Chapter 435: Listened for Nothing

Chapter 435: Chapter 435: Listened for Nothing

"Speaking of which, Donovan, I heard you two found this house and sorted out lunch in less than an hour this morning. Did you have some sort of miraculous encounter on your way here?"

Milton Lambert’s words were a bit ambiguous. Someone with a bit of an imagination could easily interpret it as him implying there was something fishy about them finding the house so quickly.

Hector Donovan had spent some time with him and had a decent understanding of his personality, so he was sure there was no malicious intent.

He’d likely misunderstood, thinking Hector had brought his sister along hoping she’d get into the entertainment industry, and was deliberately looking for an excuse to bring her up and get her some screen time.

The other guests were clearly on the same wavelength as Milton Lambert. They reacted quickly and played along. "Yeah, yeah! The crew member following us said you used some kind of extraordinary method. We asked, but they wouldn’t say anything, insisting on being all mysterious. It’s driving us crazy with curiosity! Just tell us, will you?"

The moment Faye Collins spoke, Hector Donovan guessed that most of the guests had probably already gone online to watch clips from their morning livestream.

Serena Taylor then added with a gentle smile, "Speaking of that, when we first saw you two run off looking so confident, we even made a bet with Lambert."

Hector Donovan raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Bet on what?"

"We bet on whether you two could find a house and get a meal before we did."

"So, who won?"

They all looked at each other, then sheepishly scratched their cheeks. "We all lost."

The two of them were speechless. ’So basically, no one bet on us to succeed.’

"So please, take pity on us and just tell us what happened."

Hector Donovan didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed. He turned to look at Arabella Donovan, and only after she nodded did he tell them the truth. "We did use a rather unusual method. And it’s all thanks to my sister, actually."

"Miss Donovan?" Everyone feigned surprise right on cue.

"That’s right. For certain reasons, my sister grew up in a Sacred Temple. She learned a few things from an old master there—skills like word divination, face reading, and divining fortunes. The reason we found the house and got lunch so quickly this morning was because she used a small Compass she carries to figure out the location of a ’benefactor’ who would help us complete our task."

Hearing her brother, Arabella Donovan took out the Compass she had used earlier, right on cue.

"So that’s the thing?"

It was the first time Milton Lambert and the others had ever seen one, and they all leaned in curiously.

"Yes, this is it."

Faye Collins reached out to touch it, but then, afraid it might be rude, she quietly drew her hand back.

"So what’s this usually used for?"

"Mainly for determining orientation, and for finding people or things."

"You can find people and things with this?" Milton Lambert’s interest was piqued. "In that case, Serena, how about you help me find someone?"

Hector Donovan was silent. ’He’s already calling her Serena? This guy really warms up to people in a hurry.’

Arabella Donovan was momentarily taken aback, but then she nodded with a faint smile. "I can. Mr. Lambert, please place your hand on this Compass, close your eyes, and silently repeat the name of the person you’re looking for."

Milton Lambert chuckled and readily placed his hand on it, then closed his eyes as Arabella Donovan instructed.

In the next instant, the base of the Compass made a few clicking sounds. The needle on top gave a WHIZ, swung to a specific position, and stopped.

"This..." Faye Collins and the others glanced at the direction the needle was pointing, their faces full of confusion. "How are you supposed to read this?"

"Well? Did you figure anything out?" Milton Lambert opened his eyes and asked eagerly.

"The person Lambert is looking for..." Arabella Donovan paused. "...is exactly where she’s supposed to be right now."

Everyone: "???"

All the viewers in the livestream: "???"

The smile on Milton Lambert’s face froze. "Well... that was certainly a sentence."

In other words: that was a whole lot of nothing!

Arabella Donovan could easily detect the frustrated speechlessness in his tone. Before the haters in the livestream chat could start their jeering, she smiled and said, "The Compass is pointing west, which means the person Lambert is looking for is to the west."

Milton Lambert, who was in the middle of picking up some food, froze. The smile on his lips faded slightly.

"The tip of the needle has landed on the Day Branch. In calculations using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Day Pillar is often used to represent the subject of the reading—in this case, you, Lambert. The Day Branch, in turn, corresponds to your wife. Therefore, the person you’re looking for is your wife."

Hearing this, everyone instinctively turned to look at Milton Lambert. "Lambert, is what Serena said true?"

Milton Lambert was stunned. "Serena, that’s... that’s incredible!"

’He’d only repeated his wife’s name in his head. He hadn’t told a soul. Yet she’d figured it out instantly. Was it a coincidence, or...’

Milton Lambert’s gaze fell on the Compass in Arabella Donovan’s hand, his eyes burning with intensity.

Arabella Donovan looked down and continued, "The Day Branch falls on the *yǒu* position. The *yǒu* position is in the west. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. From this, we can deduce that Lambert’s wife has, in all likelihood, finished work and returned home."

Hearing this, it clicked for Hector Donovan. "So that’s why you said she was ’exactly where she’s supposed to be’?"

"Mhm."

Once Arabella Donovan finished her explanation, a silence fell over the group.

After all, only Milton Lambert and his wife could know if any of this was true. The others had no grounds to comment.

But right at that moment, something dramatic happened.

Because the production team hadn’t collected the guests’ phones, they were all able to contact their families during the show.

Less than a minute after Arabella Donovan finished speaking, Milton Lambert’s phone chimed. He glanced at it and saw it was a text from his wife.

After reading the text, Milton Lambert’s eyes lit up.

"It’s a text from my wife! She says she really is home and is sitting at her computer watching our livestream right now."

The moment he said that, the set erupted in an uproar. The livestream chat was instantly flooded with a barrage of "HOLY SHIT" and "AMAZING."

Although many still suspected it was all scripted, Milton Lambert, the man at the center of it all, was now completely convinced.

"Serena, you’re just too incredible. I’m a total believer now. I have no doubt you found this house with that little gadget." As he spoke, something else seemed to occur to Milton Lambert. He asked curiously, "Aside from this, do you have any other amazing skills?"

"Other amazing skills?" Arabella Donovan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You know... the kind of stuff you just did. That Daoist mystical arts stuff. Didn’t your brother just say you know word divination, face reading, and divining fortunes? Could you show us a little more? It’d be great material for me to collect."

Arabella Donovan was speechless. ’He’s still thinking about work at a time like this. What a model employee, born to grind.’

"Ahem... does face reading count?" That was definitely in her comfort zone.

"Yes, yes, of course it counts! Take a look for me. How’s my face? Am I destined for wealth and fortune in the future?"

Arabella Donovan gave him a wry look. "Lambert, haven’t you been destined for a life of wealth and privilege since birth? Why are you asking about the future?"