Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“She’ll definitely visit you in your dreams,” the elderly lady said confidently.
Madam Xu rose from her seat and stood beside An Xiaoning. “Old Madam, since you’re looking for a disciple, will you take our Bai Zhi under your wing too? She was born on the exact same day, month, and year as Ms. An,” Madam Xu asked.
The elderly lady responded with a courteous chuckle that sent chills down Madam Xu’s back.
“Madam Xu, I’m already eighty years old and I’ve never taken in any disciple. How could I possibly take an inexperienced disciple, who isn’t naturally gifted, under my wing? Most fortune-tellers who tell fortunes for a living are possessed either by the fox or the horse’s spirit. Those beings give them the ability to earn money, at the expense of their own health. People who are naturally gifted with fortune-telling abilities are one in a million,” the elderly lady answered, glancing at Xu Baizhi.
“I was getting my hopes up too high, I got too engrossed in wanting to alter my daughter’s fate. Old Madam, you said that you would help me if I brought Ms. An to see you…” Madam Xu asked.
Madam Xu then paused in her speech on purpose and waited for the elderly lady to respond.
To her surprise, the elderly lady did not answer and instead stared at Xu Baizhi, sinking deep into thought.
After pondering quietly for two minutes, the elderly lady said, “Your daughter’s fate has been heavily altered. If you’d like to restore it to its original state, not only does it depend on the skills of the medium, but her determination is key as well.”
Realizing that there was some hope, Madam Xu immediately said, “She’s very determined for sure. We shall follow your arrangements, Old Madam.”
“Your answer doesn’t count.” The elderly lady stared at Xu Baizhi and said, “Answer me, do you really want your fate to be altered?”
Xu Baizhi nodded and answered, “Yes.”
“Are you determined to?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t see the determination or willingness in your eyes.” The elderly lady got off from the high chair and walked toward Xu Baizhi. Pacing one round around Xu Baizhi, the elderly lady continued straightforwardly, “To be honest, if you continue on the path you’re now on, you’ll end up in dire straits. I’m not trying to scare you. You should know clearly what I’m talking about. The decision lies with you. It all depends on whether you’re genuinely willing to have your fate altered or not. My words don’t count, yours do.”
Staring at the elderly lady, Xu Baizhi answered, “I’m willing to rewrite my fate. Please help me, Old Madam.”
“I’m willing to help you this time, but to make things clear beforehand, you have to persevere and truly change from within after I help you with it. However, if you give up soon after and ruin all the progress, don’t show up in front of me ever again.”
Upon hearing her words, Madam Xu immediately exclaimed, “Thank you so much, Old Madam!”
She then tugged onto Xu Baizhi’s clothes, after which Xu Baizhi frantically chimed in, “Thank you, Old Madam.”
“You, stay behind. Your family members may leave.”
“Old Madam, may I stay behind to accompany her?” Madam Xu asked.
“You don’t have to stay behind, she alone will do. You may come by to visit her once a week,” the elderly lady said sternly. She then put on a benevolent smile and said to An Xiaoning, “Visit your teacher’s grave today and ask for her permission, then come to me as soon as possible.”
“Okay, I’ll get going now,” An Xiaoning said apathetically.
“Alright.”
Xu Baizhi stayed behind while the rest of them got inside An Xiaoning’s car.
“Thank you very much, Ms. An. But I still don’t quite understand what the elderly lady meant by the things she said before we were about to leave.”
“That’s simple. What she meant was she’ll help your daughter restore her original fate, but that doesn’t mean that your daughter will be pulled out of her current predicament. The elderly lady seems to be saying that your daughter is currently on the path toward evil, and whether or not she’ll continue on it will have to depend on herself and her willpower. If she could resist her sinister temptations and choose to go on the right path, all will be well. However, if her determination is only temporary and she shies away toward a ruined path again, even the gods can’t save her,” An Xiaoning explained.
Madam Xu acknowledged with a nod, “I understand now.”
“Please don’t look for me to seek my help for anything related to the Xu family again. I have plenty of things to do on my own. I don’t have the time or energy to continue helping your family,” An Xiaoning said bluntly.
“Alright. You’ve been of such great help, Ms. An. Why don’t you come over to our place for lunch today?” said Madam Xu, feeling a little embarrassed.
“No, thank you. I still have something to attend to later,” An Xiaoning answered composedly.
Madam Xu dared not utter another word upon hearing her answer.
An Xiaoning dropped them off at the entrance of the Xu family mansion. They alighted and watched as An Xiaoning’s car quickly disappeared near a turn.
An Xiaoning bought a large bag of items for offerings and carried it with her onto the mountains.
It had been a long time since her last visit.
The tombstone was kept spick and span, thanks to the graveyard-keeper who was in charge of the maintenance of the graves.
She squatted down onto the ground and placed the bag of items at the side before reaching a hand in to take the items out.
“Teacher, I’m here to see you. How are you and old Mr. Gu doing?”
An Xiaoning flicked the lighter and ignited a bright, yellow flare, which she then used to set the pile of gold paper ingots on fire. The ingots soon went up in flames.
An Xiaoning then took out a wad of paper money and cast it into the flames.
“Today, I was called by the Xu family to visit an elderly fortune-teller in Beijia Bay. I didn’t expect her to turn out to be your senior. She said that she wanted to take me in as her disciple, but I turned down her offer. She told me to ask for your opinion. Teacher, please visit me in my dreams to inform me of your answer, regardless of whether you agree or disagree to it. I miss you. I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had the chance to come visit you. Please don’t hold it against me, Teacher.
“I’ve also found my biological mother and rescued her…
“I’m doing very well now, don’t worry about me, Teacher…
“…”
An Xiaoning briefly informed her teacher of the good news and things that had happened to her recently, making sure not to mention a word about the unfortunate incidents she had met with.
She decided to leave the mountains half an hour later.
Once she headed back inside her car, An Xiaoning recalled every decision she’d made ever since she was young and could not help but feel like everything seemed to be destined.
In fact, her fate and destiny had indeed already been arranged by Heaven beforehand.
How her life turns out would still ultimately depend on her.
If she lives life by following her heart, nothing should go wrong.
——
It was Saturday, the day Shi Shaochuan was supposed to look after Jin Bao’er. Thus, he showed up at Wei Ni Estate with a document in hand.
Staring at the document he handed her, Jin Qingyue asked coldly, “What’s this?”
“What else could it be? The letter of notice of a court trial sent by the courts. I’m delivering it to you personally,” Shi Shaochuan answered, appearing cool and collected.
Jin Qingyue took the document from him and flipped through a few pages. With a sullen expression on her face, she hissed, “Shi Shaochuan, I’m not going to let you have the child.”
“That’s not up to you to decide. I’ll definitely get hold of the rights to her custody again,” he said arrogantly.
“Do you think I’ll sit back and do nothing while you manipulate Bao’er into lying for the video that you uploaded online in order to tarnish my reputation? Shi Shaochuan, if you want to go against me, I’m all up for it. I still have the videos of you fooling around with women at nightclubs. Shall I spread them online too?” Jin Qingyue retorted with a humph.