Chapter 156: Delusion, Soft Rice

Jingcheng, outside the West Guard Gate, beside Guangning Temple.

A female diviner was casting fortunes for someone.

"Layman, I see your celestial court is sunken, your earth grid is pointed, your lips are thin and your mouth turned up; you must be having an unlucky year, with many troubles lately."

Jiang Banxian was just preparing to walk into the city when he suddenly heard these words.

He, the great Divine Calculator of Jiangbei, had actually come to a day where a roadside wild diviner could open her mouth to mock him.

Jiang Banxian laughed in anger; he turned around, pointed at that female diviner, and said, "I have been trapped for days, have not eaten a single grain of rice in three days, only eating wind and drinking dew; anyone could see I am yellow-faced and emaciated. Your Jianghu tricks may fool others, but meeting me is like selling talisman water in front of the Dragon King Temple—meaningless."

The female diviner wore a divination robe washed until it was white; upon hearing the other's mocking words, the female diviner did not get angry. She smiled and said, "So you are a fellow Daoist; in that case, I should form a good karmic bond with you."

"I see your life palace is dark, your heavenly gate is tightly closed; perhaps you have offended the Heavenly Countenance? If so, Daoist had best refrain from divination for a time, otherwise you may invite disaster."

Jiang Banxian was utterly astonished; how could this young female diviner so easily calculate his affairs?

Colleagues hate each other; peers envy each other.

Amidst Jiang Banxian's shock, an unusual emotion inevitably arose in his heart.

He had studied this path for decades; it had always been him calculating others, yet he never expected to be outdone one day by a yellow-haired girl, and moreover, judging by her appearance, her attainment in the art of divination seemed to surpass his by a notch.

Once jealousy takes root in a person's heart, it easily breeds ill intent.

Jiang Banxian had long wandered the Jianghu; his experience in scamming people was greater than anyone else's.

Thus, right now, Jiang Banxian was harboring ill intent in his heart; only seeing him smile at the young Miss and say, "Truly, the young are formidable; you, girl, are so wise, you might as well calculate why the Great Dragon atop Jingcheng has grown thinner."

The female diviner's mind was clever; she raised her head to glance at the National Fate Great Dragon overhead, shook her head, and said, "Those who observe the fish in the deep are inauspicious; those who wisely predict the hidden are doomed; this is the difficulty for good diviners. Why must Daoist deliberately tempt me?"

Jiang Banxian laughed heartily; as he turned and strode away, he did not forget to say, "No diviner is without curiosity; I don't believe you can hold back!"

About an hour later, after finishing the divination, the female diviner packed up her divination stall; on the way back to the guesthouse, the female diviner could not resist glancing back at the National Fate Great Dragon above Jingcheng.

That thin dragon originally had nothing remarkable, but after Jiang Banxian mentioned it once, she could not stop thinking about the reason behind it.

Why did the dragon grow thinner? Was it human design or heavenly fate?

The female diviner extended her slender, pale hand hidden within her divination robe; her fingers began to calculate.

A white-browed, fierce-eyed great beast, a plowing farmer, a wicked nun.

The female diviner's fingers moved faster and faster; the human-shaped fingers twisted into wild beast claws, with green light flowing over the claw palms.

When calculating the fourth identity, thunder exploded again outside Jingcheng under a cloudless sky.

This was the second time in nearly half a month; the first time was at the Celestial Master Mansion, where it was said the great hole in the main hall of the Celestial Master Mansion had not yet been repaired.

The startling thunder dissipated; only a tuft of scorched beast fur remained on the spot. A gentle breeze blew, and that tuft of fur scattered into the air, vanishing without a trace.

On the official road not far from the lightning-strike site, a green-furred fox, panicked and disordered, drilled into the roadside grass.

At the same time, inside Luojing City.

Jiang Banxian raised his head to glance outside the city; that sudden dry thunder was especially loud; even within the city, he could imagine how terrifying that thunder was.

"Good diviners face difficulty; how many can actually achieve it?"

