Chapter 26

The coffin was blood red, the red so shocking that it gave off an inexplicable eerie feeling. Xu Mo couldn't help but feel a chill, convinced that the red on the surface of the coffin was dyed with fresh blood.

Flipping further back, the eighth page was a portrait of a beautiful woman. Xu Mo took one look and couldn't help but be stunned, taking a long time to recover, and finally let out a long sigh.

He wasn't unfamiliar with beautiful women, but a face as exquisite as this was a first in his life. Every feature—mouth, nose, eyes, and ears—was exquisitely refined, like a meticulously crafted work of art, exuding a captivating charm.

Her black hair was braided into dozens, even hundreds, of small braids, hanging down from her head, curling and twisting like little snakes, giving off an equally eerie feeling.

The ninth page was a massive waterfall cascading down from a sheer cliff, falling into a deep pool and forming a river.

Xu Mo sighed, closing the Book of Revelation. These three pictures, and the child, at least for now, seemed to have no connection.

In the following days, he kept a close eye on the situation of Qin Ruolan and her son, fearing any unexpected events. However, nothing strange happened, and he gradually became more relaxed.

One day, he received another interview notification, this time from a chemical plant in the western suburbs of Huai City. The location was quite remote, undeveloped, and the transportation was inconvenient. After some hesitation, Xu Mo decided to go and check it out.

He had an appointment with the chemical plant at 3 PM. Since the journey was quite long, he boarded the bus to the western suburbs at 2 PM.

At this time, there were few people on the bus, and even fewer going to such a remote place. Apart from the bus driver, Xu Mo was the only passenger.

Xu Mo walked to the back and found a seat. After two stops, another person boarded the bus. It was a young girl, about 18 or 19 years old, with a round face, short hair, and a very delicate appearance. She was wearing a dark blue outfit, looking very pure.

As soon as she got on, she took out a piece of paper and showed it to the driver, asking, "Sir, do you know how to get to this place?"

The driver leaned over to take a look, "I'm not too sure. You can get off at the terminal and ask someone there."

The girl said, "Oh," and thanked him, looking a bit disappointed. She then walked into the bus, her eyes lighting up when she saw Xu Mo. She quickly approached and sat down opposite him, smiling at him. When Xu Mo turned to face her, she smiled and said, "Hello!"

Xu Mo replied, "Hello!"

The girl then asked, "Are you going to Qiuxia Road?" The 'Qiuxia Road' she mentioned was the terminal of this bus.

Xu Mo nodded, and the girl's eyes lit up again. She took out the piece of paper she had shown the driver and asked, "Do you know how to get to this place?"

Xu Mo leaned over to look. The paper had a few words written in oil pen: 'Qiuxia Road 13.' The handwriting was elegant, clearly written by a woman, and most likely by the girl herself.

"Qiuxia Road 13," Xu Mo read the address softly, shook his head, and said, "Sorry, it's my first time going to the western suburbs." He paused and added, "But I'm going to Qiuxia Road 9, which shouldn't be too far from your destination. If you don't mind, we can look for it together."

"Oh!" The girl smiled, "That would be a bother, but the place is quite remote, with few people around. The distance between 9 and 13 might not be short."

Xu Mo nodded, not saying anything. The girl, however, was quite talkative and asked without any reserve, "What are you going to the western suburbs for?" She spoke clearly and quickly.

Xu Mo said, "For a job interview." He then asked casually, "What about you?"

"I?" The girl smiled, seeming a bit embarrassed to say. After a while, she said, "Do you believe in fortune-telling?"

Xu Mo didn't expect her to ask this and was taken aback. After a moment of thought, he said, "I can't say I believe or disbelieve. If it's accurate, I believe; if not, I don't. However, I don't think fortune-tellers can predict a person's fate."

"Why?" The girl blinked at him, looking very curious.

Xu Mo was taken aback again. He was a quiet person and not very talkative, and he wasn't quite used to the girl's straightforward manner. After a while, he said, "A person's fate, well, not just a person's fate, but everything in the world, every small thing, is influenced by countless factors. These countless factors are all interconnected. A small change in one link can make the entire situation deviate from its original course and become completely different."

