ancestral craftsmanship
It turns out that, historically, fortune tellers and doctors are similar in that the older one gets, the more people believe in them. For a fair-skinned and handsome young man like Li Wujiu to come out with a sign saying he does this is practically like wearing the word "fraud" on his face.
Li Wujiu was not annoyed, but smiled and said, "This is the only skill passed down from my ancestors. Please forgive my poor performance, sir."
Seeing that he answered in a well-organized and unhurried manner, and that what he said did not seem to be a lie, the old man became interested and asked with some skepticism, "You really can tell fortunes? What can you tell? Can you tell people's lifespans? Can you tell whether they will get rich?"
With a smile on his lips, Li Wujiu humbly said, "Fortune telling can be about poverty, wealth, longevity, premature death, misfortune, and blessings; it can also be about wealth, marriage, and children." Seeing the crowd curiously crowding around him, he added, "However, fortune telling requires a fee."
These were all poor people who had gathered around out of curiosity after hearing his seemingly eloquent explanation. But when they heard he wanted money, they immediately spat on the ground and said, "What bad luck! We don't have that kind of money. We're all worthless lives, why bother spending money on this? It's not worth it."
Li Wujiu simply smiled and quietly found a sunny spot by the wall to sit down, showing no sign of annoyance.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, a small group of Northern Qiang soldiers circled around from the southeast corner, seemingly on patrol.
The Northern Qiang army's burning, killing, looting, and all sorts of atrocities within the city were common knowledge in the area. These refugees, having come here seeking refuge, had already scattered in panic upon seeing soldiers approaching, disappearing from sight. In an instant, only Li Wujiu remained. He calmly rose, picked up his banner, and prepared to leave as well.
Seeing that he was the only one left who had run away, and that he was a pretty boy, the leading officer immediately shouted, "You bastard, what are you doing here?"
His question had a reason. Among the captured Han Chinese, those with skills, such as blacksmithing, carpentry, brewing wine, or brick-making, could be assigned to corresponding camps for service. Only those who knew nothing would be sent to construction sites to do rough and arduous labor. Although Li Wujiu's clothes were tattered, he was handsome and carried a banner with writing on it, making him look like he had been to school. Perhaps he could be captured and made to copy and write.
Li Wujiu smiled and bowed, saying, "Sir, I am a fortune teller."
The Northern Qiang officer, not understanding what fortune-telling was, shouted, "What kind of lousy profession is this! I don't know anything about it! Take him to the North Gate construction site and have him repair the city gate!"
Three or five burly, bearded soldiers stepped out from the group of soldiers and tried to pull Li Wujiu away.
Before their hands could even touch Li Wujiu's clothes, a calm and gentle young girl's voice rang out, "Don't be rude to this gentleman!"
A magnificent carriage, which had been passing by, stopped because of this incident. It was escorted by Han soldiers on tall horses in front and behind, and there were four or five richly dressed servants on board, clearly members of a high-ranking Han family.
Li Wujiu looked in the direction of the sound and, with his keen eyesight, instantly spotted a pair of beautiful, clear eyes looking at him curiously from behind the curtain. But it was only for a moment; the curtain was immediately drawn back down. A knight rode forward and gestured to the Northern Qiang officer, saying, "We are from the Xiao family, the Marquis of Chengnan. My young lady requests that you spare this... young gentleman."
Because Li Wujiu looked very young, the knight initially intended to address him as "Sir," but ultimately changed his address to "Young Sir."
Although the Xiao family, the Marquis of Chengnan, were Han Chinese, they wielded considerable influence in the Northern Qiang court. To govern Han territory, several princes listened to the Xiao family. However, the lower-ranking soldiers were largely unaware of this. Soldiers only recognized other soldiers, and at most, their own officers. The Xiao family didn't lead the army, and the soldiers didn't know who they were. They simply assumed they were some respectable Han Chinese.
The Hu people are known for their volatile tempers; they often fight even among their own kind. They would not tolerate others interfering in their affairs, let alone Han people, whom they consider lowly, especially a woman.
The officer immediately became agitated and shouted, "Grandpa hasn't conscripted any of your people, which is already good to you. Do you still want to act like a master here?" His words were extremely polite, but that was only because the other party's imposing presence resembled that of a king or nobleman. Otherwise, he would have immediately uttered the insult "Han dog."
In short, these Han dogs should all be killed. Otherwise, why should we let them ride on our necks? We finally managed to conquer the city and seize their gold, silver, silk, and women. Are we going to let them serve the Han dogs again and elevate them to be our masters? We shouldn't have kept them, especially those who are high and mighty, unable to lift a finger, and only good at putting on airs.
The knight reined in his horse, his face ashen, unsure of what to do. Relations between the Han and non-Han people in the city were already tense, and these men likely didn't approve of the young lady's meddling. But now, having been openly insulted by these northern barbarians, they, as guards of a prestigious family, would certainly not back down.
The knight said as politely as possible, "Lord Xiao is a distinguished guest of Khan Huli Jin, and our young lady is also someone valued by Prince Ning Huli Guang. Even Prince Ning and the Khan would not easily go against our young lady's wishes. Please, sir, do as our young lady says."
He invoked titles like "Great Khan" and "Prince of Ning" to make these soldiers aware of his origins and the importance of the Xiao family. However, this tactic, tacitly accepted as a warning among the Han Chinese of the Central Plains, proved utterly ineffective against these northern Qiang barbarians.
