Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

When they returned to the Observatory, it was already dawn. Fortunately, all three of them were martial artists, so staying up all night was not a problem.

Fang Hongzhen and Zhou Wenyuan walked straight towards the inner hall.

"Wait in the side hall. If the Master wishes to see you, someone will deliver a message."

Shen Qi clasped his hands in a fist salute.

A clerk on night duty came to fetch the person. The two walked through the corridor, turned a corner, and the clerk pushed open the door to a side hall.

The side hall was small, with a table and two chairs, and a bronze incense burner in the corner, the incense ash long since cooled.

A map of Chengping County hangs on the north wall.

The inner and outer city were separated by a red line, and the names of each ward and street were densely marked. Shen Qi glanced at it and roughly memorized the location of his mortuary and several routes in and out of the inner city.

A bowl of hot tea sat on the table, steam rising from the white porcelain bowl.

Shen Qi cupped his hands on the sides of the bowl and began to ponder.

……

About half an hour later.

The clerk pushed open the door to the side hall and stood outside the threshold, bowing deeply.

"Shen Qi, the Master summons you to the study."

Shen Qi put down his teacup, stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes, and followed the clerk inside.

The corridor went deeper and deeper.

After passing through two corridors, we turned one corner, and then another.

The sound of wind and snow had disappeared sometime ago. It was as if this courtyard itself had shut out the outside world from the outside.

Finally, it stopped in front of a half-open wooden door.

Warm yellow light shone through the crack in the door. The rustling sound of pages turning could be faintly heard.

The clerk stopped at the door, turned sideways, and gestured with his hand.

Shen Qi nodded and stepped inside.

The study is much more spacious than the side room.

When Shen Qi entered the room, the first thing he saw was not people, but books.

The four walls, from floor to beam, were lined with bookshelves. Bamboo slips, silk books, and thread-bound albums were crammed full, some of the bamboo slips being so old that they were scattered on the shelves, covered in a thin layer of dust.

In the center was a large huanghuali wood desk. On the desk lay an open old book with its pages curled up, and several worn-out brushes hung on a brush holder. The inkstone next to it was cracked, indicating that it had not been used to grind new ink for a long time.

A person was sitting behind the desk.

Shen Qi's first reaction was that this person didn't seem like a martial artist.

He was in his early thirties, thin and even frail, wearing a long blue cloth robe with two ink stains on the cuffs, the origin of which was unclear. His hair was casually tied back, with a few stray strands hanging down at his temples, making his face appear even more delicate.

He exudes a scholarly air about him.

If he weren't sitting in the study of the Observatory, Shen Qi would never have considered him the head of the department.

His gaze swept across the desk, and he paused slightly in his steps.

"Yuanming's Essence".

But the paper was much older than the edition he had bought. The ink on the yellowed silk was mottled, and the edges of many strokes had bled out. The three characters "Xuanweizi" on the cover were written in a vigorous and powerful style, far superior to the edition he had.

It is probably a very early copy.

Shen Qi suppressed the excitement in his heart, stood on the inside of the threshold, and was about to bow.

The person on the other end spoke first.

"You're Shen Qi?"

Although he was speaking, his gaze remained fixed on the pages of the book.

Shen Qi bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "This humble one, Shen Qi, greets Lord Si."

Jiang Xinyue then slowly raised her head and carefully examined him.

"Both Lao Zhou and Lao Fang told me."

Jiang Xinyue spoke slowly, uttering each word one by one, making Shen Qi feel extremely uncomfortable.

"You were the first to notice the anomaly that a heretical cultivator practicing the Hidden Netherworld Technique had entered the outer city."

He paused again, then reached for the teacup on the table and took a sip.

He immediately frowned; the tea had gone cold.

"I am already aware of this matter, and I will send someone to handle the specific arrangements."

Shen Qi slightly raised her eyes.

Why call him here?

……

Jiang Xinyue stood up from behind her desk.

