Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 5 Tarot Club

"I also have two Sequence 9 potion formulas here, which may be more suitable for you than this lady's 'Assassin'."

Angel was very dissatisfied that the transaction was interrupted, and she turned to the short-haired man with undisguised anger.

"Sorry, but please listen to my proposal first, maybe you will be more satisfied." The short-haired man felt Angel's emotions, he apologized first, and then turned his gaze to the girl.

The girl was also looking at him suspiciously.

Angel suppressed the unhappiness in his heart and decided to listen to what this man had to say first.

The short-haired man introduced in detail the two Sequence 9 formulas in his hands. One is "Sailor", which allows the user to obtain excellent balance ability, swim like a fish in the water, and even transform into fish scales; the other is the "spectator" potion. People who become "spectators" can gain keen observation skills, and glimpse their true thoughts from other people's expressions, behaviors, mouth cravings, and unknown movements.

At the end of the introduction, he added: "You must remember that whether it is a luxurious banquet or a lively street, the audience is always just the audience."

This is the same as the method of mastering potions in Angel's memory. Whichever potion you take, if you want to be further promoted, you must become an identity that matches the name of the potion. Like Cole Granger, he became an assassin with blood on his hands and an instigator who abetted crimes.

Looking at the girl who was obviously more interested in the short-haired man's potion and sat up straight, Angel was disappointed, but also felt a little lucky. Although it was unlikely, if the girl took the path of an assassin and let more innocent people die by the sharp blade in the dark, then Angel felt that she still had a lot of responsibility.

"And this... lady," after introducing the potion, the man turned his head to Angel, "If you just want to obtain a legal identity, then I have a more convenient and cheap channel, and I can get it on the same day. After a week, even the Central Archives of Backlund can't find any flaws."

"My friend, not me." Angel emphasized.

"Cough, then you... your Tingen friend, go to the "Wild Heart" bar in the lower street of the Iron Cross after ten o'clock in the evening, and say that 'Captain' introduced it, and the code is 'half and half, add more sugar'. For thirty pounds, you can get what you want." The man did not expose Angel's obvious lie, but followed her statement and introduced his own channel.

Thirty pounds... It seems that the price I quoted just now far exceeded the market price, that nasty second-hand dealer... Angel thought bitterly, and replied to the man: "Thank you, your information is very helpful to me."

At the same time, he noticed the man's code name, "Captain", combined with the Sequence 9 "Sailor" potion he introduced earlier, could this be the origin of the code name, or even the name of a higher level potion?

The girl politely waited for the conversation between the two to end before asking excitedly: "What about me? What do I need to exchange the 'audience' formula with you?"

At this time, she seemed to remember that she had almost reached a deal with another person before, and she turned to Angel and said, "I'm really sorry, but I think 'audience' is more suitable for me."

Such a polite girl, Angel shook her head slowly: "It's okay, I got what I needed too."

The short-haired man also made his own request: "Ghost shark blood, at least 100 milliliters of ghost shark blood."

It sounds like the main ingredient of some kind of potion. The short-haired man is probably already a Beyonder, so what he needs should be a potion for advancing to Sequence 8 or Sequence 7.

No matter how high the Sequence is, the main material cannot be exchanged with a Sequence 9 potion formula, even if this person has done a lot of foreshadowing and secretly raised the price of the formula.

The girl nodded excitedly, as if she hadn't considered whether she could get the ghost shark's blood at all, and then asked in a worried tone:

"If I can get it, how can I give it to you? And how can I guarantee that after you get the ghost shark's blood, you will give me the formula of the potion and the authenticity of this formula?"

This is a problem, this is not like the transaction on Amazon or eBay, there is a neutral third party guaranteeing the transaction between the two, the short-haired man can completely disappear without a trace after getting the blood of the ghost shark, or give a wrong formula, but the girl has nothing to do with him.

Wait, a neutral third party...

Angel's heart moved, she looked up at the mysterious person who had been watching the transactions of several people.

The short-haired man obviously thought of this too: "I will give you an address. When I receive the Ghost Shark Blood, I will send you the formula, or tell you here directly. I think that with the witness of this mysterious Your Excellency, you and I will be at ease."

As he spoke, he bowed his head to the mysterious person on the long table and said respectfully:
"Your Excellency, you allowed us to come here with unimaginable power. Neither I nor she dare to disobey your testimony."

The girl obviously agreed with this, and she also bowed to the mysterious man, saying:
"Your Excellency, please be a witness of our transaction."

Angel didn't dare to lag behind. After saluting, she remembered a question.

"My lord, what should we call you?"

You can't always call him "Your Excellency" and "Your Excellency".

The mysterious man tapped lightly with his fingers on the long table. Several people stared at it for a while, and then felt that this behavior was not respectful, so they looked away one after another.

"You can call me Fool."

After the palpitating silence, the mysterious man raised his hands, crossed his fingers against his chin, and said flatly.

