CH 121

Chapter 121: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XI)

{cw: brief transmisogyny}

On this night, Qi Leren still dreamed, but it was a rare dream that wasn’t a nightmare. No, in a sense, it was a nightmare. The dream was like a movie that was played automatically. It began where he and Dr. Lu had entered the Novice Village, and then Su He appeared. They finished their mission and came to the Village of Dusk, then there was the Witchcraft Sacrifice, and then it jumped to the Castle. In his dream, he experienced the battle where he had defeated the crazy lady in the basement. When he tried to open the drawer with the laptop computer again, his dream came to an abrupt end.

Qi Leren, who had woken up in the middle of the night, was still in a daze. He turned over and went back to sleep. Then he dreamed of Ning Zhou in the Witchcraft Sacrifice. At that time, he still had a woman’s appearance. They had intimate contact in the deserted underground cave and explored each other’s bodies unscrupulously until…

In his dream, he felt something that shouldn’t appear on a woman.

Qi Leren rolled up and sat on the bed in cold sweat. It was already bright out, and his biological clock rarely went on strike. Just as he groped for the watch on the pillow, he saw Ning Zhou sitting on the sofa by the window polishing his double knives.

Qi Leren got a kick and immediately woke up: “Morning… Morning.”

Ning Zhou’s line of sight paused for a second on his open T-shirt collar, then paused for a second on his sleepy face, nodded lightly, and moved away.

Qi Leren had encountered a little trouble. A normal male would encounter morning trouble beginning in puberty. Now he had two choices: just sit on the bed and wait until it goes away, or go to the bathroom to solve it by himself.

Considering that less than five meters away, there was his (incorrectly gendered) sex dream object, and the other party was wiping the blade with a cold face while his talking eagle stood on the back of the sofa watching him, his brain felt like it was overheating. Qi Leren felt that no matter which one he chose, he was a little ashamed. Now he could only pray that he hadn’t made any wrong sounds when he’d been dreaming just now.

Because he was too nervous, he even thought about it. How would Ning Zhou solve this kind of trouble? He vaguely remembered that some religious doctrines not only prohibited premarital sex but even prohibited self-comfort, which was inhumane in multiple ways.

Just as his thoughts were spinning out of control, Ning Zhou suddenly put away his double knives and inserted them back into the sheaths on the outside of his thighs: “I’ll get breakfast.”

“Oh, good, good.” Qi Leren breathed a sigh of relief and watched Ning Zhou leave the room with his black bird.

The trouble was solved. After breakfast, the four people got together again, studied the map of the Holy City Qi Leren had bought from Chen Baiqi, and discussed their actions for the next few days. Finally, they decided to take a general walk around the city now, and then go to investigate the old site of the Holy See.

The Holy City was still the Holy City. It still looked lively after being closed for more than 20 years. However, in some corners signs of the city’s decline could already be seen. Many houses had been abandoned except for those along main roads. It was said that after the demon invasion and the disaster of the new moon, the existing population of the Holy City was less than 10,000.

The streets were full of middle-aged men and women and some white-haired old people, but young men and women were rarely seen, especially children. The four people wandered around to inquire about the Holy City, and then set off to the former site of the Vatican.

“What did the Lord say yesterday? The vicinity of the Vatican was closed by a mysterious force and cannot be entered?” Dr. Lu asked, recalling the information he’d found in the castle yesterday.

Qi Leren responded, “That’s what the passer-by said just now. They wanted to seek asylum from the Holy See, but they couldn’t get in at all. The Lord’s wife is a very devout believer and often prays near the Vatican, but she can’t walk into it.”

“Let’s go there and see,” Su He said.

The former site of Holy City’s Vatican was located on a hill on the north side of the city. The white stone buildings built around the mountain were still holy, but felt as if they were in a pool of stagnant water.

“This is a bit like a saint’s sanctuary,” Dr. Lu sighed when he stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up.

By what he said, Qi Leren also felt a little similar.

