Qu's Bamboo: [She wants to, but she won't be able to. Her parents will keep her in check.]
Huo: [Unless she experiences some things herself, she'll never think she was wrong.]
Qu Nanzhu wholeheartedly agreed. Just like that delivery guy-if he hadn't run into bad luck himself, he would never have taken the hearse industry's decades-old rules seriously.
When they had chatted until almost eleven, Huo Sili reminded him that it was time for bed.
Qu Nanzhu glanced up at the time. 22:48. It was time to sleep.
He sent a good-night message, put away his phone, and burrowed under the covers.
Early the next morning, Qu Nanzhu hurried to the carving shop.
The manager had arrived even earlier and was chatting with the young female clerk about Qu Nanzhu.
As they talked, the very person they were discussing arrived.
The young woman immediately went over to greet him. When the manager saw him, he wasn't concerned that someone so young might be unreliable, only that he might be difficult to talk to.
But the manager was worrying needlessly.
The rough jadeite arrived at eleven thirty that morning. The workers carefully unloaded it and asked Qu Nanzhu to confirm that it was intact.
After checking it and signing, Qu Nanzhu began discussing the carving work with the manager.
They had already discussed the basic requirements online. Now they needed to settle some details, such as whether the carving would be a boy or a girl.
They did not finish signing the contract until two that afternoon.
They finally agreed that the shop would deliver a male infant carving and eight egg-sized jade beads ten days later. They could use their own judgment in crafting the remaining material, and Qu Nanzhu would still entrust them with selling the finished pieces.
After Qu Nanzhu left, the manager patted the young clerk's shoulder and said solemnly, "Xiao Ning, you've brought us a major client."
Xiao Ning's heart was still pounding wildly. Excluding the portion used for the infant, the remaining jadeite would be worth at least four hundred million once made into bracelets and other accessories!
Four hundred million!
The first thing Qu Nanzhu did upon returning to his rented place was channel the power of Merit into the branch. Once the branch became a completely lifeless object, Xiao Zhu would be exposed to the air again.
Because he was in low spirits, Qu Nanzhu's livestreams had also become noticeably shorter. The viewers naturally noticed that once he finished the three divinations, he would become listless.
His fans worried that he was ill or feeling unwell.
Qu Nanzhu told them honestly, "Something has been troubling me lately, but it'll be resolved soon."
Hearing this, his fans felt a little more reassured.
At last, on the eleventh day, Qu Nanzhu hurried to the carving shop early in the morning again.
Knowing how urgently he needed the items, they had dispatched a vehicle to deliver them before dawn.
With the jade infant carving in hand, Qu Nanzhu finally felt completely at ease.
He had made arrangements with Huo Sili yesterday for what they would do today. Knowing how important this was to him, Huo Sili had specifically taken a day off to accompany him.
On the shore of Spirit Lake, Qu Nanzhu took the branch from inside his clothes. With dragon qi surrounding them, there was no need to worry about ghosts attacking Xiao Zhu.
Still, cautious as he was, Qu Nanzhu set up an Evil-Warding Array around them.
Huo Sili held the statue for him while Qu Nanzhu stood opposite, his hands rapidly forming seals as he guided Xiao Zhu's soul into the jadeite statue.
Huo Sili could not see Xiao Zhu's soul form. Seeing Qu Nanzhu discard the branch in his hand, he asked, "Is it ready now?"
He had barely finished asking when he saw eight paper figures fly out of Qu Nanzhu's bag, each carrying a jadeite bead, and take up positions in eight directions around Spirit Lake.
Qu Nanzhu held two fingers of his right hand together, his lips parting slightly-
"Descend-"
At his command, the beads fell.
The eight beads embedded themselves firmly in the ground. Huo Sili was still watching the paper figures flying about in astonishment when he suddenly felt the object in his arms move.
Instinctively, he tried to tighten his hold, but the jadeite carving flew to the very center of Spirit Lake before he could.
Overdrawing his spiritual power, Qu Nanzhu guided the carving slowly down into the lake, finally lowering it to the same level as the jade beads, where it stopped steadily.
Only after everything was done did he let out a relieved breath.
The next second, his strength gave out, and he collapsed.
Huo Sili reacted swiftly, but he forgot that he was still disabled. He failed to catch Qu Nanzhu and fell himself instead.
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds. Huo Sili braced himself and lay down beside Qu Nanzhu, and they both laughed aloud.
Huo Sili asked him, "Does this count as sharing hardship?"
Qu Nanzhu had no strength left and couldn't stand at all, but he was happy. "I suppose so. Either way, I haven't got a bit of strength left."
"Heh, then let's lie here for a while."
They lay quietly looking at the sky for a while before Qu Nanzhu suddenly said, "I want pudding."
Huo Sili said, "Then I'll have Uncle Si prepare some in a bit."
Qu Nanzhu said, "I'm so tired today. I don't want to stream, either."
Huo Sili said, "There's still time. Once you've got some strength back, let them know you're taking the day off."
Qu Nanzhu turned to look at him. "Shouldn't I go stream once I've got some strength back?"
Huo Sili looked at him too. "But you don't want to."
"All right."
Qu Nanzhu smiled.
He thought Huo Sili was truly gentle. He never left anything Qu Nanzhu said unanswered, nor did he throw his weight around because of his status.
He was repaying the debt of saving his life in a very natural way, maintaining just the right distance without making Qu Nanzhu uncomfortable. Being with him felt easy.
The two chatted like that on the grass, though they spent more of the time quietly admiring the evening glow.
Qu Nanzhu blinked. "It's almost dark."
"Mm." Huo Sili was resting with his eyes closed and responded instinctively when he heard his voice.
His voice was heavy with sleep.
Qu Nanzhu did not disturb him again.
Another half hour passed. When they still hadn't returned for dinner, Si Yunxiang came out to look for them.
From a distance, she spotted two figures lying beside the lake, with the wheelchair empty beside them.
Si Yunxiang ran over and found that they were only asleep, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
Then her gaze fell on Qu Nanzhu.
He still looked like such a young child, especially lying beside her son.
Lying on his side, he looked so sweet and adorable that it was hard to imagine how a child like him had braved the risk of a second explosion to save so many people.