Chapter 569: The Secret
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Anfey smiled at Suzanna and jumped down into the entrance. This place no longer posed a threat to him. Urter had made the necessary arrangements. Moreover, Anfey had strong radiesthesia, which had nothing to do with the brightness of the light. As long as he had the Heart of Nature, he could see clearly, although he might be in total darkness in the maze. Even the dust particles could not escape his eyes.
Anfey walked along the corridor. The air stank. In every dozen of meters away, there would be a dim light emitting from the magic lamp. Urter was very thrifty. To save on the magic crystals, he had dimmed the magic lamps. A huge white arrow was drawn on the floor of every junction in order to give direction. Upon reaching the first junction, Anfey looked at the direction that the arrow was pointing. After looking at the other corridors, he lost control of himself and burst out into laughter.
Probably, there was loophole, even in spiritual wisdom. No matter how careful Urter was, he would still do silly things. Given his thriftiness, he would not place magic lamps in a dead end. The arrows on the floor would not serve its purpose. As long as Anfey followed the lit corridor, he would be going in the right direction.
After passing through many corridors, Anfey saw a vast space at the end. There was a magic array in the midst, but the air smelled different. There was an overwhelming stench.
Seven to eight dead bodies were lying in front. Urter must have been too busy to take care of the bodies. Anfey looked at one of the bodies and saw that one of its arms was missing. Someone had placed the magic lamp, which was supposed to be on the wall, onto the floor. A few bones of different sizes were laying beside the magic lamp.
Anfey had no problem with dead bodies. He walked slowly toward them and smiled wryly. Urter…was really vicious! He had disappeared for a few days, and then suddenly reappeared. No one knew what had happened, except for Anfey. He could put the pieces together after seeing the scene before him.
After Urter regained consciousness, he had become very weak and haggard. He had left the palace and was in urgent need of replenishing his energy. To get out of the maze, he needed food. Urter had chopped off the arm of one of the bodies and barbecued it with the magic lamp. The rest was history. The scattered bones explained themselves.
Anfey was shocked, as he was unfamiliar with the magic world. There was no humanism. For most people, they needed a master who they could pledge loyalty to. On a positive note, this was loyalty. On a negative note, this was also slavery. Anfey was a master to Urter. If Urter had lived for himself, he would not have gone to such an extent. Even the most evil necromancer would not have taken a dead body as food, let alone a normal being. However, Urter would do anything to prove his loyalty to his master, and to let his master take this as a warning as well. When Anfey trusted in him, and they shared the same secret, he lived longer for himself.
Anfey sighed and walked slowly to the magic array. A bright light flashed across, and Anfey disappeared. In the next instant, he reappeared in a big palace. He slowly scanned his surroundings.
Urter was not as powerful, which was why, when he had gone to the treasure island, he came back empty-handed. Anfey was different. When he had been transported over, he had sensed the movements of the elements.
Anfey released his radiesthesia, taking note of the important places speedily. The Wheel of Fortune that Urter was terrified of was hanging in the center. Anfey did not have time for it. He was here in search of the treasures of Minosie, although it included the Wheel of Fortune. He would also like to know how Minosie broke through the final obstacle. Comparatively, the latter was of more importance.
By using his radiesthesia, Anfey’s search became easier and faster. Very quickly, Anfey had focused on a few places. What had captured his attention was an inconspicuous side gate, which was shut. Anfey was unable to see through it with his mind power, but he felt a strong attraction to it.
He opened the side gate and saw a corridor. There was a room on both sides. At the far end, there was another room. All the doors of the three rooms were opened, so Anfey could clearly see their furnishings. There were all sorts of books in the rooms. Anfey, following his instincts, moved straight ahead.
The room that Anfey had selected had a long table. There were bookshelves on both sides. The maze was filled with dust, but the palace was in spick and span condition. Even the carpet looked new, which made it look abnormal. It should be under the protection of a certain magic array. The long table was stacked with diaries. A red diary was placed in the center, and when the magic lamp shone upon it, a bright ray of light was reflected. It seemed that the owner of the diary had just left the room.
After Anfey had touched and confirmed that the diary was not corroded, he took it up and turned over its pages.
Anfey’s initial intention was to take a look and search for clues, but after taking the diary, he had no wish to put it back.
When Minos was still alive, he had used different means to get ahold of the treasures and the knowledge left behind by the ancients. His understanding of the rules, discernment of the world, foresight and insight were way beyond Saul’s, and the others’. Although Minos had lost a large part of his memory, he was still able to train three master necromancers—that was the gap between the two.
Minos was only a man. He was not a god, and he had his restrictions, problems, and even fears. Anything could be written in the diary. Minos had used it to record his experiences and his perception of things, he had even used it as an outlet for his emotions. What Anfey could not agree with, was the loneliness. With Suzanna around, Anfey was not alone, but he was lonely!
Minos’ loneliness was far beyond Anfey’s. Minos did not have friends or enemies. His imaginary opponents were too powerful. Even if Minos could live a few hundred or thousand years more, he would not be able to beat them. This made him even lonelier.
Anfey was not simply cultivating the path, and neither was he practicing magic. The path that he was on had not been trodden by the ancients. Thus, he needed the experiences of the ancients. What Minos had written would be Anfey’s spiritual food. He slowly sat on the chair and absorbed whatever he needed, trying to put them into memory.
No one could beat Anfey in terms of perseverance. Even if he were to compete with Saul on the hours that Saul spent in meditation, Anfey would have won. Anfey tirelessly read though the diaries, and as he read on, Minos’ past life became vivid to him.
According to his deductions, Minos had a mental disorder. One side of Minos did not want to demean himself, whereas the other side would give up all that he had in order to obtain power. Caught between the struggles of the two different personalities, Minos’ ideal became the deciding factor.
Minos’ idea was to go against the gods. With his power and insight, he could feel the kekkai of God. He was not convinced, and he felt that the gods had treated men like animals. He wanted to fight back! What Hui Wei had said before originated from Minos.
It was a pity that Minos was getting weaker back then, and he was near his deathbed. Although he had laid off his servants and passed down a grave command, the Minos who wanted to gain power took over, suppressing the Minos who did not want to demean himself. Anfey did not know how the story ended. Probably, he had not reached the page yet, or it would never be recorded.
Moreover, Minos was capricious in his writings. Sometimes, he would sound vicious and cruel, and his writings were gruesome. At other times, he would sound graceful and full of compassion. He even pointed out that he was not in a good mental state, and that the best and only solution was to destroy himself.
Toward the back of the diary, Minos’ writing style changed rapidly. This showed that his mental disorder was getting more serious.
After Minos wrote about his preparation of the magic array for his cremation, nothing more was recorded in the diary. Anfey closed the diary. Minos must have failed in his plan to cremate himself.
Spending a day in the mountains was the equivalent to a thousand years on earth. Anfey did not think that he had spent much time there. As he read through Minos’ diary, he was searching for his own direction and inspiration. Suzanna, on the other hand, was waiting restlessly for him. She paced around, ate, and slept in the living room. She had thought of dashing down to search for Anfey, but she remembered his instructions and gave up on the idea.
When one went into a special state, the perception of time seemed to change. This could be an illusion. Anfey found that time had passed by too quickly, whereas Suzanna felt that time had passed too slowly.
The sun had set once again, and the moon had risen. A dark shadow floated into the living room. Golman gently removed his cloak and politely asked, “Madam, where is Sir Anfey?”
