Go all out

Chapter 6: The Fourth Divination

I was startled by the sudden appearance of those eyes. The hairs on my body stood on end, and I almost let out a scream. Those emerald-green eyes were deeply unsettling—clearly belonging to some kind of wild beast. I dared not move a muscle, afraid it might suddenly pounce. Fortunately, there was a piece of wood nearby, which I quickly grabbed. But after those emerald eyes flashed into view, they closed just as quickly and vanished into the darkness—as if they had merely… passed by? Filled with shock and suspicion, I was already drenched in cold sweat. When I turned to wake my master, I discovered that he—who had been fast asleep—was now standing behind me, though I had no idea when he’d gotten there. He was staring intently at the direction where those emerald eyes had vanished, his expression more somber than I’d ever seen before. Could those emerald eyes from just now have been the so-called Mountain God? “Xiaotian, go back to sleep.” “But Master, just now over there…” I was about to say that a wild beast must have been watching us, but my master waved his hand. “I know. Go inside and sleep.” Hearing that, I could only nod and walk over to the makeshift tree shelter. I crouched down and crawled inside. The moment I closed my eyes, those cold, emerald-green eyes from earlier flashed into my mind, refusing to fade away. I could be certain that this was definitely not my mom. That night, when my mom took human form, her gaze was fixed on me, but her eyes were gentle—absolutely nothing like the bone-chilling coldness I’d just experienced. I don’t know how long I tossed and turned before I finally drifted off into a drowsy sleep. When I sleep, I’m always very restless—it feels as if people are fighting right next to my ear. I wanted to open my eyes to see what was going on, but I couldn’t control my body at all. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and I panicked, struggling desperately. But just then, I felt something fuzzy brush against my face—a very gentle touch. That sense of terror gradually faded away, until I finally drifted off completely… Early the next morning, I was startled awake by my master’s voice. He was speaking very softly, his voice tinged with pain. My heart skipped a beat, and I scrambled out of bed and ran outside. Outside, everything was in shambles. The grass on the ground looked as if it had been run over by a roller—there were potholes everywhere, and blood was splattered all over the place. My face went pale with fear. I quickly looked around and spotted my master lying in a pool of blood in the distance. His face was as white as paper. When he saw me come out, he closed his heavy eyes… My eyes were bloodshot. Who did this? My mom?? I ran over like a madman, scooped up my master, and ran down the mountain. My master’s entire body was covered in bite wounds, drenched in blood. The man who had raised me from childhood to adulthood had been reduced to this overnight. As I ran, I began to cry. I ran, clutching my master tightly, screaming out into the mountains—a desperate, lonely scream—but no sound answered me. My mind went blank. I hated myself for hearing the sounds of a struggle last night and not waking up to check on him. I ran with all my might. On the way down the mountain, I ran into an uncle from a nearby village who was just heading into town that morning. This uncle had once asked my master to read his fortune. When he saw my master covered in blood, he was completely stunned. He quickly snapped out of it, started his tricycle, and drove both of us to the town hospital. When we arrived at the town hospital, my master had lost too much blood and his injuries were too severe; he had to be immediately transferred to a hospital in the city. After all that back-and-forth, my master was finally admitted to the emergency room. I waited outside, my mind a blank. The rows of wounds on my master’s arms and thighs were horrifying. Given the nature of those bite wounds—the size and shape of the teeth marks—I couldn’t help but point the finger at my mother. It was my mom who left my master in this state. She knew he was going to kill her, so she attacked him while I was asleep. My mind was filled with the image of my mom viciously biting my master, and I broke down in tears. I don’t know how long it was before the attending physician shook me awake. He told me that Master had been saved, but because of severe blood loss, it was unclear when he would wake up. Moreover, during this time, the medical bills would amount to over 3,000 every day… It hit me like a bolt from the blue. My master usually charged thirty for fortune-telling to people in our village and neighboring villages—and often didn’t charge at all. Even when reading fortunes for wealthy people, he’d only take three hundred and refuse anything more. Combined with the tuition he’d paid for me every year, his savings weren’t much to begin with. After a day and night of