Chapter 37

Lumian observed carefully, retracing the entire process of his "acquaintance" with Lya and the others until they arrived outside the "Eternal Sun" church.

He initially confirmed that these three outsiders really no longer "recognized" him and were completely unprepared for the corresponding "pranks."

Has time really reversed... Lumian was momentarily dazed.

"We've been here before, and no one is here." Valentine looked at the grand building half-blended into the night and delivered the "prearranged" line.

Lumian steadied himself and decided not to follow the script.

He said directly:

"That's because the parish priest doesn't want to acknowledge you."

He intended to leave an impression on these three suspected official Beyonders as someone who likes to joke but isn't malicious.

"You mean the parish priest is inside the church, just not responding to the knocking because of something?" Lya thought of several possibilities.

Lumian laughed:

"Having an affair in the church isn't suitable for others to see."

After saying this, he instinctively muttered to himself: What a pity, this time I won't hear the classic line, "You have disrupted the sacred church's operation."

Of course, after learning more about Mrs. Poularis, he felt that, in a certain sense, the parish priest's statement wasn't entirely unreasonable.

Why can't the parish priest, like the protagonist of a spy novel, endure temporary humiliation and sell his body to infiltrate the evil forces represented by Mrs. Poularis for an important mission?

"An affair in the church?" Valentine's cold attitude changed, and he asked urgently.

Lumian shrugged:

"What's the problem? For the parish priest, it's a daily activity.

"You don't have to be so agitated; isn't there a saying, 'Men have always stolen women, from ancient times to the present'?"

"But this is in the church!" Valentine said sternly.

Lumian thought for a moment and asked curiously:

"So, as long as the clergy don't have affairs in the church, it's acceptable?"

"This is a desecration of God!" Valentine looked like he was about to explode.

Lain patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

At the same time, this most composed outsider asked Lumian:

"Do you know who the parish priest is having an affair with tonight?"

Lumian shook his head:

"There are too many possibilities. His mistresses, just the ones I know, include Mrs. Poularis, Madeline Bene, Philippa Guillot, and Sybil Berry..."

"Madeline Bene, with the same surname as the parish priest?" Lya keenly grasped this point.

Lumian nodded:

"She and the parish priest are second cousins."

"..." Valentine was stunned for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth, "Is Guillot Bene a servant of God or a servant of the devil?"

Is that all you can say? You didn't even go and bash his head... Lumian deliberately defended the parish priest:

"This is nothing; in the Dariège region, there's a saying, 'Distant cousins, sleep together.'"

"How do you know so many sayings?" Lya couldn't help but laugh, the silver bells on her head jingling.

Lumian shrugged again:

"That's how it is in the countryside."

At this moment, Lain asked thoughtfully:

"How do you know we're not from the Dariège region?

"Otherwise, you wouldn't say 'in the Dariège region, there's a saying.'"

You told me yourselves... Lumian, speaking too quickly, almost revealed information from the "previous" events.

He had to make up an excuse:

"Your demeanor doesn't match that of a local from Dariège."

He then pointed to the road leading to the village:

"I've already helped you find the parish priest; now I need to go home."

"I thought you would follow us inside." Lya glanced at him and smiled.

"I don't dare offend the parish priest." Lumian casually mentioned, "The villager who reported him last time has been missing for a long time."

Without waiting for Lain and the others to respond, he waved and ran to the other side of the square, saying as he ran:

"Remember to keep my secret, my cabbages!"

...

The red moon was obscured by clouds, and Lumian walked on the rural road under the starlight.

He put his hands in his pockets and thought about recent events.

As he approached home, Lumian stopped and looked up at the roof of the semi-underground two-story building.

Sure enough, Aurore, wearing a light blue dress, was sitting there, hugging her knees and gazing quietly at the stars.

In the night, her figure looked lonely and distant.

It really repeated... Is there a possibility that the previous events were real, and now I'm dreaming? Lumian had a new guess but then noticed a difference between the two March 29ths:

He didn't see the lady who gave him the Wand card and taught him mysticism in the old tavern today.

This made him unsure if he was dreaming.

I'll confirm tomorrow... Lumian calmed down, walked to his house, and pushed the door open.

