[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-33":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298002,4496,"Chapter 33: Confirm","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>After a few seconds, Lu Mi looked into Aurora’s eyes and slowed his speech:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are still several days left until Lent?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suspected his sister had just pulled a reverse prank, but over the years he had never seen her act frivolously on anything important—and this was a critical moment involving the very existence or annihilation of the entire village, including himself and his sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurora scanned her brother up and down:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you just take a nap and turn stupid?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today is March 29, 1358. There are still several days left until Lent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>March 29… Lu Mi chewed on the date, suddenly feeling as if he might be dreaming right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had clearly lived through the Lenten festival—its joyful beginning, its bloody end—and he had seen Ava’s head severed by the shepherd Pierre Béry with an axe, blood spraying into the air…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which one was the dream—the present, or the past? Either way, it was too real. Lu Mi found no trace of deception on his sister’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this could be explained by Aurora’s exceptional acting, but Lu Mi knew Aurora was not that kind of person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five years of living together, countless small details—how could he possibly be fooled about who she truly was?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were only two possibilities if Aurora was lying about the date:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, she had been controlled by the parish priest or some hidden figure;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two, the matter had been perfectly resolved, so she was in a mood to joke and play pranks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If neither possibility held, then her words were almost certainly true:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time had truly rolled back to March 29, several days before Lent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Lu Mi’s common sense, this was impossible—something that could never occur in the real world—but his sister’s demeanor left him bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to find a way to confirm… Lu Mi strained to recall his recent experiences and found he still remembered most details: for instance, on the March 29 that corresponded to the “successful” Lenten festival, Aurora had indeed worn this light blue dress, and that night, he had met Lyra, Ryan Cos, and Valentine—the three outsiders—and taken them to the church to catch the parish priest in the act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?” Aurora extended her right hand and waved it in front of her brother’s suddenly frozen face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi snapped back to himself and hurriedly said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aurora, I just remembered something—I need to go out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll be right back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best way to confirm whether time had truly returned to March 29 was to find Ava!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she was still alive, Lu Mi would have to seriously consider accepting this impossible change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without waiting for Aurora’s reply, Lu Mi sidestepped her and rushed toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Call me sister! Don’t miss dinner!” Aurora called out, raising her voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving his home, Lu Mi sprinted toward Ava Lizie’s house, terrified that even a second’s delay would let an unspeakable nightmare catch up and swallow him whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, he drew many curious glances from villagers, but no one stopped him to ask why—they feared this was another of his self-staged pranks meant to trick them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Lu Mi reached his destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ava’s father, Guillaume Lizie, was a well-known cobbler in Cordeu Village and the surrounding hills; their household was neither poor nor wealthy, and their home was a two-story, partially sunken building of gray-blue stone, with a backyard containing stacked hay and firewood and a goose pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near dinner time, several figures bustled inside the Lizie family’s kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi walked straight through the open door and immediately saw Ava.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brown-haired girl with sky-blue eyes wore a gray-white long dress, helping her mother prepare dinner—nimble-handed, bright-eyed, clearly alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She really wasn’t dead… Lu Mi instinctively glanced at Ava’s neck, searching for sutures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In one of Aurora’s horror novels, there was a scene where severed body parts were stitched back together to fake a living person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ava’s neck was long and smooth, not a single scar to be seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu Mi, what do you want?” Guillaume Lizie, seated on a kitchen chair, noticed the uninvited guest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brown hair was messy, and he wore a slightly greasy brown-and-white apron; he rose slowly to meet Lu Mi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing her father’s call, Ava paused her work, turned in surprise, and looked toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw Lu Mi standing there, stunned and dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?” she asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi snapped back and prepared to make up some excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Guillaume Lizie’s approach gave him a sudden idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He considered his words carefully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Guillaume, did Pierre Béry from the Béry family order a pair of leather shoes from you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi remembered clearly: he and Raymond had encountered the shepherd Pierre Béry the next morning, surprised that he had returned from a long journey despite the danger and exhaustion, just to attend the Lenten festival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Pierre Béry was already wearing a brand-new pair of soft, high-quality leather shoes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless he bought them from a shop in Dariel, making a pair of shoes took time—meaning Pierre Béry had returned to the village at least two or three days ago!