Chapter 22: The Landlord's Child!

That pig was very suitable for Chen Feiyang. The Treasure Medicine it excreted didn't actually have outstanding effects, but it was just enough to support his cultivation needs. An innocent man is easily imperiled by the treasure he harbors. Su Tan definitely knew this. If the pig's effects were any stronger, it might bring disaster to Chen Feiyang.

As things stood now... probably no one other than the deeply obsessed Chen Feiyang would be willing to taste pig shit. Of course, nothing was absolute. Perhaps some people were born with quirks! Maybe they just liked that kind of thing? In his previous life, Su Tan had known of things he found bizarre and unappetizing, yet others considered them Top Grade delicacies... For example, elephant dung coffee, civet coffee, and Japanese feces banquets. Su Tan had always respected the preferences of others. But if it were him, he would absolutely never like those things, nor could he accept them!

Chen Feiyang left.

Su Tan didn't know what kind of role Chen Feiyang would play from now on, or what his future path held. He only knew that after divining two more fortunes, he could close his stall. Aside from Chen Feiyang's bizarre fortune, the others were rather normal. Just like usual, it was either finding cats or finding dogs. There were also trivial matters like seeking marriage prospects.

However... today might turn out to be an eventful day for Su Tan. Just as he was about to divine a fortune for the next person in line, he heard the voices of a group of strangers. Their accents didn't belong to Chen Family Village, nor to any of the nearby villages. A hint of arrogance could be heard in their tone.

"They say this blind man is very accurate at fortune-telling."

"That's right. While coming down to the countryside to collect rent, we heard many villagers discussing this person. Perhaps he has some real skill."

"He's just a rustic peasant. If he truly had skill, would he be dwelling here? He would have made it to the grand halls long ago!"

"Hey, don't say that. There are countless extraordinary people and bizarre events in this world. Perhaps this man is one of them."

"Can he help us?"

"Tch... What do you mean? How could I not know Blind Su? He's lived here for more than just a year or two. He usually lives in poverty and doesn't even have the most basic means to survive. If the Chens' hadn't taken pity on him and provided relief, could this guy have survived until now? I think he doesn't live up to his reputation. The fortune-telling techniques he's using were probably learned recently from some pirated divination book. It might be enough to bluff the rural villagers, but let's ignore him and go!"

"Don't be in a rush, boss. We don't have anything else to do right now anyway. I see that he isn't as worthless as you say. Maybe... we've truly encountered a master?"

"If that's the case, we'll strike it rich!"

"Yeah..."

The volume of their conversation actually wasn't loud. Mixed into the crowd, it was even easier to overlook. If Su Tan didn't have exceptional hearing, he wouldn't have caught their conversation at all.

"Don't you guys just want to see if he has any real skills? Isn't that simple? We'll know once we test him." The man called "boss" was named Xu Changqing, a household servant of the Xu Family from White Cloud City. He didn't originally have the surname Xu. Because he was loyal to the Xu Family and had handled many matters for them—both clean and dirty—he was later bestowed the Xu surname by the family.

Even though he was merely a humble servant, his authority was not small. The Xu Family was a famous, powerful clan in White Cloud City. They owned endless acres of fertile land and had anywhere from eight hundred to a thousand tenant farmers. Usually, Xu Changqing would be sent to the countryside to collect rent. It was exactly because of this errand that he had quite a reputation across the various villages and towns. Their arrival here this time was most likely to collect rent.

Xu Changqing led his brothers beside him, pushed open the courtyard gate, and entered Su Tan's small courtyard.

When Su Tan told fortunes, he never liked having a crowd gathered in his courtyard. He always had everyone stand outside, line up, and take a number. Whoever's turn it was would enter the courtyard. The order had been quite well-maintained.

Hearing their footsteps, Su Tan frowned slightly, knowing they had come in. There were three people in total. All three had steadier, more rhythmic footsteps than the villagers. It seemed they were trained martial artists. Among them, the one walking in the middle, right at the front, had the steadiest pace. He should be a minor expert. However... this so-called minor expert was only relative to the villagers. Compared to the White Wolf beside him...

"You can definitely beat these people, right?" Su Tan asked the little wolf-dog in his arms in a low voice.

"Tch..." The little wolf-dog tilted its head, completely dismissive. They were just a few servants. It didn't take them seriously and couldn't even muster up any interest. It didn't even spare them a direct glance. This wolf carried a bit of an expert's arrogance. Comparing mere servants to it was an insult!

"Gentlemen... what business do you have?" Su Tan asked.

"Dare I ask if you are Su Tan, the fortune-telling Su Tan? Master Su?" Xu Changqing asked, neither servile nor overbearing.

Hearing this, Su Tan paused. This tone wasn't as arrogant as when they were outside the courtyard; instead, it carried quite a bit of politeness. He had thought that these people would immediately provoke him from a high horse upon entering. Su Tan had even prepared how to deal with them, thinking that if worse came to worst... a physical altercation might be necessary. Who would have known that these three would be quite polite after walking through the door?

