They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 5 Why did you have to drag me into this?
"How come you're so agile, old man?" After running for so long, Chen An's forehead was already slightly sweaty. He held onto Yuan Shoucheng's sleeve tightly, afraid that this fortune teller, who was as slippery as an eel, would run away again.

In the shady alley, Yuan Shoucheng's hemp clothing clung to his thin back, revealing the clear outline of his shoulder blades. He didn't struggle; with Chen An's pulling force, he slowly turned around. Far from being disheveled from being chased, his face now wore that cheerful expression again, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out, like dried elm bark being flattened with fingers.

"Heh...heh," he breathed evenly, not like someone who had just been chased half a block. He glanced first at the hand with distinct knuckles and a strong, martial-like grip on his sleeve, then raised his cloudy eyes to look at Chen An and Chen Guangrui.

"Young man, you have quite the skill. I'm helpless... Well, I just suddenly remembered something very important that I had to deal with. In my haste, I was impolite. Please forgive me."

"Important matter?" Chen An frowned, clearly disbelieving.

"What could possibly make you abandon your stall and run away as soon as you see us? I bet you only ran because you saw my brother... uh, my elder brother!" He quickly corrected himself, remembering that Chen Guangrui only allowed him to call him "brother" in private.
"Could it be that your family member is having a baby?"

Yuan Shouchang smoothed out the wrinkles on his sleeve caused by Chen An's grip. The fabric was worn white, stiff, and thin; smoothing it a few times didn't help much. He clicked his tongue, his face serious and earnest.

"No, no. You two esteemed gentlemen are unaware of this. Just now, as I sat under the locust tree observing the sky, I suddenly noticed floating clouds in the northwest, with the faint, flickering light of Mars. I quickly calculated that it was exactly three-quarters past dusk today! Mars is guarding the heart of the constellation, a celestial warning of great importance. I must immediately return to the west market entrance, find a place of extreme yin to borrow the earth's energy and suppress the flickering light, and observe for the passing people the 'where the misfortune comes from, and where the fortune will come from.' If I am even a moment late, the stars will shift, and the opportunity for divination will be missed. Divination may be wrong, but how dare I be careless in observing celestial phenomena?"

He spoke with great seriousness, his withered fingers gesturing in the air as if he were truly outlining the movement of stars.

However, Chen Guangrui had witnessed his ability to spout nonsense before, and after thinking for a moment,

"Sir, that's not a very clever lie."

Chen Guangrui raised his hand and pointed to the sky; the setting sun was casting long shadows of the locust trees all the way to the alley entrance.
"The hour of Wei is almost over, and there are still at least two hours until the hour of You (5:45 PM) that you mentioned. If Mars were truly in conjunction with Antares, the Imperial Observatory of Chang'an should have been ringing bells and drums by now. Why is there not the slightest sound?"

Hearing that his words had been exposed, Yuan Shoucheng didn't blush. His eyes darted around. "Well, maybe I miscalculated. I miscalculated. It's a misunderstanding!"

"Now that you've said that, I can go back to selling fortunes in peace."

As he spoke, he walked out of the alley, while Chen An tugged at his sleeve and looked at Chen Guangrui.

Chen Guangrui nodded, then put his hands behind his back and followed behind Yuan Shoucheng.

Yuan Shoucheng tried to run away several times, but Chen An held onto his sleeve.

He tried to call for help again, but Chen Guangrui said leisurely behind him, "Old sir, you don't want me to tell everyone about how you just lied to that person, do you?"

"If word gets out, the authorities might not care, but that guy will probably smash your business. You know he's not short of money, but he'll still want to get his revenge."

After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but shake his head. The meaning was clear: if this matter were really exposed, it would become much more difficult for Yuan Shoucheng to sell fortunes in this bustling city.

Yuan Shoucheng agreed wholeheartedly and stopped thinking about how to escape, obediently walking ahead.

Back at his stall, he seemed to remember something and said, "Hey kid, since you already know this divination art, why did you still come to me for a reading?"

He frowned, looking disgusted. "Go away, don't cause trouble here. I'm not going to do your calculations."

