Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 141 Temple
Joe didn't seem to have much doubt about being in a dream and quickly accepted the situation.

The reason is…

"Oh well, that's how archaeology is. We've encountered a lot of strange things before, like curses and the like, and quite a few people have died. But our teacher said that you can't be afraid of this when you're doing archaeological excavation, right? You'll get used to it."

"…………………"

After Li Wei decided to return, he would talk to the old butler to see if MI7 could establish a strategic partnership with the Archaeology Department of the Royal Academy under the guise of the Exploration Editorial Department…

Based on this, it seems that this group of people is much more likely to encounter strange events than others.

Soon, guided by the Cheshire Cat, the three moved forward again and entered the next nightmare.

Compared to Joe's strange and complicated nightmare, this nightmare was much simpler and more direct.

"Help…………!"

As Li Wei and the others entered the dream, they heard shouts coming from not far away. They looked up and gazed in the direction of the sound.

"Ah... this is truly a classic nightmare."

Looking at the scene before him, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh.

If Joe's nightmares were a bit tricky and troublesome, then the scene before him was very simple and straightforward.

Not far away, on a cliff tens of meters high, Godney, dressed in mountaineering clothes, was gripping a tree branch tightly with both hands. Below her, the seawater crashed against the cliff, and the rocks stood like skeletons.

To be honest, Miss Godney did say that her hobby was mountain climbing, which is definitely a nightmare for someone who loves mountain climbing.

Miss Gode!

Perhaps it was because he had enjoyed lifting weights all the way, but when Joe saw Godena, he immediately forgot about his previous nightmare. He rushed to the edge of the deck and shouted at Godena.

"Hold on, we're coming to rescue you right away!"

"How do you plan to save them?"

Levi stared speechlessly at Joe, whose mind was all muscles. Although he didn't seem to have any psychological trauma from that nightmare to Godenzi, he should at least use his brain a little.

"Well……………"

Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Joe was stunned. He scratched his head like a chimpanzee, his face showing a clear look of stupidity.

"Should I climb up and carry her down?"

"Can you climb up there?"

Although Joe's behavior resembled that of an ape, Levi didn't believe he actually possessed Tarzan's abilities.

"Well……………"

It's obvious that Joe isn't good at this.

"If we can fly up there, it should be easy to rescue Miss Godenzi."

Anne then spoke up.

In reality, this is clearly an impractical suggestion.

But what can you do when this isn't reality?
What followed was simple: Levi piloted the ship up and picked up Godenzi. The moment her feet touched the deck, the entire nightmare shattered and vanished into nothingness.

Compared to before, this time it was much simpler, which relieved Li Wei.

If everyone's dreams were this simple, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, this good luck only lasted once.

Trouble ensued when Li Wei plunged into the next nightmare.

"Goodness, I think this must be that professor's dream."

Leaning against the helm, Li Wei stared blankly ahead and muttered to himself.

The reason he said that was quite simple: after Li Wei steered his boat through the portal to the dream world, he crashed headfirst into a stone wall and lay there like a dead fish among the rocks.

Before them stood a massive, temple-like structure located underground…

Continuing to sail forward was clearly impossible, so the group had no choice but to disembark and head towards the temple.

To Livy, the temple appeared quite ancient, its architecture somewhat resembling the Parthenon, with a ring of thick, tall stone columns surrounding it. The temple's doors were wide open, and the interior was pitch black.

"This looks like an architectural feature of southern Kollenberg."

Miss Godney carefully examined the architectural style before her, and then spoke.

"Tall pillars, built of stone, located underground... I remember reading in the literature that this architectural style existed in the past."

"South?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao's expression immediately tightened.

"Could it be... that time?"

"Do you have any idea?"

Li Wei looked at Qiao and asked. After all, this was a dream, the memory of the Dream Master, so this temple shouldn't have been made up out of thin air.

"I have heard some things, but that was before I became a student of the teacher."

Joe scratched his head and then spoke.

"I heard that when the teacher was young, he once led an archaeological team to an underground temple. Then an accident happened, and everyone on the archaeological team died except for the teacher."

"Is there such a thing?"

Miss Godney was also startled, and Joe quickly reassured her.

"I only heard this from other people in the professor's department, so I don't know the specifics. Anyway, it seems that after that, the professor didn't teach for a long time. It wasn't until three years later that he returned to teaching and started mentoring students again."

"Only the teacher survived? Was it that dangerous?"

"I heard from others that the teacher was unlucky and encountered a once-in-a-century earthquake..."

"But the fact that he escaped a once-in-a-century earthquake means he was lucky, doesn't it?"

Li Wei, standing beside him, muttered to himself, "Uh... what you're saying makes sense."

"So, this place won't suddenly collapse, will it?"

