Chapter 919: The White Sacred Tree

"Oh, detective, what are you doing?"

Mr. James was startled nearly to his feet, and Xia De hurried to reassure him:

"Don't worry, I have a firearms license."

As he spoke, he actually produced the document.

"Detective, do you think that's what I care about?"

Mr. James asked, somewhat alarmed, then looked toward Doctor Shi Nai De, but the doctor merely shrugged:

"He really is carrying a firearm legally."

Xia De had by now fished out a bullet and held it in his palm, showing it to Mr. James for inspection:

"You see, this is a genuine bullet."

He opened the cylinder of the 【Gun of Kindness】, letting Mr. James confirm that all six chambers were empty. Then Xia De pressed that one bullet into one of the chambers, and with a click~ swung the cylinder back into place. He spun the cylinder at random until none of the three could tell where the bullet had been placed.

With his thumb on the hammer, Xia De set the revolver down on the table and slid it across to Mr. James beside him.

The thin, frail middle-aged man stared at Xia De as if he were a madman:

"Detective, I only want to treat my mental illness, not... if the illness goes untreated it only affects my quality of life, but if by bad luck the gun fires, I'd lose my life along with it."

"So this is the real thing—putting yourself in danger. You have a five-in-six chance of being fine, but in the instant of pulling the trigger, that feeling of facing death, of past memories flooding back one by one, might just wash away the hallucination of constantly facing mortal peril."

Xia De said, and for a moment Mr. James actually seemed tempted, but immediately shook his head again:

"Oh, I must really be going mad, to have almost been talked into it. Detective, I admit your reasoning has some logic, but this is too risky—no, I absolutely won't do it."

"Xia De, it's better if the treatment stays on the conservative side."

Doctor Shi Nai De also said cautiously; he actually knew which gun Xia De carried on him.

"Very well, then."

Xia De reached out and picked up the gun from the table; since it was already in a ready-to-fire state, Mr. James sitting across from him carefully kept clear of the muzzle.

"Detective, careful it doesn't go off!"

Mr. James carefully leaned his body back.

"My gun won't fire by accident."

Xia De said, even as he pointed the muzzle at his own chest—

Click~

At the instant the trigger was pulled, Mr. James's body visibly jolted, then realized the detective's luck had held.

"Oh, Doctor Shi Nai De, your detective friend is really... I admit this method sounds effective, but for the sake of my heart, detective, put the gun away... no, wait a moment."

The middle-aged man took a deep breath and actually reached out toward Xia De. Xia De raised an eyebrow in surprise and handed the gun over. Mr. James thumbed back the hammer, then pointed the muzzle at the back of his own left hand.

"This is courage."

Doctor Shi Nai De remarked softly from the side.

The accountant took several more deep breaths, then closed his eyes, tilted his head to the right, and finally pulled the trigger against the back of his hand—

Click~

Again no bullet fired, and Mr. James, gasping for air, opened his eyes—and a smile actually appeared on his face:

"Th-this is really interesting."

He handed the pistol back to Xia De, who noticed his palm was already sweating.

"Do you still feel as though you're in danger?"

Doctor Shi Nai De immediately asked, dutifully.

"Yes."

Mr. James said, then raised his glass and took a big swig, adding emphatically:

"Although I still feel danger on all sides, the detective's suggestion is effective—the sense of danger has clearly lessened a lot."

Xia De offered no opinion; in the process of putting the pistol away, his hand brushed Mr. James's, and he detected a very faint trace of Miracle Element on the man. The trace was almost imperceptible—about the same as having just walked out of a church.

"May I ask which deity you believe in?"

Xia De asked as he slipped the gun back into its holster, and Mr. James actually hesitated for a moment before answering softly:

"The Oak Tree God, 【The White Sacred Tree】."

"Hmm?"

Doctor Shi Nai De's face showed surprise, and Xia De's brow furrowed slightly as well.

In the present Sixth Epoch, although most mortals in the material world worship the five orthodox gods, and a small number worship evil gods, there do exist a very small group who still believe in the old gods who have departed. These groups are very few in number, and the people in them basically never voluntarily reveal their faith.

The 【White Sacred Tree】 mentioned by Mr. James is an old god of little renown. Apart from being called the "Oak Tree God," it is also called the "Tree of Fortune," and legend has it that it can bring people good luck.

"Mr. James, why didn't you tell me about this?"

Doctor Shi Nai De asked, setting down his pen with a serious expression.

"That shouldn't have anything to do with my problem, should it?"

Mr. James countered.

"But..."

"Mr. James, is this a faith passed down in your family?"

Xia De cut off the doctor, who then did not press further—he could tell that Xia De seemed to have noticed something.

"Yes, my father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather—Ceng Zufu—all of them have always believed in that great one."

