I'm in Mota, and they all want me to confess my feelings!

The outline of the horse carved on the stone slab is smooth. Although it is quite different from the statue of the Lord of the Year that now stands in the city, traces of the same origin can still be recognized in its lively spirit.

“…As expected.” Her fingertips paused on the stone horse’s raised head, her voice as soft as a sigh, “This is the true form of the Lord of the Year. Completely different from that distorted statue.”

A dazed look flickered in her eyes for a moment, then she raised her head and looked back at Duanmu Yan: "Koleta also told me that you saw the saint who was supposed to be martyred twenty years ago through this stone tablet, is that right?"

Duanmu Yan nodded: "Yes, Katishia, she is still alive, she is not dead."

“Kathishia…” Xia Kong repeated the name softly, a trace of memory appearing in his eyes. “I remember now, that was the saintess’s forgotten true name before her coronation. I didn’t expect she was still alive?”

"She lived alone in Sonora for twenty years."

"Twenty years!?" Xia Kong's pupils trembled slightly, and her fingertips tightened unconsciously. "A person living in a place like that for twenty years. If it were me, I might go crazy. As expected of the Holy Maiden—great, no need to say more."

The girl lowered her eyes and gazed at the stone slab in her palm, as if trying to touch the past buried by time. She gently closed her eyes and activated her resonance ability.

A moment later, Xia Kong suddenly opened his eyes, his voice trembling with an indescribable intensity: "I can feel the warmth hidden deep within the stone slab, like a fire in winter... but beneath this warmth, there is also a kind of coldness lurking."

She unconsciously lowered her voice: "I can't explain what it is, but I can feel it—He is watching us through this stone slab."

“Leviathan,” Duanmu Yan said, “is also known as Mingshi. The current Imbaradil has long since coexisted with Him. That’s why I need your help.”

"Is that so?" Xia Kong seemed thoughtful, then nodded. "But I understand, if I can be of help."

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Yan seemed to suddenly remember something and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, Xia Kong, what exactly is your resonance ability?"

"My resonance ability?" Xia Kong pondered for a moment and said, "It might be a bit complicated to explain... Simply put, I can recreate past scenes and memories by sensing the frequencies of all things."

"Wait, this ability—" Duanmu Yan's eyes lit up, "Instead of becoming a detective to solve cases, he's going to be a bard?"

"Who can blame me for loving music more?"

“That being said,” Duanmu Yan crossed his arms, “I think you could totally develop another side business.”

"Huh?" Xia Kong paused for a moment, then widened his eyes as if suddenly realizing something. "That's right... How come I never thought of this possibility? No, that's not the point."

Before she finished speaking, a lute had quietly landed in her arms. The girl's fingertips danced lightly, plucking out a few clear, spring-like notes.

"Without further ado, let me try now to see if I can find the way to Sonora by following this melody."

The melodious sound of the zither drifted into his ears like silk threads, and Duanmu Yan unconsciously closed his eyes. The world around him gradually fell silent in the melody, all was quiet, and only the notes flowed in the void.

In this stillness, a faint whisper quietly emerged. The sound seemed to come from eternity, each syllable carrying the dust of time:

"Your Excellency, I have been waiting...for a long time."

A feeling of weightlessness suddenly overwhelmed me.

Duanmu Yan suddenly opened his eyes—the familiar room had receded like the tide, and in its place, Sonora, eternally sealed, was once again displayed before him.

He is falling.

Or rather, it was more like floating in a weightless dream.

Duanmu Yan was almost getting used to this world where gravity was upside down.

Just before he touched the ground, he spun lightly and finally stood firmly on this unfamiliar land.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings—it seemed to be an exquisite garden.

In the center of the garden, under the pavilion entwined with vines, a young girl can be vaguely seen sleeping peacefully.

Duanmu Yan stood up, looked ahead, and softly called out, "Kathishia?"

Volume 1: Chapter 166 How could Katishia be so wicked?

Duanmu Yan lightened his steps, landing beside the girl like a feather.

Katishia was fast asleep, leaning against a weathered stone pillar, the morning light filtering through the gaps in the vines and dancing on her trembling eyelashes.

