Qiu Qingkong had no memory of the lecture. She shook her head in dismay and muttered, "I just don't remember it, so I suggested we go together. It's still new to me, and the price is not expensive."
Tan Muxing: "Is there a fee for this lecture?"
"Yes, but it's just three digits." Qiu Qingkong emphasized, "So it's okay for me to hear it again!"
Chu Qianli nodded: "Yes, some people want to treat insomnia, and they spend more than three figures."
Qiu Qingkong: “?”
The three decided to go to the astrology lecture and asked Qiu Qingkong to book the tickets on the spot, and then go there on time after dinner.
There were not many people attending the astrology lecture in the venue. Chu Qianli and others sat down quietly, waiting for the lecture to officially begin.
Sitting on Chu Qianli's left was Qiu Qingkong, and on her right was Tan Muxing. As soon as Qiu Qingkong sat down, she yawned subconsciously and said sleepily, "No, I just finished my meal and feel sleepy. I feel sleepy as soon as I feel this environment..."
Tan Muxing hesitated and said, "...but we just sat down?"
Chu Qianli sighed: "Are you sure you fall asleep as soon as the speaker starts talking? I doubt you even remember what the speaker looks like."
Qiu Qingkong didn't even hold on until the speaker appeared, she was already drowsy and unable to open her eyes.
A moment later, the blond-haired, blue-eyed male lecturer and the Chinese female translator came on stage. After they introduced themselves, they sat down amid applause and officially entered the lecture session.
The content of the lecture was relatively basic, introducing the basic knowledge of astrology and the astrologer qualification examination process. It was more suitable for beginners and was a bit too simple for Chu Qianli.
Chu Qianli took a quick listen and guessed what was going on: "So it's about the ISAR certification qualification exam..."
Tan Muxing asked curiously, "What is that?"
"It's a globally unified astrologer certification exam, which is considered the standard for the Western astronomy industry..." Chu Qianli added, "Of course, some astrologers may not take the exam, and it's not necessary to have a certificate to work in this industry."
ISAR not only tests astrology, but also professional ethics and other knowledge. This is the professional standard set by astrologers to consciously maintain the healthy development of the industry.
After the foreign male lecturer introduced the predictions for the current year, he gave examples and analyzed a lot of astrological data. However, his rigid speaking style seemed slow and soon everyone in the venue fell asleep.
Chu Qianli listened attentively at first. She wanted to know where the red crystal tarot pattern on the poster was, but suddenly she felt her left shoulder sink slightly. She turned her head and found that Qiu Qingkong had fallen asleep again.
Chu Qianli was leaning against the trapped astrology apprentice, and she made a pertinent comment: "There is no better leek than this kind of person who gets confused as soon as he hears it but insists on giving money to astrology to maintain the development of the industry."
Tan Muxing listened very carefully and suggested, "We can wait until the lecture is over and ask the lecturer where the tarot pattern came from."
Chu Qianli nodded.
Halfway through the lecture, the audience was yawning non-stop. Perhaps sleepiness is contagious.
Not long after, Tan Muxing also felt his shoulders sag. He glanced back and found that the person next to him was dozing off. The world's number one astrologer had actually fallen asleep leaning against him. The lecture was really boring, and Chu Qianli fell asleep unknowingly, snuggling in his arms and taking a nap.
Qiu Qingkong rested her head on Chu Qianli, while Chu Qianli rested her head on Tan Muxing. They were like fallen crops, with no intention of waking up at all.
Tan Muxing, the only sober person who has no interest in astrology: "..."
Chu Qianli was sleeping soundly. Maybe she was really sleepy, as her sleeping face looked peaceful and cute.
Tan Muxing's whole body was stiff and he felt a little uneasy. He didn't dare to move at all. He could only sit there as a pillow and try his best not to disturb her.
The astrology lecture finally ended and there was warm applause from the audience.
Chu Qianli and Qiu Qingkong woke up suddenly. They clapped their hands subconsciously and blended in with ease, as if they had never slacked off or slept at all.
"You sleep really well..." Chu Qianli applauded, "No, you speak really well."
"I feel like I'm going to get a stiff neck." Qiu Qingkong rubbed her neck. She saw Tan Muxing secretly moving her sore shoulders and asked suspiciously, "What happened to you when you were sleeping?"
"……not."
The audience in the venue left one after another. The three of them took the opportunity to ask the blond mentor excitedly before he left. The female translator wanted to help, but seeing that their English was OK, she stood aside and did not interrupt.
