Chapter 179: Chapter 102 Searching in Jushuang Town_2
“Oh…” Little Meat Bun suddenly feigned an epiphany, burying his head to continue flipping through the picture book.
“Son, what have you found now?” Gu Changsheng spoke incredulously, watching his son who was trying to “self-educate to the point of becoming firewood.”
“Dragon King’s Third Prince couldn’t beat Nezha the Third Prince, so he called his little friends, the Clam Spirit, the Sea Clam Spirit, the Kelp Spirit…”
“Stop!” Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but interrupt, his mouth twitching as he asked, “How did kelp become a spirit?”
Is this from eating too much kelp?
“I don’t know…” Little Meat Bun replied innocently, looking baffled as if it were only natural.
“Alright, this really is a wonderfully soft spirit! Keep reading, I promise I won’t ask anymore.” Gu Changsheng buried his face into the fox-fur cushion, trying to hold back laughter.
Seeing this, Little Meat Bun scratched the little bun on top of his head and lowered his gaze back to the small picture book, engrossed.
The sound of the carriage wheels was constant; with his son’s comically nonsensical interlude, the journey had become even more relaxing.
Yue Xilou’s driving skills were impeccable, not even a bump could be felt by Gu Changsheng, now that’s what I call satisfaction.
By noon, Gu Changsheng and company had bypassed Baili Mountain and were not far from Jushuang Town.
A good horse is indeed a treasure, turning what was supposed to be a day’s journey into just half a day’s travel; after stopping for some tea snacks to fill their stomachs, the precious horse joyfully galloped them towards Jushuang Town.
Jushuang Town wasn’t very large, just a small town below Spirit Hidden Peak, with passersby mostly coming to offer incense, adding a unique sandalwood scent to the town.
On both sides of the street were small stands selling incense, where many passersby would stop and buy a few sticks, making for surprisingly good business.
Gu Changsheng and his group stopped at the town’s busiest inn, settled their luggage, had lunch, and since there was still time, they left Little Bun and Xiao Cui to rest at the inn. Gu Changsheng then found the inn’s waiter, gave him a few silvers as a tip, and asked him to lead the way to Camel Lane.
“Sir, why are you going to Camel Lane? That place is quite secluded, with just those few small shops and households; not many people go there,” the waiter said, excitedly feeling the tip money in his sleeve while asking.
“I’m just there to find someone,” Gu Changsheng said, dressed in a red robe like fire, following the waiter leisurely.
“Find someone? Who are you looking for, sir?”
“A fortune-teller who has a street stall.”
“That’s… well, Camel Lane is off the beaten path, but I’ve been there a few times and haven’t noticed any fortune-tellers.” Scratching his head, the waiter thought for a moment, then suggested, “Sir, if you’re looking for fortune-telling, you should really go to the Great Lingyin Temple here in Jushuang; most people offering incense there will also ask for divination sticks, it’s very accurate!”
“Hehe, I’m looking for a street stall fortune-teller, not to get my fortune told. Besides, divination and praying for fortunes are quite different,” Gu Changsheng chuckled nonchalantly, nearly dazzling the waiter.
“Sir, you look really handsome.” The waiter had never seen such a beautiful woman like Gu Changsheng before and couldn’t help but praise her with a blushing face.
“Handsome? Hehe…” Hearing this, Gu Changsheng glanced back at Yue Xilou, who was still wearing his broad hat. Compared to him, she definitely couldn’t be considered beautiful.
After many twists and turns, they finally arrived at a very narrow lane, which was so deep that it could barely accommodate a small horse-drawn cart.
“Sir, this is Camel Lane, I’ll take you in and look for the person you’re seeking,” the waiter pointed to the scarcely populated lane in front of them.
Gu Changsheng nodded and followed him into the lane.
From the start to the end of the lane, there was no sign of a street fortune-teller.
Was the evildoer just bored and messing with her for fun?
That didn’t seem right…
“Old man, is there a fortune-teller with a street stall in this lane?” Gu Changsheng, after an unsuccessful search, bought a bone umbrella and paid with silver, asking the old vendor for information.
“What?” The umbrella vendor hooked his neck and cupped his ear, as he was quite old and his hearing had deteriorated.
“A street stall fortune-teller!” Gu Changsheng had to raise her voice and repeat her question.
“Oh…” The umbrella vendor finally heard clearly, “Yes, there is one, at the end of the lane, but that stall hasn’t been set up for years. Go and check at the end of the lane, if no one’s there, you can only come back tomorrow and try your luck.”
Hearing this, Gu Changsheng was instantly disheartened.
Hadn’t been open for years? Then what was she even looking for!
But she couldn’t just come for nothing, right?
Undeterred, Gu Changsheng searched again at the end of the lane and, to her persistance’s reward, found the fortune-teller’s stall under an inconspicuous eave.
Years of weathering had taken its toll: to call it a fortune-telling stall was a stretch; it was just a narrow table and a tattered fortune-telling banner.
The dust was thick, but fortunately, the waiter quickly swatted away some of it so Gu Changsheng could make out the words on the tattered banner.
“Daughter’s fortune, not told for gold; for ten thousand gold, fate not sold.” Gu Changsheng struggled to read the words, then immediately blew her top, “Damn it! If anyone actually visited this stall, that would be a real ghost story!”
No fortune-telling, no fate-changing, what kind of damn fortune-telling is this!
Just as Gu Changsheng said, including the fortune-teller, no one came to the stall.
“Sir, shall we go back now and try our luck tomorrow?” Seeing this, the waiter hesitated before speaking up.
“Let’s go back; we can come again tomorrow to see,” Yue Xilou also spoke up.
With no other options, Gu Changsheng had to return.
The next day, Gu Changsheng tried her luck again to no avail.
The third day, Gu Changsheng showed unprecedented patience and tried again, still with no results.
On the fourth day, Gu Changsheng was too lazy to go herself and paid the waiter to keep watch.
By the seventh day, the waiter had nearly worn holes in the ground around the fortune-telling stall from so much waiting, but still had not seen a soul.
Gu Changsheng furiously cursed the evildoer who had played her for a fool and finally gave up, starting to plan the trip up the mountain to offer incense.