Chapter 25: Divination

Hearing that I was safe, Gu Qianxi finally breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest as she said, "That’s wonderful, Mazi. I’m just glad you’re alright."

Once she confirmed I was safe, she began to worry about herself. "Oh dear, what should I do then? Mazi, can these paper effigies of ours really protect me?"

I frowned. "It’s hard to say. The paper effigies have already been used once. If the mastermind behind this is skilled enough, they will surely have devised a technique to break through them by now."

"Tell you what—rather than guessing blindly, let’s cast a hexagram. Whether it bodes well or ill, we’ll know as soon as we divine it."

Gu Qianxi agreed, saying, "Alright, please cast a hexagram for me, but how do we do it?"

To cast a hexagram, one needs tools. Fortunately, as I scanned our surroundings, I quickly spotted something suitable on the table: a pile of sunflower seed shells.

"Found it—those seed shells." I said to Gu Qianxi, "Wife, pick out six well-shaped shells, hold them in your hand, concentrate on your fears of good or evil, and then toss them onto the bed. I will use the six-line method to cast a hexagram for you."

Gu Qianxi was very obedient. She immediately climbed off the bed, selected the six largest shells from the table, muttered a silent prayer while holding them in her palm, and then tossed them onto the bed.

Each of these six shells represented one "line," and together, the six formed the "six-line" hexagram.

As the shells landed, some faced up and others faced down, each unique. From top to bottom, the six lines formed the "Heaven-Thunder Wuwang" hexagram—the "Innocence" hexagram—out of the sixty-four possible combinations.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but furrow my brow, saying in a low voice, "Initial Nine, Six Two, Six Three, Nine Four, Nine Five, Top Nine—the hexagram is Heaven-Thunder Wuwang."

Gu Qianxi stared at me, looking completely lost. "Mazi, that’s too technical; I don't understand. Just tell me, is this hexagram auspicious or ominous? Am I in danger?"

I explained it in terms she could understand. "This hexagram can be either auspicious or ominous. If you leave our home right now and flee outside, it is highly auspicious! If you stay here, it is extremely ominous!"

"In other words, my guess was right. I’ve fallen for a 'lure the tiger from the mountain' scheme, and someone is heading to our house to harm you right now!"

The color drained from Gu Qianxi’s face, and she trembled with fear. "Mazi, you mean to say that our home is now even more dangerous than being outside?"

I nodded. "Exactly. The mastermind must have calculated that you would be home tonight, intending to ambush you here. But as long as you leave, they will find nothing but empty space!"

Gu Qianxi made a split-second decision. She scrambled off the bed, put on her shoes and clothes, grabbed my substitute paper effigy, tucked it into her pocket, and said, "Alright, I’m leaving this instant! I’ll make sure that mastermind can't find me!"

While she was busy packing to leave, I quickly withdrew my consciousness from the paper effigy and returned to the bridge underpass. There was still an old beggar I had to deal with.

Fortunately, I was well-versed in snake-charming arts. A few whistles allowed me to turn the tables, using the old beggar's own venomous snakes to corner him. At that moment, the old beggar was struggling to fight off the snakes with his wooden staff, looking as disheveled as one could possibly be.

Once I regained my focus, I sneered at him. "Old beggar, your plans are about to fall through. This 'lure the tiger' trick of yours was devious, but as the saying goes, 'while the devil is one foot tall, the Tao is ten feet high.' I have my own ways of breaking it."

Though the old beggar was losing, his spirit remained unbroken. He grinned hideously and said, "Little Mazi, don't celebrate too soon."

"Do you think your master can't calculate what you can? If you ask me, that little girl Gu Qianxi still won't escape death tonight!"

My heart sank as I caught the key information in his words. I asked sharply, "Your master? Is your master the mastermind who blinded my wife all those years ago? Who exactly is he? Speak!"

The old beggar let out a harsh laugh, waving his staff frantically to knock away four or five white snakes in the blink of an eye. He snapped, "A nobody like you is fit to ask for my master's name? Hah! How delusional!"

With that, he pointed at the living dead creature and commanded, "Living dead, don't just stand there! Go and strangle this little brat!"

The living dead creature received the order and lunged at me again. Fortunately, I remained calm. I dodged, then countered with a punch to the creature's abdomen. With a thud, I knocked the mass of white snakes inside her out. Once the snakes left her body, the living dead returned to being a cold, lifeless corpse, falling to the ground unable to move.

I sneered at the old beggar, indifferent. "Give up. You are no match for me."

Unexpectedly, at that exact moment, a sinister, venomous smile crept across the old beggar's lips. From the other side, I suddenly heard Gu Qianxi’s cry for help: "Mazi, help! Save me!"

*Qianxi!*

My heart tightened, and I sucked in a sharp breath. There was no time to waste on the old beggar. I instantly shifted my consciousness back to the paper effigy and appeared by Gu Qianxi’s side.

I scanned the surroundings and saw that she had followed my instructions and successfully escaped the Gu villa. She was currently standing right at the entrance.

"What is it, Qianxi?" I asked hurriedly.

Gu Qianxi stared in the direction behind me, her voice trembling. "Mazi, look... look behind you!"

"Tell me... is she... is she here to kill me?"

I turned around to look, and my scalp went numb!

Standing at the end of a small alley behind me, under the pale moonlight, was a woman dressed in white with long hair. Except for her thick black hair, her top was white, her skirt was white—everything about her was white.

What was even more terrifying was that she had no feet beneath her skirt, and there was no shadow beneath her body. She stood there, back turned to Gu Qianxi, completely motionless.

Just as I looked at her, she seemed to sense my gaze and slowly turned her head toward me. As she turned, her body remained perfectly still; only her head rotated, staring straight back at me.

The moment her face turned around, my skin crawled. Her face had no features! It was just a flat, pale, paper-like surface!

I immediately shouted, "Wife, run!"

Before the words had even left my lips, the woman in white began to move, gliding toward Gu Qianxi without her feet ever touching the ground.

"Ah!" Gu Qianxi screamed in terror and began to run for her life, clutching my paper effigy tightly. As she ran, she cried out pitifully, "Mazi, hurry and save me! Please, save me!"

But the bridge underpass where I was being held by the "lure the tiger" trap was a full forty kilometers away from the Gu villa! I was nowhere near enough to help her in time.