Chapter 127: Heart in Turmoil

  Xia Ya fainted for several hours before waking up. In the morning, Lu Er had brought people to visit and heard that Xia Ya had fainted, so he was really frightened. After listening to his subordinates describe what happened, he personally went to see the collapsed house where Xia Ya lived. His eyes were inevitably a bit strange as he squatted in the ruins, looking left and right. When he came out, his face looked very weird. He casually ordered his men to clean up the place and didn't mention finding craftsmen to rebuild the house. Instead, he immediately went to see Xia Ya.

  Xia Ya woke up to find Pao Zi sitting at the head of her bed, and she had already been moved to Duo Duo Luo and Suo Yi Te's room. She reached out to touch something beside her, but the fire fork was not there. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she sat up in bed.

  "What are you looking for?" Rourou smiled slightly and handed a fire poker from the head of the bed to Xia Ya: "Is it this one?"

  Xia Ya smiled and took a look at it for two seconds.

  "What's wrong with you?" Ruru frowned: "The good house was lent to you to live in, but you demolished my house."

  "I'll make it up to you." The tortoise got out of bed, still feeling a bit dizzy and surprised in his heart: this damn fire fork had actually drained his energy dry, and he hadn't recovered even after resting for so long?

  "Did you practice martial arts in your room last night?" Ruru patted Shaya on the back and said in a low voice, "I've seen the ruins, it looks like they were destroyed by some powerful aura."

  Xia Ya casually responded with two sentences, and Rourou saw that he didn't want to say more, so she didn't ask further. After resting for a while, the fatty said: "I'm worried about you, so I came over to take a look. The military department hasn't sent any news yet, which isn't surprising, but it's strange that even the palace hasn't sent anyone to summon you for an audience. I'm afraid there might be some problem."

  Xia Ya glanced at Pangzi: "If he doesn't want to see me, then so be it. It's not a big deal if the emperor doesn't want to see me."

  Lu Ru frowned: "You don't understand! Kid, the military has been looking at you with disdain for a long time now! The reason they haven't given you any trouble yet is because the Emperor said he wanted to see you before. If the Emperor values you, the military won't dare touch you. But if the Emperor forgets about you and abandons you, then you'll be completely helpless. At that time, not only will the military take action against you, but even the Crown Prince might not tolerate you!"

  Xia Ya was still nonchalant: "Whether the emperor sees me or not, it's up to him, I have no control over it. Am I supposed to barge into the palace myself to see him?"

  "I think this matter is a bit fishy." Rour shook his head, "Logically speaking, Your Majesty's summons should have arrived long ago, but... Hmm? Could this matter have something to do with Cavysil?"

  Xia Ya simply shook his head, and the fatty guessed for a while without getting any leads, so he didn't say anything. After a while, Xia Ya said: "I have another request... General Rouru, I brought back Kevin's widow, she is pregnant with Kevin's posthumous child. No matter what, I want to take good care of her. If the military department can issue the order early and confirm my military position and awards, even if it means sending me to some remote and poor place to idle around, I don't mind. I'll just bring people and live a carefree life."

  "You... aren't worried about your own future at all?" Fatso frowned.

  "What's the worry? In a remote and desolate place, is there anywhere more secluded than Wildfire Town?" Xia Ya laughed and then said seriously: "I'm asking you to help me gather some information at the military department. I don't want any fame or fortune, just one result, and then I can leave with a clear conscience."

  The fatty hesitated for a moment, as if he had something to say, but ultimately held back. He took a deep look at Xia Ya, sat for a while, and then stood up to bid farewell. However, today he sent someone to deliver some clothing and food supplies. It's said that during Xia Ya's coma, the fatty had already gone to see Yulia. He is now the general of the 13th legion, and in name, if Kevin were alive, he would be considered a direct superior. He went to see Yulia, comforted her for a while, and even left some money before leaving.

  Xia Ya got up to eat lunch, rested for a while, and recovered some energy. Seeing that Dororo had peeked into the room several times, Xia Ya knew what he was thinking and took the initiative to go out and grab him: "What are you sneaking around looking at?"

