104: Chapter 104 A Few Pages of Fragmented Books 104: Chapter 104 A Few Pages of Fragmented Books “Hai, come on, have a smoke!”

Brother Qiang was very polite, his face splitting into a grin as he fished out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Chen Hai.

After all, you can’t rebuff someone with a smile on their face.

Even though Chen Hai was somewhat annoyed about his cousin introducing people to him at random,

when the person was already standing before him, he couldn’t just grimace and make faces at them, right?

“Brother Qiang, are you looking for me?

Is there something you need my help with?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Hai took the cigarette from Brother Qiang, lit it for himself, and casually asked.

“What Brother Qiang?

Your cousin is just teasing me!”

“If we’re talking about age, I’m only two years older than him.

He calls me Brother Qiang, I call him Brother Zhong; we’re both just kidding around!”

“If you’re going to address me, just call me Qiang!”

With a chuckle, Brother Qiang tentatively asked, “Your cousin tells me you’ve been cultivating the Taoist Skill, and it seems like you’ve developed some real talent?”

“Don’t listen to my cousin’s nonsense; that guy, everything about him is fine except he loves to boast!”

Chen Hai replied with a light smile and added, “I got a Taoist Book from someone else and practiced blindly by myself; what kind of achievement could I possibly have?”

“As for any real skill, I only have a little insight into Geomancy and Divination, and that’s about it!”

Hearing Chen Hai say this, a few flashes of clear disappointment crossed Brother Qiang’s face.

He sighed and said, “Brother Zhong really does like to spout nonsense.”

“I was saying, just practicing with a Taoist Book on your own, without following a master or someone to lead you into the door, how could you possibly develop any real skill!”

“To be honest, my family also has a Taoist Book full of ghost talismans; my old man got it from who knows where when he was collecting scraps.”

“A few years back, I took that thing and practiced wildly myself!”

“In the end, I didn’t develop anything, but I spent a lot of money; sunk my tuition into it and ended up dropping out of school, only to get a severe beating from my dad and mom!”

“That Taoist Book, my dad was ready to burn it with fire, and I only managed to save a few pages from the flames!”

“Originally?

After hearing your cousin say you had real talent, I wanted to come to you for advice on cultivation experiences, but now it seems there’s no need for that at all!”

With a begrudging expression, Brother Qiang took a few fierce drags from the cigarette in his hand.

Back then, he was only sixteen or seventeen, at the age most susceptible to adolescent fantasies.

Watching VHS tapes in the video parlor, seeing the Taoists looking so capable, he considered the Taoist Book he found at home a treasure trove.

He skipped school to spend his tuition fees on yellow paper and cinnabar and other stuff, running daily to the riverside to scrawl the ghost talismans from the book, and it must be said that at the time, Brother Qiang was truly a bit too obsessed.

“Brother Qiang, with something like a Taoist Book, without a master to lead you in, it’s best not to blindly practice!”

“Some of the stuff in those Taoist Books is pretty sinister; without a master leading the way, if you try to figure it out by yourself, it could cost someone their life!”

Chen Hai looked at Brother Qiang with a strange expression, sizing him up before comforting him with kind words.

Brother Qiang now seemed to still be preoccupied with and brooding over the Taoist Book.

Chen Hai could actually understand his notion.

After all, when he first borrowed that ancient book from Limp Zhang, he was as crazed as Brother Qiang, hardly any better.

His achievements today came down to one thing: he had been lucky.

But his experiences were not replicable; he also couldn’t teach them to others.

After all, even now, he still didn’t fully understand what the terrifying creature he glimpsed that day truly was!

“Hai, you might not mention it, but I already know that without a master’s guidance, one certainly shouldn’t practice from a Taoist Book haphazardly!”

“But I just can’t help feeling resentful when I think about how I gave up studying for this stuff and still haven’t cultivated anything,” he said, his face bitter as Brother Qiang forced a smile.

After a moment of silence, he clenched his teeth, seemingly resolute.

“I’m going to burn those few pages of fragmented books that I’ve been hiding!”

Hearing this, Chen Hai’s mind started to churn.

He tentatively spoke up, “The things left behind by our ancestors, whether they’re real or not,”

“It really would be a pity to just burn them like that!”

“I’ve always been very interested in that sort of thing, and if you really want to burn those pages, you might as well sell them to me…”

He and Brother Qiang had only just met, and he couldn’t bring himself to ask the man to simply give the pages away for free.

Although Chen Hai hadn’t yet seen the actual pages, as long as he could confirm they were indeed ancient manuscripts, he’d be more than happy to spend some money to buy them from Brother Qiang.

“Hai, you’re being too polite,”

“I grew up with your cousin Brother Zhong, baring our asses together, so what’s my relationship with him?”

“I’ve been thinking of burning those pages, but if you’re really interested, I’ll just give them to you.”

“To speak of selling them?

That would hurt our relationship.

If Brother Zhong heard about this, he’d definitely get on my case, and if word got out, I’d lose face…”

After muttering his discontent, Brother Qiang cocked his head, as if a new thought had struck him.

He paused, then continued, “Didn’t you just say that you have a bit of understanding of divination?”

“If you feel bad accepting the gift from me, fine, you help me cast a divination, and we’ll be even.”

Brother Qiang didn’t seem to know about Chen Hai’s divination for Boss Li, for which he charged five thousand.

Sun Jinzhong was the type to brag in front of his friends but he knew bounds.

He hadn’t gone into detail, just spewed half-truths and boasts.

There was no ulterior motive behind Brother Qiang’s words; he just wanted to give Chen Hai an out.

“Divination?

No problem!”

“Brother Qiang, what would you like to divine?”

Chen Hai blinked, then nodded and asked with a smile.

“Let’s divine the future.

Hai, help me see what life will be like for me in twenty years,” Brother Qiang replied casually.

From his manner, it was clear he was just messing around and not taking it seriously.

“Alright, just wait a moment!”

Chen Hai reached into his pocket, and the three copper coins he carried appeared in his hand.

He skipped all the rituals like washing hands and facing south.

He hadn’t planned on putting his full effort into this divination anyway.

He wanted to test whether a casual divination could reveal anything at all and, more importantly, whether it could prevent his own body from becoming weakened.

In this state, Chen Hai’s divination was incredibly fast.

A magpie seeks shelter in the forest at dusk, not knowing an eagle was already there.

Though they share the space with unease, if the divination is met, the conflicts are minor.

The six castings combined to reveal the Gua known as Shandi Bo, also called Bo Gua.

“How strange, Shandi Bo is an average, if not below average Gua,”

“Looking at the Gua, Brother Qiang’s life in twenty years should not be all that great, yet why do I have this vague sensing that at that time, he will be clad in a Yellow Robe?”

Frowning, Chen Hai’s eyebrows knitted together, and he muttered to himself.