Returning to his chair, he heard the faraway cathedral's bells chime again. It continued seven times before Zhou Mingrui slowly stood up. He went up front to the cupboard and took out his clothes.
A black vest with a matching suit, trousers that clung tightly to his legs, a halved top hat and his faint scholarly air made Zhou Mingrui feel like he was watching an English drama set in the Victorian era.
He suddenly muttered softly as he shook his head with a wry smile, "I'm not going for an interview. All I'm doing is buying some ingredients to prepare for my luck enhancement ritual…"
Klein was so concerned about his impending interview that it became instinct. When he was not focused enough, he habitually wore his only decent set of clothing.
After taking a breath, Zhou Mingrui took off his suit and vest, switching to a brownish-yellow coat. He also changed to a felt hat with a rounded edge of the same color.
With his outfit done, he walked to the side of the bed and lifted a square cushion. He reached his hand into an inconspicuous hole beneath and rummaged around before finding an intermediate layer.
When he retracted his right hand, there was a roll of notes in his palm. There were about eight notes with faded dark green colors.
These were all the savings Benson had at the moment. It even included the living expenses for the next three days. Two of them were five-soli notes and the remaining were one-soli notes.
In the Loen Kingdom's currency system, soli was ranked second. It originated from ancient silver coins. One soli was equivalent to twelve copper pence. They had denominations of one and five soli.
At the top of the currency system was the gold pound. They were also paper based but were guaranteed by gold and pegged directly. A gold pound was equivalent to twenty soli. They had denominations of one, five, and ten gold pounds.
Zhou Mingrui spread a note and caught a whiff of the faint unique ink.
This was the smell of money.
Perhaps a result of Klein's memory fragments or his constant desire for money, Zhou Mingrui felt like he had instantly fallen in love with these notes.
Behold, their designs are so beautiful. It makes the stern and old-fashioned George III and his two mustaches appear especially adorable…
Behold, the watermark that can be seen when the note is placed against sunlight is so alluring. The exquisite design for the anti-counterfeit label makes it completely different from those fake fancy schlocks!
Zhou Mingrui admired it for nearly a minute before pulling out two one-soli notes. He then rolled up the remaining notes and stuffed them back into the cushion's concealed layer.
After arranging and flattening the cloth around the hole, Zhou Mingrui folded the two notes he had taken out neatly and placed them into the left pocket of his brownish-yellow jacket. He separated the notes from the few pence he had in his trouser pocket.
With all of this done, he placed a key into his right pocket and brought a dark brownish paper bag along with him and quickly walked toward the door.
His shuffling footsteps slowed down from a brisk pace until it eventually stopped.
Zhou Mingrui stood by the door and was unsure when he had already begun to frown.
Klein's suicide was fraught with peculiarities. Would he encounter any 'accidents' if he were to leave just like that?
After some deep thought, Zhou Mingrui returned to his desk and pulled open the drawer. He then took out the shimmering brass revolver.
This was the only defensive weapon he could think of, and it was the only weapon with sufficient power!
Although he had never practiced shooting, just pulling such a revolver out would definitely daunt anyone!
He caressed the revolver's cold metal before stuffing his revolver into the pocket where his notes were. He clasped the money in his palm as his fingers pressed onto the gun's handle. It was perfectly concealed.
Feeling secure, he who knew a little of everything suddenly had a worry.
Would I end up misfiring?
Being deluged with such a thought, Zhou Mingrui quickly thought of a solution. He drew the revolver and released the cylinder. He then aligned the empty chamber which was a result of the 'suicide' along the gun's hammer before closing it.
This way, even if there was a misfire, he would discharge an 'empty round!'
After stuffing his revolver back into his pocket, Zhou Mingrui kept his left hand there.
He pressed down on his hat with his right hand and pulled open the door before leaving.
The corridor during the day remained dim as limited sunlight shone in from the window situated at the end of the corridor. Zhou Mingrui quickly went down the stairs and left the apartment before taking in the brilliance and warmth of the sun.