  Looking at the wizard's hesitant appearance, Xia Ya laughed: "Let's go, I'll accompany you to that magician's guild and help you settle things, so you won't be uneasy in your heart."

  Duoduo was overjoyed, and his mouth poured out flattering words like a river. He spoke with exaggerated enthusiasm, but after listening for a while, Xia Ya started to feel annoyed. She kicked him: "Stop talking nonsense, lead the way!"

  This time, Xia Ya learned his lesson. He didn't want to bother the guards left by Lu Ru to follow him around, so he and Duoduo changed into a new set of clothes, climbed over the wall, and slipped out quickly through a small alley next door.

  Shaya wore an ordinary linen robe, with a hood and the leather boots from the army replaced by a pair of ordinary cloth shoes. Even the fire fork that was always by his side was hidden in the wide sleeves of the robe. As he stepped over the threshold, he looked just like an ordinary Osgerian. Dororo, on the other hand, was excited to return to the Mages' Guild and had somehow managed to find a gray magician-style robe. His face was spotless clean, and except for the lack of a magician's badge on his chest, he looked exactly as he did when he first met Shaya in Wildfire Town.

  Two people walked through the streets, heading north to the city. The urban area of Osgiliath is extremely large, and the two walked through the central square, passing through several bustling streets. Shaya did not have an escort this time, nor was she harassed so much that she became disheveled. Instead, she calmly took in the sights of Osgiliath's cityscape. This famous wonderland on the continent is indeed extraordinary. Along the way, they saw many magnificent historical landmarks, including a canal running through the north and south of the city, as well as the beautiful faces carved on the canal, which are likely to have a history of hundreds of years.

  Walked to the northern part of the city, there were fewer and fewer people on the road, occasionally passing by were some horse-riding knights, who also deliberately slowed down.

  Slowed down the speed, dare not gallop here, some carriages passing by on the road, look like they are all luxurious and wealthy, decorated with exquisite finery, front and back have horse-riding attendants following, even the coachman is dressed neatly, obviously all having a certain status.

  In the distance, I saw the top of a tower, and at its highest point, a huge bell was suspended. A straight and wide road led to the bottom of the tower. As I walked on the road, I heard the muffled sound of the bell coming from the tower. The sound of the bell was thick and lingering, carrying an elegant and ancient atmosphere that stirred people's souls. Xia Ya listened to the solemn bell sound, and her expression became more serious.

  Underneath that bell tower is where the church is located, the headquarters of the Byzantine Empire Church, a huge church building, Hagia Sophia Cathedral!

  At the end of the road, a spacious square with several layers of steps, this road splits into two at the bottom of the square and surrounds it. The square on top of the steps is probably hundreds of feet wide. The ground is paved with dark gray large marble slabs. Around the square is a circle of round ceramic columnar arches. Each pillar is so thick that three or four strong men can barely surround it, and the pillars are carved with various ancient artistic masterpieces' bas-relief patterns. Some have been damaged, but still exude an aura of long history.

  The vast square was not crowded, only a few people in black church robes walked by with their heads down, and there were some pigeons on the square, quietly jumping and flying as if no one was around, even when someone passed by, they didn't react at all. Occasionally, a few flew up under the solemn bell tower, making the atmosphere even more sacred.

  The Cathedral of St. Sophia is located at the end of the square, with a facade that is arranged in a high-middle-low pattern, with the highest tower in the middle having bells and drums, an elliptical roof topped with a sharp spire, and a row of large windows above the church, all made of rare colored glass, but from afar, under the sunlight, they become a colorful and multicolored hue.

  The central tower of the church, with a height of only about 100 meters from the ground, walked to the front door of the church and looked up, feeling quite majestic and oppressive. The large gate also had a height of over ten meters, with two rows of Byzantine warriors standing on either side, wearing ancient armor and holding long axes in their hands, looking solemn and stern.

  These warriors stood under the wall, their eyes level and gazing straight ahead, yet they seemed to see right through Xia as she stood before the gate. The guards on either side raised their long axes, crossing them over the entrance to form a barrier of gleaming blades that anyone who wanted to pass beneath the gate would have to walk through.

