An Unexpected Accident

"Grandpa and Grandma…?"

Adam could not help falling silent for a moment.

Whether it was because of the distance, the special circumstances in China, the need to keep it secret from ordinary people, or any other reason, compared to his paternal grandparents, whom he had at least met a few times, the day he received his acceptance letter was Adam’s only meeting with his maternal grandparents that he could remember.

When he had first crossed over, limited by the development of an infant’s body, Adam had almost no memories from before the age of two or three, so he did not remember anything like the choosing ceremony.

So… if he had to describe his impression of his maternal grandparents, unfamiliar was perhaps a somewhat hurtful but fitting adjective.

"Sure. I’ve always wanted to visit China and try the most authentic Chinese food."

Adam’s answer made Madam Li breathe a sigh of relief. She then smiled and nodded.

"Then I’ll book the tickets right away. I’ll go back with you when the time comes."

Perhaps because it was the holiday season, flights for the next few days were already fully booked. On top of that, Madam Li needed to make preparations for her first return to China in so many years, so the tickets were booked for ten days later.

However, on the eighth day, Adam received a letter delivered by owl.

At first, Adam did not think much of it. He was merely curious, since he did not seem to have seen this owl before, and he should have recognized the owls of everyone he knew who might write to him.

After checking that the letter carried no curses or anything of the sort, he opened it. The relaxed smile on Adam’s lips vanished the moment he read its contents.

"Adam, if you are able to read this letter, then if nothing unexpected happened, something unexpected probably happened."

That was the letter’s first sentence. The familiar handwriting undoubtedly belonged to Uther.

The deliberately playful phrasing did not make Adam feel the slightest bit relieved or amused. He hurriedly read on.

"Because of your previous prophecy, I made some preparations. After thinking it over, I decided to write this letter as one of my backup measures. If all goes well, I will stay in Hamunaptra for no more than seven days. On the seventh day, I will definitely use a Portkey to leave and stop this letter from being sent. So if you can read this letter…"

The handwriting grew heavier here. It was clear that the quill had paused for a while. In the end, Uther did not continue writing, instead starting a new line.

"I spent a long time considering why I should write this letter to you, and what you could do if you received it… For the sake of the two years we spent as roommates and the fact that we got along quite well, help me notify my mother, who may not yet know that something has happened to us. That way, she can at least prepare herself in advance. And the other brothers too. Remember to say goodbye to them for me when school starts."

"It’s a pity I probably won’t be able to give you any reward. You do not seem to be short on money, either, but my personal collection is in the box beneath my bed. If you like, you can take it as a keepsake. They’re all rather unusual things."

"Lastly, you really were an amazing roommate, and your cooking was incredibly delicious. I love you, Adam."

Setting down the letter, Adam blinked his slightly stinging eyes and drew a deep breath.

"What’s wrong, Adam?"

Kero tilted his head as he looked at Adam’s grim expression.

"Kero, don’t talk yet… Let me think… let me think…"

The most important thing now was to determine whether Uther was dead or alive.

If he was still alive, Adam could rush to Egypt now and should be able to save him. But if he was dead, Adam’s going there would directly complete the causal loop. Even time magic would be unable to change the predetermined outcome afterward.

But if he did not go to Egypt and take a look, how could he confirm whether Uther was dead or not?

Wait… there was a way!

"Clow Cards created by Clow Reed, please answer my question and tell me Uther Ramses’s condition…"

With Adam’s half-baked ability to interpret divinations, even if Uther’s result indicated death, it would at most be his own guess. Thankfully, there was no Death Card among the Clow Cards!

"Erase Card, Sand Card, Scale Card, Dark Card, Maze Card?"

Looking at the same divination result as last time, Adam breathed a sigh of relief.

There had been no change. Did that mean Uther was still alive?

Adam put away the Clow Cards on the table, summoned the Wand of Darkness, and prepared to use the Transfer Card’s magic to head straight for Egypt.

Luckily, he had learned this magic shortly after mastering The Fly. Otherwise, he truly might not have been able to sustain such consumption over so great a distance.

"Kero, Suppi, I’m leaving for a while. You…"

"Wait, Adam! Do you remember that you’re going to China in a couple of days?"

Suppi interrupted Adam. Come to think of it, he really had forgotten.

So Adam hurriedly went to find Madam Li.

"Mom, my classmate in Egypt is in trouble. I need to go find him, so I can’t go to China with you."

"What…?"

Madam Li’s smile froze on her face.

"But your Grandpa and Grandma…"

"Sorry, Mom, but this is extremely urgent. It’s a matter of life and death! It won’t hurt to delay the trip to China. We haven’t seen each other in all these years anyway, so waiting another year does not matter, right?"

Adam held Madam Li’s hand.

There was no doubt that he loved China, but as for his relatives there… he only felt a measure of gratitude toward his maternal grandparents. At least they had brought him the Book of Sealing. As for familial affection, there was some, but not much.

Between visiting relatives he did not know in China and Uther’s life, which was more important was beyond question.

"…All right."

After a few seconds of silence, Madam Li sighed.

"Then we’ll go next year. I’ll buy you a ticket to Egypt."

"There’s no time. I’ll go directly with magic. Thank you for understanding!"

He pulled Madam Li into an embrace, kissed her cheek, and with a wave of the Wand of Darkness, Adam vanished from the spot.

The instant the scene before him changed into Uther’s family villa, Adam heard several sharp shouts.

"Who goes there?!"

It was Arabic. Adam glanced around. Five wizards had their wands pointed at him, and the chains formed by Incarcerous were blocked by the protective magic around him.

"I’m here for Uther."

Adam spoke in Ancient Egyptian, which instead left the five wizards completely bewildered.

"Adam?"

Footsteps came from the second floor. It turned out that Uther’s mother, Tuya, had heard the commotion and run downstairs.

"Auntie…"

Adam had just opened his mouth when he saw Tuya’s reddened eyes.

"I already know…"

Tuya took out a sheet of paper from her pocket. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably as she took several deep breaths to steady herself.

"I didn’t expect you to come so quickly… Come with me."

At Tuya’s signal, the wizards surrounding Adam stepped back, and Adam followed her to the top floor.

"Uther’s room is in there. Go inside."

"…"

Adam thought that saying he wanted to save Uther right now seemed somewhat rash. Tuya was unlikely to believe he possessed that ability, but if he delayed, Uther could truly die at any moment…

After thinking it over, Adam decided to first push open the door and enter as Tuya had instructed.

The moment he pushed open the door, Adam almost wanted to slam it shut, erase this memory, and pretend he had never opened it.

"Before Uther left… he prepared a Portkey."

Tuya entered the room beside Adam and slowly walked to Uther, who lay on the bed. Her voice trembled noticeably.

"But yesterday, Merian activated the Portkey. What I received was his corpse, and also…"