“Tifa and I encountered a Sister from the Spiritual Cultivation Order in the Darkness Domain, and we know some things.”
Xia De nodded.
“The reason the Spiritual Cultivation Order has a good relationship with the council isn't just because the Speaker is widely acquainted; it's also because of Grandma Cassandra. She is truly a local of Middlesburg, received help from the Order when she was young, and also helped the Order. Of course, this is also because, although the Spiritual Cultivation Order has both men and women, it is predominantly female. Especially the Sisters who are qualified to wear silver coronets as blindfolds, their eyes are very powerful... Although these Witches are sometimes even more eccentric than the Diviners of the Prophet Association, they are very capable. If you need, I can also give you a letter to let them help you, but it can only be a letter of recommendation; our relationship cannot be exposed.”
However, if it was only a letter of introduction and not the direct help of Ms. Cassandra, the Great Witch of the local City, the assistance and convenience the Spiritual Cultivation Order could offer Xia De would obviously be very limited.
Xia De thought for a moment:
“In any case, I’ll contact the Spiritual Cultivation Order first. As for Ms. Cassandra, I want to think about it a bit more.”
“Alright, Tifa, give Xia De the letter I wrote, and remember to stamp it. The Spiritual Cultivation Order is mainly active in the eastern continent. They have existed in Middlesburg since the fourth epoch. They understand the boundary of Between Life and Death more than I do. The current leader of the Order is Sister Devlin, an Eleven-Tier Ring術士. Although she is disabled, she is a very pretty and elegant lady, with a figure...”
“Cough cough.”
Tifa, who was opening the inkpad box on the desk, suddenly coughed. The Witch glanced at her, stopped the topic, and then smiled at Xia De:
“In short, take my letter to her, and she should not mind giving you some help. The people of the Spiritual Cultivation Order respect nature and death and believe that all things have spirits. Besides that, there is nothing to avoid.”
She picked up her teacup and took a sip. Seeing Xia De deep in thought, she motioned for him to speak if he had a question.
“That Ms. Cassandra, why is she only a Ten-Tier at over a hundred years old? No, I’m not saying Ten-Tier is low, but compared to you all...”
The Red-haired Witch smiled and put down her teacup. Xia De noticed she was wearing a pair of white lace gloves today:
“I know what you mean. I am only twenty-something, and I’m already an Eleven-Tier. Although Tifa is only a Hexacle, she is even younger. This is easily explained: we have two extraordinary systems that promote each other, allowing Witches to progress very quickly. But this growth requires talent. We are very similar to ordinary Ring術士; Ring術士 just grow a bit slower, but they will also encounter situations where it is extremely difficult to obtain Ling Runes at a certain level.”
Xia De nodded in understanding. If everyone had the potential to become a Thirteen-Tier, that would be very strange. The middle-aged Witch he met at the God of Vampires Vampire Duke Loyaer’s banquet also risked attending the evil god’s banquet because she wanted to gain the power to break through.
“My limit is pretty much around Eleven-Tier. To be honest, I have been at this level for over two years. This is normal for ordinary Ring術士, but for Witches, it’s almost stagnation.”
“So how is Tifa’s talent?”
Xia De asked curiously.
“That’s hard to say. Talent isn’t something you can test by touching a crystal ball like in a storybook. But doesn’t she have Felianna’s gift? When she encounters difficulty, she can just directly advance a level.”
Ms. Felianna’s gift allowed Tifa’s Witch level to forcibly advance, except for the advancement from Twelve-Tier to Thirteen-Tier. That is to say, if Tifa could advance to an Eleven-Tier Witch like Ms. Jialinna, she could immediately become a Twelve-Tier Witch.
“How enviable...”
Ms. Jialinna sighed softly, but her tone didn’t contain much envy:
“But fortunately, Tifa is my person.”
The black-haired maid blinked at Xia De, her slightly playful gaze expressing an unknown meaning.
Because he talked about matters concerning Middlesburg with Ms. Jialinna until late at night, Xia De did not return home that evening.
Anyway, he had brought Mia with him, so he and the cat stayed overnight at the Witch’s manor. Ms. Jialinna specially arranged a room for Xia De in the manor, and from then on, every time Xia De stayed overnight at the manor, he would rest there.
Early Friday morning, a carriage took Xia De into the City. He first went to the Prophet Association to sign some documents, claimed the other prizes for being the “Great City Player 1854” champion, and chatted with Vice President Mark for a while about the competition.
Then he headed to Coldwater Port to ask Mr. Edmund about Middlesburg and Between Life and Death. The old gentleman was quite surprised after Xia De told him about it and said he indeed knew some things.
“You should know that the Hermit Order is a very ancient organization, and our research and records on it might be even more detailed than those of the Five Gods Church. The boundary of Between Life and Death, a place that shouldn’t exist, actually arises from an error of the world.”
“What do you mean by ‘error of the world’?”
Xia De asked curiously, and the old man replied very seriously:
“The departure of the ancient death god, the ancient death god who governed death, caused the instability of the death rule itself.”
He suddenly lowered his voice, which meant they were about to discuss those truly existing great ones:
“Think carefully, young man, among the current five righteous gods, which one has ‘death’ as their primary divine duty?”
