Chapter 214 Shanghai Trip Part 3: Meeting a Master

Mr. Dong asked, "Which aspect do you want to test?"

I laughed and said, "Didn't you say that one word represents everything? Then just say whatever you want, and that's all."

He crossed his arms and said slowly, "Seeing means to see, to appear. First, what you want to see is there; second, what you don't want to see is also there. Whether you see it or not, it always exists."

"Could you be more specific?"

"Okay, let's talk about your life before you were 12. What you saw were peasants in the countryside and crops in the fields. But the celebrities, scholars, and the hustle and bustle of life—even though you couldn't see them, they were there.

Let's say you were between 12 and 24, and what you saw was the bustling city and the various aspects of life. But even though you didn't see the idyllic places and the elegant people, they were still there.

Since you are under 30, let's talk about when you were 24 to 36. What you saw were BMWs, luxury cars, and well-dressed people. But the clouds were floating thousands of miles away, and the people were suffering. Although you couldn't see them, they were there.

I was shocked, he was talking about my fortune.

I didn't hint to Lao Xiao, but he couldn't help but ask, "What about after 36?"

Mr. Dong laughed heartily. "36 is a critical juncture in life. Your health is naturally fine, and your cultivation depends entirely on self-cultivation. Let's not talk about that for now."

I said, "Sir, you're quoting Wang Yangming's 'On the Heart' from the word 'seeing'. Whether you see it or not, it's always there. Tell me the fortune of almost half my life, without giving me my birth date. Could it be that you got it from a fortuneteller?"

"No, I have opened my third eye. From what I hear from you, I know a little bit about physiognomy and fortune-telling."

"Open the third eye?"

"Yes. Other characters don't open the Third Eye, but the character '见' (see) is written in oracle bone script as: 人上一目 (person) with the character 目 (eye) on top, and the character 人 (person) on the bottom, representing the individual. Eyes are originally located on the face, but this oracle bone script character 见 (see) depicts eyes located on the top of a person's head. It doesn't mean 'see' as we know it today, but rather that they are located on the top of the head, indicating the opening of the Third Eye."

For example, ordinary people sitting on the earth cannot know anything about the starry sky. People who have opened their third eye know that the brightest star in the east is called the Morning Star, the brightest star in the south is called Jupiter, the brightest star in the west is called Venus, and the brightest star in the north is called the North Star.

Without the clairvoyance, how could one know? That’s why the first word the master said when he entered the room was “see.” This clearly shows that he has eyes on his head and is a person with the clairvoyance.

This sentence has a double meaning. I quickly took out a cigarette, handed it to him and helped him light it.

He took a sip and said with a smile, "If I say anything wrong, I hope the Fang family will guide me."

In this sentence, he actually exposed my past. He said that I was also in this line of work.

Old Xiao basically didn't understand what Mr. Dong meant. He couldn't help but ask, "Are you saying he has a good fate, or is it just average?"

Mr. Dong chuckled again and said, "He will tell you when he gets back."

I knew he was a master, a man of profound skill. The more you flatter him, the more he'll look down on you. So, I held back and didn't flatter him. Instead, I asked, "I really want to meet someone this time, which is why I said 'meet.' Could you please help me decide when we can meet?"

"Four days later."

Lao Xiao felt strange because he didn't know I wanted to meet my master.

I calculated in my mind: Tomorrow, we'll leave Jiangxi and arrive in Shanghai easily in one day. The day after tomorrow, Sister Li and I will go see Master, so we'll be able to see Master within two days. What's the significance of these four days?

I reminded him: "The person you want to see is in Shanghai."

"Also four days."

Lao Xiao didn't believe it and laughed, "If he takes a private car tomorrow morning, will it take four days?"

Old Dong smiled but said nothing.

I thought, if it really takes four days, I must take him as my teacher. So I jokingly asked: "Can you calculate when I will see you again?"

"When will we meet again?"

He closed his eyes and counted very seriously on his fingers.

