Chapter 46#
Temple of the Burning Lamp 17#
After saying that, the old man left. This time, no matter what they said, he did not respond again.
The dining room fell into a dead silence, with only the light of the nearly burnt-out candles flickering slowly. After the silence, the Empress was the first to speak.
Yu Feichen looked at her. In the candlelight, she pursed her lips and looked down. Although these body movements were disguised, they still revealed her nervousness.
The development of the situation had exceeded her expectations.
“Our missions in this world are all related to the resurrection of the Holy Son, but there are only two materials left to be found. Tomorrow, the resurrection ceremony is actually going to be held.” She said, “Usually, this means the final moment of the dungeon is approaching.”
Bai Song: “The most dangerous time is coming?”
The Empress gave Bai Song a strange look, like a teacher looking at a student she thought was doing well but had scored zero on an exam. The King of Shadi also turned his gaze here.
Yu Feichen’s brow furrowed slightly, thinking it was not good. The Empress seemed to have discovered something through Bai Song’s question.
A smile appeared on the corner of the Empress’s lips, and her nervous expression relaxed a lot. Then, she explained some rules of the dungeon.
She said that usually, if a dungeon issued clear tasks to participants, such as the item-seeking task issued by the old man in the cloak, then one only needed to complete all tasks step by step, and the moment of victory would eventually arrive.
Then, their only remaining task was to survive the night, as the old man in the cloak had said.
“Get ready, everyone. I hope we can all pass tonight safely,” she said. Then, she glanced at Qiu Na and raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly signaling her to follow, before getting up and leaving the dining table.
Qiu Na, however, stayed where she was and didn’t move.
The Empress looked back slightly.
“Your Majesty,” Yu Feichen said indifferently.
The Empress’s tone was slightly arrogant: “What?”
Yu Feichen didn’t like the roundabout way of speaking. He said, “I hope you don’t try to be too clever.”
The Empress returned a confident smile: “I hope you don’t either.”
With that, the clicking sound of high heels rang out. She returned to her room with the ghostly grey-clothed male servant, and the King of Shadi followed, going to the same room as the Empress.
Yu Feichen, Bai Song, the Scholar, and Qiu Na remained at the long table.
“The candles here are almost finished,” Yu Feichen said calmly. “Let’s talk back there.”
The length of the candles in the dining room was the same as the ones in their rooms. If the candles here were almost finished, it meant everyone’s candles in their rooms were also about to go out.
But Qiu Na spoke up: “I saved some candles.”
Yu Feichen: “Gather them together.”
The Scholar scrutinized the current situation. He found that everyone except the Empress and Shadi had inexplicably leaned towards the Knight Commander’s side. However, he still held a skeptical attitude towards this Knight Commander. Yet, at the moment, he was even more unwilling to be excluded by the entire group. After a moment’s thought, he also contributed the candles he had saved.
They stood together, with Yu Feichen in front. When approaching his room door, he heard voices coming from inside. It was actually Ludwig’s voice—this guy was actually awake?
The voice came through.
“He’s right, but I don’t think dungeons can be summarized into a few clear categories.”
Yu Feichen didn’t hear the preamble, but Ludwig was actually talking about “dungeons” with a girl he had met by chance. It was one thing for the Empress to talk about dungeons to tempt Qiu Na and poach from their team, but Your Holiness, what’s with you?
“Remember one thing: no matter what situation you’re placed in, you must bravely explore the clues of this world. When you understand the cause of something, you will foresee its outcome and find the way to leave.”
“But,” Molly said, “I’m afraid.”
“Don’t be afraid. They are lonely fragments. But you are also a small fragment of your home world. You are equals.”
—He was actually comforting a lost young girl.
Molly was crying: “Can I still go back?”
“Parting is only the beginning. You must live for a long time—”
With a creak, Yu Feichen pushed open the door.
Inside, Ludwig’s silver hair was loose, and he was sitting on the bed under a quilt, while Molly was half-kneeling by the bedside. In the candlelight, Ludwig held the girl’s delicate fingers, his expression gentle, like an elder teaching a child. Hearing the sound of the door, he maintained his previous expression and continued his unfinished sentence, while also looking up at Yu Feichen outside the door.
“…and you will wait for the day of reunion.”
The lost girl sobbed and squeezed the Pope’s hand, burying her face in the quilt.
Ludwig turned to them: “You’re back.”
Yu Feichen didn’t say a word. He even felt he should close the door and let this makeshift father and daughter continue their tender moment.
But since they were here, Bai Song pulled out a chair, and everyone sat down in turn. Molly also wiped her tears and went to stand on the other side.
Ludwig looked towards the empty nightstand, seemingly implying something, and then said: “I suddenly woke up, and Miss Molly asked me if I had gotten used to this kind of life.”
Qiu Na said: “When you realize you have no way out, it is indeed very helpless.”
