Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 4: Divination

He sat back down in his chair, and only after the distant church bells rang seven times did Zhou Mingrui slowly stand up, walk to the wardrobe, and take out his clothes.

A black vest, a matching suit jacket, slightly tight trousers, and a top hat, combined with a faint scholarly air, made Zhou Mingrui look like he was watching a British drama about the Victorian era when he looked in the mirror.

"I'm not going for an interview, just buying groceries and preparing materials for a luck-changing ceremony..." he suddenly muttered to himself, shaking his head and chuckling.

Klein was so concerned about the upcoming interview that it had become an instinct; whenever his concentration wavered, he habitually put on this one and only decent outfit.

With a sigh, Zhou Mingrui took off his suit jacket and vest, changed into a worn brown coat, and replaced his hat with a matching round-brimmed felt hat.

After tidying himself up, he walked to the bunk bed, lifted the top mattress, and reached his hand through an inconspicuous hole in the bottom, groping around until he found the inner compartment.

When he withdrew his right hand, a roll of banknotes, about seven or eight in total, was

now in his palm, a dark greenish-white color. This was all Benson had saved, including his living expenses for the next three days. He only had two five-sol notes; the rest were one-sol notes.

In the currency system of the Kingdom of Loen, the sol was on the second tier, derived from ancient silver coins. One sol was equal to twelve copper pence, and it came in denominations of one and five.

At the top of the currency system was the gold pound, also a type of paper money, but backed by gold and directly pegged to it. One gold pound was equal to twenty sols, and it came in denominations of one, five, and ten.

Zhou Mingrui unfolded the banknotes and smelled a very faint, distinctive scent of ink.

It was the smell of money.

Perhaps influenced by fragments of Klein's memories, or perhaps because of his own unchanging thirst for money, in that instant, Zhou Mingrui felt he had fallen in love with these little things.

Look, their designs are so exquisite, making even the stern and austere George III with his mustache seem so endearing…

Look, the watermark seen through the sunlight is so alluring, and the meticulously designed anti-counterfeiting label makes it completely different from the flashy, cheap imitations!

After admiring them for a few dozen seconds, Zhou Mingrui pulled out two one-sol banknotes, rolled up the rest, and stuffed them back into the lining of the cushion.

Smoothing the strips of cloth near the hole, Zhou Mingrui neatly folded the two banknotes he had taken out and placed them in the left pocket of his brown coat, separate from the few pennies in his trouser pocket.

Having done all this, he put the keys in his right pocket, picked up the large dark brown paper bag, and strode towards the door.

Tap tap, tap, the footsteps slowed down and finally stopped.

Zhou Mingrui stood by the door, his brows furrowed without him noticing.

There were many unanswered questions surrounding Klein's suicide; would going out like this lead to some kind of "accident"?

After a moment's thought, Zhou Mingrui returned to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out the gleaming brass revolver.

It was the only self-defense weapon he could think of, and a powerful one at that!

Although he had never practiced shooting, just pulling out this pistol would surely intimidate anyone!

He rubbed the cold metal cylinder, then slipped the pistol into the pocket where the banknotes were, clutching the bills tightly in his palm and gripping the handle firmly, perfectly concealing it.

A sense of security washed over him, but a sudden worry arose:

"What if it accidentally fires?"

Thoughts raced through his mind, but Zhou Mingrui quickly found a solution. He pulled out the pistol, swung the cylinder to the left, turning the empty chamber from his "suicide" into the ready-to-fire position, and then snapped it shut.

That way, even if it accidentally discharged, it would only be a "blank round"!

After putting the pistol back in, Zhou Mingrui's left hand remained in his pocket, not taking it out again.

He adjusted his hat with his right hand, opened the door, and slammed it shut.

The corridor remained dim during the day, with very limited sunlight filtering through the window at the end. Zhou Mingrui quickly descended the stairs and left the apartment, only then feeling the warmth and brightness.

Although it was nearing July, the height of summer, Tingen, located in the north of the Kingdom of Rune, had a unique climate. The highest temperature of the year was less than 30 degrees Celsius, and the mornings were even cooler. In some places, the streets were littered with dirty water and debris. In Klein's memory, even in areas with sewers, such scenes were not uncommon in low-income communities, because of the large population and the demands of life.

"Come on, come on, delicious pan-fried fish and meat!"

"Hot and fresh oyster soup, a bowl in the morning will energize you for the whole day!"

"Fresh fish delivered from the port, only 5 pence a piece!"

"Mini pancakes, eel soup with ginger beer!"

"Sea snails, sea snails, sea snails!"

