Chapter 265

Lu Mian had always thought that the other self in his dream represented his own dark side, an alienated personality produced by being contaminated by fate.

But now it seems there are more meanings.

There is no problem with the interpretation of "his" essence, but does the sneaky behavior of "him" and that owl hiding in the wizard's tomb also have corresponding symbols?

Representing the mastermind behind the scenes, the owner of the lizard-like creature, the true planner of that great sacrifice in Cordu Village?

And now, he is hiding in the dark, trying to cooperate with Termiboros to escape the seal?

But Termiboros's attitude toward the lizard-like creature doesn't seem like that...

Lu Mian was silent for several seconds, did not hide his speculation, and told the "Magician" lady in detail.

The "Magician" listened very seriously, thought for a while and said:

"I originally thought that as long as you accepted psychological treatment in stages and recalled the forgotten things step by step, the truth of Cordu Village would clearly appear before your eyes, and that shouldn't be any different from what I learned."

"But after hearing you say this, I suspect that some symbols and metaphors presented in your dream hide other secrets, deeper secrets."

"But no matter what, those symbols and metaphors come from the projection of my real experiences in the dream. It's impossible that I still can't interpret them after recovering my memory, right?" Lu Mian raised an objection.

The "Magician" lady smiled slightly:

"That's not necessarily true."

Seeing that Lu Mian was puzzled, she explained simply:

"On one hand, it's possible that you didn't experience it in reality, but your spirituality or subconscious sensed danger and anomalies and projected them into the dream as symbolic elements."

"On the other hand, you have Termiboros sealed in your body, and your fate is connected to It. Your subconscious may have discovered some anomalies from It."

Lu Mian roughly understood what the "Magician" lady meant, thought for a while and said:

"After I accept all stages of psychological treatment, can Ms. Susie directly evoke my subconscious and ask it the meaning of different symbols?"

"This is very dangerous. At that time, it will have to be decided whether to try based on the comprehensive opinions of the two 'psychiatrists'." The "Magician" lady said thoughtfully, "This will have to wait until a long time later. Before that, I can help you find a Beyonder who is good at deciphering symbolic meanings to see if it can be interpreted accurately enough without going through your subconscious. Do you need it?"

"Okay." Lu Mian agreed impatiently.

Then, he asked with a little worry:

"What about Termiboros's helper who might be lurking around?"

The "Magician" lady said peacefully:

"In the situation where we have already sensed this possibility, I don't think he will risk staying around you. Of course, I will continue to make certain observations."

She turned to ask:

"Do you intend to continue the task given to you by the 'Aurora Order'? Many people should have seen you rushing toward the 'Shadow Tree' just now, which will make Gardner Martin suspicious."

"If you don't want to take risks, tell Mr. K about this. He should be very gratified that you killed a 'Fallen Tree Spirit' and destroyed the plan of the 'Blessed Society,' and then he will arrange new tasks for you."

"If you wish to continue, I will ask someone to blur the memories of those witnesses. Anyway, in that environment at the time, it's normal not to see your specific appearance and physical characteristics clearly."

Lu Mian had almost no hesitation:

"I want to continue."

Gardner Martin himself is a Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 of the "Hunter" pathway, and there are a large number of "Hunters" around him. Continuing to contact him and joining the organization called the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" has a high possibility of obtaining the subsequent potion formula and main materials for "Pyromaniac."

After these things, Lu Mian had a further understanding of the level of sequences, the terror of the strong, and his own level. He had an urgent desire to improve his strength, which was completely different from his state when he first arrived in Trier, where he didn't care much about anything and was seeking hope in a somewhat muddled state.

Only when one is strong enough can one resist misfortune, find the truth of that disaster in the dangerous arcane world, and distinguish whether various proposals using "resurrection" as bait contain malice!

The "Magician" lady nodded gently and agreed to Lu Mian's request.

Because of the topic just now, Lu Mian asked with a little curiosity:

"Has the 'Shadow Tree' been solved?"

