Chapter One Hundred Twenty [Yin-Yang]
Wu Daodao's expression had turned serious as well.
He realized that the "Junior Brother" before him wasn't joking; his tone was quite earnest.
As for the talk of "drawing blood"...
Looking into the calm eyes of the young man before him, a shiver shot through Wu Daodao's heart. He truly could do it!
"Junior Brother, everyone has their own secrets."
Wu Daodao swallowed hard.
"I know," Chen Nuo nodded thoughtfully. "You help me this time, and I owe you a favor."
After a pause, Chen Nuo spoke again in a very steady tone, "Believe me. When the time comes, my favor could be very valuable."
Wu Daodao fell silent.
Chen Nuo didn't rush him, slowly sipping his tea.
When he finished the tea, one sip at a time, the cup landed gently on the tea table, emitting a crisp sound.
Wu Daodao looked up.
He sighed, and the Senior Brother slowly said, "All right."
Chen Nuo nodded, pushed a teacup in front of Wu Daodao, and poured him some tea.
"Please, go on."
"Junior Brother, you're young and might not realize that this world is actually very different from what you see."
Chen Nuo was unfazed. "How so?"
"There are many surreal existences, many wondrous powers, and also many... things ordinary people can't understand." Wu Daodao, having let go of his concerns and deciding to speak, couldn't help but let his habitual, rambling expression show.
Chen Nuo was still unfazed. "Oh?"
"This world is full of remarkable and strange people! Some people, some events, in the eyes of ordinary people like you, are probably unimaginable, like gods or demons."
Chen Nuo nodded, smiling.
"Of course, you're practicing martial arts with Teacher Jiang. Since you're studying martial arts, your acceptance of many things shouldn't be too low. Martial arts... in essence, are also a power that transcends the capabilities of ordinary people." Wu Daodao waved his hand. "I studied with Teacher Jiang for two or three years, but later I found I had no talent for martial arts... and Teacher Jiang himself might not possess any particularly transcendent abilities... So I thought my future wasn't in this, and I went to do other things."
"You became a monk?" Chen Nuo glanced at Wu Daodao.
"Err..." The Senior Brother's face turned a bit awkward. "Let's not talk about me, not me. Let's put my affairs aside for now."
After a pause, Wu Daodao continued, "I don't know if you can understand what I said earlier. In short... many things that ordinary people can't understand, perhaps even think are imaginary, actually exist in this world.
For example, flying through the sky and burrowing into the earth, or traveling a thousand miles in a single day relying solely on one's physical body.
For example, a single person controlling great fires that sweep across the plains.
For example, a single person commanding tides that overturn rivers and seas.
Hmm, you've probably seen many Legend novels and movies.
You can understand it along those lines."
Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Hmm... Senior Brother, I'm afraid I've seen more of these things than you have...
"There are all sorts of powers in this world. Some are easily understood by everyone.
Others are profoundly mysterious, things people can't understand and can only try to guess and ponder.
Some powers are overt, like the control over water and fire, flying and burrowing I just mentioned...
And some powers are latent."
At this last sentence, Chen Nuo nodded. "Are you saying Sun Keke's situation is related to latent powers?"
Chen Nuo pondered. Although he was Lord Yanluo in his previous life... Chen Nuo still hadn't evolved to the point of being omniscient and omnipotent... He didn't fully understand all the various Special Abilities of this world. Lord Yanluo's level in his previous life was at the pinnacle of Controllers—and then he died. Without having achieved true omniscience and omnipotence, Chen Nuo didn't dare say there weren't any Special Abilities in this world he didn't know about or hadn't sensed.
Wu Daodao thought carefully, then slowly asked a question.
"Do you believe in the existence of something like 'luck' or 'destiny'?"
Something stirred in Chen Nuo's heart. This... is getting interesting.
"In Huaxia, many people believe in the existence of luck or destiny.
There are many different ways of putting it.
For example, blessings, karmic retribution, and recompense.
