Black Card: Black Sheep and the Girl

Over the next few days, Xu Le clocked in at the Night Watchers branch every day, then followed Gan to headquarters to study.

Gan usually taught him until noon before leaving Xu Le to study on his own.

He never asked Gan whether he could go straight to headquarters. That would have been presumptuous, and stupid. He only needed to follow his senior's lead.

This routine continued for about a week.

On the eighth day.

"Be good and wait for me at home!" Xu Le stroked Ding Ke's head.

Ding Ke rubbed against Xu Le to show that the message had gotten through.

Seeing that the black cat wasn't causing trouble, Xu Le changed his clothes and headed to the branch for work.

As soon as he entered the branch, Xu Le heard several Lighthouse Guards gossiping. He walked past as if he hadn't noticed, but the instant he drew near, he entered the tranquil state and heard every word of their conversation.

"I heard Luo Juning's son was arrested. Even Luo Juning himself got dragged into it."

"Damn, that's Madam Juya's nephew! What happened?"

"Yeah, give us the details!"

"It's about that Mutant at the well last time. Apparently, the woman's father was beaten up afterward, and it sparked public outrage. More and more people started protesting, and the whole thing got so big that even Madam Juya couldn't cover it up. Luo Chai was arrested outright. They're proposing charges of intentional homicide, rape, organized crime, and a whole bunch of others. Even Luo Juning himself was called to account by the Lighthouse. Hahaha, heaven really does have eyes."

"Yeah, that dog Luo Chai ruined who knows how many girls."

"Exactly. How did a family like the Luo Family produce a piece of trash like Luo Chai? He should've died ages ago."

The men laughed and chimed in, much like people in Xu Le's previous life celebrating the downfall of some corrupt official.

But in this life, his different perspective and access to information allowed him to see more sides of the matter.

Captain Bai had Wang Shu beat up that girl's father. This whole affair... what a clever move.

Hating evil with a passion and bringing criminals to justice with an iron fist was certainly satisfying.

But often, hating evil with a passion wasn't the smartest approach.

The world wasn't just black and white. While passing judgment on others, you also had to protect yourself.

Now that's savvy justice!

Having figured it out, Xu Le inwardly praised Bai Jing.

When he reached the consultation room, Xu Le waited outside the door. But even after a long wait, Gan showed no sign of coming out.

Normally, Gan would already have come out by this time.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, Gan spoke from inside:

"Is Xu Le out there?"

"I'm here."

"Come in for a moment."

"All right."

Only after entering did Xu Le notice that Gan hadn't changed his clothes today, nor did he seem to have any intention of leaving the branch.

"Mr. Gan, aren't we going to headquarters to study today?"

Gan smiled and pointed to the chair in front of his desk:

"Sit down. We aren't going to headquarters today, but studying is still necessary. Your foundation is rather weak, after all. You can't neglect it."

Hearing this, Xu Le understood what Gan meant and immediately grew excited:

"Mr. Gan, are we learning something new today? Oh, look at me, I haven't prepared at all. I've only memorized the arrangements of the Nine-Character Seals up to the third level! I wonder how far the other Warlocks have gotten. Wouldn't it be a little early for me to study something else?"

As Xu Le spoke, he began squirming all over, his backside practically sticking up into the air.

Well-mannered as Gan was, the corners of his mouth still twitched at Xu Le's ostensibly humble but blatantly boastful manner.

"All right, I know you're progressing quickly. But what we're studying today doesn't actually have much to do with a Warlock's fundamentals."

Well, that was a wasted flex.

"It doesn't have much to do with a Warlock's fundamentals? Then what is it?"

"A Medium's secret art-the guyinduo secret language."

The air in the office froze. Gan had thought Xu Le would jump up in excitement or cry out upon hearing that he was going to teach him a Medium's secret art.

Xu Le was still young, after all, and had at least some of a young man's temperament.

But the Xu Le sitting before him... what was going on?

"Xu Le? What's wrong?"

Faced with Gan's question, Xu Le genuinely didn't know what to say.

His expression was confused and conflicted, and he covered one eye.

Everything in the room immediately began to distort.

[Xu Le, Forbidden Warlock LV1-Spirit Medium]

[Talent 1-Guyinduo Secret Language]

[Talent 2-Guyinduo Fate]

After confirming that he hadn't misread his talent, Xu Le helplessly deactivated his guyinduo vision, his expression turning peculiar:

"The guyinduo secret language you mentioned, Mr. Gan... is it that guyinduo secret language?"

