Chapter 49: True Meditation

The Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society? If his sister hadn't been in such a foul mood, Lu Mian would have already burst into laughter.

But even though he managed to suppress his laughter, he couldn't help but remark:

"Those who know will understand you're researching curly-haired baboons; those who don't might think a group of curly-haired baboons is doing the research."

Of course, he was only joking, as the word "research" was in the passive voice.

Aurora rolled her eyes at him:

"We often tease ourselves, saying it's a group of curly-haired baboons being researched."

Seeing that his sister's state had improved slightly, Lu Mian turned to ask:

"Are all the members of your research society Beyonders?"

"Not all of them," Aurora answered briefly, "but there are gatherings that ordinary people cannot attend."

She didn't say why they couldn't attend.

"Who is the president? How many vice presidents are there?" Lu Mian pressed.

"Are you checking the household register?" Aurora retorted irritably.

"Huh?" Lu Mian was bewildered.

In truth, he could roughly guess that the "little book recording family personnel" his sister mentioned referred to the specific details of the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society," meaning she didn't like him prying too deeply.

Aurora puffed out her cheeks, exhaled, and said:

"The president's codename is 'Gandalf,' and there are five vice presidents in total.

"Alright, I'm going to summon 'Lady Lady Hai La's' messenger now."

Lu Mian nodded first, then felt a bit of doubt:

"Aurora, uh, sister, didn't you say you only know the codename 'Lady Lady Hai La' and aren't clear on her actual name? How can you summon her messenger then?"

He remembered his sister saying earlier that changing the last part of the summoning incantation to "the messenger belonging solely to so-and-so" could point very accurately to the target creature, but now they didn't know who "so-and-so" was.

"Very good," Aurora praised. "Being able to spot problems is an excellent quality for learning. Let's put it this way: it doesn't matter what name you use when signing a contract with a Spirit Realm creature. The contract will automatically extract a bit of your true aura to create a connection between both parties. However, remember, any subsequent summoning must use the name written when the contract was signed; changing it to the true name will be ineffective."

Lu Mian pondered this seriously and said:

"I understand. The key is the aura and the connection. The name used when signing the contract is just equivalent to the incantation used for subsequent summonings; it doesn't matter what is written."

"Correct," Aurora nodded slightly.

Lu Mian suddenly chuckled:

"Is there such a situation—let's assume, I'm just assuming—that you, sister, obtain the accurate incantation, summon a messenger, and sign a contract with it in the name of Aurora Goutier. Later, because you love your brother—that is, me—you teach that incantation to me. I then successfully summon another messenger, but when signing the contract, just for fun, I also use the name Aurora Goutier."

"So the question is, which one will be summoned by the phrase 'the messenger belonging solely to Aurora Goutier'?"

Aurora's face turned pale as she listened:

"I don't have a messenger, how would I know!"

She exhaled, calmed her state of mind, and said while thinking:

"This actually belongs to the confusion of pointing caused by identical names. Compared to ordinary contract creatures that can only be summoned by oneself, messengers that can be summoned by others indeed easily have this problem. But because I don't have a messenger, I'm not sure if there's a special mechanism to avoid similar errors. I can only try to analyze it with my knowledge:"

"One, very few people possess messengers; the probability of identical names is so low it can almost be ignored."

"Two, if there really are identical names, you can place an item carrying the messenger owner's aura in the summoning ritual to lock onto it precisely."

"Three, if you're really afraid of identical names, you can make the name longer when signing the contract, for example: Lu Mian Torres Alai Lanlos Arthur Gehrman Sparrow Goutier. That way, there shouldn't be any identical names."

"But I'd probably forget that name right after signing the contract; it's too hard to remember," Lu Mian muttered. "Also, why add the names of a pirate hunter and a great adventurer?"

"Because I like them. Ms. Fors Wall's adventurer series novels are too classic," Aurora said righteously.

She turned her body, tidied up the altar, and prepared to formally conduct the summoning ritual.

Just at this moment, Lu Mian thought of something and hurriedly shouted:

"Wait a moment!"

"What's wrong?" Aurora turned back, looking bewildered.

Lu Mian asked seriously:

"Does a messenger count as an outsider?"

"..." Aurora was full of question marks at first, not understanding her brother's meaning, but she quickly figured out where the problem lay.

She deliberated and asked in return:

"You mean, as an outsider, the messenger would fall into the loop after arriving in Cordu and never be able to leave?"

Before Lu Mian could answer, Aurora had a new speculation:

"No, the situation would be even more serious. It's a contract creature; after receiving the letter, it would immediately go to 'Lady Lady Hai La,' which is equivalent to leaving Cordu. In that case, it would restart again."

"After that, because of its instinct, it would leave time and time again, while we would restart time and time again. We wouldn't have any time to investigate the key to the loop."

Lu Mian couldn't help but imagine the scene his sister described:

He opens his eyes, sees the familiar bedroom, then opens his eyes again, sees the familiar bedroom, then opens his eyes again, sees the familiar bedroom... repeating this action countless times, and the root of everything is some messenger in a hurry to "go home."

