Chapter 11

Hearing Chen Ye reveal that Wang Wang Sanqi owed 520,000 copper coins, not only Wang Wang Sanqi himself but even the onlookers were shocked, their eyes widening as they drew in a sharp breath.

Wasn't one copper coin the price for a single divination at the start?

The second divination was merely two copper coins; how did the amount, after just eighteen rounds, swell like a rolling snowball into this terrifying sum of hundreds of thousands?

Chen Ye leisurely counted on his fingers, calculating the debt for the crowd: "One loss, one coin; two losses, two coins; three losses become four coins... By the tenth time, you would already owe me over two thousand coins..."

As Chen Ye clarified this confused account, the surrounding crowd was left stunned, as if hearing some absurd tale.

One copper coin, doubling over a dozen times, could actually become 520,000?!

Wang Wang Sanqi was so frightened by the number that his legs turned to jelly and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"Scammer, you are a scammer! I will report you to the government office!"

Wang Wang Sanqi threw out that hollow threat, turned, and ran for his life; his wretched appearance provoked the crowd into raucous laughter.

Chen Ye made no move to stop him; instead, he bowed calmly to the crowd and said loudly, "Thank you all for speaking up. If any of you wish for a divination today, I will charge nothing."

Upon hearing this, the crowd cheered loudly once more.

They had just witnessed this young Taoist's skills with their own eyes; now he was offering divinations for free? Where else could one find such a good thing!

Without needing further prompting, passersby flocked around, none wanting to miss such an opportunity. Some asked if their homes could remain safe, others sought when wealth might arrive, and some inquired where their destined love lay; everyone had matters to ask the gods and Buddha.

Chen Ye kept his promise, patiently answering their questions and performing divinations one by one. Amidst the crowd's constant exclamations of awe, he had quite literally become a little immortal praised by all.

Chen Ye spoke until his mouth was dry and his throat parched; even as the sun set behind the western hills, the crowd still had not dispersed. With no other choice, he bowed repeatedly and apologized, saying, "My magic power is exhausted; I truly cannot perform accurate divinations today." Only then did the crowd reluctantly and slowly disperse.

Chen Ye had been busy all day, yet his pocket held only one extra copper coin, but his mood was quite pleasant; he figured that after today, the name of his divine calculations would surely spread throughout Cui Xian.

To make a large sum of money in a short time, one could only seek it from the powerful and wealthy; once the reputation was established, people would naturally come seeking him.

Chen Ye hummed a little tune, quickly and neatly packed up his divination stall, and then stepped away.

He wove through streets and alleys, turning left and right, making seventeen or eighteen turns in total before finding a dilapidated small house in a secluded spot.

A mountain of garbage piled before the house, reeking terribly, but what was most glaring at this moment was not the filthy environment, but the fat man rubbing his hands and hunching his back, waiting like a servant—none other than the rascal Wang Wang Sanqi.

Chen Ye glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips, and teased, "You are truly impatient; we agreed you would come back at midnight to avoid others seeing, yet you couldn't even wait a few hours?"

Wang Wang Sanqi hurriedly replied, "Taoist, do not be angry; my old father is gravely ill; taking medicine a few hours earlier could spare him some suffering. Was my performance in that play passable? Please, Taoist, fulfill your promise and grant me the immortal pill."

"You, who steal chickens and dogs and bully the good in your daily life, are truly worthless except for this filial piety; you have ruined the reputation your father and brothers accumulated."

While scolding him, Chen Ye took a pill from his robe and handed it to Wang Wang Sanqi, then instructed, "Your father suffers from weak qi and a frail body; this medicine can replenish the loss. Remember, take it with warm water, then sleep for a whole day without disturbance. When you wake, you may have a huge appetite, but do not immediately eat rich meats; you must eat lightly for three days before returning to normal."

Wang Wang Sanqi took the pill, ignoring the filth on the ground, and with a "thud," knelt and kowtowed three loud times to Chen Ye.

"What good is kowtowing to me? Go kowtow and apologize to those you have bullied; repay them however is due. From now on, do more good deeds; if I learn you are still doing evil, I will personally bring retribution upon you. If your old father eats my pill, I will also cut out his heart and gut to retrieve it."

Wang Wang Sanqi was so frightened he waved his hands frantically, hastening to say, "I dare not, I truly dare not; Taoist, do not be angry; I will absolutely not do evil again."

Having said this, he kowtowed three more loud "thuds," then, as if holding a treasure, tucked Chen Ye's pill into his robe and sprinted home.

Chen Ye watched his retreating back, shook his head, and sighed softly, "If only true cause and effect retribution existed; a good person like me should have great blessings."

Chen Ye raised his hand to push open the door of the dilapidated house, just about to step inside to rest, when he keenly detected a faint sound of wind from behind.

He turned alertly and saw a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a goose-yellow long robe standing silently at the alley entrance.

The woman's face was completely hidden by the hat; one could only judge from her elegant robe that she was a young Miss.

When exactly did this person arrive?

Chen Ye's heart jumped, and he involuntarily tightened his grip on the white banner in his hand. If she could appear silently behind him like this, one slash from her blade would likely have taken his life.

Before Chen Ye could speak, the woman broke the silence first, asking softly, "Fellow Daoist, regarding your earlier words that a good person should have great blessings, I, a humble woman, have one matter I do not understand: does helping a villain count as doing good?"

