Transcending the Nine Heavens

“Another ‘天’ ¹ !” The elder dressed in green looked at Zi Xieqing and paused.

Zi Xieqing was wearing a white veil. Her face was blurred and could not be seen.

“This ‘天’ is not like the other ‘天’. Haha, there are nine heavens and they are all different!” the elder looked deeply and carefully at the word, asking, “May I know, what do you want to ask about this word? Is it to check about your marriage, prospects? Life and death? Or… others?”

Zi Xieqing replied, “Prospects.”

Yet another one same as the man in white from before. The people around burst into talks as everyone could feel that this lady was here to create trouble.

To check the same thing, using the same word.

Could there possibly be a different answer? It was impossible for the heavens to be male and female, right?

The elder smiled slightly and said, “Since you want to know your prospects, do let me.”

As he said, he pulled out grass and waved it at the word that Zi Xieqing wrote.

He closed his eyes and slowly said, “This ‘天’ written by you is strong and cohesive. It has the form of a flying dragon, the feel of a dancing phoenix and the power of a celestial home – the symbolism of the Nine Clouds. It rises high above all in its extravagance. Naturally, it carries the aura of glorious histories, but it is not one of the Nine Heavens. The Nine Heavens do not have such an aura. Hence, you do not belong in this world and in other words, your future will not be the Nine Heavens.”

He opened his eyes and said, “This is based on the vibe of the word you wrote. The vibe influences the meaning and therefore the meaning is different.”

Behind her veil, Zi Xieqing squinted lightly and said, “Oh?”

The elder chuckled and waved the grass at the word again before saying, “‘天’, can be broken down into ‘一大’ ² [3.’大’ means ‘big’ in Chinese] , or ‘一一人’ ³ , or ‘二人’ ⁴ . You cruise through the Nine Heavens, as ‘二人’. At first glance, it is ‘one”一一人’, meaning there should have been one and only one person initially. Yet upon a second glance, it is actually ‘二人’. Therefore, this means right now, there are two people.”

Zi Xieqing’s gaze was a little heavy with emotions as she said, “Oh?”

The elder chuckled again and continued, “The word you wrote contains indignation. But when you were writing, you naturally chose the word ‘heaven’, as though you didn’t intend to put me in a difficult position. I could see it. In addition, the word you wrote is a little flimsy… You are looking for someone? And you can’t find that person. The sky is limitless, mysterious and unpredictable and this is exactly your dilemma. Hence, your prospects should be finding someone.”

Zi Xieqing lowered her eyes, as though she was in deep thoughts and as though she was admitting it.

The elder said, “You spoke your heart and wrote the word ‘天’. This means that there is someone on your mind and it is ‘天’! You look up to him like the heaven! He is the one you are looking for.”

Chu Yang, who was standing aside, had frozen still.

This elder was indeed extraordinary. From just a word, he could come up with so many things to say. There were many principles behind fortune-telling but the most important one was this: Confusion!

The elder made the wrong sound right, fooling her back and fro.

You ask him to check your fortune. He confirms it and yet you hit misfortune. You are back to confront him and he can find a reasonable explanation from whatever he said to you: This is exactly what I had warned you about. How can you believe that you have hit the jackpot? Look at this sentence, look here… and here… and bless the world!

Therefore, people did fortune-telling solely with their skillful mouth.

Messing around with what was real and fake, the truths and lies, is the highest level. Even for the talents who were truly capable of such things, their words cannot be trusted easily. How can it be that easy to disclose the heaven’s will?

But every single word said by this elder was true!

Without a doubt. Clear as black and white. No ambiguity! It was like whatever he predicted was already the truth.

This was what shocked Chu Yang the most.

At this moment, the elder continued, “The heaven cannot be felt and found. Hence, the person you are looking for perhaps hasn’t been found.”

Zi Xieqing remained silent.

The elder looked at her with sympathy and said, “You wrote this word with heartfelt respect, so it is filled with energy, coursing through the clouds.”

“And all lives are forms of gratitude. In your heart resides a gratitude of recreation. This also explains exactly that… the feelings you have towards the person you are looking for, are respect and gratitude, not love. If it was, there would be great misery, deep-rooted and unresolvable pain… The signs would then be different.”

The elder smiled and said, “So I cannot guarantee the prospects that you are asking about, but I can say that in your life, there will be surprises yet no danger, and your misfortunes will turn into blessings. Your future is the steps in front of you, and also in the Nine Heavens. Wherever you go depends on your will.”

Zi Xieqing was perplexed. “Then may I ask, the person I’m looking for, could he ever be found?”

Her tone had completely changed to be respectful and humble.

The elder sighed. “I have a few words for you.”

“Do speak,” Zi Xieqing said.

“As I mentioned before, what was originally one person has become two. Hahaha…” the elder replied.

