Chapter 2: The Fish Takes the Bait

"666666! I’ve seen live streams of people eating, and I’ve seen live streams of people sleeping, but this is the first time I’ve seen a live stream of fortune-telling."

"Brother Hu, go in and take a look, help me see if my fate with sister-in-law has arrived yet?"

"Promoting feudal superstition, I’ll report you with a flick of my hand!"

"Daring to live stream fortune-telling, they should have some real skills, right?"

"What kind of skills?"

Hu was momentarily dumbfounded, and the live stream chat was instantly flooded with messages.

Obviously, everyone’s interest had been piqued.

"Alright, since everyone wants to see it, I’ll go and take a look!"

After hesitating for a moment, Hu clicked into this bizarre live stream.

On one hand, he was genuinely curious.

On the other hand, he didn’t want to reveal his true intentions.

Gotta keep a decent facade while eating!

"Welcome Hu to the live stream room!"

Lu Heng’s Taoist robe and mask outfit, along with the somewhat dim room, did seem rather strange.

"Whoa!"

Hu was startled as soon as he entered the live stream.

At the same time, many viewers followed Hu’s lead and also entered Lu Heng’s live stream room.

The viewership, which was in four digits, suddenly skyrocketed.

"Wow, I’m genuinely impressed!"

"The streamer’s get-up is terrifying!"

"Is the streamer in the Underworld? Is the internet fast there?"

"Can the streamer take a look at my name in King Yama’s Book of Life and Death? It’d be best if you could cross it off for me..."

"As I calculate, young friend, you are doomed with a bloody misfortune today!"

"Damn! Aunt Flo’s here..."

Hu snapped back to his senses and couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

What kind of live streaming company came up with this gimmick, anyway?

It’s like strapping a bomb to a cow...

Absolutely explosive, isn’t it?

In the past couple of years, with netizens’ tastes becoming increasingly picky and heavy, it’s gotten tough to pull off a good performance.

To captivate viewers, many streamers have been getting more and more bizarre.

Spending the night in deserted villages, exploring ancient tombs at night, sneaking into pig pens at night, kicking widow’s doors in the night, and so on.

The more bizarre, the more peculiar, the more it attracts attention.

So Hu quickly adapted to this kind of online fortune-telling.

After a moment of deliberation, Hu typed, "Dare I ask if you can truly tell fortunes, Taoist?"

"This humble practitioner tells fortunes, and it’s free if it’s inaccurate!"

Lu Heng glanced at the chat, smiled faintly, and deliberately lowered his voice.

"Taoist, if you can truly be accurate, I’ll give you a Cloud-Piercing Arrow!"

Hu typed again.

The Cloud-Piercing Arrow is the most expensive gift on the Douhu platform, worth five hundred bucks.

Ordinary folks would think twice before sending such a pricey gift.

But as a well-known streamer on the platform, a mere Cloud-Piercing Arrow was no big deal for Hu.

"What would the young friend like to have a fortune told about?"

Seeing the fish taking the bait, Lu Heng actively asked.

"Taoist, how do you tell fortunes here?"

"Is it by looking at palms, reading birth dates, or face reading?"

Hu asked again.

"Face reading is best!"

Lu Heng said, as he proactively enabled the voice chat feature.

Hu quickly accepted the invitation.

Soon, Hu, with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, appeared in the live stream room.

"The young friend’s face is quite promising!"

"However, please kindly turn off the beautification function."

"Too much beautification affects the results of face reading."

Lu Heng took one look and noticed Hu had turned on beautification.

Wow, the smoothing effect is so intense that you can’t even see his stubble, this is ridiculous.

The viewers burst into uncontrollable laughter upon hearing this.

"Hu, I was wondering why you’ve looked so neat and handsome lately, turns out it was the beautification!"

"I noticed it before but didn’t dare to mention it."

"A grown man using beautification? Are you planning a gender change?"

"Brother Hu, let’s just own our ugliness, at least we should be honest!"

"So it’s beautification, I thought love was making me blind!"

The viewers and fans in the live stream room were always up for a bit of fun.

Soon, Hu’s live stream room was once again filled with chat messages.

"Ahem..."

Hu cleared his throat, quickly explaining, "My wife set this up the other day, why would a grown man like me need beautification?"

"Taoist, please hold on a moment, I’ll turn off the beautification right away..."

After fiddling for a while, Hu finally managed to turn off all the beautification.

"Brother Hu, why are your dark circles so heavy?"

"I know, I know, must be because you work hard at night when you get home!"

"Sister-in-law is pregnant, yet she still has such an appetite?"

"Brother Hu, if you and sister-in-law need anything, I’m willing to personally come over and assist!"

"Brother Hu, the ticket is booked, just say the word, and I’ll parachute in!"

"An experienced seasoned professional ready and waiting!"

"An uninvited Island Country professional is here..."

The viewers showcased their humorous sides once again.

"Alright, alright, let’s calm down for a minute, I’m still asking the Taoist for a fortune!"

Seeing the chat getting more and more outrageous, Hu hurriedly changed the subject.

"Taoist, could you possibly speak about my past?"

Hu asked with a smile.

He didn’t actually believe in fortune-telling, but for the sake of the live stream effect, he had to pretend to be very interested.

"Certainly!"

Lu Heng nodded slightly.

He knew this was Hu testing him. If he were in Hu’s shoes, he wouldn’t casually trust a stranger online either.

Especially not someone engaged in feudal superstitions.

"System, query Hu’s past information!"

He silently thought to himself.

[System notice: Querying past information will consume three days of the host’s lifespan, continue?]

Whoa!

Lu Heng was momentarily stunned.

This is hella expensive, isn’t it?

He only had thirty days of lifespan, and just checking someone’s past would cost him three days?

But without querying Hu’s past info, how could he possibly gain Hu’s trust?

If Hu didn’t believe him, how could he hope to change fate?

"Alright, for the sake of life span, I’ll risk it!"

Gritting his teeth, Lu Heng directly chose to confirm.

[System notice: Three days of lifespan have been deducted, querying the target’s past information...]

As his vision blurred, images flickered before Lu Heng’s eyes like scenes from a movie, showing Hu’s past.

Soon, everything about Hu’s past was entirely at Lu Heng’s fingertips.

Adjusting his mask, Lu Heng slowly spoke, "Young friend, this humble practitioner has already calculated your past, allow me to recount it to you!"

"If this humble practitioner’s calculations are correct, young friend, you come from a privileged background, your father went into business years ago and amassed assets nearing a hundred million..."

This statement instantly drove the viewers wild.

"Brother Hu, you truly are extraordinary!"

"Hu, always messing around and not doing anything serious, turns out he’s a billionaire’s kid, how terrifying!"

"No wonder sister-in-law is so beautiful and didn’t go for Daniel Wu of Celestial Sea, but chose you, the three-second man!"

"We had no connection, it’s all thanks to the money I spent!"

"Brother Hu, please adopt me!"

"Hu, you have so much money, yet you trick your friends into sending you gifts, have you no shame?"

Hu was taken aback; he didn’t expect the other side could actually figure this out!

Even some of his friends weren’t clear about his exact family background.

And then, what followed in the other’s words chilled him to the bone...