Chapter 33#

Temple of the Burning Lamp 4#

The Pope slept all the way until morning.

He slept very deeply, rather than resting, it was more like unconsciousness.

Yu Feichen stood at the bedside waiting. Sunlight streamed in, and when those dark green eyes opened, they landed directly on him, carrying the faint, hazy confusion that all people have upon waking from a heavy sleep.

Yu Feichen said directly, “Anfield.”

The moment he spoke, the Pope’s gaze snapped fully awake. He rose from the bed, walked straight past Yu Feichen, and headed to the wardrobe.

A cold voice sounded: “Ludwig.”

It wasn’t an admission, but neither was it a denial.

Yu Feichen said nothing.

He admitted that he was indeed curious to confirm whether Ludwig truly was Anfield.

The two were the same in coldness and pride, both standing above all others. But Anfield had been gravely ill, whereas Ludwig was not.

One could say Ludwig was Anfield stripped of all weaknesses. Such a person would be an unimaginably powerful ally… but as an opponent, a massive danger and threat.

—And Yu Feichen still could not be sure what role Pope Ludwig intended to play in this world.

For the first time in a long while, he felt a faint kind of… excitement. The kind that usually appeared only one second before blood was shed.

The last of the candles in the room burned down. The Pope, already dressed in his luxurious, heavy black‑and‑gold robes, walked toward the window.

They looked outside together.

At this very moment, what lay outside the window was something that absolutely would not appear in a normal world.

An ivory‑white temple stood atop a towering mountain.

Around the mountain stretched rolling ranges and scattered towns and villages.

But now, all of these places were shrouded under an enormous circular shadow.

They looked to the farthest distance—

Last night, through the veil of mist, Yu Feichen had thought the mountains encircled the temple.

Only with daylight did he see it clearly: at the horizon stood a colossal black wall, encircling the entire world. Its pitch‑black surface reflected no light, as though emanating endless malice.

Looking upward, beneath that encircling wall, the sky formed a gray‑white circle.

Ludwig spoke two words.

“A well.”

A well.

Indeed, this world seemed to sit inside a bottomless well. And not a straight cylinder, but a vast, conical one. Light entered only through the opening of the well, illuminating the temple on the central peak while leaving everything else in shadow.

Sounds came from the hallway; everyone else was waking.

Breakfast was still salad. No one spoke. Aside from Ludwig, it was obvious everyone had slept poorly.

In that suffocating, greasy heat, who could sleep well?

Footsteps approached. The cloaked old man appeared once more.

“The first ingredient of the Elixir of Life : the Heart of the Weeping Lizard.”

“Find it before dusk.”

With that, he left.

“The Heart of the Weeping Lizard…” the Empress repeated, then laughed. “It does sound like the name of an ingredient.”

By now, based on what the old man had said yesterday and today, their tasks were clear.

First: before dusk, find something called the “Heart of the Weeping Lizard”.

Second: gather information, deduce the truth, and find the murderer who killed the so‑called “Holy Son”.

The first task lasted one day; the second was long‑term, to be completed within three to five days.

“Let’s split up,” said the grim‑faced King Shadi.

Everyone turned to look at the Pope and the Empress—last night’s latest arrivals, and the two highest‑ranking characters.

After a brief silence, Ludwig spoke first: “I’ll look for the lizard’s heart.”

The Empress smiled. “Then I’ll gather intelligence.”

The rest chose in order of seating. The two kings, the judge, and the nun chose to follow the Empress inside the temple.

The lord and his wife, and the scholar, chose to follow Ludwig to search for the lizard’s heart.

Yu Feichen chose to go with the Pope. Bai Song naturally followed him.

In truth, compared to the vague and confusing task of finding the “Heart of the Weeping Lizard,” gathering intelligence inside the temple was clearly the more profitable option. It was safe, simple, unlikely to fail, and would help them understand the bigger picture.

But the hidden door in the Knight Commander’s room and the Pope’s room was unusual.

Although he still didn’t understand the rules of this world, he felt it was necessary to choose according to his role.

The two groups prepared to split.

“Let’s go,” said the Empress.

“Wait.” Ludwig’s voice was quiet. His voice was pleasant, soft in tone, yet somehow, it felt more like an unquestionable command.

“After tomorrow’s ingredient is announced, the two teams will switch tasks,” he said.

In that instant, Yu Feichen understood.

As expected—this was not someone who accepted disadvantages.

The Empress’s expression darkened for a heartbeat, then she smiled. “Fine. We’ll take turns.”

With that, she led her team away.

Only their group remained at the table.

Ludwig fell silent again, his lashes lowered slightly, looking somewhat fatigued.

Djuna spoke excitedly: “So what do we do now? Go out and investigate?”

Since the Pope said nothing, Yu Feichen answered; he disliked letting others take the initiative.

“The Heart of the Weeping Lizard,” he said. “What do you think it is?”

“This looks like a Western‑fantasy RPG setting,” Djuna said. “Standard procedure, we go talk to the NPCs outside. One of them will know a legend about this treasure, and we follow the clues.”

