I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Chapter 184 Blood Pact Water Answer (Bonus Chapter 16 for Monthly Tickets)

The next day after school, Richard came to the office again.

"Continuing from yesterday," Mr. Hutton said, pouring some hot water into the cup.

"The final section, 'Blood Pact Water Answer,' is probably the simplest part of the entire process."

Richard sat down and turned to a new page in his notebook.

The beginning of the section on Blood Pact Water is very clear.

"The living sacrifice was a sheep."

After Richard finished the first few sentences, he picked up his pen.

"The sheep must be ewes that were born in the spring of that year, have never mated, and have pure white fur."

"On the day of the ceremony, the sheep was led into the fog, and the high priest personally carried it out."

The blood was caught in a black ceramic bowl.

"While the blood was being collected, another assistant priest, holding a white ceramic bowl, scooped a bowl of water from a designated sacred spring near the ritual site."

"The high priest used a wooden spoon to mix the blood and water together."

"The stirring speed, direction, and rhythm are all important." Mr. Hutton drew a vortex on the manuscript paper.

Richard's cracking became increasingly smooth.

"Seven circles clockwise, three circles counterclockwise, then one circle clockwise."

"Eleven laps in total?"

In the Celtic number system, eleven signifies a 'turning point'.

Mr. Hutton added from the side.

"After stirring, symbols will appear on the surface of the liquid in the bowl."

Richard stopped writing.

"symbol?"

"The 'response' of the object being sacrificed."

Mr. Hutton drew another diagram on the manuscript paper.

"The content of the response will determine the fate of the tribe for the entire following year."

"If the response is a favorable pattern, the tribe will have good weather and abundant harvests throughout the year."

If the response is a strange pattern, the tribe should be wary of disasters that may occur that year.

If the response contains no pattern whatsoever, it means that the object of the sacrifice has rejected the contract for that year.

"What happens after you refuse?"

"The entire tribe shall burn the sheep along with the oak tree, and bury the ashes at the edge of the forest, never to be retrieved."

"And the following year, a new oak tree must be chosen, a new sheep must be chosen, and a new sacrifice must be made."

"A tribe that is rejected for three consecutive years will be considered 'unprotected,' and neighboring tribes will have the right to expel it."

Richard finished copying this passage into his notebook, his fingers feeling a little cold.

He put down his pen and flipped through his notes from the past few days.

"The Celts made death a language," he whispered.

"Um."

"A structured language that can be 'understood' by the curtain."

Mr. Hutton looked up at him.

"You've already figured it out."

"They trade death for efficiency; we trade terminology and media for efficiency."

"Essentially, no one is more clever than the other."

"The only difference is that what they did would seem barbaric to people today."

"And what we're doing today," Mr. Hutton put down his pen, "may seem barbaric to people hundreds of years from now."

"Alright, what you need to do now is to organize everything you've learned over the past few days and use it as supplementary material in your empirical text interpretation."

The old gentleman spoke as he sipped his tea and waited patiently for him.

After finishing writing, Richard pushed the manuscript over.

Mr. Hutton took it and read it.

"qualified."

Richard breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep this manuscript safe for yourself, but don't take it out with you." Mr. Hutton placed the manuscript back on the table.

"Can I show it to my aunt?"

"It's fine to show it to Isabella; she's read similar materials."

"But don't bring up your classmates, or even your colleagues who are also on the edge of the curtain."

"Is there any danger?"

Richard certainly knew that this kind of material could not be leaked, but he wasn't entirely clear about the consequences of such a leak.

Mr. Hutton reached out and drew a small circle on the manuscript paper.

"This incantation is used by Celtic priests to summon the object of their sacrifice."

We only broke its structure, not its true name.

"Since the structure has no real name, the summoning will not actually happen."

"But," the old man drew a short horizontal line next to the small circle:

"If someone has this structural draft and happens to come across that real name somewhere..."

Richard understood.

"When the two are combined, they become a complete summoning incantation."

"A real name cannot be spoken, but it can be read accidentally or spelled out again."

Mr. Hutton sealed the manuscript in an envelope.

"Therefore, this manuscript can no longer be displayed at will, starting today."

"You'd better keep that notebook of yours separately as well."

Richard placed the original manuscript into a salt-sealed wooden box, then put his notebook inside, and finally closed the lid.

The old man watched him complete the entire set of movements and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, that's all for today."

Would you like some more tea?

Mr. Hutton nodded.

