At midnight, an oxcart moved silently through the desolate streets.

"What in the world?"

Inside the oxcart, Huai Shi was dumbfounded as he looked at Raven. "Divination? What divination? Aren't we just playing poker?"

"That's right. It could be that some Border Relic was activated elsewhere in sync."

Raven said indifferently, "It's just a routine background check. There are myriad ways to do it. Although it can't be too detailed, with the support of the Astronomical Society, there's little chance of errors."

"Then why are they checking me?" Huai Shi became even more bewildered.

He couldn't understand why the Astronomical Society would inexplicably investigate a weak, innocent, and pitiable individual like himself.

Raven coughed twice, shifting her gaze. "Initially, there was no need to check each low-level agent in detail. However, you've been making too much noise lately, performing too frighteningly. And you have the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, so we can't *not* check you... It's just a precaution on their part."

"Whose fault do you think that is!"

Upon hearing that the KGB had paid a visit, sipped his red tea, played poker with him, and left, all unknown to him, Huai Shi felt utterly confused and glared at Raven. "And who was it that said my Stigma was very well-hidden?"

"It can only be hidden if you're not spotlighted and scrutinized under a magnifying glass, pixel by pixel."

Raven sighed. "I bet all your duel recordings and materials are now laid out on who knows how many people's desks, and those taking a serious approach will include a thirty-thousand-word analysis report. After all, some of the old folks can't fight or work anymore, but their discerning eyes are deadly. They could see through your little secret at a glance..."

"What should I do then?"

"Carry on as usual. Live your life, eat your meals, fight your fights. You haven't committed any crimes; you're just exceptionally good at battling. What's there to fear?"

Raven glanced at him calmly. "If you ask me, you've acted perfectly, convincingly playing the part of a lucky Fool who knows nothing, to a tee. Ah, this is the essence of natural acting. Perhaps you're the type who resembles yourself no matter what role you take on. Moreover, with the Book of Fate in hand, who could unravel your foundation?"

"It's that powerful?" Huai Shi asked skeptically.

"Why else would it be called the Book of Fate?"

Life is hard, Raven sighed.

She glanced at her foolish charge... feeling a slight twinge of guilt in her heart.

"Rest assured, no matter what methods, means, or skills anyone uses to pry into your life, as long as the Book of Fate is in your hands, they can only ever see the Fate you had before you became a Sublimator..."

Indeed, if Huai Shi had carelessly discarded the thing he picked up when he was nine, his Fate today might have been completely different. Just as indicated in the divination.

——A solid foundation, a rugged path ahead, but a bright Future.

Without the interference of the Book of Fate, his Luck wouldn't have been so tragically bad. As long as he got past the age of eighteen, his fortunes would have turned dramatically. No, according to her observation, the turning point in Huai Shi's original Fate was a few months ago at the school anniversary. Following his original Fate, all Huai Shi had to do was showcase his talents during the performance. This would have immediately drawn the favor and nurturing of a benefactor, securing the most precious opportunity and setting off an unstoppable cascade of events. By the time he was twenty, he could rightfully enter the Golden Great Hall of Vienna through his own efforts, without any problems at all. It would've been as dreamy as the male protagonist in an inspirational morning drama. Subsequently, it would have been a life of glory and prosperity, just as he had always desired, ending peacefully, surrounded by his children and grandchildren. The contributions he made throughout his life would be recorded in history books. Decades later, he would be reimagined as a character in the Card pools of some chaotic mobile game played by young ladies. Unfortunately, that day at the school anniversary performance, Huai Shi didn't show up... Instead, he was busy committing crimes. After Raven gave him a fierce concoction, his Fate uncontrollably veered off into the trench and from then on diverged entirely from its original course, leaving his path uncertain.

Seeing this, the one playing with the young man's Fate was downright terrible!

Raven felt inexplicably guilty and cleared her throat awkwardly before resuming her reliable and calm older sister tone. "Don't worry, a background check is inevitable sooner or later, and it's better early than late. Once you clear this hurdle, you'll officially be one of us. Your treatment will improve immediately, and maybe there will even be a promotion and a raise."

"How should I explain the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy Stigma?" Huai Shi frowned in thought.

"Are you dumb? Red Gloves has been dead for so long. Can't you just pin it on him?"

Raven's class on leading kids astray was back in session. "Anyway, one more blame for Green Day doesn't make a difference. Just say you got a book from him and inexplicably became a Yin Soul. It's not like there's a shortage of similar legacies of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy; there's a new one every year, so what's one more... Who's going to be free enough to suspect that a Little Brag like you carries the Source of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy?"

Huai Shi was still uneasy. "What if someone does think of it?"

"Even if someone did, they'd have to believe it when it's said."

Raven looked at him as if he were a fool. "Do you look like the kind of hard-edged character who picks up a Divine Artifact in a secondhand shop, wins over legions of women with a mere shudder, and can throw down a fortune at an auction?"

"..."

