Chapter 322: Defying Fate (Part 27)

It had not even been ten minutes, maybe only four or five, when the soul of the Wheelchair Prophet separated from his corpse.

His soul appeared like a mist, but under the nourishment of pills, it was rapidly growing stronger from its initial weakness.

At this stage, the soul could not yet be considered a ghost. A soul must remain separated from the body for forty-nine days before it transforms into a ghost. However, sustained by the pills, the Wheelchair Prophet quickly gained the strength of a ghost and fully recovered his memories.

Shui Miao channeled his immortal energy, watching the Wheelchair Prophet’s soul, who was too excited to speak, and smiled faintly. “I think for you, being a ghost is better than being human; at least you won’t need others to serve you. But I’m a man of my word, and I’ll fulfill any promise I’ve made. If you still really want to be human, I can help you find a corpse to possess so you can live a few days as a normal person.”

“N-no, that won’t be necessary,” the Wheelchair Prophet hurriedly waved his hands.

He found being human meaningless. Even if he could walk and move freely, what difference would it make? It was better to be a ghost—light and free, able to fly.

It must be said that although the Wheelchair Prophet had been born without arms or legs, his soul looked exactly like that of a normal person.

“Father, I was wrong before. I accidentally let slip some information, falling into the组长’s trap and harming you. I apologize!” The Elemental Girl lowered her head in shame.

“…”

The Wheelchair Prophet was momentarily stunned and confused about the situation. He quickly turned to Shui Miao in bewilderment. “Brother Shui, you’re all here—where is the squad leader? Did you kill him?”

“Haha, of course. I’m Shui Miao. Yi Tianwen was no match for me—he’s been utterly destroyed.” Smiling, Shui Miao finished speaking and then used his mind to telepathically whisper to the Wheelchair Prophet, “I pretended to be weak to lure him into possessing my body. He fell for it, and I destroyed him. Then I told his subordinates that I had taken over Shui Miao’s body, which is why I’m here now.”

Shui Miao had told the truth, but Watson and the others still believed he was the leader, thinking he was just saying that on purpose.

“Great! Great!”

The Wheelchair Prophet was greatly surprised, almost at a loss for words in front of Watson and the others.

“Haha, Prophet Elder, your soul is already very strong now. You helped me break the Invisible Shielder’s defense, and I refined your soul in return. Now we’re even. How about we talk about something more lighthearted?” Feeling that he no longer owed the Wheelchair Prophet anything, Shui Miao was eager to resolve his doubts and leave.

“Oh… sure, sure…”

The Wheelchair Prophet seemed slightly dazed, sensing that Shui Miao might have something important to say.

Shui Miao nodded. “Let’s do this. Some things can’t be explained in just a few words. Don’t resist—I’ll enter your mind and access your memories. That’ll save us a lot of trouble.”

“Uh…”

The Wheelchair Prophet suddenly felt a bit anxious and fearful.

Before he could think further, Shui Miao focused his mind, channeled his immortal energy, and reached into the Wheelchair Prophet’s spiritual memories.

As a newly formed soul, the Wheelchair Prophet was no match for Shui Miao’s powerful spiritual force.

Shui Miao forcefully entered the Wheelchair Prophet’s spiritual world, reading his memories to uncover why the Wheelchair Prophet had been able to foresee the future.

To his astonishment, Shui Miao discovered that the Wheelchair Prophet was indeed a freak of nature. Born without arms or legs, he had possessed normal human consciousness from birth and could foresee future events. This ability, however, had only brought him more suffering.

Since the day he was born, disaster had followed him.

Three days after his birth, his family’s house burned down, and his father went bankrupt.

Three months later, his parents divorced and went their separate ways, leaving only his grandmother to care for him.

When he was three, his grandmother died, and he became an orphan.

After his grandmother’s death, his fate became even more bizarre. He was carried away by a dog. Without arms or legs, he could only cry in the doghouse, his voice eventually becoming hoarse. No one rescued him, and after starving to the point of unconsciousness, he awoke with his mouth full of dog vomit…

He was helpless—without arms or legs, he couldn’t even commit suicide.

From then on, unimaginable misfortunes followed him until he was nearly driven to death. That was when Yi Tianwen appeared.

In theory, since Yi Tianwen had saved him, he should have been grateful and loyal.

But as he grew older, he realized that Yi Tianwen was only using him, treating him as less than human.

Over time, he had endured enough. More than anyone, he longed for freedom.

It was only when he foresaw Shui Miao’s arrival that he decided to finally take control of his fate.

“Ahh!”

Shui Miao withdrew his consciousness, letting out a long sigh.

The Wheelchair Prophet gently shook his head, understanding why Shui Miao sighed. “Fate has been too cruel to me. That’s why I’d rather be a ghost than a human.”

