I was seriously considering groveling, since I couldn't afford to waste my limited time, when an unexpected comment came up.
"…Well, I suppose a connection like this is still a connection."
"Huh?"
"Putting that guy aside, it does seem like you're a capable fortune teller. I'll help you out."
She's an angel.
A total angel.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"I'm not helping you right away. I can't fully trust Namgung Jin's word. From my perspective, I can't rule out the chance you two might be in cahoots."
"Of course. How can I prove myself? Should I read your fortune?"
"Can you read any kind of fortune?"
"Yes. Pretty much anything. Even love luck."
"No… Not that… Ahem… Well…"
Tang Ayeon's face flushed as she coughed awkwardly.
Was she about to ask for something embarrassing?
"I've got an exam coming up… I've been so focused on martial training that I haven't studied for the written part at all… Ahem…"
"…Oh."
Guess people are the same everywhere.
...
...
Three days passed.
"You're definitely a skilled fortune teller."
"Glad you liked it."
I'd worded it as vaguely as possible to avoid leaking heavenly secrets, but it seemed to have worked somehow.
"I'll take care of the land and local merchant issues. You start thinking about how you'll set up your fortune-telling shop."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Following her words, I began mentally sketching out the structure of my shop.
At first, I'd only pictured a simple tent, but now I wondered if I could go bigger.
As I let my imagination run wild, Tang Ayeon's voice piped up again.
"And I've got some conditions on my end."
"Oh, of course, I'll hear them out."
"You can't do for other students what you did for me."
"…"
"I can't see you, but I feel like you're staring at me right now."
"No, no, of course I'll agree to that."
"I-I'm saying this because I don't want it to look like I'm just trying to hog the benefits, but if word of this spreads around the training hall, they might come looking for us, you know?"
"…Oh!"
"T-This is just an unavoidable precaution to keep your shop running safely. There's absolutely no ulterior motive!"
It sounded like an excuse, but she had a point.
If all the students came rushing in to figure out exam questions, it'd put the training hall in a tough spot too.
"Yes, I understand. That could definitely be risky."
"And one more condition."
"What's that?"
"Let me see your face."
"…No way."
She could ask for half my profits if she wanted, but my face? Never.
Absolutely not.
"Did you hear that rumor? They say there's a famous fortune teller in Shaanxi."
"Fortune-telling? Isn't that dark magic?"
"Tch, by that logic, are the fortune tellings of the shamans from the Wudang Sect or the Taoists from the Kunlun Sect dark magic too?"
"No, that's different…"
"And even if it is dark magic, so what? Are we going to lose anything over it? It's just fortune-telling."
"…Fair point. So, is this fortune teller really that good?"
"I heard he's amazing. They say he's like a ghost. Birth charts, love luck, whether a business trip will go well, how to have a child when you can't—he nails everything like he's got it all figured out."
"Sounds like he's famous enough to earn a nickname."
"Oh, he's got one. Uh… what was it again…?"
"The Faceless Golden Ghost…?"
Ding.
"Welcome… Oh, it's you, miss?"
"You look disappointed that it's not a customer."
"Well, a customer would've been nice, sure. Not that I'm unhappy to see you or anything. After all, you're the benefactor who's helped me make a living like this. Plus, aside from you, I don't really have anyone I can talk to openly."
I lowered my gaze from Tang Ayeon and started sweeping the floor with a broom.
"I hear you've been doing well lately. The 'Faceless Golden Ghost'—your fame's really spreading."
"Having 'ghost' in a nickname doesn't exactly sound flattering, does it?"
"Maybe you shouldn't have been so obsessed with money then?"
The Faceless Golden Ghost.
It's the nickname I've earned in the six months since I came to Shaanxi and opened my shop.
At first, I thought, Why would a fortune teller need a nickname? But later, I learned there's no special reason behind it.
Apparently, people in the Central Plains just love slapping nicknames on anyone who gets a bit famous, for better or worse.
A faceless, money-obsessed ghost…
It's a pretty fitting nickname, honestly.
No one's seen my face, and I do like money.
"But calling a living person a ghost? Sure, I use some sorcery, but I'm very much alive."
"Why not? It sets you apart from the rest. A fortune-telling shop run by a ghost—sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Now that she put it that way, it didn't seem so bad.
As long as some misguided warrior didn't come to "exorcise" me thinking I'm an actual ghost, it might be a decent nickname.
"No one's seen his face, and no one can even tell if he's a man or a woman… He's obsessed with money but blows most of it on drinks and gambling at taverns every night… or so they say?"
"Looks like the rumors have spread."
"They say there's a stunningly handsome young master inside—or maybe a kingdom-toppling beauty. I heard some rich fool even put a bounty on whoever can uncover your face."
No wonder some gamblers at the tables kept betting for me to reveal my face instead of money.
I shut them down firmly, and we stuck to cash in the end.
"What kind of guy puts a bounty on someone else's face?"
"He's got a bad reputation. A notorious playboy who uses money to seduce women, spends a night with them, then tosses them aside."
…He doesn't actually believe there's a beauty under here, does he?
"Please pass a message to him. Tell him it's just an ugly guy inside."
"Well… no guarantee that'll make him back off. The surefire way would be to show your face to everyone without that cloak…"
"No chance."
Showing my face is off-limits.
She's been subtly trying to peek under my cloak for a while now, but no way.