He was a bit shorter than Shen Qi. He walked around the corner of the table, stopped three steps away from Shen Qi, put his hands behind his back, and looked up at him. He tilted his head and muttered something to himself.

"A narrow forehead and a dark glabella indicate congenital deficiencies. Thin cheekbones and a thin tip of the nose, a withered year pillar, and a weak month pillar..."

He stretched out his finger and gestured twice towards Shen Qi's face.

Suddenly, he clicked his tongue.

How strange!

After clicking her tongue, Jiang Xinyue took a step back and carefully examined Shen Qi from head to toe.

"Judging from your facial features and bone structure, your vital energy is dull and your spirit is withered; you are clearly destined for an early and short life. Logically speaking... you won't live past twenty."

Shen Qi's heart tightened.

"But you have abundant blood and energy, full cheeks, and a rosy complexion," Jiang Xinyue said in surprise. "Bone structure is determined by birth, and even taking elixirs and magic pills cannot change it. But your overall aura..."

"Destiny shifts, fate changes."

Shen Qi lowered his head slightly, maintaining a respectful posture.

"Your Excellency has discerning eyes."

"I have indeed been frail and sickly since childhood. I am only alive today thanks to the life-sustaining medicine prescribed by the town doctor."

Jiang Xinyue waved her hand.

He turned around, walked back behind his desk, sat down, and flipped through the old book "Yuanming Sui" in front of him, pointing to one of the pages.

"The book says that one's fate can change and one's destiny can be altered, but only through a great opportunity."

He read this aloud, then looked up at Shen Qi.

"Or, take a miraculous medicine that can change your fate."

"Or, you might encounter an extraordinary person who can reverse your fate."

"Or...?"

"That's enough."

Jiang Xinyue turned a page and looked back at the book.

Everyone has their secrets.

Shen Qi's heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Xinyue paused for a moment, then said, "Old Zhou told me you're a promising talent. Although your grade at Bingzhong isn't high, the fact that you've survived this long... in itself shows that you've overcome the obstacles in your life."

"I am deeply grateful for your high regard, sir."

Shen Qi lowered her eyes, looking obedient.

He glanced at the desk out of the corner of his eye.

The book "Yuanming Sui" lay open on the table, with numerous handwritten annotations sandwiched between the pages. The annotations varied in age and size, with some ink so dark it shone, while others had faded to a light gray.

This lord has probably spent more than a year or two working on this book.

In the instant that thought flashed through my mind.

Shen Qi did something he had been restraining himself from doing ever since he stepped into the study.

He raised his head.

His gaze passed over Jiang Xinyue's face and landed on the top of his head.

This is an extremely dangerous move.

A master's perception of sight is exceptionally sharp. What if the other party notices something amiss...?

But Shen Qi still read it.

Because he needed to know what kind of person was sitting in front of him.

……

Shen Qi's pupils contracted.

Jiang Xinyue's life thread also has a form.

A jade disc.

It has a bluish-black color and a warm, smooth texture. On the surface of the jade, the dragon pattern meanders and coils, with clearly defined scales.

But unlike the silk ribbons of Yan Qing that they had encountered before, Yan Qing's bamboo slip official seal hung high above his head, its radiance shining brightly.

Jiang Xinyue's jade disc, however, sank underwater.

All around were dark, cold pools, their waters as black as ink, their depths unfathomable.

The jade disc lay submerged at the bottom of the pool. The outline of the dragon pattern faintly shone through the water, but could not penetrate its surface.

It has the form of a dragon, but not the power of one.

The hibernating dragon is trapped in a cold pool.

It was exactly the same as what he had seen a few days ago when he was studying "Yuanming Sui".

He suddenly understood.

A pattern woven from countless threads—this is destiny.

According to the "Yuanming Sui", this person was destined to be a hidden dragon waiting for the abyss.

This lord is a man of great talent and ability, yet he is trapped in deep waters.

The position of overseeing the Imperial Observatory in Chengping County sounds prestigious, but in reality, it's just a sinecure in a remote county town, where one can have all sorts of ambitions but no way to realize them.

No wonder.

