Chapter 578 Origin
A Taoist priest in a gray robe was sitting on the stool next to the banner.
The Taoist priest had black hair and a long beard. He was waving a feather fan in the cold weather, with his eyes half closed lazily, and speaking slowly and leisurely to attract customers.
"Important~ Straight to the point~, one calculation~ and one is accurate~"
"Predict good and bad luck~know the past~know the future~~"
"A divination to ask about your future~ You must pay~~~"
Just as Yun Qingqing was about to step forward, someone had already arrived in front of the stall.
"How much do you charge for fortune-telling?"
The person who came looked to be a man in his thirties, wearing a brown brocade robe, with dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked handsome.
The gray-robed Taoist raised his eyelids and spoke slowly:
"One hundred taels of silver per divination, no bargaining."
The man sneered when he heard this:
"You are such a daredevil, Taoist priest. Are you trying to blackmail me because you see that I am rich?"
The Taoist priest waved his feather fan slowly and said lazily:
"Pay the money first and then have the fortune told. If it's not accurate, I will return it in full and double the compensation."
The man raised his eyebrows and slapped a silver note of one hundred taels on the table:
"You said it, don't blame me if I don't agree!"
Perhaps for a small fortune-telling stall on the roadside, the price of "one hundred taels per fortune-telling" is really amazing, and some people actually come to tell fortunes. The originally deserted fortune-telling stall is now surrounded by a group of people who come to watch the fun.
Yun Qingqing and the other person had already occupied a good position and were watching from the side.
The Taoist picked up the banknote and glanced at it, then sat up straight and looked at the man, pointing to the few lines of small words on the banner:
"Face reading, palmistry, fortune telling, fortune telling, which one do you choose?"
The man narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said:
"Let's guess the word. The word 'Jin' means luxurious clothing and delicious food."
The Taoist priest chuckled, took a piece of paper, picked up a pen and wrote a big word: Jin.
"The word 'Jin' has gold on the left and silk on the right, which is a symbol of great wealth. This donor has made a fortune."
The man looked somewhat pleased, but not satisfied:
"Do I need you to tell me that? I can even tell fortunes for a hundred taels of silver. Anyone can see that I have silver! This doesn't count!"
The Taoist stroked his long beard and waved his hand:
"Hey, benefactor, why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished what I'm saying yet."
"Oh, fine. Go on. I want to see what else you can come up with." The man snorted.
"The word 'silk' on the right side of the word 'jin' can be separated into 'bai' and 'jin'. 'jin' is pronounced the same as 'jin', which means that you got a large sum of money today."
The man was stunned for a moment, then restrained his expression:
"…Anything else?"
The crowd watching the excitement also became interested:
"It seems like this is what the Taoist priest really said?"
"Yeah, it seems like the old Taoist really has something."
The Taoist pointed at the words on the paper and said slowly:
"The 'white' above the word 'silk' means red for happiness and white for mourning. Although you have suddenly become rich, your funeral is not far away..."
"As the saying goes, 'flowers are blooming', and February is also called the Flower Month. Considering that the Chinese character 'jin' is the same as 'jin', you will not survive February this year."
There was a sound of inhalation all around.
"Hiss... This is too unlucky to get this result from fortune telling on New Year's Day..."
"You're just exaggerating, aren't you? Isn't that what charlatans love to do? First they say you're in trouble, then they help you resolve it, and charge you a lot of money."
"But normally you wouldn't curse someone like that just to get their money, right? Isn't this just asking for trouble?"
"Isn't it just for good luck to have a fortune-teller during the New Year? They have already spent a hundred taels, so you should be satisfied. It's really not very kind to say such things."
"You don't understand this, right? It's because they met a rich man that these old-timers want to squeeze out as much money as possible!"
Amid the discussion, the man was stunned for a moment, then he slammed the table and glared at the old Taoist:
"Nonsense! I'm healthy and wealthy, so why can't I live long? You're a fraud! Pay me back!"
The old Taoist was not in a hurry and continued to point at the words on the paper and said:
"The word 'gold' doesn't just mean gold and silver. Metal is gold, and swords are also gold, which are weapons that can hurt people."
"'Bo' means cloth, which can be used to cover, and by extension, it means to conceal. 'Bai' means funeral, which means the funeral in your family has been covered up. And 'Jin' can also refer to 'Jinguo', which means woman."
At this point, a sharp light flashed in the old Taoist's eyes:
"The one who died was a woman from your family. She was stabbed to death and you covered it up."
"You farted!" The man's face changed drastically, and he raised his hand to grab the Taoist's collar, but he was gently blocked by the Taoist's feather fan, and the whole person was knocked over by a huge force and fell to the ground.
