Chapter 002

Qiao Man rested his chin on his hands gloomily, watching the passersby come and go.

He had been in this park for half the afternoon, but so far, he hadn’t made a single sale.

The large tree he sat under was in a fairly prominent area. Most people strolling through the park would pass right in front of him. However, those who did pass only stopped briefly. After seeing what was written on the cardboard box, they would quickly shake their heads with a smile and walk away.

Qiao Man twisted his fingers together anxiously. Was ten yuan too expensive?

But Old Man Li from the convenience store said ten yuan wasn’t much; these days, even a cup of milk tea cost more than that. Milk tea? What even was milk tea?

Since realizing he had transmigrated, Qiao Man had discovered many things in this world that his master had never mentioned.

Yes, he had transmigrated.

A few days ago, Qiao Xiaoman was still a little Taoist in a dilapidated mountain temple. Calling it a temple was a stretch, as it didn’t have a single follower. For as long as he could remember, there were only him and his master in the mountain temple. They grew their own food and raised chickens, living a self-sufficient life.

Occasionally, strange people would drive up the mountain in black cars to pick up his master, returning him a few days later. This time, his master had gone down the mountain in a black car again, but Qiao Man had waited on the mountain for a month without his return.

Left with no choice, he had to go down the mountain himself to find his master.

Qiao Man had never been off the mountain before. The path down was incredibly long. He walked for several days until the biscuits in his small bundle were gone. He drank from streams when thirsty and climbed trees to sleep at night. He continued his journey at dawn and finally encountered another human being.

To his surprise, the world below the mountain was nothing like what his master had described!

His master said those black cars that often picked him up were rare and only a few people could afford them, which was why he couldn’t buy one for Qiao Man. Yet, four-wheeled cars were everywhere on the roads.

His master said he earned a lot of money, enough to support Qiao Man for a lifetime. But when Qiao Man left the mountain, he took his master’s piggy bank, and the coins inside were only enough to buy one bus ticket into the city.

The television on the mountain was black and white, but the televisions here were not only in color, their screens were also massive and crystal clear. Not to mention the skyscrapers everywhere and the paper-thin things people held called “mobile phones.” These were all things Qiao Man had never heard of or seen before.

How could the world below the mountain look like this?

After watching television for an entire morning at Old Man Li’s convenience store, Qiao Man finally understood that he had likely transmigrated.

He hadn’t traveled to ancient times, but rather to a future decades later where everyone had mobile phones.

Old Man Li, who ran the store, said, “Mobile phones? Those were invented decades ago.”

His master also said that plenty of people below the mountain begged him for Fortune-telling and guidance. But when Qiao Man told Old Man Li he could tell fortunes, Old Man Li only said, “Nobody does that feudal superstition¹ anymore!”

Old Man Li had also suggested he set up a stall in the park. Sure enough, Qiao Man had waited until now without a single customer.

He patted his flat stomach. As if sensing his thoughts, his stomach let out a timely growl. Qiao Man sighed and gave it a comforting pat.

The city wasn’t like the mountain. In this season, ripe wild fruits would be everywhere there, but the roads here were bare, planted only with inedible flowers and grass. As long as a customer came, he could earn money to eat.

So… was ten yuan really too expensive?

“What’s this… Fortune-telling?”

Qiao Man’s spirits lifted. He looked up happily to see a middle-aged man stopped in front of his little stall. He scrambled to his feet and greeted him enthusiastically, “Ten yuan for a reading! If it’s not accurate, it’s free!”

The man chuckled. He didn’t leave but instead squatted down in front of him. “Little guy, how long have you been here? Have you had any business yet?”

Qiao Man sighed. “Not yet.”

“Is it effective? You’re not a little scammer, are you?”

“My master said I’m even better than him. My readings are very accurate.”

The man was amused.

These days, there weren’t many charlatans left using the Fortune-telling gimmick. Even when there were, they were usually old men with fake white beards trying to look the part. This was the first time he’d seen a little tyke who wasn’t even half his height doing it. The boy wore a worn-out Taoist Robe, and though who knew where he’d learned this stuff, he was fair-skinned and adorable. He was the kind of child who naturally made people feel fond of him.

