World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 33 Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny)
twelve_reganr: I met a man from the Hibiscus Kingdom who runs a fortune-telling shop in Chinatown. He claims to be 100% accurate in predicting the future.

twelve_reganr: [Image] Do you know what kind of divination this is?
The image is one that Lin An copied from Jin Zhien's social media. Xiao Xiba is sitting at a square table, looking serious, wearing an incongruous brightly colored Hanfu and holding a colorful folding fan.

On the table were colorful flags depicting various deities, a divination chart, and a dark wooden bucket containing divination sticks. Next to them were a calligraphy brush and ink.

As expected, the title attracted a lot of replies.

Napjerk_8: OP, are you fucking kidding me?

Napjerk_8: Tarot cards and astrology have a history of a full thousand years. If you think other divination methods are more effective, you can go eat shit.

keriksson: The land of hibiscus flowers, no wonder.

There's no need to be so extreme... There are many kinds of divination techniques in the world.

Downvote123: Why should I agree with you? Because I'm afraid you'll apply for UNESCO World Heritage status for Tarot cards and astrology the next moment!

Big_longjoke: The poster is just using clickbait.

Rotatingruhnama: Why isn't the administrator doing anything lately? The forum environment is getting worse and worse.

ThatsWhatyouMean: So, what's in the picture? I can only recognize the yin-yang symbol, and the colors are a bit too bright, it looks a bit like voodoo from Middle-earth.

Ancala: The Southern Central Continent isn't a dumping ground for things you don't understand...
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Hyeon-U-: Then I'll answer the question from the original poster.
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Hyeon-U-: The divination method shown in the picture above is called "Saju," a fortune-telling method from the Hibiscus Kingdom. It is rooted in ancient tribal religions and is based on traditions from thousands of years ago on the peninsula, which can predict a person's fate.
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Hyeon-U-: First, the fortune teller will ask for your birth date. Once he has these dates, he will analyze the cosmic energy based on astrological texts and the lunar calendar. The Four Pillars of Destiny are very accurate; they can predict one's destiny throughout their life.

MimeOutOfTime: Wow, I learned something new, thumbs up!

JeffreyJtea_222: I have a question. Since it is a traditional culture of the peninsula, why is there a Taoist yin-yang pattern on display?

Владиmир: They may be expressing their delight at becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, much like a dog likes to show off by carrying its owner's clothes.

DaoFaZiRan: Everyone, calm down. Let's focus on discussing mysticism. The World Tree Forum isn't Bluebird Media.

DaoFaZiRan: The Four Pillars refer to the year, month, day, and hour pillars at the time of a person's birth. These four pillars are collectively known as the pillars that support one's destiny and are used to predict each person's future fortune using the Five Elements theory.

DaoFaZiRan: The most obvious difference between DaoFaZiRan and Longguo Bagua is that the results of the Four Pillars of Destiny are "irreversible"; fate can only be changed through marriage.

DaoFaZiRan: While the heavens, earth, sun, and moon are certainly important, I believe the remaining four corner trigrams—Zhen (Thunder), Gen (Mountain), Xun (Wind), and Dui (Lake)—are equally indispensable. The interplay of Yin and Yang, each containing the other, is the way to depict the world. The mystery of the universe lies precisely in its fluidity.

DaoFaZiRan: Only with Yin within Yang and Yang within Yin can life continue endlessly. To determine one's fate entirely based on the Four Pillars of Destiny is far too arbitrary. It's like the Tai Chi diagram behind this person; though it contains Yin and Yang, it lacks eyes and pupils, cutting off its own path—a grave taboo.

Jae-Jeong: Please, the ancestral culture of the Hibiscus Kingdom doesn't need your interference.

DaoFaZiRan: Let's not even mention that this divination method originates from the Eight Characters of Destiny. There's a saying that the Great Dao is fifty, and the Heavenly Dao is forty-nine. It's precisely because one Dao has disappeared that Heaven and Earth have been able to evolve. Yet the Four Pillars of Destiny try to capture the flow of Qi and presumptuously claim that destiny is predetermined... Sigh, this is difficult, very difficult!

Toddysuer: Every sentence is in English, but why can't I understand it at first...?

FiFS1294S: Hmm, I've seen the person in the picture before. Once, he and a young woman were chatting and laughing as they turned into a side street. They were talking about things like love, good luck, and warding off disasters. I went up and asked them, but the man rudely chased me away.

SilverTeeth: I just checked, and this person has neither a fortune-telling qualification certificate nor a business license. He's probably a fraudster.

FiFS1294S: If I remember correctly, he turned into the third intersection in front of Chinatown, in the gap between Hibiscus Country Restaurant and Lotus Country Restaurant. Has anyone else seen him like me?

Unfortunately, no one provided any useful information anymore. As Lin An scrolled through the posts, a red dot suddenly popped up in the background.

MusicalCity: Hello, is the content of your post true?
Lin An raised an eyebrow after glancing at the account name.

Oh, Commander Vanessa, it seems we run into each other all the time.

twelve_reganr: I heard about this from a friend. You can check out this person's social media accounts; he has posted a lot of related content.