Although it was almost July, it was still considered the middle of summer. However, Tingen was situated north of the Loen Kingdom, so it had unique climate characteristics. The highest annual temperature was not even 30°C on Earth, with even cooler mornings. However, the streets were awash with filthy water and strewn junk. From Klein's memories, this was not a rare sight in low-income communities, even if there were sewers. After all, there were just too many people and people needed to survive.
"Come and try our delicious roasted fish!"
"Hot and fresh oyster soup. Drink a bowl in the morning and feel invigorated all day!"
"Fresh fish from the port for just five pence apiece!"
"Muffins and eel soup make the perfect combination!"
"Conch! Conch! Conch!"
"Vegetables freshly plucked from the farms outside the city. Cheap and fresh!"
…
The mobile hawkers who sold vegetables, fruits, and hot food shouted along the streets as they beckoned the rushing pedestrians. Some of them would stop and carefully compare before purchasing. Others would impatiently wave their hands as they had yet to find work for the day.
Zhou Mingrui took in a whiff of the air that mixed both noxious and fragrant aromas. As he clenched the revolver tightly in his left hand which held the notes tight, he pressed down on his hat with his right hand while passing through the busy street with a tiny slouch.
There were bound to be thieves in populated areas. Furthermore, this street had no lack of poor citizens who were working part time after losing their previous jobs. There were also starving children that were exploited by adults to do their bidding.
He proceeded forward until he reached a point where the crowdedness around him restored to normal. He straightened his back and raised his head to look down the street.
There was a vagrant accordionist busking. The melody was sometimes pleasant, sometimes fervent.
Beside him were several children in ragged clothes with sallow complexions due to malnutrition.
They listened to the music and moved to the beat, dancing self-made choreographies. Their faces were filled with joy as though they were a prince or an angel.
A deadpan woman passed by; her skirt was dirty and her skin was dull.
Her gaze appeared dull and sluggish. Only when she looked at the bunch of children did a faint glow flash. It was as though she had seen herself from three decades ago.
Zhou Mingrui overtook her and turned into another street before stopping at Smyrin Bakery.
The owner of the bakery was a seventy-plus year old granny named Wendy Smyrin. Her hair was completely grayish-white and she always wore a genial smile. From the beginning of Klein's memories, she had been here selling bread and pastries.
Oh, the Tingen biscuits and lemon cakes she bakes are very delicious…
Zhou Mingrui gulped a mouthful of saliva and smiled.
"Mrs. Smyrin, eight pounds of rye bread."
"Oh. Dear Klein, where's Benson? Is he not back?" Wendy asked smilingly.
"In a few more days," answered Zhou Mingrui vaguely.
As Wendy took the rye bread, she sighed. "He sure is a hardworking lad. He will have a good wife."
Upon saying this, the corners of her lips curled up as she said playfully, "All is good now. You have already graduated. You are a history graduate of our Khoy University~ Oh, you will soon be able to earn money. You should not be staying in the apartment you are currently living in. At the very least, you should have a bathroom you can call your own."
"Mrs. Smyrin, you seem to be a young and energetic woman today." All Zhou Mingrui could do was respond with a dry smile.
If Klein were to successfully pass his interview and become a lecturer at Tingen University, it was true that his family would immediately be pushed up to a higher socioeconomic status!
In his memory fragments, he had once fantasized about renting a detached house in the suburbs. Upstairs, there would be five or six rooms, two bathrooms, and a huge balcony. On the first floor, there would be two rooms, a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It would also come with an underground storage room.
This was not a wishful dream. Even a lecturer on probation at Tingen University would have a weekly salary of two gold pounds. After the probationary period, the salary would be raised to three gold pounds and ten soli. One had to know that despite working for so many years, Klein's brother, Benson, only had a weekly salary of one pound and ten soli. Ordinary workers at a factory did not even get a pound or, at best, a little more. And rent for a bungalow was about nineteen soli to one pound and eighteen soli.
"This is the difference between earning three to four thousand yuan and earning fourteen to fifteen thousand yuan a month…" Zhou Mingrui mumbled to himself.
However, all of this was under the premise that he passed either the Tingen University or Backlund University interviews.
