Chapter 66: City of Redemption (I) The Son
Consciousness seemed to be struggling to rise from the cold seabed.
An omnipresent feeling of oppression filled Wen Yin's senses, making her inexplicably find it difficult to breathe.
Then came the monotonous and repetitive chanting that penetrated into the eardrums.
Distant and ethereal, yet pervasive.
Wen Yin suddenly opened her eyelashes.
What comes into view is a narrow, damp, dark alley filled with a faint musty smell.
The walls were rough gray stone, covered with dark green moss and mottled with water stains.
In some places, she could even see tiny shadows that seemed to be slowly crawling with life, but they disappeared when she looked closely.
There was a lead-gray sky overhead, and thick fog was hanging low, almost touching the crooked rooftops not far away, making everything look blurry and unreal.
There was a strange smell in the air.
It's like burning incense, mixed with a faint sense of decay.
[Transfer complete. Current world: City of Redemption.]
The childish voice of System 028 rang out.
[Your current identity is: Wanderer.]
Wen Yin frowned slightly and heard 028 continue to explain.
[Host, the place with the most intense strange power in this small world is in the center of the tallest building complex behind you to the right.]
[According to the world information feedback just collected, that place is called the 'Temple'. It is the highest power and faith center in this world, and is also the residence of the 'Son of God'.]
Upon hearing this, Wen Yin immediately turned around and looked in the direction indicated by 028.
Through the dense gray fog, one can vaguely see the outlines of several extremely tall spires, like blades piercing the gray sky.
The top of the tallest one was emitting a steady yet cold white light, and the light source was continuously illuminating the entire fog-shrouded city.
[The Son and the City of Redemption...]
Wen Yin repeated it softly, her eyes fixed on the magnificent Gothic-style buildings and the low-rise houses lined up below them, looming in the fog.
[This doesn't look like a normal world background.]
"Yes," 028's childish voice continued, "This isn't the ordinary world background of the host's real life, nor is it a typical high-magic or low-magic world."
[It is a special world line similar to a Western fantasy setting, where the rules are twisted and beliefs are materialized and distorted.]
[According to the information collected, this "City of Redemption" has been shrouded in gray fog for a long time.]
[It is said that there are terrible things in the fog, and people who stay there for a long time will become sick or even disappear.]
[And the people of the city believe that only the 'holy light' emanating from the 'Son of God' who resides in the temple can protect them.]
028 paused: [And the holy light promoted by the temple is not false. Information shows that humans blessed by the 'Son of God' can walk freely without fear of the 'gray fog' for a certain period of time.]
[Everyone in the City of Redemption is a loyal believer of the Temple and strictly follows the laws issued by the Temple.]
[The host must always be careful about his words and actions to avoid revealing any abnormality.]
Wen Yin hummed softly, lowered her head and looked at herself quickly.
She was wearing a rough gray linen dress, looking like a poor person from the lowest class of people.
Suddenly, there were regular and heavy footsteps approaching the alley.
Wen Yin immediately suppressed all outward emotions, retreated deeper into the shadows, and looked out through the hazy mist.
A group of people wearing white robes with silver edges were walking through the street.
They looked solemn, with an almost numb piety in their eyes.
The leader held up a crystal emblem that emitted a soft white light. The light dispelled some of the mist, but gave people a strange feeling of coldness.
Pedestrians on the road all avoided, lowered their heads, and made strange gestures.
Place your fingertips on your forehead and then lightly touch your heart.
Fear and awe were clearly written on everyone's face.
"The Temple Patrol..."
A barely audible voice came from the side.
Wen Yin turned her head and saw an old man curled up next to a trash can. He was wrapped in a tattered blanket and his eyes were cloudy.
"Little girl, are you new here? Keep your head down and don't look directly at them, or you'll be mistaken for an 'unclean being' and captured..."
Someone in the patrol team looked at Wen Yin. Wen Yin was startled and immediately lowered his head.
Her long hair immediately covered most of her face.
It was not until the man withdrew his gaze and walked away that the depressing atmosphere around him eased slightly.
"Thank you," Wen Yin thanked the old man who was curled up next to the trash can, her voice trembling just the right amount, pretending to be still frightened.
She tugged at the hem of her worn skirt, looking very helpless and restrained.
The old man glanced at her with his cloudy eyes and muttered something.
"Outside? Find a place to stay quickly and don't go out at night... They become active when the fog is thick."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and buried himself back in the tattered blanket, no longer paying attention to Wen Yin.
