A middle-aged man wearing a tattered Taoist robe blocked Ji Yuenian’s path. His hair was disheveled, his cheekbones protruded from a thin face, and his robe was covered in countless patches. However, there was no foul odor clinging to him, giving off the distinct impression of a “hidden master” disguised as a lowly servant.
Fortune telling?
Ji Yuenian used to be a staunch atheist and materialist, but ever since she obtained the double-sided silver coin, her materialistic worldview had been shaken. At the very least, she now believed that supernatural, mysterious forces that science could not explain truly existed in this world.
Thinking of this, Ji Yuenian became somewhat interested in the Taoist. She was about to ask about her future, but then she realized the word “future” was too broad. So, she changed her tune and asked curiously, “Can you read fortunes for marriage?”
The Taoist said with a chuckle, “By the Shenxiao Heavenly Lord, if the traveler does not mind, this humble priest can cast a lot for you.”
“Then tell me about the personality of my future wife.”
“Excellent.”
The Taoist took a bamboo tube from the cloth bag on his back. It was filled with dozens of bamboo slips. He held the tube out to Ji Yuenian, signaling for her to draw one.
Ji Yuenian casually picked one and handed it to the Taoist.
“Huh…” The Taoist took the slip and looked at it for a few moments, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“The Crowing Hen and the Red Phoenix”… this should correspond to a woman’s Red Phoenix star.
But…
“By the Shenxiao Heavenly Lord. Traveler, please wait a moment.”
The Taoist took back the slip, closed his eyes, and began pinching his fingers in calculation, muttering under his breath. After a long while, he opened his eyes, and his expression became extremely strange. He looked at Ji Yuenian with an odd gaze and coughed a few times before saying seriously, “The hexagram says ‘The earth trembles and the water stops, a swimming fish breaks the hook.’ Your future partner is a… man. Ahem. He is resourceful and meticulous, but he has flaws in his character. And according to the omen, you already know him.”
After finishing, the Taoist added another sentence, “Traveler, did you come from Chengdu?”
Ji Yuenian: …
Damn it! She was seeing red! These scammers should at least tell some pleasant lies! Say something people actually want to hear!
Her face turned cold, and without even paying for the fortune, Ji Yuenian turned and left, leaving the Taoist with nothing but her cold back.
The Taoist gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and continued to mutter something to himself with his head down. Only after Ji Yuenian had disappeared did he look up and murmur toward the direction she had gone, “Young traveler, if you don’t believe my words, you will regret it in the future.”
As he spoke, he shook his head again and turned his attention to someone else, randomly grabbing a pilgrim from the nearby crowd who was praying for peace, happiness, and wealth.
“Traveler, would you like a fortune?”
“This humble priest is a disciple of the Shenxiao Sect, and I am here…”
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached his ears. The Taoist froze and looked up sharply, only to see Lin Xuanlei, who was frowning in the crowd. Lin Xuanlei grabbed his wrist and started dragging him away.
“Dad, how many times have I told you? Don’t come out wearing these clothes, you’ll scare people. We worked so hard to turn this into a 5A-rated scenic spot; beggars will ruin the city’s image.”
“Also, come with me. Xiao Li brought a boy back…”
Meanwhile, on the other side.
After parting ways with that unscrupulous Taoist, Ji Yuenian wandered around the vicinity, taking photos, checking in at landmarks, and buying snacks. It was very leisurely.
The local tourism industry was well-developed because of the Shenxiao Temple. The various architectural styles inside the temple were retro, but “retro” didn’t mean truly ancient. For example, the place Ji Yuenian was currently in looked like a traditional building on the outside, but the inside held a hidden world.
There were billiard rooms, Go rooms, mahjong rooms, and even a small bar.
Chewing on a grilled sausage and humming a little tune, Ji Yuenian walked into the second-floor lounge. She had planned to rest there before heading to the basement for some pool, but she didn’t expect to run into Jiang Chi, who had been missing since the morning, along with Hu Li and Yao Shiming.
Upon asking, she learned that Jiang Chi had woken up early. Seeing Ji Yuenian sleeping in, he went out for a morning workout alone and happened to run into Yao Shiming and Hu Li, who were also out early. The three of them chatted and ended up in the lounge.
“So, Old Ji, you and the school heartthrob really just came out to climb mountains for the National Day holiday?” Hu Li asked with a teasing smile on the lounge sofa.
“I thought you were taking a girlfriend out to play.”
“How can a girlfriend be as fun as climbing mountains?” Ji Yuenian chewed her sausage, her voice muffled. “There’s only half a year left of high school. Once we’re in college, there will be even less time to play. While we have time now, of course we should come out and have fun.”
“Oh, right.”
Ji Yuenian seemed to remember something. She suddenly slapped her forehead and leaned toward Hu Li, her eyes shining like stars, with a deep-seated excitement hidden in their depths.
“Old Hu, your family is religious, right?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Do you think it’s possible for some kind of supernatural power to exist in this world?”
Ji Yuenian moved closer to Hu Li excitedly.
“Your family is religious, so do your ancestors have records of supernatural phenomena? Like the world’s top ten unsolved mysteries, for example, immortals…”
“Excuse me, coming through.”
“The spicy konjac snacks the guests ordered are here.”
Just then, a waiter suddenly walked over, carrying a tray with several glasses of fresh juice with ice and a few plates of spicy konjac.
He was walking toward them and happened to bump into Ji Yuenian’s arm.
The glass on the tray tilted, and the liquid inside splashed out instantly, landing directly on both Hu Li and Ji Yuenian’s clothes.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!”
The waiter’s face changed drastically. He set the tray down and bowed repeatedly in apology.
“It’s fine.” Ji Yuenian waved her hand and smiled, then looked at Hu Li and handed her some tissues. Once the waiter left, she continued the previous topic.
“When I was little, I heard my dad tell a lot of stories about gods and ghosts, but now that I’m grown up, I obviously don’t believe in that stuff.” Hu Li shook her head. Even though her family was religious, she was a firm atheist.
“I don’t believe it either,” Yao Shiming added with a smile from the side. He also felt that stories of gods and ghosts were all lies.
“Gods and ghosts might not exist, but supernatural phenomena that current science cannot explain certainly do,” Jiang Chi spoke up then, his tone flat.
The others laughed and changed the subject, quickly putting the matter behind them as they began eating the shop’s spicy konjac.
The taste was quite good, just a bit too spicy.
Sitting by the window, Jiang Chi had just eaten a piece of spicy konjac when he felt a slight itch on his body. However, he didn’t notice that several small red dots had appeared on the back of his neck at some unknown point.
Night, guest room.
“This spicy konjac tastes pretty good.”
“Hu Li said it’s a specialty of the temple. When we go back, I should pack a few portions for my parents to try.”
“Jiang Chi, what do you think? Should I pack some for you too?”
Ji Yuenian chatted with the boy whose back was turned to her while she ate the snacks.
After resting in the lounge, the group had gone to the billiard room to play. They played all afternoon while eating konjac and drinking ice-cold beer.
But as she spoke, Ji Yuenian suddenly noticed something was off. Normally, Jiang Chi would have responded to her by now; it was impossible for him to stay silent like this.
“Jiang Chi?”
Her brow furrowed slightly as she reached out to give him a light pat.
She hadn’t used much force, but the boy’s body was like a doll that had lost its soul. He went limp and tumbled over.
Ji Yuenian’s eyes widened in horror. She saw striking red dots popping up rapidly from the back of his neck like mushrooms after rain, looking utterly terrifying!