〈Parallel Universes〉 平行時空

18、〈通靈天師〉

中年大叔丹尼爾收到公司通知，公司經營的旅館受到新冠疫情影響，入住率銳減入不敷出，決定停業。公司遣散旅館基層員工，要求幹部做出選擇，留職停薪或領取遣散費。丹尼爾和幾個幹部為此集會討論，多數決定領錢走人，只有丹尼爾和懷特等人決定留職停薪，以打工方式度過旅館停業期間，只是這些人也不知道停業會拖到幾時。
丹尼爾留職停薪的決定，引起一場家庭風波。妻子艾美認為老公應該領取遣散費，然後去找份新的工作，比方大樓管理員，起碼能解決家庭開銷，不會讓她獨自扛起經濟重擔。丹尼爾認為公司只是暫時受到疫情影響，做出旅館停業的決定，疫情過後，他還想回去旅館，不僅因為這份工作是他從基層的導遊領隊做起，已經持續二十年，如今才升遷到旅遊部經理職位，他對這份工作有著深厚的感情，並且他相信疫情終究會過去。夫妻倆為此激烈爭執，艾美對丹尼爾下達最後通牒，如果丹尼爾執意留職停薪，除非他的打工收入足夠給付家庭開銷，否則就跟他離婚。
丹尼爾決定離家出走，到別的城市打工，因為一方面他不想再忍受妻子強悍的個性，把他長期當成一部提款機﹔另一方面兩人自從十年前分房後，彼此感情就越來越冷淡，他不止一次從雙方的朋友口中，聽聞妻子和她的房地產公司經理關係曖昧，他一直覺得自己是艾美心目中，棄之可惜的「備胎」，而三個孩子都跟他關係疏離，因為在他們成長過程中，他很少主動關心他們的生活和學業，頂多只是當孩子們需要購買價格昂貴的三C產品或參加學校旅行需要旅費時，主動找他開口時，他就扮演聖誕老人給錢的角色。
丹尼爾留下簽名的離婚協議書給艾美，攜帶簡單行李，開著老爺車來到一座靠山面海的T小鎮。小鎮上有許多別墅山莊，吸引鄰近城市的有錢人和慕名而來的觀光客，前來投資置產，觀光景點和休閒度假是小鎮主要的經濟活動。丹尼爾找到一處舊公寓，以便宜的租金住下來。他應徵一份打工性質的工作︰房地產推銷員，沒有底薪，薪水來自工作業績︰推銷房屋，因為他常常陪著妻子艾美，帶著客人去看屋，聽艾美如何推銷房屋，艾美那套話術，他早已耳熟能詳。
初來乍到人地生疏，丹尼爾想到與其挨家挨戶去發放宣傳單，不如直接到商業區熱鬧的街道，以東方的裝扮引起路人注意，加上一些魔術來取悅圍觀者，並趁機向觀眾推銷房屋。為此，丹尼爾特地從youtube的短片裡，自學了一些魔術戲法和東方命相道士的職業用語。
丹尼爾在人來人往的商業鬧區路口擺設攤位，把自己裝扮成算命的道教相士︰頭戴方帽、身穿藏青色道士服，一手拿著拂塵，一手搖著銅鈴，身旁立著一支帆布旗幟︰「通靈天師，鐵口直斷」。他把焦點集中在前來觀光的亞洲人，尤其是穿金戴銀的中國人和港澳華人、台灣人，這些華人都是有財力的潛在買家。丹尼爾的華語是跟教會裡的華人牧師學的，雖然公司裡的華人同事覺得他說華語怪腔怪調，但他自信這時他的華語派得上用場。
果然，丹尼爾的奇招奏效，他一出場就吸引住圍觀的路人，尤其是華人對他的命相道士的扮相產生好奇。一個白人，竟然能夠說出一堆東方的命相術語，而且還會使用烏龜殼來演示金錢掛，圍觀的觀眾都被他唬得一愣一愣。第一天，丹尼爾就找到三組華人客戶，並分別跟他們約定看房時間。