  The church's gate is divided into three parts, except for the central gate, the two side gates do not have these axe-wielding saints as warriors, but the two side gates are much smaller, with half-closed doors.

  Xia Ya was about to step forward towards the main gate, but was pulled back by Duoduo, who whispered: "Wait! The main gate cannot be entered! Only on New Year's Day and major festivals can this main gate be passed through. At ordinary times, except for the Pope himself and His Majesty the Emperor, no one else is allowed to pass through the main gate."

  Xia Ya muttered to herself, gazing at the Golden Armor Temple warriors standing guard at the distant main gate. She furrowed her brow: "They've set up a grand entrance yet won't let people pass through; isn't that just a waste of effort?"

  He said so, but it was enough to scare Duo Luo pale with fear, and he hastily pulled him towards a side door.

  Although this side door is not as magnificent as the main gate, it is also several meters high. The thick door panel is wrapped in a layer of iron armor, and on it is an embossed relief of an angel descending to the world. At the entrance, two black-robed clergy stood solemnly, raised their eyelids and glanced at Xia Ya and Duoduo, then looked away, letting them walk in.

  "The grand hall of the church is usually open, and in theory, both nobles and ordinary citizens can come to pray and pay their respects. However, the nobles can enter and exit at will, while ordinary citizens are only allowed to enter on two specific days each month. As for daily prayers, there are also several smaller churches in Osgilia City that are specifically for the poor people to pray." Doro introduced in a low voice.

  As soon as he stepped into the grand hall, Xia Ya took a deep breath.

  The interior of this great hall is over ten meters high, and the two sides are also tens of meters wide. Looking inside, it's at least a hundred meters deep!!!

  Such a large hall, Xia Ya had never seen it before in his life. In order to support such a large hall, there were two rows of square stone pillars on both sides of the hall, holding up the roof. On the walls over ten meters high on both sides, there were works left by art masters of various dynasties, including reliefs and murals of religious themes, as well as carvings of flowers and clouds, symbolizing "heaven is just above".

  In many places, the walls also have some colorful stained glass stuck on them, forming some strange mural patterns, which are nothing more than angels descending to save people from suffering, or gods bestowing miracles to illuminate the earth, or simply carving some statues of gods.

  The courtyard didn't have any lights on, but it was still bright and sufficient. Xia Ya was reminded by Duo Luo to look up, and when she did, she saw a complete huge mural on the ceiling of the house!

  That mural is tens of meters wide and hundreds of meters deep, covering the entire ceiling of the great hall. It depicts a serene cloud landscape with the sun shining down, and countless angels flying back and forth in the clouds, their wings sprouting from their backs. Below the sun, amidst the clouds, a vague golden figure appears, naturally symbolizing the presence of the divine...

  The entire mural is exquisitely carved and solemn, but what's most astonishing is that it seems to be some sort of magical array! The floating clouds on the mural, upon closer inspection, seem to actually be slowly flowing! The angels on the mural also appear to be truly spreading their wings and flying slowly through the clouds, while the sun emits a faint golden glow. It's precisely this golden light that illuminates the grand hall, but what's more, Shaya can clearly feel that when the light falls on her body, it naturally produces a warm, gentle, yet somewhat sacred and majestic feeling!

  This magic circle not only provides lighting but also automatically emits a sacred aura to create an atmosphere!

  No wonder I felt that omnipresent sacred aura as soon as I walked into the grand hall, even the murals and reliefs on the walls looked awe-inspiring, it turns out they were all affected by this magic array above.

  The grand hall looks solemn and quiet, occasionally seeing some dignitaries standing beside the wall murals and frescoes, quietly admiring them. Some devout nobles kneel in front of the carvings on the wall, holding their hands together and closing their eyes to pray.

  There were also some noble women, regardless of age, dressed in luxurious and elegant attire, wearing hoods and veils to cover their faces. Occasionally, they would walk past Xia Ya and Duoduo's side, these people were all stern-faced, with calm and solemn eyes, without any verbal exchange between each other.

