Chapter 7: Can a Character Reading Really Foretell Disaster?

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Chapter 7: Can a Character Reading Really Foretell Disaster?

“Xiao Jian, what are you doing in Jincheng?” Yu Shenliu asked, clearly surprised.

Huo Jian’s eyes darted around before he came up with an excuse. “Uh, I’m here on a study trip!”

“I’ve never heard that Jincheng was one of your study-trip destinations.” Yu Shenliu shook his head. “Tell me what really happened.”

Huo Jian’s supposedly good excuse had been shot down, and he drooped for a moment before quickly perking up again. “Uncle, you know what it’s about. It’s my sister. I’m trying to stop a tragedy from happening, you know?”

This kid! Yu Shenliu shook his head helplessly. “How old are you? And you’re already sticking your nose into your sister’s affairs?”

“Sixteen isn’t that young. In ancient times, I might already have been married,” Huo Jian said weakly.

“You’re only sixteen, still several years away from adulthood. You tell me, are you really that old?” Yu Shenliu reached out and patted his nephew on the shoulder. “Xiao Shu is an adult. She has to take responsibility for her own choices, whether they’re good or bad. Understand?”

Huo Jian knew Yu Shenliu was right, but he still muttered, “So we’re just supposed to leave my sister alone?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen that man. He won’t be able to keep suppressing his true nature for long. Your sister isn’t stupid. Once she sees the truth, she’ll deal with it herself.” Yu Shenliu reassured Huo Jian. “What girl doesn’t fall for a scumbag or two when she’s young?” He said it with a teasing smile.

Huo Jian, however, noticed something else. “Uncle, what you said is exactly what my master said.”

His master had said the same thing, that the man couldn’t suppress his true nature forever and would reveal it to his sister soon. But Uncle’s reasoning came from having met the man and investigating him. Compared to that, although Uncle was impressive in his own right, the fact that his master could know everything from just one photograph seemed even more incredible.

Hearing this, Yu Shenliu’s attention returned to Chen Yuan.

“I am Yu Shenliu.” Yu Shenliu cupped a hand toward Chen Yuan, a trace of doubt in his eyes. The young man across from him looked only a few years older than Huo Jian, yet Huo Jian called him Master. What kind of master was he? And Huo Jian said this young man had reached the same conclusion as him. How was this person connected to the matter involving Huo Shu?

Yu Shenliu wasn’t worried that the young man had any ill intentions. As an official of Huaxia, he had always been a good judge of character. The young man’s eyes were clear, and his expression was calm and gentle, naturally inspiring goodwill. Still, a master-disciple relationship wasn’t something that could be established so easily. He couldn’t help wondering what this young man’s background really was.

Ancient etiquette.

Seeing Yu Shenliu cup his hands toward him, Chen Yuan once again confirmed that this world had preserved many aspects of classical culture. Traditional Chinese characters, feng shui, and more. He liked this kind of environment. Without showing anything on his face, he likewise cupped his hands in greeting. “Chen Yuan,” he said, then paused before adding, “Huo Jian isn’t my disciple yet.”

At that, Yu Shenliu immediately understood. His nephew was simply pestering this young man.

“I’m truly sorry for troubling you.” He sighed and politely apologized.

Chen Yuan nodded. “It’s all right.” He couldn’t help thinking that fate was truly difficult to predict. He had run into Huo Jian by chance on the street, and now, here in this park, he had somehow encountered Huo Jian’s uncle. Judging by Yu Shenliu’s age, he wasn’t even thirty. A late-born son?

“By the way, would you like to have a character read?” Chen Yuan pointed to the paper and pen on the table, still unwilling to give up on getting the man to have his fortune told.

When Chen Yuan brought up the character reading again, Yu Shenliu didn’t refuse, as doing so would only seem affected. He nodded, picked up the pen, and wrote a character on the paper.

One of the characters in his name.

Chen Yuan was first impressed by how straightforward Yu Shenliu was. There was something free and easy about him, which he appreciated. But when Yu Shenliu finished writing, Chen Yuan focused on the character on the paper.

A person’s handwriting could reveal a great deal about their personality. Yu Shenliu’s handwriting had a certain strength and character to it, clearly the work of someone with excellent penmanship. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual about it, but on closer inspection, there was a hidden sharpness within the strokes. It could be concluded that he was resolute and decisive by nature, yet did not reveal it outwardly.

Thinking of the red mole between Yu Shenliu’s brows, Chen Yuan became even more certain. This man was indeed best suited for a career in government, destined to dominate the political arena and govern from a position of authority.

Putting all that information aside, if he were simply analyzing the character itself…

“Judging from this character, I’m afraid you’re about to encounter female calamity.”

Chen Yuan shook his head. “Character readings don’t work that way. You can’t say that writing a certain character will always lead to the same result. The way each person writes it and the time at which it is written can both produce different results.” Even the method used to interpret the character could differ.

