Chapter 259: Family Inheritance

When Kraft returned to the cemetery, the guard cultivator nearly mistook him for an unrelated person who had taken a wrong turn and wandered in.

This combination looked like it had no business being here; it seemed more like a family outing with a child, preparing to find a suitable patch of lawn to spread out a picnic blanket with drinks and snacks. In fact, they had indeed brought food; the scent of baked sweets wafted from the bundle.

The other party handed over a small bag. The cultivator had already prepared to refuse if it contained coins, but it was just a batch of warm cookies; refusing them would seem impolite.

"It's not good to arrive empty-handed; I thought bringing some sweets might be more suitable for a visit." The professor led the girl past the outer sentries, walking deeper into the cemetery.

It felt like bringing a junior to disturb someone in their office, except this office was somewhat special.

Yvon, dressed in clothes convenient for movement, followed behind, looking at the surrounding environment with slight curiosity. Though she said nothing, one could sense her mood was unusually good, with more of a subtle shift in her mental state.

Like faint red-hot flames radiating from a pile of dry firewood, the change had already been ignited.

She walked briskly along the overgrown path, occasionally stopping to tilt her ear and listen to some fleeting sound, or kicking aside stones blocking her boots as she passed, displaying the boundless energy appropriate for her age.

Physical strength was transforming into spiritual strength, as if shedding the new shell after molting, radiating a visible luster.

"To be honest, the dead accumulated here over the past hundred years are buried below; it might be a bit scary." For the sake of caution, Kraft reminded her once more, not expecting it to be of much use.

"I am ready." Yvon's response was to light a lantern just like him; the oil-soaked wick illuminated the steps before the underground entrance.

Nothing could stop a blazing fire; it only had the capacity to burn others, never the possibility of retreating on its own.

"Alright, then stay close; there are many forks inside, and it's easy to get lost." The two lights sank into the darkness one after another.

"We are about to pass through one of Dunling's largest underground cemeteries, entering the other side of this city, not unlike the simple deep sewer network beneath the surface."

Unlike his usual easygoing and friendly demeanor, the doctor's attitude was very serious; this only happened in rare situations, meaning he lacked sufficient certainty about the matter. "A group of heretics, likely the same kind you encountered before, have turned the place below into a secret nest."

"Of course, that is not the point. The point is they are coming into contact with something... from another world. I know it's hard to grasp; you can understand it as a place very similar to where we live, but far worse, a mirror image filled with malice."

Yellowed bones surrounded them, yet what Kraft described was even more chilling than these remains waiting to rot in the lightless place.

A chill as incomprehensible as those words clung to the back of her neck. The girl felt an atmosphere that caused her body to lose warmth forming as he spoke, as if the mere act of telling had established a connection between her and that world.

She looked at her mentor, a hint of confusion in her eyes; today, Kraft seemed to be saying far more than usual.

"My grandfather, in his youth, gained honor and land from the battlefield, yet he always hoped I would develop in the direction of a scholar, even though no talent in this regard had ever manifested in our family bloodline at the time; in fact, it could be said to be exactly the opposite."

"So many people, including myself, were reluctant to accept his idea. What is a military noble who has lost the martial spirit?"

The confusion in Yvon's eyes deepened, to the extent that she ignored her surroundings, shifting her attention from those bones to a topic that seemed completely unrelated.

"But perhaps everyone sooner or later finds something similar to their ancestors within themselves. I am beginning to understand him now; the more one has experienced certain things, the less one wishes for juniors to tread the same path."

"They lack a deep understanding of the true situation. Such understanding cannot be obtained except through personal experience, and no one can guarantee they will emerge unscathed after participating. By that time, the price has already been paid; various factors compel one to move forward, and there may be no way back."

"This is an unsolvable contradiction, a repeating cycle. My earliest hope was for you to gradually begin contacting medicine after a few years of basic study, or other subjects of interest; in the future, at some academy, or at the very least, take a post in Lord Wood's domain—by then, no one would question my ideas."

"Then what about today?" Yvon asked tentatively. The professor spoke of the distant future, but it was basically much like she had imagined: following the path he arranged, no matter how far one walked, there would always be a towering structure named Kraft overhead providing shade.

"The trajectory so far proves that we can at most play a guiding role, and cannot forcibly change facts or the will of others."

"You have entered that world; the thing you brought back cannot be removed—I, of course, know of its existence. Before we begin, I want to ask one last time: are you truly willing to contact it and bear any consequences?"

"Any" was emphasized in his tone. "I mean any of the worst things you have seen or imagined, including death."

"Didn't you say it couldn't be imagined?" Yvon found a logical flaw.

"Indeed, but it is not bad to recall today's answer when regret comes." At this moment, Kraft seemed to have rewound to when he asked about her future aspirations in Consolation Port, his tone relaxing somewhat.

Bones piled against the walls, arranged into crude shapes, decorated the path as if it led to hell; the deeper one went, the narrower and more difficult it became.

"Up to now, one can still turn back. Think about it: later, others might call you Doctor Yvon, Lecturer, Professor, and so on, working daily in a comfortable indoor environment, receiving thanks from patients."

The professor stopped in the middle of the path paved with shattered bones, lowered his lantern, and turned it in a circle at his feet, highlighting the presence of those dead.

Something darker, something more alien to the normal world under sunlight, waited below.

To be honest, Yvon truly froze for a moment. Her silence was not due to thinking, but simply because she was stunned by an attitude Kraft had never shown before; it was more unexpected than encountering those fungal shells that climbed the mountain path.

The intermittent whispers suddenly fell completely silent, as if a substantial gaze had gathered, forming a strange resistance.

She felt she should think more about it, only to discover this process had been completed long ago.

When reviewing her impressions of the world during her brief life, her memory held countless different faces, each hiding different intentions and emotions, operating according to dull rules she understood but did not know the reason for, seeking sensory or spiritual satisfaction, while she felt only boredom and pain.

They were all different, yet essentially exactly the same, imprisoned within this set of rules that brought suffering and hardship. Like sparks of ash drifting from a furnace, possessing no identifiable characteristics, they extinguished meaninglessly very quickly.

【This is meaningless】

This made her feel suffocated, even more so than the pain of sinking in a long dream she could not recall.

She wanted something that could detach her from all this, even if only for an instant.

Yvon walked forward; bone fragments crunched incessantly under her feet, parting the darkness and invisible resistance until she stood beside Kraft once more.

The latter made no comment, only continuing to lead the way downward.

After a walk so long its duration could not be recalled, a strange-smelling fresh current of air blew from ahead.

They turned from a fork into an unremarkable stone chamber; the dozen or so people sitting around the perimeter looked over in unison, instinctively reaching for their weapons.

"Good morning, I am looking for Father Green." Kraft greeted them as if seeing nothing, stepping aside to let the cultivators see he was not alone.

"I have brought a student for an apprenticeship, Yvon; I believe some of you already know her. I hope everyone will help look after her. Additionally, I brought some small cookies, with honey; does anyone want some?"

"No one? Alright, then I will put them here first."