After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

The butler left.

Xu Ruheng waited for a while, then bent his body slightly.

"Daoist Master, I was impolite just now. I won't reduce the ceremonial expenses by a single penny, but what about my health?"

The old blind man shook his head.

“Old sir, you are afflicted with the curse of misfortune. It is likely that you are too prominent in your daily life, and someone is jealous and wants to harm you. A normal person would not live more than five days after being afflicted by this curse, but you are surrounded by auspicious light that has protected you from the disaster, so you are still alive now, but you will not live long.”

Xu Ruheng said in a panic.

"Master, do you know anyone..."

The old blind man interrupted.

"This curse is powerful. I don't know which master cast it. I am not very knowledgeable and have no ability to find anyone to break it. However, I see that you are protected by auspicious light, which can avert disaster and bring good fortune. If we are to be honest, this auspicious light should be able to remove this disaster."

Xu Ruheng's expression was serious.

"What do you mean, sir?"

The old blind man stroked his beard.

"Since that auspicious omen could save the old man once, it should be able to save him a second time."

After a pause, the old blind man asked in a low voice.

"Old sir, since you encountered that auspicious omen, has your fortune turned around? Have you easily acquired wealth and connections, and effortlessly resolved any calamities? You've acquired your entire fortune without any major trouble?"

Xu Ruheng: "..."

Xu Ruheng started from scratch and achieved success without any financial assistance. However, the process of building his family was indeed as the old blind man said, without any difficulty. Wealth and success seemed to be protected by the ancestor Feng Lingyueying, appearing as soon as he beckoned.

Life after the age of 20 is in stark contrast to the poverty and hardship experienced before the age of 20.

Now that the old blind man has said it, Xu Ruheng finally realized that his family fortune was actually obtained through that auspicious creature.

Even his own life would depend on that auspicious creature from now on.

The old blind man asked in a deep voice.

"Although I don't have a way to break the curse, I am particularly skilled in divination. Old sir, tell me about what happened back then, and I will divine the location of that auspicious creature for you so that you can find it."

Xu Ruheng sighed.

The old man said wistfully.

"To be honest, Daoist Master, back then I was poor and my mother was ill. I made a tough decision and went to Chang'an Mountain. That place is dangerous. When I got there, there were human bones and corpses everywhere. It is said that the wild beasts there are monsters that ran out from the Ten Thousand Miao Mountains. They can kill awakened people like cutting vegetables. Ordinary people really have to gamble with their lives to go in."

"But this was also a gamble. I followed a group of elders and walked along the edge of Chang'an Mountain for more than ten days without finding anything good. We were getting anxious, so we went a little further in. Once we went in, all the elders who were close to me died inexplicably, bleeding from all seven orifices."

"The scene was terrifying. I and a few other brothers ran away, but halfway there, they all fell to the ground. I ran in a panic and reached a ravine. It was dark when I ran in, and the wind was howling. Not long after, it started to snow."

The spirits in Chang'an Mountain are extremely fierce, but most of them hibernate in winter. Therefore, many herb gatherers enter Chang'an Mountain in winter, as this increases their chances of survival.

But spirits hibernate, while the weather does not. Xu Ruheng, who got lost, encountered severe weather with heavy snow and strong winds. Since he had no firewood or fire, Xu Ruheng could only find shelter under a big tree.

Xu Ruheng began to shake his head, his eyes filled with pain.

"The temperature was so cold back then that even a piss would freeze instantly. I had no food, no fire, and no shelter from the wind. I was shivering all over from the cold. By midnight, I was so cold that I collapsed on the ground, and my breath didn't even fog up."

"At that time, I felt like I was going to die."

The blind fortune teller nodded.

"Indeed, this is a sign of a violent death. According to his fate, the old gentleman was destined to die in that calamity."

Xu Ruheng began to tremble. Even though half a century had passed, he could still feel the chill of that night and the aura of death that permeated his nostrils when he thought about it.

Xu Ruheng said in a trembling voice.

"After shivering for a while, I stopped feeling cold and started to feel warm. I wanted to take off my clothes."

"Just as I was about to take off my clothes, I, well, I don't know if it was a hallucination, saw a seven-colored light appear at the end of the snowy forest."

