Evidence proved that the jade pendant given by the white-robed man was indeed somewhat useful.
As he walked into his home carrying the jade pendant, Ruan Qiuping miraculously didn't encounter any misfortunes along the way, not even stumbling once - a true miracle.
Whether it was a psychological effect or not, Ruan Qiuping felt that when he entered the house with the jade pendant, the withering flowers and grass in the garden seemed to perk up considerably.
As night fell and stars filled the sky, his parents had already gone to sleep, but Ruan Dongdong woke up and was pressing her face against the floor-to-ceiling window, sticking her tongue out at Ruan Qiuping.
Ruan Qiuping carefully used magic to place the white jade pendant given by the white-robed man around Ruan Dongdong's neck.
Ruan Dongdong, noticing the sudden appearance of the jade pendant on her neck, curiously played with it for a while. Her chubby little hands grasped the jade pendant as she looked up at Ruan Qiuping, giggling. Her little mouth opened and closed, stumbling over two words: "Bro... ther..."
Ruan Qiuping froze in place, almost unable to believe what he heard. "Dongdong, what did you say? Say it again!"
"Brother!"
This was the first time Ruan Dongdong had called him brother.
Ruan Qiuping felt his heart melting. If he were a cotton candy, he would have surely dissolved into sugary syrup at that moment.
"Brother... hug!" Ruan Dongdong called out in her baby voice, opening her arms wide.
Ruan Qiuping instinctively took a step forward, but quickly caught himself and stepped back. He lowered his arms, shook his head, and said softly, "Brother can't hug Dongdong."
Even though Ruan Dongdong wore the lucky god's jade pendant, it didn't mean he could recklessly touch her. What if something went wrong? What if his bad luck overpowered the pendant's good fortune? What if Dongdong got hurt or fell ill?
Ruan Dongdong tilted her head, not quite understanding, but she didn't pursue the matter. She just lowered her head and played with her jade pendant for a while longer before drifting off to sleep.
Ruan Qiuping sat on a swing about ten meters away from Ruan Dongdong, quietly watching his precious little sister as she slept.
Tonight, he had touched a person for the first time.
Tonight, Ruan Dongdong had called him brother for the first time.
Ruan Qiuping pushed the swing, soaring higher and higher.
Surprisingly, even swinging was uneventful for him.
The ropes didn't break, the wooden plank didn't snap, the screws didn't come loose, and no ancient ferocious bird suddenly appeared to peck at his wrists.
Ruan Qiuping looked up at the beautiful, brilliant starry sky, then pushed the swing hard again, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled.
It seemed this truly was a wonderful, wonderful night.
.
The news of the lucky god Yu Huan's successful descent to the mortal realm quickly spread throughout the celestial world. Today, Ruan Qiuping had already overheard three or four classmates indirectly asking the teacher about Yu Huan's coordinates in the mortal realm, hoping to run over and catch a glimpse of him when they could descend in a couple of days.
In fact, after a lucky god descends to the mortal realm, their fate is manipulated by the Recorder of Fate to become no different from that of ordinary people. So these celestial beings wanting to meet the lucky god in the mortal realm weren't hoping to bask in his good fortune or anything; rather, they wanted to lend a small hand to the mortal lucky god, so that when he returned from his trial, they could use it as an excuse to ask him for some good luck.
After the Recorder of Fate had dismissed the 8th student trying to wheedle out Yu Huan's mortal coordinates, he finally couldn't take it anymore.
The Recorder of Fate stroked his beard, gesturing for all the students to quiet down, then announced in a loud voice: "Everyone, please be quiet. I have something to explain. You all remember, don't you? The Fate Academy not only manages mortal fate but also roughly records the fate trajectories of celestial beings who descend to the mortal realm. So, this month's internship content for everyone descending to the mortal realm will be to follow the descended celestial beings and record all the major events that occur in their lives..."
Before the Recorder of Fate could finish speaking, the classroom erupted in cheers, with many students banging on their desks and shouting "Lucky God!"
"Quiet down, quiet down!" The Recorder of Fate picked up the blackboard eraser and tapped on the desk. "Silence!"
After the students quieted down, the Recorder of Fate continued: "But! There are a total of 8 celestial beings descending for their trials during this period, and we have 24 students in our class. So, this is actually a group task. Every three people will form a group, responsible for one descended celestial being..."
Group work?
Ruan Qiuping lowered his head and twirled his pen.
Sure enough, the classroom immediately erupted into chaos again. Some whispered with their companions, some looked around, and some occasionally glanced in Ruan Qiuping's direction.
