Analysis

"Okay." Susie's gentle voice reached Lumian's ears.

Almost simultaneously, Lumian felt as if his consciousness was bound by a heavy weight, being pulled down rapidly, sinking deeper and deeper.

In just a few seconds, his eyelids became extremely heavy, and he couldn't help but close them, his thoughts quickly becoming blurred.

In a daze, Lumian seemed to have become a floating Ghost, wandering and drifting in the dark night and in the familiar Cordou Village.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but with only a sliver of consciousness remaining, he saw the Church with its onion-shaped roof. A halo of light condensed near its main entrance, while the rest of the area was shrouded in darkness, like a shadow.

Lumian wandered aimlessly to the Cemetery on the side.

In the deep darkness, rows of tombstones stood silently, and trees stood eerily tall.

Several men were dragging a Corpse to the edge of a deep pit they had dug, preparing to throw it in.

Under the dim, Crimson Moonlight, one of the men raised his head and looked around.

He had a fleshy face, black hair, and blue eyes, and his features seemed to be covered by a layer of shadow.

Pons Béné!

Lumian suddenly became much more lucid.

The distance between them closed instantly, and Lumian lowered his head to look at the Corpse.

The Corpse's face was swollen and Pale White from being submerged in water, its brown hair was completely soaked, and its brown eyes were wide open, frozen with Pain, resentment, and anger.

Raymond!

A surge of intense resentment welled up within Lumian, and he roared at Pons Béné and the others, venting his inner emotions.

He felt he had cursed a lot, he felt he had attacked the Villain Pons Béné, and he felt he was digging a deep pit with his bare hands.

The dirt pierced his fingernails, and yet another Corpse was revealed at the bottom of the pit:

The girl's lake-blue Eyes bulged menacingly, her face was bluish-purple, her mouth was wide open, her neck was swollen with obvious finger marks, and her expression was one of extreme Pain.

Ava!

Lumian jumped to his feet, driven by intense emotions, and walked toward Pons Béné, which made him suddenly open his eyes.

Huff, huff, Lumian looked at the empty sofa opposite the booth and took a deep breath.

The intense indignation and hatred from his dream still lingered in his body, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

"What did you see?" Susie asked gently after several seconds.

Lumian's facial muscles Distortion slightly as he replied, "I saw it, I saw Raymond and Ava's Corpse. One was drowned, and the other seemed to have been strangled..."

"Pons Béné and his Villain are burying Ava and Raymond's Corpse in the Cemetery next to the Church..."

"I yelled at them, I wanted to do something, I... I woke up..."

After listening quietly, Susie said calmly and gently, "This time, I'm not having you have Lucid Dream to search for clues in your dreams that exist as symbolic things. Instead, I'm having you experience certain scenes in your subconscious through dreaming."

"What you see, even if it's not entirely the truth, is a picture composed of real events. There may be overlaps in time or space, but the basic details are correct and can be interpreted."

Lumian retorted Pain, "You mean I really saw Pons Béné and his men bury Raymond and Ava's Corpse in the Cemetery?"

"That's uncertain," Susie explained. "What we can see so far is that Raymond was drowned by Pons Béné and the others, and Ava was strangled to death by them. Their Corpse were eventually buried somewhere in the Cemetery. You might not have been there at the scene; you might have only found out later, tried to dig up their Corpse, and sought revenge on Pons Béné and the others, but the result wasn't good. Otherwise, your Dream just now would have reflected some of that."

Lumian was silent for a moment before saying, "I see..."

"I was just wondering why, if I was really there, I wasn't killed by Pons Béné and his men, or thrown into the pit..."

Part of his Pain just now stemmed from his refusal to believe the speculation made about this issue, which meant that he might be in cahoots with Pons and the others!

"It's possible you did witness the whole thing, but there are many explanations, not necessarily what you imagine. You weren't killed; it's possible they just needed a Excellent Physical Vessel." Susie clearly understood what Lumian was rejecting and resisting, and gently Soothing her, "What's certain is that the anger, hatred, and urge for revenge you felt in your dream weren't fake; they were your genuine feelings at the time. In other words, no matter what, Ava and Raymond's deaths weren't really your fault."

Upon hearing Susie's words, Lumian felt as if she had just been pulled out of the water, losing all her strength, and leaned back on the sofa.

He was much more relaxed than before and no longer needed to force himself to stay strong.

In an instant, an invisible warm breeze swept over his body and soul, bringing him complete Soothing.

Susie's voice, tinged with a hint of amusement and encouragement, rang out:

"Compared to last time, you are indeed in much better shape. You mustered up the Courage to face some of the speculations and doubts you didn't want to confront earlier than I expected."

"In the field of psychology, this is an important sign of getting out of a predicament; only by facing the problem squarely can we solve it."

"Alright, that concludes today's treatment. You are now in a condition to face Louis Lund and Madame Pualis."

