I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 130: No More Than Three Questions
Look at what Captain Zhao said. It's obvious that he's aiming to destroy someone's stall. If it were someone else, it would be difficult to deal with the "evil man" in front of them.

But the fortune teller in front of him is different. You have to know that a good fortune teller is not only good at fortune-telling, but also good at observing people's words and expressions, and his eloquence is not bad either.

Since he dares to stop people from selling courses, he must be somewhat confident.

When the fortune teller with a long face heard what Zhao Zhonghe said, he was not panicked. Instead, he casually put the change on the table into his sleeve.

"Fortune teller, don't think it's easy to get the money. If your predictions are not accurate."

"If the calculation is not accurate, I will return it tenfold."

The large black mole on the fortune teller's face twitched. He picked up a door ruler, also known as a feng shui ruler, and pointed at the table. He said, "There's a saying in the world: If you calculate others, don't calculate yourself. If you calculate yourself, you will surely die!"

"Whether my fortune-telling stall will be overturned, my clothes will be stripped, or I will fall into the river, that's all up to me. But if I really do what you say, wouldn't that just prove what you said?"

"After all, this is the rule of the Gua Xing, and it must be avoided."

The fortune teller chuckled and said, "You may change your question. If I don't answer you, you can always come back to me later."

"Is there such a rule?" Zhao Zhonghe turned to look at Zhao Yuan beside him.

The latter pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "I have heard that if you treat others, you should not treat yourself. A doctor should not treat himself. I guess there is such a rule."

Zhao Zhonghe stroked his stubble, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Then calculate for me, will my child be more powerful than me in the future?"

The fortune teller was stunned when he heard this. According to the riddle he had used when he tried to stop the person, the other party should have asked him to solve the riddle, or at least calculate his own lifespan.

There is no way you would ignore your own safety and instead ask about the future of your own children.

How deep must one's heart be to not care about one's own life or death?
"I can't count more than three times. I only count one lesson for each person. Have you thought about it, Captain?"

Zhao Zhonghe glared and said, "Just do it if I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense like a woman?"

"Okay, okay!" The fortune teller laughed angrily. He looked Zhao Zhonghe up and down, and his forced smile looked like the judge in the Hall of Hell who was in charge of the Book of Life and Death, about to draw a red cross on the rough man in front of him.

Xu Qing silently watched the fortune teller counting on his fingers. It was strange that this man did not ask for Zhao Zhonghe's child's birth date or name when he was fortune telling. He just stared at Zhao Zhonghe and pretended to count on his fingers.

Xu Qing activated the Qi-gazing technique, but there was nothing unusual on the fortune teller's body, so he didn't open his Yin pupil to observe.

Although the Yin Tong is much more powerful than the Qi Wang Shu, it is not as concealed as the Qi Wang Shu.

A normal person's eyes suddenly turned blacker than ink. Not to mention the fortune teller in front of him, even Zhao Zhonghe and his nephew would probably regard him as a demon.

At this moment, the fortune teller's fingers suddenly stopped moving and asked, "Does the captain want to hear good or bad things?"

"What do you mean? When I tell fortunes, I listen to both the good and the bad. How can I tell fortunes only halfway?"

The fortune teller laughed and said, "I know the captain is hot-tempered and easily angered. If I say something unpleasant and he takes his anger out on me, wouldn't that be unfair to me?"

"Just tell me what you mean. As long as it's accurate, don't say anything good or bad. Even if the words are harsh, I won't get angry at you."

The fortune teller picked up a ruler and drew a circle on the table. He said, "Your son was born in the month of the silkworm. He has a stubborn and straightforward personality. He will definitely inherit his father's legacy and become quite famous. It's no exaggeration to say that his name will go down in history."

"You're just a kid, and you want to leave your name in history? I think you, the fortune teller, are just saying nice things, and your words are not accurate at all!" Although Zhao Zhonghe said he was not convinced, his face was already smiling like a flower.

But before he could be happy for long, the fortune teller continued with another shocking statement: "It's a pity that although your son is famous, he has no good fortune to enjoy. He is like a silkworm. Although it can spin silk, it only lives for a month or so. Even if the silk is woven into brocade in the future, it will not be able to see or wear it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhonghe stood up suddenly.

"What do you mean by 'not allowed to see' or 'not allowed to wear'? Just tell me straight out, don't give me these nonsense!"

Xu Qing, standing by, suddenly spoke up, "This fortune teller said your child will die young, his life span like a silkworm. Even if he achieves great fame in the future, he won't be able to see it while he's still alive."

"."

At this moment, Zhao Zhonghe was like a firecracker whose fuse was about to burn out, with sparks flying out of his eyes.

"Is that what you mean?"

The fortune teller said helplessly, "Captain, don't forget the promise you made earlier. No matter the outcome, good or bad, you must not get angry with me."

"Fuck you! You old bastard, you old pig-dog with a mouth full of shit, what the hell are you talking about! If I don't get angry at you today, do you think you're going to go back and sulk by yourself?"

Zhao Zhonghe was about to grab the fortune teller's collar, but unexpectedly the other party dodged.