Jiang Banxian was delighted in his heart; in his mind, perhaps nothing made him happier than a colleague suffering misfortune.

On this side, Jiang Banxian hummed a little tune, winding and turning until he arrived at Cao Cheng's residence.

Cao Cheng had once been the Head Attendant Grand Eunuch in the palace; later, due to advanced age, he resigned from his post, built a mansion and property outside the palace, and lived the life of a wealthy elder.

However, although he was outside the palace, the major and minor affairs within the palace still could not escape Cao Cheng's control.

This day, while Cao Cheng was discussing official matters with his adopted son Feng Dehai, a servant suddenly came from outside the gate to report that a poor man surnamed Jiang, claiming to be an old acquaintance of Chief Steward Feng, had come specifically to pay a visit.

Cao Cheng showed a look of confusion; Feng Dehai was the Imperial Chief Steward in the palace, rarely having free time to come to his place even once; today, his adopted son had only just arrived not long ago, so how could someone claim to be Feng Dehai's old friend and find his way here?

Feng Dehai was equally stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted: "It must be Mr. Jiang; quickly invite him in! No, you lead the way ahead; I will go invite him personally!"

Before leaving, Feng Dehai said to Cao Cheng, "In the past, I knew a Divine Calculator of the Shock Gate; that was Mr. Jiang. This person is quite proficient in the art of divination, a figure like a dragon that shows its head but not its tail. In a moment, I will introduce him to you, Adopted Father."

On this side, after Jiang Banxian bathed, changed clothes, and ate a few bites of snacks and tea, he followed Feng Dehai to the place where Cao Cheng resided.

After a few greetings, Cao Cheng ordered people to set up a banquet; during the feast, Feng Dehai frequently toasted Jiang Banxian.

"If not for Mr. Jiang's guidance back then, this family would never have achieved today's accomplishments."

Back then, when Emperor Longping was old, no one knew which Imperial Prince would receive the throne; it was Jiang Banxian who guided Feng Dehai's path, thus giving him the merit of following the dragon.

After half the wine was drunk, Feng Dehai suddenly remembered something: "Speaking of which, this family recently encountered an incident; I wonder if Mr. Jiang can take a look for this family."

What Feng Dehai asked about was none other than the disappearance of Long'en Gui.

Upon hearing it was such a small matter as finding a person, Jiang Banxian felt no obstacle in his heart.

For a Shock Gate diviner, finding people or lost objects is not a difficult thing to calculate.

Moreover, it was just an ordinary person.

Jiang Banxian, full of confidence, sat upright at the feast, extending one hand to calculate, fully displaying the style of a high master.

"The path of life is blocked; your son is likely already dead and buried in the Yellow Springs."

Feng Dehai's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he unconsciously asked, "Can Mr. Jiang calculate who harmed my son's life?"

Jiang Banxian pondered for a moment, yet he thought of the words the fellow diviner outside the West Guard Gate had pointed out to him.

Alarmist talk; he had just calculated a fortune himself, yet nothing happened.

However, when Jiang Banxian calculated again, before he had even finished half, the sound of thunder arose above Cao Manor.

Jiang Banxian's eyes widened; his composure was already completely shattered.

How could a casual calculation again provoke heavenly thunder? Could it be that he had already been added to the Heavenly Dao's blacklist?

At this moment, Feng Dehai, who in the eyes of outsiders was not skilled in martial arts, actually displayed power far exceeding that of a Ninggang Realm martial artist; in a brief instant, the Chief Steward Eunuch wearing a python robe leaped out of the mansion.

On the spot, pale lightning suddenly appeared from nowhere; the hall hosting guests instantly shattered into four pieces.

Feng Dehai looked at the house before him with lingering fear; if he had left one step later, even if he did not die, he would have lost half his life.

Coming to his senses, Feng Dehai ordered people to go check the ruins, but only found several patches of blackened traces.

On the second day of the seventh month, it is auspicious to open for business, sweep, and bury; it is inauspicious to undertake any other matters.

Today is the grand opening and ribbon-cutting day for the funeral shroud shop.

