Chapter 621: Mysterious Palace

Songhai, just after dinner, the sun sank below the horizon, stubbornly casting its last rays, dyeing the clouds on the horizon golden-red.

Jiang Yuer walked out of her room in pink slippers and went excitedly into her nephew's room, only to find it empty.

"Mom, where's Yuanzi?" she shouted, calling to her grandmother, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

"He just went out. Guessing he's doing fortune-telling for the old men in the community again," her grandmother responded with a louder voice.

"He doesn't know how to tell fortunes! He's not scamming the old men and women in the community for money, is he? Mom, beat him to death when he gets back."

"He's not scamming money, but he deserves to be beaten to death," her grandmother said through gritted teeth.

"Mom, I'm going to take a nap. Call me when he gets back. Tomorrow's the weekend, and I want to play games," Jiang Yuer yawned and went back to her room.

Beside the stone table in the community, Zhang Yuanqing sat with his legs wide apart, surrounded by a group of old men and women. Opposite him was a balding old man.

The old man said with heartache, "Master Zhang, your predictions are so accurate! The stock I bought really hit the limit down. Oh, it's making my liver hurt."

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head and sighed upon hearing this.

"Uncle Wang, you're just born to be韭菜. You've been harvested since you were young and will continue to be harvested until you're old. You'll never get rich in this life. If you continue like this, your later years will be miserable."

Uncle Wang was shocked and grabbed Master Zhang's hand tightly, saying, "Master, you must save me!"

Zhang Yuanqing sat upright, looking like an otherworldly expert. "It's easy. Give the money to your old lady to manage from now on."

"Will that prevent me from being harvested?" the old man asked expectantly.

"Then your son will be the one being harvested."

".......Master, please change our family's fate against the heavens!"

Hearing their conversation, the old men and women on the side exclaimed "Ooh!" and showed expressions of shock.

"He really lost money?"

"Could it be a blind cat finding a dead mouse?"

"Did Little Chen's grandson really learn fortune-telling?"

The old men and women chirped in amazement. Recently, it was rumored in the community that Old Chen's grandson had left home during the summer vacation to become a disciple and had learned the skills of face reading and fortune-telling from an expert. He was said to make ironclad predictions, determine the universe, find dragon veins, and alter fate.

It started like this: last week, Old Fei was playing chess with Old Chen when Old Chen's grandson suddenly arrived and pointed at Old Fei, saying:

"Uncle Fei, your Yintang is dark, and your eyes are murky. It's early-stage cancer. Go to the hospital quickly, and you might still make it."

Hearing this, Old Fei wanted to show the kid what it meant to still have some fight left in him, but Old Chen's grandson's next words shocked Old Fei.

No one could remember exactly what he said, but after listening, Old Fei rushed to the hospital. The checkup revealed that he really had lung cancer. Fortunately, it was early, and the doctor said it could still be treated.

After this incident, Old Chen's grandson became famous among the old men and women in the community.

But some people still doubted his abilities.

"Master Zhang really has skills. He said a few days ago that I would have a grandson next year, and my daughter-in-law was found to be pregnant yesterday."

"Old Wang also lost money in stocks. It can't be staged, right?"

At this moment, an old man with triangular eyes pushed Old Wang away, "Let me go, let me go."

He scrutinized Zhang Yuanqing with a hint of disdain, saying, "Young man, take a look at my face. If you can say something right, I'll give you two hundred yuan."

"Keep your money. We're all neighbors," Zhang Yuanqing maintained the composure of an expert, not annoyed by the other party's attitude and tone. He asked for the old man's name and birthday as usual.

He actually knew this old man. He was known for his bad temper, stinginess, and meanness in the community and had had a conflict with his grandfather.

After the triangular-eyed old man finished speaking, under the gaze of the surrounding grandmas and grandpas, Zhang Yuanqing stroked his chin and said:

"You are in good health, but your interpersonal, family, and children relationships are poor. Your children probably haven't visited you in a long time."

The triangular-eyed old man snorted, "Stop bluffing. Those are things everyone knows."

So you know you have a bad reputation... Zhang Yuanqing changed the subject: "However, auspicious clouds surround your marriage palace, and hidden red light is within. Tsk tsk, congratulations, Uncle. Your love is welcoming a second spring."

The triangular-eyed old man's expression changed. Before he could speak, Zhang Yuanqing changed the subject again:

"However, black gas permeates the auspicious clouds, and scarlet light is mixed in the red light. This is a peach blossom mixed with bloody misfortune! It means your lover is a married woman. Uncle, are you hooking up with someone's wife?"

The surrounding grandmas and grandpas exclaimed "Oh!" again.

The triangular-eyed old man's face froze, and then he jumped up like a rat whose tail had been stepped on.

"How is that possible!" he retorted loudly and vehemently, looking around at the people around him as he refuted, "That's not the case at all. This little rascal is talking nonsense. You won't die a good death for lying, you know?"

He got up angrily, pushed through the crowd, and strode away.

Because he had already noticed that the way people around him looked at him had changed. The old men looked at him with vigilance and hostility, while the old women were full of gossip.

Zhang Yuanqing shouted at his back, "Uncle, you're so old. Live a peaceful life and don't do these flashy things."

"Yuanzi!" At this moment, his uncle came out of the building after finishing dinner and waved, "Let's go, time for square dancing."

"Alright!"

Zhang Yuanqing took out a mask from his coat pocket and followed him cheerfully. The old men and women behind him called out loudly to keep him.

"Master Zhang, take a look at me."

"Master Zhang, don't go. Whose wife did that old guy hook up with?"

"Master Zhang, my son's been having trouble at work lately. Can we make an appointment for you to give him a reading?"

