Chapter 324 – Learning Divination (1)
Ye Zhen found a day she didn’t have to go to school. After informing her family, she went to s.h.i.+liwu to find Huangfu Chen.
There was a bamboo forest in s.h.i.+liwu. In it, there was a path that led deep into the forest. The wind blew past, and the forest lightly swayed, dancing in a beautiful melody.
Deep in the forest was a house. Around it was a fence with a crawling patch of purple flowering ivy. There were also begonia trees in the yard, with a garden for vegetables on the other sides. Two roosters trotted about the area.
Ye Zhen was taken aback by this place, which was suffused with the humble feeling of mankind.
“Your Highness, you’re here. Please come in.” Huangfu Chen walked out to greet her. Seeing Ye Zhen stand dazedly outside, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Mister Chen, it’s really… surprising here,” Ye Zhen said as she smiled. Previously, she had imagined Huangfu Chen’s residence to be something like a fairyland. How else would it pair with his graceful air? But it seemed that she was wrong.
Huangfu Chen smiled and asked, “Why are you surprised?”
“You appear like you do not inject the essences of the human realm. It doesn’t… look like that here.” Ye Zhen walked in. To her, this place exuded a sense of great comfort enveloped in warmth and gentleness from all around.
“So do I not need to eat?” Huangfu Chen smiled and placed the feed on the ground. The two roosters immediately rushed up to eat.
Ye Zhen suddenly felt that Huangfu Chen had become human (and no longer a fallen deity), increasing the feeling of “real”.
“Perhaps you really gave people the impression that you could live without eating,” Ye Zhen smiled and said.
Huangfu Chen was at first taken aback, then broke out in laughter. “Then I wouldn’t be a human anymore.”
Wasn’t that so? She had thought that he was almost not a human.
“Princess, please come in,” Huangfu Chen said with a smile, turning to lead her into the bamboo house.
“Mister Chen, don’t call me Princess. You make me embarra.s.sed. Call me Yaoyao,” Ye Zhen said.
Huangfu Chen lightly nodded. “All right.”
They walked to the back of the bamboo house. It was slightly different from the front, with many planted medicinal herbs, and a bamboo pavilion to the side. Within it, there were two seats. They sat cross-legged on them. Huangfu Chen brought out a tortoisesh.e.l.l and some yarrow.
“Though I don’t know why you want to learn divination, you have talent. I have never taught anyone else, and don’t know how to teach. I can only teach you the theory and techniques. As for whether or not you can learn, it will still be up to you.”
“Yes, Mister Chen.” Ye Zhen nodded. She naturally knew that her success would be up to herself. The fact that Huangfu Chen was willing to help was enough for her to be grateful for.
Huangfu Chen handed her the tortoisesh.e.l.l and yarrow. “They are for you. There are two forms of divination. One uses tortoise sh.e.l.ls and the other yarrow. Use the yarrow then the sh.e.l.l, only then can you arrive at a true conclusion.”
Ye Zhen looked at the tortoisesh.e.l.l that was about the size of her palm and then at the yarrow. Her eyes grew bright as she attentively listened to Huangfu Chen’s explanation.
“The results of divination are called hexagrams. Before, when the ancient people divinated, every time they reached a certain point, they would mark it on their pupils. These would be the records of their divination. Every divination would include hexagram images, hexagram paintings, hexagram remarks, line remarks, and hexagram names. I will explain to you the differences…”
Ye Zhen knew that divination wasn’t a simple thing. Hearing Huangfu Chen’s lesson today, even though she had a memory far superior to the average person, she still felt that it was hard to understand, and something she would have to ruminate over and over. However, she thought it was interesting and wasn’t bored in the slightest.
“… that will be everything for today.” Huangfu Chen had spoken for about two hours, and stopped, “Divination is not something that can be learned in a couple of days.”
Ye Zhen nodded. “All right, what you have taught me just now is enough for me to think over for a couple of days.”
Huangfu Chen smiled. “If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask me.”
“Teacher, can I calculate my own horoscope?” Ye Zhen raised her head and asked. She really wanted to know how her fate had changed after she had been reborn.
“Why do you want to calculate your own horoscope?” Huangfu Chen asked in return.
Ye Zhen smiled. “I’m curious. People are always interested in what their futures might bring.”
“Divinating for yourself can commonly shorten your own lifespan. And you might not be able to arrive at a conclusion. So, it’s best not to do it.” Huangfu Chen said quietly, “Just like the saying that a medical pract.i.tioner cannot heal themselves, divinators cannot divinate for themselves.”
“Oh, then I won’t divinate for myself,” Ye Zhen said without a thought.
Only
“I’ll divinate for you.” Huangfu Chen took Ye Zhen’s tortoisesh.e.l.l. “You cannot believe everything about divination. You can choose what to believe. Things concerning fate are not completely set in stone.”
She nodded and wrote out a few things. She wrote Ye Zhen’s horoscope.
Huangfu Chen held the yarrow and looked at her horoscope. He was silently taken aback.
This horoscope… isn’t Lu Yaoyao’s.
It’s Ye Zhen’s!