But a dormant dragon is not a dead dragon after all.

The book "Yuanming Sui" clearly states that a hidden dragon awaits the right opportunity to break through the water and soar into the clouds.

Shen Qi was about to look away.

Without warning, the icy pool, hidden deep within the jade wall, began to tremble.

At first, the water surface rippled slightly.

Immediately afterwards, large bubbles surged up from the depths.

The water in the pool began to boil.

Dark blue vapor rose up, intertwining with a wisp of golden light bursting from the dragon pattern on the jade disc, twisting into a pillar of cloud that shot straight upwards.

Starting from the dragon's head, a crack rapidly spread along its spine. Where the crack passed, golden light seeped from deep within the wall.

In the blink of an eye, the jade disc shattered.

The icy pool was torn apart layer by layer. The dark blue pool water shattered, evaporating instantly upon contact with the life-giving threads. Aquatic plants were burned, silt dissipated, and the thousand-foot-deep icy pool was completely burned away in just a few breaths.

A dragon bursts out of the wall.

The blue scales unfolded one by one, turning from blue to gold, one after another.

The dragon's head was raised high, and its eyes shot out crimson flames.

Golden clouds condensed beneath the dragon's claws, supporting the entire dragon as it slowly rose.

Blue, gold, and red colors flashed alternately above Jiang Xinyue's head.

Shen Qi had never seen such a magnificent change.

He stood there, his heart pounding like a drum.

……

Change comes quickly and goes quickly.

In just a few breaths, the dragon that broke through the wall gradually lost its brilliance.

The three-colored life threads slowly fell back from their peak bloom, gathering, entwining, and weaving again above Jiang Xinyue's head.

The dragon maintains its head-raised posture.

The golden luster on the scales flowed slightly, and the crimson flames flickered in the dragon's eyes, as if the embers had not yet cooled.

A dragon emerges from its slumber.

Shen Qi slowly exhaled.

He recalled a passage from "Yuanming Sui": "Changes in one's destiny must have external causes. It may be destroyed by a great calamity, or it may prosper when one encounters an enlightened ruler. In some cases, it may be due to a single person or event, which the heavens and earth respond to, shifting the balance of fate and changing one's destiny accordingly."

A major calamity? It doesn't seem like it. Jiang Xinyue was sitting in her study tonight, flipping through books, and hadn't experienced any calamity.

That is, what kind of person or event you encountered.

What happened tonight? News of the heretical cultivators has been reported to the Observatory.

And it was he who brought this news.

His arrival. The message he delivered. The series of deployments he initiated.

What do these things mean to Jiang Xinyue?

Shen Qi slowly lowered his gaze.

If he hadn't come to report, the evil cultivation would have been discovered sooner or later. But the discovery might happen in three days, or ten days, or even after hundreds of people had died in the outer city.

But he moved the time forward.

This "early" decision just happened to become the opportunity.

Heaven and Earth responded, and the destiny shifted.

……

Jiang Xinyue was completely unaware of any of this.

He was still sitting behind his desk, head down, flipping through a book, muttering to himself, whether he was referring to the original text or his own annotations, it was hard to tell. His left hand unconsciously touched the bowl of cold tea, picked it up and took a sip, then frowned again.

After turning the page, I looked up and suddenly realized that Shen Qi was still standing there, head down, motionless.

"Is there anything else?"

Shen Qi raised her head.

"You just said that fate can change and destiny can be altered, but only through a great opportunity. I dare to ask, have you yourself ever encountered such an opportunity?"

Jiang Xinyue was taken aback.

He then burst into laughter.

He looked down at his blue cloth robe and then at the mountain of old books piled on his desk.

"I?"

Jiang Xinyue smiled and shook her head.

"If I had such an opportunity, would I still be stuck in this peaceful county doing a sinecure?"

After he finished laughing, he closed the book in front of him and waved to Shen Qi.

"Alright, go and rest. We'll go back to the outer city after this is all over."

Shen Qi bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.

"This humble servant takes his leave."