Looking at the half-broken rose in her hand, Irene's pale lips pursed, and she almost cried out.
"Wooo..."
"..."
Just as little Irene was about to have a good cry, she suddenly noticed someone beside her. She turned her head and saw that it was Li Mo, the one who had helped her out of her predicament earlier.
"Go on, don't mind me. I'd rather see you cry your eyes out than deal with a mysterious riddle-maker," Li Mo said, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"I-I'm not going to cry..."
Little Irene sat on the ground, her legs bent, her hands naturally wrapped around her knees. She buried her head in the space between her thighs and knees.
Her cute face was gently covered by her bangs, revealing only one small ear and a few strands of stray hair on her cheek.
"Please go, the longer you stay with me, the more miserable you'll die… They're right, I'm a jinx. Anyone who gets close to me dies within three days without exception…"
Li Mo didn't pay it any mind. He walked up to little Irene and placed the hamburger and Coke he had wished for in front of her.
"Fill your stomach first. After you've eaten, answer my questions."
"Did... did you hear what I said? If you keep staying by my side, you'll..."
"Is it that scary? But I'm not afraid of death."
"Huh?"
Li Mo's unexpected answer left little Irene stunned.
"There are so many things in this world that are more terrifying and desperate than death. Compared to those, death is actually a kind of release. Many times, we can't even die, because we know we still have things to do, responsibilities to bear..."
"Death is just an escape. Others can die and be done with it, but I can't. I can't die, and I won't die. So you don't have to worry about causing my death. If you can kill me, that's your skill, and it would also fulfill a wish of mine."
Li Mo sat down beside little Irene as if it were the most natural thing in the world and stuffed the hamburger into her mouth.
Although his complexion was ruddy and his body was healthy, a clear death wish was visible on Li Mo's face.
Little Irene didn't understand. The other party looked like a rich young master, so why wasn't he afraid of death?
Those rich people were terrifyingly afraid of it.
"You're a weird person..." Little Irene mumbled, her mouth full.
She wolfed down her food, and in a short while, she had finished the hamburger and Coke, letting out a long burp.
"Delicious! Thank you!"
"It's nothing. In my hometown, this kind of food is called junk food."
"Huh? Why? It's so delicious."
"That's not important. You ate my food, so you have to answer my questions."
"Mm-hmm!"
Little Irene nodded obediently, her bright eyes looking at Li Mo's dim ones.
Those struggling in the era were still full of hope; those who had no worries about food and clothing and were almost omnipotent had a death wish.
Li Mo himself felt a little ironic.
"First question, what's your name?"
"Irene Adler."
Little Irene answered without any hesitation.
To her, the only person who had given her food and was willing to stay by her side was this strange person in front of her.
If she didn't trust him, there was no one else in this world who would be good to her, no one worthy of her trust.
Next, Li Mo asked the second question: "Can you foresee the future?"
"Foresee the future?" Little Irene tilted her head, looking at Li Mo with a puzzled expression. "How is that possible? Foreseeing the future is God's ability. How can a person do what only God can do?"
Little Irene said it as if it were a matter of course.
"Is that so," Li Mo said, not refuting her. He stood up.
"Irene."
"I'm here. Is there anything you need me to do?"
Li Mo was silent for a moment, then reached out and wished for a hundred thousand pence to appear out of thin air, no more, no less.
Too much would attract greed. Everything goes in cycles, and extremes reverse. A moderate amount was just right.
"Wow! How did you do that? Wait, you asked me those questions just now. Are you God?" Irene looked at Li Mo with a look of worship.
Li Mo shook his head and said calmly, "I am not God. 'God' does exist in this world, but it is not something that can be imagined by the narrow cognition of humans."
"Take this money and live well."
"Are… are you leaving?" Irene's hand trembled slightly as she took the money, her eyes instantly welling up. She looked up at Li Mo, her voice as thin as a thread, full of reluctance.
Li Mo was the first person who was willing to get close to her and didn't despise her.
Unlike the malice of others, Irene only felt pure kindness from Li Mo.
His giving was without any ulterior motives.