Mr. James said devoutly, tracing a tree-shaped holy symbol on his chest.

"Do you have a family heirloom holy object on you? A holy symbol or a divine statue, for instance?"

Xia De pressed on; Mr. James hesitated, clearly reluctant to speak. But the fact that he kept silent for so long was itself an answer.

This was most likely not a psychological issue, but rather a Supernatural Item tied to the old god 【The White Sacred Tree】, passed down through Mr. James's family, warning him that he really would face a fatal danger soon.

Although the gods have already departed, miraculous items imbued with the power of the old gods might still be able to work even if they don't evolve into relics. As for why it only suddenly took effect in Mr. James's generation, that item is probably on the verge of complete destruction — this is its final power.

"The old god 【White Sacred Tree】 is also known as the Tree of Fortune. In other words, that item glimpsed a sliver of destiny. Mr. James truly will encounter a fatal crisis in the near future. The stronger the sense of crisis, the closer the danger."

Xia De was thinking this, when Doctor Shi Nai De beside him suddenly raised his hand and waved it in front of Mr. James. The middle-aged man's eyes immediately became dazed, then he closed his eyes and slumped onto the table.

"He's temporarily asleep."

The doctor said. The three of them were in a secluded corner, with no one around paying attention. He lowered his voice again and asked:

"Does Mr. James have a Special Item on him?"

"Not on him — it should be in his luggage."

Otherwise Xia De would have sensed it long ago:

"That item isn't important. The current problem is, Doctor, your patient truly might encounter fatal danger soon, but we don't know the specific timing."

Doctor Shi Nai De nodded slowly and somewhat vexedly picked up his own glass:

"I'm only his psychologist, not his bodyguard. I can't stay by his side and protect him at all times. If your analysis is correct, then no one can help him. He can only face the coming destiny on his own."

Both men fell silent, looking at the middle-aged man sleeping on the table. What a Ring warlock could fight was the danger before their eyes; against unknown future dangers, they had no good solutions either.

"However, since it was a suspected divine-artifact that detected the danger, it's most likely also related to the mysterious."

The doctor added. He had more experience than the outsider who had only become a Ring warlock half a year ago:

"In my view, this gentleman will most likely die in the future from a relic-loss-of-control incident."

"Then we definitely can't help him any further. In autumn at Midhill Fort, I met someone prophesied to die of a brain disease on the first snowfall. That fellow, trying to evade fate, actually ran right into my hands... I understood long ago that those who try to toy with fate will surely be toyed with by fate."

Xia De spoke with absolute certainty, because he had received an unforgettable lesson. The doctor sighed helplessly. If they could help, both Xia De and Doctor Shi Nai De would be willing to lend a hand. But the problem now was that they too were powerless.

"I'll charge a little less for the consultation."

The blue-eyed psychologist finally offered his conclusion:

"May the god he believes in protect him. Sometimes, people truly should not learn their fate in advance."

Xia De sighed and said nothing more. The doctor prepared to perform a brief, rapid dream-entry to modify Mr. James's memories from before he fell asleep, so he wouldn't notice anything amiss. Afterward they would go check what exactly was in the room where Mr. James was staying, but even if they truly found a divine-artifact imbued with the power of the old gods, it would be of no help in resolving the danger Mr. James was about to face.

Dream-entering an ordinary person was simple. The doctor had the materials in his briefcase; with a little setup, it could be done in a few minutes.

While the doctor prepared, Xia De held his glass and looked toward the stairway, to prevent anyone from noticing what was happening on their side.

But what a coincidence — the doctor had only just begun his preparations when, from the second-floor stairway where no one had come for half an hour, two people actually did come up.

One of them wore a headscarf and had somewhat dark skin — it was Mr. Alan Madison, the leader of the local correspondence-study Ring warlock group at Sexes Higher Medical Academy. Following him up the stairs was a young Miss, wearing a floral-print dress, her pale-golden long hair simply tied back and hanging behind her head.

Xia De had never seen that face before. He had assumed she was another correspondence-study Ring warlock from the local Sexes Higher Medical Academy, but then immediately realized:

"Isn't that..."

【Margaret Anjou】

Xia De and Doctor Shi Nai De sat in a very secluded corner. From the stairway one could see the two of them, but the two who had come up to the second floor did not notice Xia De's group right away.

Besides the poor lighting, it was also because after Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret arrived on the second floor, they walked toward the other side of the second floor and looked at the middle-aged woman sitting alone at a table drinking.

Xia De looked at the woman again, then saw her take off her own head, pull out the peanut stuck in her throat, and then put her head back on her neck and continue sitting alone drinking.

－－－Digression－－－

PS: There are so few comments in these recent chapters. Is the story boring? (Facepalm)