This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

After the burly man finished speaking, he looked at Li Daoxuan with a defiant gaze, waiting for him to dissect the matter.

Li Daoxuan did not rush to tell him the result, but instead looked at his disciple Lingxi and said:

"Do you remember that young man from before?"

Lingxi naturally knew who Li Daoxuan was talking about, so she nodded.

"I remember, that person also consulted about this character 'misfortune' a few months ago."

Li Daoxuan laughed and said:

"That's right, different people can get completely opposite results when analyzing the same character."

Seeing this, the burly man said impatiently:

"What are you babbling about? Hurry up and tell me!"

Li Daoxuan looked into the burly man's eyes and laughed:

"As the saying goes, trouble comes from the mouth. You were originally free from any misfortune recently, but after you uttered this word, you are now likely to suffer misfortune."

The burly man was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then burst into laughter:

"Hahaha... Playing tricks, do you even know who I am? In Tongcheng, who can bring me down with them?"

Li Daoxuan calmly replied:

"Yes, of course there is. Maybe it didn't exist before, but it does now."

"Bullshit, you bastard! You dare curse me? Believe me or not, I'll overturn your stall!"

The burly man slammed his fist on the table and stood up, cursing angrily.

The men around him drew their swords and glared fiercely at Li Daoxuan, as if they were about to kill him at the slightest provocation.

Li Daoxuan, however, paid no attention and continued to ask Lingxi:

"Can you see what misfortune awaits him?"

Lingxi looked the burly man up and down, then shook her head, completely bewildered.

"This disciple cannot tell."

Li Daoxuan pointed at himself and laughed heartily:

"Silly boy, do you think your master is made of clay?"

Lingxi was stunned and hadn't reacted yet when suddenly a gust of wind swept through, and everyone instinctively covered their faces and retreated.

All that could be heard was a series of clanging sounds, followed by screams of agony.

Once the strong winds subsided, everyone looked again.

But the burly man was nowhere to be seen in front of the stall.

Not far away on the street, five or six people were lying haphazardly, one of whom was the burly man.

Everyone stared in disbelief, dumbfounded.

Lingxi stared wide-eyed, only then realizing that this was the calamity her master had spoken of.

He turned to look at the composed Li Daoxuan and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

"You can do that? Master is truly master... I admire you."

Li Daoxuan laughed and said:

"If he had stayed quietly at home, he would have been free from trouble for some time. Unfortunately, he insisted on acting arrogantly, so I had no choice but to act on behalf of Heaven."

The burly man lay on the ground, staring at the sky with his eyes open, not reacting for a moment.

What kind of prediction of the future is this? This is clearly bullying others by abusing one's power.

He struggled to his feet, his face flushed, and pointed at Li Daoxuan as if he wanted to say something.

But when he opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He immediately became listless.

Li Daoxuan looked at this person and said calmly:

"Those who commit many evil deeds will surely perish. I'll cripple your vital energy and meridians, but spare your life. From now on, it's better for you to live as an ordinary person. Get out of here..."

The burly man was too weak to speak at this point, and his followers looked at Li Daoxuan with fear in their eyes. They could only help the burly man leave in a sorry state.

After the group left, the onlookers suddenly began to applaud and cheer excitedly.

"Good... The Taoist priest has rid the people of a scourge; he has finally taught this beast a lesson..."

"That's right, cripple his martial arts, let's see how he bullies people then..."

"The Taoist priest is truly a divine being; his predictions were indeed incredibly accurate..."

"Come on, come on, Taoist priest, count me in too..."

"First, tell me if my wife is carrying a boy or a girl..."

"No rush, first calculate where my old man hid the silver..."

"Taoist Master, please tell me my fortune. Let's see if I can dominate the casino later..."

......

The area in front of the stalls instantly became as lively as a discounted farmers' market.

Everyone was pushing and shoving forward desperately, wanting Li Daoxuan to tell their fortunes.

Li Daoxuan shook his head helplessly, and with a gentle wave of his hand, all those who had squeezed forward were pushed back by an invisible force.

The surrounding people immediately realized that although the Taoist priest looked kind, he was actually not easy to talk to.

The crowd couldn't help but feel a little scared and dared not push forward any further.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Li Daoxuan cupped his hands and said:

"Please leave, everyone. That's enough for today..."

After saying that, he began to pack up his stall.

Seeing this, no one dared to disturb them any further and dispersed.

After packing up their stall, the master and apprentice exchanged a glance, understanding each other perfectly.

"Let's go..."

Li Daoxuan extended his hand.

Lingxi took Li Daoxuan's hand and nodded.

Instead of returning to the small courtyard where they still had half a month's rent left, they headed straight out of the city.

Cangshan is like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood.

Two figures, one tall and one short, walked away step by step through the orange-yellow carpet of the ground, exiting the city gate and disappearing into the rolling mountains.

No one knows where they came from, and no one knows where they went.

But in their short three months in Tongcheng, they left behind a magical legend for the city and the region.

Perhaps many years later, this will be another story of a sage enlightening all living beings.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Beside the deep pool and ancient stream, on a mountain path whose original appearance was completely unrecognizable, Lingxi, who was using wood-elemental magic to clear a path, suddenly paused and subconsciously looked at the dark green pool beside her.

Then he turned to look at Li Daoxuan.

Li Daoxuan smiled gently:

"Never mind it, let's go our own way."

Lingxi nodded and continued clearing the way.

Just because they don't want to cause trouble doesn't mean that what's underwater doesn't want to cause trouble either.

As the master and apprentice approached the pool, the once calm water suddenly began to boil.

Lingxi was startled and quickly hid behind Li Daoxuan, only peeking out with her head to look at the churning water.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan sighed. These beasts, relying on the favor of heaven and earth, had finally achieved great things through cultivation. Instead of thinking about cultivating properly and accumulating merit, they preferred to do things that went against the natural order.

A jet of water suddenly burst forth from the pool.

Immediately afterwards, a huge, dark green figure burst out from inside; it turned out to be a giant snake of a naturally occurring species.

Along the way, the master and his apprentice encountered many strange beasts. Li Daoxuan would not kill these beasts unless absolutely necessary.

The same applies now.

The giant snake burst out of the water and lunged at the two of them without hesitation.

Li Daoxuan grabbed Lingxi and flew away.

The giant snake missed its target, its massive body crashing into the ground and causing a tremendous tremor.

Just as Li Daoxuan was about to use his magic to send it back into the pool, he suddenly had a thought and looked up at the sky.

Immediately afterwards, a sharp shout was heard:

"You beast, stop hurting people..."