Sequence: Waking up in the secret room and letting me play the fortune teller

Qin Yangming slowly woke up in an unfamiliar room with a splitting headache.

Where is this? He opened his eyes despite the headache.

There was only a kerosene lamp placed on the ground emitting a dim light. It seemed that there was almost no oil in the lamp holder, and the light at the wick flickered.

Other than that, nothing can be seen clearly.

He carefully picked up the kerosene lamp and looked around the house with the limited light.

As the kerosene lamp was raised, a portrait hanging on the east wall became visible.

Qin Yangming walked closer to take a look. There were three statues of immortals with solemn appearances, with images of old, middle-aged and young people from left to right - they were images of the Three Pure Ones.

In front of the portrait there is a square table with a cushion in front of it, armchairs on both sides, an incense burner in the middle of the table, and tribute fruits piled up in the shape of a pagoda in front of the incense burner.

I saw that the tribute fruits had already rotted, and mold colonies were growing wildly on them, but there were no mosquitoes or fruit flies.

Qin Yangming's headache eased a little. He looked around and found that there was nothing else in this narrow room of less than ten square meters.

The only other objects were a black robe, a hexagram banner, and a Sanqing bell placed on the ground.

Suddenly his heart skipped a beat, because he had just looked around the room and seemed not to have found any door or window.

This is a completely enclosed secret room.

How did he get in? Who let him in?

He tried to recall it carefully, but found that he had lost all his previous memories, and his head began to ache again.

Qin Yangming placed the kerosene lamp on the square table, right next to the incense burner.

He saw that there was only a thin layer of dust in the incense burner, and other than that, there was not a single ash.

Not only the incense burner, everything in the room was covered with dust, even the portraits of the Three Pure Ones.

and many more……

He seemed to have discovered something, and blew gently towards the bottom of the incense burner. The thin layer of dust dispersed, revealing a card hidden underneath.

The card was sealed with a plastic shell. Qin Yangming wiped the dust off with his hands and saw the words written on the card:

"Your role is [Fortune Teller]!"

"Please [play] your role well. This is the key to your [survival] or even [escape from here]!"

"In order to better immerse yourself in the role, please burn a stick of incense to the Three Pure Ones first!"

……

Is this a reality show? Or is it the popular live-action script-killing show?

But these people took me to this place without my consent, which constitutes illegal detention. If it exceeds 24 hours, it will be a crime.

So, how long have I been in this room?

In short, everything around him seemed unreasonable. Qin Yangming had no idea what was going on and could only do as the card said.

Qin Yangming picked up the black gown on the ground and shook it hard, and the dust on it fell down.

He put the gown on and was surprised to find that it fit him perfectly, as if it was tailor-made for him.

He walked to the front of the cushion and made a Yin-Yang seal in front of the portrait of the Three Pure Ones. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, then saluted in front of the portrait in a formal manner and said:

"I respectfully invite the Three Pure Ones, the Four Imperial Gods, the Five Elders, the stars in the sky, the city gods and the land gods to come and receive my disciples' worship."

Next it’s time to burn incense.

Only then did he realize that there seemed to be no fragrance in the house.

Helplessly, he picked up the card in his hand and prepared to continue reading. The first line of words below was:

"There is [incense] in the room, in the drawer of the square table."

"Don't doubt it, that is [incense], just burn it normally."

Qin Yangming was puzzled and pulled open the drawer of the square table. A foul smell hit him in the face.

Qin Yangming covered his nose and looked inside.

"This is?"

I saw three connected fingers lying inside, with purple bruises on the skin.

Qin Yangming subconsciously thought that this was a freshly cut and plucked chicken foot, and the flesh and blood where the finger bones were connected had begun to rot and deteriorate.

But if you look closely, you can see that the three connected fingers have distinct joints and the fingers are slender and long.

I'm afraid this isn't a chicken claw, but a human finger...

Qin Yangming was startled and he moved his hand next to it and compared it.

They really are three human fingers, and they appear to be the ring finger, middle finger, and index finger!

Is this the incense mentioned on the card?

"Don't doubt it, it's incense, just burn it normally."

Qin Yangming thought of the words on the card, endured the discomfort, and muttered some offensive words while pinching the broken finger with two fingers.

At this time he discovered that the finger had become stiff, and it seemed that it had been cut off for quite some time.

"Grandmaster, don't blame me, don't blame me..."

He murmured something, holding the finger in both hands, and bowed three times sincerely to the portrait of the Three Pure Ones.

Afterwards, he poked the severed finger into the empty incense burner. There was not even a trace of incense in the burner, so the finger could not stand upright and could only lean against the side of the incense burner.

Maybe, when he completes all the tasks on the card, the director will say "cut" and he can leave here.

But, that was a real human finger, how could such a thing appear on a reality show?

He calmed himself down, held the card close to the kerosene lamp, and read the following words:

"You have finished burning incense. Now it is time for [daily practice]. Please recite the following scriptures with extra piety."

"You must memorize the scriptures firmly in your mind, otherwise you will not be able to survive!"

"Once you have memorized the verse, you must kneel before the portrait and [recite] it once."

