While it could hardly be called exquisite, filling his belly was no problem at all.
Peng Fang felt uneasy. This treatment was far beyond what an ordinary captive received, yet he had no idea whether he could obtain the celestial god's notice.
Not long after finishing his meal, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Before he could even muster a third yawn, his head tilted sideways, and he fell asleep against the wall.
Once his snores began to rumble loudly, He Lingchuan finally stepped into the cell, rapping his knuckles lightly against the wall.
"God Bilu, are you there?"
Peng Fang could only pay homage to Bilu in dreams, which showed that Bilu acted far more cautiously than other deities. But He Lingchuan had no way to meet a god in a dream, because he never dreamed at all in Panlong world.
His only choice was to call the fellow out for a chat. At this time, Bilu was still a minor god of little consequence, not yet Nailuotian, so it shouldn't be too hard to summon him.
Peng Fang continued to sleep soundly.
He Lingchuan produced the Dragon-Torture Pillar and tapped it against the wall a few more times with a clang, clang, clang. "If you still won't come out, I'm giving this to another deity."
He waited where he stood for a moment, but Peng Fang still didn't react.
He Lingchuan turned and made to leave.
Only then did a voice come from behind him: "Who is this whelp?"
He Lingchuan felt his heart tighten. He slowly turned around.
Peng Fang opened his eyes, propping himself up against the wall to sit upright.
It was still the same face, yet the demeanor and aura were completely altered. He was clearly sitting on the ground, yet he looked down upon He Lingchuan with absolute disdain.
The standard divine contempt for mortals—He Lingchuan had seen plenty of it already.
General Red, Baizhantian, Shi Nan—none of them were any different.
Their disdain for humankind was so profound they hardly even bothered to conceal it.
"The person who tied up your acolyte and took this little toy," He Lingchuan said, walking a few steps closer and waving the Dragon-Torture Pillar in his hand at him. "I have a few questions."
Peng Fang—no, he should be called Bilu now—pointed at his own injuries. "Is this the attitude of someone asking for help?"
Peng Fang must have wept and poured out his grievances in the dream, laying out the entire cause and effect.
He Lingchuan smiled. "Ignorance is no crime, after all."
Though nothing could be discerned from Peng Fang's expression, He Lingchuan kept his gaze fixed on him.
Among the deities, this was the one tied most closely to his destiny, even more so than Mitian.
This Bilu was not real, or rather, the God Bilu from over a century ago would never have crossed paths with He Lingchuan.
He had always tacitly assumed that Panlong world was a piece of past history; if so, his act of interrogating Bilu was clearly 'fabricating something out of nothing.' Could anything truly come of it?
Could the Bilu here possess the same behavior and way of thinking as Nailuotian over a century later?
By questioning the Bilu here, could he find the answers he sought?
Two people existing in different times and spaces, appearing in the same scene at once to converse. This had been happening constantly ever since he barged into Panlong world. He had grown accustomed to it at first, but only now did it strike him that this sort of evolution seemed rather astonishing.
Hmm? Wait, evolution?
The moment the word popped into his mind, He Lingchuan gave a slight start.
Why had that specific word crossed his mind? It felt like an impression of the Dafang Pot that had lingered in him for a long time.
This was the first time Bilu had ever seen someone daze off in his presence, yet he did not press him, equally lost in thought.
This youth seemed rather peculiar.
He Lingchuan quickly pulled himself together and asked solemnly, "Peng Fang said you can defy heaven and change fate?"
Bilu lifted his eyelids slightly. "You wish to alter your destiny?"
"Can you discern my horoscope?" Facing Bilu, He Lingchuan wore no mask, nor was there any need to.
"Reading your face alone is imprecise. I also require your name and birth date."
He Lingchuan realized, "So the information you need is the same as a fortune-teller's."
Bilu's tone turned chilling. "It is only because your physiognomy is so bizarre that I require more information. As for anyone else, I can know with a single glance."
He Lingchuan touched his own cheek. "How so?"
"Most glaringly, you have the physiognomy of a short life, yet the destiny of longevity, alongside what seem to be other unforeseen encounters. It is difficult to say which will ultimately come to pass."
He Lingchuan pondered for a moment, then gave his name and Eight Characters of birth.
His name was of little consequence, but the moment the Eight Characters of birth left his lips, Bilu's brow furrowed tightly.
Eventually, he closed his eyes as well, appearing to perform silent calculations.
He Lingchuan did not disturb him, waiting quietly for the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Just as he was about to yawn, Bilu finally opened his eyes and cast a wary glance his way.
"These Eight Characters do not match your age!"
Calculated according to these Eight Characters, He Lingchuan should now be over fifty years old. Even if he possessed arts of youthful preservation, the vitality and spirit of a youth differed vastly from that of a middle-aged or elderly person—Bilu could tell at a glance.
"True, but that's what it is." He Lingchuan crossed his arms. "You calculated for so long only to arrive at that?"
He wanted to see just how Bilu differed from an ordinary fortune-teller.
Bilu shook his head. "It cannot be altered. Your destiny has far too little entanglement with this world."
He Lingchuan felt a slight jolt of surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Your fate does not lie within this world!" Bilu said, word by word. "You are not of this realm!"
His gaze toward He Lingchuan turned exceptionally sharp.
Silence fell over the cell.
Fortunately, there was no one else here. He Lingchuan wore an expression of astonishment. "How is that possible? I'm standing right here!" The deity truly had some real skill.
Bilu said impassively, "Why wouldn't it be? Am I not here as well?"
Deities dwelt in the divine realm, yet could descend into the mortal realm.
To a certain extent, a deity entering the mortal world and He Lingchuan entering Panlong world were both forms of 'barging in.'
He Lingchuan let out a long breath and asked again, "If I wish to defy heaven and change my fate in my own world, what guidance could God Bilu offer me?"
"I am powerless to help," Bilu answered. "You have intersections with two worlds. If I cannot untangle the trajectory of your destiny, I cannot guide you."
'Destiny' once again?
Yet He Lingchuan felt that after calculating for so long, Bilu must have gleaned more than just this.
After all, the look Bilu gave him was rather peculiar, carrying both shock and vigilance.
Therefore, Bilu was lying. What had this so-called 'God of Fate' actually foreseen?
He did not know that in Bilu's eyes, He Lingchuan's physical form had turned into an illusory shadow. Behind him, thousands of dark threads intertwined and roiled, stretching toward the distant void as if alive, extending far beyond the reaches of Bilu's sight with no end to be seen.
For a mortal to possess such an intricate web of threads of fate, constantly shifting from moment to moment...
Just who was this youth?
What was even more terrifying was that Bilu faintly sensed this youth had some connection to himself.
Not now, but in...
In the nebulous, distant future.
What was happening? Was it a future era? Yet he clearly did not belong to this realm!
He had a premonition that his deeper ties with He Lingchuan would likely not take place in this realm either.
He Lingchuan's words interrupted his thoughts: "Can you see the destiny of anyone in this realm?"
"Naturally." Bilu pointed to the straw mat in the corner of the cell. "To your eyes, fate is intricate and unfathomable; but to mine, your destinies are like the reeds woven into a mat—every strand follows a traceable path."
Chapter 738