Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 9 The Godfather Raphael

Raphael's occult knowledge included the names of all potions in both the "Prisoner" and "Criminal" pathways.

They only knew the name, but not the potion recipe.

But even that's enough for now.

Raphael first recalled that the Sequence 2 potion name for the "Prisoner" pathway was "Ancient Evil," while the Sequence 2 potion name for the "Criminal" pathway was "Blood Duke."

He then said to Chen Qingzhi, "If your ancestor's main abilities are curses and possession, his behavior will resemble that of an 'ancient evil being'."

"If his abilities lean towards cunning, transformation, and delirium, his behavior will become closer to 'blood'."

"He needs to figure out the specifics of how to do it himself."

"Behavior...close to blood..." Chen Qingzhi was completely clueless after hearing this, but then he realized that this method might be seemingly simple but actually profound, and he, a cultivator at the "Transformation Realm", could not comprehend it.

Then he took a deep breath and said in a reverent tone, "The patriarch's famous supernatural power is indeed the 'True Body of the Heavenly Demon,' and his other supernatural power, the 'Great Demonic Sound Technique,' is also very famous."

Raphael then laughed and said, "It seems that although the names for some abilities differ between cultivators of our two realms, their essence is quite similar."

Suddenly, Raphael felt extremely weak, and he no longer had the strength to even maintain a sitting posture or speak.

He paused for a moment, then said in a pretentious tone, "It seems our conversation will have to end here for now."

As he spoke, his neck tilted to the side, and he fainted.

The moment Raphael felt his spirit leave his body, he heard Chen Qingzhi exclaim in alarm, "Oh no, this body has no magic power, Demon Lord... Demon Lord..."

……

Raphael took a deep breath and sat up from the recliner.

He immediately looked around and went back into Markle's apartment.

Call ~

After letting out a long breath, Raphael didn't know whether what he had just experienced was a dream or something that had actually happened to him.

Raphael glanced at the half-open door and vaguely heard Audrey and Markle talking.

Then he took out his pocket watch and looked at it; it was already late at night.

Stretching, Raphael got up and hid behind the curtains, observing the scene below.

The narrow streets were only frequented by homeless people; there were no suspicious individuals.

Raphael then sat on the recliner, reliving his experience once again.

In fact, Chen Qingzhi's summoning was successful. Although Raphael was only at the Sequence 8 level, he was indeed able to help the other party solve the problem.

……

He guarded Audrey's room before Raphael woke up.

Carter was a gangster who appeared to be quite clever and whose behavior was not particularly vulgar.

However, no matter how clever he was, under Audrey's influence, he "unintentionally" revealed some of the Mafia's secrets to her, without even realizing it himself.

According to Carter, Raphael, who calls himself the Godfather, is a man of great loyalty and affection, and he is very generous to his subordinates. The members of the Mafia all support him.

Markle then replaced Carter, and Audrey chatted with the one-legged homeowner again.

Audrey smiled and asked, "Mr. Markle, is this apartment your property?"

"Yes, beautiful lady," Markle replied somewhat reservedly.

"There's something you should understand," Audrey said, sitting in her chair. "The police will find this place sooner or later, and Raphael and his men can escape without any worries. If you run away with them, you'll have to give up this property."

"I know," Markle said calmly. "If the police find this place, I won't run away; I'll let them take me away."

"I think if there's a scapegoat, the police would be happy to close the case."

This answer surprised Audrey. Based on her observation, Markle was not coerced; he genuinely intended to take the blame for Raphael and Carter.

She pondered for a moment and then asked, "It seems that Raphael helped you in the past, and the help he provided was something you would give up everything to repay."

"Yes, beautiful lady," Markle said simply.

Audrey smiled and said, "It seems you have a story to tell. Since we don't have anything else to do right now, why don't you tell us your story?"

Markel looked at the night sky outside and suddenly felt a strong urge to speak, so he said, "Last year, I had a happy family, a gentle wife, and two lovely children."

"But after a work injury at the end of last year, I gradually lost all of that."

"At the time, I injured my leg and needed expensive treatment every week. Our savings were quickly depleted, and my wife's salary was barely enough to support the family. There was simply no extra money for my treatment..."

Audrey paused for a moment, then asked, "Didn't the factory offer any compensation?"

"Of course there are." Markle suddenly gave a cold laugh: "That's right, of course there are!"

"But the compensation won't be paid to me immediately. I heard that my injuries need to be assessed first, and then there are some legal procedures to go through."

"I waited and waited, but the compensation never came. Instead, I received devastating news: because I didn't receive timely treatment, I couldn't save my leg."

Audrey paused again, then gestured for him to continue.

Markle continued, "Our family moved to the cheapest apartment in the East End. I watched my wife work day and night and my two children gradually become thinner and thinner."

"At this time, an illness struck, which was said to be a flu outbreak following the heavy smog event."

"My frail wife and children died one after another in my arms, and I lay beside them, intending to reunite with them in the embrace of the Lord."

As Markle spoke, his voice was low and somber, and Audrey could still sense the despair he had felt at that moment from his tone.

"But I'm so unwilling!" Markle said, his voice choked with emotion. "Our whole family was full of hope for life and never had any malicious thoughts, but we're going to die of illness in a cramped rented room, without even being able to eat a piece of bread before we die."

"And those factory owners and managers, who did so many bad things, had such exquisite food and lived such luxurious lives."

Audrey's smile gradually disappeared, and she didn't know why.

Markel continued, "At that moment, I thought of the Godfather Raphael that my neighbor mentioned, who was said to be able to solve problems that the police and the courts couldn't."

"I struggled to find Mr. Raphael, hoping to give it a try."

"I originally planned to tell Raphael about what had happened and then leave with my wife and children, but Mr. Raphael said that he could solve the problem for me the next day."

At this point, Markle waved his arms excitedly and said, "The next day, I heard some shocking news: the factory owner who had deliberately delayed paying compensation had his leg sawed off in the night. It is said that his screams were heard throughout the street. Although he did not die, his eldest son, who liked to force female workers to have sex, was hanged."

He laughed and said, "That afternoon, the compensation that was supposed to be mine was paid out. Later I heard that the factory owner's leg, which had been sawed off, appeared on the bed of the judge in charge of my case late at night."

Audrey was taken aback. She, who never liked to solve problems with violence, found Raphael's approach refreshing.