I had seen plenty of strange things while learning the occult arts at Grandfather's side.
Until now, though, I hadn't truly come into contact with beings at that level. Knowing they were so close to me felt very different.
It stirred longing in me, and fear. So much of what ordinary people dismissed as myth really existed in this world.
They simply hadn't reached a level at which they could encounter it.
Uncle Qiu had reached the stage of grain abstention. He could go without food or water for two months and be perfectly well. I hadn't reached his level. A little over a month was my limit.
I had long since lost the desire for ordinary food. It only added to the turbid qi within me and set my cultivation back.
To advance, I had to draw upon the essence of the sun and moon.
Subtle, invisible energies filled Heaven and earth. Through breath cultivation, you could gather them within yourself. In time, hunger and exhaustion no longer troubled you.
Uncle Qiu took me to his shop and told me he wanted me to look after it for a while. He was often away, and the young man who helped there was too fond of playing around. Now that I had arrived, I could take over.
I was happy to agree. University would start in about half a month, he said, and he needed to see to my enrollment. So I was left to mind the shop alone.
The shop wasn't far from the end of the street. Sometimes I sat in the doorway with a Daoist scripture in my hands. I had just finished studying a passage and was about to take a break.
As I looked up, a car stopped outside and two people got out. It was orange-red, with graceful lines. A sports car, I thought.
I knew one of the two.
Lin Yueru. A young man stood beside her.
He couldn't have been more than two years older than me. He wore a white shirt, his hair swept up and back. His face was unremarkable, but he carried an unmistakable air of wealth and status.
I studied his face and saw that his fate pattern was very unstable.
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A fate pattern like that shouldn't have been able to sustain great wealth or high standing.
Yet an aura of privilege surrounded him. Some skilled master must have diverted a few of the disasters in his path.
Seeing Yueru arrive with another man hurt a little.
Her father, Lin Xianguo, had never agreed to let us marry. But I trusted Grandfather's words, and without quite realizing it, I had begun to think of her as my fiancée.
Uncle Qiu had said, too, that she and I were certain to marry in the end.
I understood that I had no right to dictate what she did. Still, it cheered me a little to see that she wasn't particularly fond of the man beside her.
There was a trace of impatience in her expression.
'Zhao Wuyou, why have you brought me here?' Yueru folded her arms. 'My father made me come out with you. I didn't want to, but I couldn't argue him out of it. Don't imagine it means I like you.'
She added, 'And you know I have a fiancé. My father arranged a childhood betrothal for me. So before you do anything, remember where you stand.'
I felt a small surge of happiness. She hadn't forgotten me. At least she still mentioned me.
I knew she was probably only using me as a shield to fend off the young man called Zhao Wuyou.
Zhao. The same surname as Zhao Qiankun, the old master I had seen yesterday. If I was right, Wuyou was his grandson.
I sneered inwardly. That old master had told Yueru's father that his grandson had a unique fate pattern. Marrying her would help the Lin family's business and keep the family prosperous forever.
Now that I could see his grandson, the fate pattern was certainly unique. Uniquely bad.
If I wasn't mistaken, Wuyou should have died in his teens. His grandfather had used some means to keep him alive.
But his fate pattern had grown very weak. Perhaps his grandfather feared that the measure wouldn't hold for long and needed a woman with an exceptionally strong fate pattern and abundant destined fortune to marry him.
That would turn Wuyou's fate pattern around. Yueru was the perfect choice. The old master had put plenty of thought into this.
'Yueru, I know you're betrothed. But that was arranged years ago. These are different times. We can't let our parents and matchmakers decide whom we spend our lives with. Besides, I know who your fiancé is. That so-called Plain-Robed Ghosthand's grandson, Li An. They call him Ergou, don't they? “Second Dog.” What a peasant's name.'
Wuyou took her words without anger. He was patient enough, though he couldn't resist insulting me at the end.
Yueru's brows drew together. 'Wuyou, say what you want, but don't insult him. What's wrong with a name like Ergou? What can a name tell you? An is a decent, straightforward person. I could tell the moment I saw him. He's nothing like you rich boys from the city.'
She was actually defending me.
I liked her a little more for that. At first, when she had called me her fiancé, she might only have been using me to keep him at a distance.
But there was no need to defend me now. She had done it anyway. She didn't dislike me.
She only felt that our views of the world were too far apart, that being together would make us unhappy.
Once I understood that, much of my gloom lifted. As long as she didn't dislike me, I felt sure I could carry out Grandfather's wishes.
'All right, Yueru. Whether you marry Li An or me, we're both practitioners of the occult arts. You'll have to enter this world sooner or later. So I thought I'd show you what it's like. Let you get used to it,' Wuyou said.