Zhou Xi / Chen Fengmian x Tang Jie
A sham of a fortune-teller who loves money and takes it whenever he can, but will sleep under a bridge with a carefree smile if he's broke x a prickly, sincere careerist with supernatural powers that are probably rated AAA, as if he were mass-produced by a volunteer association in a little red coat
[Blurb]
Sorting groceries at a supermarket, carrying dishes in a restaurant kitchen, setting up a fortune-telling stall under a bridge, and commenting "Nothing going on today. Let's read a few fortunes" under online posts make up Zhou Xi's entire life.
In this era when everyone uses metaphysics to leapfrog their way to success, fate's first gift to Zhou Xi isn't a taste of good fortune. It's a slap in the face.
He took up cultivation halfway through life, only to tumble off a cliff just as his long road of practice was getting started. He came away with a hole in his memory and a stinking fox with an enormous appetite that could never be satisfied, and that got unbearably loud whenever it was hungry.
After searching themselves from head to toe, the man and fox found they had no money. They hit it off immediately, gave up on the long road of cultivation, and set out on the long road of begging instead.
From the real world to the internet, from a little fortune-telling stall under a bridge to online comment sections, Zhou Xi and the fox rack their brains, using the scraps of half-baked theories left in their memories to talk people up.
Turn every bad omen into a good one, and every good sign into an even better one!
"Goodness, that's not a bad omen between your brows. It's a sign that good fortune is shining on you!"
"A husband-killer? That's great! If you nag your deadbeat husband to death, you'll be doing a good deed!"
"A bloody disaster? Where? I only see bigger waves bringing more expensive fish! You're about to strike it rich!"
Zhou Xi doesn't know whether his customers are satisfied afterward. But at the time, they listen over and over, delighted beyond words. With tears in their eyes, they send him an extra five yuan and tell him to go buy himself a lemon drink at some Snow King shop, saying he can spend the rest however he likes.
The man and fox muddle through three years of living from one meal to the next. Then a strikingly handsome man with a chilling presence, a cop, tells them that a fat man they'd declared "blessed with good fortune" died an unnatural death last night.
Zhou Xi: "Sorry, sorry. My condolences, my condolences... The city inspectors are here, so I'll be going! Don't forget to transfer my consultation fee, Officer!"
Tang Jie: "..."
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Tang Jie doesn't want to work with Zhou Xi. He really doesn't.
This silver-tongued fraud has a plain face but an overpowering presence that makes Tang uncomfortable. He always reminds him of someone from three years ago.
But that person died long ago.
He died in the endless mountains of southern Yunnan, where the golden silkworm butterfly broke its wings.
[Please Note Before Reading]
1. Readers with strong preferences about their favorite characters should steer clear.
2. This is a fictional setting, complete nonsense with no basis in reality. Please don't compare it to real life.
3. A little criminal investigation, lots of supernatural fun, and an absolutely lethal dose of romance.
Theme: Humanity has never lacked the courage to face the unknown.
