Chapter 148: The Witch

The Night Church should have already been cleaning up the residual influence over at Dongbailang Shipyard, right!

The True Creator and the Hidden Sage's aura take turns descending, surely affecting the nearby residents to some degree.

Lan Erwu's matter is over, but Lei Kedun feels his favor with the Night Goddess is now precarious.

Lei Kedun, who had been hoping to get on good terms with the Night Goddess, let out a slight sigh, rose from his chair, and prepared to fetch some breakfast.

At that moment, his own inspiration was stirred again, and a pale yellow sheet drifted down from the spirit realm.

Lei Kedun caught the letter, curious why it was written to him so early, and quickly unfolded it:

My dear friend:

The Captain wants you to do a favor, to investigate why the Hidden Sage briefly descended over Beckland last night.

Whether or not you succeed, the Captain will find you the Wind Afflicted's demon elixir formula within a week.

The Captain asks me to remind you: if the matter proves too dangerous, abandon the investigation immediately and prioritize your own safety.

My personal advice is that you merely gather a bit of information to placate the Captain; an event involving a dark god's descent is too perilous and not suitable for ordinary extraordinary beings like us.

Your sea‑borne friend: Fulan Ke.

Lei Kedun looked rather surprised at the letter Frank wrote him, not expecting Jia Deli Ya to ask him to investigate the Hidden Sage's brief descent last night.

How should I brush it off? I don't know if this is a Bernade or Mos Ascetic Order task, or perhaps both?

Lei Kedun rubbed his chin with his right hand, and thought aloud in a low voice for a moment.

As for the Hidden Sage's brief descent, Jia Deli Ya learned of it so quickly and even tasked him to investigate, which Lei Kedun found unsurprising.

Both the Mos Ascetic Order and Bernade are paths of the Seeker of Secrets, so they surely have extra perception regarding matters of the Hidden Sage.

He then went to the study, picked up a feather pen, and wrote a reply to Frank:

Got it; I'll reply via messenger in a couple of days.

During this time, tell the Captain not to sail the Future too far, or summon my spirit messenger at a fixed spot so it can locate you.

Your friend in Beckland: A Er.

He then summoned a book messenger and handed over the written letter.

He re‑attached the paper to himself, and the book messenger swiftly vanished into the spirit realm.

"Tsk— an unexpected gain," he sighed lightly.

Originally, Lei Kedun had given up on finding the Wind Afflicted's formula for Hanged Man A'erjie, but the Captain's side took another turn. He just doesn't know whether the formula comes from the Mos Ascetic Order or the Mysterious Queen.

When today's newspaper arrived, Lei Kedun found no report about last night's Dongbailang Shipyard, seemingly suppressed by the Night Church.

Today Beckland was unusually sunny; Lei Kedun moved his small coffee table and chairs onto the balcony, enjoyed the rare sunshine, and read the book he borrowed from Mr. Huang.

Soon it was afternoon; at exactly three o'clock Beckland time, deep crimson light surged like a tide, quickly drowning Lei Kedun's vision.

Rays of deep crimson rose within the grand ancient palace, outlining several vague figures.

Miss Justice, in a good mood, rose, lightly lifting her skirt, bowed to the Fool at the highest seat, and said:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

"The 'simple' task you commissioned has been completed."

Lei Kedun glanced at Miss Justice nearby; she emphasized 'simple', seeming to have obtained some information about Lan Erwu's death, perhaps probing whether a member of the Tarot Society was responsible?

Seated at the highest seat, under the gray mist, Ke Lai En also noticed Miss Justice's subtle probe and, feigning nonchalance, said:

"I already know."

Then, in a sighing tone, he added:

"In such an era, in such a place, it truly is a breeding ground for dark god descents!"

"It is the inevitable process of civilization's progress."

Sitting quietly listening, Lei Kedun responded with a reflective remark, and this abrupt move drew everyone's gaze.

In Miss Justice's and the Hanged Man's perception, such a sudden interjection when facing a great being is quite offensive.

Seated at the highest seat, under the gray mist, Ke Lai En listened with interest to his fellow countryman's view:

"Just as past history, this era will eventually be replaced by a brand‑new era when the tide of ages arrives!"

"A brand‑new era?" Ke Lai En muttered to himself, for some reason the words resonated with him.

"The tide of ages?"

Miss Justice Ao Dai Li voiced a curious doubt.

But Lei Kedun gave no answer; the latter remark was merely said because he saw everyone's attention drawn to his sudden sentiment.