傍晚，突然一場雷陣雨來襲，丹尼爾匆匆收拾好攤位，以帆布旗遮擋雨水。當他即將回到租屋的公寓，在小廣場上很意外地一道閃電朝他劃過來，丹尼爾被強大的電流擊倒，瞬間暈死過去。丹尼爾甦醒時，看見自己正躺在病床上，他的道士袍正前面的八卦圖案，燒破一個拳頭大的洞，右腳的布鞋不知去向，腳趾纏著紗布。華人女護士過來幫他的腳趾換藥時，說他命大運氣好，強大電流從腳趾端出去，否則他早就變成一段「燒烤火腿」了，還半開玩笑地說他「大難不死，必有後福」，出院後趕緊去買張彩券去霉運。丹尼爾頭一回聽到這種「改運」的說法，只覺得有趣，並未當真。
就在出院當天，丹尼爾隨即發現他竟然具有預知未來事件的能力(「第六感」)，他腦海中浮現一幕幕畫面，有歹徒持槍搶劫鎮上的某間銀行，歹徒開槍打傷警衛並得手現金後，在逃離的街道上與趕來圍捕的警車發生槍戰，一個歹徒被當場擊斃，兩個負傷脫逃現場。果然，幾小時後的新聞快報，播出的內容與丹尼爾的預感完全吻合。接著，他又預見一棟商業大樓地下室的夜店發生縱火，有人受困火場，他不禁猶豫是否該向那棟大樓和夜店示警。丹尼爾決定趕抵大火現場的對面咖啡廳旁觀，確認他的預感是否成真。丹尼爾先是看到兩個男子被幾名壯漢從地下室追打出來，被痛毆的兩名男子跪地求饒，對方才罷休。這兩人灰溜溜搭計程車離去。一小時不到，一部房車來到這棟大樓，這兩個挨揍掛彩的男子，一人手持鋁棒，一人手上提一桶汽油，走進地下室縱火，隨即冒出熊熊火光。
丹尼爾膽顫心驚，既然他具有這份異能，他該如何善用「預感」，來掙錢改善自己的經濟，安頓後半生呢﹖丹尼爾決定當一個「烏鴉嘴預言師」，每當預感來臨時，他就主動給報社和電視台打電話，讓記者第一時間趕抵現場拍攝採訪。
第一次的預報電話，內容是K市的捷運列車行駛中出軌，撞入停車場造成人員死傷。報社和電視台都當丹尼爾精神異常，存心來搗亂的，但意外事件的確發生了，且發生的時間地點，都與這通預報所說的內容完全吻合。
第二次預報電話，內容是一架直升機機械故障，墜毀在住宅區。機上的NBA藍球明星和他的妻子小孩在空難中喪生。接到預報電話的報社和電視台寧可信其有，都派出記者抵達事發現場，果然發生墜機事件，且吻合丹尼爾所預告的時間地點。
第三次預報電話撥給某家電視台，內容是恐怖分子劫持一輛學生校車，向官方勒索鉅額贖金和一艘快艇。丹尼爾主動提出要求，該電視台預先給付他一筆預報費用，電視台如數允諾。雙方在約定的時間地點以現金交付，因為丹尼爾不想引起警方注意橫生誤會。可事後卻還是引起警方的注意和懷疑，這個自稱「烏鴉嘴預言師」，是否牽涉進這起治安事件中﹖或者他就是主謀策畫者﹖於是警方開始對丹尼爾的手機進行監聽錄音並追蹤發話來源。
