Chapter 27 – Meeting Face to Face Without Recognition
The morning market of Fu'an City was always bustling, the calls of vendors rising and falling in succession.
Today happened to be the day of a temple fair, and the streets were packed with people.
At the busiest corner of the marketplace, two new stalls had appeared side by side.
On the east side was a fortune-telling stall. A piece of faded blue cloth was spread over a crude wooden table, on which sat brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and a bamboo lot container.
The stall owner was a man in his early thirties, wearing a blue robe so washed it had turned pale. His face was so ordinary that one would forget it at a glance, yet his eyes shone brightly like stars.
He called himself "Chen Er," a wandering diviner who specialized in character reading and fortune-telling.
Soon, his gaze fixed on a richly dressed young man.
"Young master, care for a character reading?" Chen Er greeted him with a smile. "No charge if I'm wrong."
The youth's interest was piqued. With Chen Er smilingly watching, he wrote the character "王" — clearly his surname.
Chen Er glanced at it and said with a smile, "Look here, young master. This '王' breaks into '一' and '土'. '一' means alone, '土' means stagnation. Your fate is like a lone clod of earth — you wish to rise, yet your foundation is shallow."
"N–nonsense! How can a fortune-teller not say a single good word? How am I shallow in foundation? My family are among the wealthiest merchants in the city!"
"Don't be hasty," Chen Er said with a chuckle. "Look again — the '王' has three horizontal strokes and one vertical. The three horizontals are like three barriers, sealing your future tightly; the single vertical is like a lone plank, unable to bear such heavy obstacles."
The youth, unable to tolerate such disparagement, blushed and shouted that it was nonsense. Turning away in a huff, he strode off without leaving a single coin.
Chen Er didn't mind in the least; making money wasn't his goal—
[Wang Zixuan]
Cultivation: Mortal
Potential: 1 (This lifetime will go no further)
Fate: 15 (Living with effort)
Loyalty: 0 (Stranger)
Personality: Impulsive, suspicious
The fortune-telling was nonsense he made up, but it was also the truth — system certified, honest to all.
This "Chen Er" was, of course, Chen Chang'an in disguise.
After leaving the valley, he had chosen a different direction, heading north until he arrived at this small city called Fu'an.
Unlike the grand city of Qingzhou before, this was a place mostly inhabited by mortals.
So he had taken the guise of a wandering diviner, hoping to find a new Child of Fate.
Beside him to the west was a general goods stall, with all sorts of strange and curious trinkets laid out on the ground.
The stall owner was a woman wearing a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, a light veil draped down to conceal her face, revealing only a fair, delicate chin.
She called herself "A Li," a traveling merchant who roamed the seas, and she had arrived a few days before him.
"Finest South Sea pearls, spices from the Western Regions, don't miss them as you pass by." A Li's voice was crisp and pleasant, yet carried a trace of languor, as if she were not particularly invested in making sales.
Perhaps by coincidence, just as Chen Chang'an's gaze swept over her, the woman turned her head.
Their eyes met for an instant before breaking away.
With a friendly smile on his face, Chen Chang'an was about to greet his new neighbor when he awkwardly scratched his cheek with a finger.
But his attention was soon drawn to a raggedly dressed boy with bright eyes, lingering near the butcher's stall. After a long time, the boy bought only the cheapest pig offal.
Hmm… from time immemorial, great men have often risen from humble roots. You'll do!
"Young man, come for a character reading?" Chen Er called warmly.
The boy hesitated, then shook his head. "No money."
"Today's temple fair — the first customer is free," Chen Er said kindly.
"But wasn't there already a big brother who had his character read just now?" the boy asked earnestly.
Chen Chang'an froze for a moment, about to continue coaxing him, when he suddenly felt a chill at his back.
Turning, he saw that A Li had accidentally knocked over a porcelain bottle while arranging her goods. The liquid inside was slowly flowing toward his direction.
"Be careful, miss," Chen Er quickly stepped forward to steady his own inkstone — but his movement was too large, and the brush in his hand flicked, sending a splash of ink right onto A Li's shoe.