Finally, someone boldly raised their hand: "Teacher, how are the groups divided?"
The Recorder of Fate shook the lot-drawing tube, smiling as he said: "Of course, at our Fate Academy, we draw lots. Whoever you draw is your fate."
The students immediately exchanged glances, their anxiety clearly visible on their faces.
Three minutes later, the lot-drawing was complete.
The two classmates who drew the same group as Ruan Qiuping looked as if death had come for them.
One shorter student named Jing Yang was almost on the verge of tears.
He pulled out a crumpled talisman for dispelling bad luck from his pocket, his voice trembling: "Can anyone exchange talismans with me? Mine accidentally fell into water yesterday and has some issues. If anyone's willing to trade, I'll pay any price."
Everyone stepped back, not a single person willing to trade with him.
The other student, named Chen Hai, didn't look any better. After hesitating for a moment, he finally gritted his teeth and looked up at the teacher: "Teacher, I don't want to be in the same group as Ruan Qiuping."
The Recorder of Fate's expression became troubled: "After you descend to the mortal realm, your luck and magical powers will be sealed. Even Ruan Qiuping will probably only retain one-tenth of his bad luck. Besides, you have the talisman for dispelling bad luck given by the Lucky God. Nothing will happen..."
"Even so, I don't want to be in the same group as Ruan Qiuping. Teacher, if I can't change groups, I won't participate. Because I think life is more important than credits," Chen Hai argued forcefully.
Ruan Qiuping raised his right hand and spoke hesitantly: "Teacher, I can be in a group by myself, but I have one condition. I want to be responsible for recording Yu Huan's fate trajectory."
The Recorder of Fate glanced at the teary-eyed Jing Yang and Chen Hai who was threatening to drop out, then sighed and said: "You can be in a group by yourself, but you can't choose to record Yu Huan's fate trajectory. That also has to be drawn by lots, after all, we must be fair and just."
Drawing lots? Then it's hopeless.
If he could draw a good lot, chickens would lay eggs.
Ruan Qiuping heaved a deep sigh.
But hearing the teacher say that Ruan Qiuping could be in a group by himself, the two classmates who had been crying and making a fuss finally calmed down.
The Recorder of Fate arranged them into other groups, then immediately began the lot-drawing for which descended celestial being each group would be responsible for.
After receiving his lot, Ruan Qiuping didn't even want to open it. His mind was full of thoughts about how to secretly find Yu Huan after descending to the mortal realm.
As the group leaders opened their lots, a series of sighs rose one after another, and everyone started whispering to each other.
"I didn't draw the Lucky God. Who did you get?"
"The Immortal Lord Hongyang..."
"Who drew the Lucky God?"
"Did Group 7 get it? I think I just heard something!"
"Group 7 didn't get the Lucky God. You heard wrong. Group 7 got Qisheng..."
"Teacher, there's a problem with the lots. Not a single group drew Yu Huan!"
"A mistake?" The Recorder of Fate frowned. "That shouldn't be possible... Everyone, please check carefully again if your lot says Yu Huan."
All the students lowered their heads to look at their lots, then shook their heads in unison: "It's not!"
This was quite strange... Could there really have been a mistake with the lots? Or did someone draw the lot but not say anything? But that wouldn't make sense... What exactly was going on?
Ruan Qiuping rubbed his chin, pondering hard.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on the lot in his hand.
"Bang!" Ruan Qiuping stood up abruptly, so excited that he even knocked over the chair behind him.
He held up his lot, stuttering: "Teacher, I... I... Yu Huan!"
The entire classroom instantly fell silent.
"Are you saying you drew Yu Huan?" the Recorder of Fate asked, almost unable to believe it.
Ruan Qiuping nodded stiffly.
To prevent the Recorder of Fate from disbelieving, Ruan Qiuping used magic to send his lot flying directly to the teacher's front.
The Recorder of Fate looked at the lot several times before believing it: "It really is... Well then, Ruan Qiuping will be solely responsible for Yu Huan..."
The whole class erupted in an uproar.
"How is this possible? He's the God of Misfortune, how could he draw the Lucky God?"
"Wait a minute, have you considered that drawing the God of Fortune might actually be a bad omen?"
"How could that be possible? Don't try to comfort yourself..."
"But this is too incredible, Ruan Qiuping's luck is as good as if he'd been touched by the God of Fortune himself."
"Being touched by the God of Fortune is impossible, but it's possible that he actually bought a genuine item belonging to the God of Fortune..."
Ruan Qiuping had a sudden realization.
