Chapter 264 - 263: Man Proposes, God Disposes
Can stepping on the Seven Stars once make you wealthy?
Can it really guarantee a lifetime of prosperity and abundance?
So I can step on the Seven Stars and just sleep in bed all day and be rolling in riches?
Obviously, that’s impossible and unrealistic!
"Light the incense!" the middle-aged Daoist pointed at an incense burner filled with ashes.
Lin Tian unpacked the incense, dipped it in some wax oil, and lit it on a candle.
After lighting three sticks of incense, Lin Tian placed them in the incense burner, clasped his hands, and solemnly bowed three times.
After bowing three times, Lin Tian thought it was over, but unexpectedly, the middle-aged Daoist approached again, "I can tell by your face that you have a destiny of great wealth and honor. Follow me!"
Hearing this, Lin Tian felt delighted. Who wouldn’t be pleased to be told they have a fate of great wealth and honor?
Wanting to see what trick the other was playing, Lin Tian followed the middle-aged Daoist into a small temple through a side door.
Inside the small temple, the middle-aged Daoist first asked Lin Tian to kowtow three times to the deity.
"Sir, your luck is very good today, why not draw a fortune stick!" After just kowtowing, Lin Tian saw a wooden barrel filled with bamboo sticks and instinctively wanted to reach out and take one.
But as soon as he raised his hand, Lin Tian calmed down, "How much does drawing a stick cost?"
"699 yuan per stick!" The middle-aged Daoist shook the wooden barrel twice more, "If you draw a very auspicious stick today, you’ll be like a fish in water and definitely make a fortune!"
"Really?" Lin Tian questioned skeptically, "Are you that accurate at reading people?"
"Of course, it’s true!" The middle-aged Daoist confidently responded, "I’m never wrong at reading people!"
"Then guess what I do for a living?"
Lin Tian smiled slightly, "Since you’re so accurate, why not just tell me the winning numbers for tonight’s lottery? I’ll buy a few tickets, and even if I win, I’ll split half with you!"
"Saying such things in front of the deity is truly disrespectful, and the 699 yuan is not for me, but for the donation box, to accumulate virtue and pray for blessings for you!" the middle-aged Daoist argued.
"My respect for the deity is not diminished by what I say; I have always held respect in my heart, whereas you seem to show disrespect," Lin Tian sneered.
"You’ve elevated your deceit to involve the deity, and that’s what I call disrespect!"
"I’m not deceiving anyone; it’s entirely your choice to give money or not!" The middle-aged Daoist’s expression soured.
"Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"
Lin Tian eyed the middle-aged Daoist’s slightly stooped body and asked, "Haven’t you felt that your stooped back is the deity’s punishment for you?"
The middle-aged Daoist’s expression changed slightly, as he forced himself to remain calm, "I will pray for a hundred days to absolve you of your disrespect to the deity! Could you at least spare some money for a meal as a goodwill gesture?"
"Are you a Daoist or a monk?"
Lin Tian crossed his arms and stared at the middle-aged Daoist with amusement, "Actually, I’m a Daoist too; want me to read your fortune?"
"Your Yintang is dark, and your posture is stooped, it suggests a great misfortune. You might encounter disaster in the coming days. If you can turn misfortune into a blessing, you might live another eight years. If not, your life will be short-lived!"
Lin Tian paused and continued, "Rather than worrying about my blessings, you should think about how to protect your own life!"
"You’re using the deity as an excuse to deceive, speaking so righteously. People are watching, consequences will come sooner or later!" Lin Tian ranted indignantly.
Frauds like those in temples are the worst, claiming to help you while their real aim is your money, and they make it sound so noble, but it’s all for money.
If you really intended to help, why charge a fee?
No deity would care for money; Buddhism teaches that money is external, yet why are there donation boxes in temples?
Donating to Buddha?
Donating to deities?
There are too many such frauds. It’s not that justice won’t come, it just hasn’t arrived yet, but eventually karma will catch up!
"Brother, are you telling the truth?" the middle-aged Daoist asked with quivering lips.
"Go find a mirror and look at your black lips!" Lin Tian sneered, "I don’t have time to play with you, goodbye!"
"No, brother, help me!" The middle-aged Daoist grabbed Lin Tian, "I don’t want to die, please help me avert the disaster!"
"Avert it?" Lin Tian chuckled, "Weren’t you going to pray a hundred days for my blessing?"
"I wouldn’t trouble you with that; you should pray for your own safety for a year!" Lin Tian shrugged off the Daoist’s hand and left the temple, leaving the middle-aged Daoist standing there, dumbfounded.
To go to such lengths for money, people like this deserve no sympathy; saving them is harming others. The best outcome for such people is their own demise; there’s no need to berate or kill them, fate will handle it!
As for what Lin Tian just said, it was pure bluff to scare him.
"Ah!" Suddenly, the middle-aged Daoist let out a miserable scream, foamed at the mouth, and fell to the ground.
"Damn, did I really predict that?" Lin Tian turned in surprise at the sound behind him.
Saw the middle-aged Daoist landing on his forehead, twitching uncontrollably on the ground.
"Ah!" The temple’s visitors were startled and screamed.
Lin Tian stared blankly at the scene. Is this what they call karma?
A visitor claiming to be a doctor approached the middle-aged Daoist, checked his breathing, and pinched his philtrum.
"He’s gone; don’t bother calling an ambulance, just contact the mortuary," the visitor told the temple staff.
"He surely didn’t foresee he’d be dying today," Lin Tian shook his head and walked away, chuckling sardonically.
For a person like this, even death is deserved!
"What happened? How did he die?" Wu Yong came over, eyes filled with fear.
Just now, the man seemed fine, capable of talking and laughing, and besides not standing upright, he seemed healthy. How could he just drop dead?
Anyone witnessing this would feel a tinge of fear!
"He read my fortune but couldn’t foresee his own death!" Lin Tian continued deeper into the temple.
Being obstructed by the middle-aged Daoist, Lin Tian temporarily lost track of Xiaogang, although this was not an issue for him.
Gazing with dark eyes at the walls of the courtyard, he noticed there was another small temple independent of the Money God Temple behind the small gate.
"Follow me!" Lin Tian beckoned Wu Yong to accompany him through the small gate.
Inside the gate was an independent small temple, its doors wide open. Lin Tian gave Wu Yong a glance, and they spread out and stealthily entered the small temple.
In the temple, a middle-aged Daoist was having tea with Xiaogang. Suddenly, the Daoist’s brow furrowed, and his right hand trembled while holding the tea cup, spilling tea on the ground.
"What’s wrong, Daoist Li?" Xiaogang noticed the Daoist’s odd behavior and asked with concern.
"Someone’s here!" Daoist Li slapped the table and yelled toward the door, "Honored guests have arrived, why not reveal yourselves and meet?"