Jiang Kai frowned but eventually walked over.
"What do you want with me?"
The man had a fawning smile on his face. "Of course, it's something important."
Jiang Kai replied impatiently, "What is it? If you don't say, I'm leaving."
"No, no, no!" The man hurriedly grabbed Jiang Kai. "I'm a fortune teller!" He gave Jiang Kai a look that said, "You know what I mean."
"Fortune teller?" Jiang Kai frowned, feeling like he had encountered a street hustler trying to read his fortune.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. As one of the top ten professions in China, a fortune teller is a second-tier profession of a Feng Shui master. My skills are quite evident." The man quickly explained.
Fortune telling?
"Not interested." Jiang Kai said irritably, turning to leave.
"Hey!" The man grabbed Jiang Kai, looking pitiful. "Give me a chance!"
"No money!" Jiang Kai insisted on leaving.
"How can you be like this!" The man looked aggrieved. "I'm not going to eat you. I just want to help you figure out which direction will bring you luck!"
Jiang Kai looked at the man weakly. This guy was indeed a skilled salesman, mastering the art of "pestering" quite well.
"I told you, I have no money!" Jiang Kai sighed. "I'm really not interested!"
The man looked Jiang Kai up and down, frowning as if he were in some sort of internal struggle.
After a moment, he said, "How about this, I'll give you a free reading this time!"
"Free? What's in it for you?"
"What's in it for me?" The man with the mustache snorted, his humble eyes suddenly becoming resolute. "Of course, it's to prove that I'm an excellent fortune teller!"
"Also, it's to accumulate professional experience. There's a saying now that if you lack professional experience, it's easy to fail when trying to advance to a Transcendent profession... But that's not the main point. The main point is proving myself!"
Jiang Kai looked coldly at the man. Such noble ideals seemed somewhat out of place with his cunning appearance...
"Friend, success doesn't rely solely on luck. It requires the right time, place, and people, all three are indispensable." The man became much more serious when talking about his profession.
"Anyway, it's free, so there's no harm in trying."
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Hearing this, Jiang Kai became a bit more cautious.
Could this guy be sent by Huang Da to find out where he's going, and then ambush him in the wild...
But this person seems so foolish, would Huang Da really send someone like this?
Regardless, Jiang Kai decided to let him do the reading and see what he says. Whether or not to follow his advice could be decided later.
"Let me introduce myself first, here's my card." The man handed over a card.
Jiang Kai took a glance.
[Half Immortal Hu, Profession: Fortune Teller, Level 2 Member of the Feng Shui Guild, Talent: Trinity (Second Tier), 50% enhancement in sensing the connection between time, place, and people.]
[Stationed long-term in the Safe Zone of the Eighteenth District.]
This guy put his talent directly on his card? Truly a weirdo!
But aside from having a professional guild, he doesn't seem to belong to any other guild.
Jiang Kai tried to put the card into his card pouch, but after several attempts, the pouch wouldn't accept the card.
"What's going on? Is there something wrong with the pouch?" Jiang Kai looked at Half Immortal Hu in surprise.
"No, this card is homemade, the system doesn't recognize it." Half Immortal Hu said calmly.
Jiang Kai almost spat out blood. "Brother, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"That's not the point!" Half Immortal Hu said. "My name is Hu Yan."
"Not Half Immortal Hu?"
"That's a name I gave myself. After all, my real name... easily causes misunderstandings."
Jiang Kai thought, goodness, with a name like "Hu Yan," it indeed easily leads to misunderstandings.
"Back to the point, I've been observing you, and I think you're a bit different." Hu Yan said. "You're shrouded in a mist, which is rare, and I see a circle of black aura around the mist. I deduce that you might be in some kind of crisis."
Jiang Kai just listened without commenting.
It sounded like Hu Yan made some sense. After all, since offending the Huang Family, his situation had indeed become quite difficult.
But those charlatans often like to say vague things like this, because there's always someone who will find resonance in their words.
"What level are you now?"
"Level five," Jiang Kai replied.
"Just as I thought! Five is a middle number, with infinite possibilities in both directions, indicating you're in a huge crisis, but at the same time, you'll encounter great opportunities! 'Five' belongs to Yang Earth. Among the four known regions, Deer Chase Ridge belongs to Wood, King's Valley to Earth, Taiping Mountain Path to Water, and Ash Plains to Fire... Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, so considering everything, I suggest you choose King's Valley first, and Taiping Mountain Path second."
Jiang Kai was left in a fog, confirming he shouldn't have listened to his nonsense.
"That's it?"
"It's free, what more do you want?" Hu Yan nodded. "Little brother, if I'm accurate, remember to come find me next time."
"But next time, I'll be charging."
Jiang Kai frowned slightly, thinking there probably wouldn't be a next time.
"Alright." Jiang Kai said, about to leave when Hu Yan stopped him again.
"Hey little brother, you're the first one today to let me do a reading, so it seems we're destined. Here, take these four information cards."
"What are these?" Jiang Kai looked disdainful.
"Oh, these are good things! Information on monsters in the four major regions."
Jiang Kai frowned. "Isn't that on the map?"
"The map only has information on ordinary beasts. These record information on elite, beast king, and lord-level monsters! They sell for dozens of Star Coins each outside!" With that, he stuffed the information cards into Jiang Kai's hand. "Remember, come find me next time!"
Jiang Kai reluctantly accepted them, unsure of what this guy's intentions were.
No matter, Jiang Kai could finally leave the Safe Zone this time.
From a distance, Hu Yan watched Jiang Kai leave, seeing him cross the Safe Zone and gradually disappear from sight. Hu Yan let out a long breath.
"This kid's fate is so mysterious, it's really strange... If I can decipher his fate, it would greatly benefit my professional experience!"
"Wait... he's alone?" Thinking of this, Hu Yan's eyes widened. "A level five guy leaving the Safe Zone alone, is he crazy?!"
...
After leaving the Safe Zone, Jiang Kai didn't walk far before he saw a fork in the road ahead.
Next to the fork was a signpost, with "Deer Chase Ridge" written to the east, and "King's Valley," "Taiping Mountain Path," and "Ash Plains" to the right.
Jiang Kai immediately pulled up his map to check.
The map indicated the suitable levels for Deer Chase Ridge.
"Suitable for level 5-30 teams to hunt."
King's Valley was for levels 10-40, Taiping Mountain Path for levels 15-45, and Ash Plains had the highest level requirement, 20-50.
It's important to note that these levels are all converted to first-tier profession levels, meaning if it's a second-tier profession, the level requirements would be recalculated.
Given Jiang Kai's current level, Deer Chase Ridge was the most suitable, and he could only operate in the lowest-level area.
"The Black Tortoise Guild will definitely think I'll go to Deer Chase Ridge..." Thinking this, Jiang Kai immediately crossed off one option.
"Is that nonsense from Hu Yan really from Huang Da?" Jiang Kai thought it over. That guy had given two options, first King's Valley, then Taiping Mountain Path. If he were really from Huang Da, he wouldn't have done that.
Thinking about his eccentric behavior, Jiang Kai concluded that if he were Huang Da, he wouldn't trust him to handle things.
"King's Valley requires at least level 10, and that's assuming a five-person team, meaning five level 10s!"
After weighing his options, Jiang Kai felt that the threat from beasts was less than that from the Black Tortoise Guild!
"King's Valley it is!" With that, Jiang Kai headed down the right-hand path.