Was I Right?

"That should do it, right?"

Xiao Yu fiddled laboriously with his computer.

Today was his first livestream.

He had no idea how it would go.

Some time ago, he had been in an accident. After narrowly escaping death, he had actually gained memories of immortal cultivation!

He had become the sole member of the Heavenly Mechanism Gate's seventieth generation, both its sect master and its disciple, and had mastered its fortune-telling method: the Heavenly Mechanism Canon.

It was a magnificent cultivation method, and the most powerful art of fortune-telling since ancient times!

It could do more than tell fortunes. It could defy the heavens and change fate, directly overturning a person's supposedly "predestined destiny."

Every time he "changed fate," he would incur a certain amount of "merit" or "sin."

In plain terms, doing good through fortune-telling earned him merit points, which could then offset the heavenly punishment for "prying into heaven's secrets."

Doing the opposite was simply courting death.

The way to advance his cultivation was simple, too: tell fortunes and change fates to steal the power of heavenly fortune.

This was far more sophisticated and faster than ordinary meditation, a cultivation method that amounted to "forcibly seizing the power of heaven and earth."

Especially in the current Age of Dharma Decline, when there was simply no spiritual energy for cultivators to cultivate normally.

Xiao Yu faced no such restriction!

But these days, the vast majority of people thought fortune-telling was nothing but a scam.

That made his "street-stall fortune-telling" business terribly difficult!

Necessity demanded change, and change opened new paths. So he had decided to splurge on a computer and start livestreaming!

The computer and internet connection had emptied his wallet.

Success was his only option. Failure was not!

Otherwise, he really would be living on nothing but wind and dew!

"Welcome to the stream, Tong Qi! Interested in having your fortune told, friend?"

"..."

[User Tong Qi has left the stream]

"Welcome to the stream, Jade Rabbit... Want your fortune told?"

"No, I'm just here to watch the fun and see if anyone gets scammed. I don't believe in this stuff, so don't even think about cheating me out of my money."

"Beautiful, I can tell you're a good person, and my principle is to do only good deeds. How about it? If I'm wrong, it's free. If I'm right, send me one Rocket. Want to give it a try?"

Jade Rabbit did not even bother replying.

Xiao Yu waited ten minutes. A dozen or so viewers came and went, and not one was willing to have their fortune told.

They all took him for a scammer.

He felt that waiting forever would get him nowhere, so he decided to cast a Fortune-Transfer Spell first.

Xiao Yu formed a series of hand seals. Wisps of white mist gathered above his head, like three flowers converging at his crown.

"It worked."

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and waited for a customer with a broad smile.

The Fortune-Transfer Spell's effect was obvious.

[User Tang Xiaoxiao has entered the stream]

"A new streamer? Fortune-telling? You've certainly got guts! Looks like nobody wants to fall for it, so I guess I'll be the first victim lining up to get scammed!"

Reading the skeptical, sarcastic message from the other side, Xiao Yu smiled with amusement.

These days, disbelief in fortune-telling was perfectly normal.

"Welcome to my stream, beautiful Tang Xiaoxiao! Want to give it a try? Send me a Rocket if I'm right. If I'm wrong, it's free. You've got nothing to lose!"

"Oh, you're actually serious? Let me tell you, a Rocket costs five hundred! Even if you get it right, I'll never admit it!"

"That's all right. I only tell fortunes to do good deeds. Besides, I've already worked out that you're a good woman. You won't go back on your word."

"Hehehe... You're funny, handsome! Since you're such a sweet talker, I'll give you a chance! So how does this work? Do I need to give you my birth date and time?"

"A video call will do."

Before long, a pretty face appeared on-screen, charming whether smiling or pouting.

With rosy lips and pearly teeth, she was a stunning beauty. Judging by her age, she seemed to still be in college.

Tang Xiaoxiao smiled smugly. "Well? I'm pretty good-looking, aren't I?"

Do you think this is a blind date?

What does it matter to me whether you're pretty?

"Turn off all your beauty filters and skin whitening first."

"...Do I have to turn them all off?"

"Yes. My abilities are limited. I'm not that all-powerful."

"Tch. Good thing I'm a natural beauty."

She grumbled unhappily and reluctantly switched them off one by one.

Her skin on-screen was no longer so pale, and her face grew a little rounder. Though she was not as flawless as before, she was still lovely enough to melt anyone's heart.

"Take off your makeup, too."

A hint of unease crossed her face, and she feigned anger.

"I'm only wearing a tiny bit of makeup! Stop making excuses. Can you actually do this or not? Don't push your luck. If you can't, I'm leaving!"

With Xiao Yu's currently meager abilities, reading her fortune over the internet while she wore makeup would indeed compromise his accuracy. But it was no big problem; he simply had to expend a little more power.

"So, beautiful, what would you like me to read?"

"Tell me about my love life!"

Tang Xiaoxiao looked at the streamer expectantly.

In truth, she already had someone she liked, but he had never liked her back.

So, to put it bluntly, she was only here to "seek comfort" and "hear something nice."

If his flattery hit the spot, she would reward him with a Rocket. It was only five hundred, after all.

If it did not suit her tastes and upset her, she could simply leave.

As for whether she believed in it?

What a joke. What century was this? Who still believed in this stuff? You couldn't even fool an idiot with it!

Xiao Yu calculated on his fingers and frowned slightly.

Rather than tell her immediately, he abruptly changed the subject. "Tang Xiaoxiao, if I tell you the result right now, you definitely won't believe me."

"Oh? Then how are you going to make me believe you?"

Of course I don't believe you. Let's see what tricks you'll use to convince me.

Xiao Yu spoke confidently. "During college, a total of eleven guys have pursued you. You've received 132 love letters and fifty bouquets. An international student even arranged candles into a heart beneath your dormitory to woo you!"

Tang Xiaoxiao gaped, her cheeks flushing, and blurted out, "You've been stalking me! Impossible. I don't even know you. That makes no sense! Ah, I get it. You know who I am, right? I'm the campus belle. I'm famous at my university!"

There should be a limit to narcissism!

Xiao Yu rolled his eyes.

Still, she had clearly begun to waver.

"But you turned them down because you already had a crush on a boy, ever since high school."

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't say any more. Try something else! You could have investigated all of that. You even know how many love letters and bouquets I've received, so finding out about a crush would be even easier!"

In truth, Tang Xiaoxiao was already utterly stunned. She had only moved to this city when she started college.

Knowing that she had a crush during college was nothing remarkable, since she had rejected every boy. But knowing that her crush had started in high school? That was downright eerie!

Stalking or investigating her did not really explain it, either. Besides, she had entered this stream completely at random today!

"All right, let's try something else. You weren't very bright as a child. You only learned to walk at three, and your grades were always at the bottom of the class. Even simple things stumped you. Passing a test was terribly difficult for you."

"Every time you took a test as a child, your biggest worry was getting smacked by your parents... You often lamented, 'When heaven made me, it put all my intelligence into my looks.'"

"Then, in your first year of high school, your mother passed away. That day, you thought about how disappointed she had been in you, even on her deathbed. You grew up overnight. From then on, you studied desperately so you wouldn't disappoint your father, too..."

"You're outgoing, but fragile inside. The thing you fear most in this life is your father 'leaving without saying goodbye'!"

"Was I right?"