Chapter 130

Xiaoye also turned his head to look at Liu Junyan, his scarred brow furrowed slightly, likewise showing a puzzled expression.

Roar…

Another howl came; this time it was not from underground but seemed to come from inside the black coffin.

No, it's from beneath the black coffin!

The black coffin kept pushing upward again, and the black mist beneath it continually gathered, condensing into a large sheet of water that suddenly surged toward the shore.

The black wave's crest almost reached the sky, its shadow cast down enveloping us all, making our hearts feel uneasy.

Beneath this black wave, countless golden copper coins suddenly shot out, piercing through the layers of black waves, and the entire space erupted with terrifying howls.

Liu Junyan's body floated up, his palm holding the prayer beads facing down, pressing the black coffin down section by section.

Boom!

The black mist that had been coiled beneath the black coffin instantly exploded into a spray of water, with Liu Junyan's palm as the center, the golden copper coins as the surface, and red threads interwoven among the coins forming a net that continually spread across the entire water surface.

Not only was the black coffin pressed down, but the newly emerged troop of yin soldiers was also resealed, sinking again into the water, unknown how many years before they might see the light of day again.

In the end, the only one left on the Zhu Pan River was Zhao Zixun riding a warhorse.

Zhao Zixun pressed one hand to the saber at his waist, gazing at Liu Junyan for a long time, the coffin nail between his brows seeming to flash with blood-red light.

By then, Liu Junyan had already withdrawn his hand.

He wore a gray… monk's robe, standing tall upon the rolling river waters, his head slightly bowed, his hand constantly turning the prayer beads, murmuring words under his breath.

This scene suddenly reminded me of the copper coin person enshrined on the main altar in the west room of the pawnshop!

I staggered on my feet, my mind going blank in waves.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

He is Liu Junyan, not a copper coin person!

"Xiao Jiu." Li Qingying quickly steadied me, "Xiao Jiu, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

She said this, already squatting down, she hoisted me onto her back in one motion and called for everyone to return to the pawnshop together.

I lay on Li Qingying's back, my whole body trembling slightly.

I don't know what I'm afraid of; even being turned into that state by the Fengli Fox didn't scare me, but at this moment I tremble inside and out.

Li Qingying took me back to my room; Tang Xun and Yu Nian kept me company, hot tea was soon brought over, I held the cup with both hands, but my emotions remained unsettled.

Tang Xun comforted, "Xiao Jiu, don't be afraid, it's all over now, we've won."

Li Qingying also echoed, "Yes, Xiao Jiu, Seventh Lord turned the tide, we have nothing to fear now."

Only Yu Nian sat quietly aside, continually fiddling with the turtle shell in her hand; after a while she reached out to touch the lower right side of my cheek, near the jawbone, and gently rubbed it.

At that touch, I suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air: "It hurts."

When I cried out in pain, Tang Xun and Li Qingying both looked at me; Li Qingying frowned, "Is this a finger mark? It's reddened a small patch; I expect it'll turn black-and-blue tomorrow. I'll boil an egg to roll on it—just right, since everyone's tired from last night, I'll make some late-night snacks to fill our stomachs."

Tang Xun thought for a moment, then took my hand and placed it in Yu Nian's, saying, "You two sisters have just met for the first time; you surely have much to say. I'll go help with the cooking—you two talk properly."

Tang Xun and Li Qingying went out together, pulling the door shut behind them.

I steadied my mind, looked at Yu Nian, and opened my mouth to speak, but she said, "Don't move yet; let me touch again."

Her fingers were slender, yet the pads were covered in calluses, showing she had endured much hardship.

Her fingers traced my cheek and jawbone bit by bit, then touched the painful spot; I held back from making a sound.

"It's not a finger mark," Yu Nian said, then went back to fiddling with the turtle shell.

During this process, she was especially focused; I could tell she was divining.

Divining for me.

"Xi Kan, you have faith, keep the heart steady, conduct has merit—this is an ominous hexagram." Yu Nian murmured, "If the heart is unsteady, it brings great misfortune; only by being fearless and not restless can danger be turned to safety."

My heart gave a jolt; it seems the hexagram she divined for me is not favorable.

Yu Nian touched my cheek again and asked, "Does it hurt much?"

I nodded, then realizing she couldn't see, I replied, "It hurts at the slightest touch, like a sharp pain shooting up from inside the bone."

"Then that's correct," Yu Nian said. "This is something carried in your fate, or perhaps karma from a past life, only now manifesting. It has begun to disturb your mind, making you fearful, apprehensive, doubtful, even hateful of yourself. Xiao Jiu, if you cannot hold fast, you will surely fall into distress and find it hard to escape."

Yu Nian's words made me recall the unfounded fear that flashed in my heart when I looked at Liu Junyan earlier—could that be where it came from?

I instinctively reached for a mirror to examine my cheek, but Yu Nian pressed me down again.

Her hollow eye sockets fixed on me, she suddenly asked, "Xiao Jiu, do you love him?"

Huh?

I froze for a moment, then realized she was asking about my feelings?

Or perhaps, the hexagram she just calculated wasn't only about me, but also about my feelings for Liu Junyan?

My heart thumped again, yet I answered firmly, "Love."

My feelings for Liu Junyan go beyond romantic love; they are mixed with gratitude, reliance, trust…

As I was thinking, I saw a stream of nosebleed trickle from beneath Yu Nian's nostril; I quickly grabbed a tissue to help her press it, saying, "Senior Sister, stop divining; my fate is too hard, you'll hurt yourself."

The same thing happened when Master Huichun earlier calculated my fate for me.

Yu Nian wiped away the nosebleed, shook her head with a smile, and said, "It's fine; I don't know your two birth dates, so I didn't calculate your fate—I merely did a shallow divination for the both of you."

"Beneath the deceptive hexagram lies an ominous sign of great misfortune; this menace comes from your inner selves, possibly tied to past lives and karma. Xiao Jiu, I can do little to help you, but I leave you with one sentence."

I nervously asked, "What is it?"

Yu Nian said word by word, "Let go of obsession and karma; with your gentle touch, resolve each other's inner demons."

I somewhat understood, yet not fully.

Yu Nian had no intention of explaining further; after all, divination concerns the future—she can only see the hexagram, not the minute details, and cannot elaborate.

What I cared more about was, "Senior Sister, won't you stay to keep me company?"

We finally managed to meet.

Yu Nian shook their head: "Back then, the aunt brought my mother to settle in Huicheng; there was a reason for it. Their dying wishes were never fulfilled before they died tragically, so I must stay there and finish everything that needs to be done."

I asked: "What is the dying wish? Perhaps I can help."

Yu Nian said with a smile: "Xiao Jiu only needs to guard this Wufu Town Pawnshop well, and that will be the best help for me. We sisters share the same lineage..."