Chapter 6: Bloody Disaster!

"Learned a little bit recently?" Old Village Chief Chen was somewhat speechless. "Self-taught?"

He almost blurted out, "Are you kidding me?"

Su Tan also found it bizarre. A blind man without the guidance of an expert master, who could count the number of words he knew on one hand, claiming to have self-taught himself fortune-telling—and successfully at that? It was pure fantasy! It was somewhat comical. If he were in the chief's shoes, he would find it hard to accept too.

"I know this is hard to explain, but I truly learned it without a master," Su Tan said earnestly.

The old village chief opened his mouth, pondering for a moment. His brows furrowed slightly as he thought in silence, his eyes staring blankly at Su Tan. He did not believe Su Tan had the ability to learn without a teacher, let alone tell fortunes.

After a short while, the old village chief's tightly knit brows gradually relaxed. He thought, "Forget it, I'll just let him try. It won't cost me anything, and it might even boost his confidence."

"Alright then, please read my fortune!" Old Village Chief Chen said.

"In that case, please lean your head over so I can take a look," Su Tan said.

He even needed him to lean his head over? In the past, Su Tan's fortune-telling procedure had never been like this. Although doubtful, he still leaned his head forward.

"Please place my hand on the center of your brow, Village Chief." Since Su Tan was blind and the village chief wasn't a piece of furniture, he couldn't just blindly grope the man's face. Thus, this was the only way.

The village chief did as instructed, pressing Su Tan's fingers against his own forehead.

"Divination!"

With a soft shout, Su Tan felt a profound and mysterious energy—one that only he could sense—flow from his fingertips, spreading from the center of Village Chief Chen's brow to envelop his entire body.

At this moment, an image suddenly appeared in Su Tan's mind. It was a black-and-white picture with dull colors, resembling the quality of a CT scan. He could only vaguely make out some objects, like flowers, trees, stones, and wild beasts. Within this black-and-white world, Village Chief Chen appeared, creating a stark contrast. The village chief's figure was red—the only splash of color in the entire scene. However, it was merely a blurry silhouette; Su Tan couldn't see his facial features clearly.

SWISH SWISH!

Like a movie on fast-forward, Village Chief Chen's life trajectory over the next three days played out rapidly. In less than a second, three days' worth of events flooded Su Tan's mind. While a human brain could easily handle this amount of information, the sudden influx still left Su Tan feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Su Tan skipped past the ordinary, mundane details, focusing only on events that would significantly impact Village Chief Chen. In the vision, the old village chief tripped over a stone on his way home from here. Once he arrived, he would bump into a table, ruining a whole tabletop full of bowls.

"Old Village Chief, when you head home later, be careful of the stones on the road so you don't trip. Also, be careful when you get home—don't bump into the table, or you'll lose a few bowls," Su Tan said.

Hearing this, Village Chief Chen nodded and replied, "You're saying that I'll trip over a stone on the road, and when I get home, I'll bump into a table and break some bowls?"

Su Tan nodded.

Village Chief Chen didn't pay it much mind, thinking such trivial matters were no big deal. "Alright then, I'll be careful. Can I leave now?"

"No rush, wait until I finish." Su Tan's divination wasn't over yet!

"Hurry up then, I have other matters to attend to!"

"Mhm, it will just take a moment," Su Tan said.

He then continued to sort through the village chief's upcoming encounters. He saw the village chief leading the villagers into the forest two days later to hunt the Demon Wolf, joining forces with other villages to conduct a massive patrol...

"Oh no!" Su Tan's expression suddenly changed. "A bloody disaster! Village Chief, you will encounter grave danger during this Demon Wolf hunting operation!"

The old village chief was startled out of his wits by Su Tan's sudden shout. He patted his chest, having nearly suffered a heart attack from the scare.

"What danger? Are you just saying this because you're worried about me hunting the Demon Wolf? Rest assured, although the Demon Wolf is strong, with my skills, it won't be easy for it to kill me. Besides, there are so many strong young lads in the village. If we really run into the Demon Wolf, it'll be the one losing its life!" The village chief assumed Su Tan was concerned for his safety and had made up a lie to scare him out of going.

Hearing this, Su Tan grew even more serious. He knew the village chief didn't believe in his divination skills; the man was only cooperating to save face and protect Su Tan's pride. However, this trip truly boded ill for the village chief. If not remedied in time, it would likely result in a tragedy.

He said earnestly, "Village Chief, your disaster this time doesn't stem from the Demon Wolf, but from a venomous snake. This snake is three feet long, with a triangular head, phosphorus-free, and as thick as a thumb. It hides among the vegetation. When you enter the forest two days from now, you will lose your life to this snake."

"A Phosphorus-free Silver Snake?" Seeing Su Tan so serious, the village chief actually began to believe him a little.

"Exactly. You are fated to suffer this calamity. The best way to avoid it is to simply stay home this time. Because not only did I see your expedition returning empty-handed, but the journey back... will only add to the tragedy." What he had seen was the crowd carrying the village chief's corpse back.

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely!" Su Tan said decisively.

The village chief's expression shifted continuously. Frankly, he still didn't quite believe Su Tan's words. After all, in his impression, Su Tan possessed no divination abilities.

After a while, he said, "Alright, I'll be careful."

Hearing this, Su Tan knew the village chief wouldn't heed his advice and obediently wait at home. As the head of the village, he had to lead the hunt for the Demon Wolf; he couldn't just back out on a whim. Besides, his own—

Su Tan fell silent for a moment before continuing, "If... if it truly comes to the worst-case scenario that I don't want to see... then... please remember this, Village Chief. Walk ten paces southeast from where the venomous snake bites you. You will find a medicinal herb with a slender stem, leaves resembling ginger, and ten inches tall. Eating it will save your life!"

"Alright, I'll remember it!" the village chief said.

"You must remember it!" Su Tan urged once more. Since coming to this world, Village Chief Chen had been the first person to take care of him, and he didn't want the man to die in such a senseless manner.

"Mhm, it's committed to memory!" The old village chief nodded heavily. "Is there anything else?"

"No!" Su Tan said. In his divination, the ending was Village Chief Chen being bitten to death by the venomous snake. Once he was dead, what else could follow? Should he describe the scenes of the man's funeral? That definitely wouldn't do!

"Let's leave it at that for today, I'll be going now. There are still other matters to attend to in the village. I originally wasn't even planning to come over today, thinking of having my son deliver your food. But on second thought, I decided I should come and let you know that I might be too busy to come by for the next few days," the village chief said.

"Mhm, make sure you remember what I said," Su Tan replied.

"Don't worry! I'll be careful!" The village chief nodded, packed up the bowls and chopsticks, and left Su Tan's home.

Listening to the village chief's departing footsteps, Su Tan eventually let out a long sigh. "Alas... Whether you can survive this calamity will depend on your own fortune." Afterward, he returned to his room.

Meanwhile, on his way home, Village Chief Chen remained absent-minded, constantly thinking about what Su Tan had just said.

"It shouldn't be possible, right? How could he possibly have learned divination? Impossible!"

As he walked, he unexpectedly tripped over a stone.

CLATTER CLATTER!

The items in his hands scattered all over the ground.

"Damn it." Recalling Su Tan's words, the village chief was momentarily stunned. "A coincidence, it must be a coincidence... I just refuse to believe in this superstition." The village chief picked up his belongings and hurried home.

THUD!

Right after walking through the door, he accidentally bumped into the table behind it, knocking it over! The bowls and chopsticks on the table crashed to the floor.

"This... this... this is truly bizarre. How... how is it exactly as Su Tan predicted?" The old village chief found it utterly unbelievable.