Chapter 140

Lu Mian, who had succeeded in his second attempt, ended the ritual, tidied up the wooden table, took out Aurora's witchcraft notes, and flipped through the corresponding parts by the light of the carbide lamp.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he suddenly had a premonition, lifted his head, and cast his gaze toward the window position.

A folded letter paper was lying quietly there.

"So fast?" Lu Mian reached out in astonishment and took the letter.

The reply from "Lady Lady Hai La," the vice president of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society, had arrived earlier than he had anticipated.

Lu Mian unfolded the letter paper and browsed through the words that were highly decorative:

"It's very regrettable to hear this news; ever since 'Muggle' was absent from last month's gathering, I had a bad premonition.

"This world has too many dangers; sometimes, it's not that we want to avoid them, but we can't, unless we can control everyone around us.

"If you are willing, you can tell me about the misfortune 'Muggle' encountered; you don't need to be very detailed, just tell me the general situation...

"From the fact that you can summon my messenger, you should have also stepped onto the path of the extraordinary. I don't know if your sister told you that this means you will be accompanied by danger and madness forever, but it is necessary to remind you that restraint and caution are our best friends.

"Afterward, if you have any doubts in mysticism, you can write a letter to ask me; although I am not known for being knowledgeable, I can also answer many questions.

"I only met 'Muggle' twice in the last year, mainly discussing various things in the extraordinary field; what left a deep impression on me was that she mentioned a friend of hers was influenced by a strange dream and hoped to find a way to solve it. If necessary, she wanted to ask a real psychologist to provide treatment..."

Lu Mian finished reading "Lady Lady Hai La's" reply silently, the muscles on his face looking as if they were stretching and twisting.

Aurora was really looking for a way to solve that strange dream of hers!

Lu Mian relaxed his emotions and considered how to reply.

Just at this moment, he suddenly froze.

His eyebrows gradually furrowed, and he muttered to himself in a low voice:

"What Aurora said to 'Lady Lady Hai La' was to ask a real psychologist...

"Combined with Ms. 'Susie's' description, a real psychologist should refer to a certain sequence of the 'Spectator' pathway...

"Only a Beyonder who is good in this field could possibly make me stop dreaming of that world filled with gray fog..."

This matter itself had no problem; the problem was:

The record of that pathway in Aurora's witchcraft notes only had Sequence 9 "Spectator"!

And she obviously knew about "Psychologist"!

Lu Mian then remembered the two conversations in his dream;

One was Aurora saying she wanted to find a real hypnotist for him;

The other was Aurora mentioning that she knew the Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 of all pathways and had a certain understanding of them.

"Psychologist is often linked with hypnosis; 'Hypnotist' is also likely a certain sequence of the 'Spectator' pathway, perhaps even higher than 'Psychologist'...

"Aurora didn't record the Sequence 8, Sequence 7... corresponding to the 'Spectator' pathway in the witchcraft notes..." Lu Mian's expression became quite solemn, yet carried a bit of twisted excitement.

After many days, he finally discovered a small problem in Aurora's witchcraft notes!

Before, he actually had a certain suspicion about this matter, but he wasn't sure if it really hid some kind of anomaly. After all, the Aurora in his dream belonged to a character blended from his own memories and impressions under the influence of soul fragments; it was normal that every sentence she said wasn't necessarily true or perfect, and not specifically mentioning exceptions was normal.

And now, "Lady Lady Hai La's" reply confirmed from the side that Aurora really knew one or several sequences after the "Spectator" pathway and had a certain understanding of the corresponding abilities.

"Why didn't Aurora write these knowledge points in the witchcraft notes? What secret is hidden behind this abnormal phenomenon?" Lu Mian pulled out a piece of white paper, both sad and excited, as he weighed his words.

Before a minute had passed, he wrote down:

"Respected Ms. 'Lady Lady Hai La':

"The situation is like this...

"I have no way of knowing the real situation because I lost part of my memory in that disaster.

"If you can help me keep an eye on the whereabouts of Guillaume Benet, Puallis de Rochefort, and others, I will be extremely grateful; their physical characteristics can be obtained directly from the official wanted posters.

"Finally, there is one more question; I don't know which real psychologist 'Muggle' wanted to ask at the time?"

Lu Mian mentioned the Cordu Village incident briefly in the letter, didn't talk about the dream, didn't talk about the cycle, and didn't even mention how he was rescued, only saying in a speculative tone that the parish priest Guillaume Benet, under the guidance of someone, believed in an evil god, drove away Puallis, who followed another evil god, and then tried to hold a ritual with the whole village as a sacrifice. At the critical moment, 'Muggle,' who was selected as a container, pushed away another important sacrifice, which was Lu Mian himself, causing the ritual to fail, Cordu Village to turn into ruins, and finally, the official Beyonders who received the plea for help letter did the corresponding cleanup.

