014 Psychic

The true spiritualists... Klein silently recited this description, refraining from speaking further, as he followed Dun Smith down from the carriage.

The residence in Tinggen where Welch resided was a standalone house with a garden. Outside the hollow iron gate was a road wide enough for four carriages to pass simultaneously. Every fifty meters along the road were gas lamps, different from those Klein had seen in his past life, belonging to gas lamps. The height of the pillars was slightly equal to that of adult men, convenient for ignition and illumination.

The black metal pressed against the glass, forming a grid, casting each one into a classic "work of art" resembling a lantern, where coldness and warmth danced together, shadows and light coexisted.

Stepping on the dimly covered road, Klein and Dun Smith passed through the half-open iron gate and entered Welch's rented place.

Facing the main entrance was a pathway for two carriages to pass through, paved with cement, leading directly to the two-story building.

To its left was the garden, to its right was the lawn, where the faint scent of flowers and the refreshing aroma blended together, leaving one feeling refreshed.

Just as he stepped in, Klein suddenly felt his hair stand on end, looking around anxiously.

He felt as if he were in a bustling street despite the emptiness here.

This eerie contrast, this strange sensation, made his body tense, a chill creeping up his spine.

"There's a problem!" he couldn't help but remind Dun.

Dun's expression remained unchanged as he walked alongside, calmly responding, "Pay it no mind."

Seeing that even the "watchers" said so, Klein suppressed the eerie feeling of being followed, peered into but unable to discern the target, and stepped forward to the main entrance of the standalone house.

If this continues, I'll become paranoid... As Dun knocked on the door, Klein quickly glanced back, the flowers swaying in the wind, but no one in sight.

"Come in, gentlemen," a slightly ethereal voice emanated from inside the house.

Dun turned the doorknob, pushing the door open, and addressed the woman sitting on the sofa, "Daly, any results?"

The living room chandelier remained unlit, with a main and two auxiliary leather sofas surrounding a marble coffee table.

On the coffee table burned a candle, yet the flame emitted a brilliant blue, casting a strange hue over the open-layout living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Sitting in the middle of the long sofa was a lady, dressed in a black robe with a hood, adorned with blue eyeshadow and blush. Silver chains with white crystal pendants wound around her exposed wrists.

At the sight of her, Klein had an inexplicable feeling: dressed like a true spiritualist...

Is she impersonating herself?

Daly, the "spiritualist" with a mesmerizing beauty, scanned Klein with shimmering emerald eyes, then turned to Dun Smith, saying, "The original spirits have disappeared, including Welch and Naya's. The little ones here now know nothing."

Spirits? Spiritualists... Were those unseen observers spirits? So many spirits actually exist? Klein took off his hat and bowed slightly, saying, "Good evening, madam."

Dun Smith sighed and said, "It's quite tricky..."

"Daly, this is Klein Moretti. See if you can find anything from him," Dun Smith said.

The "spiritualist" Daly's gaze immediately shifted to Klein. Pointing to the single sofa beside her, she said, "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," Klein nodded and walked over, sitting down honestly, his heart unconsciously tensing up.

To live or to die, to pass smoothly, or to expose the secret, it all depends on what unfolds next!

What makes me feel most powerless is that I lack something to rely on, only hoping for something special...

This is a very unpleasant feeling... Klein thought bitterly.

As Dun sat on the opposite two-seater sofa, Daly, the "spiritualist," took out two thumb-sized glass bottles from a hidden pocket at her waist.

She smiled at Klein and said, "I need some assistance. After all, you're not an enemy. I can't treat you so directly, so rudely. It would make you uncomfortable, feel pain, and even leave serious sequelae. I'll give you some fragrance, enough gentleness and lubrication to gradually let go, truly immerse yourself in that feeling."

Why does this sound a bit off... Klein was astonished, his eyes showing surprise.

Dun, on the other side, smiled and said, "Don't be surprised. Unlike the folks from the Church of the Storm Lord, here, ladies can flirt with men verbally as well. You should understand this, given your mother is a devout follower of the goddess, and you and your brother have attended Sunday school at the church."

"I understand, I just didn't expect it to be like this, so... so..." Klein gestured, unable to find the appropriate adjective, almost blurting out the corresponding translation for "playboy."

Dun's lips curled up, "Rest assured, Daly rarely does this. She just wants to calm you down and relax you through this method, she prefers corpses over men."

"You're making me sound like a pervert," Daly, the "spiritualist," interjected with a smile.

She opened one of the small bottles and sprinkled a few drops into the brilliant blue flame:

"Night lavender, deep sleep flower, chamomile mixed distillation and extract, I call it 'Amanda,' meaning tranquility in Hermes's language. It smells really good."

As she spoke, the candle flame flickered a few times, and those drops of essence evaporated rapidly, permeating the room.

A refreshing and charming scent entered Klein's nose. His emotions ceased to be tense, his mind quickly calmed down, as if overlooking the darkness in the dead of night.

"This bottle is called 'Eye of the Spirit,' made from the bark and leaves of dragon-shaped trees and poplars, sun-dried for seven days, boiled three times, and soaked in Lanzhi wine. Of course, there are a few incantations in between..." With Daly's description, the amber liquid dripped onto the brilliant blue candle flame.

Klein smelled the aroma of wine, an ethereal and elusive fragrance. He saw the candle flame shaking violently, saw Daly's blue eyeshadow and blush shimmering with a strange luster, and even saw double.

"It's a good helper for spiritualism, and also a charming flower essence..." 

As Daly spoke eloquently, Klein felt her voice coming from all directions.

