Chapter 111: White Tower

Ke Lai En paused briefly in silence; Lei Ke Dun's words contained a great deal of information. Whether it was the Spirit Realm's Seven Light or an entirely new system, he needed to digest it properly.

After the brief silence, Ke Lai En lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger, stopped, refocused his gaze on Lei Ke Dun, and asked:

"What does the Hidden Sage want to obtain?"

"Some assistance; in the near future there will inevitably be a fight to the death between it and Steam."

"And also, if the struggle with Steam ends in victory, it will need one of your blessings, as it must go to a sealed place."

Lei Ke Dun named the place where Mr. Fool would need his help in the future, should things truly reach that point.

Ke Lai En fell silent again; the other's words were somewhat frightening.

Some assistance could be described as taking part in a Divine War; he is only a newly promoted Sequence Eight.

Ke Lai En neither wanted to agree nor reveal that his sequence rank was far insufficient.

"If at that time I have already returned to the position of the Great Ruler above the Spirit Realm, then I can."

Ke Lai En's reply did not close the matter.

"Of course!"

Lei Ke Dun nodded in response.

Ke Lai En had intended to ask the other some questions, but felt his own spirit was no longer enough to sustain staying too long in this gray mist.

He changed the subject, aiming to end the conversation quickly:

"Heh! You should have noticed that more people will arrive here; I respond to their requests by holding regular gatherings here. If you're interested, you can join as its spokesperson."

Since a verbal agreement had been reached, Ke Lai En didn't mind pulling the other into the Tarot Society. This way, through Miss Justice and others, he could siphon more information or knowledge from them, while also expanding the Tarot Society's channels.

"My honor!"

Lei Ke Dun bowed again; this was the outcome he most hoped for.

Ke Lai En's silhouette, shrouded in gray mist, lifted his hand lightly, and a set of Tarot cards materialized before Lei Ke Dun.

"They use Tarot cards as codenames; you can also choose one as your own codename."

"The cards that were occupied have already been removed by me."

Lei Ke Dun stared at the Tarot cards, hesitating; he wanted to pick the Hermit that matched his own path, but the Hermit was to be chosen after his captain.

The remaining options were the Temperance card, which he liked, and the White Tower card that matched the reader's path. His hesitation stemmed mainly from the White Tower card's unfavorable meanings, whether upright or reversed.

Ke Lai En watched Lei Ke Dun's indecision anxiously; if the other continued to waver, his own spirit would become unstable.

"White Tower then! I have a strong affinity with Knowledge."

Lei Ke Dun made his choice before Ke Lai En's spirit became unstable.

"Fine!"

Ke Lai En, shrouded in gray mist, exhaled in relief.

If the other hesitated further, he would not be able to sustain himself.

The floating Tarot cards vanished, and the Fool, still cloaked in gray mist, spoke again:

"Every Monday at 3 p. m."

After saying that, he expelled Lei Ke Dun from the gray‑mist space.

"Phew~ That was close; I almost couldn't hold on," Ke Lai En sighed in relief.

His figure then vanished from the gray mist, returning to Raphael Cemetery.

Back in the real world, Ke Lai En returned once more to Deng En's tomb.

He gazed at the photo and inscription on the tombstone, let out a long sigh, drew a Crimson Moon on his chest, then turned and left the cemetery.

In the study on Bei Ke Lan De Mingsike Jie, Lei Ke Dun, having finished his conversation with Ke Lai En, looked around as the surroundings reverted.

"Why does it feel a bit rushed? Ke Lai En should still have many questions to ask me."

Lei Ke Dun pondered in confusion for a moment.

Then he considered a possibility:

"Before he pulled me into the gray mist, he had already been in the mist for a considerable time, so his spirit couldn't quite sustain itself?"

"If I linger any longer, will both I and Mr. Fool fall out of the gray‑mist space together!"

Lei Ke Dun felt that this was indeed the truth, and was both amused and exasperated.

