A bridge from the past

Liang Lidong brought Kail to the back of the temple, had him sit down, and then said, "Actually, it's time for you to improve your strength, but you're too impatient, and your mind and body can't reach perfect synchronization, so your strength can't improve."

Any professional with some experience wouldn't be fooled. After all, this was nonsense, but Kail was still a child and not very knowledgeable, and he still trusted his teacher very much. "Then what should I do?"

"Practice your swordsmanship as usual, and pray to the Goddess with Belin in the future, try to empty your mind and erase all impatient emotions." Liang Lidong smiled. "When your heart is like still water, your strength will naturally increase. In addition, you will definitely encounter similar bottlenecks in the future, and your strength will stagnate for longer than now. Whenever that happens, the calmer your mind is, the easier it will be to improve your strength. "

"No wonder Belin is so powerful now." Kail jumped up with a whoosh. "She is indeed quieter and more stable than me."

Liang Lidong looked at Kail and continued, "Belin is a Priest, and as she slowly grows, in the near future, she will become a beloved woman. However, you are different from her. You are a combat professional, and even if you are much stronger than Belin, people will fear you far more than respect you in the future. And most importantly, the growth of combat professionals is slightly slower than that of Priests. As long as Priests are devout enough, they can improve. But combat professionals not only have to experience battles, but also can't be manipulated by battles. They need to maintain their original heart, or it will be easy to go astray. "

Liang Lidong wasn't completely lying. In the game, he had done many quests and seen many NPC civilians become professionals. After gaining power, they almost became completely different people. Their original cowardice and timidity disappeared, and they immediately became extremely proud. They looked down on their poor relatives and friends, and some of them even became rude and unreasonable, bullying the common people.

Kail was smart and had a good nature. But the smarter a person was, the easier it was to go astray. Although Liang Lidong didn't dare to say that he could stick to his original heart, he had seen too many sorrows and plots in the game. So to a certain extent, he was indeed qualified to teach Kail's spiritual growth.

For a sunny boy like Kail. As long as someone pointed out the path, he would no longer be lost.

After thanking Liang Lidong, Kail turned to the main hall of the church and sat next to Belin, praying with the young girl. As if sensing Kail's arrival, Belin's face reddened. She secretly opened her eyes and glanced at the boy next to her, and the corners of her mouth slightly curled up.

The bluestone path in the village had already been built. The cost of recruiting young and strong laborers was less than 30 gold coins, and the cost of materials was less than 10 gold coins. It meant that the minor project didn't cost more than 40 gold coins, which was much less than Liang Lidong expected.

The temple was on the right track, and with Belin's help, Liang Lidong could earn religious points and devotion as long as he sat there. If he wanted more, he would have to establish a new temple somewhere else. Winterwind was too small, and the Temple of Life had already established itself there. If he went there to preach, a minor religious war would definitely break out. Bronze Drum City was indeed a good choice. However, Liang Lidong had just turned down Douglas, and there was no need to rush there.

Besides, Liang Lidong and Grinton Zell were quite close in the game, as Hank revealed earlier. Grinton should be level-15, or the so-called Master, soon. A Master cavalryman and gunner was a powerful warrior. For certain reasons, Liang Lidong didn't want to meet the half-elf.

After absorbing the soul pieces of the necromancer, Liang Lidong didn't have a headache anymore. He asked Belin to manage the temple as usual, while he rode to Winterwind again. Mark of the Temple of Life was capable of the divine power of causality. If he wasn't killed as soon as possible, he would be in more and more danger later.

Winterwind was as peaceful as before. Although the streets were crowded, the place was peaceful. However, furious tides were hidden beneath the tranquility. Instead of going to Uther in the castle, Liang Lidong went directly to the Guelph family. Seeing him in a red robe, the guard at the gate asked, "May I ask if you are the Red Priest?"

Liang Lidong nodded.