The fortune teller held up a door ruler and cursed back, "You ungrateful idiot! I'm telling you the truth, and you're still not happy! Even so, I won't tell you how to crack it. Let's see who laughs and who cries!"

"How to crack it?"

Zhao Zhonghe sneered, "So you're waiting for me here. Do you need me to add some more silver before you're willing to tell me the solution?"

The fortune teller sneered back, "I've been traveling for many years, telling fortunes for people, but I've always only done it once and only collected the fee once. Captain, you've met many deceitful people, so do you think everyone else is just as deceitful?"

Seeing this, Zhao Yuan pulled Zhao Zhonghe aside and said, "Uncle, since the fortune teller has no bargaining chips, why not listen to his answer first?"

Xu Qing, who was watching the fun from the side, followed up and said, "That's right. If his answer doesn't satisfy the captain, the captain can overturn his stall, strip him of his clothes, and throw him into the river."

"."

Upon hearing this, the fortune teller glanced at Xu Qing with a rather unfriendly look.

"Most silkworms die when they run out of silk. To remedy this, we must do the opposite."

Zhao Zhonghe was completely bewildered. Xu Qing, who was standing beside him, pondered, "Perhaps this fortune teller wants the captain's son to change his profession and not be a constable in the future."

"Is he right?"

Zhao Yuan asked the fortune teller, but the latter smiled and did not answer.

Zhao Zhonghe still had doubts. He asked, "Who can predict what will happen in the next ten or twenty years? How can I know if you are lying to me?"

The fortune teller smiled and said, "It's just a fortune telling. The captain just received his salary today. Do you think he still cares about the cost of a fortune telling?"

Zhao Zhonghe was shocked when he heard this, and the look in his eyes when he looked at the fortune teller changed instantly.

He was going to hold a funeral for Shiquan today, but he didn't have much money. He didn't want to waste time going back home to withdraw money, so he asked the household department to advance his monthly salary. No one else knew about this except the head of the household department.

This is really weird. Zhao Zhonghe was shocked and confused.

At the fortune-telling stall, the fortune-teller continued to ring the bell.

Zhao Yuan noticed his uncle's strange expression and became interested in the fortune teller. He stepped forward, sat on a stool, and said expectantly, "Sir, tell me something too."

Zhao Yuan has always been obsessed with studying and gaining fame, and this is what he asked this time.

It’s a pity that after the fortune teller finished his calculations, he just shook his head.

"Is there really no chance?" Zhao Yuan still held on to a glimmer of hope.

At this time, a yellow dog happened to pass by the bridge. The fortune teller pointed at the dog and said, "There is a chance, but you have to wait behind it."

"."

Here, Zhao Yuansheng left the stool with frustration, and the next moment Xu Qing sat down.

"How much does it cost to take a lesson?"

"The customer gives as he sees fit, and I calculate as he sees fit!" Seeing Xu Qing sitting down, the fortune teller's attitude was obviously different from others.

Well! This fortune teller seems to be quite petty!

Xu Qing was not shy either. He took out a copper coin and pushed it in front of the fortune teller, saying with a smile, "Sir, I'd like to ask you, who is buried in the Yinhe Ancient Road?"

When Xu Qing went to the Ghost King's Tomb earlier, he saw many skeletons with bull heads and human bodies on the Yinhe Ancient Road, half-buried skeletons with horse heads and human bodies, and many unknown and strange fish skeletons scattered everywhere.

There was nothing special about those skeletons except their peculiar structure, but Xu Qing saw something unusual in them.

The Yinhe Ancient Road seems to be a burial site, and those creatures with ox heads and horse faces are burial objects. It was only after years of evolution that they were exposed from underground.

After hearing Xu Qing's question, the fortune teller was silent for a while, then said, "Why don't you change the question?"

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows and reached out to take out another piece of silver.

"That's all I have to ask! Didn't you say you knew everything about the past and present? How come you don't even know this?"

The fortune teller with a long, thin face turned pale, and he picked up the ruler and pushed the copper coins and silver coins in front of him back to Xu Qing.

"This is against the will of heaven, so I cannot tell you."

Xu Qing was amused by this and asked, "Sir, you said this is against the will of heaven. Haven't you heard that life and death are determined by fate? Calculating human life and death is also against the will of heaven?"

"What do you mean?" The fortune teller frowned.

Xu Qing said calmly, "Every profession has its own specialties. I'm not as good as you at divination, but I do know a thing or two. There's a saying that predicting life can lead to death, and predicting death can lead to life."

"If I'm not mistaken, you once divined for a man named Shiquan. He didn't believe the predictions you gave him about life and death, so he insisted on going on a business trip with you."

Xu Qing changed the subject and reminded, "Sir, why don't you calculate who is lying in this coffin?"

The fortune teller counted with his fingers, his brow furrowed ever deeper. Finally, he said, "This person's life or death is entirely up to him. What does it have to do with me?"

Xu Qing laughed and said, "Sir, you just said that you should calculate others but not yourself. Little did you know that I am also a part of destiny. If Shiquan hadn't listened to you and got angry with me, I might have listened to others' advice and stayed at the government office."

