Chapter 325 (1/2)

Chapter 325

After reading the whole e, Chi-Woo spoke

“It’s an acrostic”

“An acro…bat?”

There was a slight error in the translation, and Yunael tilted their head, confused

“Look at the first letters of each sentence, connect them, and read it aloud”

“D…O…N…T… O…P…E…N?” Yunael’s eyes widened “Ah, that’s why!” They clutched their head in realization and scowled

“Besides this, is there nothing else about the ritual?” Chi-Woo asked Yunael’s eyes rolled around once before they answered

“Ah…yes The et the fire pit I was also curious about that and asked, but I didn’t pay that much attention”

“Could you at least tell me what you recall? I’m curious what kind of ritual it is”

“Hm, how should I describe it? It was simpler than I expected it to be Ah, it starts when a person arrives at the destination and burns incense Then you have to put the preparations you brought upside down on the center of the altar, put a stake on top, rotate it three tiht, and chant three times, ‘I am a sacrifice for you’ Then you rotate the stake three tiain…”

Chi-Woo’s brows furrowed deeper the longer he heard Yunael’s explanation

“…Then you push the stake hard onto the ground, clap three ti, and pluck out the incense you burned in the beginning and stick it to the ground upside down—”

“What are the preparations?” Chi-Woo mentioned

“Sorry?”

“You said one of the steps was to ‘put the preparations you brought upside down’”

“Well…” Yunael pursed their lips They sounded a little anxious when they spoke up again because of Chi-Woo’s narrowed eyes “Why do you ask?”

“He”

“W-What is strange?”

“It e—at least according to the standard fro respects to Gods or dead ancestors, alcohol and incense held great significance Alcohol signified the earth’s energy, while incense or scent signified the sky’s energy There existed an order to things as determined by the heavens The four seasons were one such exa And if one designated the different seasons to the four cardinal directions, the left side was spring

Thus, when one conducted a cerelass clockwise It was believed that only then would the one holding the ritual be able to call upon their ancestor’s energy fro to what Yunael said, everything was the opposite It was as if the ritual was meant to defy the heavens and turn the earth upside down There was no way so like that would be done without a sinister purpose

“What if perhaps…the Kobalos tribe has so to make us their sacrifices…?” Yunael asked

“I don’t think that’s the case They told us that they would take care of finishi+ng the ritual, and we only need to retrieve the fire pit,” Chi-Woo said

Given strange things had been happening one after another since they entered this place, it was understandable that Yunael would have such doubts; but Chi-Woo disagreed Nevertheless, he did feel bothered by thehad been off fro, which hy he was more sensitive than usual Nevertheless, he couldn’t come to any hasty conclusions yet since this was Liber and not Earth Still, Chi-Woo got an inkling of what he should do fro to do?” Yunael asked warily

“Let’s try—” Chi-Woo arched his neck and interlocked his fingers to stretch his shoulders “—Going in first”

“What? I o then There’s no need to waste any more time,” Chi-Woo said Yunael stared intently at hiht Chi-Woo would’ve at least shared theor two How could he just go in so brashly? It was as if he was acting like…them? Yunael turned to look back at one person instinctively and saw Dulia also looking at Chi-Woo in surprise and turning to the, but quickly closed their mouths to follow Chi-Woo when they heard Chi-Woo open the door

“Captain, shouldn’t I be at the front?” Dulia asked Chi-Woo

“It’s fine”

“But still, I’m the head”

“You must know from experience that this is no ordinary space Thus, I will take the lead”

Dulia looked slightly dissatisfied by Chi-Woo’s decision, but heeded it in the end As Chi-Woo said, this was the strangest place in the baseh they felt worried, they decided to believe in the leader of Seven Stars and what Chi-Woo had shown until now Thus, the expedition team entered the deepest part of the baseeway as soon as they entered Not long afterwards, they found paintings on both sides

“Don’t meet any of their eyes,” Yunael said to Chi-Woo when he didn’t say anything “Keep your head down and only look at the ground Don’t look up at the paintings” After a while, Yunael ca They looked up to see Chi-Woo standing still before them

“Why—” Yunael asked in a whisper and looked horrified Chi-Woo was exa he had taken off the wall

“W-W-W-What!?”

“H about this?” As Yunael failed to finish their sentence while pointing at the painting, Chi-Woo turned the painting to them

“It’s a portrait” As Chi-Woo said, it was a realistic portrait that looked like it was draith pastels, and in the picture, there was a graceful-looking lady with ocean-blue hair and a faint sasped in shock “I just saw the eyes…! The eyes…!” They couldn’t even speak properly They had clearly witnessed the lady glance up at Chi-Woo and look down again

“Did theyback to his direction and stared at it Yunael couldn’t understand his carefree attitude

“Her in a v-shape and pierced through the portrait lady’s eyes Yunael became speechless

“How about this? Now you wouldn’t care whether you meet eyes with her”