Interpreting the Fortune Stick

"Do not listen to idle gossip of right and wrong, just recite Daoist scriptures from dawn to dusk. If you take past illusions as truth, how can a drawn cake satisfy your hunger?"

The Daoist priest interpreting the fortune slip read the text aloud. His voice was unhurried, carrying a transcendent, immortal-like aura.

The girl obviously didn't understand. Her pretty brows furrowed tightly, her face full of bewilderment.

She pursed her lips and asked tentatively, "Daoist Master, what... what does this mean?"

The priest did not answer immediately. His fingers tapped lightly and rhythmically twice on the pearwood table in front of him.

The crisp sound was not loud, but it instantly drew all of the girl's attention.

"Literally, it means you shouldn't pay attention to idle gossip. A relationship is ultimately between the two of you. Whether others speak well or ill of it has nothing to do with you."

The priest's gaze was peaceful, yet it seemed to see right through people's hearts. "If you take those illusory words as truth, it would be as absurd as looking at a drawn cake and claiming you are full."

The girl's face paled slightly, clearly struck by how accurately he had guessed her troubles.

Seeing this, the priest tapped the table again, his tone growing a bit heavier.

"Considering the marriage prospects you are seeking in your heart, this slip warns you that there will be various negative voices around you trying to shake your resolve. If you believe them, this relationship will fall apart."

As soon as he finished speaking, several pilgrims nearby who were eavesdropping subconsciously nodded, feeling that this interpretation made a lot of sense.

The girl immediately waved her hands and shook her head.

"I definitely won't listen to them, and I won't believe their words anymore."

Han Lu leaned close to Lin Mo's ear and lowered her voice: "This interpretation seems pretty much the same as what you said earlier."

Lin Mo nodded. "It is similar, but there's still a slight difference."

At this time, the young man also came over with a fortune slip.

He handed over the slip in his hand, "Daoist Master, please take a look at my fortune."

The priest took the wooden slip and glanced at it.

"Slip number seventy: All of spring is filled with bitter worry and torment; in summer, your pursuits will finally begin to settle. When autumn harvests and winter solstices pass, it will be just like riding a crane with immense wealth tied to your waist."

He stroked his beard, a standard smile appearing on his face: "It is a medium-auspicious slip."

At this moment, Lin Mo's divine sense quietly spread out like spilling quicksilver, instantly covering all the fortune slip canisters in the hall.

The next second, he almost burst out laughing.

Good heavens, there wasn't a single inauspicious slip in the canisters of this temple.

To put it bluntly, inauspicious sounded bad, so they simply changed them all.

A minimum guarantee of a good review.

However, this also fit human psychology very well; this way, people coming to seek fortunes wouldn't draw a terrible slip and turn away in disgust.

The priest looked at the young man with a smile.

"This slip, no matter what you are asking about, has only one answer: bitterness first, sweetness later; difficulty first, ease later; danger first, fortune later. If you are asking about current affairs, you won't see a harvest until autumn or winter. If you are asking about the distant future, it will take many years before you see a return."

The young man opened his mouth, his expression instantly becoming somewhat complex, and he subconsciously turned his head to look at his girlfriend beside him.

The girl's heart leaped to her throat, and she stared at him intently.

The priest took in both of their expressions, changed the subject, and his voice became solemn.

"However, the prerequisite for all of this lies in a single phrase."

He spoke clearly and forcefully, "Persevere to the end."

This phrase was like a heavy hammer, striking hard against the young man's heart.

A glimmer of light reignited in the girl's previously dim eyes. She looked at the young man, her gaze full of anticipation.

The young man took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and suddenly reached out, tightly grasping her hand.

Her hand was a little cold and trembling slightly.

"You will persevere, right? No matter what happens to me? You have to keep going!"

The young man's Adam's apple bobbed. He nodded vigorously, as if taking an oath.

The girl's eyes were still red. Her fingertips dug into his arm as she pressed further:

"Then after we go back, can you please stop going on business trips? I really feel insecure, especially... especially when you travel with female colleagues, I really..."

Her voice grew lower and lower, carrying a faint, barely noticeable sob, the trailing notes disappearing into the air.

The expression on the young man's face instantly froze, the resolve from his earlier nod vanishing without a trace.

He opened his mouth but made no sound. He just sighed silently, his eyes drifting elsewhere as his mind rapidly calculated the pros and cons.

Just as this awkward silence was about to swallow the two of them, a clear voice interjected.

At this moment, Lin Mo strolled forward casually.

"Young man, what you were praying for in the hall just now wasn't marriage, was it?"

Lin Mo had somehow appeared beside them, his hands in his pockets.

The young man reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He froze, his eyes full of wariness.

Lin Mo ignored his defensiveness and continued speaking on his own: "You should be praying for your career."

He used a declarative sentence, so certain that it left no room for doubt.

"Marriage and career cannot be conflated, and their time spans are vastly different. What you seek is your career. Your chance to skyrocket to success is within this year, and it is fleeting.

But if you want a good marriage, you have to endure with all your heart. Just like raising a pot of flowers, you must persevere for many years before it blooms into the result you desire."

The young man was stunned for a moment but did not answer.

"Marriage and career are vastly different, with huge differences in time span. If you seek a career, the opportunity lies in this year. But if you seek a perfect marriage, you must persevere for many years before you can obtain something beautiful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mo suddenly turned his head and looked at the middle-aged Daoist priest who was stroking his beard and watching the show.

"Daoist Master, if I interpret it this way, it should also be acceptable, right?"

With this, he kicked the ball back to the priest.

Being called out, the middle-aged priest wasn't annoyed. Instead, he smiled faintly and replied with deep meaning:

"What this layman says is true. However, for this gentleman, there is no way to have the best of both worlds. Ultimately, he must make some compromises."

He was playing the ultimate non-stick pan, dodging any blame.

The young man took a deep breath, as if his mind was made up. He turned his head, finally daring to look directly into the girl's eyes:

"I go on business trips to fight for more opportunities. Once I get promoted, I won't have to run around like this anymore. Just give me a little more time."

Hearing this, the girl froze. The light in her eyes dimmed bit by bit. She slowly released the hand gripping his arm, her brows furrowing tightly.

"Is your work more important, or am I? You just nodded... What did your nod even mean?"

Her questioning was soft and airy, yet it cut like a sharp blade.

Before the young man could answer, the crowd of onlookers had already erupted.

"No way? Is there even a choice to make? Your girlfriend is going to spend the rest of her life with you. Don't tell me you can marry your job?"

"Exactly! In today's society, what kind of job can't you find? Just get a different one!"