“Hmph~”
Xia De exhaled through his nose, as if laughing, yet also sighing.
“I want to ask a very trivial question. After returning to Middelburg, have you ever dreamt of her?”
Mr. Barton nodded:
“Of course, countless times. I dreamt of her standing with countless white shadows on a dark and tranquil body of water. Those shadows kept drifting away, and only she turned and waved goodbye to me. I wanted to hold onto her, but each time I woke up when I tried to step into that water. Perhaps God is really reminding me of something, but I still don’t understand.”
Xia De slightly lowered his head to look at his cat, to prevent his expression from being seen by the other party. The body of water Mr. Joey Barton dreamt of sounded exactly like the tidal flat of true death. If he really stepped into the water, he would likely truly die, after all, even Xia De wouldn't dare to do that. Even as a Chosen One, even as Xia De, who could barely be considered a low-quality 'demigod' knockoff, he could not defy the most basic rules of the world.
However, it seemed Mr. Barton truly had astonishing talent. Simply relying on intense longing and connection, he could actually 'glimpse death.' One must know, he was only a One-Ring Arcanist.
“If possible, I would very much hope to see her again.”
This adult, who resembled a strange child, let out a long sigh.
“There is a difference between the living and the dead.”
Xia De raised an eyebrow:
“Let those who have left, leave.”
Mr. Barton smiled, not continuing the topic:
“You’re right, but people always need to have dreams, and we need to look forward. Mr. Watson, you have come to me three times in a row, and what you seek, isn’t it the future?”
“Of course.”
Xia De nodded, but said nothing more, because Mr. Barton was looking at Xia De with a serious expression, no longer the relaxed one from when he was telling stories:
“Mr. Watson, your visit this time, I’m afraid it’s not just to continue the divination for your cat, is it? Listening to stories probably isn't your true intention either.”
Xia De was not surprised at all that the other party could see this point:
“Yes, I mainly want to ask you some questions to determine what I should do next.”
Joey Barton slightly narrowed his eyes. Because of his enlarged head, his eyes were already small, and now they were almost slits:
“You are also a Ring術士?”
“Yes.”
Xia De did not hide it.
“Someone from the Orthodox Church?”
“How about we answer each other’s questions, Mr. Barton, are you a member of The Society of Truth?”
Joey Barton evidently didn’t expect Xia De to bring this up, but after a moment of hesitation, he still answered:
“No, I can only be considered their experiment, or an unofficial member.”
“I also do not belong to the Orthodox Church. I am just an Outsider who occasionally came to this City, and by chance heard about your situation.”
“Outsider.”
Xia De sat up straight:
“No matter who I am, at least you should understand that I bear you no ill will, otherwise the Five Gods Church, who have been searching for The Society of Truth in the City recently, would be the ones appearing here. Mr. Barton, do you know the reason why The Society of Truth sent people to this City? Oh, no need to answer, please listen to me.”
Xia De extended a finger:
“First, you probably know they are after the Gap, but whether they want to conduct experiments or just create chaos to retaliate against the Orthodox Church, those are just superficial appearances covering their true purpose. They are, in fact, looking for someone.”
“Yes, recently they’ve been looking for four people who died and came back to life. I suspected you, but I didn’t reveal your information.”
Mr. Barton said hurriedly.
“Suspect me as one of those four nails? No, no, I’m not a local of Mi Fort.”
Xia De found this amusing, but then shook his head:
“Those four people who died and came back to life are the nails connecting the Gap and the material world, but this is still related to the Gap. Their true purpose is to find a special person, a Chosen One with a unique death talent.”
“Chosen by destiny”
Mr. Barton frowned suspiciously:
“Mr. Watson, you’re not trying to tell me a fairy tale, are you?”
Such a thing was indeed difficult to believe immediately. Back then, Luvia had put in a lot of effort to make Iluna believe it:
“Don’t you feel that you are very special?”
“If you mean this damn illness, then of course I’m special.”
Mr. Barton relaxed slightly, leaning back on the sofa:
“Everyone who thinks they are special will be taught a lesson by reality when they grow up. I understood that a long time ago.”
Xia De smiled:
“No, no, I’m referring to your Ring術士 talent. Think about it, Mr. Barton, the ‘other self’ of a Ring術士 will have special powers, but what is your special power? Haven’t you ever wondered what kind of power you hold in your hands?”
Xia De continued to ask.
On the surface, Joey Barton’s special power was seeing through death. But from Iluna and Darkness’s performance, his talent was definitely not that simple.
“For example, my special talent is being very sensitive to fate. So what about you, Mr. Barton, is it just seeing through death?”
“I…”
Mr. Barton indeed hesitated, looking at his hands suspiciously:
“Indeed…there’s another, abnormal, talent. I’ve never mentioned this to anyone.”
