Chapter 268

"Are you human!?"

Such a question seemed to come from the depths of the soul, deafening and enlightening. Living in the world, everyone should think about such a question.

However, such a question falling into Li Yishan's ears made him show a strange expression. He stared at Zhang Fan, was silent for a long time, and then couldn't help but say.

"Are you scolding me!?"

"..."

"I mean..." Zhang Fan muttered.

"Whether I am human or not, you should know best," Li Yishan glanced at Zhang Fan sideways and said indifferently.

They were childhood friends, growing up together, not brothers, but as close as brothers.

"Besides, is it important whether I am human or not?"

Li Yishan picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of fresh mutton from the boiling pot, dipped it in the sauce, and stirred it.

"To tell you the truth, even if I am human and you are a beast, so what? Aren't we still sitting together drinking and eating meat?" Li Yishan put the fresh mutton in his bowl mixed with the dipping sauce into his mouth, and slurped it up while chewing.

"..."

"What kind of truth is that?"

Zhang Fan rolled his eyes.

"Haven't you cultivated the Dao? How does the old saying go?" Li Yishan shook his wine glass, narrowed his eyes, and stared at Zhang Fan.

"True and false are not true or false, let the immortal deer be a wild horse!"

Zhang Fan heard this and remained silent.

All phenomena are false; seek the truth from the heart.

Indeed, is that answer important? Perhaps, compared to what he thought in his heart, that answer was already unimportant.

"It seems your illness is cured; after a serious illness, you actually realized something," Zhang Fan picked up his wine glass.

"That's for sure, I am human after all," Li Yishan laughed lightly.

Clang...

The two raised their glasses to touch, the white liquor rippled, they drank it in one gulp, and everything was left unsaid.

"Is your illness completely cured?" Zhang Fan put down his wine glass, picked up a piece of mutton, and asked.

"How could it be that easy?" Li Yishan shook his head.

"People, once they get sick, it's hard to fully recover from a serious illness."

As he spoke, Li Yishan's gaze darkened slightly, and he continued: "My illness is not the main thing, but the family business has run into trouble."

"What kind of trouble could your family business run into?" Zhang Fan asked.

"A few employees are not very obedient, and now that they've been fired, there aren't enough hands for the business," Li Yishan said indifferently.

"Then find more," Zhang Fan dipped in the sauce and ate the meat.

"How could it be that easy? Our family has many rules for recruiting people. First of all, they must be born in the Year of the Tiger or the Dog."

As soon as these words were spoken, the movement of Zhang Fan's hands slowed by half a beat.

"Born in the Year of the Tiger, the Dog... that is indeed hard to find."

"Help me look around; if there are suitable candidates, you can recommend them to me," Li Yishan sighed.

"There are many old people in our family business. If I want to truly take over, I'll have to carry out a major cleaning and kick out everyone who isn't of one mind with me."

As he spoke, a cold luster flashed in Li Yishan's eyes, like winter ice, like a blood-stained fine blade.

"Your family business has a large plate, with dragons and snakes mixed together; it should be cleaned up properly. But don't be impatient; wait until you've recovered from your illness before talking about it, otherwise, if you are calculated by those employees, it won't be worth the loss," Zhang Fan said indifferently.

"I understand," Li Yishan nodded, the look in his eyes slowly receding.

"By the way, are there any employees in your family born in the Year of the Rabbit?" Zhang Fan changed the subject and suddenly asked.

"Of course there are, but that employee born in the Year of the Rabbit is a newcomer, and I don't have much of an impression of her," Li Yishan said casually.

"Is there a way to find her and talk?" Zhang Fan pursued.

"You know, my health has always been problematic, I haven't asked much about the family business, and Mom Yun doesn't like me contacting those old employees. The most important thing is..."

"There is a major shareholder in our family business."

"Major shareholder!?" Zhang Fan was stunned and showed a strange expression; this was the first time he had heard such a statement.

"What do you mean?"

"You are born in the Year of the Snake, right? This year is your zodiac year."

Just at this moment, Li Yishan changed the subject and suddenly said.

"Is there a problem?"

"Then you are offending the Grand Duke of Jupiter this year," Li Yishan said with deep meaning.

Traditional calendars use the twelve earthly branches to correspond to the twelve zodiac animals, each year called a fleeting year, to count the years and months.

Just like this year, the zodiac animal in rotation is the fleeting year zodiac, which is the Snake.

The Grand Duke of Jupiter is a legendary deity, also known as the "Year Lord" or "Year Star." According to the sixty-year cycle, there is a Grand Duke of Jupiter in rotation every year, corresponding to the earthly branch zodiac of that year.

That is to say, there are sixty Grand Dukes of Jupiter in rotation in Heaven, in charge of the good and bad luck of the human fleeting year, so they are also known as the "Son of Heaven of the Year," symbolizing supreme power.

In legend, the leader of the sixty Grand Dukes of Jupiter is the son of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, who was later titled 【Earth Division Grand Duke of Jupiter Marshal Yin】, Yin Jiao.

