Chapter 31

“Almsgiver Lin, today’s matters are concluded, and the karma between you and this old monk has reached its end. Are you certain you wish to bestow this final opportunity upon these two?” Master Huiyuan spoke indifferently.

Lin was the maiden name of the Princess Consort of Rong.

The Princess Consort’s smile flickered almost imperceptibly. After several moments of deliberation, she nodded with a smile. “Yes. This young lady and I have a great deal of affinity. Today, I shall gift this final opportunity to her and her fiancé.”

Tomorrow was the day of her final grand Buddhist ritual. For twenty years, the Princess Consort of Rong had persisted in this practice; tomorrow, it would finally come to an end. This final opportunity had to be used where it would cut the deepest.

As soon as she spoke, the envious and jealous gazes from the surrounding crowd practically materialized into physical weight.

Master Huiyuan nodded in agreement. He told a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, his eyes deep and his brow carrying a hint of warmth. When his gaze fell upon Cheng Ruyi and her companion, a light seemed to flash within them, and he chanted, “Amitabha!”

No one noticed that the hand Master Huiyuan used to fiddle with the beads trembled slightly, and his expression became even more solemn and cautious.

Golden Light of Merit! This female almsgiver actually possessed a thick, condensed aura of Golden Merit!

Without a doubt, she was the reincarnation of a great philanthropist from a past life. In this life, her blessings would stretch endlessly, and her path would be smooth. Anyone who designed schemes to frame someone with such immense merit would only bring misfortune upon themselves.

As for the male almsgiver, he was a “dragon among men.” Originally destined to be without kin and to live a life of solitary wealth and loneliness, his fate was faintly shifting, merging with the fortune of the lady endowed with great merit. This was likely due to their impending marriage.

Most terrifyingly, this male almsgiver shared a karmic debt of grievance with both Almsgiver Lin and the Master himself. Specifically with Almsgiver Lin—the karmic debt between her and the man ran the deepest. It was a knot that could not be easily untied, a debt that would last until death!

Only now did Master Huiyuan truly understand the Princess Consort’s intent. Her goal from the very beginning was never the young lady, but this man. The girl was merely a smokescreen.

Master Huiyuan sighed bitterly in his heart. This karma will not be easy to resolve!

Cheng Ruyi felt slightly uncomfortable; she sensed a prying gaze, as if she were being peered through inside and out. She looked at Master Huiyuan—it seemed this monk had some real skill. However, anyone associated with the Princess Consort of Rong couldn’t be a good person. Therefore, this “Master” was certainly no good thing.

Still, it was strange. The eerie black qi on the Princess Consort had faded significantly. Had it been purified by Master Huiyuan’s chanting?

Rong Mo stood there with an indifferent expression. Neither he nor Cheng Ruyi were believers in gods or Buddhas. No matter how famous Master Huiyuan was, he remained unmoved. In his view, since the monk was in league with the Princess Consort, he was untrustworthy.

The two were miraculously in sync once again.

The people queuing for fortune-telling waited in silence. To have Master Huiyuan personally calculate a destiny in public was a rare sight they didn’t want to miss. As time passed, the Princess Consort grew anxious, though she maintained her image, waiting with a smile without rushing him.

After a long while, Master Huiyuan suddenly looked at her. “Almsgiver Lin, a word in private.”

The Princess Consort’s heart skipped a beat. Could something have gone wrong?

The crowd’s gaze toward Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo became peculiar. People whispered in secret, guessing that if their fortunes were good, the Master would have said so directly. Since he hadn’t, their fates were likely poor—perhaps even deeply problematic.

With this speculation, many looked at them with a hint of schadenfreude.

No one knew what the Master told the Princess Consort, but her smile vanished.

“Regardless of how cruel the truth may be, Master, please speak plainly,” the crowd heard her sigh after a long silence, her voice gentle and calm.

Master Huiyuan nodded slightly. Rong Mo merely looked at them coldly, his deep black eyes reflecting a sense of understanding.

When they returned to the pair, the Princess Consort sighed softly, her eyes looking at Cheng Ruyi with a trace of pity and reluctance. “Ruyi, no matter what you hear next, you must remain calm.”

