Mystery: The Witch of Desire

"From a mystical perspective, the non-material part of a person is composed of four parts: the spiritual body, the astral body, the mental body, and the etheric body."

"Among them, the spiritual body is the most core spiritual essence, meditation is the foundation for enhancing power, all things have a spirit, all living things have one."

"Astral bodies are the way for spiritual entities to communicate with the spirit world and the starry sky. Divination and most magic are based on astral bodies."

"The combination of mind and body involves the comprehensive manifestation of reasoning, thinking, and insight at the mental level. Some potions enhance this ability, and some magic is also designed to target the mind."

"The etheric body is the manifestation of life energy and physical state. In layman's terms, it is a person's 'aura,' and it is also the most direct manifestation of a person in a state of spiritual vision. Different colors of the etheric body can reflect a person's health and emotions."

"As for spiritual vision..."

Rowling glanced at Reeves and continued:

"I guess you probably don't know how to use clairvoyance, right?"

Reeve nodded honestly, looking eager to learn.

Rowling sighed and said:

"I really regret agreeing to your 1000-pound reward. In the extraordinary world, the price of knowledge is no cheaper than that of materials!"

Despite saying that, Rowling readily taught Levi how to activate his clairvoyance:

Focus your mind on meditation until your eyes adjust to the darkness, then place your fingers in front of your eyes, focusing your gaze on your fingers, and then on the distance behind your fingers...

Once, twice, and again and again, Levi saw a hint of fiery red between his fingers.

Then he looked at Rowling, whose entire body was a fiery red color.

"Did you see anything?"

Rowling asked with concern.

"It's reddish and looks very healthy."

Rowling chuckled:

"This is because of insufficient spirituality. I can only see the general color of the aura. Actually, I'm not much better than you. For a path like prisoners and assassins with moderate spirituality, being able to open spiritual vision at Sequence 9 is already quite good."

Levi nodded and continued to observe Rowling with his spiritual vision. Suddenly, he noticed upon closer inspection that Rowling had a faint pinkish tinge on her body. This pinkish tinge was rather strange, conveying an indescribable feeling.

Levi paused for a moment, wanting to tell Rowling, but then realized that all the pink stuff was gathered in Rowling's private areas, and he became a little embarrassed to speak up.

"Perhaps this is the normal phenomenon..."

Next, with Rowling's help, Levi connected the action of activating his spiritual vision with tongue curling.

Now, Levi can activate his spiritual vision simply by making a tongue-rolling motion.

The reason for choosing the tongue-rolling action is that it is discreet enough to be done inside the mouth.

Secondly, because Levi felt that his tongue was long and flexible, so he might as well use it.

After teaching the subject, Rowling said, half-jokingly:

"Alright, I've taught you a lot. Remember to pay me! Or..."

She narrowed her beautiful eyes and said with a grin:

"You can repay with your body too."

Levi's pretty face flushed red. She felt like she was having a really bad day, being teased by two beautiful ladies in a row.

He quickly cleared his throat and said in a pretentious tone:

"I can also tell you some very useful knowledge."

Rowling asked with some curiosity:

"Oh, what knowledge?"

Reeves thought for a moment and extracted a useful sentence from Russell's notes for Rowling:

"Watch out for the moon."

"Beware of the moon? What's this? Does it refer to the anomalies that occur during a full moon in the prisoner's route?"

Rowling asked with amusement, not taking Levi's words seriously.

Reeves couldn't give a specific explanation either, so he asked another question instead:

"How do you know so much knowledge?"

He was very curious about this, after all, Rowling seemed to be just a non-core member of a gang that believed in evil gods, but her knowledge of the occult was much more solid than Jason's.

Rowling looked slightly uncomfortable and stammered:

"Hmm, is it wrong for me to be naturally intelligent...? Okay, let's eat..."

Chapter 34 Money

After enjoying the steaming hot pan-fried fish and meat, pea soup, and white bread, Levi felt satisfied and wanted to burp, but she had to hold it back to maintain her image as a beautiful woman.

He packed his luggage, chatted with Rowling for a few more minutes, and prepared to return to his place on University Street to find Emily.

He first walked to the safe house he had previously rented at 126 Iron Cross Street, eagerly picked off the vain butterfly, and then took off his clothes one by one, folded them neatly, and put them in a box.

Then, he excitedly changed into men's clothing, and looking at his long-lost male face in the mirror, he was so excited he almost cried:

"Ugh, finally I'm a man again... I've been pretending to be a woman for the past few days, I'm so tired I'm about to have a mental breakdown!"

"Wait, why are my eyes actually getting wet? Oh no, could it be because of vanity that my tear ducts have become more active...?"

Reeves quickly examined her body. Fortunately, her feminine traits were not particularly pronounced. However, her overall demeanor seemed to be a bit more effeminate.

"The butterfly of vanity is truly awful; it's much more comfortable not to wear it..."

After getting ready, Levi excitedly went downstairs and headed towards the nearest public carriage stop.

After waiting a few minutes, two tall Shire horses pulled a two-story carriage. Levi took out his penny change and prepared to queue up to buy a ticket and board the carriage.

Just then, a crisp clinking sound rang out. Levi turned his head and saw that some passenger had dropped a one-penny coin. The coin rolled on the ground, tracing an arc as it sped away into the distance.

Almost reflexively, Revey left his own line and rushed toward the coin.

"Wait, what am I doing! The public carriage is leaving soon, and the next one won't be for another fifteen minutes! Why would I chase after it to pick up a penny!"

