A single divination predicts life and death; the entire internet begs me to start a live stream.

The coin by the door, meant to bring good fortune, was broken in two.

The copper coin is very old.

The edges were polished to a shine.

The crack in the middle was very new, as if it had just been forcibly broken off.

Chen Bufan stood in the dimly lit stairwell, looking down at the words on the back of the copper coin.

To find out how the Chen family died, go back to their ancestral home.

The hallway lights flickered on and off.

Raindrops pattered against the glass outside the window.

Snapped.

Snapped.

Snapped.

It's like someone knocking on the door in the dark.

Chen Bufan's fingers tightened little by little.

The Chen family's life savings.

This is something that only the Chen family's lineage of fortune tellers could leave behind.

One coin per person.

Money is where people are.

When money runs out, people die.

His master had told him before that when the Chen family fortune tellers went out, they did not worship gods or ask ghosts for help; they only carried a fortune-telling coin with them.

Money meant to protect you is not considered a talisman.

It's more like a lamp.

The lights are on, and the person is still there.

The lights are off; people should be back by now.

However, after that fire more than 20 years ago, the Chen family's ancestral home was reduced to ruins.

He was the only one left to survive.

He thought the Chen family's life savings had long been burned away.

Unexpectedly, someone left a broken coin at his door tonight.

This is not a reminder.

It is to guide.

It is also a provocation.

Chen Bufan returned to the house and took only three things with him.

The Record of Destiny.

Old copper coins.

Vermilion pen.

The phone screen lights up.

It was a phone call from Lin Wanqing.

He answered the call.

There was no nonsense on the other end of the phone.

"I saw what was at your door."

Chen Bufan glanced at the direction of the hallway surveillance camera.

"You're investigating me?"

Lin Wanqing's voice was calm.

"I'm not investigating you."

"It's to protect those involved in the case."

Chen Bufan smiled helplessly:

"Officer Lin, you're getting better and better at using this excuse."

Lin Wanqing did not respond to his teasing.

Where are you going?

Chen Bufan looked at the broken life coin on the table.

"Go back to the ancestral home."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Now?"

"Now."

Lin Wanqing said:

"I'll go with you."

Chen Bufan picked up his coat.

"Need not."

Lin Wanqing's voice deepened.

"Chen Bufan, the Changsheng Foundation was just investigated, and Lu Changsheng just disappeared, and now the Chen family's life money has appeared at your door."

"This is clearly still a trap."

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone."

Chen Bufan said:

"This is not something that can be solved simply by having more people."

Lin Wanqing remained silent for a moment.

"I know."

"But this is an old case in the Chen family, and it is also a real case that may be related to the Fate-Changing Gate."

"If there are any files, household registration records, death records, or police dispatch records related to the fire at the Chen family's ancestral home, I can check them."

"You depend on your fate."

"I'm looking into someone."

"Each performs their own duties."

Chen Bufan paused for a moment.

This statement is more effective than simply saying "protect him".

The Chen family case is too old now, too many years have passed.

He can see cause and effect, but he cannot conjure up case files from twenty years ago out of thin air.

Lin Wanqing is a criminal police officer.

Her presence was indeed helpful.

Chen Bufan said:

"Downstairs in half an hour."

"it is good."

The phone hangs up.

Just as Chen Bufan was about to leave, his phone vibrated again.

It's Qin Ruoxue.

Officer Lin told me you're going back to your ancestral home?

Chen Bufan replied:

【Um. 】

Qin Ruoxue replied almost instantly.

I'll send someone to deliver it to you.

The Qin family has a security team.

[Cars, drivers, and bodyguards can all be arranged immediately.]

Chen Bufan looked at the message and replied with two words.

【Need not. 】

Qin Ruoxue continued posting:

Mr. Chen, the Changsheng Foundation has its eyes on you.

This is not a normal trip.

Bring more people; at least there will be someone to look out for you.

Chen Bufan replied:

This isn't something that can be solved simply by having more people.

Qin Ruoxue remained silent for a while.

Then I received a message:

At least let me know where you're going.

Chen Bufan did not reply with the location.

