Raindrops struck the stained glass of the small chapel, and amidst the patter of rain, the two individuals, separated by half a century in age, continued their conversation.
Xia De considered the direction of the topic and then said,
"Speaking of which, I'm very curious, why wasn't Mr. Wotsent buried with the rest of the Wosente Family, but instead by you—"
Xia De paused at just the right moment.
"When he wanted to marry me, the entire family opposed it. When we got married, Mr. Wosente said that after my husband died, he would never be allowed into the Wosente Family's cemetery. That summer, the weather was as hot as it is this year. He was the Earl's son, and I was just a girl from the Tobesk slums. So many years have passed..."
The Old Mrs. Wotsent's eyes widened, and her eyes became a little moist. Mr. Wotsent's ghost, however, showed no expression on his face. Xia De didn't know if it was emotional deficiency caused by soul fragmentation or if he was deliberately not showing it.
That love story from nearly half a century ago, a story between a young man and woman, was probably even more thrilling than the murder case that followed. But no matter what, even the sweetest love will eventually sour with time. Perhaps some people can maintain love, but the old woman in front of him could not.
The unfamiliar world truly holds too many stories. Everything Xia De witnessed this afternoon, for an Outsider like him, was merely a glimpse into a corner of the world. He couldn't witness all the stories, nor could he judge this love; it was someone else's story.
"Do you dream of him?"
The Outsider asked softly, and the Old Mrs. Wotsent, lost in memories and the past, nodded slightly:
"I've dreamt of it countless times. I dreamt of us meeting on a summer street, of that somewhat decent wedding, of him using his savings to work with me to start a factory, and of… that rainy night."
Xia De, Mr. Mason's ghost, and Mr. Wotsent's ghost all looked at the Old Mrs. Wotsent. She stopped speaking, so the two ghosts looked back at Xia De, who softly said,
"Sorry, that rainy night?"
His voice was truly soft, and he tilted his head slightly, showing that he was listening intently. His eyes looked into the Old Mrs. Wotsent's cloudy eyes, and he believed Mrs. Wosente could see her own aged face reflected in his eyes. (Note)
This was actually a hypnotic technique. Xia De had seen similar content when he first got Dr. Schneider's notebook; the doctor seemed to be very good at it.
A Ring術士's mental strength is extremely powerful. Although Xia De was only a First Ring, what he called hypnosis was more like mental induction. But the person he was talking to now was an old woman, frail and with great emotional fluctuations, so this speaking technique was very effective.
"Yes, that rainy night, all that wine, that argument..."
She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
Although she didn't mention the murder, this was enough to prove that she hadn't forgotten what happened that night.
Even Xia De, as an Outsider, felt a sense of melancholy about this love-hate saga that spanned over thirty years. So he turned to look at the two ghosts. Mr. Mason's ghost, like a sister, closed his eyes and kept shaking his head. Mr. Wotsent's ghost, however, looked at the wife who killed him, a gentle smile on his face:
"It's been over thirty years. She kept this matter hidden in her heart and lived in that house all this time. It must have been very difficult for her. She's also old now and knows she doesn't have many years left, so she was finally able to get me out from behind the basement wall. I'm free, and for her, it's also a kind of release."
Mrs. Wosente couldn't hear this sentence; only the Outsider Xia De could.
But in Xia De's opinion, none of these three people were truly free. Mr. Wotsent was murdered for infidelity, Mrs. Wosente kept a secret for thirty years while watching her brother go to jail, and Mr. Mason was the most innocent, probably the one least able to accept the truth.
Thinking of this, Xia De glanced at the church they were in. If Mr. Mason, due to excessive emotional fluctuation, dared to turn into a malevolent spirit here, he wouldn't even need Xia De to act; he would naturally learn what the power of a righteous god was.
But fortunately, this soul, which deeply loved the Old Mrs. Wotsent in front of him, did not change in the end. He opened his eyes and looked at his sister, gazed for a few seconds, shook his head, and turned to walk towards the church door.
Xia De sighed and stood up as well:
"Then I will take my leave for now, Mrs. Wosente. I don't remember anything from this conversation."
The Old Mrs. Wotsent, with her eyes closed and tears streaming, ignored him. Xia De didn't look at her again either, but instead walked towards the church door with his hands in his pockets, accompanying Mr. Wotsent's ghost, and caught up with Mr. Mason's ghost.
Mrs. Worsent's servant also prepared an umbrella for Xia De and asked if he wanted to return to the city with them. But Xia De declined the kind offer, holding the umbrella, and walked into the rain of the cemetery with the two ghosts.
The winding stone path, like a flowing stream, lay between the graves on the ground. Mr. Wotsent's ghost and Mr. Mason's ghost became increasingly faint; they were about to depart.
"What are your thoughts now?"
Xia De asked curiously. For him, this was just someone else's story, but for the two ghosts, it was their lives.
Walking along the stone path towards Zone 3, the cemetery was empty due to the rainy weather, but Xia De truly liked the sound of the rain.
"She loved me all her life, and I think, even now, she still loves me. I don't care that she killed me; killing me was actually a harm to her. I hurt her all her life, truly her entire life."
"When I was alive, I also wondered if Sister Greta truly forgot what happened that night, if she truly watched me go to jail for her. After death, knowing the answer, I somewhat regret appearing here today. If I hadn't appeared, how wonderful that would have been."
Although the three were walking together, only Xia De's footsteps could be heard, and only Xia De's shadow swayed on the ground. Raindrops struck the umbrella, causing the leaves on a nearby large tree to sway. Turning left on the path ahead, the gravedigger and his apprentice hurried over, greeted Xia De, and then ran towards the direction of the church.
