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墨書 Inktalez
I was very clear about how we had passed through the previous two doors. So, since the top of this door bore the words "Gate of Compassion," they must have just undergone a brutal trial concerning "compassion." What was even more disheartening was that they would not have known that it was a test of compassion during their ordeal.
It seemed they had suffered greatly.
I wasn't sure if it was inappropriate to think this way, but once I realized that they had been tormented in a trial of compassion, I suddenly became very curious about what kind of torment they had endured.
Nevertheless, we held hands and stepped through the "Gate of Compassion."
As I passed through this door, I felt a momentary daze. It was only natural; this door had appeared out of nowhere in the Lava Highlands, and there was no visible path behind it, so it must have relied on some teleportation function.
Oh my gosh! This is definitely not scientific...
In any case, I felt dazed for a moment and found myself in a square space measuring 100 square meters and standing 5 meters high. This space was enclosed; the door that had brought us in had vanished, making it feel like something out of a horror movie.
However, this space was entirely different from the places we had visited before. The previous locations had been slightly modified natural terrains, while here, everything was exquisitely crafted by human hands. The floor of the chamber was laid with perfectly aligned square stone slabs, and twelve stone pillars supported the ceiling. A ring of torches hung on the walls, illuminating the entire space.
Still, there was no one around.
If there were no people, and if no one had been here for many years, how could these torches continue to burn? It truly was a mystery.
But such thoughts were far from my mind at that moment. As soon as we entered this space, something immediately captured our attention.
There were two nearly five-meter-tall giant stone statues, almost reaching the ceiling. The statues stood against one wall of the square chamber, one on the left and one on the right. We couldn't determine which direction the wall faced; in this place, we were lost to cardinal directions.
With these two statues present, I then noticed that behind them stood a securely locked stone door. Strange symbols seemed to cover its surface, shimmering under the light of the torches.
Upon closer inspection of the two statues, I couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
The carving was truly exquisite, despite the towering height of the Giant Statue. The facial features were sculpted so realistically that they seemed lifelike. Honestly, these two stone statues were incredibly handsome, almost deserving of the word "charming."
They depicted two young men, both bare-chested, with their lower halves draped in what resembled skirts. Each had their long hair tied up high, and the hair was carved to appear as if it were blowing in the wind. Their features were strikingly beautiful; although they looked different, both wore serene expressions, making them undeniably handsome.
The two Stone-Carved Handsome Men were posed as if Drawing a Bow and Nocking an Arrow, their Longbows drawn back like full moons, accentuating their bare biceps and showcasing a kind of powerful beauty.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the walls of this stone chamber were covered in murals depicting scenes from Daily Life in the Ancient Era. They didn't seem to tell a story, but there was one notable characteristic: over eighty percent of the figures, regardless of gender, held bows and arrows. This suggested that this was likely a group skilled in archery.
Were they a group of Divine Archers? Yet when Qiu came to mind, he instinctively chose a regular longsword instead of a bow and arrow, which felt rather unreliable.
"It should be... leading to that door," Luo Dachun speculated.
Qiu nodded. "So let's look around for any mechanisms."
We split into two groups and moved in different directions. Qiu held my hand tightly as we searched together. I sensed he was concerned for my safety.
"What happened back at the Gate of Compassion?" I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Earlier? It seems I had a Great Dream," Nie Qiuyuan replied with a slight smile at my question. "Honestly, I’m a bit reluctant to tell you."
"Huh? Why not?!" The fact that he didn’t want to share piqued my interest even more.
"Because in the dream, it seems I did something that wronged you..."
What? Something that wronged me? I couldn't let that slide!
"Hey, Nie Qiuyuan, what exactly did you do? You better come clean!" My steps halted abruptly; I had lost all interest in searching for mechanisms. A woman's intuition could only take so much at critical moments.
Autumn gently pulled me into her embrace, guiding my shoulders as we moved forward.
"At that time, you were also in the dream with me. We were together. In that dream, I broke our promise and died alongside you."
What on earth... I was utterly confused.
As we searched for mechanisms in the large stone chamber, Autumn recounted everything she had encountered in the illusion. I listened, heart racing, feeling a sense of relief. It was fortunate that my "connection" had failed; I would rather face off against Zhuque and Ren Pingsheng while awake than be trapped in that tormenting mental state.
