Chapter 4 – The Fourth Ray of Light

Ji Si found that his vast knowledge was of no use on Earth.

Before becoming the High Priest, he was a distinguished noble scion, adept at the four arts of zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting, proficient in the six arts of a gentleman, skilled in military strategy and tactics, and had risen to the top during the feudal dynasty through sheer merit.

Setting aside the temporal gap, Ji Si’s bellyful of ink indeed qualified him to be a private school teacher. However, when he followed a job ad to the door of a winter training class, the person in charge dismissed him with a single question: “Do you have a teaching certificate?”

No, farewell.

After becoming the High Priest, Ji Si was an exceptional spiritual cultivator. He excelled in formations and talismans, mastered divination and healing rituals, was adept at chakra meditations, and thoroughly researched the arcane arts of major systems, becoming a grand integrator.

Setting aside practical science, Ji Si was an expert in blessing divinations, healing rituals, and rune tarot. Anyone willing to seek his services would definitely benefit immensely.

Regrettably, the people of this century do not believe in karma, do not cultivate their spirits, do not speak of frequencies—the only metaphysics they are interested in is “forward this koi and you’ll receive good news next month.”

Ji Si: … Farewell.

Choosing an auspicious day has an almanac to help, ancestor worship has online incense offerings, channeling spirits is less popular than street dance, and chanting spells is less appealing than singing rap.

There are no so-called supernatural events; if there are, they are just temporarily unexplained by science; there are no haunted old houses; if there are, they are well-hyped by developers.

The overwhelming trend of the environment led Ji Si to face obstacles everywhere. It seemed that other than begging on an overpass, his only option left was the route of a “wealthy lady desperately seeking a child because her husband cannot sire one.”

Ji Si: …

More strange knowledge added.

He knew well that unless witnessed firsthand, nobody would believe in unreliable things.

Earth has isolated humans; humans have isolated themselves. After thousands of years of influence, who could change their ingrained thinking with just a few words?

But by the time humans can see and experience for themselves, it will be too late.

Isn’t it always the case with chosen ones in the cycle of reincarnation?

The team captain barely became a financial tycoon when zombies besieged the city; the nurse traveled the world with her parents when volcanoes erupted and tsunamis swept across; the Nine-tailed Fox struggled through tribulations only for the demonic abyss’s seal to collapse; the Sword Immortal was playing games in his dorm when aliens invaded Earth and started a massacre…

Such catastrophic natural and man-made disasters always occur on the most ordinary days.

The shared karma of humanity, the critical point…

He chose Earth to wait for a grand transformation.

The golden crow sets in the west, and the jade rabbit will rise.

Ji Si sat cross-legged on the rooftop of a five-star hotel, his great staff laid in front of him. Facing the wind, he admired the city’s scenery.

Through the eyes of the living, it looked bustling yet ancient, with busy traffic and high towers. The setting sun’s glow coated the canals, pigeons flew over the wetland park, and a girl holding a milk tea ran up.

Through the eyes of the dead, it was eerie yet calm, with spirits and humans coexisting without interference. Dragon-shaped energy fields hovered above the canals, safeguarding boats; cat spirits darted into the park, startling birds; a deceased golden retriever chased a girl, circling her…

They were always there, just invisible to three-dimensional humans.

If unseen, then it does not exist. If it does not exist, there is no need to believe. Especially since the manifestation of karma is slow, those who are lucky give up many moral boundaries.

Little do they know, when human hearts fall into degradation, malevolent spirits form. These spirits draw on the luck and vitality of the degraded, slowly taking shape.

The gathered drips result in a powerful entity capable of devouring the life of its host, then discarding this useless shell to hunt for the next useful prey.

For instance, the large hotel three blocks away that Ji Si “saw” was covered in pitch-black malevolent spirits. They gathered and solidified into a grim reaper’s scythe-like appearance.

Perhaps wary of his presence, they had not erupted yet. But little did they know, some eruptions he would not stop, and might even enjoy seeing them unfold.

Too much wrongdoing always leads to retribution.

It should not have manifested so quickly, but as the holy paths crumbled and the human paths declined, and him being the High Priest with the “catalyst” attribute, it was no wonder… Huh?

Ji Si inadvertently looked down and saw a large crowd below the hotel, surrounding a huge cushion.

People pointed and directed traffic around him. A firefighter with a megaphone stepped forward, turned up the volume, and shouted at him, “Don’t give up! You’re young, and there’s so much more to life!”

Ji Si: …

The wind picked up, messing up the High Priest’s long hair.

He knew someone was quietly approaching behind him, probably to pull him back from the edge of an “accidental fall.” But he didn’t know the firefighter below could be so capable, making up a hundred-episode melodrama just from seeing his long hair.

“Little girl! Don’t jump, you’re young! Hair reaches your shoulders, soon it’ll be Hotpot King; hair reaches your waist, right away it’s Seafood City; hair touches the ground, you’re the empress!”

“Failed your exam? No big deal, we have top scholars in our police force to tutor you!”

“Cheated on? Don’t be afraid, the power of the people is great, we’ll help you beat him up! Don’t be hard on yourself, you’re young, and there are countless possibilities in your future!”

