Quick Transmigration: Saving The Crazy Villainess

Chapter 346: Agatha (44) <2-in-1>

Dong Lan never mentioned the fortune-teller to Jiang Li. The option simply never crossed his mind. He never told the other guy, even though he managed to feel her presence just now through the earring she gave him.

For him, no matter what happened before despite suddenly being thrown to another dimension without a warning, the fortune-teller was still a mother figure in his heart. Dong Lan remained someone with integrity, filial piety, and loyalty. As a son, why would he rat his mother out, especially after learning that Jiang Li was not exactly friendly to other people who could travel from world to world?

Due to this, the junior fortune-teller kept his mouth shut, and preferred to use the cards in his possession and his prediction about Margarette as his leverage. The attempt ended with failure, but Dong Lan still stubbornly withheld the information about the fortune-teller. He chose to wait for an opportunity to escape, and luckily, he managed to seize it.

When Dong Lan escaped from the place and met up with the knights despite the curse he had incurred, he sighed in relief. He was thinking he at least did not have to deal with Jiang Li and risk blurting out about the female fortune-teller. His shoulders slacked, and he began to focus on warding off Andre Grey's claws which wanted to snatch Agatha from him.

However, the king was not aware of one thing. That in fact, even though he didn't speak, Jiang Li already had a clue. The king himself was the one who delivered that hint, when he tried to escape yet also ended up revealing to Jiang Li that the gem on his ear was actually some precious item that he had seen before.

It then reminded him of the fortune-teller he met in one of his travels.

If Dong Lan had not flaunted those tarot cards to him, he would not have related the king to that woman, the previous owner of that piece of jewelry.

Jiang Li kept walking after putting the straw doll away.

Various images then came crashing down before his eyes, flashing so fast to remind him of everything that happened when he first encountered the fortune-teller.

'She called me a slave of a high god' A couple of seconds after, he absent-mindedly thought, a frown involuntarily surfacing.

'She told me she can't tell me anything about Ye Xinya."

'She couldn't tell or else somebody so mighty and omnipotent will take away her fortune-telling abilities'

'However, when I tried to intimidate her with my aura as a general, it backfired to me. I not only ended up not knowing more, I got suffocated by the fortune-teller's gaze'

'I suspect that fortune-teller is a lot stronger than me back then, and is either lying or purposely hiding the truth.'

His train of thoughts began with some keywords.

Mysterious. Had put effort into emphasizing her weakness even though she was obviously capable of way more. A person who claimed she could divine the past lifetimes of those who sought her out.

While divination seemed to be the only thing Dong Lan could do, does the same apply to that fortune-teller?

Maybe the outsider who truly messed up with the plot of this world was that woman?

In front of him, he was already seeing light, signaling the short walk that served as a buffer would be ending soon. Aside from Margarette, he was sure to meet the fortune-teller again. Dong Lan was one clue the system was another. After all, the latter voluntarily surfaced to ward off the heavy pressure pressing down on him ever since he entered that passage.

"Host Exercising caution ahead is very much advised," rang a mechanical voice inside his head.

He couldn't help but wonder, 'If a disagreement broke out, should I just fight it out with no regard to my life and death? The king should be able to protect that villainess for life anyway, no?'

The guy was already thinking of a fight to the death. And he was betting his death wouldn't fail the mission because the king was not a fool.  

Jiang Li held his breath as he stepped foot into the land revealed by the end of the dark passage.

The pressure from the place that seemingly wanted to squeeze him to death vanished. The memories which came back to him were quickly shelved away.

Looking ahead of him, he easily found the person that gave him the second biggest impression in his several lifetimes, the fortune-teller.

"How have you been?" A beautiful, dulcet voice rang into his ears. Its owner slightly grinning at Jiang Li.

Unlike when Margarette arrived at the same place, the candle flickering with blue light atop the center of the table had been put away. The fireflies kept flying around the woman as if they were moths drawn to the flame. Their green glow that was concentrated on her made her appear so mysterious and ethereal. The sight was so beautiful, had it been another guy relishing on the scene with his eyes, he would have been entranced already, wondering if the fortune-teller was a goddess.

Fortunately, Jiang Li was not a common man. He was already immune to beauty due to Margarette and was not easily intimidated by the enigma since he didn't fear death.

Jiang Li didn't say a thing for a while, frowning. 'Margarette is not here?'

Even after roaming his eyes around for a minute, the Queen of Commerce who had snuck away from him was nowhere in sight, a fact which despite naturally alarming him, was not really out of his expectation.

'I was made to come to this place...' He then realized.

"Do I need to pay 50 credits or equivalent of that per question?" When he understood he was essentially baited to go here, he stopped looking around and walked over before pulling out a seat for himself.

Jiang Li acted as if they were familiar with each other. He added, "It's been a while by the way."

"Yeah. " The fortune-teller laughed carefreely. "And I can see that you Mister, seems to be as impatient as before. I haven't said my welcoming line yet. It's been several years since then and my expertise has become more expensive to afford. 500 credits or equivalent per question."

"500 credits?"

Jiang Li looked at the other and then nodded. Afterward, he conjured several pieces of ice that had the shape and the look of a diamond. Those pieces of ice floated in the air, dancing according to his wishes.

"Equivalent then. If this is shown on a circus or in the plaza, I'm confident commoners and normal nobles will pool up more than a thousand for this."

"Cheap miser." A look of annoyance emerged on the beautiful face of the fortune-teller. "Two questions."

"Where's Margarette?" he hurriedly asked. It was his main goal after all. 

The fortune-teller tilted her head a bit. "Where? I have no interest in taking that timebomb from you, so rest assure you'll see her upon exiting this space. I didn't harm her. She's currently somewhere in this garden. She could see us, but couldn't hear us."

