Chapter 255: Fortune telling, a storm is brewing
Chapter 255: Fortune telling, a storm is brewing
"Come and have your fortune told."
"how do you know?"
"It's written clearly on the girl's face that she wants something."
The silver moon was rising, the river breeze was blowing, the red ropes hung on the trees were swaying gently, and the ends of the ropes hanging in the air seemed to be tied to something in one's life, yet it was hard to tell.
Yes, what is unpredictable is fate, and what is predictable is destiny.
She asked expectantly, "Is it accurate?"
"Fortune-telling is always accurate if you believe it, and inaccurate if you don't believe it."
The man was wearing a linen robe and had snow-white hair. Judging from his face alone, he was no more than forty years old.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning against the banyan tree behind him. On the yellow cloth spread out in front of him were many strange little gadgets. He smiled as he looked at his first business of the night.
The girl in blue squatted in front of the stall and continued to ask.
"How does the old man interpret it?"
When the man in sackcloth heard the word "old gentleman", he chuckled and said, "Divination, astrology, fortune telling, fortune telling by eight characters, face reading, or Ziwei Dou Shu, you can choose any one of them, little girl."
"Which one is the old man best at?"
"Ziwei Dou Shu is always accurate!"
Yue Lingshan was silent for a moment, but then asked, "Then...which one are you not good at?"
The man in sackcloth was slightly surprised, then shook his head and said, "There's nothing I'm not good at."
Yue Lingshan insisted: "Since there are things that you are best at, there must be things that you are not so good at."
The man in sackcloth thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "What you said makes some sense. Let's break the characters, maybe they are not so accurate."
Yue Lingshan thought about it and finally made up her mind: "Please ask the old man to tell my fortune."
"Five ounces of gold for the divination."
Yue Lingshan was surprised and said, "Five taels? That's too much! Fortune tellers in other places only charge a dozen wen, which is only the price of a few eggs."
The man in sackcloth clothes said sternly, "Girl, you have no respect for knowledge! Do you think I am a blind old man who is trying to deceive people? The real secrets of heaven should never be sold at a low price. Your five taels of silver are worth spending. If you don't spend them, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
Seeing him speaking so righteously, Yue Lingshan couldn't help but believe him a little. She picked out two ingots of silver from her purse. Fortunately, she had brought enough money with her for this long journey, so she gave them to the man in hemp clothes with some reluctance.
He hurriedly took the silver, put it in his arms, and asked with a smile: "Miss, do you want to choose Ziwei Dou Shu or Po Zi?"
"Then... it's still a broken word, right?"
Fortune telling in this world is probably not accurate, and it is quite strange that there are people who specifically choose those that are not so accurate.
The man in hemp clothes did not think it was strange. He took out a piece of white rice paper from the bamboo bookcase, prepared writing brush and ink, and lit a half-burnt gray candle. The cool light was just enough to illuminate the square paper, neither too much nor too little.
"Please give me a word, young lady."
"Why don't you ask me what I'm testing?"
The man in sackcloth clothes laughed and said, "The girl has a full forehead and a high bridge of nose. It is obvious that she comes from a wealthy family. Her parents are healthy and well-fed. She is also in her prime. I wonder what else can I predict besides marriage?"
Yue Lingshan blushed slightly and said nothing. She only felt that the other party was hinting at her being in love. But what she was thinking about in her heart was indeed the word marriage.
Pick up the pen and start writing.
Three horizontal lines, one vertical line, and a dot.
A new ink character appeared on the piece of rice paper.
"Jade?"
"Yes, it is jade. What's wrong? Can't the old man measure it?"
The girl in green frowned, seeming a little nervous.
“Yes.”
"Then please try to explain it to me, sir."
The man in sackcloth clothes counted the white beard under his chin, and in the candlelight, he looked up and down, left and right, front and back, inside and outside. From time to time, he stretched out his hands and gestured in the air, which looked quite realistic.
Just after saying the first sentence, Yue Lingshan felt the urge to get back her five taels of silver.
The man in sackcloth stroked his beard and said, "From the perspective of the characters, the man your daughter is destined to marry should have the character '木' in his name."
Yue Lingshan couldn't help but ask, "The word 'wood' in the name? How did you figure that out, old sir?"
"Look, young lady. The character for jade has earth at the bottom, and earth gives birth to wood."
Yue Lingshan laughed dumbly: "Earth gives birth to wood? The name contains the character 'wood'? This is too far-fetched."
She naturally knew the name of the person she cared about, but there was no character for "木" in it.
The man in sackcloth clothes saw that she questioned him, but he did not get angry. He pointed at the banyan tree above his head, and saw thousands of marriage ropes hanging from it.
"Look at those red strings tied around the trees. The word 'marriage' is far-fetched in the first place. If there was no fate to tie them together, how could two people who were originally strangers to each other come together in the crowd and be destined to be together forever?"
Yue Lingshan believed him to be serious, but she had already paid for the divination and it couldn't be refunded.
