Fortune 029: Fortune-telling

No matter how you looked at it, Nan Shi’s stall venture today could be considered a success.

The system-mandated work required at least sixty hours per month. Since the night market ran from 8 p.m. to midnight, that was four hours a day—meaning that regardless of how much Nan Shi earned, he’d have to set up his stall at least fifteen days a month.

It wasn’t so bad, actually, since he could order wholesale goods directly through the system. These days, the Underworld was fully holographic, like some kind of teleportation: people would “biu” right onto the Underworld’s exclusive AI holographic network, known as the DiNet. Goods were displayed in 100% accurate models right before your eyes, and you could examine them however you liked. Once you made your choice, delivery would arrive at your door within ten minutes, or even directly to your stall—Nan Shi didn’t have to worry about a thing.

Zhuo Wen’s job hours were much longer—three hundred hours a month, which, rounding up, meant working all year round with no breaks.

Nan Shi, used to being busy, now found himself bored out of his mind with no one to chat with. He could only lean against the window, playing on his phone and watching Underworld-exclusive dramas. The DiNet hadn’t granted him full access yet—he was only allowed an hour a day. Supposedly, new ghosts’ souls weren’t stable, and spending too long online could cause their souls to scatter.

Nan Shi figured this was basically just an anti-addiction mechanism.

Suddenly, a shrill cat yowl came from downstairs. Nan Shi instinctively looked down and saw a scrawny police cat chasing a plump white cat—the pitiful cries were coming from the white one.

Not far away stood an old man, helplessly shouting, “Stop fighting, you two! There’s enough food for both of you! Huahua, stop bullying Dabai!”

But cats don’t understand human speech. The police cat kept up its relentless pursuit, and the white cat, out of options, darted behind the old man. The police cat lunged, missed the white cat, and instead knocked the old man to the ground.

Startled, Nan Shi leaned out the window and called down, “Are you alright?”

The old man looked up at the sound. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I can get up myself.”

Hearing that, Nan Shi didn’t worry too much—after all, in death, though appearances didn’t change, the body’s functions were restored to their best state, unless someone was born with a disability.

But the old man tried several times and still couldn’t get up. After watching for a bit, Nan Shi clicked his tongue, went downstairs, and helped him up.

“Thank you, young man.” The old man frowned, rubbing his leg, muttering in disbelief, “No way—just one fall and I’ve got a fracture?”

“Maybe it was a bad fall.” Nan Shi supported him. “Let me take you to the community clinic.”

“Alright,” the old man said, pleased.

Actually, even without Nan Shi, the clinic staff were already on their way. When the chip detected that its owner had had an accident and lost mobility, it would automatically notify the community clinic.

Still, having a real person to help was always more comforting than a robot’s mechanical smile.

The old man pointed to a nearby bench, indicating for Nan Shi to help him sit. “Let’s wait here for a bit. They’ll be here soon… Young man, you just moved in? So young and already down here? What a shame!”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Car accidents—if there aren’t a thousand a day, there are at least eight hundred. I just had bad luck.” Nan Shi laughed.

The two cats, apparently tired and hungry, circled over. The police cat, though scrawny, wasn’t afraid of people, jumping right between Nan Shi and the old man, meowing insistently. The white cat, still scared, only dared crouch at the old man’s feet.

The old man didn’t mind the police cat’s tangled fur, rubbing its head vigorously. “Why are you always so fierce! You’re not starving!”

He bent down to pick up the white cat, tucking it into his arms as he checked its fur. “Poor thing, your fur’s all been bitten off!”

Nan Shi leaned in for a look—sure enough, there were several bald patches.

He reached out and rubbed the police cat’s head, pulling its ears into airplane mode. “Didn’t expect you to be such a tough guy.”

The old man chuckled. “You said it… But you can’t blame him. He’s new here, still young, so skinny—no wonder he’s so fierce.”

