High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1142: Chapter 204 The Meaning of the World

The goddess, holding a scepter, traverses the serpent that eats its own tail.

This is the scene depicted by the twenty-first Great Arcana ’World’ of Tarot Cards. The ouroboros signifies eternity and the world, and to most wizards, the scepter-holding goddess is associated with the truth.

But that’s not the point—such common knowledge could even be expounded by tricksters from North Beta Town for a solid half hour, and many of them relish in such activities.

After all, it’s one of the few topics on magic where tricksters can converse with real wizards.

The focus lay in the ’World’ card revealed by the Gypsy witches being a reversed card, and Zheng Qing’s code name in ’Magic Wand’ just happened to be ’World’.

There couldn’t be a worse outcome.

For a moment, Zheng Qing deeply regretted casually undertaking this divination. For the vast majority of wizards, it was absurd to place hope in a few Tarot Cards, a puff of smoke, or a crystal ball. But if an adverse conclusion was truly divined, no wizard would ignore it.

That’s why many old-school wizards shunned divination—if they did not see, naturally they would not change, and so the arrangements of destiny would not matter.

Then, the young scholarship student noticed the Gypsy witch’s even more anxious expression, and a warm current surged in his heart.

”It seems like ’Magic Wand’ didn’t skimp on using my name for divinations before publishing this year’s Arcana list.”

The boy joked as he took the card, flipping it between his fingers:

”Let me think... Mmm, a reversed ’World’ signifies inadequate preparation, giving up halfway, emotional immaturity, and also, failure. I remember the Doctor once analyzed that a reversed ’World’ is actually a salted fish, living a life of getting by, comfortable and without motivation.”

”An interesting perspective,” the witch said with a forced smile, still wearing a hint of worry. Undoubtedly, she had divined a conclusion that put a damper on things, and it was not changed by a witty insight.

But Zheng Qing did not think so.

He flipped the card in his hand around and placed it back in front of the witch.

”Look, my reversed position, your upright.”

The lad pointed at the card on the table with a bit of showmanship, emphasizing, ”Just like that ancient saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and destiny is always playing with a Yin Yang fish. You stand on a bridge looking at the scenery, and the people looking at the scenery are watching you from under the bridge.”

”Whether it’s upright or reversed depends on the angle from which you view this card.”

”From my perspective, it’s a reversed card, a result facing inadequate preparation and failure; but from your perspective, it is an upright card, and you will achieve success and have a perfect ending.”

”How do you know that the question I just divined isn’t the same one that I mentioned earlier?”

”Is that so?” The witch seemed to grasp a strand of hope, her eyes lighting up.

With his hands cradling his head, the boy leaned back slightly, a relaxed smile on his face: ”I can’t tell you that... the divination says, do not speak, do not speak.”

...

...

As two young male and female witches were hiding in a corner of the classroom, divining with Tarot cards, in the ruins of the academy deep within the Silent Forest, two mice also sat face to face, calculating their future.

”You’ve dealt the cards three times already, haven’t you figured out the answer to your question yet?” The Rat Immortal leaned back in a high-backed chair, little legs dangling off the edge, speaking with a touch of impatience, ”Divining the same question three times is no more effective than a placebo.”

In theory, one can only divine a question once, and it is the result of the first divination that counts.

”The three times, I’ve asked three different questions!”

Fei Rui did not sit on the cushion but rather stood up and paced between several cards, eventually picking up the smoothest one and flipping it over: ”Upright, World... damn it, it’s always the World! Why is it always the World!”

At that moment, they were in a spacious room with ornate carvings and paintings all around, but devoid of furniture or items, save for one cushion, one high-backed chair, and a stack of Tarot cards between the cushion and the chair.

None of the red-vested attendants of the Rat Immortal were around.

As evening approached, the grim gray light filtered through the glass window, pouring into the vacant room and casting equally somber and decaying shadows over the faces of the two mice.

With drooping whiskers, the Rat Immortal’s tone took a hint of melancholy: ”The World... the twenty-first card, is where time begins and ends, where the world is born and destroyed, the final number in the realm of man. It represents a perfect conclusion as well as infinite possibilities. In the face of the previous card, ’Judgement,’ the world once again sows the seeds.”

”The first time you flipped it, it was the ’World’ in reverse... What was your first question?”

Clutching the Tarot card, Fei Rui slumped onto the cushion, gazing blankly: ”I wanted to know if that old guy was still around.”

”The answer is pessimistic,” the Rat Immortal commented, ”From your perspective, a pessimistic conclusion means that Principal Nameless is still around. But at the same time, the reversed World also signifies ’an ending to the past,’ so you needn’t dwell on this issue anymore. What about the second question? I recall it was another reversed World.”

”I was thinking the same.” Heartened by the Rat Immortal’s interpretation, Fei Rui perked up a bit: ”For the second question, I wanted to know if our plan could be successful.”

”That depends both on the scope of your ’plan’ and on your definition of ’success,’” the Rat Immortal was evidently unsatisfied with Fei Rui’s second question: ”If you count mastering the Forbidden Curse, obtaining the Xuanhuang Fruit, and defeating First University as the scope of the ’plan,’ even the Tricksters of North District would scoff at you. The outcome of the divination did not deceive you... You could have asked a much clearer question.”

Fei Rui scratched his paw, letting out a deep sigh.

”And the third question?” The Rat Immortal exhaled as well, punctuating the silence with his inquiry.

”The key to our success this time,” Fei Rui muttered, clutching the Tarot card in his arms that was slightly too large for him, turning it over and over without end.

At last, a slight smile crept onto the chubby pointed face of the Rat Immortal:

”’The final card of the major suits, the World signifies that one’s own world has fully formed. The rewards of the journey have matured in this ultimate phase, forging a world of Self, completing the task of the Fool, culminating in a final destination’—this is the interpretation of the ’World’ in ’Tarot Cards.’ In this context, I find it most fitting.”

”What do you mean?” Fei Rui looked up, puzzled.

”Who is the Fool?” the Rat Immortal countered.

Fei Rui suddenly understood, then fell into contemplation.

In the list of Arcana names published by ”Magic Wand,” each year and each issue saw various changes to the roster, except for ’The Fool,’ the very first card, which has always belonged to the Principal of First University.