It was probably because Sister Devlin had already dealt with all the enemies in this corridor, so although the burning corridor caused some obstruction to Xia De's movement, he continued walking without encountering any more enemies.
The wine cellar was in the basement, and the door leading to the basement was locked. On the black iron door, there were strange images carved, depicting giant beasts devouring humans and humans sharing the giant beasts.
When Xia De reached out to open the door with the 【Door Key】, the patterns on the door twisted and transformed into a huge human face:
"Give me all your Gluttony, and I'll let you pass."
A buzzing sound, accompanied by the trembling of the iron door, formed an indistinct voice.
"All my Gluttony? No, that won't do."
Xia De shook his head and reached out to touch the door, but a great force pushed him back directly.
"If you don't give me your sin, you won't pass."
The face became ferocious.
"All of my Gluttony is too much, let's change the condition."
"Delicious food, food that satisfies me will also work."
Xia De thought for a moment, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small wine bottle pendant. After restoring the pendant, it contained fruit wine made with the Blood Wine Brewing spell.
"Will wine do?"
He shook the container in his hand, and the ferocious human face opened its mouth, but the hollow maw did not lead to the basement stairs; instead, it was an unseeable darkness.
Xia De, who was proficient in spatial power, could feel that behind it was another space.
So he threw the wine bottle into it, and the crack closed. The ugly, twisted human face on the door sighed at length:
"Oh, this is truly good, a very tasteful fruit wine."
The sounds of springs, pistons, and gears operating came from inside the iron door. As steam spewed from the door's crack, the door opened. Xia De then saw that the door's thickness was about three red bricks stacked together.
"You may pass."
The face on the door hummed, its ferocious expression softening, even becoming somewhat cute:
"However, there are guests of the master in the wine cellar right now, so you'd best be careful."
"Thank you."
Xia De said softly and stepped into the basement.
The entire Sin Mansion had now been steam-powered and gas-lit, so although the light was not very strong, there were indeed gas lamps on the walls of the underground wine cellar.
The wine cellar here was very similar to the one beneath Aurora Manor, except it was divided into two levels: upper and lower. The upper level stored wine in barrels, each with a faucet for easy access to check the fermentation status of the red wine. The lower level had rows of shelves, displaying wine bottles that were clearly very expensive.
Both levels were roughly rectangular, with an atrium in the center of the upper level, allowing one to lean on the railing and see the lower level. The two levels were connected by copper elevators at the four corners. The elevators here were very un-steampunk, because even without seeing a miniature steam engine, they could still be raised and lowered by stepping on the button in the center of the elevator.
The scent of wine was overwhelming, as if one could get drunk just by inhaling it, and it increasingly stimulated the desire of gluttony. His stomach rumbled, but Xia De remembered he had eaten a very filling breakfast:
"Later, when I go out to talk to Sister Devlin, I can invite her to dinner. The Mungtons restaurant that Priest treated me to last time was good. I wonder if the Sister would appreciate the fruit wine I 'brewed.'"
Thinking about various things, Xia De descended the stairs from the entrance and formally entered the wine cellar.
But what he noticed first was not the wine barrels, but a blue halo constantly flickering on the ceiling above the atrium.
"Hmm?"
Then he heard the gurgling sound of water coming from the lower level of the wine cellar, beneath the atrium, and only then realized that the halo on the ceiling was the water ripple from the pool on the lower level.
However, judging by the area of those halos, the pool on the lower level was as large as the entire atrium. Moreover, to form such halos, there must be a light source at the bottom of the water.
"Is 【Sin Manor】 actually building a swimming pool in the wine cellar? Is red wine poured into the pool? What kind of sin is this... wasting food?"
Although very curious, Xia De did not approach the railing on the upper level to observe what was in the pool below; he was worried about seeing something he shouldn't.
He turned to look for the elevator in the southeast direction; the trader had only given a general location of the secret passage, and Xia De still had to find the specific way himself.
【Outsider, you feel the "whisper".】
"I know, I'm inside the relic right now, and there are whisper elements everywhere here."
Xia De replied in his mind, lighting his fingertip with Moonlight to illuminate the surroundings, and wondering what the iron skewers next to the wine barrels were for.
Then, he heard "her" gentle laughter:
【No, this means you feel a stronger whisper element.】
"Stronger than 【Sin Manor】 itself?"
He frowned slightly and looked around.
【Yes, and you have encountered this characteristic whisper element before. This can be considered your old acquaintance.】
The word "old acquaintance" immediately made Xia De think of Luvia's divination before they set off.
