Chapter 199: Supreme 95

Again, it was Lizhizi, but Liu Muyang didn't know about it, which obviously meant that the special operations team members who dealt with Lizhizi didn't report this matter.

Encountering a survivor while on the march was a routine event, Liu Muyang wouldn't and couldn't concern himself with such trivial matters.

But now it was different. A Taoist had followed behind the Expeditionary Army for more than five hundred kilometers, over six days. He would need a special reason to justify this.

So now Liu Muyang had to take a look.

"You all eat, I'm going to have a look," he said.

Zhao Qiang stood up and said, "I'll go too."

Zhao Qiang and the others also ate during mealtime because he had to make sure not to appear too special, nor to allow the person he was protecting to seem too special. So when Xinghe ate, they ate too, though their manner of eating was a bit peculiar.

Zhao Qiang's hands weren't dirty at all; he stood up without even needing to wipe them.

Xinghe continued eating without looking up, while Gao Yuan put down the lamb rib in his hand and looked up, saying, "I'll take a look too. I'm quite interested in that Taoist."

Liu Muyang asked in surprise, "You've seen him before?"

"Yes, he found our resting spot directly. I want to see what exactly this Taoist wants," Gao Yuan replied.

Liu Muyang frowned and said, "He found your resting spot directly? Hmm, we really need to find out what's going on here."

When they saw Lizhizi again, he was escorted over by two special operations team members.

Stonegate was already in spring, the temperature was fairly high, but in Guisui it was still very cold. Lizhizi, wearing a cotton robe, was freezing, with his face red from the cold and his hands tucked in his sleeves, constantly stamping his feet on the ground.

"What's going on?" Liu Muyang asked.

"Reporting to the commander, we noticed someone following us, so we left two men to check. Then we found him riding a bicycle behind us, but he wouldn't say what he wanted to do," a team member reported.

Liu Muyang was about to speak when Zhao Qiang gestured with his hand and then approached Lizhizi with a smile, saying, "Taoist Priest Lizhizi, hello."

Zhao Qiang bowed his hands, and Lizhizi hurriedly took his own out of his sleeves and returned the gesture, saying, "Brother, hello. It's nice to see you here again. Could I get something to eat? I'm starved, truly starved."

Zhao Qiang still smiled and said, "This place has become a refuge already. Our refuge welcomes every survivor unconditionally. Now that you've arrived here, of course, there's food for you. It's just, Taoist Priest, why did you insist on following us?"

Lizhizi chuckled and said, "I'm not just looking to scrape together a meal; I wanted to lend a helping hand."

Zhao Qiang's expression didn't change, he just smiled and said, "Taoist Priest, it's better to tell the truth. Otherwise, I'm going to have a hard time."

Lizhizi hesitated; he didn't know Zhao Qiang's identity, but Zhao Qiang's smile while talking to him gave him a dangerous feeling.

Finally, Lizhizi spoke in a low voice, "Would you believe me if I said the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed?"

Zhao Qiang shook his head and said, "No. Either reveal the secrets of heaven or... heh."

Lizhizi sighed lightly and said, "Alright then, I'll tell you. One morning, after meditation, I did a divination, and the divination showed great auspiciousness to the east. Then using Plum Blossom Numerology to calculate, ah, it was strange, the result was the divination of Thunder Lake Wind, which signals great change. I couldn't understand it. With calamities descending, demons rampant in the world, how could there be such an augury of major prosperity and change? I thought something was wrong. At this stage, if there's any significant change, wouldn't that be the end? But why did the divination show it was greatly auspicious?"

Frowning, Liu Muyang said, "Speak plainly!"

Lizhizi was stunned for a moment and said, "What do you mean my words aren't making sense!"

Just as Liu Muyang was about to speak, Zhao Qiang smiled and gestured for Liu Muyang to not be hasty, then he said in a low voice, "Go on."

Lizhizi's spirit revived as he said, "I just felt something wasn't right. Then I stepped outside and look! Ha, there were people on the highway! That's when I understood, for sure, there had been a sign of change!"

Zhao Qiang laughed and said, "Your mountain is more than twenty kilometers away from the highway in a straight line, right? You could see that?"

Lizhizi lifted his cotton robe to pull out a pair of binoculars and said, "When I'm up there with nothing to do, I often look down on the world below..."

A quite compact eight-times binoculars, often used for bird watching, and moreover a quality import.

Lizhizi said with a smile, "Left to me by my senior brother, he gave it to me."

Gao Yuan couldn't help but ask, "How many senior brothers do you have?"

Zhao Qiang couldn't hide his exasperation. He glanced at Gao Yuan and said, "You can't just call anyone senior brother. They refer to older believers or wealthy patrons who fund the construction of the Taoist Temple as senior brothers. Naturally, those who don't believe in the way definitely aren't called senior brothers."

Lizhizi nodded and said, "Yes, yes, that's right. I'm talking about a senior brother who funded the construction of the Taoist Temple."

Zhao Qiang continued, "So, you directly headed towards us like that?"

"Ah, of course. I made a beeline for the east, not deviating one bit, just heading towards the highway, and then I ran into you guys."

"Then why did you follow us?"

Lizhizi sighed and said, "Alas, I was persuaded to go back, but after you left, I calculated another divination. I didn't expect much, but it turned out to be a divination of meeting a noble person. Moreover, this divination was extraordinary—it was the Supreme Honor divination, the so-called 'dragon flying to the sky, good fortune in meeting the significant ones, overseeing all, achieving a position of heavenly grace.' I felt that I couldn't miss out on such an auspicious meeting with noble persons, so of course I had to follow."

Liu Muyang was stunned for a moment, then he looked at Lizhizi again and furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

Zhao Qiang, still unfazed, said with a smile, "Supreme Honor divination, haha, quite interesting. Do you wish to ride on the dragon's coattails?"

Lizhizi's expression changed, and he said, "How can this be riding on the dragon's coattails? Senior brother, your words seem quite dismissive. I only want to contribute my modest efforts. Since I've discovered that this troop has hope, of course, I should follow."

Gao Yuan was deeply impressed by now. He began to believe that there truly was magic in Taoism.

But Zhao Qiang was still unimpressed. He smiled and said, "How about this? You divine another cast for me. If you're accurate, I will treat you to mutton and mutton soup. If you're not, I won't send you away; you'll just stay at the refuge."

"Alright, what should I divine!"

Lizhizi was full of confidence. Zhao Qiang thought for a moment and said, "Divine where our journey is headed."

Lizhizi took out three copper coins from his pocket, shook them in his hand, and then tossed them into the air. After the coins landed, he glanced at them and said, "Ah, it's the Qian divination again..."

Zhao Qiang asked with a smile, "How do you interpret the divination? Qian as the sky, surely you don't think we're heading to the heavens?"

"Don't rush, I'm combining it with Plum Blossom Numerology. Hmm, you're heading northwest, so that means..."

A mocking smile appeared on Zhao Qiang's face. Lizhizi quickly said, "That's right, first, you head northwest, then southeast. Look, the place where I ran into you guys, isn't it northwest from here? Then next, you should be heading southeast. Yes, you are bound for the southeast!"