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

The hand in the illusion rose up.

The black copper coin flashed in my palm.

There is no fire.

There is no light.

But it resembles an open black eye.

Lin Qinghe rushed towards the back door with the baby in her arms.

Behind her, the person dressed in Chen family clothes followed silently.

He was clutching a piece of the yellow talisman that had been peeled off.

The edge of the talisman was still stained with blood.

Chen Bufan stood in the main hall of reality, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

He finally saw it.

That person was not the man in black who altered fate.

They are not bodyguards for the powerful and wealthy.

He is not an outsider to the mystical arts.

He was wearing clothes from the Chen family.

They're following the Chen family's path.

They even knew where the back door talisman was placed.

"Who is that?"

Chen Bufan's voice was very low.

It was so low it felt like a knife blade scraping against bone.

Chen Laojiu knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

"Young Master..."

"I'm asking you."

Chen Bufan suddenly turned his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"who's that person?"

Chen Laojiu's lips trembled a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The illusion continues.

Lin Wanqing stood in the afterimage of twenty years ago, watching helplessly as the Chen family traitor raised his hand.

But just as the black copper coin was about to fall...

A sharp shout suddenly came from deep within the backyard.

"Qinghe, bow your head!"

Lin Qinghe barely hesitated before she suddenly lowered her body while holding the baby.

A beam of light swept past the top of her head.

Snapped!

The talisman struck the traitor's wrist.

The black copper coin flew out of his hand, landed on the ground, and rolled a few times.

The mole froze, then turned around abruptly.

But Lin Wanqing couldn't see his face clearly either.

His face was as if it were shrouded in a black mist.

No matter how wide she opened her eyes, she could only see a blur.

next second.

The illusion jolted violently.

The whole scene looked like it had been torn in half.

Black flames shot into the sky.

Lin Qinghe rushed out the back door with the baby in her arms.

The traitor also disappeared in the firelight.

Inside the main hall.

Chen Bufan groaned, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth again.

The pages of "The Record of Destiny" flipped through the pages with a rustling sound, as if being torn apart by a gust of wind.

The broken offering paper money on the altar emitted a piercing buzzing sound.

Click.

The money was torn open, and another piece was opened.

Chen Laojiu's expression changed drastically, and he rushed over to press down on the offering table.

"Young Master, you can't ask anymore!"

"The ancestral home has been tampered with."

"If you keep watching, you'll be dragged into a delusion!"

Chen Bufan raised his hand and forcefully closed the "Record of Destiny".

Snapped.

The pages close.

The illusion shattered instantly.

Lin Wanqing's vision blurred.

When she came to her senses, she was already back in the dilapidated main hall of the Chen family ancestral home.

Blackened beams.

The collapsed wall.

Memorial tablets for parents.

The white lanterns cast a pale, dim light.

Everything returned to normal.

But her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

What I just saw was not a dream.

It doesn't seem like a simple hallucination either.

That's so true.

It was so real that she could still remember the burning sensation on her skin when the black fire started burning.

Lin Wanqing looked at Chen Bufan.

His face was very pale.

There was blood at the corner of his mouth.

She looked very haggard.

But his eyes remained resolute, like a sword already drawn from its sheath.

Chen Bufan stared at Chen Laojiu.

"A traitor has emerged from the Chen family."

Chen Lao Jiu closed his eyes, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to tremble.

After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice:

"Yes."

As soon as that word was uttered, the air in the main hall seemed to sink.

"You knew all along?"

Chen Lao Jiu shook his head.

"I didn't know from the beginning."

"That night was too chaotic."

"The fire started too quickly."

"The destiny symbol in the southeast corner has been revealed."

"The back door defense has been breached."

"The master stood guard in front of the ancestral hall."

"The lady fled with the young master in her arms."

"I was in the outer courtyard at the time, and I was pinned down by a beam."

"I only saw someone run out of the inner courtyard, holding the Chen family's life-saving talisman in their hand."

Chen Bufan stared at him.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Chen Laojiu smiled bitterly.

"What did you say?"

"All I know is that they are from the Chen family."

"There's no evidence either."

"We don't even know which branch of the family he belongs to."

Chen Bufan cleared his throat, spitting out the last bit of blood, his voice a little hoarse.

"You don't know who it is, but you know there's a mole."

"Yes."

Chen Laojiu looked up, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Without an inside traitor, it would have been impossible for Gaimingmen to have stormed into the ancestral home so quickly."

