Outside the window, Blackwater Town, which should have been dotted with scattered lights, was now shrouded in deathly silence.
Only the heavy boots of the Patrol Squad echoed over the stone road, making one’s heart race with unease.
Curfew—the word carried the taste of rust and fear, permeating the air.
Before leaving, Naili lowered her voice to Li Qiuchen.
“Li—senior… Qiuchen-ge, don’t go out tonight, no matter what.”
She whispered.
“I heard… Old John’s best Sheepdog went mad the night before last. There was a wound on its neck, its eyes were blood-red, and it killed half a pen of lambs before finally collapsing under a barrage of arrows from the Patrol Squad.”
She shivered, and after a moment of hesitation, continued.
“Everyone says… that Black Magician crushed in the eastern mine is slowly coming back to life…”
Li Qiuchen nodded silently.
He had also caught fragments of conversation from drunk patrons when paying for the room.
People avoided the topic, but fear couldn’t be hidden.
Mutated livestock, missing poultry, and those inexplicable wailing sounds at night—like sobs from beneath the earth—all silently spoke of something eroding the town.
In the attic, candlelight flickered.
Jocelyn had already curled up in the corner’s haystack and fallen asleep, her heavy armor set aside, giving off soft snores. Her obsession with good food could suppress all fears—at least for a while.
But Li Qiuchen felt no sleepiness.
The three marks on his lower abdomen faintly glowed under the dim light, as if resonating with some unseen presence outside the window.
He lay down, forcing himself to close his eyes, yet an uneasy feeling lingered, as though something dreadful was waiting for him in his dreams…
But as soon as he touched Dreamland, it was as if he had instantly fallen into a quagmire, with no hope of waking. Within the dream, he could feel three forces struggling for dominance.
At first, it was Belinda’s voice, tinged with grievance and reluctance.
“Ellen, why did you have to run? Did Hestia or Reina say something? Did they sway you?”
The noble Princess tried to suppress her anger, soothing him with a gentle tone.
“Either way, you should come home.”
“Where are you?”
She asked softly.
Li Qiuchen could almost feel the rose-scented breath brushing his cheek, along with the chill of a judgment blade.
Next, Hestia’s figure flashed like a fawn in the forest, bringing a fresh, wild air.
The girl’s emerald eyes brimmed with untamed allure.
“Teacher, the forest is calling you. Come with me—I’ll show you true freedom!”
Vines twined gently around his legs, yet with an irresistible force.
As he was pulled between two forces, his consciousness nearly scattering, a pure white, overwhelming Holy Light suddenly descended, scattering both crimson and green.
Reina had arrived.
The dream stabilized, morphing into the solemn church of the Time Temple.
White curtains shielded the surroundings—this was the place of Holy Water Baptism, where Li Qiuchen had received healing many times.
Reina floated silently in the air, her pure white robe stirring in an unfelt breeze, icy blue eyes gazing down upon him.
“You chose the strangest path.”
Compassion filled Reina’s eyes.
“Yet it remains chaos.”
Li Qiuchen looked at Reina, feeling only unfamiliarity.
She seemed worlds apart from the girl who once clutched her skirt, unable to even cast Holy Light.
So different. Completely different people.
Yes—the snarky, fallen girl would never look at him with divinity and mercy, nor use the Baptism of Holy Light to bind him.
She. No. They felt like two people whose lives had never crossed.
But people don’t change in an instant.
Change comes bit by bit, perhaps with growing power or the scars of battle, until, unnoticed, she became more like the Saintess statue at the temple’s heart…
And when he turned around, his comrade was already so distant.
The two figures of past and present slowly overlapped, and only the tear-shaped mole at the corner of her eye retained a trace of familiarity.
“Lost lamb.”
Reina’s voice was mournful and melodic, like a priest of judgment.
“You are stained by too much filth and chaos.
You even had to use healing powers not your own.”
“This means you once stood at the brink of disaster.”
Reina sighed, then pointed the way for the lost lamb.
“Accept the guidance of Holy Light. It’s your best path out of despair.”
