Chapter Sixty-Five: The Little Tyrant

"I... I didn't do anything..." Li Xuelin's eyes darted evasively, instinctively shifting away. "Master, why would you say that? Every day, I'm so worried about this wretched shop's business that my brow never unfurrows. What could I possibly have done!"

When it came to acting, Li Xuelin was far inferior to Duan Yong—he was several Oscars behind, worlds apart. While Duan Yong, resuming his old tricks as a charlatan, played his role with effortless ease despite the looming threat of prison, Li Xuelin couldn't even open his mouth to deflect a question without his eyes wandering and his tone betraying him.

With nerves like that, even if you hadn't seen the surveillance footage of him tailing someone, just witnessing Li Xuelin's current state, anyone would suspect he was hiding something.

But perhaps it was just as well—if everyone possessed Duan Yong's composure and acting skills, the police would truly have headaches.

Duan Yong didn't seem surprised by Li Xuelin's denial. He cast a cold glance at him, said nothing, then lowered his eyes and raised his right hand. With his thumb, he began pressing randomly at the knuckles of his other four fingers, muttering incantations under his breath, occasionally furrowing his brow as if calculating something mysterious.

Yan Xue, standing beside him, kept up her fairy-like pretense, though she struggled to hold back laughter. The technique looked familiar—exactly like the Taoist priests in the old zombie movies she watched as a child. She wondered whether Duan Yong was a fan of those films who'd been inspired to find such a lucrative path, or if he'd come up with the scam first and then studied the movies for "professional development."

Watching Duan Yong squinting and muttering as if calculating Li Xuelin's fate, Li Xuelin grew visibly nervous, his hands unconsciously wringing together.

"Let me ask you," Duan Yong suddenly opened his eyes wide, his voice rising dramatically, almost as if his eyeballs would pop out, his tone sharp and pressing, "have you been up to something sneaky lately?! Have you harbored wicked thoughts and set your sights on someone with a Fire Fate?"

Yan Xue was nearly startled out of her wits by Duan Yong's sudden outburst, but she managed to keep her composure, betraying nothing. She hadn't heard him mention this "Fire Fate" concept before, but judging from Li Xuelin's stunned expression, he understood, and Duan Yong had hit the mark.

"Master, you're incredible!" Li Xuelin, after his initial shock, was briefly embarrassed, but that quickly turned into admiration. He stepped forward, grasping Duan Yong's hand as if to absorb some of his mystical energy. "I knew nothing could escape your heavenly eyes! I was just too embarrassed to mention it before, but look, you divined it right away! It's all true—not a single detail off!"

"You really don't know the rules, do you! You're just an ordinary mortal, yet you meddle in these matters—if you had such abilities, why bother disturbing my peace in the first place!" Seeing that his first guess had landed, Duan Yong grew even more spirited, putting on a more impressive act. "Let me ask you again, by acting on your own like this, did you attract something malevolent? The moment I saw you, I sensed your aura was off—it's growing weaker, do you realize that?! And your brow is nearly black as ink! Just look at this shop, so lifeless—your energy is affecting it!

Luckily, I was thinking about you yesterday. You hadn't come to me for help in breaking your bad luck for ages, so I worried you might have hit an insurmountable obstacle. Wanting to help to the end, I calculated your fortune and found you were in grave danger! That's why I brought my guardian today, and invited the Spirit Maiden to sit in. Otherwise, with my own strength alone, I might not have been able to save you!

Do you understand? Calamity is upon you—what exactly have you done? Tell me everything, honestly! If you keep hiding things, I'll take the Spirit Maiden and leave right now—our fates are severed. If my calculation's off and you end up rich and successful, I won't expect any thanks; if disaster truly befalls you, I won't take a penny for saving your life. We'll go our separate ways—look after yourself!"

"No, no, no! Master, please don't go! I was wrong, I swear I was wrong! Please don't leave me to fend for myself!" Li Xuelin's face changed instantly at these words. Where he had been merely uneasy, now he was simply terrified. "I'll tell you the truth! The whole truth, all right? Actually, I really was planning to come to you for help lately, but... I was afraid you'd blame me for acting on my own, so I was too ashamed to come!

Master, I beg you, please have mercy—help me, save me! Please don't abandon me! These past few days I've felt a constant chill, as if something... unnatural has been around me!"

Duan Yong was already used to Li Xuelin's behavior. He pulled his hand free from Li Xuelin's tight grip—apparently, Li Xuelin had squeezed so hard his hand was sore. The fake master even shook his hand in annoyance and rubbed it.

"You'd better start from the very beginning—tell me every single detail! Since there'll be a lot to say, find us a clean, spacious room where we can sit and talk. I don't mind standing, but the Spirit Maiden is a rare guest—do you really want her to stand there listening to you?"

Li Xuelin hurriedly agreed, ushering them upstairs. "There's a large room on the second floor, with the most windows and the best light—let's talk there! Otherwise, even I feel a little creeped out!"

With that, he signaled to the three of them and led the way upstairs.

As soon as Li Xuelin went up, Duan Yong's expression changed; he turned and gave Yan Xue a fawning grin, but she merely glanced at him expressionlessly, prompting him to immediately compose himself and march upstairs in proper form, with Yan Xue and Kang Ge following.

