Heavenly Secrets

The smoke from the old sandalwood incense billowed in the air, while the occasional chimes of bells echoed deep and melodiously.

A reliable place always needs a few unreliable people to make it feel right.

The sweltering air made her feel like an ice pop straight out of a refrigerator. Sweat beaded on her back. Wen Dai raised her arms and pulled her long hair, which was draped over her back, into a ponytail. She glanced at her aunt, who was just a door away from her. The woman carrying a small bag was standing on the other side of the Nanguang Temple gate, her eyes fixed on Wen Dai as if they were nailed to her, her wary gaze lingering on her.

"Stop looking, big sister. No matter how many times you look, you can't bring back your youth." Wen Dai pretended to be confused, straightened her back, and her beautiful curves, outlined by her fitted T-shirt, met the sunlight, making the curves even more obvious.

A cold breath escaped from the aunt's nostrils. She raised her chin, her eyes darting from left to right, her gaze sweeping over the charlatans scattered around the temple, poised to strike. "Hmph... little brat, you'd better give up. Look at how many people are guarding this place. Who do you think would hire a half-grown kid like you to tell their fortune?"

Her ears automatically blocked out the attack. Wen Dai had only rolled her eyes halfway when she suddenly noticed a Rolls-Royce parked on the street below the steps. The driver opened the door, and a graceful woman emerged. She didn't have many hobbies, but studying luxury goods was one of them, and from head to toe, she couldn't find a single item that cost less than five figures.

A sudden inspiration struck him, and his legs instinctively moved toward the beautiful woman. A harmless smile appeared on his lips, and the dimple on his left cheek added to her sweetness—if he adopted a haughty attitude towards this kind of rich woman, it would only provoke her resentment.

Wen Dai gracefully approached the beautiful woman, sniffed the air, and her smile deepened in her peach blossom eyes. "Madam, excuse me for disturbing you. It seems you are wearing agarwood, and natural agarwood at that. Agarwood's fragrance penetrates to the bone... It seems you often worship Buddha. A person who leaves fragrance on their body must be extremely sincere. Moreover, I can smell that this is incense that you lit at eight o'clock last night and incense that you lit at six o'clock this morning, mixed together."

Maintaining her gaze that was held high and refused to lower itself to the dust, the beautiful woman slowly lowered it to the face of the person in front of her. The discerning look in the beautiful woman's eyes was an indelible mark. Her sharp scrutiny did not deter Wen Dai. Seeing that Wen Dai's expression did not change, the beautiful woman finally revealed a slight smile on her cheeks. "You are not very old, but your nose is so sharp. You can even smell the incense I lit."

Wen Dai bowed to her with her palms pressed together, then led her to a nearby chestnut tree. Her sweet, clear voice carried her words: "To be honest, I've had precognitive dreams since I was a child, and in my teens I even dreamt of becoming a disciple and cultivating myself—you probably won't believe it. You can give me your name, and I can help you with your fortune without your birth date; actually, I don't even need your name, but giving it will increase the accuracy. Just by looking at your face, I know you have a very promising son."

She made a calculating gesture, Cui Dai lowered her head, her long, thick black eyelashes drooping her eyelids, her eyes revealing a thoughtful expression, "Only son, about twenty-six or twenty-seven this year, eloquent, suitable for studying law, at least a master's degree; in an argument, probably no one can beat him, and he's also very intelligent, that's it..."

The beautiful woman, who was being secretly watched by Wen Dai out of the corner of her eye, became engrossed after Wen Dai accurately pointed out several points in a row. Especially now that Wen Dai had fallen silent, the beautiful woman abandoned her airs and eagerly asked, "What is it? Oh, just tell me quickly, don't keep me in suspense."

Wen Dai feigned a troubled expression, glancing at the temple wall behind her. "Well... you see, this isn't quite the right occasion. I think you, Madam, are a devout Buddhist, so you probably know that Buddhism doesn't approve of fortune telling."

The beautiful woman frowned and tilted her head. After a moment's thought, she straightened up, her chin, which had been lowered, now held high. She carried her bag in both hands, turned halfway around, raised her eyebrows and glanced at the corner of her eye. "Let's go, let's find a more suitable occasion."

The smile on Wen Dai's lips deepened. She raised her foot and crushed the fallen leaves on the ground. As she passed the aunt who was staring wide-eyed, she gave her a wicked wink. The leaves on the sole of her shoe were brushed back by her toes. Her lips moved slowly, conveying a silent sarcasm: "The younger generation surpasses the older generation."

Taking advantage of the fact that the beautiful woman had her back to her, she brazenly raised a finger and pointed it in the air at the fallen leaves she had kicked away.

"You!—" The aunt, her cheeks flushed red, took two steps forward and blocked the temple entrance, glaring at Wen Dai as if she wanted to stab her with a knife. However, the woman had already walked away leisurely, leaving behind a provocative swaying ponytail in her back view.

-

On the way from the temple to Xuemo Chan, a famous teahouse in Lizhou, Wen Dai experienced firsthand the feeling of riding in a Rolls-Royce.

She even set foot in Xue Mochan, whom she would never have given a second glance to in the past. This godforsaken place is famously precious.

The private room was filled with the fragrance of agarwood. A tea master knelt beside the table, brewing Phoenix Dancong tea. Wen Dai, who was facing the beautiful woman, had not wasted her five years of training. The seasoned veteran remained composed and showed no sign of being flustered. Disorder would never happen to her.

After the tea master got up and left the private room, the beautiful woman reached out and pinched the rim of the teacup. The small, translucent green teacup was brought close to her lips, and the fragrant tea went down her throat. The words that followed were not so elegant: "Tell me everything you know. If you get to the point, you'll be well paid."