But Zhang Yuanqing just waved his hand, leaving no trace of a cloud behind, and left the community with the black sheep of the family. A group of enchanting grandmas were waiting for him on the square fifty meters away.

Zhang Yuanqing had been home for a week. During the day, he pretended to go to school but actually went to the Fu Family Bay villa to be intimate with Guan Ya. When he had time, he supervised Xiahou Aotian tightening screws.

During that time, he took a trip to Jinshan City. The No Trace Hotel was closed. Afraid of retaliation from the Southern School, Xiao Yuan and the four young people had moved to the city center.

Kou Beiyue and Little Fatty had suspended their food delivery business and switched to being快递员. They were currently working at the "Man Blood Bun" logistics company.

At night, he would come back to have dinner with his family, dance square dances with his uncle, play games with his aunt, and occasionally join the marriage-urging army, urging his overly mature cousin to find a girlfriend.

Notably, his aunt brought a girl home last night. She was the daughter of his aunt's brother's friend. Her parents were both leaders of state-owned enterprises, and her family was wealthy.

The girl was a returnee and currently a senior executive at a Global 500 company. She was thirty-two years old, had a striking appearance, and was a highly capable, high-quality woman.

Her family heard that his cousin was the captain of the Kangyang District Security Bureau and immediately hit it off, very willing to bring the two together.

So his aunt brought the sister to the house for dinner. Zhang Yuanqing was also present at the time. The sister was indeed very good, with wavy hair, designer clothes, and elegant ladies' glasses. She had an intellectual and elegant temperament. If you didn't know better, you'd think her brother's name was Gao.

When the sister arrived at the house and saw Zhang Yuanqing, her eyes lit up instantly. During the meal, she inquired about him in a roundabout way.

Where does the younger brother go to school? Is he interested in interning at my company? How is his aunt's business overseas? What brands of clothes does the younger brother like... Her attention was all on him. She didn't even talk to her cousin.

Before leaving, she even wanted to add Zhang Yuanqing on WeChat.

There was nothing to be done about it. Zhang Yuanqing's appearance was already good. After becoming a The Way of the Extraordinary, he became muscular and tall. His temperament combined the devilish charm of a Night Wanderer and the mysterious etherealness of a Star Official. He was indeed very attractive to women.

The blind date naturally failed. According to his aunt, the sister went home and told her parents that she had taken a liking to the blind date's cousin and said that she could start dating immediately, get married within three months, and have a baby within a year.

His uncle's family didn't care. His uncle didn't care about his son's marriage. Chen Yuanjun was the successor to the old man's mantle, not his.

His aunt, on the other hand, felt that her son was the captain of the Security Bureau, held a high position, and could pick any girl in Songhai. There was no shortage of daughters-in-law.

But his grandmother was very dissatisfied and saw her grandson as a thorn in her side for the next several days.

........

At 1:30 a.m., after seeing his aunt off, Zhang Yuanqing locked the door and used Star Evasion to go to the rooftop.

He took out the Great Luo Star Plate, opened his Star Eyes, and routinely deduced his future.

Half an hour later, he sighed and put away the star plate, having gained nothing.

"There's still no inspiration. That means my death tribulation comes from a high-level existence, at least a Peak Ruler, or a high-level Night Wanderer who is good at concealing themselves."

Zhang Yuanqing looked worried and sighed again.

Although Star Gazing didn't give any feedback, logical reasoning couldn't be interfered with by "secret" forces.

He believed that the death tribulation should come from two aspects: Elder Cai and Ling Tuo.

The problem was, according to the Demon Lord's experience, Ling Tuo wouldn't act against him until after he advanced to Day Wanderer.

Unless something special happens recently that makes Ling Tuo decide to act ahead of schedule, such as knowing that he is Zhang Tianshi's son.

And if the death tribulation comes from Elder Cai, the crisis is likely to be an assassination by multiple Rulers, which can be cleverly resolved by hiding in a dungeon.

"Alas, the most terrifying thing is not the danger itself, but not knowing where the danger comes from, not even having a direction to think about countermeasures."

Zhang Yuanqing turned into starlight and disappeared.

.........

Dark clouds shrouded the sky, layer upon layer, boundless and endless. A pale ray of light tried to penetrate the clouds, shining on this lifeless land.

This was an ancient battlefield, a forbidden zone for life. Gray-brown earth stretched to the end of the field of view, and rotten corpses and faded bones were like 暗疮 growing on the surface.

A blood-colored lake was like a scarlet gem, embedded in the surface.

Above the blood lake hung an ancient palace, built of large black stones. The palace did not have Western-style spires or Chinese-style tiles.

Its architectural style did not belong to any era and seemed detached from human civilization, more like a cube piled up with stones by ancient humans.

But the rocks that made it up were tightly fitted, the outer walls were smooth, and the exquisite details were beyond the capabilities of ancient humans.

In front of the suspended palace extended nine hundred and ninety-nine levels of suspended stone steps. The thousandth step was embedded in the ground.

A tall, haggard-looking ascetic monk, with his hands clasped together, climbed step by step.

Every time he took a step up, the stone steps would recede one level, and he had been walking for a long time, but he was standing still.

Even so, he had already walked nine hundred and ninety steps, only ten steps away from reaching the palace.

"Past events leave no trace!"

A figure appeared at the end of the steps, wearing ragged robes. It had no flesh, and its exposed skull was bone-white. Its hands and feet were also pale bones.

The skull's empty eye sockets flickered with soul fire, conveying mental fluctuations:

"You are not the one chosen by God. Do not try to steal God's authority. Return. This is your last chance."

.......

ps: Fixing typos after publishing.