It turned out that once they entered there, they had no idea they were in an illusion; it felt as if they had suddenly arrived in an open space. In Autumn's vision, there was me and Luo Dachun. From their later brief exchanges, it seemed they had experienced a shared dream. As for how I appeared in that dream, I had no idea.
It resembled those RPG games where two characters are controlled by players while another is automatically controlled by the system—something like that.
Wait a minute, Autumn —could it be that you all traveled here from the future?! Such technology doesn't even exist in modern times! The Tang Dynasty is truly terrifying.
Since I hadn't experienced it firsthand, I might as well keep this part brief: they encountered Rong Fu in that open space and engaged in fierce combat. Amidst their struggle, the Disaster Gate was opened.
The creator of that illusion seemed capable of summoning the greatest inner enemies of those entering the illusion and materializing them.
With the Disaster Gate opened, chaos erupted and darkness descended. In such a moment of crisis, the statue of Chang'e suddenly transformed into an ethereal figure, telling them that to close the Disaster Gate, they would have to sacrifice their lives just as Chang'e and Hou Yi did in the Ancient Era.
"But Zhenzhen, I haven't found a way to your world yet. I promised you I wouldn't die," Nie Qiuyuan said, looking at me with his beautiful eyes filled with regret.
"So... you all died?"
He nodded gently. "Not you all; it was us—us three."
As he spoke, he stopped walking, turned me to face him, lovingly tucked my hair behind my ear, and caressed my cheek.
“Zhenzhen, you told me that you wouldn’t blame me, that you would stay with me, through life and death.”
Oh my, that wasn’t mine; those were lines generated automatically by the ancient illusion system’s computer. If I were truly faced with such a severe choice, I might end up crying and dragging him away in panic.
But does this mean that such lines were also automatically generated from Nie Qiuyuan’s heart?
Do I appear so grand and noble in his eyes?
No wonder that door is called the “Gate of Compassion.” It turns out it was testing whether we could sacrifice ourselves for the sake of all living beings. In that moment, despite their reluctance, they finally succeeded.
The connection between Qiu’s family and Snowfall Villa became increasingly evident, especially since the test revealed the Disaster Gate. Snowfall Villa must be one of the last guardians in the world.
If we tally the three tests we’ve undergone, they assessed “Courage,” “Trust,” and “Compassion.” What is this for? To issue a “Good Person Card”?
“Zhenzhen, knowing that I’m not dead, knowing we can still be together… it feels… truly amazing! The feeling inside is indescribable.” My Qiu clumsily expressed on the White Path, “And about what you just said…”
I embraced him affectionately. I knew he was referring to what I had just said in front of Ren Pingsheng; yes, those were all my true feelings.
Someone gently cleared their throat behind us.
“Qiu Yuan, Zhenzhen, come look.”
Luo Dachun stood at the foot of the Giant Statue by the door, intently observing a spot on the base of the statue.
Both of us blushed and quickly stopped our intimate moment, moving closer to see what Luo Dachun was pointing at.
“Look here, there’s a strange groove. Doesn’t its shape seem somewhat familiar?”
Indeed, on the base of the Giant Statue on the left, there is a groove about 0 cm long. The shape of the groove is slightly curved upward and looks a bit... like a knife. "Look at this again." Only then did I realize that Luo Dachun was holding an unsheathed dagger in his hand. He put the tip of the knife against the groove there, and within a few seconds, the tip of the dagger turned fiery red, and a wisp of green smoke came out. "Don't you think this place is hotter than other places?" Sure enough, after standing here for a while, I started to sweat slightly. It turns out that this groove looks nothing strange, but in fact its temperature is as high as lava and can instantly burn the items filled in it. Just like Luo Dachun's sword, the tip of the knife is also burned red in an instant. Same. It seems that this groove is the key to opening this door, and a key is obviously needed here. This key can only be original, and it will definitely not match it. Any attempt to fill the grooves with fakes will be defeated by the absolute High Temperature. So, we need a key that is resistant to High Temperature, a knife that cannot be melted by High Temperature? Oh buy it! Don't I just have a knife in my arms that meets all the above conditions? (To be continued...) r19 ()
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