Xu Le was talking in circles again, but what else could he do?

Gan didn't quite understand what Xu Le was saying either:

"The guyinduo secret language is a Medium's secret art. What are you talking about, Xu Le?"

"Sorry, Mr. Gan. Please go on. What exactly is the guyinduo secret language?"

Xu Le did have the tranquil state, after all. No matter how surprised he was, he could use the Soul Tree to consume his emotions and regain his composure.

Seeing that Xu Le had returned to normal, Gan began explaining:

"The guyinduo secret language is actually a deck of cards exclusively for Mediums. Our primary ability as Mediums is communication. We communicate with Oddities, with Shikigami, with humans, and with fate. Summoning is merely a by-product of mediumship. And the guyinduo secret language is a tool specifically used to communicate with fate."

Xu Le's gaze flickered slightly.

Guyinduo fate, guyinduo secret language... is this really a coincidence?

Anyone else might have missed that almost imperceptible change in expression, but Xu Le was facing Gan-Gan, a veteran Medium.

As Gan watched Xu Le, a trace of suspicion entered his eyes:

"Xu Le, do you know anything about the guyinduo secret language?"

Should I answer directly? Yes, I should.

In Gan's eyes, Xu Le hesitated for only a tenth of a second, so it hardly counted as hesitation.

He answered with utmost sincerity:

"No, but I have a strange feeling. After hearing the term 'guyinduo secret language,' I can't shake the sense that it's connected to me."

The answer was both flawless and sincere.

Even an experienced Medium like Gan couldn't find any flaw in it, because Xu Le hadn't lied at all.

And after hearing Xu Le's answer, Gan was delighted rather than alarmed:

"Is that true? You really sense a connection to the guyinduo secret language?"

"It's true, Mr. Gan. I really do sense something."

Gan watched Xu Le and blinked several times. Seeing no sign that Xu Le was lying, he took another deep breath:

"Whew, incredible. Perhaps this is fate's arrangement. No, perhaps your talent really is exceptional."

"Mr. Gan, what exactly does the deck do?"

"I told you. It's an object embodying the rules of the spirit world, a tool Mediums use to peer into fate. It has many uses, but the simplest is divination."

Gan smiled after speaking, then placed a wooden box on the desk.

He lightly tapped the white gemstone on top, and the box slowly opened.

For an instant, Xu Le seemed to see light blossoming. It wasn't an illusion. That was the power of guyinduo!

It was like the distorted colors and blocks of pixels he saw through guyinduo vision.

The box before him contained them too, but only a few!

Gan took out the contents of the box: a deck of cards in three colors.

There were fourteen cards in all, in three colors.

Seven black, four red, and three white.

"This is the guyinduo secret language deck. Among Red Moon Warlocks, it's also called the Guyinduo Deck or the Fate Deck. The birth of the Fate Deck was no mere product of human imagination. Besides peering into fate, it possesses incredible power."

Full of anticipation, Xu Le asked:

"It's that amazing? What kind of power?"

Gan calmly adjusted his black-framed glasses:

"I haven't learned it yet. I'll tell you once I have."

Xu Le: ?

Gan didn't linger on the subject. He pushed the box toward Xu Le:

"Get to know them properly. Every single one is unique."

Them?

Xu Le nodded. Under Gan's expectant gaze, he turned over the first card-a black card!

The image on the card was a stretch of darkness and two points of light.

The seemingly unremarkable image left Xu Le utterly bewildered.

Gan clearly knew what was puzzling Xu Le and was about to explain, but Xu Le suddenly held out a hand to stop him:

"Wait a moment, Mr. Gan. Don't tell me yet."

Gan didn't know why Xu Le had stopped him, but the anticipation in his eyes only grew.

"Of course, Xu Le. Every Medium is special. Whatever you want to do, go ahead."

Xu Le nodded and looked at the black card again, activating his guyinduo vision.

The same pale blue glow emitted by the guyinduo tree appeared on the card.

In Xu Le's eyes, the card had undergone an earth-shattering transformation!

The image on the black card slowly moved, like a vivid scene brought to life.

The image he had been completely unable to comprehend before now became clear.

What he had taken for darkness was actually a dead black sheep.

And the two points of light Xu Le had seen in that darkness were the light in the eyes of a girl nestled against the black sheep.

[Black Card: Black Sheep and the Girl]

Upright: signifies death, darkness, and impending disaster.

Reversed: light is nurtured within the darkness.

"A girl lying in the black sheep's embrace?"