Mystery: A Spark

The biting winds brought by the ice storm echoed through the hall, causing the temperature to plummet and forcing the snakes that had been hiding in the corners to conceal themselves.

Bernadette didn't pay much attention to this.

She wasn't a cleaner doing a major cleanup of this underground ruin, so all she needed to do was clear away the densely packed snake-like spheres and make sure there were no disgusting things in sight.

There's no need to find and kill all the scattered, hidden venomous snakes.

Even if, over time, these scattered venomous snakes might still multiply and return to their former state, but that would have nothing to do with Bernadette.

The violent ice storm gradually subsided, and Arthur opened his eyes to see the hall covered in frost, yet looking incredibly clean and refreshing.

The hall is predominantly decorated with dark black stone slabs, and eight round pillars of the same color stand tall.

Metal rods hung from the high dome, their bases adorned with candlesticks carved into different creatures.

Whether it was the Solomon Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, or the Trensust Empire, they all shared a similar architectural style, characterized by defying common sense, chaotic asymmetry, and a preference for black.

Among them, the most representative are the candlesticks hanging from the ceiling and the slashed patterns branded on the black walls.

Therefore, once you see the metal rods that extend down from the dome and the candlesticks embedded at their bases, you can basically identify that this is a Quaternary relic.

The hall was very spacious. Arthur and Bernadette walked at least a hundred meters before they saw the platform that was half a meter above the ground and the thick wall that marked the end.

“It seems this ruin belonged to a great nobleman from the Fourth Age,” Bernadette said softly, glancing at the two upside-down candlesticks on either side.

“That’s what I think too,” Arthur agreed.

"So, how did you know about this place?" Bernadette asked, turning her head to look at Arthur.

"Ahem, madam, it's like this..." Arthur cleared his throat, just about to make up a bizarre and convoluted story to reasonably explain his knowledge of this underground ruin.

But then Bernadette spoke again:

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to listen to your nonsense. Let's go."

Arthur:......

Why aren't you playing by the rules?

Shouldn't the normal process be that you ask first, then I make up a reasonable story to answer you, and then you nod to show that you believe it? Wouldn't that make us both happy?

Life is already so hard, we should just muddle through, why do you have to expose me?

"Madam, you've misunderstood. I've never liked lying," Arthur defended himself, determined to salvage his reputation.

"Oh," Bernadette responded indifferently.

She only said one simple word, but it caused Arthur great psychological harm.

To be fair, under normal circumstances, Arthur really doesn't lie much.

He wasn't like that super-funny guy who could lie as easily as drinking water.

Especially in front of Bernadette, Arthur actually told quite a lot of the truth, and I don't know why Huang Beibei had such a big misunderstanding about him.

As the two continued forward, they saw the steps to the side of the half-height platform, and the knife-cut and axe-like marks on its black stone bricks.

Illuminated by the bright firelight in Arthur's hand, the two of them also saw two iron-black chairs placed on the platform that was half a meter above the ground.

“Two seats… Could it be the Tudor-Trensost United Empire?” Bernadette murmured softly.

She turned to Arthur and asked:

Are you aware of the dangers here? What do you want from this place?

Prior to this, although Bernadette knew that these were relics from the Quaternary period, she was not too worried.

Because after she was promoted to angel, most places no longer posed a threat to her.

Moreover, there are differences between the buildings of the Quaternary period, and not every place can make her feel like she is facing a formidable enemy.

But now, after Bernadette discovered that this building might be related to the Tudor-Trensost United Empire, things have changed somewhat.

Because in such a place, anything can happen, even a sleeping angel could appear.

Of course, even if an angel did appear, Bernadette herself wasn't too worried.

Having become a sage and possessing Frostmourne, even if she were to encounter an angel, she could escape even if she couldn't defeat them.

But the key point is that Arthur is still by her side.

If she encounters a crisis that is too severe, she may not have the strength to protect Arthur's life.

Therefore, Bernadette is now asking Arthur if he knows anything about what's inside and what kind of enemies might be there.

If Arthur knew this, it would mean that he had already planned this operation and that the level of danger was still within a controllable range.

But if she didn't know, then Bernadette would have to leave Arthur outside and go in alone to get what he wanted.

“Yes, I know what’s inside. In this ruin, there’s a blasphemous tablet and an evil spirit with the status of an angel.” Arthur didn’t hide anything and told him everything.

"The card of blasphemy? Is it the Red Priestess card or the Witch card?" Bernadette asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur is a hunter, so other forms of blasphemy cards shouldn't be worth enough for him to take the big risk to acquire.

Only the cards Red Priestess and Witch have enough value for him to warrant the risk.

"Of course it's the Red Priestess card. Why would you think I'd be interested in the Witch card?" Arthur said, somewhat speechless.

