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An immediate hush fell.

Holding the magic sword, Zhuo Cong stared in disbelief. "Yu Jiqing, aren't you going too far? The masters are also guests on the show. If Miss Chu's divination clients can have a camera crew following them, why can't the masters?"

"Sending the photographer to follow and film the guests, if I recall correctly, this is a first for our show?" Guang Deye also furrowed his brows, casting a meaningful glance at Chu Yuening. "Mr. Yu, even if there's someone you wish to promote, isn't this approach a bit too overt?"

They sneered.

Don't assume they haven't noticed, Chu Yuening, at her age, could only have secured a spot on a show exclusively featuring esteemed masters through the support of influential backers!

Initially ignoring the dissatisfaction of the masters, Yu Jiqing first made arrangements for the photographer to follow Chen Siyu as she departed.

He grasped the microphone, his eyes twinkling with a grin. "Masters, your divinations often concern events in the distant future, which take a considerable amount of time to come to pass, naturally precluding the option of sending a photographer to document it immediately. However, Master Chu's predictions pertain to the near term, matters that can be verified as true or false almost instantaneously."

"As a professional program host, it is my professional ethics to generate engaging topics for the show. I kindly ask for the masters' understanding."

As for Mu Rongshan, Zhang Shikai, and Guang Deye.

Their divinations pertained to the number of children one would have in the future or the year when a major obstacle would arise, requiring one to alleviate misfortunes – quite literally, by parting with money.

Yu Jiqing is indeed eager to proceed with the filming.

Unfortunately, the three masters didn't offer such an opportunity. Could he possibly assign a photographer to follow them for years and see if their predictions came true for the clients?

Does human labor come for free?

Having said that.

Yu Jiqing didn't forget to add, "In the next issue, if the three masters also wish to follow along, it can be arranged as an event that will come to pass on the very day. Rest assured, Jiqing guarantees to make all the necessary arrangements."

None of the three masters were fools; they immediately grasped the hidden meaning in the words.

Mu Rongshan turned his head and waved his hand, signaling for Zhuo Cong to be silent. He then cast a cold glance at the girl, who had finished her divination and was already packing up her stall, and let out a disdainful sneer.

"Azcung, can't you tell that someone is trying to force a mediocrity into a position of power?"

"Good-for-nothing," this term is used to humiliate Chu Yuening, implying her utter uselessness.

Astrology is a means to divine the course of destiny, foretelling the future to aid in avoiding calamities. My clan, the Murong family, has a long history as royal astrologers, mastering the art of the Six Divinations. In this field, being able to predict someone's life events for three to five years ahead in modern times is truly remarkable.

Mu Rongshan pointed at Yu Jiqing's nose, his anger flaring, "You conspired with her to deceive us, and now you expect us to participate in this charade?"

Yu Jiqing was taken aback, "Master Murong, when have I ever fabricated anything?"

Pondering for a long while.

It was then that he grasped the meaning.

It turned out that the masters simply didn't believe that anyone could accurately predict current events. Thus, they suspected him of colluding with Master Chu to stage a deception.

"Hmph! You're asking us to predict the present – isn't that tantamount to asking us to falsify our divination?" Master Murong harrumphed coldly.

Guang Deye also nodded in agreement, "Master Murong is right. Foretelling the future is already a method that invites heavenly retribution; being able to discern its general course is remarkable in itself."

Zhang Shikai, despite his dislike for Guang Deye, found himself compelled to engage in the conversation. He pinched the tips of his curled mustache thoughtfully, "To predict events of the next hour or day with precision is no feat of a man, but of a deity."

At this moment.

A soft sigh escaped from Chu Ji's fortune-telling stall.

All eyes in the vicinity shifted in that direction.

Chu Yuening was in the midst of packing up when she overheard the sarcastic remarks beside her. She hoisted the red plastic bag and sighed softly, "Could it be... that you can't figure it out because you're just not skilled enough?"

"Oh," she replied, her tone carrying a hint of surprise.

Chu Yuening, considering that they might not understand the implied meaning of "too amateurish," gently smiled once more.

"It implies being utterly useless."

There was a loud boom.

Mu Rongshan felt a surge of rage that made his blood boil, his nostrils flaring as he struggled to catch his breath. Springing to his feet, his hands trembled with indignation as he slammed them down on the table. "Impudent whelp!"

Chu Yuening looked at the table sprawled ungracefully on the ground and shrugged her shoulders. "If it's useless, then so be it. The point is to learn, so why get so upset over it?"

Mu Rongshan clutched at his chest, where his heart and lungs ached from the frustration. "You're just putting on a show for the joint program! If you can't divine, then you can't divine. Don't think that simply twitching your fingers and reciting a couple of random phrases counts as fortune-telling!"

"If you truly possess such skills in divination, I, Mu Rongshan, will write my name backward!"

No sooner had the words left her lips.

A voice laced with anxiety sounded from beside.

"What should we do, Master Chu Da? The hospital results really confirm it's lung cancer."

——

A hush fell over the crowd.

Every eye in the room turned in that direction.

In an instant, Mu Rongshan's face darkened like charcoal as he turned to look back.

The one who returned was none other than Xu Yougong, who had been absent the entire morning. Clutching the medical examination results from the hospital, he slumped over, utterly dispirited, as he made his way back.

"Master Chu Da, you were indeed correct in your prediction. The result of my day-long wait turned out to be early-stage lung cancer."

If it weren't for visiting the fortuneteller today, Xu Yougong would likely never have believed, even up until the moment he succumbed to lung cancer, that he – a man who regularly practiced martial arts and enjoyed good health – could be stricken with such a disease.

Mu Rongshan refused to believe it, pointing at Yu Jiqing as he exclaimed, "This can't be real; it must be some trick your show is playing!"

Yu Jiqing sighed, "Master Murong, how could a television program have the audacity to collude with a hospital in deceiving the public? Wouldn't that undermine their credibility?"

Xu Yougong also turned to Master Murong, his tone bitter as he said, "If it were just an act to deceive others, that would be one thing, but who would willingly want to have cancer?"

At this moment,

The doctor who had previously advised Xu Yougong amidst the crowd stepped forward. He meticulously reviewed all of Xu Yougong's medical examinations, repeatedly examining them, and likewise refuted Mu Rongshan's claims.

"Xu Sheng's medical reports all come from legitimate hospitals; he is not deceiving anyone."