Chapter 9 The Fool: I'm Also a Member of the Tarot Club, I Can Trade Too!
Nairn looked toward the head of the long bronze table, at the mysterious figure shrouded in gray-white fog, and spoke in a tone mixed with surprise, confusion, and a strange sense of familiarity that was absolutely earth-shattering.
"Wo ri..."
"What the ri is your problem?"
It was a peculiar accent, a mix of Chinese swear words and broken English.
The syllables were strange, yet they possessed an indescribable, infectious quality.
It was as if these weren't the speaker's original intent, but rather an instinctive outburst under intense emotion.
Regardless.
Zhou Mingrui was completely shocked.
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in his mind, leaving him utterly dazed.
Damn it.
That's the sound of home!
This was the most intimate, most pleasant, and most beautiful 'national essence' he had heard since transmigrating!
So incredibly pure, blurted out subconsciously—
Is this a fellow countryman?
Love it, love it!
For a homesick traveler who was so desperate to return home that he was willing to risk his life to try the luck-turning ritual again, this was like rain after a long drought!
This was the greatest of the four happinesses in life—
"Meeting an old friend in a distant land"!
At this moment, all that bullshit about mystery and Beyonder power was tossed to the back of Zhou Mingrui's mind.
When fellow countrymen meet, their eyes brim with tears.
Damn it!
Mr. The Fool wanted to flip the table right then and there, rush over to grab Nairn's hand, and say excitedly, "Comrade, are you a transmigrator too?"
In that instant, Zhou Mingrui almost failed to maintain his persona as "Mr. Mystery."
However, the string of reason tightened at the last second.
Above the Gray Fog, danger lurked everywhere.
Who could guarantee that this "fellow countryman" was definitely a friend?
What if the other party was an even more terrifying existence who just happened to know this bit of "national essence"?
There seemed to be no time to think.
The blonde girl named Audrey, her emerald eyes having heard this language that seemed somewhat similar to Loen yet was distinctly different, felt her curiosity instantly shift from this mysterious space to Nairn.
An unheard-of language—where did this gentleman learn it?
His tone was so casual; could it be... that this person sitting below is the mastermind, the real player? And the one at the head is just a puppet?
In Miss Justice's mind, countless scenes of noble conspiracies, framing, and drama played out in an instant.
Ultimately, her intuition told her that Nairn's confusion didn't seem faked, so she, like the silent Hanged Man Alger on the other side, threw the question to "The Fool" at the head of the table.
"Excellency, where is this?"
"What do you intend to do?"
Where is this? What do I want to do? I want to know too... Zhou Mingrui forced himself to calm down, silently repeating their questions in his heart.
In that moment, Zhou Mingrui thought of two choices.
One was to pretend he was also a victim and take the opportunity to ally with that "fellow countryman."
Don't forget, he was the one who pulled them up; a fellow countryman was naturally one of his own. Two against two, he could still control the situation.
The second was to maintain the mysterious and unfathomable image in the eyes of these two men and one woman, actively guiding the development of events to obtain valuable information.
Zhou Mingrui hesitated for a rare moment.
One may know a person's face but not their heart.
After thinking of countless possibilities like scams, betrayals, and backstabbing, he chose to maintain a sliver of vigilance.
After a few seconds of silence Above the Gray Fog, Zhou Mingrui gave a light chuckle. His tone was calm, his voice low but not deep, as if responding to a visitor's polite greeting:
"An attempt."
Sorry, fellow countryman.
I'll keep it from you for now; bear with it for a bit.
If you really are sincere, I will definitely offer a humble apology. As long as you don't blame me for this little Lie, I'll have no complaints about how you treat me in the future.
As for the name, Zhou Mingrui's fingers tapped lightly on the bronze table as the contents of his previous divination flashed through his mind.
He leaned back, withdrew his right hand, and rested his chin on his crossed fingers, looking at the three with a smile:
"You can call me..."
He paused here, then spoke in a gentle and calm tone:
"The Fool."
The answer from Mr. "The Fool" clearly sent a shock through Audrey and Alger, while Nairn remained unfazed.
He had no interest in exposing the act because something even more ridiculous had captured his full attention.
He had brought the Chaos Theater up with him!
Holy crap.
Nairn really did have a "what the ri is your problem" situation now.
This, this, this... this was breaking all the rules.
A Sefirah can be brought into Sefirah Castle?
This is Sefirah Castle! The sleeping place of that existence! Bringing another Sefirah in here is like performing a shamanic dance in someone else's house!
He wouldn't be discovered on the spot and crushed into dust, would he?
However, the little theater in his mind told Nairn to stay calm.
It seemed to be acting cute and rolling around to tell Nairn: Master, Master, don't panic! It's a small scene!
Its emotions carried a hint of pride.
And it passed along some information—
It is the symbol of existence and narrative, an anomaly outside the rules, a variable within the fixed fate—implanting a crack into inevitability; it is the destined accident of all things.
Sefirah Castle? Handled!
