Destined to Be Broke - Chapter 3

To keep the contrast between Mo Guishan and me from being too stark, I pulled my most presentable outfit from my storage pouch and changed into it.

As we went downstairs, we happened to encounter several other cultivators. Judging by their clothes, they belonged to the Xuantian Sect—a major sect.

I followed Mo Guishan to a table by the window.

He ordered an enormous spread.

My heart ached at the cost. “That’s too much. Two people can’t finish it.”

With the careless extravagance of a wealthy man, Mo Guishan said, “Then we’ll throw away whatever is left.”

“Wasting food is wrong. Farmers work hard for every harvest.”

Mo Guishan clicked his tongue, then turned to the waiter. “Keep the first five dishes. Cancel the rest.”

Three Xuantian Sect disciples occupied the next table.

One male cultivator sat with his head drooping listlessly, his face visibly haggard. The female cultivator beside him seemed to be in a fine mood. She nudged him and asked cheerfully, “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”

The man sighed with exhaustion. “I don’t know if I was dreaming or what, but all last night, I kept feeling as though someone was knocking on my window.”

The woman burst out laughing. “Then it had to be a dream. Who could cling to the second floor and knock on your window when there’s nowhere to stand outside? Unless it was a ghost.”

Her words immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The proprietor, who had been climbing the stairs, stumbled and struck his knee against a step with a yelp. Every gaze shifted to him instead.

Rubbing his knee, he smiled and apologized to the room before turning back toward the counter.

The other male cultivator said, “Don’t talk nonsense. If there really were a ghost or monster here, how could so many of us fail to sense it?”

The waiter arrived at our table and set down our dishes one by one.

“We haven’t had guests in ages. It’s rare for the place to be this lively.”

I looked at the people outside the window and realized that, aside from those staying at the inn, only two customers had entered from the street. Their appearance and clothes suggested they were travelers too.

Puzzled, I said, “This is a good location. You should have a steady stream of customers.”

The waiter hesitated.

“Well, some blackhearted villain started spreading rumors a while ago, saying someone died here. People heard that and decided the place was unlucky, so they stopped coming. The proprietor is planning to…”

“Ahem! Ahem!”

The proprietor slapped the abacus in his hand against the counter with a tremendous crack.

“Danzi!” he roared at the waiter. “Have you finished all your work? Why are you gossiping with the guests? Let them eat in peace!”

Danzi answered, grinned, and hurried toward the kitchen.

Mo Guishan ate at an unhurried pace. I picked up a bite as well.

“It tastes rather good.”

Something suddenly poked my arm. I turned and met the female cultivator’s curious eyes.

“Hey! You’re a divination cultivator, aren’t you? You have a compass and a pole. Are you going out to tell fortunes?”

I gave her a friendly smile and nodded.

The man across from her coughed. “Junior Sister, don’t disturb him while he’s eating.”

She agreed unhappily and drew back.

The listless cultivator, however, had become interested. He came over to me.

“How much do you charge? Read my fortune.”

“Three…”

“Three taels.”

I looked toward the person who had finished my sentence. Mo Guishan curled his lips at me, though the smile never reached his eyes.

Without another word, the cultivator placed three taels of silver on the table.

“Tell me how this journey of mine will go.”

I cast the divination. After a long moment, I said gravely, “Terrible misfortune.”

His face went white.

Someone at another table stood and shouted over, “Don’t listen to him! Fortune-telling is nothing but fraud. We cultivators have always defied the fate ordained by heaven. This divination cultivator has such feeble spiritual power—his reading must be wrong!”

“Exactly. If diviners could learn everything from a single reading, why would they always rank last?”

I was accustomed to such doubts. Silently, I put away the silver.

“No refunds once the divination has been cast.”

The cultivator in front of me muttered, “It has to be wrong.”

He returned to his seat in a daze.