Forbidden Land – CH 028

The two walked for some time until they arrived at the Temple of the God of Wealth on Beigao Peak.

Chen Rong said, “I’ve heard this temple is very powerful. Why don’t you go in and get some blessings?”

Zhang Chao shook his head. “I don’t make any money, so I don’t have anything to pray to. Besides, I never believe in gods or Buddhas that charge money, haha. You’re a psychology PhD student; you wouldn’t believe in this, would you?”

Chen Rong said, “Even great scientists believe in God. It isn’t wrong for a lowly PhD student like me to have a little superstition. Haha, but like you, I don’t believe in gods or Buddhas that charge money. Faith is in the heart. Faith can bring boundless strength. Having faith is always better than having no faith.”

Zhang Chao nodded in agreement. “The power of faith is indeed strong. Some people believe in the value of money, so they work hard to earn it, and as a result, they become very wealthy. Was it the God of Money who blessed them, or their own inner faith?”

Chen Rong laughed. “But some people work themselves to the bone to make money, only to end up with a mountain of debt instead of any real wealth. What you’re talking about is pursuit, not faith. Faith is an unyielding monument in your heart; no matter how external conditions change, that belief remains constant. For example, if you firmly believe that there are no gods or ghosts, then naturally you won’t be afraid.”

Zhang Chao said, “You aren’t going to try and counsel me again, are you?”

Chen Rong said, “If everyone were like you, psychologists would have a really tough job. Haha!”

Zhang Chao laughed too.

The two then strolled to the area outside the Temple of the God of Wealth, where incense was sold. Next to the incense stalls were several fortune-telling shops, all seemingly doing brisk business. Intrigued, they walked towards the fortune-telling shops.

The fortune-telling shops ahead all had long queues, but a shop in a secluded spot further back was completely empty. Unlike the other shops, it didn’t have a sign saying “Fortune Telling and Divination,” but just a divination stick container. Inside, an elderly man in his fifties or sixties was sitting on a computer, playing cards online.

Zhang Chao chuckled to himself, “Look at this business model; who’s going to come? The owner doesn’t seem like someone who wants to make money at all. The shop’s right next to a temple dedicated to the God of Wealth, and even the God of Wealth doesn’t seem to care.”

Chen Rong shook her head, saying, “You’re wrong. This shop is the most popular. I’ve been here before. I heard this guy is incredibly good at fortune-telling. He only tells ten fortunes a day, five hundred yuan each. Even if the eleventh customer offers a thousand, he won’t tell their fortune. Apparently, people start lining up at four o’clock every morning, waiting for his reading. By the end of the morning, he’s already finished with all ten.”

Zhang Chao looked at the unassuming old man sitting inside with surprise, saying, “Fortune-telling has a mass-market version? He makes five thousand a day; he must make over a million a year!”

His voice was a little louder, and the old man playing cards couldn’t help but look up at them.

Zhang Chao smiled awkwardly at him, then continued walking with Chen Rong.

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a voice called out, “Wait a minute—” ^{(using Hangzhou dialect)}

Zhang Chao turned around and saw that it was the old man who had called them. Zhang Chao was from Ningbo, and his dialect was quite different, so he could only ask in Mandarin, “Master, is there something you need?”

The old man stared at Zhang Chao, then quickly walked over, stood in front of him, clicked his tongue a few times, and said in somewhat broken Mandarin, “Young man, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Zhang Chao replied curiously, “No.”

Chen Rong looked at him, also showing a puzzled expression.

The old man said, “I have a few words to say to you.”

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, “Uncle, I don’t do fortune telling, and besides, I don’t have any money.”

The old man shook his head and said, “It doesn’t cost money. I just want to ask you if you’ve recently come into contact with anything unclean or gone to any unclean places?”

“Unclean things? Unclean places?” Zhang Chao exclaimed in surprise.

Chen Rong, however, frowned slightly, seemingly worried.

The old man said, “Young man, get some sunshine, exercise more, and avoid unclean places and things.”

Zhang Chao immediately thought of the tattered cloth shoes and was startled. He quickly asked, “Master, what do you mean?”

The old man said, “I guessed from your complexion. Anyway, it’s alright now. Even if you touched them, it’s nothing. Just don’t go there again. Why don’t you bask in the sun? It’s so comfortable.”

Zhang Chao hurriedly said, “Master, I found a pair of tattered cloth shoes yesterday. Could that be the problem?”

The old man asked, “Did you throw them away? Or are they at home?”

Zhang Chao said, “I threw them away a long time ago.”

The old man said, “Then it’s alright. Don’t worry, young man. I was just saying it casually, just joking. Don’t take it to heart. You’re young; it’s nothing.”

Zhang Chao nodded and said thank you a few times, and the old man went back to his room.

A shadow seemed to fall over Zhang Chao’s face.

Unclean things? An unclean place? How did this old man know? Was there really such a miraculous thing in the world?

Did that old man just say that to everyone he met to swindle money?

Anyway, everyone had their bad luck, and when luck was bad, many people said it’s because they’ve been tainted by something unclean.

Especially when someone was seriously ill, over 90% of fortune tellers would say it’s because they’ve encountered something they shouldn’t have. Cancer cells, things like that—after a fortune teller’s hype, even gene mutations were attributed to the power of unclean things.

How could you believe that?

Chen Rong glanced at Zhang Chao and smiled, “Don’t think too much about it. Even if it really was about that shoe from yesterday, the old man said it’s fine as long as you threw it away.”

Zhang Chao also forced a laugh. “I heard that touching unclean things is bad luck. I hope I don’t fail my makeup exam the day after tomorrow?”

Chen Rong shook her head and smiled. “You’ve been studying on your own for so many days. If you can’t even pass a makeup exam, then you really should fast and cleanse yourself, and maybe come to line up at 4 AM, spend 500 yuan, and have this old man do a proper fortune telling.”

Zhang Chao chuckled and said, “I bet this old man, whenever he sees someone with a bad complexion, he’ll rush up and say they’ve encountered something evil. Minor illnesses often appear inexplicably, and people don’t know the cause, but after his spiel, they really think they’ve been cursed. People mightn’t consult him on the spot, but if they encounter anything later, they’ll naturally remember him and do business with him. He has mastered the art of reputation management. Plus, he only does ten readings a day, artificially inflating his price. I think there was a fortune teller like that in some ancient novel. But five hundred yuan per reading is really outrageous. The fortune tellers next door, even after a whole day’s work, don’t earn as much as he does.”

Chen Rong smiled along with him, but a layer of worry lingered in her expression.