Chapter 7: Changing one’s fate and shortening one’s life

As we were just talking about how we should keep in touch in the future, the masters had already come down. When we looked at the time, we had been chatting for two hours without realizing it.

When we saw the masters coming down, we quickly got up to make room for them. I paid special attention to them. After they came down, their faces were more solemn and sad, but they were less distant and resentful.

We younger people are all descendants of metaphysics and sensitive people, so we of course noticed this change. After a moment of silence, Uncle Li spoke up: “Da… Lichun, you can speak now.”

My master coughed and said, “You just said you wanted to get in touch more often, so let’s really get in touch more often. You can call or write, whatever you want. You’re all grown up now, so we should talk about our business, not the past, but what we’re doing now, because you’ll be involved in it in the future.”

“In fact, Chengqing has been involved all along. I am a temporary secretary, and I am also involved in the two streams of fortune-telling and divination. It is inevitable that I will serve the country. Chengqing already knows this and is also involved. It’s hard on you, a young man with a full head of white hair.” Uncle Li said with some emotion.

At this time, Chengqing also said with emotion, “Master, what is this to me? At most, I will only harm myself, and I won’t be able to harm much. As for you, you will need to use the technique of changing fate against the heavens in conjunction with several other masters when necessary to stabilize the general situation. You don’t have to say it, I know it too. Your own life span…”

At this point, Chengqing could not continue, and his eyes were filled with tears.

The master was shocked and suddenly stood up, pointing at Uncle Li and saying, “Are you crazy? Changing fate? What are you changing? Have you forgotten the master’s rules?”

Uncle Li smiled bitterly: “It’s just about extending life. In fact, that gentleman doesn’t care if it’s one more year or one less, but the situation does. When it comes to changing fate against the heavens, the secret technique of the Shan Zi School is the most powerful. In the future, if you want to pass it on to Chengyi, you have to think clearly, Lichun.”

“How much of your life have you lost?” My master’s voice was trembling, and even the expressions of Uncle Chen and Uncle Wang had changed. In front of the two senior brothers, they didn’t want to say much, but the expressions of anxiety, worry, and sadness were unmistakable.

“Have you forgotten the rules? I don’t count myself, otherwise let the younger brother use physiognomy to help me see my life span?” Uncle Li’s tone was actually a bit relaxed, but he paused and then turned and stared at Chengqing seriously, saying, “The younger generation is too talkative. I don’t want to say more.”

Uncle Wang was furious and stood up in an instant, scolding, “You have rules, but I don’t? You know that you are not your own, and I understand that you are not related to your relatives. You still remember the rules. The rules. Master said that the technique of changing fate against the heavens must not be used lightly. Why don’t you listen to this rule?

Uncle Li just shook his head and smiled wryly, but before anyone could react, Uncle Chen grabbed Uncle Li’s hand and placed it on Uncle Li’s pulse. His face was uncertain, and in the end he sighed and let go of Uncle Li’s hand.

“It is a hard loss of life from fate, and there is no way to make up for it. Otherwise, it would be difficult for us to say that we are going against the heavens. However, throughout the ages, people who live a long life are all looking for natural treasures to supplement themselves in order to break through the shackles. Brother, where do you want me to start supplementing you? Now, it is an era of scarce resources.” After saying this, Uncle Chen sighed.

“Hmph, in the end, I have to take care of my big brother. In that case, I will also perform the technique of changing fate against the heavens for you.” Master said decisively, as if he had already made up his mind.

“I don’t accept the spell, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I just hope that in my lifetime, I can still fulfill my regrets. What happened back then, you really can’t blame it all on you. Okay, Li Chun, it’s your turn to give Chengyi an explanation.” Uncle Li lightly ended the topic.

But it seemed to have hit the mark of everyone’s thoughts. Everyone was silent. It felt like they were avoiding each other because of something, but then they came together again because of something. It felt like we, the younger generation, had grown up, and they had put down a big stone in their hearts. We couldn’t see through it, understand it, or even guess it. It felt very uncomfortable.

The master slowly sat down, suddenly feeling a little tired. He said, “Chengyi, you young people all come sit by my side.”

