Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 472 "Professional"

"But the conversation went alright, everyone's life is a mess right now. Adults have to constantly pay the price for their past."

Niu Qianliu then adopted a melancholic, artistic tone.

This sudden feeling of melancholy reminded Lu Chongming of Chief Zhang Xue.

However, Chief Zhang Xue was clearly not as humble as this gentleman; if Lu Chongming had heard her just now, he would have kept his distance.

Zheng Fan stared at Niu Qianliu for a moment, then looked away noncommittally: "Now that you're back, let's get started. We're in a hurry."

Niu Qianliu nodded, then brought out a small stool from somewhere and sat down in a corner of the living room, before placing a small wooden table in front of him.

"Excuse me, sir, there's a sofa and a coffee table here."

"You want a fortune teller to sit on the sofa and tell your fortune using the coffee table?" Niu Qianliu immediately glared and puffed out his beard, even though he only had sparse stubble.

Lu Chongming glanced at Zheng Fan, who looked like he was watching a good show. The word "professional," which Zheng Fan had just said, involuntarily flashed through Lu Chongming's mind.

Are you really that professional, bro?
Niu Qianliu then took out a stool and placed it opposite the table, and then pulled out a banner, hung it on a bamboo pole, and tied it to his back.

Although the movements were abstract and carried a sense of ritual with unclear meaning, Lu Chongming did indeed feel a bit of a "professional" atmosphere.

Lu Chongming became reserved and rubbed his hands together: "Do you need my birth date and time, or my palmistry or something like that?"

"Ok?"

shhhhh-

Niu Qianliu, who had been shuffling a deck of cards in his hand without anyone noticing, responded with a muffled sound and raised his eyes: "No need."

I understand that I don't need these things, but what tools are you using?

I've never heard of fortune-telling tools being made of cards! What brand is yours?!

Then Niu Qianliu began dealing the cards. Watching the cards spread out in front of him like flowing water, even the fast-handed Lu Chongming almost couldn't see them clearly.

The word "professional" flashed through my mind again, but this time I no longer knew which profession I was specializing in.

"Choose one." Niu Qianliu finished dealing the cards and gestured for them to choose.

"What brand is this?"

"The Major Arcana of the Tarot? Isn't that popular among young people? You can't even recognize that?"

No, isn't this fortune telling?
"Sir, your fortune telling is a bit... all-encompassing..."

"I've never been one to follow any rules or regulations, so hurry up and choose."

Only then did Lu Chongming realize that he should have realized that Niu Qianliu was definitely not a proper person from the moment he saw his Gu-raising office attire. It was just that the Taoist robe on the outside was more conspicuous, and the reassurance given to him by Zheng Fan beforehand made him not realize it.

Lu Chongming turned over a card.

"Fool".

"Not bad," Niu Qianliu said casually after glancing at it.

Lu Chongming: ?

What does it mean when a fortune teller says "it's alright"?
Niu Qianliu gathered the cards, shuffled them with a magician's touch, and suddenly, with a flick of his wrists, all the cards vanished. Then, Niu Qianliu produced a crystal ball, and Lu Chongming was astonished to find that all the tarot cards had been stuffed into this crystal ball, which had no opening.

Wow, a crystal ball?

This is clearly a magic trick.

Niu Qianliu spun the crystal ball around, and Lu Chongming frowned slightly. He realized that although the cards were scattered, he couldn't see their faces no matter how the ball spun.

It wasn't until Niu Qianliu adjusted the angle that he could vaguely see a "Wheel of Fortune".

"The Wheel of Fortune?" Niu Qianliu didn't look at the crystal ball at all, but only stared at Lu Chongming.

Lu Chongming nodded quickly.

This seems to be getting interesting.

Then Niu Qianliu took out a tortoise shell.

A turn of events?

The tortoise shell was placed casually on the crystal ball, and then a large number of patterns that Lu Chongming could not understand at all began to appear on it automatically.

"What exactly is this...?" "Your overall fortune is fine, but do you see this particularly messy part here?" Niu Qianliu pointed to the most chaotic part at the very edge of the tortoise shell.

Lu Chongming nodded.

“This thing is part of him.” Niu Qianliu pointed with his thumb at Zheng Fan, who was squatting down watching the show, leaving Zheng Fan somewhat bewildered.