"How is that possible?" The "Magician" lady sneered, "Even if the two major churches request a divine descent, the 'Shadow Tree' cannot be solved. Hehe, it's not that there is no way, it's just that the price is so high that no one is willing to pay it."

"What kind of price?" Lu Mian asked.

The "Magician" lady walked two steps to the side of the hillside like a stroll:

"After more than a thousand years of nourishment and influence, the 'Shadow Tree' has long been integrated with Trier, equivalent to its dark side, its shadow. Unless this big city is directly destroyed and everyone here is killed, even a true god cannot completely destroy it."

"Of course, you can also move Trier to another place, relocate all the people, and then wait five or six years for the 'Shadow Tree' that has lost nourishment to become weak enough, and then pull it out by the roots. But if that happens, other dangers under Trier will not be controllable."

"Are there other dangers?" Lu Mian frowned.

Is the underground of Trier too exaggerated?

He then asked suspiciously:

"Why not destroy it when the 'Shadow Tree' was just planted?"

The "Magician" lady laughed:

"Isn't this because they were in a hurry to build the city and resist certain dangers underground, and didn't notice that someone had quietly planted a 'Shadow Tree'?"

She didn't specifically talk about what other dangers there were, seemingly not thinking that this was something Lu Mian should know now.

Lu Mian keenly sensed this and closed his mouth.

The "Magician" lady looked at him and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Will you be unhappy because I sent you directly to Trier, got you involved in a series of dangerous things, and didn't provide corresponding help?"

"No." Lu Mian didn't understand why the "Magician" lady would ask this question.

In his view, accepting tasks, completing commissions, and receiving rewards were fair enough things, and during this process, the "Magician" lady would also give guidance through letters.

Except for the few years after being adopted, Lu Mian had long been accustomed to not completely relying on others and making full use of various resources in his hands to achieve his goals.

The "Magician" lady smiled:

"Didn't you see 'The Hierophant' summoning her Major Arcana card? That's also because she happened to be in Trier; otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy and effective."

She paused and said:

"If I treated you as an extension of my eyes, an extension of my palms, as a true subordinate without self-will, I could allow you to obtain enough help by chanting my name, ensuring your safety most of the time. But you chose the 'Hunter' pathway, which is a pathway that requires fighting and requires a strong self-will."

"Flowers raised in a greenhouse cannot become qualified 'Hunters.' A 'Hunter' who always relies on having a protector and has been fighting in a comfort zone is very difficult to obtain divinity and become a saint. At that time, it will take more time and a greater price to make up for the current lack."

"What kind of person do you want to become?"

Lu Mian was silent for two seconds and said:

"I want to become someone who makes those bastards tremble."

The answer was self-evident.

The "Magician" lady nodded with satisfaction:

"Of course, this doesn't mean I won't care about you. I will still reply to your letters, give you opinions, and even provide help directly according to your request, but I don't want you to feel that you can be protected at all times."

Lu Mian nodded, indicating that he understood.

He remembered Susanna Mattise quickly chanting certain words to pray for high-level help, and combined with the keywords mentioned by the "Magician" lady just now, he seemed to be thinking as he said:

"Chanting the honorific name of a certain existence can obtain Its gaze and pray for corresponding help?"

"Yes." The "Magician" nodded gently, "But that requires the other party to have enough goodwill. When you reach a certain stage, I will also tell you my name. Hmm, you hold the honorific name of Mr. 'Fool,' but if you don't hold a ritual, it's difficult to get an effective response just by chanting, and you may even encounter bad influences. This is because Mr. 'Fool' is resisting a certain ancient god, which relates to the outcome of all of us and whether this world can survive the apocalypse."

Mr. "Fool"? Is the abbreviation of that great existence "Fool"? It really is a secret organization codenamed after Tarot cards... Lu Mian used to automatically associate it with the Tarot cards that appeared in daily life when he heard "Fool," not the "Fool" in the honorific name. That was more like a description.

The "Magician" lady didn't continue this topic and glanced at the tree trunk in Lu Mian's hand:

"This is a good thing. Attacks without divinity cannot damage it, and after hitting the target, it may also trigger some kind of desire in them."

