Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Is there any emergency? Why don't you contact us directly...?"

“Patch.” Alice raised her hand, and the door behind her slammed shut. All the screens in the main control tower went out at that moment, and the space was instantly severed. Control of the Great Library was then transferred to Imp and Shanghai Penglai.

She casually unbuttoned her robe at the top of her chest, loosened the ties, and the exquisite witch's robe slipped silently off her shoulders—she didn't bother to care, and continued walking forward, taking off her vest, removing her undergarments, until she carelessly kicked off her knee-high boots. Then she reached out and pulled off her gloves and stockings.

Patchouli was utterly terrified. She raised her hand tremblingly, her once quick-witted lips now stammering, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. She instinctively backed away, completely overwhelmed by the sheer force of the situation.

"Why is Weiwei acting like this all of a sudden? Shouldn't she usually be more reserved?"

“Patchouli,” Alice said calmly, appearing before her much faster than Patchouli had retreated. “In the world of Ju-on’s memories, you once said that I looked prettier when I wasn’t dressed. I think that’s a very good point.”

"Because that will be the time when I am closest to you, when the distance between us is shortest. At that time, neither you nor I will have any secrets from each other."

She reached out and shoved Patchouli hard on the shoulder, pinning the still-frightened woman firmly against the wall. Her gaze was intense, like a spear capable of piercing any shield.

"Therefore, I think our relationship should remain in that state."

"I want to know everything you did in Ju-on."

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Moonlight Flows Like Water

Among the newcomers, one stands out as an anomaly. Her name is Zhu Wen, and her profession is fortune teller. Before arriving in the Main God Space, her daily life consisted of using her knowledge and talents to tell fortunes for others.

She could see death… or rather, she could see the black mist rising from the bodies of the dying. This ability was similar to Xiao Honglu's, but the form it manifested was different.

Xiao Honglu's ability to see death stemmed from his intelligence. His brain was overdeveloped, to the point that some neural synapses even squeezed out from between his eyebrows, forming an appearance resembling a third eye. Every moment, the intense itching caused by the active brain permeated the nerves of his scalp. Although this side effect improved somewhat after strengthening his Three-Eyed Clan bloodline, the habit of tearing his hair while thinking had become an instinct.

For Xiao Honglu, the ability to see death was merely a byproduct of his increased intelligence. It was a dispensable effect, and this mediocre side effect likely never served any purpose during his twelve years of research. Therefore, it was only natural that he prioritized this insignificant ability, placing it after mastering other abilities.

Because he doesn't need this ability to see death to survive, he naturally wouldn't value it.

However, Zhu Wen is different.

She's a fortune teller, and to make a living, she needs a source of income. Thanks to her "eyes that can see death," her irises lack pigment. This makes it difficult for her to find other work in an era before the internet is widespread, because those crystal-like swirling eyes... put considerable pressure on her colleagues. Therefore, she can only make a living through fortune telling, relying on her unsystematic physiognomy skills and her innate ability to see death. Thus, in the ability to foresee death, she is undoubtedly more advantageous than Xiao Honglu.

This is precisely why she kept her eyes closed... It wasn't that she couldn't see; she simply didn't want the people around her to avoid her if she opened her eyes, just as they had before she entered the cycle of reincarnation.

But it's different here.

When she opened her eyes, the newcomers certainly showed some surprise. But compared to the seasoned veterans who could fly and teleport, even defying celestial phenomena and armies, her unusual eye color was as harmless as a newborn chick.

For this reason, even if something like 'opening her eyes and suddenly finding herself in another world where she could die at any moment' happened to her, she wouldn't feel particularly afraid. After all, those who can be summoned into the cycle of reincarnation by the main god are all people who have completely despaired of the real world—people who can't go on living, how much fear of death could they possibly have?

but……

She opened her eyes on the bench in the preaching hall, a strange sense of excitement preventing her from falling asleep quickly.

If you can live, then it's definitely better not to lightly touch upon death.

She glanced around, her gaze sweeping over the other sleeping people.

