For those with abilities related to prophecy or foresight, there’s always a cliché.
They can see the future of others, but they can’t see their own.
Or, even if they can see it, no matter what they do, they can’t escape that fate.
Personally, I find the latter a bit more terrifying.
The forr just ans living under the sa conditions as everyone else, so there’s nothing particularly frightening about it. But the latter implies that even if you know what’s coming for you, you have no choice but to sit still and submit to that fate.
That’s why I think the latter is scarier.
What could be more terrifying than a life where you can’t change the future you’ve foreseen?
Beep beep.
"Why are you like that? Is sothing wrong?"
"Oh, no, it’s nothing..."
I avoided the gaze of the woman looking at with a puzzled expression, sweating profusely.
’What... what do I do about this?’
How could I possibly say it?
That in the future I saw of you, I was pinned beneath you, my arms and legs bound?
Step step.
"Sigh..."
I let out an inward sigh as I looked at the ominous buildings before .
I really didn’t want to co here.
Even though I’d endured all sorts of hardships living as a fortune teller treated like a sorcerer or trickster, this place was one I truly never wanted to visit.
To think I’d end up coming to the Demonic Cult of all places in my lifeti.
"I just wanted to live quietly..."
How did it co to this?
I’d read a bit of fiction, but I’d never sent a 4,700-character private ssage to an author, nor had I fought in the comnts, nor had I secretly read a thousands-of-Chapters-long novel all by myself.
Honestly, I didn’t even read martial arts novels that much. The Chinese characters were too hard.
"I don’t even know if this is the world of a novel or not."
It was just a small lant from soone who’d suddenly been transmigrated into a martial arts world.
If I was going to be transmigrated, I wish it had been into a modern fantasy munchkin story.
I wanted to coast through life with a status window too.
But the body I’d transmigrated into didn’t have a status window or any grand opportunities—it was below average in every way.
My fra was small, my appearance frail, and in a martial world where a single misstep in a tavern could cost my head, I had no advantages to help survive.
On top of that, it seed this body had suffered so kind of accident—its dantian was shattered, so I couldn’t even learn the most basic Three Calamities Heart thod.
It was honestly so frustrating to co to a martial arts world and not be able to learn a single martial art. Ignoring my master’s warnings, I morized the incantations of a heart thod, only to end up bleeding from every orifice in my body. After that, I didn’t even glance at anything related to martial arts.
If you asked how I’d survived this long with such a weak body and no martial skills, I’d say it was largely thanks to my master.
["Oh ho, what an interesting child. You’re not a martial artist who’s hit a wall in their cultivation, yet your mind, energy, and body are so distorted. Would you like to co with ?"]
Back in the early days of my transmigration, when I had nothing and was sucking on my fingers in a back alley, my master found . At that ti, the only food I could get was a few bowls of plain noodles bought with money I’d begged for at the risk of my life.
["I can’t promise you’ll conquer the world or have all of the martial realm bow at your feet, but I can at least ensure you won’t go hungry."]
Back then, I was wasting away day by day, rejecting offers from thugs to sell my body in a brothel, so I accepted my master’s proposal without hesitation.
And after that...
"A lot has happened, hasn’t it?"
So much had happened that I couldn’t even begin to explain it now.
As I was lost in reminiscence with a complicated look in my eyes, a man who appeared to be a martial artist approached .
"Are you that fortune teller?"
"If there’s only one fortune teller summoned by the Divine Cult today, then that would be , sir."
It was my first ti seeing this man, but the emotions he directed at were all too familiar.
Contempt. Disdain.
At first, it hurt a little, but now I don’t care anymore.
"Whether people despise or not, I’ve survived this long with this ability."
I’d kneel if I had to.
I’d grovel if necessary.
I’d even lick their feet if that’s what it took to survive.
That’s how I’ve made it this far in this blood-soaked world.
But I can’t reveal these thoughts.
For a trickster to show their true feelings is the sa as giving up their way of life.
"Your appearance seems familiar. May I dare ask your na, sir?"
"...I have no na to give soone like you."
"Oh, my apologies for the rudeness."
He brushed off, but I wasn’t particularly curious about his na anyway.
I didn’t think a man sent to escort a trickster like in a cult that worships strength would be soone renowned in the martial world.
What matters is planting this impression:
I’m a background person.
I’m soone you don’t even need to pay attention to.
Sure, there are exceptions, but most martial artists stop noticing once I act this way.
The emotions coming from this man were of that sort too.
It was clear he didn’t like but had no choice but to deal with .
"Before you follow , put this over your eyes."
The man handed a piece of cloth.
Ah, so they don’t want to see the layout inside the building?
I was a little curious about what the Demonic Cult looked like, but refusing this would be no different from offering up my neck, so I obediently wrapped the cloth around my eyes.
"I’ve put it on. Is this good enough?"
"...Your face is hidden by that bloodstained cloak you’re wearing upside down, so lower it for a mont."
"I’m sorry to speak out of turn, but that might be difficult. For a trickster like , my true appearance is as good as my life."
"Are you saying you, an outsider, intend to enter this cult without covering your eyes?"
Shing.
True to a martial artist, the sound of a sword being drawn rang out after a single refusal.
The man radiated a killing intent, as if he’d slice through the bloodstained cloak—well, mantle—covering my body at any mont.
"I swear it on the honor of the Sword Queen."
"..."
"You must know that the Sword Empress owes her life. This is sothing I’ve been permitted as repaynt for that debt. If it’s discovered that I didn’t cover my eyes, feel free to cut down and demand recompense from the Sword Empress. Wouldn’t that be a good deal for the Divine Cult too?"
The Sword Empress of the Huashan Sect.
To , she’s both a source of gratitude and a headache.
By sheer chance, a fortune I read for her ended up resolving a matter tied to her life, leaving her in my debt.
But because of that, word spread across the entire Central Plains, and now even the Demonic Cult has taken an interest in .
For soone who just wanted to live quietly, it’s nothing short of a disaster.
But rejecting an invitation from the Demonic Cult outright? I don’t even want to imagine what they’d do to .
"What will you do?"
"...Follow ."
He didn’t say it outright, but the man seed satisfied with my words.
I heard the sound of his footsteps as he began walking.
Wait, hold on a second.
"With my eyes covered like this, shouldn’t you hold onto and guide ? I haven’t trained in martial arts, so I can’t walk if I can’t see."
"..."
The man sighed and grabbed my arm, pulling along.
As expected of a martial artist, he knew how to handle a body well—he guided so I wouldn’t stumble despite not being able to see.
"By the way, may I ask who summoned ?"
"..."
Wow, he’s not answering that either?
At least tell who I’m here to read a fortune for!
"You’ll naturally find out once we get there."
"...Understood."
Well, no shit, Sherlock?
Of course I’ll find out when I get there—how could I not?
That’s what I thought, but of course, I didn’t say it out loud.
And so, we walked for quite a while.
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