Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Unfortunate Divination
The old woman led Yun Feng deep into the back street. As they went further, his heart tightened in uneasiness.
Is this lady a fraud... or is something gonna happen to me?
He had no idea, but he had to admit; the boisterous noise of the pedestrians becoming less frequent, with only the two pairs of footsteps echoing in an equally dim area, was a spooky sensation.
But he braced himself. As a matter of fact, it was his first time wandering within this alley. As it is a relatively remote area and his next job was located in the most prosperous street on the northern land of Sea Mountain. Thus, the emptiness and quiet surroundings only added sensitivity that he was not used to.
"Old lady, are we heading in the right place?"
He could not urge to ask. They were walking for minutes now, but when will they arrive?
He had quite some time before his next job, so he was patient.
However.
There was no response, making Yun Feng even more paranoid.
She wouldn't be someone part of a…gang, right?
He had heard those bastards would bait people and then threatened them to hand over valuable things. If they won't comply, they would at best be beaten into a bedridden, worse vegetative state.
He shuddered, thinking of such a possibility, and fell to the ground. Standing up, he clenched some dust, whistling as if nothing happens.
The old lady glanced and they continued on the way. At last, a stall appeared in front of them. It was coated with a black rag, whereupon was shielded from the light.
It was the perfect prophet hideout. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say anybody would be convinced that this old lady was a prophet, based on her mannerism and the environment of her work activity.
Yun Feng swept his gaze, looking out for a potential bastard creeping in the corners. Aside from the rat on the pile of trashes, not a single silhouette was seen to ambush him. He breathed. At the very least she wasn't anything bad.
"The dream is becoming more and more vivid that it starts to bother you. Sometimes you feel it is a dream, but a few times thinking it is real. Affecting your life and thoughts." The lady smiled, "and now, even your health."
Finally, a noise. Yun Feng preferred the chatter. "Yes, indeed."
"The underlying problem of it is...frequency." She sat on the chair behind the stall, hands clasped on top of the table, "A frequent dream makes it real, but in fact, it's a delusion."
"So, that means it's not real?"
Yun Feng sat opposite her, feeling a bit lost. True, he was elated it was simply a nightmare; everything in that dream was hell. He wished not to experience it. Somewhere in him, however, wished he could be that man who everyone refers to as the Human Emperor.
"Shall we start?"
She put the divination ball in the center of the table.
"What do I have to do?"
"Put your hands atop the ball."
Yun Feng nodded. However, he did not carelessly follow. "The pay?"
"Ten gold liangs."
"Kill me!" Yun Feng exclaimed, slamming the table and standing up. Ridiculous! Divination that has no saying real asking for ten gold liangs…old lady, that appetite of yours is truly…
"Wait!" The old lady shouted and rubbed her hand. "Everything's negotiable."
Yun Feng frowned. She seemed desperate.
But he was not a heartless person. He felt she was anything but a prophet. He wouldn't mind being deceived as long as the price is not to frown at; consider it as lending a hand.
He sat down and pulled one liang from his pocket and flicked it onto the table. The gold rolled and glinted.
"One gold, no negotiation. In fact, I'm quite reluctant to spend a dime in this matter." Yun Feng added, "That's worth a ton, you know."
His next job paid him fifty gold liang monthly. Spending one gold liang for divination doesn't hurt him as it use to be.
The old lady snorted in disdain, yet took the gold. She lazily looked at Yun Feng. "Now put your hands."
Yun Feng nodded. He held the ball.
"And next?"
He hoped she would give a detailed explanation at the very least. He was patient. Alas, after taking the gold liang, she had never looked him in the eye, and her stare was at the ball devoid of color.
Yun Feng was left without a choice but to shut up and stared at the ball. He watched it flicker with light. It first turned into shallow white, then followed which a deeper white. He focused his sight – The ball of white suddenly flickered with fire. Some fragments of green fire, but it was not strong enough to swallow all the white lights. As a result, the ball stopped at the deep white not changing even after three minutes had passed.
She sighed and stared at Yun Feng.
"What?" Yun Feng stared back.
"What a weak light."
Those were her word that Yun Feng did not understand. "Can you explain?"
"Well, before that, let's proceed to the next one."
A waste of gold liang, dammit. He reluctantly nodded, and the old lady took out a deck of cards. She shuffled and scattered them on the table.
"Take three cards. The first card represents your past, the second one is your present, and the last card is your future."
Yun Feng nodded, staring straight at the cards. The backside of all the cards is all dark with only the emblem of the moon and star intertwined.
He pondered. Then carefully choose the three cards.
"These three."
The old lady pulled the three cards in front of Yun Feng.
"Open them."
He nodded and flipped the first card. His heart skipped a beat.
It depicted death. Legend has it that Death is the emissary of the Netherworld. He was typically introduced as a man in a black cloak, but others believed that he was a skeleton with a reaper.
However, the card in front of Yun Feng represents a woman. Purple-clothed with an equally purple, moon-shaped mark on her forehead, she was surrounded by purple substance. Behind the bloody moon, she held the scythe behind her back, and in front of her image the word [Death].
