Chapter 191: 191.Chapter 189 Divine Calculation Snake Immortal

191. Chapter 189 Divine Calculation Snake Immortal

"So, does this world really have dragons?"

"Besides the Dragon King, who else could turn hands into clouds and cover hands with rain? Our country's ships had no mishaps, while Shenzhao State's were utterly destroyed—isn't that enough to explain everything?"

"Dragons are legendary creatures that don't actually exist in the world; we should stick to science. I think it might be a deep-sea giant beast, like a super-large squid or octopus."

"I don't really agree with that view, because not everything can be explained by science."

"I don't know if you still remember the dragon encounter in the capital's suburbs earlier; now coastal areas here are seeing it too—these days dragon sightings are increasing."

"Originally the dragon encounter in the capital's suburbs had faded from public view, but this time it was brought up again; perhaps the only similarity between the two incidents is that both heard that strange cry."

"Online opinions were divided, and this matter caused a great uproar, becoming widely known far and near."

"Unfortunately, the incident happened suddenly, so no one could record the full scene on a phone; moreover, the waterspout dissipated in the middle of the sea and never made landfall, leaving very little visual material."

"However, this does not affect people's interest in these strange tales, after all many have personally witnessed the waves and the waterspout."

"Furthermore, since it's somewhat connected to the capsizing of Shenzhao State's ships, many people believe it."

"Some even traveled thousands of miles to Penglai just to catch a glimpse of the legendary Dragon King's true face, even setting up aerial photography nearby to capture useful footage and information."

"But after the series of waterspout incidents, the sea surface has been calm and normal, with no further appearances of the so-called Dragon King's manifestations."

"Because this matter was too hot, even Qi Xueqing took notice."

"Compared to the legend of the Dragon King, he was more interested in 'Penglai'."

"Penglai has been famous since ancient times, not only known as the Fairy Mountain, but Qin Shi Huang also once sent people to visit Donghai, leaving many legends, the most famous of which is the Eight Immortals crossing the sea."

"Whether there are dragons in the sea, Qi Xueqing doesn't know; these matters can only be left to relevant investigators, which ordinary people cannot access, but he knows that some things about Penglai are true."

"Fortunately, there was still time for this research trip; after leaving Mount Tai, he didn't go back but instead made time to come to Penglai."

"Along the coastline, the sea water was an exceptionally clear azure; occasionally a breeze would stir only countless tiny ripples."

"The sea is renowned for its vastness and boundlessness; its unchanged posture and breadth over thousands of years, as the tides rise and fall, beat against the silent rocks."

"Along the way there were many people; judging by their accents, they came from all over, presumably having seen the online news and rushed over as curious tourists."

"Qi Xueqing bumped into an old fisherman who was hauling in his net; his skin was sunburned to a bronze hue, his brows and eyes filled with the marks of age."

"Old sir, may I ask you a few things—"

"He had just begun; before he could finish, the old fisherman gave him a knowing look and said, 'You too were drawn here by the recent Dragon King business?'"

"Having heard similar remarks lately, the old fisherman wouldn't have blurted that out otherwise."

"Qi Xueqing rubbed his nose, 'No, not that. You seem to be a local who's lived here many years; could you tell me about the local legends?'"

"Hearing that, the old fisherman immediately became interested; for days most people's inquiries have been about the Dragon King, and someone like Qi Xueqing is the first of his kind—truly a breath of fresh air."

"You young man are somewhat special, but you really asked the right person—I've grown up by the sea since childhood, and my ancestors made a living fishing."

"The old fisherman paused, and Qi Xueqing, being quite perceptive, passed him a cigarette: 'Old sir, could you trouble yourself to tell me?'"

"Seeing his keen interest, the old fisherman didn't hide anything; besides, it wasn't any secret matter."

"Amid the curling smoke, the old fisherman's facial creases relaxed a little; after a few puffs, he continued, 'You've probably heard the legend of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, right?'"

"Qi Xueqing nodded. 'That's for sure.'"

"The tale of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea has been adapted into novels and TV dramas, becoming virtually household knowledge—no one is unaware."

"I also heard as a child from adults that the Eight Immortals were merely ordinary mortals back then; their successful sea crossing was also thanks to others' help, but later generations somehow turned it into a miraculous legend."

"But given the circumstances and conditions at the time, whoever helped them cross the sea must have been quite capable."

"Qi Xueqing listened intently: 'If the Eight Immortals were merely mortals, then who helped them cross the sea couldn't possibly be immortals, could it?'"

