Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

A few minutes later, Lin Yi noticed a white candle flame not far from him, standing out conspicuously in the gray fog.

When Lin Yi noticed the light, the distance between them was about fifty meters.

Within the illumination range of the white candle, he could clearly see that it was a relatively weak light source, unlike the imposing behemoth as thick as his arm in his hand.

The other person stopped walking.

Clearly, they had also noticed the unusually bright candlelight approaching.

Lin Yi did not deliberately lighten his pace; he simply maintained a steady speed.

In such an environment, deliberately hiding something can easily lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Moreover, those who are currently here are most likely acquaintances of Lin Yi.

The distance between the two sides gradually shortened.

When the figure holding the candle emerged from the mist, Lin Yi paused slightly.

It's Su Xiao.

The other person was still wearing that black trench coat, with a few fresh tear marks on the left shoulder, but overall looked to be in good condition.

He held in his hand a white candle about the thickness of a finger and about thirty centimeters long, the flame burning quietly in the mist.

The moment Su Xiao saw Lin Yi, her gaze first fell on Lin Yi's face, and then moved to the candle in his hand.

The whole process took about two seconds, and Su Xiao's face did not change at all.

But Lin Yi knew Su Xiao very well; the moment before Su Xiao looked away from the white candle, her eyelids twitched very slightly.

Bubuwang reacted much faster than the two of them.

The moment it saw Su Xiao, Bubuwang's tail wagged immediately, and it darted to Su Xiao's side in a flash, rubbing its fluffy head against Su Xiao's calf and making a whimpering sound.

Baha also flew off Lin Yi's shoulder, drew an arc in the air, and landed steadily on Su Xiao's shoulder, nuzzling Su Xiao's cheek with its head.

Su Xiao didn't push them away. She just looked down at Bubuwang to make sure it had no wounds, then raised her right hand and gently patted Baha's back.

"Boss, are you alright?" Baha asked in a low voice. "Those Axe Brothers were chasing you so fiercely, I thought you'd have to deal with them for a while."

"I've shaken them off," Su Xiao replied briefly.

Lin Yi walked up to Su Xiao, keeping a distance of about two meters between them, which was just the right comfort zone for both of them to react at any time without triggering any defensiveness.

In an environment like the House of Death, maintaining a sense of security is essential, even though Lin Yi already possesses a blessing.

However, Edwin also successfully told Lin Yi that the blessing was not truly invincible, and that the people here also had other ways to bypass the blessing and affect Lin Yi.

"How did you shake them off?" Lin Yi asked.

Su Xiao paused for a second, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

“After they chased after me, my perception was greatly affected,” Su Xiao said. “I used the Steel Shadow to leave several false targets along the way and detonated them in batches to scatter them.”

Lin Yi nodded slightly, without asking for further details.

Su Xiao's fighting style has always been known for its unpredictability and efficiency. The price he paid to escape from the pursuit of dozens of Gluttonous Beasts was definitely not as trivial as he made it sound.

After rubbing against Su Xiao's legs enough, Bubuwang raised its head and started whimpering, wagging its tail even more vigorously.

Lin Yi understood its meaning—it was reporting to Su Xiao what had happened after their separation.

Edwin, the quiz game in the palace, the appearance of the old woman, the whole process of Edwin turning into a candle, and the forgotten domino.

Bubuwang's story took about three minutes, during which Su Xiao listened quietly, occasionally glancing at Lin Yi to confirm a certain detail.

"Old woman."

"You encountered it too?" Lin Yi asked.

Su Xiao nodded.

He handed his finger-thick white candle to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi took it and glanced at it.

It's the same white candle, the same warm, milky white, and the same golden wick.

But the sizes are too different. Su Xiao's is only thirty centimeters long and as thick as a thumb, and it feels very light in the hand.

"Was it also exchanged for Shadow Stones?" Lin Yi asked.

"One for one," Su Xiao said. "This is the only size available."

Lin Yi returned the small candle to Su Xiao, then pointed to the giant candle in his arms: "Since we've met, let's go together. Use this."

Without hesitation, Su Xiao extinguished the candle in her hand.

The moment Su Xiao extinguished the candle in his hand, the gray fog around him suddenly compressed inward, and the visibility instantly dropped from more than ten meters to two or three meters. The feeling of being spied on immediately became stronger.

However, the giant candle in Lin Yi's hand continued to burn quietly, and the golden light shield steadily covered a ten-meter radius around it, keeping the surging mist out.

Lin Yi noticed that at the moment Su Xiao extinguished the candle, several blurry shadows flashed faintly in the mist at the edge of the light shield.

They seemed to be attracted by the commotion and swam over quickly, but when they touched the edge of the golden light shield, they retreated as if they had been burned.

"Let's go," Lin Yi said.

The two continued walking side by side along the gravel path.

Baha landed back on Lin Yi's shoulder, while Bubuwang followed closely at Su Xiao's feet. The man, the eagle, the dog, and the Destroyer of Laws moved slowly forward in the area illuminated by golden candlelight.

