CHAPTER 420: CHAPTER 388: INTERPRETING THE FORTUNE STICK (6TH UPDATE)

In the clean and tidy meditation room, Su Yaoqi was meditating.

Even though he was under Master Xu Yun, aside from not having shaved his head, his daily routine was not much different from the other disciples.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside, with equal time intervals between each knock, conveying no urgency.

A mind as calm as still water, neither arrogant nor impatient, is the basic skill of a Buddhist disciple’s practice.

The person outside was not impatient, and the person meditating inside was equally composed. After replying, he got up, put on his shoes, walked over to open the door, and saw it was his senior brother Shiming, who was responsible for interpreting the fortune sticks for the guests. Su Yaoqi asked him, "Senior Brother Shiming, what can I do for you?"

Shiming said, "There are two female patrons outside who wish to see you."

"Female patrons?" Su Yaoqi’s first thought was that family had come.

Shiming nodded, "One of them claims to be your aunt from your secular family."

Upon hearing this, Su Yaoqi immediately thought of Seventh Aunt Lin Xiaoyue.

He didn’t ask further, thanked Shiming, and walked out through the East Garden Moon Gate.

From afar, he saw Lin Xiaoyue and the woman beside her. Su Yaoqi recognized them, paused for a moment, but without hesitation, walked directly towards them, with the calmness typical of a Buddhist disciple.

Approaching them, he placed his palms together, "Amitabha Buddha," he said, "Senior Brother Shiming said that the two female patrons have matters for this humble monk?"

Wen Wan raised her eyes.

The man in a gray monk robe had burn scars on his left face still visible, but his calm detachment added a quiet transcendence typical of Buddhist disciples.

Lin Xiaoyue was amused by Su Yaoqi’s tone of speech, "Little Four, have you become foolish since taking your vows, not even recognizing your own aunt?"

Su Yaoqi maintained his peaceful voice, "This humble monk’s dharma name is Shikong."

Seeing his stubbornness, Lin Xiaoyue mumbled, "You kid, why do you refuse to acknowledge your kin?"

Wen Wan spoke, "Forget it, this is a temple, not at home, let’s abide by the rules."

Lin Xiaoyue glanced at her indifferent nephew and abandoned the idea of chit-chatting with him, going straight to the point, "All right then, Shikong little monk, can you tell us how to meet Master Xu Yun?"

Su Yaoqi shook his head, "The two female patrons are somewhat unfortunate, as Master just entered seclusion yesterday."

He asked further, "What urgent matters do the female patrons have with him?"

Lin Xiaoyue waved the bamboo stick in her hand, "I just drew a fortune stick and couldn’t understand the meaning, so I wanted to ask Master Xu Yun for help with the interpretation."

Su Yaoqi understood, "The one who brought you here, Senior Brother Shiming, is specifically responsible for interpreting the fortune sticks. Perhaps the two female patrons can consult him."

Lin Xiaoyue refused to leave, "I think Master Xu Yun’s interpretation might be more accurate and effective. If he’s not available, then I won’t interpret it."

After speaking, Lin Xiaoyue called Wen Wan, intending to leave.

Looking at their backs, Su Yaoqi suddenly called out, "If the female patrons are willing to trust this humble monk, I can also interpret the fortune stick."

"You?" Lin Xiaoyue, not trusting even the specially trained monk for interpreting sticks, certainly didn’t trust her nephew, thinking how long had he been at Fahua Temple to have such skill.

Lin Xiaoyue worried he might ruin the significance of her good fortune stick.

Su Yaoqi didn’t force her, "If the female patrons feel distrustful, they can keep the stick and come another day to seek the master’s interpretation."

Upon his words, Lin Xiaoyue became curious, stopped walking, retreated a few steps back, "You really can interpret the stick?"

Su Yaoqi nodded.

Though his time with the master wasn’t long, some things rely not on time, but on enlightenment.

When he first arrived, the master said he was a child with affinity to Buddha, possessing high wisdom roots.

Seeing him not appear to be lying, Lin Xiaoyue hesitated before handing over the stick.

Su Yaoqi took it, glanced from top to bottom, his expression showing little emotion.

On the contrary, Lin Xiaoyue grew tense, "How is it?"

From a perspective she couldn’t see, Su Yaoqi slightly furrowed his brow and then spoke, "What do the female patrons wish to ask?"

Lin Xiaoyue said, "I just want to know if my husband can return safely from this expedition."

Su Yaoqi pressed his lips together, seemingly struggling with how to tell her.

Lin Xiaoyue warned, "You’re a Buddhist disciple now, so when interpreting fortunes, you should do it properly. It’s said that monks don’t lie. Even though I’m your Seventh Aunt, you can’t just fool me, understand?"

