Chapter 376: Preliminary Speculation

Although Franca spoke in Intis, Lu Mi was still confused, not understanding what it meant or what it expressed at all.

He looked around and saw that the surroundings of this burnt-down building were still quiet and there was nothing unusual, so he said:

"Can you explain?"

Franca pondered for several seconds and said:

"'Heavenly Son' is roughly equal to 'Emperor.' 'Daoist,' hmm, you can just treat it as a powerful Beyonder.

"The meaning of the whole sentence is probably that an Emperor with the title of 'Blood' destroyed Hell, bringing chaos, while a Daoist—uh, a powerful Beyonder—with the title of 'Netherworld' sacrificed his life and entered a certain river. The purpose should be to seal that Emperor."

An Emperor with the title of "Blood"... Lu Mi was shocked inwardly:

"'Blood Emperor'?"

He suddenly recalled the scenes he saw at the "Samaritan Woman's Spring":

The blurry figure of the "Blood Emperor" burning with invisible flames, his armor stained with blood and broken; the dark water flow repeating the process of retracting into the spring eye and surging out; that water flow combined with the thin mist around it, turning into pale spring water; Alista Tudor's remnant shadow was pulled back into the depths of the spring eye by a strange force at the last moment, and the two sides seemed to have had a fierce struggle...

Following Franca's description, Lu Mi had a new guess about the "Armor Shadow's" words and his own encounter.

He said thoughtfully to Franca:

"I suspect the 'Blood Heavenly Son' you mentioned is the remnant shadow of the 'Blood Emperor' Alista Tudor."

"But why would the 'Blood Emperor's' remnant shadow run to my hometown?" Franca didn't immediately associate it with Alista Tudor, but felt Lu Mi's deduction had a certain logic.

The special fish-scale armor and the "Hum-Ha Technique" originating from mythology already made her suspect that the "Armor Shadow" came from her hometown, and now, the language basically matched, which made her increasingly certain.

Lu Mi nodded slightly:

"This has to start from when I went with Lady 'Hela' to take the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring'..."

"You went with Lady 'Hela'?" Franca muttered, but didn't urge Lu Mi to answer, listening to him continue to describe.

Lu Mi briefly finished the various details he saw and experienced at the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," not giving Franca a chance to let her mind wander, and directly stated his guess:

"I suspect that in the 'War of the Four Emperors,' the 'Blood Emperor' didn't die completely, relying on some special reasons to retain part of his remnant soul. And in that divine war, a channel was opened between our world and the world where your hometown is located, allowing a certain mysterious river in your hometown to seep over, which was sealed by Mr. 'Fool,' creating the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring.'

"That river should be closely related to fields like death and the Netherworld. The 'Blood Emperor's' remnant shadow, in a state of death, was swept in, going back and forth between your hometown and the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring,' and even Trier in the Fourth Epoch.

"The 'Blood Emperor' still has a certain instinct to want to resurrect, and the first step of resurrection is to get rid of the imprisonment of that river. During this process, he brought chaos to the Hell of your hometown. That powerful Beyonder in the field of death and the Netherworld had to sacrifice himself, sinking into that mysterious river to exert its power more fully, completely sealing the 'Blood Emperor's' remnant shadow."

Franca listened, sometimes confused, sometimes clear. Only when Lu Mi finished did she say, both shocked and suspicious:

"Your guess seems quite real, very logical..."

It explained the "Armor Shadow's" words and the various phenomena within the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" very well.

Franca was silent for a while and then said:

"In my hometown, that mysterious phantom river should be called the 'Yellow Springs.'

"But before I crossed over, the 'Yellow Springs' and the 'Underworld' belonged to ethereal legends, no one could verify them, and there were no myths left related to 'Blood Heavenly Son' or 'Nether Daoist'...

"Could it be because I was ordinary and couldn't come into contact with them?"

Lu Mi smiled:

"Before I discovered Aurora was a 'Wizard,' what supernatural powers, what demons and ghosts, also didn't exist."

Franca said "Hmm," her expression gradually becoming excited:

"Since there is a channel between the two worlds, our return to our hometown is no longer an ethereal dream!"

"Lady 'Hela' said that the pale spring water kills upon contact." Lu Mi reminded her "kindly."

Franca's expression stiffened for a few seconds:

"That's only for us now. Perhaps once we have divinity and become Saints, we can come into contact with it."

"The figures of angels and true gods are imprisoned inside the spring water." Lu Mi reminded her again.

"..." Franca rolled her eyes at Lu Mi. "Are you annoying! Compared to having no ideas, no direction, and no hope before, at least there is a glimmer of light now, knowing where to strive. One of the reasons Lady 'Hela' went to take the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' might have been to confirm the situation of that phantom river, to see if it was the 'Yellow Springs.' As expected of Lady 'Hela,' she found clues faster than all of us!"

Lu Mi shrugged imperceptibly, not hitting Franca's high spirits and enthusiasm again.

Franca paced back and forth excitedly and suddenly raised a question:

"You were just asking where the 'Armor Shadow' came from. Why did it talk about the 'Blood Emperor' and the 'Nether Daoist'?"

