Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 234 233 Three Cards

"Then try it."

Zhou Mingrui was also very curious about what divination would be like in the magical world.

"Okay, no problem." The fortune teller apprentice smiled and motioned Zhou Mingrui to sit aside.

"What type of divination would you like? I recommend Tarot divination. The Tarot divination promoted by Emperor Roselle has always possessed considerable mystical significance. To some extent, even ordinary people without extraordinary powers can, through their weak spirituality, gain corresponding revelations about things with symbolic meaning. This is not groundless..."

The fortune teller's apprentice kept on talking, not caring whether Zhou Mingrui understood or not. After he finished a long paragraph, he seemed to remember his client, the fortune teller who needed a fortune telling. "Ah, you want a tarot card reading, right?"

Zhou Mingrui looked at the clean table, which had been cleared away with only a deck of tarot cards left, and could only nod.

"But, Emperor Roselle... the outstanding alumnus Roselle Gustav?"

When he heard the fortune teller's apprentice repeating this name, a memory suddenly flashed in his mind again.

In today's field of occult divination, Tarot cards have always been regarded as something with considerable "occult symbolic" meaning. However, "Tarot cards" did not originate from the Seven Gods, nor are they the remnants of certain ancient things. They were invented more than 170 years ago by Russell Gustav, who was then the governor of the Republic of Intis, and were used in the field of divination and other occult things.

Russell Gustave, a famous novelist, composer, historian, economist, war scholar, mystic and politician in historical documents...

His experience has been widely discussed, and this former consul has become like a legend, with mixed reviews in the mouths and books of later generations. To this day, the number of supporters and opponents remains high, and there is a trend of confrontation.

This Archon, who had ruled the Intis Empire over 170 years earlier, had been a student at Tingen University in the Kingdom of Loen. After graduating, he returned to his hometown of Intis and joined the political circles there. Within a short time, he was elected by the people and became the Archon of the then-empire, transforming it into a republic...

While promoting reforms such as the "Patriotic Health Campaign" within the Intis Republic, he also claimed to be a staunch "atheist" during his reign and attempted to expel the local state religions, the "God of Craftsmen" Church and the "Eternal Blazing Sun" Church...

Although this initiative ultimately failed, the Church of the Eternal Sun and the Church of the God of Craftsmen still stand in the Intis Republic to this day. However, after being shaken up by Russell Gustav, the two churches' religious rule over the Intis Republic is no longer stable, and atheists are still widely active among all classes...

Among them, the Church of the God of Craftsmen, which suffered the most severe damage, reduced the number of clergymen preaching in places like the Kingdom of Loen...

Later, after his own regime had been stabilized and he had gained the support of the army, this Intis Archon fought wars in the south and the north, forcing the Kingdom of Loen, Feynaport, the Feysac Empire and other powerful countries in the northern continent to bow down one after another. Then he once again changed the Republic into an Empire and called himself "Caesar the Great"...

This legendary figure's only regret was that he suffered betrayal in his later years. In the year 1198 of the Fifth Era, he was assassinated by a coalition of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Church of the God of Craftsmen, the Soran family of the Intis Empire, and other nobles. He perished in the White Maple Palace...

Nowadays, popular games and methods such as Tarot, Fighting Evil, Monopoly, Mahjong, and Texas Hold'em are widely circulated...

He promoted reforms in the Republic of Intis, reorganized the army, and improved weaponry, laying a solid foundation for its future as a military power. However, his mad behavior in his later years and his opposition, collaboration, and clashes with the two major orthodox churches still leave many researchers curious and baffled...

In his early years, Roselle Gustav had close ties with the University of Tingen. Many scholars believe that his opposition to the two major orthodox sects was closely related to his educational experiences as a young man...

At that time, the two major churches of the Intis Empire had once held the Kingdom of Loen to account, but nothing came of it...

After graduating from the University of Tübingen with a degree in physics and chemistry, Russell Gustav frequently communicated with his alma mater and was awarded the "Distinguished Alumnus" medal. To this day, Russell Gustav's portrait still hangs in the memorial gallery in Tübingen. He is one of the individuals who graduated from Tübingen University and made outstanding contributions during his lifetime...

