Chapter 15

"Who would call the police? It’s not like the car was stolen; the police wouldn’t bother with it! Just accept your bad luck, Ajie!" Wu Yuxi patted Xia Yunjie’s shoulder and said with a look of sympathy.

Wu Yuxi’s words inadvertently raised Zhang Xiaojun’s status, as he was the one who drove a car. Hearing this, Zhang Xiaojun nodded with a deliberately serious expression and said, "That’s true. Reporting it would be pointless, as a bicycle isn’t worth much. By the way, Ajie, don’t be too upset. Out with the old, in with the new."

Originally, Zhang Xiaojun wanted to pursue Cheng Ping, and Xia Yunjie didn’t think much of it, considering it his right. However, Zhang Xiaojun always made fun of him, which finally ignited a spark of anger in Xia Yunjie. He replied coolly, "It’s fine. Maybe someone just needed a bicycle for a ride and borrowed it. They’ll probably return it tomorrow."

"Hehe! Ajie, you’re really like Ah Q!" Wu Yuxi and the others thought Xia Yunjie was just comforting himself and all laughed. Zhang Xiaojun also joined in, saying, "That’s possible. But Ajie, you should take the bus to work in the future, or buy more locks. It’s not safe to leave your bicycle outside at night. How about this, since you’ve suffered a great loss tonight, I’ll give you a ride?"

"Thanks, Brother Jun. I once rode with a friend, and his car got a flat tire halfway, almost causing an accident. His car was also a Japanese car, so I’ve always disliked riding in Japanese cars." Xia Yunjie even deliberately nudged the Toyota’s tire with his foot.

Xia Yunjie had always been honest and a bit shy, like a recent college graduate, so Wu Yuxi and the others didn’t catch the sarcasm in his words. They thought it was a real incident and all rolled their eyes, saying, "Do you think Japanese car tires are made of tofu? It’s rare to encounter it once, let alone every time!"

"Maybe not, but I always have a knot in my stomach, thinking Japanese cars are unsafe." Xia Yunjie said with a serious face.

Seeing Xia Yunjie’s serious and honest demeanor, Wu Yuxi and the others all rolled their eyes, thinking he was a timid person who had been bitten by a snake and now feared any rope. Zhang Xiaojun’s face turned black, and he said sarcastically, "Unsafe? Do you know how much this car costs? How many years would you have to work to afford it?"

Saying this, Zhang Xiaojun stepped hard on the gas, and the car shot forward. At that moment, a hint of a strange smile flashed across Xia Yunjie’s lips, and he made a gesture with his fingers in the darkness.

"Bang!" A loud explosion, and the Toyota Vios had a flat tire just after driving about ten meters!

The night suddenly seemed quiet, and Wu Yuxi and the others looked as if they had seen a ghost. They looked at the silver Toyota Vios parked not far away and then at Xia Yunjie, their faces full of disbelief.

This guy’s mouth is really poisonous. He said it would get a flat tire just a second ago, and it actually did!

"See, I told you Japanese cars are unsafe. Luckily, we weren’t on the highway, or it would have been dangerous!" Xia Yunjie, who had just given a "hidden kick," saw Wu Yuxi and the others looking at him and put on an expert’s face.

Since the facts were right there, and the timing was so impactful, Wu Yuxi and the others all nodded unconsciously, thinking they should avoid Japanese cars in the future.

At that moment, they really felt that Xia Yunjie was surrounded by the aura of an expert, no, a "shaman."

As Wu Yuxi and the others nodded, Zhang Xiaojun had already gotten out of the car with a sullen face. He walked to the back and kicked the completely flat rear tire, feeling extremely frustrated. The tire didn’t burst earlier or later, but just at this moment, wasn’t this a slap in the face?

However, no matter how frustrated he was, he could only accept his bad luck. At 2:30 AM, he had to take out the jack from the trunk and start the arduous task of changing the tire.

Cheng Ping looked at the empty street, where a car was parked alone by the roadside. The usually handsome and suave Zhang Xiaojun was working hard, looking particularly pitiful and miserable. She couldn’t help but tap Xia Yunjie’s head and scold, "You jinx!"

The others also rolled their eyes at Xia Yunjie, clearly thinking that Zhang Xiaojun’s flat tire was related to his jinx.

"This has nothing to do with me. I was just stating the facts. I didn’t expect his car to be so unreliable." Xia Yunjie shrugged innocently and yawned, saying, "It’s very late. I need to go home and sleep."

The night was very quiet, and Xia Yunjie’s words echoed clearly in the night sky, but they sounded very harsh to Zhang Xiaojun, who had to change the tire in the middle of the night.

