Chapter 77

Il frowned, the wrinkles on his forehead becoming more pronounced, and his left hand unconsciously touched the purple brooch on his chest. Fang Yi glanced at it subconsciously; the brooch seemed to be in the shape of a small bottle, but he didn't know what magical effect it had—brooches were rare items for players.

"As for how they got in, we haven't figured that out yet. The temple has many magical barriers, but we only realized someone had infiltrated it when the holy relic was touched."

Fang Yi thought to himself that these issues weren't problems from a player's perspective. Clearly, someone had their eye on this item, whether it was the pirates or someone behind them.

The Dragon Lake had no shortage of pirates and sea monsters; a single net cast could catch a dozen of them. With such a high rate of mage production, even Fang Yi himself was somewhat tempted. Thinking about this, Fang Yi remembered another question.

"Why can the holy relic only be used here?"

Hearing this, Il laughed. "Because the holy relic is part of the temple itself. During the ceremony, the holy relic needs to be placed in a designated spot within the temple."

Torches lit up all over Green Creek Village, and Fang Yi walked the small paths without feeling out of place. Il led Fang Yi to the temple entrance, instructed the guards to let him in, and then returned to prepare for the possible battle ahead.

Unlike the temples of Teyr and Lathander, the temple of Mystra before him had no towering spires or protective walls of varying heights. The only decoration on the exterior was five marble pillars about a foot thick. The temple, surrounded by several ponds, exuded a graceful and elegant atmosphere.

The captain of the temple guards, one of the village's key figures, expressed his respect to Fang Yi, the hero who had saved the village chief, and then lifted the defensive barrier, leading Fang Yi into the temple.

As Fang Yi stepped onto the stone platform of the temple, a transparent barrier flashed but did not impede him. The elder following behind him also let out a sigh of relief. Fang Yi glanced around and guessed: This must be a barrier to distinguish between lawful and chaotic alignments.

This was common in the temples of various deities. According to the official history of "Miracle," the current goddess of magic was once a neutral good character. If this temple truly had divine favor, having such a barrier was quite normal. Neutral alignments were the best.

The main hall, tall and spacious, resembled a modern steel-framed factory, with a hollow-style granite structure that exuded an ancient and mysterious aura under the cold moonlight. Fang Yi wandered around the hall, thinking to himself that it was no wonder Mystra, known as the most amiable of the Faerûnian deities, had such a welcoming temple.

The entire temple was paved with the sturdiest granite blocks. Fang Yi squatted down and tapped the ground with his sword hilt; the thickness was at least two feet. There were no signs of damage within the temple, indicating that the intruders had not forced their way in.

Fang Yi followed the temple's structure deeper inside and soon saw the statue of the goddess of magic standing in the center of the main hall. The translucent skin and flowing hair were exquisitely depicted by the high-quality stone, and the disc in the statue's hands shimmered in the moonlight and torchlight.

"This is our temple's holy relic," the guard captain, who had been following Fang Yi, bowed to the statue and then pointed to the disc in its hands. "The holy relic was originally part of the statue, but it detached on its own a few decades ago. Our village has been blessed since then, and many of the newborns in the village have shown potential as mages."

The guard captain's reverence was evident in his words and the look in his eyes. Indeed, in this wilderness filled with magical beasts, the talent bestowed by the goddess of magic was a crucial reason why the people of Green Creek Village had survived.

However, Fang Yi had no particular reverence for any goddess; completing the mission was the most important thing. After a thorough inspection around the statue, he found no clues. Fang Yi knew that if he couldn't figure out how the intruders had entered, there would be more thefts. Passive defense was only a temporary solution.

The temple was quiet in the night, with only the occasional "crack" of the torches and the "rustle" of the wind through the treetops. Fang Yi squatted on the ground, supporting himself with his right hand, and his feet suddenly stopped moving. The guard captain, puzzled, was about to ask what was wrong when Fang Yi patted his head and stood up.

"Is there a river nearby?" A faint sound of rushing water reached his ears, and Fang Yi had to strain to distinguish it from the rustling of the leaves.

The guard captain was taken aback. "Oh, there's the Long Arm River to the south. It's the largest river in this forest, and our village's water source comes from the Long Arm River."

"Where is the aqueduct?" Fang Yi stood at the edge of the hall and looked into the distance, then asked.

The main hall of the temple was the highest point in Green Creek Village. Despite the boost from his scouting skill, with human night vision being almost useless, Fang Yi could only see the vague outlines of buildings and the dark tree canopy in the distance, but he didn't see any large aqueducts or elevated water channels leading from the south.

"Ah, well," the guard captain, somewhat impatient with Fang Yi's question, but knowing the thief was skilled, replied, "There are ancient underground waterways beneath the village. Water from the Long Arm River is channeled through these waterways to the village's central well."

Pointing to a small pavilion in the southeast corner of the temple, the guard captain added, "That's where the villagers get their water."

Seeing Fang Yi's thoughtful expression, the guard captain understood what the thief was thinking and said bluntly, "You think they came through the underground waterways? That's impossible. The complexity of the underground passages is beyond your imagination. Even the village chief, Il, who has lived here the longest, doesn't dare go down there easily. Besides, the passages are always filled with water. Unless those people are water elementals, they couldn't have swum through."

The guard captain rambled on, and Fang Yi listened quietly without interrupting. Seeing the guard captain firmly deny this possibility, Fang Yi didn't immediately respond but instead touched the marble pillar beside him. The originally solid and sturdy marble had developed some cracks and damage due to weathering.

"This temple and the extensive underground waterways are ancient ruins, right?" Fang Yi rubbed his chin and asked, somewhat reluctantly, "After a few hundred years, hasn't anything been damaged? Any abandoned passages or something?"