13 Mink Street

I merely bought your former house, and now you want to hand those two “children” downstairs over to me?

Karon suddenly realized that there seemed to be a problem here, a very big problem: wasn’t this leap a bit too large? This was no longer logical at all!

“They are still young, being not even close to my age. I know very well that if I take them with me to such a remote place, they absolutely won’t be able to stay put, nor will they be willing to. So, I must trouble you, though I do also have a request for you. These are two good saplings. Whether for yourself, or for the future of the church, I hope you can nurture them. I have always felt that over these many years, the church has been far too obsessed with chopping and felling indiscriminately to obtain firewood to burn for a bit of momentary light. In truth, real light should be like the overlapping shadows cast when sunlight falls through the gaps between the leaves of a forest. They may not be scorching or bright, but they are full of life.”

“I understand.” It was the only answer Karon could provide.

“You think so too?” Will asked with a smile.

Karon leaned back slightly, relaxing his posture. He did so to make the following conversation easier, because he was very eager to keep talking and understand exactly where the logical disconnect had occurred. “I think what many of them want to revive is the church, not Light.”

When Will heard this, his expression froze, and tears actually welled up in his eyes. His reaction did not appear to be an act. There had been no buildup beforehand, and if he wanted to use this as a means of coercion, he should have started his performance at the very beginning of the conversation. Combined with the impression of the old man Karon had developed from the mental impression in his study, he had begun to accept that Will was truly how he had been described by the mental impression: a kind man, perhaps with a little purity added in.

However, on closer inspection, this Will actually had a very different temperament from the mental impression in Karon’s study, and there were also considerable differences in complexion and appearance. The experiences and creation of a mental imprint should differ greatly from reality. One was the self imagined on a spiritual level, while the other was the real self. The two truly could not be equated.

Will took a deep breath, composed himself, and said, “You phrased that very well. That was exactly what always felt wrong to me. Later, I gradually drifted away from them. The last time I learned they were coming, I simply left before they arrived. I truly didn’t want to get mixed up with them. They made me uncomfortable.”

Will picked up a tissue, wiped the corners of his eyes, and continued, “Because of that, I often felt guilty. I wondered whether I had turned away from them because of my own aloofness and arrogance, and if I had also turned away from Light.”

“You haven’t,” Karon replied. “The one who turned away from Light was not you. The ones who truly turned away from Light are them, even the ones further back.”

“The ones further back?”

Karon spread his hands open. “This is even the reason the Church of Light fell. Tell me, can Light be wrong?”

“It cannot be wrong,” Will stated with absolute certainty.

“Then the ones beneath Light were wrong, and that is why the Church of Light fell.”

“That method of deduction of yours is very unusual, but it also makes a great deal of sense.”

Light could never be wrong. That was the last line of defense in a believer’s heart. If even that was questioned, what was the point of believing in Light at all? With that as the premise, the church’s fall could only mean that the problem lay with the people of the church. It was a simple deduction.

“But there is another saying.” Will seemed to have become greatly interested in continuing this chat with Karon. “They all believe that it was the loss of the great God of Light that led to the demise of my Church of Light. What do you think?”

Karon answered, “Some time ago, the ecclesiastical circle was constantly spreading rumors that the God of Order had already abandoned the Church of Order, going so far as to descend thunderous punishment and trigger a tremor in the Temple of Order. This is no secret.”

“Yes, I heard that too.”

“But do you think that the current Church of Order shows any trend towards collapse like my Church of Light did back then?”

“No,” Will answered very decisively once more. “After the First Day War ended, no one dares to harbor that doubt anymore.”

The Church of Order had flexed its muscle. If even the Church of Order was about to collapse, then were all of the current orthodox churches not also on the verge of collapse?

“We are always accustomed to attributing every success to the great god, yet at the same time, we are also accustomed to placing the ultimate failure upon the god as well. We never dare to seriously examine ourselves, to ask our own hearts what true Light should actually look like.”

Hearing this, Will frowned. He raised his hand, and white light and shadow spread across the entire study, sealing it off from Helen and Vernon’s eavesdropping outside.

It was only a simple motion, but Karon immediately sensed the strength of the man’s soul. What flowed from him was not the aura of some Art, but soul power. Using soul power to create a barrier was an extravagance on the level of using gold to repair floor tiles.

“I am very curious. This is our first time meeting, so why do you dare say such… such… such…” Will searched for an adjective, one that would show the gravity of the matter while also expressing his own position and attitude, and needed to remain affable as well. “…such candid and direct words to me.”

“Just as you said earlier.”

“What I said earlier?”

“We are fated.”

“No, no, no. I originally thought that I had already deviated quite far from the mainstream direction, but now I vaguely feel that you are standing on the opposite side of the mainstream.”

“You also said something more: within the church, not many people are willing to order you about, and not many are able to.”