There were not many other opportunities. People without any connections were unable to get recommendations to become a public servant. And those who studied history were more limited in job opportunities. There was not much demand for private consultants from the aristocrats, banks, or industrial magnates.
Taking into account that the knowledge Klein grasped was fragmented and incomplete, Zhou Mingrui felt awkward and guilty towards Mrs. Smyrin's expectations of him.
"No, I have always been this young," answered Wendy humorously.
As she spoke, she packed the sixteen rye bread she had weighed into the brown paper bag that Zhou Mingrui had brought. She stretched out her right hand and said, "Nine pence."
Every rye bread weighed about half a pound as differences were inevitable.
"Nine pence? Wasn't it eleven pence two days ago?" Zhou Mingrui asked subconsciously.
It cost 15 pence the month before the previous month.
"You have to thank the people who protested on the streets for the repeal of the Grain Act," said Wendy as she shrugged.
Zhou Mingrui nodded in vague acknowledgment. Klein's memories regarding this were incomplete. All he remembered was that the core tenet of the Grain Act was to protect the prices of domestic agriculture products. Before the prices rose to a certain level, grain imports from Southern nations like Feynapotter, Masin, Lenburg were stopped.
Why would people protest the act?
Without saying much, Zhou Mingrui, afraid he would end up pulling out the revolver, carefully took out his notes and handed one of them over to Mrs. Smyrin.
He was given three copper pence in change. Stuffing them into his trouser pocket, he took the paper bag containing the bread and headed for the 'Lettuce and Meat' market across the street. He was working hard for the mutton stewed with peas his sister had exhorted.
There was a municipal square at the intersection of Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street. Many tents were erected there, and clowns dressed in odd and funny attires were distributing fliers.
"There's a circus performance tomorrow night?" Zhou Mingrui glanced at the fliers in the hands of others as he read their contents under his breath.
Melissa would definitely like it. However, how much is the entrance fee?
With that thought, Zhou Mingrui went closer.
Just as he was about to ask a clown with a red and yellow painted face, a hoarse woman's voice sounded from beside him.
"Would you like to try a divination?"
Zhou Mingrui subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a pointed hat and a long black dress standing in front of a short tent.
Her face was smeared with red and yellow paint and her eyes were a profound grayish-blue.
"No," Zhou Mingrui shook his head in response. He did not have the spare cash for divination.
The woman laughed and said, "My tarot divination is very accurate."
"Tarot…" Zhou Mingrui was instantly dumbfounded.
This pronunciation was almost identical to the tarot cards on Earth!
And tarot cards from Earth were a set of cards used for divination. They just had graphics that represented different omens.
Wait… He suddenly recalled the origins of tarot divination in this world.
It did not originate from the seven orthodox gods nor was it an ancient legacy. Instead, it was created by the Intis Republic's Consul of that era, Roselle Gustav, more than 170 years ago.
This Mr. Roselle invented the steam engine, improved the sailing boat, overthrew the Intis Kingdom's imperial rule, and was recognized by the God of Craftsmanship. He also became the first Consul of the Intis Republic.
Later, he invaded other nations and placed Lenburg and other nations under his protection. He made the Loen Kingdom, Feynapotter, Feysac Empire and other powerful Northern Continent nations bow down to the Intis Republic. Following that, the Republic was then changed to an Empire and he became the self-proclaimed 'Emperor Caesar.'
It was during Roselle's rule that the Church of Craftsmanship received its first public holy revelation since the Fifth Epoch. Ever since, the God of Craftsmanship was changed to the God of Steam and Machinery.
Roselle also invented tarot divination. He also established the contemporary system of paper-based cards and their playstyles. There were many familiar styles that Zhou Mingrui was familiar with, such as Upgrade, Fighting the Landlord, Texas Poker, and Quint…
In addition, the marine fleets he sent out discovered a sea route that led to the Southern Continent through the stormy and turbulent seas. This also began the era of colonialism.
Unfortunately, he was betrayed in his old age. In the year 1198 of the Fifth Epoch, he was assassinated by the combined forces of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the former Intis royal family—the Sauron family—and other aristocrats. He eventually died in the White Maple Palace.