The faint smile at the corner of her lips suggested she was having a sweet dream.

"This...this is...Holy Communion..."

"Green Branch Moon... Laurel Salad... From now on... the monastery... must... eat this every day..."

"No...we can't refuse...this is the Holy Maiden's order..."

Duanmu Yan leaned closer, and the intermittent murmurs in his sleep reached his ears, making him chuckle softly.

It seems that this Holy Maiden is not as naive as she appears. Her childish official demeanor is more like that of a child who has secretly donned an adult's robes.

If Phoebe knew that there would always be laurel salad on the monastic meals from now on, she would probably tearfully tug at his sleeve and complain.

"Kathishia?"

Duanmu Yan called out softly.

But the girl didn't react at all, her eyes still closed, fast asleep.

"Lord Saint?"

A moment later, Duanmu Yan called out again, but this time he raised his voice slightly.

Katishia, fast asleep, had her eyes trembling slightly.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and murmured softly as if in a dream, "Um... good morning... I still feel... so sleepy..."

Perhaps because she had just woken up, she was in a vulnerable state, and the faint light of dawn was reflected in her deep blue eyes, undulating and flowing within them.

When she slowly turned her head and her gaze fell on Duanmu Yan, time seemed to stand still for a moment—

She immediately shrank back like a startled animal, her fingertips unconsciously clutching the hem of her skirt.

"When...when did you..."

"Did I just...?"

A blush crept onto her cheeks as she frantically combed her disheveled hair, every movement revealing an overwhelming sense of shyness.

Looking at the girl's shy and adorable appearance, Duanmu Yan's lips curled up slightly: "So, even the Holy Maiden can talk in her sleep?"

"Did I...did I talk in my sleep?" Katishia's pretty face turned even redder. "Forget it! Forget it all!"

"The Holy Maiden's sleeping face is not something that everyone can see. I can't bear to forget such a beautiful scene."

Katishia gently turned her face to the side, her small lips slightly pouting, and muttered softly, "This...this is considered invading someone's privacy! If the monastic order finds out, you'll be sent to the penitentiary to reflect on your actions!"

Is spying on the saintess the only punishment for being forced to reflect on one's actions?

It's no big deal. I thought we were going to board a pilgrimage ship.

“Unfortunately, the cult's influence doesn't reach here.” Duanmu Yan helplessly spread his hands and sighed softly. “However, Your Holiness, you seem to have a particular fondness for the Green Laurel Salad. Speaking of which, you've been here for twenty years, what have you been eating all this time?”

As he spoke, he looked around.

There's nothing to eat in this place except for these flowers and plants.

Could it be that the noble saintess usually eats grass and lives a life like a hermit?

“What Saintess…” Katishia’s blush deepened. “You should just call me Katishia. As for what to eat… well, I don’t feel hungry here anymore.”

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stay here for so long. But if I have the chance, I'd like to try the green laurel salad again."

"What's so good about that sour and astringent food? Even Abu shook his head when he saw it..."

"What?!" Upon hearing someone speak ill of her favorite food, Kathiya immediately turned around, her azure eyes flashing with seriousness, and argued with him, "Green Laurel Salad is clearly so delicious! It's not only sweet and delicious, but also very nutritious. When I was still in the monastic order, I could eat this for three meals in a row!"

“Your taste is exactly the same as someone I know.” Duanmu Yan said with a smile in his eyes. “Speaking of which, I met a former carnival laurel wreath when I was in the Fools’ Theatre. Lord Jupiter once recommended the green laurel salad to him. Later, this dish was even adopted as a sacrament by the religious order and is enjoyed several times a week.”

Katishia scratched her head sheepishly: "Actually, that's what I said."

"what?"

“The body is the palace of the spirit, and one should eat less food that is harmful to it—that’s what I think I said at the time,” Katishia said. “Actually, after I became a Resonator, the voices the Laurels heard were all my words. What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Duanmu Yan pursed his lips, both amused and exasperated: "It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered something interesting."

Kathia turned her head away and scoffed, "What's so funny! Green laurel salad is the best food in the world!"

But soon, the girl turned to look at him again: "By the way, how did you get in this time? Did you find a way to break through Leviathan's blockade?"