The small inn occupied one side of the building, so after climbing the stairs and walking to the end of the corridor, they entered a room that was indeed very spacious, with three windows and a well-designed layout. With a bit of tidying, it could have been a lovely guest room.

But the actual state of the place was tragic. The carpet on the floor was so old and filthy that its original pattern was barely visible, exuding a musty odor. None of the three windows were clean; the glass, caked with dust and streaked by summer rains, was nearly opaque. The furniture was shoddy and battered, all coated in dust—clearly, the room hadn't been used in ages, a testament to just how bad business was.

"Master, please sit! Spirit Maiden, sit! Guardian, sit!" All of Li Xuelin's former misgivings had vanished; now his only concern was getting these experts to save him. He fussed around inviting them to sit. "You must help me this time!"

"Alright, just get on with it—start from the beginning!" Duan Yong waved him on.

Li Xuelin nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes, from the beginning... So, my business was doing poorly, and after asking around, I went to you to see if you could help me turn my luck around. You asked for my birth date and time, inquired about my family, then charged me—"

"Enough, enough! When I said start from the beginning, I meant from after you left me—what have you done since then? We already know the earlier part, no need to repeat it! Why not start from your birth while you're at it!" Duan Yong hurriedly cut him off, embarrassed; he was already under investigation for fraud, and Li Xuelin's "starting from the beginning" might land him in even more trouble.

"Couldn't anyway—I don't remember anything from when I was born! I'm nowhere near as skilled as you, Master; I don't have any of those past-life or in-the-womb memories!" Li Xuelin hurriedly flattered him. "So I'll start from after we met a few times! Back then, you said if I wanted to change my fate, I needed a scapegoat to die in my place—then my destiny cycle would restart, and my luck would turn.

So after I got back, I kept thinking about finding a suitable target. Eventually, I really did spot someone—a student from the nearby school, a boy. It took me ages, asking around in roundabout ways, but I finally found out his birthday—he was indeed born in a Fire year, a person of the Fire Fate!"

"Learning someone's a Fire Fate isn't much—how did you know he was a suitable target?" Duan Yong's face changed slightly at this, then he quickly put on a stern, displeased look. "You're something else! Deciding all that without me! Fine, since you're so capable, I won't waste my time here—next time I have a problem, I'll come ask Master Li for help!"

With that, he huffed and rose as if to leave.

"Master! Please don't go, Master! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong! It's not like I dared do anything!" Li Xuelin hurried to stop him, pleading and fawning. "Any hope I had was thanks to your guidance—otherwise, I wouldn't have seen a glimmer of hope in my life, wouldn't have held on until now, much less thought of finding a way out!

I was just confused for a moment and thought about it, but now, even if you lent me all your courage, I wouldn't dare! I really understand now—an amateur is an amateur. I can imitate the motions, but it's never the real thing! Even if you gave me all the nerve in the world, I'd never try it again!

I admit I once thought about using that male student as my scapegoat, but before I could do anything, I noticed something was off—he seemed already possessed, and it was really strange! I saw him acting weird, talking to himself as if he saw ghosts, muttering things under his breath. Once, when his behavior was especially odd, I couldn't help but pat his shoulder. He turned, glared at me, yowled that I was trying to harm him, and ran off!

I was completely stunned then. I admit I had such thoughts, but I never told anyone, never let it show—how could he possibly have known? Unless something around him knew, and told him, just like how you, Master, sometimes know things in advance!"

"Outrageous!" Duan Yong feigned anger, glaring at Li Xuelin. "Are you saying I'm a demon?!"

"No, no, never! I wouldn't dare! How could you be anything evil, Master! I was hoping you'd check if there really is something evil here!" Li Xuelin frantically tried to please him, terrified that Duan Yong would leave.

"Then tell me—there are so many people around, lots of students at that school. Why did you think this one was the perfect choice?" Duan Yong pressed. "Don't tell me you've opened your spiritual eyes!"

"Not at all!" Li Xuelin gave an embarrassed laugh. "I definitely haven't—it's just my own reasoning.

You told me to find someone with a Fire Fate, so I checked online which birth years are Fire. Then I thought, aren't men considered yang and women yin? Men are fire, women are water. So if I wanted someone even more fiery, it had to be a male with a Fire Fate!

Then I found out the kid was a bit of a local celebrity at his school—I figured that made him even more 'fiery.' Fire Fate, male, popular at school: that's three kinds of fire! Who could be a better fit?"

"All that you found out later! I'm asking how you first noticed this student!" Duan Yong was shrewd—seeing that Kang Ge and Yan Xue hadn't tried to steer the conversation, only listened quietly, he figured this must be the person the police wanted to know about, so he kept pressing.

"Because the boy's character was terrible—he's a bully, and I couldn't stand him, so I started keeping an eye on him. Then, after asking around, I felt it was fate, like he appeared just to give me a way out!" Li Xuelin was excited at first, but seeing the three of them staring at him expressionlessly, he grew nervous again. "Um... Looking back now, I guess I made a mistake... a big mistake..."