【Yes, her divination was very accurate.】
"Wait, I originally thought 'old acquaintance' referred to Grace and Helen, could I have been wrong? Is the old acquaintance actually..."
The sound of water splashing came from the lower level, as if someone was swimming in the pool.
Xia De's mouth slightly opened, and he slowly turned towards the direction of the atrium.
His pupils contracted slightly, and he saw that the halo reflected on the ceiling above the atrium became increasingly chaotic.
In the blue ripples, a shadow gradually grew larger and clearer. As that alluring laughter came from the lower level, Xia De felt as if his blood had been set ablaze.
The shadow was not human-shaped at all; amidst the chaotic and disordered light and shadow, a Mermaid with a human upper body and a fish tail could clearly be seen.
He heard laughter, but it wasn't the familiar laughter in his ear; it was laughter coming from the pool on the lower level. That laughter was like the crisp sound of wind chimes, refreshing, and like a cold drink on a hot summer day that invigorated the heart. Even the intense headache that Sin Mansion caused Xia De was significantly relieved by it.
But this did not make Xia De happy; instead, goosebumps immediately appeared on his arms. The gluttony that had been amplified by the scent of wine was indeed suppressed, but another extreme emotion surged up.
He realized who the so-called "old acquaintance" was; he would never forget this laughter in his lifetime.
A hoarse voice came from below the atrium. Although "it" did not make direct eye contact with Xia De, Xia De could feel that the other party was looking at him through a layer of floor:
"See, I told you, we would definitely meet again."
He instinctively recoiled, but then realized that retreating would not allow him to escape. He took deep breaths, suppressing his rapidly beating heart and calming his body's agitation. Then, he slowly walked to the edge of the atrium and gazed down at the square pool from the railing.
Those beautiful, seductive purple eyes, like Luvia's eyes, met Xia De's gaze perfectly.
The gurgling of water seemed to indicate that this was a living spring, and the inexplicable light made the underwater part completely invisible. All Xia De could see was a woman's head looking up from the pool. It was difficult to describe the woman's appearance with specific words, because even the most beautiful witch Xia De had ever seen was far inferior to this face.
"Indescribable" usually refers to strange sights that transcend human description, and this face had reached the level of "indescribable" due to its excessive beauty. He completely believed that no matter how different the aesthetics of all beings in the world were, no creature would fail to be captivated the moment they saw this face.
It raised its head in the pool, that face, capable of mesmerizing the most steadfast ascetic, gazed at Xia De above, and a pale arm extended from beneath the water, inviting him:
"Interesting soul, please come closer."
"【desire】..."
The one in the pool was precisely 【desire】, the Grade 0 relic Xia De had encountered beneath Aurora Manor in Coldwater Port. Two months later, without any preparation, Xia De met it again:
"Can Middelsburg get any more ridiculous?"
He stood above, looking at that face and listening to the invitation from the hoarse voice. Even after experiencing so many things, when he saw her again, the primal desire that surged in Xia De's heart was still close to losing control. Compared to 【desire】, the negative emotions evoked by 【Sin Manor】 were simply not worth mentioning.
The secret passage was on the lower level, so Xia De couldn't escape even if he wanted to. What's more, Xia De had no doubt that the other party possessed the power to instantly obliterate the entire Sin Mansion. One must know that the entire Between Life and Death, plus three death passages, could only be fully rated as Grade 0.
With a splashing sound, she sang in the fifth epoch language, with her hoarse voice, chanting a love story between a soldier on an expedition and the maiden who waited:
"My beloved,
When I stand at the crossroads overgrown with rosemary,
Please do not forget me."
This was a call for Xia De to go down.
Taking a deep breath to regulate his quickened breathing, Xia De took the elevator by the wall from the upper level of the wine cellar to the lower level, and then passed through the dense wine storage shelves to an open space in the center of the shelves. Above the open space was the atrium, and in the open space was the square swimming pool.
In the pool was the head of a woman with beauty beyond human imagination. She sang the last stanza of that short poem and "swam" from the center of the pool to its edge. Just like last time, her head was above the water, but her smooth shoulders were not visible. Then, a pale arm extended from her right side, with skin as white as milk and a delicate texture that even made Xia De feel an urge to rush over and bite it.
"Are you truly that afraid of me?"
She asked, smiling, to Xia De, who stood about ten meters from the edge of the pool. The Outsider shook his head:
"Your charm is too great."
A smile appeared on her beautiful face, and her voice was so melodious:
"See, when a Boy becomes a true Man, even his words become pleasant. I wonder which girl has such good fortune."
PS: Since the recommendation is in the afternoon, there will be an extra update tonight. Totaling 1.2W, which means an extra 1W today.
