Extra…

He hurriedly sat upright in a bit of a panic.

He even cleared his throat twice:

“Hmm! May I ask what this guest would like me to divine? I know everything and can answer anything! I’ve just arrived and only wish to make a living here and get by day to day…”

Li Miaosheng said in a pretentious tone, the excitement in his heart almost showing on his face.

But the uncle in front of him simply stood with his hands on his hips, not paying attention at all.

After a while, he slowly said:

“Well… I’m not here for fortune-telling…”

“Then you are?…”

“I’m just a passerby who’s been watching you set up this stall for almost the whole night. I don’t understand what you’re doing here, but at your age, you should give up this line of work. You can’t compete with those old pros!”

The moment those words came out, the protagonist felt something was off—this guy seemed to be here to cause trouble.

Well… even if there wasn’t much of a ‘scene’ to ruin, the uncle’s words still hurt him.

Unconvinced, he said:

“I know that! If I were a fraud, wouldn’t it be obvious if you just let me read you?”

“You have to try everything at least once. What, are you afraid?”

Comrade Miaosheng smiled politely and gestured with his hand, inviting him.

To the uncle’s surprise, this kid actually got serious about it!

………………

But instead of obediently sitting down for a reading like expected, the uncle just scratched his back, looking confused.

Li Miaosheng: stare~~~~

“………………”

Fine. Under that pleading gaze, he silently sat down, stretched out his left hand, and let Li Miaosheng feel it for quite a while.

“Well? Have you figured anything out?” the uncle said helplessly.

“Not yet… almost… just a bit more…”

The protagonist was flustered, internally shouting:

{Bai Ze! Bai Ze, wake up!! We’ve got a customer—hurry and help me take a look! Big bro is having a credibility crisis right now…}

{Bai Ze?}

Thirty seconds passed…

What the uncle saw and heard was just the kid resting his chin on one hand, making sounds like…

“Emmm~~ ah~~! hmm~”

When asked midway, he didn’t say anything—just kept saying to wait… just wait…

Until a growling sound came from his stomach,

breaking the moment…

After that, the uncle more or less figured the kid had no other choice but to scam people to survive…

So he immediately said:

“Forget the fortune-telling for now. Eat this bowl of noodles first! It won’t taste as good once it gets cold…”

As he said this, he noticed the kid’s eyes fixed on the noodles…

His throat bobbing up and down—it was obvious he’d been hungry for a long time…

“Well… how can I accept this? I haven’t even finished your reading. Even though I don’t have money to buy food right now, I still have basic manners…”

The uncle quickly interrupted:

“Enough. It’s not free. My stall just happens to be across from yours. I made an extra bowl since it’s late and no one’s buying anyway, so I figured I’d give it to you…”

“When you have money, remember to support my business. Next time, I’ll charge!”

There wasn’t much emotion in his words—just a calm statement…

But for some reason, facing that simple bowl of plain noodles,

a long-lost warmth slowly welled up in the protagonist’s heart.

While he was still in a daze, the uncle quietly walked away…

Not even giving him the chance to say thank you…

………………………

Of course, more important than anything else right now was solving the problem of food.

After a whole night, he realized many people would glance at his stall,

but most just looked—no one actually came over.

Though people were doubtful, some might still be willing to try…

Li Miaosheng ate his noodles while thinking.

The moon still hung in the sky, and the square at night was left with only him.

Before long, he finished the noodles in one go. Still not quite full, he lifted the bowl and drank all the soup too.

“Burp~~~”

After letting out a full burp, he stared at the moon for a long time:

“I wonder what tomorrow will be like?…”

“I really have to thank that kind uncle tonight. Giving me a bowl of noodles even though we’re strangers…”

He paused, then quickly pinched his own cheeks.

“No! If I get even a little lazy, I’ll fall back into just scraping by. Right now I barely have enough to eat—sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I need to find a way to make money first! Otherwise, dying of hunger halfway through cultivating immortality might actually happen!!”

“Wait!”

“There’s also something important—that good-deeds cultivation method…”

He muttered to himself, covering his face with both hands as he kept thinking of solutions.

Nearly half an hour passed…

A gloomy wind suddenly blew past him, giving him an idea…

That’s right! Alongside fortune-telling, he decided to open another line of business…

Since he already knew how to draw talismans, he wrote two lines on a red cloth:

“Young master proficient in divination, fortune-telling, and palm reading; also offers feng shui consultation and spirit removal services.”

Note: If it doesn’t work, no charge. If my ability falls short, I will work for free without a word of complaint. Please don’t judge by appearance…

“All done! Finished!”

Looking at his elegant handwriting, a sense of pride rose within him.

Now all he needed to do was sleep—

and tomorrow, recharge his energy and prepare to scam again.

……

Fortune-telling! He believed this time he would definitely make money—

and also support the uncle’s stall more often…

That bowl of noodles was, without a doubt, the best he had ever eaten in his life.

Even half an hour later, his burps still carried the fragrance.

………………………

Midnight, exactly twelve o’clock!

The night was as deep as it could be. He lay on a bench to sleep. Though the temperature dropped and it was a bit cold,

it was still fine…

What mattered was this sense of peace in his heart…

and that warmth—when had he lost it?

The protagonist scratched the back of his head, recalling things from his youth.

In his dream:

His great-grandmaster still carried him on his shoulders to pick fruit;

that familiar laughter, the hunched posture, the white-haired smile—

all still engraved in his mind.

He hadn’t forgotten. Not even a little…

The dream lasted until the next day.

When the first ray of sunlight shone on him,

he woke up.

A tear unconsciously slipped from the corner of his eye.

The sudden sadness left him at a loss—

as if his great-grandmaster was no longer in this world…