"Our Mr. Fool has a heavy burden and a long road ahead!"

Lei Ke Dun sighed on Ke Lai En's behalf.

He quickly thought of himself: Ke Lai En was, after all, the heir of Yuan Fortress, whereas he was merely a tool in the Wilderness of Knowledge.

"In a sense, my burden should be even heavier, but I can choose to slack off; I lack strong responsibility or a sense of belonging, unlike Ke Lai En."

"Ke Lai En is also about to arrive at Bei Ke Lan De; I must quickly process the demonic elixir, not only to keep up with his pace later but also to resolve my own hidden issues."

Having set his next goal, Lei Ke Dun prepared to find the Hidden Sage to impart knowledge to his newly recruited raven subordinate; it still hadn't fully learned to speak, only repeating others' words, and Tu Ba Ge was on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of it.

Lei Ke Dun, too lazy to arrange a ceremony, began reciting the Hidden Sage's revered name directly:

"O Sage who perceives the world, eyes that probe truth, embodiment of endless knowledge and spirit numbers!"

"I pray to you: grant my raven some knowledge."

The prayer to the Hidden Sage concluded quickly, but Lei Ke Dun received no response; the sage seemed to ignore him.

Lei Ke Dun prepared to gather materials and pray to the Hidden Sage again.

Suddenly his inspiration was triggered, and Lei Ke Dun turned his head toward the downstairs living room.

A violet glow swirled in his eyes, his gaze pierced the floor below, seeing Tu Ba Ge and the raven Anu in the downstairs living room.

Lei Ke Dun saw a stream of information surge like a torrent in the Spirit Realm, and the next moment it covered the Spirit Realm area corresponding to where the raven stood.

The information torrent rushed through without pause; the raven, which had been flapping its wings in the air, fell straight to the ground.

The whole raven collapsed, convulsing on the ground, on the brink of toxic shock, about to foam at the mouth.

Originally, Tu Ba Ge, who had been glaring at the crow from the side, was startled by this sudden scene. He cautiously walked forward, extended a paw, and touched the fallen crow.

Seeing that the crow indeed had no reaction to his touch, his expression changed instantly, and he kicked the crow hard with one foot. He kept kicking and slapping, tormenting the crow for a while before finally stopping, still unwilling to quit.

Lei Ke Dun's eyebrows twitched as he watched, completely unable to imagine what had happened between the crow and the rabbit in his home during these few days he was away.

He withdrew his gaze from downstairs, Lei Ke Dun hesitated about whether to go down and interrupt the harmonious friendship between his rabbit and crow.

"Boss, boss! Something's wrong, A Nu suddenly collapsed and can't get up!"

Soon, Tu Ba Ge came running up, hopping and shouting.

Lei Ke Dun glanced at the rabbit putting on an anxious act, without exposing its earlier move of taking advantage to retaliate against the crow A Nu.

"Let's go check." Saying that, he headed downstairs.

By the time Tu Ba Ge and Lei Ke Dun reached downstairs, the crow A Nu was no longer lying on the ground twitching.

"Looks like there's no problem now; can you speak normally?"

Lei Ke Dun crouched down and asked curiously.

"Ga~ I can!" the crow's voice sounded weak and feeble.

Lei Ke Dun nodded:

"The effect is clearly visible! Just rest a bit, organize the knowledge in your mind, and there won't be any problems."

"Boss, was it also given knowledge?"

Tu Ba Ge said cautiously from the side.

While speaking, he still glanced around, seemingly worried that the hidden sage who liked to impart knowledge to others hadn't left yet.

"Eh, it previously lacked the relevant common sense, couldn't speak at all, and only knew how to repeat others' words like a parrot." Lei Ke Dun nodded.

"Ga! I I can speak now, no.. no need to be given knowledge."

After hearing Lei Ke Dun and Tu Ba Ge's conversation, the crow understood what had just happened to it. Frightened, it immediately sprang up from the ground, and its speech became stammering.

(End of chapter)