Huai Shi felt ashamed of his own inadequacy.

"Just focus on being a Cowherd. It's a career with prospects."

She patted Huai Shi's shoulder and turned to merge into the shadows.

In the silent darkness, apart from the rumbling sound of the oxcart moving forward, the sudden clang of a watchman's clapper sounded ahead.

"Hey, it's starting, perk up!"

Raven whispered a reminder, her ephemeral silhouette diving back into the keychain to disappear, leaving Huai Shi alone in the cart, feeling his limbs stiffen.

From outside the cart, a dangerous presence steadily made itself known. The Death Perception continually surfaced in his mind, reminding him that he was no longer within the range of the Joyful Framework, but rather in a perilous area where one wrong step could lead to a violent death.

The core of the Central District of Xiematai was the Palace City, shrouded in eternal darkness. It was the essence of malice manifested by the Abyss, a gathering place for Superiors, the place where the true Rulers lie in Deep Sleep. It could be said to be a place much like the Imperial Palace.

If not for Raven's strong encouragement and that Fan, Huai Shi wouldn't dare to take a stroll in here even if he had a hundred thousand guts.

In the deadly silence, there was only the rumbling of oxcart wheels and the faint, distant clanging of a clapper. It was as if the night watchman was making his rounds, but mixed with the shrill cries of a Night Owl.

Huai Shi cautiously lifted a finger, picking up a corner of the oxcart's hanging curtain to peek at the scene shrouded in fog.

It was as if time were flowing backward. As the oxcart moved forward, the deeper it went, the more ancient everything became. Skyscrapers disappeared, replaced by layers upon layers of ancient Mirages that shifted continuously in the reflection of the fog. Now and then, as a gust of wind blew and the fog thinned, glimpses of true appearances were revealed, fleeting and ephemeral.

It might be an old, gloomy temple, or a Mirage-like splendor of jade towers and pavilions, or perhaps the brightly lit loft of a tavern from where a woman's gentle singing floated out. In the darkness, a pair of green eyes lit up, staring intently at Huai Shi's face through the mist.

Huai Shi instantly let go.

The curtain fell, separating the inside from the outside.

In the quiet, there was only his heavy breathing. He raised his hand to touch his face, feeling the tracks of shattered cracks. As he pulled, a pitch-black Abyss sediment was torn from the cracks on his face, and the wound rapidly healed, smoothing over.

Just from being glimpsed at...

At the moment, Huai Shi was wearing a peculiar black cap and a hunting outfit hastily bought from a store within Xiematai—but this seemingly ordinary outfit had already cost Huai Shi all his Golden Coins. This was still with the title of Prince of Paradise; without it, the old man in the store wouldn't have bothered with him at all.

After giving Huai Shi a few critical looks, the old man finally imparted a casual reminder, "Should you be going for an audience, do not be discourteous."

Then he sent Huai Shi out the door, closing it behind him.

Huai Shi was completely dumbfounded.

And this oxcart, as Huai Shi changed into his clothes, holding the Fan, emerged from the fog at the time Raven had arranged for him to leave—it seemed to have been waiting there all along. As soon as Huai Shi got on, it started moving of its own accord, taking him into the fog, bypassing numerous checkpoints, and heading straight to the core. It was as simple as if a cheat code had been activated.

"Remember, you're impersonating a Court Official who's going to the Imperial Palace to attend a poetry contest. Don't blow your cover," Raven cautioned. "Once you're inside, whether you can get out alive is all up to your Luck. Fortune favors the bold. Whether you can make a small fortune depends on how determined you are!"

Thoughts of a small fortune awaiting him... Huai Shi completely ignored the increasingly severe Death Perception and mustered up courage from who knows where. But still, he was frozen by a piercing cold, feeling his entire body stiffen.

The Power of the Stigma was being suppressed.

The more he moved forward, the weaker he felt, sensing that he was gradually being restored to his original form; the once invincible Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy proving useless here.

Even as one of their own, there were still hierarchies among insiders. As a lower-class commoner, Huai Shi was incredibly lucky to even get a ticket to the poetry contest. If he committed any discourtesies or his disguise was seen through, not even a god could save him.

In the quiet progress of the oxcart, only the occasional screams could be heard from the depths of the fog.

Huai Shi suddenly heard the sound of wheel hubs, as if he had joined a convoy of carts. About a dozen oxcarts lined up, moving step by step along the desolate street, eventually stopping outside the pitch-black city gates.

From the carts in front and behind, there surged forth a dark presence that made Huai Shi's skin crawl; he had absolutely no idea what kind of monster was inside.

After a long while, the oxcart came to an abrupt halt.

A white shadow appeared silently outside the cart door, holding a ghost-white lantern. Its voice was like the crying of a Flying Bird—hoarse and bizarre.

An icy glare seemed to fall on Huai Shi's face through the curtain.

"The Inner Palace is ahead. Please, honored guest, alight from your cart and proceed on foot."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.