Terrifying Indeed

A four-star tracking talent. Aside from Tang Youxin, this was definitely the most talented person Xia Xu had encountered so far.

Although Xue Mingjie and Yao Dawu were supporting characters in The Dying Man, in a sense they played the role of "reclusive masters." Their incredible gambling skills served to highlight Zhang Jianmin's absurd luck, which showed that even three-star talents were already extremely powerful.

Then how powerful would a four-star talent be? It was a whole star higher, after all. At the very least, his standing in his field should be higher than Xue Mingjie's and the others', right?

What was more, Yang Bowen did not just have a four-star tracking talent. He also had three-star talents in investigation and intelligence gathering, two abilities that complemented each other almost perfectly. He was practically a born hunter, detective, or scout.

But clearly, the most terrifying one was not Yang Bowen. It was the innocent little flower beside Xia Xu, looking adorably bewildered.

She had actually managed to make such an exceptional talent come knocking of his own accord through "luck." Just how ridiculous was Tang Youxin's five-star Husband-Blessing fate?

After all, this was not even the full effect of [Husband-Blessing].

No, that's not right. A luck boost alone shouldn't make things happen just because I want them to. Maybe this triggered the chance-based good fortune mentioned in the Husband-Blessing fate, something like a sudden burst of luck or a fortuitous encounter.

Xia Xu forced himself to calm down. Only after taking a deep breath did he suppress his wildly wandering thoughts and the growing urge to drag the little flower straight off to register their marriage.

However powerful a five-star fate might be, it should not grant every wish at will. Otherwise, it would no longer be a matter of fate or luck, but some supernatural power-and a divine-level ability to interfere with destiny at that.

This incident was probably just a burst of good fortune, like someone suddenly getting ridiculously lucky and winning the lottery.

Besides, this kind of luck was not absolute. A person still had to seize the opportunity. So what if Yang Bowen had come knocking on his own? If Xia Xu had not possessed the ability to view attribute panels and habitually checked his, the man would have simply left a moment ago, and the opportunity would have slipped away.

If the encounter with Xue Mingjie counted too, it had been much the same. Without checking his attribute panel, Xia Xu would never have discovered the plot of The Dying Man. Even if he had stumbled into it, he would have struggled to profit without knowing the inside story.

So, thinking about it calmly, this luck boost was not actually that heaven-defying. At most, it created an opportunity. Whether he could recognize and seize it still depended on him.

It was exactly as the saying went-opportunity favored the prepared.

But... for me, there doesn't seem to be much difference...

Xia Xu glanced at the attribute panel before him again.

With Attribute Viewing, he could not speak for everything else, but he was almost certain never to miss opportunities involving talented people or storylines. He could make perfect use of the Husband-Blessing fate's effects.

Of course, this was not the time to let his imagination run wild. These thoughts flashed through Xia Xu's mind in an instant, and then he hurriedly called out to stop Yang Bowen. "Wait, sir. On second thought, I might as well take my first customer. Turning someone away on the first day with our sign up wouldn't be very good."

"No, that's all right. Honestly, I haven't even figured out exactly what you do here."

Hearing him, Yang Bowen stopped and turned around, looking a little embarrassed.

"We're a consulting company, but in practice, we take on private detective work. We can also provide psychological counseling, business consulting, relationship advice, and so on. We can even tell fortunes if necessary."

Xia Xu smiled and gestured for Yang Bowen to sit first, then found a chair nearby for himself. "In short, we specialize in taking people's worries away. Whatever your problem is, feel free to tell me. Don't worry, we're not officially open today, so the consultation is free."

"Oh, I couldn't impose..."

Despite saying that, perhaps because he really was miserable and wanted someone to confide in, Yang Bowen accepted the offer. "It's nothing major, really. I've reached middle age without accomplishing anything, and when a couple's poor, everything becomes a source of misery. I had an argument with my wife, and she kicked me out..."

"Could you tell me what the argument was about?"

Xia Xu played the part of a good listener, hearing him out quietly and immediately prompting him when he paused.

"Young man, you don't look like you're married or have children yet, so you might not quite understand."

Yang Bowen shook his head dejectedly. "My wife, well, she nags, and she likes comparing us to other people.

"She's not some gold digger. She just likes comparing everything with everyone else. Every day, she goes on in my ear about how so-and-so has made something of himself, or whose husband got another promotion and raise or became a big boss.

"Today, I came home exhausted, and she started up again. I was used to it, so I wasn't paying her any attention. But then my son piped up beside her, saying something about wanting an impressive dad.

"I know children don't mean any harm, but somehow, my temper just kept rising. I couldn't take it, so I lost my temper and we started arguing..."

Perhaps remembering the scene, Yang Bowen looked even more miserable. A dispirited air settled over him as he added forlornly, "Ah... I suppose it's my own fault for being so useless..."

Children spoke without malice, but often, it was precisely those innocent remarks that hurt the most.

He had grown used to his wife's nagging. Yet his son's careless words, perhaps nothing more than an imitation of what he had heard, had completely crushed his spirit.

He worked himself to the bone every day to keep this family afloat, only to have even his own child look down on him for being incapable and poor. Nothing could have hurt more.

To put it simply, his defenses had been shattered.

"No, no. As the saying goes, everyone is born with a purpose. Nobody is completely worthless. Perhaps it's not that you lack ability, but that you haven't discovered your ability yet."

Xia Xu suddenly smiled.

"I haven't discovered my ability? What do you mean by that, young man?"

Yang Bowen froze for a moment, seeming to perk up a little.

Instead of answering directly, Xia Xu asked, "May I ask your name?"

"It's Yang. Yang Bowen."

Yang Bowen introduced himself.

"All right, I'll call you Brother Yang, then. If I'm not mistaken, you're a truck driver, correct?"

With the air of someone who had everything figured out, Xia Xu smiled.

"Wh... how did you know?"

Yang Bowen was astonished-perhaps even unnerved.

"Didn't I mention it just now? My consulting services include fortune-telling."

Xia Xu wore the mysterious expression of a sage beyond worldly affairs, but soon broke character with a chuckle. "Just kidding. Actually, I already explained it. Although the sign says consulting company, our main business is private detective work. If I'm going to work in this field, I need to have some skills."

"A detective? Oh, I know about that. My son's favorite show seems to be that one about the elementary school detective."

Clearly, this explanation was easier to accept than fortune-telling. After hearing it, Yang Bowen looked amazed and impressed. "You mean you figured out I'm a truck driver just by observing me?"

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