"Looking at that light, I felt neither cold nor hot anymore."

Xu Ruheng started to laugh, as if he had thought of something good.

"The light slowly approached, and the place where I was lit up. The light shone on me, and I vaguely saw a small figure in the center of the light."

The old blind man asked hurriedly.

What is that figure?

Xu Ruheng asked in confusion.

"It is a deer, a deer draped in seven colors, incomparably pure and beautiful."

The old blind man laughed heartily.

"I see, I see. Sir, you are very lucky. This is a very auspicious omen, a rare sight indeed."

Xu Ruheng remained silent.

Xu Ruheng fainted after the deer appeared. The next day, when he arrived, he was surprisingly unharmed by frostbite and still had plenty of strength. He even took a few steps outside and discovered several valuable immortal plants. Xu Ruheng took the immortal plants and left Chang'an Mountain safely.

After that, his life went smoothly without any setbacks.

The old blind man explained.

"This is a nine-colored deer, an auspicious creature. It must have been the auspicious light of the nine-colored deer that shone upon the old gentleman, allowing him to defy fate and enjoy a life of great fortune."

The old blind man clenched his fingers.

"Oh, here it comes, here it comes."

"Old sir, do you know about the Ten Thousand Miao Mountains?"

Xu Ruheng nodded.

The old blind man continued.

"If you go to the Wansui Mountain Range of the Ten Thousand Miao Mountains, you should be able to encounter the Nine-Colored Deer again there if you are lucky."

"When the time comes, good fortune will return, and this calamity will be nothing more than a wave of the hand."

Chapter Two: Danger

The Capitol Building, House of Representatives.

Xuanwu stood in front of dozens of cameras from his own dozens of television stations, holding a script and speaking.

"...Congress has decided to launch a major infrastructure project next year..."

"...At that time, we will invest at least one hundred trillion yuan in large-scale infrastructure projects over ten years..."

"This will create tens of millions of jobs and at the same time repair our country's decaying infrastructure."

A century ago, the Eastern Xia Federation was a powerhouse of infrastructure development, but its infrastructure development stagnated after capitalists advocated for a free market and argued that the government should not interfere with the freedom of capital. They also sold off state-owned assets to capitalists.

Even the subway in Zhongzhou, the capital of the Eastern Xia Federation, is eighty years old. Now it is full of leaks and short circuits, which has even spurred the creation of a road maintenance team that inspects the subway tunnels every now and then.

Meanwhile, in recent years, the National Infrastructure Bureau of the Eastern United States has repeatedly warned Congress that 95% of the more than 500,000 bridges in the country are in dangerous condition, and there is a major problem every three kilometers on various highways.

However, having lost control of other states and no longer able to collect taxes from the wealthy, the federal government lacks the funds for infrastructure renovations.

The previous president even lamented on his social media account that the taxes he paid for a fast food meal today might be more than those paid by a major corporation.

Of course, things are different now. Xuanwu has taken over the federal government. This bigwig quickly injected capital into the federal government and forcibly demanded that all capitalists refrain from tax evasion.

No capitalist refused Xuanwu's demands.

In the future, a huge amount of hot money will inevitably be sent to the national treasury. The money cannot just sit in the national treasury and not move. Xuanwu plans to use it for infrastructure construction.

Xuanwu finished reading the manuscript in his hand.

A reporter from a national news channel immediately stood up and asked.

"Mr. Secretary of State, I have heard that this infrastructure project will be contracted to thirty construction companies in Tulip State, Lily State, Bergamot State and other places (all of which are under the actual control of Xuanwu). There are a lot of people on the Internet saying that you are going to line your own pockets with this large-scale infrastructure project. Is there any truth to this?"

Xuanwu sneered.

The interests of leaders and ordinary people are different. When Xuanwu appoints people from his own city and his own companies, ordinary people will think that he is just trying to line his own pockets from this big policy.

But in Xuanwu's eyes, why would he use his own power and his own men to find some unknown construction company to do infrastructure work?

If they're not one of our own, it's better if we can't control them. The real problem is if they take the money and do nothing, taking twenty years to build a road that's only a few dozen kilometers long, and then constantly finding excuses to ask us for more money every year.