  It was clear that in this solemn hall, everyone's behavior was extremely restrained. Even when Xia Ya walked by with slightly heavier footsteps, others would cast disapproving glances. Someone frowned at Xia Ya for two seconds before withdrawing their gaze and ignoring the two of them again.

  Xia Ya, this rough fellow, had no appreciation for the valuable frescoes left behind by the great masters on the walls of the two temples. He was only curious about them. On those golden murals, were those raised gold pieces really made of pure gold? If so, why would they be casually placed on the wall without even a guard nearby, with so many people coming and going every day, weren't they afraid of being stolen?

  As for other sacred gospel, this guy doesn't even have a bit of insight.

  He quickly walked to the end of the grand hall, where two thick and heavy wooden doors stood before him. The arched top of the door frame was adorned with colorful glass, while the corners of the door panels were wrapped in golden iron fittings. Beyond the wide wooden doors, the faint sound of hymns could be heard coming from inside. Xia Ya listened for a couple of sentences, but had no idea what they were singing about, so he simply turned around and left, following Duo Duo to a side door.

  After walking out of the side door, Duoduo Luo introduced that the wooden door was actually the main hall of the church, where there were statues and deep pools with a history of over 1,000 years. The main hall could accommodate up to 3,000 people praying at the same time. Every month, ten high-ranking clergy from the church would take turns presiding over prayer ceremonies. As for inviting the Pope himself to preside over the ceremony, it was only possible during the New Year's celebration every year.

  Coming out of the side door, we arrived at the inner courtyard of the church. The inner courtyard was surrounded by the main building of the church, with high walls and towers surrounding it, completely isolating the interior of the church from the outside world. The area of the inner courtyard was slightly larger than the one in front of the church, but the surrounding walls were as tall as a city wall, forming a circular ring of buildings. There were twelve towers scattered throughout, each belonging to a high-ranking bishop in the church. The tallest tower on the front side was where the Pope himself resided.

  The north tower belongs to the high-ranking clergy of the church, with a prayer room and a place to store sacred objects. It is also where the council of elders meets and where church officials manage church affairs. The south tower belongs to the tribunal... hmm, if nothing's wrong, try not to go there often. The tribunal is also one of the most terrifying existences in the church, responsible for investigating heretics all over the continent and inspecting church affairs everywhere. Once they discover heresy or rebels who violate the Sixteen Articles of Faith, the tribunal will take charge of punishment... humph! Earlier, on the square outside, you saw those pillars, but everyone in the church knows that the most famous pillar is not the ones with carvings outside, but... the stake for burning at the stake! For thousands of years, who knows how many people have been burned to death?

  To the west is the library of the church, which houses ancient texts and documents of the teachings of the generations, as well as the canons and decrees issued by the church over the years. It is also where the seminarians are trained and educated to become clergy.

  "Right east... is the Mages' Guild. The Mages' Guild is directly led by the Church, responsible for verifying the identity and level of all mages in the Empire, as well as managing the magical community, setting industry rules. There is also a magic academy here, but it only trains low-level magic apprentices, starting from basic magic theory and potion studies. After graduation, they can be considered qualified magic apprentices. As for becoming a mage later on, one must find a way to become an apprentice under a certain mage in order to learn further true magic."

  Dorothy spoke quickly, while whispering: "However, the guild rules state that only those who have reached the middle rank of magician themselves are qualified to take on apprentices. I graduated from this magic academy back then and obtained the qualification as a magic apprentice. Later, my teacher valued me and took me in as his disciple, teaching me some real magic. Unfortunately, my talent was too poor, and my magical cultivation only reached level one, after which I couldn't advance any further... My teacher eventually gave up on me..."

  Talking about the past, Duoduo was quite sentimental for a while, obviously still deeply concerned about being abandoned by his teacher because of his poor talent back then.

  "Magic Academy, magic apprentice..." Xia Ya touched her chin, somewhat curious: "Can anyone who graduates from this academy become a magic apprentice? What do these magic apprentices do after they graduate? What if someone graduates and no magician is willing to take them on as an apprentice? Do they just go out and...?"