Richard walked to the corner of the office and placed the tin kettle on the gas stove.

As the water boiled, he glanced back at the table.

On the table were two salt-sealed wooden boxes, one containing a parchment scroll and the other a bronze plate, separated by an arm's length.

Adding the notebook box I just put in, there are a total of three boxes on the table, three separate enclosed spaces.

My [Knowledge] Lv.2 progress bar has quietly climbed to 92%.

The last 8% should be enough after he finishes the practice materials his aunt sent him.

This three-day spell deciphering session has elevated his understanding of the related rituals to a new level.

The water boiled, and he picked up the tin kettle.

Mr. Hutton measured out the tea leaves and put them into the pot:

"When pouring water, the water should be close to the tea leaves so that the tea leaves are stirred up by the water."

Richard did as instructed and poured the water down.

The tea leaves swirled around in the pot a few times.

"The Celts brewed herbal tea the same way," Mr. Hutton said, looking at the swirling tea leaves in the pot.

"Only when the water flows and stirs the herbs will they reveal their deepest flavor."

"They use the verb 'hand over' for everything," Richard suddenly realized.

"Hmm." Mr. Hutton glanced at him.

They believed that everything, whether it was herbs, oak trees, or the objects being sacrificed, was a part of itself that had to be "given" in order to complete a full exchange.

There is no gain without a price.

Richard poured himself and Mr. Hutton each a glass.

"Sir, are there no Celtic priests performing their rituals today?"

"Nobody does it publicly," Mr. Hutton said, blowing on his teacup. "As for whether anyone is doing it secretly, nobody can say for sure."

"If someone did it secretly today, would the efficiency be just as high?"

Mr. Hutton answered without hesitation: "It will only be higher."

"Why is it higher?"

"Because there is more death in the 'forest' today."

Richard's hand, which was holding a teacup, stopped.

"Cities are the forests of the industrial age."

Mr. Hutton looked at the pool of tea in his cup.

Richard finished his tea and stood up to pack his things.

The old man continued to sit there, looking at the three salt-sealed wooden boxes on the table.

"Sir, is there anything else?"

"It's alright." Mr. Hutton looked up. "Sit for a while and look at these boxes."

Why?

"The salt-sealed boxes need to be watched over for at least 15 minutes every day."

"...Why?"

"To prevent the contents of the box from 'waking up' on their own."

Richard was on high alert.

Mr. Hutton looked at his expression and suddenly smiled.

"Just kidding, the salt seal doesn't need to be watched; it's stable on its own."

"I just want to sit a little longer."

When Richard walked out of the school gate, it was already completely dark.

He plans to finish writing that essay today.

Charlotte once said that one should write about the real things.

He pushed open the gate to his own courtyard.

Evelyn immediately poked her head out of the kitchen when she heard the sound of the gate.

"Brother! Would you like to try my new cocoa macarons?"

"Cocoa macarons?"

"Yes, I used the silver piping tip that my aunt gave me, and they're perfectly round."

"How many?"

"Twelve of them, squeezed together for an entire afternoon."

"You only made twelve in one afternoon?"

"You have no idea how hard it is to squeeze macarons," Evelyn said, hands on her hips. "And I smashed all the ones that weren't round."

"Smashed?"

"Smash it."

"How many were smashed?"

I won't tell you.

Richard smiled.

He changed into slippers and went inside.

My mother is cutting potatoes in the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready soon."

"Um."

"Isabella's file has arrived." The mother looked up from the potatoes. "It's on your desk."

Richard was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

"Did it arrive today?"

"The postman delivered it this afternoon; it was a very large package."

Richard grunted in agreement and turned to walk upstairs.

Evelyn followed behind, "Brother, aren't you going to try some macarons?"

"Try it after dinner."

"You promised! You have to try it!"

"Um."

In the center of the desk in his room upstairs, there was a large parcel wrapped in kraft paper.

The handwriting on the packaging was Isabella's; Richard recognized her beautiful penmanship.

He opened the bag, inside was a thick stack of documents.

The top one is titled "Double Copying Exercises - Beginner Level, Group 1".

Below are rubbings of the structure and evolution of Gaelic script;

Two Latin commentaries on medieval church liturgy;

Extended Comparison Table of Later Variations of the Alexandrian School

At the very bottom, held down by a piece of cardboard, was a separate booklet.

Richard placed the entire stack of documents in the center of the desk.

Evelyn's voice came from downstairs.

"Brother! Dinner's ready!"