Wait a minute, where is my master?

My name is Kui Lei, and I hold the position of deputy commander of the night watchmen in Shangjing City.

A few days ago, my immediate superior, Liao Hushan, was ambushed by the Four Elders of the Demon Sect and sustained severe injuries.

Although he narrowly escaped with his life, he is temporarily unable to fulfill his duties as commander.

Therefore, I have replaced him to lead the night watchmen organization, responsible for rooting out the remnants of the Demon Sect in the city, in preparation for the coronation ceremony scheduled for the first of August.

Initially, I was systematically conducting my duties, capturing remnants of the Demon Sect, perfecting the formations for the coronation ceremony, patrolling, and so forth, every day.

But today I suddenly realized something was amiss—I had several subordinates tell me they had seen me in certain places, but I clearly had no memory of being in those locations.

Moreover, when I reviewed the work documents of the past few days, it seemed that under the pretense of procuring materials, I had issued many tokens for merchant convoys to leave the city.

I instinctively sensed that there might be some problems with my memory.

At first, I suspected that I might have been cursed, implanted with a Gu Worm, or affected by some evil skill.

So, I conducted a thorough examination of my Sea of Consciousness and even employed various methods to calm the mind, purify, and detoxify.

However, after completing these measures, my Sea of Consciousness remained calm, showing no reactions.

I began to feel anxious—if the problem with me could not be resolved even by the methods of a cultivator at the fifth level of Divinity Transformation Realm, then should I really report this to the Great Xia Dynasty court.

Because this might mean that I am beyond help.

As I aimlessly wandered the streets, wrestling with my thoughts, I suddenly caught sight of a fortune-telling stall.

I had seen the portraits and recognized the two girls with the sign "Only tells fortune, nothing else" in front of the stall.

They were the demon pets of that reclusive master who had shocked Shangjing City that day, so that masked man in the cyan Taoist robe must definitely be the reclusive master.

Thus, with a glimmer of hope, I walked towards the fortune-telling stall...

...

...

July 30th, Shangjing City.

The sky was cloudless, a clear expanse of blue.

The sun in the sky made the bluestone pavement on the ground searingly hot. If a bowl of water were splashed onto it, it would surely evaporate completely in no time.

In such scorching weather, on the busiest street of the capital, a new stall had been propped up. This stall was located right at the street corner, the place with the heaviest foot traffic on this street.

However, despite the crowd, there were very few who stopped at the fortune-telling stall.

Simply because the sign of this stall was too peculiar.

After all, which fortune-teller only offers readings and doesn't offer solutions? Isn't the main revenue for fortune-tellers found in the rituals and solutions they propose?

Yet, the fortune-telling stall set up by Jin Xu and two women operated just like that.

"Temple master, why do I feel like the number of people coming to have their fortunes told today is even less than three days ago? Shouldn't there be more repeat customers as we continue?"

Little White stood in front of the fortune-telling stall, holding a sign that read, "Only tells fortune, nothing else," and spoke to the Taoist behind him.

"Little White, you're thinking of a snack stall; fortune-telling stalls don't have that many repeat customers."

Yu Yaoer was holding a sign that read, "Only tells fortune, doesn't offer solutions."

"Ah, really? I remember Little Yi told me that her family's snack stall has been around for many years, so that's why they have so many repeat customers."

Feeling a bit sheepish, Shiqi scratched his head and then made an unreliable suggestion, "Temple master, why don't you take off the mask on your face? That would surely attract more people to have their fortunes told."

Jin Xu, hearing this, couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth under his mask.

Reading fortunes without the mask would be like fishing without a helmet.

However, Little White had a point; today, there were indeed fewer visitors. Moreover, even the usual foot traffic on the streets was sparse.

Jin Xu shaded his eyes with his hand and looked towards the clear sky, feeling puzzled.

"Could it be that the weather is too hot, and regular people don't want to go out?"

The group had been at this location for four days now. Initially, Jin Xu wanted to test the fourth effect of his Spiritual Eyes.

Lately, it was simply to give the house's chef a break.

After all, with Little White always wanting to eat, six out of the nine cooks at home had already collapsed.

Thus, Jin Xu simply decided to continue setting up the fortune-telling stall with the two women, also hoping to experience the lively human atmosphere of Shangjing City.

It's just that today, there were notably fewer people in this lively atmosphere.

Just as the Taoist was contemplating whether to pack up—for the cooks had rested for three days and were likely recovered—a woman in the official uniform of a night watchman, looking weary yet unable to hide her spirit, suddenly approached their stall.

"Temple master, a customer is here!"

The lethargic Shiqi suddenly perked up and then spurred his Ice Attribute Spiritual Power, trying to offer the visitor a cooling sensation in the sweltering weather.

Sensing the sudden coolness, Jin Xu internally affirmed Shiqi with satisfaction.

Then, he looked up at the visiting female night watchman and politely asked, "Infinite Heavenly Venerable, may I know if you wish to have your fortune told?"

This salutation, "Infinite Heavenly Venerable" was suggested by Yu Yaoer, who thought it sounded more professional.

"Yes, please, Taoist, I'd like to see my fortune," replied the female night watchman, with a voice tinged with fatigue and a complexion that didn't look great. After responding, she sat down in front of the fortune-telling stall.