This was answering a question with something else!

Could there be some secret hidden?

Lu Mi thought for a moment and said:

"It is a ghost-like creature produced after death, and some of its abilities are clearly in the field of death... It also has the impulse to get rid of restraint and break free from imprisonment... Combining these points, I think it is a ghost-like creature sealed by that 'Nether Daoist.' Asking where it came from inevitably involves the current state of the 'Nether Daoist,' hence that answer just now."

Franca suddenly realized:

"Makes sense!

"It had its golden body broken by the 'Nether Daoist' and was sealed, so it needs to collect gold to reshape its golden body and get rid of the restraint?"

Seeing Lu Mi looking puzzled again, Franca roughly explained the definition of a golden body and her understanding.

"I see." Lu Mi nodded slowly. "Maybe we can continue to trade with the 'Armor Shadow' using gold in the future, but we can't really let it return to its original state. This guy is very dangerous and has strong malice. Once it breaks free from the seal, who knows what it will do."

Franca expressed deep agreement:

"At least we have to wait until we advance to Sequence 4 before considering this matter."

Lu Mi said "Yo":

"Didn't you say that obtaining divinity and becoming a Saint is a very difficult thing? You're so confident now?"

"Isn't this finding a goal, being full of motivation, and fantasizing a bit?" Franca glanced at Lu Mi. "Damn, did we take the other party's script?"

She remembered that not long ago, she was the one who said Lu Mi thought opening the door to divinity and jumping pathways was too easy.

Lu Mi chuckled:

"Having a goal and motivation to strive for is a good thing. Hmm, next week is the gathering of the 'Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society.' Should we report the matters of the 'Armor Shadow,' 'Blood Emperor,' 'Nether Daoist,' and 'Yellow Springs' to the others?"

"I would have done so before, just charging a fee for everyone, but now, without figuring out the problem of 'April Fool's,' I dare not share." Franca pondered and said, "But we can ask about the phantom river involving death to see who has relevant information."

Lu Mi thought for a moment and said:

"I'll ask."

Franca was stunned for two seconds, then immediately understood the reason:

Lu Mi went to the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" with Lady "Hela." It is more reasonable for this companion who is pretending to be a "Muggle" to ask about relevant situations. There is a background and a train of thought, which is completely logical.

You know, in "Hela's" view, Lu Mi and "Sleeve Sword" didn't know each other yet. If Franca were to mention the river of death rashly, she would inevitably be suspected.

On Monday, Franca went to the Red House Cafe in Cherwood Town again.

Unlike before, although she still used "Lie" to turn into a black-haired, brown-eyed appearance, her clothing was closer to daily wear, using a shirt and trousers to match boots.

This was to make that "Demoness" feel that she was a man turned into a Demoness, so she wouldn't just make a move if there was a chance, without any communication.

Unfortunately, that orange-red-haired "Demoness" didn't appear all morning. Instead, two female customers took advantage of different opportunities to chat with Franca, and the conversation was very pleasant.

Franca drank coffee and dealt with these climbers, not anxious at all.

What she found strange was why Lu Mi wasn't anxious, but instead urged her to take it slowly. You know, if he didn't clear out those core members of the "Blessed Land" who were relatively close to Susanna Mattis as soon as possible, he would always be in the shadow of the "Rose School of Thought."

Lu Mi had already reported the matters of the "Blessed Land," the "Rose School of Thought," and the female carnival party at the Red House Cafe to Lady "Magician," and the reply he received was very simple:

"Don't leave Trier in the near future, and there won't be any big problems."

Lu Mi burned the letter paper, left Nightingale Street, and walked toward Market Avenue like a stroll.

Just as he approached the Breeze Dance Hall, he saw a familiar figure.

That person had deep brown eyes, a high nose bridge, a flaxen beard covering his chin, and was wearing a robe similar to an ancient wizard. It was none other than Osta Trull, the "Secret Prayer" who led Lu Mi to join Mr. K's occult gathering.

"My cabbage." Lu Mi asked with a smile, "What are you doing here?"

Osta Trull answered with a quite magnetic voice:

"Looking for Baron Brignier to clear the debt."

"Have money?" Lu Mi raised an eyebrow.

Osta Trull smiled slightly:

"Yes, I just discovered that certain honorific names in the knowledge brought by the potion can be prayed to. There is no danger, and this has given me great help."

Lu Mi was stunned for a moment, his gaze dark as he raised his right hand and tapped four times on his chest in the order of up, down, left, and right.

Osta returned the same action, smiling even more cordially.

Lu Mi didn't exchange pleasantries anymore, waved his hand, and passed by this "Secret Prayer."

He arrived silently outside the white spherical sculpture made of skulls at the Breeze Dance Hall and sighed lightly.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Lu Mi, who had long returned to Room 207 of the Golden Chicken Hotel to wait, finally saw the skull head made of pure silver with pale flames burning in its eye sockets deliver a letter.

The letter was from "Hela," and the content was quite short:

"There will be a gathering in an hour.

"If you want to participate, recite the following incantation within five minutes around ten o'clock."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 377 =====