The leader of the thugs said, "What's the normal procedure for fortune-telling? Right, literomancy! I just have to write a word. Then you will analyze it, right?"
Yun Zhonghe replied, "That's right!"
Most of today's fortune-telling was more advanced and followed such a routine.
The thug said, "Didn't you call yourself a divine psychic? Didn't you claim to have opened your third eye? Then I'm not going to write out the word. I'll just think of it in my mind. If you want to read my fortune, first you have to figure out what word I have on my mind!"
The moment he finished speaking, several thugs standing around were instantly shocked.
Boss, you are obviously intent on breaking the hands and legs of this charlatan. He's not even worth as much as a ringworm in your stomach, how could he possibly know what word is on your mind? How could he possibly know what you are thinking of unless he is an immortal?
The head thug said, "Can't think of it? Aren't you a divine being? Then read my fortune."
What was the word on his mind?
In order to prevent others from guessing correctly, he had thought of a very unusual word, Qi!
As literomancy had a method of its own, it was always the same few characters that these charlatans used. This thug knew these drills and routines very well, so he completely avoided all the words that were commonly used for fortune-telling.
And what was the origin of this character, Qi?
It was the name he had chosen for his baby that was on the way, but he had not told anyone about it. So, it was impossible for anyone to figure it out unless they were an immortal.
Not only that, because the pregnant woman was his secret lover, his little minions were totally unaware.
He had come specifically to make trouble for Yun Zhonghe, but was it really just to extort some protection fee?
No, it was not. It was because there was someone who did not like the sight of Yun Zhonghe's existence and had given him a sum of money to break Yun Zhonghe's hands and legs.
"Can't figure it out, right? Do it, break his hands and legs," the leader of the thugs suddenly said as he waved his hand.
The iron rods that the several of the other thugs held in their hands were about to come smashing down with mighty force. If one were hit by those rods, it would definitely result in the shattering of bones.
"Qi!" Yu Zhonghe shouted.
The leader of the thugs froze in shock. Then he immediately shouted, "Hold it!"
The other thugs quickly stopped.
The leader of the thugs said, "You tell me clearly, what exactly is the word I am thinking of?"
"The word in your mind is Qi. This is the name of your unborn child. It should already be eight months along, and her stomach takes on a sharper shape, so it should be a boy," Yun Zhonghe said with indifference.
The moment he spoke those words, the leader of the thugs went into a complete state of shock. He looked at Yun Zhonghe with disbelief.
The mind-reading skills of Patient Sixteen from the mental hospital were that remarkable!
Though the leader of the thugs did not say it aloud, he had been reciting this word silently in his mind. He was also silently reciting, "Dear son, Father is going to see you in another month's time."
With Patient Sixteen took possession of Yun Zhonghe's body, he had read the mind of the other party, who was silently mouthing that sentence. Then he had concluded that this thug's woman should have been in her eighth month of pregnancy, and it was most likely a son.
But how would this thug know these things? He was instantly in complete shock.
This… How was this possible? He really had not told anyone at all. He had not even talked to his woman about it.
Could it be that the person in front of him really had a third eye? It was so amazing!
"Boss, is he spewing bullsh*t? We will break his arms and legs right away and feed them to the hounds," cried another thug who was standing nearby.
At that moment, the leader immediately snapped back to reality. His palm suddenly flew over to the other man in a tight slap. "Shut up. Quickly help him up. No, no, no, I will do it myself," he snapped angrily.
Then, the leader of the thugs went up and helped Yun Zhonghe get back up on his feet. "Please take a seat, sir. Please sit down," he said.
Yun Zhonghe sat down on the mat and looked at the leader of the thugs with a smile.
By then, the leader of the thugs had regained some clarity and his senses. He looked at Yun Zhonghe carefully and was still feeling moments of absurdity.
Could it be that this old man really had a third eye? How could he actually know what I am thinking of in my mind? This was simply too inconceivable, right? the leader thought.
Yun Zhonghe said lightly, "The character is known, so with just this 'Qi' character, what would you like to find out?"
The leader of the thugs had not really thought much about what he wanted to know because he had considered Yun Zhonghe to be a mentally challenged beggar and had only come there to break his arms and legs after somebody paid him. How could he be having his fortune read here?
But now, this old man in front of him was not a mentally challenged beggar, so the opportunity to have his fortune read was definitely not one to be missed.
So, he had to carefully think about precisely what he wanted to know about himself. Did he want to know about marriage, future prospects, or how long he would live?
Marriage? He was already of the right age, with a wife at home and a lover on the side. What more would he possibly ask for?
Life? This was something that could frighten anyone to death, so it was better left unasked. I have no wish to know how it came about, nor do I have any want to know when it will end.
This left him with future prospects.
If an ordinary man were to come and ask, he would undoubtedly ask, "Sir, what's my future going to be like, or how is my luck for this year?"
But the leader of the thugs was practical, so he opened his mouth and asked, "Sir, I'll just ask, in time to come, will I be able to fulfill my wish of attaining an iron rice bowl for stable income?"