"Alright, just give me a moment," said the Taoist, then took a detailed look at the woman's features.

Ever since he discovered the fourth ability of his Spiritual Eyes, he had read many books related to fortune-telling. However, he didn't seem very skilled in this area and even after three days, he still struggled to discern someone's fortune from their facial features.

Having observed to no avail, Jin Xu had no choice but to sincerely employ the "Dongxuan Spirit Vision."

As it turned out, esoteric knowledge was more effective.

The moment the magic was activated, a faint silver glint flashed in the deep pupils of the Taoist. As he looked again at the female night watchman in front of him, he saw the bright red characters for "great misfortune" written above her head!

This was the fourth ability of Jin Xu's Spiritual Eyes—fortune-telling.

Fortune-telling, as the name implies, involves observing someone else's fate.

This ability can only discern three outcomes: good, bad, and neutral, and it does not reveal what specific experiences the person will undergo. Moreover, the validity period of the observed fate remains uncertain.

It sounds quite useless.

Yet, after three days of experimenting with his stall, the young Taoist found that although it seemed useless, it actually had some utility.

For example, on the second day of his stall setup.

An Elder Wang from next door, who was hiding from his girlfriend's husband's beating, hid behind his stall. Jin Xu began using the fortune-telling method on him and noticed a large "Neutral" character above his head.

However, when the young Taoist signaled to the husband that Elder Wang was hiding behind his stall, the "Neutral" immediately turned into a "Bad."

The sensitivity of this fortune-telling method was truly impressive!

From now on, carrying a mirror would allow him to attract good fortune and avoid disaster!

...

"Donor, your fortune is 'great disaster,' which might not be very good."

Jin Xu honestly and tactfully told the night-watchwoman in front of him what her fortune was.

To his surprise, she did not react like others, who would get excited upon hearing their bad fortune.

Instead, she seemed to have anticipated it.

The night-watchwoman sighed and said anxiously to the young Taoist, "Taoist, I had guessed this outcome, and actually, I was hoping you could help me."

Then, Kui Lei told Jin Xu about her recent problems with her memory, not omitting a single detail.

A tea's time passed.

After listening to her story, the young Taoist was a bit stunned, as if listening to a suspenseful novel.

Jin Xu really wanted to help her, but...

The young Taoist pointed to the sign the two women were holding, gesturing for her to read the words on it.

Seeing his gesture, the night-watchwoman's face inevitably showed some disappointment.

She soon made up her mind to report her situation honestly, to see if the dynasty could help her.

Kui Lei forced a smile, thanked Jin Xu, and was about to leave.

Just then, in the open space in front of the young Taoist's stall, suddenly appeared an old man in vermilion imperial clothes with white hair and beard—it was Prime Minister Qin, the current Left Minister.

The pedestrians on the street continued to come and go undisturbed, as if they couldn't see the old man.

"Jin Xu, Miss Yu, Little White."

The Left Minister greeted the trio upon appearing.

The three politely responded.

Afterward, Prime Minister Qin addressed the night-watchwoman: "Deputy Commander Kui, could you accompany me?"

Although he phrased it as a question, his tone was forceful and suggested he would take her with him regardless of her agreement. The Left Minister even secretly communicated with Jin Xu.

"Young Taoist, this woman is secretly communicating with the Demon Sect, and I hope you can assist us later."

Jin Xu was startled upon hearing this and nodded at Prime Minister Qin, then secretly communicated with the two women.

"Little Yu, Little White, you two keep your distance; this person might be dangerous."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yaoer quickly pulled Little White away.

Avoiding causing trouble for their master was an essential quality for a competent demon pet!

However, a fight did not break out in the end.

The night-watchwoman chose to follow Prime Minister Qin voluntarily without resistance.

Before they left, the young Taoist secretly asked Prime Minister Qin what exactly had happened.

But the Left Minister was also vague in his words, only saying that he needed to go back and investigate. If the young Taoist was genuinely curious, he could come to the prison to observe the interrogation process.

Following that, he cast a short-distance spell and left.

Jin Xu contemplated for a moment and decided to close the stall.

Accompanied by the two women, he headed directly to the prison, wanting to understand what exactly was causing the night-watchwoman's memory issues.

...

...

Shangjing City, a hundred miles away.

A vast valley shrouded in mist.

At the entrance of the valley, one caravan vehicle after another drove into it.

The carriages were bulky as they entered, but empty as they left, obviously unloading a lot of goods inside.

On the valley's cliffs, dozens of black eyes silently watched the coming and going caravans as if to monitor or protect them.

At the mouth of the valley.

Ye Wuyang asked the Third Elder of the Demon Sect, "How is it? Is the formation set up? We only have one day left."

"It's all set and can be activated at any time. However, once this formation starts, it cannot be stopped. Are there any more 'goods' you want to bring in?"

"Heh, that's all for now, as our arrangements must have been noticed by Great Xia," Ye Wuyang chuckled in response.

"Is the quantity sufficient?"

"More than enough," Ye Wuyang replied.

A gust of wind swept across the top of the valley, stirring the dense mist, occasionally revealing tiny gaps.

If someone peered through these gaps at that moment, they would discover that the vast valley—was filled with people!