novelraw Chapter 225: Feather and Heart
Chapter 225: Feather and Heart
Yan Xilou's analysis dissected the seemingly invincible divine power of the obsidian Anubis, directly revealing its inner operational mechanism to Lin Jie.
"Upper limit," "interval," and the brief "reverse effect" after use.
These words brought Lin Jie inspiration, causing numerous ideas on how to break this deadlock to surge in his mind.
For the first time, Lin Jie discovered a significant similarity in thought patterns between himself and his enemy, Yan Xilou.
They were both accustomed to deconstructing seemingly mysterious supernatural phenomena into rules that could be understood, analyzed, and even exploited.
"Julian, help William retreat to the hall entrance, it's temporarily safe there." Lin Jie ignored Yan Xilou's "remote teaching" and quickly issued an order. "Leave the rest here to me."
Hesitation and worry flashed across Julian's face. He glanced at the shocking pool of flesh and blood, then at Lin Jie's resolute back, ultimately choosing to trust.
"...Be careful." He only said these three words before gritting his teeth and supporting his severely injured companion, retreating step by step, moving away from this death stage about to become the final examination ground.
Yan Xilou watched this scene with keen interest. He did not try to stop it. Instead, he resembled a chess spectator admiring his opponent's final arrangement in a hopeless situation.
In his view, everything Lin Jie was doing now was merely providing more valuable reference data for his upcoming "ultimate experiment."For a moment, the entire grand Judgment Hall held only Lin Jie and Yan Xilou's group standing off from a distance, with the silent jackal-headed deity statue wedged between them.
The air was thick with the scent of blood and intangible gunpowder smoke.
"So, Brother Lin." Yan Xilou's voice broke the stalemate. "Faced with this difficult problem, what answer do you plan to present?"
Lin Jie did not answer. He raised the Serene Heart in his hand.
The gun muzzle, gleaming with a cold light, was aimed at the ten-meter-tall obsidian deity statue.
Disappointment flashed in Yan Xilou's eyes, as if saying, "So you are only at this level?"
However, Lin Jie's action the next second froze the smile on his face.
Lin Jie did not pull the trigger. He ejected all the bullets from the revolver's cylinder, letting the heavy brass casings clatter to the ground.
Then, he took a very light object from his pocket.
It was a blood-stained feather.
One of the very feathers that had molted from his arms back in the Temple of Karnak.
Lin Jie carefully inserted this feather into one of the empty chambers.
Only after completing this did he raise the gun again, aiming the muzzle once more at the Anubis statue.
"Yan Xilou, you may understand history and human nature well, but you do not understand 'mythology'." Lin Jie's voice was calm and forceful. "Especially ancient Egyptian mythology."
"In the ancient Egyptian judgment of the dead ritual, what exactly was the standard used by the scales they employed?"
Without waiting for Yan Xilou's answer, Lin Jie answered his own question:
"On one side is the deceased's heart, representing the good deeds and sins of their entire life."
"And on the other side, is a single... ostrich feather from the headdress of Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice."
"Only when the heart's weight is equal to or lighter than the feather can the deceased attain eternal life."
"So, from the very beginning, this judgment was not measuring the strength of power, nor the ferocity of an attack."
Lin Jie's gaze turned sharp, as if piercing through thousands of years of time, reaching the core logic of when this temple was first built.
"It measures weight itself!"
"Mass Judgment is not an active attack launched by the statue, but a passive, mirror-like 'rebound'! The heavier the attack you use to desecrate it, the heavier the judgment it will pass upon you!"
"The cultists' bullets and grenades, in its judgment, were heavy, murderous sins, so it delivered the verdict of 'lead ingots'."
"As for me..."
The corner of Lin Jie's mouth lifted slightly.
"...will offer a 'token of respect' lighter than a goose feather."
As his words fell, he pulled the trigger.
*Click.*
The empty firing pin made a crisp sound.
Immediately after, the cylinder rotated.
The white feather inserted into the chamber, propelled by compressed air, drifted out of the muzzle slowly, leisurely, and harmlessly.
It traced a graceful, weightless arc through the air, swaying as it drifted towards the majestic jackal-headed deity statue.
The smile vanished from Yan Xilou's face, replaced by a complex expression of disbelief and a trace of anger.
The wisdom he relied on, and the "data" obtained by sacrificing ten elite soldiers, had been countered by the other party using a mythological approach akin to cheating, presenting a brand-new solution he had never conceived.
Under the gaze of both parties, the white feather drifted slowly.
It entered the previously impenetrable forbidden zone without hindrance.
No deceleration, no stagnation.
It was like an ordinary feather, riding a gentle breeze as it continued drifting towards the statue's chest.
It did not trigger any form of Mass Judgment.
Because it... was too light.
So light that, under the rules of this scale's judgment, it possessed no attribute of attack, its very existence having negligible weight.