"Of course, this matter has nothing to do with you, sir. It just happened to fulfill the proverb. As for whether it violates the will of heaven, or whether it endangers life or death, that is entirely up to you, sir."

The fortune teller's expression changed, and finally he smiled and said, "I see. No wonder you want to make things difficult for me. It turns out that my enemy has come."

"Well, I'll make an exception this time. Ask ahead!"

Xu Qing smiled slightly and continued with the previous question: "Who is buried in the Yinhe Ancient Road?"

The fortune teller shook his head: "The person buried in the Yinhe Ancient Road is not someone."

"what is that?"

"The road to heaven is blocked, burying countless practitioners who seek immortality and the truth."

"The road to heaven is blocked?" This was the first time Xu Qing heard such a statement. He frowned and asked, "What does this have to do with the buried cultivator?"

The fortune teller was silent for a moment, then reached out and pushed back the silver coins he had pushed away.

"The underground road is not cut off. Walking through the underworld may lead to the road to heaven. The pioneers who opened up the road are buried in the ancient Yinhe Road."

Xu Qing opened his eyes wide. Isn't this just climbing over the wall with a ladder?
"Why is the road to heaven blocked?" Xu Qing couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, the fortune teller stood up decisively and began to pack up his stall.

"No more than three hexagrams, and only one encounter with each person. I have already answered what you want to ask, so please do not ask again."

After saying this, the fortune teller remained silent, as if he had already used up all his fortune-telling opportunities for the day.

"What is Shopkeeper Xu asking? Is his calculation accurate?"

In the carriage, Zhao Yuan asked curiously.

Xu Qing shook his head, still thinking about the fortune teller's words.

If the Yinhe Ancient Road is the passage into the underworld, then wouldn’t the Huyang clan, Hu Baosong’s ancestors, be the pioneers who wanted to open up the road to heaven?
The road to heaven in the mortal world is cut off, and only the underworld can lead to immortality.
Xu Qing thought of his own Sutra of Salvation and the white spots of light floating from the babies in the Temple of Childbirth.

If there really is an underworld, why can't we see the soul-collecting ghost in the world of the living?

Thinking of this, Xu Qing was suddenly stunned.

He thought of the strange corpses scattered on the Yinhe Ancient Road.

Were these ghost messengers and yakshas killed by the practitioners in the mortal world?

What happened thousands of years ago?
Xu Qing was thinking about his worries all the way here, and over there, not far from Tanggu Bridge, the fortune teller who had just closed his stall and left was also thinking about his worries.

The young man I met today was indeed a little weird. The fortune teller couldn't get over it no matter how hard he tried to think about it. He felt like he was being scratched by a cat.

This is the problem with people born in the Jing Men element: the more they encounter things they don’t know about or are curious about, the more they want to know.

"You are playing tricks on me. Let me figure out who you are."

The fortune teller counted with his fingers and immediately found something wrong.

The chief of the yamen runners, rough but meticulous, brave and strong
How can this be blamed on that foul-mouthed captain of the police?
The fortune teller wiped his hands on his coat, thinking that his hands were sweaty and his calculations were not very effective. He asked him to count on his fingers again.

A widow, thirty-nine years and two months old, a middle-aged woman.
No, no, this time the fortune teller changed his hand and continued to calculate.

A yellow-skinned man named Zhao Yuan who practices in Xijing Mountain, and a yamen runner who has failed the Tongsheng exam for five consecutive years?
Why is this getting more and more chaotic?

The fortune teller's brows furrowed more and more.

There is a saying in the Jingmen jargon that goes "Ask no more than three times." This is also mentioned in the Meng Gua, which means "It is not I who ask the child, but the child who asks me. I answer the first time, but I will not answer the second or third time."

The fortune teller has predicted the same thing three times in a row. If he does it again, at best it will displease the gods, and at worst it will bring punishment from the gods.

The fortune teller knew this very well, but he just refused to believe it!
Since he came down the mountain, he had never encountered anything that he couldn't figure out.

"I must see what kind of monster you are today!"

The fortune teller took out the copper coin Xu Qing gave him, and then took out two more copper coins and put them into the tortoise shell.

The fortune teller's eyes, lips and mouth were tightly closed, his face was tense, and his hands were constantly shaking the tortoise shell copper coins.

When he felt that something was happening, the fortune teller suddenly opened his eyes and threw out the copper coin from the tortoise shell.

Three copper coins rolled to the ground. When the coins landed firmly, the fortune teller's face suddenly changed.

Oh no! No!
All three copper coins stood upright. This was not a good sign!

Sure enough, the next moment, the cloudless sky suddenly became cloudy. The fortune teller did not bother to pack up his things. He threw his fortune telling robe onto the tree next to him, and picked off the big black mole on his face and threw it away.

The fortune teller rubbed his hands on his face, and his whole appearance changed.

After doing all this, he ran away. Not long after, there was a thunderclap behind him. The old elm tree that had grown for nearly a hundred years was broken into pieces, and thunder, fire and green smoke rose.

(End of this chapter)