Chapter 47 – The Young Taoist Tells Fortunes

Xiaojiu was the kind of person who could chat with just about anyone.

Especially after hearing how Gu Lao had successfully found the Tianshan Snow Lotus for Taoyuan Village, Xiaojiu had come to believe that Taoists from Qingshan Temple really were pretty capable.

She hopped down from her seat and walked over to the young man.

Recalling how Taoists greeted people on TV, Xiaojiu used the thumb of her left hand to press against the base of the ring finger on her right hand and cupped her fists in salute.

She then asked curiously, “Are you a Taoist from Qingshan Temple?”

It was the first time the youth had failed to read someone’s fate, and he was truly intrigued.

He gestured for Xiaojiu to sit down and replied, “That’s right! What, have you been to Qingshan Temple before?”

Xiaojiu shook her head. “No.”

“Then how did you know I’m from Qingshan Temple?”

“Because I’ve only ever heard of Qingshan Temple!” Xiaojiu said, just recalling what Gu Lao had mentioned last time. She hadn’t expected that this boy really was a Taoist from there.

“Then who is Qingfeng Daoist?” Xiaojiu asked.

“That’s my master. What, you know my master?” the boy asked with interest.

Xiaojiu shook her head. “No, I’ve just heard the name.”

“You’re a Taoist? And such a young Taoist? Don’t tell me you’re a fraud—why don’t you tell me whether my business trip will make me rich?”

The sudden voice came from the next table, where two men and a woman were sitting. One of the men had interrupted their conversation.

At his words, everyone in the teahouse turned to look at the young Taoist.

They were all curious—was this boy actually skilled, or just a conman?

The youth glanced at the man.

“Ten taels for a divination,” the youth said, holding out his hand.

“Why don’t you just go rob someone?” the woman beside the man snapped.

“The art of physiognomy is a secret Daoist method. It consumes mental energy and reveals the workings of Heaven. Taking payment both compensates for the loss of strength and shows the sincerity of the seeker—only then can the reading be truly accurate,” the youth explained.

The merchant thought it over and decided it made sense, so he took out ten taels of silver and handed it to the youth.

“I’d like to see what you can do.”

The youth accepted the silver and studied the man’s face closely.

“Judging from your life chart—you have a knack for making money, and your wealth should flow smoothly. However, you keep treacherous people close by, causing your fortune to leak away. Wealth will be hard to keep, and in the end, you will lose your life to a villain. This is a great calamity in your fate—it’s truly regrettable.”

When the woman beside him heard this, she pointed at the youth and cursed, “Where did this fraud come from? Spouting nonsense! Husband, let’s go—just think of those ten taels as charity.”

“Does Madam perhaps already know who the treacherous person by your husband’s side is?” the youth said with a faint smile.

The woman froze, her face changing, but she said stubbornly, “How would I know? You little brat, don’t talk nonsense!”

She turned and tried to drag the man out of the teahouse.

But the youth was not one to tolerate repeated provocation. Seeing the woman act up again, he said directly to the man, “I see the peach-blossom calamity in your fate—your wife’s heart is not pure. She has been secretly involved with that villain, conspiring to seize your family’s property, which will lead to the ruin of your household and your own death.”

“You… what did you say? How is that possible?” The man, still being pulled by his wife, looked utterly shocked.

The woman reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shrieking, “Lies! You yellow-mouthed brat, how dare you slander me like this! Husband, don’t listen to him—he’s just a wandering cheat trying to swindle our money!”

As she spoke, she tugged even harder at the man’s sleeve, terrified that this strange boy might reveal something else.

---

Do you want me to also keep the translation in light novel style so it matches the tone of your Chinese original? That would make it flow more naturally in English storytelling.

The young man was unmoved and continued, “Believe it or not.”

After all, the money had been taken, the face read, and whatever came after was none of his concern.

Believe it if you want, don’t if you don’t—makes no difference.

Hearing this, the man suddenly thought of something, his expression changing drastically as his gaze shifted between the woman and another man sitting at the table.

He recalled that in recent years his household had indeed been plagued with strange incidents, business had been going poorly, and his wife had shown unusual enthusiasm toward certain affairs. All of these signs seemed to confirm the young man’s words.

Shaking off his wife’s hand, he looked at the youth with a complicated expression, pointed to the man at the table, and asked, “The one who has been committing adultery with my wife—is it my good brother, Brother Zhou?”

Hiss!

The entire teahouse let out a collective gasp. This was some juicy gossip.

The young man glanced at the other man at the table.

He held out his hand. “That’s another fee.”

The man fished another ten taels of silver from his pocket and handed them over.

The youth looked at the man surnamed Zhou and said, “I see your features are clouded, your forehead darkened, your wealth palace sunken and without light. Your body is shrouded in foul energy. Yours is a face of misfortune and poverty, with a crooked heart—colluding with your brother’s wife to plot murder for money. Such wickedness deserves death, and Heaven will surely punish you.”

Hearing this, the man surnamed Zhou’s face instantly darkened, and he slammed the table as he rose to his feet.

He barked, “Brother Li and I have been close for years—charlatan, how dare you be so insolent? You try to drive a wedge between me and Brother Li, and now you insult me to my face? I’ve roamed the jianghu for many years—never have I heard such ill-omened nonsense! It’s bad enough you stir trouble between husband and wife—must you also speak such vile words?”

The young man’s expression didn’t change, and without even lifting his head, he said, “Every word I speak is the truth. Believe it or not—it’s up to you.”

From the side, Xiaojiu  and her companions munched on their melon seeds with rapt attention, thinking, This Daoist’s mouth is really fearless—he’s not worried about getting beaten?

The man surnamed Zhou was clearly furious from humiliation.

He sneered and stood up. “Hmph! I want to see which fake Daoist you really are, playing your petty tricks here.”

With that, his hand shot toward the young man’s throat.

Protect the youth—reward: 100 points + 1 lottery draw.

Xiaojiu , who had been happily watching the drama unfold, suddenly heard the system’s voice.

What the heck?

So this involved her too.

Just as the man’s hand was about to touch the youth, Xiaojiu  grabbed it.

The man surnamed Zhou suddenly saw a small hand clamp tightly around his wrist. He tried to yank free but couldn’t.

Humiliated, he raised his leg to kick the girl.

Shi Xian rushed forward and kicked the man surnamed Zhou to the ground.

The man scrambled back to his feet, pointing at the group.

“Well! So you’re all in cahoots with this fraud!”

Seeing someone restrain the man, the young Daoist’s tongue became even sharper.

“I see thick murderous energy around you, your fortune dried up, eyes full of treachery—you are a man steeped in evil deeds, born without wealth, doomed to be haunted by misfortune.”

The people in the teahouse, hearing this, began to look at the man surnamed Zhou with suspicion.

They didn’t know if the young Daoist’s words were true, but when he had earlier mentioned Brother Li’s wife and the adulterer, the two had clearly shown guilt and outrage.

And just now, the man surnamed Zhou had obviously gone for the Daoist’s throat—surely to silence him!

Brother Li, seeing his wife and Brother Zhou’s guilty expressions, realized the youth hadn’t lied.

These two really had planned to kill him for his money.

A cold sweat broke out all over him as he thought about his original purpose for coming here. If he hadn’t met this youth and had instead listened to the two’s words, his home might truly have been ruined.

At that thought, the man’s anger flared instantly.

He raised his foot and kicked Brother Zhou.

“How dare you betray me!” he roared as he kicked, his eyes full of disappointment and rage.