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Chapter 49: Setting Up a Fortune-Telling Stall
Below, Brother Wang replied, "Not yet."
I then dropped a little more and asked him again, "Has it arrived yet?"
Brother Wang answered again, "Not yet."
After asking three times in a row, I completely confused Brother Wang. My rope was clearly hanging above the ground, yet I kept asking him if it had arrived.
I wasn't trying to mess with him on purpose; there was a method to my actions. However, at that moment, I couldn't explain too much to him. I told him not to overthink it and just answer as I asked. After that, I continued to ask him several more times while keeping the red rope from touching the ground, which made Brother Wang consistently respond with "Not yet."
After repeating this nine times, I pulled the red rope back and wrapped it around a beam while singing, "Not fallen, not fallen, nothing has fallen." Once I finished singing, I asked Brother Wang to find an axe and bring it to the roof. Then I gently tapped the pillar three times with the axe and said, "The head is prosperous, the tail is prosperous. The Wang family will prosper for generations!" After saying this, I clapped my hands and came down from the wooden ladder.
As soon as I stepped down from the ladder, Brother Wang was dumbfounded and asked me, "Is that all it takes?"
Seeing the puzzled expression on Brother Wang's face, I smiled and said, "Yes, that's all it takes. I guarantee that starting today, the Royal Family will start to improve."
Although Brother Wang didn't know if what I did would truly lead to improvement as I claimed, he still gratefully shook my hand and expressed his thanks.
Breaking Li the Cripple's method of reversing beams was indeed simple; however, it would be difficult for someone unaware of it. The beams had been placed upside down by Li the Cripple's wickedness. So today, I performed a ritual by suspending the ritual rope from the beam and asking Brother Wang if it had arrived yet; my intention was for him to say "not yet." The term "not yet" implied "not fallen," meaning that the beam was not upside down. Thus, borrowing his words of magic, starting today, this beam would no longer be upside down.
Some might wonder if such things are really possible—can just a few words make a difference? As they say, a word can determine life or death; if used correctly in the right context, words can indeed change fate. There are countless examples of this in folklore. For instance, when someone builds a house or sets up a door beam, if you utter curses or bad words during that time, living in that house will likely bring misfortune. Similarly, when people in the countryside build pig pens and you comment that it's too small for big pigs but suitable for piglets, you might be inviting trouble; chances are that pen will only be able to raise small pigs.
Of course, generally speaking, no one intentionally speaks such bad words; often they are said without thinking. Although homeowners may feel unhappy upon hearing such comments, they usually won't take action against you. However, when a practitioner is performing rituals or doing something important and hears your words at that moment, those words cannot be taken lightly because sometimes a single phrase can cost someone their life—even your own. In my later travels through the world of practitioners, I encountered a situation where someone faced serious problems due to what they said in response to a practitioner's words; but that's a story for another time.
That night, the Lin Family killed a chicken to treat me. Although they were not well-off, their hospitality was evident. I couldn't help but think to myself, what good people they are.
Without further ado, the next morning, when I woke up, I was surprised to find that Brother Wang had gotten up early. He was supporting himself with a cane and bringing food to the table.
I was stunned for a while, thinking back to when I saw him yesterday; he couldn't even touch the ground. How could he be up and about today? Could it be that his illness was caused by the house? Now that the house had been restored, his condition improved?
Although I couldn't guarantee my speculation, it was certainly a good thing that he was feeling better.
When Brother Wang saw that I was up, he looked very happy and hurried over to shake my hand. He said that my abilities were truly remarkable; just by casually doing something last night, his condition had improved so much today, and he was filled with gratitude.
I felt very pleased inside; perhaps it was the heartfelt thanks from others that made me particularly happy.
After breakfast, I left the village with the Wang family seeing me off. I left the money that Li the Cripple had given me with Brother Wang because the Royal Family was indeed going through tough times.
