Clang!
Liu Yan's fortune-telling stall was suddenly thrown into the air.
"You scoundrel! What kind of tomfoolery about peach blossom luck? I stayed at the corner of East Street for ten hours, and didn't even see a shadow! Now give me back my hundred yuan!"
A woman who stood less than one meter six tall but weighed over a hundred and sixty kilograms pointed at Liu Yan viciously.
Just yesterday, she had approached Liu Yan for a fortune teller.
She asked about her "peach blossom luck," a Chinese metaphor for romance.
Liu Yan told her that her romantic luck has arrived and she would definitely meet her true love if she hurried to a place called the corner of East Street.
Well, fortune-telling could be a bit of gibberish sometimes, as long as you stay positive, it's fine.
So, Liu Yan was just bluffing all along.
What he did not anticipate was that the fat woman would actually run to East Street and find a place called the corner. She waited there for ten torturous hours, but nothing happened.
And now, the second day, she had come to make a fuss.
"I am telling you, if you do not refund my money, I will call the city management, and then none of you will be able to set up a stall. Hmph!"
The fat woman threatened Liu Yan with a fierce expression.
Liu Yan was also helpless.
The hundred yuan, he had already spent it yesterday, buying medicine for his sister.
Although he had over a hundred dollars on him at the moment, it was just recently earned. If he gave it to this fat woman, his sister wouldn't have her medicine for today.
"Hehe, miss, look at him, so young, what fortunes he could possibly tell? I warned you yesterday that this kind is unreliable, yet you didn't believe me. Well, how about now?"
Not far away, a middle-aged man who also practiced fortune-telling, laughed with schadenfreude.
He had been sitting here since the morning, and did not have a single customer. That made him very annoyed. On the contrary, Liu Yan, who was just blabbering, had already made over a hundred.
That was the case yesterday as well.
This was a good opportunity to take down Liu Yan.
"Young man, you should return the money right away, do not drag everybody down," another middle-aged fortune-telling woman also started advising.
"Exactly, young man, you should pack up and go home early."
"Hey, bro, hurry up and give the money back. You cannot predict things accurately, you shouldn't have taken her money in the first place."
"Indeed, indeed…"
Several colleagues started advising.
They did not want the city management to come, otherwise, they would have to move their stalls.
Liu Yan felt helpless.
Whatever!
In order not to affect everyone's livelihood, let's pretend I worked for nothing this morning.
I can always earn it back in the afternoon.
The chubby woman only left after receiving the hundred yuan that Liu Yan returned to her.
Not long after, the chubby woman came over with a group of city management officers, looking quite aggressive.
"Over there."
The chubby woman pointed at Liu Yan and the others.
Immediately, the city management officers came over with serious faces, pointing at Liu Yan and the others, and sternly yelled, "What are you doing here? No vending is allowed!"
"Damn, here come the city management, everyone run!"
"Damn, that fat hag!"
"Crap! That wicked witch!"
All the street vendors and fortune-tellers started cursing and running away.
Liu Yan didn't have time to think about anything else, he quickly packed up his stall and ran.
Besides, while packing up his stall, he felt something scratch his finger. It hurt, and even bled.
But for now, running should be the priority, and he couldn't care about anything else.
"Ding! Congratulations, master, you have successfully bound the Universe Divine Calculation System."
"Ding! You have a new fortune-telling order!"
Liu Yan was stunned.
Could this be the order he received from the fortune-telling app he downloaded from the Internet yesterday? The one that he had successfully linked his account to?
But...
Why did it feel like the voice was echoing in his brain?
Well, never mind that. First, he had to accept the order.
"Accept order!"
As Liu Yan was sprinting, he excitedly yelled out his acceptance while also reaching into his pocket. But before he could even pull out his cheap phone, the sound rang out again.
"Ding! Order accepted! Go straight for 180 metres, turn left, and enter the deserted alley."
What did that mean?
Liu Yan was taken aback. Was someone trying to pull a prank on him?
Providing navigation too?
Whatever, he'd better run to a safe place first. Otherwise, if he got caught, he'd have to pay a fine.
180 metres, right?
I'm off to the races!
Swinging his legs, Liu Yan quickly covered a distance of 180 meters. Taking a left turn, he found an empty alley just as the app had shown.
Seriously? Does this app come with turn-by-turn GPS navigation?
But...
Where's the person?
Wasn't there an order placed?
"Master, please continue to run. You will enter the Temporal Depth Corridor and head to the location of the order's originator."
"Holy shit! What kind of black tech is this?"
Liu Yan looked around in shock.
But there is no one!
Is it the voice coming from the phone?
Could his cheap, crummy phone have such good sound quality, even with stereo surround and echo in his mind?
Who are you kidding?
"Hey, stop right there! Don’t run!"
The authoritative voice of the urban management officer echoed from behind.
A smirk appeared at the corner of Liu Yan’s mouth.
Pah! You think if you yell loud enough, I would stop running?
Childish!
Not running? Only a fool wouldn't!
Time to bolt!
With his adrenaline pumping, Liu Yan grabs his belongings, leaving behind his previous shock, sprinting towards the alley, ready to jump over the wall to escape.
Suddenly, he sees what seems like a black hole appearing before him. His whole being is consumed, his vision blurs for a moment before becoming clear again.
"Holy crap! Where am I?"
Liu Yan is stunned, his eyes wide as saucers.
He's in an old, dilapidated alley. The walls are covered in colorful posters and massive calligraphy characters. The people outside the alley are either clad in shabby padded jackets or traditional Chinese attire like gowns and cheongsams.
The wooden tables and chairs on the streets are equally old. Some even being transported by rickshaws.
What the hell is this place?
Did I just stumble into a movie set?
"Ding!"
"Don't worry, master. I am your Omniscient System of All Realms. Currently, you are in Shanghai city in the year 191. The customer who created the fortune-telling order goes by the name of Huo Yuanjia."
Liu Yan is once again taken aback and somewhat bewildered.
"Master?
Shanghai in the year 191?
Orders?
Huo Yuanjia?
'Master, did you forget previously when your finger was cut, and your blood stained an old tag?'"
Liu Yan quickly lifted his hand to look.
Indeed, his finger was indeed cut and that most unique old tag had disappeared.
Speaking of that old tag, actually, it was something Liu Yan had picked up unintentionally.
Could it be, it was a system?
Then doesn't it mean he was about to strike it rich?
And it's going to be massive wealth!
Hahaha...
This is great!
Heaven has really looked kindly upon him.
"Right, All-Realm Divine Calculation System, how do I complete the fortune-telling orders here in this place?" Liu Yan hastily asked after his jubilation.
"Ding! Please master, head to Jin Wu Men!"
