The Flow of Fortune, Placing a Bet
The sun sank behind the western hills, and the sky was darkening.
But the sudden upheaval at the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple meant that undercurrents were bound to surge through the night.
More than half of those who had entered the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple to help had received an intangible gift of fortune; the only difference was how much each had received.
Even Cao Jianjia and Zhang Qinghe, who had stepped in to help at the very end, had received a sliver of fortune.
At that moment, in the residence at the westernmost end of town,
Daoist Qingzhi looked at Cao Jianjia and nodded slightly. "You were lucky. You even managed to share a little of the glory and get a taste of the leftover soup. I didn't expect that."
The girl looked bewildered, unsure what her martial aunt was talking about.
Daoist Qingzhi had no intention of explaining it to her.
That wisp of fortune was simply too faint to be of much use.
Of course, having some was better than having none.
She gazed intently in the direction of Evergreen Mountain. She had not expected the winner of the first contest in this Luofu Dao Contention to be the Xie Household's boy.
Why, then, had that boy Yu Tunzhou received no gift of fortune?
Daoist Qingzhi frowned, feeling that things could not be so simple.
She looked at Cao Jianjia beside her and suddenly said:
"Martial niece Cao, once you leave Luofu Grotto-Heaven alive and climb the great Dao step by step, you'll discover that you won't meet many 'good people' like your martial aunt in your entire life."
Cao Jianjia: "..."
She knew it!
Her martial aunt was definitely keeping an eye on her at all times!
At the mouth of an alley, beneath a locust tree,
The bald Daoist wore a solemn expression. He had indeed been right to come.
Who had said that the one at the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple would advance no further than Grandmaster?!
Judging by the fortune rising and flowing here, the time when that person would soar into the sky was probably not far off.
Ten years, twenty years, or thirty?
Suddenly, the bald Daoist frowned. He faintly sensed a fleeting shift in the flow of fortune in the direction of the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple.
It was not the dozen or so gifts that had scattered, but a subtle connection, as though an invisible thread quietly linked two ends.
This was no longer a gift. It was placing a piece on the board, lending support, placing a bet.
And where it ultimately landed was...
The bald Daoist's gaze darkened.
Yu Tunzhou!
That boy again!
The boy's name faintly echoed the configuration of this world. Three years ago, had he truly entered this place by accident, rather than as part of someone else's scheme?
And the one from the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple had not even come, yet dared to hastily place a piece and make a bet?
Was this what that Grandmaster intended, or were the spirits of the Daoist temple's ancestors at work?
The bald Daoist, whose Daoist name was Buzheng, wore an uncertain expression as he considered whether to risk entering the game himself.
In the end, he decided he had to go and confirm it in person.
Before long, Yu Tunzhou appeared at Evergreen Mountain's residence with the door painting tucked away on him.
Xie Linchuan had already changed into clean clothes. Seeing Yu Tunzhou suddenly arrive, acting rather like someone sneaking around with a priceless treasure and with irrepressible delight in his eyes, he could not help feeling surprised.
The Yu Tunzhou he usually saw was composed and reserved, so composed that he sometimes went too far.
This was the first time he had seen him act like a boy his age.
"Brother Yu, what are you holding?" Xie Linchuan asked.
After Yu Tunzhou described everything that had just happened in full detail, Xie Linchuan stood rooted to the spot in complete astonishment. Only after a long while did he say:
"You're not joking with me?"
The answer he received was the boy's smiling face, as though it were saying that putting his heart into doing something well really did pay off.
Xie Linchuan's curiosity reached its peak. He took the door painting and spread it open, but the moment he laid eyes on it, he could not help frowning.
Who knew how many years the door painting had been stored away? Time had long since worn it mottled and faded, its vermilion turned gray and its azurite pigment gone pale. The thing depicted in the painting was somewhat blurred, with only its outline still distinct.
The damage was far too severe.
"Is this... a bird?"
Xie Linchuan hesitated.
Then he remembered where the painting had come from and exclaimed in shock,
"Heavenly Peng?!"