Some might ask what happened to the Royal Family later on. I inquired and learned that Brother Wang's illness recovered in half a month, allowing him to get back on his feet and life quickly returned to normal. His son reportedly got accepted into Tsinghua University the following year. Although the Royal Family hadn't become wealthy yet, their future days seemed promising.
Perhaps this is karma; although Li the Cripple caused them ten years of suffering, he also chose a piece of land with good feng shui for them, which allowed them to enjoy future prosperity. Of course, good and evil have their consequences; if the Lin Family were not kind-hearted people, then Li the Cripple would not have been moved by their goodwill or entrusted me to help change the house. So perhaps all of this was Heaven's Will or a result of good deeds being rewarded.
After leaving the Royal Family, I entered the city. The city was completely different from the countryside—busy streets filled with cars and people, tall buildings, music from various brand stores blending with street vendors' calls, creating a lively atmosphere.
However, expenses in such places were astonishingly high; just eating and staying at hotels cost me quite a bit. Since most of my money had been left with the Royal Family before, I could say that I was now as poor as two bloodstained bags stitched together.
At this time, approaching July 15th—the Five Ghosts Festival—there were many stalls on the street selling incense and paper money, as well as some fortune-telling booths. Seeing their thriving business and realizing that I was running low on cash, I decided to set up my own stall in hopes of earning enough for my expenses in the coming days.
With this thought in mind, I chose a spot next to a stall selling incense and paper money. I took out some ink and paper from my bag and wrote "Fortune Telling and Disaster Relief" in large characters on the paper. Then I placed it in front of me; thus my stall was set up.
However, when I looked at a stall to my right, I suddenly felt that my choice of location for this stall was somewhat inappropriate, as there was also a fortune teller next to me. The main issue was that this colleague appeared to be in his sixties, with an ethereal and immortal demeanor. He had a head of silver hair and a matching long beard, dressed in a long robe that was fashionable during the Republic Era. He stood there with his left hand holding a brass sign tube, occasionally stroking his silver beard with his right hand, exuding an air of authority that made him look like an enlightened master.
With such a colleague beside me, how could I, a fortune teller in my twenties, compete with him? Just by appearance alone, customers would surely choose his stall for divination.
As I was sizing him up, the old gentleman glanced at me. Upon seeing my distressed expression, he smiled, as if he were mocking me.
I turned away and didn't want to engage with him. I thought to myself that the field of Yin-Yang Metaphysics relies on genuine skill, not just on appearances. I considered myself to have real abilities and was certainly not someone who deceives others, so I didn't think about moving my stall. After all, if I packed up and moved, it would be an admission that I lacked true skill.
Of course, while I was confident in my abilities, that didn't mean I would underestimate the old gentleman beside me. After all, given his ethereal appearance, he might indeed possess great skills.
Just as I was thinking this, a young woman suddenly emerged from a luxury car. However, she didn't approach my stall but went straight to the stall of the old gentleman with the ethereal demeanor.
I watched as the old man raised the brass sign tube in his hand when he saw someone at his stall. He shook it a few times and stroked his white beard with his right hand. Then he looked at the young woman with a tense expression in his eyes, as if he had foreseen something dreadful. He quickly began calculating and then exclaimed in astonishment to the young woman: "I just calculated something; alas! Young lady, you have ominous signs on you! Within a month, there will be bloodshed!"
Upon hearing this, I curiously looked at the young woman. She had a rosy complexion and appeared vibrant; aside from her charming looks, there were no signs of any impending disaster. Could it be that this old man was actually a fraud?
Just as I was puzzled, the young woman asked: "Master! Can I take off my bra?"
Hearing this nearly caused me to lose my balance and fall over. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. This old gentleman was clearly a charlatan playing tricks; he made wild claims about ominous signs that could genuinely frighten most people. But what surprised me even more was the woman's outrageous response.
At this moment, I was completely captivated by this pair of lively characters and wanted to see how they would handle this situation.
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