One face to the front, another to the back. Truly the nature of lackeys—impossible to change!

In an instant, Su Tan understood. There were indeed too many capable individuals in this world. As servants of the Xu Family with a little bit of authority, they were indeed arrogant. But at the end of the day, they were still servants. They didn't dare to be too brazen, lest they offend someone they couldn't afford to provoke and lose their lives. Therefore, no matter how much they looked down on him behind his back, they wouldn't show it to his face.

"They have brains," Su Tan evaluated inwardly. However... no matter how polite they were, after unintentionally overhearing their conversation outside the courtyard just now, any good impression was instantly ruined. Su Tan didn't like their disrespectful behavior.

"I am. What business do you have?"

"I'd like to request a fortune!" Xu Changqing said.

"The quota of three fortunes for today is full. Please return—"

"Oh, right. There are rules for fortune-telling here. To get your fortune read, please line up outside the courtyard and take a number. Once the people ahead of you are finished, it will naturally be your turn. Please go outside and wait!" Su Tan waved his hand. He wasn't polite at all. That was indeed the rule. He wasn't deliberately making things difficult.

"Master Su, the person in front of you hasn't had his fortune read yet, right? How can you say the quota of three is full? Besides, I am good friends with the local villagers. Even if I cut in line ahead of them, they won't have any objections." Xu Changqing's voice carried a commanding tone. Even though his words were polite, they still gave off an unquestionable, irresistible vibe!

Coercion! It was outright coercion!

"If you don't believe me, ask the person in front of you."

Su Tan didn't speak. He remained silent for a moment.

The villager waiting in front of Su Tan for a fortune chickened out. "Right, right, right... Finding my dog is just a trivial matter. Lord Xu might be asking about something major, and important matters take priority. I'm willing to let him get his fortune read first!"

His cowardice was justified. The villagers all rented their farmland from the Xu Family. It was said that this year's harvest wasn't very good again. If they wanted to keep a bit more surplus grain, they had no choice but to submit to this Lord Xu.

"See? How is my relationship with the villagers? He has no objections, and I don't see anything inappropriate about it. Please bestow a fortune, sir!" Xu Changqing said with a faint, mocking smile.

Su Tan furrowed his brows. This feeling wasn't good... It was very bad! He felt like he was being forced! If he absolutely had to yield, Su Tan might choose to do so. But if there was no need to yield... then Su Tan didn't want to wrong himself. Right now, he felt stifled. This group of people gave him a very bad impression. He didn't want to tell their fortunes, nor did he want to be played for a fool by them. They didn't come to genuinely seek a fortune; they came to test and mock Su Tan. Su Tan understood this point clearly.

After a long while, Su Tan exhaled a breath. "Everyone, please leave. To get a fortune read here by me, you must follow the rules. Otherwise, I won't divine a single thing."

"Not divine a single thing? Does that mean you'd rather find a dog for someone than read a fortune for us?" Xu Changqing asked.

"Please leave and don't disrupt the order!" Su Tan said.

"Haha... I saw through it a long time ago. You are actually just a God Stick. You're afraid we'll expose your tricks, aren't you?" Xu Changqing finally stopped holding back. "Today, you'll divine a fortune whether you want to or not. If you can't give us a satisfactory explanation, you'll be in for a world of pain!"

"What the hell do you even count for?" Su Tan retorted. He felt he had already been polite. When encountering troublemakers, not taking action immediately was already considered showing great restraint. These people were practically courting death. But then Su Tan let it go. In his previous life, Wang Congcong had also said after getting beaten up: who hasn't encountered reckless fools before? Who hasn't experienced unreasonable things? It was very normal!

"What do I want you to count? I'll just have you count the seconds until my fist leaves a mark on your face!" Xu Changqing thought Su Tan had chickened out. "Come on... count them!" Xu Changqing shouted loudly.

"B-b-boss... you... you seem to have misunderstood. He isn't asking what fortune to read for you, he's cursing you by asking what you even count for!" the subordinate beside him quickly explained.

Hearing this, Xu Changqing realized his mistake. Overcome with humiliation and fury, his face instantly turned ashen, his eyes practically spitting fire.

"You dare play me?" Saying that, he moved to attack.

Su Tan remained as unmoving as a mountain and stroked the White Wolf's back. The White Wolf rolled its eyes at Su Tan speechlessly, as if to say, "Do you really need me to take action for such a trivial matter? Isn't that cheapening my worth too much!"

The tension reached a breaking point!

Just as a fight was about to break out, a heavenly voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

"Stop!!! Who told you to act so recklessly??"

Hearing this, Xu Changqing's body trembled. The vicious aura around him vanished instantly, and he unconsciously shrunk his neck.

"Miss... Miss Nine!"

Like a mouse meeting a cat, his fierce and menacing presence dissipated in a flash.

"It's Miss Nine of the Xu Family... Miss Nine is here!" An unknown villager called out the newcomer's identity.

Miss Nine? A child of the landlord's family?