After receiving a definite answer, the guard replied with some panic, "The Patriarch has instructed that if you come, there is no need to announce your arrival. You can directly enter."

Entering the manor, Liang Lidong walked to the mansion as if he was familiar with it. It was a middle-aged butler who opened the door for him. Liang Lidong was slightly confused. He remembered that the previous butler should've been an old man … However, it was inappropriate for him to pry into other people's family affairs. After nodding at the butler to express his gratitude, he entered the room and went to the second floor, where he found Gavin, who was reviewing the affairs of the family, in the library.

Liang Lidong sat down on the fatty's opposite side and frowned. He asked, "You don't look well. Is there anything wrong?"

A haze flashed across Fatty's face. The matter with his wife and housekeeper had been stimulating his nerves for the past few days, but he quickly forced himself to pull himself together and said, "It's nothing much, just that I haven't been sleeping well recently. Right, Mark came to us for trouble yesterday, but he suffered a great loss. Now, all the nobles in Winterwind know that he was humiliated. What you did a few days ago was truly brilliant. "

Liang Lidong waved his hand. "I was just saying. It's all because of your good arrangements. It has nothing to do with me."

Fatty Gavin was a little happier when he thought of Mark's pathetic expression the day before. He then said, "By the way, the main family moved Ancestor Dinah's diary here last night. It's on the third floor. Are you going to receive it now?"

Estimating that it was about time, Liang Lidong stood up and said, "Give me an empty room, and don't let anybody disturb me."

Gavin shrugged. "As you wish."

More than ten minutes later, Liang Lidong was in the storeroom on the third floor. He opened an ancient cabinet that was half a meter tall. There were many booklets in the cabinet. These booklets had already turned yellow. Liang Lidong picked one up, sat on the chair next to him, and slowly flipped it open.

What he saw was the handwriting of Hollevin. Liang Lidong immediately recognized that it was Dinah's handwriting. However, the handwriting was messy. Although it was Hollevin's language, nobody could tell what it meant when they were put together.

However, after reading a few more pages, Liang Lidong realized something. A look of understanding appeared on his face. "As expected, the notes were encrypted with Morse code!"

In the game, Liang Lidong had taught Dinah what Morse Code was, but in the real world, Dinah could also use Morse Code. Then, it would be weird.

He flipped to the first page of the diary and quickly cracked the Morse code according to the method in his memory. Then, he read it carefully.

"Farming Calendar Year 3,986, 10th of March, night: Last night. I dreamed of him again. He taught me a new encryption method. I tried it, but even my brother couldn't crack it. That's great. I've made up my mind. From today on, I'll write down all my dreams in this way in case I forget them later. "

Liang Lidong was more or less confused when he read that. A dream? What's going on?

"Last night, March 12, Year 3986 of the farming calendar. I dreamed of him again. This time, I finally remembered his name. Beta … a very strange name. In the dream, he took me to meet some of his friends. They were very interesting. I've never been so happy. But when I woke up, I couldn't remember anyone's face or name except Beta. That's weird. "

"Year 3987 of the farming calendar. June 27, Night: Today, my brother took me to meet a nobleman. He said that he was invited to a party, but I knew that he wanted to marry me off. In exchange for certain political benefits. Looking at the nobleman's face, I laughed on the spot. Because last night, I dreamed that Beta and his friends beat up the nobleman. His face was swollen like a pig's head. Sure enough, a dream is a dream. It's not reality, but I really want to stay in the dream forever and never wake up again. "

"Year 3,989 of the Farming Calendar, the night of October 3: In my dream yesterday, Betta and his friends went through a lot of trouble to fetch water from an ancient ruin for me. After I drank it, my strength increased, and I learned Evil Slash and Holy Aura Inspire. Seeing that they were covered in wounds, although the Golden Sons wouldn't really die, I still couldn't help but cry. When I woke up in the morning, I found that I was really stronger. Evil Slash and Holy Inspiration were all in my mind, and I could still taste the water from the Well of Light in my mouth. Beta, oh Beta, where are you? If the dream is real and you are real, please appear in front of me. I really want to see you. "

On this piece of paper, there were some spots that were harder and more wrinkled than other parts of the paper. Liang Lidong knew that these were the traces of water falling on the paper.

