Chapter 625: The Divination Master

"Wanna go again?" Shen Yibin asked Xu Ye, holding back a laugh. After three straight losses, Xu Ye was too dejected to speak. He usually prided himself on being a veteran fan and couldn’t believe he’d lost to an amateur like Shen Yibin.

"Forget it. Let’s take a break for a while," Xu Ye said. "There aren’t any good matches on right now anyway. We can pick this up when the European leagues start tonight." He decided to take a breather and do some solid research on the evening’s schedule, hoping to find a couple of sure-win matches to recoup his losses.

"But aren’t there Chinese Super League matches on in a bit? We could bet on those, right?" Shen Yibin took out his phone and looked up the day’s schedule online. There were indeed a few CSL matches that afternoon, and they were about to start.

"Pfft, who watches the CSL?" Xu Ye waved his hand dismissively and got up to leave. "I’m going to take a walk. I’ll be back later. And you’d better make something good for dinner! Oh, and make extra of that Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices." It seemed he was no longer in the mood to feel bad about Shen Yibin’s expensive tea. Perhaps he had realized that trying to win it through soccer bets was a lost cause.

"Alright, I’ll make extra for you!" Shen Yibin left as well, planning to take Hah’Er and the others out for a walk to play some games and get some exercise. As he passed the projector screen, he scooped the Turtle Immortal up from the floor, muttering under his breath, ’I really owe you for this one. I’ll make you something delicious tonight!’

Shen Yibin’s winning streak hadn’t been a matter of luck; it was all thanks to the Turtle Immortal’s guidance. He had been completely oblivious during the first match, but by the second and third, he started to pay attention. Whenever a match was about to begin and the names and logos of the opposing teams were displayed on screen, the Turtle Immortal would crane its neck for a look. Then, it would turn its head to look at its own shell before immediately making a choice: it would either stay put or crawl over to sit beneath one of the team’s names. And by the end of the match, the team the Turtle Immortal had favored would always be the winner.

’What could be the reason?’ Shen Yibin wondered. ’Could the Turtle Immortal have watched the NBA and other games at the bottom of Dongting Lake? Is it some kind of veteran fan? No, that’s obviously impossible.’ He mulled it over and soon recalled a legend about turtles. It was said that as far back as the Yin Shang Dynasty, people believed turtles were long-lived creatures capable of communicating with the divine, and therefore used them for prognostication. For major events like sacrificial rites or military campaigns, they would heat turtle shells with fire and interpret the resulting crack patterns to divine fortune and misfortune. This practice had a long history. ’So it seems that besides mastering the arts of health and longevity, the Turtle Immortal also knows divination.’

’And the Turtle Immortal’s divination skills are on a much higher level. It doesn’t need its shell to be burned by fire... Ahem, I guess if that were necessary, it probably wouldn’t bother with divination. Having your shell scorched by fire must be incredibly painful... It can arrive at the correct prophecy just by observing its own shell. A true, bona fide divination master.’

’But it’s probably not that simple. Its shell doesn’t seem to change at all. Perhaps there’s some detail I’m missing? If Xu Ye wants to keep betting with me tonight, I’ll have to watch the Turtle Immortal’s actions more closely.’ Shen Yibin was determined to get to the bottom of this.

After sitting in the media room for several hours straight, Shen Yibin’s back was a little sore. Moving around outside felt wonderfully refreshing. The Turtle Immortal climbed down from his arms and slowly ambled into the stream for a soak. It seemed the room had been a bit dry, making the turtle a little uncomfortable after being inside for so long.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" The turtle had just settled into the water when Xiaoliu leaped down from a tree. The little guy had found watching the matches boring and had run off to play by himself. Now, he was holding a wine gourd, from which the aroma of Monkey Wine wafted. He presented the gourd to the Turtle Immortal, squeaking and gesticulating wildly for a good while, though it was impossible to know what he was trying to say.

The Turtle Immortal, however, seemed to understand. It slowly climbed out of the stream and began heading toward the forest behind the manor. Its crawling speed was painfully slow; after a good while, it had only covered about ten meters. Xiaoliu was so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks in frustration. Unfortunately, the Turtle Immortal was quite heavy, and Xiaoliu didn’t possess Hah’Er’s immense strength, so all he could do was fret on the sidelines.

"Where are you two headed? Let me give you a hand!" Shen Yibin couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He walked over and, with some effort, picked up the Turtle Immortal. He then followed Xiaoliu up the mountain. Once they were deep in the woods, he set the turtle down. It lay on the ground, craning its neck to look left and right before pointing a front leg toward a bush to their front-left.

A few scattered, shriveled fruits grew on the bush. It was rather strange that the harsh winter winds hadn’t knocked them down. Overjoyed at the sight, Xiaoliu immediately pounced on the bush and picked all of them.

Next, the Turtle Immortal led them to collect an assortment of roots, stems, and leaves. After carefully sorting through the haul, it selected a small batch of ingredients and added them to Hah’Er’s wine gourd. Medicated Wine v2.0 was officially online, though there was no telling how long it would take to ferment.

Xiaoliu was endlessly grateful to the Turtle Immortal. He scratched his head, grinning foolishly, and hugged the wine gourd tightly as if it were a priceless treasure.

After finishing their task, it was about time for lunch. Shen Yibin led them back to the villa and got busy in the kitchen. The Turtle Immortal climbed into the special pool Shen Yibin had prepared for it to rest, while Xiaoliu continued to hug the wine gourd, grinning like an idiot.

"Xiaoliu, go tell Hah’Er and the others to come back for lunch!" Before long, the food was ready. Shen Yibin yelled from the kitchen, and Xiaoliu went outside to fetch Hah’Er and Xu Ye.

At dinner, Xu Ye was full of praise for the medicinal porridge and the Junshan Silver Needle Chicken Slices. After showering Shen Yibin with compliments, he issued another challenge. "Bin, let’s bet on La Liga tonight. At seven, it’s Barcelona versus Las Palmas." Xu Ye had studied this match for a long time and was one hundred percent confident about the outcome.

After dinner, the group returned to the media room. Shen Yibin picked up the remote, and after a moment, the players from both teams appeared on the projector screen.

"You got to bet first this afternoon, so it’s my turn now!" Xu Ye made his choice decisively. In his view, Barcelona was in top form, so defeating a weak team like Las Palmas would be a piece of cake. He decided to seize the initiative. "I’m betting on Barcelona!"

"If that’s the case..." Shen Yibin replied nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on the Turtle Immortal. When the turtle finally settled in one spot and stopped moving, he made his choice. "I’ll bet on a draw, then!"