Finally, the feather swayed gently until it lightly touched the chest of the Anubis statue.
Then it slid down the smooth stone surface, ultimately landing at the statue's feet.
The entire process was as quiet as a mime play.
The statue, capable of instantly crushing ten soldiers, showed no reaction whatsoever from beginning to end.
Success!
A surge of wild joy welled up in Lin Jie's heart, but he forcefully suppressed this excitement. This was only the first step.
He had verified the correctness of his theory, but that didn't mean they could safely pass through here.
Because Yan Xilou was still watching from the side.
Sure enough, after Lin Jie's theory was confirmed, a flash of ruthlessness passed through Yan Xilou's eyes.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on the Nine-Bend Yellow River concealed in his sleeve.
With his agility and his weapon's characteristic of ignoring blocks, Yan Xilou was confident he could kill Lin Jie before he could react.
However, this thought only flashed for a second before he suppressed it with reason.
No.
He glanced at the silent yet oppressive jackal-headed deity statue, and the killing intent in his heart immediately cooled.
Although Lin Jie's feather theory had cracked the statue's trigger mechanism, the rule of Mass Judgment itself had not disappeared.
It was a Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's head.
Yan Xilou's Nine-Bend Yellow River might appear light and agile, but the energy or mass it contained far exceeded that of a bullet or a grenade.
He knew very well that once he made a move, regardless of whether the target was Lin Jie or someone else, as long as any force spilled into the statue's judgment range...
...then what awaited him would be a "divine retribution" even more terrifying than what those ten Eternal Serpent soldiers had just encountered.
Without being certain of evading the rule's erasure, he could not personally take action.
But not taking action did not mean he was out of options.
A calculating glint flashed in Yan Xilou's eyes as he issued a command to the several silent black-clad attendants behind him.
"It is time for us to applaud Brother Lin's brilliant deduction."
Upon hearing the command, the black-clad attendants who had been standing with bowed heads respectfully responded with a "Yes," then raised their heads.
On the back of their heads, each bore a long, rat-tail braid that still gleamed with an oily sheen in the dim light—a humiliating yet conspicuous identity marker for subjects of the Qing Empire in that era.
They retrieved their respective "ritual tools" from beneath their wide, black, front-buttoned short jackets.
Some were palm-sized, eerie puppets carved from black wood.
The carving on these wooden figures was extremely crude yet remarkably expressive, with just a few strokes outlining twisted human faces displaying crying, laughing, or angry expressions.
The most unsettling aspect was that the puppets' eyes didn't seem carved;
they were inlaid with peculiar, black pearl-like eyeballs that emitted a faint, cold light.
A sinister aura, originating from deep mountain ancient temples, emanated from those wooden carvings.
Upon seeing those carvings, Lin Jie immediately realized these were a type of Grotesque Armament belonging to the Eastern system!
Those men in black were definitely esoteric masters of the Black Lotus Sect!
Holding the wooden carvings in their left hands, they formed a peculiar hand seal with their right hands and uttered a command.
A ghostly blue flame erupted from the black pearl-inlaid eye sockets of the wooden puppets!
Immediately after, streams of black smoke poured from the puppets' mouths and noses.
The black smoke rapidly coalesced in mid-air, ultimately transforming into several distorted, silently howling, ink-painting-like remnant souls!
"Since 'light' attacks cannot trigger the judgment, then let these things without 'physical weight' scout the path for us!"
At his command, the several remnant souls composed of negative emotions pounced fiercely towards Lin Jie's location.
Their target of attack was Lin Jie himself!
Yan Xilou's intentions were utterly malicious.
He wanted to use these remnant souls' attacks to force Lin Jie to counterattack.
And as long as Lin Jie's counterattack, whether intentional or not, affected the Anubis statue behind him, it would inevitably trigger that terrifying Mass Judgment!
"Lin Jie! Fall back quickly!" Julian's horrified shout came from the distance.
But it was already too late.
The remnant souls were fast. They weaved between the obsidian pillars, closing the distance in an instant.
Lin Jie had nowhere left to retreat.
Behind him was the deity that absolutely must not be provoked.
And before him was a tide of death capable of tearing apart souls.
Between a rock and a hard place!
Just as everyone thought Lin Jie was doomed, he did not retreat. Instead, he took a step forward, meeting the oncoming remnant souls head-on!
He actively placed his own body on that critical line between judgment and safety!
Then he performed an action that even Yan Xilou had not anticipated.
He actually put away the Serene Heart in his hand, abandoning his most powerful weapon.
Instead, he pressed his right hand, covered by the White Vulture's Mark, against his own left chest, over his heart.
He murmured to himself, "True balance is not upon the scales."
"It is... here."
Lin Jie closed his eyes, actively activating the White Vulture's Mark.
But this time, his purpose was communication.