"Are you leaving?"
Xia De stopped and looked at them, asking in the rain. He had only witnessed this story; though melancholic, he would not judge right or wrong.
"Yes, this is the end."
Mr. Wotsent said. The three of them stood on the path among the graves, looking at the rain in the cemetery together. A moment later, Mr. Mason softly asked,
"Sir, thank you for everything you've done for us. Please allow me to greedily make one last request—I want to play a game of rhode cards with him."
It seemed that after Xia De's conversation with Old Mrs. Wotsent, both souls became a bit more lively. Mr. Wotsent looked at his companion in surprise, and Xia De frowned, asking,
"Why?"
"All our lives, we deeply loved one woman, and because of this woman, we reunited here after death. But I think this should be the end of the story. When we were young, we often played cards together. At this endpoint, I want the final game to be the epilogue of the story."
Mr. Mason said, and Mr. Wotsent also fell silent, looking at Xia De with him.
Xia De thought for a moment, then nodded:
"Alright, I only have one deck of cards, with six special rule cards in the deck. I will draw cards for you, and I will witness for you. One game decides the winner."
"Thank you, sir."
So they left the cemetery path together and came under a large, leafy tree, where a section of the ground was still relatively dry.
Xia De took out his rhode cards, replacing the newly acquired 【Carson Rick Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】 into the deck. Mr. Mason's ghost and Mr. Wotsent's ghost stood on either side of Xia De.
The rain pattered. Xia De temporarily placed the umbrella on the ground, holding the deck in one hand, and drew the first card to show Mr. Mason, then drew the second card to show Mr. Wotsent.
"Continue."
"Me too."
They said.
Each person's second card was face up: Mr. Mason had Moon 7, Mr. Wotsent had Flower 12.
"Continue."
Mr. Mason said, while Mr. Wotsent considered for a moment:
"I'll continue too."
The third card was still face up. Mr. Mason had sun 10, which was 【Original Steam Engine · Mark IX】, but it didn't successfully trigger the special rule of holding all sun suits.
The card Mr. Wotsent saw was Moon 5:
"I lose, that's 24 points."
He looked at the cards in Xia De's hand and shook his head regretfully amidst the sound of rain.
But Mr. Mason immediately shook his head as well:
"Sir, keep dealing me cards."
"Your score is 18, you've already won."
Xia De reminded him, but Mr. Mason continued to shake his head, the ghost's complexion dim:
"At that time, for what I believed was the best outcome, I willingly gave up my original life. Now that the story has truly reached its end, I want to know what would have happened if I hadn't given up then."
Mr. Wotsent's ghost, who had busted, said nothing. Xia De shook his head and drew the next card, 【Carson Rick Southern Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】, suit sun 4.
18+4 = 22 points. He glanced at the card at the very bottom of the deck; it wasn't a Moon suit. Therefore, because Mr. Mason's cards only had Moon 7, which indeed didn't exceed 7 points. According to the special rule, his total points were adjusted to 1.
Mr. Mason won, even though he had already won.
"Do you have any regrets?"
Looking at the Moon Dance Festival card in Xia De's hand, which originally belonged to him, Mr. Wotsent's ghost asked his companion inquisitively.
Mr. Mason gently shook his head and also looked at Mr. Wotsent:
"I think it no longer matters."
The ghosts' bodies rapidly lost color, and the chilling sensation emanating from them also dissipated.
Under this large tree, in this rain, they both waved at Xia De:
"Thank you, Mr. Hamilton. I wish you a peaceful life."
"Thank you, thank you for everything at the end. I wish you always draw the cards you want."
Xia De blinked, and they quietly disappeared.
The wind was still blowing, and the rain was still falling. Xia De held the cards in his hand, quietly looking at the rain in the cemetery. For a long time, he didn't speak:
"This story... tell Miss Louisa, let her judge it."
【Perhaps you should look down.】
So he looked down at the deck. The 【Carson Rick Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】 card emitted a faint white light, then gradually became silent.
"What is this?"
【You can understand it as a gift from the two ghosts. Because they are too weak, it's not very useful. When you add this card to your deck, as long as you wish, you can always draw this card from the top, only this card. It will probably only last about a year, after all, they are too weak.】
Xia De stared blankly at the card in his hand:
"They're not Ring術士, do they also have special powers?"
【Souls that remain in the world after death must have a special reason. As for power, haven't you said it yourself? This is the thought of a mortal, capable of influencing the real world.】
Xia De didn't know what to say. He stood under the tree, shuffling the cards with both hands, his head tilted up, looking at the rain that seemed to have no intention of stopping. After a while, he stopped shuffling, held the cards in his right hand, and placed his left hand on the first card:
"I want the Moon Dance Festival."
He strengthened this wish in his heart, then flipped over the first card—
At the top of the card face were three full moons. On the grassy ground beneath the moons, people were gathered around a bonfire, striking various strange poses.
【Carson Rick Southern Folklore · Moon Dance Festival】, suit sun 4.
Shaking his head, he put the card back into his pocket, bent down to pick up the umbrella, and returned to the path.
He didn't look back again, his figure receding into the rain until it completely disappeared.
In this world, Xia De had not yet encountered anything he would regret before death, like those two ghosts. Similarly, he hoped he never would. He was destined to go to the ruins tomorrow night, and he didn't want to regret his hesitation after death.
"Someone else's story is over."
【Outsider, your story is still very long.】
The pattering rain fell from the sky, landing on the leaves, splashing onto the green grass on the ground, and then sliding down the leaves to the earth. In the distance, Xia De's departing figure blurred, until it completely vanished.