"A dark past? What dark past could I possibly have? I’ve always been upright and decent—never done anything wicked or evil! You’re just making stuff up, slandering a good man!" Master Lin gripped the table, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Who am I? I already told you—I'm Jade Polaris, a Taoist from the Zhongnan Mountains. What, you still want to keep going? If I really start listing your crimes, I could talk for three days and three nights straight!" Ryan Ling finished, and everyone present was completely stunned. Today's fortune-telling showdown was so wild, people were staring at Ryan like he was some kind of monster.
"Bug his room? What nonsense are you spouting? I’m calling the cops! I’ll have them arrest you for spreading insane lies!" Master Lin’s face changed dramatically, but he still gritted his teeth and tried to tough it out.
Right then, before Master Lin could finish, Ryan Ling cut in with a cold laugh: "Go ahead! Call the cops right now. I’ll spell out every single thing you’ve done for them, one by one."
"What did I do? I didn’t do anything!" Master Lin’s face was completely drained of color, but he still kept up his desperate denials.
"You seriously dare claim you’ve done nothing wrong?" Ryan Ling’s eyes flashed as he suddenly shouted, "Leo Lin, you’ve been a cheat and a crook since you were a kid! Dropped out of middle school, started robbing people, killed a guy in a gang fight at eighteen and had to run for it—ended up hiding out in Shenzhen..."
Most people couldn’t believe that the so-called 'fortune-telling master' would end up meeting such a violent fate.
Ryan Ling sneered and pressed closer: "Even in Shenzhen, you couldn’t behave—robbery everywhere, and you even raped a college student. When things got too hot, you ran off to some tiny temple in the mountains of Guangxi, pretending to be a monk. Learned a bit of fate-reading from your master, but you never changed. You stole the temple’s incense money, and when the abbot caught you, you didn’t even hesitate—just grabbed a hammer and smashed his head in. That abbot took you in when you were at your lowest, and you still did him dirty..."
At this point, Ryan Ling’s voice rose sharply. Leo Lin was already pale as a ghost, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, stammering, "H-how could you possibly know all this?"
"Heaven sees everything people do. After you came to Harbor City, you got even more out of control—thought not even the gods could touch you. You scam ordinary folks for cash, and you run a prostitution ring with migrant women. If anyone defies you, you beat them nearly to death. Just last month you killed two women—am I wrong?" Ryan Ling finished, and Leo Lin was completely sprawled on the ground.
"W-who are you, really?" Leo Lin stammered, drenched in cold sweat, gritting his teeth.
"Who am I? I already told you—I'm Jade Polaris, a Taoist from the Zhongnan Mountains. So what now? Still want to keep going? If I really start listing your crimes, I could go on for three days and nights!" Ryan Ling finished, and everyone present was completely stunned. Today's fortune-telling showdown had become so wild, people were staring at Ryan like he was some kind of monster.
But right then, cornered with nowhere to run, Leo Lin suddenly whipped out a dagger and lunged at Ryan Ling: "You think you can take me down with your bullshit? Not so easy! I’ll ruin you right now!"
"Ryan, watch out!" Sophie Su, who was standing closest, screamed as the scene unfolded.
Everyone around was frozen, eyes locked on the two of them. Some tried to shout, but it was already too late—the dagger had already 'stabbed' into Ryan Ling’s chest.
In an instant, the whole place erupted into chaos.
Leo Lin was completely convinced. He nodded frantically, actually dialed 110, and tearfully confessed on the spot.
But just as everyone rushed forward to help, there was a loud clang—the dagger hit the ground, and Leo Lin dropped to his knees, kowtowing over and over: "Immortal master, spare me! I didn’t know you were here! I’m a scumbag, I deserve to die, I’m not even human!"
After that, Leo Lin started slapping himself nonstop.
The whole scene left everyone utterly dumbfounded. Nobody had any idea what had just happened.
Ryan Ling, who should’ve been dead for sure, somehow not only survived—he’d instantly subdued Leo Lin, who was easily twice his size.
And when Leo Lin started saying all that, the superstitious old men and women in the crowd went pale, totally lost and terrified.
Even Sophie Su was completely stunned!
But what nobody knew was that, in the split second when Leo Lin swung his knife, Ryan Ling had unleashed his Wish‑Bound Telekinesis Art. Ever since the soccer match, his control had leveled up a bit—using it to handle the knife was tough, but it kept him alive.
Honestly, anyone who saw that kind of supernatural move would be scared half to death.
"Good, you know you deserve it. Get yourself to the police station and confess, or this immortal won’t let you off easy." Now that Leo Lin saw him as some kind of god, Ryan Ling just rolled with it and kept up the act.
Leo Lin was completely convinced. He started nodding like crazy, actually dialed 110, and tearfully confessed his crimes.
The whole scene left everyone slack-jawed. Some of the elderly even dropped to their knees in front of Ryan Ling, begging the 'immortal' to forgive their earlier rudeness.
