"Hmph~"
Xia De exhaled through his nose, as if he was laughing, but also as if he was sighing.
"I want to ask a very boring question. Have you ever dreamed of her since you returned to Midhill Castle?"
Mr. Barton nodded:
"Of course, countless times... I dreamed that she was standing on a dark and tranquil body of water with countless white shadows. Those shadows kept moving away, and only she turned around and waved goodbye to me. I wanted to hold her, but every time I tried to wade into that body of water, I woke up. Maybe God is really reminding me of something, but I don't understand it yet."
Shade lowered his head slightly to look at his cat, to prevent the cat from seeing his expression. The waters that Mr. Joey Barton dreamed of sounded like the real death beach. If he really stepped into the water, he would really die. After all, even Shade didn't dare to do that. Even if he was the chosen one, even if Shade could barely be considered a low-quality "demigod", he couldn't defy the most basic rules of the world.
But it seems that Mr. Barton is really gifted. Just by relying on strong thoughts and ties, he can actually "see death". You know, he only has one ring.
"If possible, I would really like to see her again."
The adult who looked like a strange child sighed.
"There is a difference between the living and the dead."
Xia De raised his eyebrows:
"If she leaves, let her leave."
Mr. Barton smiled and did not continue the topic:
"That's right, but people always have to have dreams, and we have to look forward. Mr. Watson, you have come to me three times in a row. Isn't it the future that you want to explore?"
"certainly."
Xia De nodded, but did not say anything else, because Mr. Barton was looking at Xia De with a serious face, no longer as happy as when he was telling the story just now:
"Mr. Watson, I'm afraid you didn't come here just to continue divination for your cat, did you? Listening to stories probably wasn't your intention either."
Xia De was not surprised at all that the other party could see this:
"Yes, mainly I want to ask you some questions to determine what to do next."
Joey Barton narrowed his eyes slightly. Because of the swelling on his head, his eyes were not big to begin with, and now they were almost slits:
"Are you a ring wizard too?"
"Yes."
Shad didn’t hide it.
"Someone from the True God Church?"
"Why don't we answer each other's questions, Mr. Barton, are you a member of the Truth Society?"
Joey Barton obviously didn't expect Shade to mention this, but after a moment's hesitation, he still gave an answer:
"No, I can only be regarded as their test subject, or an extra member."
"I don't belong to the Orthodox Church either. I'm just a stranger who occasionally comes to this city and heard about your story by chance."
"Stranger..."
Xia De sat upright:
“No matter who I am, at least you should understand that I have no ill will towards you, otherwise the Five Gods Church, which has been searching the city for the Truth Society recently, would be the ones who appeared here. Mr. Barton, do you know why the Truth Society sent people to this city? Oh, no need to answer, just listen to me.”
Shade held up a finger:
"First of all, you probably know that they are targeting the narrow space, but whether they want to conduct experiments or just create chaos to retaliate against the True God Church, that is just a facade to cover up the real purpose. They are actually looking for someone."
"Yes, they are looking for four people who have come back from the dead. I suspected you, but I didn't reveal your information."
Mr. Barton said hastily.
"Suspect I'm the four nails? No, no, I'm not from Middlesbrough."
Shade found this funny, but shook his head:
"The four people who came back from the dead are the nails connecting the narrow space and the material world, but this is still related to the narrow space. Their real purpose is to find a special person, a person who has a unique talent for death and is chosen by fate."
"Fate has chosen..."
Mr. Barton frowned suspiciously:
"Mr. Watson, are you trying to tell me a fairy tale?"
This kind of thing is indeed difficult to believe immediately. At that time, Luvia took great pains to make Iluna believe it:
"Don't you feel special?"
"If you mean this damn disease, of course I'm special."
Mr. Barton relaxed slightly and leaned back on the sofa:
"Everyone who thinks they are special will be taught a lesson by reality when they grow up. I realized this a long time ago."
Xia De smiled and said:
"No, no, I mean your Ringwitch talent. Think about it, Mr. Barton, the Ringwitch's 'other self' will have special powers, but what are your special powers? Have you ever thought about what kind of power you hold in your hands?"
Shade continued to ask.
On the surface, Joey Barton's special power is to see through death. But judging from the performance of Iluna and Darkness, his talent is definitely not just that simple.
"For example, my special gift is that I am very sensitive to fate. What about you, Mr. Barton? Do you just see through death?"
"I... ... "
Mr. Barton really hesitated. He looked at his hands suspiciously:
"Indeed... there are other, abnormal, talents. I have never mentioned this to anyone."
