Asking directly would likely mark him as an outsider. Mu Ran remained invisible, blending into the dispersing crowd to silently gather information from their whispered conversations.
"That’s the third one this year, isn't it?"
"Has everyone forgotten the prophecy? How did they dare hide twins?!"
Mu Ran chimed in from the midst of them: "The prophecy?"
No one noticed who had asked. They simply continued the conversation, one word after another.
"What? You’ve forgotten?"
"The last pair of twins led to the total destruction of North Tower. What else is there to say?"
"The royal family was possessed by some ghost; the entire country was buried with them. Heh."
Mu Ran followed a few of the most talkative individuals into a tavern, finally piecing together the background of this world.
Similar to their initial guesses, this world was dominated by religious theology.
The Pure White Deity had not descended to the mortal realm for a thousand years, but during their last stay among humans, they had left behind hundreds of prophecies.
The cathedral choirs sang and emphasized these daily: "The prophecies of the Great Deity are supreme! Beyond question! Unshakable! Inviolable!"
These prophecies were studied and interpreted by the Divine Envoys of the Church, eventually organized into thousands of detailed regulations recorded in the *Holy Records*. These were then distributed to all registered commoners, who were responsible for memorizing the rules and adhering to their predetermined fates.
Commoners had no way of knowing, nor the right to know, the original versions of the prophecies.
The prophecy regarding "twins" that the people spoke of claimed that twins brought calamity and required purification by the Church's clergy.
The kingdom they mentioned, North Tower, had been sanctioned by the then-most powerful nation, Feng Luan, because its royal family had defied the Deity and raised their own pair of twins despite warnings from other nations. North Tower was subsequently annexed by a coalition of several major powers.
The King and Queen were assassinated upon their thrones, their eyes never closing even in death.
As for the two children who had caused the disaster, they were completely consumed by the flames of the Church mages atop a high tower.
"...Heh, a bunch of idiots! If I were the King of North Tower, I would have handed those twins over the moment the warning arrived!"
"Their country even made a joke of themselves by trying to expel the Church back then! To be that disrespectful to the Deity—it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed."
"Tsk tsk, I heard many of our nobles have ancestors who defected from North Tower. Is that true?"
"Ooh, you actually dare say that..."
Inside the tavern, thick with the smell of alcohol and smoke, the atmosphere reached a fever pitch amidst the crowd's mocking laughter directed at North Tower. Someone, having drunk too much, stood up and proclaimed that the people of North Tower were all faithless heretics who deserved to be judged by them!
The topic grew more heated, even escalating into a genuine discussion about when they should confiscate and divide the assets of those nobles with North Tower ancestry as a warning.
Mu Ran couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Ha..."
"Heh."
In a quiet corner, completely at odds with the boisterous atmosphere, Mu Ran heard a cold sneer that occurred at the exact same time as his own.
Looking toward the sound, he saw a man wrapped tightly in clothing. The shadow of a hood obscured most of his face, leaving only the faint outline of deep, sharp features. There were large patches of scarring on his neck, looking like the remnants of a fire.
The hand gripping the wine glass was tightly encased in a black leather glove; only at the gap between the glove and the sleeve could one catch a glimpse of flesh-colored skin marred by hideous scars.
He reeked of alcohol.
The man had clearly noticed Mu Ran’s voice as well. He stared at the empty space on the bench beside him for a moment and smiled. His voice was raspy and low, like wood scraping against wood. "I didn't expect to find such a capable person here."
He picked up a bottle and shook it. The crystalline purple liquid at the mouth of the bottle seemed to glow. "Fine Senli Wine. Care for a drop?"
Mu Ran first manifested a mask to wear before deactivating his invisibility.
The man was visibly startled. He withdrew the hand holding the bottle, smacking his lips and muttering, "Forget it, I'll get you a fruit tea instead." As if performing a magic trick, after a series of flashy and rapid movements, the wine bottle turned into a tea-colored cup emitting a fresh fragrance, with small white flowers floating on top.