Ten yuan wasn’t expensive; he’d treat it as paying to play with the kid. The man briskly pulled out his phone. “Alright, Uncle will have a reading. Where do I scan the code?”

Qiao Man looked blank. “Scan the code? What’s scanning the code?”

“Alipay? Or WeChat?²“

Qiao Man understood those terms; Old Man Li had explained them to him. He shook his head. “I don’t have a phone. I only take cash.”

The man was speechless.

Who carried cash when going out these days?

Realizing this deal wasn’t going to happen either, the boy’s face fell in disappointment. His little face looked so pitiful that it was hard not to feel soft-hearted. The man quickly said, “Wait a moment, I’ll go find a shop to exchange for some cash and come back.”

“No need, Uncle,” Qiao Man sighed and said. “There is no fate between us. Forget it.”

The man let out a surprised laugh. “You’ve got the professional lingo down, kid.”

He had only been humoring the child anyway, so the man didn’t insist and soon left.

Qiao Man sat back down in the shade of the tree, dejected. He was wondering if he should change the price to five yuan per reading. Before he could find a pen, someone else stopped in front of the cardboard box. A bag landed in front of him, and the piping hot scent of fried chicken wafted out.

“Gurgle-“

Qiao Man swallowed hard. He heard the new guest’s crisp, cool voice: “For you.”

Qiao Man looked up and saw the familiar masked uncle standing before him. The bag was indeed the one he had set down.

“Uncle?”

“My treat,” Lu Jianxing said.

Qiao Man didn’t take it. “I haven’t done anything. I can’t accept this.”

“Then…” Lu Jianxing glanced at his cardboard box and said, “I don’t have cash. Can I use this as payment?”

That was more than acceptable!

Qiao Man happily accepted his first payment. The bag was heavy, containing a burger, an order of fries, and a cup of iced cola.

Qiao Man pulled his sign further into the shade of the tree and patted the ground. “Uncle, you sit.”

Looking at the piece of cardboard, Lu Jianxing didn’t show any disdain and sat down beside him.

The child pulled a burger out of the bag, opened his mouth wide, and took a vigorous bite. His chubby cheeks puffed out, and the deliciousness made him wag his head happily. The fried chicken was fragrant and tender, coated in a crispy crust. He then took a big gulp of the cola filled with ice cubes, letting the sweet, bubbly water flow all the way down to his stomach with an icy chill. He had never tasted such good things back on the mountain!

The future was truly wonderful!

As he ate, Qiao Man asked, “Uncle, don’t you want to die anymore?”

Lu Jianxing was startled. “What did you say?!”

“You were standing by the lake just now. Weren’t you planning to jump in?”

Qiao Man glanced at him. Compared to their first encounter, the Death Qi surrounding the masked uncle had faded significantly. This indicated that while he originally had suicidal thoughts, that impulse was no longer as strong as before.

Lu Jianxing fell silent for a moment, thinking of the pill bottle that had fallen into the lake. Facing the young, innocent child before him, he offered a dishonest explanation. “I wasn’t trying to commit suicide.”

“Oh.” Qiao Man didn’t expose him. Master had said that many adults were dishonest.

“What about you?” Lu Jianxing asked in return. “Where are your parents? How can they feel safe letting you run around outside alone?”

Qiao Man replied, “I don’t have any.”

Lu Jianxing paused. “You… you don’t?”

Qiao Man said, “My master said that when he found me, I was the only one left.”

Lu Jianxing apologized stiffly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Qiao Man shook his head, indicating he didn’t mind.

“Then, what about your master?”

“He’s gone. I originally wanted to come down the mountain to find him, but now…” Qiao Man set down his burger gloomily. He had arrived several decades into the future where everyone had cell phones, so where could he possibly find his master? Master’s hair and beard were already white back then, and now that decades had passed… Qiao Man said, “He might already be dead.”

