The Divination Master suddenly spoke, "You say you practice the Nine Heavens Secret Arts, and each time you use it, you lose three years of your life. Do you realize how many times you've used it in the past few days?"
Upon hearing this, Little Seer Wang couldn't help but chuckle inside. This Divination Master hadn't had any business all day and still wanted to play a trick on him.
Others might not know, but he was fully aware of his own situation. His so-called Nine Heavens Secret Arts was completely fabricated, a story he borrowed from an old lady passing by.
As for the cost of three years of life, it was utter nonsense.
"Could it be that Miss Diviner has also done the calculations for me?"
"I am not called Miss Diviner, I am called More-than-half Seer."
The female Divination Master said meaningfully, "Isn't that just a little bit more than you, Little Seer?"
"More-than-half Seer?" Little Seer Wang didn't pay much attention, shook his head, and continued to ask, "What exactly did you mean by what you said earlier?"
"Secrets of the heavens cannot be revealed. Knowing a few tricks is no big deal, but you shouldn't use heaven as an excuse. You must know that disaster arises from careless words, and one day it might truly come true."
Upon hearing this, Little Seer Wang's face suddenly fell. Wasn't this deliberately cursing him?
"Divination Master who doesn't know how to speak like a person deserves not to make money!"
The female Divination Master wasn't annoyed by his ranting. She just smiled slightly and said, "You've played your tricks eleven times these days. Converted into life years, that's thirty-three years. You are thirty-six this year, and from your face, your total lifespan is only about seventy. If Little Seer wants to die naturally, you shouldn't joke about the heavens anymore."
Little Seer Wang looked at the female Divination Master with a mix of shock and doubt. He was indeed thirty-six this year. How could this person say it with a word? Could it be that this person truly had the abilities of a more-than-half Seer?
Being someone who knew how to adapt, Little Seer Wang, now filled with doubt, apologetically apologized to the female Divination Master, admitting that he failed to recognize a true talent. Then he asked about the divination fee, wanting to take a reading.
But just at this moment, there was a sudden thunderous boom from outside the Capital City, followed by a continuous rumbling of thunder.
In broad daylight, where did this unexpected clap of thunder come from?
The female Divination Master stood up abruptly, her gaze fixed on the distant thunderclouds.
Upon recovering her mind, she quickly packed up her stall and left without looking back, saying, "Little Seer! Don't meddle in today's affairs. Wait until the day passes, and there will naturally be no worries."
Little Seer Wang was baffled by what he heard, "I gave you money for this reading, and this is all you leave me with?"
"Could I have been scammed by this woman?"
Little Seer Wang was a bit suspicious but didn't take it seriously.
He's just not one to meddle in other people's business!
"Hey, hey! What's the matter with you, how can you leave a chamber pot outside in broad daylight, doesn't it stink people out?"
"Who wrote this sign here, the words are written wrong, let me add a stroke for you."
Took out a pen from his coat pocket and added a stroke to a character missing a stroke.
"Catch the thief! Catch the thief! That thief took someone's money bag—"
Little Seer Wang wasn't one to meddle, he just had a warm heart.
Wandering all the way to the Capital City's bird market, where people were haggling over antiques and calligraphy, a piece finally sold for the price of ten copper plates from an original hundred taels of silver!
The alley where Little Seer Wang rented was just ahead, but as he turned into the alley entrance, he saw a person holding a calligraphy piece, examining it in a deserted lane.
As the person examined it, they mumbled to themselves, "Not bad, with my craftsmanship, no one would tell this piece is a fake!"
Passing by, Little Seer Wang craned his neck for a glimpse. Honestly, the writing was pretty good, far better than the earlier sign where the characters were written wrong!
The person, hearing the movement behind them, hurriedly put away the calligraphy and upon turning their head, made eye contact with Little Seer Wang. Then, they quickly lowered their head and swiftly left the alley.
Half an hour later, as Little Seer Wang went out to find a restaurant for a meal, he passed a pawnshop, where the Shopkeeper was holding up the calligraphy to the sunlight, inspecting it closely.
"Great, great! It's indeed a great piece of writing, it truly looks like Master Lu's genuine work."
"This calligraphy was acquired for a high price by the Duke's daughter. How dare I use a counterfeit to fool her?"
Little Seer Wang hadn't been paying much attention, but this casual glance made him stop.
The reason being, he had just seen that calligraphy piece and the seller half an hour before!
"Hey Shopkeeper! That calligraphy is fake! Look closely, don't be fooled!"
The seller initially wanted to argue upon hearing this but seeing Little Seer Wang's face, his expression immediately changed!
Blame it on speaking out without knowing that walls had ears, and someone heard the truth.
"Jiang Daqian, is this calligraphy genuine or not?"
"It's a fake! This calligraphy is very fake! I personally heard him say his calligraphy is fake!"
"Jiang Daqian, do you know the penalty for deceiving the Duke?"
Jiang Daqian hesitated and his face turned from red to white. Seeing a crowd gathering to watch the fun, he hardened his heart, grabbed the scroll, and ran.
Behind him, the Shopkeeper shouted, "Catch him quickly, he's sold quite a lot of calligraphy to me, we mustn't let him escape!"
Xu Qing saw all this and already knew what would happen next.
All because that seller, Jiang Daqian, he had just been praying for relief for not long ago...