Chapter 18 – Suggestion
From the look of it, his current predicament might be even worse than mine… being hunted by a high-Sequence powerhouse of the same Pathway—this is definitely a hell-mode start!
Still, a Seer might not escape such a fate later on. I'd better be careful and prepare early… A few inexplicable thoughts surfaced in Klein's mind; he suddenly felt that Ning Lu's earlier remark—"I might not make it to the end"—carried a deeper, more somber meaning. He quietly exhaled and tentatively asked,
"Do you need to make contact with the Church? I might be able to help."
"Mm… you seem to have connections. Did you join a Church?" Ning Lu shook his head gently, declining Klein's offer. "Not for now. I've already joined an organization, and a Church might not accept a wild Beyonder at sequence 7—especially one who's, in every sense, a dangerous Marauder."
"All right." Klein nodded with some regret, driven by mutual aid and curiosity. "By the way, which organization did you join?"
"The Aurora Order."
Klein took a sip of coffee—he'd half expected it. "Oh, the Aurora Order…"
…He'd half expected it?!!
But suddenly Klein jerked his head up, voice cracking in disbelief: "…The Aurora Order?"
Is—is that right?
If he remembered correctly, hadn't Captain Dunn said the Aurora Order was the cult that reported Old Neil for worshiping an evil god?
He also recalled that after discussing Old Neil, the captain had warned him: every member of the Aurora Order was either a raving Lunatic or one who looked sane but was secretly insane. Yet the "fellow countryman" sitting across from him… could he be a hidden madman too?
Might he already be in danger?
"Relax, I know what you're worried about." Ning Lu nodded, took a sip of coffee, and let the bitter aroma drift toward Klein.
"From the moment I transmigrated till now, I've never heard the True Creator's whispers. Whenever I'm forced to pray to Him, a gray mist appears before me, blocking the prayer."
—Mentioning that he too had seen "gray mist" was a line Ning Lu had prepared long ago; otherwise he couldn't explain why he wasn't a Lunatic… the Aurora Order's reputation had that drawback.
Conversely, Ning Lu wasn't worried Klein would fear or turn against him because he also commanded gray mist.
"And didn't you want to ask about my life before crossing? I once saw a web novel that used '…Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings' as the title for a high-level being. I followed the method described, chanted it, and was unexpectedly sent here."
At this point Ning Lu sighed.
"Sadly, after arriving I wondered whether this mighty being caused my transmigration. I tried chanting again just as I had before, but gained nothing new; each time I merely saw that same gray mist…"
—On top of that, telling Klein he "couldn't ascend to the gray fog" would let Klein fill in the blanks himself.
Before crossing he must have known the four-line honorific name of the "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings." Yet after performing the "Luck-Reversal Ritual" and reciting those four lines, one should enter that mysterious gray fog space… Klein lifted his coffee cup, savoring the bitterness while pondering.
But suddenly his arm froze.
—Wait.
Ten days ago I already set foot on the gray fog. Could the reason he can't enter be that the gray fog now has one more "King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck"?
"What's wrong?" Ning Lu asked "innocently," looking at Klein.
Klein instantly broke into a cold sweat. He averted his gaze and fought to keep his expression unchanged.
"…Nothing. I was just thinking that before I crossed I also chanted that honorific name of the 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.' Maybe I too carry the protection that Transmigrators have."
"Perhaps Emperor Roselle came here through something similar—so can we now be sure the reason we arrived is that 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings'?"
As he spoke, Klein's eyes burned as if he'd found hope of going home.
"Most likely. Hah, it's about time we headed back." Ning Lu drew a pocket-watch, checked it, then produced a business card and slowly slid it across the table to Klein.
"Though you never admitted joining a Church, you must have joined some Beyonder organization—otherwise your finances couldn't have improved so suddenly, letting you splash out on a club like this."
"I suppose you signed some confidentiality clause—so I won't force you to speak and lose your job. But the Church of Storms treats wild Beyonders poorly, so I'd guess you joined the Church of the Night?"
You're right; without the Church of the Night I'd still be scraping for a living… Klein thought, then his face changed. "Wait, how do you know my financial state…?"
"Forgotten? I'm a Cryptologist." Ning Lu shrugged. "Marauder-path Beyonders can sense valuable things; after advancing, our powers of observation improve. And as for you…"
Ning Lu shook his head, glanced at Klein, clicked his tongue, and let the words trail off.
Even the spot where Klein kept his wallet hadn't earned a red dot of Superior Observation.
Nothing more needed saying.
—What do you mean, staring at my wallet?! Noticing where Ning Lu's gaze lingered, Klein flushed with shame and wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.
But the next instant his eyes fixed on the card Ning Lu had pushed over; the shame vanished, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
On the blank side of the card, elegant square characters were written in fountain pen:
"You may report meeting me to your organization."
"But don't publicize it—someone is watching us."
"I suspect a conspiracy is brewing in this city."