Looking up, the verdant mountain forest was covered with a long ladder composed of white stone steps, extending upwards along the winding mountain road. There were many religious buildings along the way. Green and white constituted the most basic colours of this sanctuary, which shone under the blue sky and white clouds. The church at the top of the mountain seemed to have experienced a war. Half of the buildings had collapsed, but even if only the broken wall remained, it still looked holy and magnificent and fascinating.

In the past, was this the holy land in the eyes of believers?

“Sure enough, it’s closed.” Su He stood on the steps and held out his hand, and his palm seemed to touch some strange barrier, ripples spreading from the position of his palm, filled with ominous black.

“The power of the Devil,” Ning Zhou said with certainty as he also stepped forward.

“It is the power of the Devil. It seems that they closed the Vatican…” Su He thought for a moment and continued, “The Devil who led the demons to invade the human world for the first time in historical legends should be sealed here.”

Dr. Lu’s expression was distorted and he asked painfully, “We won’t let it out by accident, will we?”

Su He smiled: “It shouldn’t be, because it’s said that the Devils’ inheritance is different from that of human beings. If the old Devil does not die, the new Devil will not be crowned and recognized by the Devils. By now the new Devil has been born. I’m afraid that the old Devil is really dead.”

“You mean the three Devils of Power, Slaughter, and Fraud?” Qi Leren remembered that Su He once gave them a basic rundown. “But can three Devil Kings be produced at the same time?”

“This… I don’t know.” Su He smiled helplessly.

Unable to enter the Vatican, the four people searched near the foot of the mountain and found a cemetery surrounded by flowers and green trees beside a stone stairway.

“The Garden of the Holy Tomb,” Qi Leren stood at the entrance of the cemetery and read the inscription.

It was said to be a cemetery, but the Garden of the Holy Tomb was full of flowers, and these beautiful flowers bloomed luxuriantly even now when no one cared for them. If it wasn’t for the few scattered tombstones interspersed among the flowers, people who come here would hardly feel that it was a cemetery.

“I’m starving. Let’s take a rest and investigate the clues in the afternoon.” Dr. Lu’s stomach had been growling.

“Yes, I’m hungry, too.” Qi Leren hadn’t eaten much for breakfast and now he was hungry after running around all morning. Although this was a cemetery, the scenery was good, and four people decided to have a rest here.

Lunch had been prepared by the maid in the Lord’s castle. The maid in her forties carefully packed bread and wine in a big basket with jam and bacon, which tasted much better than their own dry food. Spreading out the tablecloth like a basket, the four people sat on the lawn and enjoyed lunch in the sunshine.

After coming to the Nightmare World, Qi Leren hadn’t been so relaxed in a long time. He’d left the depressing mechanical city of the Village of Dusk with its sun that never fell. The sunshine and air here and now made him relaxed and happy. Ning Zhou’s eagle also liked this environment very much. It got out of its pet bag, grabbed a large piece of bacon, and flew off on its wings. Even its shadow had left.

After being satiated with food and drink, Qi Leren circled the Garden of the Holy Tomb. In the corner of the garden there was a huge tree stump, which should be the remains of a huge tree that had been struck down in a thunderstorm after its interior had decayed. The trunk laying more than a meter away on the ground had fallen down and become a piece of lifeless deadwood on the grass. Even so, the broken trunk with a diameter of two meters was higher than Qi Leren standing in front of it.

The stump left by it had been hollowed out, but it was interesting that green grass had grown out of the hollowed-out wooden stump, making the space in the stump look like a natural open bed.

In this season, the flowers were in full bloom and the surrounding treetops were full of flowers, mostly blue and white. When a gust of wind blew the petals fell down in a swirl, and fell into the hollow stump, covering the grass inside the stump, which looked soft and comfortable.

Qi Leren, who was a little sleepy after eating and drinking, simply stepped on the roots above the ground and climbed into the stump. He was covered with fresh grass and fallen flowers that distributed their fragrance, and sighed contentedly.

The stump of this huge wooden tree that had been broken off became a small bed for his nap, with just enough room for a person to sleep. Lying in it, Qi Leren closed his eyes and let the sun fall on him, making him blush, and his whole body was filled with sunshine and warmth.

