Although it had few members, the Crow Club truly housed many crows, with even the oil paintings hanging on the corridor walls depicting crows. When Xia De and Sister Devlin, led by the man, met the rumored Boy in a study deep within the house, the first thing Xia De noticed was the crow in the birdcage hanging by the door.
With jet-black feathers and red eyes, the crow continuously flapped its wings in the cage after the three of them entered, seemingly very uneasy.
The man who led them did not stay long in the room; he introduced the guests to the room's owner and then left.
The door closed behind Xia De, and the study was somewhat dim. Although it was daytime, the curtains were tightly drawn, relying only on the gas lamps on the walls to provide light. The lampshades of the gas lamps appeared not to have been cleaned for a long time, making the light unusually dim.
Coupled with the occasional sound of crows flapping their wings and the strange scent of burning spices in the study, it truly looked like a professional Fortune Teller's room.
The study was large, divided into two parts: the bookshelves and desk in the east, and the sofa set in the west. Only the two gas lamps in the west were lit, and the so-called “Boy” was sitting on the long sofa, waiting for them.
Xia De pushed the wheelchair, letting its metal wheels roll over the red carpet. He sat down on the long sofa opposite the Boy, not in the center of the sofa but to one side, because the wheelchair was parked on the outside of the sofa.
On the coffee table between him and the Boy, two cups of steaming tea were already placed, indicating that the Boy had accurately predicted the arrival time of the scheduled guests and knew that two people would come.
However, the “Boy” did not look like a Boy. Although he was sitting, his height could be estimated to be around 5 feet (about 1.52 m). His limbs were unusually large, but his body appeared thin. Not only that, his head was also disproportionately large compared to his body; although he wore a headscarf, Xia De could still tell that he had no hair.
He wore a pair of glasses on his face, and his two large hands were clasped together on his lap. While Xia De was observing him, he was also observing Xia De. This made Xia De strongly suspect that the Boy was not a Boy at all, but an adult with incomplete development.
【One-ring or two-ring.】
“Hello, I am John Watson, and this is my sister Mary Watson.”
As Xia De spoke, Sister Devlin, wearing a veil, nodded slightly. Because the room was truly too dim, the Sister sitting there truly looked like an exquisite, life-sized doll. After all, her exposed hands appeared too perfect in the dim gaslight.
“I apologize, Mary has had some minor issues with her legs since childhood, so her personality is also a bit introverted and she is not very willing to talk to strangers. This time, I will communicate with you.”
Xia De displayed his excellent acting skills and believed he truly had talent.
“Understood.”
The “Boy” said, his voice very youthful, which was indeed like a real Boy.
“May I ask what your name is?”
Xia De asked politely.
“Joey Barton. They usually call me Little Joey, or Mr. Barton.”
The Boy said again. Because this sentence was longer, it was discernible that his accent was a very authentic Mi Fort local accent. In contrast, Xia De's accent leaned towards Tobesk, while Sister Devlin's accent had always been standard Delarion.
“It's a pleasure to meet you on this gloomy Sunday morning, Mr. Barton.”
Xia De glanced again at Sister Devlin in the wheelchair beside him:
“The main reason for this visit is for my sister. I have heard about you and know about your extraordinary abilities, so I want to know about Mary's future. I am truly worried about her. She reads books at home every day, occasionally tending to flowers or playing with the orange cat I keep. Besides that, she rarely allows the servants to push her to the manor—ahem, I mean, to walk on the street. That's why I came here, to know what her future will be like.”
Using the identity of a “noble who does not wish to reveal their identity” to explain his somewhat strange behavior so far, adding to the mystery, was more conducive to concealing his true identity.
“Mr. Watson, do you want to change the future?”
Joey Barton asked, his dark eyes fixed on Xia De. There was a sense of fatigue in his eyes; he wondered why the Boy was already tired so early.
Xia De immediately shook his head:
“No, no, I just want to know the future, at least to be mentally prepared before that day arrives.”
Saying this, he took out the pre-prepared envelope with money from his pocket and placed it beside the teacup on the coffee table.
Joey Barton's eyes swept over the envelope:
“Very well, I can divine the fate of death for you.”
“That's wonderful! Do I need to prepare anything in advance? I heard that Fortune Tellers from the Prophet Association even require the exact time of birth to perform divination.”
“No, it's not that troublesome. My eyes can tell me the answer directly.”
“That's great! What's the answer?”
Xia De asked curiously. Mr. Barton paused, pursed his lips, which were very thick:
“It's not an answer you get by just looking. It requires the cooperation of some simple rituals. However, before that, I can use other divination methods to tell your fortunes. Understanding you better can increase the success rate of divining death.”
He bent down and pulled out a deck of divination cards from under the coffee table. Then he arranged the divination cards in a row of nine on the coffee table.
He gestured with his right hand for Xia De to pick one. Xia De thought for a moment and picked the one in the upper right corner. When he turned it over, it was surprisingly 【death】.
“Hmm?”
This truly startled him. After all, when Priest Augustus drew this card a month ago, he truly died once:
“What does this mean? Am I going to die?”
“I'll pick the one next to it.”
Sister Devlin's slightly cold voice brought Xia De back to his senses. He flipped over the card next to it, and in the dim yellow light, that card was 【Flame】.
Xia De placed both cards face up next to the money envelope:
“Mr. Barton, what does this mean? I originally only wanted to divine for Mary, but am I—am I going to encounter misfortune?”
“No, divination is just divination. Please don't overthink it; you can consider this preparatory work. Next, I will divine death for you.”
Mr. Barton did not put away the divination cards on the table. Instead, he took out a new card from his pocket and held it in front of his right eye. Xia De squinted slightly, because from the card back, the card in Joey Barton's hand was not a divination card, but a rhode card.
The “Boy” first looked at Sister Devlin in the wheelchair, and after a while, he put down the card. He did not reveal the card's face the entire time, not letting Xia De see what card it was.
“Miss Mary Watson can live for twelve more years.”
“Twelve years, but in twelve years she will only be in her 30s. May I ask, what cause of death did you see?”
“It's hard to describe. Miss Mary Watson seems to have died by turning into a pile of Ashes.”
Xia De frowned:
“That's not a result I would have imagined. Do you mean she was in a fire?”
The Boy shook his head and remained silent.
Xia De then looked at Sister Devlin, who sat in the wheelchair, still maintaining the posture of her hands clasped together on her lap. She also shook her head slightly, meaning there was no need to delve into this question.
“Then please continue the divination, divine my death.”
Xia De sat upright, and the Boy continued to pick up the card and place it in front of his eyes.
But this time, he did not give an answer quickly. Instead, he suddenly put down the card and looked at Xia De with both eyes, then re-covered his eyes with the rhode card, frowning, clearly having seen something incredible.
After putting down the card, he even leaned forward slightly to look at Xia De:
“How is that possible?”
“Excuse me, what's wrong?”
Although he didn't know the Boy's divination skill level, at least this appearance was truly intimidating.
“How strange. I saw that you died from a collapsing giant tower.”
This method of death was at least more normal than Sister Devlin turning into Ashes.
“What about the time of death?”
He asked curiously again.
The “Boy” Joey Barton kept a straight face, his large fingers quickly tapping on the sofa twice to express his unease. He did not speak immediately, and even the crow by the door remained silent.
A moment of silence seemed to make this dim room even more ethereal. Whether it was the “Boy” sitting opposite the coffee table or the veiled Sister beside him, both made Xia De feel increasingly strange.
This was a sign of inspiration; he had captured some information about the future. Xia De understood; he was about to hear an incredible answer.
“Ten months ago, at the beginning of common era 1853.”
