Chapter 89: Finding Zhou [2]

Yu Xuan stepped onto the familiar glowing circle. The intricate runes beneath his feet began to light up with flowing spiritual energy, humming softly as the formation activated. He exhaled slowly, centering his mind.

With a final flash of light, the world around him dissolved and a heartbeat later, he reappeared in another town, the teleportation’s afterglow fading behind him.

The air here was slightly cooler. The streets quieter. And ahead of him, the search for Zhou began.

When Yu Xuan arrived at the teleportation platform on this side, he found it nearly deserted — only a handful of disciples loitered around the transfer point, either just arriving or preparing to depart.

Without paying them much attention, he pulled out his ordinary medallion and activated its tracking function, trying to locate the man known only as Zhou.

The coordinates quickly lit up, he now knew that the destination was a short distance outside the town’s boundaries.

Just as Yu Xuan turned to leave, one of the disciples nearby took notice.

The disciple’s eyes narrowed when he saw the ordinary-grade medallion in Yu Xuan’s hand and the fact that Yu Xuan was alone.

A slow, predatory smile spread across his face.

Without a word, he tapped his medallion and sent a message, then a conformation message came to him. In his mind, this was nothing short of a windfall, a fresh sheep walking straight into the wilderness, alone and unaware.

Because there was always someone ready to play the role of a wolf.

Completely oblivious that the plot, was taking it’s course for the first time, Yu Xuan studied his medallion, adjusted his direction, and began walking out of town toward the marked coordinates.



As he left, the watching disciple turned to one of his fellow gatekeepers. With a serious expression, he said, "Brother, I just got an urgent message from a friend outside the town. He needs immediate help. Can you cover for me for a bit?"

The other disciple raised an eyebrow, not fully convinced. "Again? You help your ’friends’ more often than you train. You should focus more on cultivation."

Despite the complaint, he didn’t refuse. He knew that whenever this particular colleague took a day off, he always returned with gifts usually good wine or a rare herb, as an apology.

"Alright, alright," the disciple sighed. "But don’t make it a habit."

The first disciple grinned and gave him a grateful nod before dashing off, quietly but swiftly, following the path Yu Xuan had just taken.

***

Yu Xuan wanted to finish his task quickly and return to his town. The sooner he found this "Zhou" and delivered the scroll, the better.

However, on his way out of the town, something caught his eye — a small, suspicious-looking stall just off the main road.

Its black banners fluttered in the morning breeze, boldly displaying the words:

[Your Future is Predictable]

The stall was pitch black from top to bottom, with a narrow entrance that looked more like a shadow than a doorway. The design was intentionally ominous, clearly meant to grab attention.

Naturally, Yu Xuan grew curious.

’I’ve got a few minutes to spare’, he reasoned.

Without hesitation, he stepped through the strange little doorway.

From a distance, the disciple tailing him facepalmed. "Why... why is he entering a fortune-telling stall?" he muttered to himself. "His fate is already sealed. Now I’ve gotta wait even longer..."

Inside, Yu Xuan found himself surrounded by black drapes embroidered with arcane symbols, abstract drawings, and strange numerical charts.

The faint scent of incense lingered in the air. At the center of the room stood a small round table in front of a large mirror, with a single empty chair.

No one else was inside.



Yu Xuan cautiously sat down.

As soon as he did, the mirror shimmered, turning translucent. A figure slowly appeared into view — an alluring woman draped in a fitted, black robe.

Her long, lustrous black hair fell past her waist, and her veil concealed the lower half of her face. Her black eyes gleamed with mysterious energy.

’Well... she certainly fits the "all-black" aesthetic’, Yu Xuan mused. He wasn’t particularly surprised. In a world of cultivators, mystics, spirit beasts, alchemists, this kind of thing was more common than one might think.

The woman spoke in a voice laced with forced mystery. "Young man, which prediction do you seek?"

To Yu Xuan, it sounded less like a seer and more like a struggling theater artist putting on her best performance.

Then, as if on cue, three rectangular cards slid down from the mirror and landed on the table in front of him with a soft thud.

[1 - Day Prediction – 50 Sect Points]

[2 - Day Prediction – 100 Sect Points]

[1 - Week Prediction – 500 Sect Points]

Each card glowed faintly, etched with glittering symbols and decorative flourishes.

"If you choose the weeklong prediction, you’ll get a massive discount!" the woman said, her mysterious tone slipping into obvious sales enthusiasm. In seconds, the mystic aura crumbled and she sounded like an eager vendor trying to hit her daily quota.

Yu Xuan raised an eyebrow but remained unmoved. "I’ll take the 1-day prediction."

The woman’s shoulders dropped slightly. "I see..." she said with the dramatized sigh of someone used to customer disappointment.

She snapped her fingers.

The cards vanished, and in their place, a medium-sized crystal ball materialized on the table, pulsing with faint blue light.

"Place your hand on the crystal," she instructed.

Yu Xuan complied, resting his palm on the orb.

It shimmered briefly, then began to glow brighter — until a multiple golden dollar signs ($) appeared in the center, surrounded by swirling sparkles and shimmering effects like a celebratory game reward.



The fortune-teller stared, clearly baffled thinking ’...What is that symbol?’

But seeing that it was golden, she quickly adjusted. "Ah, yes! A sign of fortune. You will experience... a significant increase in wealth!"

Yu Xuan, meanwhile, was frozen.

He stared at the floating dollar sign, and in his mind, a strange scene played out: tiny chibi versions of himself dancing with bundles of green bills falling around them, accompanied by a booming jingle:

"Dollar, dollar, dollar~!"

He blinked rapidly and snapped himself out of the daze.

He pulled his hand back and gave a polite nod.

"Well then... thanks for the insight."

The veiled woman bowed elegantly. "May fate be ever in your favor, traveler."

***

(Author’s Request)

[A/R: If possible purchase privilege Chapters, we are nearing the Tier 1 for WIN-WIN MISSION, though I don’t know if we can complete it by the end of the month. So to all my readers, support this work, it means a lot.]