Chapter 4

People are naturally different; this young lady is precious, her money cannot be taken casually! This orange is worth one cash each, taking an extra cash is already the limit. If you want more, how could an ordinary person with ordinary fortune bear it? \" The middle-aged man said solemnly, but everyone just listened for fun.

Such bragging about one's fate is something everyone hears all the time!

Who wouldn't want a child who could become an immortal? But such a thing is rare and hard to come by. Some people don't even know whether their own children have immortal affinity, and this is uncertain when the children are young. Those who are confirmed to have immortal affinity will enjoy many benefits; some families that are not wealthy like to 'create momentum' for their children.

Moreover, some families are not short of money but have other motives, and they also boast externally that their children are spiritually gifted.

Jinling Cheng is the seat of the Yangzhou prefecture, with a population of several million in the city and surrounding areas, making it an exceptionally prosperous place. In such a place, there are many people and news spreads widely—what haven't we heard?

Taking advantage of everyone not taking it seriously, Gan Tian took a few coins, turned around and slipped away.

After walking halfway and looking back, the orange seller suddenly exclaimed, 'Where are my oranges?'

Having figured it out, when he turned the corner, the man and elderly couple who had clearly been standing by the orange stall earlier were now both at the corner; the man gave all the money he earned from his performance to the elderly couple: 'Go back, I'll give you the rest later.'

Noticing Gan Tian's gaze, the man gave a slight nod, then blended into the crowd and soon disappeared from sight.

Leading the little donkey, Gan Tian paid no mind to these things and continued toward the City God Temple, seeing various novelties and lively scenes along the way.

The most interesting part is the Mule and Horse Street; originally it was mostly for mule and horse trade. Later, the newly built City God Temple was located on a nearby street, and because the mule and horse business was considered dirty, chaotic, and obstructive to the view, it was relocated. The business moved out, but the street name was retained.

Nowadays this street is mostly teahouses and taverns, the usual haunt of storytellers. During the temple fair, the storytellers even set up their long tables outside to tell stories publicly. Not only do storytellers in teahouses do this, but those who usually travel to market fairs and villages also come to set up stalls.

Whether the storytelling is good or not depends entirely on whether the audience supports it!

The most popular storyteller can even earn the title of 'Top Scholar of Stories,' and all the major teahouses vie to contract them!

\"At first, Scholar Wang didn't know where this young lady came from, but when she announced her surname as Hu, he realized he had encountered a fox... \"

Tales of fox spirits... unfortunately they're false; even a ghost woman could be believed a little, but fox spirits are truly impossible.

This world also has monsters, but most monsters lack intelligence, so they appear more like creatures with power but unable to communicate. As for being able to talk with humans and take human form, such fox spirits have never been heard of!

However, this storyteller's tale clearly matches ordinary people's imagination of the immortal and monster world, and with his skill in regulating the atmosphere and a plot sufficiently engaging, many people nearby cheer him on.

Gan Tian lingered on Mule and Horse Street for a while; when the sun rose high and she felt hungry again, she left that street and went to a noodle stall on another street, ordering a bowl of shredded chicken noodles.

While eating the noodles, she glanced to both sides and noticed that the stall next door had a long line.

The stall had no sign, and it wasn't clear what business it was; only after Gan Tian listened carefully did she realize it was a fortune-telling stall...

\"This gentleman must be very effective, right? \" Gan Tian blurted out.

The noodle stall owner, hearing this, laughed and said: \"That's only natural! Master OuYang calculates only three hexagrams a day, and they are incredibly accurate... He never takes extra money. The earnings from divination, aside from household expenses, are all used to run a school. He is himself a scholar, and in his daily life he often teaches children who cannot afford schooling. \"

\"Three hexagrams? \" Gan Tian didn't have time to admire what a principled good person he was; she first glanced at the long line: \"So many people? \"

The stall owner explained: \"Recently, during the temple fair, many people who don't know Master OuYang's rules have come. They merely think that bitter pleading will make him change his mind, which is why the line is so long. \"

Divination is not something that can be done instantly as one might imagine; on the contrary, depending on the chosen method, there are different rituals. If divination could be done very simply, in this world the person would either not be a true master or undoubtedly be a charlatan.

So, by the time Gan Tian finished her noodles, the neighboring divination stall had still not finished calculating the three hexagrams.

Gan Tian isn't particularly interested in fortune-telling; if she really wanted to, she has plenty of options. But she feels there's no need to repeatedly calculate her fate, just like in the story of Oedipus—knowing the future in advance may very well make one's actions become a catalyst for the predicted outcome.

This is rather disheartening.

To live a bit happier, one ought to be blissfully ignorant once in a while!

However, occasionally playing with it she wouldn't resist; to her, it's like girls looking at horoscopes for fun, where the entertainment value outweighs other aspects.

Gan Tian made up her mind to, like an ordinary person at the temple fair, calculate one hexagram. But she didn't go to queue in front of OuYang's stall, since it was obvious he only does three hexagrams a day and queuing would be a waste of time—she went to the stall next to his.