第四次預報電話，丹尼爾撥打給某家銀行高層總經理，內容是該銀行的經理監守自盜，趁連續假期金庫管理鬆散，以公務車搬走金庫裡的大筆黃金和美鈔。總經理隨即向警方報案，警方佈線並及時逮捕正在金庫裡作案的經理。事後，丹尼爾和銀行總經理約定賞金取款地點，丹尼爾意外發現有便衣警探埋伏，他不敢出面取款，以免被警方抓捕後，有理說不清。丹尼爾以公用電話聯絡上銀行總經理，把這次的預報費，捐給城裡的一家孤兒院。丹尼爾的處理方式，果然讓警方相信
這個「烏鴉嘴預言師」，的確並沒有牽涉到該案件。可警方高層卻有更好的盤算，
他們想到找出這個「烏鴉嘴預言師」，讓他來協助警方預防犯罪和重大意外事件。
「通靈天師」的知名度漸漸打開，成為新聞媒體的寵兒，同時也是警方和聯邦調查局、中央情報局等情治機關，極欲找到的「異能人士」。丹尼爾越來越感到懊惱，即使他只想單純地提供這些預言，賺些預報費來餬口，為什麼就得面對警方和情治機關的天羅地網，為此過著躲藏隱匿的日子呢 ﹖逼不得已，丹尼爾想出辦法，取得媒體的合作，在一處隱密地點，由幾個記者見證，丹尼爾戴著面具，公開向記者說出一場「預感」︰腦海中浮現的連續畫面和事件發生的時間地點。有恐怖分子意圖劫持國際航班，要脅官方釋放遭逮捕判刑的同夥，丹尼爾以實際行動，證實他的「預感」和自身的「清白」，警方這才願意採信丹尼爾的說詞。
中情局和聯邦調查局對這位能夠預知未來事件，神秘的「烏鴉嘴預言師」，興趣越發濃厚，可丹尼爾只想簡單過日子，不願意成為被情治機關倚重的「靈媒」，從此失去自由。丹尼爾決定重操舊業，戴起人皮面具當個流浪的命相道士，只回答前來問卜的客人，一些切身的問題，收取少許費用。從一個城市到另一個城市，每天換一個地點擺攤，換一張人皮面具，收攤後就開著房車，找個小旅館或摩鐵休息過夜。
丹尼爾回到T小鎮，在河濱公園擺設命相攤位時，有個華人淑女邱莉莉來找他算命，莉莉是個街頭畫家，考慮要跟同居男友陳俊生分手，因為對方是個吃軟飯的傢伙，不願意好好工作謀生，經常向莉莉伸手討錢。丹尼爾按著莉莉的手心時，腦海裡浮現莉莉發現男友陳俊生劈腿，帶別的女孩回到住處滾床單。莉莉和俊生為此激烈爭吵時，俊生竟然跑去廚房抓起水果刀，回到臥室狂暴地刺殺莉莉的身體，而事件發生的時間就在情人節當晚。丹尼爾心生憐憫，不想眼前這個女孩命喪男友刀下，於是決定在情人節當天，主動前往河濱公園，給莉莉畫一張人像畫，並且約她開車去兜風，讓她順利躲過這場厄運。
命案終究還是發生了，陳俊生被警方逮捕，死者是俊生從夜店帶回來的那個女孩。丹尼爾陪著莉莉剛回到公寓樓下，親眼看著俊生被幾名警察押解出來，幾個圍觀的鄰居竊竊私語。莉莉問其中一名警員，警員說有鄰居報案，公寓裡傳出女子慘叫聲，警方抵達後，俊生正在清理犯罪現場。丹尼爾決定不讓莉莉知道，這是他苦心安排的，因為驚魂未定的莉莉，這時需要的是一雙溫暖的臂膀。經過這件事，丹尼爾發現，即使他積極介入意外或犯罪事件，並不能阻止事件發生，只是被害者可能換成另外的人。從那天之後，丹尼爾決定好好守護莉莉，他的算命攤位就擺在莉莉的人相畫攤旁。
