Chapter 2: The Odd Face

The young man seemed to ignore their whispered conversation, nonchalantly rolling up his sleeves. He tidied his clothes, righted the overturned stool, and restored the disarrayed stall. He grabbed the taiji bagua chart with a large dirty footprint on it, crumpled it up, and tossed it away.

He began to chant: "Discussing wealth and nobility, fortune, marriage, and assessing luck and misfortune, understanding the causes and effects, knowing one's path to prosperity!"

The incantations woke the man from his daze. He shook his head inexplicably and turned to leave.

"Teacher Liu, please wait!" the young man called out.

Teacher Liu turned around and forced a smile. "Luo Ni'er, I know what you want, but my situation is what it is. Whether or not you have real skill won't change anything." He turned again, dismissing the talk of fortune and misfortune as mere street tricks, irrelevant to his plight.

Luo Ni'er noticed his thoughts and patiently said, "Teacher Liu, don't doubt me. If there's a real expert in this 'Three-Way Curve,' it's me. Don't be fooled by the flashy sign. People like it this way."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Liu sighed. "I see you're young, sharp-witted, and skilled. Why not find a proper job?" Truly a teacher who never gave up on his students.

Luo Ni'er stepped forward to block his path. "Teacher Liu, I never solicit clients. I warned you last year; don't blame me for being blunt. It was your reluctance to act then that led to today's disaster." The man's face turned pale as his last shred of dignity was painfully stripped away by the young man's words.

Clenching his fists, he seemed on the verge of an outburst but suddenly cooled down. He looked at Luo Ni'er and said, "Since you're so persistent, let me see what you can do. Fine, I have only three hundred yuan in my bag. That's all I have. You do what you think is right."

He thought to himself: Although Luo Ni'er is pale and thin, he's often pushed around in the corner. This could be considered a good deed, a way to accumulate virtue for his deceased daughter, hoping she'll be born into a good family in her next life.

Luo Ni'er replied helplessly, "Though I'm poor, I'm not greedy for money. My name is 'Li' as in the river 'Li Jiang.' Since I often wear shabby clothes and have mud on me, people started calling me Luo Li'er (Luo Mud)."

Teacher Liu was taken aback. After all these years in Changping, he hadn't known that Luo Ni'er's real name was Luo Li. Perhaps he had considered him a friend? Realizing this, Teacher Liu felt he had underestimated him and awkwardly said, "Oh, I didn't know your real name."

Luo Li smiled and said, "Only my former teacher ever called me Luo Li."

He then thought to himself, ever since the Niu family moved out, and Niu Laosan kept causing trouble, life had become worse day by day. Despite having skills, he had no opportunity to use them. With only ten yuan left and no stable place to stay, he understood that Teacher Liu wanted to help him, but this case seemed to be a big one. If his guesses were right, he could try his skills.

Luo Ni'er looked again at Teacher Liu's face, furrowing his brow.

After some thought, he turned and began to pack up.

Teacher Liu asked curiously, "Aren't you going to do business with me?"

"No, it's not that. I appreciate your trust in me. Today, I'll give you a thorough reading, so I'll pack up and follow you home."

"Go to my home? Isn't it enough to report the details and have the reading done? Why make it so complicated?"

Without looking up, Luo Ni'er continued packing up his things, folding the plastic sheet and wrapping his "four treasures of the study" under his arm. He grabbed Teacher Liu's arm and said, "Teacher Liu, let's go. I'll use all my skills to help you turn your situation around."