Yun Zhonghe snapped his fingers like a prophet predicting someone's fortune. Then suddenly, he lifted his head and looked up. Without another word, he rolled up his mat, picked up his signboard, and prepared to take off.
The leader of the thugs cried out in shock, "Sir, this… What's the meaning of this? Why are you leaving all of a sudden?"
The thug standing next to him said, "Boss, he must be unable to come up with anything and is scared that we will break both his arms and legs, so he's just going to run away now."
Yun Zhonghe said, "This fine gentleman here, you just spent over a hundred sycees when you approached the garrison of the City of Torn Gust in your bid to seek a post as captain of the patrol troop. This matter has since been confirmed. Your patrol troop is specifically tasked with the responsibility of sweeping out fortune-telling booths like ours. If I don't make a run for it now, what else would I be waiting for?"
What was a patrol troop? It was the urban management unit of a different world that was specially set up to apprehend people like stall owners and vendors. Fortune-telling stalls were also included in their list of spots to be swept out.
The leader of the thugs was totally shocked. This… This was simply too amazing.
He had paid a hundred sycees to bribe Centurion Li and bought himself a post as captain of the patrol troop in charge of these streets. That was how he could perfectly justify his collection of protection fees in the future.
But this was something he had secretly done by himself. No one else knew about it. How could the fortune-teller standing before him know?
It was so… too unbelievable.
And right at that very moment, something even more inconceivable happened.
A man came running from a distance. He first sucked in a mouthful of air to catch his breath, then said to the leader of the thugs in a hoarse voice, "Boss. Congratulations, congratulations. The bureau of city guards has already issued the official document. From today on, you are the captain of the patrol troop of these three streets."
This time around, it wasn't only the leader of the thugs who was stunned. The few other thugs standing around all seemed to have been struck by lightning. They could not believe their ears at all. They all stared hard at Yun Zhonghe.
This… This was simply too amazing.
Seeing how these people were all dazed, the young fellow who came running over to report the good news could not help but feel surprised. What was going on? This was clearly great news that they should be celebrating. Why was his boss not rejoicing with happiness? Could it be that he was putting on airs even before actually donning his official clothes?
After a long pause, the leader of the thugs knelt, bowing down to Yun Zhonghe and said, Sir, you are indeed a divine being. Please accept a bow of worship from me, Zhang Dahu."
With that said, the leader of the thugs went into a 90-degree bow before Yun Zhonghe. He stayed in that bow for a few full seconds.
After that, when he saw that his minions were still standing there in upright positions, he instantly flew into a rage. "What are you all doing just standing there like that? Still not kowtowing to this sir here? You guys should know that you are lucky. You are merely lowly beings, and yet you are able to meet with this divine sir," he growled.
Suddenly, the dozen thugs were all scurrying to get down on their knees and kowtow to Yun Zhonghe.
"Our respects to you, ancient immortal. Our respects to you, ancient immortal…" they said.
The leader of the thugs, Zhang Dahu, said, Sir, how did you manage to figure that out? This is just too amazing. How did you know that I bribed someone with one hundred sycees, and how did you know that this matter had successfully come to fruition?"
How had Yun Zhonghe known that Zhang Dahu's plan to buy the post of captain of the patrol troop had been successfully achieved?
Very simple. When that minion of his came running from a distance, his mouth was instinctively wide open as he had wanted to shout, "Boss, it's done. You have become the captain of the patrol troop."
It was just then that the thug's little minion realized that the distance was still too far, so he did not shout to them. He waited until he had run closer before he congratulated his boss.
Also, Zhang Dahu and his gang had their backs facing the little guy. So, of course, they could not see him.
But Yun Zhonghe was facing him, so he could see him clearly. With Patient Sixteen from the mental hospital possessing his body, he could easily read the lips of the thug's little minion.
So, of course he knew in advance.
As for the bribery of one hundred sycees? He knew that because this position was worth one hundred-odd sycees at most.
But how could he possibly tell them these things? It would be against his prophet's demeanor. In truth, the next thing that he had to do, which was the interpretation of the word, was the most important thing of all.
Therefore, Yun Zhonghe stroke his beard lightly and said indifferently, "This Qi word that you have written could be broken up into mountain and support, right?"
Zhang Dahu might not have been very well-read or highly literate, but he at least knew that much. So, he nodded and said, "Yes."
Yun Zhonghe said, "What does mountain represent? It represents your backing. With a backer, this matter would, of course, come to fruition."
Zhang Dahu said, "Then how did you know about me offering a bribe of one hundred sycees?"
Yun Zhonghe said, "The other character that meant support could be interpreted as financial support in the form of disbursement, which refers to the bribery. Putting the two characters 'ten' and 'again' together, they form the word 'support.' And what does 'ten again' mean? It means ten and another ten, so multiplying two tens together. Wouldn't that be one hundred? So, you offered a bribe of one hundred sycees!"
Hearing Yun Zhonghe's interpretation, the newly appointed captain of the patrol troop, Zhang Dahu, was utterly stunned.
Oh my god!
This… This man was truly unbelievably divine.
Simply brilliant!