Su Yaoqi hesitated for a moment and had to tell her the prophecy: "It’s said that the benefactor’s family may face danger."

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t believe it; she tilted her neck and looked at him, "Then what if I ask about children?"

Su Yaoqi glanced at her lower abdomen and sighed deeply.

Lin Xiaoyue’s eyes reddened suddenly, glaring at him, "Family in danger, and the child in my belly isn’t auspicious either. Does this mean I’ve encountered a calamity star?"

Su Yaoqi feared she couldn’t take it and hurriedly comforted her, "Se... Benefactress, please stay calm."

"What a lousy fortune, I don’t care, I won’t interpret it!" Lin Xiaoyue irritably waved her hand, throwing the bamboo stick into the grass beside her, and turned to leave.

Wen Wan glanced at the bamboo stick half-buried in the green grass and asked her, "Why did you throw it away?"

"It’s a troublesome thing; why keep it for New Year?" Lin Xiaoyue was full of anger: "Didn’t you hear Little Four? This is a terrible stick, danger for both husband and child. I don’t believe it. Little Four just entered the Buddhist order, he’s just a rookie, how can he interpret fortunes? He must have made a mistake. Wen Wan, you agree, don’t you?"

Wen Wan nodded compliantly, "There’s a saying among scholars that if you fully believe in books, it’s better not to have them. I personally think the same goes for this kind of thing; fully believing in fortunes is less beneficial than not asking at all. Wouldn’t that be great? Life is how you make it, why let a small bamboo stick affect your mood?"

Wen Wan’s words comforted Lin Xiaoyue somewhat. After a while, she asked, "Why didn’t you let Little Four interpret your fortune earlier?"

Wen Wan shook her head, "I don’t believe in these things, so I find it unnecessary."

"If you don’t believe, why did you let Jinbao kneel there and shake it so hard?"

Wen Wan smiled with her eyes squinting, "I just thought it would let my son experience the fun of visiting a temple. I noticed he was very serious about it."

Lin Xiaoyue realized that compared to her fiery temper, Wen Wan truly was "gentle and graceful." That calm demeanor seemed very steady.

With a gentle exhale, Lin Xiaoyue said, "Never mind, I threw away the stick after all, let’s just pretend I never asked for one."

Wen Wan smiled, "That’s the way. Life has to move forward. Focus on nurturing your pregnancy and wait for your husband’s return. No fortune, no so-called ’destiny’, that’s the result of your blessing today."

"Well said!" Lin Xiaoyue gave her a thumbs up, admiration all over her eyes.

The three walked forward and passed by a clear water pool, finding a pedestal set inside. On the pedestal was a half-human-sized copper turtle, with its base submerged in water. The whole copper turtle was exposed with an apple-sized hole on its shell.

In the pool were many square-holed copper coins, and several were leaning slantingly on the turtle pedestal, as if someone had tried to throw coins on the turtle’s back but missed.

Wen Wan’s gaze shifted downwards and saw three words written on the submerged pedestal: Wish Turtle.

Lin Xiaoyue noticed it too and softly read out, "Wish Turtle, wishes come true. Hey, this is nice, much more reliable than that fortune-telling. Why don’t we play a couple of rounds too, throw more coins, make more wishes, how about it?"

Wen Wan looked at the distance between the edge of the pool and the turtle’s back and shook her head, "Too far, I don’t think I can get it in."

"Why such a lack of spirit? You haven’t even started playing yet, and you’re retreating."

Wen Wan laughed, "I’m just speaking honestly."

"I’m not lying to you either!" Lin Xiaoyue retorted, "It’s our first time here, neither of us has thrown a copper coin onto a turtle’s back before. I’m saying we need to try to know if we can get it in, nothing wrong with that, right?"

From her tone, it seemed she wouldn’t give up without giving it a try. Wen Wan checked her waist pouch to find it was full of broken silver with not many copper coins. She poured them out and counted only eight.

Lin Xiaoyue also took out her pouch. She had even fewer, having donated five hundred taels earlier, leaving just four copper coins.

"Together, we have a total of twelve copper coins. Shall we split them?"

Wen Wan handed over the counted eight copper coins, "All for you, I’ll watch you throw."

Lin Xiaoyue wouldn’t agree. She only took two and split them equally between herself and Wen Wan, "If we’re playing, we play together. Don’t always spoil my fun."

Wen Wan couldn’t persuade her. She looked at the six copper coins in her palm and then at the distance between her position and the turtle’s back, still feeling it was unlikely.

She might just not be naturally inclined for this. Once, when her family of three visited Mirror Lake, trying hoops on the bank, she hadn’t succeeded even once, no matter how many times she had gone. Even her son had laughed at her failure to win anything for Jinbao several times.

But since Lin Xiaoyue wanted to play now, accompanying and giving it a shot was all Wen Wan could do.