The blond instructor faced the three people, blinked, and asked gently, "What's the matter?"
Chu Qianli raised her phone and pointed at the tarot card on the poster. She asked politely in English: "Excuse me, what is this card? It looks very nice."
"Oh, I think it's pretty too..." The blonde instructor looked at the pattern and smiled, "I like to collect old astrological data. This is an astrologer's manuscript. I think it's very unique, so I printed it."
Chu Qianli was stunned. Thinking of the author of the Red Crystal Tarot, she hurriedly asked, "May I ask which astrologer wrote this manuscript?"
Chu Qianli originally got a starry sky painting from Qi Yan, the artist was Lyle Gadbury, and after breaking it into pieces it became this Red Crystal Tarot, but only the Major Arcana part.
When the blond teacher finished saying the name, Chu Qianli realized it was not Lyle Gadbury, but another name he had never heard of.
However, she once speculated that Lyle Gadbury was a pseudonym, so it was normal for the author to have two names.
"I'd like to see this manuscript, could you please share it with me?"
"Okay, do you have email? I'll send you the electronic version," the blonde instructor said, "along with some astrolabe data and the contents of the ISAR exam."
The blond instructor was not surprised because audience members often came to copy materials. He also introduced his association's courses and other teachers, hoping that Chu Qianli and others would sign up to learn.
Although Chu Qianli had no interest in taking the course and the exam, she really wanted the astrologer's manuscript. She talked with the blonde tutor for a long time, chatting about astrology, and finally improved her favorability.
"Your knowledge is very complete. I think you can take the exam directly. Maybe you can give me a lecture." The blonde instructor said admiringly, "I will send you the information when I get back. If you have any new ideas, you are welcome to share them with me at any time."
Foreign astrologers often exchange information with each other, and some even publish and sell their results. However, such astrology books are quite expensive. They contain a large amount of horoscope information, and the price of a book ranges from several thousand yuan.
Because Chu Qianli had solid knowledge of astrology, the blonde lecturer did not charge any fees and was willing to share the horoscope information in his hands. He just made an appointment to chat about the experience of reading the horoscope another day, just to make a friend.
After the blond instructor left, Qiu Qingkong exclaimed: "Teacher, you are at an international level. I can pass the exam just by learning from you!"
Qiu Qingkong wanted to take the ISAR qualification exam, so she came here to attend the lecture. She didn't expect that famous overseas teachers would recognize Chu Qianli. She knew that he was good, but she didn't expect his level to be so high.
Chu Qianli hurriedly said: "...No, no, no, your problem is not who to learn from, but whether you should learn at all."
After the lecture, the three of them went out for a walk and finally returned home before dark.
In the villa, Chu Qianli went back to her room and opened her mailbox to check. Sure enough, she saw an email from the blonde lecturer and couldn't wait to click on it. When she first started learning astrology, she often exchanged information with others. Later, when she learned to a certain level, she didn't need to do so much, but she was still familiar with this aspect.
Chu Qianli sorted out his own Western astrology data and summarized some of his experience and insights in reading the charts, and sent them to the foreign mentors as a way of thanking them for sharing. It was through the summary of countless cases that astrology gradually explored its rules and developed to its current stage.
This subject is impossible to learn without the experience of predecessors, so many people will collect horoscope data, from celebrities and politicians to unknown people, to review their lives through horoscopes. Only when you look at more horoscopes, your astrological level will be higher.
Of course, the astrologer's chart is also worth analyzing, and the various attributes are very obvious.
The blond instructor sent a manuscript of a classical astrologer, which included his experience in reading the horoscope and even his horoscope. Although his name was not Lyle Gadbury, Chu Qianli was sure that this classical astrologer was the creator of the Red Crystal Tarot as soon as he saw the horoscope in the manuscript.
Judging from his horoscope, he was extremely talented in astrology and painting, and was a cautious person, indeed the type to paint under a pseudonym.
The Ruby Tarot is a work from the 18th century. The astrologer has also passed away for many years. The manuscript material is a photocopied electronic version with some graffiti scattered in the corners, which are exactly the tarot patterns on the promotional poster.
This should be the draft left by the author before creating the Red Crystal Tarot. No wonder it looks much simpler and rougher than the real thing in Chu Qianli's hand. The foreign speaker thought the graffiti was very beautiful, so he casually put it on the promotional poster as a decoration, which was discovered by Chu Qianli and others.