直到某日，丹尼爾的腦海裡浮現妻子艾美，以美人計引誘她的房屋仲介公司經理威廉斯到家裡來，兩人發生肉體關係後，艾美從威廉斯口中套問出銀行帳戶密碼，隨後以安眠藥迷暈威廉斯，洗劫威廉斯身上的信用卡和財務，戴上手套，小心地取出一把手槍裝上滅音器，槍殺威廉斯，並將威廉斯和那把手槍一起裝入屍袋，放到後車廂載走。丹尼爾從畫面中察覺那把手槍，竟然是自己買來自衛用的手槍，心想手槍上面一定遺留有自己的指紋，艾美顯然想要嫁禍給他，可他顧慮三個孩子往後沒人照顧。
丹尼爾該不該揭發前妻謀財害命的罪行﹖如何自證清白呢﹖他的內心陷入掙扎。就在這時，高中同學亞當斯以電話連絡上丹尼爾，亞當斯想說服丹尼爾，接受中情局的邀請，擔任提供預警情報的特工。兩人隨即約在一家咖啡廳見面，丹尼爾說出他前妻艾美即將謀殺情夫，他擔心三個孩子會失去母親。亞當斯認為既然艾美對丹尼爾已無感情，丹尼爾不需要有所顧慮，亞當斯願意協助丹尼爾，及時制止艾美的謀殺計畫，可丹尼爾說他的預感雖然靈驗，但是並不能改變事件的結果，即使有另一個人成為命案的替死鬼，艾美仍難逃謀殺罪的罪刑。亞當斯說這件事處理起來並不麻煩，只要在命案現場逮捕艾美，就能及時制止艾美嫁禍給丹尼爾，但事成之後，丹尼爾必須加入中情局，以超能力為國家做出貢獻。
丹尼爾陪著莉莉回到公寓樓下，看著陳俊生被押解離去，心裡卻有股說不出的陰影。他第一次主動「改寫」命運，卻沒想到命案依舊發生，只是死者換了人。丹尼爾這才明白，他的預感並不是「警告」，而更像是「天意的指令」——某些死亡無可避免，只是形式和對象有所轉移。
夜裡，丹尼爾再次做夢，腦海浮現一幅恐怖的畫面：莉莉臉色蒼白，倒臥在血泊中，而兇手，竟然是他自己。丹尼爾從夢中驚醒，大汗淋漓。他不敢相信，這會不會只是「自我恐懼」的投射，而不是命定的未來？然而，他開始注意到一些詭異的細節：莉莉眼神裡閃爍的光芒，似乎早已知曉他的秘密；她畫布上的人物，竟然總是與他「預感」的死亡場景不謀而合。某一天，丹尼爾在莉莉的素描簿裡，發現了一張畫：畫中，他自己身穿道士袍，胸口插著一把刀，臉孔扭曲，宛如命定的亡魂。
丹尼爾驚駭欲絕，質問莉莉。莉莉卻嫣然一笑，語氣冰冷：「你以為，只有你會『預見』嗎？我的畫，就是我的預言。而你以為你救了我，其實是我一步步把你拉進來。俊生會殺人，我早就知道，我只是等你來替我改變受害者。這樣，我就不用死。」丹尼爾怔住了。原來他不是拯救者，而是被利用的棋子。
莉莉靠近他，低聲耳語：「你能看見未來，但你改變不了命運。每次你想改變，死神只會換個方式收割。我畫中的刀……也許，就在今晚。」
話音剛落，窗外雷電再度劈下，電力瞬間熄滅。黑暗裡，丹尼爾只聽見心臟狂跳，以及身邊莉莉若有似無的呼吸聲。
隔日新聞頭條震驚全城：「知名街頭畫家邱莉莉，驚傳被人刺殺於公寓，現場發現一名昏迷男子，手裡緊握兇刀。」
那名男子，正是丹尼爾。
警方研判，他可能因精神異常而痛下殺手。但唯一沒有答案的是——監視器畫面顯示，事發前，丹尼爾明明獨自一人走進公寓，莉莉卻早已不知所蹤。
她的最後一幅畫，被警方帶走：畫中，一個戴著道士方帽的男人，被命運之線緊緊纏繞，無力掙脫。畫旁，留著一句冷冽的字跡：
「真正的『通靈天師』，是我。」

