Extorted to the Forehead

"Did you hear? There's an old shop on Shili Street that reads fortunes," two people were discussing at a breakfast stall.

"You still believe in that stuff?"

The man biting into his fried dough stick said earnestly, "I didn't believe it before, but I heard it's uncannily accurate."

"It's all nonsense, don't believe it," the other person warned.

The first man put down his fried dough stick and chuckled, "I heard the Master is also a young guy with a lot of rules. He only tells fortunes for people he deems fated. If you're not fated, you couldn't get a word out of the Master even with ten thousand gold."

"Nonsense. If he won't tell my fortune for a hundred yuan, what about a thousand? Or even ten thousand? Who would say no to more money?" the other person grumbled.

The first man gave a wry smile, "That's what I thought at first, but I heard someone was actually kicked out yesterday. They said they weren't fated and weren't allowed to have their fortune told. Some neighbors passing by even heard the Master say, 'I wouldn't tell your fortune even if you gave me a million.'"

"Huh? That's ridiculous. I bet they're a plant. There are so many tricks these days!" the other person still didn't believe it.

Just then, several burly men with tattooed arms walked by and immediately grabbed the disbeliever. "Who are you calling names? Is Master Shen someone you can just talk about like that?"

The man's face turned pale with fear. "No, no, I was just speaking casually."

The burly men tossed him aside and warned, "Don't let me hear you badmouthing the Master again. Understand?"

"Yes, yes! Definitely won't," the man scrambled up and quickly apologized.

These burly men were naturally Zhu Deshou's men, but they genuinely supported Shen Qiong.

"Brother Li, you're in a foul mood today!" one of the younger followers chuckled.

The burly man called Brother Li, who had just gotten angry, replied, "It's not that I'm in a foul mood, it's just that I can't stand them slandering Master Shen."

"Uh, forgive my ignorance, but what's so great about Master Shen?" a follower who had just started working on Shili Street asked. He remembered Shen Qiong's appearance and thought he was just a young man in his early twenties. He really couldn't understand why Brother Zhu valued him so highly.

Brother Li chuckled, "You guys don't know the half of it! You know I lost three thousand yuan the day before yesterday, right?"

"We know! You were playing cards at Wang Mapo's place. We saw you," a follower said.

"Actually, Master Shen warned me that day that my luck was bad. I didn't listen, and sure enough, I lost money." Brother Li continued excitedly, "I was still unconvinced then! So yesterday, I went back to ask Master Shen again. He said it was okay, that my luck was very good, and I could win all the money back."

A follower asked in surprise, "So? How did it go? Did you win or lose yesterday?"

Brother Li's face was flushed with joy, and he said with a smile, "I played from morning till night yesterday, completely crushing them and winning over ten thousand yuan."

"That's amazing, Brother Li..."

"Yeah! We should go out for a meal!" several followers teased.

Brother Li, having won money, was generous. "No problem, let's go! But I'm telling you, Master Shen is truly amazing. If you ever have any trouble in the future, you can go ask him."

Shen Qiong had just woken up from his afternoon nap and yawned. Four or five people were already waiting outside his shop, ready to have their fortunes told.

He first logged into WeChat, opened "People Nearby," memorized the appearances of the people he found, and then went to the door to turn away those he hadn't found.

"You can leave! Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has no fate with you today. Please come again next time."

"You can stay," he said, pointing at a boy of sixteen or seventeen.

The neighbors knew Shen Qiong's rules, so they could only leave with regret. Only the boy, who looked about ten years old, remained standing at the door.

Before Shen Qiong could speak, the boy shouted, "Scammer! You're a big scammer."

Since the two were still outside the shop, all eyes turned in their direction.

Shen Qiong felt something was wrong. He hadn't said anything, so how had he become a scammer?

As if on cue, a crowd quickly gathered, eager to watch the spectacle. They watched as the boy yelled that Shen Qiong was a scammer.

"Then tell me, how did I scam you?" Shen Qiong asked helplessly.

The boy first glanced at the onlookers, then nodded at someone hiding in a corner. "You're a scammer anyway. The other day you told my fortune and said my mother would be alright, but now, now she's sick in the hospital."

As the boy spoke emotionally, his eyes actually turned red.

The crowd immediately buzzed with excitement. Everyone had heard recently that Shen Qiong was very mysterious and that his fortunes were always accurate. However, very few people had actually had their fortunes told by him. Now, hearing that Shen Qiong was a scammer, they started to gloat.

"Good thing I didn't come, or I would have been tricked."

"I knew it. Nowadays, I believe you if you say you can cure diseases, but fortune-telling? That's a joke, who would believe it!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Shen Qiong frowned. This was clearly a setup. He was sure he had never told this guy's fortune. So, someone must be deliberately trying to frame him?

"Nonsense. I'll ask you this: was it you who came for the reading, or was it your mother?" Shen Qiong asked coldly.

The boy's eyes darted around. "It was me. My mother wasn't feeling well, so I came to you for a reading."

Shen Qiong sneered, "That's absurd. Anyone who knows my rules knows that I never tell fortunes for people who aren't present."

He conducted his "fortune-telling" through WeChat's "People Nearby." He would never do business for someone sending a proxy when the main person wasn't there.

Hearing Shen Qiong's explanation, some people nodded. "That seems to be the case."

The boy gritted his teeth. "I don't care! I came that day, you told my fortune, and you kept saying my mom would definitely be fine. I gave you the money for her medical treatment, and now she's sick. You have to take responsibility."

"Damn! This is a clever move!"

"How can this person be like this? Swindling money meant for someone's medical treatment."

"This child must be so miserable!"

Shen Qiong's face darkened. So this kid had tried to extort him? Was he that easy to bully?

No!!!

He picked up his phone and looked at the information about the teenager again.

Sun Wenbin (within 100 meters)

Age: 16 Height: 163 Health: 79

Luck Value: 2 (Imminent Prison Sentence)

Shen Qiong let out a cold laugh after reading it. Good heavens, he hadn't misremembered. The other party's Luck Value was very low.

What did this mean? This meant this brat was unlucky today. Why was he unlucky? Because he tried to extort Shen Qiong.

Shen Qiong looked around. The other party's Luck Value was 2, which meant there was definitely a way to make this brat suffer the consequences.

"Fine! Tell me what you want to do," Shen Qiong said.

The young man's face lit up when he heard the other party had compromised. Unknowingly, he turned his head to look to the left.

Shen Qiong immediately followed the other's gaze and saw an old acquaintance sneakily squeezing through the crowd, signaling to the young man.