In the quiet Garden of the Holy Tomb, Qi Leren could still vaguely hear the voices of Dr. Lu and Su He, but their voices were pushed farther and farther by sleepiness, and he fell asleep.

“Why are there roses carved on this tombstone?” Dr. Lu asked, pointing to a tombstone.

After carefully studying the tombstone, Su He said: “The key should not be roses, but the number. There are just seven roses, which means ‘I love you’ here. This should be a tombstone for someone’s lover.”

Dr. Lu hit his right hand with his left hand: “Yes, I remember you told me and Leren in the Castle task.”

The conversation between the two attracted Ning Zhou’s attention. He also saw the tombstone with the name and life of a Holy See believer. Her name was Susan, a devout believer who had disappeared on the night of the new moon. Her husband held a funeral for her, praying that her soul could be saved by God. The lifelike rose relief on the tombstone was painted white. 

“White roses are pure love,” Ning Zhou said. Maria had loved white roses, so he remembered.

He still remembered that Maria told him about the Garden of the Holy Tomb outside the Holy City’s Vatican. When she was a girl, she had planted many roses here which were colorful, but she loved white best. There was a towering tree in the corner of the Garden of the Holy Tomb where she had hung a swing and played alone in the evening wind. It was an innocent and carefree time.

More than 20 years had passed and the roses planted by Maria had survived tenaciously, growing in the corners of the Garden of the Holy Tomb, and the tree that she had hung from the swing on…

“Hey, where’s Qi Leren?” Dr. Lu asked curiously.

“He seems to have wandered over there.” Su He pointed to the corner of the garden.

Ning Zhou strode past and he found Qi Leren in the corner of the garden. He was lying in the hollow stump, sleeping amongst grass and petals, and taking a nap in the warm afternoon sun. A naughty petal rolled down his hair along the wind and ran to his face, getting stuck in his eyelashes. He seemed to feel itchy, and his wrinkled nose scrunched. The breeze saved the petal from his eyelashes. It bounced and landed between his lips. The blue and white petal looked more bright outlined by his red lips. Ning Zhou stared at it for a long time…

“Qi Leren - where did you go?”

Dr. Lu’s cry came from a distance and Qi Leren, who was sleeping soundly, woke up with a start, suddenly opened his eyes, and it seemed that something was blocking the sunshine… He lied in the petals and looked up and his eyes fell on a piece of blue, which was bluer than the sky. It was clear and pure, hitting his heart. For a moment he didn’t realize it wasn’t the sky, but Ning Zhou standing by the tree. He looked at him quietly, still so cold, as if the gentle blue he saw just now was the illusion that he had not yet woken up from.

“I fell asleep?” Qi Leren opened his mouth, and the petal falling between his lips was eaten by him. He quickly sat up and looked in all directions to find the source of the sound just now.

Dr. Lu trotted to him and exclaimed in amazement: “This bed looks so comfortable, it’s still all natural and pure, you really know where to find a place.”

Qi Leren jumped out of the stump and patted the petals and grass clippings on his clothes. “Do you want to lie down for a while?”

Dr. Lu looked at the stump for a while and gave up: “Forget it, let’s eat small cakes. I brought them from the Village of Dusk. They’re delicious.”

Qi Leren took a reluctant look at the comfortable tree bed and finally followed Dr. Lu to the picnic place. Su He sat on the grass casually,  smiled, and raised the goblet filled with wine to greet them. As they walked along, Qi Leren looked back. Ning Zhou stood by the stump and looked at him silently.

He hadn’t thought he’d look back. A little surprise appeared in his blue eyes, and there was some hidden emotion that was too late to be restrained. He restrained it implicitly, almost to self-abuse, quiet and always too easy to miss. There were too many details in a single moment, so people who couldn’t understand ignore them completely. In the warm sunshine in the afternoon, Qi Leren smiled,raised his hand, and waved to Ning Zhou: “Come with us!”

So he hesitated for just a moment, then walked straight and firmly towards him.