The streets were bustling with people, filled with noise and chatter. Various stalls lined the streets, selling all sorts of trinkets, creating a lively atmosphere. From inside the tavern came shouts and laughter. If you listened carefully, you would know that the reason for the tavern's commotion was that a storyteller was recounting the story of Bao Zheng distributing grain in Chenzhou. Bao Zheng was fearless in the face of royal power and wealth, and he clearly distinguished right from wrong. The newly appointed Prefect of Kaifeng was just such an upright official.
"Now, let's talk about how Bao Gong sneaked into Chenzhou City and, with the help of Zhan Yishi, arrested those corrupt officials and distributed grain from the granaries—it's just a pity that the wicked Marquis Anle escaped and hasn't been seen since, what a shame!"
Yan Liang's stall was right across from the restaurant. The street wasn't wide, so the storyteller's voice carried far. He leaned back in his chair, listened to a few words of praise for Bao Gong, took a sip of tea, then sat up straight and shouted, "Fortune telling! No charge if it's inaccurate—ironclad predictions, five coins a divination!"
Upon arriving in this world, he faced a predicament—no money, no sense of direction, and a limp. The original owner's lifespan had ended, and he had no wishes. The system discussed with him the possibility of him being reincarnated through connections, so he gave his body to Yan Liang.
After regaining consciousness, Yan Liang learned why the original owner of this body had died: he had frozen to death. Because of his disability, he had been abandoned by his family and had barely survived to this age with an old beggar. When winter came, the cold would make him sick, and he never recovered.
Yan Liang found a small, dilapidated house, used his points to exchange for some warm necessities from the system, and stayed in the wooden house for two months. Now that spring is approaching and the weather is warming up, Yan Liang has returned to his old profession of telling fortunes in this town.
The reason he is said to be returning to his old profession is because he had previously acquired the ability to tell fortunes and read faces. He had told fortunes and read faces for people coming and going at the entrance of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Back then, he had no worries about food and drink, and he earned one coin per fortune reading. Now, due to his predicament, he has raised the price to five coins.
The items in the system store were genuine. Yan Liang originally redeemed them with a playful attitude, but after they were absorbed into his mind, he realized that it was an indescribable feeling.
Lu Xiaofeng initially mocked him for pretending to be a swindler, but when Yan Liang's predictions were confirmed one by one, Lu Xiaofeng was speechless and could not say a word.
However, many people still believed in fortune telling at this time. At least since Yan Liang sat here five days ago, dozens of people had come to him for fortune telling.
At first, most people didn't believe him because he was young. A few people with some spare money came to him just to tease him. When Yan Liang pointed it out to them in a good manner, they were naturally surprised. After others saw him a few times, his reputation spread.
Although it seems unreliable, the price is not high, and it is said to be quite accurate, so why not give it a try?
Most people come to him with this idea in mind, and Yan Liang does his best to help them. Whether they are looking for a cat or a dog, asking about marriage, looking at their face, or looking for an auspicious date, he will handle it all. People who find lost items will spread the word about him, and people who have avoided minor misfortunes will praise him to everyone they meet.
Even so, the number of people looking for him wasn't overwhelming, because Yan Liang seemed too unreliable.
Yan Liangyou drank a few cups, then lost interest, lazily leaning back in his chair, holding his tea, looking completely unrefined. It was truly hard to believe in his abilities.
While Yan Liang was enjoying himself immensely, someone in the restaurant had been staring at him for a long time. They found it strange that the handsome young man was doing fortune-telling, and they began to investigate.
Yan Liang was momentarily distracted when a man in white suddenly appeared before him. So abruptly, Yan Liang almost smeared the tea in his hand on the man's face.
"Young master... are you here to have your fortune told?" Yan Liang thought to himself that this person didn't seem to be here to have his fortune told; his fierce aura made him seem like he was here to seek revenge.
"Of course I'm here to have my fortune told, but not by me." Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow. "I want you to tell me Pang Yu's whereabouts."
Yan Liang looked up at him, thinking to himself that this guy was here to cause trouble, and replied quickly, "Young master, I don't know the birth date and time of Marquis Anle, so how could I possibly know his whereabouts?"
"Since you can even predict the whereabouts of cats and dogs whose birth dates are unknown, why can't you predict Pang Yu's whereabouts?" Bai Yutang pulled up a chair and sat down at the table, his eyes fixed on Yan Liang. "Pang Yu bullies men and women, oppresses the villagers, and is worse than an animal. Even without his birth date, you should be able to predict his whereabouts."
Bai Yutang's words, overheard by others, drew a large crowd because they touched upon a topic of recent interest. Yan Liang, holding his teacup, remained unmoved, as steady as a mountain: "But he was also born from a mother's womb, and in general, he is a person, different from an animal."
Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow: "Is it absolutely necessary to have their birth date and time?"
"It's not impossible, but the exact location can't be calculated," Yan Liang said honestly.
Bai Yutang had already concluded that Yan Liang was lying, and a hint of boredom appeared in his eyes: "Then go ahead and do the divination. As long as you can do it, I can give you anything, not just five coins a divination, but even a thousand gold coins."
Yan Liang glanced at the fine white robes he was wearing and said, "He was taken out of Chenzhou and has just escaped with his life. He's heading to Kaifeng."
