Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
After handing over the gold ingots and bracelets that the woman had given him to Zhuang Lao Er, Zhuang Li closed his eyes to rest.
7480 asked in his mind, “Master, didn’t you want to establish your authority? So many people are waiting for you to tell their fortunes, why aren’t you doing it? Strike while the iron is hot, hurry up and tell a few more fortunes, let them see how powerful you are.”
Zhuang Li said casually, “These people are just here to watch the show. They don’t need any help. It would be a waste of my time to tell their fortunes. I wouldn’t gain any prestige and would just become a street performer. My clients must be carefully selected.”
As they spoke, a deep, resonant voice silenced all the noise, “Young sir, would you please tell my fortune?”
The familiar voice struck Zhuang Li’s eardrums like a drumstick, causing him to suddenly open his eyes and stare straight ahead.
A tall figure slowly approached against the sunlight, and only when he stepped into the shadows at the street corner did a face with sharp features appear. Who else could it be but the lover he had been longing for?
However, in this life, he was unusually thin. His wide brocade robe hung on his body like a flag, fluttering in the wind, making him look more like a restless soul. His skin was pale, and his eyes were covered with a weary, bluish-black complexion.
He had excellent bone structure; even though he was so thin he was almost unrecognizable, his appearance was still masculine and handsome. When he wore a luxurious robe to cover up his features, he looked quite heroic.
However, Zhuang Li knew how handsome, courageous, and imposing he was at his peak.
He was now like a sick tiger. He had been sweating profusely and was slightly out of breath after walking only a dozen steps from one side of the street to the other. His physical condition was terrible, probably worse than in his previous life.
What would have happened to him if he had never come here?
Zhuang Li looked at this person, his heart filled with mixed feelings. There was the joy of reunion, the anxiety of worrying about his health, and the repression of having to pretend not to know him.
He blinked, clearing the tears from his eyes, and asked in a hoarse voice, “What do you want to get calculated?”
Surrounded by several guards, the man approached but did not speak; instead, he opened his palm.
Zhuang Li remained seated on the small stool, but the onlookers all stepped back several paces, keeping a safe distance. Judging from the man’s fine clothes and the guards he brought, everyone realized that he was no ordinary person.
Fortune telling for important people was no joke; you never knew which word you might say wrong and end up getting stabbed in the head.
Zhuang Lao Er started to get nervous, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and fearing that he might offend the nobleman’s eyes, he hurriedly wiped them away with his sleeve.
The guard standing behind the tall man also placed a handkerchief into the man’s outstretched palm, telling him to wipe his sweat.
The man slowly wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, his chest heaving, but he didn’t breathe heavily through his nose. It was clear that he was extremely unwell, yet he was used to suppressing this discomfort.
Zhuang Li stared at him intently.
The man’s breathing finally became rapid.
He took two steps forward, approaching the fortune-telling stall, his eyelids slightly lowered to avoid the boy’s focused gaze. Strangely enough, his body, which was usually cold and frigid, began to slowly warm up at that moment.
“Would you like me to write a character to be analyzed too?” the man asked gently.
Zhuang Li’s eyes darted around, and he pursed his lips, saying, “Bring me a table and two chairs. Once everything is set up, I’ll take your test.”
The man paused for a moment, then looked at the guard beside him.
The guard bowed slightly and left. A moment later, a group of waiters from Jin Manlou across the street ran out, carrying a heavy eight-immortal table, followed by two grand master chairs, both made of rosewood and with exquisite carvings.
Jin Manlou was the most luxurious restaurant in Bazhou City, and it was said that the owner behind it was the chief steward of the Qi Wang mansion. The tall man who could get such expensive furniture from Jin Manlou must be of extraordinary status; he must be either the Qi Wang or a relative or official of the Qi Wang mansion.
The crowd of onlookers retreated further, swallowing their unrestrained chatter. Even so, they were reluctant to leave, eager to see how the scholar would tell the fortune of the nobleman and whether the divination was accurate.
Zhuang Lao Er was really frightened and kept giving his son meaningful glances, telling him to stop while he was ahead.
But Zhuang Li strolled over to the octagonal table, sat down casually, stuck the banner into the crack in the ground behind him, and banged on the table, ordering, “Sit down, and write a word.”
Seeing his calm, composed, and neither humble nor arrogant demeanor, the tall man raised his eyebrows with slight interest. Finally, he sat down, picked up a pen, and wrote the character “理” (li, meaning reason).
He saw the banner that read “Li Banxian” (meaning “half-immortal of reason”), which was why he thought of that word. As he wrote it down, for some reason, he fell into a moment of daze, a vague sense of familiarity flashing through his mind.
Zhuang Li pulled the paper from under the man’s hand and frowned as he examined it closely.
The man then snapped out of his brief daze and looked at the other person.
The tall, burly guards standing behind the man crossed their arms, glaring at Zhuang Li with menacing eyes, as if they would draw their swords and smash his stall to pieces if he uttered a single wrong word.
Zhuang Lao Er’s sleeves were soaked with sweat. He was just a commoner who had never seen such a sight before. Even the wealthiest merchants in the city did not have such a magnificent aura.
In the tense silence of everyone, Zhuang Li slowly spoke: “You’re looking for someone.”
The man’s expression remained calm, and his eyes showed no change, as if he hadn’t heard those words at all.
The guards standing behind him were slightly taken aback, and then showed expressions of surprise.
This young gentleman was right after all!
