Chapter Nineteen: The Traitor

These papers were letters.

“Raiden, His Holiness the Pope is steadfast in his belief in your loyalty. Even in the depths of hell, you could maintain the purity of your faith. Not long ago, His Holiness appointed you as bishop—congratulations.”

“The intelligence you provided last time was invaluable. The Italian branch of the Full Truth Church has been destroyed. Now the devils are far from us—this is a great victory.”

“The radiance of God is everywhere. The children of the East still know nothing of the existence of devils. You must continue your efforts. His Holiness has already prepared the red vestments, waiting for your triumphant return from the East.”

—September 28, 1618.

“Children of the East? Let’s look at the next one,” Cui Kaixuan muttered.

“Raiden, we have inspected their strongholds. You cannot imagine what those people have done. No, they can no longer be called people—they are devils.”

“Even Nero and Khufu would tremble before their cruelty. Raiden, I know what you have witnessed. That you still hold fast to your faith fills me with genuine admiration. You are a true believer, and His Holiness praises your steadfast loyalty.”

“Thanks to your list, we have struck at the Full Truth Church’s forces in Istanbul and severely damaged their sources of income. Thank you.”

—March 30, 1619.

“Hmm, next is a letter waiting to be sent. So Raiden is Adam,” Xiu Ming said after quickly reading it. “Dear Bishop Roman, I don’t think I’ll have a chance to return. The world is on the brink of collapse.”

“The devil Harris has worked miracles. He is a true demon. Now no one can get out. The world has turned to darkness—lost souls howl and devils dance.”

“Three days from now will be the apocalypse. Only God’s own arrival can erase the darkness. I am sorry to doubt His Holiness’s power.”

“My fear is beyond endurance. I dread both my soul and my body being tainted by devils. In these days, death is a constant presence.”

“My rank is too low, and some secrets are beyond my grasp. Why am I still alive? Is it the light of God?”

“I do not know if I will ever return alive to stand before the Pope.”

—January 28, 1622.

After reading, the two exchanged glances.

“If the letters are right, these people were trapped here too?” Cui Kaixuan asked.

Xiu Ming, holding the papers, nodded. “It seems so. And this Harris did accomplish something extraordinary. It likely means what the other books say about him is true.”

According to what the spy Raiden personally saw and recorded, one could not help but believe it. Though he never described exactly what happened, it was clear Raiden had been pushed to an extreme. He hadn’t even dared to write down the details or recount the events on paper, perhaps lacking even the courage to replay the scenes in his mind.

It could be inferred that what occurred had far exceeded the boundaries of normal comprehension.

“These messages don’t seem to have much to do with helping us get out,” Xiu Ming sighed.

Indeed, if one dug deeper, there might be some value in these details, but what everyone cared about now was getting out.

“If we can’t leave, should we try…” Cui Kaixuan began, looking at Xiu Ming.

Xiu Ming stared in surprise. “Impossible! We know nothing, and we’re just ordinary people. Besides, the letter mentioned there would be terrible dangers.”

“I was only saying.”

“Let’s bring these back for the others to see, and keep searching—maybe there’s something else.” Xiu Ming tucked the papers into his pocket, and the two continued to search.

Their stomachs rumbled, the hunger unbearable. Half a piece of bread was not enough. Xiu Ming realized it had been about two days since he’d had a proper meal.

Hearing Xiu Ming’s stomach growl, Cui Kaixuan grimaced. “I wonder how much longer we can hold on. But you know, on the battlefield or during famines, people survived by eating corpses.”

Of course Xiu Ming understood, but to eat the flesh of another human—he would never do it, not even with a knife at his throat. He would rather die.

“You haven’t… eaten that, have you?” Xiu Ming asked.

“You’re scaring me,” Cui Kaixuan glared and kept searching.

“Found a gold ring earlier, and now a coin—luck seems to be on my side.” Cui Kaixuan pulled a coin from the carpet seam beneath the bed.

One side bore a human head, the other a flag. They knew nothing of ancient coins, but there was a small hole on one end.

“Take it—it’s yours. If there’s wealth, we’ll share it.” Cui Kaixuan did not take back the coin.

Xiu Ming guessed it was made of silver, perhaps alloyed with other metals, making it hard. Its value was uncertain, potentially higher than the gold ring, or perhaps worthless.

“How could a spy drop things so carelessly?” Xiu Ming wondered.

“Unless he left them here deliberately—maybe to prevent losing small items, or so he could use them later.”

Cui Kaixuan nodded. “Most likely. But what are these little things for? What could they be used on?”

The house was so large, and the coin must be for something tiny and seemingly insignificant. Finding its purpose would be difficult, but that small thing might be the key.

“By the way, didn’t we find a listening tube somewhere around here?” Xiu Ming asked.

“Probably—he was spying on someone nearby.” Cui Kaixuan began opening another door.

“If only we had candles, we could move upstairs—much nicer than downstairs,” Cui Kaixuan grumbled.

“Of course! Why didn’t I think of it? There must be a storeroom here!” Xiu Ming’s eyes lit up. “They must have kept supplies somewhere.”

“L111—the owner of this room was in charge of procurement. The supplies are probably in here!” Xiu Ming recalled the notebook, “Or maybe in the last two janitors’ rooms.”

“Too bad there’s no food. Maybe we’ll find something useful, but after all these centuries, who knows if anything’s still usable. Oh, the door’s open.” Cui Kaixuan opened it and looked back at Xiu Ming. “We don’t have keys, so if someone next door locks the inside, we’ll be trapped. We can only stay in rooms where we find keys.”

“I know,” Xiu Ming nodded.

This room was most likely the one Raiden used for surveillance. Xiu Ming recalled its owner was called Birmingham, a priest. There was nothing remarkable about the description—he had also set foot on the path to immortality, but had not sought it alongside Harris.

Was there a process between setting out on the path to immortality and actually pursuing it? Were they different? And what did the path to immortality really mean?

No, this wasn’t the time. Xiu Ming shook off those thoughts. He was getting sucked deeper and deeper into the mystery, when what they needed now was to escape this cursed place.

They entered L206.

“Right, when we first arrived, there were talismans pasted behind the main doors. But there are no Ming Dynasty people on the personnel list, and by their beliefs, they shouldn’t trust in such things,” Xiu Ming recalled the talisman paper Cui Kaixuan had seen on the first day.

“Let’s keep searching. Maybe we’ll find out why.”

“…”

Xiu Ming was eager to know what information Cui Kaixuan possessed, but since Cui Kaixuan never pried into his thoughts, he felt it wasn’t right to ask about the other’s either. Maintaining trust and cooperation was what mattered most right now.