“Xu Tian? I don’t recall ever knowing someone like you,” Zhang Zizhen said, though his face showed no sign of anger. He stared at Xu Tian and asked calmly, “The incident from a year ago is in the past—I won’t dwell on it. What I want to know is, why did you say I won’t live past tomorrow morning?”
“We’ve never met. Why would you come here and curse an old man like me, who’s already in his seventies?”
Xu Tian responded sincerely, “Elder Zhang, I apologize. There’s not much time, and I may speak out of turn, but I’m here today to ask for your help in saving my wife. If you agree, I promise I’ll help you avoid a deadly threat.”
“You?” Lin Xiao sneered, shooting Xu Tian a look of disdain.
His master had treated countless influential people in the past. If there were ever a danger to him, many would line up to protect him. What right did this kid have to make such a bold claim?
Zhang Zizhen remained expressionless as he listened to Xu Tian’s seemingly arrogant words. His tone turned slightly displeased. “I don’t know how you found this place, but since you know about me and the incident from a year ago, I assume you’re also familiar with my temperament.”
“Many people have come begging me to treat them. But you’re the first who’s ever cursed me to die. Still, since fate has brought us together, I’ll give you a chance to explain.”
Clearly, Zhang Zizhen was already angry.
Xu Tian smiled calmly, his voice firm and without a trace of jest. “Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed this place would catch fire, so I came here today to warn you…”
Before Xu Tian could finish, Lin Xiao cut in sharply, “You expect us to believe that nonsense? Not even a ghost would believe that. Get out!”
Zhang Zizhen said nothing and gave no reaction, clearly permitting Lin Xiao to throw Xu Tian out.
Xu Tian wasn’t angry. He knew very well that what he said wasn’t convincing. After all, saying it came from a dream wasn’t exactly credible, and since nothing had happened yet, no one would believe him.
He walked calmly to the counter, picked up a pen, and left his phone number. Then he turned to Zhang Zizhen and said with conviction, “Tomorrow morning at around 5:15, the medicine room on the left will catch fire. When you try to put it out, make sure to check whether the liquid in the white bucket is water.”
“Elder Zhang, I’ve said all I needed to say. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.”
“This is my phone number. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
With that, Xu Tian gave a light smile and turned to leave, his demeanor composed and confident—almost as if he was absolutely certain the fire would happen. As if, without his warning, Zhang Zizhen would die in it.
Ridiculous!
Watching Zhang Zizhen pick up the note Xu Tian had left, Lin Xiao fumed with anger.
“Master, why didn’t you stop me? I should’ve torn that guy apart! I’m so pissed! That scoundrel dared to curse you!”
“He thinks he’s some kind of fortune-telling master or something!”
However—
Zhang Zizhen didn’t even glance at the number. He tossed the slip straight into the trash. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Then he looked at his quick-tempered disciple and sighed, “Enough. Don’t waste energy on people like that. Just don’t let him in here again.”
He shook his head in disbelief and walked back into the herb room with his hands behind his back.
A fire? Nonsense.
…
That night.
Lin Xiao locked the main gate and returned to the medicine room to prepare herbs.
Although the clinic had gas tanks, Baolintang had always used coal to preserve the quality of the medicine.
For some reason, as soon as Lin Xiao stepped into the medicine room, he couldn’t help but recall Xu Tian’s words.
Even though he had said during the day that he didn’t believe them, Xu Tian’s tone had been so confident that it left him uneasy.
An hour later, he finished boiling the medicine, covered the fire in the stove, and was about to return to his room to rest.
Then Xu Tian’s words popped into his mind again.
“I’m not sleeping tonight. I’ll stay right here and watch the stove. I don’t believe this dream nonsense!”
Grinding his teeth, Lin Xiao decided to sit right in front of the stove and watch it.
For the first half of the night, he was wide awake. But after 4 a.m., his eyelids began to grow heavy. Drowsiness took over.
By around 5 a.m., Lin Xiao had fallen asleep, slumped over his knees.
He didn’t notice the faint smell of gas slowly spreading through the room. Nor did he sense the gust of cold wind that suddenly blew into the house, lifting sparks from the stove that drifted toward the curtain—
In an instant, the flames ignited.
The fire burst to life, smoke billowing thickly…
Half-asleep, Lin Xiao felt a sudden wave of heat and smelled thick smoke. He jolted awake.
When he opened his eyes and saw the room engulfed in flames, he instantly came to his senses!
“Fire!”
Panicked and fumbling, he rushed to the door and reached for the white bucket beside it—then suddenly remembered something:
“Check whether the liquid inside the white bucket is really water.”
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, unscrewed the cap, and sniffed—gasoline!
His hands turned ice-cold in an instant.
He had just bought this gasoline earlier today. In his panic, he had completely forgotten.
“That man wasn’t lying!”
Shocked, Lin Xiao broke into a cold sweat.
If he hadn’t been warned, he would’ve poured gasoline on the fire!
Whoosh!
The flames roared higher. Lin Xiao didn’t have time to think about how Xu Tian had known. He quickly carried the gasoline outside and fetched a bucket of real water.
The fire looked fierce, but it had mostly caught onto the flammable curtains, not much else. It was put out quickly.
Still, the herb room was left scorched and blackened, a total mess.
The noise woke Zhang Zizhen, who rushed over in alarm.
Seeing the charred state of the medicine room, his eyes darkened. “How did this happen?”
“Just now…” Lin Xiao quickly explained everything that had happened.
As he spoke, even he felt terrified.
He and his master both lived in Baolintang, with bedrooms next to the medicine room. If he’d actually poured gasoline on the fire…
They wouldn’t have even had a chance to escape.
Lin Xiao looked at Zhang Zizhen, still trembling with fear. “If it weren’t for that man yesterday, we’d probably be ashes right now…”
“Master, could it be that people like him really can predict the future?”
Zhang Zizhen also found it all very strange. He remained silent for a long while, then said slowly, “Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“But no matter what, he saved our lives. We can’t ignore that kind of favor. Quickly—go find his contact information!”