Chapter 852

Inside a four-wheeled, four-seater carriage.

Amandine sat opposite Lu Mian, excitedly gazing at the Indis plane trees along the road, the shops still brightly lit, the magnificent arcades, the gentlemen and ladies walking their turtles, and some of the citizens in strange attire, praising from the bottom of her heart:

"Trier is indeed worthy of its name; it is even more beautiful than I imagined."

"I hope you won't take back that assessment after staying here for a long time." Lu Mian had originally wanted to make a sarcastic remark or two, but there were simply too many things in Trier worth mocking, and he couldn't immediately find the most representative one, so he could only respond to Amandine in this way.

Amandine withdrew her gaze from the carriage window and said with considerable regret:

"It's a pity I have to return to Port Pylos at daybreak."

She planned to apply for entrance exams to some of Trier's universities after graduating from grammar school.

Amandine glanced at the coachman's position in front and lowered her voice to ask Lu Mian:

"Why don't we just, just 'teleport' there directly?"

Lu Mian smiled leisurely:

"You are a guest; naturally, I must take you on a tour of Trier."

Amandine scrutinized Lu Mian for a moment:

"I feel like you're lying to me."

"Your feeling is not wrong." Lu Mian smiled without any concealment. "Only by going slowly can the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence play its role."

If he had 'teleported' with Amandine to the entrance of the catacombs, rushed straight to the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' at top speed, and finished what needed to be done, the visitor from Resurrection Island, Harrison, might not have reacted yet, not having been influenced by the Law of Convergence to make the decision to sneak into the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' again at night, and everything would have ended; it would have been impossible to achieve the expected goal at all.

One must leave enough time for the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence to play its role!

Taking it slow might perhaps be faster.

"You, what are you trying to converge?" Having witnessed Lu Mian's performance in the 'Dream Festival', Amandine became nervous all of a sudden.

"A target I am currently tracking." Lu Mian leaned back against the carriage wall and replied with a smile, "Rest assured, your safety is absolutely guaranteed."

Upon hearing this, Amandine quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

This person Louis Berry was still quite trustworthy; the promises he made were all fulfilled.

What she didn't know was that if Franca or Jenna were here, they would definitely retort, "Is it only safety that's guaranteed? Won't there be injuries, torture, or encounters with mental and spiritual influences during the process?"

Amandine glanced again at the coachman's position separated by the carriage wall and whispered:

"Aren't you afraid of being heard by the coachman?"

You hadn't been lowering your voice at all just now!

Lu Mian laughed and said:

"He can't hear us."

Amandine was stunned for a moment, trying to understand using her own occult knowledge:

"Did you, did you quickly create a 'Wall of Spirituality'?"

"You can think of it that way." Lu Mian couldn't be bothered to explain to Amandine what a 'Bottle of Fiction' was.

Amandine relaxed and asked with a smile:

"Were those two ladies just now both your lovers?"

Lu Mian gave a "heh" sound:

"Shouldn't you ask this question to their faces?"

"That would be too embarrassing; they would definitely be angry!" Amandine's emotional intelligence was still quite good.

"Wouldn't I be angry too?" Lu Mian asked with amusement.

Amandine gave a "hehe" laugh:

"You don't seem like the kind of person who would get angry over such things."

She suddenly pointed outside the window and said:

"Is that the Trier Higher Normal School?"

"Your technique for changing the subject is truly clumsy." Lu Mian mocked Amandine without any courtesy.

Just like that, the four-wheeled, four-seater rental carriage arrived at Purgatory Square at a normal speed.

As Lu Mian descended the stairs, he took out a white candle, tossed it to Amandine, and told her about the various taboos within the catacombs.

Amandine listened very carefully and lit one of the candles by rubbing her spirituality:

"I've seen this in some magazines, but none were as detailed as yours today.

"Must these taboos really be followed? If they aren't, what will happen? For example, what if I don't light the candle?"

While speaking, the two had already arrived in front of the giant stone gateway inscribed with the warning: "Stop! Ahead lies the Empire of the Dead!"

The catacomb administrator behind the gate, with graying hair and wearing a blue vest and yellow trousers, glanced at Lu Mian and did not stop the two from entering the catacombs at night.

Lu Mian looked ahead, walking forward among the skeletons piled along the road, and said in a flat tone:

"Then you would disappear from this world; your parents would forget they ever had such a daughter, your former fiancé would forget he ever had such a fiancée, your friends would forget you, your servants would also forget you; perhaps only I would still remember you."

Although Amandine was a Beyonder equivalent to Sequence 7 and had witnessed some of the tragedies that occurred during the 'Dream Festival', and her former fiancé was particularly skilled at summoning the undead, being in a place like the catacombs—gloomy, dark, filled with skeletons, and permeated everywhere with the aura of death—she still couldn't help but feel a palpitation of fear.

