Chapter 429: Hope Not

Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao walked side by side through the streets of the ancient city.

They had just made their way past Damascus Gate and found that the number of people out and about was growing to the point where it was getting crowded. They held their hands as they walked side by side under the rays of the sun. It almost seemed as though this was not a task but a tour.

Chen Xiaolian could feel Qiao Qiao’s soft palm and slender fingers. Feeling her leaning over, he turned his head to see the gentle expression and smile on her face.

“It feels like we’re on a vacation,” said Qiao Qiao in a hushed tone.

“Mm.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

Qiao Qiao cast a solemn gaze at Chen Xiaolian and suddenly whispered, “I wonder when we can go on a vacation in a carefree manner like the other ordinary people. Without a worry for life and death, without a worry for some instance dungeon quest.”

Chen Xiaolian opened his mouth and looked into Qiao Qiao’s eyes. He suddenly took a deep breath. “That day will definitely come! I promise!”

She suddenly reached out with her hand to gently touch his cheek. Then, she said softly, “Whatever you say, I’ll trust.”

After walking for a few more minutes, they reached the world famous Wailing Wall.

The place had been modified to become a square.

Thanks to the good weather, visitors thronged the square.

Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao continued holding hands as they moved into the square. There, they stood some distance away and observed the white coloured wall…

“So this is the Wailing Wall.” Qiao Qiao knitted her eyebrows. “It is… … mm, I thought it would be bigger.”

“Hush.” Chen Xiaolian made a gesture and whispered, “We cannot speak thoughtlessly here. This is a holy ground in their eyes.” Chen Xiaolian pointed at the Jewish folks, who wore small round caps.

There were many tourists surrounding the Wailing Wall. They were not just Jewish folks. Rather, there were many tourists of varying skin colour there. Many of them would go up the wall and whisper a silent prayer. Some would pull out a small piece of paper with a written wish and stuff it into the gaps on the wall.

Seeing that, Qiao Qiao became curious. She turned to look at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian sighed.

Qiao Qiao pulled out a piece of paper and pen from a bag before smiling at Chen Xiaolian. Seeing that, he turned around helplessly to allow Qiao Qiao to write on his back.

Qiao Qiao spent little time writing on the paper. Then, she folded it.

“What did you write?”

“I am not telling you. When making a wish, telling your wish to others makes it ineffective.”

Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes. “This is not a birthday wish. I don’t think there are any rules to wish making here at the Wailing Wall.”

“I don’t care. At any rate, I’m not telling you.” Qiao Qiao’s face appeared flushed and she pulled Chen Xiaolian toward the Wailing Wall.

According to the local custom, men who approached the Wailing Wall must wear the round Jewish cap. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The table beside the wall was there specifically to provide tourists with the round caps. After Chen Xiaolian put it on, Qiao Qiao was unable to stop herself from laughing. As she was about to pull out her mobile phone to take a picture of him, he quickly stopped her. “Keep it. This place forbids taking photos.”

“You look so funny wearing that. I’ll take a picture when we return.”

The two of them then approached the Wailing Wall. They queued up and slowly waited. Finally, when there was space available, the two of them went to stand together before the wall.

Qiao Qiao piously stroked the surface of the wall and whispered something. Next, she pulled out the piece of paper and stuffed it into a rather big gap within the wall.

Chen Xiaolian stood beside her and watched his girlfriend with a gentle expression.

“Are you not going to make a wish?” Qiao Qiao looked at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian thought about it. Then, he walked over, stroked the wall and softly mumbled his wish.

After the two of them had finished making their wishes, they quickly left. After putting a distance of tens of metres between them and the wall, Qiao Qiao turned her head to look at the Wailing Wall.

“Do you think… … wishes can come true?”

“Humans will always need to believe in something. And when they hold the conviction in their hearts, the possibility of achieving their wishes can come true.”

Qiao Qiao tilted her head and blinked as she looked at Chen Xiaolian. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind and she said, “Tell me, what did you wish for just now?”

“Didn’t you say we cannot divulge it?”

“You are the one who said there is no such rule.” Qiao Qiao replied in a roguish manner.

Chen Xiaolian stood there helplessly. Then, he suddenly took a step forward and reached out with his hand to pull her into his arms. When their bodies made contact, he silently whispered the answer into her ear.

“I prayed to the Gods: Regardless of what Miss Qiao Qiao’s wish might be, I wish that her wish would come true.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes suddenly moistened. She stared at Chen Xiaolian and rested her head on his shoulder. She then turned her head to look back at the ancient Wailing Wall.

“How old is the wall?”

“I am not sure myself. It should be over a thousand years old.”

“I get this feeling… … by standing here, I feel like we have known each other for over a thousand years.”

Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian laughed out. Then, he suddenly used his hand to gently slap Qiao Qiao’s hip. She grunted in displeasure and raised her head. Her face red, she glared at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian took Qiao Qiao’s hand and the two of them moved away. When they reached a not so crowded spot, they stopped and observed the Wailing Wall in detail.