Aurora raised her hand to cover her forehead:

"I don't even dare to imagine what kind of changes there would be by then..."

After sighing, she analyzed solemnly:

"From the current situation, living things leaving Cordu and the surrounding area will cause the loop to restart, while inanimate matter will not trigger the restriction. The telegram sent out and the letter mailed out are both proof."

"If that's really the case, spirits probably won't work either. It seems we can't summon a messenger."

Hearing this, Lu Mian suddenly understood why the little blue book could maintain the state of having words cut out.

The cut-out paper strips left Cordu village, escaped this loop, were no longer affected, and would not return; naturally, the little blue book couldn't recover to its original state!

He told his sister this speculation, and at the end, said:

"The problem with the little blue book is solved, but how was that letter mailed out?"

"It definitely couldn't be mailed during the loop. The person delivering the letter would cause a restart as soon as they left Cordu. And if it was before the loop, I have absolutely no memory of it. What about you?"

"I don't either." Aurora thought for a few seconds, then laughed and scolded, "You idiot, you almost led my train of thought astray. Mailing a letter out during the loop is very simple!"

"Huh?" Lu Mian looked at his clever sister.

Aurora laughed:

"Mailing a letter out doesn't require a postman, nor does it require hiring a courier."

"When we discover an anomaly and don't want to alert those who might be problematic, the best choice is to find a wooden box, put the distress letter we made inside, seal it well, and then throw the wooden box into the river outside the village, letting it naturally drift downstream, waiting for people in other villages or even Dariège to pick it up and help us deliver it to the authorities."

"You said that our last loop confirmed that the loop includes a small part of the river, so it can reach it."

"That's right!" Lu Mian clapped his hands together forcefully.

He thought of another problem:

"Will the fish in the river cause a restart?"

"Probably not," Aurora thought for a moment and said. "Creatures of this type with little intelligence are very sensitive to invisible restrictions, or rather, they are more easily affected by invisible influences. They will likely instinctively avoid places that might cause a restart."

"Then what about your 'White Paper'? After twelve hours, it has to leave the real world." Lu Mian felt this would also cause the loop to restart.

Aurora looked around and said thoughtfully:

"I suspect the loop not only includes Cordu village and the surrounding mountains but also encompasses the area corresponding to this place and everyone here in the Spirit Realm."

"You probably don't know that the natural interaction between the Spirit Realm and reality is actually quite frequent. If the corresponding Spirit Realm wasn't included, it might restart every little while, restart every little while, and the current situation is clearly not like that."

"'White Paper,' as my contract creature, has a direct connection with Cordu village. The area of the Spirit Realm it roams in is likely also encompassed."

I still don't know enough about mysticism... Lu Mian stopped asking more.

Aurora demonstrated the process of ritual magic again and dispelled the Wall of Spirituality.

In the suddenly blowing invisible wind, she said to Lu Mian:

"Now that it's completely dark, I'll teach you true meditation and the method to open Spirit Vision."

"Mm-hmm." Lu Mian indicated he was listening carefully.

Aurora explained:

"You've already mastered the first half of meditation. We'll start from the second half."

"After you imagine that sun and gather your spirit, entering a relatively calm state, let your mind go slightly blank, outline something that doesn't exist in reality to replace that sun, continuously outline, continuously repeat, until both your body and mind obtain tranquility, and your thoughts produce a feeling of floating up."

"Something that doesn't exist in reality?" Lu Mian didn't quite understand.

Aurora took out paper and pen and drew a few times casually:

"Look, is there anything like this in reality?"

The drawing on the paper was very abstract, like a sphere that had grown eyes and had been crossed out on its face.

"Doesn't it exist once you draw it? This drawing is in reality." Lu Mian felt his sister's explanation wasn't quite right.

"Things in drawings or imagination don't count as reality." Aurora rolled her eyes.

Being a teacher for her brother meant having to endure this kind of frustration often.

Lu Mian said "Oh":

"Then I'll try using this diagram of yours."

He pulled over a chair, sat down, leaned against the backrest, and concentrated his spirit.

That crimson sun was quickly outlined in his mind, making him gradually become calm.

After a while, because he was in reality, he didn't hear those terrifying, mysterious sounds, and could calmly use the pattern his sister had drawn casually to replace the sun in meditation.

The sphere with eyes and a cross-out mark quickly stood out in Lu Mian's mind.

As Lu Mian repeatedly outlined it, his body and mind became increasingly tranquil, and his thoughts gradually had a feeling of drifting.

He "saw" faint gray fog around him, some indescribable, non-existent-like things mixed with rich color blocks, and in the high sky, perhaps the depths, there were streaks of bright, pure radiance.

"Don't be anxious. The probability of a 'Hunter' succeeding in meditation on the first try is very low." Aurora comforted her brother from the side.

Lu Mian was just about to report to his sister that he had successfully entered a meditative state when he suddenly felt that in the depths of the faint gray fog and in the infinitely high place, something was watching him!

This seemed to be an illusion, yet it made him break out in a cold sweat all over, inexplicably terrified, and he immediately broke out of the meditative state.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 50 =====