Chapter 5: Divination Skill

He grew interested in this turtle shell. Picking it up, he examined it carefully with his hands. Its shape was identical to a regular turtle shell, with lines across its back resembling scales, though the texture felt somewhat different. It was quite heavy—cold, hard, and solid like a piece of iron. Su Tan flicked it lightly with his finger, and the shell produced a dull thud.

*Is this the treasure the blind man used to use for fortune-telling and divination?* he wondered. (Wait, correcting strictly to rule: He wondered, "Is this the treasure the blind man used to use for fortune-telling and divination?")

It wasn't hard to guess that the items in the wooden chest were the tools of the blind man's trade. Su Tan had learned from the villagers that the blind man indeed knew how to divine, but the results were... mediocre, working only half the time. Every time he told fortunes, he would take out various props from his heirloom chest and gesture with an air of solemn authority. It certainly looked the part. However, Su Tan didn't believe the blind man had any real ability. He guessed it was all just an act to make a living. If he truly had skills, he wouldn't be destitute and living in a place like this.

When he examined this chest, he hadn't held out much hope of finding any treasures inside. What kind of treasure could a blind man possibly collect?

He was proven wrong this time.

"Equip?" Several eye-catching words flashed on the system interface.

"What ability will I gain after equipping it?" Su Tan asked.

Silence.

The system ignored him. This question likely exceeded the scope of its services, as it was ultimately just a cold, unfeeling machine.

Su Tan didn't mind being stonewalled. He shrugged, pondered for a moment, and decided to reserve his second equipment slot for the turtle shell.

"Equip!"

"DING. Consuming 100 Energy Points to equip Level 1 Top Grade item—Divination Turtle Shell!"

CRACK CRACK CRACK.

As the command was issued, Su Tan heard the sound of shattering stone.

The turtle shell in his hand was no longer smooth, nor was its texture hard anymore. If he had his sight, he would have seen that the shell in his hand had turned into a piece of useless scrap. As the physical shell changed, Su Tan "saw" a palm-sized black turtle shell appear in the second equipment slot within his mind. It was exactly the same size as the one he had just touched. Across its back, golden lines crisscrossed like little snakes, exuding a mysterious and profound aura. These lines had only "come alive" after entering the system's Inventory. At first, it had looked like nothing more than an ordinary turtle shell.

"DING. Successfully equipped Divination Turtle Shell!

"Obtained ability: Basic Divination Skill!"

"Basic Divination Skill?" Su Tan muttered to himself. It really was for fortune-telling.

"What does this ability do?"

"DING! Basic Divination Skill effects: Can be used to divine three times a day. Upon use, it can predict encounters over the following three days. Note: Can only calculate basic events. If it involves great karma or if the predicted event's level is too high, it cannot be predicted!"

Su Tan understood. The general idea was that if he read the fortune of a person or object, he could see what would happen to them over the next three days.

He thought, "Does this mean I have this ability now? Did I suddenly become a Divination Master? A real Divination Master?"

He felt a bit dazed; it had all happened so suddenly.

But it wasn't a bad thing. With this ability, his title as the "Blind Demigod" was finally justified. Inheriting the blind man's business and telling fortunes for people could solve his livelihood issues. Moreover, his Divination Skill was the real deal, completely incomparable to what Blind Su used to do. If he managed it well, his life might even improve significantly. At this moment, Su Tan finally felt his lingering anxiety fade.

After basking in the joy of his harvest for a short while, Su Tan let out a long breath and continued rummaging through the chest and the rest of Blind Su's "inheritance," hoping to dig out a second treasure. Obviously, Blind Su didn't have that many treasures. After groping around for a long time, he didn't find another one. Shaking his head in resignation, Su Tan packed everything up and put it all back exactly where it belonged. Returning items to their original places was crucial for a blind person; this habit allowed them to find what they needed much faster.

Once everything was in its proper place, Su Tan pressed his body against the wall and groped his way forward until he reached the only table in the room. He sat down and used the tea set on the table to pour himself a cup of water. It didn't contain tea, just water—cold water. Keeping hot tea or hot water posed a safety hazard, as accidentally knocking it over could lead to burns.

