Chapter 5: Card

Pale red wine, sure enough, someone from a big city... Lu Mian's gaze finally fell on the glass wine glass in the lady's hand.

Pale red wine is shochu brewed from sugar and pickled cherries. Whether it's the color or the taste, it's very popular with ladies. Of course, other suitable fruits can also be used to replace cherries, and there will be slight differences in taste, but not too much.

This is one of the few high-end wines that the Old Tavern in Cordu village can produce. The reason they keep it is because Lady Pualis fell in love with this pale red wine after going to the provincial capital Bigor once.

—Lady Pualis is the wife of the local administrative officer and territorial judge, Béost. Her ancestors were nobles, but they lost their titles during the era of Emperor Roselle.

She is also one of the mistresses of the priest Guillaume Bénet. Not many people in the village know about this, and Lu Mian is one of them.

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and walked toward the bar.

Sitting there was a man in his forties wearing only a linen shirt and trousers of the same color. His brown hair was no longer lush and was quite messy. The corners of his eyes, mouth, forehead, and other places had some wrinkles due to years of hard work.

This was Raymond's father, Pierre Craig.

Another Pierre.

That's why Lu Mian joked in front of Lyra, Ryan, and the others that if you shouted "Pierre" in the bar, at least a third of the people would answer.

When people in the village talk about these Pierres and Guillaumes, they all add the qualifier of whose family they belong to; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to tell them apart at all.

In many families, the father and child have the same name, both called Pierre or Guillaume, and neighbors can only add "Old", "Big", or "Little" to distinguish them.

"Dad, why aren't you chatting with others in the village square?" Raymond walked to his father's side.

The men in the village like to gather under the elm tree in the square or at someone's house the most, playing dice, cards, chess, and discussing various rumors—going to the tavern costs money.

Pierre Craig was holding a glass of red wine and turned his head to look at his second son:

"Wait a while before going. There shouldn't be anyone in the square right now."

Yeah, where did all the men in the village go? Lu Mian was suddenly a bit puzzled.

Just now in the square, he didn't see a single shadow.

"Uncle, I'm looking for you to ask about something." Lu Mian said straightforwardly.

Pierre Craig was immediately vigilant:

"Another prank?"

"The story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' really has a realistic basis..." Lu Mian turned his head and signaled for Raymond to speak.

Raymond organized his language and said:

"Dad, how long ago did the wizard legend you told me happen? The one where it took nine cows to pull the coffin."

Pierre Craig gulped down a mouthful of red wine and said doubtfully:

"Why ask this?

"This is what your grandfather told me when I was a child."

The Leiston province where Cordu village is located and the neighboring Olay province and Suchit province are all located in the south of the Intis Republic and are famous grape-producing areas. The red wine here, especially the inferior kind, is very cheap. In some years, people can even drink red wine as water.

Raymond was disappointed, because his grandfather had passed away a long time ago.

Just then, Pierre Craig added another sentence:

"Your grandfather said he saw it with his own eyes when he was a child. Since then, he has been afraid of owls, worried about being taken away by such evil creatures."

Lu Mian and Raymond's eyes lit up at the same time.

There really is a clue!

The wizard legend was actually something some people experienced personally?

"Did grandfather say where the wizard used to live and where he was buried later?" Raymond asked.

Pierre Craig shook his head:

"Who would care about this?"

Lu Mian saw that Raymond still wanted to ask something, so he reached out and patted him, saying loudly:

"Time to go to the river."

Raymond was about to follow Lu Mian when Pierre Craig suddenly remembered something:

"Wait, Raymond, you're going to be a 'Green Watcher' in two days. I'll tell you some things you need to pay attention to."

"Green Watcher" is responsible for patrolling the alpine pastures and surrounding fields near the village to prevent people from herding sheep during the grazing ban period or letting livestock destroy the green seedlings.

Lu Mian didn't listen in and went to the washroom attached to the tavern.

When he came out, he specifically passed by the outsider lady who was drinking pale red wine and whose age couldn't be determined.

Although he wouldn't do something like chatting up, he wanted to observe in advance and collect details. When the time came, this might come in handy, just like how he used Ryan, Lyra, and the others to catch the priest in the act of having an affair.

Scanning a few times without leaving a trace, Lu Mian prepared to bypass this corner and go to the tavern entrance to wait for Raymond.

Just at this moment, the lady wearing the orange dress and lazy temperament raised her head.

Lu Mian hadn't had time to withdraw his gaze and collided with the other party's line of sight.

For a moment, even with Lu Mian's thick face, he was a bit embarrassed.

Thoughts immediately popped into his mind:

Should I follow the priest and the administrative officer, take the opportunity to praise her beauty, change from observation to chatting up, or show a green side and turn around and leave in a hurry...

He had just made up his mind when the lady opened her mouth with a smile:

"You've been dreaming frequently lately?"

With a swish, Lu Mian felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His entire mind became paralyzed, and all his thoughts froze there.

After only a second or two, he forced a smile:

"Isn't dreaming a very normal thing?"

The lady rested her chin on one hand, sized Lu Mian up, and laughed lowly:

"A dream in a thick fog."

