Free Web NovelChapter 1341: Chapter 33: Deity and Ghosts Exhaust All Calculations
What nonsense about not needing guidance, not believing in fate, and dragging in irrelevant things—bah! Isn’t it just because it’s too expensive?
On the long street, the elderly man stepped back a few paces, seemingly reevaluating the famed young genius before him. He sighed, "To haggle over the price of something calculated by one who knows the fate of gods and ghosts, a so-called semi-immortal of the human realm—you certainly have skill!"
Semi-immortal?
Jiang Wang smiled without responding.
This mysterious old man finally began "working." He scrutinized Jiang Wang thoroughly from head to toe, looking repeatedly.
"Hurry up; I actually have things to tend to," Jiang Wang reminded.
The old man wasn’t offended and merely sighed, "Judging by your appearance, you’re currently basking in the joys of success with an extraordinary status in life!"
Jiang Wang replied, "You don’t need to look at my appearance for that—just look at my horse, and you’ll know!"
The old man continued, "I see your treasure light is restrained, and your divine radiance is innate. If you persevere forward, your future is indeed boundless!"
Jiang Wang laughed and said, "You must’ve already researched me beforehand. Anyone who knows my name can’t exactly calculate a lack of prospects."
"But still..."
"But still?"
"There’s a shadow lurking in your Heavenly Court, karmic power stirring within your spiritual platform, your treasure light is dimmed, and your divine radiance harbors danger," the old man intoned. "I see that you’ve lost your mother in childhood, your father in youth, and by the time of coming of age... your teachers, friends, and neighbors were nearly all dead!" frёewebnoѵēl.com
It was a truly shocking claim!
What’s more, it was undoubtedly reflective of his past experiences.
For an ordinary person, this might have been utterly convincing.
But Jiang Wang remained unwavering: "Could it be that there’s another disaster with bloodshed looming in the near future?"
"Oh?" The old man looked surprised. "You can predict such things too?"
"So then, how does the elder plan to save me?" Jiang Wang asked. "Is it by selling me something to dissolve calamity and avert misfortune?"
"Uh." The old man replied, "Of course, such measures would be necessary. I happen to have an Amulet here, bathed in the essence of sun and moon, woven from threads of Netherworld silk. I’ve carried it on my person, chanting various scriptures and inscribing disaster-quelling aphorisms upon it. With incense burned in prayer every day for ninety-nine years, accumulating untold merits—it should dissolve calamities, bring peace, and protect you!"
Jiang Wang looked troubled, "Such a precious item, but I only have a thousand Prime Stones on me. I wonder if that’s enough..."
"Enough? Certainly not enough!" The old man sighed, "But alas, this old man has a soft heart and can’t bear to see people suffer—especially someone so young, with such a bright future ahead. Fine! For a thousand Prime Stones, I’ll sell you this Amulet!"
With that, he fished out an Amulet from his chest pocket and eagerly held it out to Jiang Wang.
At a glance, it looked indistinguishable from the ordinary Amulets sold to common folk at Daoist temples—the kind priced at a mere two or three Knife Coins. Its stitching was especially poor, with loose threads falling apart!
Back during his early years in the Outer Sect of the Daoist School, Jiang Wang himself had patched clothes for practice. Though his craftsmanship couldn’t compare to Ling He’s, he could say without any humility that his sewing skills far surpassed the workmanship of this Amulet!
"No, not suitable—this won’t do." Jiang Wang shook his head decisively. "I, a proper seven-foot-tall man, how could I take such advantage? It should cost what it’s worth. Elder, just wait for me a few more years until I’ve saved up enough Prime Stones, and then I’ll come buy it from you!"
The old man sighed, "I can wait, but you cannot afford to. Disaster looms near—how can you not take heed? No more haggling; this old man will suffer the loss. Take this Amulet for just a thousand Prime Stones—it’s yours."
The old man sighed as he spoke, all while standing on tiptoe to shove the Amulet into Jiang Wang’s chest.
Jiang Wang leaned back to avoid it: "That won’t do, Elder. You’ve already offered prayers for ninety-nine years—why not make it an even hundred? That way, you might fetch a better price when selling!"
The old man groaned audibly with displeasure and frowned, "What nonsense about fetching a better price—could you truly believe this old man would quibble over such things? It’s because I feel destined to help you; that’s why I lend my aid. Do you take me for some money-grubbing miser? Hurry up and take it while the calamity can still be avoided!"
