"B-bloodshed?"
Qiu Zhongji's expression changed drastically. He stared in disbelief.
"Fortune Teller, could you have gotten it wrong?"
"This Daoist says you'll suffer bloodshed, so you will."
The Fortune Teller stroked his goatee, smiling as he watched Qiu Zhongji.
Qiu Zhongji panicked and grabbed the Fortune Teller's hand, pleading, "Please save me, sir! O-or teach me how to avert this calamity."
"Kid, do you know what happens to those who toy with this Daoist?"
"What?!"
The Fortune Teller rose to his feet and suddenly grabbed at Qiu Zhongji's crown with one hand.
"Ah!"
The people nearby turned deathly pale with fright. Song Linjia nearly fainted.
Li Ran shuddered, his eyes filled with horror.
Qiu Zhongji's face was covered in blood as he slowly collapsed to the ground, his eyes brimming with disbelief and terror.
The Fortune Teller casually tossed the piece of skull to the corner and sat back at his stall as if nothing had happened. Stroking his beard with an amused expression, he called out, "Fortune-telling! Accurate readings, every time! No charge if I'm wrong!"
The others were unable to calm their fear for a long time.
Li Ran furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes slightly.
(Fortune Teller) (B-Class Mental Infector) (Mysterious Power: 160) (He had been a compulsive gambler since his youth, racking up debts wherever he went. After running away, someone gouged out one of his eyes. In the latter half of his life, his wife and children left him. He should have spent his days alone, but he never changed his ways. He came up with a scheme, reinvented himself as a blind fortune teller, and made a living by swindling people.) (Warning: Toying with him or exposing him is dangerous.) (Hint: Turn the tables on him. When he reveals his true nature, return his eyeball to him. You may receive an unexpected reward.)
After seeing the Golden Finger's prompt, Li Ran understood. He already had a plan.
He walked over to the stall and sat directly across from the Fortune Teller.
"Shall I tell your fortune, sir?"
To Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Song Linjia, his behavior was no different from courting death.
Li Ran's move was no doubt like showing off his skills before an expert. It was no different from Qiu Zhongji toying with the Fortune Teller.
The Fortune Teller stopped stroking his beard and raised an eyebrow. "Kid, you want to tell this Daoist's fortune?"
"That's right. Are you afraid, sir?" Li Ran replied.
"Ridiculous! Is there anything in this world that this Daoist fears? I'm just worried you'll spout nonsense and ruin my reputation."
"Why not try and see if my reading is accurate? If I get it right, you'll pay me, how about it?"
"Oh? Now that's interesting. And if you get it wrong?"
"You can do whatever you want with me!"
"Fine."
So, under the disbelieving gazes of Xiao Yi and the other two, Li Ran began reading the Fortune Teller's palm.
[Quest triggered: Fortune-telling]
[Quest reward: Mysterious Power +20, 200 points]
[Hidden reward: 1 high-quality weapon]
"Tsk..."
Li Ran clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow.
The Fortune Teller asked, "Kid, why do you look like you want to say something but can't?"
"Then I'll be blunt."
"Let's hear it."
Li Ran took the Fortune Teller's hand and said with utmost seriousness, "From your palm, I can tell you're destined to be a bachelor your whole life. You'll have enough to eat and a place to sleep, but you'll never get rich."
The Fortune Teller wasn't angry. He chuckled and said, "Kid, if that's all you've got, don't blame me..."
"Don't rush, sir. I'm not finished."
Li Ran returned the Fortune Teller's hand, then studied his face carefully.
"Oh dear, sir, your face is not one that should be read."
The Fortune Teller gave a scornful laugh. As far as he was concerned, this kid was just spouting nonsense and messing with him.
He had murderous intentions, but he wanted to see what else the kid would come up with. It might make his otherwise dull life a little more interesting.
"Sir, someone with your face is endlessly greedy and addicted to gambling. If you ever gamble, your family will be ruined, and your wife and children will leave you. When you lose money, you'll run away. If you're lucky, you'll get away. If you're unlucky, you'll lose a hand or a foot, have an eye gouged out or your ears cut off. At worst, your life will be in danger..."
As Li Ran spoke, the Fortune Teller's whole body trembled. He could barely hold on to the flag in his hand.
Li Ran saw it all and continued, "Sir, if I'm not mistaken, you were just thinking that it wouldn't matter whether my reading was right or wrong. As long as you didn't pay me in the end, my reading would count as wrong."
"Am I right?"
The Fortune Teller shuddered and slid off his stool onto the ground.
What unfolded before them left Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Song Linjia completely dumbfounded.
The Fortune Teller stared at Li Ran in disbelief. It was true—he'd thought that as long as he didn't pay in the end, the reading would count as wrong. But he'd never expected this kid to not only read his past, but also see through his plan.
Where had this kid come from?
Could he really tell fortunes?
The Fortune Teller stared at the kid before him, deeply shaken.
In his youth, he had indeed been addicted to gambling. He'd not only squandered all his family's money, but the wife someone had introduced him to had eventually run off, too. He'd never been able to accept it. In the end, he mortgaged his childhood home in an attempt to turn his luck around, only to lose even more badly and wind up buried in debt. So he decided to run as far away as possible, but he was caught all the same. They gouged out one of his eyes, and that was that.
He had always wanted to get that eye back, but he had no idea where to look.
So he secretly swore that if he could ever get his eye back, he would turn over a new leaf.
He wore sunglasses to pretend to be blind and pose as a Taoist priest, giving people a mysterious impression.
He had to make the act convincing to fool people. Even if someone questioned him, he could pass it off by using his blind eye.
Besides, he only targeted older people. The older they were, the easier they were to swindle.
A few stock phrases were usually enough to fool them. Even when his predictions missed the mark, he always left himself some wiggle room.
In truth, people who came to have their fortunes told were often down on their luck and weak-willed. Sometimes, they knew it was fake; they just wanted comfort.
It was like having no money but constantly telling yourself that once you got past this rough patch, you'd definitely make money. It was just self-deception.
He had always swindled people, convinced that all the fortune tellers in books were fakes, too. It had never occurred to him that anyone could really tell fortunes.
At that moment, Li Ran walked up to him.
"Sir, are you looking for this?"
The Fortune Teller slowly took off his sunglasses, his face filled with shock.
There, in Li Ran's hand, was an eyeball. It was his other eye, lost so many years ago.
"Thump!"
The Fortune Teller dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. He no longer looked the least bit like an immortal. "Master! Master! I was blind and failed to recognize your true identity! I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
One heavy kowtow after another struck the ground, until his forehead was bleeding.
Xiao Yi, Song Linjia, and Chen Jiabin stared in utter astonishment.
Seeing that he'd achieved his goal, Li Ran stood before the swindler with his hands behind his back, striking the pose of a master.
"You do deserve to die. If you hadn't met me, your death calamity would have come in fourteen days!"
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