Lu Mian once again set up the altar, summoned the silver skull, and handed the letter to it.

Similarly, before a quarter of an hour had passed, he received "Lady Lady Hai La's" second reply.

Unable to care about comparing the enthusiasm of Ms. "Magician's" and Ms. "Lady Lady Hai La's" replies, Lu Mian quickly read the content on the letter:

"I can feel your sadness and can also understand your desire to investigate the truth, find the murderer, and complete your revenge.

"I am friends with 'Muggle,' and I will provide you with help within my ability, including but not limited to finding those people.

"On this matter, I can also provide you with a new line of investigation. As far as I know, 'Muggle's' parents and other family members should still be alive in this world; she stayed away from them based on certain reasons and didn't dare to return to Trier. I'm not sure if they have any problems or if they have contacted followers of evil gods.

"I also don't know which 'psychologist' 'Muggle' wanted to find at the time. Within our organization, there are multiple real 'psychologists,' and many of the gatherings that I and 'Muggle' participated in didn't overlap. I will help you ask the members who had intersections with her to see if I can get the answer you want...

"Before this matter is investigated clearly, I will hide the news that 'Muggle' has passed away for you..."

"If you move house later, remember to summon my messenger again, so I don't lose contact with you after obtaining the corresponding information..."

After Lu Mian finished reading, he was silent for a long time and exhaled slowly.

He had initially fantasized that Ms. "Lady Lady Hai La" would invite him to join the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society to take Aurora's place. That way, he could better investigate who the "psychologist" Aurora wanted to ask was, but now it seemed that the organization was very cautious about recruiting new members, and one might even have to meet certain traits to be qualified as an assessment target, such as the "can't return to hometown" that Aurora had mentioned.

"Perhaps Ms. 'Lady Lady Hai La' is observing me now, assessing me..." Lu Mian comforted himself and sat down again, continuing to study Aurora's witchcraft notes.

As for Aurora's original family, he had no clue.

Wednesday, 7:50 PM, No. 20 White Coat Street.

Lu Mian, wearing a gray-blue worker's uniform and a dark blue, near-black flat cap, knocked on Osta Trul's door.

Osta, wearing a black robe and a hood, opened the wooden door, looked left and right, and said with a smile:

"You are more punctual than I imagined."

"I am also more committed to my promises than you imagined." Lu Mian walked into the room, took out banknotes and coins worth 80 verl d'or, and handed them to Osta.

After Osta took them, he counted them twice and smiled even more happily.

While leading Lu Mian downstairs, he chattered on:

"The Market District has been a bit chaotic these past few days; Baron Brignell didn't even come to ask me for money."

"A gang leader died." Lu Mian said casually.

Osta first realized, then said with quite a bit of regret:

"Why wasn't it Baron Brignell who died?"

"If Baron Brignell died, there would be Baron Guillaume, Baron Pierre; as long as the Savages Gang is still there, the usury you owe must be repaid." Lu Mian said in a mocking tone.

Osta's expression collapsed instantly.

Before long, he took Lu Mian onto a public carriage, each spending 30 kopeks, and found a seat in the carriage.

It took nearly an hour for the public carriage to arrive from the Honest Man Market District on the south bank of the Selenzo River to the Boulevard District on the north bank of the Selenzo River, which was the 8th District.

This was the heart of the entire Republic of Intis, where the President worked at the Palace of Fraternity, the Grand Palace where Emperor Roselle used to live, and various newspaper offices were all here, surrounded by high-end residences.

Lu Mian had seen in the newspaper before that the average rent in this district was 4000 verl d'or per year, or about 74 verl d'or per week, and expensive ones could even reach tens of thousands.

"Mr. K convenes everyone for a gathering in the Boulevard District?" Seeing that there were few people left on the public carriage, Lu Mian asked Osta in a suppressed voice.

Osta laughed:

"It has always been.

"The headquarters of magazines like 'Psychic' and 'Arcana' are also in the Boulevard District."

You guys really know how to hide... Lu Mian cast his gaze toward the wide, smooth boulevard outside the window, the Intis plane trees neatly arranged along the street, and the elegantly shaped, light-colored buildings behind them.

Just before 8:50, Osta took Lu Mian into the six-story-high, rice-white luxurious house at No. 19 Shell Street.

"This is the headquarters of 'Psychic' magazine, but they only own the top three floors." Osta didn't go upstairs but turned into the corridor on the right side of the ground floor.

Only then did he say to Lu Mian:

"Mr. K wants to see you in advance."

"Alright." Lu Mian lowered his head, pressed his hat, and didn't know what he was busy with.

Osta then took out an iron-colored mask and said with a smile:

"Time to disguise yourself; you can't let everyone see what you really look like."

The next second, Lu Mian lifted his head.

His face was wrapped in layer after layer of white bandages, revealing only his eyes, nostrils, and ears.

Seeing this scene, Osta's heart almost stopped beating.

(End of chapter)