Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Shen Anzhi did not give an answer, but Zhu Wuyao could sense that his emotions were not calm.

In the silence, she laughed, breaking the stillness.

"Brother Shen, I'm going out to set up a fortune-telling stall. Do you want to come?"

"Here I am."

Shen Anzhi nodded and began to help pack.

He carefully put away the scribbles on the playing cards, then went to get the box, intending to put his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone inside.

Shen Anzhi's movements suddenly paused as his fingers touched the carved purple bamboo wolf-hair brush.

"Miss Zhu, where did you get this calligraphy brush?"

Zhu Wuyao, who was rolling up the banners, glanced up and replied casually:

"This pen was a birthday gift from my parents, and I usually use it to write stories."

Shen Anzhi seemed to fall silent for a moment.

He put down his pen more carefully, then suddenly changed the subject:

"You seem to dislike the concept of cause and effect?"

Zhu Wuyao had already carried her things, and as she walked out, she said:

"Like you said, if we only look at fate, we might as well just lie down and wait to die."

Shen Anzhi took two steps forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Zhu Wuyao.

His unfocused gaze fell on the roadside, as if he had "seen" something strange: compared to the past few days, many beggars had suddenly appeared on the roadside.

"If unexpected good fortune were to fall upon you, would you still refuse, Miss Zhu?"

"Like finding money?"

Hearing Zhu Wuyao's question, Shen Anzhi smiled slightly. He took two steps forward, bent down, and picked up the things on the ground.

Two scattered copper coins.

"Yes, like finding money."

Zhu Wuyao looked at Shen Anzhi's fingertips with great surprise; the two copper coins shone with a captivating light in the sunlight.

She suddenly began to like the profession of "divination practitioner". She took the copper coins handed to her by Shen Anzhi and twirled them between her fingers like a pen.

"I don't like the concept of cause and effect, but I accept it."

"Why?"

Zhu Wuyao recalled Ye Xiaozhou's action of tossing copper coins that night, and imitated her, tossing the two copper coins high into the air.

Under the sunlight, as the coin is flipped over, it refracts different rays of light, sometimes dazzling, sometimes dim, as the light shifts between the two sides of the coin—

The flickering light and shadow are like the pulse of fate.

The copper coin was held in the palm of his hand.

Zhu Wuyao didn't look at either side; instead, he threw it into the broken bowl in front of the beggar.

"From today onward, it will pass through different hands, if my fate is intertwined with the fate of this copper coin—"

"Then not knowing its positive or negative aspects will be my good fortune."

Shen Anzhi paused slightly. As a divination practitioner, he instinctively wanted to turn around and take a look at the two copper coins.

Just then, the beggar who received the alms clutched the copper coin tightly in his hand, unable to discern heads or tails, and thanked him repeatedly with a joyful expression.

Shen Anzhi stood there stunned in disbelief.

He looked ahead and saw Zhu Wuyao, who had not turned around.

"I don't like the concept of cause and effect, but I accept it."

Fortune and misfortune are unpredictable, and the future is uncertain.

If she cannot decipher fate, she can only choose to move forward and embrace the unknown.

But if you try to understand your fortune before moving forward, you'll end up like Shen Anzhi, stuck in the same place.

"So that's why Master didn't let me pry too much into fate. Those who are obsessed with analyzing fortune and misfortune will gain nothing."

Shen Anzhi calmed himself down, stopped looking at the two copper coins, and took two quick steps forward to catch up with Zhu Wuyao.

As he walked, he suddenly realized that Zhu Wuyao was heading in a different direction than where he had set up his stall a few days ago.

"Miss Zhu, where are we going?"

"I'll go pay back the money."

"You still owe money to others?"

"No, I just went to steal... and picked a few apples from someone else's house."

As they were talking, Zhu Wuyao walked to the front of a small courtyard. She didn't knock or go in, but stood next to the apple tree and took out a note she had written in advance from her pocket.

The sign reads "Pay back the money!"