"Rossel Gustav truly lived a legendary life, and he also had a very close connection with Tingen..."

Zhou Mingrui did not think of Russell Gustav as a time traveler. As a qualified keyboard politician, he keenly felt that Russell's various thoughts, various reform movements, and "atheism" might have been contaminated and distorted into the other's appearance after contact with Tingen's "time traveler predecessor".

Ah, actually it’s not surprising to think so. After all, there are even pancakes here...

Zhou Mingrui's thoughts have been defeated by Jinqiangwei Street, a snack street that sells pancakes and wolf-tooth potatoes without any acting.

But think about it, Russell Gustav, who was so powerful and left a deep mark on history, was also a puppet. Tsk, tsk, who is this "senior time traveler"? Could it be the president of Tingen University during Russell Gustav's time?

However, in the "magic" era, living longer seems to be no problem. Is the "senior time traveler" still alive? How did he, or she, travel through time?
As his thoughts raced, Zhou Mingrui said to the fortune-teller apprentice who had already begun shuffling and cutting the cards in front of him:

"Just the Tarot cards."

The fortune-teller apprentice quickly completed his preparations and said to Zhou Mingrui, "Okay, what do you want to ask?"

"Past, present, and future."

Zhou Mingrui said without any hesitation.

The fortune teller apprentice quickly spread out the tarot cards, back side up.

Zhou Mingrui stretched out his hand and was about to draw three cards when he saw that the fortune teller apprentice in front of him had already completed the task for him.

"Don't you need me to draw a card?"

He asked in surprise.

The fortune teller's apprentice had already turned the card over. He seemed to react only then and laughed awkwardly.

"Ahahaha, sorry, sorry, you know, I'm just an apprentice fortune teller, I always forget to let others draw the cards..."

This is a rule that is known not only to the fortune teller's apprentice but also to him, a layman.

Zhou Mingrui secretly complained in his heart, and his eyes swept over the three opened cards that the other party had drawn.

On the far left is the "Lovers" card.

In the middle is the "Magician" card.

At the end is the "Fool" card.

These three cards represent the past, present, and future in the Tarot layout.

"Emperor Roselle invented...ah, of course, it's very likely that the tarot cards were modified by the 'Senior Time Traveler'. They don't seem to be much different from the tarot cards I've seen before, except for the patterns, background and text." Zhou Mingrui pondered secretly, and then the tarot cards that symbolized his past, present and future were quickly reshuffled by the fortune teller's apprentice and placed in front of Zhou Mingrui again.

"All right."

The fortune teller's apprentice lowered his eyes, looking like a charlatan.

Zhou Mingrui drew three cards from the shuffled deck and asked casually, "How long will it take you to become a true fortune teller?"

There are many things related to mysticism in Tingen City, but so far, Zhou Mingrui has only seen the wall lamps in this city and the mystical grocery stores everywhere on the streets. Zhou Mingrui has never actually felt the real "magic".

Zhou Mingrui was tricked by the fortune teller's apprentice into doing a tarot divination. In fact, he also wanted to see what the "magic" of this world was like.

"One month? Or two months?" the apprentice fortuneteller said as he flipped through the cards Zhou Mingrui had drawn. "Although those important figures said I had potential and promised to give me the corresponding potions and formulas... I still need to save money so that I can become a Sequence 9, a qualified 'Fortuneteller.'"

"Sequence 9? Potions?" Zhou Mingrui pondered over these words. Just as he was about to ask something, he saw that the fortune-teller apprentice had already set up the tarot cards.

"Okay, which card do you want to see first?" After doing all this, the fortune teller apprentice raised his head and looked deeply at Zhou Mingrui with his dark eyes that were a little dark, like a bottomless ocean.

"Let's look at the past first." Zhou Mingrui said after a little thought.

The fortune teller apprentice nodded, then turned over the tarot card representing the "past".