As always, the deathly aura emanating from the main characters is thick, but much thinner than that of us newbies... Can deep hypnosis really help us avoid death? Ah... I can't understand the veterans' ways.

[The others are in similar situations, all likely to die within three to five days. However, the death aura emanating from the lawyer named Zheng Xue seems much stronger than the others. I'll go remind him later… Hmm, it seems he had a lot of contact with another deceased newcomer. Could it be that the death aura here is contagious?]

Hmm... that newbie who died. What was his name again? I can't remember... never mind.

She gently rubbed her temples, then turned her head cautiously to glance at Xiao Honglu, who was dozing on the pulpit. The death aura emanating from this veteran was much weaker than that of the others. If a newcomer would die within three to five days, he could at least last for ten days—provided that the concentration of his death aura did not change before then.

But change is inevitable; death, that thing, is so close to us.

Among the veterans, there were a few she couldn't quite understand. One was Zheng Zha, the captain, and the other was the witch named Alice, who had been showing off her skills. Both of them exuded a deathly aura as faint as healthy, ordinary people. However, besides them, there was also the refined-looking man with black-rimmed glasses named Saito Hajime who particularly caught her attention.

[That man also possessed an aura of death, its intensity comparable to the other veterans. But… there was something very unreal about him. It was as if the death aura itself was fake, and many other aspects of him weren't real either. Hmm… am I mistaken? Perhaps I am. The veterans are so much stronger than me, how could they not have noticed anything?]

She picked up her guide cane, which was practically useless. She slowly walked to the center of the sermon hall, glanced at the two apple trees that had been magically created, and then looked away after a few seconds.

Religion, the two trees, the snake. These three elements combined can only lead to one or two possible answers. Moreover, she remembered the witch's deliberate instruction not to touch the tree or the snake on it before leaving, so she naturally wouldn't do anything foolish.

【Eden.】 She turned around and looked at the outermost door of the preaching hall, flanked by large windows characteristic of the Vatican. Sometime during the night, the torrential rain outside had thinned, and the clouds had quietly dispersed, letting in pure moonlight.

Moonlight streamed through the windows, casting dappled rays into the hall. A soft white hue gradually enveloped the dimly lit preaching room. The shadows cast by the window railings formed a series of cross-shaped patterns at the front of the hall.

A black inverted cross? That's not a good omen.

Zhu Wen thought to herself, then walked to the side of the preaching hall and gently turned the modern-looking electric candlestick lamp. Soft artificial light fell, shattering the inverted crosses formed by moonlight and shadow.

As a newcomer, she was unaware of the careful planning of the veterans. But as a professional fortune teller who understood myths and legends, she instinctively rejected anything that might bring bad omens.

The inverted cross disappeared, replaced by scattered moonlight. Driven by some subtle compulsion, she avoided areas directly exposed to the moonlight—after a moment's thought, she decided to go and draw the curtains.

The moonlight... it gives me a strange feeling. Is it the color of death? But it doesn't seem like it.

She thought to herself, and lifted her foot to walk towards the window by the door. But just then, a voice suddenly rang in her ear.

What do you want to do?

Author's Note:

..............................

It seems I won't be able to finish at midnight. _(:з」∠)_

Section 35: Gifts

"Ah, is that Miss Zhao?" Upon hearing the voice behind her, Zhu Wen didn't show any panic. She simply turned her head quietly and looked at Zhao Yingkong, who had suddenly appeared beside her, with a not-so-surprised expression. Then she explained unhurriedly.

"I wanted to draw the curtains in those two windows, so I walked over there. I didn't mean to do anything strange, and I didn't plan to go out."

"Why are you drawing the curtains?" Zhao Yingkong remained unmoved.

“I don’t think being in the moonlight is good,” Zhu Wen replied, pointing to her eyes. “As I mentioned before, my eyes can see some unpleasant things, and this moonlight… gives me a bad feeling. Perhaps we should keep it out… Miss Alice didn’t say anything about not drawing the curtains before she left, did she?”

