The designation for war... among the sequences closely associated with the Witch's Path... which one would it be? Caine watched the holographic scenes unfold while recalling the sequences he knew. As a formal member of the Night Watch, he had access to only limited materials—his knowledge of the names and characteristics of mid- and high-tier sequences remained largely unclear. He remembered only the sequences he had glimpsed from the "Eternal Sun," such as "The Priest of Light" and "The Unshadowed," the "War God's Path" sequences he learned from the young Sun, namely "Dawn Knight," "Guardian," and "Hunter of Monsters," and the "Spirit Guide" and "Gatekeeper" sequences revealed by Dail and Dune. Thus, it was difficult for him to accurately determine whether a given sequence path embodied the essence of war; he could only rely on elimination—such as the "War God's Path," which seemed more focused on individual combat than on war as a whole. As his thoughts turned, Caine narrowed the scope to five: first, the "Arbitrators" sequence jointly held by the Augustan family of the Kingdom of Roon and the Castilian family of the Kingdom of Feneport. However, Caine felt this might be the smallest of the groups, since the sequence corresponding to the "Arbitrators" is "Magistrates" (Sequence 8), and "Inquisitors" (Sequence 7)—clearly oriented toward judgment and adjudication rather than warfare. Second, the path represented by the Black Emperor of the Fourth Age Solomon Empire, whose modern designation in the sequence is "Attorney." This path excels at identifying and exploiting loopholes in rules and weaknesses in opponents, boasting exceptional rhetorical skill and logical reasoning. Caine considered this the second-lowest potential path, suspecting that its development involves leveraging rules and operating within the shadows of order—though, of course, war itself is also one of those shadows. Thirdly, the Einhorne family, rulers of the Fersen Empire; the former royal house of the Intis Republic, the Solren family; and the recently emerged, secretive organization, the Iron Cross Order, all possess the "Hunter" path—Klein believes this possibility is quite high. Internal records of the Watchers describe the "Hunter" as an outstanding tracker, an exceptional trap specialist, and an excellent killer. At Sequence 8, the title is "The Provoker," and at Sequence 7, it is "The Burner"—all of which bear a clear connection to slaughter and warfare. Fourthly, the ancient order of the "Blood-Bound," which follows the demons, holds the "Criminal" path—Klein already senses a significant likelihood from the sequence titles alone. Fifthly, the "Rose School," renowned for its bloody rituals, holds the "Prisoner" path—for the same reasons as the previous one. As Klein's thoughts drifted, the scene changed once more. Lady Shyren had just finished bathing, her hair damp and flowing down her back, her face radiating a fresh, alluring charm. "I couldn't make out the appearance of the white-robed woman who guided Lady Shyren to become a witch—perhaps my spirit-reading abilities still need refinement," Klein said, drawing his focus back to the scene before him. Lady Shyren brushed a strand of hair from her face, a few droplets of water sliding down her cheeks. She looked at the man waiting on the bed, and murmured softly, "Shall I help you deal with Menard?" The middle-aged man on the bed frowned and shook his head. "Unless you can guarantee no trace remains—though that's impossible—and unless you have any means to achieve that, I'm not sure what you can offer." Upon seeing this gentleman, Klein was momentarily taken aback, then found it entirely predictable. The photograph of the middle-aged man frequently appears on the front page of newspapers such as the "Tingen Honest Citizen," where he is the current mayor, a member of the conservative party, seeking re-election. Mrs. Schlenk smiled slightly and changed the subject, her nightgown half-unbuttoned, gently moving toward the bed. The scenes kept shifting, and Klein began to see more and more of the city's council members, businesspeople, and government employees who regularly appear in local newspapers. They either discussed how to collect donations, or how to circumvent the "Campaign Act" by bribing voters, or pledged to offer protection and resolve issues—Mrs. Schlenk consistently served as the intermediary. After all, this is a documentary, isn't it? "Mrs. Schlenk: An Introduction to the Ruling Circles of Tingen." Well, yet why do so many scenes feature the bed? So many nobles and council members clearly know that Mrs. Schlenk has numerous affairs—why do they still seem unable