Vol. 1 - Chapter 64 - Brother! I See Darkness in Your Fate!

Yuhang Orphanage.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, radiating intense heat.

A drop of sweat trickled down from his forehead to his chin.

“Plop.”

Sun Sheng, his face flushed red, gritted his teeth and squeezed out a number from his mouth.

“Ten... ten... fifteen!”

With all his strength, Sun Sheng pushed himself off the ground.

After he uttered the number, his arms gave way, and he collapsed back onto the ground.

“Whew... whew...”

Sun Sheng panted heavily, a look of relief on his face.

After catching his breath, Sun Sheng glanced over at Daming, who was calmly doing one-arm handstands without breaking a sweat, and admiration appeared in his eyes.

“Brother Daming, I really have to hand it to you! You're just too strong!” Sun Sheng said with envy.

Daming, shirtless, displayed his sun-kissed skin. His shoulder and back muscles subtly bulged, revealing well-defined muscle lines.

Hearing Sun Sheng's words, Daming gave a simple chuckle and said nothing.

He maintained a steady rhythm, alternating his arms every two seconds.

Soon, Daming exhaled, gave a slight shout, and said, “Fifty!”

Having completed the fiftieth one-arm push-up, Daming’s body curved like a shrimp and jumped, his feet landing on the ground.

He stood up, his tan skin gleaming with sweat, as though it had been rinsed with water.

Under the sunlight, his body looked glossy and radiant.

Standing there, Daming’s chest muscles, biceps, and triceps were all slightly raised.

Even his abdomen showed the faint outline of abs.

No matter how you looked at it, Daming didn’t seem like a ten-year-old boy.

“Keep going.” Daming regulated his breathing, smiling broadly at Sun Sheng.

Hearing this, Sun Sheng immediately shook his head. “Brother Daming, I can’t go on.”

He turned over, lying flat on the ground, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

Sun Sheng licked his lips and said, “Brother Daming, right now all I want is to grab a roast chicken and take a big bite.”

Just thinking about it, a trail of drool began to slip from the corner of his mouth.

Daming squatted down, just about to continue with another set of exercises, when he heard Sun Sheng's words. He too licked his lips.

“Gurgle…” Daming’s stomach let out a timely growl.

Hearing the sound, Sun Sheng immediately sprang up from the ground, grinning. “Brother Daming, you haven’t eaten enough either, huh?”

“Since Foster Father isn’t around and our cooking skills are pretty poor… I didn’t have enough to eat this morning either. How about I go buy a roast chicken for us? We can share?”

Daming smiled silently, casting a glance at Sun Sheng.

He bent over and pulled a small piece of silver from his short jacket, which was resting on a stool.

It was pocket money left for him by Chen Ye.

Daming often got hungry while chopping firewood on the mountain.

Chen Ye was worried that he might get so hungry on his way home that he wouldn’t be able to make it, so he specifically left this for him.

Daming smiled foolishly and tossed the silver to Sun Sheng.

Sun Sheng caught the small coin, weighed it in his hand, and his face lit up with joy.

“Great! We’ll buy two chickens. We can eat one, and save the other for Foster Father. We’ll even have money left for a little wine! Heh, I’ve had a few drinks before back in the gang!”

“That taste, with roast chicken…”

“Heh… slurp…”

Sun Sheng couldn’t help but drool, a look of longing on his face.

Daming shook his head and, though still smiling foolishly, his expression grew serious. “No drinking.”

“Huh?” The words shattered Sun Sheng’s beautiful fantasy.

He looked at Daming, confused.

Daming, his face serious, rarely spoke so much.

“Drinking causes trouble. Dad wanted us to study the comic strips so we could learn the lessons inside. How much of that have you learned?”

Sun Sheng felt a cold sweat bead on his forehead upon hearing this.

When he read the comic strips, he was more focused on the stories than on the deeper lessons, unlike Daming who thought more deeply about it.

Sun Sheng quickly nodded. “Brother Daming, I was wrong.”

Daming, seeing Sun Sheng’s repentant expression, nodded in satisfaction.

He returned to his usual foolish smile.

“The chicken should be plump.”

Sun Sheng’s face once again broke into a joyful grin.

Holding the small coin, he hurriedly ran out of the Orphanage.

Watching Sun Sheng’s cheerful figure, Daming smiled foolishly and continued his workout.

