Judging by his facial features and complexion, this Old Preacher looked to be only in his forties or fifties, but from the depths of his ocean-like eyes, one could sense a trace of world-weariness that made people not dare to underestimate him.

“Boundless is that Celestial Venerable, thank goodness the ancestral master's legacy hasn't been destroyed.”

Looking at the dilapidated Daoist temple, Old Preacher clasped one hand in front of his chest in salute, but when he saw the scene in the main hall through the drafty doors and windows, he couldn't help but groan and hurried inside.

“Ancestral master, I calculated a few days ago that you would face this calamity. In a few days, I’ll definitely restore your golden body…”

Staring at the empty offering table, Old Preacher pretended to pinch a few fingers on his right hand, but failed to notice for the moment that there was a small body lying on the mud-covered ground.

“Master, didn’t you foresee that I would also face a calamity?”

Slowly waking from unconsciousness, William Clark heard Old Preacher's words and immediately became angry. This old guy always boasted of being the fiftieth-generation successor of the Ma Yi lineage, but seemed to have never predicted anything correctly.

“M-Master, my head was smashed open by the ancestral master.”

Just regaining consciousness, William Clark felt a bit dizzy. He reached up to touch his head and found his hand covered in blood. As clever as William Clark was, he was still just a child of a little over ten years old, and he immediately cried out in fright.

“Oh my, my precious disciple, what… what happened to you?”

Seeing William Clark on the ground with blood all over his face, Old Preacher was shocked. He quickly picked William Clark up and checked him over from head to toe before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

He ran outside to fetch some well water, helped William Clark clean his wound, then rummaged through his greasy Daoist robe to pull out a box. Using his pinky, he scooped out a bit of black ointment and applied it to William Clark's forehead, saying, “It's nothing, just a superficial wound. You lost a bit of blood, but you'll be fine after a few days of rest.”

Feeling a cool sensation on his forehead, William Clark became a bit more alert. He glared at Old Preacher and said, “Old man, you asked me to come find you during my break—was it because you wanted me to take your calamity for you?”

Although there are spells that claim to defy fate and avoid misfortune, destiny is already set. To try to cheat fate, you need someone to bear the calamity for you—in other words, a scapegoat.

William Clark was young, but he had memorized books like "Ma Yi Physiognomy" and "Shu Zang" by heart. Now that he had suffered a mysterious disaster, he naturally suspected that his unprincipled master had set him up.

“No way! You were born on the second day of the second month in the Year of the Dragon. I, your master, can't even calculate your fate…”

Hearing William Clark's words, Old Preacher cried out in grievance. The reason he took William Clark as a disciple was, first, because the deep mountains were lonely and he wanted some company.

Second, it was because William Clark's fate was so unusual that Old Preacher became curious. But after living with William Clark for five or six years, he still couldn't figure out William Clark's destiny.

William Clark didn't press the issue, but he was curious about where Old Preacher had gone yesterday, so he asked, “Then why did you go down the mountain?”

“Disciple, look, our Daoist temple is so old and rundown. I just went down the mountain to seek some charity and ask someone to help with the repairs…”

Speaking of this, Old Preacher looked indignant. “Why is it that the restoration of Maoshan's main peak is funded by the state, but our place is treated like a haunt for wandering ghosts, and no one cares?”

Just last year, the government allocated thirty million yuan for a large-scale restoration of the Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace and Yuanfu Wanning Palace on Maoshan's main peak.

At the time, Old Preacher wanted to take advantage and have the construction crew help repair this Ma Yi Daoist temple, but he was driven away by the Daoists on the main peak. He'd been holding a grudge ever since.

William Clark touched the scabbed wound on his head and said irritably, “Master, theirs is religious culture, but yours is feudal superstition. How can they be the same?”

“Feudal superstition, my ass! The origins of physiognomy can be traced back to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. The derived arts include astronomy, calendar science, mathematics, fate calculation, geomancy, talismans, choosing auspicious dates, miscellaneous divinations, bedroom arts, and more. This is natural science!”

Hearing William Clark's words, Old Preacher immediately jumped up. After surviving the ten years of turmoil, life had just started to get better, and he was preparing to revive the Ma Yi lineage—only to have his disciple call it feudal superstition.

“All right, master, yours isn’t feudal superstition. But could you fetch me some water? I’m really thirsty.”

William Clark weakly waved his hand. He didn’t have the energy to bicker with the old man right now. Looking at the pool of blood on the ground, William Clark felt a bit scared. If the whole clay statue had fallen on him, he probably wouldn’t have survived.

“A tiny wound and you’re acting all delicate? Back in the day, I could lead hundreds of little devils through the mountains, and I had several bullet holes in me!”

Old Preacher was quite dissatisfied with William Clark's attitude. Ever since he took on this disciple, in exchange for teaching him skills, all the chores like boiling water and cooking had been done by the then only a few years old William Clark.

But although he grumbled, Old Preacher still fetched water from the well in the courtyard and took it to the back to boil. Since William Clark was injured, he couldn’t drink cold water.

“Kid, go lie down and get some sleep. I’ll go get you something to eat.”