“…”

Shui Miao didn’t know what to say. He didn’t understand why fate would torment someone so relentlessly, only gazing helplessly at the Wheelchair Prophet.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew.

Following the sound, Shui Miao saw five ghostly figures emerge from the ground beside him. They were tall and powerful, clad in ghost-enforcer robes—Ox-Head and Horse-Face spirits. Some carried iron chains and shackles, others wooden collars and iron forks. Without a word, they immediately began fastening the chains and collars onto the Wheelchair Prophet.

“Wait, who are you people?”

Shui Miao quickly asked, though he already had a good idea—they must be ghost enforcers from the Underworld.

Hearing his words, the spirits turned to look at him.

Seeing that Shui Miao was a cultivator with immortal energy, one of the Horse-Face spirits simply bowed and said, “Esteemed cultivator, we are soul-catchers sent by the Underworld to retrieve the soul of a ten-lifetime evildoer. Do you have any inquiries?”

The energy from these spirits was extremely yin, even stronger than that of spirits like Lao Cai.

Besides the spirits of the Underworld, Shui Miao had never encountered any ghosts with such powerful yin energy.

Hearing the title “ten-lifetime evildoer,” Shui Miao’s heart stirred. He quickly took out several pills that nourished souls and offered them with a smile. “A small token of appreciation, nothing much. I just wanted to understand the situation.”

These pills were excellent nourishment even for ghost enforcers.

Seeing that Shui Miao only wanted information, the Ox-Heads and Horse-Faces accepted the pills. The leading Horse-Face spirit nodded slightly, his tone softening a bit. “We have a few minutes. Ask whatever you want.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Politeness was never wasted, even on spirits. After thanking them, Shui Miao smiled and asked, “It’s just that I recently learned of his tragic life. Born without arms or legs, he suffered greatly in this life. Now that he’s finally become a ghost and found some freedom, you gentlemen have arrived. I don’t mean to interfere—I just want to understand this matter of him being a ten-lifetime evildoer.”

“Oh, there’s nothing to it. I’ll explain,” the Horse-Face spirit waved casually and pointed at the Wheelchair Prophet. “He committed evil in ten lifetimes, accumulating grave sins. The Judge sentenced him to suffer in ten lifetimes before descending into hell. This was his final lifetime. If he had repented in time, he might have suffered less. As for his final judgment and how long he’ll suffer in hell, that’s not our concern. We only ensure that when the time comes, we retrieve him.”

“I see!”

Shui Miao looked at the Wheelchair Prophet.

The Wheelchair Prophet suddenly gave a helpless smile and muttered dejectedly, “No wonder I’ve been so unlucky all my life. It was all due to sins from past lives. Well then… self-inflicted suffering cannot be undone.”

“…”

The basement fell into eerie silence. Everyone was quiet.

No one could resist fate’s arrangement. The causes of past lives bore the fruits of this one. The cycle of karma was inescapable.

As the Horse-Face spirit turned to leave, Shui Miao suddenly thought of something and hurriedly bowed. “Spirit Enforcer Brother, I have one more question. If it’s a matter of karmic punishment through reincarnation, why was he only punished after accumulating ten lifetimes of sins? Did he escape punishment for nine lifetimes?”

“No, no, no…” The Horse-Face spirit quickly waved his hand. “It wasn’t ten consecutive lifetimes of accumulated sins. After each punishment, he continued committing evil. Again and again, for ten lifetimes, he never did a single good deed. That’s why he received this retribution. As for the exact judgment, that’s the Judge’s business. We know little about it. Brother Cultivator, thank you for the pills. Farewell…”

After speaking, the Horse-Face spirit turned to leave.

Shui Miao hurriedly called out, “Brother, wait! Just one more minute, please!” He raised one finger. Seeing that the spirits hadn’t left yet, he quickly continued, “I was just wondering… maybe my fate in this life has already been decided. If I’m so fortunate in this life, cultivating the Immortal Dao, could it be because I did many good deeds in my previous life?”

It was a rare opportunity. Shui Miao didn’t want to miss even half a question.

“You?”

The Horse-Face spirit looked at Shui Miao and shook his head. “You were from the Immortal Realm in your previous life. That’s beyond our jurisdiction.”

Before Shui Miao could react, the Ox-Heads and Horse-Faces dragged the Wheelchair Prophet’s soul into the ground and vanished.

※※※

Shui Miao was stunned.

The Elemental Girl was stunned too.

Watson and the others couldn’t see ghosts—they only saw Shui Miao talking to himself and couldn’t hear the spirits, so they all wore puzzled expressions.

“Everyone, get out…”

Shui Miao gently waved his hand and sat down cross-legged on the spot.

The word “fate” now filled his mind.

He felt as if he had grasped a thread of fate. If he followed this thread, he might discover a way to defy fate itself.

So, he needed to sit in silence and think.