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

Inside the iron box, a piece of white bone finger lay quietly.

A blackened red thread was wrapped around the joint.

Beneath the red line lies a small amount of long-dried cinnabar.

At the tip of the finger bone, a small character is engraved.

millet.

The "He" in Lin Qinghe's name.

Chen Bufan stood by the well, staring at the severed finger bone, and remained silent for a long time.

The wind in the backyard has stopped.

The well water receded.

The sound of tapping against the well wall, which had been ringing out just moments before, has completely disappeared.

Like a person at the bottom of a well who has finally brought something up, they quietly close their eyes.

The moment Chen Laojiu saw the finger bone, he felt as if his bones had been removed.

His knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

"lady……"

His voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

"Madam..."

This old man, who had been hiding for over twenty years after the Chen family was wiped out, and who had been targeted by the "Fate-Changing Gate" for over twenty years, and who refused to die even when his lungs were almost ruptured from coughing, finally couldn't hold on any longer.

He braced himself on the ground with his hands, his forehead pressed against the blue bricks, tears streaming down his face.

"This old servant is useless."

"This old servant failed to protect you."

"I failed to protect the master."

"Even that couldn't protect the young master..."

Lin Wanqing stood to the side, her phone still recording.

But her nose also stung with tears.

I've witnessed far too many partings and deaths.

But what we're seeing now is different from ordinary cases.

A section of finger bone.

An ancient well.

An old servant who has kept a secret for over twenty years.

A son who finally sees his mother's belongings.

This cannot be summarized by the word "evidence".

This is the last bit of bone left after a home was burned to ashes.

Chen Bufan slowly reached out his hand.

Lin Wanqing spoke subconsciously:

"etc."

Chen Bufan didn't look at her.

Lin Wanqing still wanted to stop him:

"It could be dangerous."

Chen Bufan said:

"That's her too."

One sentence silenced Lin Wanqing.

Chen Bufan reached out and took the piece of white bone finger bone out of the iron box.

The finger bones feel very cool to the touch.

It was so cold it didn't feel like bone.

It's more like a piece of jade that's been soaking at the bottom of a well for over twenty years.

But the moment his fingertips touched the bone, Chen Bufan felt a sudden pain in his heart.

It's not a backlash.

It's not malevolent energy.

It was deep within my bloodline that something gently touched me.

It was as if someone had finally patted his head after more than twenty years.

Chen Bufan's fingertips trembled slightly.

He closed his eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a layer of redness under them.

Lin Wanqing saw it.

This was the first time she had ever seen Chen Bufan act like this since she had known him.

It's not the paleness after vomiting blood.

It wasn't the cold, fierce look of someone engaged in a magical duel.

Instead, it was an extremely deep and heavy pain that transformed into a giant hand descending from the sky, pressing him down firmly.

Chen Bufan adjusted his breathing and carefully placed his finger bone on the "Destiny Record".

The yellow booklet fell silent for a moment.

Then, the pages of the book moved on their own without any wind.

One page.

Two pages.

Three pages.

Finally, it stopped on a blank page.

Chen Bufan bit his fingertip and dripped blood onto his finger bone.

Blood fell.

This time, it didn't slide open.

Instead, it was slowly absorbed into that piece of white bone.

next second.

The character "禾" on the finger bone lit up briefly.

The white light was extremely faint.

But it was like a lamp lit up in the darkness.

boom--

The backyard of Chen Bufan's ancestral home changed instantly.

dark night.

Firelight.

The sound of crying.

Shouts of battle.

Dark blue flames rose from all around the Chen family's ancestral home.

One by one, the lamps under the eaves went out.

Someone screamed.

Someone fell down.

Someone rushed towards the ancestral hall, but was entangled in the black flames and fell straight down.

Chen Bufan saw Lin Qinghe.

She carried the swaddled baby and ran from the backyard all the way out.

Her skirt was scorched by the fire.