He took out some cat food and tried to feed them, glancing at a shabby little bowl nearby. He poured some food onto the ground, held down the police cat, and encouraged the white cat to eat. The police cat growled in protest but didn’t struggle.

Once the white cat had its fill, the old man put the rest of the food on the bench and carried the police cat over. “Alright, alright, stop fussing. This is all yours—take your time, no one’s going to steal it!”

Watching from the side, Nan Shi couldn’t help but say, “You really love cats, don’t you…”

Most people, even cat lovers, if they were knocked down and possibly fractured by a stray cat, would at least curse a little. But this old man was still gentle, showing not a hint of anger—Nan Shi had never seen anyone like that.

“I do love them,” the old man said slowly, as if recalling something. “To tell you the truth, I died of old age—outlived even my son… I have no regrets, except I still worry about my old cat. She’s over twenty, too old to walk, can’t go out to find food anymore.”

“But there was nothing I could do… Now, when I see these cats, I wonder if maybe my old cat’s been reincarnated, and I just can’t help coming out to feed them.”

Nan Shi was moved. “Maybe I can help you look for her?”

“…Hm?” The old man’s puzzled reply barely faded before a car screeched up. A robot doctor in pink stepped out, face expressionless. “Hello, homeowner Nan Shi, homeowner Li Qingtian. I am community doctor DRSE11X41. Homeowner Li Qingtian, do you require assistance?”

“Based on your physical condition, the system judges you have a minor contusion and need accompaniment. Would you like immediate treatment?”

Old Li waved his hand. “Don’t fuss, just give me the immediate treatment.”

“Understood. Please wait.” The doctor’s eyes flickered, and two blue beams scanned over him. Old Li moved his leg, stood, took a few steps, and nodded. “No problem now, thank you.”

“No thanks needed. Serving the people.” The doctor replied coldly, then zipped back into the car and drove off.

Nan Shi whistled. “That AI’s not very advanced. The Black Impermanence I saw last time looked just like a real person…”

“A doctor just needs to heal you.” Old Li shrugged, clearly used to it. He turned back to the earlier topic. “You said you could help me find my cat? How?”

Nan Shi fingered the coins in his pocket. “Do you have a photo of your cat? Or a birthdate? If possible, tell me the time you arrived down here, too.”

“…Ah?” The old man touched his wrist, regretful. “No photos—I changed phones when I came down, and all the pictures are on the old one. I don’t know my cat’s birthday either—she was already over four when I got her. But I can give you my own birth time.”

“But what good would my birth time do?”

Nan Shi smiled mysteriously. “Have you ever heard of fortune-telling?”

…

Soon enough, Nan Shi was eating his words.

No matter how he calculated using Old Li’s birth data, it always came out that he hadn’t lost anything.

Nan Shi tried several different keywords, from “cat” to “relative” to “item”—all showed great fortune, meaning nothing was lost.

This wasn’t science… this wasn’t even metaphysics!

Old Li saw Nan Shi’s baffled expression and guessed the young man hadn’t figured anything out. “Forget it, thanks for cheering me up.”

“No, wait—give me one more chance! Write a character for me! I’m better at reading characters… And are you sure what you raised was really a cat?”

“I raised her for years—of course it was a cat, how could I be mistaken?” Old Li laughed, shaking his head. He hadn’t wanted to trouble Nan Shi further, but seeing his earnest expression, he couldn’t bear to refuse. He wrote the character for “cat (貓)” on his phone.

Given his age, Old Li still used traditional characters.

Nan Shi took one look and knew he’d been tricked. This wasn’t a cat—this was a cat spirit!

Break down the character: the left side is the radical for feline animals, the top right is grass, the bottom right is field. Old Li’s left stroke was so wild, it looked like a snarling leopard—how could a cat become a leopard?

A leopard is a beast of prey. Domestic cats, limited by their size, are top predators in the city, but in the wild, they’re nothing. For a cat to become a leopard, it’d have to become a spirit.

And not only was it not dead, it was living quite well, hiding out in some remote mountain forest!