To think this Cheng Ruyi is actually someone with great merit. If I can pull her to my side…

The onlookers were confused but intensely jealous. What was so good about Cheng Ruyi that the Princess Consort would look upon her with such favor?

Cheng Ruyi, with her sharp ears, had heard their conversation long ago. She looked at the Princess Consort mockingly and gave a lukewarm response: “…Heh heh!”

I’ll just quietly watch you and the big monk perform your play! Just a moment ago, she called him “Master” in her head; now… calling him “big monk” instead of “bald donkey” was already showing restraint.

The Princess Consort’s eyes darkened. This Cheng Ruyi is truly a stubborn stone. She turned to the Master. “Master, you may speak.”

Master Huiyuan pressed his palms together. “Amitabha! I have calculated for these two. The female almsgiver has a destiny of family harmony and a life of wealth. The male almsgiver, however, possesses the fate of the Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter (Tiansha Guzhong) —destined to bring ruin to his father, mother, wife, and children, to end his days without a companion, and to live a life of total isolation.”

The moment these words were uttered, the surrounding people looked at Rong Mo as if he were a plague, wishing they could flee from him. Everyone knew that a “Lone Star” brought a series of misfortunes to those around them; at worst, they would cause deaths, and at best, leave people crippled.

Such a fate was a once-in-a-millennium occurrence. To think the exceptionally handsome Rong Mo had such a destiny was terrifying. Li Meihua, who had previously harbored designs on him, broke into a cold sweat and tried to shrink into the background.

Suddenly, everyone remembered that Rong Mo was the survivor of the decimated Rong clan of Qinghe County. His entire family had been slaughtered while he alone survived—if that wasn’t the fate of a Lone Star, what was?

Cheng Qingyao was overjoyed, nearly laughing out loud. This was so satisfying! To think Cheng Ruyi had picked such a lethal man after all her choosing.

Rong Mo’s eyes were icy. He spat out four words: “…Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter!” Then, he suddenly laughed. So, this was what they had waiting for him. Unfortunately for them, he wasn’t a man who believed in fate.

Cheng Ruyi let out a sudden sneer and began her verbal assault without hesitation: “Cousin, ignore this big monk’s nonsense. It’s all a scam. ‘Lone Star’ this and ‘killing’ that—isn’t he just saying you have a ‘hard’ fate that brings bad luck? Our family has lived with you for over eight years, and we’re perfectly fine.”

Speaking of “hard” fates, hers was harder. At five years old, the apocalypse began; she awakened powers and thrived for ten years in that cruel world before dying to a high-level mutant, only to be reborn into this ancient world without zombies. If her life wasn’t “hard,” whose was?

The Princess Consort, who had been ready to offer “comfort,” felt her composure shatter. To insult and question a highly respected monk in such a setting… this Cheng Ruyi must be insane. What a waste of all that merit!

The crowd was dumbfounded. Even Master Huiyuan’s hand paused on his beads. He whispered, “Amitabha,” though whether in repentance or to soothe his own mind, no one knew.

“Hey, big monk! Isn’t fortune-telling supposed to involve birth dates and times? You just take a glance, open your mouth, and call someone a Lone Star? Do you think you’re an immortal? Heh!”

“Explain the logic then! My cousin has lived with us for so long and we’re all healthy. How do you explain that?”

“Fame without merit! Colluding in villainy!”

“Princess Consort, this is the last time I’ll address you with that title. Right now, you don’t deserve it. You’ve gone to such lengths to scheme against me—what for?”

“Don’t look at me with those hypocritical eyes. It makes me sick!”

Cheng Ruyi had initially thought the monk had some skill, but now she saw that whatever skill he had was used for crooked ends. Such a person didn’t deserve her respect. And as for the Princess Consort… that old woman deserved to die too!

Under the barrage of questions, Master Huiyuan’s mental state began to crack. But there was no turning back. The Princess Consort could no longer maintain her elegant smile; a flash of murderous intent surfaced in her heart, though she quickly suppressed it.

