Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Charlatan or Master Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Charlatan or Master Gu Pan was startled for a mont. Was this old man really able to read faces? Was he truly a charlatan? Or a real master?
The old man looked at Gu Pan carefully, “You, you should be dead.”
Gu Pan was surprised inside, not expecting the old man to be skilled, but naturally, she couldn’t admit it openly, “Elder, you might have been mistaken this ti. Am I not alive and well? Otherwise, why would I be out and about in broad daylight?”
The old man shook his head insistently, “No, no, this isn’t right,” he said, then reached to grab Gu Pan’s hand, “Right hand, right hand, let see your right hand.”
Gu Pan didn’t dodge, curious since it was rare for soone to notice this, she was intrigued to see what the old man would say.
The old man peeked at Gu Pan’s palm, “Broken and then reattached? Bent, that’s not right, straight again, what’s going on here? In all my years, this is the first ti I’ve seen such strange facial features and palm lines.”
Listening to the old man’s Northeastern accent, Gu Pan smiled at him, “Elder, if I told you I returned from death, would you believe ?”
The old man was silent for a while, “You know, that seems to be the only explanation. Your face denotes great wealth and authority, a leader’s talent. Today, let’s consider it making a new friend. I won’t take the toll fee from you, but let’s have a deal—if you co across any good fortune, rember this old man. My na is Wang Youcai.”
Wang Youcai had once been a famous Taoist at a Daoist Temple, very gifted with mystical potential and talent, his master’s proudest disciple. However, he later fell in love with a woman, left the mountain, got married, and then earned a living by telling fortunes and practicing Feng Shui for others.
Being skilled and accurate, it only took a few years for him to beco the go-to Feng Shui Master for big families in the city.
Life had been going well, but then ca the apocalypse. He got trapped in his employer’s ho. By the ti he returned, his wife and children had perished, so he was left without attachnts. He went back to seek refuge with his previous employer because he knew the employer’s family had a basent, stored food, and the employer had been influential in both legitimate and illegitimate circles before. Such people were the most likely to survive the apocalypse.
And that employer believed in mysticism, so he was willing to take Wang Youcai along. And so they established their territory closest to the base.
They didn’t stick together, though, splitting into two groups. This way, if one side ran into trouble, the other could co to the rescue.
They rarely killed people, mainly taking toll fees, which were essentially gentler forms of robbery.
But since Wang Youcai was a Taoist who had studied for most of his life, today’s revelation overturned much of what he had known. Coupled with his accuracy in face-reading, he indeed recognized the woman’s destiny for imnse wealth and power and did not wish to create a problem. People like this, if given face, might save his life in the future—another rule for surviving the apocalypse.
Gu Pan was truly taken aback by the na, Wang Youcai, which indeed showed talent.
But the other party’s favorable attitude was evident, and she guessed it was because of her peculiar facial features. Of course, she admired this Taoist’s accuracy in face-reading, and she also saw his foresightedness. Thus, Gu Pan didn’t want to make an enemy of him either. These could indeed prove useful if she needed them for sothing in the future during her outings near the base.
So Gu Pan said, “I’m also delighted to make the acquaintance of Master Wang. Rest assured, if I co across any good fortune in the future, I’ll rember you.”
Having said that, she took out two bottles of Maotai Liquor from her backpack and placed them on the table, “There’s not much I carry with , but consider this a modest eting gift for Master Wang.”
Wang Youcai looked at Gu Pan, “Extraordinary, truly extraordinary. Carrying Maotai around, you’ve got plans, big plans. You, girl, are not like most people.”
Gu Pan hadn’t figured out exactly where Wang Youcai was from; his accent was Northeastern, but his way of speaking seed sowhat Northwestern. Anyway, this detail wasn’t important.
Lu Ruisheng was genuinely dumbfounded at this point. What was all this about? Anything strange seed possible after the apocalypse, but resolving conflicts without violence was always a good thing.
Gu Pan and Wang Youcai conversed jovially, but as Gu Pan was in a hurry to continue her journey, she said to Wang Youcai, “Master Wang, I’ll visit you when I have more free ti. Today, I need to hurry back to the base and can’t stay long.”
Wang Youcai quickly nodded, “Of course, you’re busy. Just think of when you can.”
Gu Pan agreed, “That’s certain.”
With that, Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng bid farewell to Wang Youcai and went back to their vehicle.
On Wang Youcai’s end, he ordered his subordinates to remove the roadblocks, waved to them to signal they could proceed.
As their car passed by Wang Youcai, Gu Pan shouted from the window, “Master Wang, we shall et again. Take care.”
Wang Youcai joyfully replied, “Alright, take care on the road.”
Only then did Gu Pan and her companions depart, resuming their journey.
After traveling so distance, Cheng Yang and Lu Xuerong recovered from their shock and curiously asked what had just happened.
Gu Pan told them the truth. She ntioned that the master had read her face, saying it was weird as if she had been resurrected from death and that she had a destiny of great wealth and fortune. In any case, it was because of the face reading that they were released.
Although Lu Xuerong and Cheng Yang were astounded, they couldn’t think of any other explanation. All they could say was that Gu Pan was incredibly lucky, and they benefitted from following her.
They continued their journey back, and upon reaching a dilapidated warehouse, Gu Pan asked them to stop. She went in first, saw the large space inside, quickly moved the spinning equipnt from her Space into the truck, and then parked the truck in the warehouse, eliminating the need for loading. Finally, she covered it with a dirty tarp that looked like it had been there for ages.
Afterward, she ca out and called to Lu Ruisheng and the others, “The goods are still here, co on in.”
Lu Ruisheng and the others went in, and Cheng Yang and Lu Xuerong were surprised to see the equipnt already loaded onto the vehicle.
Lu Xuerong asked, “You’ve already loaded everything onto the truck?”
Gu Pan replied, “It was originally transported by truck, but I didn’t dare to take it directly to the base, so I hid it here.”
Cheng Yang gave a thumbs up, “Truly impressive.”
Lu Ruisheng said, “Cheng Yang, you drive this truck. Gu Pan and I will take the other one outside.”
Cheng Yang agreed, refueled the truck, and then after they all ate lunch and rested for a bit, the two vehicles set off together.
When they were about two hours’ drive from the base, Lu Ruisheng stopped the car, got out, and said to Cheng Yang and Lu Xuerong, “Panpan and I need to go into the mountains for a bit, so business to attend to, but we’ll be back soon. If there’s danger, set off fireworks to signal us.”
Cheng Yang and Lu Xuerong promised to keep watch over the goods, reassuring them to take care of their business without worry.
This place was very close to the base, and it was generally safe, with no bandits daring to rob near the base. That’s why Lu Ruisheng chose the nearby mountains to park.
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