The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Considering the three types of secret arts in the Red Cup system, [Transformation], this seems quite possible... But the fluctuations of the Dream Spirit cannot be faked. Could it be a traitor who has turned to the Red Cup?

The question is, how could a traitor possibly obtain a physician's certificate certified by the Order of the Hunters?

With her thoughts in turmoil, Dorothy quickly walked out of the mirror house and into the corridor inside the club.

"Tong En!"

"You've arrived, Master. What can I do for you?"

Hearing the call, the receptionist hurried to Dorothy's side. She was curious about what could have made Si Zhu so anxious.

"You go and wait outside the club. I might need you to contact the Hunters Order... or the Obscure Society later."

"Ah, contact the hunter and the master? Is there some danger?"

Upon hearing "The Hazy Society," Tong En immediately understood the seriousness of the situation. Under normal circumstances, this priest would absolutely refuse to associate with his fellow members of the Moth Lord's family…

"I'm not sure, but saving lives is probably the priority right now..."

After giving her instructions to Tong En, Dorothy quickly went to the calcite room, turned the handle, and opened the door.

Fran was sitting upright in his seat, cupping his face in his hands and smiling at her, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Meanwhile, Child, who had just gotten up from the gray velvet bed, tapped his neck, looking quite content.

"Thank you, Dr. Fran. I feel much better. There are no more faint noises in my head now..."

Dorothy walked behind Child, trying to find the spot where Fran had cracked his skull, but there wasn't even a scratch on the back of his head.

"It was nothing, just a small favor. The divination fee was half a Norrington silver coin. Thank you for your patronage. Please come again next time."

"Okay, I'll bring Professor Terence next time. Dr. Fran must be there too."

Fran, with his standard business smile on his face, saw Child off.

She then slowly turned to the somewhat bewildered Dorothy, a subtle, teasing smile playing on her lips.

"Be prepared for a surprise if you're spying on someone. Do you like my surprise?"

Dorothy pursed her lips and clicked her tongue softly.

Did they use some method to fake the image in the mirror? Indeed, as a fellow mirror polisher, I should be quite familiar with the secret techniques of the lamp system; I should have guessed it sooner…

-

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Eight Strange Tales

With Luara's help, falling asleep and reaching the depths of dreams became effortless. Fran was able to perform dream divination without any burden.

In fact, she knew almost nothing about the divination techniques of the Lamp Cult.

The reason she was able to seamlessly and flawlessly impersonate the mirror cleaner was twofold: firstly, her years of experience in psychotherapy had given her a wealth of clinical experience; and secondly, she was proficient in various magic tricks...

Having these two qualities is enough to become an excellent prophet even without mastering the secret teachings of the Lamp Cult. After all, what most people seeking divination need is not "truth," but "comfort."

Taking advantage of the lull in customers, Fran followed Tong to the club's inner hall and briefly met with several fortune tellers who were also waiting for their clients.

Sometimes, she would integrate into ordinary people's social circles under various guises. This broadened her horizons and also helped prevent her language skills from deteriorating due to living alone for too long...

If she's lucky enough, she'll get some interesting information. Maybe it's a paranormal event somewhere, or someone's bizarre experience.

It might be a complete fabrication, or it might actually be true...

Even the hunters at the Funeral Court, renowned for their keen sense of smell, are not immune to oversights. If Fran is interested enough, she wouldn't mind taking matters into her own hands and eliminating some of the hidden dangers in her city.

"Miss Fran, I heard you're from Attilion? It must be very hot there."

On the sofa in the inner room, a middle-aged woman holding a white porcelain teacup looked at Fran with some curiosity. She was slightly plump, but her proportions were not bad; she could be described as voluptuous.

"Of course, Mrs. Belinda. How could a land of quicksand and sun not be hot? If you want to experience it, you can go to the Suncast Tower in the East District. The temperature inside the tower is at least ten degrees higher than outside..."

Fran covered his lips and smiled faintly, appearing quite at ease when faced with numerous questions about foreign countries.

“That’s true… Last time I went to a banquet in the East District, I could feel that the tower was hotter than the surrounding area, even from across the street.”