This stall, being next to OuYang's, attracts many who don't want to wait in long lines, or who know OuYang only does three hexagrams a day; if they decide to get one hexagram, they just walk a few steps over to the neighboring stall.

However, this stall still doesn't have many customers; many just ask a couple of questions and leave.

Because the fortune-teller's price is too high!

OuYang can charge high prices because of his fame! Ordinary fortune-tellers who set high prices would be better off having ordinary people go to the temple to draw lots.

The results of this divination method are often vague, not precise, but the direction is never wrong.

At least it's more cost-effective than the high-priced street fortune-tellers whose authenticity is unknown.

Still, there are a few people who decide to get a fortune reading.

Gan Tian queued behind those few people, curiously watching the fortune-teller's movements—actually there's not much to see, as divination is probably the only supernatural skill that ordinary people can also access. However, ordinary people usually have to put in more effort, and there's also a ceiling to their ability.

No matter how hard one tries, one cannot reach the level of those Xiuzhen who are skilled in divination.

Because of this, Gan Tian's 'sixth sense' is also useless; she can only watch the fortune-teller's actions.

Among the people ahead, some used straw-stalk divination, while others used fish divination (that is, cutting open the fish's belly to observe the condition of its internal organs). The strong fishy smell made Gan Tian frown, but since her turn was coming up immediately, she didn't change her mind and leave.

But she didn't change her mind; the fortune-teller changed his instead. When Gan Tian sat down before him, he began packing up his things.

The fortune-teller bowed to Gan Tian with clasped hands: \"Miss, please go elsewhere! I've done enough divination for today; calculating further might harm my spirit. \"

Emmm... Although she felt a bit singled out, Gan Tian still led the little donkey away... She couldn't possibly force someone to give her a fortune reading, could she?

By the time Gan Tian disappeared at the end of the street, OuYang and the fortune-teller who had refused her were already sitting together at the noodle stall.

The two seemed to have known each other before and were quite familiar. OuYang wondered: \"Mr. Lou, why didn't you calculate that hexagram just now? \"

They were friends, but from OuYang's perspective, Mr. Lou only sees him a few times a year. He roughly knows the other is a Xiuzhen practitioner, but he is not an employed immortal, nor from Penglai or Kunlun; rather, he is a 'loose immortal,' which brings more freedom but also means he lacks fixed resources.

If not for a wealthy family background, most loose immortals are 'reluctantly' so.

Mr. Lou is the same; his divination skills are excellent, but other aspects are lacking, so with nowhere else to go, he became a loose immortal.

Traveling everywhere to practice Xiuzhen, he gains some wealth through divination in between, exchanging it for cultivation resources—even in the Xiuzhen world, money is needed!

Mr. Lou had previously exchanged some divination techniques with OuYang, and they were on good terms; whenever he passed through Jinling Cheng, he would meet OuYang.

However, this time is different; it might be the last.

Mr. Lou confided to OuYang: \"Thanks to the help of several senior brothers in planning, I have finally secured a position as an earth deity, located in a village under the jurisdiction of Jinling Cheng; this is also considered fortunate. \"

An earth deity is considered a low-level official among earth immortals; many are still not as high-ranking as the City God's minor clerks. However, Jinling Cheng is a wealthy and prosperous place; even a village here surpasses other localities, so serving as an earth god here brings many benefits.

No wonder Mr. Lou feels fortunate.

OuYang knew Mr. Lou's habit of divination, which is why he asked that way—having just calculated those few hexagrams, Mr. Lou is still far from the point of damaging his spirit. This is also the difference between ordinary people and Xiuzhen practitioners; if one only divines ordinary people's fates, a Xiuzhen practitioner hardly harms their spirit.

As for OuYang, being an ordinary person, he can only do three hexagrams a day.

Mr. Lou is actually quite poor; his limited wealth all goes toward Xiuzhen practice, so in this respect he might not be as relaxed as OuYang, this ordinary person... Of course, their futures are completely different—just their lifespans differ, so there's really nothing more to say.

Such a poor Xiuzhen, as long as the money is earned properly, few would turn it away.

"So it's not counted, naturally because it can't be counted again." Mr. Lou smiled slightly, then shook his head helplessly: "Just now I didn't speak falsely; if I were to calculate a hexagram for that young lady, it would truly tax my spirit!"

Mr. Ouyang was puzzled: "Even if they are little immortal boys and girls, it's not that they can't be calculated, is it?"

Children with cultivation aptitude are often called little immortal boys and girls; Mr. Ouyang has told fortunes for those children. Although it is somewhat more taxing mentally, it is not to that extent.

Mr. Lou, however, still shook his head: "You don't understand... this shouldn't be said casually... I don't know whose little immortal maiden it is, but in any case I can't calculate it— the fate is too heavy; how could a small scale weigh it?"