He received a wage of one thousand wen, improved his meal, bought a few doses of medicine, and still had exactly eight hundred wen left.

After picking up the medicine, he left the medical hall, planning to buy some grain and vegetables. As he passed a secluded street corner, his steps involuntarily stopped.

He saw that a white cloth was spread on the ground at a certain spot on the street corner, with a bagua diagram drawn on it. In the corner of the wall stood a banner inscribed with the four large characters “Divine Mechanism and Marvelous Calculation.”

James Thompson slowed his steps, watching the scene with great interest.

Behind the white cloth, an old Daoist in tattered robes with grizzled beard was roasting a sheet of white paper over a fire. As the paper slowly moved, words gradually appeared on its surface.

“A miracle, a miracle!” a man in front of him couldn’t help but exclaim.

Then he knelt down, placed a silver ingot on the white cloth, and said loudly, “I have been married for ten years and still have no children. Please, Immortal, help me have a son…”

The old Daoist took a yellow talisman from his robe and handed it to him, saying, “When you get home, burn this talisman, dissolve it in a bowl of clear water, and drink the talisman water. I guarantee you’ll be holding a son by next year…”

The middle-aged man kowtowed again, took the yellow talisman, and left in high spirits.

This scene left James Thompson full of emotion. That silver ingot was at least ten taels—these days, there really is no shortage of gullible fools with too much money.

If he ever couldn’t make a living, he could set up a stall like this on the street, casually perform some “characters appearing on blank paper” or “bare-handedly reaching into boiling oil” tricks. It would be much more lucrative than being a constable.

Everyone has their own path. James Thompson had no intention of exposing him. Just as he was about to leave, the old Daoist looked up at him and suddenly spoke: “Young man, please wait.”

James Thompson stopped and asked, “Daoist, do you need something?”

The old Daoist stroked his grizzled beard and said, “It’s not that I need something, but that you do.”

This was a common trick among street swindlers. Clearly, this old Daoist had set his sights on him.

James Thompson looked at him meaningfully and asked, “Are you going to tell me that my brow is dark and I’ll soon suffer a bloody disaster?”

“You think I’m one of those street swindlers?” The old Daoist curled his lip disdainfully and said, “I may not be able to tell if you’ll have a bloody disaster soon, but I can see that your seven souls are completely gone. If nothing changes, you won’t live past half a year…”

“Pah!”

James Thompson couldn’t help but spit at him. He was even more hateful than those street swindlers—at least they only cursed people with misfortune, but this old guy was cursing him to die…

The old Daoist glanced at him. “You don’t believe me?”

“Believe you? As if!”

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you!”

The old Daoist shook his head, folded up the white cloth on the ground, tucked it into his robe, and picked up the banner with “Divine Mechanism and Marvelous Calculation” written on it. Clearly, he was about to leave.

He walked past James Thompson, took a few steps, then paused, turned back, and said calmly, “Forget it, forget it. I’ll remind you one more time: though your three souls remain, your seven souls are gone. Without a stroke of fate, you’ll surely die within half a year…”

“I never take advantage of others, but I never let myself suffer either. Today I’ve given you a hint and brought you a sliver of hope. Charging you eight hundred wen isn’t too much, is it?”

James Thompson instinctively reached for his money pouch at his waist, but found it empty. He looked up and saw his money pouch in the old Daoist’s hand.

Not only did he curse him to die, he also tried to make off with all his money. James Thompson shouted angrily, “Old man, give—”

Before he could finish, he abruptly stopped.

Bang…

The old Daoist’s figure, right before his eyes, turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished.

Chapter 004: Life in Peril

The old Daoist had performed a great vanishing act right in front of James Thompson. James Thompson stood there dumbfounded. At this street corner, aside from him, there was no one left.

He broke out in a cold sweat. After coming to his senses, he immediately shouted loudly.

“Daoist?”

“Master?”

“Immortal?”

“Come back!”

“I believe you, I really do!”

“Say what you need to say before you go!”

……

James Thompson called out a few times, but no one answered. He stood there waiting for a long time, until his legs began to go numb, and only then did James Thompson realize that the old Daoist had truly left.

Before leaving, he had even taken James Thompson’s money pouch. That was two months’ salary—his entire fortune.

Now he was penniless again.

The old Daoist was gone, his monthly salary was gone, and he was left with nothing. James Thompson wished he could slap himself.

With not a single coin on him, how was he supposed to get through this month?

But that wasn’t even the most important thing.

The important thing was that the old Daoist’s image in James Thompson’s mind had changed from a street swindler to a true master.

He said that though his three souls remained, his seven souls were gone, and that he wouldn’t live more than half a year…

James Thompson really started to panic…

“What are you doing here?”

Just as he was panicking, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.

He turned around and saw a figure in blue.

“I—I just came out to buy something.” Having run into the patrolling Emily Thompson, James Thompson walked back with her and suddenly asked, “Chief, do people really have three souls and seven spirits?”