Like before, he used the ladder on the second floor to climb to the roof, walked briskly to Aurore's side, and sat down.

"What's so interesting to look at?" Lumian said deliberately.

Aurore turned her head, sighed, and was about to speak when Lumian added:

"I mean, what does looking at the stars mean to you?"

Aurore looked him up and down:

"Today, you're so direct?"

She then gazed at the stars again and said softly:

"You know, I'm not from Cordu or Dariège.

"I don't know if you've heard the saying, 'What you can't return to is your hometown...'"

Lumian didn't joke and followed her gaze to the stars.

After Aurore flew into her bedroom to write to her pen pal, Lumian, without revealing that he had become a BeYonder, returned to the second floor and discussed the pen pal with his sister.

Then, he closed the door for Aurore and walked back to his bedroom.

Looking at the bed with white bedding, Lumian suddenly felt a surge of emotion and walked over, lifting the pillow.

Under the pillow lay a card, the Minor Arcana of the Tarot representing the Seven of Wands!

Looking at the man on the card, resolute and dressed in green, holding a wand to defend against an enemy's attack, Lumian immediately recalled the lady's interpretation:

"Crisis, challenge, resistance, courage..."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt these four words truly revealed his current situation.

Before drawing the card, he was likely already in crisis, facing a challenge!

What needs to be done next is to muster the courage to resist the problem? Wait, hasn't time already reversed? I haven't even met that lady or drawn the card, so why is it here? Lumian was startled and less confident in his previous guess.

Various thoughts and speculations rapidly emerged in his mind, like bubbles rising in boiling water.

This made Lumian's head throb, and he felt like he was about to go crazy.

In the end, he temporarily set the lady and her gifts as "exceptions," preventing his thoughts from exploding.

Given the lady's mysterious and special nature, it was normal for her to be unaffected by the time reversal!

If I can find her tomorrow and she still recognizes me, then my guess is correct... Lumian sighed, feeling mentally exhausted.

He washed up in the bathroom and went to bed early.

...

In the familiar, faint gray mist, Lumian woke up, sat up, and saw the wooden table and tilted chair by the window.

He was in this special dream again.

After discovering that the Wand card still existed, he knew he could definitely enter.

Lumian subconsciously touched his inner pocket, and his expression froze.

The gold coins were gone!

All the gold coins were gone!

Not even a copper coin of 1 cope!

"Has time reversed here too?" Lumian suddenly had this guess.

He looked around and didn't see the hunting rifle, axe, and steel fork that should have been there.

Lumian calmed down, left the bedroom, and went downstairs through the corridor.

The nearly two-meter-long steel fork and the black-handled axe were intact in their original positions, just like when Lumian first explored the dream ruins.

Similarly, the bucket of corn oil hadn't been placed by the stove.

As for the hunting rifle, Lumian searched everywhere but couldn't find it.

He was increasingly convinced that time had also reversed here.

"Go to the ruins and see if those two monsters are still there..." Lumian muttered to himself, picked up the axe, and opened the door.

Soon, he crossed the cracked, barren wilderness and reached the edge of the ruins.

Unlike the first time, as a "Hunter," he casually noticed many signs of living creatures.

When he focused, he identified two frequent visitors, one of whose shallow footprints led behind a house partially collapsed from burning.

If I had such Beyond abilities before, how could I have almost been ambushed during the first exploration? Lumian, holding the axe, entered the building.

He headed straight for the "destination" and reached the broken clay jar.

A glint of gold shone from inside.

Lumian bent down and picked up the gold Louis.

Its color was exactly the same as when he first picked it up.

Indeed, time has reversed, and everything has returned to its "initial" state, except for a few exceptions... Lumian sighed.

Suddenly, he took two quick steps forward, twisted his waist, and turned his body to the right.

With this movement, he swung his axe.

The skinless, blood-red monster, just leaping from the roof, lost its target and was met with an axe.

Puff!

Its head flew off, and the headless body fell heavily to the ground, splattering blood and pus.

PS: I revised two points. When writing the previous cycle, I thought of a vague date, so I only wrote early April. Now, I've decided on a specific date and found 3/29 aesthetically pleasing. There's a slight discrepancy, but I don't need to justify it.