I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 19 Hexagram

After dinner, the lively atmosphere gradually subsided. Zhou Xiuying stood up, her face showing a hint of polite restraint, and bid farewell to Gao Huaiyi's parents.

Madam Gao quickly waved her hand, saying with concern, "Xiuya, it's so late. It's not safe for a girl to walk alone at night. Huaiyi, take Xiuya home!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Huaiyi nodded vigorously, his eyes filled with undisguised joy, and replied, "Yes, Mom is right. Xiuya, I'll take you home."

Zhou Xiuying couldn't refuse, so she nodded slightly and bowed to Gao Huaiyi's parents to say goodbye: "Thank you for troubling you today, Uncle and Aunt. I'll be going now."

After saying that, she followed Gao Huaiyi out of the Gao family compound.

As night deepened, the country lane was so quiet that the sound of their footsteps could be heard. They walked side by side in silence, the atmosphere subtly tense. They walked silently out of the village, then another three or five hundred meters, disappearing from the village lights.

Gao Huaiyi suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, turned his head sharply, and looked directly at Zhou Xiuying beside him. His tone was serious and urgent, breaking the silence:

"Xiuya, wait a moment, let's talk."

Zhou Xiuying paused, looked up in surprise, met his gaze, hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently, her tone calm:

"Okay, what do you want to say?"

The two stood there by the roadside, a gentle evening breeze blowing. Gao Huaiyi composed himself and finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind all afternoon. His eyes were fixed on her as he spoke, word by word:

"Xiuya, what exactly did you mean by what you said to me this afternoon?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiuying's eyes flickered slightly before regaining their composure. She avoided Gao Huaiyi's gaze, looking at the blurry night sky in the distance, and spoke softly:

"It didn't mean anything by it."

Gao Huaiyi pressed further: "Is it the thing you told me about this afternoon?"

Zhou Xiuying turned her head, met his gaze calmly, and spoke in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant:

"Yes, that's what I meant. I just want to be friends with you, nothing more, nothing else."

Gao Huaiyi stared intently at Zhou Xiuying, his tone tinged with a hint of probing: "Right now, everyone's cracking down on superstitious stuff. Haven't you thought about reporting me and making a contribution? If you do, you can go back to your hometown in Beijing ahead of time."

He paused, then pressed on, "Besides, aren't you curious? Don't you want to know how I managed to disappear and reappear?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiuying smiled faintly, her expression calm and composed: "My family is in Beijing, and both my parents are cadres. I volunteered to go to the countryside as an educated youth. If I want to go back, I only need to tell my father. There's no need for me to report others to gain the right to return to the city."

She changed the subject, saying frankly, "As for your secret, I am indeed curious. But curiosity is one thing, and I won't do anything to hurt others because of it."

Zhou Xiuying looked at Gao Huaiyi with gentle eyes and continued, "When we truly become friends in the future, you will naturally tell me when the time is right. If you are unwilling to tell me, then the time is not yet right, and I will not ask further. We can just be ordinary friends, and that will be fine."

Gao Huaiyi was still worried, and asked again, "Then you won't tell anyone about this?"

Zhou Xiuying said firmly, word by word, "Don't worry, I will never tell a third person. This matter is known only to you, me, heaven, and earth, and no one else will ever know."

Gao Huaiyi's gaze was fixed on Zhou Xiuying, his tone inquisitive as he asked, "There's something else I want to ask you. How did you end up outside the village that day? And how did you witness me beating Li Hongshan?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiuying smiled slightly and said slowly, "Well, that's a long story."

Gao Huaiyi took half a step forward and said earnestly, "Speak freely, I'm listening."

Zhou Xiuying looked up at the night sky and slowly said, "When I was in Beijing, I studied under a master. He was no ordinary person; he was one of the top fortune tellers in the country."

Gao Huaiyi's eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn't help but interject, "A fortune teller? Can fortune tellers really make accurate predictions?"

Zhou Xiuying nodded, her tone tinged with regret: "Yes. But now, with the destruction of the Four Olds and the crackdown on monsters and demons, he had no choice but to hide his identity and go into seclusion, never daring to reveal his abilities again."

Gao Huaiyi listened intently, then asked, "What does this have to do with you appearing outside the village?"

Zhou Xiuying turned her gaze to Gao Huaiyi and continued, "More than a year ago, when my master learned that I was going to the countryside, he specifically told me to come to the Northeast, saying that I would meet someone there who would be of great help to me."

Gao Huaiyi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Who is this person your master is talking about? What does he look like?"

Zhou Xiuying gently shook her head: "I was just like you back then, constantly asking questions, but Master would never say more. When I pressed him, he would only say one thing: 'Let things take their course, don't force it.'"

Gao Huaiyi frowned and said, "I hate people who only say half of what they mean!"

Zhou Xiuying smiled and said, "Since going anywhere is the same as going to the countryside, why not follow Master's guidance and come to the Northeast? That's how, after several transfers, I was assigned to your maternal grandmother's village, which led to the scene where I saw you hitting someone and then disappearing."

Gao Huaiyi frowned and asked with a puzzled look, "Isn't fortune-telling all a scam? Is there really such a skill in the world?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiuying couldn't help but smile and replied, "There's no such thing as a divine divination. It's just that you can see things from the divination results that ordinary people can't perceive. Those who deceive people are just charlatans making things up."

She paused, her tone becoming more serious: "Think about it, if this industry were full of swindlers, why would ancient emperors and nobles have adopted Taoism as the state religion? Although it's not as mystical as the rumors say, it does have unique methods and special skills."

Gao Huaiyi listened intently, and subconsciously asked, "There's such a saying?"

Zhou Xiuying nodded and continued, "There's an old saying that medicine and Taoism are inseparable. Many Taoist priests may not be well-known, but their knowledge is certainly genuine. Some Taoist priests are even more skilled in medicine than regular famous doctors, especially in the area of ​​health preservation and conditioning."

After saying that, she changed the subject, staring at Gao Huaiyi with a smile, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Besides, if all of this is a lie, then where did you get those amazing abilities from?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Huaiyi fell silent instantly, lowering his head in deep thought.