"The old fisherman laughed and shook his head: 'Whether immortal or mortal, it's been so long that no one can say for sure; it's just a folk legend, though my grandfather told me our ancestors actually saw those eight people!'"

"He let out a hearty laugh, dragged his fishing net away, and vanished from Qi Xueqing's sight; the seaside sunset stretched his shadow extraordinarily long, making him look especially carefree and at ease."

"Qi Xueqing stood there thinking for a long time; because the old fisherman's words intrigued him, he later looked up many historical materials and records about the Eight Immortals, finally arriving at a definite conclusion."

"According to historical records, the Eight Immortals may indeed have been just eight ordinary people; although a few left behind famous works passed down to posterity, such as Lü Dongbin, they were not nearly as mysterious as immortals."

"They had no special abilities, yet they did succeed in crossing the sea—something that seemed utterly incredible at the time."

"No one knows what means they used; later, through retelling, it evolved into the later notion of—Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each possessing divine abilities."

"Qi Xueqing's History Mist series was updated again; this time it concerns the legend of the Eight Immortals, which happened to take place in Penglai, and with the impact of the Dragon King incident, it immediately attracted much attention."

"Blogger, this is a dreamy crossover! The previous History Mist series was still the mystery of Qin Shi Huang's Mount Tai fairy immortality; this time the setting is again the Eight Immortals legend in Penglai, and Qin Shi Huang had once sent people to seek Penglai."

"But the eras are different, so they probably have no connection."

"Lately everyone says there's a Dragon King in Penglai—is that true?"

"Nah, there's no such thing as a Dragon King—haven't experts come out to debunk the rumor?"

"Can we believe what those experts say?"

"Blogger, next time update the History Mist series for other regions; two in a row have happened in East Province—I'd like to see something else related."

"This time's Eight Immortals crossing the sea History Mist special didn't get as many clicks as Qin Shi Huang's, after all everyone's lately been focused on the 'Dragon King incident'; it's normal for the heat here to have diminished a bit."

"But Qi Xueqing does this special not for traffic or heat, merely to restore historical truth and dispel the layers of mist; thus he doesn't care about it."

"As the sun set west, over the vast sea, the sinking sun mingled with the pale blue water, diffusing an orange‑yellow hue, beautiful like an oil painting, with rosy clouds drifting within, blurring the boundary between sea and sky."

"Dark shadows drifted slowly, slicing through deep‑green light; the formerly still scroll instantly came alive."

"Ye Qin roamed freely in the sea, white waves rolling past him like white giant fish, swimming alongside him; the water element transformed into countless tiny sprites that fondly surrounded him."

"After capsizing Shenzhao State's ships, Ye Qin came to the deep ocean, where the water's spiritual energy was as abundantly plentiful as he had anticipated."

"The sea stretches boundlessly; if Ye Qin wished, he could keep soaking here, but he soon found that the rate at which he absorbed water spiritual energy was growing slower and slower."

"This meant his body's absorption of spiritual energy had reached saturation."

"'There's no need to keep absorbing; it's time to consider going ashore.'"

"Opportunities in the deep sea are scarce, and with the water spiritual energy already full, further soaking would do Ye Qin no good."

"Ye Qin gazed at the expansive sea before him, where sky and sea met, faintly showing a tendency to merge into one; as he transformed into a flood dragon, his primordial spirit was fully replenished, and he could feel his connection with heaven and earth growing ever tighter."

He was absorbing spiritual qi while heaven and earth were also transmitting information to him.

In some legends, immortals and talented extraordinary people all possess the art of calculating by pinching their fingers.

The ancients often say, "The universe fits in the sleeve, the sun and moon linger in the gourd," referring to the ancient skill of finger‑pinching calculation.

Former robes had wide cuffs and a sleeve pouch; when calculating, the left hand stayed inside the sleeve pouch, unseen by others.

Because among the eight trigrams' positions on the palm, there are the Qian and Kun positions; Qian, the largest, represents heaven; Kun, the thickest, represents earth; since heaven and earth are the greatest in the world, immortals and exalted adepts calculate the Qian‑Kun eight trigrams on their palms.

Once one masters the finger‑pinching technique on the palm, one can know the rise and fall, success and failure of heaven, earth, the universe, and all natural things.

Ye Qin, having reached his present realm, also grasped a similar finger‑pinching ability; more accurately, the words deduction and divination are more fitting.

The "New Discourses: Bright Admonitions" once recorded: "Observing the transformations of heaven, deducing all kinds of matters."

Being able to sense changes in heaven and earth from surrounding things and deduce the future course of events applies equally to people and to other objects.

