A Valiant Life

The stools were all moved over. All the spectators were crowded to one side. Everyone who was part of the Salon was gathered there.

This situation was much more interesting.

Zhu Zhu said, “Do your best, Master Lin! We trust in you very much.”

Lin Fan laughed. Now there were enough eyes drawn in. Everyone had gathered around with curious eyes to witness the outcome of this bet.

He Cheng Han looked calm and relaxed as if he wasn’t the least bit anxious. He didn’t believe in fortune-telling and was sure that he would be the victor in this bet.

When some of the spectators heard that this was about fortune-telling, they couldn’t help but laugh. They didn’t have any other intentions but they just had to laugh. Was this a joke? Although some people here weren’t highly educated, everyone had gone into the working word and gained considerable experience and knowledge. They had chosen not to believe in superstitious things like these.

But the fact that Chief Jin believed in this Master Lin astonished them. When had Chief Jin started being superstitious?

He Cheng Han opened his mouth and said, “Alright, let’s begin. We’ll have a good show to watch later.”

Lin Fan laughed, then looked at He Cheng Han carefully. He looked at him very seriously this time. Since getting the knowledge from the Encyclopedia, Lin Fan hadn’t done a proper research yet.

“He Cheng Han. 45. Jin Tang Yang Mountain Town, He Tian Village…” Lin Fan started saying.

He Cheng Han kept his grin, “That’s not much. Many people know where my hometown is.”

Lin Fan said, “Don’t be impatient. It’ll come slowly. That was just the start.”

“Alright, take it slow,” said He Cheng Han with a laugh. He was relaxed and there was not a single bit of anxiety in him. He would let this ‘master’ slowly talk. If he really could convince He Cheng Han, then that would be a real skill.

Zhu Zhu and the rest held their breaths as they were cheering for Master Lin in their hearts. They had high hopes for Master Lin and believed that he would surely win.

The surrounding crowd listened with interest. They hadn’t seen a bet like this before and it was a lot of fun. Some of them were standing around while others were sitting around, all awaiting the final outcome.

At that moment, Lin Fan continued. But what surprised the crowd was that this Master Lin started talking about when Brother He was young.

“At one year old, you suffered from encephalitis. Your family wasn’t well off and judging from your physiognomy, there was a period of uncertainty. It appears that someone in your family wanted to give up on you but in the end, they still held on and you were cured.”

“This faintly visible scar on your face. It’s probably from when you fell down from the tree you were climbing at two years old.”

Then, Lin Fan continued on and on. The crowd’s expressions started to turn into those of shock. These words seemed so real. This guy really knew how to make up stories.

“When you were four, you had an accident. There was a latrine at the back of the village toilet and you accidentally fell in. Fortunately, you got discovered in time and saved.”

*Pfft!*

At that point, everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

This is too f*cking funny!

They had heard of people drowning to death but they had never heard of someone falling into a latrine and getting buried by ‘those things’.

But the crowd was a little curious. Is this real or fake? Why does it seem so unreal?

And this Brother He’s life is a little too harsh, isn’t it? Why are there so many f*cked up incidents?

But when they looked at Brother He’s expression, they saw that it was rather grave. As if he wasn’t too happy.

Could it be that this guy was going overboard? But that shouldn’t be the case, Brother He was a very easy going guy. Whenever he was met with a joke, he would laugh and not take it too seriously.

Lin Fan carefully studied He Cheng Han’s face and from each portion of his face, he gathered useful information.

“The turning point in your life was when you were seventeen. Your family wasn’t doing well, so you went to Qinghai to join the military. You worked in the cookhouse and because you were capable, you became the head of the cookhouse.”

“You left the military at twenty and mixed into society for a few years. Got into some fights, got brought in to the police station…”

He Cheng Han’s expression became fiercer. His nostrils flared slightly. It was a little scary. He suddenly felt his heartbeat beating furiously.

The crowd started laughing.

“I never knew Brother He’s history was so eventful.”

“Is this real or fake? It sounds too incredible! Brother He is such a good guy, how could he have done these bad things? He even ran a red light district business before…?”

“It sounds more and more unreal. I don’t even dare to believe it anymore.”

“Look at Brother He’s face. He looks angry! Maybe we should tell him to stop playing around. If a conflict comes up, this wouldn’t be good.

…

The crowd felt that Brother He’s expression was getting too solemn. They said, “Brother He, maybe…”

He Cheng Han waved his hand. “Carry on.”

Lin Fan was calm and collected. He continued, “This next turning point came very quickly. At twenty-five, you discovered the children’s toys market. You borrowed a sum of money from people and invested in it but a year later, because you were scammed, the business was shut down and you lost everything.”

“At twenty-seven…”

“At twenty-eight…”

“At twenty-nine…”

…

“At forty-five…”

At that moment, complete silence filled the place. The only one talking was Lin Fan.

The surrounding spectators were all stunned. It wasn’t that they believed Master Lin now, but this life story was way too complicated. It could be written as a tragedy. With its many ups and downs, it wasn’t something an average person could endure through.

Especially that part about when he was thirty, Master Lin said that Brother He had almost jumped off a bridge and committed suicide. That sounded way too f*cking fake. Brother He had such a positive attitude, he wasn’t the type of person who would do that.

“My throat is getting dry.” Lin Fan picked up his drink and took a sip, then looked at He Cheng Han. “Are you convinced?”

He Cheng Han wasn’t happy or angry, but he was frightened.

He suddenly realized that this young man before him was really terrifying, especially that calm expression of his. It made He Cheng Han feel as if he wasn’t facing a human but instead, a shadow which, from the start until then, had been creeping behind him, observing his every move.

The crowd looked at Master Lin, then looked at Brother He. They had no idea what was going on.

Was it real or fake? To them, it seemed more probable that it was fake. After all, if Lin Fan really knew all these, he was too godly.

Lin Fan smiled. “Chief He, say something. Are you convinced?”

He Cheng Han didn’t answer the question but asked in a terrified tone, “What kind of person are you?”

Anyone put in his position would have been terrified. His entire life had been seen through clearly. Every bit of it. How scary was that? How terrifying was that?

Lin Fan smiled. “A normal person…”

He Cheng Han’s throat moved slightly as if he wanted to say something. But he didn’t know how to open his mouth.

The air was filled with tension.

“Alright, alright, enough playing around. Let’s forget about this. We’ll chat about other things.”

When some of the other people noticed the tension, they tried to change the topic too. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion, why did they have to talk about such a solemn topic?

However, some people really wanted to know if it was true or not.

“Brother He, let’s talk about other things. This was just a little joke, no need to take it too seriously,” advised some of the people in the crowd.

“Yeah! No wonder Master Lin is a good friend of Brother Ming Yang’s. His ability to make up stories is first-rate! He’ll make a great screenwriter!”

…

He Cheng Han raised his hand. The place quietened down. Then, he looked at Lin Fan. His lips slowly moved. In a firm tone, which was at the same time full of disbelief, he spoke.

“I’m convinced…but how did you know?”

Suddenly.

The place was silent.