"If you harvest Beyonder characteristics that can match it, you can find a way to ask a saint-level 'Artisan' to combine them and make them into a magical artifact."

"You cannot carry it with you all the time, otherwise your various desires will gradually lose control. For a Beyonder who has consumed a potion, this is very dangerous."

Just after saying this, the "Magician" lady tilted her head slightly, seemingly listening to something, and then said to Lu Mian:

"That's all for today."

In the next second, rich color blocks mixed together and those transparent creatures with indescribable forms appeared before Lu Mian's eyes again.

After another second, he saw the chaotic street full of cracks.

The "Magician" lady had disappeared before his eyes.

Lu Mian was stunned for a moment and hurriedly put on the clothes and pants in his hand.

Immediately after, he saw Franca not far away.

Both of them smiled at the same time.

Before they had time to communicate their feelings about being in the same secret organization, they saw Jenna, wearing a gray-blue dress, rushing out from the shadows in the alley.

Lu Mian and Franca became vigilant reflexively and raised their defenses.

Jenna covered the wound on her ribs and shouted happily:

"Damn! You guys are really okay!"

"It seems to be true..." Franca muttered, greeted her, and asked with concern, "Why are you injured?"

Jenna looked around somewhat nervously and lowered her voice:

"I assassinated Hugues Artois and suffered a gunshot wound."

"Damn! You succeeded? And escaped?" Franca looked shocked.

She felt she couldn't even do this.

What is this called? This is a true assassin!

Seeing that there were already a few people coming and going on the chaotic street, Lu Mian interrupted Jenna's words:

"Talk about it when we get to the Golden Rooster Hotel, then take out the bullet and treat the wound."

"I still have half a bottle of healing potion." Franca added happily.

She supported Jenna and returned to the Golden Rooster Hotel along the shadows on the side of the road.

When they were about to reach their destination, they met the intelligence peddler Anthony Reid.

Lu Mian smiled and said in a mocking tone:

"I thought you had run away."

"I still have some things to do in the Market District." Anthony Reid replied vaguely.

The four of them walked a few more steps and saw the beige five-story building.

The Golden Rooster Hotel was a bit more tilted than before, the wall surface had some cracks, and vines and branches that were beginning to wither were crawling on it.

Because the remaining tenants had not returned, it revealed an indescribable decay and dead silence.

A period of time had passed since that disaster.

A young man in simple clothes carrying an old suitcase followed the crowd off the steam train, out of the platform, and walked all the way to the chaotic street.

He saw the beige five-story building and saw more than a dozen bright red lines painted on its surface.

"Golden Rooster Hotel." He read the name of the building, touched the banknotes and coins in his pocket, and felt that he should be able to afford it.

The Golden Rooster Hotel was much cleaner than he imagined. Although outdated newspapers and cheap pink paper were pasted in many places, there were no bedbugs, sticky and disgusting phlegm, and various kinds of garbage everywhere.

After spending 15 Vergold to rent room 302, the young man thought happily while carrying his suitcase up the stairs:

"It's cheaper than I imagined. Such a clean hotel is only 15 Vergold a month..."

After putting the suitcase in the cramped room, he decided to take the money he saved to have a drink.

Once in the City of Joy, one must have the appearance of the City of Joy!

He walked all the way to the underground bar. As soon as he walked in, he felt the noise and liveliness.

A guy wearing a shirt and a bow tie was holding a beer, waving his somewhat short arms, standing on a small round table, enthusiastically preaching something to the people around him. Others were drinking, singing, or dancing, and none of them wanted to be quiet.

There were a few drinkers sitting at the bar, and a strange machine was placed there.

The young man approached, examined the rubber hose and glass jar of the machine, and asked curiously:

"What is this?"

A drinker with golden hair mixed with black and a handsome face turned his body and replied with a bright smile:

"It's called the Fool's Instrument. It can test a person's intelligence index, or rather, stupidity index."

(End of Part Two)

(End of chapter)