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  A white ceramic bathtub, a golden showerhead, and a natural marble countertop. The water in the bathtub reflects the pale blue color of the ceiling, like a shallow sea. A woman lies quietly in the water, red rose petals covering her youthful and beautiful body, delicate skin and raven-black hair gently rising and falling with the water. Several old women are secretly wiping away tears while gently helping her clean up.

  "Miss, miss, you can't just leave Master like this. If you go, how will the white-haired person send off the black-haired person..."

  With a creak, the closed door was opened, and the old mother stared at the person who came in, it was Xiaobai's father, his face was tired, and it could be seen that this man was in the most sorrowful mood.

  "Old master, this..." The old servant's towel was still dripping with water. She understood the pain of a father losing his daughter, but at this moment he burst in, seemingly neither polite nor dignified.

  The old mother, with a sob in her voice, begged the man: "Sir, the young lady hasn't finished washing yet, could you please go out first?"

  "You all go." The man said with a sob: "First get out, close the door, pack up and go back to your hometown for a few days. Housekeeper Old Cheng has already prepared some travel expenses for you."

  The old lady immediately cried out: "Old master, we're not leaving, how can we leave at a time like this......"

  "It's not that I'm driving you away, it's just that you should go back and avoid this place for now, something has come up at home these past two days." Seeing the determined look on those old women's faces, Mr. Yuan suddenly steeled his face and slammed the black cane in his hand onto the ground, saying: "I told you to leave, did you hear me? Get out of here immediately!"

  Suddenly, the ravens and sparrows fell silent. The old woman began to tidy up her last affairs. A man who had fallen into the valley several times but could still stand up and shout at the wind and clouds, that majesty was not to be doubted. He just slightly raised his voice.

  The old ladies walked out one after another, passing by the old man's side and looking at the young man closely following behind him, each of their eyes showing complex emotions.

  The Yuan family quieted down, Mr. Yuan turned around and gently patted He Chaobin's shoulder, wanting to say something else, but just let out a soft sigh and closed the bathroom door, quietly leaving him alone with Xiaobai.

  Cha Wenbin had a black cloth strip tied around his face, just covering his eyes. He knew that even if he didn't do this, Mr. Yuan wouldn't blame him, but he would himself. In some situations, his principles were not to be broken. He respected her, even though something was about to happen.

  The clothes on his body began to fade away one by one, Cha Wenbin was not a well-dressed man, he was somewhat thin, originally was, now only became thinner. Barefoot, he felt his way towards the edge of the bathroom, touching the smooth bathtub, lightly touching that still warm body.

  Just lie in my arms like this, maybe this is fate...

  Half a month ago, he passed by the Yellow River ferry terminal and arrived at a small mountain village on the other side. Zhang Wenbin was looking for a way to understand the mystery of life and death, and someone told him that there was an expert here who understood the art of communicating with heaven and earth.

  There was a man who had seen an old man on the verge of death, guarding a kiln cave with a large white goose that would peck at people outside the door. As for the rumors about this "high-ranking person", Zha Wenbin was half-believing and half-doubtful. Who was he? According to what Luo Men's people said, his surname was Li, but nobody knew his name, and everyone called him Li Shenxian. All the strange people in the world were in Luo Men, Long Ye had already left, that year he and my father entered Shuangyuan Village together, he never came out alive again, but Luo Men was still there.

  The cave was very dark, with no light. There was a kerosene lamp on the bedside table, but the wick had already turned black, and the flame seemed to be about to go out at any moment, just like the old man. The old man had no descendants, and occasionally someone from the village would come to send some food and drink. On the table were a few steamed buns that had been covered in dust for some time.

  Unfortunately, the first sentence Zhang Wenbin heard after entering was: "You're too late."

  Cha Wenbin was surprised: "Do you know I'm coming?"

  The old man panted heavily and said, "I've been waiting for you for a week, but unfortunately I don't have much time left. Alas, I'm old, confused, and can't even keep track of things anymore. Young one, you must agree to something before I can continue speaking with you."

  "Although it's said, whatever can be done by a junior will certainly be done."

  The old man nodded and said, "When you leave the cave and head northwest towards the swamp, there's a small hill with an old persimmon tree on it. Under the tree, there's a circle of black stones arranged neatly. After I die, just wrap me in this worn-out quilt and dig three meters deep according to the arrangement of those stones, then bury me."

  Although Cha Wenbin is not a doctor, he can also see that the old man has already set foot on the road to the underworld. Having seen life and death parting ways for many years, it's not that he's indifferent, but rather that he's learned to accept it.

  "I'll order a good coffin for you, and you can rest assured on your way."

  The old man nodded slightly, his turbid eyes revealing a hint of approval: "After all, you are not destined to be an ordinary person, but in the end, you will still be like me. Such is fate, and it cannot be changed."

  Cha Wenbin didn't catch his drift, so he hastened to the point: "I've come today with a request, I dare ask Senior Li Shenzhan, I have a friend who's contracted a strange illness. Her soul can see people around her, but all three of her souls are present and yet none are lost. Is there a way to cure this disease?"

