Chapter 9 - Who’s Messing with Me?!

The time in the mortal and immortal realms flowed differently. A year in the human world equaled just one day in the nine heavens. Normally, the gods wouldn't feel this to be a long time. They were immortal, after all. How long could one day be, when you live for eternity?

But on this day, even one shichen felt painfully long for the fate's scribe Shun Tao. He had been staring at his newest creation since his last amendments. Each time one of the small black signs solidified into the unchangeable form of a fulfilled fate, he wanted to leap from his seat and dance around his chamber.

He didn't follow through with this urge, though, because he felt like he couldn't leave. There were still characters, that hadn't solidified.

Another changed, showing that this part of Zhong Jing Yi's fate had been fulfilled: The Zhongs and the other villagers got into an argument. Shun Tao stared at the black lines, his whole body tensed.

Just one more step, just one more step …, he chanted inside his head. Nothing can go wrong here!

Madam Zhong fell. Shun Tao sprang up. He sucked in a large breath, opened his lips, prepared to laugh.

The next character lit up, about to solidify and … crumbled. The air got stuck in Shun Tao's throat. He dropped the scroll, bent over, pressing a hand to his chest, and coughed until tears spilled from his eyes.

Bloody hell! Did I jinx it?!

Shun Tao threw an accusing gaze at the scroll lying motionless on his writing table. The damned thing glowed and changed his carefully crafted characters. Again!

"Why did I become the fate's scribe? Why didn't I apply for another job?" He sniffled and slumped into his seat. Without any motivation whatsoever, he watched the changes on his scroll. "Once is a coincidence, twice is an accident, thrice is someone messing with me. So … This could just be an accident?"

Zhong Jing Yi's mother hadn't died at birth and now she hadn't died in the scuffle.

The first time, well … such things could happen. A daoist happening upon such a scene wasn't that strange, even though the village wasn't close to any sect. There were wandering practitioners and cultivators out on missions … A lot of things could have led to this. It seemed like one of the gods had his hands in it, but he couldn't ascertain it just because of this one incident.

The second time, however, was quite a bit suspicious. If some gust had blown the hoe in another direction, it would have been strange, but acceptable. But a gust of wind pushing Madam Zhong in the other direction? And even all of the other villagers?

This was definitely the work of a god!

"This might not be the third time, but someone's definitely messing with me! Who could it be?"

Shun Tao stood up again, not bothering to make any rash amendments to the scroll. If some other god was really sabotaging his work, then it wouldn't make any difference if he did. That asshole would just thwart him again!

"I need to find out, who this is …" Shun Tao paced up and down in his chamber. "Certainly, nobody would do this just for the fun of it. There has to be a reason. But what could it be?" He stopped before the door and looked out at his garden. "What happens, when that person succeeds?" He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms, his fingers drumming in a fast rhythm. "Messing up such an important fate … I'd certainly lose my job. If I lost my job …" His face fell and he slammed his fist against the door frame. "Despicable! Someone's out to get his hands on my job! Tch!"

Shun Tao paced back to his table. "I might think it's a terrible troublesome job, but I won't hand it over so easily! Don't think you'll get away with this. I'm going to catch you in the blink of an eye!"

He picked up his brush and prepared the ink. The tip of the brush hovered a finger's breadth over Zhong Jing Yi's scroll of fate. He didn't know how to proceed. "I'll have to take a trip and observe those younglings. It has to be one of them. But … how to expose him? I'd need to catch him red-handed. That guy is surely watching his highness from the nine heavens. He wouldn't dare descending, when his majesty might be watching over his son down there. He can only mess with Zhong Jing Yi's fate in the last possible moment and only through indirect means like that daoist or the gust of wind. He wouldn't dare to go down personally. Then … how to catch him?" He needed time and a ploy to tangle his enemy.

Slowly, the brush advanced toward the scroll. Shun Tao hesitated only a moment longer, then wrote into the gaps, that had opened once again in Zhong Jing Yi's fate: After the daoist leaves, the villagers don't speak of the heretic practitioner anymore. Zhong Jing Yi grows into a cute little boy, that is loved by all the womenfolk in his village and the surrounding ones. The other boys grow angry seeing this and decide to teach him a lesson.

"He! Let's see how you're going to mess with this! Even if you indeed manage to prevent Zhong Jing Yi experiencing this lesson, I can still use the little girl! Being betrayed by a childhood sweetheart is certainly even worse than being played by some servant girl. Hehehe. I really am brilliant." Shun Tao put down his brush, rolled up the scroll and hid it in his sleeve. He'd never let this scroll out of his reach or eyes!

With his preparations complete, Shun Tao set of to the palace, where the young gods waiting for an official position were staying. He was sure, he'd find the culprit there! Little did he know, that the culprit had been in the mortal realm all along and was even now looking out for any slight mishap that may befall Zhong Jing Yi.