The Entire Harem has Transmigrated - Chapter 34

A beautiful young woman suddenly threw herself at Zhuo Yi, leaving her momentarily stunned.

Hearing the word “Master,” Zhuo Yi quickly pushed the woman away, protesting, “Don’t call me that! I don’t take disciples. Are you one of us too?”

Ruan Qingqing studied Zhuo Yi’s face intently, overwhelmed with emotion.

In her previous life, when her Master had come to her side, the woman’s temples were already streaked with gray. Yet here, in this era, her Master had somehow regained her youth.

The young Zhuo Yi still had a round head and a round face, unremarkable at first glance. But her bright, piercing eyes radiated a spirited energy that added a touch of heroism to her appearance.

“What’s with that look? I’m just a fortune-teller, not a prostitute,” Zhuo Yi said, adjusting her clothes, reapplying her fake mustache, and putting on her sunglasses before resuming her street stall.

Ruan Qingqing, however, squeezed in beside her and sat down uninvited.

Zhuo Yi: “?”

“Aren’t you being a bit too familiar, young lady?” Zhuo Yi accused. “If you want your fortune told, sit across from me and I’ll give you a proper reading. If not, scram and don’t waste my time.”

Ruan Qingqing crossed her arms and stubbornly declared, “I won’t!”

Zhuo Yi was about to say something when a Land Rover pulled up beside them. Several men piled out, their aggressive demeanor immediately overturning Zhuo Yi’s small fortune-telling stall.

Ruan Qingqing stood up and glared at the newcomers. “What do you want?” she demanded coldly.

The leader, a bald man with tattooed arms and a scar slashing across his face, radiated a menacing aura.

Though Zhuo Yi didn’t understand what was happening, she instinctively pulled Ruan Qingqing behind her, shielding her with her arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks. “If you have a problem, take it out on me!” she shouted at the men.

“That’s exactly why we’re here!”

The tattooed leader remained silent, but his underlings rushed forward, smashing Zhuo Yi’s “Divine Calculations” signboard to pieces. They stomped on the fragments and spat, “We finally found you! Back at the beginning of the year, you told my boss his fate lacked water this year, and if he didn’t fix it, disaster would strike, right? He actually believed your nonsense and leased a fishpond. Now look at him—he’s lost everything, wiped out completely!”

Ruan Qingqing discreetly pinched her hand behind her back, quickly calculating the man’s fortune.

This man’s fate isn’t lacking water at all. He’s clearly incompatible with it.

But how could her Master have made such a mistake?

Could it be that, like Jiang Li, I’m also… not very useful?

As Ruan Qingqing pondered this, the men resumed their angry accusations, calling Zhuo Yi a fraud who swindled people out of their money and demanding to take her to the police station to file a report.

Just as Zhuo Yi was at her wits’ end, Ruan Qingqing stepped forward. “Enough!” she declared.

Though Zhuo Yi’s abilities were questionable, she was still the Master who had raised Ruan Qingqing. She had to defend her.

Without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation, Ruan Qingqing fabricated a lie. “My Master was right all along. Your fate this year is lacking water. As for the fishpond venture failing, that has nothing to do with my Master’s prophecy. It’s because you have a treacherous person in your inner circle. Their actions altered your fate. Why blame my Master?”

A treacherous person in his inner circle?

This remark only angered the tattooed man’s subordinates further. One of them pointed a finger at Ruan Qingqing’s nose, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse. But Ruan Qingqing effortlessly seized his wrist, flung him aside, and strode directly toward the tattooed man.

“Mr. Wu,” Ruan Qingqing said, “you’re a man of loyalty and honor, which is admirable. But the people around you aren’t always trustworthy. Haven’t you noticed that the watch on your wrist has been replaced with a fake?”

The man, Mr. Wu, initially wore a disdainful expression. But as soon as he examined the watch closely, a crack appeared in his composure.

“What’s going on here?” he demanded, his voice deep and thunderous, yet tinged with disbelief.

Ruan Qingqing calculated with her fingers again before replying, “Two days ago, you attended a brother’s birthday banquet and drank too much. That’s when the switch occurred.”

The man cursed under his breath, his gaze instantly turning suspicious as he scrutinized his surrounding subordinates.

“Don’t bother looking; the person who swapped your watch isn’t here,” Ruan Qingqing said calmly. “He appears honest on the surface, but he’s been gambling heavily and losing a lot of money. He’s also taken out high-interest loans. To repay those debts, he stole your watch.”

Mr. Wu frowned, still skeptical. “Are you lying to me?”

Ruan Qingqing scoffed, “The deed is done. If you investigate thoroughly, you’ll uncover the truth. Besides, the losses at your fish farm are directly linked to him. How could you not sense anything amiss?”

The man remained deep in thought, but Ruan Qingqing’s tone grew impatient, tinged with arrogance. “For a master like my Master to deign to offer fortune-telling services is already beneath her dignity. To see her treated with such contempt by ignorant mortals is truly infuriating.”

After a moment’s contemplation, the tattooed man turned to Ruan Qingqing. “I’ll investigate immediately. If what you say is true, I’ll compensate your Master for her losses and offer a sincere apology.”

The group had arrived in a grand procession and departed in equally grand fashion. Zhuo Yi waited until the Land Rover had disappeared into the distance before tugging at Ruan Qingqing’s arm. “Run! We need to run!”

Ruan Qingqing pulled her arm free, looking at Zhuo Yi with amusement. “Why would we run?”

Zhuo Yi glanced at the departing car, then back at Ruan Qingqing, shaking her head vehemently. “Weren’t those words you spoke just now a lie? If they realize something’s wrong and come back, we’ll never escape!”

Ruan Qingqing’s smile bloomed like a flower. “Who told you I was lying?”