  "No." The old man's answer was brief, and by the light of the oil lamp, he seemed to want to get closer to Cha Wenbin's face, wanting to take a good look at this person he had been waiting for so many days.

  Zha Wenbin bent his knees and gently knelt in front of the old man's bed, saying: "I know you have a way, I also know that one day I will have to take that path too. I don't want to see my friends suffer again, it's really unbearable."

  "Alas..." The old man let out a long sigh, coughed twice in succession, and stretched out his wrinkled hands like tree bark to grab Zhang Wenbin, but unfortunately he gave up at the last moment just as he was about to make contact.

  "Get up, first tell me, it's not one person, but several people, right?"

  Cha Wenbin then recounted everything from the year he went to the countryside as a youth until half a month ago, regarding him, my father, Xiao Bai, Ye Qiu and Pangzi. He quickly repeated everything he knew and didn't know to that old man in the shortest time possible, and then waited patiently for an answer like a child.

  The old man fell into deep thought after hearing this. He first asked Cha Wenbin a question: "Do you know why things have ended up like this?"

  Cha Wenbin shook his head, he was indeed puzzled. The people of Luomenli told him that this old man was a legendary figure, someone who could be praised by them must be a dragon among men, but he never thought it would be such a sorrowful old man.

  The old man smiled bitterly: "Because I know too much, my whole life has been spent asking questions for others, people call me Li Shenxian, but they don't know that I've long since offended the gods. In the inner room, turn left and there's a black box with a sheepskin scroll inside, this was left to me by my master."

  He took out the sheepskin scroll stored in the brocade box, and Cha Wenbin carefully opened it. Suddenly, he felt that the patterns on the scroll were very familiar yet strange. He was familiar with the lines and dots on the picture, but the arrangement and combination seemed to have never appeared anywhere before.

  "Do you know why I'm called Li Shenxian?" The old man gently stroked the sheepskin paper and said, "It's because of this that our sect has reached its end with my generation, and it's also a heavenly punishment. We should have been extinct by now. Originally, I was supposed to continue searching for someone to pass this on to, but I couldn't bear to harm others, so I decided to take it with me to the grave. Unexpectedly, half a month ago, I calculated that a certain young man would come, and although I thought it wouldn't be so coincidental, you still came. First, give me your hand."

  Lao Wenbin handed over his hand, and the old man held it lightly. The palm of his hand was not as thorny as the back of his hand, but rather had an indescribable smoothness, a kind of touch that ordinary young people didn't have. The old man half-closed his eyes and gently wandered on Lao Wenbin's hand, knowing that there was a strange technique in this world called "fortune-telling by feeling the bones".

  The old man fumbled, sometimes furrowing his brow and sometimes nodding his head. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he let go of Cha Wenbin and said: "I've always thought I was smart all my life, and I've met countless people without missing anyone. Who would have thought that today, just before leaving, I'd still make another mistake? It's really embarrassing."

  "Senior, please don't say such things, it's bad luck for your juniors."

  "I can see nine and a half points about you, but the remaining half point is beyond my comprehension. However, your destiny is extraordinary, with seven points similar to mine, yet three points different. These three points are beyond even my abilities, never mind. I finally understand what it means to have 'heaven beyond heaven' and 'people beyond people'. The old man exerted himself to prop up his body on the bed and slightly bowed towards the west: "Master, I will pass this book down to him; you won't object, will you?"

  Upon hearing the old man's words, Cha Wenbin hastily stood up and declined, saying: "Senior, I came seeking a way to save people. This is something passed down through your school of thought, it's really not suitable for me."

  "Young man, if you want to save your friend, I'll give you this. It can only save him for the time being, but not forever. If you have the fate to understand the latter half of this scroll, just burn a handwritten copy towards my tomb in the future." The old man handed the sheepskin scroll to Cha Wenbin and said: "Do you know about the stone abacus?"

  "I know a little." Zhang Wenbin didn't dare to show off in front of him and could only answer like this.

  The old man spoke sincerely, and his words almost gave Cha Wenbin a glimmer of hope. He said: "My family's master spent his entire life deciphering this stone abacus, but ultimately only solved half of it, so we can only understand nine and a half parts. This thing has always been passed down only to the head of the sect, but now you and I don't have a master-disciple relationship, yet I want to give it to you. You just need to kowtow to me, and I know that in your first half of life, you've already entered the Taoist gate, so there's no need for us to have any further connection."

  This answer was beyond his expectation, and there were actually people in the world who had solved half of Fuxi's eight trigrams stone abacus. However, after this brief excitement, the old man's next words were like icy cold water that made him feel chilled to the bone. The old man continued: "I'll give you a sentence about your fate: Those with power must have a restrictive star, and the power star needs to be supported by a restrictive star. If the five elements are extremely good but lack a restrictive star, then the power star will be lonely. Remember, you're not an ordinary person. If you want to make a name for yourself, it's all about seizing the moment. As they say, 'it's impossible to have two things that are perfectly beautiful at the same time.' The five elements and qi are harmonious, without any restrictive stars, which means a long life, but only an ordinary person with enough food and clothing. Once the power and restrictive stars come together, even the most respected person will not be able to avoid being punished by the six relatives and ending up lonely and old."

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