At this moment, Lumian, whose emotions had calmed down, remembered the "Magician" Lady's advice:

There's one more thing.

"I may have to believe in another being later, but I can't recall His Honorific Name in daily life. Do you have any way to prevent me from remembering Him?"

The soft female voice responded with a slight smile:

"It's very simple. I will give you a Psychological Suggestion. Once your spiritual intuition believes that you are unprotected, your subconscious will replace the corresponding Honorific Name with ' That One,' and it will be impossible to reproduce."

"With proper protection, one can fully recall and recount..."

Lumian's thoughts suddenly drifted for a moment, and then he heard the other person say:

"The corresponding Psychological Suggestion have already been set."

"Thank you, Lady, and thank you, Lady. Susie." Lumian nodded to the empty seat opposite the booth.

"You're welcome. See you in two weeks." The gentle female voice responded to him, and Susie echoed, "See you in two weeks."

Lumian didn't know when they left. In any case, the area around Booth D became very quiet, with only the chirping of birds in the Botanical Garden, the clatter of horses' hooves on the road, and the faint clatter of some machinery echoing here.

He picked up his cup, finished the rest of his Intis Coffee in one gulp, and adjusted his mental state.

Taking this opportunity, he reviewed the entire treatment process and inexplicably felt that Lady. Susie's last words had a certain strangeness.

She said I was now in a position to face Louis Lund and Madame Pualis... implying that I hadn't been able to before, and that the answers to some of the questions I received from Madame Pualis might have overwhelmed me?

"That's understandable, but if my condition doesn't improve as expected, will she ask me to give up this opportunity to meet Louis Lund? But what if Louis Lund had shown up yesterday? In that case, I wouldn't have had a chance for a follow-up appointment, wouldn't that cause a big problem?"

"If that's the case, shouldn't Lady. Susie have told me at the end of the last treatment not to try to contact Madame Pualis or directly face the Parish Priest before the follow-up appointment?"

"Is she so sure I won't run into Louis Lund in the next two weeks, or that even if I do, he'll escape?"

"' Spectator '..."

Lumian was instantly jolted awake. He left Booth D and took Public Carriage back to the Honest Market District.

Instead of rushing to the Golden Rooster Inn or the Safe House on White Coat Street to summon Messenger to write to Lady "Magician" and tell her about Termiboros, he went straight to the vicinity of 126 Market Avenue to see if his men, Anthony Reid, and Franca had made any progress.

Wearing Deep Brown wide-brimmed hat, Lumian walked to the house diagonally opposite "Black Scorpion" Roger's, which was about twenty meters away, and sat down in the gap between the two buildings, leaning against the wall.

There are several Vagrant here.

One of the Vagrant shifted closer to Lumian and whispered, "Haven't found anything yet."

Lumian nodded, turning his gaze to the three-story building with the garden, and observing the passersby.

As time passed, the Sun set behind the horizon, and the light became extremely dim. People began to light up the Gas Streetlamp one by one.

Just then, Lumian saw a man Gray-Blue Worker Uniform.

Beneath his Flat Cap were light yellow hair and a slightly chubby face that gave him a somewhat simple and honest appearance.

Anthony Reid? What's he doing out here? Lumian recognized the Information Broker and was puzzled by his actions.

Anthony Reid, like a worker just off work, hurried toward the end of Market Avenue.

Lumian's gaze suddenly narrowed slightly, because he realized that Anthony Reid wasn't pretending to pass by, but was actually approaching someone.

The man was dressed in a blue tuxedo with a row of yellow buttons, a waxed hat, a white tie, and a red waistcoat. He sat in a Hired Carriage with a yellow number, clearly Coachman belonging to the Imperial Carriage Company — Coachman from different companies had different uniforms.

The Coachman pulled his hat down low and kept his head down, as if waiting for a customer.

Lumian's heart skipped a beat. He stood up and took a few steps in that direction.

As Anthony Reid passed the carriage, he seemed to trip over something, stumbled, and bumped into the horses pulling it.

When a horse is startled, it tries to lift its front legs, but the Coachman pulls hard on the reins to bring it firmly under control.

But the Coachman also raised his head, revealing his face:

He was over forty years old, with black hair. Due to the distance, Lumian couldn't see his face clearly, but he had a vague feeling of familiarity.

Lumian narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Anthony Reid apologize repeatedly and leave the vicinity of the carriage, while a male servant emerged from 126 Market Avenue.

He approached the carriage and said to the Coachman, "My master wants to hire your carriage. Now, go inside and help unload some things."

The Coachman nodded and replied in a deep voice:

"Good."

He then followed the male servant into the house belonging to "Black Scorpion" Roger.

Lumian, who witnessed the entire process but didn't hear the conversation, slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

He was now absolutely certain that the Coachman was Louis Lund!

We've been waiting for you!