“Waiter, check, please.”
A moment later, He Xiuyuan finished the roasted chicken, placed half an ounce of silver on the table, and then rose and went downstairs.
The roasted chicken was delicious, but it was also very expensive.
One roasted chicken cost half an ounce of silver.
With that half an ounce of silver gone, He Xiuyuan had very little left.
Next, he feared he could only live off of flatbread.
“I’ll just find a place to rest for the night.”
He Xiuyuan left the restaurant; he really couldn’t afford to stay there. He Xiuyuan planned to find a random place to sleep for a night, then set up his stall again tomorrow.
After He Xiuyuan casually found an alley and sat down, he immediately sat cross-legged, preparing to Cultivate, when suddenly, his expression subtly shifted. Feeling something, he instinctively looked up.
He saw that in the night sky, the stars were brilliant, and the Seven Stars, as they twinkled, were exceptionally dazzling.
“Why are the Seven Stars so bright today?”
He Xiuyuan looked at the Big Dipper, somewhat surprised. Just as he was about to pinch his fingers to divine something, he saw the Seven Stars suddenly begin to dim.
But a moment after the Seven Stars dimmed, one star brightened again, though it wasn’t as bright as before.
“This star is…”
He Xiuyuan watched as a star within the Big Dipper suddenly brightened again. After a glance, his heart jolted, “This is… wenqu xing (star of literature)?”
“Is the wenqu xing (star of literature) moving?”
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan immediately stood up, his heart astonished as he looked at the stars in the sky.
The movement of the wenqu xing (star of literature) indicated that it was about to descend to the mortal realm.
“This is truly a rare sight in several hundred years. To actually witness the wenqu xing (star of literature) descend to the mortal realm?”
He Xiuyuan looked up at the wenqu xing (star of literature) in the night sky, marveling in his heart.
If he hadn’t learned the Six Shen Divination method, He Xiuyuan wouldn’t have known that this was the movement of the wenqu xing (star of literature).
“However, since the wenqu xing (star of literature) has moved, then the Wuqu star will likely descend as well, right?”
Thinking this, He Xiuyuan couldn’t help but shift his gaze to the Wuqu star beside it.
Normally, the wenqu xing (star of literature) and the Wuqu star descend together.
As He Xiuyuan’s gaze fell upon the Wuqu star, he indeed saw that the Wuqu star also moved. After its light brightened for a moment, the light of the Wuqu star then stopped.
“Strange, if the wenqu xing (star of literature) and Wuqu star are descending, isn’t their starlight a bit insufficient?”
He Xiuyuan watched for a moment, then suddenly felt something was off. He immediately pinched his fingers to divine.
As He Xiuyuan made calculations, he divined only a blur. His Dao cultivation was somewhat insufficient; he couldn’t divine too much.
But within that blur, He Xiuyuan did divine something.
“So, it’s not time for them to descend yet; it still needs some time. No wonder the starlight isn’t very bright.”
He Xiuyuan realized this after divining.
As for when the Wuqu star and wenqu xing (star of literature) would descend, He Xiuyuan couldn’t divine that.
“Perhaps in the future, I’ll still be able to see this wenqu xing (star of literature).”
Thinking this, He Xiuyuan smiled to himself, then closed his eyes and began to Cultivate.
........
“Daoist He, out to tell fortunes again?”
Inside Tianxin Prefecture, He Xiuyuan walked along, holding his divination flag, until he arrived at Liuyun Alley.
A scholar, Zhuang Hanmo, who had already set up his table nearby, saw He Xiuyuan arrive and immediately asked him.
He Xiuyuan smiled and nodded in response. After arriving at his spot from yesterday, He Xiuyuan was about to sit down when he suddenly paused.
“Yesterday, I didn’t get any business here. It must be because the location isn’t good enough. Let me divine a good spot.”
As He Xiuyuan spoke, he immediately pinched his fingers to divine, stepping according to the Eight Trigrams directions as he calculated.
A moment later, He Xiuyuan’s gaze paused, looking towards the spot where the scholar Zhuang Hanmo was earlier.
“Young Master Zhuang, your spot here today will bring wealth!”
Zhuang Hanmo was slightly startled by He Xiuyuan’s words, then looked at He Xiuyuan in confusion, “Daoist He, what do you mean? My spot here will bring wealth?”
He Xiuyuan nodded, “Unfortunately, this spot is taken by you, so it’s not convenient for me to take this position.”
“Hmm… this money comes unexpectedly, and this place is also quite inauspicious. Forget it, I won’t take it.”
Saying that, He Xiuyuan looked to the side, “I’ll divine another spot.”
He Xiuyuan once again pinched his fingers to divine.
A moment later, He Xiuyuan’s gaze fell upon a spot not far from Zhuang Hanmo, under a banyan tree.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan walked directly over with large strides, then settled down under the banyan tree.
Zhuang Hanmo, thinking about what He Xiuyuan had just said, wanted to ask a few more questions, but his friend beside him gave him a meaningful look.
“Don’t ask anymore. If you keep asking, he’ll ask you for money!”
Zhuang Hanmo immediately understood upon hearing this and quickly retracted his gaze, no longer pressing the matter.
He Xiuyuan naturally noticed this, but he didn’t care much about it.
After He Xiuyuan sat down, the sun gradually climbed to the top of the sky. The scorching sun shone down, causing many people’s foreheads to sweat.
He Xiuyuan sat under the banyan tree, enjoying some shade and a pleasant coolness.
Just as Zhuang Hanmo was diligently writing, having forgotten He Xiuyuan’s earlier words, a maid suddenly came rushing from not far away. But in her hasty steps, she accidentally tripped over a stone, followed by a cry of alarm.
A blob of black ink then splashed towards Zhuang Hanmo.
Zhuang Hanmo only heard a cry of alarm. When he looked up, he saw the black ink splashing towards him.
The next moment, Zhuang Hanmo’s nose was filled with the strong smell of ink, and his clothes, as well as the paintings and paper in front of him, all turned into ink-stained paper.
Zhuang Hanmo had probably never encountered such a situation before; he was stunned in place.
The maid, now regaining her senses, saw this scene and her small face instantly turned pale, “You… Young Master, are you alright?”
The maid looked at Zhuang Hanmo, who had become an ink-stained figure, and quickly asked, her small face filled with panic.
Zhuang Hanmo looked at the maid in front of him, his face full of helplessness, “Young Lady, why are you so careless?”
Speaking of this, he looked at the table in front of him; all the books and paintings on it were ruined.
“I… I’m sorry…”
The maid realized she had caused trouble, her face deathly pale.
“Xiaowu.”
Just as the maid was somewhat at a loss, a soft voice suddenly sounded.
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw a woman gracefully stepping forward, arriving before them. When she saw Zhuang Hanmo’s miserable state, she knew her maid had caused trouble.
“You girl, why are you so clumsy?”
Saying this, the woman stepped forward and repeatedly apologized to Zhuang Hanmo, then had her maid take out ten ounces of silver as compensation.
“Young Master, do you think these ten ounces of silver are enough to compensate you for your losses?”
The woman was also quite knowledgeable about these things. Roughly calculating, the price of these items should have been around five ounces of silver.
But splashing ink all over the other person, and considering his clothes, an additional five ounces of silver as compensation was still necessary.