"Yes," he said. Feeling it was inappropriate, Li Mo added, "You are not the person I am looking for. Maybe you will be in the future, but not now."
As his voice fell, Li Mo disappeared before her eyes.
The stinking, dark alley was once again left with only Irene alone.
Tears finally couldn't help but fall. Irene tightly clutched the money, bit her lip, and said to herself with a determined tone, "Then I'll live until the future!"
…
…
Li Mo, who had made the same wish, opened his eyes and found himself still on a bumpy ship.
Black waves as tall as mountains came one after another, throwing the entire ship into the air and then slamming it down again. It was chaotic all around. The items in the cabin were scattered all over the floor. The railings, ropes, and deck were all twisted and deformed under the ravages of the storm, hanging in mid-air and teetering on the verge of collapse.
"What bad luck! Damn it! It's all because of that witch's curse! She said we'd be torn apart by the storm and buried at sea!"
"Never mind that! Let's fix the damaged parts first!"
The crew members scattered to various places, checking and reinforcing the damaged parts in an attempt to delay the ship's disintegration. They repaired the cracked deck, adjusted the sails to reduce wind resistance, and enhanced the ship's stability…
Everyone on the ship was busy and running around in fear.
Only Li Mo was an exception. His feet were floating in the air, not swaying at all due to the ship's bumping.
He couldn't save these people who were destined to die.
To the crew, the situation didn't look so bad. As long as they made timely repairs, there was still a chance of successfully returning.
But Li Mo knew they were doomed.
In ten minutes, there would be a new wave, large enough to completely capsize the entire ship. At that time, not a single person would survive.
Just then, a crew member noticed Li Mo and quickly shouted, "Captain, there's a strange person floating in the air here!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Get back to adjusting the sails!!"
After being discovered, Li Mo didn't react at all. Leaving behind a "not here," he made another wish and left.
…
…
When it was time for the ship to return to the dock, it never did. The people waiting waited for several more months, but there was still no sign of it.
Instantly, Irene was pointed at by thousands. By now, she had shed the title of jinx and no longer brought disaster to those around her.
But she had gained a new title: witch. Anyone prophesied by Irene would die precisely at the time, place, and event she had foreseen…
Fortunately, this title did not reach the ears of the church. The number of prophecies was small, and many thought it was just a coincidence.
…
…
Opening his eyes again, Li Mo witnessed a familiar "ritual."
A piercingly cold wind blew through the narrow stone streets. In the center of the crowd, a young girl, bound by iron chains and in ragged clothes, had a haggard face and was covered in blood.
None of her exposed skin was intact. Blood stained the chains that bound her limbs. Her long hair fell, covering one eye, but in the other, there was not a trace of despair.
"The evil witch has cursed others many times and framed the people. Today, she will be executed in public to show respect for the Pope's justice!" a member of the church in a black robe announced loudly, his words fierce, fanning the anger of the surrounding crowd.
With the church member's order, the preparations for the execution quickly began. Several thick wooden stakes were driven into the ground, forming a crude cross shape.
Irene was roughly pushed by several church members and walked to the execution cross that symbolized death. Her hands and feet were tightly bound by cold iron chains, unable to struggle.
The places she stepped over left behind bright red footprints.
Li Mo stood in the crowd, casting a hidden gaze.
Once upon a time, he had also been tied to a cross and executed like this.
How ridiculous.
The cross and execution methods, meant to punish evil and sweep away filth, were often used on the innocent and just.
In a flash, Li Mo appeared out of thin air in front of Irene.
The moment she saw Li Mo, the battered Irene struggled to lift her head. Her wine-red eyes were like the bright red roses that had fallen to the ground when they first met ten years ago.
"You… came for me…"
"Yeah."
"You haven't changed at all. You still look the same as when you left…"
Irene endured the cracks at the corners of her mouth and forced a smile.
"Is that person the witch's accomplice?"
"That woman must be a witch, otherwise how could her accomplice appear out of thin air? She must have cast some kind of witchcraft! We absolutely cannot leave them alive!"
"Wait for the security team to arrive. They'll definitely be able to take them down. Truth is only at the muzzle of a gun!"
