Lian Qiao noticed her master standing there in a daze and kindly reminded her:
"Young Master, it’s your turn. According to the rules, you should first pay five wen."
Tang Shu turned back, blinked, and said, "Shouldn’t you be handling such trivial matters?"
She rembered that in ancient tis, handmaidens were specifically used to handle money, even if this handmaiden looked a bit mismatched and more like a bodyguard, she was still a handmaiden!
As the saying goes, everything changes but the essence remains the sa~
"Young Master, did you forget? You always handle things personally, and you always feel that it’s safest to keep the money pouch with you."
"..."
Tang Shu was really impressed with the original host. She dug around her body and took out five copper coins to give to the little monk across from her who appeared extrely amiable.
"Thank you, Master."
"This female donor, what are you wishing for? Is it romance or family peace and health?"
"No, none of those."
"...Huh?"
A seasoned professional in her thirties who’s been interpreting fortunes for nurous young girls for over fifteen years was dumbfounded. Why, young lady, are you not playing by the usual rules?
"Then what is your question...?"
Tang Shu said, "I want to ask if I can return ho."
The monk and Lian Qiao: "...?"
Oh, what kind of question is this? Could it be that this young girl was abducted? Wait, Young Master, didn’t we just leave the Tang Sect?
Tang Shu saw the two of them completely bewildered and, feeling a bit embarrassed, pursed her lips, reflecting whether she was making things too difficult. Crossing through ti like this—which is such a fantastical event—probably can’t be calculated even with probability theory, right? (Yes, fortune-telling is definitely a combination of probability and statistics).
"Then I will ask another question..."
"No need, no need, this can be calculated!"
The master took a bamboo tube filled with divination sticks and put it in Tang Shu’s hand, explaining to her how to shake out a stick while thinking of her question.
Tang Shu: "..."
Is it really this easy? TV dramas haven’t lied to .
Before long, a stick fell out of the bamboo tube. The master skillfully picked it up and was about to provide an official smile and interpretation. However, instead, the smile awkwardly froze on his face.
"..."
"What’s the matter, Master?"
"Oh, well, uh, female donor, may I ask what you were just asking about?"
"When can I go ho?"
Unexpectedly, this young master looked so young, yet his mory isn’t good. What dicine should he take for that?
The master patted his face, "It’s like this, this is an auspicious lot, but in the hundred years since Linan Temple’s establishnt, no one has ever drawn such a lot."
"So does this auspicious lot an I can go ho?"
"Actually, no."
"Isn’t it an auspicious lot?"
"Uh, yes, it is. But..."
"Then why can’t I go ho?"
"No, no, no, that’s not what I an, female donor, you misunderstood. I can’t explain this lot... It requires Master Uncle Fang to personally interpret it."
Sweat was starting to drip down the master’s forehead. What a strange occurrence, how could the lot that the abbot said no one had drawn in a hundred years be drawn today?
"..."
Is it that complicated? So can she go ho or not?
"Donor, please follow this little monk, Master Uncle Fang is in the backyard."
"Please, Master, lead the way."
Tang Shu, with Lian Qiao in tow, followed the monk out of the front courtyard. Passing through several gardens, they arrived at a place with waterfalls and forests, resembling an otherworldly paradise.
It seed this must be a private area within Linan Temple.
"Female donor, please wait a mont."
The master himself went forward to knock on the door and entered, remaining inside for about two minutes before exiting.
"Amitabha, female donor, please enter. Master Uncle Fang is already waiting inside."
"Master Uncle Fang... is Master Fang Yuan?"
"Indeed."
Tang Shu glanced at Lian Qiao, who understood and stayed where she was, watching her master enter the courtyard alone.
***
Master Fang Yuan left a profound impression on Tang Shu.
This revered monk respected outside as an esteed high monk was actually at most in his forties or fifties, quite young. The reason he was so morable was that he bore a striking resemblance to Maitreya Buddha.
With a big belly, a round body, a bald head, and squinting eyes that seed to smile.
So much so that even soone like Cheng Ranran, who is adorably soft and cute to the extre, pales in comparison~~~
"Master Fang Yuan."
"Female donor, please sit."
Tang Shu sat opposite him, her gaze falling on the table between them, where the auspicious lot she had drawn was placed.
"As Xuan Zhen ntioned, since Linan Temple’s erection over six hundred years ago, you are the first to draw this lot, which ans you and this old monk have a deep bond."
"..."
Wait, why does drawing this lot an I have a deep bond with you? Do all you spiritualists speak so cryptically?
"May I trouble you for so enlightennt?"
"This is an auspicious lot, aning great fortune."
"But Master Xuan Zhen said earlier that I can’t go ho. What does this an?"
"The donor cos from afar, and since you’re here, you should find peace. Everything has its destiny. Great fortune doesn’t necessarily an you can go wherever your heart desires. Opportunities may lie right before you."
Tang Shu: "..."
This spiritualist seems quite practiced? The words sound as if they might spill out from a high monk’s lips, yet it’s not that mysterious.
Saying that she cos from afar, since she asked if she could go ho, obviously she’d co from afar, wouldn’t ask such a silly question if she were near.
And saying to find peace as things co, nine out of ten people comfort others with that. It’s the ultimate cliché.
Lastly, saying opportunities might be right before her; whether good or bad, it’s an opportunity either way.
A fraud, definitely a fraud, the kind that could even mislead the Royal Family.
Tang Shu twitched her lips, about to get up and leave when the other person opened his eyes and gave her a aningful look, lastly focusing on the Jade Pendant hanging from her waist.
"Please take good care of this Jade Pendant; it’s the beginning of intertwining opportunities."
"What?"
Tang Shu picked up the Jade Pendant at her waist, wondering if that statent was just another lie.
In fact, ever since her first day of ti travel, she discovered that this Jade Pendant was exactly like the one she had seen when she was young. Unlike the original host who always kept it on her, her own was kept by Father Tang, claiming she was too young.
Similar facial features, identical Jade Pendants, and the sa na—could there really be a connection among these three?
"So does this an I really can’t go back?"
"It depends on how the donor perceives it. As I’ve said, the opportunity lies right before you; please follow your heart, female donor."
Fang Yuan sipped his tea with a smile, "Each has their destiny. Little do you know, your opportunity might also be soone else’s."
Tang Shu remained silent for a mont, seemingly beginning to understand.
"Thank you, Master, for enlightening . I won’t bother you any longer, and I shall take my leave."
"Oh wait!"
Fang Yuan quickly set down his teacup and extended a hand towards her with a smile, "Five copper coins are appreciated for your next visit!"
"...I’ve already paid, haven’t I?"
"That was for Xuan Zhen, I haven’t received mine."
"..."
This must be a swindling spiritualist, without a shred of the mysterious master deanor!
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