Chapter 9: Misfortune and Fortune

Three robust young men strode into Su Tan's courtyard.

These men were the village's core fighters who had gone out hunting with the village chief. Since they were claiming that something major had happened... it meant the village chief must have been attacked, exactly as the divination had foretold!

Su Tan frowned. He pondered for a moment, but his furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. A faint smile graced the corners of his lips. Although the trio seemed anxious, there was no panic or sorrow in their voices. Instead, they sounded full of vigor, with a hint of palpable excitement lacing their words.

If he hadn't lost his sight, Su Tan certainly wouldn't have possessed such a keen ability to dissect the nuances in others' speech. Without his vision, he relied on his logical thinking much more. Deprived of his eyes—his direct means of gathering information from the outside world—he naturally adapted to acquire it through other senses. It also made him more inclined to use his brain and see through to the essence of things.

Judging from the trio's behavior, Village Chief Chen had undoubtedly been attacked by the venomous snake. However, he must have somehow turned the crisis around and narrowly escaped death. Otherwise, their voices would have been filled with grief, not excitement. Su Tan already had a clear picture of what had transpired.

"What is it? Was Village Chief Chen truly attacked by a venomous snake?" Su Tan had subconsciously stood up when the three men barged in, but now, he slowly lowered himself back into his chair. He looked completely composed, exuding an aura of serene detachment.

The three men stared in a daze. Why hadn't they noticed before that this guy carried himself like an enlightened master? They looked at Su Tan in sheer astonishment. Of course, Su Tan couldn't see their shocked expressions.

"Demigod... you, you already know?" one of the young men asked.

Su Tan merely smiled without saying a word.

"Master, you truly possess divine foresight! The village chief was indeed attacked by a venomous snake."

"That's right, your calculations were spot on, Master. But... since you already knew all this, aren't you worried about the village chief's safety? Don't you want to know if he's dead or alive right now?" another man chimed in.

The corners of Su Tan's mouth curled up slightly as he replied, "I was quite worried at first. But seeing you all come here, I'm no longer concerned. You are here to deliver good news. The village chief must be safe and sound!"

Hearing this, the three men exchanged glances. They looked at each other in disbelief. This man was simply divine! Still, they were a little puzzled.

After a moment, one of them asked, "Master, how do you know we're here to deliver good news instead of reporting a death? What if we really came to deliver bad news?"

"No, no, no... It's impossible for you to be here to report a death. The way you walked through that door and the way you spoke simply didn't match that of bearers of bad news," Su Tan said, shaking his head.

"The way we walked in? The way we spoke?" They were utterly bewildered. What could anyone possibly glean from that?

But then, something seemed to click, and a look of realization dawned on their faces. "Oh... what's so hard to understand about that? Master is brilliant at calculation. Since he could foresee the village chief's fateful encounter with the venomous snake, and foresee that he would survive the ordeal, why wouldn't he be able to calculate whether we were bringing good news or bad?"

"Right, right! Master definitely calculated it all from the very beginning!" another agreed.

They believed Su Tan was an omniscient fortune-teller who had predicted every single detail. What they didn't know was that apart from the village chief being attacked, Su Tan knew absolutely nothing about anything else.

Frankly speaking, Su Tan didn't even know these three men, despite them all living in the same village and seeming to know him quite well. When Su Tan had transmigrated into this world, he hadn't inherited a single shred of the original body's memories. Not even a tiny fragment! As far as he was concerned, everything outside the four walls of his own house was completely unfamiliar territory that he needed to gradually learn about.

"Master, you are truly a god! Back when we first went out hunting with the village chief, we happened to overhear him mention this destined calamity involving a venomous snake. We didn't believe it at the time. We even told him he was being overly sensitive and that our biggest threat was the Demon Wolf. How could we possibly run into a venomous snake? Who would've thought that while we were tracking the Demon Wolf, we would be ambushed by a venomous snake hiding in the weeds? The scene... it was absolutely terrifying!"

The three men vividly recounted their ordeal.

"That venomous snake was basically a demon! The moment it spotted our village's hunting party, it attacked us like a crazed beast. It wasn't just the village chief; four or five others in the group were bitten as well. And that thing was so incredibly toxic. Before long, everyone who had been poisoned collapsed to the ground. Their bodies turned black, and they started bleeding from every orifice. They looked like they were on the brink of death!" Even now, lingering fear gripped them as they spoke of it.