Seemingly recalling that feeling of heat, Belinda pretended to fan her cheeks.

She then admired Fran's gray gauze robe with its moth-patterned design and couldn't help but praise it.

“The pattern on your dress is so delicate. I’ve heard that this kind of exquisite yarn is not common even in Attila… One of my colleagues has a dress made in Ahantas that is similar in material to the one you’re wearing. I’m always a little envious when I see her wear it.”

She sighed briefly, then thought of other questions.

"But it's so hot over there, why are you wearing these robes? Doesn't it make you even hotter?"

"Compared to just the heat, the scorching sun and the raging sandstorms are far more deadly. And it gets very cold there at night; if you're dressed too lightly, you'll freeze."

Fran explained with great familiarity, as if he were a true traveler from Attila.

“Hmm… ‘The temperature difference between day and night is large in desert areas,’ right? My son mentioned it before.”

Belinda smiled when she mentioned her son.

“That’s right.” Fran nodded in response.

"Miss Fran, is being a fortune teller your main profession?" Belinda asked, quite curious.

She had seen many visitors from Attilion, but most were merchants traveling between the two places, their clothing and mannerisms already influenced by Norrington. They were nothing like the professional and mysterious young woman in the gauze robe before her.

"Currently, yes." sOuSUO: 贰jiu四±·▲肆♀∩3－℃」'

To enhance his sense of immersion in the identity, Fran readily admitted it without any psychological burden.

"I'm quite good at dream divination. Of course, I also know a little about other forms like tarot cards."

Belinda's eyes widened slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

“Dream divination? Good heavens, I’ve always wanted to learn this, but I always fail at the stage of getting the patient to sleep… and even if the other person is really asleep, I can only listen to their description of the bizarre and fantastical scenes in their dream afterward, and I can’t interpret it at all.”

"I've always been curious, are there really fortune tellers who can see other people's dreams?"

"I cannot answer that directly."

Fran avoided Belinda's question with feigned difficulty, then changed the subject.

"However, you can experience it for yourself. It costs half a Norrington silver coin."

Belinda was somewhat disappointed by Fran's initial refusal, but his subsequent proposal piqued her interest.

"Hmm... I'll give it a try."

Mrs. Belinda is a lecturer at Norrington Central College, one of the most frequent members of the Mirror of Enlightenment Club, and also a rather senior enthusiast of occultism.

Fran's fees are slightly higher than the average, but not expensive.

At least for her, it was a fair price.

-

Mrs. Belinda lay on the gray velvet bed, her hands folded over her chest, looking at Fran with almost radiant eyes.

Although she knew that being too excited might have a negative impact on the divination, she really couldn't contain her excitement.

Miss Fran's divination room was actually a calcite room... I heard that this was once the room of the club's priest, and it was rarely used.

“Give me a ‘topic.’ What do you want to know, Mrs. Belinda? It doesn’t necessarily have to be something you’re interested in, but it’s best if it’s something that’s related to you.”

Fran tapped the metal cover of the brass pocket watch with his fingertips, each tap precisely stopping at the instant the second hand moved.

"theme……"

Belinda thought for a moment. Although she was eager to experience the mysterious dream divination, she couldn't think of anything she wanted to ask for.

Love? She and her husband have been married for over twenty years, so it's obviously not the right question to ask.

Career? Although the office politics at Norlington Central College were intense, Mrs. Belinda was just a lecturer and didn't usually have that kind of need.

Moreover, her husband runs a shipping company in Golmouth and is quite wealthy...

Why would you ask such a mundane question as "your recent fortune"?

"Mrs. Belinda?"

After waiting a moment and seeing that Belinda had not responded, Fran asked her a question.

"Oh! I've got it. There have been far fewer homeless people outside the academy lately, and the White Cup's exonerators have increased their vigilance. The students have even changed the original Seven Strange Tales of the academy into Eight Strange Tales..."

"Can we seek some insights related to this matter?"

After Belinda finished speaking, she paused to reflect and suddenly realized that her question was somewhat unreasonable.

