Chapter 32: I’m Here to Have My Romantic Fortune Told

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Five Dragons Park.

Li Siyu extended both hands from her loose sleeves, gathered up her skirt, and climbed out of the car with her body half bent.

Before her lay dense trees, seas of blooming flowers, and passersby strolling in groups of two or three. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and fresh grass.

Her expression remained calm, her eyes utterly undisturbed. The scenery stirred little emotion within her.

In her opinion, it was nowhere near as beautiful as the countryside.

It lacked the natural beauty of the village. Instead, it had the feel of a landscape forcibly assembled by human hands.

At that moment, gazes from every direction descended upon them, while passersby chatted in twos and threes.

Li Siyu paid them no heed. She had long grown accustomed to such attention.

“Come on. Let’s just treat this as a visit to the park.” Zhang Hao stepped out of the car as well and naturally reached for her hand.

Li Siyu’s pretty face flushed faintly. She instinctively withdrew her hand and folded both hands before her lower abdomen, looking more like a woman from ancient times.

Though she and Zhang Hao were betrothed, they had yet to hold their wedding and become husband and wife in truth. Until then, she still hoped they could maintain a certain distance.

Zhang Hao was taken aback, then smiled without taking offense. He had simply forgotten that he had been reborn and was no longer the man who had been married for many years in his previous life. His familiarity had been too abrupt.

“Did you come here just to see the park?” Li Siyu asked.

Zhang Hao smiled. “More precisely, I came to find someone.”

Li Siyu nodded and asked no further questions.

Had Zhang Hao said that he had come merely to stroll through the park, Li Siyu might have turned around and left at once.

There was farmwork to do in the fields, and she also had her short videos to manage. She would much rather spend her time on those things than wander around here.

Besides, the scenery here lacked any natural charm. She would sooner stand on the village’s dirt road and gaze at the mountains.

The two of them began strolling through the park. From time to time, they looked at the dull scenery, exchanged a few words, watched passersby taking photographs of them, or observed children playing together.

Just then—

Zhang Hao noticed a fortune-telling stall standing alone not far ahead. An old Taoist sat inside, idly toying with a horsetail whisk while raising one hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight.

A fortune-telling Taoist!

Could this be the same Taoist the butcher had mentioned—the one whose predictions were supposed to be uncannily accurate?

“Let’s go take a look.” As he spoke, he walked forward.

Li Siyu followed silently.

When they drew near, Zhang Hao saw the old Taoist sitting behind the fortune-telling stall. A banner stood beside him bearing the words: “No accuracy, no payment.”

The old Taoist’s appearance was truly something to behold: triangular eyes, a swollen nose, thick lips, and a mouthful of yellow teeth. He was as ugly as a man could be.

His Taoist robe looked as though it had not been washed in years. It was covered in muddy spots, and a sour stench emanated from his entire body.

Li Siyu frowned and raised a hand to cover her nose and mouth.

Zhang Hao’s eyes lit up as he looked at the old Taoist, thinking to himself:

Well, I’ll be damned. There really is such a Taoist!

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That butcher really hadn’t lied to me.

Zhang Hao immediately said, “Daoist, would you be willing to tell my fortune?”

The old Taoist glanced at him sidelong, then looked away. “I only read the fortunes of those with whom fate has brought me together…”

Before he could finish—

“Two hundred,” Zhang Hao said.

The old Taoist paused. “Young sir, please do not make things difficult…”

“Five hundred.” Zhang Hao gritted his teeth.

The old Taoist froze, then broke into a warm smile. “Please, have a seat.”

Damn…

Zhang Hao raised an eyebrow.

This old Taoist really possessed every trait of a wandering swindler.

Still, if his fortune-telling was truly accurate, five hundred would be money well spent.

Li Siyu reached out and tugged at Zhang Hao, her eyes filled with astonishment. She shook her head slightly.

Zhang Hao smiled, gently patted her hand, and sat down across from the old Taoist.

