Chapter 369: Salon

Lu Mian understood Franca's concerns and said with a smile,

"Two directions:

"First, ask your Major Arcana card if you should take the opportunity to contact the Witch Sect. You were originally male, so you don't need to worry about being cleared. As long as you can pass the corresponding background check, you can use their resources to improve yourself. And when you can't pretend anymore, let your Major Arcana card give you a mission far away from Trier, and run away.

"Think about it, you've already reached Sequence 6, and most of the resources at higher levels are mastered by the Witch Sect. Mixing into them and obtaining from the inside is simpler and safer than being enemies with them and taking risks to hunt them. Of course, the premise is that your Major Arcana card can provide a way to hide from the gaze of the 'Primordial Witch'."

Franca was stunned by what she heard, muttering,

"Why are you so skilled..."

Lu Mian sneered.

"Did you lose your memory? I am doing similar things now, representing the 'Tarot Club' to infiltrate the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order'.

"What is the biggest benefit of this? After I complete the mission of the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order', I can ask Gardner Martin for a reward, and I can also report to my Major Arcana card, using the progress of infiltration as a reason to get rewards from her. One mission, two rewards. Otherwise, why do you think the number of magical artifacts on me has grown so quickly?"

Of course, there was also Mr. K as a major contributor, but there was no need to tell Franca about this.

"One mission, two rewards..." Franca repeated it several times, then suddenly realized, "I was already cooperating with you to execute the mission related to the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order'. Will this conflict with contacting the Witch Sect?"

Lu Mian had an expression of 'you are indeed still not skilled enough'.

"No conflict. How could it conflict? You just confess to the Witch Sect that you hope to jump to the 'Hunter' pathway at Sequence 4 to change back to your original gender, so you are tracking the traces of the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order' and currently have enough clues and great progress.

"According to your statement, those 'Witches' all changed from male to female. I don't believe they haven't thought about using the path jump to find what they lost. This reason is enough to convince them.

"And there is one most important point: you will become the person in the Witch Sect responsible for matters related to the Market District and the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order'. Whatever happens here, if you want the 'Witches' above to know, they will know; if you don't want them to know, they won't know. For example, the existence of Jenna, a female 'Assassin'."

Speaking of this, Lu Mian revealed a smile.

"You can also fleece the Witch Sect to cultivate Jenna. When the high-level 'Witches' discover that a powerful pure female 'Witch' was fed by their own sect, will they be so angry that they lose control on the spot?"

This is interesting to think about, and can be said to be the ultimate provocation and mockery.

Franca nodded imperceptibly.

"You kid, if you drank the 'Provoker' potion, maybe you would have completely digested it in a week."

"I'm just lighting a specific fire in your heart." Lu Mian leaned back against the sofa back.

Franca let out a "heh", half-mocking and half-teasing,

"If I really joined the Witch Sect, and you reached the Sequence 5 qualitative change node, and didn't get the Sequence 4 potion formula and corresponding main materials from the 'Iron and Blood Cross Order', would you consider turning into a 'Witch'?"

Lu Mian thought seriously for a while.

"Depends on the situation. If I urgently need the Sequence 4 status and strength to complete certain things, it's not impossible to turn. Whichever is simpler and easier, I'll choose that one."

"..." Franca was a bit stunned. "You, you really have no psychological burden?"

Saying such an important choice as if it were choosing between absinthe or Renz tonight.

Lu Mian used a word his sister had said to make an answer.

"I don't choose means."

He then added,

"As long as the goal can be achieved.

"And, can't I just turn back at Sequence 3?"

"How can it be said that you can turn back just by turning back? The vast majority of Beyonders can't advance to Sequence 4 in their lifetime, let alone Sequence 3. The higher you go, the more difficult it is, whether it's the probability of losing control or the acquisition of resources." Franca felt that Lu Mian thought about things too simply.

Lu Mian laughed.

"Anyway, isn't it just fantasizing now to confirm if there is feasibility?"

Franca was speechless and turned to ask,

"You said there were two directions, what is the other one?"

"Try to hunt that 'Witch' of the Witch Sect, get the detailed intelligence of the female pleasure party from her, and then take action against the participants suspected of being members of the 'Blessed Land', locking onto the core members who are closely related to Susanna Mattis as soon as possible to clear the hidden dangers." Lu Mian said in a concise way.

"This also has feasibility, but if the 'Blessed Land' members didn't really participate in the female pleasure party, but only contacted a part of the people, hunting that 'Witch' might not necessarily get the intelligence we want, and afterward, it will inevitably attract the attention of the high-level power of the Witch Sect, and there will be no chance to investigate further." Franca analyzed thoughtfully. "I'll contact my Major Arcana card first to see what she thinks about me contacting the Witch Sect."

She was moved by what Lu Mian said.

Lu Mian said "Hmm" and didn't urge Franca, after all, she wouldn't go to the Red House Cafe in Chayot again for two or three days.