"Alas." Jiang Wang sighed as well. "But I just remembered—I left in haste today and didn’t bring that many Prime Stones with me."
The old man glared, "Then how much did you bring?"
Jiang Wang raised a single finger.
"A hundred? Ten? Don’t tell me it’s just one—now that would be too much! I prayed for ninety-nine years with the essence of sun and moon..."
He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, sighed again, and said: "Fine, I’ll give you a discount. One Prime Stone. Just one Prime Stone will do."
He held the Amulet in his right hand, stretching it toward Jiang Wang, while his left hand hovered expectantly in front of him: "One hand for payment, one hand for goods."
From a price of one thousand slashed to one—such a discount clearly revealed the questionable valuation of this Amulet.
Jiang Wang simply shook his head: "Elder, you’ve misunderstood. I only brought one Dao Yuan Stone."
A Dao Yuan Stone and a Prime Stone—though but a single word apart in name, their prices differed by ten thousandfold.
The old man immediately withdrew the Amulet and, raising his head to look at Jiang Wang on horseback, declared, "So, after all, you still think this old man was trying to swindle you, don’t you?"
The person before him was undoubtedly deeply profound, but no matter who it was, they couldn’t possibly scrape away a thousand Prime Stones for a mere ordinary charm from Jiang Wang.
Jiang Wang smiled wordlessly.
He said nothing, but his meaning was clear.
The old man snorted coldly and suddenly turned around, facing the same direction as Jiang Wang. He grabbed the reins of Jiang Wang’s horse, Flaming Shine, and said, "Now, boy, let me show you something you can’t argue against. Look closely!"
He took a bold step forward, leading the horse along.
Before Jiang Wang could react, he found himself moving forward atop his mount.
Suddenly, the entire long street came to a standstill.
The pedestrians on the street froze in place. Their expressions stayed locked in the moments they were in.
The old man casually pointed at a young man coming their way. "This man will not live past thirty-seven."
The man seemed robust and healthy in every way—hardly anyone who showed signs of an impending premature death.
Still in shock and doubt over the situation, Jiang Wang remained silent.
"If you don’t believe me, then watch."
The old man spoke as he led Flaming Shine forward another step, pressing the horse and Jiang Wang directly into that young man.
The long street vanished completely.
Amid shifting light and shadows, Jiang Wang found himself still mounted on his horse, now inside a room.
Judging by its arrangements, it was a bedroom.
A person lay on the bed.
A woman sobbed softly beside it.
A smaller child giggled in a cradle.
In one room, joy and sorrow coexisted; life and death were intertwined.
And when Jiang Wang looked closer at the man lying sickly in the bed, it turned out to be no other than the young man he’d encountered on Linzi Street earlier! But now he was a little older—certainly not over forty!
None of the people in the room seemed to notice the abrupt appearance of the two men and the horse.
The man on the bed held the woman’s hand: "Once I’m gone, don’t keep waiting. If a suitable match arises, remarry. My parents are still here, and there’s some small wealth—enough to raise the child. You don’t need to..."
The conversation abruptly stopped as his spirit passed into the Mingming realms.
The woman burst into sorrowful sobbing.
The old man, holding the reins of Flaming Shine, turned to the side.
When Jiang Wang looked again, he found himself back on Linzi’s long street.
Jiang Wang was plunged into deep shock.
Illusion? Reality?
If it was illusion, why hadn’t he perceived even the slightest signs of trickery? Why did everything he saw and felt seem so real?
If it was reality, then to reveal someone else’s future—what kind of unfathomable power could achieve this?
Simply inconceivable!
"Well?" Back amidst the bustling Linzi street, the old man turned back to Jiang Wang. "Now do you believe me? I, who calculate the destinies of gods and ghosts—the human-realm semi-immortal—am I not deserving of my reputation?"
After this, though the man hadn’t changed, and his elderly demeanor remained, suddenly he felt like a lofty peak, leaving Jiang Wang disoriented.
Jiang Wang replied, "Your strength, Elder, is beyond my comprehension. Such Divine Skills are indeed..."
"Enough! Don’t get all sycophantic—it’s terribly dull. Skip the flattery!" The old man interrupted, raising a hand with self-assured force. "Are you buying the Amulet or not?"
Jiang Wang looked deeply at the old man and replied, "I’ll offer at most one Knife Coin."
