Chapter 84: Dream Divination (Third update, thanks to all the Golden Alliance members who rewarded before)

Inside the semi-underground two-story building, Lu Mian and Aurora were eating a late lunch in silence.

The mutton that should have been tender seemed to have no taste in their mouths.

Barely filling their stomachs, Lu Mian was about to clean up the tableware when he suddenly heard the sound of ding-ding-dang-dang approaching.

"Franca and the others?" He turned his body and cast his gaze toward the entrance.

Aurora also noticed it, put down the knife and fork in her hand, and looked up toward the main door.

Not long after, their doorbell was rung.

Lu Mian didn't hesitate, got up from his seat, walked to the door, and examined the visitors outside through the peephole.

It was indeed Franca and the other three outsiders.

Different from when they parted before, Valentine finally changed his clothes—he had burned himself a bit when affected by the "Sufferer's" aura, and although the wounds on his body were healed by Madame Pualis, the burned clothes couldn't be restored to their original state.

Lu Mian opened the main door and smiled enthusiastically:

"My cabbages, missed me so soon?

"Yo, learned to change clothes?"

Valentine was no longer wearing a white vest with a blue fine wool coat, but had changed to a yellow vest with a black formal suit, and the trousers were still dark; on Franca's white cashmere dress, there were two white cloth flowers added to the abdomen and wrists, one large and two small, covering the traces of damage, and the sewing level was quite good; as for Ryan, Lu Mian couldn't see that he had changed clothes, nor could he discover the traces of his previous injuries, suspecting that this guy had prepared at least two sets of the same clothes.

"We have made certain gains on both matters." Ryan answered steadily, signaling with his eyes to enter before talking.

Lu Mian consulted his sister's opinion, opened the main door completely, and invited the three official investigators inside.

This was the first time Ryan and the others met Aurora, and they greeted each other politely.

"It has been initially confirmed that the rumor that the constellations are about to change and everyone will have good luck was spread by the assistant parish priest finding someone to do it." After sitting down next to the dining table, Ryan didn't talk nonsense and went straight to the topic, "But I feel it's not that simple. This method and rhetoric are very similar to the style of a village witch, and the assistant parish priest shouldn't have been able to think of it normally."

Village witch refers to the kind of person in towns and villages who concurrently predicts good and bad luck.

Aurora nodded thoughtfully:

"Was it influenced by that dead wizard?

"Hmm, this is a rhetoric to induce villagers to secretly worship evil gods."

"The villagers just believed it so easily?" Valentine was very angry.

He had an expression of how could the people of Cordu village be so stupid.

It's not because believing in the "Eternal Blazing Sun" can't let them escape poverty, and from time to time they have to suffer the bullying of the assistant parish priest and the viceroy... Aurora didn't say this complaint out loud; she was afraid Valentine would fight her.

She could even imagine that when some villagers were bewitched and started doing things to worship evil gods, they would more or less get some benefits from the assistant parish priest and his followers. For example, the offering to the "Eternal Blazing Sun" could be half less; for example, not only would they no longer be bullied by the villain Pons Bery, but they could also use the name of this villain to scare annoying neighbors. In short, they would truly feel that their "luck" had changed and their lives had hope, so they became more devout in their faith.

Of course, this wouldn't make Aurora feel that those villagers were right. After all, the government and the church mainly wanted money, while the evil cult wanted lives.

No one answered Valentine's question, only Lu Mian offered a suggestion with "good intentions":

"This requires you to go and ask them personally, doing an in-depth investigation on 'why faith changes easily.'

"If you really find the answer because of this, I think the Pontiff will appreciate you very much."

Pontiff is a form of address for the Pope of the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church. Many churches' supreme leaders can be called this. Lu Mian originally didn't understand, but only knew after reading the reference materials Aurora bought.

Valentine was silent, vaguely moved.

Aurora looked at Ryan and changed the topic:

"Did you find the whereabouts of Sybil's husband Jean Mori too?"

Ryan turned his head to look at Franca, signaling her to speak.

Franca nodded and said:

"We sneaked into Jean Mori's house and took away an item belonging to him.

"With the help of this item, I did a dream divination."

Dream divination... Aurora nodded gently, not surprised at all.

When Lu Mian recounted the action of exploring the castle yesterday afternoon, she had already guessed the paths and approximate sequences of the three official investigators based on their performance:

Clearly, Franca belonged to the "Diviner" path relatively common in Intis, and wasn't Sequence 9 "Diviner" or Sequence 8 "Clown," but at least Sequence 7 "Magician." This could be inferred from supernatural abilities like "Paper Figurine Substitute," "Damage Transfer," and her skilled divination and acrobatic-like agility.

Aurora wasn't quite sure if Franca had reached Sequence 6, because she didn't know much about the subsequent situation of this path.

Valentine belonged to the "Sun" path mastered by the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church. Similarly, he definitely didn't just have Sequence 9 "Bard" or Sequence 8 "Light Prayer." Aurora inferred from "Summon Holy Light," "Create Holy Water," "Sun Halo," etc., that he was Sequence 7 "Sun Priest," and should not have reached Sequence 6 "Judge," as he hadn't shown corresponding abilities.

Ryan's supernatural abilities weren't the type common in Intis. He should be a "Warrior."

This path was mainly mastered by the "God of War" church of the Feynapotter Kingdom in the north, but in the last five or six years, there had been many Beyonders and supernatural creatures of the "Warrior" path in various countries.

