When Jin Shanyao had helped the county yamen catch a thief through divination, quite a few people had still harbored doubts. They thought she had been lucky or had known where the culprit was hiding beforehand, and they had not been fully convinced.
But after the incident with the missing child, her reputation spread throughout the county town.
Everyone firmly believed that Jin Shanyao had genuine skills. Unfortunately, she only found people and things; she did not divine anything else.
Who lost things every day? As time went on, fewer people came for divinations. Zhang Banxian, however, set up his stall beside Jin Shanyao's and rode her coattails to earn quite a bit of money.
That day, Zhang Banxian timidly stuck his cloth banner into the rut beside Jin Shanyao's cart. He had once used the face-reading technique passed down by his founding master to read her face.
All he saw was a mass of blue-green mist. When he looked deeper, he saw a bottomless blackness, like a giant maw ready to swallow people whole. It frightened him so badly that he collapsed on the spot.
Zhang Banxian had set up his stall beside hers for over a month. At first, he had been a little afraid, but as time passed, his irreverent nature showed itself.
He decided to make an attempt at breaking the ice.
Planting his banner was the first step. While Jin Shanyao was not looking, he quickly tied the straps in place.
Then he squatted down beside her with a grin, looked at the sky, then at the ground, and cleared his throat twice to get her attention. "Say, little sister, you're a bit late setting up today."
Little sister? Was he a relative? Jin Shanyao's eyes went round. "You're a tree?" she asked in disbelief.
"Uncle?" Zhang Banxian was taken aback. He had not expected Jin Shanyao to call him uncle right off the bat. Overjoyed, he grew quite excited. "Uncle, yes, you ought to call me uncle. Look at me, I got our generations all mixed up."
Jin Shanyao was puzzled. What tree? Did trees have generational ranks too? She secretly used her Spiritual Power to examine Zhang Banxian's body, and her expression gradually darkened.
I knew this old man was no good. Making all that racket beside me, who knows how many people he's swindled? And today he shamelessly took advantage of me.
Tree, uncle, bah...
She glared at Zhang Banxian and shuffled two steps away, putting some distance between them.
Zhang Banxian had just been promoted to uncle and was too excited to notice these little movements.
He followed Jin Shanyao two steps over. "Niece, I did a divination yesterday. Guess what happened?"
Jin Shanyao did not want to hear what happened. She wanted some peace and quiet, so she shuffled another half-step away.
Zhang Banxian followed close behind. "That family's youngest son attracted a ghost, and a lecherous one at that."
Jin Shanyao pressed her lips together, hugged her knees, and gazed helplessly at the sky. Heavens, send a bolt of lightning to strike him dead. He talks too much.
Unaware of what she was thinking, Zhang Banxian kept gesturing and prattling on.
"That ghost had been pestering him for half a year. If not for me, before half a month was up, he'd have..."
Seeing Jin Shanyao staring blankly at the sky, Zhang Banxian followed her gaze upward, but could see nothing except a few clouds.
He cleared his throat and had just leaned his head toward her when a little hand pressed against his forehead.
Meng Anzhi said in a soft, sweet voice, "Grandpa Zhang, just squat there and talk. We can hear you."
Zhang Banxian chuckled, glanced around, and, seeing no one nearby, whispered, "Before half a month was up, he'd have..." He made a slashing motion across his throat.
Well, that gesture was wasted. Jin Shanyao was not looking at him at all.
Zhang Banxian wanted to reach out and nudge her but did not dare. Anxiously, he cried, "Come on, we're uncle and niece now. Can't you give me a response?"
Jin Shanyao stared into the distance and said slowly, "A dog has run off with your banner."
"What?" Zhang Banxian whipped around and saw a big black dog pulling his cloth banner from the cart rut, shaking its head as it tore at the cloth. Furious, he sprang to his feet.
"Damn dog, you dare tear down my sign? I foresee a bloody calamity in your future."