With her words, several chains of pure Holy Light emerged from the void like living serpents, precisely wrapping around Li Qiuchen’s limbs and torso, slowly penetrating his being.
Holy Light Chain!
Li Qiuchen usually called it the Holy Light Dog Chain.
Ancient Taya Runes flowed along the chains, radiating ‘Order, Devotion’.
The chill pierced to the soul, and a shudder of being utterly cleansed and controlled swept over him.
All fear and disgust toward the Baptism of Holy Light faded, leaving only a profound unease within, seeking an anchor—the Holy Light before him seemed his only salvation.
Yet, just as the Holy Light Chain was about to touch the deepest part of Li Qiuchen’s consciousness, a burning heat flared in his chest.
He could feel the power of the Zhesi Gem—[Clarity].
A cool, minty sensation spread from his chest to his crown, like being doused in snow.
It was less than a thousandth of what the Zhesi Gem once held, but at this moment, it was precious beyond measure.
The Holy Light Chain encountered this coolness and melted rapidly, as if snow meeting a branding iron.
It seemed that the Holy Maiden’s Eminence, separated by thousands of miles, could only project limited power into the dream, allowing him to resist with even a sliver of strength.
Li Qiuchen’s heart jolted. In an instant, he understood—the Key Node was here.
This was the echo of the Zhesi Gem, surviving in his soul after its destruction, now coexisting with him.
He forcibly suppressed the tumult in his heart, his eyes turning vacant, his body relaxing, letting the chains loosely bind him.
Mimicking a hypnotized tone, he murmured.
“…My esteemed master… How… may I find salvation?”
At the sound of his submission, Reina’s lips curled in an almost imperceptible arc.
She turned away from his gaze.
“No need to call me master… But if that is your heart’s desire, so be it.”
She slowly descended before Li Qiuchen, her bare feet enveloped by white mist on the ground, her fingers ghosting over his cheek, the holy cold aura tinged with an inexpressible possessiveness.
She tried to suppress the disharmonious joy within her—definitely not from fondness for such a man.
He would leer at her with those vulgar eyes, had a marriage contract with Belinda, yet left room for ambiguity—a shameless, arrogant, philandering scoundrel…
Anger and resentment surged within, yet the calm of Holy Light suppressed such emotions, leaving her ever more tormented and conflicted.
As the Saintess of the Temple, this confusion filled her with guilt—and the source of that painful chaos was right before her!
Reina halted the turmoil in her mind in time, steadied her breath, and fortified her inner resolve—even if it was already unwavering as stone.
The goddess needed his wisdom.
All for the stability and order of the River of Time.
The soul of the Philosopher Mage must return to the embrace of the Temple—only then could all variables be erased, and the world restored to ordained harmony.
This, above all, was the best arrangement.
In truth, as his comrade, it was the best resting place she could choose for him—eternity and tranquility.
“Good.”
She praised him, blue eyes rippling.
“So long as you return from your lost path, the goddess will always welcome you.”
She continued softly.
“Tell me, Ellen, where are you now?”
“Only by knowing your coordinates can Holy Light descend precisely to dispel your darkness.”
Li Qiuchen’s face remained impassive, but inside he was wracked with turmoil.
He replied in a sleep-talker’s voice.
“…In… Northlands… Snowfield… a… small town…”
He tried to muddle the issue with a vast and vague geographic term, buying time for his escape.
“Northlands…”
Reina echoed.
Stars shimmered in her icy blue eyes, as if analyzing information.
Suddenly, the Holy Light at her fingertips flickered, and her tone cooled with realization.
“You’re lying, Philosopher Mage.”
Li Qiuchen’s heart lurched.
“When you said ‘small town,’ your soul produced a faint ripple of mortal bustle. That is not the air of the frigid Northlands, but… the lingering vibrance of the Southern Principality.”
Her insight was terrifying, but more precisely, it was the tacit understanding born of long teamwork.
As the team’s Holy Light priestess, she handled supply and field control, and knew every nuance of each member’s soul.
More importantly, she had never truly believed a Philosopher Mage of his rank could be so easily subdued.
