Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 40: Chapter 39 I am Breaking up with You!

The fortuneteller indeed has people skills. Ignoring the quality of his fortune-telling, anyone who can set up a stall in a crowded place for a long time must know how to deal with people.

Most people don’t believe in fortune-telling.

Some will ignore it or watch it from a distance; some will just come over and deliberately disrupt; others use fortune-telling for amusement.

The old fortuneteller has a lot of experience dealing with all sorts of people.

Faced with Zhao Yi’s actions, obviously intending to disrupt, he remained calm and unperturbed, giving off a tranquil aura that made bystanders want to exclaim, "He truly is a man above the mundane world!"

Xue Pinggui’s eyes shone brightly.

Niu Lianhua seemed a bit swayed by his act, looking somewhat annoyed at Zhao Yi’s actions.

Zhao Yi’s first sentence made those around him nearly burst out laughing, "Old man, what the hell are you predicting?"

"....."

The old man’s expression froze.

"What the hell are you predicting?" Zhao Yi apparently didn’t notice the ambiguity in his words.

"Pfft!"

"Hahaha...."

Lin Xiaoqing and Zhao Linlin couldn’t suppress their laughter.

Xue Pinggui hurriedly intervened, giving the old man an apologetic look before whispering indignantly at Zhao Yi, "What kind of language is that! Even if you don’t believe in fortunetelling, you shouldn’t curse at people!"

"Oh, sorry, a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue...."

Zhao Yi quickly apologized and after considering his words carefully, he asked, "Old man, what do you predict?"

Though it was still a bit awkward, it sounded much better!

The fortune teller suppressed his anger, gave a slight smile, and spoke at leisure, "Why don’t you try guessing my age?"

This was a tough task.

In the fortune-telling business, there are divinations without cons. This means following the traditional methods.

Face reading, birth time, and other factors all come with their explanations.

For instance, one’s birth information can simply tell ’what kind of life’ one will have such as a ’Fire Fate’ or ’Earth Fate’. These also come with a matching poem.

For instance, ’Having the fate of wealth and honor but can’t handle it, needs a noble person to help suppress it,’ or, ’Sailing through life smoothly,’ similar to auspicious sayings.

And so forth.

Most people want precise predictions. Only precise information can earn the trust of those who seek fortune-telling and it also makes earning money easier.

That’s where ’the con’ is crucial.

Con games usually involve clichéd phrases that fit everyone. When it comes to predicting specific things, it becomes very difficult.

Passersby noticed the excitement and suddenly gathered around.

The crowd kept growing.

Zhao Yi glanced around and coolly said, "Guessing your age?"

The fortuneteller nodded slightly.

"That’s easy." Zhao Yi extended his hand, "No need to guess, let me check your bone age."

"Huh?"

Is there such a technique?

The fortuneteller, puzzled, handed his hand over.

Zhao Yi grasped his wrist and even pressed hard a few times. After contemplating for quite a while, he nodded and said, "Forty-five."

"Impossible!"

"The fortuneteller must be over fifty!"

Xue Pinggui mumbled dissatisfiedly, "Zhao Yi, stop babbling nonsense!"

Zhao Yi just smiled without uttering a word.

The fortuneteller’s face remained calm. He simply moved the corner of his mouth and praised, "You really have a knack for bone age estimation."

That was an implicit acknowledgment.

Even if he denied it, anyone could verify his age by checking his I.D card.

The surrounding crowd was astonished.

Lin Xiaoqing positioned herself behind Zhao Yi and exclaimed, "You actually guessed it right!"

"How did you guess it?"

Zhao Linlin was equally curious.

Zhao Yi continued to ask, "What else do you predict?"

The fortuneteller nodded with a grim face, stared at Zhao Yi for a bit, then said while stroking his chin, "Let’s talk about my family. I can predict that you’re an only child, so give a guess about mine."

This is a forte of fortune-tellers.

Through observing a person and asking a few questions, one can generally deduce their family situation, relationships, and marriage status.

With strict family planning policies nowadays, it’s much easier to predict the family structure of the younger generation. Typically, they either have two children or are an only child. By looking at their gestures, temperament, and speech, one can guess with quite accuracy.

But it isn’t a huge deal if guessed wrong.

There are certain word plays.

"You’re the only child at home, that can’t be. You must have an elder sister above..."

Fortune tellers often speak slowly. They observe facial expressions while talking and instantly change their words if the expressions don’t match.

If nothing is said and there are no facial expressions, then it becomes hard to guess.

Zhao Yi also became serious. He scrutinized the fortuneteller for a long time before finally saying, "Full forehead, rotund waistline, aged look but vibrant spirit, you surely exhibit signs of prosperity!"

"Such facial features are quite common, but are seldom seen in people who are forty. According to my estimation, you should have brothers and sisters above and below you, making you one among five siblings."

Zhao Yi spoke earnestly, but it was clear from the content that he was just blathering.

The onlookers burst into laughter.

The fortuneteller didn’t react much, his smile faded considerably.