"Vegetables just picked from the farm outside the city, cheap and fresh!"

...

Street vendors selling vegetables, fruits, and cooked food shouted loudly, beckoning to hurried passersby. Some stopped to carefully compare and buy, while others waved impatiently, as they hadn't yet secured work for the day.

Zhou Mingrui, smelling the air filled with both stench and fragrance, gripped his gun firmly with his left hand, clutching the banknotes, while his right hand pressed down on his round-brimmed felt hat. He bent slightly, head down, and walked through the bustling street.

Where there are crowds, there are thieves, especially in this neighborhood where many semi-unemployed poor people doing temporary work and hungry children being driven around.

As he walked, once the surrounding crowd density returned to normal, Zhou Mingrui straightened his back, raised his head, and looked down at the street.

A wandering accordion player was playing, the melody sometimes melodious, sometimes passionate.

Beside him, a group of ragged children, their faces sallow from malnutrition, gathered.

Listening to the music, they moved instinctively to the rhythm, dancing their own improvised dances, their faces filled with joy, as if they were little princes, little angels.

A woman with a numb expression passed by, her skirt dirty, her skin dull.

Her eyes were wooden and listless, only a glimmer of light flashing when she looked at the children, as if she saw herself thirty years ago.

Zhou Mingrui passed her, turned onto another street, and stopped in front of "Slin's Bakery."

The bakery owner was a woman in her seventies named Wendy Slin, her hair completely gray, her face always radiating a gentle smile. She had been selling bread and pastries there since Klein could remember.

"Hmm, her homemade Tingen biscuits and lemon cakes are delicious..." Zhou Mingrui swallowed and smiled,

"Mrs. Slinn, eight pounds of rye bread."

"Oh, little Klein, where's Benson? Still not back?" Wendy asked with a smile.

"A few more days," Zhou Mingrui replied vaguely.

Wendy picked up a piece of rye bread and sighed,

Melissa would definitely love it; he wondered how much the tickets would cost. A thought flashed through his mind, and Zhou Mingrui moved closer.

He was about to ask one of the red and yellow clowns when a hoarse female voice suddenly came from beside him:

"Want a fortune telling?"

Turning his head instinctively, Zhou Mingrui saw a woman wearing a pointed hat and a long black dress standing in front of a low tent.

Her face was painted with red and yellow paint, and her eyes were a deep gray-blue.

"No," Zhou Mingrui shook his head; he had no spare money for fortune telling.

The woman smiled and said,

"My tarot readings are very accurate."

"Tarot..." Zhou Mingrui was stunned.

The pronunciation was very similar to the tarot cards on Earth!

And Earth's tarot cards were a kind of fortune-telling playing cards, only with some "graphic cards" each with symbolic meanings.

Wait... he suddenly remembered the origin of tarot readings in this world.

It didn't originate from the seven orthodox gods, nor was it an ancient relic, but rather invented more than 170 years ago by Russell Gustav, the then-ruler of the Republic of Intis.

This Mr. Rosell invented the steam engine, improved sailing ships, overthrew the rule of the Kingdom of Intis, and gained recognition from the Church of the "God of Craftsmen," becoming the first Consul of the new Republic.

Later, he waged wars in the south and north, bringing countries like Lenburg under his protection, forcing powerful northern nations such as the Kingdom of Loen, Feneport, and the Fussac Empire to submit, and then transforming the Republic back into an Empire, proclaiming himself "Julius Caesar the Great."

It was during Rosell's reign that the Church of the "God of Craftsmen" received its first public oracle since the Fifth Age, changing the title from "God of Craftsmen" to "God of Steam and Machinery."

Rosell also invented Tarot divination and laid the foundation for the composition and gameplay of modern card games, including several types familiar to Zhou Mingrui, such as Upgrading, Landlord, Texas Hold'em, Gwent, etc.

Furthermore, he sent fleets through storms and turbulent currents to find a sea route to the southern continent, ushering in the colonial era.

Unfortunately, in his old age, he was betrayed and assassinated in 1198 of the Fifth Era by the Church of the Eternal Sun, the Soren family of the Indys royal family, and other nobles, perishing in the White Maple Palace.

This… recalling these facts, Zhou Mingrui suddenly felt a toothache.

Could this be a time-traveling predecessor?

Thinking this, Zhou Mingrui wanted to see what the tarot cards here looked like, so he nodded to the woman wearing a pointed hat and face paint, saying,

“If not, uh, the price is reasonable, I’ll give it a try.”

The woman immediately smiled and said,

“Sir, you are the first person to have your fortune told today, it’s free.”