We sat down next to the masters as they instructed. My master then said, “The department I work for is an environmental monitoring department. You can think of it as monitoring the environment that is not on the surface of this world. When there was a strange occurrence in a certain bamboo forest, it was our department that intervened and turned it into a scenic tourist area. When the spirits of the wronged gathered in a certain lake, causing a great deal of resentment and unrest among the people, it was our department that intervened. We did it for stability. You understand that some things cannot be exposed to the public. My position in the department is not very high, but it is not low either. After all, there are more than just our branch of the Shan family, and there are also true orthodox branches. Their background is incomparable to ours.”

As he spoke, the master picked up his teacup, only to find it empty. He frowned and said, “The Dahongpao has been drunk up by you young people. What a luxury.”

Uncle Li calmly ordered, “Auntie Liu, please bring another pot of Dahongpao.”

No matter how precious the tea is, it is not as precious as the feelings between the brothers.

When the steaming, aromatic, top-quality Dahongpao was served again, the master poured himself a cup of tea and moistened his throat before saying, “These things are far-fetched. Chengyi, you will have to follow me and handle some things in the future. Although your skills are still shallow, you will have to learn to handle them. Of course, when I’m no longer in that part of the business, and the country doesn’t require you to continue, you’re free to choose your own life. However, when the country notifies you that you must join, you must join.

I couldn’t help but ask, “Under what circumstances will they notify me?”

“The older generation will always die. Even if there are immortals in this world, they will leave and not do this job for a lifetime. At this time, you younger generation will also mature and should take over.” The master patiently said.

I nodded. Master is like this. What am I good to excuse?

Although Chengqing and Chengyi belong to different departments, you shoulder the heaviest responsibility. As for Chengxin, the medical branch is relatively easier, but you still have to help some masters. You can’t be too arbitrary. As for Chengxin, it is the branch that establishes the foundation of the rivers and lakes. In the past, the country was in a special situation, but now it is better and open. We cultivators spend is most staggering, and this responsibility falls on the girl Chengzhen. This aside, Chengzhen, sometimes you also have to understand the situation. The business of finding dragons and acupuncture points is no longer needed to serve certain masters. After all, there is a unified location, but the feng shui layout and physiognomy still need to be mentioned occasionally, because in some places, hiring people and promoting them is a big problem. After that, the master stopped talking.

To be honest, this conversation was very secretive. Those who didn’t understand might not be able to react immediately, but the four of us did understand. After all, we had been influenced by our surroundings since childhood, and we all knew some things. In fact, our identities were like those in the underworld, and we couldn’t be seen in the light.

Facing these explanations, we nodded, and at the same time felt a sense of heaviness. We had always been under the protection of our masters, and suddenly we felt a sense of pressure to face it ourselves.

Moreover, the four of us also exchanged a worried look at the same time. No matter how we listened, we felt that the masters were giving us their last words.

But this is impossible. We also saw resistance in each other’s eyes, resisting this idea.

“Four little foxes, don’t think too much. We are all here with you now. Our fate is not yet over. Where would we go? Don’t be suspicious all the time. It would be good for you to move around more among your fellow disciples.” Master Wang spoke up.

We four let out a sigh of relief at the same time. I suddenly envied my junior sister. It’s great that this master is so straightforward. Unlike my master, he never says anything clearly, not even about the Hungry Ghost Tomb.

But I will be working with him from now on, so he can’t hide anything from me.

The rest of the day was a happy one. We spent the whole day together, eating ordinary home-cooked meals and enjoying a harmonious atmosphere. The masters’ insights were extraordinary, and the content of their conversations was simply out of this world. We younger people were filled with longing and excitement as we listened.

Of course, the most they talked about was the interesting stories about our master, which shows how important and close he was to them. But when I asked if he was over 300 years old, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

The three uncles almost simultaneously glared at my master, who blushed helplessly and played the bad guy to get the matter over with.

This question also made my clever brothers think about it, and I guess they will ask about it in private.

After all, the idea that we had all shared during our two-hour conversation was that we all looked up to our master as an idol.

The pleasant day ended quickly. Before I left, Uncle Li stopped me.