There is blood on my arm.

His face was frighteningly pale.

But her hands holding the child were very steady.

very tight.

The baby in my arms was crying very softly.

They seemed terrified.

As Lin Qinghe ran, she bent down and kissed the child's forehead.

"Don't cry."

"Mother is here."

The sound was very soft.

So quiet it was almost swallowed up by the sound of fire behind it.

But Chen Bufan heard it.

He stood in the shadows of fate, like an observer.

He knew perfectly well that this was a remnant from more than twenty years ago, and he knew he could never touch her, yet he still subconsciously took a step forward.

"mother……"

When the voice came out of his throat, it was hoarse, unlike his own.

Lin Qinghe couldn't hear.

She rushed out the back door with the baby in her arms.

Outside the back door is a narrow alleyway made of bluestone.

A Taoist priest stood at the entrance of the alley.

The Taoist priest was wearing an old gray robe, carrying a cloth bag on his back and clutching half a charred peach wood sword in his hand.

He had a wound on his shoulder, and blood was dripping down his sleeve.

His face was blackened by the smoke.

But those eyes were extremely bright.

Chen Bufan recognized him.

Master.

My mentor when I was young.

Lin Qinghe rushed to the Taoist priest, almost losing her balance.

The Taoist priest helped her up.

"Qinghe, run!"

Lin Qinghe shook her head.

She looked down at the child in her arms, and tears finally fell.

It's not weakness.

She knew she would never be able to hug him again.

The Taoist's expression changed.

"What do you want to do?"

Lin Qinghe handed the baby over.

"Take him away."

The Taoist's pupils contracted.

"Come with me!"

Lin Qinghe glanced back at the ancestral home.

The firelight reflected in her eyes.

Chen Daoheng was inside.

The Chen family members are still inside.

The pursuers are almost here.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was filled with a resolute determination.

"You may leave."

"I want to go back."

The Taoist gritted his teeth.

"Lin Qinghe!"

"Don't be foolish!"

"Daoheng told me to take you and your child away, not just the child!"

Lin Qinghe suddenly smiled.

Her face was smeared with ash and blood, yet her smile was tragically beautiful.

It was also very tough.

"If I leave, they will keep chasing me."

"The child can't run away."

The Taoist's eyes instantly turned red.

"I can protect him!"

Lin Qinghe looked at him.

"You can't protect the Gate of Fate, nor can you protect that important person."

"But if I go back, they'll think the children are still with me."

The Taoist clenched his fists tightly.

"Qinghe..."

Lin Qinghe tucked the child into his arms, then crumpled her own coat into a ball and wrapped it around her chest, making it appear as if she was still holding the child.

The baby seemed to sense something, and its crying suddenly intensified.

A tiny hand reached out from the swaddling clothes and grabbed Lin Qinghe's sleeve.

Lin Qinghe looked down at the small hand.

Tears fell drop by drop onto the baby's face.

She reached out and gently pried open the child's fingers.

With each strand she broke open, her face grew paler.

When the last little finger loosened, it felt like a piece of flesh had been ripped out of her heart.

She bent down and kissed the child's forehead.

"Extraordinary".

"Your name is Chen Bufan."

"Your dad said this name is good."

"Extraordinary, extraordinary."

"You don't have to be an ordinary person, but don't forget to be a human being."

Her voice choked for a moment.

She quickly forced it back down.

She looked at the baby as if she wanted to memorize that little face into her soul.

"Bufan, your mother doesn't ask you to take revenge."

"Just don't forget the rules of the Chen family."

"Life may be taken, but not sold."

"Disaster can be averted, but marriage is not advisable."

"Kind people have short lives, so we should help them."

"Evil people are hard-working; they must be punished."

"If one day you pick up the Book of Destiny."

"remember."

"Don't become like them because of hatred."

Chen Bufan stood in the shadow of fate, as if he were nailed to the spot.

His eyes reddened.

