Chapter 004: The Old Sanctuary

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
The nuns bathing in the hot springs probably wouldn’t believe, even if beaten to death, that someone would dare eavesdrop in such a sacred place as a church. After all, even those aged bishops didn’t have the courage! When they touched the nuns’ buttocks, they still had to feign piety by slipping them some gold coins—otherwise, who would let them do so?
Yet now, someone was blatantly eavesdropping here?
Unfortunately, the nuns of the Holy Church were likely facing such a situation for the first time in their lives, so none of them could react. In an ordinary bathhouse, bricks thrown at that moment would have turned Du Fan into a pig’s head.
“Ah—”
Someone screamed first, and suddenly, as if remembering something, the nuns began to wail like ghosts. They curled up, trying to cover themselves completely with towels. A few bolder nuns with some martial skills rushed in that direction. One who knew a bit of magic immediately cast several small fireballs.
But when they arrived, they found nothing but a broken brick on the ground and some unknown liquid.
Looking at the gloomy jungle outside, these devout nuns realized they might have been wrong—how could anyone eavesdrop in such a place? It must have been their mistake!
But then, what exactly was that figure that appeared there just now?
The nuns exchanged glances and eventually agreed to forget the whole incident. From then on, no one dared to enter that bathhouse, which had been unused for countless years.
…
Du Fan let out a soft sigh, wiping the sweat from his face after intense exertion. He glanced toward the hot springs with relief.
He didn’t want his hard-earned reputation to be ruined by a single accident. After all, if caught doing such a thing, it would be impossible to explain.
The only solution now was to slip away unnoticed, change clothes, and attend the royal banquet openly. That way, who would know he had been here?
Du Fan chuckled inwardly and quickened his pace, heading straight for the back door.

But after running for a while, he stopped in his tracks, staring at a building ahead and unable to help but gaze at it in wonder. If Du Fan wasn’t mistaken, it must be a chapel. Judging from its architectural style, it seemed to have been built hundreds of years ago. Du Fan knew there were ancient chapel ruins in this back garden, but he had never seen them before—never expecting to discover them at such a time. With some confusion in his heart, he slowly walked toward the old chapel. When he reached its side, he frowned—this ancient chapel was no smaller than the one in the square, and it blocked his path. After thinking for a few minutes, Du Fan decided to pass through it to leave, as taking a detour might attract attention from others, which could prevent him from wandering around the church openly in the future. One must cherish one’s reputation. A certain charlatan lamented his misfortune inwardly, having forgotten that he had ended up in this situation because he had chosen shortcuts instead of the proper path. Looking at the dilapidated chapel, illuminated by moonlight, it appeared gloomy and mysterious—a place he hadn’t set foot in for who knew how long. Since the moment of his transition, Du Fan was no longer an atheist. Under such circumstances, legends of various demons and monsters from his past and present life flooded his mind. Du Fan shuddered. After hesitating for a moment, he still walked to the chapel’s entrance and gently pushed open the old doors. With a creaking sound, the doors slowly opened, releasing a musty smell that made him want to sneeze. He waved his hand in front of his face a few times before quickly slipping through the gap and then slowly closing the doors behind him. It was an old courtyard, neglected for a long time. The originally stone-paved ground had accumulated thick layers of soil since some unknown era, with clusters of lilac flowers growing on it—these flowers looked incredibly mysterious under the moonlight. Du Fan stood there for a while, finally realizing that aside from entering through the chapel’s main door and exiting through the back door, there was no other way out. After hesitating briefly, he walked to the chapel’s hall and slowly stepped inside.

It was like a cathedral in a square—this cathedral’s hall also had no doors. Inside the hall, there were rows of seats, and the columns and walls on both sides were covered with carvings everywhere. Its ancient appearance gave off a sense of solemnity even amidst the gloom.

It took some time before Du Fan could get used to the lighting here. Finally, he could see clearly that only half of the statue on the altar remained, revealing its bare upper body. The curtain that had once separated the hall from the backstage had disappeared without anyone noticing.

He lightly jumped over the various cluttered items on the ground. Turning around, he headed to the backstage. In his mind, there should have been a huge doorway there, through which he could leave the jungle of the back garden, exit through the back door, and go back to being his noble young master. He might even need to think about how to obtain that Milak potion that night.

Yet what appeared before his eyes completely shattered Du Fan’s plans.

What used to be the backstage had somehow turned into a vast space, giving the impression that it was even larger than the cathedral’s square. Six columns stood around the space, covered with unknown plants. A blue-green glow emanated from them, making the place seem somewhat eerie.

In the center of the space was a dark staircase, its destination unknown. Around that dark opening, a magic circle was drawn on the ground. But with his limited knowledge, Du Fan couldn’t tell what purpose this magic circle served.

Du Fan’s body began to tremble slightly. He instinctively understood that he must have touched some kind of taboo of the Church.

Actually, it was obvious—only the Holy Church itself could set up such things in an old cathedral. Moreover, since this place was hidden so deeply, the Church surely didn’t want anyone to know about it.

If someone found out he was here… the consequences would be…

Du Fan couldn’t help but shudder. His subconscious told him he must leave immediately; otherwise, his end would be certain.

But despite thinking so, for some reason, his feet kept moving step by step toward the center of the space.

By the time he regained his senses, he had already stood in front of that cave entrance. From this spot, he could clearly see a staircase ahead. Deep within the staircase, strands of blue light emanated from inside, faintly glowing with an intoxicating aura. Standing there, Du Fan hesitated. If he went in, he might discover something or even change his current situation, but entering also meant a high risk of dying mysteriously. After some thought, Du Fan slowly stepped down the stairs. He knew well that he had never been content with an ordinary life. Since arriving in this world, he had simply never had the chance; if he had, he would have risen to great heights long ago. Now, this opportunity might be right before his eyes—could he give it up? The answer was no. Death meant an end, but survival meant living on forever. At most, he could travel through time once more, but he absolutely couldn’t give up this opportunity. Realizing this, Du Fan gritted his teeth and descended the stairs. After walking for an unknown length of time, he noticed that the blue-lit object was getting closer and closer. Finally, after feeling he had left the staircase behind, he could see it clearly. The light came from six blue crystals, which together formed what seemed to be a magic circle. In the center of the circle, there was a faint shadow that was hard to make out. Du Fan guessed that these six blue crystals likely formed a spatial magic circle, whose purpose was probably to protect something or imprison someone. Whatever was inside, it would surely be beneficial to him. As for the consequences of destroying the magic circle, Du Fan hadn’t considered that at all. Many people say, “If you don’t act for yourself, heaven and earth will punish you.”