The Heavenly Master’s Insight Met with Disdain

“Physical reasons? Or are you perhaps making a deliberate jest of us?”

The general who had been stirring up trouble earlier opened his mouth once again.

“You overthink it, sir.”

Luo Bai looked at him, still smiling gently.

“Though I, Luo Bai, am a man of little talent, I do not make jests for just any stray cat or dog that wanders by.”

Then, his tone shifted to one of absolute gravity.

“After all, I simply do not have the time.”

“You!”

The general was stunned. According to common logic, shouldn’t someone facing the accusations of so many people endure the humiliation and keep their voice low?

But while Luo Bai remained as calm as a breeze, his words were laced with sharp edges.

Below the dais, the rebel generals from various factions began to murmur.

“If you all did not come here to discuss an alliance, then instead of wasting time at my table, you would be better off going home to discuss how to deal with the enemy before us.”

Luo Bai stood up, gave a formal bow to the crowd, and prepared to leave the room.

This time, the crowd didn’t just murmur; they exploded.

Among them were those who sincerely came for an alliance. The reason they hadn’t spoken up earlier was entirely because they wanted to test Luo Bai’s mettle.

But Luo Bai’s response was simply too direct.

In an instant, several blaming gazes fell upon the man who had spoken first.

That general felt a bitterness he couldn’t voice. He felt wronged—wasn’t this behavior something they had all tacitly permitted?

“Commander Luo, wait…”

Finally, the first person who couldn’t sit still any longer stood up.

“Lin Lu of North Heaven City.”

“Oh? General Lin, is there something else?”

Luo Bai turned back nonchalantly and glanced at the newcomer.

“This matter was indeed our fault. I hope Commander Luo can be the bigger man and overlook our small-mindedness.”

Lin Lu spoke very politely.

But that alone was not enough!

A second person stood up, then a third, and a fourth. By the end, even the troublemaker from before stood up to apologize.

Only then did Luo Bai return to the head seat.

The beauty who had been stuffing her face with food earlier had stopped eating at some point. She looked at Luo Bai with great interest.

“How clever.”

Since everyone had apologized, the ensuing discussion was exceptionally simple. It concluded with almost no one raising an objection.

“Commander Luo, in four days, I will certainly bring my army to join the assembly.”

The last general cupped his fists, turned, and departed.

When almost everyone had left, Sun Ziyue leaned in with an expression of awe.

“Big Brother, that was incredible. Truly incredible.”

“Hmm?”

Luo Bai gave Sun Ziyue a strange look.

“How did you know they would definitely speak up to stop you?” Sun Ziyue asked.

“I didn’t know.”

“Ah? Then you…”

Sun Ziyue was shocked. The Luo Bai of the past would never do anything without absolute certainty.

“I was merely gambling.”

“Gambling on what?”

Luo Bai smiled. Before he could explain, the sound of clapping came from behind the door.

“The gamble was to see whether their personal pride or the grander situation was more important in their hearts.”

Luo Bai didn’t answer Sun Ziyue’s question; instead, the voice that followed answered for him.

Luo Bai and Sun Ziyue both looked toward the source of the voice.

They saw the woman in Daoist robes whom Long Miaoming had let in.

“Mm? And this lady is?”

Luo Bai was curious. He hadn’t noticed such a woman in the hall earlier.

“Good heavens, you actually saw through my disguise.”

The woman looked at Luo Bai with surprise, only to receive two blank stares in return.

With the way you look, one would have to be blind not to see you’re a woman.

The woman only said it in passing, then smiled and gave a formal greeting.

“I am Hua Qianluo. I suppose you could call me a fortune teller.”

“Then, what brings you here, Miss?” Luo Bai asked, puzzled.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to read your fortune.”

“Er… but I don’t believe in fate,” Luo Bai said apologetically.

Hua Qianluo let out a couple of chuckles.

“So you didn’t believe in immortals and gods before? I wonder if you believe now?”

As soon as those words were spoken, Luo Bai fell silent instantly.

After a long while.

“Ziyue, I wish to speak with this lady alone for a moment.”

“Ah, this…”

Sun Ziyue looked at Hua Qianluo, then at Luo Bai.

“Big Brother, I have to remind you, you are a ‘married’ man. This isn’t quite right, is it?”

As soon as he finished, several black lines appeared on Luo Bai’s forehead.

“What bullsh*t are you talking about? Get the fck out of here.”

After finally driving Sun Ziyue away, Luo Bai scrutinized Hua Qianluo for the first time.

“Looking so closely… aren’t you afraid your little dragon wife will be jealous?” Hua Qianluo teased.

“Let’s skip the idle chatter. Since you came to read my fortune, let us begin.”

“Tsk, you are truly a boring man.”

Hua Qianluo curled her lip.

She produced a bamboo tube from somewhere, filled entirely with blank bamboo slips.

With a casual wave of her hand, a blank slip floated into the air and landed in her palm.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Though the slip was blank, Hua Qianluo looked as if she were seeing something very interesting.

“Well?”

“Not much.”

Hua Qianluo let go, and the bamboo slip drifted slowly toward Luo Bai.

Luo Bai picked it up.

Small characters began to manifest on the surface.

[Though there is a beauty, it is hard to become a pair; several struggles for the world, yet a pity to fail because of a femme fatale.]

“It means you have a lover but no wife. You almost became Emperor, but in the end, you were delayed by a woman.”

Hua Qianluo didn’t forget to explain from the side.

Or rather, it was more like adding insult to injury.

Luo Bai put down the slip and looked at Hua Qianluo with a smile.

One minute later.

“Commander Luo has ordered: Pitch this woman out!”

Very quickly, two soldiers picked up Hua Qianluo and threw her out.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a face-plant; she landed on her backside.

Hua Qianluo stood up with a pained expression, rubbing her rear.

“What an odious brat, actually daring to throw me out. Fine, this old lady won’t bully a disabled person.”

Hua Qianluo glared fiercely back inside.

“Wait until your next life, I’ll come settle the score with you then.”

Just then, Long Miaoming came out of the kitchen and saw Hua Qianluo, who was gritting her teeth with a dark aura, and the bamboo slip that had fallen at her feet.

“This is…”

Long Miaoming had just finished reading it when Hua Qianluo snatched it away.

“Did you… just read Beautiful Brother’s fortune?”

“What do you mean ‘read his fortune’? This is a preview of the Heavenly Dao.”

“Then… is your preview true?”

Long Miaoming suddenly became worried. After all, what was written on the slip wasn’t anything good.

“These things… if you believe it, it exists; if you don’t, it doesn’t.”

Hua Qianluo said. Before Long Miaoming could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard the next sentence.

“However, whether one truly doesn’t believe or is merely pretending not to… well, that remains to be seen.”