Chapter 761: Spiritual Intuition (Double the Last Day for Monthly Tickets)

To the side of the Knight of Swords lay a lake without visible boundaries; under the night's moonlight, it shimmered with a quiet crimson hue, rippling faintly whenever the wind passed over it.

Lumian couldn't help tilting his head upward, gazing at the heights—he felt the night sky, with its crimson moon hanging above, was much closer and cleaner than usual, the stars obscured by lunar radiance now faintly visible, densely packed as if forming a brilliant, vast river.

A chilly breeze blew past; Lumian, clad in a thick jacket, lowered his gaze and spoke to the Knight of Swords:

"Aren't you cold?"

Though this season in the Southern Continent was summer, this location clearly lay at high altitude with thin air, and it was now night—the temperature likely didn't exceed fifteen degrees Celsius.

The Knight of Swords, who had been gazing at the highland lake, turned toward Lumian and said:

"Temperature holds no practical meaning for me. Besides, cold suits me better."

"Is that so? So neither a hundred degrees Celsius nor an environment near absolute zero can affect you?" Lumian replied casually.

The Knight of Swords fell silent, his eyes dark, as if struggling to suppress something.

"What exactly is the matter?" Lumian steered the conversation back on track.

The Knight of Swords did not dismiss the pale-faced, plainly dressed men and women around them; in a low voice, he said:

"This is the Lacré region of the former Highland Kingdom. I need your help to find someone here."

The Highland Kingdom, famed across both continents for its mummies? Lumian didn't hide his confusion:

"What can't you find yourselves that I can?"

After their previous collaboration, he knew the Knight of Swords, a holder of a Minor Arcana card, was a Rank 5 "Wraith" on the "Prisoner" Path, a path primarily controlled by the "Rose Sect," whose offshoot, the Temperance Faction, had joined the "Fool's Church."

Combining this information, Lumian reasonably deduced the Knight of Swords was a member of the Temperance Faction, representing his faction's membership in the "Tarot Society," which also served the "Fool."

Moreover, Lumian had seen what appeared to be a Temperance Faction angel acting as the "Fool's" messenger—he knew the organization was not weak, even formidable; from the "Wraith" rank onward, they excelled in divination and possessed strong spiritual intuition.

Given this, if the Knight of Swords truly sought a human, it would be simpler to directly request aid from the Temperance Faction.

"Is this just to avoid wasting my promise?"

"Or perhaps he, like me, wants to accomplish tasks using only his own abilities and accumulated favors, to hone himself?"

"Hmm, more likely he intends to exploit my mystical attraction to divine gifts as a means to locate the target…"

As Lumian formed these hypotheses, the Knight of Swords spoke in a voice restrained by suppressed emotion and desire:

"Someone's spiritual intuition told her you can resolve our current dilemma and provide the most effective aid."

After mastering divination, the "Wraith" had become a mystic? Lumian muttered inwardly but asked no further:

"What do you need me to do?"

The Knight of Swords took two steps forward:

"Allow me to introduce myself.

"I am Marich, the Knight of Swords of the Tarot Society, and also a member of the Temperance Faction of the Fool's Church.

"You know the origins of the Temperance Faction, correct?"

Lumian nodded, pointing to himself:

"Lumian Li."

The Knight of Swords continued:

"We are searching for a key member of the Lust Faction's Original Moon sect."

We… Lumian's first instinct was to scan the surroundings for possible companions of the Knight of Swords, Marich.

But he found nothing.

As for the pale-faced men and women, he didn't even activate the "Eye of Disaster"—he merely observed their weaknesses briefly and confirmed they were all undead.

Lumian, lowering his gaze, frowned slightly and said:

"The Original Moon sect?"

Didn't the Rose Sect only split into the Lust Faction and the Temperance Faction? Where did this "Original Moon" sect come from?

Hmm, judging from the events involving "Siso" and "Dream Festival," perhaps the Rose Sect also harbored a "Demon Faction"…

Did they learn this from the Tamara family? Infinite divisibility…

The Knight of Swords explained seriously:

"The Original Moon sect joined the Lust Faction later. Previously, they were a branch of the Life Sect, possessing the 'Pharmacist' Path—the 'Moon' Path. Later, guided by the Original Moon, they defected from the Life Sect and joined the Rose Sect."

The Life Sect… Lumian felt a headache coming on.

How did this get so complicated?

What other secret organization was this?

As if sensing his thoughts, the Knight of Swords, Marich, spoke succinctly:

"The Life Sect primarily follows the 'Fate' Path and is now an ally of the Tarot Society.

