TEFSCBSS Chapter 110

The Master Trickster Swears to Trick No More

Returning to the three tarot cards: one Hanged Man, one reversed Queen of Cups, and one Death card.

Su Li let out a small hiss without meaning to, making Wang Bokao extremely nervous.

“Master?”

Su Li waved her hand, signaling Wang Bokao to stay silent. Then she placed her hand on the crystal ball, closed her eyes, and began to recall the plot.

From what Wang Bokao had said, it sounded like he had left the imperial capital in search of a woman and ended up in a small mountain village, where he was almost sacrificed like something out of Village of the Dead, nearly getting eaten alive.

Given that Wang Bokao had always been obsessed with the supernatural, it seemed likely that he had some understanding of either the woman’s fate or his current predicament.

Had he experienced something paranormal? Or had the woman?

And who exactly was this woman?

According to the plot, it only mentioned that Wang Bokao, Su Li, Li Feng, and Han Yueyi had grown up together—there was never any mention of him having another childhood friend besides Su Li.

Maybe during the years when the original Su Li was confined in the Prime Minister’s Manor and Han Yueyi was stationed in the North, Wang Bokao had encountered someone or something?

The first card, the Hanged Man, if interpreted regarding the past, suggested that the woman had been trapped somewhere or bound by something, making it hard for her to escape. However, overall, she remained clear-headed and not completely powerless.

The second card, the reversed Queen of Cups. Cups represent water—emotion, feelings, and thoughts. Upright, this card means clarity, warmth, compassion, and strength. Reversed, it signals confusion, emotional entanglement, and trouble.

As for the final card, Death—it’s a controversial one. A pessimist might see it and immediately assume it means death, the end, destruction. But in Su Li’s perspective, it also symbolized rebirth—out with the old, in with the new, misfortune turning into blessing.

Following this line of thought, the person Wang Bokao was asking about was indeed trapped somewhere and currently in significant trouble—but there was still a glimmer of hope.

Su Li explained her interpretation to Wang Bokao, who broke out into a cold sweat.

“Master! Is there any way to find her and help her?”

He was desperate!

The Death card! That was no joke!

It looked ominous and terrifying. Even though Su Li had said there was a sliver of hope, it meant facing immense danger. Knowing this, how could he sit back and do nothing?

Su Li pondered for a moment and said,
“In tarot, the suits generally correspond to the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth.”

“All three cards you drew are related to water.”

“Water is fluid; it carries life quietly and invisibly. It suggests there is life and hope everywhere.”

“But you must wait for the right time. Struggling against the current will only lead to storms and disaster. Rushing will do no good. Only by being patient and planning carefully can you seize the right opportunity.”

“Also, you can glean more hints from the cards themselves.”

“The Hanged Man represents being trapped; the Queen, reversed, shows lost power; Death symbolizes rebirth.”

“This suggests that the one you seek has indeed endured many hardships in the past, but for now, her life isn’t in danger. She likely has some means of protecting herself, but she’s stuck in a difficult situation.”

“You and she must wait for a major event to break the stalemate. It could be a war, a plague, or a political upheaval…”

“When that time comes, a voice inside you will tell you: it’s time to act.”

“There is a divine will at work.”

“So, for now, you must not rush. You need to prepare yourself. When the moment comes—when the Death card’s change arrives—you must be ready to break free of everything for both your sakes.”

Su Li finished her speech, and Wang Bokao listened intently.

He felt like he’d been enlightened—and yet also like he understood nothing at all.

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask what he should prepare for or where he should look.

Su Li panicked. She was terrible at using tarot to locate specific directions! What was she supposed to do?

No worries—she quickly fished through the plot in her memory and then simply spat out four cryptic words, using “the heavens must not be divulged” as an excuse to quickly shoo Wang Bokao out.

Su Li patted her chest in relief. That was close!

Making money this way wasn’t going to work. She wasn’t cut out for fortune-telling!