"The Chen family's ancestral home is no ordinary house."

"Interlocking links, layer upon layer."

"Outsiders don't know about these things."

"Even if the person who changes their fate knows the Chen family's techniques, it's impossible for them to break through them completely within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

His voice grew increasingly hoarse.

"Unless someone tells them in advance."

"The talisman in the southeast corner was changed in advance."

"Open the back door from the inside."

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqing's mind basically reconstructed the scene from that time.

This is similar to an inside agent in a criminal case.

No matter how fierce the external attack, a lock that can be opened from the inside is still needed.

The bloodshed at the Chen family that night was not just from the blades of foreign enemies.

And the hands of our own people.

"What did that person take with them?"

Chen Laojiu suddenly looked up.

"You saw it?"

He was holding something in his hand.

"It's not 'The Record of Destiny'."

"It's not money for your life."

The color drained from Chen Laojiu's face.

He remained silent for a long time before whispering:

"Half a scroll of the 'Scripture of Destiny'."

Lin Wanqing frowned.

"The Book of Destiny?"

Chen Lao Jiu looked at Chen Bu Fan.

"Young master, this old servant doesn't know if your master has told you this."

"The complete inheritance of the Chen family originally included more than just the 'Record of Destiny'."

"And there's the 'Scripture of Destiny'."

Chen Bufan recalled carefully.

I'm certain my master didn't say that.

He only taught him how to draw talismans.

Suppress evil spirits.

Differentiate Yin and Yang.

But the name "Ming Fu Jing" was never mentioned.

Chen Lao Jiu noticed his reaction and gave a wry smile.

"It seems the old master still didn't tell him."

"That's true."

"Half of the scripture is missing."

"Telling you will only make you a target of the Fate-Changing Technique sooner."

Chen Bufan said:

Explain yourself.

Chen Lao Jiu nodded.

"The Record of Destiny is the chief judge of fate."

"To judge a person's good and evil, cause and effect, and karmic debts."

"Let's see if this disaster can be averted."

"Whether or not this life should be saved."

"Let's see where this debt came from and where it should be repaid."

"It is the eye of the Chen family."

As he spoke, he raised his withered hand and pointed to the burned-out wall of the main hall.

"And the 'Scripture of Destiny' is mainly about making talismans."

"A talisman to ward off evil spirits."

"Disaster-Slaying Talisman".

"Amulet of Protection".

"Soul-Sealing Talisman"

"The Talisman of Retreat from Death"

"Substitute Life Talisman"

"All the orthodox talismanic methods of the Chen family originate from the 'Scripture of Destiny Talismans'."

"It's the Chen family's hand."

"Eyes and hands," Chen Bufan said thoughtfully.

"right."

Chen Lao Jiu said:

"There is a 'Record of Heavenly Mandate' that allows one to see destiny."

"Only with the 'Scripture of Destiny' can one truly take action to break the deadlock."

"To merely observe without moving is emptiness."

"To move without looking is a chaotic tactic."

"Only when the two are combined can the Chen family tradition be complete."

Lin Wanqing understood.

"So the traitor took half a scroll of the 'Scripture of Destiny,' and only by altering his destiny gate could he create those talismans?"

Chen Lao Jiu nodded.

"Yes."

"These days, the world is full of life-saving charms, substitute death charms, black life marks, and evil nails."

"Most of them are evil spells they created by altering half a scroll of the 'Life Talisman Scripture'."

No wonder.

No wonder the life-protecting talisman on Jiang Kun's body blocked part of the deduction in "The Record of Destiny".

No wonder even a lackey like Xuan Qingzi could use the Seven Fiends Formation to counterattack him.

No wonder Lu Changsheng knew the weakness of the Chen family's talisman techniques.

Because they possessed half a scroll of the Chen family's talismanic scripture.

The Chen family's own legacy was taken away by a traitor and turned into a weapon that harms others.

This is more infuriating than simply having something taken away.

Chen Bufan asked:

"Why is it only half a roll?"

Chen Lao Jiu said:

"The Book of Destiny is divided into two volumes."

"The first volume is mainly for protecting life, suppressing evil spirits, and averting disasters."

The second volume mainly deals with sealing souls, substituting lives, and borrowing lifespans.

"The Chen family sealed away the second volume back then."

"Because the second volume is too dangerous."

"If you're not careful, you'll end up on the path of changing your fate."

"The traitor took away the incomplete second volume."