Lu Jianxing apologized with even more guilt, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay. My master said that birth, old age, sickness, and death are all part of the Heavenly Mandate³, and the Heavenly Mandate cannot be defied.” Qiao Man comforted him in turn. “My master also said that since he spent this life doing good deeds and accumulating merit⁴, he’ll definitely be reborn into a good life next time.”

Lu Jianxing was speechless.

Just which charlatan had raised this little charlatan?

After sucking down the last bit of cola and putting the empty cup back in the bag, Qiao Man wiped his small hands clean. He turned to face Lu Jianxing fully and said with an air of solemnity, “I’m ready, Uncle. What do you want to have calculated?”

Lu Jianxing didn’t actually have anything he wanted to calculate.

He certainly didn’t believe this child could perform Fortune-telling. For something like Metaphysics and Fortune-telling, a person should at least be an old man with a white beard to have any credibility, right? Even if it were real, how much true skill could a little tyke this size actually possess?

He had only seen the child sitting in the shade for so long, his stomach growling with hunger and no food to eat, comforting himself with mutterings. He looked so pitiful that Lu Jianxing had gone to the nearest fast-food restaurant to buy him a burger meal.

Seeing him hesitate, Qiao Man prompted, “Career, love, fate – I can calculate all of them.”

Lu Jianxing said hesitantly, “I…”

Calculate his career? His career had already hit rock bottom.

Calculate his love life? He didn’t even have anyone he liked.

Qiao Man asked, “Is there anything you want to know?”

Something he wanted to know? Lu Jianxing actually did have one thing.

He was an orphan who had lived in an Orphanage since birth, and he had never met his own relatives. If he had any regrets, it was the envy that always surfaced in his heart whenever he saw people around him acting affectionately with their families.

He had never spoken of this envy to anyone. Every time a holiday for family reunions came around, he would just work twice as hard. But now, perhaps because the person across from him was a child who didn’t know him, or perhaps because this child spoke with such solemnity and mystery, Lu Jianxing felt a sudden urge to confide. Recalling how the boy had directly pointed out his suicidal intent earlier, he felt a strange pull.

“I want to know if I still have any relatives,” Lu Jianxing said, making a wish to the Little Master before him. “If I do, can you help me find them?”

Qiao Man nodded with a serious little face. “Wait a moment.”

A faint spark of hope rose in Lu Jianxing, only to vanish in the next instant. He watched as the child across from him rolled up his sleeves, raised a tender little hand, and nimbly tapped his fingertips⁵ in a series of calculations.

If an old man with a white beard had performed these actions, there might have been an air of transcendent grace⁶ to it. But performed by a child, framed by his chubby cheeks, short fingers, and pudgy little arms, it only looked like adorable posturing.

I must be a fool to believe a child can do Fortune-telling, Lu Jianxing thought.

Especially when the young boy suddenly furrowed his brows and a look of deep confusion appeared on his small face, Lu Jianxing said, caught between laughter and tears, “Forget it, I don’t really want to know that much anyway.”

Qiao Man had indeed encountered a major problem.

Master had said his talent was extremely high and that he possessed divine abilities. Things that were as difficult as climbing to heaven for others were within his reach. From childhood until now, he had never made a mistake in his calculations.

But, but… why was the person with the deepest familial bond to this masked uncle himself?!

Fortune-telling cannot be used on oneself⁷. When Qiao Man tried to see more clearly, the secrets of heaven were shrouded in mist, becoming impossible to discern.

He lowered his hand hesitantly.

Fact one: Qiao Man had traveled through time, arriving several decades into the future.

Fact two: The two of them shared a deep familial bond.

Qiao Man looked up at the masked uncle again. He appeared to be in his twenties.

Qiao Man had a sudden realization. “I’ve got it!”

Lu Jianxing asked, “What?”

“I’ve calculated it. You do have a relative, and it’s me.”

Lu Jianxing froze for a moment. Before he could react, he heard the child in front of him say excitedly, “I… I’m your father!”

Lu Jianxing was at a loss for words.

Translator’s Notes