Chapter 1216: Demeanor

The aged man, whose hand had just been revealed, remained startled for a considerable time. Only then did he speak, "You have truly broadened this old man's understanding of heaven's favored ones."

Jiang Wang replied, "In this world, no two individuals are entirely alike. Each person you encounter is a fresh sight."

The old man *tsked* and said, "Speaking in riddles and pronouncements, you'd be quite suited to be a diviner."

"So diviners rely on clever tongues, do they?" Jiang Wang smiled and met his gaze. "If being good with words makes one suited to divination, I happen to know two truly exceptional talents. If you can offer me a thousand yuan stones, I shall introduce them to you as your successors. I guarantee they will make your sect flourish!"

"Spare me!" The old man waved his hand dismissively, yet a flicker of curiosity entered his gaze as he looked at Jiang Wang. "You are truly not afraid of death?"

Jiang Wang did not answer directly, but instead counter-questioned, "Just now, that young man who passed by, not yet thirty-seven years old, perished from illness, leaving behind orphans and a widow. A truly piteous sight. Since you can see through the future, why did you not aid him?"

The old man sighed, saying, "Birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, calamity, separation, hardship. All in the world are subject to fixed numbers. How can human power save and turn back the tide?"

Jiang Wang then pressed, "Then is the bloodlight disaster I am soon to face a fixed number, or is your helping me dispel the bloodlight disaster a fixed number?" If the former was a fixed number, what purpose did your protective talisman serve? If the latter was a fixed number, why should I still spend coin? In summary, if everything is subject to fixed numbers, what is the meaning of a diviner's existence?

Having thus challenged the old man's livelihood, the elder was neither angered nor did he argue. Instead, he merely chuckled, "Knowing me or not knowing me, it is no more than this. Interesting, truly interesting!"

Having finished his laughter, he once again offered the protective talisman. "Young man, for but a single knife coin, I shall sell it to you!"

Jiang Wang did not refuse this time. He drew forth a single knife coin and placed it on the old man's hand, wrinkled like ancient tree bark, accepting in turn the roughly crafted protective talisman.

"Might I inquire after the elder's origins?"

The old man, who had introduced himself as "god消人瘦" (divinely diminished, humanly gaunt), merely stroked Flamephoto's red mane, then smiled and withdrew.

Between heaven and earth, a song is sung—"He is extraordinary in the mouths of ordinary folk; the rest are mediocre and cannot fathom.""Northwards gazing, southwards pondering three hundred years, the stars shift, a lifetime rests!"

He retreated into the crowd, yet somehow vanished from Jiang Wang's sight. It was a peculiar observation, as if occurring on two simultaneous planes. But what Jiang Wang saw before his eyes was indeed only the bustling crowd, with no trace of the old man remaining. Only the protective talisman in his hand served as a reminder of the encounter's reality.

How vast the present world, how many strange folk populate its realms.

Jiang Wang looked at the protective talisman in his hand, flipped it and put it away, saying nothing further. He gently stroked Flamephoto's neck, and the crimson steed, sensing its master's will, advanced knowledgeably. In the noisy city of Linzi, its hooves fell light and nimble, stepping towards the distance. Its mane danced in the wind, like flickering flames.

By the time Jiang Wang arrived on horseback outside the "Yi" character gate, Lin Youxie had already been waiting for some time.

"Jiang adult, you are late," she said, looking at Jiang Wang. Her tone and expression were distant.

The meeting with Lin Youxie was scheduled for half an hour later. The return to the mansion itself hadn't taken long; the delay was primarily due to the lengthy encounter with the old man.

Aware of his tardiness, Jiang Wang drew the painted scroll from his storage box and went straight to the point. "Let us speak less of pleasantries, Captain Lin. This is the scene portrait after Huang Yixing's death. Perhaps you could examine it first and see if there are any clues."

"I have already examined it," Lin Youxie said.

Jiang Wang: ......

Good heavens, am I truly just here in name only?

But Jiang Wang, having gained some experience, smiled naturally. "Then, does Captain Lin perhaps have any clues you would be willing to share with me?"