emergency treatment, I had already used up all of my master’s savings. Now, with medical bills of over 3,000 every day, where was I supposed to find that kind of money? In a daze, I took the bus back to the village. I searched every nook and cranny of the shop and managed to scrape together less than a thousand yuan. I then went to the village chief’s house and begged him to lend me two thousand. The rest came from some of the uncles in the village, who gave me two hundred, three hundred, or fifty yuan each. I managed to scrape together about five or six thousand yuan and rushed it over to the hospital. I rushed in to catch a glimpse of my master. His face was deathly pale, and he looked as if he were in a deep sleep. My eyes welled up with tears, but I didn’t dare stay long and took a bus back to the shop. As I passed the mountain where my mother was buried, I ran up and shouted, “Mom, why did you even harm my master? He’s the one who raised me!” I shouted for a long time until my voice was hoarse, but there was no response. Dragging my weary body, I made my way down the mountain back to the shop. I tidied up the shop and opened for business. I knew that with medical bills now exceeding 10,000 a day, my only hope was my master’s shop. If I could scrape together a thousand or two to send to the hospital each day, wouldn’t that be better than having no money at all? After all, these days, hospitals will cut off medication immediately if you don’t pay. It should be fine to hold off until the master wakes up. When he does, he’ll tell me what to do! I tidied myself up and put on some clean clothes. My master once said that in the fortune-telling business, it’s all about the right look—not about wearing the most expensive clothes or having the coolest hairstyle, but about having a certain aura, a profound presence. You can find plenty of guys under the overpass wearing long mandarin jackets, with their hair slicked back to a high shine and sporting sunglasses—but do those kinds of people actually get any business? I’m still young, so naturally I can’t have the same aura as my master yet, but I have no choice—I just have to try my best to emulate it. By dressing neatly and tidily, I can make the people who come in for readings trust me, and only then will they pay me. After opening up in the morning, villagers came by to buy some offerings for ancestral worship. By the end of the morning, I’d only made a little over a hundred yuan. Many people walked in, saw that it wasn’t my master sitting in the chair, asked a simple question, said, “I’ll come back next time,” and turned to leave. I felt a bit discouraged—at this rate, how was I ever going to scrape together a thousand or two every day? Just as I was feeling helpless, I saw a black Mercedes pull up outside the door. My eyes lit up—wasn’t this the man who’d come by a few mornings ago looking for my master to have his fortune told? At that thought, I sighed inwardly. Before heading up the mountain that day, my master had probably foreseen that this man would face a calamity—one he couldn’t avoid—which is why he said the man wouldn’t return, and that I should read his fortune on Monday. The man walked in with his briefcase tucked under one arm. His eyes darted around the room before he asked me, “Is Master Li not here?” I replied calmly, “My master is in the hospital.” The man paused, then looked a bit disappointed. “What a shame. My master actually told me to come today.” “My master has already instructed me: if you come for a reading today, I can do it for you.” I looked at the man and said calmly, though I was actually feeling a bit nervous inside. Usually, when my master was around, I hardly ever gave readings to others—this man was essentially my first client. “You? Then never mind.” The man gave me a suspicious look. He muttered something under his breath and turned to leave. Feeling a surge of anxiety, I forced a smile. “Sir, if you just walk out like this, aren’t you worried you’ll take the fall?” The man gave me a deep look, his voice still tinged with skepticism. “Do you really know how to tell fortunes?” “Sit down.” I gestured for him to take a seat. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually sat down. I breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “What is your name, sir?” “Zhang Hao. I’m thirty-nine this year,” the man said. I nodded and continued, “Since my master has already instructed me, rest assured that I’ll conduct the reading properly. According to my master’s methods, fortune-telling is divided into four categories: facial reading, palm reading, bone reading, and energy reading. Which one would you like?” The man hesitated for a moment, then said, “Facial reading, please. The friend who referred me said your master’s facial readings are very accurate. That friend of mine also got through a difficult time thanks to your master’s guidance.” I went, “Oh,” and nodded, then took another careful look at his facial features.