"Remember: Do not stumble or make mistakes while reciting, otherwise [disaster will befall you]!"

Qin Yangming's heart tightened, and he looked back and saw:

"The Supreme One has commanded that your lonely soul be liberated, and all ghosts and spirits be blessed. Those with heads will be liberated, and those without heads will ascend. You can be killed with spears or knives, and you can jump into the water and be suspended by ropes.

Died openly or secretly, died unjustly, creditors and enemies, and murderers. Please save us all, and let us be reborn quickly. Please save us all, and let us be reborn quickly! "

The scripture was brief, but it seemed to carry some kind of magical power. When Qin Yangming was reciting and memorizing it, he only felt gusts of cold wind, and the light of the kerosene lamp became dimmer, flickering unsteadily, almost invisible.

After a while, with the help of the kerosene lamp, Qin Yangming wrote down the scriptures in full.

Then, he knelt on the mat and recited quietly:

"The Supreme Command... creditors, enemies, and those who seek your life..."

Perhaps he was a little nervous, or perhaps the intermittent kerosene lamp disturbed his thoughts, and he couldn't remember what the last sentence of the death-seeking son was.

Death-seeking son... Death-seeking son...

He got stuck here.

At this moment, a cool breeze blew from somewhere, the kerosene lamp went out, and the room fell into thick darkness.

"Otherwise, disaster will befall you..."

Qin Yangming's heart was beating like a drum, but he could hear more than just the sound of his heart beating violently.

It was as if someone was leaning over his ear, the cold breath blowing against his neck, whispering to him softly:

"I'm always by your side."

How can people exhale cold air?

And who has been by my side all the time? Wasn’t I the only one in this room from the beginning to the end?

Qin Yangming's heart was beating wildly. Perhaps it was because of the potential that was unleashed at this critical moment. He suddenly remembered the following words and recited them fluently:

"I'm here to save you all, I'm going to be reborn in a hurry, I'm going to save you all, I'm going to be reborn in a hurry!"

……

The kerosene lamp lit up again, and the slight breathing sound by my ear slowly disappeared.

Qin Yangming was already sweating profusely at this time. Was the breathing sound just now the legendary ghost?

Or is all this just a realistic program effect created by the program team?

Trembling, he looked behind the card.

"I guess you have already put yourself in the role of the fortune teller. Now please tell yourself your current situation!"

"There are [three ancient coins] in the pocket of your gown. Please use them [for divination]."

"Please believe the results you obtained from [divination]. You are a fortune teller! You naturally possess this ability!"

Qin Yangming reached his hand into the arms of his long gown and fumbled around, and sure enough, he felt a few round coins.

He took them out and placed the three ancient brass coins in the palm of his hand, and saw the words "Qianlong Tong Bao" engraved on the front of the coins.

The three round coins with square holes look a bit old, but they have been well preserved, with natural rust and even patina, which adds a sense of ancient beauty to the coins.

Qin Yangming sat cross-legged on the ground and placed the kerosene lamp closer to himself.

He put three copper coins in his hand, calmed down, shook the coins with both hands and threw them upwards. A second later, the copper coins fell to the ground with a clatter.

He shook it six times in a row, calculating carefully in his mind -

It is the Pi hexagram.

In the Fu hexagram, yin and yang do not interact, and everything is blocked and unconnected, which is a sign of disharmony in everything and an unlucky omen.

I am now in this secret room, encountering a series of strange things, it's really like yin and yang are not in harmony.

He continued to look at the last paragraph on the card:

"Now that you have mastered some of the basic abilities of the Fortune Teller, I believe you have a deeper understanding of this role."

"Now please tell your fortune again and figure out the direction of the exit from this room."

"Remember: you are a fortune teller. The hexagrams you calculate should be accurate and consistent with objective facts."

"Also, there is something else in the room besides you, please leave as soon as possible, otherwise you will die miserably!"

"Finally, remember: Only by immersing yourself in the [role] with all your heart and soul can you be safe and sound and unleash your potential as a [fortune teller], which is also the key to [promotion]."

This is the end of the card.

This room has an exit.

But why should the hexagrams he calculated be accurate?

If this is a segment designed in advance by the program team, how can they ensure that the result of throwing three coins will exactly correspond to the direction of the exit?

Moreover, what do the bold words "role" and "promotion" mean?

Things are developing in ways that are increasingly beyond common sense to explain.

The dust in the room and the kerosene that was about to burn out in the kerosene lamp holder indicated that a long time had passed since the room was decorated.

Whose finger is in the drawer?

Most importantly, is the other thing in the room the thing that just whispered in his ear?

It turns out that it wasn't an illusion.

Suddenly, a breath of cold air blew into his ears again, making his hair stand on end.

The flame of the kerosene lamp began to gradually go out, and the outline of his shadow cast by the kerosene lamp began to fade.

He clearly saw that next to his own shadow, there was another shadow lying on his shoulder, as if licking his ears gently.

However, when he turned around tremblingly, he found that there was nothing behind him.

"Don't look for me anymore. I'm always by your side."

said the voice.