Wen Daolun nodded after listening. The Tongkao took several more deep drags from the green incense before reluctantly retreating back into the undersea wood where she dwelt.
Wen Daolun said solemnly, "No wonder you felt nothing. She couldn't enter your sea of consciousness at all."
"Why?"
"A person's sea of consciousness possesses, to varying degrees, instinctive defenses to repel external intrusion. My Tongkao only looks young; in truth, her spectral age exceeds three hundred years, making slipping into someone's sea of consciousness child's play for her." Curiosity flickered in Wen Daolun's eyes as well. "Yet she told me the outer perimeter of your sea of consciousness is entirely a labyrinth. She took several wrong turns and nearly couldn't find her way out."
"A labyrinth?" The answer took He Lingchuan completely by surprise. "Could she not force her way in?"
"You wanted her to force her way in?" Wen Daolun asked in amusement. "If she scrambled your sea of consciousness, you might turn into a driveling idiot."
Then how did that deity manage to break in last time? Afterward, He Lingchuan had indeed felt drained and exhausted, wishing nothing more than to lie down and sleep for three days and nights. But he was quite certain he hadn't become foolish or demented.
At least, he thought so.
Did this prove he was remarkably resilient?
"The Tongkao also mentioned that this veil of illusions is extraordinarily tough—far beyond her cultivation to break through. Furthermore, she vaguely sensed that resorting to force to breach it would likely bring dire consequences." Wen Daolun leaned back. "What divine arts or techniques do you cultivate?"
He Lingchuan listed them one by one. Wen Daolun immediately remarked, "Given your age and cultivation, it's impossible for you to have erected such a defense yourself. Someone behind the scenes does not want your true destiny revealed. Which means..."
"Your profound blessings might also be a manufactured facade." He exhaled softly. "This state of body and soul being divided, each tied to a different fate, is truly exceedingly rare."
"Different fates for the body and the soul...?" A prickle of numbness crept up He Lingchuan's back. That was indeed his current situation!
"A mortal's fortune is finite; no one can enjoy perpetual good luck. The backlash must be borne by your underlying destiny—an accumulation on the outside, destruction on the inside, or what is termed 'external blessing, internal calamity!'" Wen Daolun explained steadily. "Day after day, blessings pile up into disaster, destined to erupt in the end. That is what it means to be unable to bear such fortune!"
Stroking his chin, He Lingchuan asked, "The Tongkao couldn't even breach my sea of consciousness. Can you declare I suffer from 'external blessing, internal calamity' based on deduction alone?"
"Do we not also have those two verses of prophecy?" Wen Daolun smiled. "More importantly, of course, you are not an isolated case. Such circumstances are rare, but I have witnessed them once before."
He Lingchuan blurted out, "Who?"
Wen Daolun shook his head. "It has nothing to do with you."
If he chose not to say, no one here could compel him.
Feeling stifled, He Lingchuan sighed. "Since there is a calamity hanging over me, you must at least tell me how to resolve it, right?"
"After the cataclysm between heaven and earth, fate is no longer decided entirely by Heaven; it rests in your own hands as well."
He Lingchuan was immediately reminded of the old turtle's exact words: *No outcome is set in stone.* But what he needed right now was a solution—a practical solution!
"Then let us see. Think of a word, and I shall dissect the character for you." Wen Daolun cleared the items off the low table and set a cup of water before He Lingchuan. "The very first word that comes to your mind right now—do not deliberate over it!"
He wanted to dissect whichever character He Lingchuan's subconscious surfaced first.
Hearing Wen Daolun's instruction, He Lingchuan gave it no further thought. He dipped his finger into the water, paused briefly midair, and then traced a few strokes across the wooden table.
The character was—
*Yong*—Courage!
He Lingchuan had indeed not overthought it; he wrote purely from the heart.
If calamity truly dogged his heels, he figured this was the quality he needed most.
Stroking his beard, Wen Daolun praised, "A promising youth. Are you a patrol guard, or have you already enlisted in the Gale Army?"
"A patrol guard," He Lingchuan replied earnestly. "Currently working hard to join the Gale Army."
"Good, good." Wen Daolun reached out and wrote the character *yong* on the low table as well. "This is your character *yong*. If you remove its lower component *li* for strength, what remains is the character *yong*, which carries two meanings: first, the shank of a grand bell—whoever wishes to use the bell, whether hanging it or striking it, must do so through you; second, a palace lane flanked by high walls—because the walls on either side are difficult to scale, walking through you is the swiftest passage."
Hearing this, He Lingchuan murmured, "Making wedding clothes for others?"
Didn't that align precisely with the old turtle's verse?
"Furthermore, add the person radical to *yong*, and it becomes *yong*—a figurine, a puppet." By chance, a ceramic boy figurine sat on the shelf behind Wen Daolun; he turned, picked it up, and set it on the low table.
The boy figurine was crudely crafted, dressed in garish red and green. Looking at the exaggerated, hypocritical smile painted on its face, He Lingchuan instinctively shuddered.
"I need not elaborate on the meaning of a puppet, do I?"
Beside them, Sun Fuling murmured, "Indeed, 'the body like a cage.'"
"Yet the premise of both characters is that *yong* has had its *li*—strength—stripped away," Wen Daolun said softly. "This *li* may well be where your opportunity lies."
Possessing overwhelming strength was the only way to alter one's fate.
This truth seemed universal, no matter the world.
Dipping his finger in water, He Lingchuan wrote the character *li* on the table. After staring at it for a long while, he gave a light cough. "Well, *yong* can also take the movement radical or the water radical."