He himself had diligently studied the painting and had made some discoveries, enough to counter the sharp edge emanating from this blue card family scion.

Lin Youxie was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you not know? A painter recording a scene, presenting details, can only present the details that person saw."

"Of course, I know." Jiang Wang furrowed his brow. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Unless I paint it myself, only after personally observing the scene can I determine what clues exist. Before that, any judgment has the possibility of being influenced by others and will lead to preconceived notions. An excellent blue card would not make such a choice." She glanced at Jiang Wang. "That painting can only give one a general understanding."

*The person who painted it was very meticulous, not necessarily inferior to you. The eyes were very lifelike too!* Jiang Wang thought silently.

On his face, however, was a smile. "Then let us depart."

He lightly nudged Flamephoto with his leg, and the crimson steed shot forth like an arrow loosed from a string, instantly galloping along the official road, a streak of flowing fire. Lin Youxie hastily ascended from the ground, flying alongside Flamephoto. Flamephoto was a magnificent steed of this world, galloping across the vast official road. While Lin Youxie's flying speed was not slow, she still had to exert effort to keep pace.

The roadside scenery receded swiftly. Soon, they had galloped out of Linzi's domain and entered the territory of Le'an County.

As she flew rapidly, Lin Youxie couldn't help but look at Jiang Wang several times. As a blue card captain handling cases, constant travel was commonplace, and she originally did not feel it was arduous. But seeing herself expending energy to fly at high speed, consuming her dao yuan, while the other rode leisurely on a high horse, seemingly even cultivating and studying dao arts... it truly felt unjust.

"Jiang adult," Lin Youxie spoke into the strong wind.

Jiang Wang responded with a perfunctory "Mm," indicating he was listening.

"You are the world's first Inner Mansion, and I, your subordinate, am but a small ant just entering the Inner Mansion realm. In terms of both dao yuan reserves and cultivation strength, I am far inferior to you."

*These are true words,* Jiang Wang thought.

"Then what?" he asked.

Lin Youxie said, "Great men of the world all possess great bearing."

Jiang Wang also sighed. "It is not limited to men or women, actually. At Guanhe Tai, I had the fortune to behold His Majesty the Herdsman Emperor. His bearing was truly grand, his aura boundless."

Lin Youxie found herself unable to connect with this statement and changed the subject. "I have heard that those throughout history who achieved great things were all very considerate of their subordinates."

Jiang Wang asked, "How have I not heard this?"

Lin Youxie: ......

"Jiang adult should still read a few more books." Her words carried a hint of gnashing teeth.

"Books, this official of course also reads. I have read several dao classics as well," Jiang Wang said, sitting steadily on the galloping horse's back, quite pleased with himself. "Just earlier, I discussed matters of reading with the Eleventh Prince."

*Even the Eleventh Prince and I have discussed reading! How dare you, Lin Youxie, imply that the Eleventh Prince's knowledge is insufficient?*

Lin Youxie indeed did not dare. "That was my presumption, then."

Jiang Wang, without reservation, instructed, "Captain Lin should still focus her energy on the case, and less on frivolous thoughts."

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved Lin Youxie became, and she simply clamped her mouth shut.

However, despite his unyielding stance, Jiang Wang himself truly felt that he ought to set aside some time to read. He now held a third-grade official position, seemingly at the higher echelons of the Qi kingdom, but he knew deeply that his own vision was truly lacking. He could not always wait for Chongxuan Sheng to guide him through confusion, and Chongxuan Sheng could not accompany him every moment.

Furthermore, it was said that traveling ten thousand *li* and reading ten thousand volumes were both ways to understand the world, and also a form of cultivation. Ten thousand *li* he had already traveled and would continue to do so. Ten thousand volumes, however, he had not even begun to count. In the early days at the dao courtyard, he had read the dao classics diligently, but after leaving home, with his heart set on becoming strong, he had indeed stopped reading the words of the sages.

Of course, these matters he would not share with Lin Youxie. They were not fellow travelers, merely temporarily on the same path.