Chapter 14: Bazi Fortune-Telling Is No Small Matter

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Chapter 14: Bazi Fortune-Telling Is No Small Matter

Chen Yuan finally had a household registration booklet of his own, although Yu Shenliu was listed as the head of the household.

Yu Shenliu owned several properties in Jincheng, but most of them were left vacant. Only one had live-in staff. Not wanting his inexperienced nephew to take care of himself, Yu Shenliu had Chen Yuan and Huo Jian move in with him so he could keep an eye on them. Regardless of whether the two of them had any special abilities, neither were twenty, so they weren’t adults in this world. Taking care of them was therefore also Yu Shenliu’s responsibility.

In short, Yu Shenliu was the guardian of the two of them. Chen Yuan, however, didn’t see it that way. Influenced by the environment he had grown up in, he still instinctively considered himself an adult once he turned eighteen.

After just two days in this world, Chen Yuan had successfully sorted out his income, accommodation, connections, and other such matters, and he was quite satisfied. More importantly, he hadn’t incurred many debts of gratitude in the process. The only people he was somewhat entangled with were Yu Shenliu and Huo Jian. But they were family, after all, and he would have plenty of opportunities to repay them.

Since he was already here, Chen Yuan decided to make the best of it. Starting from the third day, his life became extremely routine. He would get up in the morning, wash up and have breakfast, then head to the park and spend the morning as usual at the pavilion. After lunch, he would return home and spend the afternoon gradually learning about this world through the internet and other means. After all, someone in his line of work couldn’t afford to be completely unfamiliar with social conventions. Even when telling someone’s fortune, he needed to know what could and couldn’t be said.

At night, he would reflect on himself, read the classics, and improve his abilities.

On the first day Chen Yuan and Huo Jian moved in with Yu Shenliu, both Huo Jian and Yu Shenliu got a strange impression of Chen Yuan after seeing how he lived. Many of his habits gave off the feeling of someone who had achieved great seclusion while living right in the middle of society. Even surrounded by the bustle of the city, he seemed to be living in seclusion in the mountains, calm and carefree.

Thinking about all the things Chen Yuan could do and all the mysteries surrounding him, the two couldn’t help wondering if this was what people meant by a legendary master who lived beyond the ordinary world.

And on the fourth night after Chen Yuan crossed into this world, the two of them once again got to see exactly what he was capable of.

Huo Jian had already told Yu Shenliu everything about how he had met Chen Yuan and what Chen Yuan had said after looking at a photo of Rong Yan. Although they had used different methods to reach their conclusions, Chen Yuan and Yu Shenliu had come to the same one: Rong Yan was absolutely not a suitable match for Huo Shu, and once they had been together for a while, Huo Shu should realize that for herself.

However, although Yu Shenliu thought this way, he hadn’t expected Huo Shu to break up with Rong Yan so soon. Women blinded by love were usually quite easy to deceive. As for Chen Yuan’s prediction that Huo Shu would figure things out within a few days, Yu Shenliu was simply waiting to see whether he would be right.

So, on the fourth night, Huo Shu came to see her uncle.

Her eyes were slightly red and her lips were pursed, making it obvious that she had been wronged as Yu Shenliu led her inside.

In the living room, Huo Jian was playing a computer game, while Chen Yuan was reading. He hadn’t seen any of these books written after the Ming Dynasty before. When he heard the noise, Huo Jian looked up and immediately saw his sister.

“Sis!?” Huo Jian immediately called out and sprang to his feet, rushing over to her. “What’s wrong?” He was used to seeing his sister’s proud and outspoken side, so the moment he saw her looking so aggrieved, he immediately took her side. “Did that bastard Rong Yan bully you? I’ll teach him a lesson!”

Huo Shu had been feeling miserable over the collapse of the image she’d had of the person she liked. But seeing her little brother defending her like a puppy protecting its food, she couldn’t help letting out a laugh.

“It’s nothing. Do you really think your sister is that weak?” She patted Huo Jian on the shoulder. Although her eyes were still a little red, her tone had already become bold again. “That guy? If I was fooled by him before, then I was just blind. But now? Hmph!”

Hearing his sister’s tone, Huo Jian breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. From the sound of it, she was already doing fine. Then again, although Rong Yan had managed to cloud her judgment for a while, his sister had always been tough. And with their uncle around, nothing serious was likely to happen.

At this point, Chen Yuan calmly glanced at the page number of the book he had been reading, slipped in a bookmark, and set the book down before getting to his feet. Looking at Huo Jian and Huo Shu, he said, though it was unclear which of them he was addressing, “What did I tell you?”