Li Mo glanced sideways. The execution platform was noisy. In the distance, many steam sounds were approaching; reinforcements were on their way.
The church members were smart, not acting rashly, wanting to wait for those with firearms to arrive before continuing their evil deeds.
But looking at the situation, the church's power seemed to be much weaker than before.
"What did you do? To make them treat you like this."
The content was concern, but the tone was devoid of any emotion.
Li Mo had regained his complete human emotions, but it was difficult for him to open up to people like he did at the beginning.
Especially when dealing with Bizarre entities with living consciousness, he was more concerned with the pros and cons, whether he could find… the key to breaking the situation from them.
Irene gave a wry smile, her expression slightly dazed, as if she were drunk. "Just prophesying other people's deaths."
"I told the sailors who were about to set sail that they would be torn apart by the storm and buried at sea."
"I whispered to the knight who had forsaken his oath that at the dusk of his glorious retirement, he would fall under the sword of his loyal subject, his honor and dreams buried together on the cold stone steps on his way home."
"I carved a warning on a withered leaf under the summer sun, telling the commoner boy infatuated with a noble lady that his love was like a bubble in the water, short-lived and false, and would eventually end in the cold eyes and ridicule of the world, in the sight of betrayal, and step into the abyss of death."
"The day before yesterday, I predicted that the most famous rich man in this city would die of fear. He then died of a heart attack from anxiety, and I became the murderer. Before he died, he made a will stating that if the prophecy came true, whoever could kill me would inherit his property. His children, in order to inherit the property legitimately, colluded with the church to put me on trial."
"Aren't you afraid?" Li Mo said softly. "You are still not the person I am looking for. If I leave now, you will suffer all kinds of insults and pain and then die."
"I'm not afraid."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't see my own death."
"…You are right. You planted the cause, and now you have reaped the fruit."
As his voice fell, Li Mo's gaze moved to the chains. A wisp of black mist floated out of the void and enveloped them, instantly swallowing the chains and annihilating them in a deeper darkness.
He then walked forward, picked up Irene, who was slumped on the ground, into his arms, and looked back down at the approaching steam cars. Behind them were many people in uniform, holding old-fashioned firearms.
"I will protect you for three days and help you clear your name. Consider it repayment for you saving my life back then."
Li Mo walked down the execution platform. Hundreds of guns were aimed at his head.
"Stop! If you take another step, we'll shoot!" the man holding the gun warned.
A middle-aged man rushed out from the crowd and shouted anxiously, "Shoot! This person is with the witch! He deserves to die!"
"He is the rich man's second son. In order to fight for the property, he killed his older brother, then contacted the church and promised a third of the wealth to get their help in slandering and spreading rumors," Irene's weak voice barely squeezed out of her throat.
"If I want to know, no one can hide their ugly deeds. These insignificant things are not worth wasting my extra 'memory space' on. Evil people should just be cut down."
Li Mo ignored the warning and took another step forward.
"Those with evil thoughts toward me shall all bow down and kneel on the ground."
As his voice fell, the man holding the gun, the rich man's second son, and the vicious people in the crowd seemed to have their spines pulled out, prostrating on the ground like four-legged beasts, unable to lift their heads.
"Quick, run!"
"This person is a devil! A devil! Get the bishop!"
The people scattered and fled. Li Mo did not stop them. Those who could get away were acting out of survival instinct and fear of the unknown, not out of malice.
Li Mo did not rush. He walked step by step to the rich man's second son, his eyes indifferent.
"I have seen many people like you, who frame and harm the innocent for their own selfish desires."
"So, so what?! If it weren't for her prophecy, how could my father have died of a heart attack?! I was just avenging my father, which is perfectly justified! What's wrong with that?! Don't think I don't know, you're just lucky. God has blessed you with strange arts. If it weren't for that, would you have the courage and capital to say these things? You pretentious fool!"
The rich man's second son roared hysterically, glaring at Li Mo with hatred.
"You're right," Li Mo said calmly, not angry or annoyed, with no expression. "I'll give you a chance now. Since you are so open and aboveboard, avenging your father is even more justified."