He wondered how he could have drawn such a good fortune slip, and then remembered the jade pendant from last night.
It seemed that jade pendant was truly extraordinary. Just by carrying it in his pocket for a while, it had allowed him to draw such a good fortune today... Should he go and thank the white-robed man who gave him the pendant? But he didn't know the man's name... Never mind, not seeing that person again would be the best way to thank that kind-hearted immortal...
Just then, a small paper ball landed on Ruan Qiuping's desk.
Ruan Qiuping curiously opened the paper ball.
Inside was a message:
"...I'm sorry, if my talisman hadn't been damaged, I definitely would have wanted to be your teammate. I'm really sorry!!! —Jing Yang"
Below the message was a little drawing of a bowing figure.
Ruan Qiuping was stunned for a moment. He looked up and saw the student called Jing Yang smiling at him sheepishly.
So this was the legendary classroom note-passing?
Ruan Qiuping tore off a piece of paper, scrawled "No worries" on it, and tossed it back.
He folded the note he had received and tucked it between the pages of his book, happily swinging his legs.
Today, he had not only drawn an incredibly good fortune, but also received one of those legendary classroom notes that only close friends passed to each other.
What a wonderful day!
.
Before they knew it, the day had come for them to descend to the mortal world for their practical training.
Counting the days, Yu Huan had already been in the mortal world for five days, just the right age of four or five to start cultivating a childhood sweetheart.
Ruan Qiuping was calculating this in his mind as he steadily crossed the Gate of Vanity.
After passing through the first Gate of Vanity, there were two more gates ahead. One large gate called the "Gate of Worldly Entry" was specifically for mortals undergoing trials, with three staff members seated in front, requiring thorough procedures to be completed before entry. The gate Ruan Qiuping and his classmates passed through was a smaller one called the "Gate of Dust Observation", guarded by a single staff member. Seeing that they were students led by the Recorder of Fate, they were only required to sign in and put on wristbands before entering.
The wristband couldn't be put on or taken off by oneself; it was a magical device specially crafted by the Celestial Court. It would automatically seal away nine-tenths of all the descending immortals' magical powers and luck. For the students of the Fate Academy, it would also automatically transport them to the vicinity of the immortal they were responsible for.
Ruan Qiuping put on the wristband and walked through the Gate of Dust Observation. In an instant, he felt as if he was falling thousands of miles, dizzy and disoriented, with a ringing in his ears.
After his feet touched the ground, it took him a full minute to open his eyes.
The wristband emitted a faint blue light, indicating that he was now within 100 meters of Yu Huan. At the same time, it began displaying a 30-hour countdown.
Ruan Qiuping surveyed his surroundings and frowned.
This was an abandoned factory. As far as the eye could see, it was desolate and dilapidated, not looking like a place where people would be.
Why would a four or five-year-old child be in a place like this?
But to err on the side of caution and to avoid being discovered, Ruan Qiuping decided to apply an invisibility talisman. Their descent to the mortal world was only to record the fate trajectories of the reincarnated immortals. It was best not to let the reincarnated ones see their appearance, and even if they were seen, they should do their utmost to disguise their identities and pretend to be mortals.
For convenience, before their descent, the teaching assistant had given each of them an invisibility talisman.
Wait a minute... where was his talisman?!
Ruan Qiuping searched all his pockets but couldn't find the talisman anywhere.
Ruan Qiuping sighed, realizing that his bad luck was starting to take effect again.
Before Ruan Qiuping had time to quietly ponder where he might have lost the talisman, his thoughts were interrupted by a series of loud chopping sounds.
What was that sound? Could Yu Huan be in some kind of trouble?
Ruan Qiuping cautiously followed the sound, tiptoeing deeper into the building.
Rounding a stack of paint buckets, Ruan Qiuping discovered a half-open door. Peering through the gap, he felt all the hairs on his body stand on end.
A shirtless man, holding a large knife, his body splattered with bright red blood, had his back to Ruan Qiuping and seemed to be dissecting a corpse.
A murder scene? A dismemberment scene?
Ruan Qiuping didn't dare to make a sound, waves of cold sweeping through his chest. Even though he was an immortal who had lived for over two hundred years, this was his first time seeing a real murder scene.
Just then, there was a slight movement from the paint buckets nearby.
Ruan Qiuping's heart immediately leaped into his throat. He carefully turned his head and saw a small child wearing black clothes, sitting with knees drawn up among the paint buckets.
At the same time, the blue light flashing on Ruan Qiuping's wristband stopped.