"What kind of person is the one with the word 'wood' in his name?"
The man in sackcloth clothes was surprised and said, "Strange!"
Yue Lingshan asked curiously, "Old sir, what's so strange about it?"
"He is actually a rootless person!"
No matter how long the gray candle burned, it never got any smaller.
The candlelight was extremely weak, but it just illuminated two places: the snow-white rice paper with the word "玉" written on it, and the bright face of the girl in green. Looking closely, in terms of direction and distance, the candle was placed exactly between the two.
"What did you say? A rootless person, my destined person?"
Yue Lingshan paused for a moment, her face flushed red, and she burst out laughing. Seeing that the man in hemp clothes was still serious, she quickly stopped laughing, thinking that this old man's ability to make up stories was even more outrageous than the novelist who wrote "Shaolin Fangzheng's Battle with Hengshan Sanding" and "Two or Three Things About the Demon Cult Leader and My Mother".
The man in sackcloth shook his head slightly and looked at the girl, revealing a hint of sympathy.
Yue Lingshan asked with great interest: "Old sir, then tell me, how did you know from this word that he is a rootless person?"
The man in sackcloth clothes sighed, thinking about how to organize his words so as not to appear so rude. After a long while, he pointed at the word "jade" and said.
"Little girl, your strokes are too light. This little thing has left your body. Naturally, you are a rootless person."
Yue Lingshan could no longer hold back her laughter. She ignored her ladylike manners and laughed so hard that she fell backwards. It took her a long time to calm down. She suddenly felt that the five taels of silver were not wasted, as at least she had two laughs.
"Old man, please continue. What happened between me and the man with the word 'wood' in his name?"
"It's not a good outcome."
The man in sackcloth frowned and looked at the jade character.
Yue Lingshan smiled and said, "How is this a bad idea?"
The man in sackcloth shook his head and said, "The character '玉' means '玉', with the lower part being '土' and a cover on top. This is a sign of a coffin being buried in the earth and a prison being made of wood."
Seeing that he kept shaking his head and refused to explain, Yue Lingshan chuckled and asked, "What do you mean?" The man in sackcloth said sternly, "Little girl, forgive me for being blunt, but I'm afraid that if you two are together, you will either die or be imprisoned, and it will be difficult for you to have a good ending."
Yue Lingshan couldn't laugh anymore.
She regarded the previous words about "name containing wood" and "rootless person" as just nonsense.
The last sentence hit the nail on the head for her hidden worries.
The fortune teller sat under the banyan tree, folding his hands, quietly weighing the amount of silver in his sleeves. He was in a good mood. He looked at the back of the girl in green as she left, looking a little desolate, and couldn't help feeling guilty.
"What a tragedy!"
"It's so miserable."
He traveled all over the place and saw many people with strange fates.
Ordinary people tell fortunes and predict the future fortunes.
Even if he was trying to find gold in a pile of shit, he would at least have a few good words. Otherwise, not only would his fortune be taken away, he would also be beaten up. After losing a few front teeth, he understood this truth deeply.
But this girl in blue had a very unfortunate life.
The word '玉' is only about marriage, which is already extremely dangerous.
He also secretly looked at the girl's face, and found that her parents had passed away long ago, her husband and wife were at odds with each other, and even she herself... would not live up to the lifespan of a normal person.
"Isn't this just bullying an honest person?"
The man in sackcloth clothes looked at the blue sky and the silver moon and sighed helplessly.
He weighed the two ingots of pure silver in his hand and whispered, "The catastrophe was destined by heaven, as shown by the characters. I just interpreted it according to the theory of fate. It was not caused by me, so there is nothing to feel guilty about!"
At this moment, a gust of wind suddenly blew on the river.
"Swipe!"
Those thousands of red strings of marriage were swaying together.
The man in hemp clothes felt something and looked up, only to see a banyan leaf floating down from the sky and landing on the gray-white candle in front of him. With two "chi" sounds, the candle went out, and the emerald green banyan leaf continued to fall and landed in the middle of the snow-white rice paper, covering the word "玉".
"impossible?"
"How can this be?"
A leaf fell, just in time to extinguish the light of the gray candle.
During this process, the eyes of the man in sackcloth clothes widened wider and wider, as if he had seen something shocking.
"Incredible, really incredible!"
He was silent for a long time, picked up the banyan leaf that disturbed the hexagram, wrapped it carefully with cloth, put it in his arms, then rolled up the yellow cloth on the spot, tied it into a bundle, and ran to the west.
At this time, outside Fuzhou city, this street along the river was gradually becoming lively.
Many young women with flower hairpins on their heads gathered in groups of three or five to light lanterns by the river.
In the distance, dozens of large ships are anchored in Yuhu Lake, hung with colorful lanterns, reflecting various lights and colors on the water. It looks like a dragon palace on earth, magnificent and splendid. Behind each ship is a powerful and wealthy family in Fuzhou Prefecture, who can afford such luxury.
