"How is it?"
Jiang Lin asked the three behind him.
Fenrir looked around and grinned.
"Not bad. It's even more comfortable than that small building in Silver Moon City."
Alicia nodded slightly. She didn't speak, but a hint of satisfaction flickered in her pale gold eyes.
Elune stood in the center of the hall, her lavender eyes sweeping over the silver patterns on the walls before landing on a pot of newly planted moonlight roses on the fireplace mantle.
She had planted those flowers herself, using seeds brought from Silver Moon City.
"It's very good," she said softly. "It feels like home."
Jiang Lin nodded.
Indeed, it felt like home.
He walked to the fireplace, sat on the sofa, propped his feet on the coffee table, and leaned against the soft cushions, letting out a long breath.
Fenrir slumped onto another sofa, squinting in enjoyment as he held a cup of hot tea.
Alicia sat in a chair by the window, opening a newly borrowed book.
Elune toyed with the moonlight roses on the mantle, her fingertips gently brushing the tender green leaves.
Sunlight from outside streamed through the glass, casting warm spots of light on the floor.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, occasionally popping with sparks.
This winter didn't seem quite so cold anymore.
A few days later, Master Chen left with his craftsmen.
Before leaving, he took a final walk around the yard to confirm all the work was finished before nodding in satisfaction.
"Boss, if you ever have more work, feel free to find me in the Royal Capital at any time." He slapped the dust from his hands. "I've grown quite fond of this house while repairing it."
"I certainly will."
Jiang Lin saw him to the gate.
Master Chen walked a few steps, looked back once more, then grinned and strode away.
The mansion fell quiet.
Jiang Lin stood in the hall, listening to the crackle of the fireplace, the rustle of the wind through the hollies outside, and the light sound of Elune's footsteps upstairs.
This was the first time since arriving in this world that he felt true peace.
It wasn't because there was no danger, but because he had a place to return to.
No matter what he encountered outside, no matter how intense the battle, or how heavy his injuries, he could always come back here.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, etching this peace into the depths of his memory.
Then he opened them, his golden eyes returning to their usual calm and sharp state.
Cultivation could not stop!
He took Zoe's advanced notes from his spatial ring and flipped to the chapter on teleportation array architecture to continue his research.
The advanced quest for the Apostle of God, "Spark," could begin at any time, and he needed to be fully prepared before it started.
This wasn't just about strength; it was also about supplies.
He purchased a large amount of dry rations, fresh water, common medicines, magic materials, and several changes of clothes from the Royal Capital.
Everything was prepared according to expedition standards.
...
Life at the mansion gradually settled into a routine.
Jiang Lin practiced his swordsmanship among the hills every morning, researched spatial magic in the afternoon, and practiced his breathing techniques at night.
His days were as regular as a clockwork mechanism, to the point where Fenrir couldn't help but joke that he was "more punctual than the Silver Moon Academy clock tower."
Elune learned to cook using a stove from the human kingdom.
Though she nearly set the kitchen on fire during her first attempt, after a few days of practice, she could make decent stews and roast bread.
Her moonlight roses grew new buds on the mantle, their pale silver petals shimmering with a soft halo in the firelight.
Alicia meditated under the old oak tree every day.
Her rapier rested across her knees, the chill emanating from the blade growing more intense by the day.
Jiang Lin occasionally gave her a few pointers, which she listened to intently, never needing to be told twice.
Fenrir took charge of the territory's "security work."
Every day, he patrolled the boundaries with his greatsword over his shoulder, driving away any approaching beasts or passing adventurers.
Although the territory currently had nothing but the six of them and a few dilapidated farmhouses, Fenrir worked with great enthusiasm, saying it reminded him of his days serving on the border of the Silver Moon Kingdom.
Big Guy and Aria visited every few days.
Every time Big Guy came, he brought different foods—roast suckling pig, braised beef, sausages—feeding Fenrir with a rotating variety of treats.
Aria continued her geological survey of the territory and discovered a high-quality clay mine to the north of the mansion.
The days passed at a steady, unhurried pace.
Jiang Lin occasionally thought of Little Black.
He wondered how that fat cat was doing in the West Continent.
With its survival skills, it certainly wouldn't go hungry.
Once the Spark mission was over, he would find time to go back and get it.