Perplexed, Klein looked around and found everything swaying, everything blurry, as if shrouded in layers of mist. Even his own body was swaying, becoming blurry, drifting, and losing weight.

Red became redder, blue became bluer, black became blacker, colors mixed like an Impressionist oil painting, hazy and dreamlike, while faint whispers from all directions sounded like countless invisible beings gossiping.

"This feels similar to how I felt during the 'transference ritual' before, but without that crazy, explosive feeling..." Klein observed all this, puzzled.

At that moment, his gaze was drawn to a pair of crystal-clear emerald eyes, Daly, dressed in a black robe, sitting on the blurry "sofa," her gaze eer

ily focused on the top of Klein's head, her voice soft as she smiled, "Let's formally introduce ourselves. I'm Daly, the 'spiritualist.'"

I can still think rationally and calmly... just like during the 'transference ritual' and the 'gatherings'... Klein's mind moved, deliberately showing a confused state, "Hello..."

"Human thoughts are vast, harboring many secrets. Look, that vast sea, we can only understand the islands exposed on the surface, but in reality, beneath the sea surface, there are larger parts of the islands, and besides the islands, there's the whole sea, symbolizing the boundless sky of the spirit world..."

"You're the spirit of the body, not only do you know the islands exposed on the sea surface, but you also know the parts of the islands hidden beneath the sea, and you know the whole sea..."

"Everything that exists leaves a trace. The memories of the surface of the island can be erased, but the parts beneath the sea surface and the entire sea must have their corresponding projections..."

Daly repeated induction after induction, and the wind and shadows around also changed into similar shapes. It was as if Klein's spiritual sea was fully revealed here, waiting for him to seek and discover.

Klein calmly watched, occasionally "churning" the sea, finally answering in a vague tone, "Nothing... I can't remember... I forgot..."

He displayed the right amount of pain.

Daly tried to induce once more, but the sober Klein was unaffected.

"Alright, that's it for now. Let's go back," Daly disappeared amidst the ethereal voice, and the wind and shadows began to calm down, the fragrant scent and faint aroma of wine becoming prominent once again.

All colors returned to normal, the blurry and confused feeling dissipated, and Klein's body trembled slightly, regaining its weight.

He opened his eyes, which he didn't remember closing, and found before him the same candle with its brilliant blue flame, Dun Smith comfortably seated beside him, and Daly, the "spiritualist," still dressed in her hooded black robe.

"Why are you using the theories of those evil lunatics from the Psychological Alchemy Society?" Dun frowned, looking at Daly.

As Daly collected the two small bottles, she calmly replied, "I find them quite accurate, at least they correspond to some of the things I've seen and encountered..."

Before Dun could speak again, she spread her hands and said, "He's a tricky one, left no traces whatsoever."

Hearing this, Klein, who was beside them, breathed a sigh of relief, pretending to be ignorant, "Is it over? What just happened? I feel like I slept for a while..."

Does this mean I passed the test?

Good thing there was the "practice" of the "transference ritual"! 

"Just think of it like that," Dun interrupted him, turning to Daly, "Have you checked Welch and Naya's bodies?"

"What the bodies can tell us is far more than you imagine. Unfortunately, Welch and Naya did indeed commit suicide, and there's nothing to say. The influence they exerted was terrifying, leaving no traces behind," Daly stood up, reaching for the candle, "I need to rest."

The brilliant blue light vanished, and the room was instantly filled with a hazy crimson.

...

"Congratulations, you can go home now, but remember, you mustn't tell your family and friends about this, you must ensure it," Dun led Klein towards the door.

Klein asked in surprise, "Don't we need to check for curses or traces of evil spirits?"

"Daly didn't say so, so there isn't any," Dun replied succinctly.

Klein relaxed, thinking about his previous worries, and quickly asked again, "How do I make sure there are no troubles ahead?"

"Don't worry too much," Dun smirked, "According to statistics, about eighty percent of the living persons involved in similar situations don't encounter terrible consequences afterward. Well, I said this based on my impression, roughly, more or less."

"That still leaves twenty percent unlucky..." Klein didn't dare to gamble with his "face."

"In that case, you can consider joining us as a civilian staff member. This way, if there are any signs, we can detect them in time," Dun approached the carriage, casually remarking, "Or you can directly become an extraordinary person. After all, we're not your babysitters, we can't watch over you all night long, even what you do with women."

"Can I?" Klein asked along this line.

Of course, he hardly had any hope. How could it be so easy to join the Night Watchers and gain extraordinary powers!

Those are extraordinary powers!

Dun paused, turning his head to glance at him, "It's not impossible, depending on the situation..."

What? This twist surprised Klein. He stood beside the carriage for a moment before asking, "Really?"

Are you kidding? Can it be so easy to become an extraordinary person?

Dun chuckled lightly, his gray eyes obscured by the shadow of the carriage:

"Don't believe it? Actually, becoming a Night Watcher means losing a lot

, such as freedom."

"Even without mentioning that, there are other issues. First, you're not a clergyman or a devout believer who has earned merits, so you can't pick and choose, you can't choose the safest path."

"Secondly..." Dun grabbed the handrail and climbed onto the carriage, "We, the Penance Council, the Heart of the Machine, and similar judicial bodies, deal with about a quarter of the incidents every year involving extraordinary people losing control."

"One quarter... extraordinary people losing control..." Klein was stunned.

At this moment, Dun half-turned his body, his gray eyes deep, and his mouth devoid of a smile as he said, "And within this one quarter, a large part are our teammates."