Chapter 2599: Chapter 820: The Tower Reversed

Tuesday evening.

After Mo Lu Studies ended.

Zheng Qing did not immediately head back home.

It had been nearly nine hours since Miss Linda Barnes’ lunch, and according to the witch, the rumors about him were simmering across Buji Island and even within the entire Alliance, like seeds of spring grass, ready to break through the earth at any moment after a thunderous shock.

So, he didn’t have much time to hesitate and needed to quickly settle the interview matters with Korma.

After Christmas last year, when Zheng Qing took Su Shijun and Poseidon to visit the gentleman, he also brought Korma to San You Bookstore. With this connection, he thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to ask Korma for a small favor.

After the afternoon’s Magic Script Class ended, he sent a paper crane to Sakura Pub, mentioning that he hoped to visit that evening. Unsurprisingly, Korma readily agreed to this somewhat abrupt request.

So this late-night visit came to be.

Leaving the teaching building, he turned into the Ring Mansion corridor, taking a few shortcuts, and quickly appeared in a deep alley in the North District of Beta Town.

Then he donned his hood, boldly strapped the law book to his belt, and confidently walked toward Gu Diao Street, with a faint, unmistakable glow of Guardian Curse Light shimmering on him.

It was already late at night, and although Korma had brought about significant improvements in security throughout the North District after becoming a Great Sage, the traditions deeply ingrained in the Tricksters weren’t something easily removed. Moreover, since he was alone, Zheng Qing rarely displayed some assertiveness, hoping those lurking in the shadows would retreat sensibly.

Everyone’s luck was quite good.

He arrived safely and soundly at No. 33 Gu Diao Street.

The plaque on the outside wall of the courtyard still bore those two lines of small words—’First Floor: Sakura Pub’ and ’Second Floor: Jini’s Magic Cabin’—but the situation around the courtyard was entirely different from the first time Zheng Qing visited here.

Besides a small team of Northern District Wizards patrolling around the courtyard with law books hanging from their waists, the courtyard was bustling, with people coming in and out, even though it was already late into the night.

Guided by the paper crane, Zheng Qing walked straight towards the pub, stepping over the ground covered with cherry blossoms. Everyone he passed would show a respectful demeanor and step aside after sensing the magical fluctuations the paper crane emitted.

The last time Zheng Qing visited Sakura Pub was earlier in the year, when the Absolution Hunting Team took a brief rest there during their team upgrade mission. The lively scene in the pub that day left a very deep impression on him.

But tonight, there wasn’t a single customer in Sakura Pub.

Chairs and tables were neatly arranged in the spacious room, while fireflies, soaked with tree sap, lazily perched on the beams in clusters, brightly illuminating the bar, while the rest of the pub was steeped in dimness.

A silver-haired witch, in this silence, leaned sideways against the high bar, holding a bottle of Sea Monster Langmu, frowning at the tabletop as if seeing something incomprehensible. The spicy liquor stained her lips a shade of azure, appearing particularly alluring under the orange light.

"You’re here? Want a drink?"

Korma spoke indifferently without raising her head.

Zheng Qing hesitated, coughed lightly, and murmured, "Um, apple juice is fine... I still have to complete a task for the Assistant Team later, so I can’t drink alcohol."

Saying this, he couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling that he needed a drink.

"If you want to graduate early, a bit of hardship is unavoidable." When Korma heard the boy sigh, she finally lifted her head, glanced at him, and with a faint smile, quoted a familiar saying among diviners: "...all the gifts that fate bestows have been secretly priced long ago."

Zheng Qing didn’t want to discuss price with the witch.

"What are you looking at?"

He took the glass that floated in front of him, moved up to the bar, and saw a scattered spread of Tarot Cards all mixed up on the tabletop: "...Divination?"

Korma didn’t answer but instead extended her slender finger to tap on the tabletop lightly, causing the Tarot Cards to line up neatly and shuffle in a show of dazzling acrobatics, finally stacking up in front of Zheng Qing.

The warlock felt this was a good chance to talk shop.

"I..."

But he had just started to speak when the pub owner interrupted him.

"You’re just in time, help me pick a card." The witch, showing no reservations, waved her hand, making the deck of cards arc gracefully, blooming like a flower before Zheng Qing: "...I know what you’re here for. If the card you pick suits me, I’ll agree to that matter."

What could Zheng Qing say to that?

He quickly downed his glass of apple juice, placed the glass on the bar, then took a deep breath and let his gaze run over the shining backs of the Tarot Cards one by one.

"Any card will do?" He confirmed again before making his move: "I mean, do I need to think of anything in my mind?"

"I heard you learned the ’Face-touching Divination’ method in Divination Class today?" Korma did not directly answer the boy’s question but shook the bottle in her hand lightly, speaking in a lively tone: "...If I haven’t forgotten what Professor Yi taught, one of the most important principles in face-touching divination is ’unconsciousness’, right? Actually, this point is very important in many divination skills."

The words seemed to answer Zheng Qing’s question.

Zheng Qing temporarily set aside his curiosity, closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and then raised his arm, holding it above the row of Tarot Cards, letting the magic guide him, moving slowly.

In his perception, his arm was moving parallel but, to others, it appeared his arm was slowly descending. Then, at a certain moment, his arm suddenly plummeted at a ninety-degree angle, landing abruptly on a card.

Zheng Qing opened his eyes.

He flipped the card.

On the card, there was a Tower standing firmly on a mountain top, a golden lightning bolt striking from the sky, setting the tower ablaze, causing a crown, an emperor, and a priest to fall from it, their postures awkward, their expressions terrified.

At the beginning, in an effort to find common language with Elena, Zheng Qing had studied Tarot Cards seriously for a while, so he immediately recognized this as a ’Tower’ card, the seventeenth card of the Major Arcana, corresponding to Mars, symbolizing disaster. The twenty-two sparks from the lightning on the card represent the twenty-two Major Arcana cards in the Tarot, the entire card’s background is gloomy, with deep tones, exuding an ominous vibe from inside out.

"Reversed Tower."

Korma softly read out the card’s identity, her face expressionless, eyes profound.

Only then did Zheng Qing realize that the ’Tower’ card he had flipped was facing him, which meant that, from the diviner’s perspective, the image on the card was inverted.