Yinshan Record

Chapter 13 Tricks
Zhang San looked at Su Che and recounted in detail how he had gone to the woman to have his fortune told.

The news that Lady Qi had been possessed by a demon quickly became news in Shanyin County, and when the demon decided to come out of the mountains to sell divination and character reading, it terrified a lot of people.

Who would bother going to a monster for fortune telling? Suddenly, the place became rather deserted.

Later, a few scoundrels made a bet on who was the bravest, and one of them, unafraid of death, went to find Lady Qi to have his fortune told.

The fortune-telling stall of Madam Qi was set up right in front of her house. This man was dressed as a handsome young man, and the rogue made up his mind to go to Madam Qi and ask about his fortune.

At first, I was a little worried. Monster fortune tellers usually have ulterior motives, and that scoundrel was even prepared to give up his virginity.

Who would have thought that when Lady Qi took out three copper coins and made a calculation, she actually pointed out a way for him to make money.

It was said that there was a clay pot buried two feet southeast of a big tree in his house. It was buried by one of his ancestors, but later generations forgot about it. He was told to quickly dig it up and he would get 23 taels and 7 mace of silver and 12 strings of copper coins.

The scoundrel went back and summoned his men to dig. Sure enough, they unearthed a clay pot containing exactly the same amount of money.

This made her famous, and people from all walks of life came to consult Lady Qi.

She charged whatever she pleased; some fortune tellers didn't charge a penny, while others charged a hefty sum of ten taels of silver. In addition, her fortune telling was always accurate, so people came to her for fortune telling not only in Shanyin County but also in the prefectural city.

The Qi family, on the contrary, prospered as a result.

According to Zhang San, the old woman was indeed the mother-in-law of the Qi family's daughter. She had always been a stubborn person and never liked her daughter-in-law. Now that her daughter-in-law was possessed by a monster, she complained about her all day long.

This annoyed everyone in the county. Firstly, the old woman was too unreasonable, and secondly, no one knew if they would ever be able to get help from that monster. So everyone was putting pressure on her.

The old lady of the Qi family had a stubborn temper and kept making trouble every day. In the end, the Qi father and son made up their minds to lock the old woman in the house and feed her three meals a day.

Who knows what happened last night that made her run away and go to the county government office to beat the grievance drum?

After listening to Zhang San's story, Su Che felt a sense of bewilderment.

Zhang San was a local rascal in Shanyin County. After a few twists and turns, he led Su Che to the fortune-telling stall of Madam Qi.

All that could be seen was an ordinary-looking woman dressed in men's clothes, but with heavy makeup on her face, sitting in front of a table. On the table were tortoise shells and copper coins, and there was not a trace of demonic aura about her.

Four or five people lined up in front of her, waiting for the Qi family woman to perform divination.

Su Che remained silent, leading Zhang San into the line, listening to the woman telling fortunes.

"Master, I have something to ask you, I want to know about my marriage."

A middle-aged man, dressed in rather tattered clothes and with a sallow complexion, was telling fortunes there.

"Who do you think you are, your wife?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

The woman from the Qi family put three copper coins into the tortoise shell and shook it. The coins fell to the ground.

“Your wife has been bedridden since July of last year, and has been bedridden for a full six months now, costing a total of seven taels and three mace of silver. You have incurred a debt of five taels outside.”

The middle-aged man sat opposite him, his face bitter, and simply nodded silently.

"Master, is there any hope for my wife?"

"Your wife is terminally ill, beyond the reach of medicine, and only has four months left to live. You should prepare for her passing as soon as possible. However, as the saying goes, the Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Evolution is forty-nine, and the One Retreat is one. There is indeed still a glimmer of hope."

"Please enlighten me, Master."

Lady Qi arranged the copper coins on the table, as if she could glean more information from that arrangement.

"The rest is not something you need to ask me to do. Those who die but do not stiffen can become walking corpses, absorbing the essence of Yin and condensing it with their own Yin energy. This will produce a strange thing called Jade Flower, which is shaped like the Ephemeral Flower and is commonly known as Coffin Grass."

“Song Qi, the owner of the coffin shop in the south of the city, has one. Go ask him for it, take it back, divide it into three portions, and have your wife decoct and drink it in order. She will get through this ordeal and live another thirty years.”

The man suddenly froze, tears welling up in his eyes. "Great Immortal, you saved my life! Great Immortal, you saved my life! But such a wondrous item... Manager Song, he..."

"He will naturally give it to you, but I want to tell you one more thing."

"Your fate and your wife's destiny are such that being together is destined to cause you endless suffering, and you are not destined to have children."

"According to your destiny, six months after your wife's death, the Red Phoenix Star will appear, and you will meet a good partner who will bring you prosperity and a long life, many children and much happiness. This will be far better than suffering with her. You have been more than kind and righteous to her. I'm telling you the two paths, and you can choose for yourself."

The man remained silent for a long time.

"Thank you, Master. May I ask how much the divination fee is for this reading?"

"One copper coin."

The man took a copper coin from his sleeve and placed it on the table of the Qi family woman, then respectfully kowtowed three times to her.

"Thank you for saving my life, Great Immortal."

After saying that, he left.

Behind the grieving man was a short, plump middle-aged woman. She had just sat down in front of the fortune-telling stall of the Qi family woman when she heard the Qi family woman say something.

"What you want to ask, one hundred taels of silver."

The woman gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and gestured with her chubby, oily little finger: "I don't know why it costs so much money. What I want to ask is much less important than what the previous person asked."

“Your husband came yesterday and brought twenty taels of silver, just to protect his mistress.”

"That thief is a murderer."

The fat woman's face flushed red, and she stormed off in a huff.

Then the Qi family woman performed several more divinations, but they were all ineffective.

Finally, it was Su Che and Zhang San's turn.

The woman from the Qi family asked a question.

"Which of you will go first?"

"I come."

Su Che sat down in front of the fortune-telling stall.

"What would you like to ask, sir? Marriage, future prospects, or lifespan?"

Su Che smiled.

"I just saw several people come to you for fortune telling, and the fees for this divination are not all the same. I left in a hurry today and didn't bring enough money with me. I hope you can tell me the amount in advance so that I don't run out of money."

The woman from the Qi family raised her head and glanced at him. Her eyes were like a cold pool, yet they held a myriad of emotions that remained unexpressed in a single glance.

With that one glance, Su Che no longer saw an ordinary-looking woman, but rather a charming and petite woman who had sent him her longing.

"Since you're here, how can I accept money?"

"If you don't charge money, wouldn't that be like getting something for free?"

"Sigh, if you come here, even if you don't get it for free, or even if you get it for free, or even if you get it so badly that you break your leg, I'll still be willing."

Su Che swallowed hard.

This monster is indeed very monstrous.

(End of this chapter)