Chapter 116: Lord Water Spirit's Divination Mao Tao raised his hand and said, “I want to try too!”
And so, try he did. In the end, however, he drew a slightly inauspicious lot, which held the following verse:
This heart is sincere and true, yet like the clay jar that ever breaks by the well.
Mao Tao’s face soured with gloom. Seeing the result, He Yue chuckled and commented, “Well, at least it’s better than what my big brother got.”
Still uneasy, Mao Tao muttered to himself, “Guess I’d better eat more pig’s trotter noodles to chase off bad luck...”
Next, Mrs. Zhu took the container in her arms and gave it a shake.
She drew a slightly auspicious lot.
“The first year I was sold here, I came twice to divine my fate. I drew lots months apart, yet both times I got a slightly auspicious lot, telling me that one day my fate would improve.” She bit her lip. “If not for that, I’d have probably thrown myself into the lake to die long ago.”
At that, Madame Ying could no longer hold back. Curiosity overcame her fear, and she went to draw a lot herself.
When her lot fell, everyone gasped in unison.
“The best lot!”
The inscription read: Flowers in full bloom, purple qi at dawn, clouds at rest by night.
Mao Tao gawked in envy. “Madame, yours is filled with blossoms, auspicious clouds, and purple qi! Those are all the best omens!”
Who would not love to receive such auspicious words? Madame Ying beamed so widely her smile nearly split her face. “Oh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing. These divination sticks can’t be taken too seriously.”
He Lingchuan silently took the container once more and shook it again.
And of course, the inevitable happened. Another blood-red stick, another worst lot, clinging to him like a curse.
The darker his big brother’s face grew, the more He Yue felt compelled to clear his throat. “There ought to be someone here who interprets the lots, right?”
Back in its heyday, the Water Spirit Shrine had drawn endless crowds of devotees. With incense burning strongly, there had certainly been a resident interpreter.
“Old Liu, the shrinekeeper, handled the readings,” Mrs. Zhu said. “But he’s in the western part of the village right now. The brigands haven’t killed him, and they probably aren’t going to. He’s good at cooking.”
“Alright, then let’s go and fetch him.” He Lingchuan pocketed the stick, turned on his heel, and strode toward the western side of the village.
“Chuan’er, are you really going to go and bargain with those brutes?” Madame Ying asked in alarm. “At a time like this, isn’t it better not to stir up any trouble?”
He Lingchuan said nothing, and his stride only grew firmer.
Others might think that he was overreacting, but only he knew how the words, “a cuckoo takes the magpie’s nest,” had pierced straight into his heart, striking at the deepest secret of his soul.
This was something that he had to get to the bottom of, no matter what.
Immortal Spirit Village was not large. Striding briskly, he soon reached the boundary that the soldiers and brigands had agreed upon.
Two state soldiers stood guard on one side, while two brigands stood on the other.
He Lingchuan called out to them, “I want to buy someone. I want Old Liu, the shrinekeeper of the Water Spirit Shrine.”
The brigands smirked and asked, “Oh? And what exactly do you want him for?”
“Well, there was nothing to do, so I went and drew lots at the shrine. I want him to help me interpret my lots.” While saying that, He Lingchuan flashed a heavy silver ingot in his hand. “An old man like that is no use to you, so why not trade him for some money?”
The silver he was offering was a full ten taels, and it was bright and solid.
The old man truly was of little use to the brigands, and he was of no worth to them other than for his skill in cooking. The two brigands huddled to mutter for a moment, then turned back. “You’ll have to give us more.”
He Lingchuan gave a cold laugh and turned to walk away.
Hah, you two think you can scam me? Even if these two might always be following their general to raids, how often could they possibly get to enjoy the spoils? I seriously doubt they get much.
As expected, when the two brigands saw him leaving, they panicked. “Come back, come back. Fine, fine, we’ll accept the trade!”
