TEFSCBSS Chapter 41

Chapter 41: I Am a Master of Divination, Do You Believe Me?

“What? You know?”

Both of them were startled. Wait, when did someone else arrive? Oh, it’s Gu Qing. Never mind.

Gu Qing: …Do I have that little presence?

Ahem, he cleared his throat. “I, a humble man, am well-versed in the I Ching and have made significant contributions to divination.”

“Divination?”

“You, a humble man?”

“Ah! Yes, that’s me!” Gu Qing said with pride, slightly tilting his head, trying to maintain his air of wisdom and grace.

They were both startled again, recalling the deceitful, scheming Daoist from the script. They both shook their heads in unison. “No need, no need.”

??? “No, you must trust me!”

They both backed away.

“Really!”

They started discussing the game. “What race should we pick?”

“Monster race? They can sense the heavens and earth, and their cultivation advances quickly?”

“The Witch race seems good too—immense strength, with Pangu’s blood flowing through them! That’s Pangu, the creator of the world!”

Gu Qing, unable to bear it anymore, shouted, “Trust me!”

“I’ll use my divining powers to tell you which race to choose!”

They paused briefly, and when Su Li arrived to distribute the roles, she gave him a confused look.

“Ahem, here’s the deal. I’m the team leader, so listen to me!” Without waiting for their agreement, Gu Qing squeezed between them, threw three coins, and performed the six-line divination right on the spot!

Su Li watched in amazement. “Oh! The hexagram is ‘Water and Fire Harmonized!’ This is a good omen.”

The hexagram he had drawn was the 63rd hexagram, ‘Ji Ji’—The Completion.

“Stop now, or it will lead to chaos! We must choose the Plant Spirits!” Gu Qing looked up at Su Li. “Can you read hexagrams too?”

“Uh, no, no, I’ve only seen them a couple of times,” Su Li quickly shook her head. To write a new script, she had stayed up late several times reading the I Ching, but it gave her a headache, and she didn’t understand much. She only remembered the names of the hexagrams.

“Are you sure about choosing the Plant Spirits?”

Wang Bokao seemed to want to object, but Gu Qing wore a proud expression. “Trust me, I can divine! Those Monster and Witch races may seem powerful, but there are major flaws. The hexagram says, ‘Stop now, or chaos will come!’ So, we should choose the Plant Spirits.”

After saying this, Gu Qing snatched the role card from Su Li’s hands, picked a Qing Lotus as his foundation, and rolled the dice, landing on Earth Immortal level 1.

Once everything was settled, he waved his hand and motioned for Su Li to leave.

The others exchanged glances. Su Li pointed to her head, signaling, “Is this person okay?”

Wang Bokao shook his head. “Who knows?”

…

After a while, everyone had chosen their roles. The Princess chose the Roc, Gu Qing chose the Qing Lotus, Gu Ming chose the Witch race, another male team also chose the Witch race, Yunyang chose the Green Sparrow, and Su Yao chose the White Snake.

“Now, welcome to the Great Wilderness world. We will start with the Princess, who will roll the dice and begin her journey to seek the Great Dao!”

Everyone felt a surge of excitement, and under Su Li’s guidance, they started the game—well, except for Su Yao, who was smiling through her gritted teeth.

Heh, wasn’t this supposed to be a Chrysanthemum Feast with poetry? She had prepared for days—was it all for nothing?

Heh, wasn’t it supposed to include a music performance? She had practiced for a month, and the calluses were for nothing?

Heh, Su Li, you wait!

But soon, she was pushed into the game by the other girls. Well, since today we’re each on our team, don’t blame me for playing ruthlessly—I’ll make sure to win fair and square!

…

“Hahaha, I drew a Heavenly Treasure! The Great Dao will be mine!”

“Show off! My cave dwelling is filled with rich spiritual energy, so my cultivation advances two levels per turn.”

“Stop talking! I drew a Great Wilderness event! Nuwa created mankind! I can change my race now!”

“Change race? No way! The Plant Spirits are favored by heaven and earth; I’ll certainly gain enlightenment faster!”

“I’m going to ascend to greatness! The human race now rules the world—the humans will be the ones to reach sainthood in the end.”

“Ha, the entire Great Wilderness can’t escape the balance between Hong Jun and the Way of Heaven. Later on, when spiritual energy disappears, how can the human race compete with my demon race?”

“Exactly, we’ve reached the peak of the Great Luo realm, we’ll break through this sky soon!”

“Wait! Why is the human race cultivating so fast? And with bonuses?”

“This isn’t fair!”