Chen Guangrui smiled and said, "Who said I wanted to have my fortune told by you?"

"What are you doing here if you're not here to have your fortune told? Are you here to drink and have fun? Or are you just attracted to my looks?"

Yuan Shoucheng, with a joking demeanor, had no intention of discussing serious matters with Chen Guangrui.

Chen Guangrui said, "I want to ask you, why did you run away so quickly when you saw me? Am I the celestial warning you mentioned?"

“Hey, you can’t say that.” Yuan Shoucheng shook his head, wanting to make up a few more things.

He was a fortune teller, making a living by talking, so of course he wasn't afraid to chat with people.

But Chen Guangrui didn't give him a chance to continue, and asked directly, "Since I'm not that scary, how about you tell my fortune?"

As he spoke, he sat down in front of Yuan Shoucheng. "I know you want a golden carp as payment for the divination. I'll pay you on credit after you've finished the reading." Yuan Shoucheng chuckled dryly. "You know I run a small business and don't do credit. What if you don't pay me back?"

"Ha, since you dare to sell fortune telling, can't you predict whether I'll owe you money? Besides, you were just telling me where I could find money for fortune telling."

Chen Guangrui's eyes gleamed as he stared into Yuan Shoucheng's eyes. "If your divination is accurate, no one should owe you money on credit, right? If your divination is inaccurate, then who would come to you for a reading?"

"this."

Yuan Shoucheng stroked his beard, momentarily at a loss for words. He felt as if he had been outmaneuvered and was at a loss for what to say. Finally, he could only resort to a rogue-like act, saying…
"That's just how I am. If I'm not happy, I won't do the divination. Today, I'm not selling you this fortune no matter what."

Chen An, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow. "I'm telling you, you fortune teller, you're so unreasonable. You've already done readings for everyone else, but you won't do one for my brother? Believe me or not, I'll beat you up!"

Yuan Shoucheng sat on a chair at his stall and waved his hand. "No, no, I don't want to tell your fortune today. There are so many people on the street. Do you want to commit murder on purpose? Be careful, or I'll have them arrest you."

He pointed to the Marquis of Wu not far away, looking quite pleased with himself.

The West Market was a bustling scene in Chang'an, with military officers patrolling everywhere. If he were to shout, he could certainly attract quite a few people.

However, Chen Guangrui's eyes lit up when he saw Wu Hou. "Perfect! I'll let these constables see if they'll care if you try to swindle them. I'll bring that guy here as a witness, and then we'll all be settled."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shoucheng's face fell, and he clutched his chest.

"You little brat, are you trying to drive me crazy?!"

As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table, causing the bamboo tube on it to bounce high into the air.

"I've already said I'm not going to do your reading, if you want it done, go find someone else, why are you bothering me?"

"You're about to die, why do you have to drag me down with you!"

"No, I said it doesn't count."

Having vented his anger, Yuan Shoucheng flicked his sleeve, and it seemed as if sand was drifting out of his sleeve.

Just as Chen An was about to step forward, he was blinded by the sand. When he opened his eyes again, Yuan Shoucheng had already disappeared.

"Brother, does this old guy seem to know some kind of magic trick?"

He was a martial arts master, so he naturally knew that ordinary martial artists wouldn't disappear so quickly and cleanly. The only plausible explanation was that this person knew some kind of magic trick and used some kind of illusion to make himself disappear.

Chen Guangrui didn't explain, because he knew that many unbelievable things could happen in this world. However, even if he told Chen An, Chen An probably wouldn't believe him.

Just now, when Yuan Shoucheng threw sand, he clearly saw this guy burrow underground.

How to explain this?

I can only sigh in my heart, this is the bizarre and wonderful world I remember.

As for his last words, Chen Guangrui pondered them for a long time before finally saying, "Let's go find him again!"

"Huh? Still looking? I don't know where else I could see him besides here. Brother, do you know anything about him?"

Chen Guangrui, however, showed no disappointment whatsoever, and simply said one thing.
"I don't know either! But I have a way to find him."

(End of this chapter)