Chu Qianli learned Lyle Gadbury's real name and astrolabe from the manuscript material.
She took out the Red Crystal Tarot and compared it with the draft. Suddenly, she felt that the manuscript contained more content.
When Chu Qianli first took apart the starry sky painting, he only got a Major Arcana, but there was also a draft of the Minor Arcana on the manuscript.
Tarot cards are used in combination of the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. She originally thought that these were all the Red Crystal Tarot cards, but now it seems that this is only half a deck of cards. The remaining Minor Arcana is not in the starry sky painting.
"No wonder I always feel like something is missing..." Chu Qianli suddenly realized that this tarot deck is very old and is not a common tarot system, so it naturally requires others to explore and use it. She used to mistakenly think that there was no Minor Arcana, but now it seems that the entire deck was separated in the middle.
In addition to the Red Crystal Tarot, the manuscript also records a lot of information summarized by Lyle Gadbury.
After Chu Qianli finished reading Lyle Gadbury's horoscope, she discovered something surprising. From the horoscope, it seemed that this person would not live long like her, but judging by the time, he had survived that disaster!
Lyle Gadbury created the Ruby Tarot after his death. Most astrologers believe that the horoscope cannot accurately predict a person's life span, but there are theories about life span in classical astrology, and the records of people who die young are more detailed.
Lyle Gadbury was supposed to die young, but he miraculously survived the time of his death and later drew the Red Crystal Tarot. Unfortunately, his detailed experience is not recorded in the manuscript, so future generations who want to change their fate cannot learn from it.
Chu Qianli looked at the red crystal tarot card on the table. The surface of the tarot card was flickering with light, and the back was covered with red flashes, like a beating flame of life. It looked exquisite and mysterious.
She suddenly had an inexplicable premonition that, although there was no record in the manuscript, the astrologer might have cast his own adventures into this deck of cards hundreds of years ago, waiting for someone who could solve the mystery to appear.
Chu Qianli learned Lyle Gadbury's real name and sent it to Tan Muxing, asking him to help find it.
Tan Muxing did not disappoint expectations and actually collected some information.
"I looked up the name you sent me. This astrologer did exist in history. Most of his manuscripts have been photocopied. The originals and some of his relics seem to have been auctioned." Tan Muxing looked at the computer screen and showed her the webpage. "But all of them failed to sell."
Chu Qianli was shocked and asked, "What does it mean that it failed to sell? Can't buy it anymore?"
She asked Tan Muxing to inquire about the information because she wanted to find the lost Minor Arcana and complete the Red Crystal Tarot set.
Tan Muxing shook her head: "No, no one wanted it, so it failed to sell."
Chu Qianli: “?”
Facing her bewildered look, Tan Muxing explained tactfully: "Well...how should I describe it? Although you, as an astrologer, think it is very precious, but in fact this kind of art is not expensive in the market. Most people do not understand its value. They are blind to its value..."
Chu Qianli nodded in understanding: "I understand. My predecessor in astrology was not a celebrity, so the things he left behind are not valuable enough and cannot compare to Van Gogh and Monet."
Lyle Gadbury may be a first-rate astrologer, but he is still far behind the masters. People will copy his astrological materials, but have no interest in collecting his relics (?).
Tan Muxing said gently, "But it's easy for us to buy it if we want. I see there will be an auction in the country soon. We can go and have a look then."
"I don't know if there are the cards you mentioned in there. You can fly over and take a look."
The auction was in G City, and Chu Qianli needed to apply for a pass so that she could travel while looking for tarot cards. She had just passed the college entrance examination, so it was normal for her to go out for a walk, and her parents had no objection to it.
Of course, when someone in the family heard the news, he was quite thoughtful and even called Tan Muxing.
Tan Muxing was surprised when he received a call from He Shichen. After picking up the phone, he hurriedly greeted him politely and asked why the other party called suddenly.
He Shichen said calmly, "I heard that you are planning to go to G City to participate in the auction?"
Tan Muxing was stunned: "Ah, yes, there is indeed such a plan..."
"Tan Muxing, are you dissatisfied with me in some way?" He Shichen said calmly, "If you have any opinions, we can find time to talk about it another day."
Tan Muxing was surprised: "Huh? I'm not dissatisfied?"
"Since you have nothing against me, why did you take her to the auction? She has already started planning how to buy the auction house."
“…”
Chu Qianli had never been to an auction before, so she was naturally very excited. However, after hearing her travel plans, He Shichen just wanted to run away from home after the college entrance examination.