He only replied with one sentence:

Wait for me to come back.

After sending the message, he turned off his phone.

downstairs.

4:50 a.m.

The rain stopped.

The air was filled with the damp, earthy smell.

Lin Wanqing has arrived.

She wasn't wearing a police uniform.

A black coat, dark trousers, hair tied up, a pistol concealed at the waist—clean and sharp.

He was holding a file folder in his hand.

Chen Bufan glanced at it.

"Prepared quite quickly."

Lin Wanqing said:

"I just checked the village where the Chen family's ancestral home is located."

"Outside Haicheng, in Linshan County, Qingshi Town, Chenjia Village."

"There was a fire there twenty years ago."

Chen Bufan's gaze darkened.

"Where are the files?"

Lin Wanqing frowned.

That's what's strange.

"The system only contains brief records."

Cause of fire: Aging electrical circuits.

Death toll: Unknown.

"Case closed: Accidental fire."

Chen Bufan sneered.

"Unfavorable omen?"

Lin Wanqing nodded.

"Logically speaking, a fire involving multiple deaths cannot be described so simply."

"It's even more unacceptable that the specific list of deaths is incomplete."

"Either the records from back then were chaotic."

"Either someone has tampered with the files."

Chen Bufan remained silent.

He simply handed her the broken coin.

Lin Wanqing put on gloves and took it.

She glanced at the words on the back, her brows furrowing even deeper.

"This thing... belongs to the Chen family?"

"Um."

"Who put it there?"

"I don't know. Don't you have surveillance cameras?"

"That's a blind spot in the surveillance."

Lin Wanqing put the money meant to save her life into the evidence bag.

Chen Bufan looked at her.

"Your movements are quite practiced."

Lin Wanqing said:

"Professional habits".

"I can't give this to you."

"These are my things."

Lin Wanqing glanced at him.

"Then let me take a picture for my records, I'll return it to you later."

Chen Bufan didn't say anything more.

The two got into a ride-hailing car.

The driver was a local, in his forties, and quite talkative.

When I first heard that we were going to Chenjia Village in Linshan County, I didn't react much.

Once the car left the city and got onto the old road, the driver glanced at them several times in the rearview mirror.

"Young man, are you heading to Chenjia Village at this hour?"

Chen Bufan closed his eyes.

"Um."

The driver coughed.

"Visiting relatives?"

No one answered.

The driver glanced at Lin Wanqing again.

"There are hardly any households left over there now."

"Especially the area at the old village entrance, it's been emptied out long ago."

Lin Wanqing asked:

Why was everything moved out?

The driver gripped the steering wheel and lowered his voice.

"They say the land is bad."

"Some people say it's because something happened before."

Lin Wanqing said:

"What is it?"

The driver looked somewhat uneasy.

"I heard it from the older generation."

"More than 20 years ago, there was a family surnamed Chen in Chenjia Village. It seemed that they knew a little about those things."

"Then a fire broke out in the middle of the night."

"It burned extremely high."

"The villagers went to put out the fire, but they couldn't get close at all."

Some people say that fire is blue.

"Some people also said that someone was shouting from inside the fire."

"Anyway, after that night, the Chen family's old house was abandoned."

Chen Bufan opened his eyes.

"Is fire blue?"

The driver was taken aback by his gaze.

"I've heard that too."

Don't take it seriously.

"The elderly people in the village like to pass on these stories."

Lin Wanqing pressed further:

"Is there anything else?"

The driver hesitated for a moment.

"And also..."

"That house became unclean later."

"Someone went in."

"Once you go in, you'll either get sick or go crazy."

"After that, no one in the village dared to go near it."

"Especially at night."

"No one even walks down that road, let alone enters the house."

The car fell silent.

The mountain road was slippery after the rain.

The car headlights illuminated the winding road ahead.

Both sides were filled with dark, shadowy tree shadows.

Like rows of people standing by the roadside.

About an hour and a half later, the car entered Linshan County.

It was still dark.

A layer of mist covered the distant mountain peaks.

Chenjia Village is located at the very end of the town.

The road is getting narrower and narrower.

Eventually, it became an old cement road.