How did she know... Lu Mian's pupils instantly dilated, and his expression carried a bit of fear.

Although he had experienced quite a few things, he was still young after all, and for a moment, he couldn't control his expression.

Calm, calm... Lu Mian soothed himself while relaxing the muscles on his face and asked back:

"Did you finish listening to the story I told those three outsiders last night?"

The lady didn't answer and took a stack of cards out of the orange handbag placed on the chair next to her.

She looked at Lu Mian again and smiled:

"Draw a card; maybe it can help you unlock the secret hidden in that dream."

This... Lu Mian was both surprised and suspicious.

He was both moved and highly vigilant.

He glanced at the deck of cards and frowned slightly:

"Tarot?"

It looked like the tarot cards invented by Emperor Roselle used for divination.

The lady looked down and laughed at herself:

"Sorry, I took the wrong one."

She stuffed the twenty-two tarot cards back into her medium-sized handbag and took out another deck of cards.

"This is also tarot, but it belongs to the Minor Arcana. You aren't qualified to draw the Major Arcana yet, and I'm not qualified to let you draw..."

There are fifty-six cards in the Minor Arcana, composed of four "suits": Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles.

What is she talking about... Lu Mian was completely confused.

This lady looked beautiful and elegant, but her actual performance was not normal, and there seemed to be something wrong with her mind.

"Draw one." The lady who seemed to be from a big city shook the Minor Arcana cards in her hand and said with a smile, "It's free. Trying it doesn't cost money, but it might solve the problem of your dream."

Lu Mian laughed:

"My sister said that free things are the most expensive."

"That sentence does have a certain truth." The lady thought for a while and said.

She placed the Minor Arcana cards next to the glass cup containing the pale red wine, and then said:

"But as long as you don't pay no matter what, how could I, an outsider, have the ability to force you to pay in Cordu village?"

That's true... Drawing one wouldn't hurt... It's not easy to have a hint about that dream, how can I be willing to give up... But would this involve a wizard's curse... Ask Aurora for help? Lu Mian's thoughts were turbulent, and he couldn't make up his mind for a moment.

The lady didn't urge him either.

After more than ten seconds, Lu Mian slowly leaned over, stretched out his right hand, scattered the stack of Minor Arcana cards, and drew one from the middle.

"Seven of Wands." The lady with the lazy temperament looked at the card face.

On that card, a man with a firm face, wearing green clothes, stood on the top of a mountain, holding a wand, fighting against six wands attacking from the foot of the mountain.

"What does this represent?" Lu Mian asked.

The lady smiled:

"Interpret it yourself based on the pattern. Crisis, challenge, confrontation, courage, etc., etc.

"Of course, these aren't important. What's important is that this card is now given to you. When fate arrives, you will discover its true meaning."

"Given to me?" Lu Mian was even more confused.

Did this card really have a curse on it?

The lady put away the remaining Minor Arcana cards, picked up the wine glass, and drank the remaining pale red wine.

She ignored Lu Mian's question and walked toward the stairs on one side of the Old Tavern, going up to the second floor.

Clearly, she lived there.

Lu Mian wanted to chase, but stopped after taking only one step, his thoughts fluctuating:

Is this really just an ordinary card?

She gave this card to me, wouldn't that deck be missing one forever and be unusable?

Aurora should be able to see the problem...

At this time, Raymond found him:

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, that outsider is really good-looking." Lu Mian said casually.

"I think your sister Aurora is better looking." Raymond then lowered his voice, "Lu Mian, what do we do next? My grandfather passed away a long time ago."

Lu Mian, who was in a hurry to go home, thought for a while and said:

"One is to find old people who are about the same age as your grandfather and are still alive to ask, and the other is to go to the church to check the registration book. Hmm, consider this last."

Thinking that he had just ruined the priest's good deed, Lu Mian felt that he shouldn't go to the church unless necessary recently.

—In a countryside village like Cordu that only has one church, because the administrative officer has very few subordinates, the church undertakes part of the government functions, such as recording funerals and marriages.

Before Raymond could ask again, Lu Mian added:

"Let's look separately at which old people meet the criteria and ask tomorrow."

"Okay." Raymond agreed immediately.

Inside the semi-underground two-story building.

After listening to Lu Mian's account, Aurora carefully looked at the "Wands" card for a while and said:

"It's indeed a very ordinary card. I didn't detect any curse or other special existence."

"Aurora, uh, sister, you say, what exactly does that outsider want to do? Why does she know I'm having that kind of dream?" Lu Mian asked.

Aurora shook her head:

"Since she has already shown her cards, it's relatively okay.

"These few days, I will 'observe' her well.

"Hmm... keep this card for now; perhaps there will be some changes. Don't worry, I'm watching."

"Okay." Lu Mian tried hard to relax a little.

At night.

Lu Mian stuffed the "Wands" card into the clothes hanging on the back of the chair, went to bed, and closed his eyes to sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to see that gray fog again in his muddled state.

Suddenly, he gave a jolt and "woke up" in the dream.

He felt that he had regained clarity and found his reason.

And the dream filled with gray fog still existed.

PS: Thank you to "Livy37" for the Silver Alliance donation.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 6 =====