Seeing that this arrogant Han knight was using their Khan and prince to intimidate them, the other side could no longer contain their anger and lashed out with their whip, shouting, "What nonsense are you spouting! You recognize our Khan? I'm the ancestor of your Han emperor! Get out of here!"
Upon hearing his words, the guards and retainers of the Xiao family all paled. This was because… while they might not normally hold the emperor in high regard, they were now facing the overthrow of both Luoyang and Chang'an, and the humiliation and execution of the two emperors installed by the Han people. This was a national disgrace. Although the Xiao family had surrendered to the Northern Qiang court, even a low-ranking soldier dared to insult their former emperor in this way. This was intolerable; everyone glared angrily, and the atmosphere became extremely tense.
Li Wujiu knew that this matter was caused by him. Although he also disapproved of the Xiao family's arrogant behavior, they had ultimately clashed with the Northern Qiang squad because of him. He was also fully aware of the situation in Luoyang City at the moment. It was already fortunate that the Xiao family was able to protect themselves. He did not want them to get involved in even greater trouble because of him, so he smiled and said, "Gentlemen, there is no need to argue. I will go and repair the city gate."
At the same time, he stretched out a slender, pale hand and precisely grasped the whip that the officer had just swung out to strike the knight. The officer's whip, caught in someone's grasp, instinctively pulled back, twice in a row, but it wouldn't budge.
He then opened his eyes wide, staring blankly at the fair-skinned, handsome young man, and roared angrily, "If you don't let go, Grandpa will throw you out!" But let alone throw him out, he couldn't budge him an inch. The remaining Northern Qiang soldiers retreated repeatedly, dumbfounded, and exclaimed, "Sorcery! It must be sorcery!"
At that moment, Li Wujiu felt the curtain flicker, as if the girl had lifted it again to look at him. But he had no time to pay attention to that, and laughed, "If you say it's sorcery, then it is! I'm just a fortune teller, and I'll give you a free divination today: the North Gate doesn't need to be repaired; it will surely collapse tonight. Your Khan has committed too many murders; he will surely die within three days from a sudden onset of back pain."
He then said in a long voice, "This is the land of the Han people. Those who disrespect the Han gods and do not protect the Han traditions will be cursed by this land!"
His last sentence was uttered with his inner strength, carrying far away, reaching dozens of feet away, and was heard by everyone on the city wall.
Both the Northern Qiang soldiers and the Xiao family members only saw a blur before their eyes, and then only the "Ziya Divine Calculator" sign remained on the ground, while the gray-robed youth had vanished without a trace. The Northern Qiang soldiers had never seen such a ghostly and elusive movement before, and they thought they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. They were both shocked and frightened, and could only return to their camp trembling with fear to report the strange events they had witnessed that day.
A Qiu found it amusing and laughed, "Later, the city gate must have been smashed down by Master Li's palm that very night; and the Great Khan must have been poisoned by Master Li who sneaked into his tent at night and put poison in his wound medicine. As a result, the Northern Qiang people became suspicious and relaxed their harsh policies towards the Han people."
Li Wujiu smiled and said, "You're really smart. Actually, apart from that one time with your master, I've never really done divination for anyone. My title of 'Divine Calculator' is mostly something I've acquired through such deception."
A Qiu asked, "So, Miss Xiao, is this how we met?"
The beauty wanted to save the hero, but she didn't know that the hero was a celestial being who played in the mortal world, changing at will and in an instant, regarding the world as an illusion and a dream.
The image of those beautiful, clear eyes from that time floated into Li Wujiu's mind, giving rise to a sense of bewilderment, as if from a past life.
At that time, he wasn't entirely uninterested in the girl in the car, was he?
After traveling the world, when he returned to the Hidden Sect, Gu Yi had gradually made a name for himself, and so had he. Although the two had never met since leaving the mountain, they knew each other well, and though they were far apart, they were as close as if they were next to each other. Even hearing rumors and anecdotes about the other made them feel at ease.
By then, he had already taken in more than ten disciples. Most of these disciples were orphans born out of war, whom he had picked up during his travels and who possessed good aptitude and a desire for enlightenment. However, he had not yet encountered a disciple who particularly satisfied him.
This was because he would often compare people to Gu Yi. When Gu Yi first broke through his seclusion, he was as ignorant as a child about the ways of the world, yet he was quick to understand everything and could apply what he learned to ten others. He was the first person Li Wujiu taught, so afterwards, Li Wujiu would subconsciously compare other disciples to him and feel that they were inferior, which would give him a sense of frustration at not meeting his match.
A Qiu smiled and said, "I suppose that once Miss Xiao arrives at Dawan Mountain, Sect Leader Li's regret will be resolved."
Li Wujiu asked in surprise, "How did you guess?"
A Qiu pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment before saying, "I only realized from the extent to which she was valued under Sect Leader Li that Sect Leader Li must have trusted her immensely, even entrusting the life and death of his good friend Gu Yi to her." There was a slight sarcasm in her words, implying that she "valued love over friendship."
Li Wujiu said indignantly, "I didn't want to take her in at first. I was worried that the young lady wouldn't be used to living in this desolate mountain. But then I thought that if she became the future sect leader of the Hidden World Sect, she would be very useful to Gu Yi in the future."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
