The newcomer was around twenty. Though he wore a coarse-cloth jacket with narrow sleeves and a short front, his clothes were clean and tidy, and he had a sturdy build. Perhaps a happy occasion had lifted his spirits, for his honest face glowed ruddy. As he crossed the overpass and saw customers at both the old half-immortal's stall and the blind old beggar's, a thought stirred in his heart. After considering it for a few moments, he approached Xuanming's stall.
Setting down his Daoist scripture, Xuanming said calmly, "What would you like me to divine? Your physiognomy, a written character, or a hexagram?"
"A hexagram! Cuihua and I grew up together. We agreed that when we were grown, she'd marry me. Later, her father made some money as a traveling peddler and moved the family to South City, so our families didn't see much of each other anymore.
"Cuihua's pretty enough to marry a rich young master. I'd already given up, but then she asked to meet me in private this time, and even asked whether what I'd said before still counted.
"To tell you the truth, Daoist Master, I just want to ask how things stand between Cuihua and me. Do we have a chance? Did she ask to meet me because she really wants to marry me?"
After speaking, Li Daniu jiggled his foot nervously. Embarrassment made his dark face darker still, and he secretly pinched the corner of his clothing, anxious and uneasy. Every so often, he looked up in a certain direction. It was hard to tell whether the divination made him nervous or whether it was the thought of soon meeting his sweetheart.
Though his Daoist attainment allowed Xuanming to swiftly calculate Li Daniu's marriage prospects in his head, he did not do so.