A snap interrupted Xing Ye's thoughts. The door had opened again, though only a crack. No one else appeared; it was still the servant from before.
"Where's the fortune-teller?" Startled, Xing Ye peered furtively inside.
The servant immediately took him for a penniless wretch. He chuckled and said, "It's so early. Do you think you can see the master whenever you please? You're here to secure an examination degree, aren't you?"
"The usual terms: five hundred taels for three divinations. You'll have it as surely as nine chances out of ten!"
Seeing Xing Ye hesitate, the servant smiled disdainfully. "Plenty of gentlemen have already bought them. Would we cheat you? If you don't believe us, you don't have to buy."
With that, he moved to close the door.
"Wait, I'll buy them." Xing Ye steeled himself, took the banknotes from his traveling pouch, and handed them over. Suddenly, his heart ached as though a piece of flesh had been sliced away.
"Five hundred taels!" The servant counted them, nodded with some satisfaction, and offered three folding fans. Xing Ye reached for them, but the servant held on and refused to let go.
"These are the divinations. Let's make this clear beforehand: if the examination questions don't match, bring these fans back to the shop and get your money refunded. As for anything else-whether something unexpected happens or whether you pass-life and death are ordained by fate, and wealth and honor rest with Heaven."
Xing Ye understood. Even if he knew the questions, ability varied, and luck played a part. A pass could not be guaranteed. He nodded. "As long as the questions are right, nothing else is your responsibility."
Only then did the servant release the fans in satisfaction, letting Xing Ye take them before shutting the door with a