Only then did Huo Shu realize there was another person in the room.

Wasn’t this the man her little brother had stopped by the roadside that day? Why was he at her uncle’s house? Could it be that…

Seeing through Huo Shu’s thoughts at a glance, Chen Yuan smiled and shook his head. “I’m not some plant your brother hired.”

Seeing the confusion on Huo Shu’s face, Huo Jian immediately explained, “Uh, Sis, this is my master!”

“Master?”

“Master is really amazing. He can do fortune-telling, character divination, physiognomy, everything! Didn’t he see through that guy Rong Yan just by looking at his photo last time?” Huo Jian praised Chen Yuan in a rapid-fire stream, clearly eager to show him off. “So I made him my master. Uh, though Master still isn’t willing to teach me anything yet. He says he’s tempering me.”

Huo Shu still didn’t quite understand what was going on. Huo Jian’s explanation had been all over the place.

“Xiao Shu, Chen Yuan is a master who practices metaphysics. That day, you and Xiao Jian happened to run into him. After you left, Xiao Jian stayed with Chen Yuan, and he’s learned quite a bit over the past few days.”

Metaphysics? Hearing that, Huo Shu understood a little better.

“This is Master Chen? So when you said that day that Rong Yan wasn’t a suitable match for me, you really could tell just by looking at him?” Huo Shu naturally trusted her uncle. Yu Shenliu would never say something like that just to deceive her. If Chen Yuan really had been brought in by her family to persuade her to leave Rong Yan, Yu Shenliu wouldn’t be hiding it from her at this point. In other words, Chen Yuan really was capable. She had simply misunderstood him when he tried to give her some advice that day. Feeling a little embarrassed, Huo Shu still couldn’t help asking.

“Mm. The two moles on his face are in the wrong places. They signify a violent temperament and that he will bring misfortune to his wife.” Chen Yuan didn’t mind Huo Shu’s earlier misunderstanding. Someone like him was mistaken for a charlatan countless times throughout the year, but as long as he had the ability, all those misunderstandings would eventually pass, wouldn’t they?

Hearing this, Huo Shu couldn’t help letting out a deep breath. Chen Yuan could even tell what kind of person Rong Yan was just by reading his face. She really had been blinded by love these past few days.

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you before.” Since she had been in the wrong, she should apologize. Huo Shu didn’t stubbornly cling to her pride over something like this. She apologized directly, with the bearing of someone from a good family. “And Xiao Jian, your sister was wrong too.”

Chen Yuan nodded slightly. “It’s all right.”

“You’re my sister. How could I be mad at you?” Huo Jian answered Huo Shu the same way. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. “Sis, we’ve kicked that Rong Yan to the curb, so you don’t have to be sad anymore. There are plenty of good men out there! How about letting Master read your fortune and see what your marriage prospects look like?” Starting a new relationship sooner would also help his sister move past her current mood.

“Fortune-telling?” Huo Shu hadn’t expected the conversation to turn to this so quickly. In fact, despite Chen Yuan being able to tell from Rong Yan’s physiognomy that he wasn’t a suitable match, Huo Shu herself still wasn’t particularly interested in fortune-telling. Even though her brother and uncle both said Chen Yuan was capable, looking at his age still made it difficult for her to trust him. Ask someone younger than herself to tell her about her marriage prospects?

She was about to shake her head and refuse, but Huo Jian pulled her down into a chair. “It’s just fortune-telling. Let me show you how amazing metaphysics is! You know, even that Party Secretary of Yulei City was thoroughly impressed by Master.”

“I don’t—” Huo Shu tried to refuse, but Yu Shenliu cut her off.

“Xiao Shu, Xiao Jian’s right. Instead of letting that bastard Rong Yan upset you, why not see what your marriage prospects look like and be prepared to welcome your destined man?”

Since her uncle had said so, Huo Shu stopped refusing. Like her younger brother, she had always admired this uncle of hers, who wasn’t much older than she was.

“All right, then.”

Seeing that the three of them had finally reached a decision, Chen Yuan had no reason to turn down the business. He sat up straight and looked at Huo Shu. “Do you know your Bazi?”

“Bazi? I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never really understood what it is. Is it the time I was born?” Huo Shu asked.

“Something like that. Bazi actually uses an ancient method of keeping time, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, to represent the time of your birth. But Bazi is more than just a time.” Chen Yuan gave a simple explanation. “Different Bazi also indicate different destinies in metaphysics. That’s why Bazi fortune-telling is one of the most common methods of fortune-telling, and it’s also highly accurate.”

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