to resist the allure? That is Mrs. Schlenk's sequence ability, isn't it? Klein silently mused, combining speculation with commentary. After the recent spirit communication, he had confirmed one point: none of the upper-circle figures in Tinggen knew the true identity of Mrs. Xuelin, nor had any of them actively joined her in orchestrating the murder of Mr. Menard. In other words, was Mr. Menard's death truly Mrs. Xuelin's initiative? Why would she have done it, when it involved such unnecessary risk? Certainly, from Mrs. Xuelin's perspective, she possessed an exceptional ability to disrupt divination and could create a seemingly natural, love-related sudden death—making the resolution of Mr. Menard's case neither particularly risky nor likely to expose her. Yet her motivation remained clearly insufficient, inconsistent with the level of risk she had to bear. Was this perhaps part of her performance? Yet she could easily choose targets less sensitive to status, in which case the case would never require the assistance of night-watchers, substitute bearers, or members of the Mechanistic Heart. More importantly, Lady Shelton should have noticed the deep resentment and sense of unfulfilled ambition in Mrs. Meander, the wife of the Member of Parliament—resentment so strong that she might already be seeking someone to investigate her. Then, why not transfer the sensitive items—such as the bone statue—earlier, perhaps burying them somewhere within the garden? How could she be so confident in the security of the safe, the hidden compartments, and the corresponding arrangements? Amid her growing doubts, Caine observed that Lady Shelton’s spirit had not yet clearly faded, and thus seized the opportunity to perform another “dream divination.” This time, his question was: “What is Lady Shelton’s true motive for killing John Meander?” After silently repeating the incantation, Caine once again entered the dream and witnessed a new scene: Lady Shyren carried a glass of deep-red wine, resembling blood, dressed in a loose nightgown, walking back and forth in the room before finally drinking the remaining liquid all at once, as if making a firm decision. The scene swiftly faded, leaving Caine increasingly puzzled, since it seemed entirely clear that Lady Shyren had willingly chosen to die—no one had urged or prompted her. "Strange..." Caine murmured to himself, trying several other incantations, all of which yielded the same result. As Lady Shyren gradually became more translucent and ethereal, approaching the point of vanishing, Caine thought for a moment and made his final divination: "The sequence potion formula of the Witch's Path." "The sequence potion formula of the Witch's Path." ... Caine silently repeated the new incantation, swiftly entering the dream once again through meditation. He originally didn't want to undertake this divination, because he believed the "witch" path belonged to a type that spread calamities and inflicted suffering—even though he had the corresponding potion recipes, he was unwilling to sell them to others, thus becoming an indirect cause of their demise. Yet, he suddenly recalled an earlier incident: through his understanding of the "audience" potion formula, he had suspected and confirmed that Dastur Goodrian was a member of the Psychological Alchemy Guild. Therefore, to better prepare for the future confrontation with the witches, it was essential to understand the characteristics of their sequence path. Indeed, since Hude Egen's passing, Dastur Goodrian had not reached out to him—likely because the Guild had sent a more capable member to investigate, and thus he had been hesitant to take any action. In that moment of insight, Caine once again saw the deep hall, and saw the woman dressed in a white, holy robe. Lady Shyren was bowing her head, so that only her legs were visible—perfect, unmarred legs. Soon, she heard a voice as melodious as a song: “'Joy' is the name of the Sequence 6 potion, and your goal as you prepare for advancement. Should you succeed, you shall become a 'Joy Witch.' 