Her vigilance toward Ellen had always been at maximum.
The disguise was shattered!
Li Qiuchen’s eyes flew open within the dream, meeting Reina’s ice-blue gaze, as if seeing through all.
The dreamscape rippled, waves surging.
At that moment, crimson and emerald forces crashed in from the edges, shattering the dream.
The dream crafted by Reina was finally completely broken.
Just before he escaped, Reina’s figure became even more solemn in the Holy Light, her voice resonating like the final judgment, etching itself into his soul.
“Struggle is pointless. Philosopher Mage, your wisdom, your insight into the laws, should not be wasted in futile flight. They must belong to the order of the Temple, become the brightest annotation beneath the goddess’s radiance.”
“Whether you wish it or not, it is only a matter of time. This is the will of the goddess.”
“Hah!”
Li Qiuchen bolted upright from the hay, gasping for breath, his rough shirt soaked in cold sweat.
Outside the window, the morning bustle and human voices of Blackwater Town drifted in.
He instinctively lifted his shirt and looked at his lower abdomen—the white marks glowed more brightly than last night.
“Appreciating art again?”
Jocelyn pushed open the door, carrying a wooden breakfast tray.
“So, what exactly happened later?”
Li Qiuchen hesitated for a moment and then gave an honest answer.
“They went crazy.”
“Belinda going mad—I can completely understand.
There were always signs.
After all, if you fall for a volcano, you must be prepared to be consumed by fire.
But, you said they?”
Jocelyn was incredulous.
“Are you sure it’s not just some misunderstanding? If we could clear up the confusion, our chances of finding a way out would be much higher.”
Li Qiuchen frowned and didn’t reply.
They had been companions for three years, growing from the most ignorant, chaotic team to chosen by the gods.
Through countless battles of blood and fire, their mutual understanding had become such that a single gesture or glance conveyed all.
Yet at the end, he suffered the worst betrayal—from the three he trusted most.
Jocelyn continued.
“According to the old mage’s notes, the Demon King is dead, the Barrier of the Realms is gone, and as long as we find the right Key Node, we can go home. With their help…”
“No! We find it ourselves. Old Four, if you want to go home—and still dream of that ice-cold cola—then listen to me.”
Li Qiuchen insisted.
Jocelyn shrugged in silent agreement.
But Li Qiuchen’s heart was heavy.
Reina’s final declaration still echoed in his mind—she was no longer merely seeking “salvation,” but openly claiming his wisdom, to incorporate it into the order of the Temple.
The town’s threat came from legends of Black Magic, but his own danger was now the cross-space pursuit of his three former comrades.
He glanced at the haystack and his nearly empty wallet.
The road ahead looked even darker.
Outside, a commotion arose.
Li Qiuchen pushed open the window and looked out—people had gathered together.
“What happened?”
He accepted the bread Jocelyn handed over, taking a bite—surprisingly delicious.
A foreboding sense crept into his heart.
“A horse escaped from the pen and was found drained of blood, dead in the street.”
Jocelyn deflected.
“Hey, Li, is the bread good?”
“Creamy, great texture. Hard to believe the owner serves such breakfast.”
Li Qiuchen chewed, his unease deepening.
Jocelyn’s gluttony was legendary. Back in the team days, their funds could support her appetite, but now…
“See, you’re spouting nonsense again. How could the tavern have something this tasty? I went to the Bread Shop this morning and bought it specially. Hurry up and eat.”
“This… must have cost a lot?”
Li Qiuchen still clung to hope.
“Money’s money—ends up in your stomach anyway. No point regretting it.”
Jocelyn laughed.
Li Qiuchen took out his wallet from under the haystack—completely empty.
“And the rest?”
“Bought a basket of creamy bread. What rest?”
Jocelyn explained.
“Then… what about the rest of the bread?”
Li Qiuchen stared at the empty tray, on the verge of collapse.
He’d only eaten one piece of bread!
“I told you, it’s all in the stomach.”
Jocelyn smiled, rubbing her half-full belly, baring her fangs.
“Spit it out for me!”
Li Qiuchen’s roar shook the entire tavern.