One evening, Jiang Lin returned from practicing his swordsmanship in the hills. As he entered the yard, he saw Elune standing in the side corridor of the mansion, holding a magic lamp and staring at the wall.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Lin walked over.
Elune turned her head, her lavender eyes looking exceptionally bright in the glow of the magic lamp.
She pointed to an inconspicuous stone brick on the wall.
"The gap around this brick is larger than the others."
Jiang Lin leaned in to look.
Indeed, while the gaps between the other stone bricks were tight and seamless, this particular brick had slightly more clearance on all sides—not enough to notice without a very close look.
"You're quite observant."
"When I was tending to the moonlight roses this morning, the sunlight happened to hit here, and the shadow looked a bit off." Elune reached out to touch the edge of the brick. "I felt something wasn't right."
Jiang Lin pressed his hand against the brick and pushed hard.
It didn't budge.
He tried pulling it out, but it still wouldn't move.
Jiang Lin frowned slightly and released his Space Perception.
The pale silver field of perception penetrated the stone brick and spread along the gaps inside the wall.
Then, he "saw" something unusual.
The back of this brick was connected to a long, thin metal connecting rod, which was linked to a complex gear mechanism at the other end.
The gear mechanism was in turn connected to a stone door hidden inside the wall.
Behind the stone door was a descending staircase, and at the end of the stairs was a small room.
Something in that room was emitting faint spatial ripples.
"There's a secret door." Jiang Lin withdrew his hand, a hint of surprise flashing in his golden eyes. "And there seems to be a teleportation array inside."
Fenrir emerged from the kitchen at some point, clutching a half-eaten lamb leg.
"What secret door? What teleportation array?"
"You're just in time." Jiang Lin pointed at the stone brick. "Push this in as hard as you can."
Fenrir bit down on the lamb leg, pressed both hands against the brick, and exerted force with his entire body.
"Hmph!"
The stone brick didn't move an inch.
Fenrir's face turned beet red, the veins on his forehead bulging as he tried once more.
The brick still didn't budge.
He let go, panting heavily.
"Is this brick welded shut?"
"It shouldn't be."
Jiang Lin released his Space Perception again to re-examine the gear mechanism.
The engagement of the gears was fine, and the connection of the rods was fine. The problem was...
"They need to be pressed simultaneously."
Jiang Lin found two other bricks on the wall—one about five feet off the ground and another near the corner.
"These three bricks are linked. Pressing one alone does nothing; all three must be pressed at once."
"That's easy then."
Fenrir stood before one brick. Alicia had also walked over at some point and stood before the second.
Jiang Lin stood before the third.
"Three, two, one..."
The three of them pushed simultaneously.
A dull "clack" came from inside the wall, like the sound of rusty gears grinding as they turned.
Then, the entire wall began to slowly sink inward, revealing a pitch-black opening.
Behind the opening was a staircase leading down. The stone steps were covered in a thick layer of dust, and magic lamps that had long since gone out were embedded in the walls on either side.
Air rushed out of the opening, carrying a stale scent mixed with earth and rust.
"It really is a secret door." Fenrir poked his head in to look before pulling back. "There aren't any monsters down there, are there?"
"My Space Perception didn't detect any living things."
Jiang Lin took a moonlight stone from his spatial ring, its pale blue glow illuminating the stairs.
"Let's go down and see."
He was the first to enter the secret door, stepping onto the first stair.
The stone steps were stable, showing no signs of loosening or collapsing.
Although the magic lamps on the walls were out, the runes on the bases were still there—the energy had simply been depleted long ago.
After descending about twenty steps, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
It was a small basement, roughly twenty square meters, with a low ceiling that Jiang Lin could touch with his hand.
The floor was made of solid bluestone slabs, and the walls were carved with simple runes, most of which were now blurred and indistinct.
In the center of the basement was a circular stone platform about two meters in diameter.
The surface of the platform was covered in dense patterns, the flow of the lines and the distribution of nodes bearing a high similarity to the teleportation array architecture Jiang Lin had seen in Zoe's notes.
"It really is a teleportation array." Alicia stood at the edge of the stone platform, looking down at the patterns. "And it looks ancient."
Jiang Lin walked around the platform once.
The structure of the teleportation array was mostly intact, but the damage was quite severe.