[Moonlight, in some myths and legends, the moon also represents death. In the Papacy's mythology, there is a moon angel named Sariel, representing death and the demonic eye. Hmm… but I feel it's unnecessary to mention this, after all… magical rituals seem to use the sanctity of Eden to guard against demons. Angels… shouldn't have any connection to that.]

Zhu Wen thought to herself, unaware that Alice had secretly altered the concept of the ritual. At the same time, she was completely oblivious to the speculations of the more experienced individuals. Alice had never voiced the conjecture that 'Death might be an angel.' And it was precisely for this reason that she hadn't shared her views with Zhao Yingkong.

She simply looked gently at the young assassin before her, conveying her unmalicious intentions to Zhao Yingkong through her gaze. And seconds later, her strategy paid off.

"But Alice didn't say it could be turned off," Zhao Yingkong replied calmly, though she was only being stubborn for the moment. As an assassin, observing details was an essential part of her training. And during the brief time she spent with Alice, she learned about Alice's strategies.

——'Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily'

This principle, known to outsiders as Occam's Razor, is also part of the witches' way of doing things—they never waste time doing unnecessary things, and naturally, they don't waste time saying unnecessary things. In other words, she must have said everything necessary before leaving. And what wasn't said naturally became insignificant details.

She didn't say the curtains couldn't be drawn, which means it's okay to draw them. Because Alice emphasized all the important details in the points she made before leaving—'Don't touch the tree or the fruit, ignore the snake, and don't leave.'

Trees, fruit, snakes, going out. Only these four elements are emphasized, so only these four things need attention. Whether or not to maintain natural light is not included, and therefore, it's neither a big deal nor a problem.

"Don't wander around. This world is dangerous. Think about yourself," Zhao Yingkong warned Zhu Wen, then walked to the church entrance and drew the curtains to avoid the direct moonlight. Because the candlestick lamps were on inside the church, even without moonlight, the lighting in the middle of the night was actually quite good—good enough not to affect the effectiveness of the sentry duty.

It was late at night, and the glaring artificial light was not suitable for the people in the preaching hall to rest. Fortunately, the light from the candlestick lamps was relatively soft, and at least for the moment, it did not have an obstructive effect—the shadow of the assassin girl flickered at the boundary of her body, and then, just like before, vanished into the void without a trace.

She doesn't seem to be in a good mood. Did something happen?

Zhu Wen thought to herself, and she cautiously glanced at the direction where Zhao Yingkong had disappeared—her eyes that could see death could not discern the black death aura around a person when she could not see them, so her plan to determine where Zhao Yingkong was hiding was naturally thwarted.

She could clearly sense the young assassin's dissatisfaction from their conversation. No, it wasn't so much dissatisfaction as it was more like sulking. And the reason for this sulking was likely related to the other veterans, so Zhu Wen didn't need to meddle in this matter.

[Fine, it's none of my business, and she's right, this world is dangerous, I should mind my own business.]

She nodded silently to herself, then turned and returned to the bench where she had been sitting. Although it was late at night, she wasn't sleepy at all. Leaning against the bench, she gazed at the two trees in the center of the sermon hall as she pondered.

[Twin trees, serpent, Papacy—the Garden of Eden.]

[How strange. This so-called magic doesn't seem to require drawing magic circles or creating a bunch of beautiful patterns like in typical fantasy stories to activate. Instead, it seems to achieve its effect simply with a few symbolic objects? Hmm… there must be some secret I don't understand. If the twin trees and the snake in the church could construct Eden, then the whole world would be Eden by now. After all, apples, snakes, and churches—there are quite a few of those three things.]

[Let's put that aside for now and think about other things. For example... why does it have to be the Garden of Eden? Wouldn't other things work? Also, why wait until someone dies before preparing the Garden of Eden? The witch seemed to be casting the spell with great ease, so why didn't she use it in the previous villa?]

I don't understand.

She closed her eyes and placed the walking stick she used to find her way beside her—her fingers gently stroking the round handle of the stick as she pondered. Her beautiful, ethereal face appeared somewhat stiff with doubt and apprehension.