Her maid was furious and spoke up, unable to endure it. “Miss Cheng Ruyi, you have gone too far.”

“Heh, I’ve gone too far? You’re the ones who are excessive! Our family was living happily with my cousin, yet your Princess Consort had to stick her nose in. Now she puts on this act, collaborating with a monk to label my cousin as a ‘Lone Star.’ Utterly ridiculous.”

Cheng Ruyi’s combativeness was formidable. She had always ignored traditional etiquette. Ancient women were bound by rules; no matter how vicious they were inside, they maintained a facade of virtue. Against Cheng Ruyi, that facade was useless.

The Princess Consort was fuming, but to protect her image, she had to swallow her rage. It was stifling. She had simply underestimated how explosive Cheng Ruyi’s reaction would be.

After venting her anger, Cheng Ruyi looked at the Princess Consort—who still wore that look of “helpless tolerance”—and felt disgusted. This woman was too bothersome to deal with via words. Violence for violence was much more satisfying.

“Big monk, thought of an explanation yet?” Cheng Ruyi turned back to Master Huiyuan.

“The female almsgiver’s family remains safe because of the almsgiver herself,” Master Huiyuan said calmly.

Cheng Ruyi leaned lazily against Rong Mo. “Keep making it up, big monk. I’m waiting to see how you circle back. Is the next step telling me I have ‘Great Merit’ so I’m immune to being cursed? Haha!”

Master Huiyuan nodded without changing his expression. “Indeed.”

Cheng Ruyi burst out laughing in Rong Mo’s arms. “Hahaha! Too funny! He actually said it! Say, how much did the Princess Consort give you? Money? Or beauty? To make a monk like you tell such a massive lie?”

“Come to think of it, the only reason my cousin and I came to Xiangguo Temple today was because of a ‘hint’ from someone with ulterior motives! We were bored and wanted a show. I didn’t expect the show to be this big.”

The crowd’s gaze shifted. Even the most devout began to wonder.

The Princess Consort was panicking. Master Huiyuan was right—fighting someone with great merit always resulted in the other person’s misfortune. But why was Cheng Ruyi defending Rong Mo so fiercely?

“Ruyi,” the Princess Consort sighed, looking pained. “Everyone knows I perform rituals here every year. I heard you and Rong Mo were here and wanted the Master to check your compatibility out of kindness. I didn’t expect my goodwill to be so… so misinterpreted!” She bowed deeply to the Master. “Master, I am sorry. I have implicated you.”

The Master maintained his “holy” demeanor and did not blame her. The noble ladies in the crowd felt their doubts fading again due to her performance.

“What a performance!” Cheng Ruyi sneered. She decided right then: tomorrow, she would give the Princess Consort a “gift” she would remember for the rest of her life.

Master Huiyuan tried to wrap it up. “The explanation has been given. This is all I have to say. Until fate brings us together again.” He turned to leave, looking very much like he was fleeing.

“Heh, monks love that line. He left so fast—I wanted to ask why my cousin’s servant, who has served him for eight years, is still jumping around healthy. And why all the servants at the Marquis’s estate are fine. He ran because he has a guilty conscience!”

The crowd was left stunned. The “Lone Star” theory was looking shaky. Some older noblewomen began looking at the Princess Consort with suspicion. For the first time in twenty years, the Princess Consort felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

“Cousin, let’s not eat the vegetarian meal,” Cheng Ruyi said, looking up at Rong Mo. “I’m afraid I’ll vomit.”

“Alright.”

Rong Mo cast a cold, murderous glance at the Princess Consort. He realized now that her ultimate target was likely him. He turned and led his fiancée out of the temple.

The events at Xiangguo Temple spread like wildfire. By evening, the rumors had taken a turn: gossip was spreading that the Princess Consort of Rong and Master Huiyuan were having a secret affair.

A massive bucket of filth had been dumped on both of them. It was unclear how much of this was Rong Mo’s doing, but Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo were very satisfied. The Princess Consort’s reputation was ruined.

“Losing the bait along with the fish,” as the saying goes.

Cheng Ruyi decided to add more fuel to the fire tomorrow. She loved a good bonfire.