The process of entering the secret meeting room is quite akin to solving a mystery.
You must touch the floating switch at the exact spot, and input a series of dynamically changing passwords on the password disk that appears.
At this point, the puzzle-solving part is considered complete. Although this segment only has two puzzle-solving steps, the difficulty is high because both puzzles involve dynamic changes. To crack them purely through reasoning without the answers requires mastery in Magic Pattern, Ceremony, and Arithmancy.
But solving the puzzles only leads to the location of the secret meeting room; the true key to opening its door lies in the energy of the corresponding person.
Currently, the secret meeting room can only be opened by Augustine, Margaret, and Olao.
The nature of their energy is recorded by the door of the secret meeting room, so only they can open it.
As for why the steps to enter the secret meeting room are so complicated? The word "secret meeting" already explains everything.
Secret meeting, if expanded a bit, is nothing but ’private rendezvous’, ’secret appointment’. Building such a secret room in the Qingkong Poetry Room, anyone could guess its purpose; it surely is Augustine and Margaret’s rendezvous spot.
In the face of numerous obstacles, the lovers who yearn for each other choose a secret meeting place, and if it were so easy to enter, it would indeed be strange.
When Olao opened the door to the secret meeting room, a bright light surged out, dispelling all the darkness along the way.
Entering the secret meeting room, everyone immediately felt something different. Firstly, the inside was brightly lit, like daytime. Also, contrary to the confined space they imagined, the room was surprisingly large, comparable to the great hall of the Wise Sovereign.
The arrangement here is also quite fascinating. Apart from the large portrait on the front wall, none of the walls can be seen with the naked eye; they are all concealed by bookshelves stacked with countless books.
In the center of the secret meeting room, there are round tables and wooden chairs, as well as low tables paired with sofas.
In the bright glow, every set piece is outlined with faint golden edges, making the entire secret meeting room resemble a cathedral blessed with a divine miracle.
However, in this "cathedral," there’s no hymn singing in the air, only a faint fragrance of books; there are no statues showing compassion to the world, only a giant portrait of a maiden.
At this moment, the Alchemy Golem stood before the portrait, gazing at the smiling maiden in the painting with enchanted eyes.
It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps disturbed the Alchemy Golem that it reluctantly pulled back its gaze and turned to look at the group of newcomers.
"Please, take a seat." The Alchemy Golem walked towards the round table and sat down first.
The others also took their seats. However, a small episode occurred here; originally, the two seats next to the Alchemy Golem were meant for Olao and Adanis, but Adanis didn’t want to sit next to the Alchemy Golem. Instead, she sat across from it, seemingly ready for a confrontation.
The Alchemy Golem, however, paid no heed to Adanis and instead actively invited Angel to sit beside it.
Angel, who was already heading to the far side, had no choice but to return upon hearing the Alchemy Golem’s words.
Having achieved all his goals, Angel only wanted to be a bystander now, but the Alchemy Golem seemed fixated on him, refusing to let go.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Angel sat in the secondary seat. Dox and Kaier sat beside Angel.
Vay and the Black Earl took their seats next to Olao.
Adanis sat farthest away, and as a result, she was not near anyone, as if isolated.
Once seated, the Alchemy Golem remained silent for a long time, seemingly contemplating where to begin.
No one rushed him; rules that have formed over a thousand years are difficult to break, so it’s understandable for the Alchemy Golem to take a bit longer to think.
However, what surprised them was that when the Alchemy Golem finally regained its composure, the first words it spoke were not about the main topic they were expecting, but—
"Have you seen Margaret? She is truly, at all times, so beautiful."
The Alchemy Golem spoke to Angel, all the while glancing at the large portrait in the distance, its words laden with immense nostalgia.
Angel very much wanted to pretend as if he wasn’t there, but the gemstone eyes of the Alchemy Golem kept staring at him as if the "Round Table Meeting" couldn’t proceed without his opinion.
With no other choice, Angel awkwardly performed: "Ah? So this portrait is Miss Margaret? I thought it was a deity renowned for beauty."
"Miss Margaret is indeed beautiful; no wonder the gentleman’s poetry recital was full of emotion, full of affection for Miss Margaret."
Angel spoke in a tone of declamation while silently mocking inwardly: Yes, it’s full of emotion, and only emotion, without any literary quality. It’s like singing with a broken voice; aside from saying it’s full of passion, there’s nothing else to commend.
The Alchemy Golem, satisfied with Angel’s response, continued: "Speaking of poetry, this bookshelf holds all the poetry collections I gathered from various worlds back then, including many unique editions. I believe the Chanter would definitely enjoy them."
Angel: "Ah?"
What does this mean? Is he going to give me all these poetry collections?
Angel was still perplexed when the Alchemy Golem confirmed his guess: "In a while, the energy here is about to be depleted and will not be able to maintain the protection of the poetry collections. I thought about it and decided to entrust them to you, letting the Chanter inherit them. Entrusting them to the Chanter is not a betrayal; it’s a rebirth. Giving poetry collections to poets is also a commendable story worth acclaiming."
Before Angel could respond, Adanis suddenly asked from the other side: "What do you mean by ’in a while, the energy here will be depleted’?"
The Alchemy Golem initially ignored Adanis, but seeing Angel seemingly dazed, it glanced at Adanis: "Without Olao to support the energy, naturally it will deplete."
Adanis: "Whether Olao leaves or stays should be his own decision. Even if he breaks the contract, he can still stay here."
The Alchemy Golem laughed lightly: "Why stay here? Once the contract is broken, if he stays, he’ll be drained by the Qingkong Poetry Room. It won’t take long before he completely dissipates. Do you think Olao finds himself living too long and is eager to commit suicide?"
Adanis frowned upon hearing this. Although she didn’t understand why breaking the contract would result in Olao being drained by the Qingkong Poetry Room, she trusted that Augustine wouldn’t deceive her on such matters.
Olao never mentioned these things to Adanis... which means he’s hiding things from her.
Adanis wasn’t actually concerned about Olao concealing things from her; after thousands of years of interaction, she understood Olao’s character well. He hides things from her just to protect her.
Olao is a person with an extremely strong sense of responsibility, aiming to bear all burdens and responsibilities himself and not wanting Adanis to worry.
However, Adanis doesn’t like this. She doesn’t want to be a mere appendage; she wants to share the burden with Olao... But Olao seems to never acknowledge her growth, never confiding any difficulties. Only when his Spiritual Body severely lacks energy does he ask for Adanis’s help, while everything else remains hidden within his heart.
Just like this time, Olao finally expressed something, but it was merely to tell her—
My time is running out.
This made Adanis feel both heartache and anger. Heartache for Olao not taking care of himself, and anger for why Olao didn’t say anything sooner? Why didn’t he discuss it with her and instead bear everything alone?