Nan Shi cast a divination based on the character. Six coins clinked onto the bench, forming a yang, yin, yin, yang, yin, yin pattern—the Gen hexagram.

Gen: northeast, symbolizing mountain, virtue of stillness, also protection, obstruction, concealment. Combined with the character, he concluded: “Your cat is hiding behind a terraced mountain in the northeast, living well, and has probably become a spirit.”

“….” Old Li looked at Nan Shi deeply, then burst out laughing. “You’re a good kid! That puts my mind at ease. Whether you’re just humoring me or not, I’ll take it as the truth!”

He patted Nan Shi’s shoulder. “Good lad! There aren’t many like you nowadays!”

He figured, how could he have run into a young fortune-teller? The kid was just being kind, trying to cheer him up.

Nan Shi: “…I’m really not just humoring you.”

Old Li waved him off. “It’s alright, I know you’re accurate! Xiao Nan, let’s keep feeding the cats.”

Nan Shi: …

He said seriously, “Don’t doubt me. If I’ve divined it, just go look for her! Get a visa, go back to the mortal world, head northeast from wherever you land, and look for a mountain with terraces. She’ll be there for sure!”

“If you can’t find her, I’ll smash my sign and never tell fortunes again!” Nan Shi almost said, “I’ll cut off my head and let you use it as a football,” but then thought, since they were both ghosts now, maybe Old Li really could twist his head off and kick it around—then maybe put it back on. Better to make a less risky vow.

Old Li laughed, then his face turned somber. “Forget it. I’m too old. If I went and couldn’t find her, I couldn’t take the disappointment.”

Nan Shi wished he could go look himself, just to prove his reputation, but since the old man clearly didn’t want to, he couldn’t force him. He sighed. “If I hadn’t just arrived and needed three months to get a visa, I’d go with you for sure.”

Old Li patted his shoulder again, dumped out the rest of the cat food, and left with his bag. “I’m heading home. Come visit sometime, Xiao Nan—I live just next door, fifth floor.”

Nan Shi watched his retreating back, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Since he’d started fortune-telling for real, when had fortune-teller Nan ever suffered such humiliation? Even before he’d gone pro, when he was just messing around, he’d never been wrong!

People might not have believed him at first, but who didn’t end up sincerely calling him “Mr. Nan” in the end?

But this time, the man just didn’t believe him, and wouldn’t act on it! And it wasn’t like finding a cat was some ominous death omen—it wasn’t going to come knocking at your door. If the man wouldn’t go look, there was no way to prove Nan Shi wasn’t a charlatan.

So aggravating!

Nan Shi looked at the police cat, now full and basking in the sun, and scooped it into his arms, grumbling, “Tell me, how can I get Old Li to go look for his cat…”

“Meow.” The police cat replied coolly, then haughtily tried to wriggle free.

Nan Shi grabbed its front legs and lifted it up, squinting as he studied its features. “You—dark clouds over snow, born to wealth, thirty-nine siblings, a major disaster at age two, but you survived. Your mother died when you were four, your siblings all died by five. You were born infertile, so you’re still a solitary cat. Died in the winter of your sixth year, right?”

Police cat: “Meow.”

“So I’m right! Smart cat!” Nan Shi hugged it tight. “Your owner was lucky—didn’t even have to pay for neutering.”

“Meow.”

Then the police cat rewarded Nan Shi with three bloody scratches.

…

That night, as Nan Shi was about to head out to the night market, he ran into Zhuo Wen coming off shift. Nan Shi grabbed his arm, rubbing it vigorously, muttering, “Benefactor, let me rub some luck off you—I’ve had the worst luck today!”

Was he really cursed today? First, his reputation was trashed (?), then he was clawed by a cat—those scratches were deep, and even after the community doctor came by, he still had three faint pink marks on his neck that would take a week or two to fade.

Zhuo Wen: “…?”

His new roommate was great in every way—except for being a bit neurotic and superstitious.

