Chapter 476: Secret Protection

Te Lisi slightly furrowed their brow, as the former instigator they are extremely sharp in language and can detect that Lei Kedun leans more toward letting them choose that Erudite.

A secret being never heard of—was it an identity created by a righteous or evil deity to erode the authority of secrecy? A god of knowledge and wisdom? Or the Hidden Sage?

After a moment of contemplation, they gathered their thoughts and asked curiously:

"Isn't the highest rank of the Path of the Secret Seeker the Hidden Sage worshipped by the Morse Ascetic Order? Or is that 'Erudite' His incarnation?"

"Should we say He is the incarnation of the Erudite, needing to hear my master's preaching?"

Lei Kedun smiled and shook his head, calmly correcting Te Lisi's words.

Te Lisi stared at Lei Kedun in a slightly dazed way, taking a small step back, a hint of wariness rising in their eyes, and said:

"Aren't you a member of the Knowledge Church?"

"These two identities do not conflict," Lei Kedun replied with a light laugh.

As he spoke, the starlight outside the floor‑to‑ceiling window suddenly became dazzling, specks of starshine spilling into the room, illuminating a brilliant star river.

The crystal sphere he was supporting in his left hand instantly glowed brightly, and the room's gravity faltered, beginning to draw toward the starry sky.

"Trouble."

He murmured softly, then gently twisted his right hand, summoning an Invisible Servant, and took the vivid, distorted painting from its hand.

As spiritual energy was continuously infused, the twisted vortex‑like light clusters on the painting seemed to come alive, expanding repeatedly and merging with the surrounding space.

The urging star river that had been reflected into the room instantly twisted, stretching into slender blue lines, contracting into uneven bundles, while the surrounding space thinned rapidly, losing its "height" and becoming a flat watercolor without thickness.

The dazzling twisted starry sky and the Red Rose Manor vanished in an instant, and the inn's room returned to dimness, with only faint amber light filtering through the painted protruding window, preventing total darkness.

"The effect at night was larger than I expected—was it coincidence, or due to some special trait I possess?"

Lei Kedun looked at the crystal sphere in his hand, now dull and hazy, muttered softly, then handed it to the Invisible Servant behind him.

Snap! A crisp finger‑click echoed in the room, and a clear, brilliant, pure light rose from void, illuminating the cheap inn room with a gleam.

The sudden brightness made Te Lisi squint uncomfortably; after it eased a bit, their gaze instinctively fell on the abstract, twisted starry sky painting Lei Kedun held, and they sensed a vague yet intense danger emanating from it.

Noticing Te Lisi's stare, Lei Kedun chuckled, lifted the painting in his hand, and said with a smile:

"Sorry, the magical item went a bit out of control earlier, but it's been resolved."

"It's called 'Van Gogh's Starry Night', a somewhat special magical item with extraordinary abilities unlike the twenty‑two divine paths; if classified by sequence paths, it is roughly equivalent to a fourth‑sequence magical item."

"Who is Van Gogh?" Te Lisi asked casually after a slight nod.

"Um, a painter. Long, long ago, he was a famous painter."

Lei Kedun was taken aback; he hadn't expected Te Lisi's focus to be on Van Gogh rather than the painting itself.

Te Lisi gave a slight nod, glanced around the shabby room; the only wooden chair was already occupied by Lei Kedun, and they paid no heed to their ladyly image, casually sitting on a simple dressing table that had only one mirror and a double‑layer wooden box.

They wore no jewelry nor makeup, their upper body loosely draped in a men's shirt, paired with a somewhat faded brown‑yellow linen trouser, exuding an indescribable visual impact and allure.

Lei Kedun suddenly felt his throat dry, tilted his head slightly, shifted his gaze to the painted protruding window, and repeatedly reminded himself internally: the other is a man; cannot confront him head‑on.

"Heh," Te Lisi let out an ambiguous light laugh, gave Lei Kedun a faint glance before withdrawing the thread, leaned their body slightly back against the wall, tugged at the corner of their mouth into a smile, and said:

"What were you about to say before being interrupted?"

Lei Kedun lounged lazily on the wooden chair, rolling up the painting in his hand as he spoke:

"Which being do you intend to seek secret protection from? The aid of any of them is not free."

"The Primordial Witch wants your body, your mind, your soul; the Night Goddess may not care about you, and more likely will simply throw you into the Charles Gate; Mr. Gate's condition is only one: help Him return to this world. The Fool follows the principle of equivalent exchange, but your past deeds do not place you among those He redeems."

Te Lisi listened calmly to Lei Kedun's account, expressionless, and said: "And the Erudite? What price must be paid?"

Rotating the rolled‑up painting a few times in his hand, Lei Kedun rose from the wooden chair, assuming the demeanor of a devout zealot, and said:

"To spread knowledge to the living beings of this world, guide them along the path of uncovering mysteries, and secretly proclaim His name."

