During the break, Chu Qianli was full of energy and began setting up her work. People kept coming and going in front of her desk—some were lining up for divination, while others were just gathering around out of curiosity.
Tan Muxing sat next to Chu Qianli, taking notes, while Qiu Qingkong stood beside them, dispersing the crowd and calling out loudly, “Friends without appointments, please don’t listen in. Show some respect for others’ privacy. Don’t gather here…”
“I’m just curious. Is it that big of a deal to listen?” someone asked.
“If you’re curious about astrology, then just make an appointment,” Qiu Qingkong explained. “But if you listen to someone else’s divination, the customers might not be happy. Many of these are private issues.”
Some people still wanted to watch Chu Qianli’s divination but were waved away by Qiu Qingkong. They then peered over, trying to get a glimpse.
A moment later, Tan Muxing took out a sewing kit. He sewed a thin string onto a piece of deep purple velvet fabric to make a curtain, then stood up and hung the drapes on both sides, blocking Chu Qianli and the divination customer behind the curtain, shielding them from prying eyes.
Since their seats were already towards the back, they could just remove the curtains before class and everything would return to normal.
When others saw they couldn’t spy anymore, they reluctantly left.
Chu Qianli was in the middle of a divination session. She looked at the female student in front of her and kindly asked, “You’ve chosen the oracle astrology, right?”
The female student replied, “Yes, I heard this can provide accurate information, and it can answer any question.”
Chu Qianli nodded, “That’s right. Astrology dice and Tarot tend to focus on short-term readings, but oracle astrology can answer questions about longer-term issues.”
“In ancient divination, planets were classified as either auspicious or inauspicious. While this may not be entirely accurate, this principle can still be used to predict events.”
The female student listened, seemingly unsure, her expression a little dazed.
Chu Qianli asked, “What’s your question?”
The female student explained, “Well, I really like watching esports competitions, and I have a team I support. There’s a major tournament coming up, but I’ve already applied to the school and I’m exhausted. I was wondering if I could know the result of the match in advance. If my team wins, I’ll go watch it, but if they lose, I won’t bother flying there. Watching it and losing would just ruin my mood…”
She sighed, “If I watch the match live and my team loses, I’ll probably be in a terrible mood when I get back, and I won’t be able to focus on studying.”
Chu Qianli didn’t know much about esports. She tentatively asked, “So, it’s just the outcome of the match, right?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Chu Qianli glanced at the time and then asked, “Do you remember the time and place when you came up with this question?”
The female student looked confused, “Huh? What do you mean?”
Chu Qianli, with a gentle smile, explained, “I’m about to set the chart. There are two ways to do this: one is based on the time and place I receive your question, and the other is based on when and where you came up with the question. If it’s your own question, the accuracy will be higher.”
In Chinese divination techniques like Qimen and Liuren, there are similar methods of setting charts or casting divination. Different astrologers have different approaches; for example, Arab and Indian astrologers base their charts on the time and place of receiving the question, while some believe the time and place when the question is formed by the person asking should be used.
The female student suddenly understood: “Oh, I get it now. Wait a moment, let me check my phone records. I had this thought when chatting with a friend yesterday. The location should be at home…”
After Chu Qianli checked the time and place, she began setting the chart and analyzing the oracle divination chart.
“The lord of the seventh house and the ruler of your destiny are both in angular houses, and they are in conjunction with malefic stars. This indicates that both teams will perform poorly, but based on the outcome, the team you support will lose.”
Chu Qianli scratched her head and kindly suggested, “I think you might not want to go. Not only will your team lose, but the entire match will have no highlights. It will probably make you very upset, and you’ll feel like you wasted your money.”
“That hurts, bro,” the female student said in a numb and defeated tone. “Actually, I’ve been feeling like I’ve spent too much money on this lately, and it doesn’t even feel worth it anymore, so that’s why I decided to ask about it through divination.”
Chu Qianli: “Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
The female student: “Ah, do you know why they lost? I support that team because they’re stronger than the other team. They shouldn’t have performed so poorly.”
Chu Qianli stared at the oracle chart for a long time and then replied, “I don’t know the rounds or rules of this competition, but during the middle phase of the second half, someone made a major mistake that couldn’t be corrected.”
Chu Qianli could capture the characteristics and information of the future, but if she wasn’t familiar with the field, she might not be able to call out specific names. It was like not knowing the term “Bitcoin” but being able to describe its characteristics.
“I see now. I’ll keep that in mind. No more questions.”
“Okay, if you want to give feedback later, you can tell us.” Chu Qianli pulled open the curtain and pointed at Tan Muxing. “Just give him the feedback. You’re welcome to come back next time.”
The female student was stunned: “You even have after-sales service? You guys have your process down pretty well.”
At the back door of the classroom, someone peered through the hallway window, watching the divination process of Chu Qianli and the others. They quickly returned to the classroom to spread the word.
In the neighboring class, several people gathered in a corner, discussing the new diviner in the grade.
The informant returned and complained, “Qiu Qingkong is watching so closely, she won’t let anyone listen in, and she’s constantly patrolling.”
“Is it really that accurate?” others asked curiously. “I thought all this stuff was a scam.”
“Better to believe than not to believe. My dad even checks the auspicious times before opening his company!”
“But aren’t feng shui masters usually very old? The transfer student is the same age as us.”
