When he said this, Shawn Lawrence wore a completely serious expression, and he had no interest in making friends with people from the jianghu. He was just passing by, playing the part of a bystander, watching for fun. He was about to lift his foot and leave, but unexpectedly, the old man blocked his way. Reaching out his hand, he put on a kindly, amiable face and tried to persuade him: “Wait a moment, young man… You misunderstand. It’s rare for us to meet by chance—why not sit for a while and have a little chat?”

“Sir, you can try your fortune-telling, but honestly, I only have thirty yuan on me. There’s nothing to gain here…”

Shawn Lawrence laughed, spreading his hands and revealing his financial state, trying to shut the old man up. Unexpectedly, the old man didn’t mind at all. Smiling, he gestured for him to sit, then took a seat on the bench himself, grinning slyly. This time, he dropped the flowery language and, seeing Shawn Lawrence’s slightly suspicious look, got straight to the point: “Don’t be nervous, kid. You’re this poor, I’m this old—seems like neither of us is a threat, right?”

That was true. Shawn Lawrence took a closer look at the old man in front of him. From afar, he’d seemed like an immortal sage, but up close, he was rather gaunt, his silk clothes hanging loosely as if draped over a rack. Fortunately, his expression was harmless enough. Shawn Lawrence figured he could handle an old, frail man like this if it came to it. Glancing around and seeing no ambush, he sat at one end of the bench and, with a teasing tone, asked, “Master, I’m just an ordinary guy with a thick skull—good or bad, I probably won’t understand a word you say. Seems like we don’t have much in common, do we?”

“Oh, but we do! Who says we don’t?” the old man replied.

“Really?” Shawn Lawrence was taken aback, asking in surprise.

“Of course we do. For example… maybe we’re both atheists…” The old man grinned slyly, and Shawn Lawrence couldn’t help but laugh. That was basically admitting he was a fraud. As he laughed, the old man asked mischievously, “Kid, I saw you snickering a few times just now. What’s up? Did you figure something out?”

“No, no… You’re even more impressive than Duke Zhou receiving guests, better than the legendary fortune-tellers… haha…” Shawn Lawrence shook his head, denying it, then chuckled again. But he didn’t expose the trick—calling out a con is like slapping someone in the face and taking away their livelihood, and he wasn’t about to do that.

“So do you know how I deduced it?” The old man pressed his thumb to his chin, leaning sideways, and asked Shawn Lawrence as if seeking advice. The immortal aura was gone, replaced by a childlike playfulness.

Faced with this question, Shawn Lawrence either didn’t want to answer or simply didn’t know the trick. He just smiled, tilted his head, and stayed silent, his expression intriguing.

The old man, seeing no response, quickly came up with another idea. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few bills, and waved them: “Kid, everyone knows fortune-telling is fake, but if you can tell me how I got it right, today’s fee is yours. How about it? Think you can take it?”

“Are you serious?” Shawn Lawrence perked up, leaning in to ask.

“Of course I’m serious. Here, take it first…” The old man smiled, pushing the money forward—six bills, six hundred yuan. Those three chubby guys had been generous. Shawn Lawrence eyed the money with obvious interest, clearly lacking the detachment of a true sage. Not only that, but he was actually short on cash. Sniffing, he quickly snatched the money from the old man’s hand, stuffed it in his pocket, patted it, and warned, “No take-backs, okay? Now that the money’s in my hand, don’t even think about getting it back.”

“All right, all right, even if you’re wrong, it’s still yours… Go ahead, tell me. My Travis Sullivan is fairly well-known in this part of Jinhe District, and I rarely make mistakes. Looks like you’ve spotted something off.” The old man put on a sincere look, genuinely seeking advice. Just now, when this kid was having his fortune told, he’d been snickering, and after it was over, he’d laughed to himself by the lakeside willow. That laughter made Travis Sullivan a bit uneasy, unsure if he’d made a big mistake somewhere.

“Mistake?” Shawn Lawrence objected, patting the pocket with the money and rolling his eyes as he pointed out, “You call that a mistake? You were just scamming those three chubby guys—none of your predictions were accurate.”

“Really? I was scamming them? They all believed me, but you have a problem with it?” The old man put on a look of surprise and innocence, as if defending his reputation as a half-immortal and master fortune-teller.

“Heh… Come on, drop the act. Let’s talk about the first point—your line, ‘the father is present, the mother passed away first.’”

“What about it? Is there a problem?”

“At first, I was startled—I thought you were spot on. But then I realized, that’s just a trick.”

“How so?”

“Look, ‘the father is present, the mother passed away first’—literally, it means the father is still alive, and the mother has already died, right? But if you flip it, it could mean the father died before the mother, right? No matter who dies first or last, it fits, doesn’t it?”

As Shawn Lawrence spoke, breaking down the sentence and emphasizing each part, it instantly became two different meanings. The old man’s smiling face stiffened for a moment—very few people caught this loophole, and for this young kid to spot it was truly surprising. He couldn’t help but give Shawn Lawrence another look, and was startled by what he saw. Shawn Lawrence knew he was right, so he smiled and said, “And when I thought about it more, it’s not just that. If both parents are gone, no matter who died first, you’re still right; if only one parent has passed, no matter which one, you’re still right; and even if both are still alive, it still works—after all, in the future, one will die before the other, and your line will always apply… You never actually figured out that Fatty Xu’s mom was gone. As long as you say this line, you’ll always be right, won’t you?”