Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: How About One Drink?
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Fortunately, Lady Shin and I managed to keep our appointment with the merchants without being too late.
In the meantime, I hadn't fully recovered, but I was at least well enough to move around.
"Cough, cough..."
"What on earth did you two get up to that one of you looks half-dead?"
"Come now, old friend. That's not the sort of thing you ask."
"...It's not like that."
I was still coughing a bit, but it wasn't bad enough to keep me from getting around.
"But Lady Shin... is all this really necessary...?"
"Stay still."
I looked pretty pathetic, bundled up in the corner of the carriage like I'd been rolled in a blanket, which worried me a little about how it came across,
but
"She acts prickly, but she really cares about you."
"It's a good time... a good time..."
The merchants didn't seem bothered at all. If anything, they'd glance over now and then and grin.
'Honestly, it does look pretty ridiculous...'
A fortune teller lives or dies by his mystique, and right now mine was in the gutter.
But every time I tried to sit up straight, Lady Shin shut it down with that no-nonsense attitude of hers—like there wasn't even room for a single needle between us.
'She's looking out for me, so I'm grateful...'
But wasn't this a bit much?
In the end, after some reasonable negotiation, I escaped my ridiculous state.
If my body started hurting again, we'd go right back to how it was.
"Does my health worry you that much?"
'Since we're traveling together, maybe she's concerned about me.'
I appreciated the care, but it felt a tad excessive, so I broached the subject,
only for her to reply,
"After nursing you for two straight days, how could it not?"
"...I'm sorry."
I had nothing to say to that.
"Come to think of it, if your health acts up again once we're in Anhui, we'll both be stuck in a room together for days. Not good for either of us."
"Uh."
"My thinking was shortsighted. I'll do my best to take care of myself."
"N-No... Actually, the human body doesn't always heal quickly even if you want it to, it could—"
"No. You're the one who nursed me, so rejecting your kindness was my fault. You don't need to apologize, Lady Shin."
It wasn't quite as extreme as before, but she wrapped me in the blanket again.
"Urgh..."
I must have said something wrong because she clutched her head, but somehow I knew better than to press the topic.
"Ah. Since we have some time now, how about another fortune?"
"...Didn't we just do one?"
"That one was your overall fortune. If I narrow the focus, I can divine specifics—like wealth, relationships, longevity, that sort of thing. Pretty much anything."
"...That detailed?"
"Any issue with that?"
"...No. The heavens will have their reasons."
For a second there, I thought I'd get an earful of the usual Taoist nagging, but thankfully, no.
'Lady Shin really is different from other Taoists.'
Using heavenly secrets to make money is wrong.
Abusing them sows chaos in the world.
It's my ability, earned through my own efforts—why should they dictate how I use it?
I slaved away under my cranky master for ten years to get it.
And even the heavens themselves are so fickle it's hard to wield properly.
"So, Lady Shin, is there anything you're curious about? Shall I check your lifespan?"
"W-Wait a moment..."
I hadn't even started properly when the result came in.
Well, not properly.
"...Did I mess up somewhere? Why's it reading as unmeasurable...?"
"Ha, hahaha... I'm more interested in something else than lifespan."
"This has never happened before. Let me try once more—it should come out right..."
-Thud!
-Crack!
The wooden panel right next to my face split with a sharp sound.
"I said it's fine."
"A-Ah, got it."
I didn't dare meet her eyes, so I looked down.
-Swish
"S-So, what would you like to know?"
I fiddled with the wooden plaques to lighten the mood.
"...As I said, there's someone I'm looking for."
"Ah... right. Supposedly in Anhui now..."
"Not certain. I've chased similar leads for ten years—met more than a few false hopes."
"Ah..."
Come to think of it, I didn't know the full story behind it.
I just figured it was a benefactor from her childhood, since she'd spent ten years repaying a debt by searching.
But the details? No clue.
"So, I just need to see if it's the person she's seeking?"
"No... more than that..."
Her lips twitched like she was about to say something,
then
"...No. Just do that much."
She bit her lip quietly.
"I'll do my best. May the heavens reveal it clearly."
Of course, they almost never spell it out like 'That's the one.'
They give answers as twisted as their temperament.
And I have to slog through interpreting them.
-Clack clack clack
"Ah... it's been a while since I felt this."
After hundreds of times, laying out the plaques and calling the heavenly secrets was second nature.
-Whoooosh
The records from heaven flowed into my mind.
Not in human language—something too profound to express in words.
"There. Done."
But after over ten years, this was routine.
I could do it lying down if needed.
-Rumble
...Though who knows how our capricious heavens might react, so basic courtesy it is!
"...How'd it turn out?"
"Readings like this never give straight yes-or-no answers, but..."
I smiled at her slightly tense expression and continued.
"I think I have good news for you."
"Really?"
"Yes. It says, [The meeting you await will come soon.]"
"Oh..."
"And that the outcome depends on you."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."
Her reaction mixed awe, but her face seemed stiff. Made sense, though.
Ten years of searching. I'd have given up by now.
Dead or alive? Who knows.
And the Central Plains are vast and treacherous besides.
"Congratulations. Ten years of effort bearing fruit."
"Haha... yes..."
Her expression and voice stayed tense, but I offered sincere congratulations anyway.
Hoping her awaited meeting went well.
Naturally, the drinking resumed that night.
"Weren't you sick? You sure you should be drinking?"
"Liquor is my medicine."
"You're young and not alone—drink in moderation. One slip and you're gone."
"One slip..."
...Yeah.
Death comes in an instant.
"So we should enjoy it more, right?"
"Sigh, I should've kept quiet."
I downed another cup in one go.
The sharp burn of alcohol spread through me.
"No one knows the future. If I held back here thinking of tomorrow, only to die in some accident, I'd regret that undrunk cup even in death."
"Heh, extreme example. And 'no one knows the future'? Coming from you?"
"Curious? Bring a silver coin. Fixed rates."
I poured another round to cap the chat.
-Gulp
Seeing the future isn't all good.
Sometimes there are futures you wish you didn't know.
Of course, not seeing my own isn't great either.
"Mind if I sit here?"
"Lady Shin?"
While lost in thought, she'd come right up beside me.
"Plenty of room."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Her voice had a subdued tone—like she'd been brooding.
Ever since the fortune, she'd been lost in silent worry.
"Feeling a bit better?"
"...Somewhat."
"Liquor settles me when I drink. Want a cup?"
It was a light tease to cheer her up.
I knew Taoists like her avoided alcohol.
"...Could I trouble you for one?"
"...Pardon?"
"...My thoughts are tangled. Please."
"Uh... sure..."
Caught off guard, I filled a cup barely a third and handed it over.
"...Is it okay for a Taoist to drink?"
"It's forbidden, but... plenty sneak it. Even Taoists are human, after all."
"Haha, what if you can't ascend to immortality?"
"...Who knows. Too many worldly attachments, maybe..."
She'd seemed so strong and steadfast at first glance, but now she looked fragile.
"I'm no martial artist, so I can't say much, but the secular world has its good sides too."
"Pfft. Says the guy who came down from the mountains."
"...Fair point."
Gazing at her flushed face reflecting the campfire's glow,
I couldn't help but think she was truly beautiful.
Though Master still outshone her.