Chapter 018: The Holy Land

The group exchanged glances, then looked at the exhausted Temple Knight behind them. Alfred hesitated for a moment before saying, “Let’s do as Lord Nicholas suggests.”
Nicholas nodded and said nothing more.
Alfred immediately gave orders, and the large group withdrew from the Blue Brick Road. In no time, a Temple Knight returned, reporting that they had found a location perfect for setting up camp.
Led by that Temple Knight, the group turned left into the valley. After passing through a dense forest, the landscape suddenly opened up before them.
Standing under a tree at the edge of the woods, Du Fan gazed at the vast open grassland and a huge lake ahead, and couldn’t help but sigh.
Throughout their journey, they had seen nothing but ice and snow or magical beasts. Now, witnessing such a typical southern landscape filled him with a profound sense of familiarity.
Scattered across the sparse grassland were various unknown small flowers, emitting a gentle fragrance that made one want to roll around in it. In the distance lay a calm lake.
The lake was blue, its water so clear that one could see the aquatic plants at the bottom. When a breeze blew, ripples spread across the surface, creating a scene so delicate it seemed like a dream.
It was also noon, and the sunlight shining on the lake made this dreamlike scenery even more beautiful.
Watching this picturesque landscape, Du Fan couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of creation. For such a scene to exist in this frozen northern land was truly a miracle.
Most people stared at the sight in excitement. After traveling through ice and snow for so long, even the strongest would be exhausted. The thought of being able to rest here temporarily made them put aside their worries for now.
Without Alfred needing to give further orders, the Temple Knights began setting up camp, lighting fires, and a few started discussing going nearby to hunt for game.
Du Fan watched this scene with a smile, not intervening. Instead, he waved for a few familiar Temple Knights to come over and handed one of them a vial of poison from his storage ring.

These temple knights had long reached a tacit understanding with Du Fan. The various traps and mechanisms they were familiar with were all taught to them by Du Fan himself. Seeing what Du Fan was holding, they immediately knew it must be poison or something similar. Originally, the temple knights disdained using such things, but after Du Fan set up a trap that eliminated several magical beasts, they no longer objected. They also understood Du Fan’s intentions and immediately went to set up traps around the camp with their tools.

Ferei, standing behind Du Fan, sighed and said, “It would be great if the other brothers could see this scene.”

Du Fan knew Ferei felt deeply for the more than twenty temple knights who had sacrificed themselves. Not knowing how to comfort him, he simply sighed and said, “They sacrificed heroically for the glory of the God of Light. Surely they can return to the Lord’s embrace now. You don’t need to blame yourself too much.”

Ferei nodded and fell silent, though his eyes still held a hint of sorrow.

After a while, a temporary camp was set up. Those in charge of starting fires cut down some trees nearby and lit several bonfires. Those with nothing to do ignored everything else and stripped off their clothes to take a bath in the lake.

Du Fan and the others, still concerned about appearances, didn’t act like those temple knights. Instead, they pretended to be calm as they quietly discussed what to do the next day by the bonfires.

Nicholas and Alfred were engrossed in their discussion, while Du Fan had already decided to undermine them. He hadn’t planned to cooperate with their actions and was too lazy to listen. His gaze shifted several times toward Tasia, and he couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Although Tasia, the icy beauty, sat there with a cold expression, Du Fan could faintly sense that her body was subtly moving. At first, he didn’t understand what was going on, but when he saw her showing a hint of shyness yet still sneaking glances toward the lake, he figured it out…

Sister Tasia, I’m afraid, is longing for a man… Oh, no—she probably just wants to take a bath. After all, girls are naturally a bit particular about cleanliness. Over these past half months, given her constitution, she certainly can’t just scrape some snow off and rub it on her body like those Templar knights do as a makeshift bath. Although a few of the Templar knights had been kept by noble ladies and knew a thing or two about romance, no one dared to pursue Sister Tasia. No one showed her any affection, and naturally, no one prepared bathwater for her along the way.

Poor Tasia!

Du Fan sighed inwardly. If only you would speak to me, how could I not prepare bathwater for you? Even if it meant helping you wash your back, accompanying you in the bath, or even attending to your needs while you sleep—such excessive requests—I could barely refuse them for the sake of the God of Light.

