"Because he defeated a single prodigy in Longmen City that everyone's already talking about," a bit disdainful.
"You're really clueless, Young Master." Xue looked at me with a smile that made it very clear how disappointing my knowledge was, in her opinion.
Our attention shifted to the crowd outside, drawn by noise too incoherent to make out.
The waitress soon returned, still wearing her signature smile. "Esteemed Daoist, here's the menu. What would you like to have?" she said, offering it to us.
I glanced at her. "Just bring your inn's signature meal. And what's actually going on out there?"
She gave us a look that made it clear she was hoping for a tip. I turned to Mei, who handed her a mid-tier spirit stone.
She pocketed it with lightning speed. "The commotion out there is because Granny Wen is outside."
"Who's Granny Wen, that she can pull this much attention?" Lian asked, intrigued.
She gave us a strange look. "Are you all not from this city? First time here, I'm guessing." She mumbled that, then continued.
"Esteemed Daoist, Granny Wen owns this restaurant. She's one of the most mysterious people in the city — never once shown any display of power, but anyone who offends her mysteriously disappears afterward. She's also a fortune teller."
"So the noise is just because she's a fortune teller?" My interest dropped instantly.
"She's not a normal fortune teller. Every single prediction of hers comes true, without fail," a bit annoyed at how I'd dismissed her boss.
"So she's a fortune teller who's never wrong," Princess Xue asked, pure curiosity in her voice.
*I don't really buy into fortune-telling nonsense, but I can't wait to see her fail for once.* A little playful, a little mocking.
"Invite her in," I said, commanding. "Tell her I'll double whatever her service costs."
She hesitated, then continued, "She doesn't take payment for it — whether she divines for someone depends entirely on her mood. So I can't promise she'll agree. You might even offend her just by asking."
"Just tell her Young Master Zaitian is waiting for her." Still commanding, dismissive.
She bowed and hurried off.
"Won't that annoy her, Young Master?" Lian asked, worried.
I glanced at Xue, who was sipping some wine I had no idea where she'd gotten from but it will likely be from her spatial ring on her finger.
"You don't need to worry about it," I said, a little softer than usual.
"If you say so."
A few servants filed in with trays of food and set them out on the table. The lead servant stepped forward. "Young Master Zaitian, Granny Wen will be here shortly."
I waved them off, then turned to Lian. "You see — my name can move mountains." A small smirk.
Xue scoffed, sharp. "You can't be serious. If not for your daddy's power and influence in the Long Clan — and you being his only child — that name of yours wouldn't move an inch."
"Aren't you exactly the same?" I shot back.
A trace of pride entered her voice. "Unlike a certain Young Master, mine moves things with or without my family's influence."
"Oh? What gives you that kind of confidence?" A little intrigued now.
She didn't answer — just let her aura loose, scorching and genuinely terrifying.
I gulped internally. *System, what's her realm?*
*My dear host. This Phoenix you've insulted more times than I can count sits at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.*
I quietly wiped away an invisible bead of sweat. "So that's where the confidence comes from. Good. Really good."
Before she could crush me any further, a woman walked in — much to my relief.
I turned to her — above-average height, slightly hunched, carrying a matured kind of beauty.
She looked at me. "I take it you're the honored Young Master Zaitian, who summoned me here?" A mix of intrigue and irritation.
"Hmm, that's me. I want you to read the fate of my beautiful wife here. She's heavily pregnant — I want to know if she'll survive." Playful tone.
*This should wreck her emotionally and mentally.* I let an evil little smirk show. I stole a glance on her face which was on the point of fuming smokes out from it.
Granny Wen looked at me, then at Xue — specifically at her perfectly flat stomach.
"You can't be serious, Young Master Zaitian. She doesn't look pregnant at all." Doubtful.
"Just divine her fate already." Final, no room to argue.
"As you wish, Young Master."
The whole time, Xue, Lian, and Mei were giving me looks — one already plotting my death, another mourning me quietly (Lian, obviously), and Mei's expression I genuinely couldn't read.
Granny Wen stepped closer to Xue, arms spread, murmuring a few mantras none of us understood, her fingernails glowing with a faint, strange light that caught everyone's attention. Notably, I couldn't sense any trace of qi from her at all.
She touched Xue, and one of her fingernails cracked, then shattered outright.
"No! No!! This can't be — this can't happen to me—" Granny Wen suddenly cried out, as though something genuinely vital had just been taken from her. Which, apparently, it had.
"What's wrong?" Concern, deep under the words.
She turned on us, furious, the kind of look that made it clear nothing about this was fine.
"Why did you let me divine the fate of a royal bloodline of the Phoenix race? You've ruined my life." A quiet sob following it.
"Sorry about that. But you didn't ask for her identity beforehand, so that's on you, not me." Shifting the blame smoothly.
She stopped abruptly, then turned to Xue. "Your Highness — someone is plotting your death, and the enemy is within your own circle." Just like that.
"Wait — you're saying someone in my own family wants to harm me?" Xue, genuinely confused.
"That's what I saw. And the price was one of my nails." A trace of sadness in her voice.
"Your nails must matter a great deal to you, to guard them that closely. What's the price to get it back?" I asked, sensing how unpleasant her current state actually was.
She didn't answer the question directly. Instead: "I'm of the mortal race. You'll understand exactly how much this matters to me, once you've learned a little about us."