Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 87 Neptune Psychology

Seeing Shen Qing's confident demeanor, Zhang Tianshi became somewhat intimidated; this person might actually have some skill.

He said, all bluster and no substance, "This humble Taoist will give you a three-round handicap!"

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and looked at the crowd of onlookers, saying loudly, "Who wants a divination? Three divinations a day, first come, first served."

"I me me!"

"I'll do it! I'll do it!"

The crowd jostled and pushed, as Chinese people love to join in the fun. They believe that a free fortune telling is a must-do, and they feel they've lost out if they don't get a good deal.

The town mayor couldn't stand it anymore and blindly selected three.

The first one to come up was Mayor Zhu's son. He looked honest and steady. Not only did he not join in the commotion, but he also helped maintain order from below.

What do you want to ask?

The mayor's son scratched his head. Actually, he didn't have any questions. He was just pushed up by his father, who probably wanted to verify the authenticity of the documents by having him come over to prevent shills from mixing in with the crowd.

"Tell me first what number I am in my family."

Shen Qing pretended to do some calculations with his fingers, then said decisively, "You are the boss."

"Hey, that's amazing!" Zhu Da became interested and prepared to ask a serious question, "Can you calculate it for me again..."

"next."

"I haven't calculated it yet!"

"Three divinations a day, I just did. What, you want two divinations by yourself?"

"..."

A chorus of jeers erupted from the audience, urging him to come down quickly. Zhu Da, not wanting to offend the crowd, slunk off the altar, enduring his father's disapproving look.

【Wow, that's amazing! How did you guess that?】The system, which had been silent for a long time since the Revlon incident, couldn't help but pop up.

Before the next person came up, Shen Qing explained in her mind, "Judging from personality traits, generally speaking, the eldest child is more calm and honest, the second child is taciturn, the third child is mischievous, and the fourth child is unreasonable."

What if someone has a strong personality and meets all of the above criteria?

"Then let's just make him the number one, because in this world, the number one comes first, then the number two, then the number three, and the number of people who are number one is the largest."

"...A pure gambler, huh? Seeing how confident you are, I thought you'd actually studied fortune telling."

"Fortune telling is all about mindset. If you're confident, clients will trust you."

At this moment, the second person came up. She was a young woman who was dressed neatly and cleanly. Judging from her clothes, although she was also a farmer, she should be well-off. She was wearing a silver earring in her left ear, but her right ear was empty.

"What does this lady want?"

The woman smiled and said, "Little Celestial Master, why don't you guess what I want to divine?"

Shen Qingxu tapped his fingers a few times, then pretended to observe the face, saying, "The lack of convergence at the ends of the eyebrows is an omen of financial loss. Could it be that something valuable has been lost?"

"Little Celestial Master is truly a diviner!" the woman exclaimed happily, asking expectantly, "Then where is the lost item?"

"That's another issue."

"..." The woman's smile froze, then slowly disappeared.

"Hahaha~" The audience roared with laughter. "Come down here~"

The woman stormed off the altar, and the old woman waiting there pinched her in exasperation, "Couldn't you just ask where the earring was?"

How did you know she lost something?

Are you blind?

"...Okay, even if she lost something, how do you know she has to consider it lost property? She could consider it something else, right?"

"Silver is a precious commodity for ordinary people, so it is naturally the most important thing."

Next, the third person came up. This time it was a young man with a worried look in his eyes.

"What would you like to have calculated, young man?"

Having learned from the mistakes of the previous two, the young man no longer underestimated Shen Qing and wasted the precious opportunity for fortune-telling.

"Little Celestial Master, I want to ask about my mother's lifespan."

Shen Qing flicked his fingers, his expression grave. The young man's heart pounded with anxiety, and he clenched his fists.

"Your birth chart indicates a conflict with your parents. The year before last was a major hurdle for your mother. In the years before and after that, your mother faced difficulties. If she had overcome those challenges, she would still be alive now."

The young man immediately remembered that his mother had indeed been seriously ill before the Lunar New Year, and although she had stopped taking herbal medicine, her health had not improved.

The young man's fellow villagers and neighbors in the audience all knew about his family affairs, so they couldn't help but believe Shen Qing a little more.

Seeing the young man's nervous expression, Shen Qing asked, "Did you make it through?"

"We made it through."

"Then she can live to be fifty-six years old."

The young man's brows relaxed. "Thank you, Little Celestial Master!"

【How is this calculated?!】The system was truly shocked.

"Reading his expression, you can see that he came up with a worried look and asked his mother right away, there must be something wrong."

How did you know there would be a major hurdle before the new year?

“You can tell his family background just by looking at his clothes. Can he afford to drag this out for long? If he says, ‘I’ve never made it,’ then it means I was right.”

[So...living to fifty-six...]

"That's nonsense. Fortune tellers only listen to auspicious words and then leave immediately. How can they find me if my predictions are accurate? Besides, psychological therapy is also a method. What if his mother listens to it, gains faith, and actually lives a long life?"

How are you so good at this?!

Shen Qing gazed into the distance, recalling the past. The Sea King and the fortune teller had something in common: they were both masters of psychology.

Although Shen Qing was handsome and rich in his past life, pursuing a beautiful woman with a strong personality still requires some skill, you know!

Seeing the crowd gossiping and their increasingly hostile gazes, Zhang Tianshi broke out in a cold sweat and blurted out in a panic, "I can communicate with the gods to drive away the Locust God, can you do the same?"

But in my heart I was thinking, let's see how you prove this.

"sure."

⊙?⊙?

Zhang Tianshi thought he was hallucinating, and the onlookers became excited as well.

"Please, young Taoist master, perform the ritual!"

Shen Qing chanted incantations and formed a fancy Taoist hand seal. Even the young Taoist had to admit that his aura was much stronger than his master's!

Ha~ The hand seals used in popular fantasy dramas are just for show.

Shen Qing mumbled something incoherently, then suddenly opened his eyes and pointed to the sky.

"God said—destroy the locusts!"

"what?"

Everyone was stunned. Even though Shen Qing had just demonstrated his divine calculation skills, they didn't dare to try it rashly. Zhang Tianshi and his group immediately started trembling again.

"Just because you say so doesn't mean it is."

"Can you bear the consequences of angering the Locust God?!"

"I'll take the blame!" The voice, amplified by inner strength, resounded and silenced the noise from below the stage.

Shen Qing pulled out a cloth bag and scattered it into the air. A dozen or so locusts that he had caught in the field fluttered out.

Then came a few more flashy gestures, and the locusts flying in the air spontaneously combusted without fire, causing an uproar among the crowd.

[Damn, anyone who didn't know better would think you were some kind of immortal cultivator!] It saw Shen Qing tampering with things; it was just a little magic trick.

I can't help but sigh. It turns out that being a player really requires a lot of talent. Actually, it didn't choose the wrong person. It's just that this host is so irresponsible! I hate it!