The Classic of Changes, Commentary on the Appended Phrases, says: "The Way of the sage in the Book of Changes has four aspects: for speakers, value their words; for movers, value their changes; for makers of implements, value their images; for diviners, value their divinations."

The art of divination has ancient origins, even earlier than the Zhou Changes.

"The Great Evolution Number is fifty, of which forty‑nine are used; divide it into two to symbolize the two, hang one to symbolize three, sort by fours to symbolize the four seasons, place the remainder in the middle to symbolize the leap, every five years a further leap month, therefore after another middle one hang it."

For ordinary people, divination is extremely troublesome, and the hexagrams may still be wrong, but Ye Qin has no such worry.

Because his cultivation level and realm can already form a faint resonance with heaven and earth, he can omit these complicated procedures.

Just as a doctor cannot treat himself, Ye Qin cannot divine for himself; he cannot work it out, so he can only divine for others.

"Perhaps, this is an opportunity for me."

Ye Qin has trained outside for so long, mostly seeking fragments of time, and rarely deals directly with humanity; this is a good chance to use this divination to experience the mortal world.

After experiencing the Guardians, he has remained curious about how the Collective Intent of All Beings is concretely formed; lacking time and opportunity, perhaps this time he can find a temple or daoist observatory to use as a medium and closely observe the formation of the Collective Intent.

"That's fine; perhaps it will help with the future longevity pact."

Ye Qin is a person of action; once he decides on a course and idea, he soon takes action.

Several strands of green light burst from his body, rippling green gleam spread across the sea surface; the huge shadow seemed to dissolve in the water, quickly vanishing into the deep sea, and no one could notice the change in the seawater, after all this place is still some distance from the shore.

Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, the calm sea reflected like a giant jewel, as if nothing had happened, save for the absence of that huge shadow.

……

Due to a series of miraculous events recently occurring along the coast, the related temples nearby have all become popular, with locals and many tourists coming to pay their respects.

The most popular of them should be the Dragon King Temple to the north.

"Where there are immortals, a mountain gains fame; where there are dragons, water gains spirit." The Dragon King Temple in the north was originally like any other temple, its incense not particularly flourishing, just an ordinary one.

But a newly arrived temple priest, it is said, does divination with remarkable efficacy; divination costs nothing, yet he receives only three people a day, so he performs only three divinations.

Each time he gives a divination, a green screen is placed in front; the person seeking the divination sits before it, unable to see clearly behind the screen, hearing only the voice, not seeing the person.

It is said that to this day no one has seen his true face; he is mysterious to the extreme.

"Rarity makes value"; coupled with such a mysterious manner, his fame quickly spread abroad, and most importantly his divinations are extremely accurate, never missing, so those seeking his divination come in an endless stream.

Even though he only does three divinations a day, the number of people queuing up is countless.

The temple priest selects people for divination by random draw, say the nth person in the line, so everyone's chance is equal; anyone could be chosen.

Most people, after paying respects to the Dragon King, queue here until the three divinations are finished, then the crowd disperses.

In the line, Li Hongwen lowered his head to check the time; he had to leave at two in the afternoon, but his friend insisted on joining the fun, so he could only join the queue and wait together.

"Professor Zhang gave me three days off; today is the last day, and I still have to catch a ride back later."

This person is precisely the little assistant beside Professor Zhang of the research center; this vacation, he made plans with a friend to travel out of the province, thus undertaking this trip.

"Don't worry, it won't delay your affairs; I've heard this place is very efficacious, we've come all this way, so let's just join the fun."

His friend gave him a surprised glance, saying, "You used to believe in this too, and you told me about Xiguangsi and Master Zhi Dun; those who don't know might think you're a fervent follower of Master Zhi Dun."

Li Hongwen felt somewhat helpless, saying, "One matter is one matter; how can they be compared?"

The reason he believes in Xiguangsi and Master Zhi Dun is that he witnessed it with his own eyes and personally experienced those extraordinary events.

Regarding divination, he has always thought it to be the existence of Mystifying Deception.

Those who do divination utter a few seemingly plausible words, easily influencing people's senses and judgment.

Moreover, some information may unintentionally leak out in conversation; the diviner, guessing and mixing, together with psychological suggestion, gives people a feeling of remarkable efficacy.

But the events at Xiguangsi are different; whether it is Master Zhi Dun or the ancient sword that suddenly vanished, leaving no trace to this day, they could not have been produced by human means.

Li Hongwen speculated, "Doing only three divinations a day is surely for fear that doing more would expose the trick; moreover, the selection of people for divination might all be plants, with the insiders and outsiders colluding together."