[‘They’? The things in the fog?] Wen Yin quickly asked 028 in her mind.
[Insufficient data, but it is speculated that it is the object in the gray fog. The host's current identity is fragile, so avoidance is still a priority.]
[Then I must first obtain legal identification before I can approach the 'temple' where strange energy gathers.]
Wen Yin lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then asked in her heart.
[028, search for the most reasonable way for ordinary civilians to enter the temple.]
028 was silent for a few seconds and quickly gave an answer.
[A recruitment notice has been collected here.] 028 dropped a recruitment message in front of Wen Yin.
[In order to serve the Holy Light and praise the grace of God, the Cathedral Choir is now recruiting a number of nuns.
Require:
Aged sixteen or above, pure in mind and body, with no bad habits.
He has a clear voice and good musical sense.
Believe in the Holy Light, dedicate yourself voluntarily, and abide by the rules of the religion.
Must pass a singing test and faith review.
Selected candidates will receive:
Live in the dormitory in the side hall of the cathedral and be directly protected by the Holy Light.
Provide communion every day and be free from the worries of hunger and fog.
Enjoy the opportunity to be close to the holy face and bathe in the supreme grace.
Registration: Deacon's Office, West Gate, Cathedral. Deadline: Noon, three days after the notice is posted.
Note: Serving is the highest honor. Once hired, you must devote everything and never regret it.
[Host, according to the time the notice was posted, the registration deadline is less than half an hour away.]
[The walk to the cathedral is estimated to take about an hour.]
Wen Yin glanced at the sky covered by gray fog and could not see any trace of the sun.
Is there any other solution?
028 paused and frantically refreshed the information data in the background.
[According to information flow analysis, Father Hill from the Cathedral will pass through the adjacent Blackwater Street in seventeen minutes, heading to the Old Town for sample collection.]
[How do I get to Heishui Street?] Wen Yin asked immediately.
[Turn left out of the alley, go 200 meters in the current direction, and then turn right to reach Blackwater Street.]
[Host, the security in Blackwater Street is poor, please be careful.]
Wen Yin took a deep breath of the musty and incense-scented air, her face still maintaining an uneasy expression.
She stood up, brushed off the dust on her skirt, lowered her head, imitated the posture of the passers-by just now, and walked out of the alley carefully.
The street is slightly wider than the alley, but equally oppressive.
The stone road was slippery and uneven, with black sewage accumulating in the cracks.
The buildings on both sides are crooked, and most of the windows are narrow, covered with thick dust or nailed with wooden boards.
The sparse pedestrians were all in a hurry, their faces pale or numb, and they tried to avoid eye contact with each other.
The cold white light poured down from the distant tower, penetrating the gray fog, but it could not bring the slightest warmth. Instead, like a searchlight, it mercilessly illuminated the poverty and despair in every corner.
Wen Yin followed 028's instructions, trying to avoid the crowd and move quickly.
As she was about to reach Blackwater Street, she could feel some malicious gazes coming from the dark corners.
Silently evaluating her strange and weak "prey".
Sure enough, when approaching a fork in the road that exuded a strong smell of sewers, two men in tattered clothes and with cloudy eyes blocked the way.
They did not have the stiffness of being assimilated by the light, but instead exuded a wild and dangerous aura.
"Hey, new face?" One of them grinned, revealing his yellow and black teeth. "Lost little lamb? Need someone to 'guide' you? It's not expensive..."
His eyes greedily swept over Wen Yin's relatively clean face.
Wen Yin's heart shrank slightly, but her expression instantly changed to one of greater horror.
"I'm going to the cathedral to look for Father Hill..."
Her voice was small and pitiful, and she perfectly played the role of a desperate homeless girl who sought refuge in the church.
The two men looked at each other, as if they were a little afraid of her mentioning 'Father Hill'.
At this moment, the voice prompt of 028 sounded.
[Thirty meters to the left and back, Father Hill appears, holding a silver jar.]
Wen Yin immediately caught a glimpse of a middle-aged man wearing a priest's robe, with a thin figure and a slightly bookish face, turning out from another path.
He was holding a peculiarly shaped silver jar in his hand. The body of the jar seemed to be engraved with tiny runes, which were faintly shining.
Wen Yin seemed to have seen a life-saving straw, and suddenly staggered towards that direction, crying out in her voice.
"Father! Father! Save me!"
Her sudden movement startled the two men who were blocking her way.
Father Hill was also startled by the sudden cry for help and looked over vigilantly.
He saw a frightened girl with a pale face and tearful eyes breaking away from two refugees who obviously had bad intentions and rushing towards him.
