Chapter 1763 - 2065: Fortune-Telling (1)
He Honggang actually came looking for him. Ling Chen frowned slightly, confusion written all over his face. He couldn’t figure it out—He Honggang was the leader of the Dark Pavilion, and all along, the Dark Pavilion had always sent Tian Xiong to contact him. Now that He Honggang had personally come over, what on earth did he want?
As he was thinking, Su Lin’s voice came from ahead. "Hey! What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and come over."
"Coming!" Ling Chen replied, then asked into his phone, "Is he still at the Dragon Tiger Hall?"
"Yeah, he just arrived. Do you want to come back and meet him?"
Ling Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Tell him I can’t come back for now. Ask him to leave me an address, I’ll go pay him a visit in person when the time comes."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Ling Chen let out a long breath. Even though he really wanted to meet He Honggang and get his intentions straight, He Honggang wasn’t an ordinary person after all. To be safe, it was better to be prepared before meeting him.
Walking over to Su Lin, he saw her standing in front of a stall, very interested as she picked through the little trinkets laid out. They were all cheap stuff, all fake, but the designs were somewhat unique, which drew in quite a few people.
"See anything you like?" Ling Chen asked with a smile. "I’ll buy it for you."
"Are you this generous with all women?"
"You call something that costs a few dozen yuan generous?" Ling Chen shot back.
"Don’t think I don’t know men’s tricks. I used to have plenty of guys chasing me, I know all too well what you men are thinking. Hey! Don’t say I didn’t warn you—you better not set your sights on me. You’re my sister’s man, I have no designs on you."
Hearing that, Ling Chen could only smile wryly. "All I can say is you’re overthinking it." With that, he didn’t say any more, and honestly stood off to the side, watching the endless stream of people around them. Just then, his attention fell on one of the stalls. That stall had only a small wooden table, and next to it sat an old Taoist priest in somewhat shabby robes. His hair was completely white, his face rather thin, and at a glance, he really did have a bit of that immortal aura to him.
Behind the old Taoist, a little banner was stuck into the ground, with five bold characters on it: "Foretell all under heaven."
Tsk tsk, what a big claim. Ling Chen’s lips curled up slightly; he’d seen plenty of fortune tellers, but never one with such a big mouth.
"What are you looking at?" Su Lin saw his attention was elsewhere and couldn’t help asking.
Ling Chen pointed at the old Taoist in robes. Su Lin glanced over twice, then pouted. "What’s there to look at? People like that are all scammers."
As she spoke, a few tourists seemed interested in the old Taoist and gathered around his stall, apparently wanting him to tell their fortunes. But the old Taoist just swept them a glance, then tucked both hands into his sleeves, bowed his head, and said, "No."
"You’re a real piece of work, old man. Aren’t you a fortune teller?" one tourist said unhappily.
"I am a fortune teller, but I only tell the fortunes of those fated to meet me," the old Taoist replied blandly.
"Heh! This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone like you, you—"
"Enough, cut it out. Since he’s not willing to tell fortunes, why waste time on him?" The tourist originally wanted to argue a few more words, but was dragged away by his friend.
"Told you I was right," Su Lin said. "This ’fated person’ nonsense is all just for show."
Ling Chen pointed at his own nose and asked, "You think I count as a fated person?" As soon as he said it, without waiting for Su Lin to respond, he was already striding toward the fortune-telling stall. Su Lin could only follow helplessly behind him.
When they reached the stall, Ling Chen sat down with a smile, gently tapping the small wooden table. "Senior, I’d like you to tell my fortune. Is that okay?"
The old Taoist lifted his head and sized him up a few times, then nodded. "Okay. One reading is a hundred thousand. Want to do it or not?"
"A hundred thousand?" Su Lin was stunned, eyes wide. "You’re worse than a robber. Ling Chen, let’s go. This old man must be money-crazed to be asking for a hundred grand right off the bat."
The old Taoist said mildly, "I only help one fated person a year with their fortune. Is a hundred thousand that expensive?"
"Not expensive." Ling Chen smiled. "I’ll pay. Please, Senior, do a reading for me."
"You..." Su Lin wanted to say more, but Ling Chen gestured at her to be quiet. Seeing that, Su Lin stomped her foot in anger and simply held her tongue.
"What do you want me to read?" the old Taoist asked.
"Anything’s fine."
"People usually ask about their future and their love life. I’ll read those two for you then." The old Taoist extended his hand, pinched his fingers as if calculating, then closed his eyes, his head swaying slightly. Ling Chen wasn’t in a rush and just sat quietly in his chair, waiting.
Off to the side, Su Lin said testily, "Other fortune tellers at least ask for your birth date and time. If you’re going to put on a show, at least make it look real. You, though, asking nothing at all—if he can really read anything, I’ll eat my hat."
The old Taoist seemed not to hear her, still with his eyes closed. After a long moment, he slowly opened them and said, "Your future doesn’t look too bright. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but the road ahead will be full of hardships. And soon, you’ll face a life-and-death tribulation, with a real chance of mortal danger. However, if you can resolve this crisis, you’ll grow a great deal." Pausing, he continued, "As for marriage, you’re someone plagued by peach blossoms, but there will be a woman who’s very important to you, leaving your life."
"Very important?" Ling Chen narrowed his eyes. "Senior, can you be more specific?"
"That’s as much as I can say. The truth is, you’re pretty lost right now, and you haven’t clearly defined your future. So every time you make a decision, you hesitate. I’ll give you a piece of advice: in chaotic times, either be a warlord or a coward—just don’t try to play the hero. Otherwise, your end will be tragic."
Ling Chen nodded and asked, "Senior, this life-and-death tribulation you mentioned—is there any way to resolve it?"
"Since it’s a tribulation, of course there’s a way to resolve it. If you want to know..." The old Taoist held up five fingers. "Then you need to pay extra."
"I knew it." Su Lin said angrily, "He’s obviously just trying to scam you for money, and you still believe him?"
Ling Chen’s lips quirked up and he nodded. "Money’s not an issue. Just tell me."
"You have two benefactors in your life. Right now you’ve only met one—there’s still one who hasn’t appeared. He can help you resolve this life-and-death tribulation. All right, that’s everything I have to say. The total is five million and ten thousand. Are you paying by card or bank transfer?"
"Five million and ten thousand?" Ling Chen was slightly stunned. He’d thought the five fingers meant fifty thousand, but it turned out to be five million. This... isn’t that a bit too steep?