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Passersby nearby: Gasp!! He even had a fortune-teller persona? But this Immortal Pretty Boy had picked the wrong person! Even if that young master had been oppressed by his Lineage and could only come out to sell pancakes, he wasn't someone who could be fooled so easily!

"No amount of bad luck can take my life." Qi Xiaoyuan gave a cold snort, preparing to ignore this handsome but brainless young man.

But the young man's next words nearly made him burn his hand.

"...Fine. Anyway, when you die, your grandfather will follow you. I wish you two a reunion."

He Qinglan looked at the young man, who was not particularly eye-catching, and sighed regretfully. He could only find another believer.

But as he turned around, the tall stall owner reached out to grab his arm. Naturally, he could not catch the River God, but he did catch He Qinglan's sleeve.

"What did you just say?"

Seeing the sudden tension and gravity in the man's eyes, He Qinglan turned back again. "Offer up one pancake, and I'll keep you safe for one day."

The River God paused, then added, "If you make an offering every day, I'll keep you safe for a lifetime. Birth, aging, illness, and death—deliberately courting death doesn't count."

Qi Xiaoyuan stared at He Qinglan, seriously considering whether this man was truly stupid or merely pretending to be. But when he met those excessively calm, clear eyes, he realized that their irises were a deep blue almost like ink. The longer he looked, the more it felt as if even his Divine Soul were being pulled in.

He abruptly withdrew his hand and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, "If I offer two, can you keep my grandfather safe as well?"

Even Qi Xiaoyuan felt that he had gone mad when he said those last words.

He had actually believed a guy who looked exactly like a con artist. But perhaps the worry and hope weighing on his heart had been there for too long, leaving him willing to believe anything.

He Qinglan looked at the bad luck hanging above his head, then finally nodded. "It hasn't reached a fatal calamity yet, and your family is local to Linhe. It should be possible."

Qi Xiaoyuan did not understand why being local to Linhe was a requirement, but when He Qinglan nodded, he let out a heavy breath of relief. It was as though the shadow that had long pressed upon his heart had finally scattered a little. He earnestly added all sorts of ingredients to the jianbing guozi, looking as though he were truly preparing an "offering."

"Do you eat spicy food?"

"A little."

"What about chopped scallions and cilantro?"

"No scallions. And arrange it neatly."

The young man's voice was like clear flowing water, pleasant to the ear, as though it could soothe the anxiety in people's hearts.

"You... since you're blessing me, ahem, what's your name?"

The curious passersby and talent scouts who had quietly gathered around craned their necks and stretched their ears. This was the name of the great Immortal Pretty Boy!

Standing beside the stall, He Qinglan looked at the river just across the street. It was cleaner than the one in the previous area, but still dry and desolate. His voice was extremely soft:

"My surname is He. My given name is Qinglan."

The moment he spoke his name, a wind suddenly rose around them. The dried-up river across from them seemed to sense something as well, and its tiny trickles of water faintly leaped.

"He Qinglan?"

The people around them found the name somewhat familiar, as if they had heard it somewhere before.

Not until the young stall owner stopped adding ingredients, neatly cut the pancake in half, slipped it into a paper bag, and handed it to him did he ask, "Is it the He Qinglan of the Qinglan River?"

Then the watching passersby saw the Immortal Pretty Boy who had accepted the "offering pancake" curve his brows and eyes, revealing an extraordinarily beautiful smile. "Yes."

"He Qinglan of the Qinglan River."

He was this river, and this river was him.

"Holy shit!!" Someone cried out in a low voice, struck by that overwhelmingly beautiful smile. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, is he a real immortal? Is it really okay for someone to look like that?!"

"...This is the second time I've been struck by someone's smile. I thought no one could ever compare to my ultimate bias, but! Starting today, I have another ultimate-bias immortal man too!!!"

"Isn't your ultimate-bias god Water God? You're comparing this guy to Boss Water? He is indeed good-looking, but there's no way he can compare to Water God, okay!! He's miles behind! Boss Water is rich! Filthy rich! Tall, with long legs! His aura is through the roof! Even if he's the Trash-Talk King, it doesn't diminish his charm in the slightest—how can this guy compare to Boss Water?!"

And so, people around them quickly began discussing the topic of "heartthrobs." The few talent scouts who had long been itching to make a move finally stopped waiting, scrambling over one another as they rushed to He Qinglan and desperately thrust business cards at him.

"Mr. He Qinglan, is it? I'm a professional talent scout from Watermelon Entertainment! Mr. Qinglan, are you interested in developing a career in the entertainment industry? Our artists at Watermelon Entertainment receive the best treatment among companies of the same tier, and our contracts are all transparent and notarized. We are absolutely the best choice for newcomers entering the entertainment industry!"

"Little River, don't listen to this melonhead's nonsense. His company is just a third-rate little firm—what good are better benefits without resources? Come to Banana Entertainment! Banana Entertainment is a first-rate entertainment and talent agency. If you come, you'll get an A-tier contract! First-love goddess Ji Xiaoyu and popular star Liu Rufeng were both launched by Banana Entertainment. You'll be the next one of them!"

"Banana Entertainment has far too much shady behind-the-scenes dealing. An artist was even suing them a few days ago. Mr. He, come to Strawberry Entertainment instead. We're an established talent agency—King Zhou is one of our artists!"

"I'm dying of laughter. How long has Strawberry Entertainment been in decline? Every day, all you know is to bring up King Zhou. Why not mention how you haven't had a single impressive artist since King Zhou? Qinglan, don't go to Strawberry Entertainment. Big Pineapple is the reliable choice!"

At least six or seven talent scouts, dressed differently and varying in age and gender, surrounded He Qinglan with business cards and chattered nonstop, leaving the passersby and students around them dumbfounded.

They knew that talent scouts sometimes appeared outside the school gates looking for artists, but to avoid being swarmed, the scouts would not usually reveal their identities on their own. They would put on disguises and conceal themselves. After all, there were many people who wanted to become artists, but few truly had the qualifications. Most of the time, one talent scout would take a fancy to one person, hand over a business card, and leave.