Ji Si: …

Ji Si wasn’t sure about the possibilities in his future, but the likelihood of entering a police station now seemed quite high, and not even his face could save him.

Perhaps, he might even be fined.

Could it be that he, a mere High Priest, would be sent to a police station within 24 hours of arriving on Earth?

No, he could not accept that.

Ji Si stared at the large hotel three streets away, silently counting down in his heart. The next second, a pair of strong hands gripped his shoulders and forcefully pulled him back from the edge of the rooftop.

He heard the crowd’s cheers and curses. Just then, the malevolent spirits entered the building.

“Phew…” The firefighter who grabbed his arm earnestly said, “You scared me to death! Let’s go down! You’re so young, thinking of dying, what about your parents? You can’t…”

“It’s going to catch fire.” Ji Si suddenly spoke.

The firefighter instinctively asked, “Where?”

Ji Si turned to look at the large hotel: “There.”

“A big fire.” He softly described, “In Western esotericism, the fire element can burn all impurities and reveal all truths. It’s the element of destruction and rebirth.”

“It will devour that building. You can’t save the sinners, don’t try too hard.”

Firefighter: … Damn, which hospital did this lunatic escape from?

A perfectly good large hotel, never caught fire in twenty years, just happens to catch fire today, their team’s luck must be really bad.

Alarming talk!

“Boom——”

An explosion sounded abruptly, cutting off the noise from the building’s base. Startled drivers braked suddenly, but one slipped and turned the steering wheel wrong, violently crashing into the adjacent car.

One collision led to a chain reaction, like dominos collapsing. One after another…

Whether by coincidence or fate, eight cars collided in a chain, causing a roadblock that perfectly blocked the fire trucks from approaching from any angle. And the wind changed direction weirdly, aiding the fire as it blew upwards, aggressively reaching the top floors.

Thick smoke billowed, screams continued.

The stunned firefighter rushed forward to look down, his face drastically changing. His chest heaved violently, as if he had witnessed something incredible, and he incredulously turned to look for the “lunatic youth” behind him.

But, he was gone.

Disappeared completely, as if he had never been there.

“Put out the fire——”

“It’s going to catch fire, there, a big fire.”

“You can’t save the sinners, don’t try too hard.”

Fire, spreading far and wide, with sinister human faces seemingly tumbling in the black smoke. A mournful wind howled, carrying ghostly wails inaudible to humans, echoing throughout the sky.

Though it was burning steel and concrete, it oddly seemed as easy as burning paper. In just a matter of minutes, the fire climbed from the ground floor to the seventeenth floor, its speed astonishing.

People tried their best to extinguish the fire, while Ji Si leisurely descended the stairs.

He tied up his long hair and put on a cap. Pushing open the emergency exit, he descended the stairs without making a sound.

When he reached the basement and walked half a circle out of the parking lot, the large hotel’s fate of being burned was sealed; when he merged into the crowd and walked towards the wetland park in the opposite direction, the flames greedily targeted another building.

“This won’t do.” Things that shouldn’t move, can’t move.

Ji Si looked back at where the smoke was rising, raised the great staff in his hand, and softly said, “Let it rain.”

A torrential downpour ensued, very heavy indeed.

Then came the problem, he didn’t have an umbrella. And with someone next to him taking shelter from the rain and staring at him, wouldn’t it be strange if he didn’t get as wet as the other person?

……

The large hotel’s fire made the local news headlines. If not for the sudden downpour, the fire might have spread to nearby buildings. The news that “a large hotel caught fire and a massive amount of voyeuristic equipment was uncovered during cleanup” made the national news headlines.

“What a sin, tsk tsk!”

“Have you heard? This hotel changed its management five years ago. On the surface, they conducted legitimate business, but behind the scenes, they engaged in shady activities. Wasn’t it sued a year ago? It was about this voyeurism issue, but the plaintiff committed suicide due to depression… After that, the matter disappeared.”

“Well burned, completely cleaned out.”

“Evil deeds cannot escape retribution; I heard they caught everyone involved.”

The hotel fire became the talk of the town, and nearly no one remembered the minor incident three streets away from the burning hotel where a “young lady” was about to jump off a building.

Only one firefighter remembered this accurate real-time prophecy, but he painfully kept it as an unspeakable taboo. He tried to speak several times but ultimately chose to remain silent.

There are no strange events in the world, nor are there any extraordinary people.

He didn’t want to become the freak in other people’s mouths.

That same afternoon, Yu Mingyang, who had overslept and missed dinner, was woken by a persistent ringtone. Angrily swiping the screen, about to vent his frustration, he instantly cowered upon seeing the contact name “Terrifying Boss Si.”

“Boss Si, what’s up?”

“I encountered someone with a strange habit. He said ‘Let it rain,’ and it rained.” A calm voice came from the other end.

“Then I added, ‘Bring the umbrella’…”

“Come and bring me an umbrella.”

Yu Mingyang: …

Author’s Note:

PS: Si Nuocheng: God said let there be light, and there was light; I say let there be an umbrella, and there is an umbrella.

Ji Si: …