"Is this the Heavenly Peng Diagram? No... could it be the Heavenly Peng Bearing the Azure Diagram?!"
Xie Linchuan was so shocked that a note of alarm crept into his voice:
"Yu Tunzhou, tell me again! How did this scroll end up in your hands?!"
With a scroll that appeared to depict a Heavenly Peng, Xie Linchuan could hardly help wondering whether it was a visualization diagram!
When he heard again that a draft had carried the painting over and delivered it right in front of Yu Tunzhou of its own accord, Xie Linchuan's eyes widened as though he were looking at a monster.
"Brother Yu, you've really... opened my eyes!"
Xie Linchuan took a deep breath and barely managed to calm the waves in his heart before saying decisively:
"Wait here. I'll go ask my martial granduncle!"
"No need. I'm already here."
A somewhat lean figure appeared behind Xie Linchuan.
Clad in a plain Daoist robe, with refined, lean features and a presence that was warm yet weighty, he was none other than Zhang Qingtong.
He glanced at Yu Tunzhou and nodded slightly.
It was not that he had the bad habit of eavesdropping on "children." Yu Tunzhou was simply too "conspicuous" at the moment.
As soon as Yu Tunzhou entered the residence, there had been signs of clashing fortunes: his fortune had come into conflict with that of Evergreen Mountain.
Zhang Qingtong could hardly avoid noticing.
Now, using a Qi-observing technique to take a closer look, he discovered a barely perceptible wisp of fortune emanating from Yu Tunzhou. Like lotus fibers that remained joined after the root was severed, it connected him to the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's residence.
Zhang Qingtong understood at once why Yu Tunzhou had not been among the dozen or so recipients of fortune earlier.
By now, quite a few households were probably regretting not joining in the excitement, or not holding out a little longer.
At the thought, Zhang Qingtong could not help glancing at Xie Linchuan.
He had assumed that this legitimate son of the Xie Household and Yu Tunzhou would have little to talk about and would part ways within a few days. To his surprise, Xie Linchuan had spent the past few days in Yu Tunzhou's company, earning a measure of goodwill at the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's residence and receiving a substantial gift of fortune.
This had somewhat changed his opinion of Xie Linchuan.
Of those involved in this fortuitous opportunity, Xie Linchuan had gained the most apart from Yu Tunzhou.
He should be able to seize some advantage during the first release of fortune at the end of the month.
Zhang Qingtong took the scroll from Xie Linchuan and lightly stroked it with his fingertips, his expression gradually growing solemn.
Just as he had expected.
If he was not mistaken, this visualization diagram was a major test the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple had given Yu Tunzhou.
At that thought, Zhang Qingtong suddenly frowned and raised his eyes toward the mountainside.
Could it be that releasing word through Yu Tunzhou and "contending" over the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple was the first contest of this Dao Contention?
That was most likely the case...
The way that saint did things truly left no trace to follow; the saint simply acted as the mood took them.
A moment later, Zhang Qingtong withdrew his gaze and looked at Yu Tunzhou.
The boy's eyes shone with genuine, heartfelt delight. His joy came not only from unexpectedly obtaining a great treasure, but also from having what he had held fast to affirmed.
Zhang Qingtong smiled faintly. "If I told you this wasn't a visualization diagram, would you be disappointed, boy?"
"Whatever it is, I won't be disappointed!" Yu Tunzhou said without hesitation.
The approval in Zhang Qingtong's eyes deepened. He handed the object back to Yu Tunzhou and said:
"This is half a visualization diagram. I don't mean that the other half is missing, but that it has the 'form' without the 'spirit.'"
"The True Intention inheritance that served as its 'spirit' has almost entirely dissipated. Only a few traces of its intention remain, barely clinging to the painting."
At this, Zhang Qingtong gave Yu Tunzhou a meaningful look:
"Every household in town has fortune to support it, and every Dao Contention is also a struggle over fortune. You alone are a rootless duckweed. If you can comprehend this visualization diagram before the end of the month, you might be able to solve that problem."