Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Xia Sheng had been telling fortunes at her stall for some time now, and word of her had spread. Every day, people came in an endless stream to have their fortunes read.
That morning, the moment she appeared beneath the footbridge, more than a dozen people crowded around her.
“Little Celestial Master, you’re finally here! I’d like to ask you to tell me whether my son can get into his dream school on this year’s college entrance exam.”
“Me too, me too! My mom caught some strange illness a while back. Please, Little Celestial Master, could you take a look?”
Everyone spoke at once. Xia Sheng said calmly, “Line up properly. Don’t crowd, and don’t panic.”
With that, she sat down on her small folding stool, and the people spontaneously formed a line.
The first person to have his fortune read was the man who had just asked Xia Sheng to check on his mother’s illness.
“Little Celestial Master, I don’t know what strange illness my mom has come down with lately. She can hardly swallow any food every day. We took her to the hospital, but they couldn’t find anything wrong. Could I ask you to come home with me and take a look?”
Xia Sheng glanced at his features and said, “Your forehead is full and broad, and the maternal sector of your face is bright and lustrous. That proves your mother is in no serious danger.
“Her poor appetite and listlessness are likely because of you.”
The man froze. “Because of me? But I haven’t done anything unfilial to my mom.”
The middle-aged woman in line behind him also said, “That’s right, Master. Everyone on this street knows Xiao Wang is good to his mother. If something happened to his mom, how could the reason be him?”
The onlookers who had gathered at some point chimed in as well. “Xiao Wang is such a filial boy. These past two years, he made a lot of money doing business and even bought his mom a big new house.”
“Not just a big house. Every month, Xiao Wang transfers hundreds of thousands into his mom’s account, and he hired a nanny specifically to help his mother with the housework. Aside from being too busy with work and not having much time to come back and keep his mother company, he’s taken good care of every aspect of her life.”
“That is exactly where the problem lies,” Xia Sheng said unhurriedly. “Your father passed away a year ago. After you got married, you moved out of town with your wife and child, leaving your mother at home alone all this time.
“This time, she hasn’t actually come down with some strange illness. She just wants you, your wife, and your child to come back and see her more often. That’s why she’s pretending to be sick, hoping to keep you at her place for a few more days.”
Hearing Xia Sheng reveal at a glance that his father had passed away a year ago, Xiao Wang was slightly startled. Then, knowing that his mother was all right, he let out a breath of relief.
“So that’s what it is. My mom, honestly… If she missed me, she could have just said so. It’s not like I couldn’t come back to see her…”
“When she called you during the holidays and asked you to come home, did you?”
Xia Sheng’s single question left Xiao Wang speechless.
He couldn’t help muttering in defense, “I’m usually busy with work. I can’t help it…”
The middle-aged woman behind Xiao Wang couldn’t resist saying, “So even when your mom called you, you still didn’t go back, huh?”
Xiao Wang rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, “Little Celestial Master, I understand. I’ll bring my mom over to live with me. I won’t let her stay alone at home anymore.”
With that, Xiao Wang paid the Divination Fee, thanked Xia Sheng again, and left.
After that, Xia Sheng performed six more readings. Most of them were about luck, career prospects, and wealth.
Once Xia Sheng had finished reading for each of them, only one reading remained. The person who came forward in line was a young woman.
The woman looked to be in her twenties. Her head was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, and one of her hands seemed to be broken, held in place by a splint.
There was also a young man with her, carefully supporting her by the arm.
When they reached Xia Sheng, the woman tried to sit down on the little folding stool across from her, but her body swayed unsteadily.
The man quickly caught her, his brows knitting as he scolded her gently, “Be careful.”
The woman looked up at him and smiled softly. “I’m fine.”
One glance was enough to tell that this man was considerate and family-oriented.
Seeing how lovey-dovey the two of them were, everyone else felt a little sour.
One of the aunties watching the drama glanced at her own old man beside her, who was picking at his feet, and said in disgust, “Men really are not all made the same.”
The old man felt wronged, but the old man said nothing.
He had only come to watch a fortune-telling. Somehow, he had still caught a stray.
After the woman settled onto the little stool, she lifted her eyes to Xia Sheng and said respectfully, “Little Celestial Master, my luck has been terrible lately. I keep getting hurt whenever I go out.
“Last week, I got into a car accident and broke my hand. Then two days ago, a flower vase fell from above and split my head open. I almost died.
“I suspect something unclean has attached itself to me. Could I ask you to take a look and tell me what’s going on?”
Over the past two weeks, unlucky things had happened to Wu Zhaodi almost every day. The serious ones had even threatened her life.
She kept feeling that something was wrong. After discussing it with her boyfriend, she decided to find a master to take a look for her.
As it happened, Xia Sheng was rather famous in the area, so she had brought her boyfriend here with her.
Xia Sheng’s gaze fell on the fingers of Wu Zhaodi’s right hand. She said, “There are two Marriage Threads on your hand. One is connected to you, while the other is connected to the underworld.
“Everything you’ve experienced lately is the work of your Ghost Bridegroom.”
The moment she heard the words “Ghost Bridegroom,” Wu Zhaodi’s face went deathly pale. “Little Celestial Master, are you saying someone has been Arranging a Ghost Marriage for me?”
Wu Zhaodi’s hometown was a small county in the south. Her grandmother was Buddhist and often told her folk stories, so she knew what it meant for a Marriage Thread to be connected to something from the underworld.
Xia Sheng nodded. “This Ghost Marriage should have been arranged only recently. That Ghost Bridegroom wants you to go down and keep him company, which is why he’s trying to take your life.”
A chill ran through Wu Zhaodi’s body at Xia Sheng’s words. “But I’ve never agreed to any marriage. How could someone be Arranging a Ghost Marriage for me out of nowhere?”
Xia Sheng explained, “Arranging a Ghost Marriage doesn’t necessarily require your personal involvement. As long as there is a matchmaker’s word, the parents’ command, and your Birth Date and Time, the marriage contract can be formed.”
Wu Zhaodi’s expression changed slightly.
According to Xia Sheng, Arranging a Ghost Marriage required her parents’ consent. That meant her parents definitely knew about this.
But she had never heard them mention it before.
Although her parents had always favored her younger brother over the years, they had still raised her to adulthood. She was unwilling to believe they could truly be so cruel to her, so she asked, “Little Celestial Master, could outsiders have been Arranging a Ghost Marriage for me? Could my parents actually not know anything about it?”
Xia Sheng shook her head. “Without your parents’ consent, this marriage couldn’t have been completed.”
Wu Zhaodi murmured in disbelief, “That’s impossible. Arranging a Ghost Marriage would take my life. Even if my parents don’t like me, they wouldn’t be that heartless…”
Seeing the disbelief written all over Wu Zhaodi’s face, Xia Sheng continued, “Your parents sold you to that family for Arranging a Ghost Marriage. They accepted more than five million yuan in betrothal money. Their goal was to buy your younger brother a marital home in Capital City.
“Think carefully. Have your parents ever mentioned buying a house for your younger brother?”