To celebrate the auspicious opening of the branch, Xu Qing invited many people to liven up the scene; only because his network is wide and his face carries weight would anyone idle enough to come to a funeral shroud shop to offer congratulations.

Early in the morning, the funeral shroud shop had already changed to a new pair of couplets.

Upper couplet: New garments fit well, receiving celestial dew;

Lower couplet: Funeral attire complete, bathed in benevolent wind.

Horizontal scroll: Garments and attire fully prepared.

After pasting the couplets, two large red paper lanterns were hung at the shop entrance, bearing the character for longevity, surrounded by patterns of five bats presenting longevity.

Hu Baosong swayed over; upon seeing the couplets at the door, the old man clicked his tongue and sighed, "You've made this even more grand than Shopkeeper Yao; even wandering souls and wild ghosts would be unable to move their feet upon seeing your shop!"

The two chatted idly; when most of the neighbors had arrived, Xu Qing cut the red ribbon and set off firecrackers, the crackling sounding just like the Lunar New Year.

"Da Zhuang, go move the tables out; once Er Zhuang has finished cooking the dishes for drinking, bring them up."

This was Guan Dazhuang's first time entering the city to join a martial brotherhood; he dared not speak much with others. Whatever Xu Qing told him to do, he simply worked silently.

"This young man is not bad; head like a tiger, eyes like a tiger; one look and you know he's a child who can eat and work hard." Hu Baosong spoke words of praise with a smiling face, but as soon as Guan Dazhuang entered the house, the old man bared his teeth and said, "You truly have the ability; haven't you heard of raising a tiger to become a disaster? You dare take this thing back to make it serve you?"

"Raising a fox to become a disaster? Understood. You, old sir, simply do not wish to raise Sister Yizhen; I will speak with Sister Yizhen later and have her return to Five Elders Temple sooner."

"Stop pretending to be foolish; I did not mean that!"

Xu Qing cheerfully entertained the guests; after everyone finished the opening wine, the once-bustling Jingxia Street returned to its usual state of having barely any visitors.

The new shop lacked hands, so Xu Qing simply let Sun Erzhuang manage it temporarily; later, he would go to the employment agency and ask Master Li Si to find a talkative assistant, and that matter would be considered settled.

Since the branch shop opened, Xuan Yu's whereabouts had once again become elusive.

Fortunately, when Xu Qing performed the salvation rites for the doomed lovers of Wanshou Township, he had obtained a pair of crane-bone flutes and two red cords.

These two items served slightly different purposes, but one thing was the same: they were born as one, flesh and bone connected.

If one crane-bone flute broke, the other flute, no matter how far apart, would also snap into two pieces. The two red cords possessed a mutual sensing function; no matter the distance, the respective owners of the two cords could perceive each other's location.

Xu Qing had no use for the crane-bone flutes, so he gave them to the Wu brothers; the red cord was tied around Xuan Yu, while he kept one tied to his own wrist.

Xu Qing did this for no other reason than that a master's cat usually has a cord tied around its neck.

And when outsiders see that cord, they will know the cat has a master and has roots.

Guided by the red cord, Xu Qing specifically tracked Xuan Yu's movements, discovering that the cat sometimes helped people within the city eliminate rats and secure homes; at other times, when no one in the city offered incense, it would run to the households in the villages of West Jingshan that worshipped the Cat Immortal, helping people resolve various problems.

"Xuan Yu actually does not need to work so hard; once Uncle Guo returns, there will naturally be a continuous stream of incense offerings."

"But what if Uncle Guo does not return on time, and you still need incense offerings?"

Xu Qing was left speechless. Although he possessed the Art of Deceiving Heaven, which could delay calamities, if the Black Crow did not bring back the seeds, the incense offerings accumulated daily at the Cat Immortal Hall would become his sole reliance.

To think that he, the Grand Patriarch of the Cat Immortal Hall, a zombie with five hundred years of Dao cultivation, would in the end have to be supported by a cat.

Even if one eats soft rice, it is not eaten this way!

(End of this chapter)