  Duoduo laughed: "Old master, the situation you mentioned is extremely rare. In itself, the Magic Guild also needs people to maintain daily work. Ordinary people can't just enter the Magic Guild to work, otherwise, wouldn't it be a great shame for the guild? Every year, there are opportunities for magic apprentices who graduate from here. If no magician is willing to take them as disciples, they can still stay in the Magic Guild to work, even if it's just doing chores. After all, they are people from the Magic Guild! Moreover, there are some noble families who like to attach themselves to the elegant and yearn for magic. If they can't recruit magicians to serve them, they will recruit a few magic apprentices, which is better than nothing. At least, the magic apprentices who graduate from here may not know any real magic, but their magical theory and potion-making skills are absolutely qualified. As long as they master potion-making, they will be very useful outside! Whether it's being a doctor or serving in some mercenary group or warrior group, being proficient in potion-making is extremely useful."

  As they spoke, the two had already walked to the building complex on the east side of the square. Looking at the staircase in front of them, a layer of floating relief with a six-pointed star symbolizing magic was suspended above it. Xia Ya looked up and took two glances before stepping into the building under Duoduo's urging.

  Xia Ya was unaware that he and Duoduo's backs as they walked into the Magic Guild had fallen into someone else's line of sight.

  On the other side of the square, a tall and slender figure hid behind a pillar on the wall, with one hand tightly pressed against his chest, his eyes wide open, peeking out from behind the pillar with half his head, staring intently at the entrance of the Magic Guild across the way!

  As Shaya and Doro walked in, the slender figure cautiously emerged. Behind her was the large gate of the church's scripture library, from which a man wearing a black long robe came out. Underneath his robe, he wore tight-fitting soft armor. The man had a handsome appearance, with neatly trimmed whiskers, and his robe was carefully tailored. Although it was a black robe, it had luxurious golden edges. He walked to the side of the slender figure and smiled slightly: "Aidlin, what are you looking at?"

  "Aedrin, also known as Poor Bug, was startled by the voice behind him and almost cried out. He turned his head to see who it was, put his hands on his chest, and then let out a sigh of relief: 'Uncle Chip, you scared me to death.'"

  The philosopher behind him was the same Chip Knight who had taken away the poor insect from the wildfire in the distance. As a trusted and elite knight of the Crown Prince, Chip was ordered to protect this Edlin today as he came to pray at the church. This young lord had been cooped up in the suburban palace for many days, almost going mad, and after repeated requests, he was finally allowed to come to the church to pray today. The Crown Prince strictly instructed Chip to be careful with his protection, especially not allowing Edlin to talk to anyone.

  As soon as Edlin was able to go out, she felt like a bird set free. Even if she was told not to talk to anyone, just being outside and taking in the fresh air was good enough for her. Although she was only allowed to walk around the dull church, just being able to leave the house was a great joy for her.

  Just now, I was flipping through the scriptures in a separate room in the church library. When I came out, I just wanted to bask in the sun, but unexpectedly, in this place... I saw that figure that she couldn't forget no matter what!!!!!

  Although Edlin forced a smile on his face and responded to Chip's questions, he kept turning over the same question in his mind:

  What's wrong with him?

  How could it be him?

  How did he end up in the Imperial Capital?

  This turtle... he, him, her... is he looking for me?

  At this thought, a flush suddenly appeared on that pale and delicate face...

  Her eyes also became distant and she couldn't help but glance in the direction of the Magic Guild several times.

  Ah...... I see! He's actually with that magician named Dororo, isn't he... Maybe. That Dororo told him my true identity. He... could it be that he really came to the Imperial Capital to find me?

  He... He came looking for me?

  Weighing in mind, struggling for a while, and even unsure whether it's joy or worry, yet couldn't help but ask myself another question.

  If... if I really could see him, would I be able to run away with him? He... he...

  Sigh... even if it's just seeing him and exchanging a couple of words, that would be good enough...

  At this moment, the poor worm's heart was in a mess, like a deer crashing into something.