I Pretend to Be an Immortal Among Mortals

Li Er transmigrated.

The good news was that, for no apparent reason, he had gained a pair of eyes that could see people's fortunes and predict good and ill luck.

The bad news was that he was broke, and couldn't even get into the city without worrying about obtaining a travel permit.

Luckily, in his previous life he'd made a living telling fortunes at a street stall, so Li Er decided to return to his old trade and invent a backstory about his immortal origins.

Long ago, he had gone into the mountains to chop wood, where he chanced upon two immortals playing chess. By the time their game ended, the handle of his axe had rotted away, and a thousand years had passed in the mortal world.

With that story and a little genuine skill, he really did make a name for himself as a "living immortal."

At first, he only wanted to earn some silver by telling fortunes, drink fine wine, tour the mountains and rivers, and live a carefree life until his days were done.

Who could have guessed that, as soon as he arrived in Gusu, he would meet a noblewoman from a powerful family? Then, after telling a fortune at an inn, he would befriend a mysterious young man in brocade robes.

As one seemingly offhand prediction after another came true, more and more powerful nobles came knocking. And the wandering fortune-teller who had only wanted to make a living somehow found himself swept into the struggles of the realm.

Years later, whenever people spoke of Li Er, they called him an earthly immortal who could know the past and future, see yin and yang, and pronounce life and death.

Only Li Er himself knew the truth:

The thousand-year immortal encounter, the otherworldly master, it had all been made up by him from beginning to end.

But after pretending for so long, how had even he begun to lose sight of what was real?