Fortune Telling!

Chapter 37: Fortune Telling!

Hours later.

Tang Luo, travel-worn, stood before his own door. He entered the password and walked inside.

"Two months" in the real world.

Many years for Tang Luo.

He had returned to his home once more.

Fortunately, this house belonged to Tang Luo himself, not a rental.

Otherwise, his belongings would likely be gone.

Unoccupied for two months.

Tang Luo had left abruptly, with the windows all open.

The room was not clean; dust had accumulated in many places, and there were signs of rainwater having poured in.

Finding his phone on the sofa, which had shut down due to a lack of power, he plugged it in to charge.

Tang Luo went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet.

After letting the water run for a while, until the somewhat murky water became clear, he began to wash himself.

Fifteen minutes later.

Tang Luo looked in the mirror and reached up to touch his head.

A layer of short hair had actually grown, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't black.

It was white hair.

An outward manifestation of his injury.

Wearing a bath towel, Tang Luo walked out of the bathroom and turned on his phone.

A pile of unread messages and a string of text messages popped up.

The messages were all sorts of notification texts.

The bank's monthly 2-yuan information fee, the telecom operator's 5-yuan call charge claim, and a bunch of miscellaneous advertisements.

Messages from normal humans? Non-existent.

Among the missed calls were advertising spam calls, but also a few from friends.

Before his transmigration, Tang Luo was a freelancer and a landlord—well, the latter was the main thing.

He didn't have to worry about work.

His family situation was somewhat complicated.

His father had died when Tang Luo was three or four years old.

Tang Luo had almost no memory of him.

His mother remarried when Tang Luo was still young.

Their relationship wasn't even that of "familiar strangers"; they might not see each other once in several years.

Of course, Tang Luo held no resentment towards her.

After all, she had gifted him a house and a well-situated shop in this city.

The life of a landlord was too wonderful.

Tang Luo had heard some of the dramatic stories about his parents.

A somewhat wealthy, but not very bright, foolish high school girl "fell in love" with a punk.

The style of that punk could be referenced by Genji Takiya from the movie Crows Zero.

One could imagine the appeal to a rebellious high school girl.

However, life and movies operate on entirely different dimensions.

The consequences of an unplanned pregnancy and a foolish elopement were quite dire.

After "waking up," it became a period of black history they wished they could delete.

Tang Luo was the most significant "evidence" of that black history, a product of hatred by association.

Fortunately, although the daughter was brainlessly rebellious and broke her parents' hearts, she was like a divine helper in business, "soaring to great heights."

Many things could be solved with money.

Therefore, Tang Luo was basically raised by various nannies when he was young.

His maternal grandmother would visit occasionally.

The year he graduated from high school and went to university, that side of the family completely severed ties with Tang Luo.

They gifted him a house and a storefront.

By now, it had been nearly six years since Tang Luo had any contact with that side.

Oh, he did send a text message during the Lunar New Year.

He didn't know if it was a mass message, so Tang Luo just replied with "Happy New Year" and went back to playing games.

It might sound quite miserable.

But in reality, it was a life of freedom that many people could only envy.

As long as Tang Luo didn't squander his money on debauchery, the rent from the storefront was more than enough, even if he lived a bit extravagantly.

If he hadn't been struck by lightning and transmigrated, Tang Luo felt he could have lived a carefree life forever.

One couldn't expect a man in his twenties to worry about his old age.

"Went out for a while, went hiking, cleansed my soul, and attained Buddhahood on the spot. I'm home now, what's up?"

Opening his messaging app, Tang Luo sent a reply to the friends who had called him.

His friends were his roommates from university.

They had a good relationship, but they didn't live in the same city.

They chatted occasionally but rarely met in person.

His high school friends were much the same; none of them were in the same city.

They just chatted online from time to time.

He tossed his phone aside to continue charging and took out Omen, placing it on the bookshelf.

He made it look like a toy gun, a mere decoration.

Then, Tang Luo took down the Merit Jade Lotus and tossed it gently into the air.

The Merit Jade Lotus hovered in mid-air, emitting a glow that spread out in all directions.

It swept through the entire house.

Everything became spotlessly clean.

Well, using the power of merit to clean a house—only Tang Luo would do something like that.

Come to think of it, since the Merit Jade Lotus could be freely brought in and out of mission worlds, was it considered equipment by default?

He turned on his computer and went online.

It wasn't that Tang Luo was a gaming addict who had to get online the moment he returned.

He needed to buy some things.

His original clothes and pants were a bit too small for Tang Luo now that he had returned from his transmigration.

He needed to replace them.

More importantly, Tang Luo needed an outfit suitable for the God and Demon Game.

As the Victorious Fighting Buddha and an enlightened high monk (Buddha).

Naturally, he needed his own "set."

Clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha.

Without a doubt, Tang Luo needed a golden outfit.

The kind of golden outfit that didn't require an introduction; one look and people would know he was an "enlightened high monk."

He definitely didn't want a mustard-yellow Haiqing robe.

A moon-white monk's robe was worth considering.

As for whether it met the regulations, Tang Luo couldn't care less.

As the Victorious Fighting Buddha, he could wear whatever he wanted.

At their level, they certainly weren't constrained by external appearances.

Even Tathagata and Guanyin kept their hair.

He had never seen any disciplinary monks give them trouble.

