Fu Hanlai has made a decision: he will get up at least half an hour earlier than Jiang Xuelin from now on. Jiang Xuelin practices for half an hour every morning, and he will practice for an hour, and add another hour when he has nothing else to do. He does not believe that he cannot catch up with Jiang Xuelin under such circumstances!
One day, he will definitely make a comeback!
With such ambition in his heart, Fu Hanlai slept all the way to the foot of Yuanshan Temple, where he was woken up by Kang Tai. Then, with his servants and guards, he devoutly climbed up from the bottom of Yuanshan Temple, knelt respectfully in front of the Bodhisattva for a while, lit an incense stick and added some money for incense oil, and finally did not forget to draw a fortune stick.
May the Bodhisattva protect us!
Silently reciting the prayer, Fu Hanlai heard the sound of the bamboo stick falling to the ground, quickly opened his eyes, picked it up, and then took the bamboo stick to the old monk at the door who was interpreting fortunes.
The last time I drew a fortune stick at Yuanshan Temple was before I was engaged. The old monk in charge of interpreting the fortune sticks was the same one. He gave me a very auspicious fortune stick, saying that good things were coming.
Unexpectedly, it turned out that good news was on the horizon.
Fu Hanlai regretted it every time he thought about it, and strongly suspected that the old monk had been lying to him.
He said at the time that he would give extra money for interpreting a good fortune slip, which might have been just a way of saying nice things for the sake of the money.
"Hey, old monk, I'm asking you, did you deliberately say it was an auspicious sign last time just to cheat me out of my incense money?" Thinking of what happened last night, and recalling what the old monk said on the day he drew the fortune stick that he and Jiang Xuelin were about to have a good time together, Fu Hanlai couldn't help but voice his suspicions.
The old monk, who had been dozing off at the door, opened his eyes upon hearing Fu Hanlai's voice, glanced at him, and chuckled helplessly. "Amitabha, so it's you, benefactor. A monk does not lie. Whatever the fortune slip is, that's what it is. And wasn't good fortune about to befall you that day?"
Mentioning this made Fu Hanlai even angrier, and he became extremely irritable.
"It's certainly not a good thing coming soon; it's clearly a sign of impending doom! You old monk, are you really not lying to me?"
Seeing Fu Hanlai's agitated expression, the old monk simply smiled and reiterated, "A monk does not lie."
"That means the Bodhisattva at your Yuanshan Temple is ineffective!"
—In short, you said it was a lucky sign, but it turned out to be bad. Either you're cheating me out of my donation money, or the Bodhisattva at your Yuanshan Temple is ineffective. You can choose one.
The old monk: "..."
The helplessness I felt when I encountered this benefactor last time has returned.
“My friend, praying to gods and Buddhas is just for peace of mind. You can get everything by praying to gods and Buddhas. Why should people in this mortal world strive for profit and work hard? Just satisfy the gods and Buddhas in the sky.”
It's just a matter of peace of mind.
"Buddha guides us to the next life."
Fu Hanlai: "..."
Isn't it a bit odd that an old monk like you is telling me that praying to gods and Buddhas is useless? Shouldn't you be advising me to firmly believe in the protection of the Bodhisattva? If the Bodhisattva doesn't protect me, it just means I'm not devout enough, right?
Fu Hanlai remained silent, while the old monk continued to smile at him. Then, his gaze swept over the bamboo stick in Fu Hanlai's hand. "Benefactor, would you like this old monk to interpret the stick?"
Fu Hanlai felt that there was something wrong with the way the other person was looking at him, but he snorted coldly and handed over the bamboo stick in his hand. "If you get a good result this time, I will still double the donation."
The old monk: "..."
Didn't you say you suspected this monk of cheating you out of your incense money?
Helpless, the old monk looked down at the bamboo stick in his hand, then shook his head. "A very bad omen. What you seek is like the moon in a mirror or a flower in water—visible but unattainable."
Kang Tai, who was following behind Fu Hanlai, was startled and looked at his young master with concern.
Fu Hanlai was indeed very angry.
I was angry and also very suspicious.
He can definitely turn things around. He can defeat Jiang Xuelin with one hand and wipe away his shame. How could it be something that can only be seen but not touched, like a mirage or a dream?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
This old monk is dishonest.
"Old monk, you didn't say that just now because I suspected you were lying to me for the sake of donations, and you're trying to prove you're not the kind of monk who would compromise his principles for donations, so you said that on purpose?"
Suspicious glances swept over the old monk.
The old monk: "..."
Amitabha Buddha Amitabha Buddha Amitabha Buddha.
“Benefactor, monks do not lie, especially not in front of a Bodhisattva.”
It's not about proving anything to you.
Fu Hanlai didn't believe it.
"But that's impossible! How could I never get what I want? This is absolutely impossible. It might be the Bodhisattva..."
He was about to say that perhaps the Bodhisattva had made a mistake when he remembered what had happened last night, and he swallowed back those disrespectful words.
I dare not say.
Afraid of bad luck.
Especially in front of the Bodhisattva.
In short, Fu Hanlai, who couldn't believe he was so unlucky, left a silver ingot as an offering and then muttered to himself as he left.
After the person left, the old monk looked at the silver ingot, shook his head with a smile, and then put it away.
—This silver ingot can buy a lot of rice and grain to help the poor people living in poverty.
After Fu Hanlai finished offering incense, he finally felt a little more at ease. However, he didn't believe in superstitions or the fortune sticks the old monk had interpreted. He firmly believed that the old monk's ability to interpret fortune sticks was inadequate, which was why he was wrong last time and naturally wouldn't be right this time either.
If we look at the old monk's interpretation of the divination results from the opposite perspective...
Doesn't that mean he'll definitely get what he wants?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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