18. “The Spirit Medium Master”

Daniel, a middle-aged man, received a notice from his company informing him that the hotel operated by the company had been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupancy had plummeted, and the hotel was no longer able to cover its operating costs, so the company had decided to suspend operations. The company laid off the hotel’s frontline employees and required the managers to choose between unpaid leave and receiving severance pay. Daniel and several other managers held a meeting to discuss the matter. Most of them decided to take the money and leave, while only Daniel, White, and a few others chose unpaid leave and planned to get temporary jobs to get through the hotel’s shutdown. However, none of them knew how long the closure would last.

Daniel’s decision to take unpaid leave caused a family dispute. His wife, Amy, believed that her husband should take the severance pay and then find a new job, such as working as a building superintendent. At least that would cover the family’s expenses and keep her from having to shoulder the financial burden alone. Daniel believed that the company was only temporarily affected by the pandemic and had decided to close the hotel because of the circumstances. Once the pandemic was over, he still wanted to return to the hotel. Not only had he started there twenty years earlier as a tour guide and group leader and worked his way up to become the manager of the travel department, but he had also developed deep feelings for the job, and he believed that the pandemic would eventually pass. The couple argued fiercely over the matter. Amy gave Daniel an ultimatum: if he insisted on taking unpaid leave, then unless his temporary-job income was enough to cover the family’s expenses, she would divorce him.

Daniel decided to leave home and find temporary work in another city. On the one hand, he no longer wanted to endure his wife’s domineering personality and her treating him like an ATM for years. On the other hand, ever since they had begun sleeping in separate rooms ten years earlier, their relationship had grown increasingly cold. More than once, he had heard from friends on both sides that his wife had an ambiguous relationship with the manager of her real estate company. He had always felt that, in Amy’s eyes, he was a “backup option” she was reluctant to throw away. His three children were also emotionally distant from him because while they were growing up, he rarely took the initiative to care about their lives or studies. At most, whenever they needed to buy expensive consumer electronics or needed money for school trips and came to him for it, he simply played the role of Santa Claus and gave them the money.

Daniel left Amy a signed divorce agreement, packed a small amount of luggage, and drove his old car to a small town called T, located between the mountains and the sea. The town had many villa developments, attracting wealthy people from nearby cities as well as tourists who came because they had heard of the place, all looking to invest in property. Tourism and leisure vacations were the town’s main economic activities. Daniel found an old apartment and moved in because the rent was cheap. He applied for a temporary job as a real estate salesperson. There was no base salary; his income came from his sales performance—selling houses. Because he had often accompanied his wife, Amy, when she took clients to view properties and had listened to her sales pitches, he was already thoroughly familiar with her sales techniques.

As a newcomer unfamiliar with the area, Daniel thought that instead of going door to door handing out flyers, he might as well go directly to a busy street in the commercial district, attract pedestrians’ attention with an Eastern-style appearance, and use a few magic tricks to entertain onlookers while taking the opportunity to promote properties to them. To prepare for this, Daniel taught himself several magic tricks and professional expressions used by Eastern fortune-telling Taoist practitioners from short videos on YouTube.

Daniel set up a stall at a busy intersection in the commercial district and dressed himself as a Taoist fortune-teller: he wore a square Taoist hat and a dark navy Taoist robe, held a fly-whisk in one hand and shook a bronze bell in the other. Beside him stood a canvas banner that read: “Spirit Medium Master—A Straight-Talking Oracle.” He focused on Asian tourists, especially wealthy Chinese people from mainland China and Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Taiwanese people wearing gold and silver. These Chinese-speaking tourists were all potential buyers with financial means. Daniel had learned Mandarin from Chinese pastors at his church. Although his Chinese colleagues thought his Mandarin sounded strange and awkward, he was confident that his Mandarin would finally come in handy.

Sure enough, Daniel’s unusual strategy worked. As soon as he appeared, he attracted the attention of passersby, especially Chinese people, who became curious about his Taoist fortune-teller appearance. A white man could actually rattle off a whole collection of Eastern fortune-telling terms, and he could even use a turtle shell to demonstrate a traditional coin-divination method. The spectators were completely taken in by his performance. On his first day, Daniel found three groups of Chinese-speaking clients and arranged separate times with each group to show them properties.