Just think—this beautiful young girl, in order to serve the God of Light, not only has to reject so many men’s advances but also doesn’t even have a chance to fight a friendly match with a man. What a tragedy!

With these thoughts, Du Fan decided he had to talk to Tasia that night, share some feelings, and then heat up some bathwater. She could wash his back, he could accompany her in the bath, and finally, they could have a fun friendly match—so that the trip wouldn’t be in vain…

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and his imagination grew more exaggerated. His gaze toward Tasia inevitably took on a strange tone. He praised her in his heart—why had she seemed so cold at first sight? But after spending a few days with her, he found her increasingly beautiful. Though not as stunning as Chenchen, she was still extremely beautiful, especially her chest…

At this thought, Du Fan couldn’t help but swallow hard. Then he remembered his first encounter with Chenchen. For some reason, his heart suddenly ached, and his lust vanished instantly. Reaching into his arms, he stroked the still-conscious kitten. Du Fan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly…

Tasia noticed Du Fan’s gaze. She gave him a cold look but said nothing. Naturally, Du Fan didn’t want to embarrass himself and pretended not to see her. He sat there with a pious expression, looking as if he were deeply devoted. But what he was really thinking beneath that pious facade, no one would ever know.

As night fell, the Templar knights who had gone hunting returned. Although they said there were no magical beasts in the vicinity, they were lucky enough to catch a few white wolves.

Wolf meat is foul-smelling and tough to chew; it’s not exactly delicious, but it’s far better than the dry rations they’ve been eating these past few days. The temple knights immediately skinned and gutted the little white wolf, put it in a pot to cook, and added some dry rations as well, making it their dinner. Even during the meal, someone brought out a sack of strong liquor. Normally, temple knights were not allowed to drink alcohol on missions, but since the fate of entering the Divine Palace the next day was uncertain, Du Fan and the others understood their feelings and pretended not to see it. In fact, over the past few hundred years, whenever a sacred site was discovered, the Holy Church always had to pay a heavy price to bring it under its control. After all, the existence of the Divine Palace had its reasons, but regardless, every lost sacred site was filled with various dangers. There was once a sacred site where the Holy Church sent over a dozen teams of temple knights, all to no avail. It wasn’t until a high-ranking knight was sent that they discovered an ancient magical beast trapped there. Even a high-ranking knight couldn’t defeat it, and if it weren’t for the blessed divine power of the Divine Palace suppressing it, that beast would have devoured the knight. In the end, it was the pope himself who stepped in to defeat the beast, and that place is now the imperial capital. Most importantly, besides certain divine artifacts, the blessed divine power there was also crucial to the Holy Church. Although no one said it outright, Du Fan vaguely understood that the emergence of divine mages was related to these sacred sites—perhaps mages gained their power by absorbing the divine power of these sites. It was precisely because of the importance of these sacred sites that Archcardinal Anthony attached such great significance to this mission. And because no one knew what dangers lay within the Divine Palace, the temple knights resorted to this final act of desperation… Du Fan and the others were well aware of all this, so no one brought it up. On occasion, they even drank together with the temple knights, enjoying a pleasant time as guests and hosts. It wasn’t until midnight that the crowd slowly dispersed. Aside from a few who stayed to keep watch, most went back to their tents to rest. Although Du Fan had drunk only a little, he felt increasingly frustrated. After lying in his tent for a while without being able to sleep, he couldn’t help but put on his robe, hold Chenchen in his arms, and slowly walk out of the camp.

After arriving by the lake, he found a shady corner and sat down. Holding Chenchen, he fiddled with her for a while before sighing softly, “Chenchen, what’s wrong with you? When… when will you wake up?”
In response, Chenchen stretched lazily. Du Fan frowned. Though he didn’t know exactly what had happened, he had a vague sense that something had changed about Chenchen. He couldn’t understand this situation nor could he consult anyone else. Apart from comforting himself a few times, he had no other way to deal with it.
Just as Du Fan was feeling depressed, suddenly, the sound of water came faintly from not far away. Du Fan was slightly startled. He tucked Chenchen into his arms, put on his robe, and slowly looked in the direction from where the sound was coming.