Master Fortune Teller Sun Badaw – Chapter 1

“Foolish one, aren’t you afraid of ending up like that?”
“Today you have encountered me because the kind god Sulemay has chosen to redeem your miserable life—yet you fail to cherish this chance?”

Wen Jiu deliberately slowed her pace, wanting to see if the woman trying to scam money from her would dare to follow.

As she expected, the other woman stepped out from her stall and shouted a barrage of words in Wen Jiu’s direction.

Wen Jiu’s patience had reached its limit. She turned around and approached Zhuang Rudie, looking down on her from above.

“What… what do you want?” Zhuang Rudie immediately assumed a defensive stance, ready to retaliate and call security if Wen Jiu dared to make a move.

To her surprise, Wen Jiu only leaned close to her ear and whispered softly, “Miss, I see your brow is sunken and narrow with a faint dark aura—danger looms. The scab on your chin must be a recent injury; be wary of financial loss.”

With those words, Wen Jiu ignored Zhuang Rudie’s sullen expression and quickly walked away.

It seemed the Starlight Night Market truly offered a vast array of things—even fortune-telling booths were present.

In that case, perhaps she could set up a fortune-telling stall herself.

After returning to her rented stall area, Wen Jiu decisively began researching regulations for vending stalls.

She had originally planned to open a small food stall, but the StarNet World required health and food safety permits for any food sales, whether stall or shop.

This process was quite troublesome.

Fortunately, other types of stalls had fewer complex requirements, especially fortune-telling and divination. These only required submitting one’s StarNet account information to apply for permits.

Wen Jiu quickly obtained her stall license and then searched the Gold Rush store for the various items she would need.

Though she had earned 6,000 Star Coins from Shi Gang, after subtracting previous expenses for ingredients and stall fees, only about 2,000 remained.

Poverty kept Wen Jiu grounded.

She patiently searched for and purchased the cheapest tables and chairs, the most affordable copper coins, discounted bundles of yellow paper, and buy-one-get-one red cinnabar by weight.

Since this was the StarNet World, these items appeared instantly in her personal inventory after ordering. She only needed to drag them out from the holographic interface.

After neatly arranging the tables and chairs she bought, Wen Jiu took out a discounted set of traditional Chinese brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

There was no other way. In this interstellar era, few still wrote with brush and paper, let alone in calligraphy.

These brush-and-ink sets were merely replicas of ancient Chinese artifacts with no collectible value, so they were only sold as decorations, often at discounted prices to move a few sets.

Wen Jiu sighed inwardly. She hadn’t expected so much of ancient Chinese culture to be lost in this era.

She spread the rice paper flat on the table and patiently ground the ink on the inkstone, holding the ink stick upright and gently swirling it.

Then, she put down the ink stick, dipped her brush into the thick ink, and wrote seven characters with sweeping strokes:

“Fortune Teller Sun Badao”

Once the ink dried, she hung the calligraphy in front of her wooden table.

The characters were clear, elegant, and carried a proud, unyielding spirit.

Passersby frequently glanced her way, though no one dared approach and ask.

This was mainly due to Wen Jiu’s imposing demeanor and eyes like copper bells—curious onlookers were intimidated by her appearance.

Bored, Wen Jiu sat behind the wooden table and took out yellow paper to start drawing talismans.

Her spiritual root had transformed into a supernatural ability. Although she hadn’t yet mastered the use of fire and wood elemental powers, she could still summon some spiritual energy to create talismans.

With a broad stroke, Wen Jiu first drew a protective talisman to ward off evil. She was quite pleased with the faint spiritual energy glowing within the red seal on the yellow paper.

She truly was a prodigy!

No obstacle could stop a prodigy from making money!

Folding the protective talisman neatly, she prepared to draw another when a commotion arose nearby.

The street where her stall was located wasn’t very crowded—rent prices dictated the location quality.

Curious, Wen Jiu peeked toward the disturbance and saw dense crowds and loud noise to her left front.

“Clear the way, don’t block the path!”

A group of people in white military uniforms marched with solemn authority, parting the crowd in unison.

They wore sidearms and swept their sharp gazes over the onlookers, who were both eager to watch and afraid to get too close.

Though the StarNet World was virtual and avatars were customizable, only real military personnel could wear official uniforms with shoulder insignias and medals.

Ordinary Federation citizens had no option to set such appearances, no matter how much they paid.

Thus, even those curious dared not approach too closely.

“Tch, pests from the First Military District.”

Wen Jiu heard the voice and looked to her left, where a middle-aged man ran a nearby stall.

He lounged lazily in his chair, smacking his lips as he yawned.

Noticing Wen Jiu’s gaze, he grunted and stood up, tidying the bottles and jars on his stall.

“New here?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Wen Jiu replied, turning away and continuing to fold her talismans.

He showed no interest in further conversation, so Wen Jiu didn’t bother to chat.

As the white-uniformed group marched onward, more people gathered to watch, though all kept their distance.

“Yian, how much longer until we find the person? I feel like we’re monkeys being gawked at by these people.”

Ming Yu toyed with a copper coin in his hand, his peach blossom eyes lazily scanning the crowd.

The person Ming Yu called Yian did not respond, walking with a detached expression and cold eyes sweeping over the audience, inspiring silent awe.

His thick black hair was loosely tied, with a few strands framing his sharp jawline, contrasting with his pale, jade-like complexion.

His plain white military uniform fit perfectly, broad shoulders and slim waist. The dark gold buttons were fastened to the top, giving a restrained, chilly aura.

Bold young women flirted openly, but he remained unmoved.

“I just don’t get it—why does the academy send us on missions like this?” Ming Yu’s fingers flicked the coin, spinning it on his fingertip. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have taken it. Waste of time, and the reward’s pathetic.”

Lu Yan shot him a cold glance. “What’s the point in complaining now?”

Sensing trouble, Ming Yu smiled slyly and changed the subject. “Yian, I recently got an ancient book that claims you can tell fortunes with these little copper coins. Want me to read your fortune?”

“No.” Lu Yan withdrew his gaze, voice indifferent.

Seeing the refusal, Ming Yu fell silent and tossed the coin high into the air, preparing to catch it.

Unbeknownst to him, a sudden breeze blew the coin sideways, and it landed steadily on a small stall’s wooden table.