Chapter 686: Two Answers

Seeing Louis Berry's strange ritual dance nearing its end, Robert didn't waste time; he quickly poured a bit of moon oil into his palms and, using his own ability, fused it with his spirituality, causing it to evaporate rapidly.

Gaum, Amandina, and the others immediately smelled a fresh, hallucinogenic fragrance, as if their spirits had grown drunk and were about to float out of their bodies.

Robert's voice, soft and distant, echoed in their ears, making their thoughts grow increasingly hazy and detached—but fortunately, they were not the targets of the spirit communication, and managed to retain control with relative ease.

The shadow clad in a black robe gradually moved away from the glass window, slowly approaching Robert.

Suddenly, the shadow vanished; Robert first lowered his head, then slowly raised it.

His face was stained with the darkness of night, exuding a distinct sinister aura, his eyes utterly dark.

Seeing this, Lu Mi ended the "Ritual Dance of Summoning" and walked to a spot three meters from Robert.

Although he had originally intended for Robert to directly commune with the shadow and himself to provide the questions, the shadow was clearly unusual—it had directly possessed Robert.

Of course, this was also a form of spirit communication; many "spirit mediums" allow the target's soul to use their mouth to speak with living relatives or answer certain questions.

Gazing at the sinister, terrifying Robert, Lu Mi thought for a moment and said:

"Do you know what happened to the people who lived in this house six years ago?"

He planned to begin with the simplest, least likely to trigger anomalies question, adjusting the direction, tone, and wording of his inquiries based on real-time responses.

Robert opened his mouth and emitted a voice, sharp and unmistakably not his own:

"Affected, performed ritual, all died."

Hearing this answer, everyone present—including Gaum—were baffled, unsure whether it concealed any vital information.

Aside from Lu Jianuo, all others guessed that Louis Berry was referring to the Tewenako family's real-world fire, in which nearly all perished; the spirit's reply could only make them think of demonic or demonic god influence.

As the "Conspirator," Lu Mi's mind instantly flooded with related information:

Every suppressed emotion and desire of every person in Tizamo Town was absorbed by dreams, gradually accumulating into corresponding dream projections;

These dream projections, like the gravekeepers, hid within the chaotic zones of the dream realm, guarding the black tomb;

During prior explorations, fragments of dreams had shown black-robed gravekeepers and projections gathered around the tomb, doing something unknown—among them was the lingering silhouette of "Siso" Tewenako;

"Siso" Tewenako returned to Tizamo Town two or three times a year, each visit lasting a week;

After leaving Tizamo, the corresponding dream projection gradually faded until it vanished;

"Siso" Tewenako became a member of the "Demon" Path after the fire;

The devil of the Nos family…

These pieces of information surfaced simultaneously in Lu Mi's mind, like different nodes of a spiderweb, yet still lacking the threads to connect them.

Soon, Lu Mi formed some hypotheses:

Did "Siso" Tewenako return to Tizamo Town one or two more times outside the "Dream Festival," each stay lasting a week or longer, to ensure his dream projection didn't vanish completely, and to let the dream absorb some of Zhang Yang's malice?

Could the dream projections, by lingering beside the gravekeeper near that clearly anomalous and high-ranking tomb, have been subtly influenced by the tomb—or the cold corpse within it—without realizing it?

If one part of the gravekeeper's duty involved ritual sacrifice, and after the "Dream Festival" began, when the projections returned to their bodies, might certain humans deeply affected have attempted to imitate the gravekeeper's actions, perform the ritual, failed, and died along with their entire family—yet still contaminated the house, triggering anomalies and establishing a subtle link to the black tomb?

Hmm, that's one possibility, but it can't incorporate the information about the Nos family's devil or "Siso" becoming a "Demon" Path adept…

What if I did incorporate them?

Lu Mi's mind stirred, and he thought of another possibility.

The Tewenako family wasn't merely affected by the black tomb or its cold corpse—there was also the Nos family's devil!

That devil had long coveted the corpse or whatever caused its anomaly, secretly influencing the Tewenako family, teaching them certain knowledge, and after the "Dream Festival" began, amplifying their corresponding desires through reality's influence; combined with the Dream Festival's collapse of self-control and unleashing of madness, the Tewenako family had actively attempted the ritual the devil had given them—or the sacrificial process recorded by the dream projection—leading to the subsequent anomalies?

Had the surviving "Siso" been noticed by the devil for his uniqueness, and lured onto the "Demon" Path?