This is obviously a code name, and the daily meaning does not make people feel respectful, but Angel did not dare to show disrespect at all, but stood up directly, touched his chest with his right hand, and bent down to salute.

"Dear Mister Fool, thank you for letting us know your name."

The other two also stood up and saluted.

After the "Fool" pressed his right hand to indicate that they could sit down, Angel sat back in his own high-back chair.

The girl raised the question again: "Dear Mr. Fool, please allow me to beg, can you be a witness of our transaction?"

"A small matter, you can continue."

"The Fool" seemed to be very interested in the transaction of the few people. He continued to rest his hands on his chin, patiently playing the role of a witness.

With the guarantee of "The Fool" as a neutral third party, the transaction between the short-haired man and the girl can continue.

"If you can get the ghost shark's blood, find someone to take it to the 'Warrior and the Sea' bar on Pelican Street in the White Rose District of Pritz Harbor, and tell the boss Williams that it is what the 'Captain' wants.

"Can you give me an address now, I will send the potion formula after I confirm the items, or tell you directly here?"

The girl thought for a while and chose the latter.

"Although this is a bit of a test of my memory, I still choose a more confidential way, just tell me here.

"Mr. Fool, would you mind making a few more 'attempts' like this?"

Angel, who has gained something here, also agrees with this, she echoed:

"Mr. Fool, your strength is beyond our imagination, but there are always some fields in the world that you don't understand and are not good at. This lady is obviously from a noble family. That gentleman has his own special channels and resources, and I can contact some extraordinary people with good strength. We may be able to help you accomplish trivial things that are inconvenient for you at some point in the future."

I'm sorry, Mrs. Sharon, now I can only use you as a pretense.

The short-haired man nodded in agreement: "Mr. Fool, don't you think this kind of 'party' is very interesting? We have different backgrounds, different resources, and different news channels. If we can communicate with each other and cooperate with each other, it will produce inestimable wonderful effects!"

The girl who benefited the most from this gathering, the future "audience" also said excitedly: "Mr. Fool, I think this is a good proposal. As long as the 'gathering' becomes regular, if you have something that is inconvenient for you, you can completely transfer it to us. Of course, it must be within our capabilities."

Several people looked at The Fool nervously and expectantly, waiting for his consent.

"The Fool" left his right hand from his chin, and slowly tapped the edge of the long bronze table. This may be a subconscious action when he was thinking.

The mist surrounding the magnificent temple is erratic, which seems to represent the ups and downs of the owner of the venue.

The tapping stopped.

"I am a person who likes equal exchange, and I will not let you help unconditionally."

"Every Monday at three o'clock in the afternoon, try to be alone as much as possible. After I try a few more times and figure out some things, maybe you can ask for leave in advance, so you don't have to worry about being in an inappropriate situation."

This can be regarded as a gathering after agreeing to hold a regular meeting, and the actions of several people have obviously relaxed, especially the girl, who clenched her fists exaggeratedly and waved twice in front of her chest, as if she was doing a celebratory gesture.

"Since the party has been fixed, shouldn't we give ourselves a code name?" Angel saw that the atmosphere on the field was good, and put forward his suggestion at the right time. "You can't all use your real name to communicate."

"The Fool" nodded: "Good idea."

The girl took over the conversation: "You are Mr. Fool, from the Tarot cards. As a regular, long-term, secret 'gathering', the titles should be as consistent as possible. I think we should also choose from the Tarot cards."

Tarot?
It was only then that Angel noticed that "The Fool" was not taken from the meaning in the general semantics, but the 22 main cards in the Tarot, which is the number 0 in the "Major Arcana".

The history of Tarot cards in this world is not that long. Less than 200 years ago, it has become one of the mainstream divination methods in the world. Its inventor, "Caesar" Russell Gustav, can be regarded as one of the most legendary characters in the Fifth Epoch.

When Angel tried his best to recall the origin of the Tarot cards, the girl had already chosen her own code name: "It's decided, my title is 'Justice'!"

Wait, this is what I want to choose...

Angel was one step behind, and the title he wanted had already been chosen.She didn't hesitate anymore, and quickly decided on her code name among several alternatives: "Then I'll choose 'Queen'."

After all, she has inexplicably become a woman.

The short-haired man said succinctly:

"The Hanged Man."

They are the main cards in the Tarot deck.

"Then, we are considered the founding members of the 'Tarot Society'?" Miss Justice looked around the temple with only a few people, and finally turned her gaze to "The Fool", "Are you okay, Mister Fool?"

"You can make up your own mind." Obviously The Fool doesn't want to waste energy on such trivial matters.

The excited Miss Justice shared the history of Tarot cards with Mr. Hanged Man again. Angel was worried that she might make mistakes, so she just listened quietly from the sidelines, but she felt that the eyes of the "fool" swept over her from time to time, and she was a little uncomfortable.