'Joy that is inescapable and irresistible is itself a form of suffering'—this shall be your guiding principle. Once you achieve advancement, not only will your abilities as a witch be enhanced, but you will also grow more beautiful, becoming skilled in enchantment. You will be able to weave strange threads like a spider and make effective use of them." Then, a silver ancient book appeared before Lady Shelan, opened and laid out, with the recipe being written as materials were placed beside it: "Primary ingredients: one pair of eyes from the Faerie of Desire, and one silk gland from a mature widow spider." "Supplementary materials: 100 milliliters of distilled water, five drops of black mandrake juice, all the hair left behind by the Gorgon of Desire, 10 grams of powder made from the flies of Fournier, and 5 grams of genuine mummy ash." The scene changed once again—still a deep hall, still a long white robe with high sleeves, still a woman whose face remained unseen—but now, Madame Scherren had returned to her original form, to the young man as seen in the photograph. A beautiful female voice resonated: "This is the name of the seventh potion. I'm sure you're surprised." "Indeed, I cannot believe it's called 'Witch'!" exclaimed Madame Scherren, slightly animated. "Remember: if we are to approach the 'Primordial,' we must grow ever more like Him. He is female, and so must we be." "The beautiful female voice replied, 'Either you give up, or you accept and become a witch. Then you will transform into a true woman, gaining remarkable enhancements in appearance and charm. You will acquire the abilities of invisibility and body substitution, begin to master various dark magic spells, excel at disrupting others' divinations, and be blessed with the powers of black flame and frost.' 'Main ingredients: the entire blood of the Black Deep Mage-fish, and the egg of the Jade Peacock.' 'Additional ingredients: 80 milliliters of pure water, five drops of golden mandrake juice, three scales from the shadow lizard, and ten drops of narcissus juice.' ... Scenes unfolded one after another, and Klein witnessed the recipe of the 'Instigator,' the recipe of the 'Assassin,' and understood their respective characteristics. When he wished to continue his divination, the spiritual essence of Lady Xuelin completely faded away." The ceremony was over, and back in reality. Caine gathered up the materials, dismantled the spiritual barrier, and fully disclosed to Dean Smith all the insights gained during the spirit communication, without reservation. Then he expressed his growing suspicion regarding Lady Shelton's murder of Senator Menard. "'Joy' indeed does not require the killing of individuals of higher status or rank... Hmm, we need to investigate where Lady Shelton has been over the years, uncover her true background, and locate the deep hall you saw—of course, this will require reporting to the Hall, which will coordinate the arrangements for us. We cannot simply leave Tingen at our convenience." Dean nodded gently and glanced around. "You go to the first floor and check whether the servants are still asleep. If anyone has woken up and noticed the commotion, bring them in and have them sign the confidentiality agreement under protocol. I'll handle the second floor." "He has retrieved the black cloth and now covers the sealed object, '3–0271.' Upon hearing this, Caine suddenly understood—finally grasping why the servants and attendants hadn't arrived despite the intense battle, since the captain had placed them into a deep sleep from the very beginning. Caine's body still carried a lingering cold and stiffness, so he moved slowly, taking his steps with gentle, deliberate care. As he passed by the bedroom door, he reached out, pulled out the two Tarot cards embedded in the doorframe, wiped them clean, and then reinserted them into his coat pocket. After leaving the room, he headed toward the staircase. After walking a few steps, he suddenly recalled a question: how could he confirm that the other person was indeed asleep? Could he try using divination methods one by one? That would be quite cumbersome... The captain is a specialist in dreams and sleep—he should be able to offer a quick and simple method. I'll have to ask him." Think and act. Klein turned his body, still fighting against the cold and stiffness, and took one step after another toward the bedroom door. Even before he reached it, his gaze pierced through the open doorway and landed on the broken full-length mirror across the room. Only a fraction of the mirror remained hinged in its frame, cracked into patchy pieces the size of a palm. In the midst of all the fractures, Dunning Smith, dressed in a black windbreaker, half-crouched beside Coenli's body, seemingly engaged in some activity. Suddenly, he lifted his head—his gray eyes deep and shadowed, streaked with dark red blood along his lips. Dark red blood. Without thinking, Klein turned and stepped away from the door, leaning against the wall. PS: Requesting monthly tickets for the second update. Also, nearing the end of the month, the first month of the book's launch is about to conclude. I plan to run a bonus-giving event. Please follow my WeChat public account (wuzei1985) and check the latest message.