Hmm, this could explain why, among everyone with dream projections, only the Tewenako family performed similar acts, why only this house held special properties, and why those who slept here could consciously enter the dream…

The next crucial matter was guarding against that devil—it likely couldn't personally attend the "Dream Festival," but its agents would surely appear…

In a flash of thought, Lu Mi felt he now understood the "Dream Festival" more deeply.

He looked at the shadow possessing Robert and changed his question:

"Where are the gravekeepers now?"

Robert's face, as if veiled in shadow, replied in a shrill voice:

"Dream Festival begins, tomb opens, must hide."

Must hide? After the "Dream Festival" began, was the tomb suddenly dangerous or fraught with grave risk for the gravekeepers? Lu Mi couldn't help glancing at Amandina.

This young lady, Robert, and Father Cali had all reached the black tomb without any hindrance during the previous "Dream Festival," easily gaining different supernatural powers through touch.

Where was the risk? Where was the danger? And where were the gravekeepers?

Something was clearly amiss here.

Amandina, unnerved by Louis Berry's gaze, asked in a trembling voice:

"Is… is there something wrong with this answer?"

Lu Mi chuckled and said:

"If the gravekeepers all need to hide, why didn't you?"

Before Amandina could deeply ponder the question, she saw Robert's cold, dim face twist in obvious agony.

Seeing this, Lu Mi sighed and said:

"End the spirit communication."

If it continued, Robert would be harmed.

Robert still retained full self-awareness and some mobility; he immediately whispered two words in Ancient Hermes, the incantation to expel the spirit.

The shadow clinging to him showed no reaction; his facial agony intensified.

Slowly, Robert drew a dagger and stabbed his finger.

Drops of crimson blood, mixed with his "spirit medium" spirituality, fell like a string of beads toward the window.

As he did this, Robert again muttered in Ancient Hermes, low and forceful:

"Leave!"

The black-robed shadow instantly detached from Robert's body, chased after the blood droplets, and vanished before the glass window.

Seeing this, Lu Mi withdrew his awareness from his right hand and ceased preparing to hum.

He quietly exhaled in relief and said to Gaum, Amandina, and the others:

"Go wait for me upstairs."

"What now…?" Amandina muttered, turning to leave.

Within seconds, the third floor fell silent.

Lu Mi took out materials from "The Traveler's Satchel," set up the ritual, and attempted to summon the "Magician" lady's messenger.

Unfortunately, this was a dream—no success.

Lu Mi, having anticipated this, wasn't overly disappointed; although the "Dream Festival" arrived early, leaving him no time to report the latest developments to the "Magician" lady and thus increasing the risk, similar problems were inevitable—he'd long prepared himself mentally.

The "Hunter" preferred planning ahead but never feared sudden confrontations.

Lu Mi even felt a flicker of excitement—not merely from the faint influence of the "Dream Festival."

Packing away his items, Lu Mi descended to the second floor and bluntly said to Robert and Amandina:

"Which one of you will take me to the black monolith?"

He had analyzed Amandina, Robert, and Father Cali's cases and found a commonality: all had reached the black tomb and gained supernatural power only after being guided by someone who had previously touched it.

Of course, that wasn't the only commonality.

Robert fell silent, wanting to say, "Didn't you promise to let me go after I helped you?"—but dared not speak.

Amandina glanced at Robert several times; seeing he showed no sign, she pursed her lips and said to Lu Mi:

"I will!"

Then she added:

"I want to see if I can gain more supernatural power."

Lu Mi nodded and said to Robert:

"You may leave."

Robert looked at Lu Mi, then at Amandina, said nothing, and walked step by step out of the Tewenako house.

"Ah, he probably thinks you two were brought to the church by me to confront Father Cali and humiliate him—ah, well, I did bring you there." As Robert's figure vanished, Amandina sighed twice.

Ruiya, who had just gathered and returned most of the arrows, earnestly comforted her:

"But you purified the church for the Divine."

"Praise the Sun!"

Amandina opened her arms wide:

"Praise the Sun!"

After their exchange, Lu Mi said to Gaum and Ruiya:

"Now, I'm going to the black tomb. You decide whether to come."

"I…" Lu Jianuo tried to speak.

He'd barely uttered one word when Lu Mi smiled and interrupted:

"You must come."

Lu Jianuo immediately fell silent.

Gaum and Ruiya exchanged glances and spoke in unison:

"I'll go too."

Lu Mi made no further persuasion; he nodded:

"Then let's depart now."

(End of Chapter)