His father had told him to read books, so he had to learn the lessons inside.

His father had told him to train, so he had to do it well. As Chen Daming, he had already learned one important lesson from Water Margin.

Loyalty and righteousness!

Sun Sheng ran out of the Orphanage, jogging down the long street.

A faint scent of perfume wafted through the air.

Sun Sheng slowed down, looking over at the Yihong Courtyard, where the sound of laughter drifted out, and swallowed unconsciously.

The women’s laughter sounded like bells, like cotton. Just hearing it made Sun Sheng’s heart soften, his steps becoming light.

No wonder the brothers in the gang used to say that women are like waves.

Now, just listening to their voices, he felt like he could fall headfirst into the sea.

“Trouble brought by beautiful women!”

Sun Sheng couldn’t help but mutter.

He couldn’t even remember where he’d heard this phrase.

He vaguely remembered it was from an old scholar in his sixties.

That scholar had come out of a brothel, full of emotion, and had sighed as he looked back: “Trouble brought by beautiful women.”

At that time, Sun Sheng thought the phrase sounded very profound, so he remembered it.

“Trouble brought by beautiful women…”

A voice almost identical to Sun Sheng’s muttered the same phrase at the same time.

Hearing the same four words from two different people, both Sun Sheng and the person beside him froze.

They turned their heads to look.

Standing next to Sun Sheng was a young man in a gray Taoist robe, with a Tai Chi Bagua pattern embroidered on his chest.

He appeared to be in his twenties, with a Bagua compass hanging from his waist and a dog-skin plaster on his face.

In his left hand, he held a flag taller than himself, with the inscription: "Divine Calculation, Guiding the Lost."

Sun Sheng studied the young man while the young man was sizing him up as well.

The young man gave Sun Sheng a once-over, then smiled and said, “Brother, you’re quite insightful for someone so young. I suspect your future achievements will be extraordinary!”

Sun Sheng cupped his fists and returned a traditional martial salute, smiling. “It’s just a feeling.”

Hearing this, the young man’s eyes brightened and he returned the salute respectfully. “You are truly a remarkable person, Brother!”

Then, the young man glanced at Sun Sheng’s face and, with a faint smile, said, “But, I see darkness in your fate. You’d best avoid water sources for the time being.”

Sun Sheng, about to interrupt the young man’s fortune-telling, watched as the young man gave a faint smile and walked away.

This left Sun Sheng a bit puzzled.

He had met plenty of fortune-tellers before, and normally when they mentioned darkness in the fate, they would follow up with a method to resolve it, boasting about how powerful their charms were.

Then they would try to sell a few peace charms.

That was the typical route.

But this young man just said it and left?

Sun Sheng watched the young man’s gradually receding figure, shook his head, and didn’t think too much of it.

Martial world tricksters couldn’t be trusted.

Miao Fengyun took a few steps forward, but then looked back longingly at the Yihong Courtyard.

He reached into his pocket and only found a few small silver coins.

“Ah, I’m short on money…”

He took his hand out and shook his head, looking regretful.

He would just have to go another time.

He shook his flag in his left hand as he strolled along the street, his mind empty.

The method of divination in the Divine Machine Sect was different from others.

It emphasized the feeling of the heart.

Once you feel it, you can perform the divination.

The philosophy was about following the right time.

Some things, you can only know when the time is right.

Like now.

Miao Fengyun stopped in his tracks, sensing something.

He scanned his surroundings and saw a small courtyard.

The plaque on the courtyard read “Yuhang Orphanage.”

Miao Fengyun didn’t rush.

He first closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings.

When he felt there was no danger, he opened his eyes.

Ever since his master had coughed up blood three and a half months ago, Miao Fengyun had become much more cautious.

He feared predicting a great calamity.

The blood wasn’t the issue, but he was worried about shortening his life.

He was still young and didn’t want to die too early.

Miao Fengyun entered the Orphanage and saw a young boy practicing strange movements, shirtless.

The boy was doing one-arm handstands, going up and down, sweating like a river.

Even with Miao Fengyun’s sharp eyes, he couldn’t tell what martial arts the boy was practicing.

The boy was so focused that he didn’t notice Miao Fengyun’s arrival.

“Ahem...” Miao Fengyun lightly coughed twice, trying to get the boy’s attention.

Hearing the cough, Daming lowered his arm and, still upside down, lifted his head to glance at the stranger.