So this child was the reincarnated Yu Huan.
But why was he here? What was he hiding here for?
Little Yu Huan raised his head. His face was pale, making his two large eyes appear especially dark. Apart from this, his cheeks, neck, arms, and clothes were all smeared with black soot and paint, making him look quite disheveled.
The child's appearance made it impossible for Ruan Qiuping to see him as his nemesis Yu Huan; he could only see him as a mortal child just two years older than Ruan Dongdong.
Seeing Ruan Qiuping, the child stood up, supporting himself on the ground, and took a step back, his gaze cold and wary.
"Who's there?!" Suddenly, a shout came from inside the room. The big man seemed to have heard the rustling from this direction and turned to walk towards them.
The footsteps grew closer, and Ruan Qiuping's heart tightened.
"Run!" Ruan Qiuping shouted at the child, but the child didn't move, as if he couldn't understand.
"Bang!" The big man kicked the door open.
Blood-stained hands and a face splattered with blood came into view. In his peripheral vision, Ruan Qiuping could even see a snow-white arm swinging with the man's movements...
Ruan Qiuping's breath stopped for a moment.
Without time to think, Ruan Qiuping immediately extended his palm in front of the child's eyes, blocking his view.
In the next second, as the arm swung, blood splattered onto the back of Ruan Qiuping's hand.
Ruan Qiuping shuddered in disgust.
Ruan Qiuping's hand didn't touch the child, nor did it cover his eyes. It just hovered in front of him, blocking the child's line of sight.
Therefore, when Ruan Qiuping looked down, he clearly saw the child blink and look up at him.
The child's clear black and white eyes met Ruan Qiuping's, startling him. Suddenly remembering his unlucky nature, he hastily withdrew his hand and moved further away from the child.
But the child's pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Ruan Qiuping, as if trying to bore a hole through him.
"It's a pig," the child suddenly said.
Ruan Qiuping's eyes widened.
How could this child be insulting people at a time like this?
And this child was also too bold, not even afraid after seeing a murderer.
"Who the hell let you in?! Didn't you see the sign saying 'No Entry for Outsiders'? Wait, are you a reporter..." The big man pointed at Ruan Qiuping's nose, asking in a gruff voice.
Ruan Qiuping raised his head to look at the big man.
He was an adult, he had lived for over two hundred years, he was an immortal, he couldn't be a coward!
He gathered his courage and said loudly, "What are you trying to do..."
Wait.
Ruan Qiuping's gaze stopped on the big man's right hand.
What he had seen in his peripheral vision earlier was clearly a white arm, how had it turned into a... pig's trotter?
So this big man...
Ruan Qiuping turned sideways to look into the room behind the big man.
He saw dead pigs piled up on the floor.
So it was an illegal slaughterhouse...
"What the hell are you looking at?! Are you a reporter or not? Leave your camera here!" The big man shouted again, turning to grab a wooden stick from behind the door.
Afraid that his bad luck might affect the child, Ruan Qiuping didn't dare to pick him up and run directly. Fortunately, there was a plastic sheet covering the paint buckets. Ruan Qiuping quickly pulled off the plastic sheet, wrapped it around the child a couple of times, then picked him up and ran forward as fast as he could.
However, even though his movement was quick, it still cost him some time. He had barely turned and taken two steps when the big man's wooden stick struck Ruan Qiuping squarely on the back.
The blow made Ruan Qiuping stumble, but he quickly regained his footing and continued to run forward.
"Crash!" A loud noise rang out as the big man chasing him suddenly tripped over a paint bucket and fell to the ground.
Ruan Qiuping raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit more balanced in his heart.
"How dare you hit the God of Misfortune? I curse you with endless bad luck!" he thought to himself.
While mentally cursing the big man, Ruan Qiuping glanced down at the child in his arms.
Since descending to the mortal world, nine-tenths of his misfortune-inducing aura had already diminished. Now, with the child wrapped in thick plastic, even more of the unlucky energy was blocked.
Even so, the child had been touched by him and was bound to experience some degree of misfortune. Realizing this, Ruan Qiuping felt a pang of guilt.
As he ran, he panted out, "I'm sorry, little one. I didn't mean to touch you. You might have some bad luck now... I'll put you down... very soon..."
Just then, the child suddenly reached out, gently wrapping their arms around Ruan Qiuping's neck and burying their face in the crook of his neck.
Ruan Qiuping's body stiffened, his pupils dilating slightly. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek, but he forgot to wipe it away.
Even his running pace slowed for a moment.
...It was a hug.