The Beggar’s Staff of Lao Ba Chapter 28.2

 

Chapter 28

Part 2

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Lian Wushang smiled as he spoke, “No worries. Qingcheng Town has more than just this gambling house—there are several others. If you really misread the situation, we’ll just pick a different place and start over. But what if you’re right? Then this would be our first successful move.”

 

Wen Heng gave him a thumbs-up. “Wushang, you’re amazing.” Yet Lian Wushang’s unwavering trust in him moved him deeply. Their earlier act had been flawless. He was certain that if he’d gone alone, he’d be beaten by now.

 

Lian Wushang asked again, “What did you see just now?” Wen Heng whispered softly, “I saw that big man holding his mother and crying. It seemed like she drowned. I think it happened this afternoon. I wonder if he’ll make it back in time to see her one last time.”

 

Lian Wushang chuckled, “Perhaps if he goes back now, his mother won’t drown.” Wen Heng shook his head. “No, she will drown. I just know it.” A voice seemed to whisper to him from the depths of his soul: Heaven’s will cannot be defied.

 

There was no way these two could go to the tavern to play chess—besides, Wen Heng didn’t even know how to play. Lian Wushang led Wen Heng a few steps before they sat down in a pavilion overlooking the gambling house. The two men, hands tucked into their sleeves, began chatting in the pavilion.

 

Lian Wushang said, “I once met cultivators who could foresee the future. They told me that human fortune and destiny are ever-changing. Even when they divine one’s fate, they can only offer a rough outline.”

 

Wen Heng sighed. ” But everything I saw before came true—like the owner and accountant of Xinghua Pavilion in Xiaoyan Town, and their Mu Patriarch. I saw how they died and warned them, yet they still perished.”

 

Lian Wushang replied, “That’s because they didn’t heed your warnings. Had they listened, perhaps they wouldn’t have died. You merely shared what you saw. Whether they could avoid it was their own fate. ”

 

Wen Heng added, “I also saw how Old Wen would die. I tried desperately to save him, but he still passed away.”

 

Lian Wushang asked, “Did Old Wen live longer than when you first saw him?”

 

Wen Heng thought carefully. It seemed Old Wen had indeed lived over a month longer: “Yes. The first time I saw Old Wen, his face was already shrouded in that grayish-black mist. Back then, an old man in Xiaoyan Town had the same level of mist on his face, and he passed away half a month later.”

 

Lian Wushang stated firmly, “See? Because you appeared, Old Wen’s fate did change. But he was already beyond saving when he met you. If he’d met you sooner, perhaps you could have altered his destiny.”

 

Wen Heng grew serious: ” Wushang, are you saying I could genuinely guide others to seek benefits and avoid harm? Might that be unwise? Though I’m no cultivator, I sense I shouldn’t meddle too deeply in karmic entanglements.”

 

Lian Wushang replied, “I understand that whether cultivator or mortal, living in this world inevitably involves karmic ties. You merely haven’t entered the path yet. Once you do, you’ll know what to do without my prompting.”

 

Wen Heng now resembled a timid child, cautious and trembling. He held immense power yet knew not how to wield it. He… feared karmic entanglement, yet eagerly sought out trouble.

 

If he truly feared trouble, he wouldn’t have taken in the leopard or saved Lian Wushang. Yet he’d done both with cheerful abandon.

 

Lian Wushang suddenly asked curiously, “Wen Heng, you claim you can see people’s futures. Take a look—what will happen to me in the future?” Wen Heng looked at Lian Wushang and suddenly realized that despite spending so much time together, he had never once glimpsed Lian Wushang’s future.

 

Not just Lian Wushang’s future—he hadn’t even seen Gouzi’s. Perhaps his cultivation wasn’t sufficient yet.

 

Wen Heng shook his head awkwardly. “Right now, I can only see imminent disasters. I can’t see further into the future. But sometimes I get a strange feeling. Like with you, Wushang—the moment I first saw you, I knew you were noble and extraordinary, a precious person born of royal lineage.”

 

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