The so-called offending the Grand Duke of Jupiter is when an individual's zodiac animal has unfavorable relationships such as punishment, clash, destruction, or harm with the fleeting year's Grand Duke of Jupiter.

Some people always worry that their zodiac year's luck will be bad, but that's not the case. Think about it, the year you were born is your first zodiac year; coming into this world, from death to life, what a great fortune that is? How could the luck be bad?

It's just that when you encounter the Grand Duke of Jupiter in rotation, which is the so-called zodiac year, the zodiac animal is the same as the fleeting year's Grand Duke of Jupiter, and the ups and downs of that year's fate might be relatively large, with both good and bad.

Conversely, some zodiac animals will have unfavorable relationships with the fleeting year's Grand Duke of Jupiter.

For example, this year, the Pig clashes with the Grand Duke of Jupiter, mainly involving changes and conflicts.

The Monkey punishes the Grand Duke of Jupiter, easily encountering right and wrong.

The Tiger harms the Grand Duke of Jupiter, mainly involving villains causing trouble, suffering damage in secret.

The Rabbit destroys the Grand Duke of Jupiter, mainly involving fluctuations and ruin in luck.

"The zodiac animal rotates the fleeting year, and the Grand Duke of Jupiter is in charge of the good and bad luck of the fleeting year, affecting the rise and fall of the zodiac animal," Li Yishan said indifferently.

"The power of this Year Star in Heaven is very great; the zodiac animals rotating in the human world are all affected by it, unless..."

"Unless what?" Zhang Fan asked.

"Human determination can overcome Heaven!" Li Yishan put down his wine glass, whispered in a deep voice, and spat out four words.

"Human determination can overcome Heaven!?" Zhang Fan was thoughtful.

"It's getting late, I should go back."

Li Yishan slowly stood up, walked to Zhang Fan's side, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Zhang Fan, I really can't tell you too much about our family's affairs; I have my difficulties. But as long as it's in this Yujing City..."

"We brothers can still walk sideways and win while lying down."

As he spoke, Li Yishan didn't even wait for Zhang Fan to respond and slowly left.

Zhang Fan turned to look, only feeling that Li Yishan's back tonight was so lonely, so desolate, as if carrying a thousand-pound burden, crossing over the sea, and traversing the dangers of mountains and rivers.

"Human determination can overcome Heaven, control fate and use it," Zhang Fan muttered, and slowly stood up.

"There will be that day." As he spoke, he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp and turned to leave.

"Young man, you haven't paid the bill yet!"

Just at this moment, the food stall owner rushed out with a kitchen knife and stopped Zhang Fan.

"Ah? The person just now didn't pay?" Zhang Fan was stunned.

"He said you would pay," the owner shook the kitchen knife in his hand.

"..."

"How much?"

"Two hundred eighty-seven, I'll wipe off the zero for you, just give me two hundred ninety," the owner said generously.

"Thank you, boss."

No errors, first release, internal content, look at it at a glance!

The night is deep.

It was already 11:30 at night when Zhang Fan returned to Hongfu Huayuan. The light in the security room at the entrance of the residential area was still on, but it wasn't Liu Fusheng on duty today.

These days, Zhang Fan had been in Huizhou Province; counting it up, he hadn't been home for a long time.

Opening the door and turning on the light, the house was as cold and clear as ever.

Originally, he and Zhang Lingzong depended on each other for survival. Now that Zhang Lingzong hadn't returned home for a long time, this house was becoming less and less popular, and the table was covered with dust.

Zhang Fan put down his luggage and headed straight for Zhang Lingzong's room, dragging the old-fashioned wooden box from under the bed.

Inside were some old items, especially Li Linglong's belongings before she died, all of which were preserved by Zhang Lingzong and hidden in the box.

Opening the box, the first thing that caught his eye was the old Nokia phone.

Last time Zhang Lingzong called, he told Zhang Fan that if he couldn't stay in Yujing City in the future, he should call the number on the phone; that was a way out left for him.

However, until today, Zhang Fan hadn't used it.

Putting down the phone, Zhang Fan searched again.

"If Mom really was the previous generation's Zodiac, she should have left some useful information, such as how to contact the other twelve zodiacs?" Zhang Fan muttered in his heart.

At this time, he could almost 100% conclude that Lin Jianyue had definitely had an accident, and it was even the same accident as Zhao Jiexuan.

"What are you looking for?"

Just at this moment, a soft voice came from behind, accompanied by a graceful shadow pressing toward Zhang Fan.

"When did you come in?" Zhang Fan didn't look back and said indifferently.

"Tsk tsk, very calm? Compared to when you were at the Gusu Xuanmiao Temple, you've grown a lot."

Under the light, a beautiful figure slowly walked into the room, looking to be in her thirties, with red lips and white teeth, skin like congealed fat, wearing a pair of black lacquer high-heeled leather shoes, her waist like a water snake.

"Snake Bai Yujing!"

That day, inside the Xuanmiao Temple, what was sealed in that Dharma jar was the soul-aspect of Snake Bai Yujing. It was laughable that the people of the Dao Alliance thought that what was hidden inside were the soul-aspect fragments of the previous generation's Zodiac, not knowing that Snake Bai Yujing had already deceived everyone.

