CHAPTER 162: CHAPTER 31: AUSPICES JUDGED BY A CHILD

Su Ziceng took small breaths back and forth and saw the teacher comfortably crossed his legs next to the long table. Beside him was a familiar-looking bamboo pole.

No wonder the teacher had made the room so dim, no wonder the incense was lit; it turns out the so-called master was the Yuhua Eye fortune teller from Diagonal Alley in the Sixth District.

The Yuhua Eye fortune teller’s right eye was blinded by light, and it would hurt if exposed to light, so no sunlight was allowed in the classroom. As for the smell of feet, it was entirely due to his personal quirk.

"Ziceng, let’s move back a bit," Yan Wuxu was holding his breath so much that his face turned red and his neck blue. They arrived a little late and all the seats by the window had been taken.

The crowd behind them took a few steps back, every female student looked like a huddled winter rat, trying to distance themselves from the long table as much as possible. Su Ziceng and Yan Wuxu now found themselves at the very front of a ’protruding’ line of people, making any movement highly conspicuous.

"Those two students, come over here, that’s right, you two," Yu Hua’s God Stick called out in the tone of a street performer, beckoning them over.

"I’m very busy, no time to babble with you mediocre youngsters, but since we’ve met, there’s a certain fate. Today, I’ll reluctantly explain the profound mysteries of Mysticism to you all," Yu Hua’s God Stick, seeing Su Ziceng and the other still not stepping forward, picked up the bamboo pole and waved it, "Come on, just the two of you, male left female right, women should all extend their right hand, palm up."

His bamboo pole was thin and long, making gestures in the narrow classroom reminiscent of the Beggar Gang’s masters sparring. Startled by this, Yan Wuxu quickly extended his hands as if worshiping, palms up, and placed them on Yu Hua’s God Stick’s long table.

On the cinnabar-colored long table, Yan Wuxu’s hands, accustomed to rough work, drew disdainful murmurs from the girls behind as soon as they touched the table.

Yan Wuxu’s outstretched fingers timidly retracted, but were stopped by the bamboo pole touching the palms, scrutinizing them with several turns. "Shallow palms, rectangular shape, fingers like winter bamboo shoots, pale with lack of redness. Shallow palms cannot hold wealth, the absence of red indicates brief fortune, you must do good deeds in youth so that old age is without worry," Yu Hua’s God Stick made it up as he went along but made it sound like Yan Wuxu’s future was fraught with more misfortune than luck.

"My turn," after listening, Su Ziceng patted Yan Wuxu, signaling her not to take it to heart, and placed his hand beside Yu Hua’s God Stick’s hand, precisely in the blind spot of his eyes.

His spotless pair of hands seemed carved from translucent jade, Su Ziceng rarely did any work, making those hands even more embarrassing for Yan Wuxu by comparison.

Yu Hua’s God Stick only took one look before he began the fortune-telling, "Nurtured by an illustrious family, veins of gold and jade, enjoying wealth and longevity; if the heart and body are stable, one will age without worries." All auspicious words, Su Ziceng’s hands were even and well-proportioned, with round fingertips, and the skin was fair with a healthy glow, and neat nail beds – every aspect indicating a life of good fortune.

"Your fortune-telling is inaccurate," Su Ziceng said these polite words without any gratitude, and instead, she spoke with mockery after piercing through the misty incense smoke.

"Who says I’m inaccurate," Yu Hua’s God Stick felt somewhat indignant. Hands are the essence of a person, and the blood vessels of the right hand lead directly to the heart. He has always been able to tell a person’s entire life with just his hands. Today, to be publicly declared inaccurate by some greenhorn girl was a total loss of face.

If it weren’t for the fact that some bad luck girl had smashed his door previously, tantamount to destroying his signboard, making the fortune teller shut his door for several months without reading fortunes and offending his regular clients, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a place, full of imposing women, to teach some Mysticism class.

"Master Wang please don’t mind some people’s unnecessary provocations," from the corner stood a figure, walking towards them with steady steps, neither rushing nor strolling. Su Ziceng had always wondered; if Wen Maixue were faced with a fire or an avalanche, would she still maintain that same pace and tone?

Wen Maixue was being courteously polite; she would not allow someone who freeloaded and was unqualified to enter Kelly as a teacher. Discontent with the blundering teacher before her, she took advantage of the situation, following Su Ziceng’s lead, and conveniently pushed the troublemaking onto her.

"I’ve heard that the master can foresee the past and future, with a single word deducing destiny, famed both domestically and internationally," praised Wen Maixue. When she flattered, she really did it from the beginning to the end, even including domestic and international acclaim in her flattery.

People generally like to hear good things about themselves, and Yu Hua’s God Stick was no exception. He nodded so vigorously both his head and feet seemed to agree, and his Yuhua Eye shone brilliantly with satisfaction.

"Then please, Master, could you calculate my fortune for me?" Wen Maixue used her right hand to push Su Ziceng’s hand aside and laid it in front of Yu Hua’s God Stick.

Su Ziceng felt suffocated with irritation; she had only spoken half of what she wanted to say when Wen Maixue intercepted her. It was simply blatant provocation, Su Ziceng had heard of fighting over marriages and rice, and even arguments, but never had she seen someone fight over fortune-telling.

"The hand-reading of Eldest Lady Wen is, of course, extremely auspicious. Although you suffered minor setbacks in your youth, as an adult your finances will flourish and your marriage will be blissful. It can be said that you are destined for both wealth and longevity," upon hearing this, Wen Maixue let out a sigh of relief and, reminiscing about the God Stick’s phrase "minor setbacks in youth," she believed in him a bit more.

The affairs of the Wen family are rarely known by outsiders, and it was even less likely for someone to have told the Master. Furthermore, with a joyful marriage, Wen Maixue’s mouth couldn’t help but curl into a satisfied smile, wishing she could bestow the words "amazingly accurate" upon the fortune teller as a title.

People tend to believe in only the good instead of the bad. Yu Hua’s God Stick smiled brightly, but he was keenly observing the subtle changes in Wen Maixue’s expressions before and after. Palm reading is only an outward appearance, but true accuracy lies in understanding a person’s heart. A young lady from a wealthy family like Wen Maixue should have been innocent and carefree at her age, yet she was mature and cautious. If not for experiencing some family misfortune in her youth, how could she have developed such a seasoned character?

"Eldest Lady Wen, can you not discern that those are mere words of flattery? Even if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it does not guarantee you a carefree life. A person’s fate is in their own hands, not dictated by the heavens," Su Ziceng’s words were like a splash of cold water, thoroughly dousing the joy that both Yu Hua’s God Stick and Wen Maixue were feeling. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote with your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my biggest motivation.)