481: The lights can illuminate the road

Wangchuan Internet Cafe, Large Private Room No. 3.

The air was filled with the scent of incense offerings, the cloying sweetness of osmanthus cakes, and a faint chill characteristic of restless spirits. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't stifling either.

Old Woman Zhao Yun swallowed the last spoonful of almond curd, still clutching the silver spoon in her hand without taking her eyes off the screen. Suddenly, she raised her hand and slapped the table: "It replied. The old thing finally replied."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it instantly drew a reaction from everyone in the private room. The fountain pen in Zhou Wenyuan's hand dropped onto his notebook with a "clack," causing a small patch of ink to spread.

Liu Shuo sprang up from his gaming chair, hurried over to stand behind Zhao Yun, and practically pressed his face against the screen, shouting: "It really replied? Let me see, let me see!"

Star's fingers were already flying, quickly pulling up the backend data as the keyboard clattered rapidly.

In the private message inbox of "Key of the Abyss," a new message was clearly displayed.

Sender: Candle Shadow Shaking Red.

Time: Three seconds ago.

Content: A lamp can light the way, but it can also burn firewood.

Seven characters, no encryption, no signature, as clean as a freshly sharpened dagger.

The room was silent for two seconds. Liu Shuo scratched his hair, looking frantic: "This is so ambiguous, what exactly does it mean? Can't it be more straightforward?"

Zhou Wenyuan bent down to pick up his pen, wiped the ink off the tip, adjusted his glasses, and quickly scribbled in his notebook: "The literal meaning isn't hard to understand; a lamp can guide the way and also burn firewood. In this context, it should be an attempt to test us."

"It's a warning," Star interjected, his fingers still tapping incessantly on the console as a string of complex code jumped across the screen.

"It views itself as the lamp, and we are the firewood. The meaning is very clear: if we want to cooperate, we must follow the rules. If we dare to play any tricks, it will wipe us out directly."

Zhao Yun placed her spoon into the bowl with a crisp clinking sound against the porcelain. She glanced sideways at Liu Shuo: "Young people are too impatient. This is called leaving room for maneuver. It's better than just blocking us or deleting the message, right?"

"Hehe, Auntie Zhao is right." Zhou Wenyuan nodded, his pen tip pausing for a moment.

"Responding in under nineteen hours proves that it is indeed the main body of 'Candle Shadow Shaking Red' watching, and it didn't leave the specially marked private message to a puppet to handle. If a puppet were handling it, it wouldn't be this fast, nor would it be so thought-provoking."

Liu Shuo scratched his cheek: "Then what does it mean by not encrypting it? Is it intentionally leaving us clues?"

"Either it can't be bothered to play games with us and feels such petty tricks are unnecessary," Star said without raising his head, "or it is deliberately leaving an opening to see if we can uncover anything, testing our strength."

Zhao Yun rubbed her chin: "Regardless of which it is, at least it didn't block the path forward. Since it is willing to reply, there is hope for this matter."

Star nodded: "Notify Lord Prefectural City God to proceed according to the original plan."

"Got it!" Liu Shuo immediately pulled out his phone, his fingers typing rapidly while he muttered under his breath.

"I hope this 'Lamp Bearer' can be clearer next time and stop making us solve riddles."

In the inner palace, Chen Yu sat cross-legged on the carpet, clutching her phone, her body leaning slightly forward. After quietly finishing her report to the other end, she looked up at the person on the daybed.

"Your Majesty, it only replied with seven characters: 'A lamp can light the way, but it can also burn firewood.' What do you think?"

Shang Wan Ning leaned against the daybed, twirling a jade pendant in her hand. Upon hearing this, she chuckled: "What else could I think?"

"This old thing has finally taken the bait. I knew it wouldn't truly ignore such an interesting proposal."

Ling Qi sat behind a desk to the side, meticulously reviewing documents. Hearing this, she looked up: "Your Majesty, this response from Zhulong looks simple, but it actually leaves room for maneuver."

"'A lamp can light the way' is a tacit acknowledgment of the possibility of cooperation, while 'but it can also burn firewood' draws a bottom line. What should we do next? Should we wait and observe for two more days?"

"Wait and observe? No need." Shang Wan Ning gripped the jade pendant in her palm, sat up straight, and a sharp glint flashed across her eyes.

"Since it has already made its attitude clear, how could I have any reason to retreat?"

"Taking the initiative to clarify the path ahead is better than sitting and waiting for death, waiting to be used as firewood by it."

Chen Yu blinked, the fluff on her shoulders trembling slightly, her tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Then, should we send another private message? Won't that make us seem too eager?"

"What's there to be eager about? What I want is efficiency."

A sharp light flashed in Shang Wan Ning's eyes. "Use the High Priest's name again to ask this 'Lamp Bearer' a few questions about the stability of the planar barrier."

Ling Qi frowned slightly and put down her pen: "Being so direct, won't it displease it and cut off further communication?"

"After all, most divine entities have arrogant temperaments and do not like being rushed."

"No! Being direct actually shows more sincerity."

"If we continue to be evasive and beat around the bush, it will instead be a lower strategy, making it feel that the Church has no confidence."

She looked at Chen Yu and said firmly: "Have Star draft it. The questions should be specific, but don't touch on core secrets. For example, 'Have there been any abnormal fluctuations in the secondary planar flows between the Ativi Continent and the Source Realm recently?' or 'What is the general loss rate of faith power transmission across planes?' Questions of this nature that don't matter are fine."

"Don't let Zhulong realize that the Church is probing the details of the Source Realm."

"Understood." Chen Yu nodded, stood up, and walked out of the hall. "Your Majesty always has the best ideas. This Subordinate will go and arrange it now."

"Wait." Shang Wan Ning called her back and added, "Raise the encryption level by another half-notch. Use the newly deciphered divine script variant. Don't let it look down on my Church and think we don't even have decent encryption methods."

"Yes!" Chen Yu stopped, turned back, and asked, "Your Majesty, Star also asked if we should mention 'ode to the red cliffs' from last night in the private message? Just say a couple of words of praise to show that we are truly paying attention to its livestream, not just here for the transaction, making it seem more sincere."

Shang Wan Ning raised an eyebrow.

The image of Zhulong chanting during the livestream flashed inexplicably in her mind—the cold, clear voice wrapped in the charm of a thousand years, which unexpectedly lingered.

She softened her expression: "That's fine. Just add it to the end of the message. Keep it brief and don't make it seem like deliberate flattery. Just say, 'The "ode to the red cliffs" last night was sung excellently and had quite a bit of character,' that will be enough."

"Alright, this Subordinate will remember that." Chen Yu responded and disappeared outside the beaded curtain with a light step.

Ling Qi tidied up the processed documents, walked to the side of the daybed, and asked softly: "Your Majesty, how do you think Zhulong will respond this time? Will it still be so sparing with its words?"

"Hard to say." Shang Wan Ning leaned back against the daybed, her gaze cast toward the sea of clouds outside the hall. "It has lived for hundreds of thousands of years; its mind is deep, unfathomable like the Wangchuan River. Perhaps it will continue to engage in wordplay with me to keep me in suspense, or perhaps it will feel my sincerity and directly reveal some useful information."

She paused, a meaningful smile curling the corners of her lips: "But since it is willing to engage, this game of wits is going to be interesting."

"I would like to see just how many secrets this 'Lamp Bearer' is hiding."