Zhang Fan knew that the person in front of him was not only the Snake among the Thirteen Zodiacs, but also one of the 【Five Demon Great Monsters】 under Li Linglong back then.

And it was precisely because of Zhang Fan that the Snake's soul-aspect was able to truly break free.

"You are a young man after all; living alone is messy. Your room was still cleaned by me," Bai Yujing laughed lightly.

"Are you here to repay me? After all, it was me who let your soul-aspect go last time," Zhang Fan said indifferently.

"Are the two little monsters I gave you easy to use?" Bai Yujing said indifferently.

Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu were originally her subordinates and only followed Zhang Fan after the Xuanmiao Temple incident.

Even that courtyard in Gusu City was left to Zhang Fan by Bai Yujing, and now he could receive more than 30,000 yuan in rent every month.

"You aren't here to settle scores with me this time, are you?" Zhang Fan continued searching.

"Still quite calm. How long has it been, and you're already so confident and composed? Don't forget, although I followed your mom, I am also one of the Thirteen Zodiacs..." Bai Yujing said with deep meaning.

"Why are you telling me this? A threat?" Zhang Fan didn't look back.

Whoosh...

As soon as the words fell, a cold aura surged from the doorway of the room.

Bai Yujing raised her beautiful eyebrows, and her peripheral vision swept over, seeing a strange and fierce figure standing at the door, its scarlet gaze locking onto her. It was the spirit corpse that Zhang Fan had refined for a long time, Zhang Beijiang.

"What a spirit corpse; you actually obtained such a treasure." Bai Yujing had great insight and naturally saw Zhang Beijiang's extraordinariness.

Ever since the Yinshan Xiong family repaired it, Zhang Fan hadn't spared any effort on this spirit corpse.

After all, spirit corpses could cultivate independently.

After the Black Rat died, this was the most powerful protector by his side. Compared to Liu Xingyu, Liu Xingchui, and even Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu, this spirit corpse's combat power was stronger, and it was absolutely loyal.

"Little Zhang Fan, my strength has recovered quite a bit now; just relying on this spirit corpse, I'm afraid it won't be able to stop me," Bai Yujing showed great confidence.

Her seniority among the Thirteen Zodiacs wasn't considered old, but it definitely wasn't low, and it wasn't something that the Pig, Dog, or Rabbit could compare to.

As early as the Li Linglong era, she had already secured the position of Snake, and she herself was one of the Five Demon Great Monsters.

"Bai Yi, you followed my mom, so I'll call you Bai Yi. I don't deny what you just said; a spirit corpse alone indeed can't stop you. But you can also try and see if you can walk out of this room after attacking me," Zhang Fan didn't look back and said indifferently.

"Good boy, you're becoming more and more like your dad; your domineering aura is gradually emerging. You are indeed the seed of this lineage," Bai Yujing revealed a kind smile and completely put away her posture.

"Bai Yi, let's get straight to the point; talking like this is a bit tiring."

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan finally stopped rummaging through boxes and cabinets and slowly turned around.

"The Rabbit is lost," Bai Yujing got straight to the point.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Fan's gaze suddenly condensed: "What do you know?"

"That little girl Lin Jianyue had an accident. Five days ago, she asked me for help for the last time, and after that, there was no news," Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

"Asked you for help? Why didn't she look for me?" Zhang Fan showed a look of doubt.

"How could she look for you? Call or video call?" Bai Yujing shook her head: "At that time, she was naturally in a crisis, and there is a special way of transmitting messages between the Zodiacs."

"Then why did she look for you?" Zhang Fan continued.

"You are becoming more and more suspicious," Bai Yujing looked at Zhang Fan with deep meaning.

"Having been harmed too many times, it's better to ask clearly," Zhang Fan grinned and laughed.

"Because among the Thirteen Zodiacs, the only one she can trust is me," Bai Yujing said casually.

Su Shiyu and Shi Shougong were Snake's people, and now following Zhang Fan, it could be considered a piece of evidence.

"Where is she now!?" Zhang Fan asked.

"I don't know," Bai Yujing shook her head: "I lost contact with her."

"You didn't come over just to tell me this, right? Is there any way to find her?" Zhang Fan pursued.

"Do you know about the Grand Duke of Jupiter!?" Bai Yujing changed the subject and suddenly asked.

"The Grand Duke of Jupiter!?"

"The Zodiac fleeting year Grand Duke of Jupiter is the master, the human Son of Heaven is in charge of good and bad luck," Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

The Grand Duke of Jupiter is an existence that transcends the twelve zodiacs. It is on par with the Zodiac, and was established by the successive sect leaders of the Wu Wei Sect, precisely to prevent the Thirteen Zodiacs from becoming too powerful.

"To a certain extent, the Grand Duke of Jupiter is an existence that checks and balances the Zodiac. When the Zodiac's momentum has not yet formed, or when they are falling, the Grand Duke of Jupiter leads the twelve zodiacs!" Bai Yujing said in a deep voice.

The Zodiac has not risen, the Grand Duke of Jupiter is King!!!

(End of chapter)