Chapter 94: Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity

When human flesh, still warm, suddenly contacts icy water, the abrupt temperature difference causes muscle spasms, blood vessel constriction, limb cramps, and drowning; those with weak constitutions have even died suddenly from participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Although this is actually a rare occurrence, and those who have received proper swimming instruction know to warm up before entering the water to promote circulation and further reduce the chance of accidents.

But isn’t there a saying? No matter how improbable an event, once it happens to you, it becomes one hundred percent.

Ning Zhe did no warm-up before entering the water—he had no time to spare; who knew when he might die again?

The pool water was crystal-clear and bitterly cold; he didn’t remove his trousers, only sat bare-chested on the shore, slowly extending his legs into the water, and once his soles touched the pebbles at the bottom, he gripped the bamboo beside the edge and carefully submerged his entire body. The water wasn’t deep, and with Ning Zhe’s caution and Lan Shiwén watching nearby, even if he cramp, he wouldn’t drown.

Ning Zhe’s constitution was excellent; even without warming up, plunging directly into the frigid water caused no muscle spasms or cramps.

But Ning Zhe’s luck was bad—just minutes after he entered the water, an event rarer than cramping occurred.

The icy water reached his chest; the rapid shift between cold and heat stimulated the sympathetic nerves, causing cardiac load to surge violently as blood vessels constricted, triggering tachycardia—a fierce palpitation surged through Ning Zhe’s chest, and the next second, his heart stopped.

An extremely improbable event had just occurred right before him: Ning Zhe died suddenly.

——This was what Lan Shiwén saw in his future.

But in reality, Ning Zhe dove straight into the water, then leapt up with a perfect fish leap; his soaked trousers were heavy and sodden, yet they didn’t slow his agile form at all.

He was perfectly fine.

“I told you, today is auspicious for bathing,” Ning Zhe brushed his wet hair back from his forehead and washed the grime from his skin with the cold pool water: “Come in and bathe too—your luck will improve.”

Better luck means you won’t die so easily, and Lan Shiwén won’t need to use his foresight so frequently, preserving more reserve for future explorations.

“Luck…?” Lan Shiwén’s gaze shifted slightly, memories of his previous deaths flashing before him.

He undid his Zhongshan jacket as he thought, and joined Ning Zhe, submerging his body into the pool water.

“I’m going to that pavilion next,” Ning Zhe took a deep breath and asked Lan Shiwén: “Will I die?”

Lan Shiwén thought: “You went… and never came back.”

Ning Zhe took another deep breath, clasped his hands together, and bowed three times respectfully to the Three Immortals statue inside the pavilion, then made the sign of the cross over his chest: “Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, may God protect us, Amitabha.”

After this, he asked again: “Now?”

“Uh… this time you returned safely, and your expression was serious,” Lan Shiwén said, scrubbing his neck with pool water: “You seem to have found something beneath the pavilion.”

“Understood.” Ning Zhe nodded slightly, transformed into a three-meter-long giant water boa, and slithered into the water, winding his body toward the pavilion at the pool’s center.

“What the hell…?” Lan Shiwén didn’t understand, but he was deeply shaken.

He saw only Ning Zhe transform into a great serpent and swim smoothly through the clear, fishless pool—but what Lan Shiwén didn’t see was that behind him, in the bamboo grove on the shore, a translucent figure in a bridal gown stood silently, her delicate jade-like hand holding an ancient almanac, one yellow page just turned, caught between her fingers.

[Lunar 12th Month, 8th Day] [Auspicious: Bathing, Cleaning, Sacrifice, Prayer, Erecting Steles, Burial, Relocating Graves, Moving Coffins]

[Inauspicious: Marriage, Relocation, Digging Wells, Opening Pools, Seeking Medical Aid, Consulting Physicians]

Lan Shiwén climbed out of the pool, dried himself slightly, and redressed; even now, he still couldn’t grasp how bathing related to luck.

Sitting on the shore, he looked again at the center of the pond: eight round pillars plunged into the water, supporting an octagonal pavilion above the surface; the Three Immortals statue inside stood life-sized, unmistakably heavy.

——Ning Zhe swam beneath the pavilion, then the floor creaked and collapsed, the stone statues of the Three Immortals plunged into the water, crushing him beneath.

This was what Lan Shiwén saw.

But after Ning Zhe’s nonsense prayers and worship, the vision changed: Ning Zhe, transformed into a serpent, glided effortlessly to the pond’s center and returned unharmed—round trip, nothing happened.

It was as if “pavilion collapse, Ning Zhe crushed to death” had never existed, never occurred.

“Luck… luck…” Lan Shiwén murmured.

Beneath the water, Ning Zhe swam straight to the center beneath the pavilion.

The pavilion’s floor was raised high, over a meter above the water’s surface; eight pillars formed a circular clearing in the pond’s center, covered in pebbles, revealing the dark, slick mud below.

=9+ Shu _ Ba

In the mud lay three rectangular objects arranged in a “pin” formation.

Ning Zhe reverted to human form for clearer vision, diving into the icy, glass-clear water—he saw the three rectangular objects clearly: they were three coffins.

“Hmm…” A chill rose from Ning Zhe’s chest.

Somewhere beyond sight, he felt three cold gazes hovering above him, like divine beings watching ants with venomous disdain. Above his head, the pavilion held a heavy statue of the Three Immortals; beneath him lay three coffins sunk in the mud.

His survival instinct screamed: this place was dangerous—extremely dangerous.

But Ning Zhe’s luck was truly extraordinary—he didn’t die.

He even had the leisure to dive down and examine the three coffins up close.

There were three coffins on the pond floor, arranged in a “pin” formation, each a different color.

The upper coffin was bright vermilion lacquer, vivid as fresh blood; on both ends, golden running script read “Fu.”

The left coffin was plain white lacquer—not the usual snowy or pure white, but the pallid, lifeless hue of a dying man, utterly bloodless; on both ends, golden characters read “Lu.”

The right coffin was jet-black lacquer, darker than the deep mud beneath, as if gazing too long would pull you in with invisible force… On both ends, golden characters read “Shou.”

(End of Chapter)