“Don’t panic, stay calm, we are Plant Spirits! The first Qing Lotus in the world, don’t worry!”

“Trust me!”

The group was getting louder, the competition heating up, but then Gu Qing drew another card, and this time, it said, “Enlightenment failed, cultivation regressed.”

???

Han Yueyi and Wang Bokao glared at him.

“It’s fine, don’t panic. Trust me, I’ll draw another card and make up for all the losses,” Gu Qing reassured them.

He drew again. “The world is changing, we must patch the sky and calm the seas, the Qing Lotus is trapped in the west, no cultivation increase for ten rounds.”

???

Wang Bokao slammed the table.

“No, trust me! I’m accurate with my divinations! Watch, I’ll draw another one!”

Swish! Another event card was drawn. “The Way of Heaven is damaged, you voluntarily repair it, your soul enters reincarnation, and you must choose a new race.”

Silence. It wasn’t chaos, just Han Yueyi’s cold grunt and Wang Bokao shoving him aside, pushing Gu Qing out of the way.

“Turns out, Daoists and monks are all the same!”

“Exactly!”

Gu Ming, who had been quietly watching, muttered, “What did he do to deserve this?”

…

Anyway, the game continued until it was almost time for dinner, and the sky had already darkened, but the game was still not over.

The Princess rubbed her back. “Ah, I can’t anymore. I’m getting old, I can’t keep up. You all play, I’m done.”

“We’ll continue after dinner. Su Li, where did you get this game from?”

Oh? Time for a little advertisement?

Su Li perked up. “Hey, I opened a script shop in the West Tower, where I design lots of games. ‘Great Wilderness Monopoly’ is one of them, along with murder mystery games, Werewolf, and more. You can always stop by my store if you want to play!”

“You can also buy single-game boxes. My shop is located on Ten Li South Road in the southwest corner. Come by anytime!”

“Sounds good, we’ll go tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow, for sure!”

After playing the game, everyone had a great time, and their opinion of Su Li improved quite a bit. After all, aside from her occasional domineering behavior when they were young, she hadn’t done anything truly harmful.

Even with the rumors spreading recently, everyone knew it was all just gossip. They all grew up together, so they knew the real story.

Anyway, the game was fun, and what did it matter who Su Li was? Besides, she was still publicly engaged to Han Yueyi, and the Princess protected her—who would dare go against her?

Su Yao, mutters to herself: “Should I just hand over my ID card?”

Her expression darkened, and in the end, she left the Princess’s manor with the other girls. The rest of the group also took their leave.

“Su Li, no matter who your mother is, she was always the one who loved you most. I’ll ask you this—do you still acknowledge her as your mother?” The Princess called Su Li over after most of the irrelevant people had left.

Su Li was confused. Her memories from before her transmigration were limited to the plot, but when the Princess mentioned her mother, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and a gentle figure seemed to appear in her mind.

Seeing Su Li in a daze, the Princess sighed. “Forget it, I don’t care whether you’re her daughter or not. I only know she asked me to look after you.”

“As you said, Su Yao’s origins are unclear. I believe she’s the Prime Minister’s daughter, but I don’t believe the fake daughter story. I won’t let a woman who only knows how to scheme be placed under your mother’s name.”

“Someone like your mother, a figure who shines like the moon, could never have a heart as dark as Su Yao’s! Hmph!” However, the Princess didn’t know the full truth, and could only promise to protect Su Li as much as she could.

The two talked for a while longer, and eventually, the Princess, feeling tired, let Su Li leave. Before she left, she handed her a jade pendant. “Take this, you can come to the Princess’s manor anytime.”

Su Li was very grateful and left.

On the way back, Su Li couldn’t resist her professional instincts and started replaying the events of the day in her mind.

Hmm, let everyone know I’ve started my own business, distancing myself from the Prime Minister’s house √

Hmm, promote the West Tower script shop √

Hmm, cozy up to the right people √

Perfect, mission accomplished today.

However when I ran into Su Yao and Li Feng, those two fools… I got too impulsive, shouldn’t have been so angry, and definitely shouldn’t have wasted my time arguing with such uncouth people. I could’ve handled it in a much subtler (and more devious) way.

Sigh, still too young!

With that thought, Su Li returned to the West Tower, spread out some paper, and began practicing her writing. The abundance of “survival” characters made her more determined in her plans.

I must survive!

Once I shake off that dog of a main character, Su Yao, the sky will be mine!

But first, I’ll send out invitations for the new script. Heh, didn’t Wang Bokao like ghost stories? “The Village of the Dead” will be perfect for him!