Chapter 49#

Temple of the Burning Lamp 20#

The Empress’s room.

The gray-clothed male attendant stood quietly at the door like a door-keeping ghost. From outside the door came the voice of that little knight, rambling on that they should go out right now.

“Fool!” The Empress glared at the conflicted King of Shadi: “If you don’t want to die, don’t even think about going out!”

The King of Shadi said: “But don’t you think what he says makes a lot of sense?”

The Empress glanced out the window. The arc representing the giant curtain was still about the size of a cup base, no different from during the day, which was safe.

“Don’t be fooled by illusions. Everyone on their team except for that half-dead Pope is a newcomer, and that Scholar hasn’t experienced many dungeons either. They don’t know what kind of illusion they’re trapped in, going out to seek death.”

At this point, she even smiled: “I thought it was such a difficult dungeon, but now it seems it’s just regular difficulty. Since someone is rushing to their death, the one dying won’t be me.”

Outside the door, Bai Song said: “They don’t believe it, what should we do? Just leave them?”

If they didn’t believe it, there was nothing they could do. Everyone has their own choices and must pay the corresponding price for them.

“Illusions will appear in many forms, not only affecting vision but also controlling other senses. Don’t believe anything.” Yu Feichen said briefly: “Don’t meet the eyes of the black shadows, everyone just look at the person in front. I will lead you to the atrium. Remember, those who are walking, keep moving forward, don’t turn around. Those who are holding the lights, don’t let them down, don’t let go.”

They formed a group and went outside. As soon as the door opened, a biting cold night wind whistled and hit them, making it almost impossible to open their eyes.

In such weather, if they were holding candles, they would surely be blown out by the wind. Fortunately, they had scavenged two crystal lamp covers from the Pope’s room.

Bai Song bent down and picked up Molly on his back, while Molly held a large candlestick with a lamp cover, casting their shadows firmly on the ground. Facing the darkness, her hands were a bit shaky, but seeing the steady figures of her companions, she took a deep breath and held the candlestick high.

This time, I will definitely not drag anyone down again.

On the other side, the Scholar picked up Qiu Na on his back. He had lost an arm, so it was very difficult. Neither Yu Feichen nor Ludwig carried anyone. Yu Feichen walked at the very front, and Ludwig brought up the rear.

—After asking that question, “Will you be asleep or awake?”, His Holiness the Pope thought for a moment and replied that the situation was critical now, and he would most likely be able to stay awake.

The candles inside the crystal lamp covers were sprinkled with fire lizard powder, so the light was exceptionally bright. The firelight cast their shadows, one forward and one backward, small in size with clear boundaries—the safe kind of shadow.

Yu Feichen had already memorized the map of the temple and now led the way directly to the central main road. There were few obstructions there, and thus few possible shadows. He didn’t take a candle but gripped his sword hilt firmly. The cold hilt brought clarity. The others only needed to follow him forward while overcoming illusions, but as the leader, he had to ensure he proceeded according to the route without a single error.

Faint light filtered from the edge of the giant curtain and cast into the temple. It was unclear whether it was moonlight or dawn.

In the dimness, the temple was filled with shadows, and countless black humanoid shadows stood silently in all directions. They moved further away as the lights approached, but their numbers never decreased. It was as if countless souls were quietly watching them, seeing through their inner thoughts, and thus creating all sorts of illusions.

—Like walking through countless rows of black tombstones.

Yu Feichen gripped the sword hilt, and the scene before him changed several times. The mothership corridor was the most common. Besides it, sometimes it was the Ice Crystal Square, sometimes Sunset Street, and sometimes scenes he had seen in other worlds.

When it was time to turn, the scene changed again.

In front was the wide-open south gate of Oak Valley Shelter, and on the right was a two-story laboratory building engulfed in flames.

The temple map was etched into his brain. With his palm against the ice-cold blade, he resolutely turned right against the scorching waves of fire and passed through the burning house.

Behind him, Bai Song and the Scholar were already panting, and the lights in Molly and Qiu Na’s hands trembled several times. This was not a one-person affair, and there was no room for error; no one could afford to make a mistake.