For example, good fortune, luck, and ill fortune.
Of course, I come from the countryside. You're a city kid who's been to school.
You might believe more in science and think what I'm saying is feudal superstition.
But what I want to say is... many things science hasn't yet been able to study, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't exist, right?"
Chen Nuo was noncommittal. "Continue."
"The explanations vary, and I haven't had much schooling, so I can't use theoretical terms to explain it clearly to you... I don't really understand it myself.
However, I can explain it to you like this.
From what I've learned and know, this thing called luck or destiny... well, the term might not be precise, even the name might not be accurate, but that's roughly the idea.
But this thing truly exists.
Think about it, at a card table, some people always seem to have fortune smiling upon them, winning big.
And some people, at times, just have a string of bad luck, losing heavily.
How do you explain that?"
"Probability?" Chen Nuo frowned.
"Err... I understand a little about 'probability,' but... it doesn't seem to be quite what you're describing."
Wu Daodao shook his head. "I studied Taoism.
According to Taoism, heaven and earth are divided into Yin-Yang, then into the Four Symbols, which then evolve into the Bagua...
There's also an ancient legend that when our ancestors created heaven and earth, the space between them was a mass of chaotic qi.
After heaven and earth were created,
the pure qi ascended.
The turbid qi descended.
So, what is pure qi?
And what is turbid qi?"
Wu Daodao scratched his head, smiling wryly. "I didn't go to school much; I don't know how to explain it in your terms.
Let me put it this way, from what I've learned, or rather, what I've come into contact with...
In this world, there are two opposing forces.
One is positive, one is negative.
These two forces are constantly in this world, omnipresent yet traceless.
They are just mixed together, intertwining and opposing each other.
But they must always maintain a kind of balance.
Our ancestors said:
'Prosperity at its peak leads to decline!'
'Adversity, when extreme, brings prosperity!'
This is a kind of balance.
When a momentum rises to a certain point, a power from the unseen will naturally suppress it!
When a momentum falls to a certain point, a power from the unseen will naturally lift it up again!
This is what I'm trying to express.
I don't know if you understand?"
Chen Nuo frowned in thought for a moment. "I think I roughly understand what you mean. But what does this have to with what happened to Sun Keke?"
Wu Daodao's expression was very serious. "When we first met yesterday, I wasn't actually deceiving you.
Sun Keke really is entangled with 'ill fortune.'
Well, or you could say, this 'ill fortune,' you can understand it as what I was talking about.
That latent...
Negative force existing in this world."
Chen Nuo thought for a moment. "Then can you resolve it?"
"..." A strange look appeared on Wu Daodao's face.
Chen Nuo looked at him. "Didn't you take five hundred yuan from me yesterday and give her an amulet?"
Wu Daodao's expression turned sheepish, and his eyes began to dart around.
"So, you just scammed me? That amulet is useless?" Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes.
"Well, you can't quite say that," Wu Daodao sighed. "I'm not all talk, you know!
Actually, I do have some real skills.
That amulet... more or less, it is somewhat useful."
"Different schools of thought, different descriptions.
In my studies, I learn about the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation.
Let's put it this way: the negative force on Sun Keke, in the teachings of my school, is the turbid qi between heaven and earth!
Turbid qi, according to the cycle of the Heavenly Dao, is meant to be eradicated and eliminated by the Heavenly Dao.
If a person is tainted by this ill fortune, they will repeatedly encounter misfortune.
Because at that point, Sun Keke becomes the host of this 'ill fortune.'
The Heavenly Dao will always try to balance this out.
So, this person will experience various accidents, and then...
During these accidents, the turbid qi, what I call the negative force, will gradually be consumed.
Once it's completely consumed, the matter will be over."
"Then... what about the person? What will happen to Sun Keke?"
"That... is hard to say." Wu Daodao wiped the sweat from his forehead. He sensed the young man before him; his face was turning grim, and the aura around him grew colder.