If this world really were the full‑dive game Djuna thought it was, that would be the usual design.

But Yu Feichen knew this was no game; this was a real world.

And the Elixir of Life was an ancient formula, requiring priests to translate and decipher. The translated ancient names would definitely not match any existing item names.

Therefore, he was more inclined to believe that the “Heart of the Weeping Lizard” was meant literally.

The heart of a weeping lizard, a classic ingredient for dark alchemy—mix it with toad eyes, rat tails, snake fangs, and it would become a witch’s potion.

Djuna said, “If no one has any objections, let’s split up and ask the NPCs.”

“I have a different take,” Yu Feichen said. “I think it’s an ingredient we have to make. We should first find a lizard.”

“I agree with the Knight Commander,” the scholar said, speaking for the first time.

“Why?” Djuna asked.

The scholar pulled a thick book from his coat.

“I found several books in my pocket, this world’s bestiary. I finished reading them last night.”

The book categorized creatures by region, and among those living on the ‘Heart of the Central Peak’—presumably where the temple was—there were many lizard species.

However, they are all things like “Fire-Breathing Lizards,” “Ice Lizards,” and “Green Long-Tailed Lizards,” none were called the “Weeping Lizard.”

As he spoke, the scholar turned the pages to those containing the lizards, and sure enough, it was true.

Yu Feichen said, “Let’s go.”

—To catch lizards. They left and first asked nearby monks and nuns. As expected, none had ever heard of a “Weeping Lizard’s Heart.”

But when asked where lizards could be found, a nun told them there were some in the back mountain forest and near the streams.

The moment they entered the back mountain, Djuna shivered.

“Ugh,” she hugged herself. “So cold.”

The place was full of plants and thick vines, with deep ravines everywhere. The chill hit them instantly.

Yu Feichen glanced at the deep valley and the crisscrossing shadows of trees. “Split up. Don’t go too far.”

Recalling last night’s deductions about light and shadow, he added, “Avoid places with too many shadows.”

“Huh?” Djuna said. “Then how do we search?”

She pointed at the ground. “How can there not be shadows in a forest?”

At that moment, the scholar said, “I don’t think it’s something to worry too much about.”

He pointed at the distant black wall at the horizon. The sunlight that entered through the “well mouth” cast a vast, world‑spanning shadow. “Most of this world is in shadow anyway. The candles might just be a temple custom.”

“See?” Djuna smiled and patted Bai Song’s head. “This knight gave me quite a fright last night.”

Yu Feichen didn’t continue arguing. “Start searching.”

They spread out, but remained within sight of one another.

The forest was quiet. Aside from the rustling leaves and flowing water, only Djuna’s loud voice echoed.

“Hey! I saw a tail—oh, it’s gone!”

“The fish here are so pretty! They even have little gems on their heads, so sparkly!”

“By the way, our team has so many handsome guys. The reason I followed His Holiness is because he’s too good‑looking, and I didn’t expect the Knight Commander to come along too. Knight Commander, do you know how handsome you are? Gimme a smile?”

“I mean, are you two beta testers or NPCs? Why do you both act like NPCs?”

“Honey? Honey? Where are you?”

Jude was behind a large tree.

Listening to her chatter, irritation churned within him, rising higher and higher—

He and Djuna had met in a full‑dive game. Back then, she had been a top‑ranked player—skilled, charismatic. They quickly went from online to real life, then dated, then married.But after marriage, her flaws grew unbearable. She was obsessed with games, speed‑running every new release day and night, neglecting real life entirely. She had no sense of responsibility, no gentleness, no empathy—not a good wife at all. The only thing that interested her was fun.

—Just like now.

Looking at the mountain, vines, and streams around him, Jude’s terror surged like a flood. His face went pale, his fingers trembling.

In such a real world, with such realistic detail, how could this stupid woman still think this was just a fun game? Everyone else remained quiet, yet she was still excitedly shouting. Didn’t she realize how out of place that was?

He, however, fully understood: everything had changed. This was not a game. This was a real, bizarre world!

Jude clenched his fists, breathing heavily as he scanned the area, wishing he had never met Djuna. His heart pounded violently. Then, a jolt shot through him.

Something was wrong.

Jude whipped around!

Behind him, the grass was green, the stream flowed quietly. Everything was peaceful.

Probably just his imagination. His pounding heart eased a little. He kept walking, searching under rocks—there wasn’t a single lizard.

He lifted another stone, and suddenly, that cold, malicious sensation seized his heart again.

Every hair on his body stood on end. He turned around again.

Grass. Stream. Still so quiet.

Jude gasped for breath, continuing to walk further away from Djuna.

As he walked, a frantic question consumed him—what was wrong?

He was a cautious man. Avoiding the shadows on the ground, just as the Knight Commander instructed, he racked his brain.

What’s wrong? What is it?

Just as he rounded a clump of trees, he froze. His heart nearly leapt out of his throat, his eyes widening in terror.

Where… is my shadow?