Zhuo Yi’s jaw dropped.

“Impossible!” she exclaimed, clutching her head. “Could you really be able to tell fortunes?”

It wasn’t Zhuo Yi’s fault for doubting.

Ruan Qingqing looked far too young. Standing there, she could easily be mistaken for a high school student. In Zhuo Yi’s mind, the industry’s true masters were all seasoned elders, not a young girl like her.

Ruan Qingqing picked up the fan from the ground, opened it with a flourish, and countered with a question instead of answering: “Of course I can tell fortunes. Can’t you?”

Zhuo Yi: “……”

Flushing crimson, Zhuo Yi stammered, “I-I’m not saying I can’t… it’s just that I haven’t studied long enough to fully grasp it. So sometimes it’s accurate, sometimes not, okay?”

Ruan Qingqing didn’t press further. She firmly pulled Zhuo Yi down to sit, her voice resolute: “Just wait. In less than an hour, those people will come back to apologize.”

Zhuo Yi remained skeptical.

But fifty minutes later, the group actually returned. The tattooed leader bowed repeatedly to Ruan Qingqing, explaining that thanks to her timely warning, they had recovered the watch before it was sold and caught the thief red-handed.

“Who would have thought? Brother Liu, who always seemed so upright, secretly gambled and even took out a high-interest loan…” A junior member muttered beside them.

Zhuo Yi stood there, dumbfounded.

The gang leader continued thanking Ruan Qingqing, but she pointed to Zhuo Yi beside her and said, “Don’t thank me. It’s all thanks to my Master’s excellent teaching.”

Zhuo Yi: “……”

Though this wasn’t entirely true, she quickly recovered and shamelessly adopted the air of a seasoned expert, accepting the apologies and compliments with practiced ease.

Ruan Qingqing couldn’t help but smile.

This is definitely my Master, she thought.

After everyone had left, Zhuo Yi split the money with Ruan Qingqing, then nudged her shoulder and asked, “Hey, tell me—how did you figure all that out? And why do you keep calling me ‘Master’?”

Ruan Qingqing smiled knowingly, studied her for a moment, and then asked, “You really don’t remember me?”

“I’ve never met you before,” Zhuo Yi shrugged. “A girl as beautiful and unique as you? If I’d met you, I’d definitely remember. But I don’t, so we haven’t.”

Ruan Qingqing tucked away the labor fee Zhuo Yi had given her, cupping her cheeks with both hands. “Alright, I’ll tell you. First question: How did I figure it out? It was effortless! Such a simple matter—I could grasp it instantly just by counting on my fingers. Second question: Why do I call you ‘Master’? Because in our past life, we were master and disciple.”

Zhuo Yi burst into laughter, initially trying to restrain herself, but soon she was slapping her thigh, completely beside herself with mirth.

Ruan Qingqing didn’t mind her manic behavior; after all, she used to be just like that herself. Once Zhuo Yi had laughed her fill, Ruan Qingqing lazily asked, “What? Don’t believe me?”

“I just realized something,” Zhuo Yi grinned at her. “If you’re really this amazing, then having an extra disciple wouldn’t be a loss for me. Forget about past lives or whatever karmic connections—from now on, we can divide the work and share the profits!”

Ruan Qingqing took two steps back and shook her head.

Lately, she had been constantly teased by Ye Shiyu, and the urge to tease others had begun to stir within her.

She winked her beautiful almond-shaped eyes at Zhuo Yi and countered, “I am indeed exceptionally capable. But with such remarkable abilities, I can easily earn my own money. Why would I need to collaborate with you?”

Zhuo Yi jumped up, hands on her hips, and accused, “Just now you said I was your Master from a past life!”

Ruan Qingqing crossed her arms, lifted her delicate chin, and declared with righteous indignation, “But you weren’t a very good Master in that past life, were you?”

Zhuo Yi fell silent.

Ruan Qingqing smiled again, her eyes crinkling. “I’m open to collaboration, but you need to demonstrate your abilities first. Otherwise, why would I partner with you? To drag around dead weight?”

“You… you… you…” Zhuo Yi sputtered, grinding her teeth in frustration. “I can tell fortunes too! It’s just that sometimes I’m accurate, and sometimes I’m not. Come here, I’ll read your fortune right now!”

Intrigued, Ruan Qingqing sat down opposite her.

Zhuo Yi asked her to extend her hand to examine her palm. Ruan Qingqing complied.

As Zhuo Yi studied her palm, her expression grew serious.

Ruan Qingqing smiled. “See anything interesting?”

Zhuo Yi murmured, “I’ve never felt such a strong sensation when reading fortunes for others…”

Ruan Qingqing raised an eyebrow. “What kind of feeling?”

“A very clear and certain feeling,” Zhuo Yi replied, closing her eyes and opening them again. She took Ruan Qingqing’s hand, examining it closely before tossing a handful of copper coins.

“I see it now,” Zhuo Yi said. “You will die in the winter of the Gengzi Year, at the age of… 29.”

Ruan Qingqing had only suspected it before, but now she was certain: her master was a complete charlatan.

She told Zhuo Yi, “Master, if you can’t tell fortunes, you shouldn’t try. I’m 19 this year, and the next Gengzi Year is 2080. Even if I were to die in the Gengzi Year, I’d be 78, not 29.”

Zhuo Yi tapped her head and shook it vigorously. “That’s not right! I clearly divined that you’ll die in the winter of the Gengzi Year, amidst a heavy snowfall, with snowflakes swirling everywhere…”

Ruan Qingqing was about to retort when a realization struck her, and her expression gradually froze.

She had been calculating based on the current timeline.

But if they were still in the Qian Dynasty, her death in the Gengzi Year would indeed mean she died at 29.