Chapter 970: Chapter 163: Intertwined Timelines

“Where is Anna?”

Lu Li asked the Bishop, who called himself Jone. Ophelia stood like a guard, her body tense with obscure power surging within.

The followers stood by the oil lamp, their elongated shadows pointing towards Lu Li at the center, as if part of a mysterious ritual.

“We are also searching for the whereabouts of the Lord, again and again…” Jone said with sorrowful resignation. “But forgive your most loyal servant for speaking candidly, perhaps our Lord has already sacrificed herself.”

“Sacrifice… what do you mean?”

“She sacrificed herself for your return.”

Bishop Jone said.

[Perhaps even your escape is related to her? The subterranean layers are like a mother’s womb, the raging currents they encase akin to nourishing amniotic fluid. As you soak in the river, struggle through narrow passages, and emerge into the outer world, it’s like a newborn baby…]

At the Bottom of Sugla, whispers from the glow of the pensive statues seem to echo near the ear.

[She is right beside you, never left you…]

“Tell me the details.” Lu Li continued to inquire.

“Of course… even at the cost of my life.”

Bishop Jone slowly lifted his head, his eyes enshrouded in gray mist, revealing memories: “That was a snowy night as cold as tonight…”

Bishop Jone, who was supposed to be dead, was resurrected by Anna. After observing Jone’s condition, she intended to abandon him like the other incomplete experiment subjects she had resurrected. But Jone chose to follow her footsteps until they reached the stone forest.

Jone pleaded for Anna to accept him, as homeless as he was. And then, at that moment.

“He said to welcome a guest.”

…

“Where is Aidanvoya?”

Tesla stepped out of the shadowed edge, cloaked in wind and snow, the oil lamp illuminating his face, now thinner and more haggard than before.

The elegant Shadow of the Maiden did not respond.

“Where is Aidanvoya?” Tesla stepped forward, repeating once more.

The silhouette of the maiden slowly lifted her head, hair fluttering: “Are you questioning me? Questioning an evil spirit…?”

“Tell me… tell me her whereabouts…”

Tesla staggered forward, dragging his frozen body, like a walking corpse, no longer showing the confidence and elegance of his former investigator self.

“I cannot be without her.”

His plea seemed to move the Shadow of the Maiden, her fluttering hair softly settled.

“…Paradise Valley, that’s all I know.”

“How do you know she is connected to that place?”

Tesla retained the last bit of his investigative acumen, or perhaps he simply couldn’t bear another disappointment.

“After he and I left, Raimy and the others left to find us. When I returned to Seaview Cliff, I saw the messenger’s corpse and the fragmented letters soaked in water, with only the name Paradise Valley discernible.”

Anna spoke this much for the first time.

“Thank you… you will also find Lu Li.”

Tesla remembered the name, turned, and staggered away.

Watching Tesla step into the darkness, murmurs echoed in the underground hall.

“Of course…”

…

Jone ultimately did not become Anna’s servant.

Enveloped by the abyss, she no longer needed companions, accompanied only by her former obsessions.

Perhaps there was also distorted, intense emotion.

Claiming servitude, Jone continued following Anna’s footsteps, gathering those resurrected by Anna and people who believed because of her deeds.

Thus appeared the Shadow Church.

After the disappearance of the Shadow of the Maiden, they continued the ritual for Her, searching for Lu Li’s whereabouts, and periodically restarting the ritual in this land.

Anna eventually vanished from the earth; Lu Li returned, never having intersected with her—the clues he sought were left by the Shadow Church.

Having recounted everything, Bishop Jone quietly awaited his own dissolution.

Yet time passed, silence encroached, and nothing happened.

“Why haven’t I—”

“I know Anna’s ritual, know how to avoid triggering it.”

Lu Li said, reaching up to cover his forehead.

The illusion grew more severe, even the words he heard were suppressed by a hissing noise…

“My Lord saved me once, and you saved me a second time.”

Bishop Jone bowed, unable to contain his excitement as he swore allegiance.

“The Shadow Church shall be your most loyal servant.”

The silhouettes by the wall likewise bowed in reverent salute.

Only Lu Li could see the ethereal threads floating from their hoods, guided by an invisible force, like abandoned beings helplessly seeking connection with Lu Li.

Lu Li ignored these wispy, mysterious strands, gazing into the depths of the underground hall.

“Do you like the gift I prepared for you?”

Anna’s soft words pierced through the noise, clearly resonating in his ear.

“Did Anna leave anything?”

Lu Li asked the diminutive Bishop Jone.

“The room where She once rested…”

Bishop Jone lowered his head again: “We do not dare desecrate that room…”

Even though they repeatedly failed the ritual searching for Anna, they never dared step into the room that might hold Anna’s clues.

Thus, the Heretics have always been the most challenging presence on this land.

Their faith made them fearless, yet frenzied.

“Take me there.”

Bishop Jone led the way.

Lu Li and the others followed, through the underground hall, into the stone forest interior, the living quarters once resting Duke Valentin.

Aside from being located deep underground with insufficient light, it was indistinguishable from the manor castle above ground, only time and pillage had faded it.

But after the Shadow Church occupied it, it revived anew.

Walking through a candle-lit red carpet hallway, they reached the room deep at the end.

The followers guarding the door stepped back, their fervor beneath the cloaks so intense it seemed to permeate fabric.

“This is the place…”

Beneath the black robe, Bishop Jone presented a copper key.

Lu Li took the copper key and inserted it into the lock, twisting.

Clack—

The dust-covered ornate wooden door slowly opened.

Bishop Jone retreated, Ophelia and the merchant didn’t enter, and the leader was pulled out of the hood by Ophelia. Only Lu Li, having pocketed the silver key, walked through the wooden door.

A soft, cold hand suddenly grasped the hand in Lu Li’s pocket. When he pulled out his hand, he found he was holding a book.

“Belfast”

That book from the True Library, partly withdrawn by the Book Sprite, forgotten in Lu Li’s pocket as he took it away.

Lu Li paused, opened the preface of the book, and gazed at the emerging introduction.

[Two people truly loving each other are forced apart; the maiden searches for the youth, the youth also searches for the maiden, and their ending—]

Lu Li turned to the back page, but part of the pages were missing.

Whether the Book Sprite or Eternal Dreamer, it was unknown.

Was this the hint given by the Book Sprite back then?

Lu Li temporarily set aside “Belfast,” standing at the door, stepping into the room.

Oil paintings, statues, artworks. The room, plundered empty, only left with a bed and desk.

Plus a notebook placed on the desk behind.

Lu Li approached the desk, picked up the notebook marked with [Belfast Printing House] insignia on the bottom right corner, gently opened it.

On the blank notebook, only one line of text.

[No matter where you are, I will find you and bring you back]