"...Emperor Roselle has seen the slate of blasphemy, and that deck of cards contains the mysteries of the 22 pathways of God..." Dao Hang spoke out his understanding of the Tarot cards one by one, arousing bursts of exclamation from Justice.

"Okay, let's end today's meeting." Angel felt "The Fool" look away from him, and then a deep voice came, announcing the end of this "Tarot Club".

"Follow your will." Several people quickly saluted and bid farewell to "The Fool".

The crimson light overflowed from the surrounding thick fog and surrounded Angel. She saw the Hanged Man on the opposite side and the justice beside her. The figures of several people became blurred and illusory, and the last words of "The Fool" came from the fog:

"Let's look forward to the next meeting."

----------

In the howling storm of the Sunya Sea, the three-masted sailing ship heaved and fell among the peaks formed by the waves, like a toy in the hands of a giant.

"The Hanged Man" Alger Wilson stood on the bow deck, as if his feet were nailed to the ground, unaffected by the storm.

The crimson in his eyes faded, his consciousness returned to his body, and he looked around, everything was as before.

But Alger knew that everything was different.

The oddly shaped glass bottle in his palm shattered with a "click", and the fragments melted in his palm like snowflakes meeting boiling water in just a few seconds, and fell to the deck along with the heavy rain, losing any trace of their existence.

And a hexagonal snowflake mark appeared in Alger's palm, flickered a few times, then faded and disappeared.

He didn't care about the damage to this precious extraordinary item, but clenched his palms tightly and continued to stand against the wind and rain on the bumpy and undulating deck.

……

In Backlund, the capital of the Loen Kingdom, in a luxurious villa surrounded by lush gardens.

"Justice" Audrey Hall sat in front of the dressing table, watching the ancient bronze mirror crumble to pieces.

Star-like crimson appeared on the back of her hand, erratic, and then disappeared under the skin without a trace.

It wasn't until then that she was sure she wasn't dreaming.

Unable to restrain her excitement, Audrey raised her lips, got up from the dressing table, lifted her skirt and bent over, bowing to the air.

"Praise Mister Fool."

The sound of light dance steps sounded in the bedroom.

……

No. 6 Narcissus Street, Tingen City, messy study room.

"Queen" Angel Gray held a gun in one hand and a bronze badge in the other. She trembled as if her soul had returned to her body, and she came to her senses.

The badge in his hand seemed to have experienced the baptism of thousands of years, and it quickly became mottled. Under the wind that did not exist, it turned into dust and scattered.

A teardrop-shaped gemstone was engraved on her palm, a crimson light flashed, and a mark of the same shape disappeared into the skin. Afterwards, all the strange scenes disappeared, and the study returned to calm.

If it wasn't for the change in the angle of the sun outside the window, she would almost have thought that everything just now was just an illusion.

The respect and fear for "The Fool" deepened in his heart, and Angel put the revolver back in the desk drawer, planning to go back to the living room to catch up on sleep before dinner.

I have to go get my "ID card" tonight.

As soon as she walked out of the study, she froze and remembered something important.

"Is that badge ... worth two hundred pounds?"

……

Tingen City, Lower Iron Cross Street, the second floor of Franky's apartment.

"The Fool" Zhou Mingrui stood in the middle of the room with a puzzled expression on his face. When the gray fog receded, he watched the three people he had pulled in disappear together. Finally, his eyes went dark and he returned to the scene of the "transfer ceremony" in the apartment.

My legs were like being filled with lead, and my head was throbbing with pain. The "transfer ritual" that was completely beyond my expectations was still too heavy on the body.

Zhou Mingrui looked at his pocket watch and roughly judged the elapsed time. The time in the fog and the real time were synchronized.

Throwing down the pocket watch, the torment of the headache made him unable to support anymore, so he could only sit down on the chair and massage the temples on both sides with both hands.

"It seems that we won't be able to go back in a short time." Zhou Mingrui was thinking in despair. The method of "going back as you came" obviously failed. After seeing the mysterious world, he didn't dare to try other methods in a short time.

At least wait until your strength improves and you have a deep grasp of mysticism.

"From now on, I am Klein Moretti." A voice full of frustration, pain and melancholy echoed in the apartment.

In order to relieve the negative emotions that were about to overwhelm him, Klein turned his thoughts back to the "Tarot Club" that just ended.

People from all corners of the country communicated face to face through the gray fog, exchanging needs, which is simply...

"Learn about online dating platforms?"

The group leader "The Fool" laughed at himself.

In particular, one of the three was from Tingen City, perhaps not far from him. When he realized this at the time, Klein couldn't help but look at her a few more times, trying to distinguish Miss "Queen"'s appearance through the gray fog. Unfortunately, the mysterious gray fog was effective in blocking his line of sight. He could only remember the other party's long pale blond hair and proud figure, but his appearance was blurred.

"Anyway, they're just 'netizens'. Even if they're in the same city, they won't have a chance to meet each other." Klein shook his head, and put the urge to "face the base" behind him.

(End of this chapter)