Really? Nairn grew interested.
Cough, actually, it wasn't that easy to handle.
Sensing its master's thoughts, the little theater immediately chickened out and quickly sent new information: It's not that easy to handle.
Most importantly, it might not be able to protect its master if a real conflict broke out.
Sefirah Castle had simply "ignored" their existence for the moment, like a background prop intentionally forgotten in a play.
This was a part of the authority of Absurdity.
Nairn understood; as a Fun-seeker, the main goal was to be unpredictable and dance wildly on the edge of the rules.
And this "neglect" also extended to Nairn himself.
With it came tangible benefits.
He was no longer illusory like Audrey and Alger; the solidity of his body far surpassed theirs.
More importantly, he didn't feel any power maintaining his existence, as if he naturally belonged here.
This meant he didn't need to consume Zhou Mingrui's spirituality and could even use his own Sefirah to gain a tiny, insignificant bit of initiative here to perform small actions.
This was great news.
At least he didn't have to worry if Zhou Mingrui's blue bar was enough; after all, pulling three people at once would be quite awkward if he ran out of mana halfway through.
At this point, seeing the atmosphere fall into silence again, Audrey guessed if they were all shocked by Mr. "The Fool's" "attempt."
After all, she had just been in her bedroom, in front of her dressing table, and in the blink of an eye, she had "come" to this place filled with gray fog!
How utterly inconceivable!
Seeing that Nairn, who had spoken first, was now quiet, she could only try her best to maintain a smile and asked quite nervously with impeccable etiquette:
"Excellency, is the attempt over? Can we go back?"
Zhou Mingrui nodded imperceptibly, looked at the blonde girl, and said with a light smile:
"Of course, if you formally request it, I can let you go back now."
He could even leave just himself and the fellow countryman.
Zhou Mingrui thought to himself.
When that time comes, should he speak the truth? Or probe indirectly?
Audrey, who didn't sense any ill intent, breathed a sigh of relief, believing that a gentleman who could do such miraculous things would strictly keep his promise.
Alger Wilson had also wanted to ask a similar probing question, but with his rich experience, he was happy to stay calm and observe since there were already two others sticking their necks out.
Especially the man on his right; he started with a strange remark but was now as quiet as a mouse. He must be regretting speaking so loudly, right?
Heh, what an impatient youngster.
Commissar Alger instinctively labeled everyone and began calculating how they could be utilized.
However, whether it was Audrey and Alger below, or Zhou Mingrui on the stage—who was debating whether to keep his fellow countryman for a private session and how to "connect" with him—none of them guessed Nairn's thoughts.
What was he doing?
He was skipping the plot!
Yes, Nairn was watching their conversation with boredom, feeling like he was watching a rerun of a play where he already knew all the endings.
He saw Miss Justice still asking naively how to become a Beyonder, just like in the original story.
He saw the Hanged Man still lecturing her with an experienced tone about her lack of realism, just like in the original story.
This was just too boring.
Nairn truly felt that the "Financial Manager Training Program" he had planned earlier was very necessary.
Otherwise, for such a naive and simple young girl—if not for her background of being carefully protected since childhood—Nairn would have wanted to give a pointed critique:
"Hmm, what a pure young girl~"
A Miss Justice like this wouldn't be able to satisfy Nairn's needs.
Finally, after Audrey gathered her courage and asked with a final shred of hope, "Is there no other way?"
Nairn decided he couldn't let this boring script continue any longer.
He cleared his throat and spoke in an unquestionable, somewhat lazy tone.
"Everyone, look at me."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
Audrey looked over curiously.
Alger narrowed his eyes warily.
Even Zhou Mingrui at the head of the table pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned his gaze toward this restless "fellow countryman."
Under the three gazes, Nairn leaned back slightly against the chair and, in a tone that was nearly showing off yet matter-of-fact, slowly dropped a bombshell—
"I know every potion formula in this world."
When he said this, Nairn even used a sliver of power from the little theater.
He wanted the others to understand the absolute confidence behind his words and reinforce his credibility.
It was equivalent to implanting this knowledge into everyone's minds.
Audrey's emerald eyes instantly widened, and her mouth hung slightly open.
For the first time, a look of "horror" appeared on Alger's weather-beaten face; he even suspected he was hallucinating.
And at the head of the bronze table, the gray fog churned violently.
Zhou Mingrui was greatly shocked!
Zhou Mingrui's eyes went blank!
Zhou Mingrui wanted to personally step in and kick Audrey and Alger out of the chat room!
What mystery, what ancient god's posture, what Fool's mystique—in this moment, it all shattered into dregs!
Yes, he had an impulse—to personally step in! He wanted to kick those two nuisances, Audrey and Alger, out immediately!
And leave only himself and this mysterious, powerful fellow countryman.
I am also a member of the Tarot Club! I can trade too!
fellow countryman! Big brother! Boss!
Don't you recognize me, fellow countryman? I'm Xiao Zhou! As for 'The Fool,' that was just a joke!