Chapter 55

"Once this door falls, all the guards will withdraw," Vivian pointed to the last line of the runes, "This sentence is also written in runes, which is a bit strange."

Hao Ren, who was experiencing such an ancient and mysterious thing for the first time, felt like he was in a Hollywood blockbuster, his mind still a bit dazed. He subconsciously asked, "What's so abnormal about that? Maybe the writer had OCD. If you asked him to insert a line of English in the middle of a long passage of runes, he'd be uncomfortable, and you wouldn't understand his English anyway."

Vivian shot Hao Ren a look, "Do you think a notice for overdue utility bills would be written in ancient Latin? Who could read it? Leta runes are complex and varied, and even the learning process can impact the learner's mind. Ordinary people can't master them; only demon hunters and those ascetic monks who have hardened their nerves through faith can endure it. It's said that Leta runes are written for the spirits of the earth and the deities of another dimension, so under normal circumstances, no one would write these runes for ordinary people to see, let alone use them to leave messages."

"The guards aren't ordinary people, right?" Lily suddenly interjected.

Vivian looked at the wolf girl in surprise, "Hey, Big Dog, you have a broad mind!"

Hao Ren felt a chill down his spine when he heard the words "the guards aren't ordinary people." He nervously scanned the surrounding tunnel, swallowing hard, "Using demon hunters as guards? This castle can't be the old headquarters of the demon hunters, can it?"

"Demon hunters don't have a headquarters. They are scattered around the world, and their internal communication methods have always been a mystery. However, this Joffreld Manor definitely once gathered a large number of demon hunters," Vivian said as she floated into the air, carefully examining the runes and drawings on the stone wall. "Look at these patterns; they are carved in a very precise and complex way, making three sets of runes effective through the order of writing and arrangement. It's a very sophisticated technique. This Joffreld Lord must not be an ordinary noble. He's most likely a demon hunter who has integrated into human society. I've seen such things before."

Lily, despite being an "outsider" like Hao Ren, was equally puzzled. She scratched the hard stone wall, impatient, "Old lady, stop showing off your old knowledge. Just tell us what this is for."

Vivian's voice suddenly rose an octave, and a cold, bloody wind swept in, "Who did you call an old lady?!"

Hao Ren quickly dragged the thoughtless wolf girl to the side, "Don't take it to heart. You're a 17-year-old vampire beauty, okay? We have work to do."

"You just always protect her," Vivian huffed, slowly descending to Hao Ren's side. "The runes are all about suppression, with no offensive elements. It should be a simple defensive layer. The third column of runes states that the underground part of the castle must eternally suppress a 'source of all evil.' Without the power of the Joffreld bloodline, this wall cannot be opened, or the curse of an evil spirit in the underground chamber will befall the one who opens it. And..."

Vivian was halfway through her explanation when a low rumble suddenly echoed from somewhere, reverberating throughout the underground chamber. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, and the shaking grew stronger. The stone walls creaked ominously, and dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Hao Ren, thrown off balance by the increasing tremors, immediately thought: an earthquake! He was probably going to die in this severely dilapidated underground chamber!

The rumbling grew louder, reaching a deafening level within seconds, but just as Hao Ren was about to close his eyes and reflect on his life, everything suddenly stopped.

The "earthquake" ceased, and the strange sounds disappeared, leaving only the dust in the air and the occasional grains of sand falling from the ceiling to prove that it wasn't an illusion. Vivian had floated into the air at the start of the tremors, remaining elegant and unharmed, while Lily had protected herself in a canine manner: lying on the ground with her hands over her head, trembling from head to tail. When the shaking stopped, Lily awkwardly got up, smiling foolishly at Hao Ren and Vivian, "Was that an earthquake?"

Hao Ren was still shaken, while Vivian had a strange look on her face, "No... it wasn't an earthquake! It's something below the castle!"

"Angus said this passage was clear before!" Hao Ren, not stupid, immediately realized, "This stone wall just appeared!"

"Most likely, the seal below the castle has weakened, so this stone door was activated!" Vivian grabbed Hao Ren and ran toward the tunnel exit, "Let's get out of here, this... huh?"

Behind them, the passage they had come through was now blocked by a thick stone wall, which looked even more solid than the one with the runes!

"When did this thing appear?!" Hao Ren was shocked, then ran up and knocked on the stone wall to confirm it wasn't an illusion, "Why didn't we hear anything?"

"It's a demon hunter's trick; they excel at setting up such traps!" Vivian's eyes glowed red with anger. She waved her hands, and two blood-red shockwaves hit the thick black stone wall, but the powerful shockwaves only left a shallow mark, far from destroying the entire wall. "Damn it, even the stones are enchanted... We're trapped!"

Lily, without being prompted, stepped forward to try to break the stone wall. She clawed, scratched, and even headbutted it, but the wall remained as solid as ever. The wolf girl plopped down on the ground, "Wah, I don't want to die... I haven't even had a boyfriend... I'm just a little wolf pup..."

Hao Ren, who had been sweating profusely, now focused on Lily's actions, forgetting his own fear. He helped her up, trying to encourage her while looking around, "Calm down, don't panic. Let's see if we can get out another way."

At that moment, another strange sound began in the underground chamber. A clattering sound, like armor clashing, came from behind the walls of the tunnel, suggesting that there were other spaces around it. Vivian, who had been trying to break through the walls, quickly withdrew her hand, "These walls aren't enchanted, but do you dare go through them?"

The clattering sound grew louder, and Hao Ren clearly heard the sound of something hard scraping against the rock from the nearest wall. "Something" had sensed the three intruders in the tunnel and was trying to break in!

With their path blocked by an unbreakable stone wall and the walls on either side leading to terrifying dead ends, Hao Ren finally focused on the stone wall with the runes, "Can that thing be opened?"

Vivian went over and knocked on the wall, then pressed her ear to it, "This one isn't thick, and there seems to be nothing on the other side. But are you sure you want to break it? It might be the last seal of the underground chamber."

Hearing this, Hao Ren hesitated. He didn't want to die, but he wasn't about to lose his mind in a crisis. Many stories had taught him that breaking seals in ancient demon-suppressing sites was a foolish act. How many movie and TV series sequels started with a fool breaking a seal...

"The system suggests you break that door," the data terminal's voice suddenly sounded in Hao Ren's mind. "Radar scans show that there are other passages leading to the surface behind that door. The entire underground chamber isn't completely sealed—don't worry about breaking the seal and causing a disaster. This place hasn't been maintained for centuries, and the seals and stone doors are already broken. This is the only passage that was successfully closed. Your bad luck is truly heartbreaking..."

(Still striving to make the Three Rivers list, currently doing well. Everyone, remember to claim your votes daily, one vote per day, to give "Abnormal" a good start!)

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