Yu Feichen placed a glass of fresh water heavily on the nightstand. His days as the Knight Commander were finally coming to an end. Although he had only been doing it for two days, his desire to resign was already incredibly strong. After tomorrow’s ceremony, he would no longer serve.
Ludwig acted naturally, picking up the cup to moisten his throat.
Yu Feichen briefly explained the situation: “New task: survive until tomorrow. At noon, go to the atrium to participate in the resurrection ceremony.”
“Atrium?” Ludwig said, “Yesterday at noon, a nun was pierced through the heart in the atrium. Today at noon, all the monks had their throats slit in the atrium.”
Yu Feichen perfunctorily replied: “I express my deep sympathy for that.”
Of course, those who deserved more sympathy were the people like them who were going to attend the “ceremony” tomorrow. First a nun died, then the monks. At tomorrow’s ceremony, their group of outsiders would probably be the only living people left in the temple.
What would happen then?
The others obviously thought of it too.
“The first medicine is the Blood Salt Heart, the second is the Human Eye Butterfly, and the third medicine, they say, is in the temple.” Qiu Na pondered: “It might be an original collection in the temple. But based on their style, I don’t think it’s very likely.”
Bai Song: “Right, right, right! The lizard needs to drink blood, the butterfly needs to burn corpses. The appearance of these two medicines is accompanied by death.”
Qiu Na nodded: “And those rituals? What do you think they mean?”
At this time, the books they had looked through in the storage room should come into play.
Bai Song suddenly realized: “The heart means life and blood. They bled the nun to stop the Holy Son’s bleeding. Slitting the monks’ throats is to let the Holy Son speak! Once he can speak, he can continue to pray!”
Yu Feichen watched the two newcomers who had just entered the dungeon discuss their thoughts. For now, he was relatively satisfied with what he saw. The performance of these two had already surpassed many lazy employers.
Bai Song: “So, what will be sacrificed tomorrow? What will we encounter?”
Qiu Na: “Instead of worrying about what we’ll encounter tomorrow, we should worry about what we’ll encounter tonight. Let’s count our candles first.”
Bai Song pointed to a pile of candles at the corner of the bed: “There.”
Qiu Na held the candles she had saved and wanted to put them there.
Yu Feichen called out to her: “Blow on them first, every single one.”
“Why?”
Yu Feichen signaled her to look at the candle in his room.
Qiu Na’s eyes widened: “Why is the candle in your room longer than mine? No, they were all the same length at the beginning. Yours burns slower?”
—As expected. It seemed this was the first crisis they would encounter tonight. A long night and candles that couldn’t last through it.
Yu Feichen took out the so-called “Fire Lizard Powder” he had obtained from the white-clothed nun. This powder was extremely light and would be like mist when sprinkled in the air. When it landed on a candle, it wouldn’t be noticed by anyone. He took a little, blew it onto a candle, and then lit it.
The candle’s tears melted and dripped rapidly. In just two minutes, the candle had visibly decreased by a small section. Yu Feichen added more powder, and the candle burned even more intensely, almost becoming a burning torch.
Molly suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
“Last night… it was like this in my room!” she said.
So, was this the temple’s way of punishing her? If it weren’t for the Knight Commander saving her, she wouldn’t have been able to think of any way to break it!
Qiu Na’s gaze narrowed, and she began to blow on the candles seriously, even wiping them carefully with her skirt.
“Take turns keeping watch, in pairs. First, keep an eye on the candles. Second, pay attention to the outside,” Yu Feichen said.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the second danger tonight should be those shadow monsters.
As for the third type—
He didn’t bother to care and lay down on the recliner by the bed to sleep.
Ludwig, who had returned to his AFK state at some point, not only continued to be AFK but had already returned to the quilt, facing him, looking drowsy again.
Yu Feichen: “Why did you wake up?”
“Intuition, maybe,” the nasal sound unique to someone about to sleep appeared in Ludwig’s voice again. He said, “I felt danger, maybe because you went out.”
Although it’s human instinct to wake up in dangerous situations, Yu Feichen still felt a bit more comfortable.
“Go to sleep,” he said, “I’ve got a plan for tomorrow.”
Ludwig said: “Deaths will occur.”
“But it will also bring new clues. At least we can see clearly if the temple truly wants to resurrect the Holy Son.”
Ludwig spoke out of sleepiness: “Then, I wish you stay alive.”
After saying that, he fell asleep. He didn’t have that “holy light shining” feeling he had when talking to Molly—that tone and look, as if he were omniscient and omnipotent, and had infinite pity for everyone in front of him.
Leaving Yu Feichen looking at his sleeping face, recalling that appearance, but thinking in his heart: if he stayed away from this bed, would His Holiness wake up again? Like a robot with a button pressed.
The corridor light should be able to last a while longer.
He was on the verge of a dangerous edge, and finally, he pulled over half of the Pope’s quilt and went to sleep.
Life is important.