In the corner, a girl who had been quietly listening to the conversation closed the I Ching she had been holding, casually took off her glasses, and spoke slowly, “Ability doesn’t depend on age. The more skilled someone is in this field, the more likely they were gifted at a young age. I’ve heard there’s an extraordinary young genius on Mount Qian.”
The beautiful girl spoke, and everyone else fell silent, turning to look at her.
“Mount Qian?”
“Yes. There are only a few domestic masters, and even fewer who are willing to engage with the world. The public doesn’t want to believe this; they’ve just encountered too many frauds and haven’t met anyone truly talented.”
“If anyone could predict everything, fame and status would be within their grasp, and people would be willing to offer them anything they wanted. They wouldn’t even need to show themselves. In fact, there are those who would spend a fortune just to have them come out of seclusion, all to solve the world’s most difficult problems.”
“Qi Yan, I didn’t hear the divination process, but I asked those who were there, and they all said it was accurate.” The informant recalled. “It seems the oracle astrology is the most accurate. It can answer any kind of question.”
Qi Yan fell into thought, her gaze falling on the hexagram in the book. She suddenly looked up and said, “Then I’d like to trouble you to do something else for me.”
In the classroom, Qiu Qingkong recognized the girl in front of her and couldn’t help but smile, saying, “You’ve been observing for so long, and finally decided to give it a try?”
Qiu Qingkong was very popular in the grade and knew people in almost every class. She remembered that the girl in front of her was from the neighboring class. Recently, she had been hanging around, but hadn’t come for a divination yet.
“Yes, I thought I’d give it a try.”
“What service would you like?”
“Oracle astrology, can I pay you now?”
“Wow, the boss is generous! Please, take a seat!”
Inside the curtain, Chu Qianli looked at the girl in front of her and asked, “What question would you like to ask?”
“I have a boy I secretly like. I often run into him at school. I think it’s impossible between us, but recently, he confessed to me. I want to know where our relationship is headed…”
“Ah, so it’s a relationship issue?” Chu Qianli responded in agreement. “Let’s figure out how to set up the chart.”
After setting the chart, Chu Qianli stared at the oracle divination chart for a moment, her expression thoughtful, and fell into silence.
The girl noticed that Chu Qianli wasn’t saying anything and quickly asked, “Is the result not good?”
Chu Qianli lowered her head to look at the chart, then raised her eyes to look at the person asking. She scratched her head in confusion, seemingly unsure of what to say.
Chu Qianli hesitated and said, “You said someone confessed to you?”
The girl lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed. “Yes, he said he has deep feelings for me, but being together might affect both of our futures, so I wanted to see… did you see anything?”
After hearing the girl’s description, Chu Qianli was even more surprised. She blinked and honestly replied, “I didn’t see anything about your romantic luck, but I did notice something else.”
The girl asked, “What did you see?”
Chu Qianli, still confused, said, “You really have a lot of money. Why are you spending such a huge sum to ask about something that doesn’t even exist?”
Chu Qianli was totally bewildered.
Because her oracle astrology services were expensive, most of her clients came to her eager for answers, which was why they were willing to pay such high fees. She had never encountered someone who paid money for something that wasn’t even real. Was this the joy of the wealthy?
The ruler of the first house was in a harsh aspect with the ruler of the seventh house, indicating that the questioner might have intentions of playing tricks or deceiving the astrologer.
Oracle astrology doesn’t just answer any random chart; it requires verifying the validity of the chart, and this was clearly an invalid chart.
Chu Qianli didn’t understand why the girl was lying, and since she was charging for the service, in a sense, she wasn’t losing out. Maybe this was just a way for the rich to show off their financial power?
Chu Qianli sincerely said, “If you just want to tell me a story, I can sit here with you a little longer. After all, I’ve already accepted your payment, and it would be a little awkward to let you go so quickly.”
“……”
“But if you want me to predict your future romantic path, I really can’t do it, because the information you gave me is just wrong.”
“…………”
The girl’s face instantly turned red with embarrassment. She hurriedly bowed and apologized, saying, “Sorry, I just wanted to test if you were really accurate!”
The girl had wanted to probe Chu Qianli’s abilities, to see if she was just making things up or if she could really perform divination.
Chu Qianli said, “Oh, I’m not angry. I just think you’re really wealthy. Anyway, as long as you’ve made the payment, you can talk about anything with me.”
“It’s like that Buffett lunch, right? It should be Buffett, right?” Chu Qianli tilted her head and said, “You could talk to Buffett about financial investments, or you could spend the whole time talking to him about Chinese culture, or even debate which type of zongzi—sweet or savory—is better.”
The girl, seeing Chu Qianli’s generosity, stammered, “So you can even tell if the question is fake?”
Chu Qianli curiously replied, “Yes, so is there really a boy? I only know that the confession part was fake.”
“There is.” The girl pulled out her phone. “I can show you a picture of him.”
“Okay.”
Chu Qianli leaned in to take a look at the screen, and once she saw the photo, she fell silent again.
Chu Qianli stared at the high-definition still image, slightly stunned for a few seconds, and then hesitantly said, “Is this a photo of a male celebrity?”
She was increasingly baffled by the thoughts of city folks.
The girl excitedly stared at the screen. “Wuwuwu, that’s my wife! But we can’t be together yet. It will definitely affect his career…”
Chu Qianli: “?”
Chu Qianli kindly advised, “Stop just drinking. You should eat some food too.”