“Come, come, Mr Super Writer, give me a lesson. Do you know the origin of this Wailing Wall?”

Chen Xiaolian pondered the question and smiled. “Don’t say that. Still, I did read up on some of it.”

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke up, “A long time ago, around 13 century BC, the Jews were slaves in Egypt.

“Then appeared a holy man whose name was Moses. Although this Moses was a Jew, he was adopted by the King of Egypt as a son. He felt sympathy for the Jews that were enslaved. Thus, he brought them with him and fled Egypt.

“Mm, the most famous legend of Moses is the incident that occurred when he was bringing the Jews to flee from the Egyptians.  They had fled to the edge of the Red Sea but the Egyptian soldiers were pursuing them.

“It was then that Moses beseeched God to display His miracle. The waters of the Red Sea split apart and the Jews, under Moses’ leadership, were able to make their way through the Red Sea.

“As for the Egyptian soldiers who pursued them through the opening in the Red Sea, they were all swept away by the waters.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes lit up. “I know that story. Disney made an animated movie about it called the Prince of Egypt. The theme song of the movie is very good, sung by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston!”

Chen Xiaolian smiled dotingly and stroked her hair. “That is right.”

Pausing, Chen Xiaolian continued, “After escaping from Egypt, the Jews stayed here and formed many Jewish tribes here.

“Around one or two hundred years after their exodus from Egypt, in the 11th century BC, a great Jewish leader unified all the Jewish tribes to establish a Jewish kingdom. The capital of this kingdom is the place that we are now standing on, Jerusalem.

“This great Jewish king was called King David. [1]

“As a founding monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel, this King David was naturally a very legendary figure.

“Fortunately, he had an even more outstanding son who inherited his throne. That son was the infamous King Solomon.

“During his reign, King Solomon built a holy temple known as Solomon’s Temple. This temple was built right here where we are standing. From that moment onward, this place became the holy place for all Jews.”

Qiao Qiao nodded her head. “And then?”

“And then… … bad things happened.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “In short… … generally speaking, King Solomon’s reign was the most prosperous period for the Kingdom of Israel. According to legend though, King Solomon later turned away from God and his kingdom was split into two, one in the north and one in the south.

“Thus, the Jewish kingdom fell into decline.

“What followed was two thousand years of turmoil.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian pointed at the Wailing Wall and said in a hushed tone, “Solomon’s Temple that King Solomon built was later burnt down during an enemy invasion. When the Jews rebuilt it again… … unfortunately, the second temple too was burnt down during a war.

“Unfortunately, after that happened, no one rebuilt it any more.

“This Wailing Wall here is the remains of the second temple.”

Qiao Qiao cast a solemn stare at him and suddenly whispered, “In other words, this place… … is the remains of Solomon’s Temple?”

“More or less.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. There was a trace of tangled emotions in his voice.

Qiao Qiao’s face turned serious. “Xiaolian, I remember you telling me that in your first instance dungeon, that deserted island underground palace… … the final BOSS was a demon from King Solomon’s time.”

Chen Xiaolian did not say anything. He simply cast a grim gaze at the Wailing Wall that was illuminated by the rays of sunlight.

After around one minute, he let out a sudden smile and said in a carefree manner, “I think this quest should not be something related to one of King Solomon’s demons. The system prompt had stated that this instance dungeon’s level of difficulty is only at [B] class. Besides, we can also use firearms. I think… … we are probably not that unlucky.”

Qiao Qiao exhaled as well. “A [B] class instance dungeon should not have such a difficult backstory. I hope so.”

“Mm, I could think of some other possibility,” said Chen Xiaolian after giving it some thought. “According to legend, the Solomon’s Temple that King Solomon built was used to keep many holy items. The most infamous one was the Ark of the Covenant.”

“Ark of the Covenant?”

“Mm, Ark of the Covenant.”

…

“A wooden box containing some gold statues. However, its most important content is the Ten Commandments. It consists of two stone tablets, a set of biblical laws bestowed upon the Jews by God. The Jews are to obey the Ten Commandments written on it.”

In the hotel, Tian Lie sat on the couch while sunbathing, a tourist recommendation booklet in his hand. Many of Jerusalem’s ancient legends were written on the booklet.

He tossed the booklet at Nicole, who was drinking coffee, and smiled. “I feel that this thing sounds interesting. Who knows? Maybe we have to go find this thing?”

Nicole looked at Tian Lie. “A [B] class instance dungeon won’t ask something so insane from us. The Ark of the Covenant had disappeared for over 2,000 years. It had disappeared since the Solomon’s Temple was burned down.”

“I hope we don’t have to go look for it.”

…

1 According to Wiki, the first King of the United Kingdom of Israel is actually Saul. David is the second.↩