The elder paused before continuing in a low voice, “Is it possible to have power beyond belief? It’s very taxing to be the greatest of all. How do you complain in a life full of hardships? To travel the world yet to find no place like home. It is impossible to split a girl’s heart into halves. When are resentments ever for oneself? If you long to roam the heavens a few rounds, how do you cherish the people before you?”

“How do you complain in a life full of hardships? To travel the world yet to find no place like home… When are resentments ever for oneself… How do you cherish the people in front of you?” Zi Xieqing muttered the words several times and after a long while, she exclaimed, “But there isn’t anybody in front of me!”

Suddenly, she beamed. Tossing over a purple crystal, she said, “You rascal, at least what you said made sense.” She gently got up.

Everyone was stunned.

This lady indeed had abnormal mood swings. You obviously knew that he was right thus paid him and yet you could not spare him of your sharp tongue. Speaking of it, that was rather harsh of you to call the elder a ‘rascal’. How f*cking old were you to call an elder a ‘rascal’?

However, the elder did not take it to heart. With a smile, he said, “If that’s the case, thank you for the rewards.”

His eyes that had seen the world, gleamed as he continued, “Having seen someone of such great status today, my life has not been a waste.”

Still smiling, Zi Xieqing made a sound of disgruntlement and turned around without replying.

The elder chuckled yet again.

He spun around and looked at Chu Yang, “Young friend, do you want to check a word as well?”

Chu Yang thought for a while and said, “If that’s the case, I guess I wouldn’t mind.”

He casually sat down.

This elder was obviously not from the Zhuge clan. But right here, he gave off an aura so similar to one that belonged to the Zhuge clan that nobody could tell that he was not one of them. Even some of the warriors from the Zhuge clan who were passing by looked at him with reverence.

A look that one would give to an elder of the family clan.

But the elder was composed and never responded to these behaviors. In fact, he seemed to be hiding a laugh of mischief, which left Chu Yang astonished.

Furthermore, the elder’s cultivation was vast like the ocean, which was impossible to see through.

It was reasonable for him to not be able to see through it. But for Zi Xieqing to not be able to do so, it was unusual.

So Chu Yang stepped forward and sat at the table. He had to see where exactly was this man from?

The elder watched Chu Yang take a seat, and with raised eyebrows, examined him. Eyebrows slightly wriggling, he asked, “Gentleman, since you have sat down, what word would you like to check?”

The moment Chu Yang looked up, he realized that the elder’s eyes were deep. It was as though he was looking at an autumnal lake – he could only tell its coldness, but not its depth.

Those eyes were so vast that galaxies could fit in them as well.

Chu Yang said with a smile, “Since you have the skills of a god, no matter what I write, you must be able to read it, right? It was eye-opening to watch you check two words in a row. You have my respect.”

The elder kept smiling and said, “You are flattering me. It was merely a trick to earn a living – making people happy to get a few bucks.”

Chu Yang laughed, saying, “You are being humble… May I ask your full name?”

The elder chuckled heartily and said, “You, little one, must be trying to figure out my roots.”

He paused, and then continued, “I do not concern myself with worldly issues and it has been this way for a long time. These days, I have had enough of tranquility and decided to travel around. As for my name, it’s just a nickname, so it won’t matter.”

“You must be a high-ranking senior. I apologize for any offense.” Chu Yang laughed and stopped probing further.

The elder laughed and said, “I rise and fall with the wind, watch and chase the clouds. I’ve lived life freely for a long time. I’m not like the people in your world, prim and proper and ambitious.”

Chu Yang’s eyes flashed. “Great people are the most carefree. These are the people I envy the most in my life.”

The elder chuckled. “Young friend, what word do you want to check?”

Chu Yang lifted the pen, and said, “The word that I want to check, you have already checked it twice before.”

The tip of the pen swiveled on the white piece of paper, with force and elegance, just like a battle of two armies, filled with overwhelming bravery and determination. It perfectly resembled the opposing armies, each fighting on with dignity and loyalty.

Just based on the movement of the tip of the pen, one could tell the fierceness of the battle.

Under the light of dusk, thousands of soldiers fought their lives. In the chilling wind of the night, falling leaves scattered, a single horn brought upon life and death and a single cry opened up the doors to hell.

Swords were pulled out and arrows fired, the warhorses bolted across the battlefield!

Beacon smoke tainted the sky, blood stained the ground!

Chu Yang gently put down the pen, carefully looking at the writing once before handing it over. He laughed, saying, “Here you go!”

Everyone in the crowd saw the word and burst into talks again! They whispered left and right, their faces showing amazement.

What a weird day it was today! With just a little work, three people had come forward to check their word and all three of them checked the same word.

The word that Chu Yang wrote on the paper, was yet another ‘天’!