Chapter 756: Resistance in the Rift

They ran and chased one after the other, the target clearly being the crack at the top of the mountain leading to true death.

"Mr. Beirut! Mr. Beirut!"

"Seeing" the Rift in this current semi-dreaming, semi-waking state, Xia De had no physical body and could not touch any entity, only able to make a very faint sound.

He tried to call out, but Mr. Beirut did not answer at all. He chased after that figure, both of them appearing so hazy in the fog:

"Is this another 'love of a lifetime'? Are the citizens of Midhillburg all so infatuated?"

Xia De muttered in his heart, then let himself in the chair touch the 【Mind Crystal Ring】 on his finger, his vision in the Rift fixed tightly on the back of Mr. Beirut's head:

"Mind Blast!"

Strictly speaking, Xia De and this gentleman were not in the same space. Plus, he was only looking with his eyes and not following strict spellcasting steps, pointing his finger at the target, so the power of 【Mind Blast】 was greatly reduced.

But even so, the running Mr. Beirut stumbled violently, then continued to chase the hazy figure that appeared and disappeared.

Not far above was the top of the mountain in the Rift. If Xia De didn't stop him, he would probably really be deceived by the phantom of the soul and step into true death:

"Stop, you can't go any further!"

The 【Mind Blast】 just now had an effect. Mr. Beirut finally gave an answer this time. His footsteps did not slow down, and Xia De could only see his back, so he didn't know what expression he had at this moment:

"I really want to catch up to her."

Mr. Beirut's voice was also blurred; this was one of the characteristics of a dream.

"Is that your fiancée?"

"No, that is my sister. She watched me grow up, but I didn't expect a serious illness to take her life."

"But do you really think she would want you to follow her and leave?"

Xia De continued to ask, and Mr. Beirut's footsteps finally slowed down. And the hazy figure in front actually slowed down as well, keeping a distance that could be seen by Mr. Beirut:

"Before she left, she held my hand on the hospital bed and said she hoped I could live a safe and peaceful life."

"Then what are you doing now?"

Xia De pursued the question:

"Following the dead, following someone who hoped you would live a happy life and leaving, is that really your wish and hers?"

Mr. Beirut's footsteps slowed down again, now almost just walking.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth. Since she has already left, then what you can do is not follow her and leave, but remember her. As long as you still remember her, the traces of her existence in this world will not disappear."

Mr. Beirut sighed and finally stopped. He and Xia De looked together at the person standing on the high steps. In the thick fog, she was not clear, but she was indeed waiting:

"I have seen her in my dreams countless times, and I have wanted to catch up to her countless times. But only this time, I feel I am closest to her."

"Then place a bouquet of flowers in front of her grave."

Xia De said softly:

"Remember to tell her that you are living very happily."

This gentleman slowly turned around, tears dripping down his cheeks. He walked in the direction he had come from, finally paused, looked back at the phantom on the high place, waved his hand for a final farewell, and then walked down the mountain.

His figure melted into the fog.

"Not bad, it seems stubborn people are still in the minority."

Barton's stubbornness made Xia De feel very regretful, and this successful persuasion made Xia De very happy in his heart. He wanted to leave this dream, but heard another voice:

"Detective?"

"Hmm?"

Xia De actually saw Priest Augustus. The old man was wearing a priest's white robe, with a large brass-colored notched circular holy emblem of 【Mr. Dawn】 hanging on his chest, walking out of the fog. I don't know who gave this old gentleman a new hairstyle; he looked exceptionally spirited now, as if he were ten years younger.

"Priest? Can you see me?"

"Of course I can't."

Priest Augustus shook his head:

"But I can hear your voice. Since the church arranged for us ordinary priests to enter the Rift yesterday and set up a camp at the top of the mountain in the Rift to protect our safety, I have seen at least four ordinary people who came chasing after longing within 24 hours. And that's just what I saw.

The first three were kicked away by me when I snuck out... I mean, I persuaded them to leave. The fourth one was muttering while walking, and then I heard your voice..."

The priest looked left and right:

"Where are you now?"

"I am still in the real world, having accepted a commission to help someone persuade the gentleman just now to go back."

"That's good, then hurry up and leave. The current Rift is not suitable for anyone to come to. Not only are there newborn spirits, but even the spirits that lingered here from the previous era have started to move around. The situation is really very bad."

"Okay... Priest, I entered the Rift yesterday and saw that Joey Barton. He is fusing relics and can even turn the Rift into his own Labyrinth. It has been confirmed that he has devoured the clown's power and wants to enter death from the three passages to retrieve the soul of the departed."

