Chapter 113: The Water Spirit

He decided to give it a try, but ended up drawing a medium-low fortune. The oracle read:

"This heart is earnest and sincere, yet the clay pot breaks by the well."

Mao Tao looked miserable, while He Yue chuckled: "That's enough, it's still slightly better than my brother's."

Mao Tao was anxious, muttering to himself: "Could it be that I need to eat more pig trotter noodles to ward off this bad luck?"

It was Zhu Xiuer's turn to take the bamboo tube and shake it a few times.

She drew a medium-high fortune.

"The first year I was sold here, I came to draw lots twice. Months apart, both were medium-high fortunes, saying my future would surely be bright." She bit her lip and said, "If not for this support, I would have thrown myself into the lake long ago."

Seeing and hearing this, Lady Ying could no longer hold back; curiosity finally overcame her fear.

When her fortune stick fell, everyone exclaimed: "A supreme fortune!"

Written on the stick were the words: "Flowers bloom in clusters, purple Qi rises at dawn, clouds rest at night."

Mao Tao was filled with envy: "Mistress, with flowers, purple Qi, and auspicious clouds, these are all wonderful things!"

Who doesn't like auspicious words? Lady Ying was beaming: "Oh my, this fortune stick can't be taken as absolute truth."

He Lingchuan silently took the bamboo tube and shook it a few times.

The result was predictable; the red lowest-fortune stick was inseparable from him.

Seeing his older brother's expression grow increasingly ugly, He Yue couldn't help but cough: "There should be a fortune interpreter in this shrine, right?"

The Water Spirit Shrine used to be bustling with visitors and incense; it was impossible for there not to be a resident interpreter.

"Old Man Liu, who watches the shrine, is responsible for interpreting," Zhu Xiuer said. "But he is at the west side of the village now. The bandits didn't kill him, probably because he cooks well."

"Then we'll get that man." He Lingchuan put away the fortune stick and turned to walk toward the west side of the village.

"Chuan'er, you want to deal with those fierce devils?" Lady Ying was worried. "It's not a good time to cause extra trouble."

He Lingchuan didn't speak, his pace becoming even more determined.

Others thought he was overreacting, but only he knew that the four words "The dove occupies the magpie's nest" were nailed into his heart, piercing the deepest, most hidden secret in his soul.

He had to get to the bottom of this! County Magistrate Village wasn't very large; he walked quickly and soon reached the boundary line agreed upon by the officials and bandits.

Two soldiers stood on this side, while two bandits stood on the other.

He Lingchuan said to the two: "I want to buy someone: Old Man Liu, who guards the Water Spirit Shrine."

The bandit was nonchalant: "What do you want him for?"

"Nothing to do, he can interpret fortunes for me." He Lingchuan produced a large silver ingot and shook it at them. "A useless old man is of no use to you; you might as well trade him for silver."

The silver was a full ten taels, of high purity.

An old man was indeed of little use, other than cooking decently. The two bandits huddled to discuss it for a moment, then turned back and said: "You'll have to pay more."

He Lingchuan sneered and turned to leave. Did they dare play such low-level tricks in front of him?

He doubted whether these two small fry, who followed their leader to rob and plunder, ever got enough money from their shares to afford a single night of drinking.

Sure enough, seeing him about to leave, they panicked: "Come back, come back, fine!"

They indeed didn't go to consult anyone else. Finding another person meant splitting the money again.

Before long, the two bandits brought over an old man with half-white hair and beard, pushing him across the boundary line: "Here, give us the money."

He Lingchuan tossed the silver ingot over without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, this act was seen by the surrounding villagers, and several village women rushed over, shouting: "Buy us too! Kind official and lady, have mercy, buy us over too!"

Who didn't know that the east side of the village was safe while the west side suffered? Seeing Old Man Liu successfully reach the shore, the other villagers were frantic.

Mao Tao grabbed Old Man Liu and followed behind He Lingchuan.

Lady Ying let out a sound: "Everyone, stay calm..." But He Yue grabbed her arm and retreated without a word.

It wasn't time to save everyone yet.

Soon, the bandit leader was alerted and rushed over to interrogate them. The two subordinates stammered and were slapped twice before they explained what happened.

"You give him whatever he wants to buy?" The leader slapped them twice. "If he wanted to buy your lives, would you give them too?" Were these two idiots?

The two looked bitter and kept saying they didn't dare.

The leader reached out in a rage: "Where's the money?"

On the other side, Old Man Liu entered the east side of the village and thanked everyone profusely, nearly kneeling to kowtow.

The bandits were fierce, and like the other villagers, he had originally thought he wouldn't live until dawn.

It was these few living immortals who saved him from the sea of misery.

"Why not show your gratitude with action." He Lingchuan pulled the two lowest-fortune sticks from his robe. "Help me interpret them?"

"Ah?" Old Man Liu took the red sticks and was stunned. "Who drew these?"

"I did."

Old Man Liu looked at him, then at the sticks: "And the other one?"

He Lingchuan was even more annoyed: "Also me."

"How is this possible?" The old man's mouth nearly formed an 'O'. "You drew two lowest-fortune sticks in a row?"

"I drew more than a dozen times, and they were all these two sticks." He Lingchuan pointed at the others. "They drew medium-high and supreme fortunes."

Old Man Liu had never heard of such a thing; he stared blankly for a long time before asking for a light.

His eyes were old and dim, and the characters on the sticks were small.

Mao Tao brought the torch close, so close it nearly burned the sticks, before Old Man Liu could squint and read the contents of both sticks.

"Oh, it's these two."

Mao Tao was a qualified straight man: "What's wrong with these two?"

"These two were newly made, only put in ten days ago."

No wonder the red lacquer was so new.

"Here, whenever a lowest-fortune stick is drawn, it must be removed and placed elsewhere, never returned to the tube, because everyone's great disaster is different. The Water Spirit hasn't allowed mortals to draw lots for a long time, and the sticks in this tube haven't been replenished or changed for two years." Old Man Liu said while thinking. "But just ten days ago, the Water Spirit suddenly appeared in my dream, saying I was about to face a great disaster. I was terrified and begged for a solution. The Water Spirit said that as long as I made two such new sticks and put them in the tube, I could turn danger into safety."

Everyone looked at each other. It seemed to be true, because He Lingchuan wanted to interpret the sticks, so Old Man Liu was safe.

"So these two sticks were prepared specifically for me?" He Lingchuan's eyes were full of suspicion; could this be a trap? "Then interpret them for me."

"I can't interpret them."

"What?" He Lingchuan was very dissatisfied. "Was my money wasted? Aren't you a fortune interpreter?"

"These two are 'closed-mouth sticks,' meaning they can only be seen, not interpreted." Old Man Liu smiled bitterly. "This old man has a secret, and it's no harm to tell you benefactors now. I used to be able to interpret fortunes because the Water Spirit shared a trace of immortal power with me; but..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 114 =====