Seeing Zhang Banxian walk away, Meng Anzhi leaned her small body toward Jin Shanyao. She had been watching for several days, and her little aunt's hair seemed to be turning yellow bit by bit.
"Little Aunt, are you feeling unwell?"
Jin Shanyao turned to look at her, puzzlement in her eyes. "No." Apart from Zhang Banxian talking a bit too much and making her ears ache, there was nothing else.
Meng Anzhi reached out and touched her hair, and with that one touch, a small lock came away in her hand. Looking somewhat panicked, she said, "Little Aunt, w-why is your hair falling out?"
Losing a strand or two was nothing unusual, but pulling out a small lock in one go was frightening.
Jin Shanyao paid it no mind and tucked the hair into her pouch. Once processed, her fallen ginkgo leaves could cure a hundred poisons.
"Leaves fall in autumn, and my hair falls out at this time of year too. Don't worry. It'll grow back when spring comes."
Meng Anzhi's little face flushed red with anxiety. "Little Aunt, I'm not a child anymore. Since when did people shed hair according to the seasons?"
She looked at Jin Shanyao's hair, which was faintly yellow and visibly dry. "You've been dozing off all the time lately, and you're listless all over, yet you still say there's nothing wrong."
Meng Anzhi pulled Jin Shanyao up and sat on the ox cart, placing her little hand on Jin Shanyao's wrist to check her pulse.
Jin Shanyao looked at her little face. Seeing her serious expression and her pretty brows drawn together, she found her very cute. "Can you tell what's wrong?"
Meng Anzhi raised her eyes to look at her, and her eyes reddened. Before she had studied medicine, she had been unable to save her mother. Now that she had studied it, she still could not tell what was wrong with her little aunt.
"Little Aunt, am I really that useless? I can't even feel your pulse."
Jin Shanyao's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, I forgot I'm a person now. She hurriedly pulled her hand back, rubbed her arm hard a couple of times, then placed her hand on Meng Anzhi's short little legs again.
"Ahem... try again."
Meng Anzhi copied Jin Shanyao, rubbing her hands together vigorously before placing one little hand on her wrist again. Oh... there it is... She looked at Jin Shanyao in surprise.
"Little Aunt, I was checking the very same spot just now. How strange."
Jin Shanyao laughed. "That's because you were too nervous just now. How is it now?"
Meng Anzhi pressed down with her fingers and considered it. "Strong and powerful. Of all the pulses I've ever felt, it's beating the liveliest."
Jin Shanyao could not help bursting into laughter. She cupped Meng Anzhi's little face in both hands and rested her head against her forehead. "Oh, my sweet girl, how are you so clever?"
The praise made Meng Anzhi a little embarrassed. All her life, her father and mother had praised her younger brother for being clever. Only her little aunt had called her clever.
While the two were talking, Zhang Banxian returned, holding his banner and panting for breath.
"Damn it, who knows where that stray dog came from? The bastard bit my sign to tatters."
Jin Shanyao covered Meng Anzhi's ears and scolded him coldly. "Old Zhang, if you don't clean up your mouth, don't blame me for getting rough."
"Oh dear, look at me, I've got no gate on this mouth of mine. I forgot we had a little divine physician here," he said, slapping his lips as he spoke.
Grinning cheekily, he stuck the banner back into the cart rut.
In the past, he could do a dozen or so divinations in a month. Ever since he had set up beside Jin Shanyao, he had done at least two a day.
Jin Shanyao was his living God of Wealth. Most importantly, she had genuine skills, and for some reason Zhang Banxian had come to admire her and feel close to her.
The old man was getting on in years, and squatting all the time made his legs and feet ache, so he lifted the hem of his robe, intending to sit on the ox cart and rest his feet.
But the moment his backside touched the cart bed, he heard someone let out a yowl.
Zhang Banxian jumped in fright. He was clutching his chest and had not yet caught his breath when someone grabbed him.