The two bright lamps were like a pair of bright eyes, slowly moving through the thick night.

Turning the last corner, Yu Feichen looked at the spacious atrium road and checked the map in his head, letting out a slight sigh of relief. From here on, there was no need to turn anymore. Following the main road all the way would lead to the sacrificial site.

The sky was grayish-white, slightly brighter than before, and the shadows of the buildings on the ground were gradually becoming solid from being thin.

Yu Feichen said: “We’re almost there.”

“Phew, that was torture.” Bai Song said.

Qiu Na whispered: “The shadows are starting to move, very much like the monsters from that day, did you guys notice?”

They noticed. Along the way, the monsters in the night were no longer just shadow people. Black shadows on the ground also gradually stretched out tentacles, crawling toward them like ghosts, only to be dispersed by the light around them.

“Focus on protecting the lights.” Yu Feichen said. Without looking back, he asked: “Ludwig?”

“I’m here.” Ludwig’s steady voice came from behind.

Good that he’s there. This man’s only virtue is that he never drops the ball when it’s time for serious business.

“Let’s go,” Yu Feichen said.

The shadow people ahead had gathered to a dense degree, and the road was full of uneven silhouettes of human heads. He took a deep breath and stepped straight forward.

Ethereal singing suddenly came from his ear, a difficult language but a very familiar tune. It was… the lullaby Enfield hummed to the little girl that night at Oak Mountain.

But the singing had changed; it was the voice of a beautiful young girl.

Yu Feichen looked around and saw himself walking on a wide atrium road. The road stones were snow-white, shining brightly under the sun. Ahead was a magnificent giant temple. In the temple complex, white obelisks stood tall, pointing toward the sky and the sun.

Several silver-armored knights with swords walked toward him and called out: “Knight Commander.”

Nuns in white robes embroidered with faint gold patterns smiled and nodded as they passed him in twos and threes carrying flower baskets.

He didn’t speak and continued forward. This wasn’t the temple, but it wasn’t any scene he had seen before either. Was it an illusion created by the black shadows out of thin air?

The main road led to the steps of the temple. Just by moving forward, he could push open the door, in the same direction as before—

Wait!

The illusions created by shadows have always induced people to go in the wrong direction. When did they become so kind?

But he had indeed been walking forward.

…If it wasn’t that his direction was wrong, then it was that the direction of the road had a problem.

But where was the correct direction?

He stopped, looked around, and suddenly heard the singing in his ear stop abruptly. Another voice rang out: “Knight Commander?”

It was Ludwig; he had discovered the anomaly.

At the same second Ludwig’s reminding voice rang out, he saw a back figure near a temple flower bed to his left front.

Judging by the build, it was a boy of fifteen or sixteen, wearing a snow-white robe, his faint gold hair flowing down, with a dawn-like luster under the sunlight.

He stood silently with his back to him. Until a flock of pigeons flew across the blue sky, the white-robed boy stretched out his hand toward them. A white pigeon landed on his shoulder and affectionately pecked at his hair.

Yu Feichen looked at the angle of the sun and the shadows on the ground, inferred his current specific position and the orientation of this temple, then turned and resolutely deviated from the central axis of the temple road, walking toward the left front. Coincidentally, it was the direction where that young man was standing.

“Yu Feichen?” Another soft call rang out.

Yu Feichen completely regained his senses, the scene before him receded, and it turned back into the dim temple road.

He looked at the road beneath his feet and found that he had indeed been slowly deviating to the right before, taking Bai Song and the Scholar behind him with him. Fortunately, he reacted in time and returned to the correct direction.

“I’m awake,” he said.

Ludwig: “Good work.”

Yu Feichen headed straight forward again. The illusion never appeared again, perhaps because the shadow monsters were out of tricks.

Crossing the steps, they reached the atrium.

The old man in the cloak, wearing a black iron mask, stood at the entrance. The lantern in his hand emitted an eerie white light.

“Honored guests, you have finally come.”

“We have been waiting for a long time,” he said.

At this moment, the grayish light filtered from the edge of the giant curtain. Daylight had arrived.