What… To recall such general knowledge suddenly made him facepalm.
Could this be a transmigration senior?
With this in mind, Zhou Mingrui was intrigued to see what tarot cards looked like. Therefore, he nodded at the pointy hat woman with the painted face and said, "If the… well… price is reasonable, I'll give it a try."
The woman immediately said with a laugh, "Sir, you are the first one here today, so it's on the house."
Free? Free things cost the most!
Zhou Mingrui silently mumbled and decided that he would not purchase any additional services whatsoever. He would firmly refuse them all.
If you are really that capable, try divining that I transmigrated here!
With this in mind, Zhou Mingrui followed behind the woman whose face was painted red and yellow, stooping low to enter the low tent.
The tent's interior was extremely dark, illuminated only by several beams of light that managed to seep inside. A table covered with paper cards could be made out faintly in the low illumination.
The woman with the sharp pointy hat was not affected by this at all. Her long black dress glided as though it was moving over water while she went around to the table. She sat on the opposite side and lit a candle.
The dim yellow light flickered, causing the inside of the tent to appear bright and dark at the same time. It instantly added a much more mysterious feel to the atmosphere.
Zhou Mingrui sat down quietly, his gaze sweeping over the tarot cards on the table where he discovered familiar cards like "The Magician," "The Emperor," "The Hanged Man," and "Temperance," etc.
Could Roselle have been a 'senior'… I wonder if he was also a fellow countryman of mine… Zhou Mingrui mumbled to himself subconsciously.
Before he could finish looking at the opened cards on the table, the woman who claimed to have accurate divinations had already reached out her hands to gather all of the cards together. She stacked them into a deck and pushed it in front of him.
"Shuffle the cards first and cut the deck," the circus fortune-teller said in a muted voice.
"Me? Shuffle?" Zhou Mingrui asked reflexively.
The yellow and red paint on the fortune-teller's face squirmed together as she revealed a slight smile, saying, "Of course, everyone's destiny can only be unraveled by themselves. I only serve as a reader of it."
Zhou Mingrui immediately questioned her warily, "This reading does not require additional fees, right?"
As a keyboard folklorist, I've already seen too many of such tricks!
The fortune-teller was visibly taken aback before finally saying muffledly, "It's free."
Zhou Mingrui, relieved, stuffed the revolver further back into his pocket. Thereafter, he calmly reached out his two hands to shuffle and cut the deck skillfully.
"It's done." He placed the already shuffled tarot cards in the middle of the table.
The fortune-teller clasped the cards with both her hands and carefully looked at cards for a while. Then, she suddenly opened her mouth and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, but what would you like to ask about?"
Back when he was wooing his first love, Zhou Mingrui had also done research on tarot cards. He asked unhesitatingly, "Past, present, and future."
This was a type of divination as part of tarot card interpretation—three cards when opened sequentially symbolized one's past, present, and future.
The fortune-teller nodded first, then curled her lips to reveal a smile and said, "Then please reshuffle the deck. You can only truly get the cards you want if you know what you would like to ask about."
Were you fooling me just now? Do you have to be this petty? Didn't I only ask a few times if this would be a free service? Zhou Mingrui's cheeks twitched a little. He took a deep breath and took the tarot deck back to reshuffle and cut it.
"There won't be any problems this time, right?" He placed the already cut deck back onto the table.
"No problem." The fortune-teller reached out her fingers and picked a card from the top of the deck. Then she placed it on the left side of Zhou Mingrui. Her voice was going lower and lower as she spoke, "This card symbolizes your past."
"This card symbolizes your present." The fortune-teller placed the second card right in front of Zhou Mingrui.
Then, she picked the third card and put it on the right side of Zhou Mingrui.
"This card symbolizes the future."
"Alright, which card would you like to see first?" The fortune-teller raised her head up after completing her placement of the cards and gazed deeply at Zhou Mingrui with her grayish-blue eyes.
"I'll have a look at the 'present' first," Zhou Mingrui said after giving it some thought.
The fortune-teller nodded slowly and flipped over the tarot card that was directly in front of Zhou Mingrui.
