Lord of Mysteries: Taiyi

"It's the path that Mr. 'The Hanged Man' mentioned, the one mastered by the Morse Order," Kurt continued. "He was a very interesting and kind man, and he ran a fortune-telling club..."

"That seems a bit of a tangent," Kurt continued, feigning a nostalgic expression. "Just last week, he lost control."

Klein, the Fool at the head of the table, couldn't help but think of old Neil, who had recently helped him concoct the Diviner's Potion, and also of those eyelash-less eyes. He unconsciously focused his attention.

"Justice," Audrey asked with some curiosity:

Why did he lose control?

"Lover" Kurt paused for a second, then clasped his hands in front of his mouth and said:

"According to my investigation, based on the contents of his left-behind notes, he was deceived by the Hidden Sage. The Hidden Sage has indeed 'come back to life,' and is extremely evil, even going so far as to deceive Sequence Nine."

"He believed in the bizarre ritual offered by the hidden sage, transforming himself into a monster, and even murdered the person he wanted to heal—his mother..."

"During my investigation, I figured out a symbol of the Hidden Sage, which you can be wary of in advance: it's a cold, ruthless eye without eyelashes!"

Klein's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He had seen that eye during the day! It was also from behind the 'Secret Seeker'... His expression became slightly more serious.

It seems I need to keep an eye on Old Neil's condition. However, apart from that eye, everything else is perfectly fine. Old Neil looks very healthy. This requires continuous observation. I can't just tell Dunn Smith rashly. If there's no problem, that would be awkward... Klein's thoughts wandered. He suddenly wanted to ask Mr. Lover's friend about his condition before he lost control, but he quickly gave up on the idea. First, his status didn't allow it, and second, it would be very impolite to ask such questions in person.

"Justice" Audrey imagined the situation and felt a chill run down her spine, failing to notice the Fool's slight abnormality. "The Hanged Man" Alger, however, nodded slightly, as it aligned with his understanding.

Having achieved his goal, Kurt abandoned the idea of ​​attributing the matter to the Aurora Society, as that would waste a lot of time explaining the Aurora Society and the true Creator, and would also leave some opportunity for Mr. Fool to show off.

Kurt considered mentioning 0-08, but ultimately abandoned the idea. He planned to present the news in the Emperor's diary, and also reveal the three-part honorific name pointing to him to Klein. This way, he would have the opportunity to secretly teach Klein how to avoid 0-08's gaze and some powerful spells, thus greatly increasing his chances of saving Old Neil and Dunn. Although he still wouldn't be able to directly confront 0-08's arrangements, he could at least create some interference.

He has a way to stabilize spirituality and control demigods for a few seconds. If he lets Klein know about 0-08 in advance, he might be able to severely injure Ince Zangwell... And even if 0-08 knows something, he probably won't tell his current master.

These thoughts flashed through his mind quickly. He glanced at Audrey, who was still frightened, and a sudden idea popped into his head:

"Miss Justice's blood must taste delicious... Damn, what am I thinking? Looks like I need to find the bishop to replenish my blood."

He then followed this thought and casually mentioned:

"The repeal of the Grain Act will lead to a large influx of bankrupt farmers into Backlund, which will further worsen the environment in the East End."

Klein was considering what kind of news he could share later without losing his prestige. Hearing this news reminded him of the news he had seen in the newspaper about the repeal of the Grain Act, which he felt was inevitable and would have a huge impact on the traditional aristocracy. He didn't understand what those nobles were thinking. Was it a clash between the reformers and the traditionalists? He didn't express his opinion and listened quietly.

Audrey initially wanted to ask why farmers were going bankrupt, but her good political sense immediately made her think of the reason. However, she couldn't understand why politicians would still do something so simple—they certainly knew it would bankrupt farmers. Audrey vaguely sensed something, but couldn't quite grasp it; she just felt uneasy and gave up asking.

The Hanged Man picked up the conversation, scoffing as he said:

"Those foolish politicians will eventually pay a heavy price."

Kurt did not continue the topic. The current tarot society was not mature enough. He had only planted a seed to facilitate its future development.

Immediately following, much like in the original story, Alger the Hanged Man shared that Admiral Ludwell, the owner of the Black Tulip, began his voyage to explore the eastern end of the Sunia Sea.

"The Fool" Klein shared that the Secret Order recently lost a notebook belonging to the Antigonus family. "The Hanged Man" stated that the Antigonus family was destroyed by the Church of the Night at the end of the Fourth Age or the beginning of this Age, and he himself is looking forward to the Church of the Night's reaction to this matter.

Then Audrey, the "Justice," shared that the higher-ups of the Kingdom of Rune had realized the backwardness of the current Rune system, but were unable to reform it.

The Fool Klein proposed a civil service examination system to select talent, which was praised by Justice.

At the end of the Tarot session, Audrey, representing "Justice," briefly mentioned Susie's question.

"I have another question. If, I mean if, an ordinary animal, like a dog, drank a Sequence Nine potion, what would happen?"

Then Audrey noticed that the Lover's lips were slightly upturned, showing a hint of pleasure, while the Hanged Man seemed a little stunned. She was too embarrassed to observe the Fool, knowing he certainly wouldn't answer such a basic question. The Hanged Man also didn't notice the Fool, and the Lover refrained from looking, afraid of making the Fool uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Klein subtly tapped his brow twice, noticing Audrey's flustered state and also observing his 'lover's' joyful mood.

Finally, the "Hanged Man" answered the question: under normal circumstances, he would directly lose control and become a monster; otherwise, he would become a superhuman being with increased intelligence.

Klein, the "Fool," looked at the crowd who had temporarily fallen silent and said calmly:

That's all for today's gathering.

"We will obey your will," the three said simultaneously, rising to their feet.

Klein leaned back slightly, severing the connection between the group. The illusory and blurry figures of "Lover" and the others shattered and vanished instantly.

Suddenly, he was the only one left sitting quietly at the head of the bronze table above the gray mist. He sensed that after becoming a "Diviner," he could recruit another member, but considering his current weakness, he decided to proceed cautiously and was unwilling to force anyone to join the Tarot Club. The sudden increase in spirituality he felt when recruiting "The Lovers" last time was also present this time, and even more so.

This slowed down the rate at which his spiritual energy was depleted, allowing him to maintain his energy for a longer period. Klein speculated that this was because of the special nature of "The Lovers." Firstly, although he could see the astral body of "The Lovers," it was different from the astral bodies of "Justice" and "The Hanged Man." He couldn't see what was inside; it wasn't pure black or opaque, but completely invisible. Klein thought about it and felt that it was like the vision "seen" by a congenitally blind person—unobservable and unknowable.

I also felt a slight tugging sensation in my spirit. Remembering Old Neil's warning when teaching clairvoyance techniques—never to look at things I shouldn't—I quickly looked away, otherwise I might have been pulled in. He also felt that the gray mist was blocking that tugging…

"Judging from Mr. 'Lover's' words and actions today, he definitely has many secrets, and may even possess a special ability similar to this mysterious space, just like me." Klein stroked his chin. "However, he didn't show any obvious hostility, nor did he scrutinize me like 'The Hanged Man,' and he didn't seem afraid of me... Is he a member of a secret organization with secrets, but not very powerful, lawful, and knowledge-sharing, or perhaps a mid-to-high-level member of some church?"

Finally, feeling a bit of a headache, Klein used his spirituality to simulate the feeling of falling back to his home at No. 2 Narcissus Street, his warm home, his home with family, his eternal home.