"Therefore, to predict a person's fate, one must calculate every small link in life and the impact of each small link. This is an incredibly massive project, and I don't think anyone can deduce it."

"Oh!" The girl reacted quickly, immediately understanding his meaning, and asked, "Are you talking about the butterfly effect?"

Xu Mo nodded, not saying anything. He had once seen a movie about the butterfly effect. The protagonist was dissatisfied with his current life, and the reason for this dissatisfaction was due to a small event in the past.

So he went back in time and changed the direction of this small event, and as a result, his entire subsequent life changed.

The girl said, "I admit your argument is very reasonable, but my personal experience makes me believe in it."

Xu Mo turned to look at her, his eyes showing a questioning look.

The girl continued, "Last Wednesday, I was going to the supermarket to buy something. As I was walking down the street, I suddenly heard someone calling my name. I stopped and turned to look, and there was a person waving at me."

"It was an old man, wearing a white jacket, with white hair and a white beard. He looked very old but was very energetic. He was standing by the roadside, holding a fortune-telling stick with a Taiji symbol on top and a couplet on both sides: 'Ask about the good and bad fortune of the world, predict the future and the fate of the world.'"

"I thought he was probably a fraud, but he called my name, which made me curious. Reluctantly, I approached him. At this moment, the old man pointed to a passerby and loudly said, 'Young man, you have good fortune today. Go buy a lottery ticket right away. If you don't win, come find me.'"

"The old man had a strong voice, full of confidence. The person he called was startled and asked, 'Old man, are you talking to me?' The old man glared at him and shouted, 'Who else? Your good fortune is here, but it will only last for a few minutes. Go buy a scratch-off lottery ticket right away.'"

"The person laughed, clearly not believing him, and asked, 'Old man, you didn't even look at my palm or ask my birth date. How do you know I have good fortune? Please, be a bit more professional when you cheat.' The old man ignored him and pointed to another onlooker, sternly saying, 'Young man, you have a blood disaster. Go home right away, or you'll face it soon.'"

"The onlookers thought he was being ridiculous and booed. The person he said would have a blood disaster sneered, looking very dismissive, and muttered, 'Crazy!' If the old man didn't look so old, he might have been attacked. After muttering, he turned and walked away. The old man watched him with a cold smile, counting down, 'Five, four, three...'

"The onlookers were about to leave, but seeing this, they stopped, waiting for the old man to finish counting before mocking him.

"But just as the old man counted to zero, a sports car suddenly sped down the street, hitting the person with the blood disaster and killing him on the spot.

"The scene was so quiet that a pin could be heard. For a long time, no one said a word. Although it was a car accident, no one was concerned about the person who was hit. After a while, someone in the crowd exclaimed, 'Amazing!' The others applauded involuntarily.

"The person with good fortune quietly left the crowd, bought a scratch-off lottery ticket at a nearby newsstand, and without even scratching it, planned to leave. The old man suddenly shouted, 'Young man, come back!'

"Hearing the old man's voice, the person had no choice but to return, bowing respectfully to the old man, 'Hello, old immortal.' The old man grunted and shouted, 'You won the lottery and want to run away? Scratch it and show everyone how much you won!'

"The person, though unwilling, had no choice but to scratch the ticket in front of everyone. I was close enough to see clearly, and the ticket showed a prize of 50,000 yuan. The crowd burst into exclamations of surprise. The person with good fortune, as predicted by the old man, won 50,000 yuan with one lottery ticket.

"The old man sneered and said, 'How do you plan to thank me for winning the lottery?' The person said nothing, took all the money from his wallet, about 1,000 yuan, and gave it to the old man. The old man didn't even look at it, putting it in the money box beside him and said, 'It's a bit less, but it's fine. Go home and take your mother to the hospital for a check-up.'

"The person was stunned and immediately asked, 'Old immortal, please tell me, what's wrong with my mother?' His tone was anxious and very concerned. The old man waved his hand, impatiently saying, 'Don't ask, it's useless. Just go to the hospital and get a check-up.'

"Then he turned to me, 'Luoshi, do you know why I called you?'"

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