As soon as the car reached the village entrance, the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes.

The car stopped abruptly.

Lin Wanqing frowned.

"What's wrong?"

The driver looked ahead, his expression grim.

"This is the best I can do for you."

Lin Wanqing looked ahead.

An old stone tablet stands at the entrance of the village.

Three characters are engraved on the stone tablet.

Chenjia Village.

The writing was half covered by moss.

Further in, there is an even narrower village road.

The old houses on both sides of the road were dark.

Many roofs collapsed and windows were broken.

It doesn't look like a village.

It's more like a forgotten ruin.

Lin Wanqing said:

"The navigation system shows we can drive further in."

The driver quickly shook his head.

No, no.

"The road inside is difficult to walk on."

Lin Wanqing glanced at him.

"Is the road difficult to travel, or are you afraid to take it?"

The driver looked embarrassed.

"Young lady, let me tell you the truth."

"The Chen family's old house is inside."

"This place is alright during the day, but nobody comes in at night."

"I only use my car for commercial purposes."

"It's not worth taking the risk for a few dozen dollars."

Just as Lin Wanqing was about to speak, Chen Bufan had already pushed open the door and gotten out of the car.

"Walk."

The driver breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do we still need to get a refund?"

Lin Wanqing glanced at him.

The driver immediately shut up.

She paid the fare and got off the bus.

The taxi turned around and left.

The speed is much faster than when we came.

The taillights quickly disappeared into the fog.

Only Chen Bufan and Lin Wanqing remained at the village entrance.

The air is cold.

Fog slowly drifted out from the depths of the village road.

Lin Wanqing took out a flashlight.

The beam of light shines forward.

The old houses by the roadside have dilapidated doors and windows.

One household still had faded Spring Festival couplets pasted on their door.

The words are no longer legible.

A gust of wind caused the door to sway gently.

Squeak.

Squeak.

Lin Wanqing whispered:

"Something definitely doesn't feel right here."

Chen Bufan looked into the depths of the village.

"Something's not right."

Lin Wanqing asked:

"What is that?"

Chen Bufan's voice was very low.

"Some people don't want me to come back."

Lin Wanqing gripped the flashlight tightly.

"Who?"

Chen Bufan did not answer.

He lifted his foot and walked towards the village.

The further in you go, the thicker the fog becomes.

It was eerily quiet.

There was no rooster crowing.

There were no barking dogs.

There wasn't even a chirping of insects.

It felt like the entire village had its throat held.

It took more than ten minutes to walk.

Finally, an old house appeared ahead.

Blue brick courtyard wall.

Wooden gatehouse.

Half of the roof collapsed.

The weeds in front of the door grew up to knee height.

The plaque on the door was burned black, leaving only a blurry trace.

But Chen Bufan recognized him at a glance.

The Chen Residence.

This is the place shown in the photo.

It was also the place he had burned countless times in his dreams.

He stopped at the doorway.

Lin Wanqing also stopped.

She turned on her flashlight and shone it on the gatehouse.

On either side of the gate tower, a white lantern hangs.

The one on the left is already broken.

The one on the right is still intact.

But it was already covered in dust.

The lantern paper has turned yellow.

The edges were charred black.

It looks like the traces left by the fire more than 20 years ago.

Lin Wanqing frowned.

"White lanterns?"

"A dead man's lamp?"

Chen Bufan looked at the lantern.

His voice was very soft.

"This lamp went out twenty years ago."

The voice just fell.

The wind stopped.

The fog seemed to freeze suddenly.

next second.

The white lantern that had been hanging at the entrance of the Chen family's ancestral home for twenty years, which had been extinguished, suddenly lit up.

It's not red light.

It's not yellow light.

It was a ghastly white light.

As soon as the lanterns were lit, the shadows cast under the gate tower were stretched very long.

It's like someone is standing inside the door, waiting for him to come back.

Lin Wanqing's expression changed, and her hand was already on her waist.

Chen Bufan, however, only stared at the white lantern.

Inside the lantern, a line of black characters faintly emerged.

[The remnants of the Chen family returned home to offer incense.]