In the evening, a sudden thunderstorm struck. Daniel hurriedly packed up his stall and used the canvas banner to shield himself from the rain. Just as he was about to return to his rented apartment, a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked toward him in the small plaza. Daniel was knocked down by the powerful electrical current and instantly lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, Daniel found himself lying in a hospital bed. The Eight Trigrams design on the front of his Taoist robe had been burned through, leaving a hole the size of a fist. The cloth shoe on his right foot was nowhere to be found, and his toes were wrapped in gauze. When a Chinese nurse came over to change the dressing on his toes, she told him that he was incredibly lucky to have survived and that the powerful electrical current had exited through his toes. Otherwise, he would have ended up as a piece of “barbecued ham.” Half-jokingly, she also told him, “If you survive a great disaster, good fortune will follow,” and advised him to buy a lottery ticket after he was discharged to get rid of his bad luck. It was the first time Daniel had ever heard of this kind of idea about changing one’s luck. He found it amusing but did not take it seriously.

On the very day he was discharged from the hospital, Daniel suddenly discovered that he had acquired the ability to foresee future events—a “sixth sense.” Scene after scene appeared in his mind. Armed criminals robbed a bank in the town, shooting and injuring a security guard before escaping with a large amount of cash. As they fled through the streets, they engaged in a gunfight with police cars that had arrived to pursue them. One criminal was shot dead at the scene, while two others escaped after being wounded. Sure enough, a news bulletin several hours later reported exactly what Daniel had sensed. Next, he foresaw an arson attack at a nightclub in the basement of a commercial building, with people trapped inside the burning building. He could not help wondering whether he should warn the building and the nightclub. Daniel decided to go to a café across from the scene of the fire and watch from there, confirming whether his premonition would come true. First, he saw two men being chased out of the basement by several burly men. The two beaten men knelt on the ground and begged for mercy before their attackers finally stopped. The two men then slunk away in a taxi. Less than an hour later, a sedan arrived at the building. The two beaten and injured men got out—one carrying an aluminum bat, the other carrying a bucket of gasoline. They entered the basement and set it on fire, and flames immediately burst forth.

Daniel was terrified. Now that he possessed this supernatural ability, how should he make good use of his “premonitions” to earn money, improve his financial situation, and secure his life for the years ahead? Daniel decided to become a “Bad-Luck Prophet.” Whenever a premonition came to him, he would proactively call newspapers and television stations so that reporters could arrive at the scene and film and interview people at the earliest possible moment.

His first warning call reported that a subway train in K City would derail while traveling and crash into a parking lot, causing deaths and injuries. The newspapers and television stations assumed Daniel was mentally unstable and deliberately calling to cause trouble. But the accident did occur, and the time and location were exactly as stated in his warning call.

The second warning call reported that a helicopter would suffer a mechanical failure and crash into a residential neighborhood. An NBA basketball star on board, along with his wife and children, would die in the crash. The newspapers and television stations that received the warning decided that it was better to believe the warning than ignore it. They sent reporters to the scene, and sure enough, the helicopter crashed at exactly the time and place Daniel had predicted.

For the third warning call, Daniel contacted a television station and reported that terrorists would hijack a school bus carrying students and demand a huge ransom and a speedboat from the authorities. Daniel proactively requested that the television station pay him a warning fee in advance, and the station agreed to his terms. The two parties arranged to exchange the cash at an agreed-upon time and location because Daniel did not want to attract the police’s attention and cause any unnecessary misunderstanding. However, the matter still aroused the police’s attention and suspicion afterward. Was this man calling himself a “Bad-Luck Prophet” involved in the public-security incident? Or was he actually the mastermind behind it? The police therefore began monitoring and recording Daniel’s phone calls and tracing the source of his calls.

