Chapter 7

The leader glanced at her and said, “Your fate has come to an end, and you must go with them.”

Zizhu pursed her lips and replied, “I’m not going. Why should I go? They didn’t care about me for more than a decade. Who knows why they lost their child, and now that they’ve come looking for me, I have to go with them? Old Taoist, you’re willing to do anything for that five million.”

Helpless, the leader said, “It’s not about the five million. Your house was struck by lightning, and you haven’t even noticed it?”

Zizhu was confused and asked, “What do you mean?”

The leader replied, “It’s written in your fate that you will experience a thunderstorm. The day I found you was a rainy night with thunder. Last year, when you went down the mountain, there was also a thunderstorm. In March of this year, lightning suddenly struck the mountain, and three days ago, the lightning struck your house. Do you understand? The lightning is getting closer and closer to you. If you don’t leave now, it will strike you!”

Zizhu found it hard to believe, but the things the leader said were indeed true. She asked, “So, your prediction is that I have to go back with them to avoid this thunder disaster?”

The leader replied, “Exactly.”

After thinking about it, Zizhu laughed and said, “Oh, so you planned everything, right? I wondered why you suddenly asked me to go down the mountain to buy some small things for you that day. When I helped someone and made the news, and the Ji family came looking for me, it was all part of your plan? Then you even prepared to extort five million.”

The leader replied calmly, “This is not accurate. How can you call it a plan? Don’t you know how to predict fate yourself? I just calculated that there was an opportunity for you below the mountain, and that’s called going with the flow.”

Zizhu retorted, “What if I don’t go with the flow? What if I want to stay here at the temple? All this talk about following the will of heaven is just-”

“Shut up!” The leader stared at her, getting angry. “What are you saying? You have no respect at such a young age! Have you forgotten about the natural order of things that we teach, just because you have some abilities?”

Zizhu fell silent and didn’t argue with him. The leader had taken care of her and taught her with great care over the past decade or so, but he was particularly stubborn about following the will of heaven.

However, Zizhu did not agree with him. While Taoism emphasizes the natural order, there is also the aspect of human will overcoming fate. Cultivation and seeking the Tao are all about going against the heavens. If the will of heaven is destined to bring disaster, should those who cultivate simply turn a blind eye and watch people die?

At least Zizhu cannot do it, but she will definitely save him. However, she has argued with the master many times before and does not want to argue anymore. Zizhu grumbled, “Alright, alright, I know.” The master looked at her deeply and said, “You will have great merit in the future. I know I cannot persuade you, and going against the will of heaven is always dangerous. I can only divine a turning point for you. The Ji family is your turning point according to your destiny. I am not forcing you to leave, but I hope you can at least seize this opportunity.”

While Zizhu was having a conversation with the master in the quiet room, there was suddenly a commotion in the courtyard. “Woof!” “Woof woof woof!” The fierce barking of a dog grew louder and closer. Ji Hui and Ji Yi looked over and saw that it was Ji Ying who had come running out.

“Brother, save me!” Ji Ying shouted as he ran over in a sorry state. Behind him was a Daoist nun who was limping a bit but running no slower than Ji Ying, and even seemed to be surpassing him at times.

As Ji Ying heard the increasingly loud barking and panting of the dog, he quickly turned towards Ji Hui’s direction, and rushed over to huddle behind him. “Brother, hurry and help me beat that beast!” Ji Ying clutched at Ji Hui’s clothes, breathing heavily and shouting at the same time.

Ji Hui felt as though his clothes were being pulled out of shape by Ji Ying, and quickly reached out to pull him away. “Alright, alright, the dog hasn’t come over.” Ji Ying then dared to take a peek, and found that the abnormally large dog was actually chasing after the Daoist nun.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness!” Ji Ying finally calmed down. Ji Yi looked at Ji Ying’s sorry state and felt like laughing, but managed to hold it in. “What happened? Weren’t you just asking about that Daoist nun? How did you end up provoking a dog?”

Ji Ying felt wronged. “I was asking about her! It was with a Daoist nun named Chen Ting! She had just said that the little Daoist nun in the temple didn’t have a good reputation, and I wanted to ask her something else, but then the dog came out! It just kept barking and barking!”