Unlike Xiao Honglu, whose brain was exceptionally developed and whose spiritual bloodline was enhanced, Zhu Wen's intelligence was only slightly above average, placing her at the "above-average" level. She knew there were many things in this world she couldn't understand, and she was also self-aware enough to entrust difficult puzzles to those skilled in deciphering them.

It's a pity that the little boy named Xiao Honglu is asleep. Perhaps I shouldn't disturb him now.

Miss Zhao Yingkong seems rather quiet and in a bad mood. Bothering her now, or ignoring her and going about our own business, would be foolish. Hmm… can't think of anything else?

What a pity.

She gently pressed the back of her neck, trying to induce sleep by stimulating acupoints—a relaxation technique she had learned from ancient books. She was almost asleep when, just before she could, she heard footsteps.

[These are the distinctive boots of a seasoned veteran; the footsteps are very soft, and the intervals between each step are exactly the same. This indicates that the person walking is someone who likes to follow rules and is not in a hurry. Moreover, the initial sound of the footsteps came from directly above the church... and they are now descending the stairs.]

[Without a doubt, it's Saito Hajime. That guy I completely can't understand.]

She quietly pricked up her ears, and sure enough, she heard a mixture of male and female whispers. A few seconds later, the woman's voice faded into the distance, while the man who had been standing there approached her. Then, he passed her.

Zhao Yingkong left, while Saito Hajime stayed.

She quietly opened her eyes.

"It's late, you should get some sleep." The man noticed her the moment she opened her eyes, but he didn't turn around, simply saying this in a flat, unassuming tone.

She saw the man walk up to the newlyweds and stand there casually, neither moving his hands nor feet, but something seemed to be writhing in the air—she didn't know what he intended to do, but she knew he had already done something. Because soon, a change occurred in one of the newlyweds.

The deathly aura emanating from Wang Renjia faded.

She instinctively gasped.

"You can see?" Saito Hajime still didn't turn his head, keeping his back to her, his tone still flat and indifferent.

"Yes, I can see it." Zhu Wen was taken aback, but immediately answered softly. After thinking for a moment, she quickly added, "I can see the death aura on people—the death aura on that person just now decreased, which is why I was able to notice it. Did you do anything to him?"

She tried to change the subject by asking a question, but the man had no intention of complying. Saito turned his head, his eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses expressionless. He glanced at Zhu Wen with about a sixth of his gaze, but for some reason, Zhu Wen didn't feel that she was being looked down upon or belittled.

Although the man was only using the corner of his eye, she sensed that he had focused all his attention on her—her perception had become exceptionally sharp due to years of visual impairment.

“That’s not death energy; you should understand that,” Saito said slowly. “The official name for this thing is destiny. You can only see black energy because you can only understand death. If you could experience more, you should be able to gain some power to protect yourself from it.”

His tone suddenly changed.

"Since you are a fortune teller, do you usually read scriptures?"

“…I’ve read some Taoist scriptures,” Zhu Wen replied carefully. “I’ve read some books like the Lianshan, the Book of Changes, and the King Wen’s Hexagrams. I’ve also dabbled in the Taoist Canon, but I don’t know much about it.”

“That’s good,” Saito nodded. “Since you’ve read the Daoist Canon, you should also know about Guang Chengzi and the ‘Natural Classic’ he left behind. I know a martial art that’s based on the ‘Natural Classic’ and is very suitable for your eyes. If you don’t mind, I can teach it to you now.”

This is the epitome of a windfall.

However, Zhu Wen, who had struggled in society for many years, even driven to despair, to obtain the qualification to enter the reincarnation world, obviously wouldn't overlook the possibility that this windfall might contain a hidden trap—if she were tempted, she did waver slightly when she heard that the veteran intended to teach her power. But she quickly calmed down, took a deep breath, and stared intently at the veteran who had only given her a sixth of his gaze.

"...What do I need to give in return?" she asked earnestly, her voice trembling slightly. She knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Therefore, she wanted to know what was hidden behind this senior's seemingly unsolicited gift of precious resources.