Chapter 94

Lu Mian didn't understand what the illusory river he saw, or rather sensed, represented; he could only guess that this might be a symbol of fate, and following the instinct of "Fallen Mercury," he raised the tip of the blade and picked at a certain silver-colored symbol in the river.

Just as he made contact with that river shimmering with silver ripples, scenes flashed through Lu Mian's mind:

The "Noodle Man" dancing that mysterious sacrificial dance; the "Noodle Man" being intimidated by the black thorn symbol and crawling on the ground; the "Noodle Man" catching flesh and blood scattered all over the dream ruins to fill its stomach; the "Noodle Man" trying to approach that circle of "city walls" but seemingly fearing something, returning on its own every time it reached a certain depth; the "Noodle Man" having its head chopped off by an axe...

Is this its entire "life" since the start of this cycle? Lu Mian had a moment of realization and tried to stab the tip of "Fallen Mercury" toward the set of silver-colored symbols representing the "Noodle Man's" death, which was the tail end of the illusory river.

It was too vast, too heavy, and he failed.

At this moment, the silver-colored symbols began to fade, the illusory river gradually disappeared, and those images in Lu Mian's mind also quickly became blurred.

Is there a time limit? Lu Mian didn't dare to pick slowly anymore; following the principle of proximity, he turned the silver-black evil dagger toward the segment of the "Noodle Man's" fate where it was intimidated by the black thorn symbol.

That silver-colored symbol, which seemed to be formed by a small river coiling around itself, was pried loose, condensed into a drop of liquid, and seeped into the blade of "Fallen Mercury."

The next second, the illusory river disappeared completely, and Lu Mian could no longer see the "Noodle Man's" fate.

He looked down at "Fallen Mercury," only to see those layers of evil symbols on the silver-black blade swaying gently like flowing water, as if endowed with some kind of vitality.

Originally dizzying to look at, they were now even more evil.

"Success..." Lu Mian muttered to himself with a sense of relief.

Only now could "Fallen Mercury" be considered complete.

Afterward, as long as he could wound the flame monster with this evil dagger in battle, he could exchange the fate of "being intimidated by the black thorn symbol" with the opponent.

After wrapping the blade of "Fallen Mercury" with the black cloth strip and tucking it back into the belt at his waist, Lu Mian simply handled the "Noodle Man's" corpse, moved it into a semi-collapsed building, and destroyed the house's final support, letting the stones and wood fall with a crash, burying everything inside.

After finishing this, Lu Mian circled back to the area where the flame monster appeared.

This time, he didn't get close to observe, but instead collected footprints and other traces, spending time identifying which were left by the target deliberately circling and which were its real routes.

Taking nearly two hours, Lu Mian gradually grasped the flame monster's daily activity range and movement patterns, and a map regarding the hunt naturally emerged in his mind.

He also spent some time going through all the preset battlefields, looking for natural traps he could utilize.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Lu Mian rubbed his forehead and decided to take advantage of having some energy left to go deep into the ruins, take a look by that circle of "city walls," and accumulate intelligence for subsequent exploration.

He wasn't careless, dancing the sacrificial dance again and semi-activating the black thorn symbol.

Carrying this "amulet," Lu Mian flew forward along the previous route.

He encountered some monsters on the way, but they either turned and fled just as they were about to launch an attack, or disappeared from sight from afar; the deeper he went, the more the latter situation occurred.

Finally, when the burning sensation in his chest brought on by the second sacrificial dance disappeared, Lu Mian saw that "city wall" composed of twisted houses in a mess once again.

He rested for a while, and after his spirituality recovered somewhat, he danced the sacrificial dance again.

As the dance, sometimes clanging and sometimes soft, ended, Lu Mian headed toward the direction where he had encountered "Fallen Mercury," bearing the black thorn symbol.

After passing the room where the furnace fire had already gone out, he slowed down, worried about suffering a sudden attack.

After walking for a while, Lu Mian felt the light ahead dim significantly; it was as if some massive object in the high sky was blocking the falling light, or the sun was located on the opposite side of the current position.

Lu Mian subconsciously looked up toward the mid-air, but there was nothing to be seen there except for thick fog.

Unable to find the reason, he had to draw "Fallen Mercury" and cautiously entered the area ahead.

In an instant, it was as if he had come from daytime into the dead of night.

Of course, this was just an exaggerated description; Lu Mian felt a more accurate description was going from foggy weather to a place covered in dark clouds.

Almost simultaneously, he subconsciously yawned, and the fatigue that had already appeared instantly became intense.

"No, I can't sleep..." Lu Mian struggled to keep his eyes from closing and retreated backward out of this dim and gloomy dark side of the "mountain foot."

His spirit recovered quite a bit, and although the fatigue still existed, it was at least bearable.

"I'll sleep as soon as I go in, and the deeper I go, the more I want to sleep?" Lu Mian muttered silently, turned his body, and walked in another direction.