This, combined with Lu Mian's explanation, made the hair on her arms stand up, and she gripped the white candle even tighter.

"When I first entered the catacombs, I thought, this is truly a place suitable for telling horror stories; unfortunately, until now, there haven't been many such opportunities." A smile appeared on Lu Mian's face.

Amandine was stunned for a moment:

"Were you telling a horror story just now?"

"Yes, and the most terrifying thing about this horror story is that every word of it is true." Lu Mian responded with a smile.

"..." Amandine was frightened once again.

She quickened her pace, afraid of being left behind by Lu Mian.

The two headed all the way to the fourth level of the catacombs; along the way, there was no lack of skeletons that would suddenly move, attempting to trip Amandine, causing the young girl to nearly scream out loud.

Finally, Lu Mian brought Amandine to the front of that decaying, mottled, giant burial chamber that hid the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring'.

He looked left and right and muttered silently to himself:

"Didn't run into the shadow suspected to be Kriesmana this time...

"Did she wander in the fourth-level catacombs before to find a female 'Witch', and now that she's achieved her goal, she no longer has such an obsession?"

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and tossed a mirror to Amandine:

"Take this and wait for me here."

"Wait here?" Amandine looked around, feeling slightly flustered.

The surroundings were dark and deep, with numerous burial chambers, rotting and dilapidated, with no telling what was hidden in the shadows.

"It will be quick." Lu Mian did not offer comfort, walking straight through the half-open stone door and into the burial chamber.

After walking only a few steps, he encountered the catacomb administrator, whose deep wrinkles made him look more like a corpse than a living person.

The aged administrator, also wearing a blue vest and yellow trousers, did not stop Lu Mian, standing quietly in place and letting him pass.

After arriving at the gentle slope leading downward, Lu Mian took a mirror and the 'Black Tears' forehead ornament, which had been burning for over half an hour, out of his 'Traveler's Bag'.

Outside the giant burial chamber, Amandine, by the yellowish light of the white candle, saw Lu Mian's face appear on the surface of the mirror, and the other party's voice rang in her ears:

"Press your hand onto the mirror."

Amandine, already having experience, quickly pressed the hand holding the white candle toward the mirror's surface.

It was the familiar passing through a cold stream of water, the familiar terrifying suction and weightless descent; Amandine soon found herself appearing by Lu Mian's side.

Lu Mian put away the 'Black Tears' and the mirror, pointing toward the depths of the slope:

"It's right below."

…………

Beside the giant burial chamber hiding the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring', in the crevice between two ancient burial chambers twenty or thirty meters away from it.

Franca, holding a white candle, cautiously poked her head out and glanced toward the target location.

She immediately withdrew her body and muttered to Jenna:

"This candle is really annoying; we can't hide well at all.

"How are we supposed to ambush Harrison like this?"

The dim yellow light of the white candle was quite conspicuous in the deep, pure darkness.

Jenna looked at Franca and smiled:

"It's the same the other way around; Harrison can't approach silently without being discovered by us either.

"Besides, hiding in this corner can effectively reduce the influence of the candlelight; it can't travel that far."

Franca knew this; she was just complaining casually.

She suddenly remembered something and asked with a twitch of her lips:

"Have you seen Anthony?"

"Uh..." Jenna was also stunned.

At this moment, Anthony's voice came from outside the crevice:

"I've been here the whole time."

Accompanied by his voice, Franca and Jenna finally saw this companion.

He was standing openly on the road outside, holding a lit white candle, yet the two 'Witches' hadn't noticed him before.

"'Psychological Invisibility' is truly amazing..." Franca praised with envy.

The principle of 'Psychological Invisibility' was completely different from other 'invisibility' abilities; it mainly placed oneself in the psychological blind spots and consciousness dead zones of surrounding people, causing them to ignore the situation here. Therefore, holding a lit candle did not hinder Anthony from completing his invisibility.

Anthony replied simply:

"Candlelight is a powerful attention-grabber here; it will also reduce the effect of my 'Psychological Invisibility', so I must be very focused to maintain it."

Franca and Jenna didn't speak again, hiding in the crevice between the burial chambers and listening to the sounds around them.

…………

In front of the thin, grayish-white mist that was gently contracting and expanding.

Lu Mian once again scrutinized his own state:

That coldness erupting from within his heart occupied his body, causing most of his emotions and desires to wither, but the malice and irritability originating from the negative effects of the contract still existed, becoming increasingly intense.

His state was quite good right now; he had endured it without relying much on the abilities of a 'Monk'.

Amandine had a similar reaction; one side of her face was 'frozen' deathly pale, while she clenched her teeth tightly, not letting the stranger within her crawl out.

Lu Mian grabbed her arm and extended the left palm holding the white candle toward the grayish-white mist.

As his chest grew hot, the two successfully walked into the mist.

Everything became even more silent.

PS: Asking for monthly votes at the end of the month~

(End of chapter)