“Yes, I admit that from the moment you entered the range of this villa, to the moment you pushed open the study door, to the moment you sat in front of me and spoke with me for so long, I have been unable to sense even the slightest aura from you. Your soul realm will not be lower than mine. It can only be higher.”

You have misunderstood that. The main reason is that I’m wearing my grandfather’s mask. Karon could not help recalling the scene in that space, when he had taken the form of a huge glowing sphere and had looked down upon a crowd of small spheres.

“Do you still remember the words shouted by the Mad Pope?” Karon shifted the topic, because he did not want to continue discussing soul power with this man.

“Of course.”

“I often think about his words.”

“Oh? What insight have you gained?”

“Sometimes, we regard those we cannot understand as madmen. Sometimes, we also regard the only person who understands clearly as a madman.”

Will’s hands began to tremble. His body, seated on the chair, began twisting back and forth slightly, and his expression became very unnatural. His eyes blinked constantly and irregularly. At this moment, before this topic, not only had he lost control of his expression, he even wanted to run away. On this point, Karon discovered the commonality between him and the mental impression in his own study.

“Please don’t say any more. Please, stop!” Will raised his hand toward Karon.

“You should be rebuking me, yet you are not.”

In the eyes of the Light vermin, the Mad Pope had been the final straw that had crushed the Church of Light. With their pope shouting those words, the damage to the foundation of the church had been truly devastating.

“Let’s stop here. Truly.” Will smiled bitterly. “I’m begging you.”

“All right.” Karon agreed.

“Will you pass your thoughts on to those two children?”

“I won’t.”

“You won’t?”

“There is a door, and there is light beyond the door. However, they must first pry open a crack on their own. Otherwise, no matter how much I say, it will be meaningless. They will still firmly believe that there is only pitch darkness outside the door.”

“Hehe, Bertha was quite right in her letter. You really are quite something. Very much so.”

Bertha? Karon quickly understood. Bertha had long since been subdued by the captain and turned into an errand runner. Was she the one who had written to Will?

So, the one who should be sitting in the chair before Will at this moment was the captain!

With that understanding, looking back at their conversation from the beginning, the two men had clearly not been on the same wavelength at all, yet they had seamlessly connected.

“Hehehe…” Karon began laughing. He did not hold it in, and instead laughed without any restraint.

After laughing for a long time, Karon finally stopped. Shrugging, he said, “This is our helplessness, but at the same time, it is also our fortune, is it not?”

“You are a good person,” Will stated. “Because I can feel that you know what true Light looks like, so deep in your heart, you must be kind. Handing those two children over to you, I can rest assured.”

“I will let them first live peacefully in York City, and let them temporarily forget that they are people of the church. Only by removing the mask can they truly touch and perceive Light.” With that, Karon stood, signaling that he was about to leave. To begin with, he had already learned the truth. He had arrived early and taken the stage that should have belonged to the captain. Second, he was worried the captain might suddenly show up. Karon’s car was parked out on the street, and Kevin was still inside. Given the captain’s personality, he would normally observe the surroundings before attending an appointment, but it was not impossible that he might suddenly get lazy today and skip that step.

“There is one matter I hope you can help me investigate. I don’t have enough time.”

“Go ahead.”

“My previous home was in Allen Apartments in the Bluebridge Community. This is my doorplate information. Before I left, I entrusted a real estate agent to help me sell the apartment, because I did not want my home to be too desolate. In the end, the apartment was sold, but the person who bought my house seems not to have lived there for long before moving away again.”

“Isn’t that very normal?” Karon asked.

“He took my books.”

“It seems he also likes reading.”

“And twisted the spiritual imprints I left on those books.”

“Twisted?”

“Yes. I know it still exists, but I can no longer sense it. Therefore, it was not erased, but twisted. Or perhaps it should be called… corrupted. I have to leave tomorrow. I have no time to continue investigating, so I hope you can help me complete this investigation.”

“I will.”

“Thank you.” Will took out a card along with the doorplate card and pushed them both over to Karon. “This card is the key to an anonymous safe deposit box I have at a private black-market bank. I stored some materials inside that are still passable. Consider this my thanks for helping me investigate this matter. Please accept it.”

“All right.” Karon accepted the card without the slightest intention of declining. “Do you need to call those two children in and say a few words?”

“I would rather read a little more before rushing to the harbor tomorrow morning to board the ship. I do not like reading on ships, because my heart lacks a sense of steadiness there. They know whom they should follow. Please take them away.”

“Mhmm, I understand.” Karon walked out of the study.

Just as he was about to open the door, Will’s voice came from behind him again. “I will write to you. I will write to Bertha, and have her pass them along to you. You don’t have to write back to me, if you are busy.”

“All right.” Karon opened the door and walked out, then turned to see Vernon and Helen standing at the stairway. Their initial meeting earlier had been somewhat awkward, but when Karon walked toward them again, they both bowed to him in unison.