Nan Shi didn’t care. Feeling blessed by his benefactor, he strode out with renewed confidence.

But as soon as he left the stairwell, he ran into Old Li taking out the trash.

Old Li stood at the entrance, hesitating. When he saw Nan Shi, a struggle flashed across his face. “…Good evening.”

“Good evening.” Nan Shi’s brows arched. Was his benefactor’s luck really that easy to borrow? Had it even been a minute since he’d rubbed it? Already working?

Sure enough, Old Li was here about what happened during the day. “Xiao Nan, what you said earlier—was it really true?”

“It’s true.” Nan Shi put on his best salesman’s air, polite but cool. “But with these things, it’s all about belief. If you don’t want to look, don’t dwell on it.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”

One step.

Two steps.

“Wait!” Old Li hurried after him, grabbing his arm. “I’ll go look, I’ll go! I just can’t stop worrying. I just got my reincarnation notice—they say I’ll be reborn next month. If I don’t see her one last time, I’ll never rest in peace!”

“Alright, then go—just as I said, that place.” Nan Shi studied Old Li’s migration palace, the area above the outer ends of his eyebrows to the hairline. The skin there was a healthy yellow, meaning this trip would go smoothly.

“If I’m late, will she have moved somewhere else?” Old Li asked.

Nan Shi smiled. “Maybe, so you’d better hurry.”

Whether it’s face reading, birth chart, or character divination, the omen only shows the current situation.

All things change constantly—living or dead, everything is at the mercy of fate. In a second, or an hour, destiny can be completely different, especially for living things, which can run, jump, kill, or die.

Of course, omens aren’t so strict that if you’re not in a place the next second, it doesn’t count. That would be pure charlatanry.

According to the methods Nan Shi learned from his master Chi You, the “Zhaoyao Mountain” school’s divination is accurate for three, five, or seven days: low skill, three days; average, five; high, seven.

Nan Shi had been accepted as a disciple mostly because Heaven had blessed him—before formal training, he could already see three to five days ahead just by glancing at a book. After taking Chi You as his master, he could usually see seven days.

As for Chi You himself, from what Nan Shi pieced together from family gossip, he could see a thousand years into the future.

Do you believe it? Nan Shi certainly did.

With Chi You’s abilities, if he couldn’t see a thousand years ahead, it wouldn’t make sense.

“Alright, I’ll go now.” Old Li nodded repeatedly, took a few steps, then turned back, eyes shining. “Xiao Nan, I’m afraid she’ll be gone by the time I get there. Could you come with me?”

“…Huh?” Nan Shi would love to, but he couldn’t—no matter the reason, being able to return to the mortal world was always a good thing. “I just got here. I need three months before I can get a visa.”

Old Li waved him off. “I’ve got connections—don’t worry about it! Just tell me: will you go or not?”

Nan Shi thought it over and finally nodded. “Alright.”

“Great, I’ll get your visa sorted. Send me your ID later.” With that, Old Li bustled off.

Nan Shi watched him go, lips curling into a smile, then headed for the night market.

Ha, his master would never have guessed—within a week of arriving in the Underworld, he was already going back to the mortal world!

Even if only temporarily!

Passing by Chi You’s house, Nan Shi paused, grinning up at the plaque: “Chi Residence.”

Whether by chance or fate, the main gate was wide open, and a sedan chair was being carried out. Steward Zhou followed alongside, spotting Nan Shi across the street and calling, “Young master?”

Nan Shi made a face at the sedan chair, humming a tune as he ran off.

Inside the sedan, Chi You rested his chin on his hand, watching Nan Shi’s retreating figure, eyes half-closed.

He murmured, “Such nerve…”

“Qing He, do you think the young master is truly foolish, or just pretending?”

Qing He kept her eyes down, silent. Though the mountain lord was asking, it wouldn’t do to criticize the master. “This servant does not know. The mountain lord will surely see clearly in his own heart.”

“……”