Su Xiao walked beside Lin Yi, her gaze occasionally sweeping over the faint shadows appearing and disappearing at the edge of the light barrier.

"What are they?" Su Xiao asked.

"The old woman said they are creatures that feed on fear. The candlelight will attract them, but they cannot enter as long as there is no fear in one's heart."

Su Xiao did not respond.

He simply looked away and continued walking forward.

After walking for about ten minutes, another stone bridge appeared ahead.

The bridge is very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. The surface is made of rough stone slabs, and there are no guardrails on either side.

Below the bridge was a bottomless darkness; the sound of flowing water could be heard occasionally, but nothing could be seen.

At the other end of the bridge, the outline of a building can be vaguely seen.

Lin Yi stepped onto the stone bridge.

When I reached the middle of the bridge, the candlelight flickered.

The shadows lurking in the mist had somehow gathered on both sides of the bridge.

They huddled together densely, their eyeless faces facing the two of them, wriggling silently.

Lin Yi stopped in his tracks.

Su Xiao also stopped.

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the blurry, distorted shadows, his face expressionless.

The shadows seemed to sense something and began to retreat.

They retreated quickly, disappearing into the depths of the fog in the blink of an eye, leaving not a trace.

Lin Yi looked at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao remained expressionless and continued walking forward.

"What did you just do?" Lin Yi asked.

“There’s nothing there,” Su Xiao said.

Lin Yi didn't ask any more questions.

He suddenly realized that Su Xiao might have an advantage over anyone else when facing these things.

Those creatures that feed on fear would probably be terrified themselves after sensing the Azure Steel Shadow in front of Su Xiao.

After crossing the stone bridge, there is a relatively open space ahead.

At the end of the open space was a wooden house.

The log cabin is small, covering an area of ​​about forty square meters, and is constructed entirely of dark wood planks.

The surface of the wooden board was covered with cracks and mold, and in some places, tiny fungi could even be seen growing out of the cracks.

The roof was sloping and covered with the same dark wooden planks, with several sections collapsed, revealing dark, gaping holes.

The wooden house has no windows on any side, only one door.

The door was dark in color, the wood was rotten, and the surface was covered with small holes from insects.

The doorknob was a rusty iron ring with several withered vines hanging from it, as if it hadn't been touched for many years.

Lin Yi and Su Xiao walked to the front of the wooden house.

The light shone through the wooden cabin, making every detail—the rotten planks, the collapsed roof, the rusty iron rings—clearly visible.

Bubuwang approached the door panel, sniffed it hard, then turned to look at Lin Yi and whimpered twice.

There are people inside.

Lin Yi placed his hand on the wooden door and slowly pushed it open.

crunch--

The sound of the door hinges turning was particularly jarring in the silence, as if something had been startled awake.

The scene inside the door was slowly revealed in the candlelight.

The room is small, about 20 square meters.

The ground was compacted soil, hard but slightly elastic to the touch.

The walls were also made of dark wood panels, with no decoration on the surface.

A woman was kneeling in front of the wooden wall at the far end of the room.

She was wearing a white dress, the hem of which spread out on the ground, covering her ankles.

The dress has a simple design, but the gold embroidery on the cuffs and collar shows that it is made with exquisite craftsmanship.

Those gold patterns are some kind of vine design, with smooth lines and exquisite embroidery. It would take at least a dozen people to sew them by hand for half a year or even a year to complete.

The woman bowed her head, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, and was praying.

Her hair was golden, reaching her waist, and flowed smoothly over her shoulders and back.

In the candlelight, the golden hair shone with a warm luster, like the finest silk.

Lin Yi stepped into the room.

Su Xiao followed closely behind.

The candlelight slowly filled the entire space, illuminating even more details.

The woman had iron shackles around her neck.

The shackles were dark in color and covered in rust. A short, thick chain connected them to the collar, with the other end of the chain embedded in the wooden wall behind them.

Her wrists and ankles were also shackled with iron chains, and were also embedded in the wooden wall.

Lin Yi roughly counted them—one on the neck, two on both wrists, and two on both ankles, a total of five iron shackles.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

His gaze passed over the iron shackles and landed on the woman's back.

There's more there.

Black chains.

About the thickness of a little finger, they stretched out densely from the woman's back, disappearing completely into the wooden wall behind her.

There were at least dozens of chains, threaded through the fabric of the white dress and connected to the woman's skin. Each chain left a dark red mark where it touched her skin.

Lin Yi stopped in his tracks.

He recalled what Su Xiao had said before—the number of chains on the prisoners in the Death House reflects the level of danger.

The prisoner Su Xiao encountered before only had a chain around his neck, so he wasn't very dangerous.

Edwin was bound by far more chains than the average person, making him extremely dangerous. If it weren't for Anna's blessing on Lin Yi, Edwin's ability to distort perception might have actually succeeded.

The shorter the chain, the more people have died at the hands of this prisoner.

And the woman before me—

Dozens of chains pierced his back.

