The man’s voice was deep and calm. Atop the giant skeleton, a Crow landed, folded its wings, and joined the Lord of Paradise in gazing at the little female who had barged into the Holy Temple.
Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but clutch the dark green jacket draped over her shoulders. Lou’s scent still lingered on it.
The somber, dark-green candlelight reflected on the damp, cold floor, flickering like ghostly shadows.
As if her body was no longer under her control, she slowly walked forward.
’Ngh...’
Yu Zhizhi’s heart pounded in her chest.
An unseen Strength pulled her to the base of the giant skeleton. The girl looked up at the Lord of Paradise seated upon the throne. He had heterochromatic eyes—a viridian left eye and a jet-black right one. In his face, Yu Zhizhi felt as if she were seeing both Lou and Louis at the same time.
Even though she had prepared herself, her legs couldn’t stop trembling as she faced him.
Yu Zhizhi remembered what Lou had told her. She said softly, "I... I need a room. A warm one."
The Holy Temple was very dark, and very cold.
As far as the eye could see, bodies were piled like mountains.
Other than the Lord of Paradise, there were no other Shadows to be seen in the grand hall.
"I also want three meals a day, delivered on time. And, I’d like to read some books about the Moon Rising Empire. If you have any strawberry yogurt, please bring me some of that as well."
Yu Zhizhi clutched the jacket wrapped around herself, her head bowed. "...I think that’s everything."
Lou had said she would have to live in the Holy Temple for the foreseeable future.
That’s why he told her not to hold back with any requests, but to state them directly to the Lord of Paradise.
The man calmly watched the girl below his throne. Her rabbit ears drooped quietly, and her porcelain-white cheeks were flushed red from the cold. The oversized jacket enveloped her slender frame, making the little female look so very endearing.
For a moment, the Lord of Paradise couldn’t tell who had broken the rules to bring her back to the Holy Temple—was it Lou, or was it Louis?
This little female from the Rabbit Clan was, indeed, exactly their type.
The man leaned back lazily against his chair, his legs crossed. He seemed to exist within the river of time itself, calmly observing everything in Paradise: the living and the dead, the grieving and the ecstatic, the struggling... faces beautiful and ugly alike.
He possessed a pair of cryptic, heterochromatic eyes, as deep as an abyss, making it impossible to fathom his true thoughts.
A faint smile seemed to grace the Lord of Paradise’s lips.
It was barely there.
For a second, Yu Zhizhi’s mind went blank. It was as if she were seeing Louis.
"And why should I allow you to live here?"
’That question... Lou had anticipated it.’
Draped in the dark green uniform jacket, Yu Zhizhi pursed her lips. She shot a quick glance at the Lord of Paradise. "He... He said..."
"If you don’t grant my requests..."
"...he’ll go eat shit."
A dead silence fell over the grand hall.
The Crow on the skeleton stared, dumbfounded.
Yu Zhizhi didn’t dare to look up.
After a long moment, she heard a soft chuckle.
"That would be Lou."
Only Lou would say something like that, or do something like that.
The Lord of Paradise snapped his fingers.
The Crow flew down from the skeleton, landed on the ground before Yu Zhizhi, and transformed into a Shadow cloaked in a black robe.
Its voice was impossible to place as male or female. "Please follow me."
As Yu Zhizhi was leaving, she couldn’t help but glance back. The man on the throne looked completely uninterested, his raven lashes lowered, not even bothering to spare her a look.
His attitude, paradoxically, made Yu Zhizhi feel much more at ease.
’Yes... As long as we can coexist peacefully, that’s for the best.’
’All she had to do was wait quietly for Lou to return.’
Yu Zhizhi followed behind the Shadow.
A sudden thought occurred to her.
’Can I check the Lord of Paradise’s current favorability rating?’
’Does the rating change along with his personality?’
[System: Checking favorability... Ding! Lord of Paradise Favorability: 0]
After leaving the grand hall, the dim path grew even colder. She clutched the jacket, shivering uncontrollably.
She didn’t know how far they had walked when they finally arrived at the door to a room.
The Crow-turned-Shadow pushed open the door. "Please, come in."
Inside, the furnishings were simple.
A brazier filled with eerie green flames sat on the floor opposite the door. The room was very warm. In the corner was a low bed covered with a white mattress.
The Crow’s eyes peered out from under its black hood, landing on the girl’s face.
"The other things you requested will be brought to you shortly."
"Thank you."
The Shadow nodded and turned to leave.
It left without another word.
Yu Zhizhi had the Lighthouse Seal on the back of her hand, which meant she could go anywhere in the Holy Temple without being stopped.
She slowly closed the door.
She walked over to the brazier and knelt on a soft cushion beside it.
The warmth quickly returned to her body.
The entire room was dark, with a cluster of skulls hanging on one wall, their white bones gleaming ominously. Yu Zhizhi stared blankly for a moment before silently moving to the door and opening it.
A cold wind blew in.
She looked out at the distant, ethereal architecture, which shimmered like a mirage. Her thoughts turned to the current Camp Task; there were three objectives to complete.
First, raise the Lord of Paradise’s favorability to 60. Second, conceive and give birth to a child. Third, rescue the imprisoned hidden player.
The first two were easy enough to understand, but she had no leads on the third.
Yu Zhizhi decided she would explore the Holy Temple when she had time. Perhaps she could find some clues.
Two servants appeared in the corridor outside her room.
Like the Crow, they were cloaked in dark robes that hid their faces. They set down some daily supplies, which included the books Yu Zhizhi requested, the strawberry yogurt, and a white robe—in a style similar to their own—to ward off the cold.
The servants departed in silence.
Yu Zhizhi neatly folded Lou’s jacket and placed it on a chest beside the bed.
She slipped on the white, hooded robe and instantly felt much warmer. She glanced at her wristband; its signal had been blocked ever since she entered the Holy Temple.
After finishing her strawberry yogurt, Yu Zhizhi pushed open the door and walked outside.
She needed to familiarize herself with her surroundings as quickly as possible.
The corridor was narrow. Behind it was an area resembling an iceberg, and in the distance, attendants were on patrol.
The area around the Holy Temple was eerily quiet, the only sounds being the whistling wind and the flapping wings of countless Crows.
Yu Zhizhi walked along the path for a while when she suddenly spotted a familiar back.
The person was wearing a dark green robe and had short black hair. A quick glance was all it took—he looked just like Lou. Yu Zhizhi’s eyes brightened, and she quickened her pace to catch up.
"Lou!" she called out happily.
As she got closer, she got a better look at the young man’s profile.
He was slightly different from the Lord of Paradise in the grand hall—though they looked identical, their auras were completely different.
Hearing the name "Lou," the young man’s steps faltered slightly.
Yu Zhizhi raised her hand, but just as she was about to touch his shoulder, he violently swatted it away.
SMACK!
The back of her hand stung, and a red mark was already forming where he’d hit her.
Yu Zhizhi stared at him, stunned.
The young man in the dark green robe glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. His sharp jawline tensed, and his deep-set eyes were black and frigid.
"You have the wrong person."
Yu Zhizhi stared at him, dumbfounded, her heart suddenly beginning to race!
"L-Louis?" she asked, her voice trembling.
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