Chapter 1246 - 1119: One Person, One Divination

Chapter 1246: Chapter 1119: One Person, One Divination

Everyone understood the meaning behind those words: all debts of gratitude were settled.

Zhou Jiao’s eyes slightly narrowed upon hearing this, and after composing herself, she softly said, "I don’t need it. Give both readings to Old Mrs. Cheng."

Old Lady Liu looked at her with a hint of admiration, "This is the first time someone has refused me face-to-face. Do you know one of my readings is worth a fortune?"

Zhou Jiao solemnly nodded.

She could discern if the other party had real skills or not. Although she always believed that fate is determined by oneself, getting a tip or two wouldn’t hurt.

Old Mrs. Cheng patted her with a smile, "Children don’t understand; don’t take it to heart. Let’s keep it one reading each."

Old Lady Liu shook her head with a silent laugh. This was their business, and after two readings, she owed no favors. It was like repaying a debt with a reading back then.

Old Mrs. Cheng took a red paper from her pocket and placed it on the Eight Immortals Table, pushing it towards her, then signaled Zhou Jiao with her eyes not to refuse.

Zhou Jiao understood and nodded.

This time, it required the Bazi, unlike last time. It seems they’re playing a big move.

Zhou Jiao smiled apologetically at Old Lady Liu and stood up to leave the courtyard to find the nephew. Although she didn’t know what Old Mrs. Cheng was calculating, it was related to the Cheng Family, and she rightfully avoided it.

As she returned to the courtyard, a middle-aged woman in a textile factory worker’s outfit was pushing a bicycle through the gate, and a middle-aged man came forward to take the groceries.

Seeing Zhou Jiao, the middle-aged man whispered something to his wife, who smiled at her.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiao stepped forward to greet them and sat on a cold stone stool, taking out a pen from her bag. After thinking for a moment, she used the bag as a cover to pull out a piece of red paper.

Luckily, red paper is now commonly used for wrapping gifts; otherwise, she wouldn’t have known where to get a sheet.

Seeing how serious Old Mrs. Cheng was earlier, she estimated that writing directly on white paper would get her criticized. There are some things better believed than doubted.

As she held the pen, she couldn’t immediately decide whom’s birth date and time from her family to write down. Her father was well, her husband too, and her mother even more so.

All three of her sons were her treasures, and she wouldn’t favor one over the others.

Moreover, she was unwilling to disclose her family’s birth dates and times to these magicians. People’s hearts are unpredictable, and who knows if they’d use it for dubious purposes.

In the end, Zhou Jiao wrote down her own birth date and time.

It wasn’t because she wasn’t worried about herself.

Having already lived two lives, she was rather fortunate.

If there was anyone suitable for a reading now, it would be her.

Examining fortune from self to family, only by calculating her fate could they fully encompass her parents, spouse, and descendants.

After finishing and rolling it up, Zhou Jiao could feel the chill running down her spine. Sure enough, she packed up the paper and pen and stood up.

Alas...this treatment of guests was deeply disappointing.

Thinking back on her past, she’d never been shut out, always receiving a warm welcome. She hoped that this so-called elder wouldn’t let her down, or it would be a laughingstock back home.

The cotton curtain over the hall door was drawn, making it uncertain what the conversation inside was about. The middle-aged couple had already returned to the kitchen in the corner of the courtyard.

Bored, she could only wander around the courtyard, secretly observing its feng shui based on a few books she had read, hoping to learn something valuable.

Old Mrs. Cheng’s reading took about an hour. In Zhou Jiao’s view, taking this long probably meant discussing the Cheng family’s fifth generation.

But compared to the hurried reading twenty years ago, the size of the gratitude seemed proportional to the time spent. Still, she wondered what debt Old Lady Liu owed Old Mrs. Cheng back then?

When Old Mrs. Cheng lifted the curtain, Zhou Jiao didn’t wait for her to put it down, quickly pushing her inside. She didn’t really want to avoid her own family’s matters.

After all, even if a single reading cost a fortune, so what?

My fate is mine, not up to heaven!

Zhou Jiao pushed Old Mrs. Cheng back to her original seat, moved her stool closer, and also took out the red paper she prepared from her pocket, respectfully pushing it in front of Old Lady Liu.

As she expected, Old Lady Liu gave her a look of appreciation.

She hadn’t noticed earlier; this Old Lady Liu indeed had a wealthy background—the Eight Immortals Table was genuine golden rosewood, even the armchair Old Mrs. Cheng sat in was the classic golden rosewood official hat chair.

Old Lady Liu took the red paper, her old eyes slightly narrowed, then glanced at Zhou Jiao who was sitting upright, composed herself, and after a moment, said, "This appears to be your Bazi?"

Zhou Jiao nodded at her words.

Old Mrs. Cheng interjected, "Last time wasn’t the right time, but this time we must ask the master for a reading."

Hearing her address him as a master, Zhou Jiao inadvertently held her breath, looking at Old Lady Liu.

After a moment of silence, Old Lady Liu reached from the corner of the table for a small rectangular wooden box.

Zhou Jiao sensed Old Mrs. Cheng relax her body beside her.

When Old Lady Liu opened the box, it was filled with black chopsticks. Zhou Jiao thoughtfully looked at Old Lady Liu, realizing she shouldn’t take it lightly.

If she wasn’t mistaken, these were the best substitutes for milfoil divination—ebony divination sticks.

At that moment, Zhou Jiao saw Old Lady Liu not only take out divination sticks but also use a brush to write stroke by stroke on her Bazi columns on the red paper.

She realized she had misunderstood earlier.

—Old Mrs. Cheng’s hour spent in the room was indeed not too much time.

What with fate deciphering, divination, and using an Eight Diagrams Plate...

It seemed like it was quite serious and couldn’t be wrapped up in less than half an hour. Truly a lineage with a prestigious master, comparable to her master’s old friend Master Ma. Unfortunately, he had retired for true, not even casting a hexagram for his own great-grandchildren who went to the countryside over twenty years.

According to her master, the old Daoist was really fearful of the concept of "Five Misfortunes and Three Deficiencies."

It’s said that feng shui masters like them can’t escape the destiny of "Five Misfortunes and Three Deficiencies."

Because these people reveal too much of the heavenly secrets, causing Heaven to punish them, they can never enjoy a complete life like normal people.

—Some face a life of poverty, some struggle throughout their life, some even die prematurely, and some are lonely all their life.

From the moment they understand this, many in the profession carefully compare their fate, afraid of incurring any of these.

The so-called Five Misfortunes—nothing more than "widowed, orphaned, lonely, destitute, handicapped." The Three Deficiencies, simply put, are "money, life, authority."

So Old Ma returned to lay life, had a reading for himself, married and had children, and never did readings again.

And he was undeniably fortunate, having a single seed line, thus only encountering the deficiency of authority. Consequently, he knew his descendants wouldn’t become officials. So, if they needed to go to the countryside, so be it.

Similarly, Zhou Jiao heard the middle-aged man mention earlier that Old Lady Liu was his grandmother’s sister, guessing she bore the isolation misfortune, hence also refraining from divination.