novelden Chapter 456 Return to the Holy Temple
Chapter 456 Return to the Holy Temple
Silence surged in like a tide, pressing down on everyone's heart.
Martha slowly made the sign of the cross on her chest, her lips moving slightly as she silently uttered something.
Lin Feng raised his head and looked at the setting sun.
The light on the horizon is gradually narrowing, like a hand slowly closing.
His expression was grave: "There's only a little over an hour left until sunset. We can't afford to waste time. Everyone, hurry up and move forward!"
The members of Group B quickly suppressed their shock and sorrow, silently regrouped, and continued on their way.
The sky gradually darkened.
As the sun sank to the edge of the ridgeline and the light changed from golden to dark red, the Silent Temple finally came into view.
"The Temple!" A trembling cry rang out from the ranks. "We're here...we've finally arrived!"
At that moment, Lin Feng and Vassim were carrying the stretcher. They didn't dare to delay for a moment and practically ran into the north gate of the temple.
Xia Ning led the way.
Entering the temple through the north gate, one steps onto the third terrace.
This place houses the Hall of Righteousness, the Round Tower, and the residence of the Lord of Silence, but spirits are strictly forbidden from entering the Hall of Righteousness.
Therefore, the three of them did not linger and quickly descended to the second terrace along the stone steps on the west side.
The second terrace has a Zhaixin Hall on the west side and a dormitory for practitioners to rest on the east side. The destination of this trip is the main hall on the north side of the second terrace.
Xia Ning led them around to the back of the main hall, pushed open a hidden wooden door, and behind the door was a steep and narrow stone staircase that wound its way down.
At the bottom of the stone steps is a heavy stone door.
Behind the door is a spacious underground space.
This is a semi-natural, semi-artificial underground chamber with a dome about two zhang high and an irregular arc shape.
Dozens of bronze lamps were embedded in the four walls of the underground chamber, enveloping the entire chamber in a cold, dim light.
The ground was paved with neat bluestone bricks, and in the very center of the underground chamber was a low stone platform.
The stone platform is rectangular, about two meters long and one meter wide, with the surface slightly higher than knee level.
At each of the four corners of the stone platform stood a bronze pillar as thick as an arm, its surface engraved with runes, and a dark red crystal embedded at the top of each pillar.
"Place it on the stone platform." Xia Ning's voice echoed in the underground chamber.
Lin Feng and Vassim carefully carried the stretcher to the stone platform, bent down, untied the ropes binding the female corpse, and slowly lifted the corpse onto the stone platform.
The right deacon took a red bead from his sleeve and placed it in the female corpse's palm.
The moment the bead touched the woman's skin—
A ghostly light burst forth, spreading from the woman's arm to her entire body.
Under the light, the woman's pale skin momentarily became transparent, as if something was being slowly drawn out of her body.
At the same time, the bronze pillars at the four corners of the stone platform lit up simultaneously.
Dark red light surged from the crystal at the top of the pillar, flowing down along the runes on the pillar like four glowing blood vessels, injecting the light into the patterns at the bottom of the stone platform.
A low humming sound filled the air, like countless people chanting scriptures in the distance, echoing repeatedly in the underground chamber.
Xia Ning clasped her hands together and bowed her head slightly:
"This stone platform is a resting place for your soul. Rest here tonight, and tomorrow a monk will come to resolve your grievances and help you enter the cycle of reincarnation."
After speaking, Xia Ning turned to look at everyone and slowly said, "Congratulations everyone, the mission is complete."
The tension in everyone's hearts suddenly eased, and the people who had been holding on to their physical and mental well-being finally felt relieved of the pressure.
Several elderly and frail Chosen Ones could no longer hold on; their legs gave way, and they collapsed to the ground.
The coldness in Xia Ning's eyes faded slightly, and her voice gained a touch of warmth:
"Thank you all for your hard work. Tonight, Zhaixintang will make an exception and provide you with a dinner—a deluxe beef noodle soup."
She paused, then added, "And, there's no need for a poison test."
The underground chamber was silent for a second.
Then, the emotions that had been suppressed all the way burst forth like a flood.
"Long live!"
"Finally, we can eat some meat!"
"Thank you, Guide!"
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers, Lin Feng and Xia Ning exchanged a glance before moving away.
........................
Thirteen people filed into the Zhaixin Hall and lined up in front of the window.
Pale hands handed out large white porcelain bowls from the window, steaming hot and filling the entire canteen with the rich aroma of beef.
Everyone swallowed hard, picked up their bowls, returned to their seats, and eagerly lowered their heads to slurp the noodles into their mouths.
The sounds of slurping noodles, drinking soup, and chewing beef intertwined, creating the most beautiful symphony of the past four days.
The large bowl of noodles was quickly emptied, and some people even drank every last drop of soup, licking their lips with lingering satisfaction.
By the time we finished eating the noodles, it was already getting dark.
Exhausted, everyone returned to their respective quarters one after another.
Wasim entered the room and collapsed onto the bed without even taking off his shoes.
The wooden bed groaned, and his body sank into the bedding, his limbs outstretched, looking like a flattened frog.
"Finally... I can lie down." His voice was hoarse and satisfied, his eyes were half closed.
Lin Feng took off his outer robe and draped it over the back of a chair. Then he fetched a basin of hot water, brought it to the bedside, took off his boots, and slowly immersed his feet, which were red from the cold and covered with blisters, into the water.
The moment the hot water enveloped my feet, a tingling warmth spread from the soles of my feet, and my frozen toes gradually regained sensation.
After soaking his feet for fifteen minutes, he dried them with a cloth, changed into cloth shoes, lay down on the bed, and pulled the quilt over himself.
After resting for about an hour, Lin Feng opened his eyes and glanced at the sky outside the window—it was completely dark.
Ningning should be arriving soon.
Just then, "knock knock—"
A crisp knock sounded at just the right moment.
Lin Feng jolted awake, rolled out of bed, strode to the door, and unlatched it.
A familiar scent wafts over – a faint, cool fragrance, crisp and subtle, a unique aroma belonging to Xia Ning.
He stepped aside to make room.
Xia Ning walked into the room, her gaze slowly sweeping over the entire dormitory.
"I'm here for my routine check of the dormitory's cleanliness."
Upon hearing the noise, Wasim immediately jumped out of bed and stood at attention.
Lin Feng gently closed the door to the dormitory. The latch clicked shut.
Xia Ning examined it seriously for a while, then, without pretending anymore, she raised her hand and waved it.
Three sets of neatly folded black clothing appeared out of thin air and landed on the empty bed; they were the uniforms of the Temple's black-clad deacons.
"Wasim." Xia Ning's gaze fell on his face. "You and Evelyn are going to the forbidden area tonight. Each of you should wear a different set of clothes."
Wasim nodded emphatically.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Ning's sleeve suddenly moved.
A sleek tabby cat slowly peeked out from her sleeve, leaped lightly, and sat down on the empty bed, its tail swaying gently behind it.
It was the same cat that Lin Feng had taught him to do backflips.
"Its name is Meow Meow, and it is an eerie creature in itself," Xia Ning whispered. "It can deter and drive away wandering ghosts and evil spirits along the way."
"With it by your side, you'll be able to avoid many low-level monsters along the way, saving you a lot of trouble."