Zhao Yi wasn’t finished. He looked around and found a bamboo stick as a prop. He tossed it into the air and observed it as it fell. After a while, he nodded and said, "It’s the Li Trigram, the second line. The Book of Changes states, ’the second line, yellow ending, very fortunate, he is on the middle path.’

"You must be the middle child, the third one in order, right?"

"...."

The fortuneteller’s face froze. He asked in surprise, "Do you know me?"

Zhao Yi shrugged.

When the crowd heard Zhao Yi was right again, they gasped in astonishment.

The master was also puzzled. He completely didn’t understand how his opponent ’calculated’. His expression hadn’t even changed, and he hadn’t really said much.

What was said earlier sounded like nonsense, but the results turned out to be right!

The Book of Changes?

Could it be related to the Book of Changes?

The master was somewhat confused, so he simply used his last resort, "Good sir, since your calculations are so accurate, could you divine my marital fate?"

The people around immediately burst into laughter.

The idea of a monk divining his marital fate was quite comical, but when they thought it through it felt rather awkward.

What marital fate could a monk possibly have?

Zhao Yi, however, was very calm. He continued to stare at the master and seriously said, "Your complexion is dark, and your head emanates green light..."

The people around burst into laughter again. frёeωebɳovel.com

Zhao Yi then let out a sigh, "I’m afraid a divorce is looming!" He stood up, ready to turn around and leave.

As long as Teacher Xue wasn’t tricked out of his money any longer, that was enough.

No need to overthrow the stand.

Fortune tellers make a living isn’t easy, many of them live on the fringes of society. Sometimes, making a few dozen dollars a day is a good day. There’s no need to ruin their livelihood without any grudge or grievance. frёeωebɳovel.com

Actually, the master became anxious. He took out the two hundred dollars earlier and forcefully stuffed them into Zhao Yi’s hand, "Young sir, young master, please take another look for me! Take another look!"

"What does it mean when you say my head has a green light?!"

Lately, his wife had been nitpicking quite a bit and arguing with him for no reason. He had always suspected that she had someone else on the side, and Zhao Yi’s words just hammered this belief into his heart.

Zhao Yi quickly stepped away. Although he did see signs of discord between the couple, ’Head glowing green light’ was just meant as a jest.

What was he doing?

He needed to get out of there quickly!

Zhao Yi squeezed through the crowd and took off. He ran tens of meters before he threw off the master.

Lin Xiaoqing, Zhao Linlin and others caught up, still asking incessantly, "How did you calculate that? You even fooled the fortune teller!"

"You can really tell fortunes, can’t you!"

"You figured out his family situation, and even his age..."

"It’s a secret!"

Zhao Yi laughed heartily.

"Humph!"

"Huh~"

Despite receiving two disapproving sounds, at least they didn’t continue to press him.

Good!

Xue Pinggui didn’t give up. He walked side by side with Zhao Yi, and after a long hesitation, he finally said, "Zhao Yi, those two hundred dollars... I don’t want them! I don’t want them!"

"How about you take a look for me?"

Zhao Yi didn’t have any intention of giving the money back. He simply rolled his eyes, "Everything that master said is correct!"

"Is it?"

"Your marital fate is imminent." Zhao Yi patted Xue Pinggui’s shoulder, "Remember this: never refuse blind dates!"

After saying that, Zhao Yi walked away.

Lin Xiaoqing and Zhao Linlin quickly followed, still chattering non-stop.

Xue Pinggui didn’t feel comfortable following them anymore, so he turned his head towards Niu Lianhua.

Niu Lianhua shivered all over when she saw him looking at her, she quickly walked away, shouting as she went, "Zhao Yi, Xiaoqing, Linlin, wait for me! Wait up!"

Everything the master said was correct?

Just now, the master said that Xue Pinggui’s marital fate is nearby. It would be safer for her to keep her distance.

...

On the cliff.

Sun Liang stood at the jumping point, staring intently at the opposite hillside.

Where was Zhao Yi?

Where were Lin Xiaoqing and Zhao Linlin?

Seemed like there was no one there at all...

"Jump!"

"Your safety rope is secured!"

"Go ahead!"

The safety officer stood next to him, urging him. Seeing that he was still hesitating, he simply pushed him off the edge.

"Ahhhhhhh..."

Sun Liang was pushed off unexpectedly, he couldn’t help but scream in pain, "Zhao Yi! Lin Xiaoqing! Zhao Linlin!"

"Take a picture!"

"I’ve jumped down! Hurry and take a picture!"

"Where are you guys!"

"Damn, a bunch of heartless bastards..."

Up and down, left and right.

Sun Liang hung there for a long time before finally being let down. His face was streaked with tears of terror. After being rowed ashore, he shivered as he stumbled along.

Walking...

Finally.

He found the snack street at the foot of the hill. After only a few steps, he saw a few people eating and laughing at a small food stand.

He stopped.

Just as Zhao Yi turned his head and stuck a candied haw into his mouth.

"..."

"..."

Sun Liang angrily shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am going to—"

"Break off our friendship!!!"