Without his bicycle, Xia Yunjie had to take two buses to get back to the Deya neighborhood.

Back in his room, he washed up and took a shower. By the time he finished everything, it was almost 4:00 AM.

Seeing that it was almost the hour of the Rabbit, Xia Yunjie didn’t bother to sleep. With his current cultivation level, he could go without sleep for ten to fifteen days without any problems.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xia Yunjie took out a small, dark, and ancient turtle shell from his pocket. The shell was covered with many lines, which, upon closer inspection, formed a pattern resembling the Yin-Yang Taiji and Bagua, but it was crooked and not as neat as the ones on the fortune-telling mats on the street.

This turtle shell was passed down to Xia Yunjie by his master, Wu Ze. According to Wu Ze, the shell was inherited from his ancestor, Wu Xian, who was said to be the first person to use turtle shells for divination, split bamboo into two for divination, and use grass for divination. The later Zhou Yi divination, in a sense, originated from the divination techniques of the Wu clan. Unfortunately, the Wu clan declined, and many people only knew about the Zhou Yi divination but not its roots. Many even categorized the Wu clan’s divination as evil, associating it with witchcraft and ugly witches. By the time of Wu Ze, the number of people who truly understood the Wu clan’s divination techniques was almost extinct.

Holding the turtle shell and gently touching the ancient and weathered turtle patterns, Xia Yunjie couldn’t help but think of his deceased master and his almost mystical divination techniques.

After a while, Xia Yunjie calmed down, gazed into the starry sky, and his eyes shone brightly, as if they could pierce through the darkness and see through the vast universe. Almost simultaneously, the turtle shell in his hand emitted a faint light, and the lines on it became visible, flickering and even emitting a faint sound, as if telling a story in the darkness.

According to legend, turtles are spiritual creatures, and the ancients used turtle shells for divination. During divination, the turtle shell was placed over a fire, and it would make a cracking sound, known as "turtle speech." At the same time, the shell would show cracks of various lengths and shapes, which the diviners used to predict good or bad fortune and interpret past and future events.

Xia Yunjie was now using the turtle shell for divination, but his technique was much more advanced. He used the unique method of the Wu Xian school to channel his magical power into the shell, deducing the theft of the bicycle without needing to place the shell over a fire.

Wu Ze only forbade Xia Yunjie from using the Wu clan’s techniques for wealth or power but did not prohibit him from using them. The bicycle was bought with "a large sum" and was stolen the very next day, so Xia Yunjie was not willing to let it go. Moreover, although he appeared humble and hardworking, as the leader of the Wu Xian school and a descendant of the ancient Wu King Xia Yu, Xia Yunjie had a pride that few people knew about. The thief had the nerve to steal from him, and Xia Yunjie was not about to let it go.

"Ah!" Time passed quietly, and suddenly Xia Yunjie’s voice of surprise echoed in the darkness. He had deduced that the theft of the bicycle was related to Guangtou Qiang.

"This guy really has a short memory. He’s stealing from me again. Could I have a grudge with him from a past life?" Xia Yunjie shook his head, got up, and opened the bedside drawer, taking out a gold necklace.

This gold necklace was the one Guangtou Qiang had worn the day before, with a trace of blood from his head still on it.

"Fortunately, I was lazy and didn’t wash off the blood. Otherwise, it would be difficult to deduce Guangtou Qiang’s location in the vast sea of people." Xia Yunjie looked at the blood on the gold necklace and placed it on the turtle shell.

Then, just as before, Xia Yunjie gazed into the starry sky, holding the turtle shell and channeling his magical power into it. The shell glowed again, and the light in the darkness seemed to consume the blood. In no time, the blood on the gold necklace disappeared.

After the blood on the gold necklace disappeared, Xia Yunjie retracted his gaze, a satisfied smile on his lips. He said to himself, "Guangtou Qiang, let you have a little more fun. I’ll find you when it’s light."

Saying this, Xia Yunjie put away the turtle shell and the gold necklace, then lay down on the bed. When it was the hour of the Rabbit, he sat up, facing east, and began his daily practice of absorbing the earth’s qi.

When Xia Yunjie started his practice, a purple light, known as the "purple qi from the east," which is the qi produced by the rising sun at the hour of the Rabbit, shot toward Xia Yunjie from the east, where the red clouds were.

The purple qi entered Xia Yunjie’s yintang point, and just like the previous day, a vortex appeared, and the inverted ancient tripod in the vortex began to glow. At the same time, Xia Yunjie’s mudra palace lit up, filling the sky with light, as if a dark room had suddenly been illuminated by a bright lamp.