That's a "Lovers" card.

With a manor as the background, behind a man and a woman is a winged angel wearing a monocle. He lowers his eyebrows, as if looking at the man and woman in front of him with compassion and love.

Zhou Mingrui was slightly startled. He remembered that the card that was drawn just now was also a "lover" card?

Zhou Mingrui looked dazed for a moment.

Then, he heard the fortune teller's apprentice's deliberately lowered voice, "Your past is full of mistakes. You have a fate that ordinary people cannot understand, and there is even more..."

As the voice of the fortune teller's apprentice in front of him grew lower and lower, Zhou Mingrui looked at the "Lovers" card. For some reason, he felt that the angel wearing a monocle slowly raised his head and looked at the man and woman in front of him with pity.

A bloody hole appeared on his temple. A yellow bullet had pierced through the angel's head at some point...

Zhou Mingrui suddenly felt his throat tighten. He felt his forehead, where the bullet had pierced it, suddenly ache again, as if his skull and brain, melted by the heat, were burning again...

The angel's head lifted higher and higher, seemingly sizing up Zhou Mingrui, who was also sizing up the card...

When he came back to his senses, the fortune teller apprentice in front of him had already finished the interpretation and was looking at him with a very concerned look.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, I just didn't sleep well last night..." Zhou Mingrui shook his dizzy head. The cards in front of him didn't shake at all. It was all just his own illusion.

He attributed his reaction to the mental "trauma" he suffered from last night when he "traveled through time" and saw a hole in his head.

"I have to prepare for the luck-changing ceremony as soon as possible. Phew, I wonder if I can go back..."

He felt that he had indeed delayed for too long, and perhaps he should go back earlier and hold a luck-changing ceremony.

Although I'm not sure if it was this problem that caused him to travel through time, I have to give it a try, right?
"Do you need to continue interpreting?" The fortune teller's apprentice noticed that his client was in a bad mental state and asked hurriedly.

Zhou Mingrui didn't actually hear clearly what the fortune-teller apprentice in front of him had just said. He could only say awkwardly but politely, "I suddenly remembered that I have something else to do. I'm sorry, maybe next time..."

Next time, that’s like there won’t be a next time.

The fortune teller's apprentice understood this very well and felt a little disappointed, but he still forced a smile and said "Goodbye, take care of yourself" to the guest who had already stood up.

He was tidying up the tarot cards on the table. Zhou Mingrui was holding the paper bag of bread he had just bought and hurriedly walked towards the end of Golden Rose Street. Therefore, he did not see the tarot card in the fortune teller's apprentice's hand. The second tarot card Zhou Mingrui had just drawn represented the present and was "Magician".

The third picture shows a young man wearing gorgeous clothes, a gorgeous headdress, carrying a cane on his shoulder with luggage hanging on the top of the cane, and a puppy pulling him behind.

That's the "Fool" card.

"So, Bolkan scolded you too?"

When the college student saw Zhou Mingrui hurriedly leaving the fortune teller's apprentice's location, he thought that the other party had been cheated as well, and he couldn't help but show Zhou Mingrui an expression that said "I told you not to believe this guy's nonsense."

You college students...

What could Zhou Mingrui say? He could only smile, then took the paper bag containing bread and walked towards his residence.

There was a burst of laughter behind him, which seemed to be mocking his companion who had just been told by the fortune teller's apprentice that "there will be a bloody disaster in the near future".

Zhou Mingrui had turned his back, and he also didn't notice that when those college students burst into laughter, the curves of their mouths, the teeth exposed, the smiles on their faces, the mockery in their eyes, they were all exactly the same, without the slightest difference.

They watched Zhou Mingrui walking away, still joking with each other, but they all twisted their necks and stared quietly at Zhou Mingrui's departing back.

In their eyes, they all imagined a figure wearing a black top hat, a tuxedo of the same color, with soft features and a restrained temperament.

"Good morning, Mr. Error."

"Good morning, Monsieur Flamel."

(End of this chapter)