The uncle behind him in the queue shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Kid, you can't talk nonsense like that; this master's divinations are extremely accurate—he truly possesses genuine ability."

"Then, if that's the case, why not divine for more people and still only do three a day? Isn't it because he fears mistakes with more people?"

Li Hongwen's remarks left the uncle behind him speechless.

For those who don't believe, saying more is useless; the uncle, somewhat at a loss, said, "If you don't believe, why did you come over?"

Li Hongwen laughed and said, "I came along with my friend."

Although he believes that some mysterious power might exist in this world, he is not blindly faithful to everything; otherwise such power would be everywhere.

As the two were talking, the previous diviner came out of the room, his face full of reverence, and said to the queue, "Master, please let the person in 32nd place come in."

After the person ahead finishes his divination, the master will inform him of the next person's sequence, to be relayed by the preceding person.

Some in the line showed disappointment, while others felt envy, wanting to see who was so fortunate.

The uncle behind Li Hongwen slapped his thigh, saying, "I was just one spot away from my turn, but it turned out to be you, kid."

After saying that, his face filled with regretful gloom, as if giving this quota to Li Hongwen were a waste of heavenly riches.

Li Hongwen was exactly that fortunate number 32.

Here the rule is that the quota cannot be transferred; if one does not take the divination, it is forfeited. Li Hongwen did not want to go, but could not resist his friend's urging.

"Just go, since you've drawn the lot anyway, and besides, the divination costs nothing."

Li Hongwen thought it over and agreed; he wanted to see just what sort of divine being this person is, whether he belongs to the swindling, deceiving, cheating type.

The moment he pushed the door open, a faint sandalwood scent wafted over him; inside the bronze incense burner beside him stood thin sticks of sandalwood, the room's furnishings were extremely simple, visible at a glance.

In the middle hung a heavy curtain that blocked Li Hongwen's view; before him lay a futon and a small table, on which sat a candle, a tortoise shell, and several copper coins.

Sitting on the futon, Li Hongwen felt a dignified gaze sweep over him from above, his heart tightened involuntarily, and he instinctively sat up straight.

"What do you want to have calculated?"

The voice from behind the curtain was deep and ethereal, as if coming from the ninth heaven.

Li Hongwen had originally intended to expose a fraud, but for some reason he grew nervous at that moment, even his palms beaded with fine sweat; he steadied himself and said, "You can calculate anything."

"Pick up the tortoise shell and place it on the candle to burn for one minute."

Li Hongwen did as told; the room fell into utter silence, the candle flame flickered, and all that could be heard was the crackling of the tortoise shell burning.

Under the candle's heat, the tortoise shell's markings gradually showed faint, uneven traces.

Afterwards Li Hongwen placed the copper coins inside the tortoise shell, tossed them a few times in midair, and handed them to the person behind the curtain.

Throughout the process, Li Hongwen could feel a gaze constantly watching his every move.

The green curtain was so thick that not even a hint of a silhouette could be seen; he had no idea what height or appearance the person behind it had.

Yet he had the illusion that the person behind the curtain could clearly see his appearance.

Wispy white smoke curled with the candle's flutter, drifting into Li Hongwen's view, and his previously restless heart grew calm.

After an unknown interval, the voice spoke again: "Kan represents water, representing ditches and marshes, hidden storage, bow wheels; in relation to people, it signifies added worry, heart ailment, ear pain—this is the blood hexagram."

Li Hongwen listened, utterly bewildered: "What does that mean?"

"It means you will encounter a blood disaster."

Li Hongwen frowned; hearing it made him feel slightly uneasy.

This is almost what street fortune-tellers always say; the next second they'll try to sell you talismans or ask for incense money, then claim to dispel the misfortune.

The vague reverence that had arisen in his heart vanished in an instant; he realized that any supposedly effective divination was merely a deceitful trick, its sole purpose being to make money.

A true divine manifestation should be like that of Xiguangsi—usually unassuming, yet stepping forward to punish evildoers at critical moments.

Recalling the events that had taken place at Xiguangsi, still vivid in his mind, Li Hongwen sighed; he knew he should not harbor any illusions, for not every temple or Daoist observatory is like Xiguangsi.

As for the Dragon King Temple here, most of its reputation is probably just hype from tourists.

Li Hongwen said offhandedly, "Is there any way to dispel it?"

He had made up his mind: no matter what the other party tried to sell him, he would firmly refuse to buy.

"The solution is simple: you are scheduled for the two‑o‑clock afternoon train; change it to the four‑o‑clock one."

The other party's offhand remark stirred ripples in Li Hongwen's heart, and his composed face showed a momentary lapse.