How could one possibly obtain clues through divination when even the debunkers of the White Cup need to be wary of such a situation?

“I’m sorry, Miss Fran. I blurted out something unrelated… Shall we change the subject?”

Fran raised an eyebrow, clearly quite interested in this.

"No need. I think this question is very appropriate. Mrs. Belinda, I think you are much more interested in the recent unusual events at the college than in those trivial matters, aren't you?"

Amid the rhythmic clanging of metal, Belinda's gaze gradually became unfocused.

　She felt something was strange; Fran was clearly right in front of her, but his voice seemed shrouded in a veil of mist, distant and ethereal.

"um, yes."

"Okay. Have you witnessed anything unusual around the academy recently? Have you seen any suspicious people or things?"

Belinda thought hard for a moment, then spoke somewhat uncertainly:

"Recently, cockroaches have been crawling out of the sewers frequently, and sometimes I can hear indescribable, faint noises. It's clearly not the season for pest control, but they seem to be bothered by something... However, there are only cockroaches, and I haven't seen any rats."

The sewers are high-risk places. The Red Cup followers used to like to go into the sewers... and if you're unlucky, you might even run into four pizza-loving turtles.

Fran nodded slightly, then followed up on the topic with further questions.

"Aside from that, have you encountered any other unusual situations?"

“…I think not.” Belinda shook her head.

Fran clasped his hands together, his fingers interlaced.

Belinda has entered a moderate hypnotic state. Although she remains conscious, she will not refuse her questions.

Before entering her dream to ask Luara for help, he could take this opportunity to gather some more information. He wouldn't remember it afterwards anyway.

"Mrs. Belinda, please tell me, what exactly are the 'Seven Mysteries of Norlington Central School'?"

Unexpectedly, Belinda became visibly excited upon hearing the question, and her previously stable hypnotic state began to fluctuate.

"Now we have the Eight Strange Tales. The new tale is called 'The Man-Eating Crocodile in the Sewers,' and it's said that some students have seen a monster in the sewers that can eat people."

"Of the other seven ghost stories, I don't know three of them. But the remaining four are all very famous."

Even in a hazy, hypnotic state, Belinda recounted these strange tales with remarkable familiarity.

"'The Whispers of Room 404.' Rumor has it that it's a professor who has inexplicably gone mad. He would appear in office 404 at midnight during finals, uttering hysterical mutterings such as, 'This one can write its own name, let's get it,' 'This one didn't write anything but the paper is neat, hehe, let's get it...'"

Fran forcibly suppressed the urge to cough, and to avoid disrupting the hypnotic effect, she continued listening.

"'The Mysterious Shadow of Stolen Delivery Boxes.' Some students order lunch and dinner delivery services from restaurants, and among the many delivery boxes, some always disappear. But no matter how the deliveryman verifies the identity, there will always be cases of loss."

"call……"

Fran let out a soft sigh, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"'The Cursed Library Seat.' It is said that there is a cursed seat in the academy's library, which changes location every day. Simply sitting down will not bring bad luck, but if a student leaves their personal belongings there for an extended period without showing up, they will vanish into thin air..."

Fran had by now roughly understood the nature of these "ghost stories," and his expression became somewhat subtle.

"There are still so many curses in the world..."

"Finally, there's 'Professor Lando who drowned.' Rumor has it that a professor named Lando, preoccupied with a student's thesis, carelessly fell into the water and drowned. Her resentment would follow the overly perfunctory thesis to the writer, then flood the room with seawater and suffocate him."

After she finished speaking, Mrs. Belinda fell into a state of satisfaction and gradually drifted off to sleep.

"For some reason, I suddenly became interested in the remaining three ghost stories..."

Fran shook the brass pocket watch in his hand, swung it around once, and then held it back in his hand.

She was about to enter Mrs. Belinda's dream.

-

A misty haze swirled around her, as ethereal as wisps of smoke. Her perspective shifted once more from reality to the realm of dreams.

The surrounding scenery suddenly blurred, transforming from the dimly lit divination room into a wide college street.

"Norlington Central Academy... another clear and stable dream. Luara should be here this time too."