After the battle on the ice of Lake Bena, Xia De met the priest in the forest. The priest was also looking for Joey Barton, and for an unknown item on him. At that time, Xia De promised to share information about Joey Barton with the priest.

"Fusing relics? Oh, if you hadn't said it, I would have forgotten he was a member of the 【Truth Society】. Things are a bit troublesome, but it doesn't matter. Don't worry, I am guarding the top of the mountain and won't let him enter the land of death from the top. In the Rift, I am not that ordinary old human man anymore."

He said self-deprecatingly, and because Mr. Beirut was close to waking up, Xia De also had to leave:

"I hope tomorrow's ritual goes smoothly. Praise the Dawn!"

"Praise the Dawn... you must never run into the Rift again, here..."

Xia De did not hear the last half of the warning because he had already fully woken up.

Except for the groggy Mr. Beirut, the others in the room left quietly. After waiting for a moment, the sound of sobbing came from the room; he still remembered the dream just now.

Xia De and Sister Michelle both breathed a sigh of relief, and Sister Michelle sent Xia De back to the lounge upstairs.

"Sister, why do people always hope to win back those who have already left?"

"Because there are regrets."

This middle-aged nun didn't hesitate much before giving the answer.

The two were not walking side by side on the stairs; Sister Michelle was one step lower than Xia De.

"Regrets... some people can be persuaded, but some stubbornly want to commit a big mistake. Actually, I am also very conflicted. I understand his behavior, but I think he really did something wrong."

Although Sister Michelle did not know exactly who Xia De was talking about, she did not mind continuing the conversation.

The two turned a corner in the second-floor stairwell, and Xia De saw a decorative oil painting on the wall; it depicted a blind person with cloth wrapped around their eyes, opening a door in the darkness that led toward the light.

"This is normal. You sympathize with the poor, but you do not confuse your own sense of right and wrong just because the other party is pitiful. Since you cannot persuade a stubborn person, then give up."

Xia De thought for a moment, and it was indeed so:

"So what should I do?"

"Why ask me what you should do? By asking this question, don't you already know the answer?"

Sister Michelle smiled, and Xia De looked at the steps beneath his feet:

"Yes... actually, I admire that person; it is truly a pity."

The fog in Mid-Hillburg had become even thicker.

Helping to rescue Mr. Beirut just now was merely a small favor for Xia De. However, Sister Michelle still insisted on giving Xia De a reward.

The 【Spirit Sect】 had helped Xia De so much without asking for money, so Xia De certainly could not accept it this time. But Sister Michelle insisted that this was a private commission for Xia De, and in the end, she gave him a reward of 5 pounds, which made Xia De feel very embarrassed.

Rescuing Mr. Beirut, who had entered the Abyss in his dream, was just a small interlude during the wait. And during the slightly long afternoon, many things had happened in the city.

The first anomaly to appear was the earthquake around two o'clock.

The earthquake was very abrupt. A second before, Xia De was still sitting on the sofa reading a book and was about to reach out for his teacup, but Mia, who was lying on the sofa, suddenly sprang up. She jumped onto Xia De's lap, fur bristling, and meowed. She looked around, as if there were invisible enemies hostile to the cat.

And before Xia De could understand what Little Mia wanted to express, ripples actually appeared in the cup of black tea on the table:

"Earthquake!"

Only then did Xia De perceive the trembling of the floor, but the vibration stopped after lasting only a dozen seconds. The intensity and destructive power of the tremor could not compare at all to the two major Mid-Hillburg earthquakes recorded in the newspapers a few days ago, which Xia De had missed.

Mia appeared very frightened; even when held by Xia De, her fur remained bristled, and it took a long while of soothing before she calmed down. Xia De also left the room again to check the situation in the Home for the Blind. Although there were not many visitors today, some blind people were injured due to panic during the earthquake just now, and some wall paintings and furniture indoors had also toppled over because of the quake.

Xia De helped Sister Michelle coordinate the recovery of the Home for the Blind; during this period, even neighbors from next door came to ask for help, as the Home for the Blind had a very good reputation in the vicinity.

The appearance of this abrupt, small-scale earthquake was certainly related to the changes in the Abyss, but Xia De, being in the Home for the Blind, did not know exactly what had happened.

But what was certain was that the Unknown-level relic 【Abyss of Life and Death】 could not allow the church to seal it. After the nails sent by the Abyss into reality were removed one by one, the Abyss itself would certainly carry out a larger-scale resistance this afternoon before the ritual began.

The Abyss itself had no self-consciousness, but just as nature would resist human destruction, this 0-level relic would also spontaneously produce phenomena resisting the seal.