Tears welled up and almost fell, but he held them back.

Lin Wanqing stood in reality, unable to see the complete shadow of her fate.

But she could see Chen Bufan's expression.

She saw this man, who was always as steady as iron, gradually reddening at the corners of his eyes.

His hand gripped the yellowed booklet, his knuckles turning white.

His lips were pressed into a thin line.

It's like if you loosen your grip even slightly, your whole body will shatter.

In the shadow of fate.

The Taoist priest held the baby tightly, his voice trembling:

"Don't worry."

"I'll risk my life to take him with me."

Lin Qinghe nodded.

"Don't tell him too early."

"Let him live first."

"Live well."

The Taoist's eyes were bloodshot.

"And what about you?"

Lin Qinghe turned around and looked at the Chen family ancestral home, which had been engulfed by black flames.

She slowly raised her right hand.

My little finger is broken.

The fracture was sealed with cinnabar.

Fresh blood dripped down his palm.

Chen Bufan then understood.

The skeletal finger in the iron box was one she kept herself.

She knew all along that there were some things she wouldn't have time to say.

So she used her finger bones to leave behind this life-altering image.

Lin Qinghe pressed the severed finger onto the seal on the edge of the well.

A flash of white light.

The iron box sank into the well.

Then, she turned around.

They walked back into the fire.

The pursuers have reached the back gate.

Several men in black saw her and immediately rushed up, snatching the bundle of clothes she was carrying in the chaos.

Upon opening it, Chen Bufan was nowhere to be found.

"Where are the children?"

Lin Qinghe stood at the entrance of the alley, her figure slender.

But her eyes were as cold as Chen Bufan's gaze on people many times later on.

"You want the Chen family bloodline?"

She raised her hand, and a blood talisman lit up in her palm.

"Then step over my dead body."

The man in black roared:

"Kill her!"

Dark blue flames shot into the sky.

The Taoist priest, holding the baby, gritted his teeth and turned to rush into the night.

The baby's cries faded into the distance.

Lin Qinghe did not turn around.

She simply gazed in the direction the Taoist priest had left and softly uttered:

"Extraordinary".

"Live on."

boom--

The Shadow of Fate exploded at that moment.

Chen Bufan suddenly opened his eyes.

The backyard, the well, the iron box, Chen Laojiu, and Lin Wanqing from reality have all returned.

But his eyes were still red.

The skeletal finger slowly emerged from the book, gradually glowing.

Chen Laojiu was crying so hard he couldn't speak.

He knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately.

"lady……"

"lady……"

"This old servant is useless..."

Lin Wanqing stood to the side, her throat tightening.

She wanted to say something.

But at this moment, any words of comfort seem inadequate.

Chen Bufan remained silent for a long time.

After a long time, the wind started blowing again in the backyard.

It was so long that the sky was already half white.

He then spoke in a low voice:

"She won't let me get revenge."

Chen Lao Jiu raised his tearful eyes.

Chen Bufan looked at the white bone finger bone in his hand.

"But she also said it."

"Evil people are hard-working; they must be punished."

He looked up and gazed toward the main hall of the ancestral home.

After a few breaths, his eyes finally regained their calm.

But that apparent calm concealed an unspeakable anger and hatred.

"This is not revenge."

"It is to sever evil deeds."

The words fell.

He suddenly flipped open the "Record of Destiny" in his hand.

The pages of the book were turned one by one.

This time, it's not a blank page.

The first page displays the Chen family's ancestral precepts.

The name Lin Qinghe appeared on the second page.

On the third page, a completely new pattern appears.

It's not a lifeline.

It's not a black fate mark either.

Instead, it was a white life mark.

A white light rose from the pages of the book and landed on Chen Bufan's brow.

In my mind, it was as if a door that had been sealed for more than twenty years was slowly pushed open.

Four characters appeared on the page of the "Record of Heavenly Mandate".

[Second layer opens]