MusicalCity: If it's convenient, could you please provide your friend's contact information?

twelve_reganr: No, she's sick and hospitalized.

twelve_reganr: If you want to have your fortune told by this Hibiscus Kingdom man, you might as well try your luck at the end of the alley between the Hibiscus Kingdom restaurant and the Lotus Kingdom restaurant at the third intersection in Chinatown. It is said that he sets up a stall there on weekends.

MusicalCity: I understand. Thank you for the clue.

Vanessa retracted her floating hand, leaned halfway out, and said to her companions, "I found someone on the World Tree Forum who seems to be a Free Mystic."

"What do you mean?" the captain asked.

“He claims to have found a highly accurate fortune teller in Chinatown, a mysterious figure suspected of being a medium of 'prophecy',” Vanessa said. “Moreover, this person only appears on weekends. If the news is true, we have to leave now.”

"Let Caroline take a look."

"It always happens right before I'm about to leave work...wait?"

Caroline glanced at Vanessa's still-open interface and blinked her red eyes in surprise.

"twelve_reganr? Isn't that Lin An's ID on World Tree?"

"Forest?"

Vanessa was taken aback. Caroline used her device to open the "fortune teller's" social media and pointed to his profile.

“As expected, they are students from Ann Arbor University. The so-called friend who provided the information is probably April Hernandez of Lana Rona.” “This university is hiding so many mysterious figures? Why can’t our intelligence network find any relevant information? Is it within the university itself, or…” Vanessa murmured to herself, her voice gradually fading, “…St. Anilofri…”

“His current focus is on the university, not Chinatown,” Caroline scrolled through Kim Ji-eun’s tweet.

"Caroline, does he seem normal?" The captain moved stealthily to the two ladies and stood with his hands behind his back.

Caroline zoomed in on the tweet image and shook her head.

“There is not a single sign of change. In my opinion, he is either a smooth talker or a highly rated mystery person who uses his abilities every day without increasing his level of corruption.”

“Then, why not send a few investigators to sound him out?” the captain said. “Currently, the agency only has one control team, and we are short-handed. We shouldn’t rush into action based on rumors that have low priority, lest we miss out on a real danger.”

“Once Lin An and the others graduate from their rookie training and form a second control team with Mr. Lloyd, things should be a bit easier!” Caroline stretched. “Working non-stop every day is really exhausting!”

As if to confirm the captain's words, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded all around.

This means that new dangers have emerged in Dietrich.

The four exchanged glances, then huddled together with practiced ease. The captain spread out a shadow over them, and with a hissing sound, disappeared into the night.

…………

"drop."

Lin An unlocked the updated black card with his fingerprint, and the data appeared on the palm-sized screen.

Name: Lin An

Level: New Member

Permissions: Orange
Department: Facing

Points: 0
As expected of a core department, even newcomers have orange-level privileges.

Lin An swiped his black card to open the basement stairs and pressed the button for the third basement level. It was similar to the first basement level, with a simple, snow-white corridor and a rapidly forming X-projector.

"Good morning, Mr. Lin An. According to your black card schedule, there is one task to be completed on the third basement level today: begin new recruit training. Check-in complete, activating the verification system for controlling Team 3's office."

Following Vanessa's demonstration, Lin An walked to the special instrument that rose from the wall and completed the code input, iris verification, and card swiping in one go.

The code to enter the room had already been sent to his email.

The door opened, revealing a dimly lit interior with no windows. The cables on the surrounding walls were clearly visible, flashing with mechanical light like breathing. Lin An felt as if he had entered a metallic ventricle.

He fumbled for the button, but to no avail, so he cleared his throat.

"Mr. Lloyd, are you inside?"

Good morning, Lin An. I'll turn on the light for you right away.

The signal was transmitted to the central control system, and the circuits flowing like streams on the wall shone brightly, converging on the command. The neon-colored light gathered into a huge point of light, which then exploded into countless fragments of dazzling colors.

A pair of deep silver-gray wings extended like a bridge from the ashes, and lights appeared.

Lin An narrowed his eyes. The boy, whom he had met once before, turned around, his handsome face revealing a kind smile.

"Welcome to the third squad of St. Anilov, Lin. From now on, I will be your captain."

"Yes, sir."

"Just call me Captain Simon." The boy looked like he had stepped out of a church dome painting, completely out of place with the high-tech decor. "If you'd like something to drink while we wait for the other two colleagues, the coffee machine is over there."

The way angels talk is just like a typical office worker...

After making himself a mocha, Lin An sat down at Simon's desk and casually started a conversation.

"Captain Simon, you look very young."

Although the vocal cords developed rather quickly.

“Thank you for your concern.” Simon’s deep silver eyes gazed at Lin An. “I am 48 years old.”

Lin An almost spat his coffee in the other person's face.

After calming himself down, he asked, half puzzled and half tentatively, "Captain Simon, how do you... maintain your youthful appearance?"

"Level of pollution".

"what?"

Simon rested his chin on his hands and said calmly, "My mystery is called [Sariel]. The higher the level of pollution, the more it resembles the legendary moon angel."

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(End of this chapter)