Levi was astonished, but at the same time, a strong instinct surged within him—a desire for money.

Driven by this desire, he caught up with the coin that had rolled far away and clutched it tightly in his hand as if it were a precious treasure.

Behind them, Sharma had already pulled the public carriage away.

A complex mix of emotions welled up within Reeves:

"What's wrong with me? How did I become so obsessed with money? This is affecting my normal life!"

He angrily threw the coin away.

The moment the coin flew out of his hand, a strong sense of reluctance welled up inside Levi again. He quickly and involuntarily took off after it and picked it up again.

Levi sensed something was wrong. It didn't seem to be a simple love of money, but rather some kind of abnormal, perverse desire for money that was driving him to do things that didn't go against his true nature.

Somewhat unwillingly, Levi repeatedly tossed the coin, only to unconsciously pick it up again.

A stray dog ​​nearby saw Reeve throw the coin and excitedly rushed over, trying to pick it up, but Reeve kicked it away as if it were facing a formidable enemy.

"Feel sorry……"

Reeve apologized to the stray dog ​​that had tucked its tail between its legs and ran away, then reluctantly picked up the coin again.

He was both amused and exasperated. If things continued like this, he could become a perpetual motion machine with just one coin.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and the black pattern gradually heated up, with a burning sensation spreading across his chest.

Levi was very familiar with this feeling; whenever he had abnormal desires or his spirit entered an abnormal state, the black pattern on his chest would become hot and burning.

Under this stinging sensation, Levi felt as if he no longer had that almost perverse desire for money.

He tossed the coin again; it arced through the air, landed on the ground, and rolled with a gurgle into the ditch beside the street.

This time, Reeve simply watched quietly, without uncontrollably chasing after the coin.

"Phew... finally back to normal. I wonder what caused this. Was it some kind of obsession? Or was there some kind of mystical influence?"

Reeves breathed a sigh of relief and waited anxiously for the next public carriage to arrive, and then successfully boarded it.

Levi's mood gradually improved as he rode the train all the way to the University Street stop. He temporarily forgot about the unpleasant things that had just happened and his heart was filled with the joy of meeting Emily soon.

After getting off the bus, he bought some lamb, white bread, veal, spices, and sea coffee beans, as well as a bottle of Indisport wine, which Emily liked.

Carrying large and small bags, Levi walked excitedly to the four-story red building at No. 46 University Street, went up to the second floor, and came to the door of the room at the end of the corridor.

"Thump thump thump, thump—"

After three short knocks followed by one long one on the door, Levi said softly:

"Emily, it's me."

With a creak, the door opened a crack, and Emily saw Levi's smiling face through the gap, causing her body to tremble.

The next second, she rushed forward, hugged Levi tightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and choked out:

“Revere, you’re back! I was so scared, so scared that you would end up like Jason…”

Levi's nose tingled, and his eyes welled up with tears.

He was deeply moved by the scene, yet dared not move an inch.

He pointed to the dagger that Emily was clutching tightly in her hand, gleaming coldly behind her neck, and laughed awkwardly:

"Um, Emily, should we put the knife down first?"

Emily was taken aback, quickly withdrew her hand, and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"I'm sorry, I didn't know who was outside the door. I was holding it for self-defense, but I was so excited to see you that I forgot I was holding a knife..."

Reeve nodded in satisfaction and said:

"This is the right way to deal with it; it's always better to be cautious."

He put the groceries he bought in the kitchen and was surprised to find that Emily had already prepared a meal for two.

Did you know I was coming back today?

Emily heated up the food and prepared the bowls and chopsticks, all the while smiling:

“I prepare meals for two every day, I eat one portion myself and leave the other for you. If you don’t come back, I’ll eat it the next day.”

Levi paused, then said with some sadness:

"That way you won't be able to eat fresh food."

Emily, however, didn't care:

"It's nothing, I was just worried you'd be hungry when you got back."

Levi felt a surge of emotion; he hadn't felt this way in a long time.

After a flurry of activity, a large potato pie, turnip soup, and a slice of dark bread were laid out on the table.

Emily then quickly chopped some salted meat and added it to the turnip soup, giving this simple lunch a touch of meat.

Levi, however, didn't seem to care and happily enjoyed lunch with Emily.

Although it was far worse than what he had eaten at the Kingfisher Bar, he was still very satisfied.

Chapter 35 Mr. Ronan's Secret

While having lunch, Levi shared his fabricated work experience with Emily, claiming that he was now earning 5 soules a day.

He gave Emily two 5-sol notes to cover the household's daily expenses.

As Emily listened to Levi talk about how he worked and made money, she couldn't help but feel eager to try it herself, so she begged Levi to take her to find a job as a tutor.

Reeve readily agreed. Long-term reliance on charity and isolation from society would certainly be harmful to his physical and mental health. Besides, he was now an extraordinary being and had the ability to protect Emily.

After lunch, the two tidied up briefly and went to a three-story building at No. 32 University Street, which was not far away.

This is the address left by Ronan Keane, the middle-aged gentleman whom Reeves had met earlier. According to him, the second and third floors of this three-story building belong to the Tingen Women Teachers' Mutual Aid Association.

To Levi's surprise, the Flamingo Bar, where the mutual aid society held its gatherings, was not far away, just one intersection away.

"Perhaps there is a hidden passage connecting the two buildings."

In a good mood, Levi made some casual guesses as he entered the small building with Emily.

The first floor is a general merchandise store, not very big, but it has a wide variety of goods.