"That's what you're already doing, just at a different scale; you will need to take it further, and secret protection is a reward paid to you in advance."

Te Lisi hesitated briefly, then quickly recalled the tasks Lei Kedun had them do in Beckland, and looked at Lei Kedun oddly, saying:

"Finding, courting, and investing in those inventors?"

"You don't need to give so many options just now; the only real choice I have is this one."

"Listing all options for others to choose is basic courtesy."

Lei Kedun calmly justified his earlier action.

"Heh," Te Lisi let out a slightly mocking light laugh, then leapt down from the dressing table, walked to the protruding window, and pushed open the tightly shut window.

A whistling cold wind rushed into the room, fluttering their hair and the men's shirt on their body; a trace of unhidden sorrow lingered on their calm face.

They remained silent by the window for a while, then, with a hoarse voice, spoke:

"What is the proper title for that Erudite? Also, how should I pray to Him and spread His name?"

"The essence of knowledge, the source of mystery, the brilliance of civilization, the guardianship of truth."

"Pick any three of them; as for praying and spreading His name, just do as you see fit—He doesn't really mind."

As he spoke, brilliant starlight flickered on Lei Kedun's body; when his words ended, he had become a statue formed of countless stars, which instantly shattered, turning into sparkling starlight that surged outward, slipping into the tiny cracks of the walls and floor, and vanished swiftly.

Standing before the opened window, Te Lisi tilted their head slightly to glance at the streaming starlight departing, and only after no starshine remained in the room did they close the window, lean their body against the frame, and sigh in a low, hoarse, deep voice:

"The witch is the keenest observer of hearts; a considerable change has occurred in Him, relying on reason to balance His humanity and divinity? One who walks a tightrope, a slight misstep sends one plummeting into an abyss."

"It seems that the moment one drinks the demonic elixir, the extraordinary one's fate no longer wholly belongs to oneself."

On the northern sea of the Suniya Sea, a massive sailing ship had just changed course, heading toward Nais, the capital 'White City' of the Galgas Archipelago.

On the dark sea, a faint crimson moonlight illuminated the ship's towering sails, upon which ten equally sized white stars circled a cold, indifferent eye without eyelashes.

On the deck of the 'Future', Frank, wearing suspenders and a white shirt, was pouring bucket after bucket of a viscous mixture of black liquid into the sea.

A black cat wearing a triangular pirate hat and an eye patch over its right eye perched at the upwind side far from here, and asked with curiosity:

"Frank, did your experiment fail again?"

"Yes, but I've found a new direction. I'll write to Al in a bit, request another batch of fresh monster corpses, and soon we'll be able to cultivate plants that use monster corpses as nutrients."

Frank nodded lightly, his tone showing no discouragement, but rather a hint of excitement.

Pas the black cat adjusted the triangular hat on its head that was about to cover its eyes, lightly leapt onto the ship's rail, gazed at the dark and gloomy sea, and tried to find traces of some fresh fish jerky.

After looking from the ship's rail for a while, it also didn't see a single fish leaping out of the sea, somewhat disappointed it jumped down from the rail, and after landing on the deck it turned its head to look at Frank and asked:

"Frank, why aren't there any fish jerky coming out to eat the experimental residue you poured this time?"

"These experimental residues are different from the previous ones; although I've already treated them, they still carry some toxicity and pollution, so marine creatures instinctively stay away from them, and of course they won't gather here."

Frank explained it to the black cat Pas in simple terms as best he could.

Pas's cat face showed a human-like shocked expression, its expression stiff as it turned to Frank and confirmed:

"In other words, not only will there be no fish jerky appearing, but they will also stay away from the surrounding sea because of the strange things you poured down."

"That's right." Frank gave a slight nod.

"Meow~ My poor fish jerky!"

Pas lay on the deck like a child who had lost its beloved toy, rolling back and forth in despair several times, still muttering.

Jiadellya walked out of the captain's quarters wearing a black classical robe; she had heard Pas's mournful voice even from inside the captain's quarters.

After drawing closer and hearing clearly Pas's sobbing words, she let out a helpless sigh, quickly walked up to Pas, and asked with some doubt:

"Didn't Nina say she prepared special smoked fish jerky for you? Why are you still thinking of going out to sea to catch fish yourself? You're just a cat; in the sea you're far less agile than those fish."

Pas stopped rolling on the deck, looking toward the captain who had somehow come up beside it; it lowered its head, like a child who had made a mistake, and explained softly:

"Smoked fish jerky is terrible to eat; biting into it feels like gnawing on wood."

"Smoking fish jerky is an insult to the fish jerky! I feel the fish jerky died unjustly."

Jiadellya remained silent for a moment, then still spoke a warning:

"You must go into the sea only with Nina's accompaniment; the ocean is not the domain of you cats, and with her you won't drown."

(End of chapter)