Father Hill's brows furrowed subconsciously, and a hint of impatience and trouble flashed in his eyes, but the priest robe on his body represented a certain responsibility.
He raised the silver jar in his hand. The faint light on the jar seemed to make the two refugees even more afraid. They spat, cursed under their breath, and retreated into the shadows.
Wen Yin successfully ran to Father Hill, gasping slightly because of fright.
She raised her face tremblingly and looked at him with dependence and hope.
"Thank you, thank you, Father... I'm scared..."
Father Hill looked at the girl in front of him, his eyes lingering on Wen Yin's overly clean face and fingers for a moment, his tone was businesslike and distant.
"Lost? Walk to the end of this street. Turn left where there's a Holy Light Torch, and you'll be out of this street."
He obviously didn't want to get involved, so after pointing the way, he planned to leave and continue his "collecting" work.
Wen Yin said hurriedly, "No, no, Father... I heard that the choir... is recruiting people? I, I have a very nice voice! I used to sing in a small church in the countryside..."
Her words were urgent and full of desire, as if this was her only chance to change her fate. Her eyes were innocent and carried a hint of yearning for the "holy light".
Father Hill paused.
He looked at Wen Yin carefully again.
The selection of the choir was an open announcement, and the girl in front of him did meet the requirements, even better than she expected.
That kind of fragile and pure temperament is preferred by the upper echelons of the temple.
And if she really had a good voice...
He has been marginalized recently due to some special issues and urgently needs some credit to consolidate his shaky position.
Recommending a young talent with a pure voice, especially a helpless and easy-to-control wanderer, may be a good opportunity.
His eyes flickered a few times as he weighed the pros and cons.
"What can you sing?"
Father Hill's voice slowed down a bit, but was still tentative.
The girl in front of him seemed to see hope and her eyes lit up.
She just sniffed lightly, and in her voice, which was still slightly trembling but surprisingly clear and soft, she hummed a passage from a hymn that was very popular in this world.
Her voice is extremely well controlled, with an unpolished purity and a hint of indescribable magic that touches the heartstrings.
This is the effect of the props she just bought.
A hint of surprise flashed in Father Hill's eyes.
This voice... is truly extraordinary.
Even more…appealing than the voices of some of the choir members he remembered.
The chanting stopped and Wen Yin looked at him timidly, as if waiting for judgment.
Father Hill was silent for a moment, then finally spoke, his tone much softer: "...Your voice does have potential."
"I'm Father Hill, in charge of some affairs of the cathedral. If you really want to try, I can take you to the preliminary screening."
"But," his tone turned serious, "the requirements for the choir are extremely strict. You need to be absolutely pious and obedient. Also, even if you're not selected, you can't tell anyone about it. Do you understand?"
Wen Yin nodded vigorously, a grateful smile spreading across her face. "I understand! Thank you, Father Hill! I will be obedient and pious!"
Father Hill nodded, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
He pointed to the silver jar in his hand and said, "I still need to collect some... 'Erosion Water' samples. Come with me, and don't run around. I'll take you to the cathedral after we're done."
"Yes, Father." Wen Yin responded obediently, lowering her head and following him half a step behind.
The first step of the plan was successful.
-
Wen Yin quietly followed Father Hill to an even more dilapidated neighborhood.
The fog here seemed thicker, and the whispers became clearer, with a bewitching meaning.
The wriggling shadows on the wall became increasingly apparent, but quickly disappeared when Father Hill looked over.
Father Hill seemed more alert. The runes on the silver jar in his hand flashed more rapidly, emitting a cold aura that made the shadows disgusted and retreat.
Finally, he stopped at a corner.
There was a small depression there, in which accumulated some liquid that looked like ordinary rainwater, but upon closer inspection, there seemed to be very fine gray-black filaments slowly twisting in the water.
"Stand far away, don't let the 'erosion water' touch you."
Father Hill whispered a warning, his tone serious.
He carefully opened the lid of the silver jar, and with a long-handled silver spoon, he scooped up the liquid in the corner with great caution and quickly poured it into the silver jar.
The moment the liquid fell into the tank, the tank body shook violently and the runes burst into a dazzling white light.
At the same time, there was an extremely subtle but teeth-grinding "hissing" sound, as if something was being burned violently.
An indescribable strange smell, a mixture of burning incense and burnt smell, filled the air.
After a few seconds, the light faded and the jar returned to calm.
Wen Yin displayed a perfectly balanced expression of fear and curiosity, and asked in a low voice, "Father...is this 'holy water'? Is it...purifying those bad things?"
