Genius on the Left, Madman on the Right

When Li Mo opened his eyes, it was already early the next morning.

He pushed himself upright with both hands on the bed. His head throbbed, and his memories were a little hazy...

He tried hard to recall what had happened last night.

Hmm... He had been sitting in the carriage, and after entering a state of focus, he had looked up at the moon.

Then the red moon had suddenly grown larger, filling his entire field of vision in an instant...

It was impossible to look away.

There had been threads on the moon too, but very few, just a handful.

When he had examined the tinderstone before, the threads had formed a spiderweb.

This time, the threads had formed a neat, distinct... strange shape on the moon's surface?

Li Mo got up and hurried to the workbench.

While the image was still somewhat fresh in his mind, he quickly drew the shape.

When he finished, he picked it up and examined it closely.

It looked like a symbol. Its structure wasn't complicated: it was triangular overall, with an inverted triangle nested inside...

Li Mo thought for a moment, but he couldn't remember ever seeing the symbol anywhere.

Should he tell his father about it? His father knew some people in town, so if he gave him the symbol, he might be able to find a clue.

The moment the thought arose, a chill ran down Li Mo's back.

He had felt this before.

He had felt it when learning new rituals in the capital.

Whenever he felt this way, it meant the ritual wasn't suitable for him. If he performed it, there might be some unknown risks.

Back then, everyone at Wellington had praised Li Mo for his strong mystical perception.

As soon as that instinctive sense for seeking benefits and avoiding harm kicked in, Li Mo was certain-

For the time being, it was better not to let anyone else know about the symbol.

He folded the parchment in half and tucked it into the inside pocket of his clothes.

Afterward, Li Mo walked over to the window and glanced at the sky.

It was daytime... Naturally, he couldn't see the moon.

He calmly reviewed what had happened.

To be honest, yesterday's situation had been extremely dangerous.

He could imagine that if he had been alone in the carriage, he most likely would have died right there on the road.

Any normal person would have been afraid when faced with such a phenomenon.

And once they were afraid, they would have set a rule for themselves:

Never stare at the moon again. Stay far away from danger!

But Li Mo... wasn't normal.

He didn't think that way at all. Of course he felt fear, but he was more curious than afraid.

In his previous life, he had been a mad scientist.

The fact that the moon held a secret was laid bare before him. How could he possibly not investigate it?

Still, he did need to be more careful from now on.

He couldn't observe it directly again without any protection, as he had last night.

He needed to put safety measures in place and devise a way to interrupt the observation, or simply wait until he was stronger before looking again.

He had to investigate it and get to the bottom of it. It was only a matter of when...

"Young master, you're awake!!"

Anna's voice rang out.

She practically ran over to Li Mo, her eyes full of concern.

"Yeah." Li Mo turned around. "Don't worry, I feel pretty good now. Nothing's bothering me."

"Young master, you suddenly fainted in the carriage last night. The master went to fetch a doctor in the middle of the night. The doctor examined you and said he couldn't find anything wrong, and that perhaps you'd be fine after resting for a while... Thank goodness, thank goodness he was right."

At that, Anna's eyes reddened, and she looked ready to cry.

Li Mo immediately comforted her. "Don't cry, don't cry. It's all right, see? I'm perfectly fine."

Anna pouted.

A few seconds passed.

She suddenly raised her head and said, "Young master... I want to study mysticism."

"Hmm?"

Li Mo was a little surprised.

Anna had always been opposed to studying mysticism before-really, especially opposed to it.

She wouldn't listen when he tried to teach her the theory, and she even refused to use the mystical creations in the house.

Li Mo had asked her why, but Anna would only say she didn't like it.

If he asked too often, she would even get angry.

Why had she changed so much now?

"What's going on?" Li Mo asked.

Anna pressed her lips together and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I know... the curse on you has something to do with mysticism. The doctor couldn't even figure out why you fainted last night, so ordinary medicine definitely can't cure you..."

Oh...

So studying medicine can't save me, Li Mo thought.

Anna gradually clenched her fists. "Something so serious happened yesterday. It nearly cost you your life, and it had to do with mysticism too! I thought, if I could study mysticism and master that knowledge, maybe I could help you!"

Seeing how serious she was, Li Mo couldn't help smiling. "Anna, you care that much about me?"

Anna chose not to answer.

Li Mo joked, "When a question's hard to answer, you just don't answer it?"

Anna said anxiously, "Young master, I'm serious."

"All right..." Li Mo remembered a meme from Earth and said, "Then look at me and say, 'Coach, I want to study mysticism!'"

Anna didn't know what a coach was.

She thought the young master was asking her to perform a solemn ritual of commitment.

So she immediately stood at attention, put on a serious expression, and said loudly, "Coach, I want to study mysticism!"

Li Mo put on a stern face and asked, "What are you willing to do to master mysticism?!"

Anna replied loudly, "I'm willing to do anything!!!"

"Hahaha..."

Li Mo finally burst out laughing and waved for her to relax.

"All right, all right. Although I don't have mystical perception anymore, I can still teach you some simple basics. To study mysticism, you first have to awaken your spirituality. You know that, right?"

Anna nodded at once. "I know! What should I do?"

"It's simple. Perform the simplest ritual: sit cross-legged and take deep breaths."

Anna immediately sat cross-legged on the floor.

Li Mo continued instructing her. "Once you can feel yourself connecting with the world and your hair moves without any wind, you've officially entered the study of mysticism."

"Okay," Anna replied.

She straightened her back, relaxed her body, cleared her mind, and took deep breaths, beginning the ritual...

Li Mo felt he ought to explain the actual situation first:

"Anna, don't be in too much of a hurry. This is hard, and it depends heavily on talent. Many people practice their whole lives without any results. Even some of the students at Wellington spent six months or a year getting started when they were young..."

Before he had finished speaking,

Anna suddenly said softly, "Young master, I think I can feel it."

Li Mo: "?"

He glanced at Anna.

She wasn't bluffing.

Her hair really was moving without any wind...

Li Mo glanced at the window. It was shut too!

What was going on? Was Anna the real mysticism genius?

As they were positioned now, Anna was on the left and Li Mo was on the right.

What was this, genius on the left, madman on the right?