“Ahem, brother, I see darkness in your fate. Has something troubling happened recently?”

Miao Fengyun squatted down, speaking gently.

Daming lowered his head again, continuing his training.

He didn’t stop until he finished a set.

Daming stood up and gave Miao Fengyun a foolish, innocent smile.

“Ahem, I have a little skill in face reading and divination. Would you like me to give you a fortune?”

Daming smiled foolishly and remained silent.

Miao Fengyun stared at Daming’s face, his thoughts muddled.

This boy seemed a little simple, didn’t he?

But since the Divine Machine Sect divined based on fate, there was no harm in offering a free reading.

“Then, shall I read your fortune, Brother?”

Miao Fengyun asked tentatively.

Daming smiled foolishly.

Miao Fengyun coughed twice. Seeing that Daming didn’t refuse, he took it as consent.

Miao Fengyun set aside his flag and carefully studied Daming’s face.

“Hm, the parents’ and siblings’ palaces are dim, both your parents and siblings have passed…”

“Oh! Your ancestors have blessed you with fortune, you will encounter a benefactor when you turn ten.”

Listening to Miao Fengyun’s cryptic muttering, Daming grinned and continued to watch him, his eyes flashing for a moment.

“I’ll check your marital fate…”

“Ah!”

Miao Fengyun gasped, his face lighting up with joy.

“Brother, I see the stars in your marital palace, one bright and one dim. You will marry two wives!”

Daming continued to smile foolishly.

"However, with the dual stars in your marriage palace—one bright, one dim—there seems to be a significant gap in your identities, and it looks like they can't coexist. You need to be cautious in handling this, or there may be trouble later." Miao Fengyun's tone became unusually serious. "Otherwise, calamities could occur."

Such a rare dual-star alignment in the marriage palace was not often seen.

After assessing the marriage palace, Miao Fengyun felt that although the boy in front of him seemed a bit silly, his overall face still looked promising.

"Now, let me take a look at your career palace; perhaps you’re destined for a noble career!" Miao Fengyun chuckled, intending to tease Daming.

But Daming, as always, wore a silly grin and remained unfazed.

Miao Fengyun chuckled awkwardly and focused his gaze, but his smile suddenly froze.

"Huh?"

"General star, Prince consort star, King... Duke star??"

Miao Fengyun's expression went blank, and he rubbed his eyes, feeling like he had misread something.

A seemingly simple-minded boy from the nursery hall couldn’t possibly have the destiny of a general, a prince consort, and a noble, could he?

"I’ll take another look..."

Miao Fengyun’s expression became serious, his demeanor now completely focused as he scrutinized Daming’s face.

"Ah..."

"This..."

"How is this possible!"

Miao Fengyun was completely stunned.

He double-checked, convinced that he hadn’t made a mistake.

"It’s impossible! This can’t be true!"

Miao Fengyun appeared to be trying to convince himself. He moved closer to Daming and looked at his misfortune palace again.

Daming patiently observed the young man in front of him, who was alternating between laughing and being shocked.

He found this person quite amusing.

At least, everything he had said so far seemed accurate.

Miao Fengyun studied Daming’s misfortune palace with intense focus.

Suddenly, he shuddered and his face turned pale, as if he had seen something incredibly alarming.

Miao Fengyun’s gaze shot up to Daming’s face, and he extended a trembling finger, exclaiming, "You—!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.

One mouthful wasn’t enough. He coughed up several more.

The blood splattered across Daming’s chest and shorts.

Daming’s smile silently faded as he saw the bloodstains on his new clothes—clothes his father had just bought for him recently.

Daming clenched his fists, feeling the blood rush to his head, his eyes tinged with red.

Before he could make a move, the young man in front of him swayed and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Daming: "???"

TL Notes:

Tai Chi Bagua: The bagua or pakua are a set of eight symbols that originated in China. Used inTaoist cosmology it represents the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts and it is an essential tool in the majority of Feng Shui schools. Bagua literally means eight symbols or eight areas.

Bagua Compass: The bagua compass, also known as the bagua map, is a tool used in feng shui to analyze energy in a space. It's a diagram that shows how energy flows in a room or home, and how it relates to different areas of life.

Dog Skin Plaster: a plaster of Zhuyangxin. It has good curative effect on low back and leg pain, bruises, flashing lumbar spasticity, abdominal cramps, and abdominal pain.

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