On a summer night, Yang Renzhu ascended Mystic Star Pavilion's third level, turning with existential weariness: "Human destinies are immutable, yes?"
Bai Changming responded with an enigmatic smile, ignoring the human's quiet despair.
This conviction had crystallized over two years. Having analyzed thousands of destiny charts, he saw lives etched like riverbeds - the Eight Characters and Decadal Fortunes forming unalterable waterways where mortals flailed like fish. Most never comprehended the currents carrying them to predestined ends.
Were half this world's population required as sacrificial toll for returning to Sahar, he'd pay it without hesitation.
Yet occasionally, anomalies surfaced.
The young woman before him defied astrological logic. At twenty-three, Xue Rong's life diverged starkly from her chart:
- **Triple Harmony Seal运 years** should've brought academic success, yet she delayed schooling
- **Wealth Damaging Seal凶年** conversely saw scholarly achievements
- **Solitary Officer Star unobstructed** during Guimao Year predicted romantic prospects or career leaps, yet she traveled aimlessly, remaining resolutely single
"Master," her voice chimed like mountain springs, "the texts say fates are written in characters. I seek your wisdom."
Bai dispensed hollow platitudes before secretly accessing her memories. Her narrative held true, yet a week-long gap at age thirteen glowed with mystical occlusion. Thereafter, her life river breached its banks.
Investigating her parents revealed textbook-aligned destinies. The anomaly chilled him.
Could she comprehend this world's operating codes? Was she... a *player*?
The enigma lingered before fading beneath bureaucratic ascension.
Though preternaturally astute, Bai's early years here bore scars - both metaphorical and physical. His left forearm still bore a half-arm-length scar beneath white sleeves.