A colorfully dressed character was depicted on this card, wearing splendid headgear with a stick over his shoulder. There was a bindle hanging on the end of the stick and a puppy was following behind him. It was numbered "0."
"The Fool," the fortune-teller lightly read out the name of the card with her grayish-blue eyes affixed on Zhou Mingrui.
The Fool? The "0" card of tarot? A start? A fresh beginning with all kinds of possibilities? Zhou Mingrui was not even considered an amateur enthusiast of tarot, so he could only make a rough interpretation based on his own impressions of tarot.
Just as the fortune-teller was about to say something, the cloth curtains of the tent were suddenly lifted open. The ray of sunlight that shone in was so blinding that it caused the back-facing Zhou Mingrui to instinctively narrow his eyes.
"Why are you impersonating me again! It's my job to handle the divination for people!" a woman's voice growled angrily. "Return to your post quickly! You must remember that you're just an animal trainer!"
An animal trainer? Zhou Mingrui's eyes had already adapted to the light by now. He saw a similar-looking woman who was also wearing a sharp pointy hat in a black dress, with her face painted in red and yellow as well. The only difference was that she was taller and had a slimmer physique.
The woman who was seated in front of him immediately stood up and said disgruntledly, "Don't mind this, it's just that I like doing this. But I have to say, my divination and interpretation can be really accurate sometimes. I'm serious…"
She spoke and lifted up her dress to go around from the side of the table before quickly trotting away from the tent.
"Sir, would you like me to interpret your cards for you?" the real fortune-teller looked at Zhou Mingrui and asked with a smile.
Zhou Mingrui's lips twitched and asked her sincerely, "Is it free?"
"…No," the real fortune-teller answered.
"Then forget it." Zhou Mingrui pulled his hands back and put them into his pockets. He clutched his revolver and money before stooping again to exit the tent.
Damn! He actually got an animal trainer to be his fortune-teller?
Is an animal trainer who doesn't want to be a fortune-teller a bad clown?
Zhou Mingrui very quickly put this matter behind him. He spent seven pence at the 'Lettuce and Meat' market for a pound of not-so-great mutton. Then, he also bought some tender broad beans, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and other items. Together with the bread that he bought earlier, he spent a total of 25 copper pennies, which converted to two soli and one pence.
"There is really not enough to go around for spending. Poor Benson…" Not only had Zhou Mingrui spent the two notes that he had brought with him, but it was also necessary for him to top it up with the one penny he had in his pocket.
He just sighed and did not think further about it as he hurried back home.
With the staple food, he could now carry out the luck enhancement ritual!
…
After the second-floor tenants gradually left, Zhou Mingrui was still in no hurry to carry out the ritual. Instead, he translated the "The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings" and related phrases into the ancient Feysac language, as well as the Loen language. He was intending to try the ritual again the next day in those local languages if the original incantation did not take effect!
After all, he had to take into consideration the differences between the two worlds. In Rome, do as the Romans do!
As for translating it into an ancient ritual prayer that used the dedicated Hermes language, Zhou Mingrui had a difficult time completing it due to his lack of vocabulary.
After readying everything, he finally took out the four loaves of rye bread. He placed one in the corner where the coal stove was originally, one at the bottom inner side of the dress mirror, one at the top of the cupboard where two walls met, and one at the right side of the study table where miscellaneous items were kept.
With a deep breath, Zhou Mingrui came to the center of the room and spent a few minutes to calm himself. Then, he took a solemn step forward and went in a counter-clockwise direction in the shape of a square.
When he took the first step, he chanted in a low whisper, "The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
The second step, he sincerely chanted, "The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
The third step, Zhou Mingrui breathed out a whisper. "The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
At the fourth step, he spat out a foul breath and meditated in concentration. "The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
When he returned back to the original spot, Zhou Mingrui closed his eyes and waited in his place for an outcome. He had some anticipation in him, some unease, some hope, and some fear.
Can he make it back?
Is there going to be any effect?
Will there be an unexpected situation?
The darkness in front of him was tainted with the crimson light of hope. Zhou Mingrui's thoughts were swirling in his head and he was finding it difficult to quell it.