"Hard to say! You still have to explain it clearly to me."
"...There are two possibilities.
One, the ill fortune is exhausted, and the person is fine.
The second... is that during the process of the ill fortune being exhausted, the person doesn't hold out... then...
At best, a calamity of bloodshed. If it's severe..." Wu Daodao swallowed hard.
Chen Nuo nodded. "So, when you saw Sun Keke yesterday... since you could tell she had a problem, you must also be able to see.
Let me ask you this: how much 'ill fortune' does Sun Keke actually have?
How much bad luck will this amount of ill fortune bring her?
What kind of consequences will she suffer?"
"Uh... that's something I'm not sure of either." Wu Daodao smiled wryly. "Generally speaking, what you call bad luck, or what I call negative force, is adrift throughout the world. It might be in daily life, in the air, everywhere.
But it's always in very, very minute amounts.
Turbid qi, naturally, is very scarce.
An ordinary person might unintentionally get tainted by a little.
They might lose a wallet, sprain an ankle, take a fall, or because of this bad luck, accidentally come into contact with some pathogen and get a stomach bug or fall ill...
But then it's over; once the incident passes, it's over.
At most, it happens once or twice.
Usually, it lasts only one or two days, three to five days at most.
That's how it is for most people.
Because the elements of 'negative force' are inherently few and very diluted.
If there were too much of this stuff... well, imagine, wouldn't the world be in chaos?
But, as far as I know...
There is one situation that is an exception!"
"Go on."
Wu Daodao's face was solemn as he slowly said, "There are some extremely, extremely rare people... because of their innate constitution from birth... Of course, it's not necessarily a person; it could be any living being, any creature.
But because their innate constitution is different.
Exactly how it's different... I don't know, and I can't explain it.
But such people exist, as if they have an invisible antenna on them.
Wherever they go, they are particularly prone to attracting the convergence of 'negative force,' drawing the 'ill fortune' from their surroundings onto themselves...
These people are different from ordinary people.
Ordinary people accidentally, without knowing how, get tainted by the ill fortune drifting in the world.
But the special kind of people I'm talking about, no matter where they go, no matter how they try to hide, it's useless.
Because of fate, or innate constitution, whatever the reason, my school's teachings don't have a specific explanation for this.
But these people just easily attract bad luck!
It's like being smeared with honey; you'll easily attract ants.
Do you understand what I'm saying now?"
Chen Nuo frowned. "Do you think Sun Keke has this kind of constitution?"
"That's... hard to say." Wu Daodao shook his head, but then, seeing Chen Nuo's cold gaze, he didn't dare to be vague and quickly said, "What I mean is... anyway, I've never met such a person.
The ancient texts of my school record that such people are rarer than one in ten thousand; you might not find one even in a hundred thousand or ten million.
They're rarer than a living fossil!
However, identifying whether someone is this type of person is also very simple."
"How do you identify them?"
"It's too easy! The constitution of these people is innate!
They're like this from birth, unlucky all the way to adulthood.
If their ability to absorb ill fortune is relatively small, then it's still manageable.
At most, they'll be frail and sickly from childhood to adulthood, their life will be full of hardships, and they'll always encounter minor unlucky incidents.
If their ability to absorb ill fortune is very large...
Then..."
"Then what?"
"Then they would have died young."
Chen Nuo thought for a moment. "Hey, there's a flaw in what you're saying."
"Huh?"
"Many people in this world die young. Are you saying they all have an overly strong ability to absorb ill fortune, as you described?"
"No, it's different." Wu Daodao shook his head. "For example, someone who dies young in a car accident... If that person's life was completely normal before the accident, with a normal person's luck for several years, or even decades, then they don't have the special constitution I'm talking about.
The special constitution I'm referring to is when a person is unlucky every few days from the moment they're born.
And it continues like that until they die."
Chen Nuo frowned. "So, Sun Keke..."