Xuanwu responded.

"Our federal government's bidding process was completed through legal and reasonable procedures, and all the procedures have been published on the government's official website. If you have any objections, you can check it and leave your suggestions in the comments section."

Xuanwu then looked at the next reporter who raised his hand, and the reporter stood up.

"Mr. Secretary of State, a new type of influenza has begun to spread recently, and the Ministry of Health has issued several announcements. What are your thoughts on this?"

Xuanwu shrugged.

"Congress will distribute free masks at some hospitals later, and will also broadcast public service announcements on safety and hygiene during prime time in the evening..."

After Xuanwu finished speaking, the reporter who had stood up sat down, and then the third reporter stood up.

Two hours later, the press conference ended, and everyone dispersed. Xuanwu, looking exhausted, got up, tidied his notebook and other belongings, and prepared to leave. Before he left, the Minister of Health approached him, and the minister said in a flustered manner.

"Mr. Secretary, some of our researchers at the Department of Health have made some very strange discoveries. Yesterday, I compiled the data and sent it to the President, the Vice President, and your computer. Have you seen it?"

Xuanwu frowned.

"Why do you expect a man who can't even understand the chemical formula for an anti-inflammatory powder to understand your report full of technical jargon?"

The Minister of Health smiled wryly.

“This flu is different. We, we, we found that the people who died were very different.”

Xuanwu slowly raised his chin, his eyes scrutinizing his Minister of Health.

To put it bluntly, several federal government departments regularly ask for money every year under various pretexts. For example, the military always claims that its secrets have been stolen by foreign countries, and that foreign countries are developing space-based weapons and antimatter cannons, in order to ask Congress for military funding.

The Ministry of Health's need for funds naturally arises from the annual flu season.

Every year, the Department of Health and Human Services portrays the inevitable flu as a super disease that will destroy the world, but in reality, even if the federal government did nothing, hundreds of thousands of people would die from the flu in each state every year.

"Alright, alright, you can talk to my assistant later."

Xuanwu looked completely unconcerned.

"He will ask the president to approve the funding for you."

Xuanwu walked past the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health wanted to chase after him to say something, but Xuanwu used some kind of supernatural power and suddenly disappeared as soon as he passed by the Minister of Health. The Minister of Health could only watch Xuanwu leave, sighing repeatedly.

This flu outbreak is indeed quite strange.

The strange thing is that most patients died from cardiac arrest, while the flu virus only damaged the lungs and did not show any signs of damaging the heart in subsequent medical experiments.

……

High in the air, inside an airplane.

Zhou Yan held his phone, which showed a video of Xuanwu being interviewed.

"...Congress has decided to launch a major infrastructure project next year..."

Yesterday, before going to sleep, Zhou Yan discovered that his awakening level had increased by 3% and all his physical attributes had increased by 200 points. Zhou Yan checked around and realized that Xuanwu must be up to something again. He then drank some of the soup that Xuanwu was making good.

The blessings brought by this auspicious omen seem to be more than one-time events. The good deeds he has done will continue to provide him with auspicious energy as they spread. However, the efficiency of this auspicious energy is causing Zhou Yan some distress. Xuanwu is already thinking about starting a large-scale infrastructure project, but he has only increased his awakening level by 3%.

What can you do with this level of awakening?

A cup of eight-treasure porridge was placed in front of Zhou Yan, and the flight attendant handed it to him with a professional smile.

"This is a special drink made for our plane. It's very delicious. Guests, you can try it."

Zhou Yan accepted it.

The flight attendant next to Zhou Yan pushed the snack cart away from him.

Zhou Yan watched the video for a while longer. Time passed slowly, and the plane began to tilt downwards.

Zhou Yan looked out the plane window.

Outside the airplane window stretched a continuous range of mountains. The mountains looked fine up close, but looking into the distance, dark clouds were billowing across the horizon, covering a vast mountain range in a dark, oppressive atmosphere, giving it a somewhat apocalyptic feel.

However, closer by, there is a cluster of human buildings on a relatively flat hilltop. People come and go in the buildings, making it seem quite lively.

The plane flew towards the human-built buildings until it landed and decelerated.