The Spirit Medium

His future self?

For a moment, Lin Jie wasn't sure what he had heard.

"My future self? What does that mean?" No matter how he tried, he couldn't understand what those words meant.

"Exactly what it sounds like. The future you is called the Deer God, because sometimes you appear before people in the form of a stag."

A stag?

Lin Jie suddenly realized something.

Back when Fox had tried to recruit him into the Administrators, she had asked him to pick an animal mask.

Lin Jie had chosen one shaped like a stag.

Fox's reaction at the time had also been very strange.

My future self is called the Deer God? Could it have something to do with that mask?

But I never actually got the chance to put it on, did I?

Lin Jie spoke solemnly:

"Madam Oracle, I heard you can predict the future."

"Could you tell me in detail what you saw in the future?"

"Why am I the Savior?"

"What will happen to me in the future?"

"Will everyone eventually be able to escape this Realm of the Dead?"

Lin Jie rattled off countless questions in one breath.

However, Uncle Yan and Lanxin exchanged a glance and laughed in unison.

"Little Deer, have you misunderstood something?" Lanxin smiled slightly, covering her mouth.

Uncle Yan scratched his head too. "My fault! I didn't explain things clearly to Lin Jie."

Lin Jie looked at them. "What? Is there something wrong with my questions?"

Uncle Yan's expression turned serious again. "All right."

He looked at Lanxin. "Will we have a chance to see Madam Oracle today?"

Hearing this, Lin Jie understood at once.

"So... you're not the Oracle?"

Lanxin giggled again when she heard this:

"Do I really look like the Oracle?"

She stopped. "My teacher hasn't been doing well these past few days."

"It's been a long time since I was able to communicate with her, too."

Lin Jie caught on quickly. "Your teacher is the Oracle? You're her apprentice?"

Lanxin nodded. "Yes."

"Thanks to my teacher, I can occasionally use a little of the power of Prophecy myself."

Her voice suddenly grew a little quieter:

"But my ability is very weak, and there's only so much I can do to help everyone."

Then she changed tack, lifting her head again. "But my greatest ability isn't foretelling the future."

"It's Spirit Mediumship."

"Spirit Mediumship?"

Lanxin hopped down from the table:

"Yes. A long time ago, my teacher went through a very serious Calamity."

"Now she's left us."

Lin Jie keenly picked up on the key point.

"Left us"? Could the Oracle already be...

Lanxin continued her account.

"However, my Mutation is Spirit Mediumship."

"I can use myself as a vessel to house my teacher's soul."

"And let my teacher speak her prophecies through my mouth."

Now Lin Jie was certain.

Spirit Mediumship was a concept found in many films and television shows.

Usually, a living person used themselves as a vessel, allowing the soul of the dead to possess them.

Once the dead person's soul possessed them, it could speak through the living person's mouth.

What surprised Lin Jie was that this ability existed here, too.

What he had expected even less was that he had been mistaken about something from the very beginning.

So the Oracle had...

"Your teacher has already passed away?" Lin Jie's voice sounded a little dry.

At this point, Uncle Yan quickly took over:

"Madam Oracle has indeed died."

Lanxin hesitantly opened her mouth, as though she had something to say.

Lin Jie frowned. "What do you want to say?"

Once again, Uncle Yan helped her explain from beside them:

"The Oracle is no longer in this world."

"That Calamity took her away from here."

Lin Jie finally couldn't hold back anymore:

"You keep talking about that Calamity."

"Why can't you explain in detail what that Calamity actually was?"

"What exactly did the Oracle herself go through?"

That question was enough.

Both Uncle Yan and Lanxin sucked in a breath.

Fear appeared on their faces to varying degrees.

Lanxin covered her face and shook her head repeatedly, muttering something unintelligible.

Only Uncle Yan barely maintained his composure. He forced himself to speak:

"Lin Jie, you're new here, so I won't blame you."

"Now I need to make this clear to you."

"In the Realm of Life, discussing the specifics of that Calamity is forbidden."

"That Calamity took not only the Oracle, but countless brothers of ours as well."

"Afterward, quite a few people refused to believe it and chose to challenge the Calamity head-on."

"But every one of them went and never returned. Not a single one survived."

"By now, we've proven that the Calamity cannot be defeated."

"It was the most devastating event in our history, with the greatest losses."

"Because this dealt us such a heavy blow,"

"the Calamity has now become a taboo that must not be discussed in the Realm of Life."

"Do you understand?"

"Don't ask anything else about that Calamity."

Lin Jie nodded instinctively.

So this was a painful memory for the Realm of Life.

Many people were reluctant to mention disasters such as great earthquakes, massacres, and the like.

Uncle Yan was an elderly man, so it was understandable that he had such an aversion.

The subject was about to pass when a strange feeling suddenly arose in Lin Jie's mind-

Something about Uncle Yan's words wasn't right.

"All right, lass, is it really inconvenient for the Oracle to come out today?"

Lanxin shook her head:

"It's not just today. My teacher hasn't shown any signs of activity for a month."

"No matter what method I use, she hasn't come out."

"Uncle Yan, do you think my teacher might..."

"Don't talk nonsense." Uncle Yan spoke quickly, cutting Lanxin off.

"In that case, it's getting late, so we'll head back."

"Lass, sorry for disturbing you so late. Get some rest."

As he spoke, Uncle Yan stood up and started toward the door.

"Wait."

Lin Jie, who had kept his head lowered in silence, suddenly spoke.

"I finally realized what was wrong."

"At first, when Sister Lan mentioned Spirit Mediumship, I thought the Oracle was dead."

"Then you talked about the Calamity and said it had taken the Oracle away from this world."

"That made me even more convinced that the Oracle had passed away."

"But just now, Sister Lan stopped herself from speaking, and she seemed to be worried about the Oracle's safety."

"That attitude can only point to one fact-"

"The Oracle isn't dead yet!"

Uncle Yan frowned. "Why would you think that? Stop making wild guesses. Let's go."

Lin Jie didn't move and continued his analysis:

"You said quite a few more soldiers challenged the Calamity."

"And they went and never returned."

"There's a serious flaw in the logic here."

"If the Calamity is so terrifying, why would so many people insist on throwing their lives away?"

"You said the Oracle was taken away from this world. Was that really just a euphemism for death?"

"Perhaps all those people challenged the Calamity not to throw their lives away, but to save the Oracle?"

"After turning it over in my mind, I can reach only one conclusion-"

"The Oracle is still alive!"