She wrapped a few copper coins inside, crumpled them into a ball, and was about to throw it into the yard when she heard the creak of the door opening.

Zhu Wuyao stopped what she was doing and looked back.

An old gentleman walked out of the door. He had a long, beautiful beard and looked quite venerable. He had a kind face, but his eyebrows were rather stiff.

The old man was greeting another person in the courtyard.

Zhu Wuyao peeked out and saw a girl wearing a cloak walking out of the courtyard.

The two men walked up to her together, and the old man stroked his beard and asked with a smile:

"Here to return the money?"

Zhu Wuyao raised an eyebrow, showing no restraint, and walked gracefully to the front of the host's house, cupping his hands in greeting:

"I've made some money recently and I'm thinking of paying it back as soon as possible, so I won't be short of money again in a few days."

The old man retorted, "Short on cash? So you've got your eye on my apples, planning to come back and pick them only when you're broke?"

Zhu Wuyao laughed and nodded, saying, "If you borrow and return it, it will be easy to borrow again."

As he spoke, he unfolded the crumpled paper, took out the few copper coins inside, and handed them forward.

To everyone's surprise, the old gentleman refused to accept it.

“The calligraphy you wrote last time was excellent; it already paid for the apples.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wuyao's eyes lit up.

She flattened the crumpled paper in her hand a little more, handed it to the old man, and said:

"I never expected that the old gentleman was so skilled in calligraphy. We are kindred spirits! I have just written a new piece of calligraphy today, which I am selling at a low price."

This old gentleman was none other than Ji Daoting.

He stared at the crumpled piece of paper in front of him, speechless.

But after thinking about it, this piece of calligraphy could be paired with the "Poor Man's Letter" from last time for collection, and I was really tempted.

He was about to ask the price when he looked up and caught a glimpse of Shen Anzhi behind him, who was covering his face with his sleeve.

Ji Daoting suddenly became somewhat annoyed.

It's one thing to avoid seeing this Star-Picking Tower on ordinary days, but now that we've come to his doorstep, he actually has to cover his face!

Ji Daoting's mind raced. Instead of mentioning "accepting disciples," he turned to the side and introduced:

“My surname is Ji. This is my granddaughter. Speaking of which, she is a fan of your books.”

Ji Yuezhang bowed slightly, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Zhu Wuyao from under his hood.

“Mr. Wuyu, I am Ji Yuezhang. I really loved the storybook you wrote a few days ago.”

"Would you mind coming in for a chat?"

Zhu Wuyao intended to promote his calligraphy works, and moreover, he had taken the liberty of "borrowing" someone else's apples. Mr. Ji had not yet received payment, so it was difficult for him to refuse.

She turned to look at Shen Anzhi, intending to ask him what his intentions were, but when she turned her head, she saw that Shen Anzhi was raising his sleeve to cover his face.

"Brother Shen?"

Her "Brother Shen" was deeply inspired by that "unfaithful" talk on the road today, so he didn't even think to calculate whether it was a good day to go out.

And so, they happened to run into Ji Daoting, who had been repeatedly refused entry to the Star-Picking Tower.

He almost wanted to use some kind of escape technique to get there first.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Anzhi sighed, took off his sleeves, and bowed respectfully, saying:

"Since Miss Ji has invited me, I dare not refuse."

Mr. Ji's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he said with a forced smile:

"Hehe, what a coincidence, it seems we are destined to meet today."

These fortune tellers from the Star-Picking Tower, who constantly clamor about "fate," have actually delivered themselves to his doorstep today. Let's see how he refuses.

Moreover, it was the eldest disciple of the Zhaixinglou generation who came!

Thinking of this, his gaze toward Zhu Wuyao became even more benevolent.

This girl is not only good at calligraphy and can write storybooks, but she is also very trustworthy. She always keeps her promise to pay back the money she picks, even if it's just a few apples.

Most importantly, she actually brought one of the most outstanding disciples of the Zhaixinglou generation to her own doorstep!

Lucky star!