She could barely interpret tarot accurately, and if she needed to use the Six Yao divination method, she had to rely on apps and painfully slow searches through Baidu Encyclopedias word-by-word.

Sigh.
It was clear she needed to focus on her real business and earn money the proper way.

Still…

Su Li looked down at the tarot cards in her hands and grinned slyly.

Maybe she could do one quick three-card spread—upright and reversed—to see if she could find some cash while out wandering today?

No sooner said than done!

Su Li quickly washed her hands, solemnly and respectfully stated her question, and then drew three cards.

Hmm… decisive and straightforward—three firm “no” answers.

Looks like today wasn’t a day for unexpected luck either.

Feeling dejected, Su Li packed the tarot cards into a small box.

“Sigh, forget it. As a half-baked fortune teller, I’d better not waste time on this. I should focus on coming up with a new script instead.”

Determined, she shoved the tarot box into the farthest corner of the meditation room, took down the “Western Divination” sign outside, restored everything to its original state, and left with a heavy sigh.

She still wasn’t full—might as well go grab another breakfast to comfort her wounded soul.

…

After Su Li left, the door to the meditation room next door creaked open, and three little heads poked out, stacked one atop the other.

“Did you guys catch how she did that reading?” someone whispered.

Yunyang answered quietly, “Uh, she just… drew cards?”

Gu Ming fiddled with his prayer beads. “Those cards must be something pretty special, huh?”

Gu Qing gave each of them a flick on the forehead. “Did none of you notice Wang Bokao’s question? Where’s your sense of empathy? He’s supposed to be one of our own!”

“Like hell he is,” Yunyang muttered. “He didn’t even bring me along when he went sneaking around graveyards!”

Gu Ming stayed quiet, thinking to himself that, as a monk, he didn’t exactly have much in common with a spoiled rich kid anyway.

Gu Qing sighed deeply. Fine. He’d find a chance to ask Wang Bokao about it himself later. After all, they had played plenty of script murder games together, and in a city like the imperial capital, decent guys were few and far between.

The three of them glanced around again. Confirming that Su Li was truly gone, they tiptoed into the meditation room she had just left.

“Are we doing this?” Gu Qing hesitated a little.

Yunyang stomped hard on his foot. “We’re not stealing. It’s just stuff from the script shop. We’re borrowing it to play with!”

Gu Ming nodded along eagerly. “Yeah, exactly! We live here too. We’re not taking it away—we’re just looking!”

Gu Qing: …Seriously? And you’re the one who reads Buddhist scriptures every day? What kind of monk are you, huh? The ‘meat and wine pass through the intestines’ type?

Gu Qing was speechless. He seriously considered cutting ties with these two idiots on the spot, but alas, as the eldest, responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders. He could only grit his teeth and accept it.

In the end, the three of them snuck around like little thieves and finally found the tarot box hidden in a dusty corner.

When they opened it and saw the exquisitely illustrated, stylistically varied cards inside, their eyes lit up with excitement.

Was this how Su Li had managed to bamboozle Wang Bokao so thoroughly?

If they could figure out how to use these, wouldn’t they have another way to make a living when they ran away from home and traveled the world?

The thought crossed all three of their minds at once. They exchanged glances and all broke into the same mischievous grin.

They quickly scribbled a small note to leave for Su Li, then smugly walked out with the tarot box in tow.

…

Meanwhile, Wang Bokao was sitting at the front desk of the script shop. Zhao Si, who was supposed to be handling player registrations, didn’t seem to mind at all—he just tossed the registration book at Er Tong and ran off to play a script himself.

Well, it was what it was. Master and servant alike had already decided to treat the shop like their second home. Su Li herself had said not to stand on ceremony, and it wasn’t a big deal to have them help out.

Wang Bokao didn’t pay any attention to these small matters (Er Tong: Is anyone going to speak up for me? I’m the one doing all the work!).

He was too busy thinking over the last four words Su Li had said to him.

“Primitive Belief.”