[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-973":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298942,4496,"Chapter 973: Past Events","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-973",973,"\u003Cp>“The ‘World’ awakens, the ‘Fool’ returns...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na had seen this phrase in the data provided by the Major Arcana cards; it was regarded as the most important revelation made by Mr. Fool before his slumber, concealing the direction needed to awaken him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Path of the ‘Diviner’’s Rank 0, the ‘Fool’, is said to hold authority over fate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na looked at Lady Justice, said nothing, and waited for her to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice gestured toward the sofa area:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s sit down and talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After both sides chose their own sofas, Lady Justice spoke softly and at length:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the Dream Metropolis, after our initial intelligence gathering, we discovered a problem:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There is no dream image corresponding to Gelmán Spáro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Among Mr. Fool’s incarnations, Kleine Moretti’s dream image was blended into Zhou Mingrui’s persona, as evidenced by Zhou Mingrui’s brother being named Zhou Bansen and his sister Zhou Shasha—names corresponding to Kleine Moretti’s real-world brother Bansen and sister Melisa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Other incarnations, such as the private detective and the wandering magician, could be found in the Dream Metropolis, but their images were scattered across multiple individuals—some used only half their names, others merely embodied the corresponding traits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Jian Na gave a slight nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These details were all mentioned in the data; their team had also covertly observed the corresponding images and planned to make deeper contact with each in turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice smiled, as if sighing:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We confirmed all those dream images; they posed no issues and offered no exploitable angles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But Gelmán Spáro, one of Mr. Fool’s two most important incarnations and the ‘World’ referenced in that revelation, had no corresponding image in the Dream Metropolis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the time, this filled us with strong suspicion—and a touch of excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We fear nothing more than everything being normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After discussion, we decided to attempt creating Gelmán Spáro as a dream image within the Dream Metropolis; only with Gelmán Spáro could we even begin to speak of awakening the ‘World’.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na listened, astonished and stirred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This line of thought had never occurred to them before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this was mainly because they had just finished observing key figures and were still experimenting with varying degrees of contact with different characters, without yet compiling intelligence to find a way to awaken Mr. Fool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi’an had made some associations from the phrase “The ‘World’ awakens, the ‘Fool’ returns,” which is why he had asked Jian Na to observe the actor portraying Gelmán Spáro after joining Hol Film Company.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What they hadn’t anticipated was that filming “The Great Pirate 3” had not only aimed to stimulate Zhou Mingrui and awaken his memories, but also to fabricate a dream image of Gelmán Spáro from nothing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our first attempt was for me to use the ‘Dreamweaver’s’ ability and Hol Group’s resources to directly create the dream image of Gelmán Spáro, granting him authentic identity documents and a past history. The result? Well, I was kicked out of the dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My coin came from Lady Reniet, and I later returned it to Her; She had already been expelled from the Dream Metropolis three times before I even entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being expelled didn’t discourage me—I even felt excited, believing this might truly be a meaningful direction, otherwise the Celestial Sovereign would never have directed His gaze to this place far from Zhou Mingrui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We began our second attempt: Lady Magician, using her identity as a best-selling novelist, wrote ‘The Great Pirate 3.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So ‘The Great Pirate 3’ was deliberately written by you too?” Jian Na asked thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice smiled, a smile that brightened Jian Na’s eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you not seen ‘The Great Pirate 1’ and ‘The Great Pirate 2’? They tell the story of pirates and never feature Gelmán Spáro—meaning, before Lady Magician personally wrote ‘The Great Pirate 3,’ the character didn’t even exist within the story.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The completion and publication of ‘The Great Pirate 3’ also caused Lady Magician to be expelled from the dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We felt we were on the right path; I used Hol Film Company to purchase the film rights to ‘The Great Pirate 3’ and began preparations for production.