In front of Miss Justice, who is a spectator path, Lei Kedun did not wish to discuss the tide of ages further.

The little sun sitting to Lei Kedun's right looked bewildered, understanding little of these terms.

Hanged Man A'erjie then began a brainstorming in his mind.

The tide of ages? A brand‑new era.

Each era's turnover is accompanied by a world‑spanning war; does the White Tower mean another war will break out in the not‑so‑distant future?

Is the Knowledge Church the one that discovered some clue, or is this what they have plotted?

Knowing that the White Tower is a reader path extraordinary being with decent strength, the Hanged Man concluded the other was a member of the Knowledge Church.

Low‑rank demon elixirs tend to leak, but at mid‑to‑high ranks the formulas are firmly held by the major churches and organizations.

Under the gray mist, Ke Lai En pondered briefly, tapped the table with a curved finger, and, after everyone's gaze turned, whispered ambiguously:

"This is the inevitability of the era; no one can avoid it."

Ke Lai En originally only wanted to follow Lei Kedun's words, maintaining his grand Fool image.

But then, through spiritual sight, he saw the change in Lei Kedun's spiritual aura, indicating his remark greatly moved the other.

Lei Kedun sat expressionless in his seat, arms crossed, contemplating the flag Ke Lai En set for everyone present.

He recalled the title 'Fortress of Origin's Destiny Signpost', and felt Ke Lai En's offhand comment was influenced by that.

Ke Lai En saw Lei Ke Dun fall into contemplation, and manipulated his own little world, steering the conversation back toward the direction he wanted.

"Ha! I've read some investigation reports; workers in certain factories hardly survive five years, right in Beikelande, in the East District, the Dock District, and the Factory District."

"There, people basically never reach a third generation; poverty and hunger cause their lives to wither quickly."

Mr. World's words were hard for Miss Justice, who grew up in Beikelande, to adjust to; these were things she had never encountered, but she knew they were probably true.

She somewhat understood why Mr. Fool said that in this era, places like this would become a breeding ground for the descent of an evil god.

Audrey instinctively thought they could not continue like this, lest Beikelande one day be destroyed by it, just as Mr. White Tower said the tide of the era would sweep over.

Miss Justice suddenly felt that the consistently rational and kind Mr. White Tower had long foreseen all this, and that he stood on the side of the new era.

Watching Miss Justice lost in thought, Ke Lai En, shrouded in gray mist, nodded slightly in his heart, pleased; he steered the topic this way precisely to use the aristocratic Miss Justice to subtly push the kingdom's reform.

The Tarot Society's initial exchange came to a pause, and The Hanged Man A'erjie, under Mr. Fool's gaze, manifested the final page of Luosai'er's diary.

Ke Lai En spontaneously took the diary materialized by The Hanged Man and gave it a casual glance.

The content of this diary page concerned the Illegal Property Aggregation Law, information already obtained from A Er, but it also served as a side confirmation.

"There are three paths related to Source Fortress, so I will continue to encounter extraordinary ones or related events via thieves and apprentice paths, and I've even already encountered them, just didn't notice."

Ke Lai En pondered briefly, then shifted his gaze to the second diary entry behind it, where he saw a sentence he didn't know how to exclaim or describe.

"January 16th, the taste of a witch is really quite good!"

After reading all the diaries, Ke Lai En made the manifested diary vanish, then leaned back slightly and said softly:

"You may now communicate freely."

Lei Ke Dun immediately leaned forward, raised his right hand slightly, and said:

"Mr. Hanged Man, the Wind-affinitive demon elixir formula you need can be given to you within this week; I will consider preparing gold pounds or magical items and materials of equivalent value for exchange."

Before The Hanged Man could speak in surprise, Lei Ke Dun continued:

"My reward as a middleman is simple: that page of Luosai'er's diary just now!"

Because in The Hanged Man's understanding, this text uniquely created by the Great Emperor Luosai'er can be deciphered only by Mr. Fool, so its manifestation is rather casual.

Not far away, Lei Ke Dun "happened" to see the sentence "the taste of a witch is really quite good!"

Sitting at the highest seat, Ke Lai En, shrouded in gray mist,'s complexion shifted slightly; he guessed Lei Ke Dun had seen that diary page's content.

"Given A Er's temperament, he's likely more interested in that line 'the taste of a witch is really quite good' than the blasphemous card information; Great Emperor, your later reputation may not be preserved."

(End of Chapter)