"If she hasn't been continuously unlucky like that since birth... then you don't need to worry. She definitely doesn't have that innate special constitution I mentioned."
Chen Nuo frowned. "Then... her recent streak of bad luck has been rather long."
"Uh..." Wu Daodao's gaze started to wander again.
Chen Nuo sneered inwardly. This rambling fellow was as slippery as a fish, indeed hard to pin down.
"What are you hesitant about?"
"Uh..."
Wu Daodao smiled wryly, looking into Chen Nuo's cold eyes.
He understood that if he didn't explain things clearly today, this matter wouldn't pass!
The young man before him was truly capable of drawing blood!
Although Wu Daodao had some skills... his skills weren't in the mundane ways of the world.
To put it bluntly... Wu Daodao wasn't much of a fighter.
If Chen Nuo really wanted to deal with him, he had no means to resist.
"All right. I'll talk, I'll talk... I'll tell you, but you can't force me..."
Wu Daodao looked miserable. "I suspect... she was harmed by someone."
Chen Nuo's eyes immediately narrowed!
Wu Daodao suddenly felt the air in the room turn cold!
A thought flashed through his mind... this young man was probably not simple either!
"Harmed by someone?"
"When I looked at Sun Keke yesterday, the girl... the negative energy clinging to her was relentless; it did look a bit strange.
If an ordinary person gets tainted with a bit of bad luck, it shouldn't be this much, nor should it cling so deeply.
So... unless it was..."
Wu Daodao paused, then bit down hard. "Unless it was someone of my kind... who used their methods to harm her!"
"How did they harm her?"
"Casting a hex, a curse, using effigies..." Wu Daodao smiled bitterly. "There are so many sects, how would I know!
Although most of these things are scams.
But there are actually those who truly understand.
If you encounter someone who truly understands and can even cast spells to control ill fortune, forcibly imposing it on someone...
Then they must also be able to control the forces of Yin and Yang in the universe.
Yes, the forces of Yin and Yang are what I called positive energy and negative energy.
Those who can control these must be people of my kind.
Moreover... looking at the amount of ill fortune on Sun Keke, to be able to conjure so much...
Their skill is definitely far above mine!
I can't afford to provoke such an expert!"
Chen Nuo stood up!
A fire ignited in the young man's heart!
After taking a couple of deep breaths, Chen Nuo suppressed his temper and sat back down.
He then questioned Wu Daodao carefully and repeatedly.
What Wu Daodao had learned was indeed another form of this world's Special Abilities.
The so-called Special Abilities are nothing but guiding and utilizing certain forces of this world.
Water and fire are such forces.
Then those so-called ill fortunes and positive forces naturally are too.
Wu Daodao also had a talent; his talent was different from ordinary people.
His talent was: his sensitivity to positive and negative forces surpassed that of ordinary people.
This was not something Chen Nuo found strange.
Most Psychics possess different talents.
For example, Wizards have extremely powerful sensitivity to spiritual power.
Each Psychic's talent has a different emphasis.
Wu Daodao's talent emphasis was his acute sensitivity to the powers of Yin and Yang.
That was why he was suited to learn the skills of his particular school.
But there was one thing.
Wu Daodao, regarding his own sect—his true sect.
Not Old Jiang, nor any monk or Taoist...
Regarding the true sect he belonged to, he absolutely refused to utter a single word, even under duress!
Even when Chen Nuo subtly threatened him, he wouldn't say a word.
Fine, Chen Nuo didn't want to pry into others' sect secrets; his goal was to find out what happened to Sun Keke.
Chen Nuo had no interest in digging into Wu Daodao's personal secrets.
However...
Positive force, negative force... Ill fortune, good fortune... Could it be... Causality?
Chen Nuo shook his head; his brain development hadn't yet reached the level of sensing talent in this area.
There was no hurry to explore this secret at the moment.
The urgent task was to solve Sun Keke's problem.
"Someone is harming her? Then, is there a way to find this person?"