"I suppose so." Duanmu Yan nodded and told Katishia everything that had happened during this time, including their encounter on the pilgrimage ship.

The latter also looked heartbroken after hearing what the religious order had done.

"What exactly is the religious order doing right now?"

"They actually came up with such a vicious trick. Have they all forgotten their true nature?"

"These guys..."

The girl's clenched knuckles turned white, and her eyes, which always held starlight, were now filled with pain.

She bit her lower lip, as if trying to stop more angry words from flowing out, but in the end she could only dejectedly loosen her grip.

After all, for the people of Laguna, their revered saintess had already been martyred in the calamity twenty years ago.

At this moment, even if she had a thousand words to say, she couldn't penetrate the high wall built by time.

"Who is the head of the order now? What exactly is that guy doing?"

Duanmu Yan thought for a moment before saying, "The master? I think his name is... Finlake?"

“Fenlake?” Katishia’s eyes lit up, then she fell into recollection. “It’s that guy? He’s really made something of himself.”

"You know him?"

"I suppose so. I met you a few times back in seminary." She nodded gently, then sighed softly after a moment of silence. "I really don't know what the religious order has become like now..."

"Oh, right." Duanmu Yan suddenly remembered something very important, "Didn't you ask me to bring books in for you before?"

"Huh? You really brought it in?" Kathisia asked incredulously.

"Pretty much, just found a helper." Duanmu Yan looked at the voice mark on the back of his hand. "Abu, it's your turn to step in."

Before the words were even finished, the little creature leaped lightly out of the sound trail and floated to Katishia's side.

Wow! Another girl I've never seen before!

Volume 1: Chapter 167 Katishia: Which number am I?

again?

Katishia captured this crucial information.

She opened her mouth slightly wider as she looked at Abu, who emerged from Duanmu Yan's voice.

This was the first time she had ever seen a voice fragment emerge from the voice traces of a resonator.

“Who is this…” Katini 23O[Master Jiu q!i chan, Shiya looked at Duanmu Yan beside her and asked.

“Abu,” Duanmu Yan introduced, “is currently in a symbiotic relationship with me due to some special circumstances.”

"Symbiosis? Sound and matter?"

Katishia's pupils trembled slightly, reflecting an incredible glimmer.

This was an incredible miracle for her, defying all expectations.

The girl turned around again, looked at Abu in front of her, and reached out her hand. But just before she touched Abu, she seemed to remember something and looked at Duanmu Yan: "Can I... touch it?"

Duanmu Yan nodded matter-of-factly: "Of course."

"Wait a minute! Why do I have to ask for your permission again?!" This familiar scene made Abu immediately puff out his cheeks and spin around in the air, protesting to the two of them, "I'm not some pet! I have a personality—no, a skeleton!"

Seeing Abu throwing a tantrum, Duanmu Yan helplessly shrugged and exchanged a knowing glance with Katishia.

The girl took a half-step forward knowingly, her gentle voice, as soft as the morning sun, flowing softly.

"I'm sorry, Abu. I was so impolite. I'd never heard of anything like this before, which is why I did something so rude. So, kind and lovely Abu, you'll forgive me, right?"

Abu opened his small eyes and secretly observed the girl in front of him. When he caught a glimpse of the girl's clear eyes reflecting the morning light, his voice softened involuntarily.

It puffed out its round body with feigned modesty: "Since you sincerely apologized, I, Benbu, will mercifully forgive you. After all—I am the most magnanimous of all!"

Hearing Abu's answer, Katishia smiled and reached out, gently stroking the fluffy head with her fingertips: "By the way, what did Abu mean by 'again' just now?"

"Again?" Abu paused for a moment, then remembered, "Oh, you mean that sentence from earlier? It's very simple."

As it spoke, it looked at Duanmu Yan beside it: "I don't know why, but every time I am awakened by Duanmu, I can see some girls I have never seen before surrounding him."

Katishia still had a faint smile on her lips: "Really? It seems Mr. Duanmu's luck with women is quite good. How many is that now?"

Duanmu Yan stood aside, not intending to intervene—after all, it wasn't a secret.

But the problem is...

Why does Katishia's tone sound a little subtle?