For his fourth warning call, Daniel contacted the general manager of a bank. He reported that one of the bank’s managers would steal from the bank, taking advantage of the lax vault security during a long holiday weekend to use a company vehicle to transport a large amount of gold and U.S. currency out of the vault. The general manager immediately reported the matter to the police. The police set up surveillance and promptly arrested the manager while he was committing the crime inside the vault. Afterward, Daniel and the bank’s general manager agreed on a location where Daniel could collect his reward. Daniel unexpectedly discovered that undercover police officers were lying in wait. He did not dare show up to collect the money, fearing that if the police arrested him, he would be unable to explain himself. Daniel contacted the bank’s general manager by public telephone and donated the warning fee to an orphanage in the city. Daniel’s handling of the matter finally convinced the police that this “Bad-Luck Prophet” was indeed not involved in the case. However, senior police officials had another idea.

They thought of finding this “Bad-Luck Prophet” and having him assist the police in preventing crimes and major accidents.

The “Spirit Medium Master” gradually became well known, becoming a favorite of the news media while also becoming the “supernatural individual” that the police, the FBI, the CIA, and other intelligence agencies desperately wanted to find. Daniel became increasingly frustrated. Even though he only wanted to provide these predictions and earn a few warning fees to make a living, why did he have to face an all-encompassing police and intelligence-agency dragnet and live a life of hiding and concealment because of it?

Left with no choice, Daniel came up with a solution. He obtained the cooperation of the media and, at a secret location, with several reporters serving as witnesses, Daniel wore a mask and publicly told the reporters about a “premonition”: a series of images that had appeared in his mind, along with the time and location at which the events would occur. Terrorists were planning to hijack an international flight and force the authorities to release their accomplices who had been arrested and sentenced. Daniel took concrete action to prove that his “premonition” was genuine and that he himself was innocent. Only then were the police willing to accept Daniel’s account.

The CIA and FBI became increasingly interested in this mysterious “Bad-Luck Prophet” who could foresee future events. But Daniel only wanted to live a simple life and did not want to become a “medium” relied upon by intelligence agencies and lose his freedom forever. Daniel decided to return to his old profession. Wearing a human-skin mask, he became a wandering Taoist fortune-teller, answering only personal questions from clients who came to seek divination and charging a small fee. He traveled from one city to another, setting up his stall in a different location every day and wearing a different human-skin mask. After packing up his stall, he would drive his sedan and find a small hotel or motel to spend the night.

Daniel returned to T Town. While he was operating his fortune-telling stall in a riverside park, a Chinese lady named Qiu Lili came to have her fortune told. Lili was a street painter who was considering breaking up with her live-in boyfriend, Chen Junsheng, because he was a freeloader who refused to work properly to make a living and frequently asked Lili for money. When Daniel held Lili’s palm, a scene appeared in his mind: Lili discovered that her boyfriend, Chen Junsheng, was cheating on her and had brought another girl back to their home to have sex. During a fierce argument between Lili and Junsheng, Junsheng would suddenly run into the kitchen, grab a fruit knife, return to the bedroom, and viciously stab Lili repeatedly. The event would take place on Valentine’s Day that very evening. Daniel felt compassion for her and did not want the girl in front of him to die at her boyfriend’s hands. He therefore decided to go to the riverside park on Valentine’s Day, paint a portrait of Lili, and invite her to go for a drive, allowing her to escape this disaster.

The murder eventually still occurred. Chen Junsheng was arrested by the police, but the victim was the girl Junsheng had brought home from the nightclub. Daniel had just accompanied Lili back to the apartment building when he saw Junsheng being escorted out by several police officers. Several neighbors standing nearby whispered among themselves. Lili asked one of the officers what had happened. The officer said that a neighbor had called the police after hearing a woman screaming inside the apartment. When the police arrived, Junsheng was cleaning up the crime scene. Daniel decided not to let Lili know that he had deliberately arranged all of this, because the frightened Lili needed a pair of warm arms around her at that moment. After this incident, Daniel realized that even if he 个已启用ly intervened in accidents or criminal incidents, he could not prevent them from happening. The victim might simply be replaced by someone else. From that day on, Daniel decided to protect Lili and placed his fortune-telling stall beside Lili’s portrait-painting stall.