He spent about an hour buying his daily clothes.

As for the God and Demon Game outfit, Tang Luo thought about it and cleverly chose a cosplay costume.

No matter how stylish or cool a normal monk's robe was, it couldn't compare to a cosplay outfit.

Browsing through monks and even Taoist characters from various anime, games, and movies, Tang Luo searched for a suitable outfit.

Why look at Taoists too?

Because this wasn't reality; those monk and Taoist robes that were designed to be cool and flashy.

Aside from obvious distinguishing features, there wasn't actually much difference.

He spent over an hour picking and choosing.

Tang Luo selected quite a few outfits, including some based on characters from Pili Glove Puppetry.

He noted down names like One Step Lotus, Near-God One Page Book, and Elegant Monk Buddha Prince, anything that caught his eye.

Additionally, there were monk sets from the Massive Online Social PY Game 3.

He then went to Hand Chopping Cat and found a shop specializing in custom orders.

He placed the order, provided his measurements, and stated his requirements, asking them to modify anything that was too ornate for visual effect and would hinder movement.

It took two to three hours.

Only then was the "outfit purchase" completed.

"If only I had my Brocade Kasaya back then," Tang Luo mused inwardly.

Impervious to water and fire, unstained by dust, and capable of changing its form, the Brocade Kasaya was truly the ultimate outfit for home, travel, demon-slaying, and ghost-exorcising.

With the "outfits" sorted, Tang Luo picked up his phone.

Several friends had replied one after another.

It wasn't anything important, just casual chat. When he didn't respond, they called him.

However, one of them told Tang Luo that they had recently encountered a supernatural event.

If it were in the past, Tang Luo would have teased them, "Too much masturbation causes hallucinations."

But now...

He immediately sent a message back to this Zhang Yuchou: "A supernatural event? Tell me about it."

The other party didn't respond immediately.

Tang Luo wasn't in a hurry. He put on his loose-fitting, still perfectly suitable pajamas and lay down on the soft bed.

He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Five days later.

Tang Luo appeared at the Xihang City train station.

"I've arrived," he said, making a call. Ten minutes later, he met his friend Zhang Yuchou.

"You?"

Both were somewhat surprised upon seeing each other.

They were surprised by the changes in the other.

Tang Luo didn't need to say anything.

Before him, Zhang Yuchou's cheeks were sunken, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

He looked like he hadn't slept for three days and three nights, had been tied to a bed and exploited, and would collapse at any moment.

"Are you sick?" Tang Luo asked, looking at Zhang Yuchou.

"Much worse than being sick."

Zhang Yuchou sighed. "What's wrong with you?"

They had been college roommates.

After graduation, Zhang Yuchou went to Xihang City to find a job.

Tang Luo, on the other hand, became a landlord.

The four friends had a reunion a year ago and hadn't seen each other since.

"After rigorous training, I grew taller, but my hair turned white," Tang Luo said.

"You grew taller in your thirties? But you did more than just grow taller," Zhang Yuchou said. "Good thing you didn't go bald."

Tang Luo touched his short white hair and smiled without saying anything.

He had indeed become stronger, and he had also gone bald.

However, it had grown back now, and he didn't intend to walk around bald in his daily life, so he started growing his hair out again.

His hair follicles hadn't died.

As for the God and Demon Game, a monk with flowing white hair had just as much presence as a completely bald monk.

And he wouldn't be called a bald guy.

He had happily made his decision.

"What about you? What's really going on?" Tang Luo asked.

A few days ago, Zhang Yuchou had mentioned encountering some supernatural event.

Later, when Tang Luo contacted him, they hadn't clarified things over the phone.

A wealthy landlord could naturally go wherever he pleased.

So Tang Luo came to Xihang City.

This moved Zhang Yuchou so much that he came to pick him up directly.

"Let's talk as we walk," Zhang Yuchou sighed.

That's what he said.

But Xihang City, a bustling metropolis in a prosperous eastern coastal province of Huaxia, always had plenty of people on public transport.

And it was close to rush hour, so it was packed.

Naturally, there was no time to talk.

Arriving at Zhang Yuchou's cramped apartment, he immediately collapsed onto the bed, looking like he was about to die.

Tang Luo didn't stand on ceremony, pulling up a nearby chair and taking off his shoes before asking, propping his feet on the bed, "Aren't you working today?"

Returning to his former self was quite comfortable.

"I don't have a job anymore," Zhang Yuchou said, sitting up.

"Huh?" Tang Luo asked, "Are you planning to quit and go home?"

Xihang's cost of living was among the highest in the country.

Without a job, you either found a new one quickly or went home.

Otherwise, you'd likely starve on the streets.

However, Zhang Yuchou's family home had been demolished when he just graduated.

They bought a new place with the compensation money, but it was off-plan and wouldn't be ready for another year or two. His parents and family were still renting.

If Zhang Yuchou went back, he'd probably be "homeless" too.

"I did quit, but I don't plan on going home right now," Zhang Yuchou said. "My rent isn't due yet, and I have a 4000 yuan deposit!"

"For a 'demolition second generation' like you, is 4000 yuan even money?" Tang Luo said.

"Of course it's not just money, it's my life! My life!"

For an ordinary college graduate who had been working and renting an apartment alone for just over a year.

4000 yuan was, of course, not just money, but their life.

Saving my life... I mean, asking for recommendation votes!