In fact, character reading was one of the most difficult skills in metaphysics to master. Bazi charting and feng shui might seem difficult, but even someone with little foundation could learn some of their techniques. Character reading was different. It required the person interpreting the character to truly have a connection with metaphysics. Much of the time, they interpreted the character based on a kind of “intuition,” and those who genuinely possessed that intuition were one in ten thousand. That was also why people often thought everyone in this line of work was a charlatan. Those fortune-tellers merely knew a little of the surface-level knowledge and went out to deceive people. Those with the true aptitude were exceedingly rare.

Huo Jian was still confused, but seeing Chen Yuan’s expression, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of awe.

“Uncle, Master is really accurate. He took one look at that man’s photo and reached the same conclusion you did. He could even tell what I was like when I was younger and that I had been sick.” Huo Jian turned to Yu Shenliu, emphasizing his point. If he knew what was going to happen to him, wouldn’t it be better to prepare in advance?

Female calamity? It sounded rather absurd. Yu Shenliu’s first reaction was disbelief. He didn’t even have a girlfriend, and he couldn’t imagine any woman having the nerve to pester him. How could there be any such thing as female calamity?

Yet he also knew that his nephew wouldn’t lie to him, which meant Chen Yuan was clearly no ordinary person. Perhaps something really would happen?

“I understand.” That was what Yu Shenliu said, though doubt still outweighed everything else in his mind.

Even though this world had preserved more of its ancient culture, activities like fortune-telling were still met with skepticism as technology developed. There were simply too many charlatans in this line of work. After they were repeatedly exposed, people had begun to question whether fortune-telling could be trusted at all. Yu Shenliu felt the same way. He knew that there were indeed people in this world who could tell fortunes with uncanny accuracy, people who seemed almost mystical, but he found it difficult to believe that the person before him was one of those extraordinary fortune-tellers.

Chen Yuan understood what Yu Shenliu was thinking, and he didn’t mind. Before he established his reputation, most people would probably have the same attitude as Yu Shenliu: skeptical, wanting to believe, yet ultimately keeping their doubts to themselves.

That wasn’t a problem. After all, the information he had given Yu Shenliu concerned something that would happen soon.

The key was…

“Five hundred yuan, please.” Chen Yuan held out his hand toward Yu Shenliu.

Huo Jian was startled. Yesterday it had been twenty yuan, so how had it suddenly become five hundred? That was way too drastic a price increase! He immediately wanted to say something, but Chen Yuan seemed to sense it and glanced at him. There was no greed in his eyes, only calmness. For some reason, Huo Jian merely opened his mouth and couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Five hundred yuan was nothing to Yu Shenliu, and surely his master had his reasons?

Yu Shenliu had naturally noticed the interaction between Chen Yuan and Huo Jian and had his own suspicions, but he wasn’t being fussy about it. Whether he believed it or not, Chen Yuan had done him a service, so he should pay him in return. This looked like it was also Chen Yuan’s first income of the day.

“A good start.” He took out his wallet, pulled out five hundred yuan, and handed it to Chen Yuan as a blessing.

“I’ll take that as a blessing.” Chen Yuan accepted the money, in a good mood. A good start was indeed a good omen, wasn’t it?

“Xiao Jian, are you staying with… Master Chen today? Or are you coming back with me?” From the look of Huo Jian, it was obvious he’d stirred up trouble with his sister and was now wandering around outside. Yu Shenliu knew the boy would be fine, but still felt he should look out for his nephew.

Before Huo Jian could answer, Chen Yuan spoke first. “Just call me Chen Yuan.” Others had called him Master Chen before, but somehow, hearing it from someone like Yu Shenliu felt particularly strange.

Yu Shenliu nodded to show that he understood.

“Uh…” Huo Jian thought for a moment and glanced at Chen Yuan. “I still want to stay with Master.” Being around Chen Yuan meant getting to see all kinds of amazing things. How could he pass up such a rare opportunity?

“Then where are you staying?”

“With Master at an inn” Huo Jian answered directly.

Yu Shenliu picked up on the detail. They were staying at an inn, rather than a hotel, which meant they weren’t staying somewhere particularly nice.

Frowning slightly, he suggested, “How about you and Xiao Jian stay at my place instead, Chen Yuan? I have a few properties here in Jincheng.” At the very least, he wanted to make sure they were somewhere safe.

Huo Jian looked at Chen Yuan, clearly leaving the decision to him.

Chen Yuan wasn’t the type to deliberately make things difficult for himself. He had chosen the inn because he didn’t have any identification and didn’t have much money on hand. Since there was a better option, he wouldn’t deliberately put himself through hardship just for the sake of cultivating himself. So he nodded.

For now, I’ll use Yu Shenliu to help me get established here. I’ll repay him later.

That was what Chen Yuan decided.

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