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do you know?” Guillaume Lizie was surprised. “Pierre Béry came back a few days ago, but hardly anyone in the village knows—he asked me not to tell anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course… Lu Mi fabricated an excuse:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I saw someone who looked just like him—I thought I was hallucinating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since he was wearing new leather shoes, I came to confirm with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was him,” Guillaume Lizie confirmed. “He came back with three or four sheep, said they were given to him by his employer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weren’t the sheep supposed to return to the village only in early May for shearing and milking? Why bring them back now? The highland pastures were still under grazing ban… The more Lu Mi thought about it, the more abnormal Pierre Béry’s behavior seemed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And his actions during the festival’s final moments confirmed Lu Mi’s suspicions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Mi still had no idea what Pierre Béry and the parish priest and others were planning—or what they had already done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, Lu Mi smiled at Guillaume Lizie and Ava:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it really was him, I’m relieved—I thought I’d been drinking so much my brain and eyes were both failing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waved to the Lizie family:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the Lizie home, Lu Mi’s smile quickly faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was now very certain today was truly March 29.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had time reversed—or had he had a precognitive dream? Dreams couldn’t be this real, with every detail intact… Lu Mi thought hard as he walked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether time reversal or precognitive dream, he had only learned of such things from Aurora’s novels—he had never imagined they could happen in reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his way home, Lu Mi deliberately detoured to the square and went to the side of the “Eternal Sun” church.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stained-glass window, which should have been completely shattered, its frame flung away, now stood intact on the wall, its depiction of Saint Sis’s missionary work glowing in the sunset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi stared at the scene, his mind churning with conflicting thoughts until it felt like smoke might rise from his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his way back to the square, he saw a familiar figure emerge from the church’s main entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the parish priest, Guillaume Béne—slightly hooked nose, dignified bearing, clad in a white robe edged with gold thread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi’s heart tightened; he slightly widened his stance and bent his body forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was both a stance for attack and a prelude to sprinting away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guillaume Béne glanced at him, nodded expressionlessly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come pray tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh… right. On the evening of March 29, he hadn’t yet been caught with the others, hadn’t yet broken ties with Lu Mi, hadn’t yet feared his secret plots would be exposed… Realizing this, Lu Mi reacted instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He straightened his body and spread his arms:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Praise the Sun!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Praise the Sun!” Guillaume Béne replied in the same posture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the village square, Lu Mi automatically replayed the encounter in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he noticed a detail he had overlooked in his shock over “time reversal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His supernatural ability was still there!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still the “Hunter”!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that he hadn’t even gasped while sprinting to the Lizie home, and his instant, perfect posture when facing the parish priest—both proved his physical condition and state far surpassed what they had been before taking the elixir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi reached a conclusion:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His previous experience was not a precognitive dream!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already a Rank 9 Adept!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, he would test whether he could still enter that special dream—and whether anything had changed… Lu Mi quickly formulated his next plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back home, he acted as if nothing had happened and shared dinner with his sister Aurora.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since her brother often got into trouble and rarely wanted her to clean up after him, such behavior wasn’t unusual—so Aurora noticed but asked nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, Lu Mi greeted his sister and headed straight for the old tavern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to confirm whether the three outsiders from outside Cordeu Village would appear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the tavern, Lu Mi sat at the bar and greeted the owner-bartender Maurice Béne and the thin middle-aged man Pierre Guillaume.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A glass of sour wine,” he said casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sour wine meant cheap apple cider—slightly more expensive than some beers in the tavern, commonly sold on city streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stingy brat, aren’t you usually fond of the agony of absinthe?” Maurice Béne muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will you buy me one?” Lu Mi replied with his usual line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It gave him a sense of unreality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maurice Béne fell silent at once, poured a glass of sour wine, and pushed it toward Lu Mi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi sipped slowly, waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, he heard a jingling sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and saw Ryan Cos, wearing a crude dark round hat, a brown tweed jacket, and light-yellow trousers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What drew the attention of nearly every man in the old tavern was Lyra, still dressed in a white, unwrinkled cashmere body-hugging dress, a beige small coat, and Maxis boots, with two small silver bells tied to the boots and the veil serving as her headscarf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Similarly, Valentine wore a white waistcoat, a blue fine wool coat, and black trousers, with a dusting of powder on his yellow hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the gaze of countless eyes, the three of them walked to the bar and sat down in sequence beside Lu Mi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A glass of Dariel red wine, a glass of rye beer, a glass of “Spicy Heart”… Lu Mi did not look up, silently saying in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ryan removed his hat and placed it aside, then said to Maurice Benet:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One glass of Dariel red wine, one glass of rye beer, one glass of ‘Spicy Heart’.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lu Mi let out a long, long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?” Ryan turned his head toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a sip of the sour wine and said in a low voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am a failure, hardly noticing whether the sun shines brightly or not, because I have no time…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1862,"2026-06-20T06:22:34.374Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6eef187e8c68030e16b2a7c1ad87cb525c55e8a7a0325aee9b95a2e1ce7b00d7","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-34","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-32",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]