“Grandpa Luer! I brought some food back, let’s share it with everyone!” The girl had already dashed into the passageway ahead.
Buzhachi glanced over, feeling a bit uneasy inside.
The food the girl took out was that black, weed-like plant hanging from her waist. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem edible. In comparison, the wild vegetables they had dug up, although withered, at least looked like food…
“Na’er… did you bring outsiders back?” The old man, whom the girl called Grandpa Luer, didn’t reach for the “food” in the girl’s hand. Instead, he turned to look toward the entrance of the passage.
“Um… I saw that he wasn’t a villager, so I thought…” The girl’s voice was timid, as if she’d been caught doing something wrong by an elder, and she spoke in a frightened, meek tone.
Seeing the pitiful look on her face, the old man didn’t scold her any further. He sighed, patted her head, and said, “Don’t do that again next time…”
Then the old man looked out toward the passage.
“Since you’re here, you’re a guest. Come in.”
Seeing that Buzhachi was obediently waiting outside the passage, the old man realized he meant no harm and simply invited him in.
“Are you the Magister…?”
Hearing that the old man was willing to let him in, Buzhachi quickly straightened his clothes and walked slowly into the passage. Looking at the old man before him, Buzhachi’s tone carried a hint of respect.
At Buzhachi’s question, the old man’s body gave a barely noticeable tremble. His slightly clouded eyes scrutinized Buzhachi carefully.
“How is Old Neil…?”
Hearing the old man’s words, Buzhachi instantly realized that this was the Magister himself, and he became somewhat emotional. But soon, his expression turned bitter.
Old Neil was the previous Pope—this was the name by which the former Pope was widely known.
“He has already…” Buzhachi didn’t know how to break the news to the old man. Not only because he didn’t know the cause of the previous Pope’s death, but also because of the old man before him…
Buzhachi didn’t finish, but the old man had already guessed Old Neil’s fate.
The old man gave no reaction, and his expression didn’t waver. Only those cloudy eyes, like ripples on stagnant water, began to tremble.
“…” Buzhachi wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he closed his mouth.
“Grandpa Luer!” Seeing the old man standing motionless, the girl called out worriedly.
At the sound of her voice, the old man finally moved. His almost skeletal arm twitched twice, then gently rested by his side. Only then did his clouded eyes shift to the girl.
“You go ahead and share the food with them. Don’t let them go hungry for too long…”
“Okay, Grandpa Luer!”
After the girl’s figure disappeared around a distant bend, the old man looked at Buzhachi once again.
“You’ve been doing well… Why… did you come here…”
From Buzhachi’s aura, the old man could tell he had fared rather well within the black mist, and he was puzzled as to why Buzhachi had come to this place.
“It was His Holiness who sent me…”
At the words “His Holiness,” the old man’s expression shifted once again.
“Old Neil…”
“No… it’s the newly appointed forty-second Pope…” Buzhachi, seeing the old man’s reaction, replied helplessly but with pride.
“Forty-second…” the old man murmured, as if recalling something…
Buzhachi did not interrupt, but waited quietly by the side.
“Has he found a way?”
Soon, the old man returned from his memories and asked again.
???
What way?
This left Buzhachi bewildered. He had no idea what the old man was referring to.
Buzhachi had joined the order during the time of the fortieth Pope and had never been involved in the secret core matters. It was only thanks to Muxuan’s care that he gained his powers. So, he truly didn’t know what the old man meant.
“His Holiness has already received the blessing of the Divine, and brought light upon us!” Not knowing what the old man was talking about, Buzhachi could only mention Muxuan’s receiving of divine favor.
But Buzhachi’s words only made the old man’s eyes grow dimmer.
“The Divine…” The old man murmured the word “Divine,” but seemed not to show any reverence…
“He has no way…”
The old man’s words left Buzhachi even more confused.
The old man offered no explanation; just from Buzhachi’s words, he had lost hope in Muxuan.
“Then do you have a way out?”
Hearing the old man’s question again, Buzhachi was a bit puzzled. He had come directly here—did that mean he couldn’t leave?
Seeing Buzhachi’s confusion, the old man slowly explained, “There are rules binding this place… They don’t just restrain the strange, they also imprison us…”
Rules!?
Buzhachi immediately thought of the rules he had seen upon first entering this place…
“The strange within the rules can be dealt with… but we can never break through the rules…”
Buzhachi, somewhat unconvinced, took out the stone that Muxuan had given him. It held the power of light, able to point to the nearest idol.
The moment he took it out, the stone shone brightly, but quickly began to flicker, as if being interfered with and unable to find a direction. Before long, the light dimmed, leaving only a faint glow, subtly pointing in a certain direction.
This sight caused Buzhachi’s heart to rise and fall, but looking at that weak light, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, what His Holiness gave him still worked!
“This is…” The old man by his side, seeing the stone in Buzhachi’s hand and sensing its pure power of light, a glint flashed in his clouded eyes.
That withered body began to tremble violently…
The power of light, which had grown weaker and weaker in the hands of successive Popes, now actually “shone” brightly at this moment!
The old man suddenly realized something, then quickly regained his calm. His eyes filled with a complex emotion that was hard to describe…
The people here… aside from Na’er… were all ill…
They had long since rotted away on this land bound by rules. The thought of leaving was nothing but a dream… Most importantly… would His Holiness be willing to accept them…
“Mentor Luer, this stone can help us leave! Please believe in His Holiness!” Buzhachi did not speak of himself, but pointed to His Holiness.
No matter what, pointing to the Pope was always more convincing than pointing to himself.
The old man naturally understood Buzhachi’s reasoning… But still…
This time, the old man finally let out a long sigh, his tone full of exhaustion and helplessness.
“Sir… may I ask you to take Na’er with you out of here…” This time, the old man no longer spoke as an elder, but instead placed Buzhachi on equal footing, addressing him respectfully.
In his mind, those who were sick here, including himself, could never leave. Only Na’er… she was truly alive, and so she must be taken out!
“Mentor Luer, please don’t say that… I have accepted the task given by His Holiness, and I will take all of you out!”
Buzhachi was startled and quickly responded.
“Don’t worry about us, just take Na’er out… Even if we left, we wouldn’t survive. Better to rot in this graveyard…” The old man’s voice was bleak, but carried a note of determination.
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