Five of the seven crystal slots were empty, and the crystals in the remaining two were dull and covered in fine cracks.
The runic patterns were broken in several places, and some sections had even worn away completely.
There was also a prominent crack on the edge of the stone platform that extended all the way to the center.
"Can it be fixed?" Elune asked softly from behind him.
Jiang Lin knelt down and pressed his hand against the edge of the platform, letting his Space Perception permeate the internal structure of the array.
The remaining runic nodes, the broken lines, and the slots where crystals were once embedded all formed a map in his mind.
"It can be fixed," he said, standing up. "But it will take time."
"How long?"
"At least a week." Jiang Lin withdrew his hand. "I'll need to find new crystals, re-carve the runic patterns, and repair the crack. And even if it's fixed, there's no guarantee it will work. The coordinate anchor for this array has been lost; it will need to be recalibrated after repairs."
Fenrir scratched his head.
"Then why bother fixing it?"
Jiang Lin glanced at him.
"Aren't you curious? Who built this array? Where does it lead? Why was it sealed behind a secret door?"
Fenrir thought about it and nodded. "I guess you're right..."
"Besides," Jiang Lin paused, "even if it doesn't work, the materials salvaged from it are worth a lot of money."
Fenrir's eyes lit up. "Now that's a good point."
Jiang Lin took one more look around before taking a recording crystal from his spatial ring to meticulously document the current state of the teleportation array.
The flow of the patterns, the positions of the nodes, the dimensions of the slots—not a single detail was missed.
Once finished, he stood up.
"Let's head back up for now. I'll deal with this teleportation array after I finish that mission."
"What mission?" Fenrir asked.
"The advanced assessment for the Apostle of God," Jiang Lin said without hiding anything. "I have to go to another planet for about a hundred and fifty days."
Fenrir's jaw dropped. "Another planet?"
"That's right. I'll tell you stories about it when I get back."
The three of them stepped out of the secret door, and Jiang Lin closed the stone door once more.
The wall returned to its original state, the gaps around the three stone bricks remaining inconspicuous. If it hadn't been for Elune's sharp eyes, it likely wouldn't have been discovered for another hundred years.
"When do you leave?" Elune asked in the corridor, her lavender eyes fixed on him.
"I'm waiting for the notification from the god." Jiang Lin walked to the yard gate and looked toward the Royal Capital. "It should be soon."
Over the next few days, Jiang Lin researched the repair plan for the secret chamber's teleportation array while waiting for the notification that the mission had begun.
He found some reference materials regarding ancient teleportation array architecture in Zoe's notes.
Combining this with the knowledge he had gained from the Starfall Corridor, he gradually worked out a general approach for the repairs.
The crystal issue was easy to solve.
He bought several high-quality space-attribute magic crystals from a magic material shop in the Royal Capital.
While not as good as the ones used by the ancient elves, they would suffice.
Repairing the runic patterns would be more troublesome, as it required using a specialized engraving tool to re-carve the lines on the stone platform, leaving no room for error.
As for the crack, it was actually the simplest part—it could be fixed with stone filler.
His estimate of one week for repairs wasn't an exaggeration.
However, the Spark mission could begin at any moment, and he didn't have time to spend a week at this critical juncture repairing a teleportation array that led to an unknown destination.
He would do the mission first and fix it when he returned.
He told the three elves his decision, and no one objected.
Fenrir said it wasn't urgent anyway, Alicia nodded, and Elune asked one more thing:
"Will anyone be going with you on this mission?"
"Yes, other Apostles of God."
"How many?"
"Five to eight."
"That's good then." Elune lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of her sleeve. "Be careful."
"I will."
Two more days passed.
Early this morning, Jiang Lin returned to the mansion after practicing his swordsmanship in the hills. Suddenly, the Apostle Mark on his chest began to feel warm.
He stopped in his tracks, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into the depths of the mark.
A gentle yet vast will enveloped him, and a line of text condensed from holy light appeared before his eyes:
【Spark mission is about to begin.】
【Please proceed to the nearest Temple of the God of Holy Light within three calendar days and use the teleportation array to reach the mission assembly point.】
【Failure to arrive on time will be considered abandonment of the mission, and corresponding Apostle Points will be deducted.】
...
Rate on N.U.
