The Tower, the only card where both upright and reversed positions are ominous.

If the upright Tower signifies ’chaos’, ’swift change’, and ’destruction’ — using phrases from the old almanac, it means ’days in conflict, all things inauspicious’.

Then the reversed Tower doesn’t represent the opposite of these words. Instead, you still need to face chaos and swift changes, but being in the reversed position, you have a slight possibility.

Just as the card depicts, the tower collapses into the deep sea, while people swim upward, toward the surface of the sea.

Zheng Qing feels very sorry.

He didn’t expect to draw such a terrible card for Korma.

Just as he hesitated to draw a second card, the owner of Sakura Pub spoke first.

"The prosperity of a collective never depends on the height of mainstream culture, but rather on whether those on the margins also have the right to survive. My demands for this world are not much, just hoping to liberate the Northern District Wizards from their suppressed destinies and to make a change in this world.

The former Divination Class Professor Yi used to analyze the reversed Tower card with positive words like ’persevere in adversity’ or ’a ray of hope’. But we all know that in destruction, even if one barely survives, the pain and hurt can never be erased."

Saying this, she raised the bottle in her hand, took a hard swig, then wiped her mouth and looked askance at the pub’s sole guest: "So... do you need me to interpret the cards for you?"

Zheng Qing was sitting upright, listening seriously, and when he suddenly heard the last sentence, his mind was full of questions.

"Haven’t you already interpreted it?" he subconsciously touched his nose.

"Who said this card was meant for me?"

Korma looked at him drowsily, with a half-smile, gestured at his recent action, and said seriously: "In face-touch divination, touching the nose represents things going very badly... just like this card you’ve drawn. All are ominous signs. Normally, the Tower card corresponds to the divine spirit of Poseidon, symbolizing death, destruction, and transformation. Meanwhile, the reversed Tower can be seen as a warning — it reminds us to stay vigilant and be prepared for unexpected events and potential crises. It’s like the calm before the storm, indicative of a tense atmosphere..."

Zheng Qing suddenly thought of many things.

Like the rumors Linda Barnes mentioned that are stirring within the entire Alliance; like his relationships with Jiang Yu, Su Shijun, and other witches; or like the changes in his body and identity, and so on.

It seems that everything could have a bad connection with ’change’.

And the words ’Poseidon’ caused him to have an inexplicable worry about the little fox in Greenhill Mansion, fearing she might be harmed by rumors or other things in the impending ’storm’.

"How about I draw a few more cards?" He hesitantly looked at the remaining cards on the table and tentatively asked.

Most people use Tarot Divination by drawing three cards to get a more accurate divination result — according to general theory, the first card represents the situation in the past, the second card represents the current issue, and the third card represents the solution.

If the problem is too complex, the diviner might ask the guest to draw more cards to get more divination information. But similarly, some diviners only ask the guest to draw one card, because most of the time, the power of the first card is the strongest, providing the most accurate information.

"No need."

Korma shook her head, refusing boldly: "Every person doing divination is like this, hearing bad news, wanting to count again... People always prefer to believe their own hopes, refuse to believe what they don’t want to see, magnifying those vague tendencies towards themselves, and often create assumptions far from reality — Professor Yi also said, ’In divination, to have effective thinking, one must first avoid judgment, and look at everything with the purest perspective’."

For some reason.

Listening to Korma’s remarks related to divination.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but think of those rumors.

Those who believe in rumors and spread them, aren’t they also ’willing to believe their own hopes, refuse to believe what they don’t want to see, magnifying those vague tendencies towards themselves, and often create assumptions far from reality’?

"...Another glass of apple juice?" The owner’s call came to his ear.

"No."

Zheng Qing came to his senses, instinctively shook his head, took out his pocket watch to check the time, and repeated the reason he gave when he first entered: "I can’t stay too long, I need to go back to complete today’s small task."

Saying this, he recalled his intention tonight, fixedly looking at the witch.

Korma kept her word, nodded cheerfully: "Then I won’t waste your time... If I’m not mistaken, Linda wants to interview me, right? She really is persistent, she caused a lot of trouble for the Student Council when she first joined the Campus Newspaper... No problem, I’ll contact her directly for this."

"You know her?" As soon as he asked, Zheng Qing knew he’d asked a silly question.

With Korma’s current status, he always tended to forget that this witch in front of him just turned twenty, originally at the age of not yet graduating.

"Of course," Korma sighed, a trace of nostalgia in her eyes: "Although not from the same academy... I was just a year ahead of her entering college."

... 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

...

Not long after Zheng Qing left.

Sakura Pub welcomed another guest.

Doctor Du Zemu entered without taking off his hat, went straight to the bar, ordered a glass of clear water, then lowered his head to look at the reversed Tower card on the table.

"Is this Tower card drawn by you?" He frowned, his tone not very pleasant: "Seeing such a card when reporting project progress... that’s not a good sign."

"Not me, it was a previous guest." Korma glossed over it, then changed the subject: "Also, the appearance of the Tower doesn’t convey actual destruction, only our fear of destruction in our hearts... Are you here so late because there’s a problem with the project?"

"You have to make a choice."

Doctor Du Zemu did not dwell on the card issue, sat slightly upright, his expression serious as he looked at the witch: "Recently, the laboratory has calculated more than one plan, but all results prove that with current technical levels, we cannot ensure the safety of the driver while maintaining the powerful magic output of the ’Giant Spirit God’... The magic power of the Philosopher’s Stone is limited. So you must choose between ’extending project time’ and ’accepting project flaws’."

"What does Professor Montreya say?" Korma lowered her eyelids.

Doctor Du Zemu raised his hand to adjust the brim of his hat, cleared his throat: "The professor believes it’s a necessary price... it’s for a greater good... everyone can wait, except for the Edge Academy. Without enough strength as its foundation, when the Edge Academy is truly established, it will be torn into pieces by those watching from inside and outside the school."

"What about the others?"

"Mr. Ruo Yu said it’s the Edge Academy’s own business." Duzem’s speech was rapid: "Professor Emma and Professor Yao expressed similar views."

Korma turned over the Tarot card in her hand, remained silent for a long time, and finally laughed at herself: "And what qualifications do I have to deny everyone’s hope?... This is probably the destiny of Northern District Wizards."