Chapter 124

Chapter 124

Xia Sheng arrived beneath the footbridge with her street-stall setup. She set down her little folding stool, sat on it, and just like that, she was open for business.

After bringing her there, Shen Yanchen didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed standing beside Xia Sheng’s stall.

Seeing the young girl seated on that crude little stool, he couldn’t help saying, “You sit out here in the wind and sun every day. It’s not good for your health. Why don’t I buy this whole area and put up a fortune-telling building for you here?”

Lu Ren, standing nearby, tactfully took out his phone the moment his boss said that. “I’ll call the Land Resources Bureau right now.”

An auntie passing by happened to overhear them and burst out laughing. She glanced at Xia Sheng, who was sitting primly on her little stool, and joked, “Little Celestial Master, are you expanding your business now? Filming those domineering-CEO mini-dramas?”

This auntie had come to Xia Sheng for a reading before, so they were somewhat familiar. She meant it as a tease, not out of malice.

Xia Sheng smiled. “Mm. They really love putting on a show.”

“I knew it. Otherwise, what kind of president would be such a lovestruck fool that he’d buy land and put up a building for the woman he likes at the drop of a hat?”

Lu Ren thought: His boss would.

The auntie chatted with Xia Sheng for a couple more minutes, handed over the breakfast snacks she’d bought on the way, and then left.

Lu Ren asked Shen Yanchen, “Boss, are we still buying the land?”

Shen Yanchen asked leisurely, “Do you think I’m a lovestruck fool?”

Lu Ren’s scalp went tight. He was just about to deny it when Shen Yanchen said, “Call the Land Resources Bureau.”

Lu Ren: “…”

Xia Sheng couldn’t help laughing. “Uncle Nine, no need. I’m doing just fine setting up my stall here.

“The reason I’m here is to help ordinary people in the first place. If the storefront were too nicely decorated, the people who couldn’t afford it probably wouldn’t even dare walk in.”

Shen Yanchen knew Xia Sheng wasn’t the type to put on airs, so in the end he didn’t insist.

Shen Yanchen had a client to meet that morning, so he didn’t stay with Xia Sheng for long and soon left.

Not long after he was gone, people began gathering in front of Xia Sheng’s stall.

The people who came for readings today all had trivial matters to ask about, and Xia Sheng quickly finished with the first seven clients. Only the last one remained.

The final customer was a middle-aged man.

He was on the thin side, with quite a bit of white in his hair. His face was full of sorrow, and his whole demeanor seemed dazed and unfocused.

Xia Sheng’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and she couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh.

She had originally thought that once something happened to Old Madam Sun and Xuanxuan, Uncle Liu would naturally learn where his son had gone.

She hadn’t expected Uncle Liu to come to her for a reading at exactly this time.

Perhaps even heaven felt that this father and son’s bond had not yet run its course, and wanted her to help them meet one more time.

Uncle Liu crouched down in front of Xia Sheng. The dark circles under his eyes were heavy, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that he’d been suffering badly for quite some time.

“Little master, I’d like to ask you for a reading.”

Xia Sheng spoke calmly. “You’re looking for your son, aren’t you?”

Uncle Liu froze. He hadn’t said a single thing yet, but Xia Sheng had already figured it out.

The reason he’d come here to seek out Xia Sheng was because the neighborhood residents had all been saying there was a very accurate little fortune-teller here.

Not long ago, he had resigned from the Sun Family. For the past month after that, he had been running from place to place searching for his son, but he had never found any trace of him.

With nowhere else to turn, he had come to Xia Sheng.

At first, he had only come to give it a try, but he hadn’t expected this little master to be this capable.
Uncle Liu’s eyes were full of hope as he asked Xia Sheng, “Little sir, since you could tell why I came to find you, does that mean you’ve also figured out where my son is?”

Xia Sheng nodded. “I know where he is.”

At those words, Uncle Liu instantly grew agitated. “Where is my son? Please, take me to see him!”

Even though his son was simple-minded, and everyone around them looked down on him, the boy was still the child his wife had carried for ten months before giving birth to him. Blood was thicker than water. If the child truly could not be found, he did not dare imagine how he would go on living.

Xia Sheng asked, “Do you want to see him, or do you want to see his ghost?”

It took Uncle Liu several seconds to understand what Xia Sheng meant. His body swayed, and his already pale face drained of all color. “Little sir, are you saying my son is already dead?”

Xia Sheng nodded.

Overcome with emotion, Uncle Liu grabbed Xia Sheng’s hand. His eyes reddened instantly as he asked in a trembling voice, “Little sir, my son was gentle by nature. He never provoked anyone, never made enemies. How could he have died? You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”

Seeing Uncle Liu like this, even the elderly onlookers nearby couldn’t help feeling heartbroken. Still, one of them patted him on the shoulder and spoke up for Xia Sheng. “The Little Celestial Master is the most accurate fortune-teller in this whole area. She’s never been wrong. My condolences.”

Hearing that, the tears in Uncle Liu’s eyes could no longer be held back and fell at once.

But he still clung to a sliver of hope. Until he saw his son’s body with his own eyes, he couldn’t give up. “Little Celestial Master, you just said you know where my son is. Can you take me to see him?”

Xia Sheng said, “His body is buried in the flower bed in the front yard of the Sun Family, beneath a rosebush. Bring some tools and dig down fifty centimeters. You’ll find him there.”

“You mean the person who killed my child is someone from the Sun Family?” Uncle Liu stared at her in shock. “Impossible. The Sun Family’s young master and my Haohao are best friends. Mr. Sun has treated me well all these years too. How could he possibly hurt Haohao?”

Xia Sheng did not explain further. She only said, “Whether it’s true or not, you’ll know once you go look.”

In a daze, Uncle Liu got to his feet and left in a state of shock.

Worried that something might happen given his condition, Xia Sheng hesitated for a moment before ultimately following him.

A person’s fate was always changing. To prevent Uncle Liu from doing something rash to the Sun Family in a moment of grief and ruining his own life in the process, Xia Sheng decided she had better go with him.

Uncle Liu did not stop her, and the two of them went together to the Sun Family residence.

The Sun Family’s servants all knew Uncle Liu, so none of them stopped him and simply let him in.

When they reached the flower bed, Uncle Liu walked unsteadily to the rosebush and reached out, trying to dig up the roses with his bare hands.

He had no tools at all. If he kept doing this barehanded, he would definitely injure himself.

Xia Sheng sighed and threw out a Talisman. In an instant, the entire rosebush withered away and turned to dust.

Underneath it, the soil had clearly been turned over recently. It was loose and damp, completely different from the hard-packed earth beside it.

Realizing that Xia Sheng might not have lied to him, Uncle Liu’s tears surged out again just after he had managed to stop them. He collapsed to the ground and began digging through the dirt with his bare hands.

He did not stop, even after both hands were covered in blood.

By the time Xia Sheng came back with a shovel, Uncle Liu’s hands were already a bloody mess.

And within the dirt, the mangled remains of a child were already faintly visible.