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Money really is wonderful... Jian Na couldn’t help murmuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For their own team, let alone filming a movie about Gelmán Spáro, they couldn’t even afford to buy the rights to ‘The Great Pirate 3’—not even if they won the lottery a hundred times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice recalled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I personally served as producer and personally selected the actor to portray Gelmán Spáro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I found An Xiaotian—he was an actor, a star. What a coincidence, as if Mr. Fool had secretly arranged it all, waiting for us to trigger it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the dream, An Xiaotian’s background was that both his parents had died; he was raised by his elder sister, dropped out of school after high school, and entered the entertainment industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His sister fell seriously ill and is now in a vegetative state; to preserve the hope of her awakening, he worked tirelessly to become a major star and earned a great deal of money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I offered him a role with a salary he could not refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the time, I was somewhat uneasy—wondering if casting An Xiaotian as Gelmán Spáro might cause problems. You know, An Xiaotian’s real-world counterpart is Antigonus, a half of the ‘Fool’ from the Fourth Era, who has not yet perished; if we fused His spiritual imprint with the cinematic image of Gelmán Spáro, it might interfere with Mr. Fool’s self-perception—or benefit Antigonus and the Celestial Sovereign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To ensure safety, we contacted Antigonus through the Church of the Night Goddess; He told us we could proceed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Does Antigonus have close ties with the Church of the Night Goddess? Can He be trusted?” Jian Na asked instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice’s smile grew slightly more complex:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being captured and imprisoned counts as a kind of connection...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But after the Goddess issued a divine decree, promising Antigonus one thing, He has been serving the Church of the Night Goddess, and His words remain credible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I ultimately decided to invite An Xiaotian to portray Gelmán Spáro.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“On the day filming began, An Xiaotian suffered a severe car accident and became a vegetative patient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also... both he and his sister are now vegetative... Jian Na thought of it and felt deeply tragic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That also caused me to be expelled from the dream for the second time,” Lady Justice said with self-deprecating humor. “Afterward, I faced considerable restrictions. When I entered the dream for the third time, Holly had already chosen the actor for Gelmán Spáro. Fortunately, she decided to personally fund a foundation to fully cover An Xiaotian’s and his sister’s medical expenses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na vaguely sensed that Lady Justice was praising her own dream image, Holly, as a decent person—no surprise, since Holly was her idealized self—but she didn’t dare say it outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Justice skipped past this topic and continued directly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I found no one better suited to portray Gelmán Spáro; even the potion provided by Mr. Moon failed to awaken An Xiaotian. I had no choice but to let Jia Yu try. Unfortunately, after filming, Jia Yu failed to merge with the Gelmán Spáro image, and the movie did not trigger any memories in Zhou Mingrui—it only created imitators of the Gelmán Spáro character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps, when An Xiaotian had his accident, the purpose of ‘The Great Pirate 3’ was already doomed to fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During the filming of ‘The Great Pirate 3,’ I noticed people gradually forgetting An Xiaotian, no longer remembering him as a person, only recalling the events associated with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I myself was unaffected, but I gave myself psychological suggestions to ensure I wouldn’t forget An Xiaotian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the Dream Metropolis, I truly remembered him—until I was expelled for the third time...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like being fooled... Jian Na thought for a few seconds and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There must be a very useful secret hidden in An Xiaotian’s case, which is why the Celestial Sovereign deceived everyone into forgetting him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s also our speculation,” Lady Justice nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na shifted topic:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The vegetative An Xiaotian seems to be trying to warn Lu Mi’an about someone. Could you contact Antigonus again and see if He has dreamed of anything or knows anything in the real world?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s something we should do,” Lady Justice glanced around. “Don’t rush back. Wait for the Church of the Night Goddess’s feedback—it may come soon—and use this time to deepen your psychological understanding of reality, so you won’t confuse it with the dream at the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood,” Jian Na nodded politely, stood, and walked toward the garden behind the villa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to take a walk there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three a.m.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Lan Ka saw the “Jian Na” who had fallen asleep suddenly wake up, and knew the real Jian Na had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na lowered her voice and recounted in detail everything Lady Justice had told her, concluding:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Antigonus says He can sense Mr. Fool’s dreams, but has never entered them and does not wish to, so He doesn’t know what the vegetative An Xiaotian is trying to warn Lu Mi’an about.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could we possibly ask Antigonus to enter once, using the vegetative An Xiaotian as a conduit? Then He might learn what An Xiaotian is trying to convey,” Fu Lan Ka mused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Na shook her head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After An Xiaotian became vegetative, Antigonus can no longer enter, even if He wanted to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then we need to find a way to cure An Xiaotian?” Fu Lan Ka murmured thoughtfully. “Cure him, wake him up—then we wouldn’t even need Antigonus to enter...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But how? Healing potions seem useless...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, Fu Lan Ka and Jian Na simultaneously thought of one possibility:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Great Mother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lu Mi’an is currently posing as the Great Mother’s divine child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1641,"2026-06-20T06:22:37.987Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","751ecb5b17f1ed249b239d9faa2a729918e7061cb6716c9db65b6e31b177abac","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-974","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-972",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]