# 1272
Chapter 1272: Jinian's Stand
Lin Qiye glided past the guards at the Dungeon entrance with ease and walked straight into the depths underground.
Under the effect of absolute concealment, the process was even easier than he had imagined. Neither the guards stationed near the Dungeon nor the demonic wolf Fenrir resting on the circular platform above noticed his presence. He moved like a ghost, silently passing through layer after layer of checkpoints.
During this time, Lin Qiye even took a moment to check on the [Holy Grail] inside Mumu's belly.
So far, Lin Qiye had used the [Holy Grail] to make three wishes—one to reinforce his disguise, one to locate Sif, and one for the current absolute concealment.
Although these were three wishes, the amount of crimson wine liquid consumed combined was less than one-tenth. After all, these were all highly targeted small wishes, and compared to the grand scale of the Sumerian god directly resurrecting Gilgamesh, the consumption was far less.
Through several rounds of practice, Lin Qiye had vaguely begun to discern the pattern behind [Holy Grail] wishes.
The vaguer and more bizarre the wish, the more wine liquid it consumed; the more specific the wish, the less it consumed.
For example, during this rescue operation, if Lin Qiye had directly wished upon the [Holy Grail] for Jinian to escape, it would have been feasible, but the wine liquid consumed would have been five or six times more than now. This was because achieving the vague goal of "Jinian escaping" required numerous intermediate steps.
For instance, channeling divine power to Jinian from afar to break through the prison chains; or directly annihilating most of the Norse forces within the Dungeon; or Jinian, empowered by divine gifts, forcefully breaking through the encirclement of several gods and the demonic wolf Fenrir to escape.
Each step in this process consumed enormous amounts of power.
For the current Lin Qiye, his wish was extremely specific—just to conceal his form. How to infiltrate the Dungeon, how to rescue Jinian—all of this was actively accomplished by Lin Qiye himself.
Lin Qiye tucked the [Holy Grail] back into Mumu's body and, relying on the Dungeon map Idun had drawn in his memory, began searching for Jinian's location. Just then, a figure walked toward Lin Qiye along the corridor, heading straight at him.
Lin Qiye immediately tensed with vigilance.
"Cough, cough, cough..." It was an extremely weak man. He said something to the surrounding guards, then turned and walked straight out of the Dungeon.
He passed right by Lin Qiye without noticing his presence, then quickly disappeared at the end of the Dungeon corridor.
Lin Qiye watched him leave, a hint of doubt rising in his heart.
Judging from that person's build, he should have been injured. But if that was the case, why was he entering the Dungeon? More importantly, the direction he walked out from was precisely where Jinian's holding cell was located.
Lin Qiye thought about it for a long time without finding an answer. He temporarily shelved the question and quickly headed toward Jinian's cell.
The area around the cell was deserted. The guards stationed here seemed to have been called away. Lin Qiye entered the cell effortlessly and walked to Jinian's side.
When he saw the dense, terrifying torture wounds covering Jinian's body, Lin Qiye's expression darkened, and fury flickered in his eyes.
"Jinian."
He walked to Jinian's side and spoke in a low voice.
Hearing her name echo from the void, Jinian startled. She looked around but couldn't find whoever was speaking. Confusion was written all over her face.
"Lin Qiye? Is that you?" She recognized Lin Qiye's voice and asked in a similarly low voice.
"It's me. I'm invisible using the [Holy Grail]."
Jinian couldn't help but click her tongue. "First Xiaonan comes by, and now you're here. Looks like my Jinian's popularity isn't bad after all!"
"Xiaonan? She came?"
"She did. Just left. But she disguised herself using 'Trickery'—she looked like some man who clearly overindulged."
Lin Qiye's mind quickly recalled the figure he had encountered head-on just moments ago.
That was actually Si Xiaonan?
"You're too badly injured." Lin Qiye's gaze swept over Jinian's body. "They interrogated you for two days, and you didn't tell them what they wanted?"
"Tell them? How could I possibly tell them?" Jinian snorted dismissively. "Does this little bit of methods make them think they can get me to reveal the location of [Gungnir]? They really underestimate me."
"What exactly is [Gungnir]?"
"It's a divine artifact from Asgard. Last time I came here on vacation, I just happened to steal it on the side. It's in [Utopia] now." Jinian grinned.
"...Alright, let me get you out of here first."
"No need to rescue me." Jinian shook her head. "Did you forget our mission?"
Lin Qiye froze.
"If I escape now, they'll immediately know there's a traitor inside Asgard, and you, who entered Asgard together with me, will definitely come under suspicion.
Right now Asgard is completely sealed off. Even if I escaped this Dungeon, there's nowhere to hide. I'd be discovered again soon... And if both of us end up locked in the Dungeon, then who's going to complete the mission and open Bifröst to let the Gods of Great Xia in?"
Lin Qiye fell silent.
Jinian was right. If Jinian, who was imprisoned in the deep Dungeon, escaped, the Norse Gods would definitely conduct a carpet search of all Asgard, and he would become the primary suspect. That would be stirring up the hornet's nest.
"Let's go out first. I can just change my identity if needed—there will always be a way." Lin Qiye said seriously.
"Ah, don't worry about me." Jinian waved her hand repeatedly. "My physical body is very resilient. My soul is also extremely special. They can't directly read my memories, and these flesh wounds can never break me... All they're doing is wasting time on me.
If I stay here, I can not only tie down their energy, but also keep your identity from being suspected.
I heard from Xiaonan that Loki has declared he'll attempt to break through to the Supreme God realm in three days. The time left for us is running out. We can't keep risking ourselves for me.
I've already given you the pixel intercom. Si Xiaonan knows about you too. As long as you two meet up outside and work together, completing the mission shouldn't be too difficult.
And what I need to do is simply stay here for a few more days. When the Gods of Great Xia arrive, I'll be able to get out eventually."
Loki was going to attempt to reach the Supreme God realm in three days?
Lin Qiye's expression grew grave.
If what Jinian said was true, the situation was indeed pressing...
He glanced at Jinian with complicated emotions. If he guessed correctly, Si Xiaonan leaving alone just now was for exactly this reason.
"Can you really hold up?" Lin Qiye furrowed his brow and asked.
Jinian harrumphed and spoke with some irritation, "What? You looking down on me?
Go complete the mission. What's a little pain compared to that?
If you really feel bad about this, then grow stronger faster and get me home soon."
...
Cough, today is Sanjiu's birthday. After a whole year, asking for a small gift isn't too much, right? ~~(dog head)