When Bao Zheng opened the granaries in Chenzhou to distribute grain, all the corrupt officials were arrested, except for the Marquis of Anle, a fact known to all. If he escaped, he would naturally go to Kaifeng to find his father, who was highly trusted by the emperor.
Yan Liang's answer was somewhat opportunistic, and those around him judged it as unacceptable, waiting to see if the man in white would offer a thousand taels of gold.
After hearing this, Bai Yutang thought to himself that this fortune teller was quite clever. He quickly took the money pouch from his waist and gave it to Yan Liang, saying, "Although I don't have a thousand taels of silver, I can make it up to you later."
The money bag landed on the table with a "duang," indicating that this guest was either rich or noble, exuding an air of extravagance.
He's a spendthrift!
Yan Liang whistled inwardly, his hands moving without stopping as he tore open the money pouch, took out a silver ingot, and put it in his pocket, smiling as he said, "Young master, there's no need for a thousand taels of gold, this is enough."
Yan Liang knew very well that as a cripple and an outsider, suddenly receiving so much money would attract unwanted attention. If he didn't run away quickly enough, he might get beaten up. It was better to take less.
Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow, noticing his concerns, then took the money pouch, turned and left, his back view exuding an indescribable air of elegance and freedom.
Yan Liang assumed that the young swordsman was just like most people, coming to test his abilities. Then, one after another, people came to him for fortune telling. Yan Liang stroked his non-existent beard and dealt with them one by one. By the end of the day, he had earned some money.
After leaving the tables and chairs at the back of the restaurant and paying the usual five-wen storage fee, Yan Liang rolled up his sleeves and limped to the easternmost part of Donghua Town, a remote area at the foot of the mountain where his small, dilapidated house was located.
The waiter in the restaurant saw his retreating figure and muttered, "Why is he still staying there? He's been fortune-telling for so many days, he must be rich now."
The restaurant owner, who was fiddling with his abacus, heard his question but didn't look up and said, "He told me the other day that he wanted to save some travel money to travel around, so of course he won't spend money recklessly."
The waiter thought to himself that a cripple couldn't go very far. Just then, someone called out, "Serve the food!" He hurriedly took the dishes to that table, putting his previous thoughts behind him.
Yan Liang was completely unaware of the conversation between the two men. He walked across most of the town and finally saw his small, dilapidated house. Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard rustling sounds coming from behind the house. He paused and went to the back of the house.
The man huddled in a corner, curled up in a ball, breathing rapidly. Hearing Yan Liang's footsteps, he wanted to hide, but he was powerless to do so, letting his whereabouts be discovered.
His mind was in turmoil. First, there were the events that had happened in Chenzhou, and second, the hardships he had endured after escaping... He was so anxious and flustered that he fainted.
Yan Liang stared at the lump of mud, hesitated for a moment between turning away and offering help, sighed, grabbed the mud lump by the back of its collar, and limped back into the house.
As the spring snow began to melt, the small, dilapidated house had only a few bricks placed in front of the door to serve as a path for going out. After Yan Liang made his way back and forth, the ground became muddy and his shoes were covered in mud. The clothes that were still recognizable as they were on the mud ball were completely ruined.
Do one good deed a day, and you'll live a long and healthy life.
Thinking about the system's tasks, Yan Liang resignedly began to clean up the mud ball.
Last year, the dispute between the rat and the cat caused quite a stir. Bai Yutang, the white-haired rat, stole three treasures, entered the palace, and eliminated treacherous people. The emperor wanted to keep him in Kaifeng Prefecture to handle affairs, but Bai Yutang did not want to be tied down, and in the end, nothing came of it.
He hated evil and always did as he pleased. On the way, he met Xiang Fu, who had been rescued by his brother years ago. He learned from Xiang Fu that the Marquis of Anle had ordered him to assassinate Bao Zheng. Enraged, he slapped Xiang Fu in the face. However, he happened to run into Zhan Zhao in the restaurant. The two had already reconciled. Bai Yutang then went to Chenzhou with Zhan Zhao.
The warrant for Anle Marquis's arrest has been issued. Logically speaking, Pang Yu is a spoiled young master who is lazy and ignorant of farming. However, in the past four months, no one has been able to find Pang Yu's whereabouts, and no one has even heard any news about him... The only thing they have heard is the words of a fortune teller on the street trying to be clever.
Bai Yutang, thinking about the events in Chenzhou, recalled the words of the fortune teller.
He was taken out of Chenzhou, and now, having just escaped, he's heading towards Kaifeng.
At first glance, the fortune teller's words seemed like a clever trick, but upon closer inspection, they were rather strange. Bai Yutang remembered this incident, but didn't take it to heart.
In Bai Yutang's eyes, fortune tellers and sorcerers were similar to witch doctors—both were charlatans who swindled people. The only difference was whether they knew how to behave or not. Naturally, Bai Yutang did not believe Yan Liang's words.
Author's Note: System: Doing a good deed every day and living to a hundred years old is impossible.
Here I come!
This time it's "The Story of Kaifeng Prefecture in the Song Dynasty"
This story doesn't follow the original novel closely; the timeline is different, but the characters remain the same. If you find anything objectionable, please refrain from reading further.
It's both practice and learning; in short, I'm taking it very seriously!
To all the gentlemen who have saved this post and left comments, I want to express my love and send you a kiss, muamuamua——
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