In the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society, there were several members who had chosen this path either actively or passively.

According to what Aurora knew, this was also called the "Giant" path. Sequence 9 is "Warrior," Sequence 8 is "Fighter," Sequence 7 is "Weapon Master," and Sequence 6 is a rank that produces a qualitative change compared to the front, called "Dawn Knight." They possess strength like a giant and can create "Morning Mist" within a certain area around them, eliminating hallucinations and negative or evil energy.

They can also condense full-body armor named "Dawn" and weapons they are good at using on their body surface. Among them, the most powerful is the giant two-handed sword named "Morning Mist Sword," and by using the "Morning Mist Sword," they can launch the most powerful attack of this sequence—"Light Storm," which can destroy human bodies, eliminate resentful souls, and even wound evil spirits.

Combining Ryan's performance, Aurora believed he was a Sequence 6 "Dawn Knight," but shouldn't have become a Sequence 5 "Guardian

Aurore had already felt that these three official investigators were no worse than herself, and now she discovered that they were truly one more formidable than the next. If she didn't prepare well, she wouldn't be able to win against any of them one-on-one.

One must know that in the official classification, Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 are considered low sequences, possessing only a few more special abilities than ordinary people, but their flaws are also very obvious. Sequence 7 to Sequence 5 are middle sequences, beginning to possess power that transcends the mundane, while Sequence 4 and above belong to the demigod domain and are true high sequences.

According to some members of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society who are lurking in official organizations, dealing with ordinary supernatural events often involves a three-person team consisting of one middle sequence and two low sequences to launch the first wave of investigation, with more high-end power deployed later depending on the situation. This time, facing the anomaly in Cordu Village, the Intis officials sent three middle sequences at once; it could not be said that they were not taking it seriously.

But even such a joint investigation team seemed not quite enough in Cordu Village.

Aurore had already shared this information with Lu Mian. At this moment, the siblings listened quietly as Lyra continued to recount.

"In the dream divination, I saw that shepherd Pierre Berry. He took out several fingernails wrapped in hair and stuffed them into a haystack." Lyra described the scene she saw in the most concise words.

A haystack... fingernails and hair... Lu Mian instantly associated this with his discovery under the guidance of those three sheep.

He had also found some fingernails wrapped in hair in the haystack inside the Berry family's sheep pen.

He frowned and said:

"Those were Jean-Morin's fingernails and hair?

"He was murdered by the shepherd Pierre Berry, right there at the Berry house?"

Aurore nodded along:

"Originally, this custom of hiding fingernails and hair outside the house to avoid affecting the family's constellations and luck was limited to family members with very poor reputations or those who committed suicide, as well as those murdered by relatives. But because Jean-Morin was killed at the shepherd's house, Pierre Berry still cautiously cut off the other party's fingernails, took some hair, and hid them in the haystack outside the house?"

"No wonder there were some before... those were probably from the previous victim. Just how many people have they secretly killed?" Lu Mian suddenly sneered. "It's come to this, and they're still thinking about not affecting their own constellations and luck?"

"Ignorant!" Valentine cursed angrily.

He, Ryan, and Lyra had already received the information from Lu Mian earlier, knowing about the three sheep, the haystack, and the corresponding folk customs.

After discussing for a while longer and deciding not to make other attempts for the time being, and to observe the reactions of the priest and the others, Lyra and the others bid farewell to Lu Mian and Aurore and returned to the old tavern.

The siblings did not mention the hypothesis from noon, fearing that it would affect the official investigators' will to break the cycle from the inside. After all, they might only be affected and have hope of escaping with the help of external forces.

After tidying up the table and helping to wash the dishes, Lu Mian returned to his room and lay on the bed.

With a complicated mood and many thoughts, he was unable to fall asleep for a long time. Relying on initial meditation, he slowly calmed down and entered a deep sleep.

…………

In the room filled with a faint gray mist, Lu Mian opened his eyes and sat up.

He looked down at his chest, his gaze seemingly piercing through the cotton off-white shirt and the barrier of flesh and blood, seeing the black thorn symbol and the blue-black pattern.

Is this the source and cause of the cycle? Lu Mian muttered to himself silently.

The black thorn symbol is the root of the problem, while the blue-black pattern brought the protection of that great existence, leaving Cordu Village with room for salvation.

And all of this can be traced back to nearly six years ago.

Lu Mian remembered very clearly that at that time, he was still wandering, relying on being young and easily underestimated, and a ruthlessness that surpassed his age, barely surviving.

Then, one day, he met that dying old man.

Perhaps it was because he had just accumulated a little bit and was feeling overconfident, or perhaps that old man reminded him of his only relative, his grandfather who had raised him until he was in his early teens but unfortunately passed away. Lu Mian chose to provide some help.

Although he ultimately failed to save the old man's life, Lu Mian still sent him to the crematorium and buried him in a free cemetery.

That blue-black symbol was what he discovered on the old man's corpse during this process. From then on, he often had dreams, dreaming of a vast expanse of gray mist.

His luck also got worse and worse, and he began to be unable to find enough food. Fortunately, not long after, he met Aurore.

PS: Third update, thanks to all the Silver Alliance members who tipped earlier, and, asking for monthly votes~ Hmm, at 12:05 AM is tomorrow's first update.

(End of chapter)