After all the procedures were completed.
Old Zhao got up and asked Ning An in a low voice:
"Daoist Master, do you think I'll be able to see my son again in this lifetime?"
Even though Ning An knew about the system alert, he couldn't just blurt it out, anxious as he was.
Instead, he spoke with an enigmatic expression:
"Don't worry, layman. What's meant to be will be. Perhaps today is the day you and your son will reunite."
"Ah, thank you, Daoist Master…"
Hearing this, Old Zhao shook his head dejectedly, for how could he take these words seriously?
After thanking him, he exited the livestream.
Burning incense and making wishes is just for peace of mind and cannot be taken as reality.
Seeing this, Ning An didn't bother to explain further.
After Old Zhao left, a heavy atmosphere settled over the livestream room, and after chatting with viewers for a bit, the sound of police sirens echoed outside the temple.
Carrying his phone, Ning An went out to meet the officers at the door, not surprised at all.
"Daoist Master Ning An, right? Could you please come with us?"
"Mom, come see this uniform, it's exactly the same as the one you wore when playing with Dad a few days ago."
"No way, it was the military a few days ago, and now it's the police—Daoist Master sure has connections!"
"He's had connections for ages, okay? They call him Grandmaster, and Grandmaster must be listed among the immortals."
"Ugh, stop being so dramatic. Is the host really doing a script battle with Brother Lao Tuo and got carried away, sacrificing himself?"
Ning An nodded to the officer and then ended the livestream: "Dear laymen, something's come up, I'll be back soon."
...
At the police station, the officer in charge questioned Ning An directly.
"Tell me, how did you know we were at Shi Wenqiang's place back then?"
The officer questioned with a furrowed brow and a stern expression, exuding a vague sense of pressure.
Ning An didn't answer immediately but seemed thoughtful while looking at the golden light behind him.
Having practiced the Five Ghosts Transporting Technique for some time, Ning An read more clearly into the concept of "fate."
Destiny is preordained, human efforts can hardly alter it.
This wasn't something Ning An made up.
Everyone's life chart is represented by a line formed behind their heads.
Whether it's a fortuneteller on the street or an old Celestial Master in the Daoist temple, they merely use acquired techniques to discern these life charts.
Of course, aside from predestined blessings and longevity, actions in later life can alter one's original destiny.
For instance, if you commit murder, your life chart turns black and vengeful spirits follow you.
The more you kill, the darker your life chart becomes!
Conversely, if you continually perform good deeds acknowledged by the public, your life chart strengthens, gradually turning gold.
The overwhelming gold light from the police car made Ning An wonder.
How many wrongdoers must it have caught to form such merit?
"Naturally, I deduced it through the eight characters," Ning An said, feigning mystery. "Of course, in fortune-telling, inaccuracy is normal. If accurate, it's mere coincidence."
"Ning An! This is the police station! Not your Daoist temple, answer my question seriously!"
The officer asked Ning An a few more questions, but Ning An brushed them all aside with ease.
What a joke!
Who would normally believe in the existence of a system?
Especially someone like the seasoned officers opposite him!
The pressure in the small room continued to drop, and the face of the veteran officer across from Ning An turned nearly as black as ink.
At that moment, a female officer burst in, nearly in tears.
"Captain Li, Shi Wenqiang confessed the children's hiding place, but… he insists he hasn't seen Brother Wang. Could it be…"
Although the female officer's voice was as faint as a mosquito's, to Ning An's ears, it sounded like a loud bell.
Thinking of such a hero who refused to spare the darkness even in death, Ning An's heart churned.
"Above thirty meters near Cyan Bird Lake, only there are the wood, water, and earth elements stable over the metal and fire,"
Ning An thought, inserting a comment while considering all the clues given by that figure.
When Ning An used the cultivation technique to observe Brother Lao Tuo, besides the terrifying old ghost, the clearest image was that of a man in a tattered police uniform yet still standing tall.
Initially, Ning An didn't know who he was, but after the female officer spoke, he made the connection.
Captain Wang looked at Ning An, his gaze sharp as a knife.
"I know who you're talking about. When reading his eight characters, I saw blood swirling in his fate, including the blood of a martyr."
"I'm not making this up, just take a look," Ning An said, lowering his head, adding another sentence.
"Captain Wang, near Cyan Bird Lake, only Yujing International Garden fits the conditions," the female officer thought for three seconds before responding quickly.
"Inform Xiaowang and Xiaohai's teams to head out immediately."
Cyan Bird Lake is an artificial large lake, completed in recent years, and apart from parts of Yujing International Garden, the rest of the nearby buildings are still under construction.
This was why the female officer locked onto it immediately.
After the female officer left, Captain Wang said nothing, staring intensely at Ning An with an oppressive air.
Ning An sat obediently, not daring to move a muscle.
Finally, Captain Wang's phone rang, and he listened silently for a while before speaking wearily:
"Alright, I understand."
"Ning An?"
Captain Wang turned to face Ning An, looking him in the eye for the first time.
"Yes, that's me. Captain Wang, is there anything else you need my help with?"
Knowing Captain Wang was feeling distressed, Ning An wanted to help ease his burden.
"Actually, I have some documents here. I'd like to trouble the master to take a look."
Seeing the thick files, Ning An's expression gradually stiffened.
This afternoon promised to be one of Ning An's most challenging.
When it came time to leave, Captain Wang's regretful and reluctant gaze gave Ning An goosebumps.
After leaving the police station and returning to the Daoist temple, Ning An fell asleep immediately.
Throughout history, fortune-telling has been a thankless task.
Even with complete information, inexperienced fortune-tellers tire out after seeing two or three people a day.
Experienced masters rarely dabble in divination, for reading fate involves risk transferring fate without enough reward or for beloved ones; who would go to such lengths?
It's just that Ning An, relying on his hard fate from cultivation and his dim-witted foster father in the Underworld beginning to stir, dared to do so.
But some of these long-neglected files didn't even have the suspects' photos or birth dates, making Ning An rant internally, damn…
Calculating a chicken feather!
Most absurdly, one file's information section only had a name, Zhang Wei…
Though in the end, only a minor portion bore fruit, Captain Wang was quite satisfied and personally drove Ning An back.
By the time he went live again, it was already the next day.
The onslaught of private messages left Ning An caught off guard.
"Daoist brother, I want to have a whole brood of monkeys with you!"
"Our Evil God Cult has made a breakthrough, the Cult Leader is unlike those other pretentious guys, who would've thought he actually could!"
"Hey, I'd like to see who dares to badmouth our Evil God Cult now! To reiterate, the military and police are our backers, with Grandmaster above and Emperor Fengdu as foster father below, this is great!"
"Welcome Evil God Cult to the city, trample the cherry blossoms, and build a beacon of victory today!"