novelraw 469. The fortune teller
469. The fortune teller
Xiao Yan frowned slightly. He sensed a strange feeling about the old man, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Xiao Yan scanned him with his soul power, but found nothing. The old man just smiled casually, seemingly unaware that he was being examined by Xiao Yan. Just as Xiao Yan was about to refuse, he heard Qing Lin say softly, "Young Master, why not have your fortune told? It'll be a pastime."
Seeing that Qing Lin was interested, Xiao Yan naturally wouldn't refuse just because of his strange feeling. So he sat down opposite the old man, who took out a handful of black counting rods and began fiddling with them on a compass.
"Young master, your destiny is extraordinary, as if you possess the aura of a dragon. You are destined to achieve royal power and dominance," the old man said slowly after observing for a short while.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan subconsciously chuckled, and the rest of the group, except for Qing Lin, also smiled knowingly.
"Master, I'm not trying to be rude, but if I had half the people in Saint Pill City tell my fortune, I'd probably get the same kind of answer." Xiao Yan said this with confidence, as his performance in the Nine Dragons Trial of Fire had truly made him famous throughout Saint Pill City. Even the waitresses in the restaurants and the manager of Wanbao Pavilion knew who he was. The old man's words were vague and still had loopholes; Xiao Yan had absolutely no interest in the so-called ambition of becoming a king.
Even if the Starfall Pavilion truly grows powerful in the future, Xiao Yan will never be the true ruler of this force. His personality dictates that he can only become a figurehead or a figurehead who appears on the surface but is actually a hands-off manager. The old man in front of him, on the other hand, clearly sees his current struggle with the Spirit Clan and believes that he will become a regional overlord in the future.
"However," the old man seemed completely unconcerned by Xiao Yan and his companions' disdain. Instead, he stared at Xiao Yan and calmly continued, "You, young master, may face a bloody calamity within a year. Whether you can escape it is another matter entirely."
Xiao Yan shook his head and stepped away from his seat, clearly not believing the words of the person in front of him.
"Among you all..." He glanced around at the crowd, then suddenly seemed to have chosen Qing Lin: "This young lady's fate is even more peculiar. May I perform another divination?"
Xiao Yan had already given up on dealing with the eccentric old man, but Qing Lin still had a hint of expectation in her eyes, waiting for his opinion. Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Qing Lin, if you want to try, then let's see."
Qinglin was also sitting in front of the old man. When the old man saw Qinglin's somewhat bewildered expression, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he hid it very well so that no one would notice.
"This young lady is destined to have royal blood, and the grandeur of your destiny is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life; it's truly astonishing!"
Qing Lin's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously stood up and took a half step back, his body trembling for a moment. A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes; he had already sensed the old man's abnormality.
"Master is joking," Xiao Yan said calmly, shielding Qing Lin to the side. "My maid is just an ordinary person."
"Just because someone was an ordinary person in the past doesn't mean they'll always be. Besides, this girl has been destined for greatness since birth. If she makes the right choices in the future, this world might not be able to contain her..."
The more the old man spoke, the more surprised Xiao Yan became: "With the master praising us so much, we might not actually have any extra rewards to give."
"Wealth is but a worldly possession; you can't take it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die. If you gentlemen and ladies think what I've said is wrong, just take it as a joke."
Lei Jingxiao became increasingly interested in the scene, pulled over a small stool and sat down in front of the old man, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Old man, predict my future. If you're right, you'll reap the rewards!"
The old man then picked up the compass, glanced at Lei Jingxiao a few more times, and then looked listless and dispirited.
"The image of that young lady that I tested before was truly astonishing. I am simply too exhausted today to make any further calculations. I apologize." With that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Lei Jingxiao.
"That won't do, it's boring, you haven't seen a truly powerful destiny."
"Young master, some things cannot be forced, just as some people are simply unbeatable and cannot be defeated..."
Upon hearing this, Lei Jingxiao's eyes narrowed sharply, as if he had remembered something, and his expression darkened considerably.
"What do you know?" Lei Jingxiao's voice suddenly became loud.
The old man, however, seemed genuinely exhausted. He yawned, then lay back in the chair with a backrest, remaining silent.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan put his hand on Lei Jingxiao's shoulder and advised, "Don't be silly, let's go."
Xiao Yan was now on guard. The person before him was truly extraordinary; he might very well be a backup plan from the Spirit Clan. After all, he had already caused trouble for the Spirit Clan, and their retaliation was inevitable. Neither Xiao Yan nor Qing Lin could see through this person, and continuing the fight might be dangerous. It was best to return to the Pill Tower as soon as possible.
Before leaving, Xiao Yan placed a jade bottle containing a fifth-grade pill on the old man's stall. The old man seemed not to hear it and didn't seem to care at all. He simply bowed slightly to Xiao Yan.
As he was leaving, Xiao Yan noticed that the counting rods had faint, scale-like patterns. However, the marks were exceptionally faint; if Xiao Yan hadn't had such keen eyesight, he would have mistaken them for ancient artifacts.
On the corner of the table, unnoticed by Xiao Yan and his group, lay a piece of ice crystal emitting a chilling aura. After Xiao Yan and his group left, the ice crystal lost its luster and turned into specks of water.
Not long after Xiao Yan and the others left, two people appeared at the stall and respectfully bowed to the old man sitting in the chair.
"Greetings, Elder."
"Have you taken care of everything I assigned you?"
"It's all taken care of. To be honest, the people from Danta didn't obstruct us much, so this trip went quite smoothly."
The old man wasn't surprised and explained, "The Spirit Race has caused them a lot of trouble. As long as we don't cause them any more trouble, they will naturally give us some convenience."
"So, what about now?"
"Go back to your clan."
The old man also got up from the recliner, opened his previously closed eyes, his pupils suddenly turned vertical, and the slovenly appearance of his tattered clothes completely disappeared.
"Whether it's Yao Xiaotian or Yao Ming, they're both complete idiots!"
Upon hearing this, the two men in front of the old man fell silent, not daring to interrupt. The two men the old man had casually dismissed were the former and current patriarchs of their clan, the Nine Netherworld Python clan.
"Now that the Empress has appeared, our race shall rise again!"