It was at this time that he suddenly felt the surrounding air seem to stop, becoming thick and mysterious.
Immediately after, a low whisper could be heard beside his ears that sounded at times real, at times sharp, at times imaginary, at times alluring, at times maniacal, and at times crazy.
He clearly did not understand the murmuring that went on, but Zhou Mingrui still couldn't help himself from wanting to listen to it and distinguish what it was saying.
His head was in pain again. It was so painful that it felt like someone had stuck a steel drill rod into it.
Zhou Mingrui only felt like his head was going to explode. His thoughts were filled with psychedelic colors.
He knew that something was wrong and tried to open his eyes. However, he wasn't even able to complete such a simple action.
His entire body was getting tighter and tighter and it felt like he could just break apart at any time. At this time, a self-mocking thought came up in Zhou Mingrui's mind:
You wouldn't die if you didn't court death…
He could no longer bear it. Just as his mind was going to break, the murmuring of voices faded away and his surroundings became very quiet. The mood was an erratic one.
It was not only the mood; Zhou Mingrui felt his own body going through the same sensations as well.
He tried once more to open his eyes, an extremely easy task this time.
A gray fog appeared over his eyes—haziness, vague, and endless.
"What's with this situation?" Zhou Mingrui suddenly looked around him and then lowered his head down to discover that he was floating at the edge of an endless fog.
The fog was flowing like water and was dotted with a lot of crimson 'stars.' Some of them were enormous while others were tiny. There was a sense of them being hidden in the deep depths, while others floated over the surface of this water-like fog.
Looking at the seemingly holographic sight, Zhou Mingrui reached out his right hand in a half-confused, half-exploring manner to try to touch the crimson 'star' that was seemingly floating on the surface. He was trying to find a way to leave this place.
When his hand touched the surface of that star, a water mark suddenly appeared from within his body and agitated the stars into a "crimson" burst. It looked like a dreamlike burning of flames.
Zhou Mingrui got a fright from it. He retracted his right hand in a panic, but accidentally touched yet another crimson star.
As a result, this star burst with splendid light as well.
In turn, Zhou Mingrui felt his mind empty and his spirit dissipated.
…
In the Loen Kingdom's capital, Backlund. Inside a luxurious looking villa at the royal district.
Audrey Hall sat in front of a dresser. The markings on it were antiquated and there was a cracked bronze mirror on the surface.
"Mirror, mirror, awaken…
"In the name of the Hall family, I command you to awaken!"
…
She switched between many different sayings, but there was no reaction from the mirror at all.
After more than 10 minutes, she finally chose to give up and pouted her lips in grievance. She said in a soft murmur, "Father was indeed lying to me. He always tells me that this mirror was the treasure of the Solomon Empire's Black Emperor, and that it is an extraordinary item…"
Her voice trailed off. The bronze mirror which rested on the dresser suddenly glowed with a crimson light that shrouded her completely.
…
In the Sonia Sea, a three-masted sailboat that looked like an obvious relic was navigating through a storm.
Alger Wilson stood on deck, his body undulating with the currents at sea, maintaining his balance easily.
He wore a robe embroidered with lightning patterns, and in his hand was a quirky-shaped glass bottle. Phenomena of the bubbles billowing inside the bottle, frost turning into snow, and signs of gusting wind visible alternated.
"Still short on the Ghost Shark's blood…" Alger murmured.
Then at this moment, a crimson burst appeared in the space between the glass bottle and the surface of his palm. In an instant, it enveloped the surroundings as well.
…
In the fog of gray mist, Audrey Hall regained her sight. She started reckoning the situation in a state of horror and confusion when she noticed the blurry image of a man on the opposite side of her doing the same as well.
Immediately after, the both of them discovered another mystery person standing not far from them who was shrouded in a gray mist.
The 'mysterious person' was none other than Zhou Mingrui. He was similarly dumbfounded.
"Sir, where is this?"
Audrey and Alger were startled at first, falling silent in the process. Then, they immediately started speaking in unison.
"What are you planning on doing?"
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