This made Lao Xiao want to laugh. I kicked him, and he covered his mouth, pretended to cough, and went to the bathroom. I guess he wanted to laugh out loud there.

After Lao Xiao came out, Mr. Dong opened his eyes and said:

"After forty-nine months, we can meet again."

At this point, Old Xiao calmed down. He probably thought Old Dong was an old fogey. His lies were all a bunch of nonsense. So he said, "If we leave and come back right away, wouldn't we be able to see him again today?"

"No. Those three people should be at the door. They're coming to take me to another place."

I said, "Mr. Dong, can you give me your phone number?"

He shook his head. "Meeting is fate. What's the point of forcing a phone number? You have so many calls on your phone. How many of them are asleep? You can count them when you get back."

As we were talking, the female boss came in, smiled at us, and then said to Mr. Dong, "They are here."

We had no choice but to stand up. I asked, "Master, how much is the throat moistening fee?"

He smiled and said, "We'll count again in four years."

We went downstairs together, and the three men hugged Mr. Dong and left.

Lao Xiao shook his head: "I don't understand."

The woman was sitting at the tea table in the lobby on the first floor, talking to someone.

When Lao Xiao was about to leave, I shook my head gently at him and twitched my chin.

"Do you still want to try to get along with her?"

I smiled and walked over. The woman seemed to understand that I wanted to say goodbye to her, so she stood up and said, "Welcome back next time. My last name is Cheng, Cheng Na." Then she took out a business card from her pocket.

I took a look and said, "Then I'll call you Boss Na."

She smiled and said, "I really like the name you gave me. Next time..."

I shook my head and said, "Don't keep saying next time. This time, I want to talk to you alone for a few words."

She led me to the patio, looked at me with a smile, and waited for me to speak.

"Who is this Mr. Dong? How long has he lived here?"

Cheng Na thought for a moment and said, "He didn't register. Someone else registered for him. He stayed there for about half a month. Someone else also paid the bill."

I was about to ask who it was when someone called her from the second floor.

She said, "I have something to do. See you next time."

Back at the hotel, Lao Xiao followed me into my room. He made a pot of tea and asked me, "What's this person like?"

"What do you think?" I asked Lao Xiao.

"The first part about your fortune is probably correct. But the latter part is outrageous and pure bragging. You can take a taxi to Shanghai tomorrow, so why does it take four days? Is he a god?"

I felt a little uneasy, so I called Mr. Chen to ask about the itinerary.

He said, "Let's travel for a day tomorrow and leave the day after tomorrow. We can reach Shanghai in two days."

I called Sister Li again and told her that I had arrived in Jiangxi and would come to Shanghai to see Master the day after tomorrow.

She said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

I became even more uneasy when I heard this. I hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"

"My mother is not in good health. He went to Shenzhen a few days ago. But he called yesterday and said he would be back in the next few days."

I originally wanted to call my master, but I gave up in the end. If this old Taoist's predictions are accurate, I can't deliberately sabotage them. This is called the law of nature.

After the call, I sat there in a daze. Lao Xiao had already made two cups of tea and brought them over. He saw me in a daze and asked, "What's wrong?"

I told him what happened on the phone.

Lao Xiao was also surprised and asked, "Didn't you call your master in advance?"

I shook my head: "No, I just wanted to give him a surprise."

"He's so accurate, he's truly an expert. He also said he'll see you again after 49 months. What does that mean?"

I pondered for a while, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "His cultivation is truly profound."

I took the hotel notepad, pulled out a pencil, and wrote on the paper:

See you, 4 strokes. Meet in four days.

When will I see you again? 何 (7 strokes), 时 (7 strokes), 重 (9 strokes), 见 (4 strokes). Seventy-seven is forty-nine.

Lao Xiao was stunned and looked at me: "He really didn't say that casually?"

I nodded.

That night, I couldn't sleep.

(I was in Changsha and had a lot of activities, so I didn’t have time to write more. I will just write two sections today.)