The moment he took his seat, the old Taoist narrowed his triangular eyes and scrutinized him from head to toe. His expression then shifted slightly.

“Young sir, I see darkness between your brows. I fear you have encountered something ominous recently.”

The familiar routine came rushing toward him.

Yet Zhang Hao had indeed encountered something ominous. In the mountains, he had witnessed a fox bringing betrothal gifts and had later encountered the Phantom Mountain Spirit.

The only question was whether this old Taoist was merely conning people or had genuinely seen through him.

Zhang Hao did not respond to the claim. Instead, he asked, “I heard that your fortune-telling is remarkably accurate. I came here specifically to have something read.”

Seeing that he had not taken the bait, the old Taoist did not press him. He stroked his beard, which had long since become tangled, and smiled with an expression that seemed kind yet somehow devious.

“Young sir, what would you like me to calculate?”

Without hesitation, Zhang Hao replied, “I want to determine an auspicious date for my wedding.”

The old Taoist paused. Then he lifted his head and glanced at Li Siyu beside him, understanding dawning in his heart.

Li Siyu was stunned.

An auspicious wedding date…

Could Zhang Hao have come here to marry her?

To be honest, she had hoped to spend a little more time adjusting to the idea.

But the two of them were already betrothed in name, and they were living beneath the same roof.

It seemed… all that remained was to register the marriage and hold a wedding banquet.

It was perfectly reasonable for Zhang Hao to come calculate their wedding date. Even she could not find anything to object to.

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It was simply too sudden. Had Zhang Hao given her some warning beforehand, she would not have had so many thoughts.

In an instant, her mind filled with a tangle of thoughts, which then began to run wild.

The old Taoist swept his darkened horsetail whisk aside. With his other hand bent backward as though pinching invisible fingers, he murmured thoughtfully, “Young sir, could you provide me with both of your birth details so that I may examine them?”

“Uh…” Zhang Hao looked at the old Taoist with some difficulty.

Birth details…

That did seem to be how it was done.

Whether in films and television dramas or in things he had heard by word of mouth, a Taoist always needed the couple’s birth details to calculate an auspicious wedding date.

But… he did not have them!

Where was he supposed to get them?

“Daoist, I don’t have our birth details. Can you calculate it from the time the betrothal gifts were delivered?” Zhang Hao asked.

Darkness seemed to gather between the old Taoist’s brows. His expression sank, and his triangular eyes narrowed into slits.

“Young sir, you…”

He then gave his horsetail whisk a wave. For the sake of the five hundred… and Zhang Hao’s sincerity, he said, “I shall reluctantly give it a try.”

Zhang Hao thought carefully before saying, “Yesterday, at around six twenty-five in the evening.”

Li Siyu, standing among the crowd, suddenly froze. Bewilderment filled her eyes as she stared at him.

Yesterday, at six twenty-five in the evening?

That was when the betrothal gifts had been delivered?

How was that possible?

According to village custom, no one would choose to deliver betrothal gifts in the evening. People always chose a time before nine in the morning or before noon, seeking an auspicious omen.

Besides, Zhang Hao should have been in the mountains at that time.

How could he have had time to deliver the gifts?

And even if he had delivered them, where were the betrothal gifts…?

Could it possibly have been that herbal soup made with teasel root?

Just as Li Siyu’s thoughts began to run wild, the old Taoist seated opposite Zhang Hao also froze.

He raised his head. His triangular eyes widened, then quickly narrowed again as he stared at Zhang Hao with an odd expression.

The old Taoist studied him through narrowed eyes. His spiritual composure nearly collapsed, and he almost lost control on the spot.

“Young sir, please do not mock me. What respectable family delivers betrothal gifts at night?”

Could this boy have come here just to ruin his business?

What respectable family would deliver betrothal gifts at night?

“Can’t you calculate it, Daoist?” Zhang Hao asked, his eyes turning as he smiled.

The darkness between the old Taoist’s brows deepened, and his face grew even darker.

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