Bernadette paused for a moment, then spoke hesitantly:

"Because I witnessed the entire process of your assassination of Beckerang."

Arthur stared wide-eyed at Bernadette in disbelief, and couldn't help but ask:

"Madam, you are an angel, why would you do such a despicable thing as peeping?"

Upon hearing Arthur's question, Huang Beibei's face immediately turned red.

She turned her head away, avoiding Arthur's death stare, and argued:

"What? What despicable thing? Peeping can't be considered despicable, so how can spying on secrets be considered despicable?"

Then came a series of incomprehensible phrases, such as "Do as you please, but do not harm," and "The spying of a secret person cannot be considered spying," leaving Arthur completely speechless.

“Well, seriously, you said there’s an evil spirit with the rank of angel inside the ruins. If you want to get the Red Priest’s Token from Him, it’s probably not very likely.” Bernadette changed the subject somewhat awkwardly.

Arthur didn't dwell on the previous topic of spying. He shook his head and said:

“I know that there is basically no hope of taking it from him, so I don’t want to get the card, I just want to take a look at it.”

“I see.” Bernadette nodded in understanding.

If you only need to take a look, then the difficulty is greatly reduced.

After exchanging the information they had, Bernadette and Arthur continued on their way.

Soon, they saw the seven tall, heavy black stone doors on the wall at the bottom of the hall, and discovered inside, the huge statues that corresponded to the six gods, except for the god of steam.

After examining all six statues, Bernadette said, half explaining and half remarking:

"I heard that during the Fourth Age, the Tudor-Trensost United Empire received the support of the Six Gods. I never imagined it was true."

"The six gods who are now at odds with each other have actually joined forces to support a certain force. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have found it hard to believe. When my father told me these things, I just listened to them as stories."

Arthur didn't respond to the conversation about the history of the six gods, since he currently possessed a holy emblem of the god in question, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to say anything at this point.

He arrived at the last stone door, the one in the center. Bernadette, after observing the statues for a while, quickly followed.

"Madam, please go first." Arthur took a small step back, making way for the center position.

"Is this where it is?"

"Yes, it's not far ahead."

Bernadette nodded silently and walked forward.

After walking about thirty steps, they found that their path was blocked by boulders and mud.

There is a stone door on each side, the same shape as the hall. The right door is half open, and the inside is filled with mud and stones.

Bernadette ignored the stone door on the right and looked seriously at the left.

At that moment, a playful male voice came from behind the door:

"Hehe, I didn't expect to have two guests in such a shabby place as mine. What brings you two here?"

Bernadette looked at Arthur, waiting for his move.

"Oh? I didn't expect that you, little hunter, would be the leader among the two guests. You're quite something. To be able to make a dignified angel obey you, could you be the illegitimate son of a true god?" the voice inside teased sarcastically.

"Heh, as expected of the Red Angel back then, your taunting skills are quite good. It's just a pity that you've been trapped here for so many years without being able to move."

"I wonder what you usually do to pass the time? Do you reminisce about your eventful life?" Arthur scoffed, launching into a verbal rebuttal.

It's just a war of words, he's never been afraid of anyone. Anyway, with Bernadette's protection, let that hotpot evil spirit come out and deal with him if it dares.

Upon hearing his words, the hotpot demon fell silent.

After a while, he clicked his tongue in amazement and said:

"It seems you're not a simple person. Not only are you protected by angels, but you also know my identity. Could you really be the illegitimate son of some true god?"

“That doesn’t matter, my dear Mr. Red Angel.”

"Oh? Then what is important?"

“The important thing is that I’m here to negotiate, Lord Medici,” Arthur said solemnly and with great formality.

“Negotiations, ah, I think I know what you’ve come here for, but the question is, what kind of reward can you offer?” Medici chuckled.

"As for the reward, how about my promise not to spread your dark history everywhere? What do you think, Lord Medici?" Arthur said with a light laugh, using the same tone as the evil spirit of hotpot.

"Dark history? Ha, what dark history could I possibly have that I'd be afraid of you spreading?" the voice said disdainfully.

"Hehe, Lord Medici, do you know? There's a very interesting way of cooking in my hometown," Arthur said with a smile.

"Cooking method? Does that have anything to do with what we're talking about?" the voice asked, sounding puzzled.

"It's about nature."

"Oh? Then I'll have to listen carefully and see what new things have developed outside after all these years of not going out," the voice said leisurely.

Bernadette listened attentively, eager to learn more about her father Russell's hometown.

Arthur cleared his throat and began to introduce:

"In my hometown, there is a cooking method called hot pot. To put it simply, hot pot is a big pot filled with water that is boiled, and then various delicious seasonings are added. This is called hot pot base."