Xia De smiled:
“I can see that although you are not a good person in the strict sense, at least you are kind-hearted and can’t stand the actions of those madmen from The Society of Truth. Sorry, perhaps I shouldn’t use the term ‘madmen’.”
“It’s alright, I understand them better than you, and I know how crazy they are.”
Mr. Barton shook his head.
“Mr. Barton, do you know what happened in Tobesk City and Coldwater Port this summer and late summer?”
Xia De brought up this matter again, and the cat in his arms slowly squirmed.
“Of course, I know. The Thirteen Ring Sorcerer ‘Summoner’ directly confronted the descending evil god, and together with the Church, defeated the Scarlet Cult in Coldwater Port. This is something everyone knows.”
“Similar things are probably happening here too.”
“You mean Summoner…”
Mr. Barton asked inquisitively, and Xia De immediately shook his head:
“I mean a major event, enough to stir the entire material world, is about to happen here. So what is the reason? Sir, the epic of the sixth epoch has already begun, and some special people are destined to be the protagonists.”
Mr. Barton pursed his thick lips, then slowly shook his head:
“Mr. Watson, compared to me, you actually look more like the protagonist. Do you know, I have observed the fates of over four-digit numbers of people, but you are the most unique one. A person outside of fate, right?”
“Yes.”
Xia De nodded:
“I have a very powerful Diviner friend, and she once explicitly said that precisely because I am outside of fate, I will absolutely not play any important role on that unpredictable stage of destiny. There will be no place for me in this epic that has already begun.”
The smile on Mr. Barton’s face disappeared, and Xia De continued:
“No matter who it is, it couldn’t be me. And now, someone like me has appeared before you.”
Perhaps these words Luvia said to Xia De held some profound meaning for Diviners. Mr. Barton was now frowning tightly, as if he had thought of something.
Xia De knew his rhetoric was working:
“I came here without any definite purpose. I just want to say that compared to working with The Society of Truth, you should actually turn to the Five Gods Church. And I, on the other hand, would like to maintain a cooperative relationship with you.”
Xia De said softly, not disturbing the other party’s thoughts:
“Joey Barton, you can question everything I’ve said today, but you yourself should also understand that you…”
Thump thump thump~
A sudden knock on the door interrupted Xia De’s words and brought the thoughtful, childlike middle-aged man back to his senses.
He turned to look at the door, extended a finger to signal Xia De to be silent, then laboriously got up to open the door. To ensure the guest’s privacy, the soundproofing of this room was excellent.
As he passed the door, he pulled back the cover on the birdcage, but the crow still cowered in the corner of the cage, not knowing what it was afraid of.
Outside the door was an old gentleman in a black suit, and he had a red halo around him, clearly having just been covered in a lot of blood.
【Ring術士, High Ring.】
Upon seeing him, Mr. Barton was startled, then respectfully nodded:
“Professor Margis, why are you here?”
Xia De raised an eyebrow.
“Barton, I need your help with something.”
The old gentleman was clearly not a Delarion native; his common tongue was very clumsy.
He poked his head in and glanced inside the room, seeing the profile of Xia De sitting on the sofa holding the cat:
“Have your guest leave first.”
“But…”
Mr. Barton clearly thought this was very impolite, but he dared not refute.
“Mr. Barton, if you have something to attend to, please go ahead. Today’s divination ends here. Can I come back tomorrow? It won’t take long, but when it comes to death, no one can be indifferent.”
Xia De said from the sofa. He did not stand up, not wanting the ‘Professor Margis’ at the door to see his figure.
“I’m truly sorry today, Mr. Watson, then we’ll see each other tomorrow.”
Joey Barton apologized sincerely, then, urged by Professor Margis, left the house with him through the back door.
Xia De, on the other hand, was escorted out the front door by a servant and returned to the streets of Pig Tail Lane.
On both sides were towering apartment buildings, their yellow paint faded to an earthy hue. Weeds and filth coexisted in the corners of the walls, gravel was scattered everywhere on the street, and gas pipes were faintly visible in the dense fog. Although it was still afternoon, the fog was so thick that almost no trace of the sun could be seen.
This dense fog, who knew when it would end.
The Outsider looked down at the drowsy Mia:
“The Society of Truth took Joey Barton away, what could it be about?”
【So, do you want to follow them?】
“She” chuckled, and this question sounded very familiar.
Xia De smiled, reaching for the witch’s ring in his pocket:
“Let’s follow and see. If there’s danger, I’ll retreat.”
After all, he was still carrying Mia, so Xia De would not take any adventurous actions. But in this situation, he couldn’t ignore his curiosity.
Sighing, in the blink of an eye, Blood Echo was activated. With one arm holding the cat and the other hand in his pocket, Xia De walked deeper into the dense fog:
“The things I, a spectator beneath the stage, have to do are a bit too many.”
PS: What will be Joey Barton’s ending? This volume is about to end.