How could he know I am taking the two‑o‑clock train!

Li Hongwen stared fixedly at the green curtain, his gaze as if it could burn a hole through it.

He carefully replayed the conversation in his mind and could confirm he had not revealed any related information.

The other party couldn't possibly be clairvoyant; how could they know my train schedule—could they have overheard it?

Earlier, Li Hongwen and his friend had mentioned it while chatting outside, but at that time the queue was crowded and noisy; he could not have heard it from inside.

Unless someone had colluded with him inside and out, learned this information, then deliberately chosen Li Hongwen to come for a reading, fabricating a sense of divinatory efficacy.

But what could be the purpose of going to such trouble?

He is not a local, and he is about to leave; whether he believes or not would make no difference whatsoever.

For a moment, Li Hongwen's mind filled with many doubts.

Unexpectedly, after saying that, the other party said nothing more.

"You may leave now; let the next fifty‑six people come in."

"Surprisingly, they didn't let him buy any talismans or scriptures?"

This is somewhat different from what I expected; Li Hongwen couldn't help but ask, "Is that it?"

The other party's voice was light yet carried an undeniable domineering tone: "You may go."

A chill swept toward him; that aura flashed only briefly, yet it provoked an irrepressible feeling of reverence and worship from the depths of one's heart.

He had felt such a sensation only when he was at Xiguangsi.

Li Hongwen hastily rose, fearful of offending some presence; by the time he regained his composure, he was already standing at the doorway, his mind still somewhat dazed.

Seeing this, his friend hurried forward a step and asked, "Master, what did you say to him?"

Li Hongwen recalled what had happened in the room, hesitated a moment, and said, "He said I would soon suffer a blood disaster, and told me to refund my two‑o‑clock ticket and buy the four‑o‑clock train back."

His friend's face showed surprise: "Did you tell the master?"

Li Hongwen shook his head: "I didn't say anything."

His friend's face was full of excited enthusiasm: "I knew it; this master is indeed efficacious, actually able to calculate the time of your return."

Li Hongwen was half‑believing, half‑doubting: "What if it's just a coincidence?"

Upon hearing this, his friend couldn't help but roll his eyes: "How could there be such a coincidence? Even if we had discussed it before, given that distance, the master could hardly have heard it."

After saying that, he gave Li Hongwen a worried glance: "The master said you will suffer a blood disaster; for such matters it's better to believe it than not—why not just change your ticket?"

Li Hongwen hesitated a bit: "But the four‑o‑clock train is too late."

"What matters more, time or your life? Listening to the master is surely correct."

Unable to withstand his friend's urging, Li Hongwen finally changed his train, but because he bought it too late, the four‑o‑clock train was sold out, so he could only get a six‑o‑clock ticket.

This delay caused him to waste four hours compared to his original plan.

"If I had known this would happen, I might as well have taken the two‑o‑clock train; I might already be home by now."

At the station, Li Hongwen complained to his friend.

The staff glanced at his ticket, then wore a strange expression and couldn't help but say, "Young man, it's good you didn't buy the two‑o‑clock one; otherwise you probably wouldn't be able to get home now."

Li Hongwen asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

At 2 o'clock, that bus on the highway had a rear-end collision; everyone on board was injured and sent to the hospital; I heard that several seriously injured have not been rescued yet.

The staff sighed incessantly, not noticing that the faces of the two people beside them were getting worse.

Such a serious accident is unprecedented; that highway was completely jammed, and only around five o'clock did the road gradually return to normal; your six o'clock bus is just right, otherwise you'd still be stuck on the road.

Li Hongwen and his friend exchanged a glance, their eyes full of shock and disbelief.

The friend stared speechlessly, "It really came true as the master said!"

Li Hongwen's face turned pale; if he hadn't changed his ticket, he would probably already be in the hospital now, and worse, he might possibly die from severe injuries!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

Lucky!

It can be said that because of the master's words, he completely saved his life.

"It seems that master is truly efficacious!"

The friend's vacation is one day longer than Li Hongwen's; he immediately took out his phone to change the ticket: "I've decided, tomorrow I'll go see the master again; if luck is good, I might get selected."

Li Hongwen also wanted to do that, even wanting to thank the master in person, but his vacation didn't allow it.

On the way back, his mood could not settle for a long time; this incident can no longer be described as mere coincidence.

Recalling that mysterious, majestic voice, Li Hongwen felt a sense of indescribable awe and reverence.

Perhaps there are many unknown forces in this world; besides the matter of Zhituan and that miraculous bronze ancient sword, now in his heart there is also something about the Dragon King Temple. (End of chapter)