The teacup was placed back on the table, the porcelain and wood making a dull thud. The beautiful woman stopped beating around the bush with Wen Dai; she clearly understood Wen Dai's intentions perfectly.

"Madam is indeed a shrew; nothing escapes your notice. Your son isn't married yet, is he? In fact, he's never even been in a relationship... Now, let's talk about you. After all, you haven't given me any information, just a face. It's better if I tell you something. Madam, you are destined for wealth and honor, with only one regret." With a sweet smile, Wen Dai was now indulging in tea, her slender fingers pinching the rim of the teacup and bringing it close to her lips.

Having been repeatedly kept in suspense by her, anxiety crept into the beautiful woman's delicate features, and her fingers tapped faster and faster on the table. "Tsk—oh dear, you little girl, you really are something. My name is Qi Ya, the Ya as in gentle and elegant."

“Qi Ya…Qi Ya…” Wen Dai’s previous smile faded into her skin. Her neck was slightly lowered, her eyelids covered her pupils, and her fingertips rubbed the side of the teacup. Information and images flashed through her mind. Her lips twitched strangely, and then, under her lowered eyelids, her eyes were filled with complex light.

"Madam, your son has a sharp tongue. Alright, actually, your little regret isn't a big deal. It's just that your son might be marrying you a spendthrift daughter-in-law. I reckon she'll be pretty dim-witted and take everything that's rightfully yours. According to my divination, your son is about to meet your future spendthrift daughter-in-law."

Qi Ya frowned. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a troublesome problem. She didn't want to have to fight with someone at her age, so she immediately asked, "Is there a solution? What does my future spendthrift daughter-in-law look like?"

The fingers rubbing against the cup quickened their movements, and Wen Dai maintained a calm and collected expression. "Hmm... she's quite pretty and likes luxury goods. Anyway, if your son gets in touch with her, he'll probably be head over heels in love. As for the solution, it's a piece of cake; give me your son's birth date and name, and I'll go back and perform a ritual to ward off unwanted romantic advances for him."

Immortal Master, I was wrong. Immortal Master, I was wrong. If I hadn't been forced by life, I would never have come out to deceive people... Wen Dai silently repeated this several times, almost creating a miniature version of herself in her chest to kowtow to the heavens a few times.

Qi Ya stared at her strangely for a moment, then took her phone out of her bag. "Let's add each other on WeChat. I'll send you the information on WeChat. Let me know when you're performing the ritual. What's your name?"

“Wen Dai, Wen as in 'heard and said,' Dai as in 'the beauties of the six palaces pale in comparison.'”

The exchange of WeChat accounts went smoothly, and her keen eye proved correct. She had just sent Qi Ya her Alipay QR code when Qi Ya transferred 7,000 yuan to her, with all the necessary information clearly stated in the WeChat message.

“It’s not that no one has ever come up to me with random chatter before, but few have the ability. This is the fee I’m giving you based on market price. If the ritual is effective, I’ll make up the difference. Also… do you have a peach blossom charm? Although you said you wanted to cut off unwanted romantic advances, my son is already twenty-six this year, and he hasn’t brought a single girlfriend home. He refuses to go on blind dates, and it’s hard for me, as his mother, not to worry.” Qi Ya’s conflicted maternal feelings made her uneasy, and the thoughts she had been holding in finally came out.

Glancing at the worried expression on the woman's face, Wen Dai withdrew her hand from the teacup and placed it on her lap. With a desperate gesture, she bent her fingers and knelt down. While praying in her heart that she wouldn't be struck by lightning, she calmly moved her lips and said, "That's certainly possible, but in that case, the effect of cutting off unwanted romantic advances might be somewhat diluted. How about this, I'll give you the peach blossom charm first, and after I finish the ritual, you can give the peach blossom charm to your son."

Unable to bear the pangs of conscience, Wen Dai added, "The peach blossom charms are free. This is the first time I've taken on a case like yours, which involves both cutting off and replenishing peach blossoms at the same time. I'm really worried that in the end, neither of them will be of any use."

Cleverly, she had put some talismans in her pocket before leaving. She reached into her pocket, took out a peach blossom talisman that was wrapped in a plastic bag, and handed it to Qi Ya.

"Be careful not to get it wet, and don't open it. If you're giving it to your son, have him put this talisman under his pillow for a month; then burn it, put the ashes in water, and pour the water down the drain." Wen Dai skillfully laid out her instructions.

Qi Ya didn't stand on ceremony with her. She picked up the sealed bag, examined it for a moment, and then put it into her bag. The sense of distance between them was brought back up again. "Alright, that's enough for today. I'll come to you again if I need anything in the future."

Don't look for me again.

Wen Dai's lips remained fixed below her cheekbones, her formulaic smile not appearing stiff. She stood up and nodded to Qi Ya, "Okay, goodbye then."

Dragging herself to Xue Mo Chan's door, she stepped out of the shadows under the eaves and onto the sunlit ground. A wave of confusion and frustration washed over her—it was unbelievable! She could clearly sense information about Qi Ya, yet she could only glean bits and pieces about her son; she knew that Qi Ya's future daughter-in-law would unconsciously steal her belongings, yet she couldn't discern her appearance or identity…

The immortals behind her only offered one explanation: Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed.

How ridiculous, hasn't she already revealed enough?

Undeterred, she silently repeated "Chen Sizhe" in her mind again, but no matter how she tried to connect with the system, the information she received remained superficial. Instead, her heart inexplicably went out of control, as if a slab of it had suddenly caved in.

A smack of the tongue pierced through her teeth, and Wen Dai raised her hand to rub her hair, her dark eyelashes clearing away the melancholy in her eyes.

The only fear is that this so-called secret, which cannot be revealed, is related to her.