That was an exquisitely crafted pair of embroidered shoes, now stained with a few spots of ink.
The air instantly froze.
"Be more careful with your movements!" The voice beneath the bamboo hat suddenly turned cold, though she made no other move.
Chen Chang'an hurriedly apologized. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to…"
Flustered, he reached out to wipe it clean, but accidentally knocked over the flower basket on A Li's stall. Dried flowers of all colors scattered across the ground. Instinctively, he reached to catch them, but his ink-stained hand landed squarely on the hem of A Li's skirt, leaving a distinct black handprint.
The surroundings went silent. Even the sugar seller next door stopped shouting.
A Li slowly lowered her head to look at the glaring handprint on her light green skirt, then gradually lifted her gaze. Though separated by a veil, Chen Chang'an could feel that knife-like sharpness in her eyes.
"Are—you—looking—for—death?" A Li said, enunciating each word as if squeezed through her teeth.
Cold sweat beaded on Chen Chang'an's forehead, his instincts sensing danger.
This woman appeared to be an ordinary merchant, but in that instant, the aura she released made even this incarnation of his feel a tremor in his heart.
"I am willing to compensate…" Chen Chang'an took out a piece of broken silver.
A Li gave a cold laugh. "Do you think such a little silver can—"
Her words suddenly stopped. Following her gaze, Chen Chang'an saw she was staring at a jade pendant on his waist—a peace charm carved by Xing Cai from spiritual jade found in the mountains.
"This jade pendant…" A Li's voice took on a strange tone.
Instinctively, Chen Chang'an covered the pendant. "A family gift—it cannot be given away."
A Li was silent for a moment, then abruptly turned to pack up her stall. "Today is ill-fated. I won't sell anymore."
Chen Chang'an let out a quiet sigh of relief and turned to call out to the boy from before—only to hear A Li say coldly, "Fortune-teller, you said earlier it was free? Then give me a reading as well."
She was now standing before the fortune-telling stall, her slender jade-like fingers dipping into the ink before writing the word "Mo" on the paper.
Chen Chang'an's pupils contracted.
It was a tricky choice of word, one most fortune-tellers wouldn't dare interpret. He looked up at A Li, just as a breeze lifted a corner of her veil, revealing half of an incomparably beautiful face.
In that brief instant before the veil fell again, Chen Chang'an saw clearly—this was not a beauty any ordinary woman could possess. What startled him more was that her features carried a trace of familiarity.
"What's wrong? Can't read it?" A Li mocked.
Chen Er steadied himself and smiled. "How could that be?"
He opened the system—only for cold sweat to immediately break out.
[A Li?]
Cultivation: ?
Potential: ?
Fate: ?
Loyalty: ?
Personality: ?
What was this? Could it be this woman was actually a cultivator?
He had already tested this before—the pet system's scanning function only worked on people without cultivation or with very low cultivation.
Still, one must never lose face. Chen Chang'an's mind raced. Women all liked to hear pleasant words, didn't they? A few well-crafted compliments could smooth this over.
Thus, he began speaking in a measured tone:
"Most people fear the word 'Mo,' not knowing there is great fortune within. The word splits into 'Ma' and 'Gui.' 'Ma' means complexity; 'Gui' means spirit. Miss's fate is like brocade woven from hemp, with countless threads formed by heaven itself; her soul is like that of a fairy from Mount Guyue, a single spark of divine insight connecting her to the world."
A Li's body stiffened slightly, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
Seeing he'd already boasted this far, Chen Chang'an recalled that fleeting glimpse earlier and continued with shameless praise. "And though 'Mo' is intricate, it hides the word 'Lin' within, signifying that your beauty is like jade trees in a forest—stunning as a goddess descended."
A Li was silent for a moment, then the corners of her lips curved up as she gave a faint hum. "A conman of the jianghu."
But she no longer pressed him further.
Chen Chang'an kept his expression calm, though inwardly he sighed—
Ah, women!
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