Shade smiled:
"I can see that although you are not a good person in the strict sense, you are at least kind-hearted, and you cannot tolerate the behavior of those crazy people in the Truth Society. Sorry, maybe I shouldn't use the word crazy."
"It's okay, I know them better than you do and how crazy they are."
Mr. Barton shook his head.
"Mr. Barton, are you aware of what happened in Tobesk and Coldwater Harbor this summer and late summer?"
Xia De mentioned this matter again, and the cat in his arms slowly squirmed.
"Of course we know. The thirteenth ring warlock 'Godcaller' confronted the descending evil god head-on and defeated the Scarlet Cult together with the church in Coldwater Harbor. This is something everyone knows."
"I'm afraid something similar has happened here."
"You mean the Godcaller..."
Mr. Barton asked inquiringly, and Shade immediately shook his head:
"I mean a major event that will shake the entire material world is about to happen here. So what is the reason? Sir, the epic of the Sixth Era has begun, and some special people are destined to be the protagonists."
Mr. Barton pursed his thick lips and shook his head slowly:
"Mr. Watson, you are more like the protagonist than me. You know, I have observed the fate of more than four digits of people, but you are the most unique one. You are someone outside of fate, right?"
"Yes."
Xia De nodded:
"I have a very good fortune teller friend who once said clearly that it is precisely because I am outside of fate that I will never play any important role on the stage of unpredictable fate. There is no place for me in this epic that has already begun."
The smile on Mr. Barton's face disappeared, and Shade continued:
"Without anyone, there would be no me. And now, someone like me appears in front of you."
Perhaps these words that Luvia said to Shade had some profound meaning for the fortune tellers. Mr. Barton actually frowned at this moment, as if he had thought of something.
Xia De knew that his words had worked:
"I came here without any specific purpose. I just want to say that you should join the Five Gods Church instead of working with the Truth Society. As for me, I want to maintain a cooperative relationship with you."
Xia De said softly, without interrupting the other party's thoughts:
"Joey Barton, you can question everything I said today, but you should also understand that you..."
Boom boom boom~
The sudden knock on the door interrupted Xia De's words and brought the childlike middle-aged man back to his senses.
He turned his head to look at the door, raised his finger to signal Xia De to be quiet, and then struggled to get up and open the door. In order to ensure the privacy of the guests, this room is well soundproofed.
When passing by the door, he lifted the cloth on the birdcage again, but the crow was still huddled in the corner of the cage, and no one knew what it was afraid of.
Outside the door was an old gentleman in a black suit with a red halo on his body, obviously having been stained with thick blood.
Ringmaster, high ring.
After seeing him, Mr. Barton was startled, then nodded respectfully:
"Professor Maggis, why are you here?"
Shade raised an eyebrow.
"Barton, I need your help with something."
The old gentleman was obviously not from Delarion and spoke the common tongue very poorly.
He stretched his head to look inside the room and saw the silhouette of Shade sitting on the sofa holding a cat:
"Please ask your guest to leave first."
"But... ... "
Mr. Barton obviously thought this was extremely rude, but he didn't dare to object.
"Mr. Barton, if you have something to do, please go ahead and do it. Today's divination ends here. Can I come back tomorrow? It won't take long, but no one will not care about death."
Shad said on the sofa. He didn't stand up because he didn't want "Professor Maggis" at the door to see his figure.
"I'm so sorry about today, Mr. Watson, I'll see you tomorrow then."
Joey Barton apologized sincerely, and then, at the urging of Professor Maggis, left the house through the back door with him.
Xia De was escorted out of the front door by the servant and returned to the streets of Pigtail Alley.
On both sides were towering apartment buildings, their yellow paint fading to reveal a yellowish earth color. Weeds and filth coexisted in the corners, gravel was everywhere on the streets, and gas pipes were barely visible in the thick fog. It was still afternoon, but the fog was so thick that the sun was barely visible.
I don’t know when this heavy fog will end.
The stranger looked down at the sleepy Mia:
"The Truth Society took Joey Barton away. What could be going on?"
So, do you want to catch up
“She” was chuckling, and the question sounded very familiar.
Xia De smiled and reached for the witch ring in his pocket:
"Let's catch up and see. If there's any danger, I'll retreat."
After all, Xia De was not going to take any risks now that he was still with little Mia. But in this situation, he couldn't ignore his curiosity.
He sighed, and in the blink of an eye, Blood Echo had already started. Holding the cat in one hand and putting the other hand in his pocket, Shade walked into the depths of the fog:
"As an audience member under the stage, there are too many things for me to do."
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