Chapter 519, Section 518: Soul and Faith
"What kind of incompetent bunch are you doing this job?" The guard captain's low growl echoed in the narrow back alley. He pointed at the limp male corpse on the ground, his hands trembling with rage. "How many times did I emphasize this before we set off? Only arrests, no harm allowed! Did you all ignore me? What is this? Speak up!"
“Captain, this…this really can’t be entirely our fault.” A young guard shrank back, his voice filled with grievance. “They put out all the candles in the room themselves, so it was pitch black. As soon as we rushed in, the people inside panicked and knocked over the pot. This guy slipped on the mushroom soup and, to make matters worse, hit his head on the corner of the table…we didn’t even touch the hem of his clothes.”
"Can't you guys use your brains?" The captain pointed at his subordinate's forehead. "There are twenty-odd of you. You block the doors and windows, do you think they can sprout wings and fly away? Do you have to rush in like wild boars to scare them?"
He found it difficult to quell his anger.
Lord Fal had personally warned him beforehand, "Don't cause any trouble!"
He thought it was a chance to prove himself, but now it has resulted in a death, and he has no idea how to go back and report.
"How about... we bury him quietly?" A shrewd-looking guard leaned in half a step and suggested in a low voice.
"Idiot!" The captain turned and glared at him. "If he has family or friends in the army, wouldn't they all be exposed when we ask him at the city lord's mansion? Do you intend to arrest his whole family to silence them?"
“Captain, I’ve already asked.” The guard wasn’t flustered at all. Instead, he leaned closer and lowered his voice. “This man is a new member recently recruited by their ‘Mushroom Cult.’ He’s a refugee who fled from the occupied western region. He has no relatives or friends in Mushroom Capital.”
Upon hearing this, the captain's rapid breathing calmed down slightly.
He didn't speak immediately, his fingers stroking the stubble on his chin, his eyes shifting between the corpse and his men.
Seeing that the captain was interested, the guard pressed his advantage, saying, "Captain, let's just throw him onto the fungal carpet outside the city, cover him with some grass and soil, and in less than three days, the fungal mycelium will eat him away, leaving only an unrecognizable skeleton. Then we can separate and lock up the other cult members. After a while, who will even remember that such a person existed?"
"Hmm..." the captain managed to squeeze out a muffled syllable from his throat.
Three days later, Lin Jun received a sticky soul.
...
This was the second time Lin Jun had encountered a soul with such peculiar properties, and this time the soul was even more firmly attached than the last one.
Although it is still constantly breaking away, it can at least maintain this state for more than a minute.
Lin Jun reacted quickly and stuffed it directly into the body of a spare cannon fodder Puji with the number Puji.
It actually works!
However, this creature that had just transformed into a puffball and emerged from its cocoon appeared extremely flustered.
He seemed to want to shout, but Puji didn't have any vocal organs.
He unconsciously yelled "Ah ah ah" in the mushroom net while running around with his short legs.
Lin Jun tried to calm it down, but it only ran even faster.
Just as Lin Jun was about to lose her temper and reclaim control of her body, he stumbled and missed a step.
With a slip of its short legs, the round mushroom rolled down the slope, and with a final thud, the cap hit a rock and split in two, dead.
As the body was decomposed, his soul emerged once more.
However, this time the stickiness was far less than before, and it soon broke free from Lin Jun's control and disappeared into the space.
Lin Jun was speechless. How could there be someone with such poor mental fortitude?
Look at that Sword Saint, he was only surprised for a short while after turning into a puffball, and then he calmed down immediately.
This guy, from emerging from his cocoon to falling to his death, did nothing but yell "Ahhh!" and run around aimlessly, leaving not a single useful piece of information behind.
Although we couldn't get any answers, his very existence proved that people can become like Puji.
The key is the source of soul cohesion!
Lin Jun found his body in a mound of earth outside the city.
Although it is impossible to revisit a scene like accessing surveillance footage, it is not difficult to trace the source by leveraging the sensory network and information eavesdropping capabilities of the area covered by the fungal carpet.
Mushroom Cult?
Deep within the dungeon, even imprisoned, a woman named Julia repeatedly murmured to a cluster of mushrooms in the corner, "May the god of puffiness protect me... May your mycelium guide me..."
No, who are you?
Who gave you permission to establish a religious organization with Puji as its core belief without authorization?
This feeling is like a student in a normal class suddenly hearing that someone at school has formed a support group for them.
Hmm... thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem so bad?
So, is it faith?
Can faith create connections between souls?
Since gaining inspiration, Lin Jun's understanding of the soul has deepened considerably.
The soul seems to be right in front of us, inside everyone's body, but in reality, once it leaves the body, it becomes an independent entity that is difficult to interfere with.
Lin Jun can capture these souls through [Greed], but only on the surface of the souls, where they represent the mixture of skill proficiency.
With all her skills used up, Lin Jun was unable to interfere with the remaining pure soul.
The soul has always been a very mysterious thing; while it is still in the body, it has a fixed location.
But once they leave their bodies, spatial location loses its meaning.
Just like that frost elemental lord who's currently searching for pink fluff in the ruins.
Lin Jun had clearly summoned it near Redstone City using Puji, but when Puji's body was destroyed, it crossed most of the continent and appeared in the far north through the brief soul contact during the summoning.
This is because the coordinates of Lin Jun's part of her soul changed the instant after Puji died.
The soul clearly operates according to a different set of logic.
Now it seems that faith has a special meaning for the soul!
No wonder gods need religion.
Lin Jun recalled the skill called [Holy Barrier] that she obtained after dismantling those church warriors.
The church warriors used a shield of holy light that could be formed and merged to block attacks, but for them it was a light curtain that would shatter at the slightest touch. Looking back now, was it because of their faith?
Is the power of this skill derived from the God of Light?
It seems that, for the gods, the connections established through faith have even greater uses.
Lin Jun wasn't arrogant enough to think she could rival the gods, and she had little interest in turning everyone into poop. The Sword Saint was an exception.
But these things did not prevent him from being interested in faith.
In fact, he is interested in any knowledge related to the soul.
More and more information suggests that the most important thing in this world is the soul!
There were readily available materials right in front of us.
The rustling and wriggling sound interrupted Julia's prayer. Opening her eyes, she saw the fungal carpet in the corner spreading at a visible speed.
Then, a cocoon slowly emerged from it.
"Puji... God?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