Karon did not return the greeting. Instead, he asked, “Do you have any luggage you need to bring?”

Vernon answered, “When we woke up, even the clothes on our bodies had almost rotted away.”

Karon reached into his pocket. Hm, he hadn’t brought any money either. However, there was money in his car. Alfred kept cash there, but leading them out to his car would also be somewhat inappropriate. Moreover, exactly how to arrange matters for them was also a rather troublesome problem.

Heh, what am I even thinking of? Karon realized that his thinking had gone in the wrong direction. Will called the two “children,” but they were both adults. “First, find a place in the city to settle down. Remember, you are not allowed to use your power. You must rely on your own abilities to earn rels and live. This is my test for you.

“From now on, every Sunday night, you may come to this villa and take a look. If I feel that you have already passed my test, I will come out to meet you and take you to a new place.”

Faced with such a test, Vernon and Helen were both somewhat at a loss, but they still immediately nodded and said, “We are willing to accept the test!”

“Then we shall look forward to meeting again.” Karon walked down the stairs. Helen and Vernon lowered their heads and saw him off. Then, the two walked to the study door, and Helen stepped forward to knock.

A voice came from within the study. “This is your fortune. Praise Light.”

***

After leaving the villa, Karon deliberately circled several times, using the counter-surveillance method the captain had taught him to confirm that no one was following him before “removing” the mask and changing back into his own appearance. Then, he took a detour back to the place where he had parked, only to find that his car was gone.

Where’s the car? At this moment, Karon saw his used Pons driving over. Through the windshield, he could clearly see that the one driving the car was Kevin. Karon took two steps back, because he was worried the dog might not brake properly. However, facts proved his worries unnecessary. Kevin used his hind leg to press down on the brake, stopping easily right in front of Karon. The dog even knew how to brake gently, without making the car stop too abruptly or skid.

Nio was sitting in the passenger seat. He rolled down the window and looked at Karon with a smile. “Kept this one company for a little drive.”

Kevin had already obediently vacated the driver’s seat and scurried back to the rear seat. Karon got into the driver’s seat and started the car.

Nio bluntly stated, “That was rather shameless of you. I finally managed to set up a little secret here, and you came early to dig it out from under me?”

“Captain, this is a misunderstanding.” Karon narrated the course of events to Nio, including what had happened earlier in the villa.

“Heh, I was planning to arrange for them to enter my squad, replenishing our numbers after you attached members leave and weaken it, and instead, you arranged for them to experience life?”

“After we leave?”

“You, Richard, and Memphis. They will definitely follow you to your new squad, won’t they?”

“Yes.”

“Heh.”

“However, Captain, recruiting them into a Whip squad doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

“People change in different environments. The main thing depends on who leads the squad. But saying this now is already meaningless. Treat those two as a gift from me to you. Deal with them as you see fit. After you establish your new squad, and after they’ve been disciplined properly by you, you can also pull them into your new squad.”

“That… we’ll see later.”

“So, I, your future deputy commander, am already unable to interfere in the internal affairs of your squad?”

“Captain, putting it that way makes you sound too distant.”

“Will is a marginal figure, but no one on the Light vermin side dares to look down on him.”

“I can feel that. He is very powerful.”

“All right, go back. After all, you still have to go to Teygan Region tomorrow night. Sigh, it’s good to be young. There are infinite possibilities.”

“Captain, I’ll take you home first.”

“No. The matter I was originally going to handle tonight was resolved on my behalf by you. It’s still early, so I’ll go to the cemetery to visit her.”

After saying this, the captain got out of the car, turned around, and left. After Karon watched as the man’s back disappeared into the darkness, he turned to look at Kevin, who was sitting in the back seat. “You drive?”

Kevin excitedly wagged his tail.

Karon moved to the passenger seat, while Kevin darted back to the driver’s seat and excitedly started the car. They started moving forward at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Kevin handled the car very well. The only thing was that when he drove, his backside could not sit down, so his body could only sprawl over the steering wheel.

Karon turned his head and looked out the car window. The night scenery of York City carried a flavor unique to itself. Especially when they passed into the Bluebridge Community from the wealthy district, the enormous sense of contrast became extremely clear. Yet the two still appeared opposed to each other while also integrated with each other within the same city.

Karon withdrew his gaze, and also withdrew the meaningless, scattered emotions he was feeling. Looking at Kevin gripping the steering wheel, he reminded the dog, “Be careful. The road ahead isn’t easy to travel.”

“Woof!” Kevin carefully stared at the road ahead while constantly checking the rearview mirrors. Whenever he went through an intersection, he deliberately slowed down and looked at the traffic to both the left and right. He was very careful, and very cautious.

Karon smiled, because he suddenly felt that all the way until now, he had also been like this careful dog.

He abruptly stopped smiling. Heh, what a damned metaphor.