Countless pieces of information turned into streaks of light and rushed into his consciousness!
Zuo Xiaoduo felt as though a speeding train had struck him head-on. With a boom, his consciousness scattered into a sky full of stars!
Pfft!
He toppled backward, stiff as a wooden post.
He landed on the soft cushion he had prepared long before.
For a while, bizarre, kaleidoscopic visions filled his head...
While he was unconscious, a wisp of light rose from his chest, then shot straight into the Star Soul awakened in his dantian.
The Star Soul, originally like a tiny, feeble flame, suddenly expanded. With a boom, it spread throughout his body, staining every thread of his meridians with its light. The entire surface of his body shone with light like a glowing spiderweb.
In an instant, he was like a little sun, his radiance too dazzling to look at directly.
Then the light abruptly contracted, returning to his dantian. His Star Soul was still a little flame, but now it burned vigorously, its flickering full of vitality.
The flame slowly changed color, gradually turning from red to deep purple...
With every flicker, threads of energy spread throughout his body.
A long while later.
Zuo Xiaoduo slowly came around and murmured, "...Celestial Person Physiognomy... what's that?"
Countless scraps of knowledge collided in Zuo Xiaoduo's mind, making his head feel as though it would split. Only after a long while did he finally sort them out. He couldn't help muttering, "Could I really have been a swindler before?"
There was no other reason.
What now filled his mind, encompassing almost everything under the sun, was a complete system of physiognomy!
"Celestial Person Physiognomy!"
"All things have their physiognomy. Heaven has its hidden workings, earth has its contours; mountains have their heights, waters have their depths, grass has its lushness, trees have their roots... the physiognomy of people is the foundation!"
"The cycle of life and death, calamity and fortune that strike between dawn and dusk, all laid bare at a glance; past lives and lives to come, what came before and what follows after, all clear in a single look..."
"A person's allotted life, heaven's fortune; life and death depend on one's allotment, calamity and blessings depend on fortune. Together, these are called destiny. All born of yin and yang have roots to trace; beneath Celestial Person Physiognomy, nothing can hide..."
Finally, beyond the physiognomy techniques, there was a Fortune Eye.
"An extra perk thrown in?" Zuo Xiaoduo muttered to himself. "The Fortune Eye, using one Fortune Point, lets me see someone's calamities and blessings over three months? Fortune Points... one drop per reading? Ten drops make one point? Can improve cultivation?..."
"I'm lost..."
At last, Zuo Xiaoduo understood. Celestial Person Physiognomy, Myriad Things Physiognomy-for now, the only thing he could access was the physiognomy of people; the rest remained beyond his reach.
And right now, he was only at the very bottom of the physiognomist ranks, an apprentice. At this stage, he could only read superficial things, commonly known as being a swindler.
To see the specific calamities and blessings someone would face within three months, he needed to spend Fortune Points and look with the Fortune Eye. And Fortune Points could only be obtained after a reading came true.
To advance, to improve his cultivation, he had to keep giving readings and keep having them come true. Only then could he gain Fortune Points and improve his abilities. Then he could give more readings and gain more...
In short, it all came down to one thing: read fortunes! Keep reading fortunes! Repeat the cycle...
The Fortune Points gained from readings could be used to raise his physiognomist rank, improve his cultivation, or see someone's calamities and blessings over three months.
"This is forcing me down the charlatan's road with no turning back..." Zuo Xiaoduo sucked in a breath. "But how could someone as honest and decent as me become a great con artist?"
Zuo Xiaoduo was very melancholy.
He felt that, with his upright, open, and honorable nature, a heart as clear as the breeze and the moon, his concern for his country and its people, his willingness to worry before all others under heaven... I shouldn't be capable of cheating and swindling people. Isn't this forcing an honest woman into prostitution?
Am I that sort of person?!
But after he learned more about it in detail, his mood immediately changed.
"Badass!"
Zuo Xiaoduo drew a deep breath.
"Even if I never become an expert, this alone will let me travel the world without ever worrying about food or drink!"
"Actually, being a charlatan earns plenty of admiration too... it won't affect my upright and honorable image..."
"Only... where's that Fortune Eye formed from the white jade, the Yin-Yang Fish, the broken jade pendant, and the Star Soul Jade?"
The moment the thought stirred.
Suddenly, both his eyes swelled with pain.
They stung.
Zuo Xiaoduo had only blinked twice when an intense stinging sensation suddenly seemed to rise from the depths of his soul. Caught completely off guard, he already had tears streaming down his face. Then they poured out like floodwaters through an opened sluice gate.
His eyes were like two little rivers, gushing without end.
"Holy... shit!"
"I haven't cried in years... am I making up for all those tears now?..." Tears streamed wildly down Zuo Xiaoduo's face, and he felt as though his eyes had become two springs.
"Doggie!"
Zuo Xiaonian pushed open the door and walked in, just in time to see Zuo Xiaoduo's tear-streaked face and the way he seemed to be crying his heart out. Her heart immediately trembled, and she exclaimed, "Duoduo, what's wrong? Why... are you crying?"
Zuo Xiaoduo frantically wiped his tears. "I'm not... crying..."
For a moment, he felt utterly screwed. This is so embarrassing. A grown man like me, caught red-handed shedding tears-and I can't even stop.
His tears kept gushing.
Zuo Xiaonian stared at him blankly, then suddenly sighed. She walked over and gathered Zuo Xiaoduo into her arms. Drawing a breath, she said in a trembling voice, "Xiaoduo... don't cry. You'll definitely be able to cultivate... I promise, no matter how great the price, I'll make sure you can cultivate..."
Tears streamed down Zuo Xiaoduo's face. "That's not why I..."
"I understand!" Zuo Xiaonian held his head tightly, tears spilling from her eyes too. "I've been trying to find a way all along. There, don't cry..."
Zuo Xiaoduo: ...
I'm really not crying... I just can't stop the tears...
Zuo Xiaonian, don't hold me so tightly. You're practically smothering me to death...