Chapter 474: Appointing Fate?
The Demon Cultivator Elder continued to inquire with Liu Er about Ning Zhuo, and in the end, he figured out the reason.
“Ning Zhuo is temporarily attached to Little Six because of a family feud.”
“He himself has goals of his own for traveling, so after this great battle, he’ll be leaving.”
“In fact, as long as the war turns unfavorable and he sees no hope for revenge, he might leave midway.”
“As for his and the Ning Family’s support of Little Six, part of it is because Ning Zhuo gets along well with him, another part is due to that family feud, and the final part is about profiting from the spoils of war.”
“After all, many times, war fortune is the most profitable.”
Having thought this through, the Demon Cultivator Elder no longer paid attention to Ning Zhuo.
Seeing his teacher react this way, Liu Er, aware of the elder’s talent in divination, was stirred and probed, “Teacher, is it that Ning Zhuo and I are not fated?”
The Demon Cultivator Elder immediately responded sternly, “Little Six, you must get rid of such thoughts at once!”
“Though you bear the King’s Mandate, you must understand, the events within the King’s Mandate are not destined to happen without fail.”
“The King’s Mandate is merely a powerful tendency, and it can still be altered.”
“Therefore, even if Ning Zhuo and you are not fated, you can still change that through your own efforts, turning a lack of fate into destiny, and make him your subordinate.”
“If Ning Zhuo and you are indeed fated, but you repeatedly let opportunities slip by, resulting in the loss of talent, then the fault is yours. If you cannot grasp the opportunities bestowed by fate, it is all for naught.”
“Do you understand?”
By the end, the Demon Cultivator Elder had changed his expression and scolded him loudly.
Liu Er hurriedly bowed and expressed gratitude for his teacher’s reprimand, promising to forever remember these words.
“Mm.” The Demon Cultivator Elder finally nodded, his expression softening.
It was precisely because the King’s Mandate could be changed that the Demon Cultivator Elder personally came to protect this crucial turning point.
In Liu Er’s early development, Mu Lan was especially important to him, a most critical stepping stone that would allow Liu Er to enter Liangzhu Kingdom’s officialdom in an upright manner.
Otherwise, relying solely on his half-demon status to fight his way forward would never gain the acceptance of the mainstream upper ranks. Even if he had talent, it would be buried for many years.
The Demon Cultivator Elder shifted the topic, “Regarding the matter of the rights to spoils of war—Little Six, how do you intend to handle that?”
Liu Er’s face was solemn as he bowed and clasped his hands, “Disciple sees two major drawbacks.”
“First, it may damage our reputation for integrity. Such a reputation must be cherished, especially when mingling with the righteous path. With my awkward identity, without integrity and other such virtuous titles, every step would be arduous.”
“Second, the bulk of our military expenses are funded by Ning Zhuo, and likely will continue to be so in the future. Reclaiming full ownership of the spoils is tantamount to eating the Ning Family’s rations. If this continues long-term, is the Three Generals Camp still ours, or is it Ning Family’s?”
Observing the elder’s expression and seeing him stroke his beard and nod in satisfaction, Liu Er grew a bit bolder and continued, “Disciple originally asked about the King’s Mandate and Ning Zhuo’s fate…”
“In truth, it was with this matter in mind.”
“If Ning Zhuo and I are not fated at all, then accepting support from the Ning Family now could be done more boldly.”
“After all, the Ning Family is in Southern Dou Country, not within Liangzhu Kingdom.”
Seeing that Liu Er still wanted to speak, the Demon Cultivator Elder decisively raised a hand, “Enough. Handle it as you see fit.”
“I called you here today for another matter, one that is thousands of times more important than Ning Zhuo or the spoils of war!”
“Since you wish to pursue Mu Lan, then be decisive, bold, proactive, and above all—honorable.”
“Mu Lan is a tigeress born of a general’s household; she most admires heroes on the battlefield. If you act sneakily and opportunistically, even if you defeat Double Purity and Sun Gan in the end, she still won’t be moved by you.”
Liu Er exclaimed, “This… Teacher, I naturally have the aura of a hero, and I very much wish to express it.”
“It’s just that the enemy is overwhelming, and my Three Generals Camp has just begun to take shape. Our small foundation might be completely torn apart…”
The Demon Cultivator Elder once again raised his hand, stopping Liu Er’s explanation.
“Go, then.”
He waved his hand in the direction of the Three Generals Camp.
Liu Er was puzzled at first, but quickly realized and said as he took his leave, “Teacher, I understand what you meant.”
“When I return, I’ll pursue Mu Lan grandly and openly, with all the fanfare I can muster.”
When Liu Er looked up again, the Demon Cultivator Elder had already disappeared.
“Teacher remains as mysterious and unfathomable as ever,” Liu Er muttered, then turned back toward the camp.
However, the Demon Cultivator Elder had not left. He remained at the same spot.
It was only that his illusions had concealed himself from Liu Er’s eyes.
The elder’s face was deathly pale, and blood spurted from all seven orifices. Vast amounts of vital essence and lifespan flowed with the blood, rapidly depleting.
The elder endured with great difficulty.
The pain across both body and soul made him feel worse than death, as if every moment lasted a lifetime.
Eventually, the agony subsided, and the bleeding from his seven orifices ceased.
This was the drawback of divination.
Everything in existence carries both benefit and harm—this is the natural balance.
Divination often allows one to deduce the future’s trajectory—an enormous benefit among all cultivation arts. Yet its drawbacks are far more numerous and severe than other arts.
The elder’s recent suffering was a consequence of using divination to guide a key figure, causing a violent surge in fate, which he bore—suffering its powerful backlash.
And even this—was not considered a “critical reminder”!
A critical reminder, also known as Appointing Fate, is exceedingly difficult. It requires the diviner to possess a strong spirit of sacrifice and selflessness, for leaking too much of Heaven’s secrets can lead to fatal backlash.
What the Demon Cultivator Elder had just done wasn’t a critical reminder. It was not Appointing Fate.
If, before Liu Er had learned about dual cultivation with Mu Lan or had even developed feelings to pursue her, the elder had explicitly pointed it out—that would have been Appointing Fate.
Having received such valuable guidance from his teacher, Liu Er acted decisively upon returning.
He summoned Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo, and publicly announced the reclaiming of spoils-of-war ownership—but only for a portion of the people.
“Since this group of people doesn’t want this right, we’ll raise their rations instead to win them over.”
“As for those who still want to keep the rights to their spoils, let them keep it.”
“We’ll need to tally the two groups. It’s a tedious task with many details—I’ll rely on our strategist.”
Ning Zhuo immediately expressed that this was his duty. He also praised Liu Er’s arrangement as being mature and strategically sound—far superior and more comprehensive than his own proposals.
After that, Liu Er also announced that he would openly pursue Mu Lan.
As expected, this decision was met with simultaneous opposition from the other three.
But Liu Er’s fearless masculine spirit, his unwavering will in the face of hardship, stirred the blood of Guan Hong and Zhang Hei, who both pledged their firm support.
Seeing this, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but wonder—what was Liu Er’s trump card that gave him such confidence?
But since the three generals had already agreed, Ning Zhuo, though curious, also firmly expressed his compliance.
“With this, the Three Generals Camp is going to face a steep downturn—perhaps even worse than the Red Flower Camp.”