“Relying on them won’t work; we’ll have to find them ourselves,” Patrick said.
"What are we looking for? How to get out?" The leader glanced at him. "We're not in a hurry to get out. What we should be looking for now is the information left by the God of Destiny, to find out exactly what happened a thousand years ago."
“Perhaps the god of fate is just so capricious, toying with the destinies of others, rewarding them with eternal life one moment and punishing them by confining them to this enclosed space for generations the next,” Dwyer said with a touch of melancholy.
“Immortality? The purpose of the scales may not be immortality. Seeing the residents of this town aging in reverse, I think the true purpose of the scales might be to exchange a person’s fate of youth and old age,” Phil Gray said thoughtfully.
"Oh, that makes sense! Cousin, you're so smart!"
“The god of fate controls destiny. According to you, that makes sense.” The leader said thoughtfully.
“If the residents of this town have been growing in reverse for generations, it means that the scales are still in effect. In other words, what is maintaining this space may be the scales of the god of fate!” the leader said with delight.
"This ruin contains a sacred object! The sacred object is that scale. Perhaps the God of Fate did not take the scale back to His divine realm, but left it here!"
Upon hearing about the sacred object, everyone's faces lit up with joy. The object's preciousness was enough to cause a dispute between the two churches.
Phil Gray observed the expressions of Mrs. Dean, Mr. Allen, and Mr. Dwyer. He could understand the fleeting eagerness and greed in their eyes, but…
He squinted.
"These are all speculations based on the effect of the balance scale. I can't be sure. There may be other reasons to explain the town's residents' reverse aging, such as the involvement of the god of life."
"That's possible." The others nodded in agreement.
“But so far, it only involves the God of Fate and the God of Time and Space,” Phil Gray added.
“We’ll split up this afternoon to investigate. If the scales exist, as chosen ones of fate, we should be able to sense where they are,” Patrick suggested.
"Haven't you noticed?" the leader said calmly, "our levels are all locked at the Listening level."
"What?"
Phil Gray didn't seem to notice anything; he was a Listener-level user. He looked at Eli and Ernest, and they both nodded.
This would actually help me, he thought with a hint of delight. If there really was a sacred object called the Scales, the leader wouldn't be able to unleash his divine power in this space. With four people on his side, they would definitely have the advantage.
However, it's hard to say what other tricks the leader might have up his sleeve; it would be best to avoid him if possible.
"The residents of this town seem to be ordinary people," Mr. Allen said.
“Those who are punished by the gods cannot become the chosen ones, and in such a space that restricts strength, even if one is lucky enough to become a chosen one, it is difficult to break through to the level above Listening,” Patrick said.
“There’s no such thing as luck. Don’t forget, the people here only know of the existence of one god, the God of Fate.” Eli tried to circulate his divine power, but he wasn’t quite used to suddenly regressing to the Listening level.
“Do as he says, split up and investigate this afternoon. Pay attention to any fluctuations of divine power and whether there are any records from a thousand years ago.” The leader pointed at Patrick.
Everyone nodded.
Unfortunately, Phil Gray didn't get any results after asking around all afternoon. The townspeople were indeed enthusiastic and told him a lot about the town, but just like the mayor said, there was nothing special about it. In every aspect, it was just like any other ordinary small town.
He also tried to circulate his divine power, walking around and sensing where there was similar divine power, but the entire town could not sense him.
He sighed in disappointment and shared the dinner prepared for them by the mayor with the others, learning that they had also come away empty-handed.
Just as they were about to return to their rooms to rest, someone knocked on the door and shouted, "Mayor, something terrible has happened! Many people have contracted the disease!"
"What?" The town mayor, who had been sitting next to them, chatting and eating with them, stood up and opened the door. "What's going on?"
The man, who appeared to be middle-aged, looked down anxiously at the town mayor. "They all developed many red spots on their bodies, and then they died shortly afterward. Anyone who got close to them also died. Now, almost a dozen people have died!"
"How could this be!" The mayor frowned, his small face full of worry. "Quick, take me to see them!"
The middle-aged man ignored him and pointed at Phil Gray and his group, saying, "They're outsiders! They brought this disease, a disease we've never had before. They had it as soon as they arrived. It's definitely them!"
“We’re not sick at all! Look at us, we’re perfectly healthy, there’s no red dot like you’re talking about!” Patrick retorted angrily.
"It's divine punishment! You shouldn't have come!" The middle-aged man collapsed to the ground.
"Get up! What kind of appearance is this!" the mayor yelled, pointing at him. "Take me to see him right now!"
The middle-aged man then led the town mayor outside, sobbing.
"Shall we go and take a look too?" Mrs. Dean asked.
Mr. Allen nodded. "I am a chosen one of the gods of life; perhaps I can help them."
They followed.
The firelight illuminated the dark town.
The sound of crying echoed through the town. They stopped in front of a courtyard, where more than a dozen townspeople were watching.
"Scatter, aren't you afraid of dying?!" the town mayor roared.
"Those who are sick, and those who have died, are all locked up inside." Another little boy came over, his mouth covered with a white cloth, as if afraid of getting infected.
The town mayor also covered his mouth with a white cloth and opened the gate to the courtyard.
“I am a chosen one of the gods of life, and I can cure some diseases. I’ll go in and take a look first. You all wait outside,” Mr. Allen said.
“I’m going too.” Eli followed, then turned to Phil Gray and said, “You guys don’t come, or you’ll get infected too.”
Phil Gray could only wait with the others, and Eli came out after a short while.
"How about it?"
Eli shrugged. "Although it's a bit tricky, Mr. Allen's skills are good at healing, so I don't need to do it. My abilities are more focused on cultivating plants."
The leader nodded without saying anything, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Eli walked over to Phil Gray's side and, while the others were talking to the townspeople, whispered, "Their disease is highly contagious and deadly, and there are obvious remnants of divine power. This kind of plague caused by divine power... I think there are plague controllers who have infiltrated."
Phil Gray glanced at the others who were talking and nodded slightly.
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