159: This woman is your nemesis.

Just then, a refined and scholarly-looking middle-aged man walked over with a gloomy expression.

"You two, this is a bookstore. Please be quiet or leave," the middle-aged man said with a frown and a blunt tone.

"What are you acting all high and mighty for? This tiny, pathetic bookstore of yours is in such a remote place. Besides this poor Daoist, who else have you seen coming here these past few days?"

Seeing himself exposed, the middle-aged man's face darkened even further.

"You've been in this bookstore for days. Have you spent a single cent?" the middle-aged man questioned.

The next moment, Ling Thirteen directly pulled out his phone and transferred money.

"Huaqianbao arrival: 48 yuan!"

Instantly, the middle-aged man's expression became quite colorful.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I was a bit loud just now. Please continue your argument, continue," the middle-aged man chuckled, pretending to leave.

Standing to the side, Lin Chuan felt the man looked familiar and spoke up uncertainly.

"Old Xing?"

The middle-aged man paused in his tracks and turned to look at Lin Chuan.

"Are you Lin Chuan?"

"Old Xing, how did you end up looking like such a refined beast?" Lin Chuan teased with a smile.

"Hahaha, you've changed quite a bit too, Lin Chuan. After not seeing you for a few years, you've become so physically robust," Old Xing laughed.

"By the way, weren't you doing quite well in the military? Why did you suddenly retire?"

"He did something he shouldn't have. It's lucky enough that he kept his life," Ling Thirteen started his con act again.

Since the man dared to harbor killing intent toward him, he wouldn't rest tonight until he'd completely fooled Lin Chuan.

Watching Ling Thirteen reveal another hidden secret, Lin Chuan had to re-evaluate the fake Daoist before him.

The reason was simple: only General Wei and a few other high-ranking officials knew about this matter. It was impossible for a Daoist to know.

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Chuan asked again, but this time his tone became solemn.

Ling Thirteen smiled slightly and explained decisively: "This poor Daoist is untalented, but I know a bit of Feng Shui, physiognomy, fortune-telling, and divination. I am a disciple of the Celestial Master Sect. Before descending the mountain, I observed the celestial phenomena at night and deduced that you would come here, so I have been waiting for a long time."

"Celestial Master Sect? That doesn't sound like a place for fortune-telling and divination." Lin Chuan didn't believe in tricks like Feng Shui or physiognomy and immediately wanted to refuse.

But Ling Thirteen had already spoken.

"I just observed your features. Your overbearing aura is mixed with a bit of idiocy; things must have been rough for you these past few years," Ling Thirteen cursed with a straight face.

Lin Chuan, however, listened intently because Ling Thirteen was right; things really had been rough for him in the military these past few years.

He could even see that?

Could I have actually met a master?

"Don't be in a hurry, young brother. When things reach their extreme, they must reverse; when misfortune reaches its limit, prosperity comes."

"It's best if you completely sever your ties with your previous connections. Only by welcoming a new life can you reverse the course of events and fulfill your destiny!" Ling Thirteen spoke with great excitement.

Lin Chuan and Old Xing were also listening with excitement.

"Master, I understand. I'll cut them off completely right now." In a moment of impulsiveness, Lin Chuan pulled out his phone and deleted all the contact information for Cao Min and his other military friends.

"Master, please tell me more." At this point, Lin Chuan believed most of it.

Seeing his brother like this, Old Xing also sat down opposite Ling Thirteen to listen.

"It's not that I don't want to say, but the secrets of heaven must not be leaked. Just by foreseeing your arrival in the Magic City, I have already exhausted most of my mental energy." Ling Thirteen didn't reveal everything, instead leaving a sense of suspense.

If he said everything, Lin Chuan would suspect within a few days that Ling Thirteen had investigated him specifically.

Instead, these half-true, half-false words had higher credibility in Lin Chuan's heart.

This was also something Ling Xian had specifically arranged.

"Then Master, how can we continue the fortune-telling and divination?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"That's simple. My mental energy is exhausted, but yours isn't. Your life's blood is more useful than mine. With just a drop of Essence Blood or half a cup of fresh blood, I can easily calculate your fate." Ling Thirteen felt extremely smug.

Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but then he nodded heavily in agreement.

He went inside, pulled out a dagger on the spot, cut his palm to bleed, and soon half a cup of blood was collected.

Just as he was about to hand the blood over, a punch's force surged toward them.

Boom!

The cup shattered, and Ling Thirteen, Lin Chuan, and Old Xing scrambled to dodge.

Old Xing was fuming as he looked at the damage to the small bookstore he had bought with his discharge pay.

"Who's there?" However, that figure had only thrown one punch before quickly retreating.

Lin Chuan was about to explode with rage.

His blood!

That was more blood than a blood donation!

"Master, do you think this can still be used?" Lin Chuan asked hopefully.

Ling Thirteen shook his head and said, "No, it's been tainted by filth. The calculation wouldn't be accurate."

"How about another half cup?"

Lin Chuan already held a grudge against the figure who threw the punch, but he still obediently drew another half cup of blood from his other palm.

"Master, Master, how is it this time?" Lin Chuan was cautious, wrapping the cup in True Qi as he handed it to Ling Thirteen.

Just then, three punch forces came whistling through the air.

Lin Chuan was shocked. Before he could dodge, the cup shattered again.

"I'll ***!" Lin Chuan cursed and rushed toward where the figure was, but the figure flashed away.

This figure was none other than Ling Wu.

He was now at the late-stage Grandmaster level. Even if his combat power wasn't as high as Lin Chuan's, Lin Chuan couldn't catch him if he wanted to escape.

"Master?" Lin Chuan's eyes were teary; he felt like crying.

Ling Thirteen was laughing hysterically inside, but he remained calm on the surface.

"I just did a divination. Things shouldn't be done a third time if they failed twice. Those two cups were just your fate."

Hearing this, Lin Chuan's face lit up with joy, and he said, "That makes sense!"

"However, I don't want to draw any more blood."

It was true that Lin Chuan was a martial artist, but whose blood could be wasted like this?

If he weren't a Grandmaster, losing that much blood would have cost him half his life.

Ling Thirteen thought Lin Chuan had noticed something was wrong and secretly felt things were going south.

But Lin Chuan's next move broke all expectations.

Lin Chuan used his True Qi to extract a drop of Essence Blood. He looked weak, as if his yang energy had been drained dry. "Master, this should be more accurate, right?"

Ling Thirteen pulled out a Yellow Talisman. He didn't dare to trick Lin Chuan anymore, sensing that Lin Chuan was getting desperate. If he kept it up, Lin Chuan might actually kill someone to vent his anger.

The Essence Blood dripped onto the Yellow Talisman, and Ling Thirteen forced himself to chant an incantation.

Then, Ling Thirteen's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "You're an orphan, and you have a benefactor's help, but your fate has been tampered with by that benefactor!"

Hearing this, Lin Chuan's expression soured, and his trust in Ling Thirteen dropped to freezing point, looking as if he was about to attack.

"Don't be in such a hurry, let me finish..." Ling Thirteen explained hurriedly. "That's not a big deal. However, this time... are you going to see a woman?"

Lin Chuan nodded frantically upon hearing this, marveling at how divine the prediction was.

"That's right, Master, please continue."

"Stay away from her. This woman is your jinx," Ling Thirteen said solemnly.

Lin Chuan was silent for a moment. "My jinx? Wait, it seems I really did start having bad luck after getting engaged to the Wen Family."

"First, I went on a secret mission and almost lost half my life, then I was kicked out of the military."