Her voice was clear and cold, like frost in a winter night, carrying a sense of aloofness that kept others at a thousand li's distance.

Chen Ye did not answer the question directly; instead, he bowed respectfully to the woman and asked, "May I ask who the Miss is?"

"Su Chunyi, from Qinghe Sword Sect."

Hearing this, Chen Ye's heart gave a "thud." Although he had long known that cultivators from Qinghe Sect were here and had rehearsed this in his mind many times, seeing it with his own eyes still made him feel somewhat guilty, causing him to grip the white banner even tighter.

Seeing this, Su Chunyi comforted him, saying, "Fellow Daoist need not worry; the magical treasure in your hand naturally possesses spiritual resonance, which is indeed rare, but disciples of Qinghe Sect would never commit the evil act of killing to seize treasure. I am merely puzzled and wish to ask for clarification."

The young Miss's tone was quite sincere, and Chen Ye finally calmed down. It seemed his master was right; others seeing this white banner would only think it a fine magical treasure, not associating it with the Demonic Path.

Calming himself, Chen Ye said respectfully, "So you are a high disciple of Qinghe Sword Sect. I am Chen Ye, an unaffiliated rogue cultivator. My humble room is unsuitable for guests; I invite the Miss to have a drink at a tavern."

Su Chunyi shook her head slightly and politely declined, "I apologize; sect rules forbid me from drinking alcohol. Moreover, the mundane world is the same everywhere; Fellow Daoist need not feel concerned."

Chen Ye felt helpless in his heart, secretly thinking: I didn't really want to have a drink with you; I was just worried that since no one is around here, you might kill me.

"Then let us have a cup of tea. My realm is not as high as the Miss's, and this place is too dirty for a proper conversation."

As he spoke, Chen Ye slowly moved his feet toward the alley entrance, while carefully keeping an eye on this Qinghe Sect sword cultivator.

Su Chunyi made no move to stop him, merely following Chen Ye at a leisurely pace; it seemed she did not mind going to a crowded place with him.

Chen Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed this one truly was not here to cause trouble.

Carrying a heart full of thoughts, Chen Ye led Su Chunyi to a teahouse, chose a quite quiet corner, and invited her to sit.

Chen Ye asked, "What tea does Miss Su usually drink?"

"Plain water is sufficient."

Chen Ye:...

The rules of Qinghe Sword Sect are so strict; even drinking water is not allowed to have any flavor?

Chen Ye, helpless, could only casually order a pot of Pu'er tea and specifically tipped the waiter a few copper coins.

Su Chunyi seemed quite surprised by this and asked softly, "To speak presumptuously, I have been secretly observing for a long time and truly cannot understand the Fellow Daoist's actions; could you enlighten me?"

Chen Ye looked puzzled and asked in return, "Why does Miss Su observe me?"

"I suspect you are involved in the forced conscription of young boys and girls in Cui Xian. If there is any abnormality in Cui Xian, I will sense it and come to investigate; I am not intentionally targeting the Fellow Daoist."

Chen Ye smiled bitterly and explained, "Then you greatly overestimate me. I am merely a rogue cultivator of the heterodox path, having just reached the Qi Awakening realm; how could I possess such ability?"

"Qi Awakening realm?"

Su Chunyi frowned slightly, her confusion deepening, "But your divination art is extremely powerful; I thought you were a senior expert hiding your cultivation."

Divination is an extremely profound art; a mere flick of the fingers can reveal past and future, a power only immortals possess. For a cultivator to master this path, the minimum threshold is the Profound Penetration realm.

The Spirit Awakening realm is merely the first step on the cultivation path, offering little more strength than an ordinary person.

Chen Ye explained patiently, "If I truly could divine the past and future, why would I need to put on a show with Wang Wang Sanqi? It is merely a double-act to deceive passersby."

Su Chunyi pressed further, "This is precisely what I do not understand. Since you invested so much effort in staging this play, why did you charge nothing when divining for others? Furthermore, why was your later divination so precise? Dozens of people sought answers; it cannot be that they were all in on it with you."

From the moment Chen Ye began his act until he packed up, Su Chunyi had been observing coldly from the side. Everyone who sought Chen Ye's divination thanked him profusely, claiming his predictions were incredibly accurate, leaving Su Chunyi utterly baffled.

Chen Ye seemed to feel Su Chunyi's gaze piercing through his bamboo hat, staring at him with full curiosity.

That gaze felt almost tangible; could this be what his master spoke of, a single look capable of severing one's head?

Fortunately, Chen Ye had anticipated this, giving all items linked to the Demonic Sect to Zhao Hezhou, instructing him to use them to protect his life and discard them only once a safe haven was found.

Now that his master had successfully deceived the situation, and since Chen Ye himself had never committed evil, even if Su Chunyi's gaze was sharp, he faced it calmly, his expression as serene as before.

Chen Ye poured himself a cup of tea, took a light sip, and then said to Su Chunyi, "Miss Su, this is a secret technique that cannot be shared. If you wish to know, why not make a deal with me?"

Su Chunyi asked softly, "I wonder what the Daoist friend wishes to exchange?"

Chen Ye, full of expectation and with burning eyes, said, "If I clarify this for Miss Su, might I exchange it for a Qi Condensation Pill?"