They had not gone to ask anyone else. If they accepted the deal, they would not even need to share the silver further. Even if it was not some life-changing amount of money, it was still a rather sizeable amount. Moreover, they barely had to do anything to get it.
Before long, the two brigands dragged over a half-white-haired old man and shoved him across the boundary. “Here, he’s yours. Hand over the money.”
Without hesitation, He Lingchuan tossed the silver ingot their way.
He Lingchuan’s move did not escape the eyes of the nearby villagers. Hence, several villagers suddenly rushed forward, crying out, “Buy us too! Lord and Madame, please, have pity and buy us over as well!”
Everyone knew the eastern half of the village was safe, while those left in the west were suffering. Seeing Old Liu cross into safety, the others were filled with envy.
Mao Tao clutched Old Liu by the arm and followed closely behind He Lingchuan.
Madame Ying started to speak, “Everyone, please be patient—” However, He Yue tugged firmly at her arm and pulled her back without another word.
Unfortunately for the rest of the villagers, it was not yet time to rescue them.
Soon enough, the leader of the brigands was roused by the commotion and came storming over to demand answers. His two men stammered and hedged until he slapped each of them twice across the face, forcing out the truth.
“Did you seriously fucking give someone away just because he had some money? What if he asked to buy your lives? Would you hand those over too?” Am I surrounded by fools? The two hung their heads, stammering that they dared not.
The brigand leader thrust out a hand and snarled, “Where’s the money?”
* * *
Meanwhile, Old Liu had already crossed into the eastern side of the village. He fell over himself thanking them, almost dropping to his knees in gratitude.
With the brigands, who were as fierce as demons, he had thought, like the other villagers, that he would not live to see dawn. But now, these living gods had plucked him from the sea of misery.
“Why not repay me with something useful?” He Lingchuan drew out the two blood-red sticks. “Help me interpret these.”
“Eh?” Old Liu froze at the sight of the worst lots. “Who drew this?”
“I did.”
Old Liu looked at him, then at the other blood-red stick. “And the other one?”
“Also me,” He Lingchuan snapped, his irritation rising.
“That’s impossible.” The old man’s jaw nearly dropped to the point where his mouth formed an O. “You drew two worst lots in a row?”
“Hah, I drew over a dozen times, and I kept on getting these same two sticks. Meanwhile, the others got slightly auspicious and very auspicious lots.”
Old Liu had never heard of or seen something like this happening. He sat there dumbfounded for quite a while before finally going to light a nearby lamp. But age dims the eyes, and the characters on the divination stick were awfully small.
Seeing the old man struggling to read the text, Mao Tao thrust a torch so close it nearly singed the wood before Old Liu finally managed to read them aloud.
“Oh, it’s these two.”
Mao Tao played the perfect foil. “What about these two?”
“These two were newly made. I put them into the container just ten days ago.”
No wonder the red lacquer’s so fresh. “In our custom, whenever a worst lot is drawn, it must be removed and not returned, because one man’s calamity is not another’s. And since Lord Water Spirit stopped granting divinations long ago, the container hasn’t been replenished in years,” Old Liu muttered. “But ten days ago, Lord Water Spirit appeared to me in a dream, saying I was about to meet a great disaster. I was terrified and begged for a way to avert it. Lord Water Spirit told me that if I crafted two new lots like these and placed them in the tube, I could turn misfortune into fortune.”
The crowd exchanged glances. Indeed, it seemed true enough. After all, it was He Lingchuan’s demand for an interpretation that had pulled Old Liu safely out of danger.
“So these sticks were prepared especially for me?” Suspicion clouded He Lingchuan’s eyes. Could this all be a trap? “Fine. Then explain them to me.”
“I cannot.”
“What?” He Lingchuan’s anger flared. “Did I waste my silver? Aren’t you the interpreter?”
“These are ‘silent lots.’ They can only be read, not explained.” Old Liu gave a bitter smile. “There’s no harm in telling you a secret now, my benefactors. In the past, I could interpret the lots only because Lord Water Spirit granted me a sliver of divine power. But now...”