Namely *tong*, to pass through, and *yong*, to gush forth.
Cultivating strength took time. Before he grew powerful enough, were there other ways to avert disaster?
Wen Daolun countered, "What do you think?"
"Could those two characters be pieced together?" He Lingchuan quipped wildly. "Does it mean I should run whenever I meet water?"
"Perhaps," Wen Daolun chuckled. "As I said, after the cataclysm, the calculations of fate are no longer exact. Your destiny is..."
"Determined yet undecided," He Lingchuan answered before he could finish. "I understand."
From this divination, he felt as though he understood, yet didn't entirely.
It seemed both the old turtle and Wen Daolun loved speaking in riddles. Perhaps they only half-understood it themselves, or perhaps such matters simply defied clear explanation.
Wen Daolun stopped there. Producing a miniature weiqi board from who-knew-where, he turned to Sun Fuling. "Girl Sun, care for another round of weiqi?"
Sun Fuling was equally game. "Sure. What are you prepared to lose this time, Master Wen?"
Wen Daolun nearly choked, catching his breath before huffing, "Last time was merely careless!"
Sun Fuling didn't budge. "If you lose, you must deliver five lectures at Shumin Academy."
"Two," Wen Daolun countered, shaking his head. "I don't have that much time."
The two haggled back and forth, finally settling on three lectures.
Of course, if Sun Fuling lost, she wouldn't have to forfeit anything; given Wen Daolun's stature, how could he demand a wager from a junior?
He Lingchuan had no love for weiqi. After forcing himself to watch for a brief spell, he grew drowsy.
By the time Sun Fuling shook his sleeve, the carriage had re-entered Panlong City. "We've arrived."
He Lingchuan snapped awake at once. "Master Wen lost again?"
Wen Daolun's beard bristled, but he didn't deny it.
He had indeed lost again—and even worse than the previous time.
"So young, yet your skill on the board is truly..." He sighed. "It reminds me of someone."
He Lingchuan asked on her behalf, "Who?"
"Commander Zhong's beloved daughter." Having spoken, Wen Daolun stepped down from the carriage and stretched his limbs on the ground.
In fact, a personal guard had already reported en route that the creature beneath the God-Descending Platform had escaped and eluded capture.
He Lingchuan took the opportunity to recount the bizarre encounter with the old crone to Wen Daolun, concluding, "I have no proof, only these wild deductions, offered for your consideration, Master Wen."
Wen Daolun didn't interrupt him once. Only after listening intently did he nod. "This information is useful. You have my thanks."
*Sigh, another meeting awaits.* Wen Daolun hurried off, and the retinue of soldiers departed alongside him.
The chill wind sweeping across South Gate Square made Sun Fuling pull her outer robe tight. Fresh from the spring-like warmth of the carriage, she found it hard to adjust.
Seeing this, He Lingchuan immediately said, "Let's go home."
The moment the words left his mouth, he gave a slight start.
Yet there was nothing wrong with the phrasing; their homes were right next to each other. Sun Fuling seemed not to notice anything amiss and nodded repeatedly. "Mhm!"
As the two were about to climb into their hired carriage, Sun Fuling suddenly asked, "You've looked troubled all day. Did something happen?"
He Lingchuan answered instinctively, "Nothing." This girl was far too perceptive; he had thought he was masking it well.
Sun Fuling stopped in her tracks at once and turned her head to look at him. "Tell me. Moping alone in Panlong City is hardly wise."
He finally sighed. "I just lost a comrade... a good comrade."
Maotao had fallen, and He Lingchuan hadn't even had the time to burn a few extra sheets of paper money for this loyal subordinate.
Furthermore, aside from himself, no one seemed to care about the incident, or the man.
From the moment he was laid in the yellow earth, the name was scattered to the wind.
Sun Fuling gently pressed her hand against his wrist, the warmth of her palm seeping through. "The mortal world is impermanent; life and death are simply the norm."
She didn't ask which comrade it was. In Panlong City, parting forever was an everyday occurrence.
He Lingchuan nodded. How else could one see it?
She asked again, "Have you set out a lotus lantern?"
"What?" He didn't understand.
"Come with me."
Sun Fuling took him by the hand and led him into a narrow street bordering the square. A few doorways stood open, making it hard to tell whether they were shops or residences.
Such street-facing households enjoyed prime location, able to do business simply by setting up a small stall at their courtyard gates.
Sun Fuling picked one and walked over, saying directly, "I'd like to buy an ice lantern."
The place looked like a sundries shop. Hearing her request, the shopkeeper turned back into the courtyard and returned shortly with an ice lantern hanging from a straw cord.
The ice lantern was shaped like a blooming lotus pedestal, roughly the size of a bowl, carved with remarkable delicacy right down to the veining on the petals.
Resting in the heart of the lotus was a stub of candle, barely a third the length of a pinky finger.
Sun Fuling paid, took the lantern, and strolled back out.
"The owner here has the finest craftsmanship for lanterns."
Just outside lay the square, where a lake stretched out. Its surface had not frozen over, and He Lingchuan could see the lazy silhouettes of plump fish drifting through the water.
Sun Fuling handed him the ice lantern. "Just set it in the lake. The thermal springs beneath will push it outward."
Dusk had already fallen, and the sky darkened swiftly once the sun sank.
He Lingchuan took out a fire-starter to light the short candle, held the lotus lantern close while silently reciting a few words, and then gently placed it into the water.
Chapter 284