Until one day, a scene appeared in Daniel’s mind showing his wife Amy using her charms to lure Williams, the manager of her real estate agency, to their home. After the two had sex, Amy coaxed the bank account password out of Williams. She then used sleeping pills to render Williams unconscious, robbed him of his credit cards and money, put on gloves, carefully took out a handgun, attached a suppressor to it, and shot Williams to death. She placed Williams and the handgun together in a body bag and loaded them into the trunk of her car. From the scene, Daniel realized that the handgun was actually the one he had purchased for self-defense. He thought that his fingerprints must still be on the gun. Amy was clearly trying to frame him, but he was concerned about what would happen to his three children if no one were left to care for them.

Should Daniel expose his ex-wife’s crime of killing her lover for money? How could he prove his innocence? He was torn by the dilemma. Just then, Adams, a high school classmate, contacted Daniel by phone. Adams wanted to persuade Daniel to accept an invitation from the CIA to work as an agent providing advance warning intelligence. The two immediately arranged to meet at a café. Daniel told Adams that his ex-wife, Amy, was about to murder her lover, and that he was worried that his three children would lose their mother. Adams believed that since Amy no longer had any feelings for Daniel, Daniel had no reason to hesitate. Adams was willing to help Daniel stop Amy’s murder plan in time. But Daniel said that although his premonitions were accurate, they could not change the outcome of events. Even if someone else became the substitute victim, Amy would still be unable to escape punishment for murder. Adams said that dealing with the matter would not be difficult. If they simply arrested Amy at the murder scene, they could stop her from framing Daniel. But once it was done, Daniel would have to join the CIA and use his supernatural ability to contribute to his country.

Daniel accompanied Lili back to the apartment building and watched Chen Junsheng being taken away, but he felt an indescribable shadow hanging over him. This was the first time he had tried to “rewrite” fate, yet he had never expected the murder to occur anyway, with only the victim being changed. Only then did Daniel understand that his premonitions were not “warnings,” but were more like “commands from heaven”—some deaths could not be avoided; only their form and victims could be changed.

That night, Daniel dreamed again. A horrifying image appeared in his mind: Lili’s face was pale, and she lay in a pool of blood. The killer was, unbelievably, Daniel himself. Daniel woke from the dream drenched in sweat. He could not believe it. Could this be merely a projection of his own “self-fear,” rather than a destined future? Yet he began noticing some strange details: a strange light seemed to flicker in Lili’s eyes, as if she had known his secret all along; the figures in her paintings always seemed to coincide uncannily with the death scenes he “foresaw.” One day, Daniel discovered a drawing in Lili’s sketchbook. It showed himself wearing a Taoist robe, with a knife embedded in his chest, his face twisted in agony, like a doomed soul.

Horrified beyond words, Daniel confronted Lili. But Lili only smiled sweetly, her tone cold. “Do you think you’re the only one who can ‘foresee’ things? My paintings are my prophecies. And you think you saved me, but in fact, I have been drawing you into this step by step. I knew long ago that Junsheng would kill someone. I was simply waiting for you to change the victim for me. That way, I wouldn’t have to die.”

Daniel froze. He realized that he was not a savior, but a pawn being used.

Lili moved closer to him and whispered, “You can see the future, but you cannot change fate. Every time you try to change it, Death will simply find another way to claim a life. The knife in my painting... may be here tonight.”

As soon as she finished speaking, lightning struck outside the window again, and the power suddenly went out. In the darkness, Daniel could hear only his pounding heart and Lili’s faint, barely perceptible breathing beside him.

The next day, the newspaper headlines shocked the entire city: “Famous Street Painter Qiu Lili Reportedly Stabbed to Death in Her Apartment; Unconscious Man Found at the Scene Clutching the Murder Weapon.”

That man was Daniel.

The police believed that he might have committed the murder because of a mental disorder. But one question remained unanswered—the surveillance footage showed that, before the incident, Daniel had clearly entered the apartment alone, while Lili had already disappeared without a trace.

Her final painting was taken away by the police. In it, a man wearing a square Taoist hat was tightly entangled in the threads of fate, unable to break free. Beside the painting was a line of coldly written words:

“The true ‘Spirit Medium Master’ is me.”