He drank a cup of water and quietly waited for Old Chen to bring his meal. A blind person's life was incredibly dull. Unable to see the colors of the world, relying on touch to move around, having to grope blindly just to eat... nothing before him could be perceived visually. Let alone enjoying the scenery, even reading a book was out of the question. It was dull, yes, but it was also peaceful. Unlike when he had just transmigrated, Su Tan felt much more grounded now. He had a clear understanding of his surroundings; within this room, he would no longer feel so helpless and lost.

Time ticked by.

He drank three cups of water before the old village chief finally arrived. Today, he was nearly an hour late.

TAP TAP TAP.

Before the man even entered, Su Tan recognized the village chief's familiar footsteps. Everyone's footsteps sounded different, and having lost his sight, Su Tan's reliance on his hearing had improved significantly. The village chief's steps were different from usual, lacking their typical steadiness.

"Su Tan, I'm coming in."

"Mm, come in," Su Tan replied.

CREAK.

The door opened!

The old village chief took out the food as usual, speaking as he set it down. "I'm sorry, I got held up by some matters today and came late." His tone carried a hint of guilt.

Hearing this left a bad taste in Su Tan's mouth. The village chief had been delivering meals every single day for a decade; this was already an immense debt of gratitude. Although Blind Su had done a favor for the Chens', as the saying goes, even a filial son will eventually tire at the bedside of a chronically ill parent—let alone unrelated people. Even if it was a massive debt, it should have been paid off by now. Yet the village chief continued this daily routine without fail, proving it was no longer just about repaying a favor.

"No, no, no, it's perfectly fine. You don't need to apologize, Village Chief. I'm already endlessly grateful that you bring me a bite to eat every day; how could I possibly complain? You shouldn't blame yourself, and besides, it's only because you were too busy," Su Tan hurriedly said.

"Regardless, I was still late."

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Su Tan said. "Let's just focus on the food."

Hearing this, the old village chief pushed the meal in front of Su Tan.

"Thank you!" Su Tan said. He picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began to eat, his movements no longer clumsy.

After eating for a while, Su Tan asked, "Village Chief, you sounded a bit exhausted just now. Have you been doing heavy manual labor lately? What's got you so worried?"

"Sigh... it's all because of that damn Demon Wolf!"

"Demon Wolf?" Su Tan wondered what kind of Demon Wolf it was.

"A Demon Wolf ran out of the forest and has been prowling around the nearby villages. It has already claimed several lives, leaving everyone in a state of panic. Our neighboring villages have been discussing how to hunt the beast down, and everyone has been stressing over it lately." As the village chief, he bore the brunt of that worry. "By the way, don't wander around if you don't have to. Uh... though you never really like moving about anyway, I still need to warn you. Who knows if that beast might suddenly show up?"

"Got it," Su Tan replied.

After the meal, the village chief began clearing the dishes, preparing to leave.

"I'll be a bit busy lately. Sometimes, I might have Qi bring your meals over."

Su Tan hesitated for a moment before reaching out. "Village Chief, please wait..."

"Hmm? Is there something else?" the village chief asked in confusion.

"To be completely honest, when you walked into the room just now, you were emitting a scent that made me feel very uncomfortable," Su Tan said.

"What do you mean? An uncomfortable scent?"

"Don't misunderstand, Village Chief. It's an..." An uncomfortable scent? Was he calling the man dirty? Of course not. Su Tan himself wasn't exactly sparkling clean. There was another reason for that uncomfortable scent. Su Tan searched for the right words to describe the sensation.

"It's an... an aura... an aura of baleful energy! Yes, baleful energy!"

"Baleful energy?"

"This aura is an ill omen. Coupled with what you just said about going to hunt the Demon Wolf, I'm worried you might be in danger. How about I read your fortune?" Su Tan offered.

"Read my fortune?" the old village chief asked, surprised.

"Yes!"

"But... didn't you say before that you actually didn't know how to do that? That all those so-called fortune-tellings were just tricks to fool people so you could scrape by?" the old village chief asked.

Su Tan was speechless. This... this was awkward!

"I learned a few things... later on," Su Tan said, massaging his temples.