Zhuang Li ignored everyone else and kept staring at the man, continuing, “The left side of the character ‘Li’ is the character ‘Wang’ (王), which consists of three strokes connected in the middle. These three strokes represent heaven, earth, and man, implying vastness and also suggesting a lack of place to settle down. This character represents both your identity and the purpose of your journey. You must search high and low, to find someone.”
The man calmly asked, “Where is this person?”
Zhuang Li pointed to the right half of the character “理” and continued, “里 means to reside, and it is composed of 田 (field) and 土 (earth). You are a king, and all the fields and land are under your feet, so this person is not far from you.”
The man pursed his thin lips and remained silent, his face showing neither surprise nor emotion.
A guard standing behind him asked eagerly, “Which direction exactly?”
Zhuang Li did not answer. He stared at the man for a while, then looked down at the character “理” and pondered, “Judging from the shape of the character, the ‘里’ looks like a soldier wearing armor, which means that your position should be related to the military. However, the ‘田’ character at the top is written too loosely. The grid in the upper left corner is wider than the other three grids, as if there is an empty space.”
Zhuang Li tapped his chest and said firmly, “You have an ailment, and it’s in your heart.”
Only then did the man show a surprised expression.
The captain of the guards standing behind him could no longer contain himself and hurriedly stepped forward, asking respectfully, “Sir, you are truly a divine being. Please, could you please calculate where the person we are looking for is?”
“You’re looking for a doctor.” Zhuang Li had already guessed everything.
“Exactly!” The guard dared not say more and could only stare at Zhuang Li with burning eyes.
The remaining guards drew their swords and menacingly drove away the crowd. They hadn’t expected the young fortune teller to be so accurate, revealing the prince’s secret in a single sentence. It seemed that soon all the powerful and influential in Bazhou City would know that the prince had arrived.
However, in recent years, the prince had lived a secluded life, refusing to concern himself with state affairs, and his health had deteriorated day by day. Any intelligent person could guess that his health was in trouble.
This matter would inevitably come to light sooner or later, so there was no need to bother covering it up. Just keep the crowd away to avoid any assassins appearing.
When the guards returned, they all looked at Zhuang Li with deep awe and eager anticipation on their faces.
Zhuang Li had already seen that his lover in this life had experienced the infighting in the court and suffered enough from illness. His heart had long since become hardened and cold, and he would not easily trust anyone.
If he were to volunteer to treat his lover’s illness, it would trigger her defense mechanism, pushing him further away. It would be better for him to remain calm and wait for him to come to him on his own.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Li pushed the paper back to the man and said calmly, “Write one more word.”
The man glanced at the rough, yellowed Xuan paper, then at the boy’s expressionless face, and for some reason, felt a slight emptiness in his heart. He still preferred the boy’s slightly smiling face.
He asked in a gentle tone, “What’s your name?”
“My surname is Zhuang, and my given name is Li.”
The man looked at the banner fluttering in the wind and suddenly realized, “So that’s what the fortune telling banner meant.”
He picked up his pen and carefully wrote the character “庄”.
Zhuang Li raised his eyebrows and looked at him, then picked up the paper, examined it carefully, and pondered, “Guang means high house, and Tu means earth’s life. When earth’s life enters the high house, the person you are looking for has appeared. Moreover, the vertical stroke you wrote is exceptionally long, which is an image of breaking through the soil. It can be seen that he is very close to you, and you can definitely find him within a hundred miles.”
The commander of the guards immediately thought of the Taoist master Xuan Zhenzi, who had recently refined an elixir of immortality, without even considering that the young man could also cure the prince’s illness. After all, the young man’s prestige was far inferior to that of Xuan Zhenzi.
He quickly clasped his hands in thanks, and then opened his purse, took out two gold ingots, and respectfully presented them with both hands.
These two gold ingots were much larger than the ones the woman had given them before. One weighed ten taels, so the two weighed twenty taels, which was equivalent to two hundred taels of silver. They suddenly became rich!
The onlookers immediately erupted in a clamor of extreme envy.
Zhuang Li’s hints failed, and seeing the two gold ingots, he was furious, and his face showed a hint of frustration.
The commander of the guards was completely unaware of his thoughts and helped the prince up before leaving.
Instead, the aloof man hesitated for a moment as he turned around, then took out a large luminous pearl from his sleeve, gently placed it on the table, and coaxed in a soft voice, “You can take this and play with it. You can use it as a lamp at night without hurting your eyes.”
He looked at the clamoring crowd, then took off the jade pendant from his waist and earnestly instructed, “A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. If anyone covets your wealth, take this jade pendant to Governor Qin, and he will surely help you. Every few days, I will send him to visit your home to prevent petty thieves from eyeing you.”
After finishing his sentence, he casually asked, “Where do you live?”
Zhuang Li took the jade pendant, smiled, and said, “My home is in Luoxia Village.”
This person still couldn’t let him go and tried to find out about him indirectly.
The man nodded, then turned and left.
Zhuang Li then whispered, “I will wait for you here from now on.”
The man paused slightly, then walked away without looking back.
Zhuang Li stared at his retreating figure for a long time and only smiled slightly after he had completely disappeared around the street corner. Then he slowly tidied up the scattered valuables on the table, including luminous pearls, gold ingots, and jade pendants, all of which were rare treasures that ordinary people could never see in their entire lives.
The crowd of onlookers erupted in waves of envious clamor, some even swallowing hard. Many were tempted by the prospect of wealth, but none dared to actually make a move. This was partly due to the intimidating words left by the nobleman, and partly due to Zhuang Li’s uncanny predictions and unpredictable magical abilities.
He was a true master, not some charlatan pretending to be a sage.
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next