The younger folks who’d always been obsessed with fortune-telling weren’t about to miss this chance—they all knelt down, pleading for Ryan Ling, the 'immortal,' to take them on as disciples.
Ryan Ling just felt his head pounding. When the cops arrived, he grabbed Sophie Su and slipped out through a gap in the crowd.
Once they’d left Lucky Fortune Street and saw no one was following, Ryan Ling finally stopped. He really didn’t want to get too famous—he still had a ton of stuff to deal with.
Being Lord Yama’s adopted son is no walk in the park. Ryan had wanted to check his reward for ‘punishing evil and promoting good’—he’d gotten a hefty 500 Merit Points, but he couldn’t feel happy about it at all.
Because before this, the System had already sent him two special notices. First, he had to hurry up and find suitable underlings—he couldn’t leave that slot empty. Second, he had to secure a proper office for his ghost-court, with at least 130 square meters of space.
(This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the good stuff!)
Looking at those two notices—especially the second one—Ryan Ling felt like his brain was about to explode.
With Harbor City’s current housing prices, buying a 130-square-meter place would cost millions. But he was just a broke student—no way he could scrape up that kind of cash. Even if he drove his hearse like a plane nonstop, he wouldn’t make millions.
But if he couldn’t even set up a basic ‘grassroots Yama Hall’ in the human world, his future Lord Yama benefits would take a huge hit.
Faced with all this sudden pressure, Ryan Ling felt like the System was going to work him to death sooner or later.
"Ryan, what’s wrong? Are you mad at me...?" Seeing Ryan so down, Sophie Su thought he was blaming her for being ‘naive’ about the fortune-telling stuff.
But before Sophie could finish, Ryan Ling interrupted her right away.
"It’s nothing, I’m not mad at you. Don’t overthink it, I’m just a little tired. Come on, I’ll walk you home!" Ryan Ling shook his head—there was no way he could finish his mission right now, so he’d just take things one step at a time.
At least the System hadn’t put him on a strict time limit, so he could catch his breath for now.
Sophie Su nodded and didn’t press him any further.
But just then, a man who looked like a housekeeper hurried over. When Sophie saw him, she immediately complained, "Uncle Frank, what took you so long...?"
But before Sophie could finish, Uncle Frank Fang cut in: "Miss Sophie, come home with me right now—the old master really isn’t going to make it this time."
Hearing that, Sophie Su’s face went white. She didn’t hesitate and rushed to leave, but suddenly remembered something, turned back, and begged Ryan Ling: "Ryan, can you help me? I’m really at the end of my rope—if I hadn’t been so desperate, I wouldn’t have ditched medicine for gods and gone to Master Lin for fortune-telling. My grandpa’s got a weird illness, and no hospital can cure him. You’re so powerful—can’t you do something?"
Ryan Ling still didn’t know the whole story, but from her words he could guess: the real reason Sophie had gone to a fortune-teller was for her grandfather.
But even though Ryan had just taken down Master Lin, it was all thanks to the Book of Life and Death. When it came to medicine and saving lives, he didn’t know a thing—so he really didn’t dare promise Sophie anything.
Uncle Frank Fang quickly pulled Sophie aside: "Miss Sophie, this isn’t the time for superstitions. All that talk about magic healing is nonsense—let’s go!"
Uncle Frank Fang clearly knew Sophie had come to see Master Lin today, and he didn’t believe any of it—in fact, he looked downright contemptuous. Especially whenever he glanced at Ryan Ling, his eyes said it all: Don’t you dare trick our Miss Sophie, or you’ll regret it.
Ryan hated being looked down on, and seeing Sophie beg like that, he instantly remembered the open slots in his Lord Yama jurisdiction. Since there was plenty of room, he decided to check her grandpa’s fate first. He asked, "Sophie, tell me your grandfather’s full name!"
"Okay, his name is Samuel Su!" Sophie said quickly, her face full of hope.
Uncle Frank Fang really couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out, "Miss Sophie, don’t get fooled again…"
"Uncle Frank, stay out of this. You have no idea how powerful he is," Sophie shot back, cutting him off.
Uncle Frank just kept shaking his head.
Ryan wrote down the name, and the Book of Life and Death instantly revealed Samuel Su's information. Sure enough, it showed that Samuel Su was facing a major calamity this year, his life hanging by a thread. The crisis point was tonight—but apparently, a destined benefactor would appear, so even though danger loomed, he could turn misfortune into blessing and slowly recover afterward.
Seeing this fate, Ryan finally breathed a little easier, and his expression improved a lot.
"Ryan, what’s the verdict?" Sophie was already frantic, watching his face change and immediately pressing him for an answer.
"Don’t worry—your grandpa’s going to be fine!" Ryan said with total confidence.
Sophie nearly jumped for joy, but Uncle Frank couldn’t hold it in any longer. He roared, "Utter nonsense! If you keep tricking Miss Sophie, I swear I’ll break you!"