I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 261 Zhang Sheng Asks for Divination
Having rented a house, they now had a permanent place to stay in Chang'an. As it was getting late, the group returned to their temporary lodging.

Zhang Guolao bid them farewell.

He rode his donkey and leisurely returned to Zhongtiao Mountain to sleep.

As they passed by an official's house, Zhang Guolao glanced at it, patted the donkey's head, and made the white donkey stop for a moment to listen to the sounds coming from inside the house.

It wasn't completely dark yet.

The Zhang family's house was brightly lit.

The house was in chaos, with maids and servants scattered mugwort water everywhere to make the house quieter and burning incense in an attempt to cover up the unpleasant smell.

They called in a doctor.

Zhang Shibalang's mother sobbed, wiping away her tears and covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. She whispered to the doctor:

"Why did this happen all of a sudden? Is it tooth decay? How can tooth decay have such a strong odor?"

To put it bluntly, she was like something rotten and foul-smelling.

Dr. Zhao remained silent, lost in thought.

He was also puzzled and couldn't make up his mind.

Madam Li, Zhang Shibalang's mother, felt a surge of anger. She glared at her son and scolded him.

"You've been drinking all day. I told you to study hard at Chongxuan Academy, but you refused. You're almost of age, and you haven't even memorized the Four Classics. All you do is hang out with your cronies all day!"

"Your monthly salary will be halved from now on."

"Let's see if you can still go out for drinks and meals?"

The more his mother spoke, the paler Zhang Shibalang's face became.

Mrs. Li was deeply worried.

She has already asked her son for leave from Chongxuan Academy, but he can't stay at home forever; he'll have to go back to school eventually.

She asked the boy where the smell came from, but he wouldn't tell her.

Zhang Shibalang was chewing on cloves.

The servants of the Zhang family had almost bought one of every kind of tooth powder in Chang'an, but just as the old man had said, his mouth still reeked of a foul odor, and the smell had not lessened at all. He hardly uttered a word all afternoon.

Zhang Shibalang's face turned deathly pale.

He could barely hear his mother's angry rebuke, his father's sighs, or the old doctor's questions.

Those few words kept replaying in his mind.

"What you said, sir, is foul. Today, I'll offer you a cup of wine, which will make your words match your tone."

"If you chew cloves or tooth powder, this odor can be eliminated in ten years. If you eat it... it can be eliminated in three months."

Zhang Shibalang's face turned deathly pale.

If he had known earlier that the old man in the tavern was Zhang Guolao, he certainly wouldn't have said such a thing. Zhang Shibalang recalled what he had said: that this man cursed the Prince of Qi to death, that he was narrow-minded, and hypocritical…

Little did he know that it would all happen to him.

I felt both worried and afraid.

Is he really going to stay smelly for ten years?

Madam Li wiped away her tears and looked at Doctor Zhao with worry, "How did my son become like this? Is there any way to cure him?"

Dr. Zhao endured the stench, thinking of the consultation fee he was owed, and persevered.

He said:

"I have already looked at it, and there is nothing wrong with it."

"Young master, your teeth are clean and your kidney energy is strong. Teeth are a byproduct of bones, so there shouldn't be any major problems. As for this inexplicable stench..."

Dr. Zhao really didn't know.

He stroked his beard and thought for a moment.

“I have a patient these days, Mr. Xing Hepu, who is very famous in Chang’an. His predictions are extremely accurate. Coincidentally, he is also a teacher at Chongxuan Academy. He is currently recuperating at home.”

"Given the past teacher-student relationship, perhaps the young master and his wife could consult a fortune teller."

"Of course, Mr. Xing is currently ill at home and it will take some time for him to recover his strength."

"We should wait until the person has fully recovered before consulting a divination master."

"Young master, your breath is just a little unpleasant, it doesn't affect your health, so you can rest for a while longer. This is the first time I've seen such a strange thing, and my medical skills are limited, so this is all I can say."

Mrs. Li and her husband exchanged a glance.

"really?"

Dr. Zhao smiled wryly: "It's just a method that doesn't really work."

In the mansions of the powerful and wealthy, there was a bustling scene of people seeking medical treatment.

Zhang Guolao smiled and rode his donkey alone through the night.

