CHAPTER 342: CHAPTER 127: YOUNG MASTER HANG’S FIRST FORTUNE TELLING

Fortune teller? After clearly seeing what was set up on the playground, this thought immediately flashed through Hang Yishao’s mind.

Ever since finding out that Kelly Women’s College was going to be consolidated, the fortune teller Wang Daochang had been racking his brains to figure out a new way to make a living. He was different from Pello; Pello was an authentic graduate student from a prestigious university, a hot commodity wherever he went.

So, after some twists and turns, Yu Hua’s God Stick actually found a method, which was to serve as an associate professor for the National Studies class at the College of Humanities of Daoquan University. The title of National Scholar Master sounded even more unreliable than the Mysticism Master of Kelly Women’s College, but the fortune teller felt quite at ease with it.

Zhou Yi Divination is indeed a quintessence of Z country’s traditional culture. Thus, in front of those humanities professors who had been baptized with Western humanist ideologies, the theories of Yu Hua’s God Stick appeared refreshing to them, and today’s innovative public lecture was to give Daoquan University students an early taste of the new course to be offered in the second half of the year.

For Hang Yishao and others, after completing their junior year courses, their senior year would mostly be an internship phase and they wouldn’t need to take any extra elective courses. Therefore, if it hadn’t been for today, he and the fortune teller, Yu Hua’s God Stick, wouldn’t have had anything to do with each other even by a long shot.

But it just so happened that they met today. Hence, the following dialogue ensued, its power no less than Mars colliding with Earth.

"I heard that fortune teller is very accurate," Fei Qing wormed his way through the crowd and picked up some useful information.

"Fortune-telling? You believe that stuff?" Hang Yishao’s family believed in Christianity, but he himself did not practice the faith, and he did not believe in any of the Taoist or other religious beliefs.

"Just join in for the fun, let’s go and see. If it’s not accurate, we’ll smash the old Taoist’s sign," poor Yu Hua’s God Stick, the first thought that came to the minds of Mo City’s spoiled young masters when they met him was so similarly inclined—they all thought to mess with his sign.

Because it was set up temporarily on the playground, the fortune telling stall looked more like an athletic meet’s logistics booth set up by students. There were a couple of desks and a sunshade. To make it more distinguishable, Yu Hua’s God Stick also hung an Eight Diagrams canvas next to the stall, giving it the semblance of a fortune telling atmosphere.

A few more female students walked away excitedly; Yu Hua’s God Stick was indeed a leading figure among fortune tellers. He just entertained two whole dozen students with a set of astrology cards and a crystal ball.

"Students these days are so easy to trick. Actually, I could consider setting up a stall on the street; the income from that might not even be worse than from Daoquan University," the fortune teller Yu Hua’s God Stick fiddled with his clean-shaven chin, brimming with self-satisfaction.

"Fortune teller!" Fei Qing called out to the students in front of him and claimed a front spot with Hang Yishao, "Do a reading for me."

Hearing this tone, Yu Hua’s God Stick became a bit uncomfortable, cursing in his heart: "Damn, it’s more comfortable being an associate professor. If I were to set up a stall on the street, who knows how many such impolite customers I’d encounter."

"This student, which aspect do you wish to consult about?" Yu Hua’s God Stick still maintained professional ethics; when doing readings for people, he didn’t spout utter nonsense—half true, half false—that’s how he could fool people and still have a clear conscience.

"Of course, I want the complete service; calculate everything," Fei Qing didn’t even furrow his brows, his interests were many – women, career, fortune, health... Missing out on any one aspect would leave his life incomplete.

"Calculate everything!" The Yuhua fortune teller broke into a broad grin, as this was his favorite kind of fortune-telling request. When one only asks about a single issue, most people like to delve into the root of the matter, but ’everything’ is like grabbing both eyebrows and beard in one go, which signifies complete bamboozlement.

"Fortune is on the rise, your charm with women is strong, a bright future lies ahead, it’s just health that requires a bit of attention," The Yuhua fortune teller postured and took out a turtle shell, shook it dozens of times, and spat out a copper coin from the flattened shell, then he closed his eyes, mumbling incantations. One must understand that the art of fortune-telling cannot rely solely on intense focus, as that is greatly exhausting. What he cited earlier could be gleaned simply by observing Fei Qing’s attire and behavior; it was the last point about health that he inferred from Fei Qing’s complexion. His face was pale, with a trace of somber blood radiating from between his brows – it didn’t suggest longevity.

Lately, Fei Qing himself had vaguely felt a tightness in his chest and his blood circulation was not smooth – prompted by the Yuhua fortune teller, he considered whether he should go for a "health check-up" at a hospital.

"Quite accurate," Fei Qing was quite satisfied with the fortune-telling result. Hang Yishao, who was listening, also felt it was quite accurate and promptly took a seat. However, when he sat down, he did not speak like Fei Qing did; instead, he took the brush that was placed on the table by the Yuhua fortune teller, and casually wrote two words, "Life Test."

Over the past three years, Hang Yishao hadn’t neglected his studies; he had self-taught many extracurricular subjects, including psychology and logical reasoning. He remembered reading in a book that one shouldn’t easily speak or make unnecessary movements in front of a fortune teller, because a competent fortune teller could read a person’s thoughts clearly just by watching them and asking questions.

The brush set beside the Yuhua fortune teller was for decoration, intended to make him, a renowned National Scholar Master, appear more cultured. Now, very few people can write good-looking characters with a brush; even the Yuhua fortune teller himself could only manage a passable job. But judging from the two characters "Life Test" written vibrantly on the paper, it was clear that the young man before him could do more than just write well.

His mouth was shut tight, a slight challenge apparent in his eyes. As he sat before the Yuhua fortune teller, he was composed and unflustered – the kind of person who, even if the sky were falling, seemed as though he could use the descent as a new quilt for covering.

"Life Test?" Another general inquiry, thought the Yuhua fortune teller. People are always greedy, wanting to solve all of their problems at once, yet they overlook that ’fate’ is actually the most difficult thing to clarify.

Nonetheless, the Yuhua fortune teller agreed, still beaming; he once again filled the turtle shell with several copper coins.

The aged turtle shell, its years indeterminable, bore markings that had blurred over time. A clinking sound of coins being struck resonated as they were dropped in.

Then, as the Yuhua fortune teller shook it, two distinct tones were heard – the coins hitting the turtle wall and the coins colliding with each other.

This time, the Yuhua fortune teller’s shaking lasted even longer, over a hundred back-and-forths, before finally coming to a stop.

With the arrival of Hang Yishao and Fei Qing, more onlookers had gathered in the central field, with Chang Chi also blending into the crowd. Everyone wanted to see – what would the fate of Hang Yishao, this "Heavenly Pride," be like? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)