Who could have known that a mere little snake could possess such lethal power?

"Yes, yes, I remember it as clear as day. After the battle ended and the snake slithered away, the village chief saw that the poisoned men were about to die. Suddenly, he remembered something and ordered us to search the immediate area for a detoxifying Spirit Grass. Sure enough, exactly ten paces to the southeast, we found those ginger-leafed medicinal herbs! We harvested them and fed them to the poisoned men, and they were completely cured! Everyone was thrilled!"

One could easily imagine the overwhelming joy of being dragged back from the precipice of death.

"Master, you are our savior. To be honest, I was also attacked back then, but the poisoning wasn't deep," one of the men said, his tone brimming with reverence.

"It's nothing... just a minor matter. As long as you are all safe, that is what matters!" Su Tan waved his hand dismissively.

His original intention had only been to save the village chief. Moreover, the divination had given him no forewarning that anyone else would be attacked. Perhaps it was because the hexagram had been cast solely for the village chief, allowing him to see only the chief's fate. The fact that the others were saved simply meant they were lucky.

"How can matters of life and death ever be minor? What's more, Master, your prophecy didn't just save everyone's lives—it turned a disaster into a tremendous blessing for us all!"

A blessing in disguise? What was that supposed to mean? Su Tan was completely baffled.

"That's right! Master, did you know? That stalk of Spirit Grass didn't just neutralize the poison—it massively boosted our cultivation! The village chief is getting up there in years, and his natural talent is limited. Originally, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to achieve another breakthrough in this lifetime. But after eating that Spirit Grass, his Cultivation Realm forcefully broke through three minor stages!" they said, buzzing with excitement.

"Oh?" There was such a thing?

In the divination, all Su Tan had seen was the village chief being attacked by a venomous snake and perishing. He had defied the heavens to change that fate, preventing his death, but as for what happened afterward, Su Tan genuinely had no idea!

"Seeing how miraculous the Spirit Grass was, the village chief thought about it for a moment and then ordered everyone present to divide and consume the rest of it. Although there wasn't much left after curing the poisoned men, it still granted us immense benefits. Our realms didn't advance, but our cultivation improved significantly." It turned out they had all reaped the rewards.

"The village chief is far too good to us. After obtaining the Spirit Grass, he could have easily brought it back to further refine and consume it himself. But instead, he let us share it."

"Yeah... he's too good. Even though his body had reached its limit for absorbing the medicinal energy at the time, and he would have had to wait a while before eating more, he still could have brought it back. Yet, he gifted it to us anyway. It is my absolute honor to work under the village chief!" The three men were completely won over, their loyalty to Village Chief Chen now absolute.

Su Tan, however, chuckled inwardly. He had already guessed the village chief's true intentions. Why give it to the villagers to divide and consume on the spot? The injured men had experienced a blessing in disguise. But what about the uninjured men? They had scrambled around to help, found the Spirit Grass, and saved everyone's lives. If they ended up with nothing to show for their efforts, wouldn't they feel resentful and unbalanced?

Furthermore, if the village chief had actually brought the Spirit Medicine back, it would have spelled disaster! The existence of Spirit Medicine couldn't be kept a secret. What if the villagers accidentally let it slip and attracted the covetous eyes of powerful experts? If that happened, the village chief would definitely be targeted by malicious actors. The Chen Family would never know another day of peace, drawing endless trouble and perhaps even suffering utter annihilation.

An innocent man's only crime was possessing a treasure others coveted!

But the village chief had thought of a brilliant solution: letting everyone consume it on the spot. This way, even if word got out later, it wouldn't matter. Yes, there had been Spirit Grass, but it was all eaten. No matter how jealous or resentful outsiders were, it would be utterly pointless. On top of that, it was the perfect way to win over the hearts of his men!

"Where is the village chief now?" Su Tan asked.

"The village chief fought the hardest during the battle against the venomous snake. Even though the poison was neutralized, his physical injuries still remain, making it difficult for him to move. Therefore, he sent us ahead to pay our respects to you, Master. He will be here shortly!"

So that was it!