His mind conveniently filtered how Margarette was called a timebomb. Using Murphy's Law in this situation was not good for the heart Should he believe that kind of answer?

"I didn't hear an actual location so I still have those two questions," Jiang Li placidly said to further disgust the woman. He was not pleased by the fact that he still could not see his wife. He knew Margarette was being hidden somewhere by this person.

It seemed too, the fortune was quite displeased by his response.

"Mr. Jiang, I staged this to meet you for a serious thing, and the answer is already been given. I have no obligation to convince you when the facts are already laid before your eyes. Why did you not bring that Dong Lan with you?"

Silence reigned for a while as he was sizing up the other.

"He doesn't want to come here. Not even after I threatened him with my blade," he then replied indifferently.

"Oh, too bad."

It took Jiang Li a second to realize that the woman was baiting her. Just now her most recent question made him curious about the relationship between the fortune-teller and the king. He almost voiced out this curiosity which could have wasted a question. Was he thinking too much? How annoying.

After that, Jiang Li declared to have gained another chance for a question from her. The woman wrinkled her nose but didn't protest.

The first one he asked was obvious. "Why are you in this world?"

This was him acknowledging that she was probably like a world-hopper, or someone with the same abilities but higher standing.

The woman asked back why he didn't add 'how' to the question which he just scoffed at. Even he, who was a 'slave' of the system, could do interdimensional travels. For beings like her, how difficult could it be? Why should he be curious about how she traveled here?

With a shrug, the woman began to speak, "It's not important enough to be a secret, anyway so I suppose it's okay to tell you. There are two reasons why I came here. The first one well, you see, I sent a fool to go through the same process as you, but I forgot to tell him his objective. The second, obviously, it's you, Mr. Jiang."

It was her who sent Dong Lan to undergo the same world-hopping process as him... This detail did not escape his notice. 

"I was thinking it will be my wife. That makes me nervous, wondering why it's me" Jiang Li laughed. "I was but an insignificant ghost. Last time, didn't you indirectly call me a servant?"

"Did I?" The woman rolled her eyes, still acting so natural around the youth. "I only said I'm suspecting you to be a servant of a high god, but you might be different than that. I set up some kind of formation on the passageway after Margarette passed by it. So care to tell me how you easily bypassed it when you're that"

'Weak?' He wondered if that was the last word which she withheld from voicing out.

In the eyes of this person, was someone like him who was in the pinnacle of magic and witchcraft weak?

What kind of person was she to talk this big? A 'real' goddess? Someone who could influence the bigger universe?

His eyes glazed over for a moment before he took a deep breath, "On how I reached here safely, you better use your prided ability. Now I will use one of my questions."

"Sure."

"Why are you here for me?"

The answer came very fast. "Oh, that. I will tell you before I leave this world."

'I really hate people like this who speaks in riddles.'

Although annoyed, he nodded. "What about your relationship with Margarette? What are you to her that she keeps looking for clues regarding your whereabouts for a month."

"Her teacher." She gave the dumbfounded him a bored look and said, "Last one remaining."

Jiang Li frowned, lost in his thoughts about the latest reply. If the woman became Margarette's mentor, then maybe Margarette being so accomplished in the Eastern Witcraft was related to her? Was it her who actually taught the girl the body swap? And Aliyah's accidental transmigration... was her work too?

She stared at him for a long while until the stares got on his nerve that he took a deep breath. He then stopped thinking about all sorts of things. He decided maybe he should not proceed with the conversation anymore. The answers he got were so cryptic after all and he didn't like the questions popping up in his mind.

Why was he even letting the other make a fool out of him and lead the pace? From the beginning, his goal anyway was simple.

"Alright. I prefer you to owe me one question. Thank you for your hospitality but it's now midnight. I want to take my wife back home."

The medium batted her eyelashes once, then slowly grinned, "You seem to prefer to see me a third time. But if you are dying to see Margarette again. Fine."

Back then, the man was standing up. Or rather, he tried.

But the attempts proved futile when Jiang Li just found himself unable to move a muscle apart from those in his eyes that were now staring icily at the witchy medium. He tried to say something to express his anger, but no voice came out of his mouth.

"Teacher" On the left side of the woman, a figure of a younger girl suddenly materialized, slowly and gradually revealing Margarette. She was still in her hooded robe, now staring at the fortune-teller with confusion. The same look was on the girl's face when she turned to the young man who had been locked up in space.  

For a moment, Jiang Li glanced at the girl with relief, pleased to see unhurt. A second later, he hinted her through his eyes to get over his side. At that time, that was all he could do to communicate with her. He couldn't speak due to whatever restriction imposed on him by the fortune-teller.

But while Margarette saw his cue and expressed her surprise, she only frowned after that. That was all. For some reason, her feet did not bring her to his side even though that was she was supposed to do and what he was expecting her to do. She was not pinned down by any kind of magic Which meant she had the ability to move.

And the medium too seemed to be not finished with what she wanted to say earlier.

"You're right that it's now past midnight." After an exchange of glances with Margarette, the mature woman said to Jiang Li. Jiang Li saw the medium rising to her feet and half-circling the round table towards him.

Margarette seemed to have no plan of pulling him away from the suspicious fortune-teller who then said, "So after the brief discussion, shall we proceed now to the real matter at hand? You see, before you came, I received a curious request from my disciple."

Margarette spoke, her hand tugging on the sleeve of the violet-robed woman, "Teacher, since he's now here, can you help me make him remember who he really is and our real past?" 

' What the hell?' Jiang Li's gaze froze on Margarette before it slowly fell upon the medium, his eyes became icier, with the temperature of the place dropping so fast..