The crowd watching was already going wild:
"What do you mean? Fatal due to a knife... Did the Taoist priest say that he killed someone?"
"Oh my god! Is this true? This guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes doesn't look like a bad guy."
"Wait for me to sort it out... This Taoist said that he got his huge fortune today, and also said that a woman in his family was murdered... and it was covered up... Isn't that..."
"Hiss... murder for money? Should I report it to the police?"
"But we don't know whether it's true or not. What if the Taoist priest is really lying?"
"It's hard to say. Did you notice how the Taoist priest knocked him over? He hasn't gotten up yet. The Taoist priest must have some skills. Maybe it's true!"
The Taoist priest in gray robe looked coldly at the man who had fallen to the ground, then slowly spoke again while waving his feather fan:
"The words I predict are never wrong. 'Gold' can also be used as shackles. Today your crime will be exposed and you will be thrown into prison."
The man listened to the increasingly loud discussions around him. Many people were already discussing whether to report to the police. His face turned pale, he staggered to his feet, and said sternly:
"I won't bother with a greedy Taoist priest like you on New Year's Day! It's my bad luck!"
He didn't want to bother the Taoist priest anymore. He turned around and wanted to leave, but he was stopped before he took two steps.
"Stop! The police are investigating a case. Come with me!"
The man shuddered when he heard the word "official". The person who stopped him was not wearing an official uniform, but was waving a badge of the government in front of him.
The other person next to him looked unhappy and muttered:
"It's New Year's Day and I'm facing a case. I can't even drink. It's really bad luck! I advise you to follow us honestly, or don't blame us for being rude!"
The man struggled:
"Sir, I am innocent! This Taoist priest is just talking nonsense to make more money! You can't arrest me without any evidence and just listen to his one-sided words!"
Before the two officers could speak, the old Taoist said, "Haha":
"Is it easy to get evidence? The word 'silk' in 'brocade' means 'cloth', and the word 'white' means 'white'. The woman he killed was buried in his yard. Find something with the word 'white' in it, and look for loose soil underneath. Then dig it up."
The man staggered and almost fell.
The policemen understood what was going on after seeing this. After thanking the Taoist priest, they held the man on both sides and walked out of the crowd.
The onlookers were amazed:
"This Taoist priest is quite amazing. He really got it right!"
"You are so accurate in your predictions. I even want to predict my future..."
"It's a pity that I can't afford the one hundred taels of silver for a fortune-telling!"
Some people were curious and asked loudly:
"Master, can you figure out why he wants to kill someone for no reason?"
The Taoist priest slowly put away the written paper and said:
"This man is wearing a valuable brocade robe, but the jade ornaments on his waist are crudely made. His skin is slightly dark and his face is bitter. One can tell at a glance that he has become rich overnight, and his taste and vision have not kept up."
"His face has a bad look, indicating he is lonely and helpless. He has been an orphan since childhood. The Palace of Marriage is full and then deficient, which means that he is a young man and an old woman in his family. He is also a son-in-law who marries into the family. The huge wealth belongs to his wife."
"This man has evil intentions. He wanted money for this marriage, but he doesn't just want money. He also wants to be the head of the family and take in a few young and beautiful wives and concubines. So from the beginning, he wanted to kill the whole family for money."
When everyone heard this, they felt that they had never seen anything like it before and started to curse the man as a good-for-nothing.
The Taoist priest stood up and began to pack up his stall, saying calmly:
"As the saying goes, he can't escape this murder lawsuit. I guess he can just catch up with the February batch."
The Liang State usually executed a batch of death row prisoners in spring and another batch in autumn. Now that the man has gotten into trouble, he will definitely not live past February, which is exactly what the previous divination said.
Everyone was filled with admiration again.
Someone in the crowd said:
"Master, are you closing up your stall now? Your reputation has spread far and wide. Who knows, some wealthy people might come to ask for divination soon!"
The Taoist stroked his long beard and smiled calmly:
"No, I only tell fortunes once a day, and I have used up today's share. Everyone, please go."
Everyone didn't expect that he had such a rule, and they sighed for a while before dispersing.
The Taoist priest slowly packed up his stall, and the crowd had almost dispersed. He picked up the long banner and was about to leave when a clear female voice suddenly rang out from the side:
"Excuse me, Taoist Priest, is 'Changliu' your name?"
The Taoist paused and turned around to see a man and a woman, who were dressed elegantly but had ordinary looks.
But he could tell at a glance that the two men's appearances were disguises.
The Taoist stared at the two of them for a moment, stroked his long beard, and said lazily:
"Since you want to ask about my origins, I should at least show my true identity, right?"
Yun Qingqing raised her eyebrows and said with a half-smile:
"You are in disguise, aren't you?"
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