Every year on May 8th, the southeast wind prevails, the sea tide flows into the river, and at midnight, the wind and waves are very fierce, which means the meeting of the dragon gods of the river and the sea.
These powerful people are openly vying for the lead and a good omen for the whole year, but in fact they are showing the bravery and fearlessness of their children, and competing for their status and voice in Fuzhou City.
There are hundreds of boats of all sizes at Neijiang Wharf outside Fuzhou City. After each boat is loaded with passengers, it sails to Yuhu Lake near the mouth of the Minjiang River. The lucky ones among these boatmen who meet generous customers can earn enough for their entire family for half a year in one night.
"Come on board, come on board, five cents per person."
"Go to the Dragon Gods' Meeting on the Rivers and Seas. As long as you touch the tide and the rivers and seas are safe, you can get rid of bad luck and have good luck for the whole year."
The boatman tried his best and shouted loudly, trying to get people on the boat as soon as possible.
Yue Lingshan walked to the dock and heard what the fortune teller said. She felt depressed. If she had known this earlier, she would not have wasted her money and suffered.
"Bah bah bah!"
"What a bad luck!"
"The Dragon Gods of the Rivers and Seas will meet to dispel the evil and usher in good fortune. You can't trust them all, but the confluence of the river tide and the sea tide is worth a look."
She thought for a moment, then leaped up from the dock, ignoring the astonished looks of the crowd, flew across the water two or three feet away, and landed on a light boat outside. She handed over a silver ingot weighing three taels.
"sail!"
"If the guests wait a few more times, they won't need so much money."
The boatman was quite young, and looked only about sixteen or seventeen years old, but he was strong, with dark skin with a hint of purple. The muscles in his arms, which were used to hold the pole and row, were extremely solid, and he had the characteristics of a river dweller. At this age, those who came to the river to make a living by boat were most likely sons who had inherited their father's business, and their family had relied on the Minjiang River for generations.
Yue Lingshan stood at the bow and chuckled, "If I were willing to wait, I wouldn't have chosen your boat."
"Then please stand firmly. The wind is strong on the river. Be careful not to fall into the water."
The young boatman no longer insisted, held up the long pole, turned the boat around and headed towards Yuhu Lake.
Being able to save three taels of silver in one night is already quite good. After all, there are more people on the boat than on the passengers. If you wait any longer, you may not even get your turn. And most of the remaining guests are not easy to get along with.
"She's here too."
Zhang Yu stood on the shore, watching Ye Xiaozhou rise and fall on the waves of the river several times before gradually disappearing from his sight. He had noticed him when he passed by the girl in green, but he had not seen his face. However, his back looked familiar.
"Yue Buqun had long been plotting to seize the Lin family's Sword Manual of Exorcism. As a spy of the Huashan Sect, it is not surprising that he would appear in Fuzhou City at this time."
He walked slowly up to the sloop.
Liu Zhong asked, "Mr. Zhang, are we also going to Yuhu Lake to watch the Jianghai Dragon God Meeting?"
"Let's sail!"
Zhang Yu stared at the dark river surface and chuckled in his heart: "We have to go to Yuhu Lake, but there is more tonight than just the Jianghai Dragon God Meeting. If my guess is correct, there will be several exciting events, and they are all related to the Fuwei Escort Agency."
He turned sideways and looked downstream at the pier, where four or five black boats were quietly sailing out of the darkness.
"As expected, the people from Qingcheng Sect are here too."
Several groups of people gathered in Fuzhou City, but their goals were the same.
Lin Yuantu, with his 72-stroke Exorcism Sword Technique, 18-stroke Silver Feather Arrows, and 108-stroke Heaven-Turning Palm, dominated the martial arts world for decades. He kept in mind the teachings of Zen Master Hongye, acted uprightly, and helped the weak. During those years, he made many friends, but also many enemies.
It's ironic that after two generations, the friendship is gone, but the hatred and fear remain.
The martial arts world is about to be hit by a bloody storm. I'm afraid no one in the martial arts world will be spared from this disaster. The leaders of various sects, either for their own ambitions or just to ensure that their sect can survive the disaster, choose to devour the middle power like the Lin family at this time to strengthen themselves. I'm afraid this family in Fuzhou will suffer a tragedy.
The destruction of the Lin family was not an accident. It eventually became the fuse that ignited the already extremely tense situation in the martial arts world. Everyone found that even decent people could kill a whole family to achieve their goals. As long as they found a good excuse... they would not have to accept the arbitration of morality! "
"The inheritance left by Lin Zhennan is indeed tempting."
The wind was blowing on the river. Zhang Yu stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the lights on Yuhu Lake in the distance. His mind was filled with thoughts, wondering how to gain benefits from this storm.
"The first step is to get closer to the Fuwei. Only when we are close can we see clearly."
Sorry, adjust the status as soon as possible and advance the plot.
(End of this chapter)