"So, the most dangerous half of the scroll was taken away?"

"Yes."

Chen Laojiu's voice was heavy with sorrow.

"Most of the first volume was destroyed in that fire."

"The second volume, a fragment, was taken away by an insider."

"Although the Record of Destiny was preserved."

"But the Chen family's hand was cut off."

Chen Bufan stood there, silent for a long time.

Only now did he realize why his master had left many parts incomplete when teaching him talisman techniques.

Some talismans can be drawn, but their power is insufficient.

Some situations can be resolved, but the backlash can be extremely severe.

It turns out it wasn't that the master refused to teach.

It's the Chen family's talisman magic, which was already broken.

The severed half is now in the hands of the Fate-Changing Gate.

Lin Wanqing looked at Chen Bufan.

"If we find that half of the 'Scripture of Destiny,' will it complete your lineage?"

Chen Bufan did not answer.

Chen Lao Jiu whispered:

"It's not as simple as just completing the parts."

"Young Master."

"The second volume of the 'Fate Talisman Classic' has been taken away by the Fate-Changing Gate for more than 20 years."

"They don't know how many people they've harmed, how many lives they've changed, or how many sins they've committed with it."

"That half-scroll of scripture was already stained with the debts of lives."

"Even if we find it, it might not still belong to the Chen family."

Chen Bufan snorted softly:

"We have to take back the Chen family's things, even if they're dirty."

Chen Lao Jiu looked at him, a trace of sorrow appearing in his eyes.

"The master said something similar back then."

Chen Bufan looked at his father's memorial tablet.

"So he's dead?"

Chen Laojiu's lips trembled slightly, but he did not refute.

Chen Bufan withdrew his gaze.

"Where are the leads on the mole?"

Chen Lao Jiu shook his head.

"All I know is that after he took the 'Fate Talisman Scripture', he did not immediately follow the Gate of Fate."

"What do you mean?"

He disappeared.

Chen Lao Jiu said.

"After that night, all the surviving members of the Chen family were hunted down."

"The Fate-Changing Gate is looking for the 'Record of Destiny'."

"That powerful figure is looking for the young master."

"Someone within the Xuanmen sect is clearing away evidence."

"But the person who took the 'Scripture of Destiny' has also disappeared."

Lin Wanqing frowned.

"Will they silence me?"

Chen Lao Jiu shook his head.

"It doesn't look like it."

"If he were dead, the 'Scripture of Destiny' wouldn't have been circulating for so many years."

"The evil talismans in the hands of the Fate-Changing Sect indicate that they have at least obtained a rubbing of the incomplete version."

"But originally, it might not have been in Lu Changsheng's hands."

Chen Bufan's eyes flickered slightly.

"So the mole might still be alive."

Chen Laojiu remained silent.

This silence is the answer.

Inside the main hall, the light from the white lanterns suddenly dimmed.

The entire Chenjia Village was quiet, and the chirping of insects in the fields could be heard.

Just as Lin Wanqing was about to speak, she suddenly heard a voice.

thump.

It's very light.

It sounded like someone had tapped on a wooden board.

She immediately turned her head.

What was that sound?

Chen Bufan also raised his eyes.

thump.

Another sound.

This time, it's clearer.

Not in the main hall.

It's not outside the door either.

The sound came from the backyard of the ancestral home.

Chen Laojiu's expression suddenly changed.

"not good……"

Chen Bufan looked at him.

"where?"

Chen Laojiu's throat bobbed.

"well."

Lin Wanqing frowned.

"well?"

thump.

The third sound rang out.

This time, everyone heard it clearly.

The sound was muffled.

Empty.

It's as if someone is at the bottom of a well, tapping the well wall with their knuckles.

thump.

thump.

thump.

Each note was slower than the last.

Each sound grew colder than the last.

Chen Laojiu's face was deathly pale.

He stared intently at the backyard, his voice trembling violently.

"It's been over twenty years."

"Why is it still ringing...?"

Chen Bufan picked up the old copper coin and walked towards the backyard.

Lin Wanqing immediately followed.

Passing through the burned-down corridor, the backyard came into view.

Under the moonlight, an old well stands in the center of the courtyard.

A black stone slab was pressed against the wellhead.

The stone slab was covered with yellow talismans that had long since turned black.

And this moment.

The yellow talismans were falling down one by one.

The sound of knocking came from the bottom of the well again.

thump.

It sounded like someone was knocking on the door from below.