Chapter 292
Chapter 292
The story I told Lin Yin was the one Seventh Master had once told me during the incident involving Ding Ruoning and her mother.
After hearing it, Lin Yin said, “I don’t think the disciple did anything wrong. The poor man took the wallet, and the wealthy man falsely accused the young man. The disciple only revealed the truth. He couldn’t have known the young man’s ship would sink.”
“If the disciple was wrong, wouldn’t that encourage people to protect themselves by staying out of everything and avoiding all unnecessary trouble?”
I nodded. “That is where atheism and belief in ghosts and gods collide. Within human society, the disciple’s actions were entirely correct. He possessed a strong sense of justice and had no idea that his righteous act would kill the young man.”
“But have you considered this? If he had known the young man’s ship would sink, do you think he would still have warned the wealthy man? If you were the disciple, would you have warned him?”
Lin Yin froze for a long while, then shook her head. “No…”
“Why not?” I answered for her. “Because once you know the young man’s ship will sink, the wealthy man’s false accusation is actually saving him through forces beyond our sight. Better to let the wealthy man accuse him than allow him to die in the disaster.”
“The problem is that the disciple didn’t know the ship would sink.”
“But according to those of us who believe in ghosts and gods, the Heavenly Dao knew. Heaven arranged for the poor man to find the wealthy man’s wallet and for the young man to be misunderstood. In doing so, it was saving the young man while also helping the poor man escape his predicament.”
I closed the Book of Changes, set it on the coffee table, and explained the laws of nature to Lin Yin. “I follow the Dao. Daoist thought holds that everything in Heaven and Earth is created by the Dao, and the Dao’s fundamental law is natural spontaneity. Humanity should therefore emulate the Great Dao and follow nature.”
“Daoism teaches that emptiness is the foundation and following the nature of things is the method. To follow means to respect the innate nature of all things, their naturally spontaneous state. By governing through non-action, we allow things to develop freely according to their own inevitability, keeping them aligned with the natural state of the Dao. We don’t impose artificial interference or use deliberate action to disrupt their natural course. Only then can all things develop soundly.”
Lin Yin stared blankly at me.
Her expression suggested that she partly understood and partly did not.
“Mr. Chen, I understand half of it, but not completely. What you’re saying is too profound…”
“Then I’ll make it simpler.”
I continued, “Take life and death. All things are born and all things die. It is a cycle and a natural law. After death, a person merely returns to the place from which they came and begins a new cycle of reincarnation.”
“If someone can no longer remain alive, we say that if they committed no evil in this life, then they must be repaying evil from a previous life. Their suffering in this life repays that karmic debt. Once the debt is paid, they must begin a new life through reincarnation.”
“If we use unnatural means to force them to remain alive, we disrupt their reincarnation and make them continue suffering in this life. Even if they survive, their torment will continue. That is the bitter fruit produced by forcible interference. They may even incur new karmic debts and continue suffering in their next life.”
Rat and Xiao Xuan were a perfect example.
Rat’s death was tragic and left all of us heartbroken. We could only lament the Heavenly God’s injustice.
But had the Heavenly God truly been unjust? Only Rat knew the pain in his heart. He had no way to find a place in society. Even if he had not died, his entire life would have been a tragedy.
His death was Heaven’s will. If he had met us before dying and we had saved him, that too would have been Heaven’s will, part of the natural course of events. But after his death, if we had forcibly revived him through various means so he could continue accompanying Xiao Xuan, the consequences would have been catastrophic. It would have violated the laws of nature.
“Can you understand it when I put it that way?” I looked at Lin Yin.
She nodded with sudden realization. “I understand. You’ve helped me grasp a great deal. Even if these things aren’t real, the principles are, just like philosophy.”
I laughed. “Then treat it as philosophy.”
In truth, this was ancient Chinese philosophical thought, and philosophy viewed from a higher dimension at that.
“I still underestimated you.”
Lin Yin gazed at me as though her eyes could strip me bare. “You’re even more different than I imagined. None of the men I know possess your depth.”
My face immediately reddened.
First, her words were suggestive.
Second, her praise satisfied my vanity.
“My dad likes studying these things too. His study is full of books on Daoism. It seems I’ll have to read more of them in the future.”
As she spoke, Lin Yin suddenly took my hand again and led me into Boss Lin’s study.
The study of a wealthy businessman… really was enormous. Books covered an entire wall, and even the bookcases were made from yellow rosewood.
Just as Lin Yin had said, Boss Lin enjoyed studying the Book of Changes, mysticism, and Daoist texts.
But one book caught my attention. It lay on the desk and had clearly been taken out for someone to read.
It looked quite old. Its paper and binding were of a style used decades ago. Its title was Resolving Fate Patterns.
I asked Lin Yin, “Were you reading this?”
Lin Yin came over and shook her head. “I never read books like this. I only took the Book of Changes from my dad’s study a few days ago. My dad must have been reading that one.”
I casually flipped through the book. It had no listed author and had probably originated among folk practitioners. A few of its methods were genuine, but most were attempts to exploit loopholes.
It was not a legitimate text and could never be presented openly.
Boss Lin’s study held many books on mysticism. I wondered if he was researching ways to save his son.
Modern medicine could not save Lin Xiaohua, so perhaps he could only place his hopes in mysticism.
But how could any method in Resolving Fate Patterns possibly allow someone to Defy Heaven to Change Fate?
The only remotely useful technique inside was the Five Ghosts Wealth Transport Art.
Suddenly, I noticed a sheet of paper pinned beneath several books nearby. Seven names had been written on it, apparently with an address after each one.
Most of the page was covered, so I could not read everything. I saw only that the address after one name was in Lanjiang City.
My professional instincts immediately put me on alert.
I smiled at Lin Yin. “Xiao Yin, I’d like to read some of the books in your father’s study. Could you check the medicine and make sure it hasn’t boiled dry?”
“All right.” Lin Yin was in a good mood and ran out with a smile.
I quickly pulled the sheet of paper from beneath the books and photographed the entire page with my phone.
The moment I finished, I froze.
All seven names had addresses in Lanjiang City…