Each chain was only forty or fifty centimeters long, practically locking the woman in the area near the table.

what does this mean?
This means she has killed many people and is extremely dangerous.

Lin Yi's gaze swept across the interior of the room.

Near the wooden door, there is a wooden table.

The wooden table was old, with scratches and stains all over the surface. One of its four legs had a piece of wood underneath it to keep the table balanced.

There were several items on the table.

A white candle.

It was as thick as an arm and nearly a meter long, almost exactly the same as the one in Lin Yi's hand.

A short knife.

The blade is about thirty centimeters long and slightly curved. The handle is made of dark wood and wrapped with fine hemp rope.

The blade has fine forging patterns on its surface, which gleam coldly in the candlelight.

A gemstone.

The gemstone is about the size of an egg, a deep blue color, with fine, flowing patterns faintly visible inside.

Lin Yi didn't need to examine it closely to tell that it was at least a Saint-level gem, enough to drive any sixth-tier contractor crazy if it were out in the open.

These three items were placed on the wooden table.

There is no protection whatsoever.

There was no attempt to conceal it.

It seemed to be waiting for someone to take it away.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze and looked back at the woman kneeling in front of the wooden wall.

She was still praying.

His lips moved slightly, emitting an extremely faint murmur, so low that it was almost inaudible.

Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes casting long, thin shadows in the candlelight, and her face had an almost sickly pallor.

She seemed unaware that someone had entered.

Su Xiao stood beside Lin Yi, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the woman and the items on the wooden table.

“Saintess Tracy,” Su Xiao said softly.

Lin Yi looked at him.

"This name was mentioned in the previous prisoner's diary."

How long ago?

"The diary does not specify a time. But judging from the description, it is at least several thousand years ago, or even longer."

Lin Yi remained silent for a few seconds.

Thousands of years of imprisonment.

Kneel here in this posture and pray every day.

Looks like another super crazy lunatic.

Lin Yi has now realized that the vast majority of those imprisoned in the Death House have mental problems.

What else was written in the diary?

"The prisoner said that Tracy repented every day for the mistakes they had made. But she didn't know what Tracy was repenting for."

Lin Yi remained silent.

He looked again at the woman kneeling in front of the wooden wall.

Her lips were still moving, and the murmurs were intermittent, with a few syllables occasionally drifting into Lin Yi's ears.

"forgive……"

"Please forgive me..."

"I shouldn't have..."

The voice was too soft to hear the complete sentence.

Boom, boom, boom.

Su Xiao knocked on the wooden door beside him. He needed to confirm one thing: whether the Holy Maiden kneeling opposite him would pounce on him.

Saintess Tracy's murmurs stopped abruptly. She slowly opened her eyes, and upon seeing Su Xiao and Lin Yi outside the door, her eyes were filled with fear.

"Don't come any closer, get away, all of you get away!"

Saint Tracy huddled against the wooden wall, her hands covering her head, her whole body trembling.

Seeing this, Su Xiao's eye twitched. He had been through many dangerous places and generally knew that those who started shouting as soon as they opened their mouths might have some strength, but they were not invincible.

In dangerous situations, what type of person is the most dangerous? The answer is someone who looks weak and timid, but when it comes to gathering information, they have a whole bunch of question marks.

Saint Tracy was this type; she was now huddled against the wooden wall, her eyes filled with fear, large tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't want to kill anymore, please don't come near me, please, please..."

The saint spoke with a sob in her voice, and the black chains on her back began to tremble.

Su Xiao glanced at Lin Yi, who immediately understood. He then took out a roast chicken from his storage space and threw it over. Su Xiao's storage space was still locked and could not be used for the time being.

The two decided to try feeding the animals first to see if they could reach an initial agreement.

The roast chicken was tossed out, and it flew in an arc before landing on the wooden board in front of the saintess.

"what!!"

The saintess was clearly provoked; her long golden hair instantly turned gray, and not only that, her fair cheeks cracked open, revealing an exaggeratedly large mouth filled with sharp teeth.

The saint's mouth stretched to her ears, and with a snap, she bit into a piece of wood on the ground.

The feeding was successful, but it also angered the saintess.

"Why? Why do I have to kill someone? Why me?!"

The chains snapped shut with a bang, and the saintess leaped lightly to the ground, clinging to the wall like a gecko. Her sharp fingernails dug into the wall, and her urchin-shaped pupils were enough to show how unstable her mental state was.

"Damn it, all hypocrites deserve to die. What do you mean by protecting more people? Am I the only one who should become a monster?"

The saint clearly has her own story, and she was indeed a saint before, and she still is now, but she is a saint on the verge of madness, with her faith, beliefs, and will almost completely distorted.

After Saintess Tracy transformed, the white candle in Lin Yi's hand burst into flames with a snap, and the golden flames instantly became much brighter, expanding from a range of about ten meters to thirty meters.

The shadows lurking in the darkness were caught off guard and instantly covered by the light.

In an instant, all the shadows were ignited by the flames, emitting continuous wails, before turning into a cloud of white ash and falling to the ground. (End of Chapter)