Chapter 35 Persuasion

"You do divination?"

Li Dajiang looked at Chen Hai skeptically, taking several more glances at him.

"Bit of knowledge, bit of knowledge!" Pretending to be unfathomable, Chen Hai smiled and responded.

"Come in and we'll talk!" After a slight hesitation, Li Dajiang called out to Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong.

The type of luxury suite at the Garden Hotel that costs three to four hundred a night has a living room for receiving guests, and the bedroom is beyond that.

Li Dajiang welcomed them to sit on the genuine leather sofa in the living room.

I didn't know whether he was unwell, had an illness, or what.

In front of the sofa on the coffee table, there was a half-drunk glass of plain water, and next to it was a box of small pills that had already been opened and used.

The name of the pills seemed to be something like sildenafil.

Before Chen Hai could get a good look, Li Dajiang had already promptly pocketed the remaining half-strip of pills into his bathrobe pocket.

"Guys, there are cigarettes on the coffee table, help yourselves!"

Sitting on the single sofa to the side of Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong, Li Dajiang pointed to the half-pack of cigarettes on the table and casually invited them.

He had always smoked that brand.

As for the high-end Big Red Flower that Sun Jinzhong mentioned, Li Dajiang didn't care for it.

He only bought a few packs casually when visiting the village to give away to nearby villagers.

"Boss Li is too kind!"

Chen paid a polite compliment and, without any ceremony, took the cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, and lit up for himself.

As for his cousin Sun Jinzhong, although he usually strutted around, at that moment, he seemed quite deflated.

Sitting on the sofa, Sun was visibly uneasy and extremely reserved, even his speech started to become somewhat stuttered.

"Guys, things like Feng Shui and divination are really quite mystical, it's not that I don't believe you, but it's really hard to trust you at your age!"

Li Dajiang also lit a cigarette for himself and, with a slight smile, continued, "At this time, the fact that you sought me out shows your sincerity."

"We are all from the same village, so don't take it amiss if I seem unfriendly or don't give you an opportunity!"

"If you can really prove that you have genuine skills, then letting you take charge of locating my mother's grave... might be feasible..."

"Dingling... Dingling..."

As he was speaking, the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Just wait a moment!" Standing up awkwardly, Li Dajiang said to Chen Hai before he quickly walked to the guest room door.

"Boss, did you call for service here?"

"Sorry, miss, I suddenly got busy with something!"

...

Li Dajiang opened the door, and the person who arrived should be a female attendant from the hotel.

Although Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong couldn't see the attendant due to the angle, the sound of her voice alone was enough to give them both goosebumps.

The room attendants here spoke in a coquettishly sweet and seductive manner.

In order to satisfy the guests and make them feel at home, these attendants would even proactively offer their services.

It has to be said, a high-class hotel is indeed different from a small inn in terms of service quality.

Unfortunately, the conversation between Li Dajiang and the attendant at the door got quieter and quieter.

Whatever they were talking about afterward, Chen Hai and Sun Jinzhong couldn't hear it at all.

After a while, Li Dajiang closed the guest room door and returned to his seat on the sofa.

"For both of you, finding a tomb is such that even if you locate the exact spot, it still requires considerable manpower and resources to dig it out and then re-inter them," he began.

"I couldn't possibly start making a big fuss and send people to do this kind of thing just on your say-so."

"You agree with this reasoning, don't you?"

The cigarette he had been smoking had burned out, so Li Dajiang pulled out another one and lit it for himself.

In those days, labor in the countryside was dirt cheap.

Ten yuan a day could get you a bunch of people to help dig a grave.

His pronouncement might have stemmed from a sudden sour mood, coupled with the fact that he simply didn't trust Chen Hai and his companion.

If the Chen Hai sitting in front of him hadn't been a young man but a renowned and genuine Feng Shui Master instead, Li Dajiang's attitude would not have been the same.

Human nature is just like this, which didn't surprise Chen at all.

After all, not just Li Dajiang but anyone put in this situation probably wouldn't be any more agreeable than Li Dajiang was!

Why would they trust Chen Hai, an unknown figure, who at his age, couldn't really inspire confidence in anyone?

"Boss Li, are you suggesting that I should perform divination for you first?" Chen asked as he snuffed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, smiling indifferently.

He had been mentally prepared for this outcome the moment he mentioned his ability to perform divination in front of Li Dajiang.

Every time he used that damaged Turtle Shell, he would find himself weakened for several days.

As for those dim and lusterless lines and patterns, they could be rekindled in the blink of an eye by infusing them with soul energy.

This was something Chen Hai had figured out during his intensive learning periods when he managed to find some time to investigate.

Since acquiring the fragmented Turtle Shell, he had attempted to use the Geomancy Inspection Skill twice.

However, he had not found an opportunity to use his Divination Skill yet.

Even so, he remained confident in his divination abilities.

"Chen, if you perform divination for me and it turns out accurate, you'll naturally gain my trust and make me believe in your skills, wouldn't you agree?" Li Dajiang chuckled before adding, "Of course, if your divination is accurate, I won't be stingy with your compensation."

"As for what you said about divination causing a big drain on your vitality, that's hardly an issue!"

"I've been waiting for decades to find my mother's grave, I'm not in any rush at this point."

"Here at the hotel, I can arrange a room for you. Whatever you need to replenish your vitality, you can have the staff prepare it, just charge it to my account!"

"Of course, all of this – the room, the restoratives, the compensation – is predicated on the truth of your skill and the accuracy of your divination!"

...

Li Dajiang spoke at a leisurely pace.

Chen Hai knew well the consequences of trying to freeload food and drink without any real skills, though Li Dajiang didn't outright say it, any wise person would understand the implications.

"Boss Li, since things have come to this point, there's no reason for me not to accept your suggestion," Chen Hai reflected briefly, then nodded with a smile.

He looked at Li Dajiang and asked, "May I know what sort of issue would you like divination for?"

"Let's say business matters!" With barely a pause, Li Dajiang quickly came up with a response.

At his age, most people would have had children and grandchildren and would have retired to take care of their grandkids.

Since he sought divination for business issues, it seemed he must truly be a businessman; otherwise, he wouldn't need to ask about such matters.