Lu Chen’s heart tightened, but he didn’t let it show. He bowed respectfully and said, “Greetings, Lord Jun Cai. It’s because the people of the world are ignorant and blind. They don’t realize that you, Lord, are the Emperor of Wealth, the chief of the Five Road Wealth Gods. According to your divine rank, you are the true god who governs financial luck!”
Lord Jun Cai was slightly surprised. “I didn’t expect that someone in the mortal world would know that I am the Emperor of Wealth. Young man, you seem to know quite a bit about me.”
Lu Chen immediately began to explain: “Lord Jun Cai, your original name is Chai Rong. You were Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. Legend says you were originally the Celestial Money Star who descended to the mortal world. You engaged in trade in your early years. After becoming emperor, you implemented policies like water conservancy and official kilns. You loved the people like your own children, promoted commercial policies to enrich the common folk, and so you were respectfully called King Chai by the people, gradually being worshipped as a god of wealth.
“May I ask, is what this humble one said correct?”
Lord Jun Cai laughed heartily and said, “Not bad, not bad. I’m surprised that someone so young knows my history so well. Yes, you’ve certainly put in the effort. Oh well, since you are so sincere, I find it hard to refuse. Although I am the god of commerce and wealth, I can still give you a stroke of fortune. Today and tomorrow, you will find your financial luck flowing smoothly, and all five blessings will arrive at your door.”
Lu Chen was overjoyed. “Thank you, Lord Jun Cai, for bestowing your blessings!”
“But there is still one thing I don’t understand. Judging by your attire, you don’t look like someone from a big, wealthy family. How do you know this secret art of communicating with the gods?”
“Well…” Lu Chen had a quick thought and explained, “The invocation spell I just recited was passed down from my ancestors. A few days ago, I accidentally discovered it and learned a few tricks. I never expected it to be so effective.”
“So that means your ancestors were also well-off once?”
“Back to you, my Lord, that should be the case!”
Lu Chen was making it all up on the spot.
From the looks of it, even gods couldn’t directly peek into the hearts of mortals.
This secretly delighted Lu Chen.
At the very least, Lord Jun Cai probably didn’t know his secret about time-traveling.
But then again, he wasn’t entirely lying.
It wasn’t like he was a foreigner. Whose ancestors weren’t well-off once?
For anyone who has survived until today, weren’t their ancestors all survivors and fighters at the top of their game?
Lord Jun Cai’s voice showed understanding. “I see. So that’s it. Very well, the fortune has been bestowed. You can go back now. Remember to come back later to fulfill your vow.”
“This humble one understands! A thousand thanks, my Lord!”
Seeing the golden light on the clay statue gradually fade, Lu Chen bowed again. “Farewell, Lord Jun Cai.”
When the golden light had completely disappeared.
Lu Chen suddenly felt something and looked up sharply. To his astonishment, he saw a drizzling rain of gold begin to fall from the sky, soaking him completely.
But this golden rain didn’t wet his clothes at all. Instead, it seeped into his body, giving Lu Chen a feeling of ethereal comfort.
“This must be the fortune Lord Jun Cai bestowed. Awesome! Combined with what I learned in my past life, in this world, I feel like a tiger that’s grown wings, with a vast sky and open seas before me!”
Only then could Lu Chen be sure that the theoretical knowledge he had accumulated in his past life could now be put into practice in this world!
“See, my idea of ‘burning incense to an unpopular god’ was right. If I had prayed to the Wealth God Zhao, even if I’d succeeded, I probably wouldn’t have gotten such an impressive display of strange phenomena. Heh heh, these niche gods really give you a lot!”
Lu Chen suppressed his excitement.
“I wonder, after this event, how much will my ‘Divine Servant Degree’ with Lord Jun Cai increase? Probably to 2%, right?”
Given the scale of this golden rain, the Divine Servant Degree should definitely skyrocket!
“The temple has a way to test it, and it’s free. I’ll go try it right now!”
When the rain stopped and was about to fade, Lu Chen hurried out.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to bow deeply once more towards the shrine.
However, just as he reached the back courtyard gate,
Something flew over from the side and landed squarely on Lu Chen’s face.
“What the heck?”
Lu Chen took it off and looked.
He was shocked on the spot!
The thing that had flown onto his face was clearly a ten-thousand-yuan banknote, the highest denomination.
“No way, this financial luck is just too blunt!”
Lu Chen was deeply shaken. He quickly turned back and bowed again. “Thank you, Lord Jun Cai, for bestowing your blessings!”
