Xio naturally had no idea where the young man before her had let his thoughts wander. Having learned some basic information from Williams about his abilities, she studied him and quickly reached a few conclusions:
His background was probably quite good, at least what people called middle class. She could not determine his profession, but it was probably not manual labor. He bore no ill will.
Hmm, there was no one else around who was working with him. It seemed there was no problem.
Xio let out a breath. Although she did not think anyone would deliberately come looking to cause her trouble, and she had a certain degree of confidence in her own abilities, she remained wary of strangers who suddenly approached her. Now that she had confirmed he was probably harmless, she nodded and said, "I'm Xio. You're Jack Jones, right? Let's talk outside."
If she had not been waiting for someone, she would have left the bar long ago.
Luo Lin naturally had no objections. The two left the bar and went to a nearby coffee shop, where they found a private room and sat down.
After each ordering a coffee, Xio put down the menu, looked at the young man opposite her, and bluntly asked, "What do you want to hire me for?"
"I hope to join some Beyonder gatherings. I hope Miss Xio can introduce me," Luo Lin said just as directly.
Xio's eyes narrowed at once. Her hand beneath her sleeve gripped a triangular spike as she scrutinized the young man again and asked coldly, "Who sent you to find me?"
"Miss Xio is quite well-known among the bounty hunters of the East Borough." Luo Lin said something that seemed unrelated before explaining, "One of my ancestors was once a Beyonder and left behind some records. Although my family has declined by my generation, I still know a little about certain Beyonders, such as Arbitrators."
Luo Lin did not say anything further, but Xio already understood what he meant—he had probably heard some things about her and thus guessed that she might be a Beyonder of the Arbiter pathway.
That left Xio somewhat helpless. After thinking for a while, she suddenly asked, "Which pathway are you from?"
"Seer. I'm a Seer. If you know anything about this Sequence, you should understand that I have no real combat ability, so Miss Xio needn't be overly wary of me." As Luo Lin spoke, he revealed a helpless smile, as though what he said were true.
"Seer..." Xio muttered, recalling some of the information she had once learned about Seers.
Beyonders of this pathway were very rare, but Xio's father had once been an official, so she had barely learned a few things about Seers. She knew that Beyonders of this pathway were often found among the Nighthawks of the Church of Evernight, and that it truly was a pathway with little combat capability.
That lessened Xio's vigilance somewhat. After pondering for a few seconds, she said, "I can introduce you to some Beyonder gatherings, but what can you offer me? You should know that helping you join such gatherings carries risks for me as well."
Luo Lin had naturally prepared for this. "I can pay you fifty pounds as compensation."
Although he did not have much money on hand, only around a thousand pounds, Luo Lin was never stingy when it was time to be generous. Leaving Xio with an impression of generosity would also help their future dealings.
"Fine." This time, Xio nodded with almost no hesitation. Fifty pounds was absolutely no small sum to her. She would not refuse such money for merely introducing someone to Beyonder gatherings.
"Then, pleasant cooperation." Luo Lin smiled, counted out ten pounds from his wallet, handed them to Xio, and continued, "This is the deposit. I'll pay you part of the remaining money every time I join a gathering. If any of them particularly satisfy me, I'll add extra."
Being generous did not mean being a fool. He still needed to show some necessary caution.
Xio accepted the ten pounds, unsurprised by Luo Lin's choice. She nodded and asked, "How do I contact you afterward?" Then, as though remembering something, she gave an address. "If you need anything from me, leave a message there. I'll know."
Luo Lin then gave an address as well. "You can write to this address."
After confirming how they would contact each other, Xio relaxed as well. She had now basically confirmed that the person opposite her truly bore her no ill will and posed no threat. Thinking of his identity as a Seer, she could not help asking curiously, "Can Seers divine everything? Can you predict the future?"
"How should I put it? Divining small matters is no problem, but if it involves major events or particularly powerful people, the divination may be inaccurate." Luo Lin smiled, then added in a seemingly complaining tone:
"And even when the divination result is accurate, it can sometimes be pretty damn frustrating. For example, if I divine whether investing in something will make me money, the result might say that I will profit. But in reality, I might suffer a huge loss in the short term and only make money ten or even several decades later."
"Hiss, that really is rather misleading." Xio suddenly understood the frustrating side of being a Seer and looked at Luo Lin with some sympathy.
"But Seers do have their advantages. At the very least, they can help me avoid most dangers." Luo Lin smiled. "For example, before coming to meet Miss Xio, I actually performed a divination and confirmed that this deal held no danger."
Xio raised her brows at that, and her eyes gained another hint of curiosity. After thinking for a moment, she could not help asking, "Could you perform a divination for me?"
"Of course. What would you like to divine?" Luo Lin naturally would not refuse. He nodded and asked.
"Then, divine whether I'll face any danger in the next two months. That should be possible, right?" Xio said after a second of thought.
Luo Lin nodded and pulled a crystal pendulum from his pocket. It was a prop he had prepared before coming to meet Xio—since he intended to disguise himself as a Seer, he naturally had to make the disguise convincing.
Moreover, Luo Lin's Beyonder abilities themselves included divination, and he needed to become proficient in using all kinds of divination techniques.
Luo Lin then expertly used the pendulum to perform a divination. When he saw the arc of its swing, he frowned and said, "The result tells me that within the next two months, you will face a danger that may threaten your life."
Luo Lin was not lying. He truly had divined that Xio would encounter life-threatening danger within the next two months.
Xio's eyes widened at once. She looked from Luo Lin to the pendulum in his hand. Her first thought was, Is he a swindler? Does he want to trick me into giving the money back? But Xio quickly dismissed those thoughts and seriously asked, "Can you divine where the danger will come from?"
"I can try, but I can't guarantee the result." Luo Lin nodded with an equally serious expression. He did not use the pendulum again. Instead, he took out an astrolabe. After asking Xio several necessary questions, Luo Lin began drawing upon it, then finally said:
"The result tells me that the danger you will encounter is connected to money and the sea. But I'm sorry, I can't divine anything more. There's too little information."
Before you continue