"This young man doesn't even dare to tell his family, yet he dares to curse them out... Interesting, very interesting."

……

……

The next day, Xing Hepu was at home when a guest arrived.

When the man arrived, his servant unloaded many gifts from the carriage. The family had heard from somewhere that ginseng was good, so they specially bought a ginseng root from the pharmacy at a high price to nourish his body.

Upon understanding the meaning, Xing Hepu sat up from his sickbed.

"A foul stench?" The official gave a wry smile.

He said, "He's used to causing trouble outside, and I'm busy with official duties, so I don't have much time to keep an eye on him. I don't know where he got such bad breath. When I asked him, he just said he didn't know."

The official sighed.

“I won’t lie to you, Mr. Xing, if that kid wasn’t my son, I would have thrown him out long ago. The smell… was several times worse than the rotten fish and shrimp in the market.”

"I really don't know where they got into this mess."

"Mr. Xing, you lecture at Chongxuan Academy, and my son is one of your students. I wonder..."

Xing Hepu saw pain appear on the official's usually composed face.

This is interesting.

Xing Hepu was overjoyed. He covered his smile with his sleeve, but when he saw the embarrassment on the face of the official opposite him, he coughed twice and became serious.

"Then let's calculate it."

A servant of the Xing family glanced at him and offered a reminder.

"My lord, you are currently seriously ill; I'm afraid your body cannot withstand it?"

Xing Hepu didn't care at all. "After lying down for so many days, my bones are stiff, but the more I calculate, the more insightful I become."

This is such a small matter, there's no need to bother with the bamboo.

After Xing Hepu finished speaking, he casually began to do some calculations. He tapped his fingers on his hand, occasionally glancing at the official's face, and soon came to a conclusion, laughing heartily.

"You shouldn't have asked me for divination."

The official looked on with awe, not understanding the meaning of these words, and asked for clarification.

"What does this mean?"

Xing Hepu laughed and said, "Your son should know the ins and outs better than I do; he just doesn't want to tell you."

The official jumped to his feet, both shocked and furious.

"really?"

Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you.

The official circled around twice, quickly realizing he was in someone else's home. He apologized, clasped his hands, and said, "I was a little too hasty; please forgive my rudeness."

"I wonder if Mr. Xing could say a few more words, so that if that unfilial son goes back and makes up a lie, I will have something to say about it."

Xing Hepu tapped on the low table on the couch.

He joked:

Ask him if he offended anyone at noon yesterday.

"Let me think...it seems to be an old man."

"I spoke disrespectfully and offended the other party, so I'll punish them a little... Hmm? There's a master in the capital." Xing Hepu's voice was much softer at the end, so that only he could hear it.

The officials were uneasy.

"I didn't hear what you just said."

Xing Hepu waved his hand.

“Go back and ask him. He knows everything about how your son offended them and how to get rid of the stench, but he’s just too embarrassed to say it.”

The official suppressed his anger and thanked him in a low voice.

He then asked, "The solution...I wonder if it might be able to coincide with the sage's birthday celebration?"

Xing Hepu spoke casually.

"I don't know then. You can go back and ask yourselves. If you can't make it, just send someone else to the banquet."

The official left behind a gift and returned home furious.

Wait until people leave.

Xing Hepu couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, coughing as he laughed. He said to his servants:

"I wonder who was so witty as to think of something that would make someone stink for ten years. I wonder if Young Master Zhang even has a night-blooming cereus, hahaha..."

He picked up his teacup, laughing so hard he almost dropped it.

The servant didn't understand and felt a little uneasy looking at the sorcerer who was laughing so hard he was shaking.

"Lang Jun?"

Xing Hepu laughed for a long time.

After drinking some water, he leaned lazily against the armchair, muttering contentedly to himself.

"Let me see who this expert is. I have a feeling there's someone else watching... This person is quite cunning; he didn't even try to stop me."

Those two witty people must be reclusive masters living in Chang'an.

Xing Hepu thought to himself that he couldn't possibly calculate it by hand or in his mind. He would take out a bamboo abacus to make it more accurate.

Thinking this, he let go of the vague sense of familiarity he felt.

He looked at his servants.

"Bring me the bamboo abacus."

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)