After supplementing with a sacrificial dance halfway, he arrived at an unfamiliar area again.

On his right was the "city wall" stacked with doors and windows, on his left was a wasteland connected to a circle of building ruins, and ahead stood brown trees one after another.

In the ruins where not even a single weed existed, those trees seemed to have extreme toughness, coiling and embracing each other to form a wooden wall five or six meters high.

This wooden wall grew many green branches and leaves, lush and verdant, completely different from the dead silence and desolation around it.

If it hadn't blocked the road to the back of the "city wall," Lu Mian might have praised it for its "tenacious vitality," but now, he could only express his inner dissatisfaction with a dirty gesture of raising two middle fingers.

He could actually choose to take a detour and go in from the other side of the dream ruins, but he wasn't familiar with that side at all, and his own spirituality was almost exhausted, so there was no need to take risks.

Yawning without any concealment, Lu Mian, with the burning sensation still lingering in his chest, began to return the way he came.

When Lu Mian woke up, a bit of morning light had already penetrated the thick curtains at the window, outlining the desk, chair, wardrobe, and other furniture in the room with relatively clear contours.

"It's still very early..." he muttered silently, turned his head, and looked at Aurora beside him.

Aurora's golden hair was messily piled on the white pillow, her eyes tightly closed, sleeping soundly.

Her right hand was gripping the top of the quilt, occasionally wanting to turn over, but instinctively stopping herself, her brows slightly furrowing and then gradually being smoothed out.

Lu Mian roughly knew why his sister had such a performance:

Her home dress hid too many bottles and jars to guard against possible accidents; once she slept on her side or stomach, it would inevitably dig into her.

"It's really hard for her..." Lu Mian sighed silently, his expression soft and his heart peaceful.

After watching for a while, he withdrew his gaze, cautiously got out of bed, and walked out of the bedroom.

He came to the side balcony where he could climb to the roof, and facing a trace of crimson in the distance, he began to exercise his body.

In less than a minute, Valentine came out of his room, stood in the corridor, and looked at him:

"Are you also welcoming the sun?"

His gaze became very gentle, and his usually indifferent expression was full of approval.

Can I say no? Lu Mian smiled:

"Yes."

Valentine nodded with satisfaction, entered the balcony, faced the gradually rising morning sun, and stood straight.

He then spread his arms, tilted his head back slightly, and shouted in a low voice:

"Praise the Sun!"

"Praise the Sun!" Lu Mian had no choice but to follow and do the same action.

Valentine put away his arms, crossed them over his chest, prayed with his eyes closed for a while, then opened his eyes and said to Lu Mian:

"If the cycle can be successfully broken, I will introduce you to the bishop of the Dariège region, or would you rather go to Bigor?"

"I prefer Trier," Lu Mian answered with a smile. "But where I go doesn't depend on me; it depends on my sister."

Valentine nodded, didn't continue this topic, turned his body, entered the corridor, and began to patrol back and forth.

Until eight o'clock, nothing happened, and the two went down to the first floor to cooperate in making breakfast.

Not long after, Ryan came down to help, and by nearly nine o'clock, Lyra was also up; only Aurora was still sleeping.

"Any plans for today?" Ryan took a bite of toast and turned his head to ask Lu Mian.

Lu Mian thought for a moment and said:

"Leave one person at home; we can't let Aurora face possible attacks alone.

"The remaining two will go out with me to replenish food and carry back a few buckets of water; hehe, we have to hold out until the twelfth night."

Cordu Village didn't have running water yet; when Aurora repaired this building, she installed a water tank on top, and as long as it was regularly refilled and disinfected, it was equivalent to having running water.

"Hmm, before Lent, these things must be done well." Ryan expressed agreement.

Lu Mian then revealed a brilliant smile:

"By the way, there's one more thing; we need to visit Madame Pualis to see if we can persuade her to help us investigate the wizard and owl that died in the tomb."

As expected, Lu Mian saw Valentine frown, and Ryan's smile was slightly stiff.

Lyra drank some water and said with a smile:

"I'll stay here and keep Aurora company."

"No problem." Lu Mian agreed on behalf of Ryan and Valentine.

Things had reached this point, and those two gentlemen had no choice but to agree to go to the administrator's residence in the morning.

After eating breakfast, the three left the semi-underground two-story building and walked toward the old tavern.

On the way, they passed by the shepherd Pierre Berry's house.

Lu Mian's heart stirred, and he said to Ryan and Valentine:

"Let's go see how those three sheep are doing."

He remembered the bleating he heard last night.

Ryan and Valentine, who understood what he meant, didn't object.

After circling half a small loop, the three arrived behind the Berry house, but what met their eyes was an empty sheep pen.

Those three sheep were gone.

PS: Seeking monthly votes in the middle of the month~

(End of chapter)