Mu Ran: "..." *Wait, don't the taverns here have no age limit?*
However, he hadn't revealed himself for the sake of alcohol, but out of curiosity regarding the man's obviously different perspective.
Evidently, the man felt the same.
"You don't agree with what they're saying, do you?"
Mu Ran nodded.
This response seemed to be enough for the man.
He curled his lips. "Do you think North Tower's 'sin' didn't warrant such a fate? Or is it that the faces of these people are just too ridiculous?"
Mu Ran answered vaguely, "A bit of both, I suppose..."
After a thought, he took the initiative to ask, "Do you believe in that prophecy?"
The man: "..."
The man said coolly, "Whether I believe it or not isn't up to me."
*So, he doesn't believe it.*
Mu Ran felt relieved and decided to speak his mind boldly. "The original version of the prophecy from the Deity is probably true. But after being processed by so many Divine Envoys, how much credibility is left?"
Even a noble lady obtaining a spirit pet was considered a "prophecy," and the System had just reported finding financial transactions between the nobility and the Church... Was the so-called prophecy really anything more than a sanctuary for trade?
Of course, he couldn't say that directly, so Mu Ran merely hinted at it.
"Is it truly right to treat these prophecies as absolute truth?"
The man’s movements froze.
It had been too long... too long since he had heard such words.
Since his exile, all he had heard were hymns to the Deity and fanaticism for the prophecies. It was a noisy, irritating display of obedience and numbness.
He had thought he was afraid, but now he suddenly realized that beneath the burned scars, his blood was still pulsing with heat and freedom.
His lips moved slightly, emitting a murmur that was barely a breath: "Who... who are you?"
*Huh?* Mu Ran was puzzled. *Why is his reaction so intense again?*
*Does he actually believe in these prophecies? Or was he shocked by what I said?*
"Just a rebellious person," the youth said, his eyes curving behind the mask, his tone lazy. "Perhaps... if you find it unacceptable, you can pretend I never appeared."
"Aside from a negligible stir of emotion, I don't think you've lost anything."
The youth laughed softly. "After all... it's not like you're going to do anything because of these words of mine."
The man fell into silence.
Aside from the faint rise and fall of his chest, he shrank into the corner wordlessly, like a wooden puppet.
Mu Ran: "...Ahem."
*Time to go.*
As Mu Ran rose to leave, the man made a low request: "Could I see your spirit?" His tone, for some reason, carried a hint of anticipation and humility, and his accent shifted momentarily, sounding like a dialect from a specific place.
The moment he saw the gray wolf, the light in his eyes—hidden in the darkness—turned from hope to gloom. The blood in his body seemed to turn cold.
"...It's not them."
He laughed at himself, watching the youth turn invisible and vanish.
*With such an ability, he's probably a young master from some noble family, right? Once he enjoys the benefits brought by the prophecies, he'll likely change his mind.*
The strong alcohol entered his mouth. The man allowed his consciousness to drift in this illusion, just as he had for years.
Because only in this way could he forget his identity, forget that sea of fire... forget his homeland.
The brief conversation just now had pulled him out of his numbing pain, allowing him to clearly recognize one thing—
North Tower was completely destroyed.
He had nowhere to go.
—"...to do anything."
The man closed his eyes wearily, asking himself repeatedly.
What could he possibly do?
***
On his way back to the tree hollow, Mu Ran passed a waterfall and witnessed a strange scene.
A bird with dusty gray feathers was flying aimlessly and confusedly through the forest. Every time it flapped its wings, feathers that looked as if they were soaked in ink would fall. Upon hitting a tree trunk for the third time, it finally stopped, landing in a pile of fallen leaves and shivering.
Just as the gray wolf curiously moved forward to investigate, a water dragon surged out from the waterfall, moving even faster. It swallowed the bewildered gray bird.
