Chapter 14 - 13: What Exactly is Going On?
On this continent of the Main World, there is a saying: The myriad stars in the sky are reflections of the souls themselves. Each soul born in this world has a corresponding star that signifies its fate and power.
What needs to be noted is that this is not some ancient story or romantic legend passed down among astrologists; it is a fact.
A fact.
Every person on this continent is born with a corresponding star, and these stars are recorded, preserved, and used for identity verification. In Fang Zheng's eyes, this method is no different from fingerprint and DNA verification in his world, but... there is still some difference.
And now, Fang Zheng was here to verify his hypothesis.
According to the memories of the original owner of this body, Fang Zheng could confirm that if the Kingdom of the Holy Church issued a wanted order, it would definitely be accompanied by this body's own "star pattern." Just like fingerprint comparison is required to catch fugitives, if his "star pattern" matched that of the wanted person, no matter what disguise or transformation he adopted, he couldn't escape the executors' eyes.
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Upon learning this, Fang Zheng had a very bold idea.
If the birth of a soul corresponds to a star, and the original soul of this body was already dead, did his rebirth mean a new star belonging to him would be born in this starry sky?
If his hypothesis was correct, then as long as he could obtain the Stellar Emblem, he could completely erase any residual problems this body might have. At that time, even if the knights of the Kingdom of the Holy Church found him, as long as his star pattern didn't match, they wouldn't be able to arrest him. The Kingdom of the Holy Church worshiped the Goddess of Order, and they couldn't openly overturn their own laws and beliefs.
This was similar to how prosecutors in his world couldn't send a criminal to court without matching fingerprints and DNA. Of course, if you wanted, you could fabricate a wrongful conviction, but in that case, Fang Zheng wouldn't hesitate to be ruthless.
This was another reason Fang Zheng came to this city. Official Stellar Emblems were only issued at the city hall. This was also a step for newcomers wanting to reside here—after all, not everyone carried their identity documents around; sometimes, a star pattern verification, confirming they weren't on the wanted list, was enough to get a "Good Citizen Certificate."
Fang Zheng clearly remembered the "star pattern" of this body's original owner. Now he needed to confirm whether his own "star pattern" matched the original owner's. If not, he could proceed with his plan. If they matched, he could leave as soon as possible. Although running to the wilderness to join forces with cultists and mercenaries wasn't his intention, he had no other choice if it came to that.
This is the place.
Looking at the heavy wooden door in front of him, Fang Zheng took a deep breath, then reached out and knocked. Soon, a muffled voice came from within.
"Come in."
Upon hearing the response, Fang Zheng pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked into the room.
The room appeared dimly lit. Above was not a ceiling but a circular glass dome. Shelves filled with thick books lined the walls, making the Star Room look more like a small library. In the center stood a heavy, wide desk, and behind it sat a small figure draped in a black robe. Judging by the looks, it wasn't much different from those fortune-telling wizards.
"I'm here for star pattern authentication."
Fang Zheng approached the desk and handed over the document in his hand. The person on the chair remained still, glanced at the document on the desk, and nodded.
"Place your hands on the crystal ball. We can begin."
The astrologer's voice was deep, but Fang Zheng didn't mind. He followed the instructions, placing his hands near the crystal ball. The astrologer also extended a hand, placed it on the other side of the crystal ball, and then chanted a spell softly.
"Buzz———"
In the next moment, the originally transparent crystal ball shone with bands of light, then gradually revealed a pitch-black space with glimmers of stars appearing in it. It looked much like the star maps of the Milky Way Fang Zheng had seen on TV. But... what did it mean? Fang Zheng had no idea.
Yet the astrologer before him seemed to. Upon seeing Fang Zheng's star pattern, the astrologer even let out a gasp and stood up in surprise.
"Huh?!"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Watching the astrologer's reaction, Fang Zheng felt tense but maintained a curious expression, asking. Simultaneously, Fang Zheng began calculating his next steps in case his identity was exposed: should he leave immediately or kill the astrologer and then flee?
"Ah, no... no problem... it's just..."
The astrologer, oblivious to the danger, leaned down to examine the crystal ball closely, mumbling to himself.
"This star pattern... is very rare... Well then... Sir, may I record it?"
"Well..."
Fang Zheng, hearing the response, felt relieved, furrowing his brows to feign hesitation before reluctantly replying.
"Is this a necessary step?"
"Ah no, no, sir,"
The astrologer quickly waved his hands upon hearing Fang Zheng's question.
"It's just that such a rare star pattern holds great research value, so I was hoping to get your permission to record it."
"Hmm..."
This time Fang Zheng didn't answer immediately. He pretended to contemplate while recalling the role of star patterns. For the average person, star patterns were like "fingerprints" and "DNA" for verification. For professionals, star patterns were also a source of power. There were even rumors that certain ancient great astrologers could predict a person's fate through the trajectories of stars.
The so-called rare star pattern was somewhat like rare astronomical phenomena such as supernova explosions in Fang Zheng's world. Outside the professional circle, these things had no impact. Just like discussions about gravitational waves which meant nothing to ninety-five percent of the populace in Fang Zheng's world.
"Alright."
After pondering for a moment, Fang Zheng nodded. Hearing his response, the astrologer seemed very pleased, standing up quickly, thanking Fang Zheng, and heading to the bookshelf.
"Thank you, sir, you're very kind. I promise not to disclose this star pattern. Now, where's my record book... Whoa!"
Perhaps too excited, the astrologer stepped on his robe, yelled, and stumbled forward. Fang Zheng quickly reached out to steady him.
Only then did Fang Zheng notice something amiss.
He distinctly felt a soft sensation, different from what he had imagined.
"Um, uh..."
The astrologer raised their head, the hood falling off, revealing lush chestnut curls and a fair, cute face.
It was a young woman, appearing to be about the same age as the body Fang Zheng now possessed.
Possibly even younger.
At this moment, the girl blushed deeply, staring at him in a daze.
"Are you okay, miss?"
Seeing her expression, Fang Zheng coughed and let go of his right hand. The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly cried out softly, crouching down and curling into a ball.
"........"
"........."
Once again, silence fell over the room.
What the heck is going on?