Miss Godney looked around and began to feel a little scared. After all, it looked like an underground cavern, with stalactites and stalagmites that had accumulated over time hanging like sharp thorns above their heads, making it a very tense place.

"In short, let's find the professor first."

As Li Wei spoke, he led the way toward the temple.

Although it is underground, the environment here is not dark. Whether it is the brazier in front of the temple or the walls next to it, there are torches and burning braziers illuminating the surroundings.

As for who started the fire... well, it's like playing an adventure game and exploring a deserted ruin, but all the lights inside are on—it's a question best left unanswered.

It doesn't really matter anyway, does it?
The temple appeared deserted, but Li Wei had already used his Soul Vision to pinpoint the target's location. Although he didn't know if it was the old professor, he was certain that several souls were radiating light deep within the temple.

In short, let's go in and check the situation first...

With this in mind, Li Wei entered the temple.

But just as he entered the temple, Li Wei suddenly stopped. Then, his eyes widened in surprise as he stared ahead!
Within the temple, there were naturally gods worshipped. However, unlike the current holy bishop who only believed in the All-Seeing Eye, what appeared in this temple was not a symbol of the All-Seeing Eye, but a statue of a god.

A goddess.

Her eyes were closed, and her long, jet-black hair spread out like a cloak, reaching every corner of the temple, shimmering with a new kind of radiance…

What's even more crucial is that, for Li Wei, he had already seen this goddess before!

And more than once!
"Waaaaah..."

Just then, the exclamations from the side made Li Wei involuntarily pull himself out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Miss Godney and Joe walking in, looking around in astonishment.

"This is the first time I've ever seen such a magnificent temple."

"Me too. I've traveled to so many places with my teacher, but I've never seen a temple like this before."

"This doesn't resemble the architectural style of the Golden Age."

"It was during the Age of Division, before Emperor Arthur unified the entire continent. At that time, different countries had different beliefs and cultures."

"Speaking of which, this symbol does look quite like the place we've come to investigate this time."

"Ah, that's true, the symbols do have similarities."

"is it?"

Listening to Joe and Miss Goddini's conversation, Levi was completely baffled. To him, they all looked like scribbles, and he had no idea how these people could tell that the symbols were from the Shang and Zhou dynasties or from last week...

Since the other party is a professional, let's listen to their side of the story first.

"What do you think?"

Seeing the two people peering at the goddess statue, Li Wei asked them a question.

"Did you find anything?"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Levi."

Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Miss Goddini cheerfully gave the first answer.

"Based on the preliminary investigation results, we believe that the ruins here are related to the Mokhand ruins that we came to investigate this time."

"Yes, there is a connection in the text, and this temple should be from an earlier period."

Joe nodded, but his muscular physique didn't quite match his refined speech.

"Judging from the context of the text, this temple was likely built before the Mokhand Kingdom."

"Is this statue of the goddess of night?"

"Hmm, it's rumored that she later split into three goddesses: the Moon, the Stars, and the Dream Goddess. Strictly speaking, isn't the Nightmare Goddess Mokhand also one of the incarnations of the Night Goddess?"

"and many more."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei suddenly had a thought.

Is the Goddess of Nightmares an incarnation of the Goddess of Night?

"Ah."

In contrast to Levi, Joe and Goddaughter nodded calmly.

"In fact, this idea has been around for a long time in the field of historical research. According to historical legends, during the Age of Division—that is, the early Silver Calendar period—the various countries on the continent actually worshipped different gods. However, later, due to the attack of Emperor Arthur, these countries were either destroyed or divided. Many historical accounts tell of how, when the countries were divided, the royal families of each country took a part of their faith with them."

"Part of the faith?"

“That’s right, just like Mokhand. According to legend, Mokhand were originally descendants of a kingdom that worshipped the Goddess of Night. Later, they broke away from the kingdom of the Goddess of Night, created their own country, and took with them the nightmare faith under the Goddess of Night, and thus began to worship the Goddess of Nightmare… This is how the faith of the Mokhand Kingdom itself was formed.”

How can we take our faith with us?

Li Wei became more and more confused. It would be understandable if they took away gold, silver, treasures, or artifacts, but faith could be divided and taken away? This isn't surgery, where they cut pieces off the Goddess of Night and carry them away?

Is this some kind of heavy-handed stuff?

"this…………………"

Joe and Miss Godney exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

"There is no consensus in academia yet. Some say it is actually a veiled expression of a religious schism, while others say there may be other secrets involved."

"However, as things stand at the moment..."

"ah-------!!"

Before the two could finish speaking, a scream suddenly came from deep within the temple, interrupting their conversation.

Upon hearing the scream, Li Wei's expression darkened, and he gripped the gun tightly.

"let's go!"

(End of this chapter)