Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

When Shen Qi was flipping through "The Chronicles of Peace and Prosperity" before, he noticed that the last edition had the bookstore's address printed on it.

Turning the corner, a three-story wooden building came into view.

A gilded signboard hangs above the door, bearing the four characters "Chengwen Bookstore" neatly. Inside, the shop is warm and bright, and several scholars in long gowns are browsing among the bookshelves.

Behind the counter sat a tall, thin shopkeeper with squinting eyes beneath his white eyebrows, who was diligently recording accounts in a ledger. Hearing footsteps, the shopkeeper raised his eyelids, his gaze lingering on Shen Qi.

Just as he was about to speak, Shen Qi had already placed the waist token on the counter.

He is increasingly enjoying the convenience of this waist tag.

The shopkeeper's squinting eyes snapped open. Upon seeing the pattern of the Imperial Observatory, he immediately pushed the account book aside and greeted the shopkeeper with a smile.

"What brings you here, sir?"

"Find some books on fortune telling and destiny," Shen Qi said bluntly. "Take as many as you have; I'll choose them myself."

The shopkeeper responded and climbed the wooden ladder to the bookshelf on the second floor.

A short while later, he came down carrying a stack of books, seven or eight in total, which he placed on the counter with a thud.

"Sir, these are all books we have in stock." The shopkeeper flipped through the books one by one with his finger. "Taiyi Mingjian, Xiangfa Tongwei, Mingshu Zatan... these are all popular books published in recent years, and they sell quite well."

His finger stopped on the bottom book and pulled it out.

This one is noticeably older than the others. The cover is yellowed, and the paper is much rougher, but the binding is more refined than the previous ones. The cover is printed with three simple, ancient characters in ink—"Yuanming Sui".

"If you, sir, are interested in fortune telling, this book is worth reading." The shopkeeper handed over the book. "Many officials in the inner city have bought this book, saying it's a correct and accurate work. However..."

He stroked his beard.

"The content is indeed a bit difficult. I've flipped through several pages, but I can't understand a single word."

Shen Qi took the book and casually flipped through two pages.

The opening line is "A deep abyss hides a dragon, illuminating all things, its marrow condenses true essence," followed by long passages of obscure discourse.

"I'll take this one. And two more, 'Taiyi Mingjian' and 'Miscellaneous Talks on Destiny'."

The shopkeeper quoted the price, Shen Qi paid the silver, and took the three books in his hands.

Carrying the wooden box, Shen Qi left the bookstore as the sun was already setting. He retraced his steps, passing through the inner and outer city checkpoints, and returned to the southern district of the outer city.

The mortuary door was wide open, and several servants were pushing carts to carry bodies inside, just like usual.

Just as Shen Qi stepped across the threshold, Zhao Youtian's figure appeared from the other end of the front porch. Upon seeing Shen Qi in the distance, his pace noticeably quickened.

"Seventh Brother!" Zhao Youtian jogged up to him, "How's the Qian family's situation?"

As Shen Qi walked, he took out a silver note from his pocket.

"The final payment is two hundred taels, sixty for your share."

Zhao Youtian took the silver note, folded it quickly, and stuffed it deep into his sleeve. The movement was so smooth that even Shen Qi couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Just as Zhao Youtian was about to say a few more kind words, his gaze suddenly fell on the stack of books in Shen Qi's hands. The cover of the top book, "Yuanming Sui," faced outwards, with the three characters "Xuanweizi" directly facing him.

"Seventh Brother, what is this...?" He leaned closer, tilted his head, and read the book title aloud, "The Essence of Yuanming? The version written by Master Xuanweizi?"

Shen Qi paused, turning her head to look at him.

"Brother Zhao, do you recognize this book?"

Zhao Youtian immediately became interested.

"Seventh Brother, do you know who this Xuanweizi is?"

Shen Qi shook his head. Of course, he didn't know that he bought the book simply because the shopkeeper recommended it.

Zhao Youtian rubbed his hands together and raised his chin slightly.

"Lord Xuanweizi was the first head of the Astronomical Bureau. That was at least a thousand years ago. When I was young, I also studied Xuanweizi's version of 'Yuanming Sui,' which discusses one thing throughout: destiny."

"The concept of destiny?" Shen Qi feigned ignorance. "This is the first time I've heard of this term. Brother, you might want to elaborate."

Zhao Youtian waved his hand and chuckled, "Seventh Brother, don't ask your older brother. Back then, I only studied it to curry favor with the higher-ups. I couldn't understand a single word of what was written in the book, like 'main structure' or 'auxiliary structure.' It's said that back then, anyone who could understand this book could be directly invited to work in the Imperial Observatory."

He clicked his tongue and added another sentence.

"But later, as more and more people found it too difficult, later generations revised and deleted from the original book, creating several simplified versions." Zhao Youtian glanced at the book in Shen Qi's hand, poked the cover with his finger, and said, "Seventh Brother, the one you have in your hand, judging from the paper color and binding, should be an earlier printed edition, but it is probably not Xuanweizi's original work."

Shen Qi looked down at the book in his hand, his thumb rubbing the rough cover.

It's hard to say how much of the original appearance of something from over a thousand years ago has been preserved through various printings. But even if only 30% or 50% remains, it would be enough for him.

Why are Yan Qing's life threads woven into the shape of bamboo slips? What is the relationship between martial veins and life threads? Perhaps the answers can be found in this book.

"Brother, I happen to have a simplified version of the latest issue at home." Zhao Youtian patted his round belly. "It's much thicker than yours, and the print is bigger and easier to read. I'll bring it over for you tomorrow. If you compare the two, you might be able to understand more."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Youtian chuckled, patted his chest and made a couple of assurances, before turning and swaying leisurely toward the front yard. With sixty taels of silver notes tucked into his sleeve, his steps became much lighter.

The corridor fell silent again.

Shen Qi stood still and opened the book "Yuanming Sui" in his hand.

Page 1, Preface.

Between heaven and earth, one vital energy flows. The changes of the five elements lead to myriad distinctions. The principles of destiny are subtle, profound, and divine.

The *Yuanhai* seeks the origin, the *Tonghui* explores its variations, and the *Disui* investigates its truth. When these three are complete, the Way of Destiny is fully realized.

This book explores the hidden brilliance of the stars above, examines the latent energy of mountains and rivers below, and witnesses the joys and sorrows of humankind. It does not confine itself to the five elements, but observes the spirit and character through its atmosphere; it does not determine beginning and end based on good or bad fortune, but reveals its overall structure through its flow.

Therefore it is said: Destiny has principles, Qi has forms, and Shen has essence. Those who read this book should view its vastness with a mind as deep as the ocean, observe its minuteness with a discerning eye, and comprehend its truth with a sincerity as pure as the marrow. If so, then more than half of the mysteries of the three destinies will be understood.

Shen Qi turned to the next page, where densely packed small characters came into view. The handwriting was archaic, the vocabulary obscure, and it was indeed quite difficult to understand. But he still read it word by word.

Outside the mortuary, snow began to fall at some point.

Fine snowflakes were carried into the corridor by the wind and landed on the pages of Shen Qi's open book.

The water seeped in, soaking the three characters "Xuanweizi" on the title page. The ink dissolved in the water, and the name from over a thousand years ago slowly blurred on the paper.

Shen Qi wiped the water stains off with his sleeve, closed the book, and tucked it under his arm.

He looked up and glanced at the gray sky at the end of the corridor.

It's winter.