"Their affairs are unrelated to this search."

Lumian nodded, signaling the Knight of Swords to continue with the matter at hand.

Aurora had said: never add entities unless necessary. If irrelevant, no need to learn—avoid wasting energy.

The Knight of Swords, Marich, glanced at the pristine, boundless lake and said:

"The Original Moon sect member we seek possesses an item of considerable importance—that is our target."

"How do you know he's in… Lacré?" Lumian entered serious discussion mode.

The Knight of Swords fell silent for several seconds before saying:

"Two events here, along with lingering traces, point to him. But we haven't found him. During this time, another event occurred, proving he's still here—even within Lacré City."

"Is he of the Pharmacist Path?" Lumian asked carefully.

The Knight of Swords gave a slight nod:

"Yes."

"Who is the deity worshipped by the Original Moon sect?" Lumian didn't rush to ask about the events or traces.

The Knight of Swords's cold expression subtly grew more serious:

"Likely an avatar of the 'Great Mother,' sometimes also the 'Tree of Desire.'"

"The Great Mother…" Lumian's eyelid twitched. "Did the key follower you're seeking receive the Original Moon's—or the Great Mother's—divine gift?"

"Possibly." The Knight of Swords was uncertain.

If a follower of the Great Mother received her gift, they could sense my divine bloodline within a certain range… The Knight of Swords hadn't thought to ask me for help earlier. I've only recently acquired Ombrella's bloodline, yet his companion already has corresponding spiritual intuition… Is he trying to lure the target out using my divine bloodline? Lumian's understanding of the entire situation instantly clarified.

That woman's spiritual intuition is remarkably accurate!

The Knight of Swords's expression returned to its usual state:

"The one we seek is named Oseto, a Rank 4 'Witch-King' on the Pharmacist Path—a demigod. Don't worry; we'll provide you covert protection."

As he spoke, this holder of a Minor Arcana card bent down, picked up a painting from the ground, depicting a handsome man no older than twenty, his skin pale as if he'd never seen sunlight, his features deep-set, with slightly curled black hair falling to his shoulders.

"This is Oseto's portrait," the Knight of Swords said simply.

"If he received a divine gift, his current appearance and gender are uncertain…" Lumian mused. "Tell me about the events in Lacré and the relevant traces."

The Knight of Swords pulled a stack of papers from beneath his jacket, handing them to Lumian as he spoke:

"Initially, we learned from merchants that Lacré City experienced full moons at times they shouldn't have…

"We discovered a buried sacrificial site on the shore of Dalsh Lake—dozens of humans had become nourishment for the earth, their abdomens torn open, as if something had crawled out from within—but no traces of such creatures were found…"

Hearing this, Lumian suddenly recalled several scenes he had witnessed in Madame Pualis's castle.

He winced slightly and asked:

"Were these humans both male and female?"

"Yes," the Knight of Swords, seemingly aware of his unspoken question, added voluntarily, "the men's abdomens were torn open too."

He then pointed to the stack of papers in Lumian's hands:

"More details are in the documents."

Lumian grunted, paused thoughtfully, then said:

"I may need my companions to assist me. Can you protect them?"

"No problem, as long as you remain no more than five kilometers apart," the Knight of Swords replied firmly.

Lumian smiled:

"Then I'll return to study the documents and prepare."

…………

Memorial District, Aoluosai Street No. 9, Apartment 702.

After hearing the Knight of Swords's request, Francia scratched her head and asked doubtfully:

"Setting aside the danger of hunting a demigod, I think you could handle this alone just fine. Our help here is extremely limited—we don't have Ombrella's bloodline."

Anthony, summoned here, thought for a moment and said:

"I can help erase investigative traces—make those questioned forget they were questioned."

Jianna glanced at Lumian and said:

"I think your real goal isn't to get our help."

Hearing this, Francia suddenly realized:

"You want to use this opportunity to train the team?"

"You're already preparing this early?"

"Not stupid," Lumian chuckled. "The earlier you prepare, the better. What if you're forced into premature advancement?"

Francia mused:

"Then I'll give '007' Jianna's summoning method for the Messenger. With those 'Mirror People' clues, we can return to Trill to investigate further.

"And don't forget the most important team member."

"How could I possibly forget?" Lu Mi laughed.

…………

Ludwig, who was eating late-night snacks, saw his godfather enter the room, sit across the table from him, and smile.

Suddenly, the bread in his hand no longer tasted good.

PS: Final day for double moon tickets~

(End of Chapter)