Seeing this, Liang Lidong felt a bit confused. He really did remember this matter. At that time, Dinah had complained to him that she was too weak and couldn't help her big brother, so her big brother planned to marry her off. It would be great if she was strong enough. That way, she would be able to help her big brother and wouldn't have to marry those ugly and disgusting old nobles.

Then Liang Lidong received a quest from the system. Then he asked a few friends to complete the quest. They found the water from the Well of Light in the periphery of the ancient god's ruin and gave it to Dinah. She successfully reached level 5 and learned the two Paladin specialties, Evil Slash and Holy Inspiration.

But that was in the game … Not only could Dinah "see" her experience in the game, but she could also gain the abilities in the game. It was getting weirder and weirder. There seemed to be no boundary between the game and reality.

Since not everything in Dinah's diary was related to the dream, Liang Lidong skipped through the pages. At this time, he had already finished almost half of the diary. Liang Lidong remembered that he left the Guelph family less than two years after this incident.

"Farming calendar year 3,990, 17th of the first month: With the help of Beta, I'm getting stronger and stronger. Now my brother doesn't mention marrying me off anymore. Recently, I've been dreaming about Beta less. Why? "

"Farming calendar year 3,990, 17th of October, evening: Beta finally appeared in my dream again. He told me that since the Guelph family has gotten rid of the crisis of extinction, his quest has been completed, so he has to leave. After I woke up from the dream, I cried all day and didn't eat anything. "

"Farming calendar year 3,994, 17th of July, evening: I finally dreamed about Beta again. He said that he was on a quest with a friend and passed by the Guelph family, so he stopped by to visit me. After I woke up, I laughed for a long time and cried for the whole afternoon. My eyes are still red. My brother thought that something was wrong with me. "

"Farming calendar year 4,04, 17th of July, evening: I haven't dreamed about Beta for ten years, but I can see him as soon as I close my eyes. I've always believed that Beta is a living person, but I don't know why he appeared in my dream. Maybe it's a reward from the goddess."

"Farming calendar year 4,04, 17th of July, evening: It's been twenty years since Beta left me. I'm almost a Paladin Master. Although I'm already 37, hundreds of people woo me every year. Betta, come back quickly, come back to my dream. Even if you're only in my dream, I'll still feel very happy. '

"Farming calendar year 4,034, 17th of July, evening: Although I look exactly the same as when I was a girl, I know that I'm old. Beta, as a Golden Son, you shouldn't be old, right? Where are you? I want to find you. I finally understand that love doesn't come by waiting. I should search for it, but I can barely walk anymore. "

"Farming calendar year 4,039, 11th of March, evening: This should be my last diary entry. My hands don't have much strength left. I can feel that the goddess is calling me, but I don't know if I can see you, the lover of my dreams, after I reach the paradise, Beta."

The diary ended there. Liang Lidong's eyes were red, and his nose was sore. For him, Dinah was an NPC related to quests. Although the NPCs in the game were unbelievably real, he had never seen Dinah treated as a real "life." But now, he knew that he was wrong, very wrong. No wonder he always felt that Dinah behaved weirdly in the game. It turned out that she had a direct mental connection with her in the game and in reality.

If he had known that, he would've regarded Dinah as a real friend instead of an NPC.

Liang Lidong rubbed his face with both hands, rubbing away all the sadness on his face. Then, he carefully put all the diaries back into the cupboard and into his spatial backpack.

Then he went downstairs, found the fat man in the study, and said straight to the point: "I promised you before, as long as you let me read Dinah's diary, I will tell you a big secret, and now I am here to fulfill my promise."