The water seemed to possess a life of its own. It very cautiously swept up every single feather the gray bird had dropped before returning to a state of calm.
It was practically a swift kidnapping.
Mu Ran: "...Wow."
Before leaving, he took one last look at the waterfall and saw a youth with dark red eyes emerge from the forest, searching through the pile of leaves with a cold expression.
***
Back at the tree hollow, the System was flipping through a book.
On the pure white cover, the words "Holy Records" were embossed in gold, looking solemn and majestic.
"Master Sly will obtain the longbow named 'Red Moon' in Thorn Valley."
"Lady Vanessa will..."
"Sir Yorick shall..."
Mu Ran leaned in to look and found that the names of nobles appeared with high frequency in the prophecies.
It seemed their previous guess was correct; most of these prophecies had evolved into bargaining chips for transactions between the Church and the nobility.
As Mu Ran approached, a faint scent of alcohol wafted over.
The System tilted his head, adjusting the angle of his shoulder so Mu Ran could lean against him. "Did you drink?"
"Mm, no, I just went to a tavern."
Mentioning the tavern reminded Mu Ran of what he had seen and heard, and he couldn't help but discuss it with the System.
"It's too ridiculous," Mu Ran said, propping up his chin. "Just because of an ambiguously worded prophecy, they've been murdering twins for hundreds of years."
"Even if twins aren't common, over several centuries, there must have been so many innocent victims."
The System: "Acting crudely to avoid a prophecy often makes it more likely to fall into an Oedipal tragedy."
Especially since this wasn't reality, but a small world with certain hidden laws.
The prophecy of the twins would eventually be fulfilled.
"These few experimental processes have been so depressing."
"They've clearly been stripped of all paths for upward mobility by the Church and the nobility, yet these commoners are completely oblivious."
"Sigh, I hope we can convince a few more experimental subjects! At least they can receive the gifts we've prepared!"
After fretting over the subsequent experiments, Mu Ran rambled for a long while before looking up, only to find the System watching him intently.
Those cold, detached eyes had softened as they gazed at him quietly, making Mu Ran feel inexplicably nervous. "Uh... am I talking too much?"
The System lowered his eyes, composed himself, and pointed at the bracelet on Mu Ran's wrist as if to change the subject. He said softly, "Look, the color has changed."
"! Oh, it has!"
Once reminded, Mu Ran noticed that the miniature chain, which was originally pure white, had been stained with a bit of gray. Looking at the System's neck, the originally black necklace was also touched with a hint of grayish-white.
With this distraction, his previous nervousness vanished, and his mind was entirely focused on reviewing the day.
*Which event today caused this?*
***
[Mu Ran: Today's task target is so—far away. I might be back quite late.]
After checking in with the System, Mu Ran rushed toward the location of his target.
But just as he found an opportunity to catch the target alone and had only finished half of his lines, an angry shout came from behind him: "What are you doing?!"
*???*
Mu Ran grew tense. *Did the jammer fail?*
Joan looked at the youth in black with his back to her, her voice growing colder. "I heard everything you just said."
"Those sacrilegious words."
Along with her words, the rest of the party stepped out from behind her, their expressions varying.
***
**Glossary**
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 北塔 | North Tower | A fallen kingdom mentioned in the prophecy; also known as Beita. |
| 风栾 | Feng Luan | A powerful kingdom that annexed North Tower. |
| 圣录 | Holy Records | A collection of interpreted prophecies used by the Church to control the populace. |
| 森立酒 | Senli Wine | A high-quality, glowing purple liquor. |
| 荆棘谷 | Thorn Valley | A location mentioned in the Holy Records. |
| 红月 | Red Moon | A legendary longbow mentioned in a prophecy. |
| 斯莱伊 | Sly | A noble mentioned in the Holy Records. |
| 温妮莎 | Vanessa | A noble lady mentioned in the Holy Records. |
| 约里克 | Yorick | A knight/noble mentioned in the Holy Records. |
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