Shuddered. He felt the woman was rather familiar, but he could not recall who exactly.
Sweating, he turned his sight at the 'Present' card. He flipped it wide open…
A Bloody lettering, [Chaos].
Chaos?
He looked at it carefully. Yun Feng noticed the details on it were somewhat…obscure. The image only displays fragments scattering on the void.
The first one hits him, but he was not sure about the second card.
Yun Feng frowned and flipped the last card. His face changed.
The word written on the [Future] startled him; some sort of unknown creatures crawled into a massive hole, and on it was written the word 'Invasion'.
"Invasion?"
He took a deep breath. It struck him so deeply. Was it a coincidence that the future card coincided with his dream?
If that was the case…what his dream tell?
He pondered and then stood up.
"Thank you. And goodbye."
He was full of gratitude. Although she seemed a hoax, the cards awoke him. He decided to find an answer at the later date. For now, he had to go to his next work.
However.
"Sit down."
The lady casually spoke but it carried a certain power; Yun Fen was forced onto his seat.
He was stunned. He tried to move, but he realized his body was not in his control.
"What's the meaning of this?"
His worries from before reappeared. He had forgotten. This city was the land of cultivators, even perhaps an old woman was a cultivator…or something else?
He was but a mere mortal. If she decide to end his life, he was powerless. At this moment of crisis, he quickly knew his life was at her mercy. Not even the soil he picked earlier could save him.
"Long ago, there was a man who fell in love with a woman. She was an innocent and fair lady. As the man was once saved from her, he decided that he would do his best to protect her.
"Soon after, the man became someone of great status. He was a commoner, yet worked his way up, becoming an unshakable expert, none was his match. He proposed to the lady and when she agreed; their lives were bound to have a good ending.
"But...what do you think had happened after that?"
The old woman looked at Yun Feng.
He clenched his fist. "I have three young siblings."
"Answer me!'
She waved her hand and a terrifying aura smacked Yun Feng's entire body, blasting his hair.
"My parents died, and if I died, no one will be left to take care of them." Yun Feng clenched his teeth.
The old lady snorted. "You know that the man was betrayed."
"I bet you know...It's a rather popular story. Despicable humans like you discuss it so oftentimes." She stared at the ball and sighed, "the man trusted the wrong person. The one he thought someone he could trust betrayed her. He was, after all, a demon. How could he be accepted?"
Tears fell from Yun Feng's eyes. He tried moving his body but to no avail. He had never expected that in the broad daylight, he would meet one of the notorious beings that he only heard about in the rumors. Unfortunately, he was foolish.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you." She smiled, "After all, you paid a single gold for your life. At best, I'll give you a few years to live. A pity if you had just paid ten gold liangs, with that trash aptitude of yours, I could have ignored you entirely. Now, I'll consume your aptitude and left you hanging with your life. Although trash, a deep white is still a meal."
The old lady stood up. As she took out her cloak, her devious appearance made Yun Feng's heart shudder in fear. Indeed, she was a demon worshipper.
"Demons are despised in the world. Since we are despised, our cult leader who has been betrayed, believed that it is only equal to despise mankind." The old lady touched Yun Feng's forehead, "You can only blame that woman for this unfortunate event."
At her words, Yun Feng felt an uncomfortable feeling. It seemed as if some important essence was leaving his body. He groaned in helplessness.
Aptitude.
It was the foundation of a person. He had heard with its destruction, a person would be weakened and gradually died.
How could such a thing happen to him?
Yun Feng couldn't understand.
No…He couldn't die…He didn't want to die!
Who would take care of his siblings with his death?
Yun Feng tried his best to fight with the lady, he did his best to move, shout, and everything he could think of at this moment of life and death…and yet, only the old lady's indifferent look was itched on his mind.
"This is your fate."
The old lady hastened the force and devoured the aptitude of the person before him. When she sucked him dried, leaving the boy unconscious on the ground with his body gradually withering, only did she stop.
"I better leave now before they caught up." The old lady's eyes flared in anger. "That bitch and that kid…was his name Li Fei? When my injuries healed, just you wait…brats!"
Soon after, the old lady disappeared from the area.
Meanwhile, Yun Feng, whose foundation was devoured and who the old lady thought was unconscious, fought with his consciousness. He desperately tried not to lose his vision and crawled…he crawled on the ground, hoping he would reach the street…wishing someone would see him.
He did not know how long time had passed, but he crawled and crawled…
When his consciousness was about to collapse, he heard a voice…voices traveled to his ears...
"What's wrong with that boy?"
"He…look, his injuries are not normal!"
"Quick, help him!"
After those noises, Yun Feng couldn't stand it anymore and collapsed on the cold, heartless ground.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lazy_Novelist
Lazy_Novelist Author here, this novel is participating on WPC #ACADEMY, but Academy Arc only starts at vol 2...So, so I hope everyone can support this novel with a power stone...I assure you a non-cliche amazing ride of a story.
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