…
Meanwhile.
At the temple exit.
Li Ruoyi and Song Hao were still waiting for Lu Chen.
“It’s been this long, why isn’t the guy out yet? It’s just one incense stick’s worth of time, right?”
Song Hao frowned.
“Holy crap! Look! A golden rain is falling from the sky!”
In the crowd, someone shouted.
Everyone looked up, following the voice.
Sure enough, deep within the temple grounds, a golden drizzle was falling over one area. Although it was light and scattered, it was enough to shock everyone present.
“This is… someone succeeded in getting a blessing!”
“To cause a strange phenomenon like a golden rain means their fortune is truly profound!”
“Wow! Someone’s hit the jackpot! Someone’s hit it big again!”
Listening to the exclamations rising and falling around them,
Li Ruoyi and Song Hao looked at each other in dismay.
Li Ruoyi said, “Could it be… Lu Chen?”
Song Hao’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“No way, he only used one incense stick? How could that work?”
“Why couldn’t it?”
A voice came from behind, sounding like it was smiling.
Song Hao was startled and immediately turned around.
Lu Chen had already appeared at the exit.
Li Ruoyi’s eyes widened, a mix of surprise and joy. “Lu Chen, was that golden rain just now really summoned by you?”
When the people around heard this, they went wild:
“Little brother, which god did you pray to? Could you let us know?!”
“Yeah, share with everyone, please.”
Seeing these pilgrims acting like cats who’d smelled fish,
Lu Chen thought to himself, “This is a good opportunity to provide some incense offerings to Lord Jun Cai. If Lord Jun Cai knows I introduced him, it would also greatly help increase my Divine Servant Degree.”
So he didn’t hold back. “Lord Jun Cai, Chai Rong. If any of you are interested, you can give it a try. But I can’t guarantee success or failure. I just got lucky myself.”
“Alright, alright, thank you, little brother.”
Immediately, some pilgrims rushed to the incense counter to buy incense.
“Lu Chen, it was really you? No way! I don’t believe it! I absolutely don’t believe it! It must have been someone else, not you!”
By this time, Song Hao was so twisted by jealousy that his face was practically deformed. He was even starting to stammer.
He absolutely refused to believe that Lu Chen, with just one incense stick, could communicate with a deity, and such an unpopular one at that. The key thing was, it was Lu Chen’s very first time praying!
Adding all these conditions together, the probability of success was about the same as Li Ruoyi instantly falling madly in love with him right now.
Was that possible?
Absolutely impossible!
Seeing this guy being so stubborn, Lu Chen didn’t waste any time. He pulled out that ten-thousand-yuan bill from his pocket and waved it in front of Song Hao and Li Ruoyi.
Li Ruoyi covered her mouth. “That money? Did Lord Jun Cai give it to you?”
Lu Chen didn’t confirm or deny it.
Song Hao’s mental state collapsed. He instinctively stepped back a couple of steps, still muttering, “No way, this is impossible!”
Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, a look of realization appeared on his face.
“I know! I’ve got it all figured out! This was all on purpose, wasn’t it?”
Before Lu Chen could speak,
Song Hao excitedly rushed to explain to Li Ruoyi, “Ruo Yi, don’t believe him. All of this was intentional. He purposely stood blankly at the school gate to catch your attention. Then he purposely said he wasn’t coming to the temple, just waiting for us to go first so he could follow. After that, he purposely bought just one incense stick and talked about praying to an unpopular god. Actually, that big bill was already in his pocket the whole time! He’s just deliberately showing off for us!”
Lu Chen: “…”
How could a person be this sick?
Li Ruoyi wasn’t that silly either. She made a sarcastic comment, “Song Hao, are you okay? There aren’t that many ‘on purposes’ in the world. Besides, coming to the temple was my idea. What does it have to do with Lu Chen? He just succeeded in getting a blessing. Don’t be jealous of him.”
After saying that, Li Ruoyi ignored him. “Congratulations, Lu Chen! I can’t believe you succeeded on your first try.”
Lu Chen waved his hand. “It was just luck.”
Li Ruoyi said, “Your luck is so good, it means you definitely have a connection with this Lord Jun Cai. Come on, let’s go test what your Divine Servant Degree with him is!”
Lu Chen nodded. “I was just thinking the same thing. Let’s go!”
The two arrived at the temple’s main hall, at the Divine Servant Degree testing window.
Lu Chen reached his hand inside. “Excuse me, please test my Divine Servant Degree.”