Before that, it was Count Puiforcat's salon invitation.

…………

After investigating the environment around Red Tianebao and reporting the invitation to Madam Magician and Mr. K respectively, three days later, Lu Mian arrived at that beige ancient castle by the four-wheeled four-seater carriage provided by Gardner Martin.

He wasn't dressed too formally, without a tailcoat, and didn't wear a top hat, and didn't even take a cane representing a gentleman.

He wore a light brown thin hunting suit, with off-white breeches, stepping on a pair of brown boots, holding a Ruin-style deerstalker hat in his hand, letting his gold-in-black hair be blown by the wind.

According to some anecdotes Aurora mentioned when chatting, Lu Mian knew that in salons of a literary and artistic nature like this, dressing too grandly would be out of place with other participants, making one look like a fool.

Of course, this set of clothes was also deducted from the 10,000 Felkin activity fund newly given by Gardner Martin, costing him a full 1,000 Felkin.

Lu Mian took the invitation, accepted the guard's inspection, and passed through the heavy gate that was several meters high.

There was a hall here, but it was decorated relatively simply, as if it were a resting place for the butlers, manservants, maids, and guards brought by guests when holding a large banquet.

Lu Mian looked around and confirmed that this wasn't the hall in his nightmare. 【3

Lu Mian looked around and confirmed that this was not the hall in the nightmare.

Passing through here, the rear was the atrium, and opposite the atrium was the main building of Red Tianebao.

It was six or seven stories high, surrounded by a circle of towers.

Lu Mian subconsciously looked up at a narrow window on the third floor.

In his nightmare, a man with dark red hair had gouged out his own brownish-red eyes behind the glass there.

At this moment, there was nothing behind the transparent glass window, reflecting only the slightly mottled light-colored wall.

Mottled... do they not repaint the walls in the room? Aurora once said that for similar ancient castles, the annual renovation costs were astronomical... Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and walked into the main building.

Just after passing through the double doors, his gaze froze, and his mood became a little heavier.

This hall was exactly the same as the one in his nightmare!

Whether it was the crystal chandelier hanging high or the spiral gold-inlaid staircase leading to the second floor, they were almost identical to those in the dream.

Although Lu Mian had anticipated this, his emotions were still a bit complicated when he actually encountered it.

The male servants in the hall were all wearing bright red uniforms with gold trim, neatly lined up in two rows, welcoming his arrival.

Lu Mian's eyelids twitched as he watched, feeling that the red was as vivid as flowing blood.

The salon was in the large living room on the first floor, which was elegantly decorated with a thick dark red patterned carpet. A set of sofas was placed by the window, and high stools and armchairs were scattered around the sofa.

On the other side of the living room, a tall girl sat in front of a brown piano. She was wearing a simple and clean sky-blue patterned white waist-length dress, with a head of brownish-red hair naturally draped over her back.

When Lu Mian walked into this large living room, the girl's hands were sliding across the piano keys, bringing out a melody like the tinkling of a spring.

Count Puifu was sitting on a single sofa, with a black-haired, blue-eyed lady of elegant temperament squatting beside him, leaning against the armrest, laughing softly as she talked to him.

And whether it was the novelist Arnold, the painter Malen, the critic An Yong, or the poet Elet, they were all with female companions, either gathered in the sofa area chatting or wandering near the tables laden with desserts and roasted meat.

Besides them, there were other guests. Lu Mian looked over and actually saw a familiar face.

That was Laurent, who lived at the Golden Rooster Hotel, the bastard who was said to take the money his mother, Mrs. Lacazan, worked hard to earn to frequent high-end cafes and get to know people in high society.

Laurent was still in that neat black tailcoat, his brownish-yellow hair neatly combed into a side part, looking completely out of place with the casually dressed writers, painters, poets, and critics around him.

He was not constrained by this; his dark brown eyes always carried a smile, and his slightly thin lips kept uttering words of greeting.

The next second, Laurent also saw Lu Mian, and his pupils suddenly dilated, as if he had met a ghost.

This, isn't this the current boss of the Golden Rooster Hotel, that notorious gang leader, Charles Dubois?

In an instant, intense fear surged in Laurent's heart.

He was worried that the other party would expose his identity and make him lose the connections he had worked so hard to build!

He was only one step away from success!

Yo, living quite well, aren't you, being able to get an invitation to this kind of salon... Lu Mian smiled at Laurent and pointed at himself, meaning that we belong to the same kind of people, just pretend not to know each other.

While Laurent breathed a sigh of relief, Lu Mian walked toward Count Puifu.

He complained casually and naturally:

"You didn't say I had to bring a female companion; you guys make me look like a fool!"

"Haha." Count Puifu and the others laughed, with the smugness of a successful prank.

After laughing, Count Puifu pointed to the girl playing the piano:

"If you don't mind, you can invite my cousin, Miss Ailuo."

(End of chapter)