Father Hill glanced at her, seeming a little surprised that she could observe this.
He closed the jar, his tone calm like a researcher, yet with a hint of imperceptible enthusiasm.
"No, child, there's nothing in this silver jar. The noise just now was simply the runes on the jar temporarily suppressing the 'Erosion Water'."
"'Holy Water' is a sacred object formed when the light bestowed by the Holy Son merges into pure water. It can dispel fog, heal wounds, and protect believers."
"But holy water is too precious," he weighed the jar in his hand. "I'm going to take some of the 'Corrosion Water' back to study. Perhaps I can find another way to combat the 'Dark Corrosion' in the gray fog, and thus make a contribution to the Holy Son."
Wen Yin understood.
Light and darkness confront and exist in this world in such an extreme and twisted way.
The collection process was repeated several more times.
Father Hill seemed to be concentrating, taking notes from time to time.
Wen Yin perfectly plays the role of a quiet, obedient, and slightly timid assistant.
Finally, the silver jar seemed full, and Father Hill breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, let's go back to the cathedral."
The return journey seemed much smoother.
The closer you get to the city center, the wider and cleaner the streets become, the thinner the fog becomes, and the oppressive feeling of the cold white light in the distance becomes stronger and stronger.
The pedestrians were gradually dressed more respectably, but the numbness and piety on their faces remained the same.
Just as they were about to step onto a wide main road leading to the cathedral square, they suddenly heard a more grand and solemn chanting and a uniform, heavy and solemn sound of footsteps from the front.
The pedestrians on both sides of the road seemed to have pressed a switch. They all knelt on the ground, lowered their heads deeply, and made complicated gestures with their hands.
The entire scene was silent, with only the chanting and footsteps approaching.
Father Hill's face changed, and he immediately pulled Wen Yin back to the side of the road, quickly knelt down, and used a stern look to signal Wen Yin to do as he was told.
"It's the Holy Son's parade."
He lowered his voice, his tone filled with unprecedented awe and nervousness.
"Keep your head down! Never look up! Otherwise no one can save you!"
Wen Yin knelt down as she was told and buried her head deeply, but her heart beat faster involuntarily.
She could feel an indescribable, huge and cold "presence" slowly approaching from the end of the road.
The first thing that caught her eye was a pair of feet wearing pure white boots with gold trims. Their steps were as synchronized as those of precision machinery.
They should be the elite guards of the temple.
Immediately afterwards, a soft yet penetrating light shone down, dispelling all the shadows and fog around her, and even making her feel a tingling sensation on her skin as if a weak electric current was brushing against it.
The cold incense in the air was extremely strong.
The chanting sounded like a substance pressing on the eardrums, solemn and dignified, yet without a trace of human emotion.
Then, she saw...
A pair of bare feet.
As perfect as a white jade sculpture, spotless, stepping lightly on the cold and rough stone road.
Every time a step touches the ground, a circle of extremely faint but pure light will spread out from under the feet, spreading like ripples on the water, purifying all "impurities".
Even though Wen Yin lowered her head, she could still feel the almost suffocating holiness and... inhuman pressure from the corner of her eyes.
The parade was passing in front of her.
The cold and pure power of "light" enveloped her.
She could feel that the gaze of the center of the team... seemed... to linger on her for a very brief moment.
The feeling was indescribable. Wen Yin only felt that she was being "scanned" by something supreme and temperatureless.
While she felt a chill deep in her soul, she was strangely attracted to the light, and had the illusion of wanting to get closer and surrender.
[Host, close contact with an extremely high concentration of a strange energy source has been detected.] 028's notification tone was unprecedentedly rapid.
The team moved forward slowly, and the perfect bare feet and vast pressure gradually faded away.
Not until the light dimmed and the chanting sound gradually faded away did the people kneeling on the ground dare to carefully raise their heads one after another, their faces filled with excitement and enthusiasm for being blessed.
Father Hill also breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, brushed off the dust on his robe, and looked at Wen Yin with a complicated look for a moment.
Just now, the Holy Son seemed to... pause subtly.
Just because of the frail girl in front of him.
He looked at Wen Yin deeply and his tone returned to normal.
"Let's go! You're lucky to have received divine grace right after arriving. Remember this feeling; it will be helpful when you pass the choir's faith review."
Wen Yin slowly stood up, lowered her eyelids to hide all the surging emotions in her eyes, and just responded softly.
"Yes, Father. I will keep it in mind."
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