Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

Accountants either die from pressing the calculator too much or die in jail.

Shen Chen used to think that this was just a joke from his senior, but now he completely believes it.

The first part of the saying has already come true for him. Last night, he stayed up late working overtime and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment, but his electrocardiogram eventually turned into a straight line.

And the second half of the sentence... seems to be about to come true.

At this moment, he was being escorted by two yamen runners dressed in ancient costumes, and not far away was a dilapidated prison cell.

"Creak." The rusty cell door turned, and Shen Chen felt a push from behind. He staggered two steps and his feet were already on the cold cell floor.

The cell door behind him slammed shut, and two constables looked at him through the bars as if he were a mouse in a cage: "Master Shen, if you have anything else to say, tell us now."

The address "Master Shen" awakened the memories hidden within this body, and Shen Chen's mind suddenly lit up.

The original owner of this body was also named Shen Chen. His identity was the clerk of Pingyang County, who was in charge of the county's finances. In other words, he was also an accountant.

This time, when the higher-ups sent people to check the county government's treasury, the county magistrate, who was known for his embezzlement, was exposed. He immediately blamed all the financial loopholes on his advisor, Shen Chen.

Shen Chen was imprisoned just like that, as if he had been used up like a firecracker.

"Accountants are such a pain..." Shen Chen couldn't help but feel a deep resentment towards his profession.

He didn't want to spend his life serving time in jail for others, so he said to the bailiff, "I want to see County Magistrate Zhang Fuguang."

The two constables, as if they had heard a joke, sneered and said, "Ha, Master Shen, give up on that idea. Lord Zhang will never see you again."

Just as the two were about to leave, Shen Chen raised his voice: "I want to recant my testimony!"

County Magistrate Zhang Fuguang had previously made many promises to him in order to frame him, such as "I will take care of your mother myself" and "I will make sure you live a life of wealth and honor after you are released from prison after two years."

The original owner was also confused, and was tricked into taking the blame for Zhang Fuguang without even realizing it.

Shen Chen knew perfectly well that Zhang Fuguang's words were all lies. If all of Zhang Fuguang's embezzlement was pinned on him, he would at least lose his head!

Zhang Fuguang dared to embezzle even the disaster relief grain allocated by the higher authorities, so how could he not dare to embezzle the life of a mere clerk?

The two constables remained unconvinced when Shen Chen tried to recant his testimony: "Master Shen, don't bother. The magistrate is currently drinking with the governor at a restaurant. Even if you recant, someone has to listen..."

The two walked away without looking back, and the cell returned to silence. All Shen Chen could hear was the pounding of his own heart. He slumped against the wall, trying to make sense of the situation.

It's bad enough that I died from pressing the calculator, but now that I've time-traveled, I'm going to jail and die there too.

"Damn it!" Shen Chen cursed angrily.

He slammed his fist against the earthen wall beside him in a fit of rage, making a dull thud: "Thump!"

An impatient voice suddenly rang out from behind the earthen wall: "Hey, what the hell are you banging on? Don't disturb my rest."

Shen Chen was about to apologize, but then he thought, "We've come to this point, what's the point of apologizing? My own feelings are the most important thing."

Just as he was about to curse the prisoner next door, several lines of ancient characters suddenly appeared before his eyes without warning.

You disturbed Qin Pi's rest with the "Skinning Knife." Faced with his rage, what do you choose?

[Auspicious/Medium Fortune: Sincere apology, boasting about the reputation of his skinning knife, taking the opportunity to get closer to him, good luck]

[The worst possible outcome: Insults, verbal abuse, and wanton belittling may result in being skinned alive – a very unlucky omen.]

Shen Chen was slightly taken aback, and the swear words that were about to come out of his mouth silently flowed back into his stomach.

He considered his words for a moment, then deliberately raised his voice, "What are you so arrogant about? Let me tell you, I'm Qin Pi, known in the underworld as 'Skinner.' If you dare bark again, I'll skin you alive tonight!"

Silence fell next door, then a voice, laced with sarcasm, rang out: "Heh, you're the [Skinning Knife]? Then what am I?"

Shen Chen feigned ignorance: "How would I know who you are?"

"Damn it!" the neighbor cursed. "You little punk, you've got some nerve, trying to skin me alive? Let me tell you the truth, I am Qin Pi, the Skinner!"

Shen Chen's voice suddenly turned astonished: "You're Qin Pi, the Skinner? Don't try to fool me, how could such a top-notch hero be imprisoned?"

The words "a first-rate hero" immediately calmed Qin Pi's anger behind the wall, reducing it by more than half.

He thought of the person next door who admired him, otherwise they wouldn't have stolen his name, and immediately softened his tone: "Bad luck, I was surrounded by seven or eight fast crossbowmen. A knife can't beat a crossbow after all."

Shen Chen said sincerely, "I originally intended to use this as a pretext to show off, but I didn't expect to end up doing it in front of the real person. I am truly sorry."

Qin Pi was delighted to hear Shen Chen's polite manner: "My name is indeed a good badge of honor. You're quite clever, kid. What did you do to get here?"

Shen Chen sighed, "I didn't do anything wrong. Do you know County Magistrate Zhang Fuguang? That guy is a real scoundrel. He even took the people's relief grain and resold it. I've tried to persuade him many times, but he doesn't like me, so he shifted the blame for the corruption onto me."

Qin Pi snorted: "The brothers who have come to the mountain stronghold recently are all from Anxi County. I'll skin them alive sooner or later."

"The world is so dark..."

Shen Chen won Qin Pi's favor with just a few words, and the two hit it off as they chatted, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Just then, footsteps came from the doorway, and the two of them tacitly shut their mouths.

The footsteps stopped in front of Shen Chen's cell, and a tall, thin yamen runner looked at him from behind the iron bars: "Master Shen."

Shen Chen looked up at the constable and asked calmly, "What is it?"

The constable said, "The magistrate said he couldn't let you suffer, so he specially ordered the cook to prepare chicken for you. Would you like big plate chicken or lotus leaf chicken?"

Shen Chen frowned, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

At that moment, two more ancient texts suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[When the constables ask you what you want to eat for dinner, what is your answer?]

[Good/Medium Fortune: Braised Chicken with Chili Sauce]

[The worst possible outcome: Chicken wrapped in lotus leaves]

Shen Chen was puzzled. How could eating chicken be a matter of good or bad fortune?

He replied crisply, "Big plate chicken."

The constable nodded in agreement and then left.

As Shen Chen recalled what had just happened, he felt increasingly uneasy. Could it be that Zhang Fuguang was going to poison the chicken? Both dinners should have been extremely unlucky, with no difference between them. Why was the "Big Plate Chicken" considered a good fortune, while the "Lotus Leaf Chicken" was considered the worst fortune?

At this moment, Qin Pi next door said with a hint of sourness, "Master Shen is lucky. He even gets to eat chicken tonight. County Magistrate Zhang still treats you like one of his own. Unlike a bandit like me, I haven't been able to eat a single grain of rice in three days."

Shen Chen looked out the window at the setting sun, his voice strained: "Good fortune? Ha, I'm afraid I won't live past tonight."