"Because you've been too involved with him, your fortune has been affected in a way, and your future is a mess. So I only took your 'starting' part to get a glimpse of the whole picture. The problem isn't with you, but with the fortunes of the entire Jiangwen Street and even the capital city being deflected by someone. It's just that the impact is smaller for those who are far away, and larger for those who are closer. It was probably in the early hours of last night that your wheel of fate was disturbed."

"So, is the solid evidence a matter of fate?" Zheng asked.

“It’s not quite to the point of reaching the depths of destiny, and destiny is something that doesn’t exist, though of course it can exist if needed,” Niu Qianliu said with a hint of deeper meaning.

"Cause and effect have not been reversed, and the process has not been observed; it is merely fate, or to put it more simply, pure luck. The person you are looking for has... very good luck."

Lu Chongming frowned slightly: "Can luck be manipulated?"

"Well... it can't be called manipulation. It's more like a manifestation of idealism, similar to 'I think I'm lucky, so I really am lucky,' only the specific process is more complicated than I'm describing."

"Although it's still blurry," Lu Chongming shook his head.

If the other party is very lucky, will their subsequent investigation activities really proceed smoothly?
"He was just using a trick, and to be honest, the other person's true nature should be bad luck. Good luck is a fog that is not clear. If you are afraid, you will never be his match. Only by having the courage to lift the veil can you find the true answer."

Niu Qianliu's tone at this moment was more like that of a standard charlatan.

However, simply answering every question is still not a standard approach. A more standard approach would be to constantly say, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

Niu Qianliu clearly held no expectations or reverence for the "secrets of heaven" in this world; whether such a thing even existed was also a question mark.

Suddenly the tortoise shell trembled violently, followed by the appearance of fine cracks that even extended into the crystal ball beneath it. Finally, both of them shattered simultaneously.

boom!
Niu Qianliu and Lu Chongming removed their hands from their hiding places, revealing scattered fragments and scattered card pieces.

Niu Qianliu coughed twice and pursed his lips: "Okay, it seems that the external factors I tried my best to eliminate still reacted very quickly. But this should be enough, right?"

Zheng Fan watched him silently, while Lu Chongming asked with some concern, "Will he realize you're plotting against him?"

After obtaining the information he wanted and learning that Niu Qianliu was truly skilled, the kind-hearted Xiao Lu became concerned about his safety, fearing that he might be targeted by the ruthless opposing side.

This person is truly "professional".

"He can't tell fortunes, he just plays around with some tricks. There's no way he can find me with that. Of course, if he does come looking for me, it might be easier to deal with." Niu Qianliu smirked.

After saying that, he stood up, tidied his clothes, and said, "Good luck isn't everything. It's true that when you have enough luck, you can almost achieve 'what you wish for'. But if that were the case, I wouldn't have gotten here, you wouldn't have gotten our help, and he wouldn't be facing the crisis of being exposed."

Lu Chongming's gaze sharpened.

“Because he himself doesn’t believe in luck,” Niu Qianliu laughed. “He wants to have more real control over himself, so the path he chooses is far from simply relying on fortune. While he wavers, you need to calmly find the gap in the veil; that will be the closest opportunity.”

“…Thank you very much!” Lu Chongming said solemnly.

Niu Qianliu shook his head and said, "There are many mediocre 'fools,' but very few genuine ones."

After leaving a message, he looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan suppressed a laugh and reached out to pat Niu Qianliu on the shoulder.

It's fun to show off, but to make the show perfect, Zheng Fan has to bring Niu Qianliu and make them disappear instantly in front of Lu Chongming and send him back to the Raphael School District, showing off his true mastery.

Old Niu did his best.

……

boom!
In a certain area of ​​Jiangwen Street, a large-screen monitor, which is not common nowadays, was suddenly and forcefully smashed to pieces on the ground.

"This feeling of unease... it's like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, aiming at my neck, the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head... How could this be?"

The figure suppressed his voice, and the blood-red thorns around him shimmered slightly.

"Damn it, those idiots in Nicole Street! We told them to wait a while, and they still can't even do that right. They gave some rats in the gutter an opportunity!"

The figure sat in a chair, gently covering its face with its hands.

“There’s more than one person trying to sway the threads of my destiny, but there’s only one source… Lu Chongming, he’s definitely acting strangely… No problem, stay calm. Clearly, my destiny is still on a positive trajectory, and even with fluctuations, I still hold the high ground. I must act before he makes any further moves…”

The figure gripped the remaining keyboard tightly with both hands and then crushed it with a forceful squeeze.

"Eliminate him!"

(End of this chapter)