Xia De thought for a moment, then shook his head in surprise:
“There doesn’t seem to be one. The closest are the Lord of All Things, the Lord of All Things, and the Lady of Creation, the Lady of Creation, but obviously, neither of those is direct ‘death’.”
“Yes, the Hermit Order believes that the appearance of Between Life and Death signifies the initial sign of the world’s demise. And the continuous problems with the Gap indicate that the end of the world is getting closer.”
Xia De hadn't forgotten that this was an organization that advocated doomsday theories:
“But the initial appearance of Between Life and Death can even be traced back to the fourth era and even earlier epochs. Did the destruction of the world begin then?”
He couldn't help but ask. Mr. Edmund was a bit embarrassed:
“These still need to be researched, but the fact that the world’s errors are increasing is certain.”
Although Mr. Edmund also didn't know how to rescue people who had mistakenly entered the Gap, his words at least told Xia De how terrifying this erroneous phenomenon was.
Xia De did not have lunch at the lighthouse. He returned home before lunch, and after having lunch with the cat, the Doctor, Dorothy, and Luvia also arrived around one o'clock.
The Doctor first distributed the prize money they won from betting on the Great City Player champion at the underground casino. Since the Doctor placed the bet when Xia De was basically confirmed to advance to the finals, the odds at that time were 1 to 1.51. Xia De bet 1200 pounds, and after deducting handling fees and the Doctor’s hard work fee, he got back 1750 pounds. This amount not only compensated for the cost of buying the Miracle 【Elf’s Detoxification Spell】 last Saturday, but also made Xia De’s wallet a bit fatter.
If it weren't for Priest Augustus, this would have been something everyone could be happy about. But with the Priest now on the verge of death, they had no interest in celebrating their winnings. So, after a perfunctory congratulations to Xia De for winning the title of “1853 rhode cards King,” the others shared the different news they had brought.
“The Academy has already launched an investigation in Middlesburg. Their actions are very fast, and they confirmed the disappearance of Priest Augustus. Although they couldn’t truly confirm, like Xia De, that the Priest fell into Between Life and Death, they also suspected this legend of Middlesburg. Currently, Saint Byron's is negotiating with the Church, wanting to investigate the secrets of Middlesburg.”
After all, the Academy was far from the civilized world, and the Five Gods Church knew the most about the many secrets of the civilized world.
“Priest Augustus is not the only missing person. Recently, more than ten people have disappeared in Middlesburg City and the surrounding Sicar Mountain. The Church is investigating this, but they refuse to disclose relevant details to Saint Byron's because they believe it has nothing to do with the Three Great Arcane Academies.”
“What does the Church know? Why does it seem like they are deliberately keeping a secret?”
Xia De asked doubtfully. Doctor Schneider shook his head:
“It can only be confirmed that the local problem is very serious.”
“There have also been two cases of disappearance in the Royal Army stationed near Middlesburg, but because it involves a frontline garrison, it has not yet been reported to the Church,” Dorothy said. Luvia and Doctor Schneider both looked at her in surprise, curious about her source of information.
“I found a way to get a summary of abnormal phenomena in Middlesburg City over the years. You can check these yourself.”
She gave Xia De an exaggeratedly large kraft paper bag. Xia De wondered how Leia managed to get so much information in half a day.
“Does the Prophet Association have any information about Middlesburg?”
Xia De asked Luvia again, who nodded:
“The Association’s records about Middlesburg are very strange. They only mention that the Association’s Ring術士 should never hold large-scale spiritual rituals in that City, and they prohibit any Prophet with very strong divination inspiration from going there. More information requires authorization to view, and I need some time to apply. Currently, we only know that the Association is very wary of Middlesburg City.”
“Alright, the Church and the Academy should both be working hard to figure out what happened in Middlesburg, but we can’t do nothing either.”
Xia De summarized:
“I will be going to Middlesburg frequently recently, and I have a few friends there.”
“You have so many friends,” Doctor Schneider commented casually.
“The Priest’s disappearance time was between two and four in the afternoon on Wednesday. In the most optimistic scenario, he can survive in Between Life and Death for a week. Today is Friday, which means that before next Wednesday, I will spend most of my daytime in Middlesburg. Dorothy, I will have to trouble you to help me take care of Mia.”
Only the Writer, who didn't need to go to work every day, had time.
“Okay, I’ll come to your house every morning. Anyway, I can write anywhere.”
“Doctor, please keep in touch with the Academy. I hope they can come up with a solution as soon as possible.”
The Doctor nodded, but he didn't seem very optimistic. If Priest Augustus could be saved, even if he was only a correspondence student, the Academy would certainly do its best. But the problem was that the Five Gods Church did not intend to share information about the situation in Middlesburg with the Academy, and they had no information channels to inquire about the Church’s own actions. (Note)
“Dorothy, you still need to work hard to get the information from the Prophet Association. The Academy’s understanding of Middlesburg is surprisingly limited. Besides my friends and the Church, we can only find clues from the Prophet Association.”
“No problem, but I must warn you, Xia De, please remember this. Unless it is absolutely necessary, you must never enter Between Life and Death.”
Luvia spoke very seriously, and the Doctor and Dorothy also nodded:
“We have almost lost the Priest; we cannot lose a second person.”
