DTTM 14

Chapter 14: Wan Shu Church ¹

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“Now, you have that land.”

Zong Yanlei leisurely zipped up his pants, walked past me, and headed towards the sink. I used this time to get up from the floor, pull out a large wad of tissues, and clean myself.

The tissue was flushed away from the toilet again, and Zong Yanlei had already tidied himself up, placing his hand on the doorknob. In just a moment, he returned to normal, the madness from before completely gone.

“Be out in five minutes.” With that, he turned the handle and left the restroom.

The Sun God Racing Team headquarters building boasted the finest air circulation system. Even the slightest odor was rapidly broken down and removed. Xu Chengye told me this when I applied for the job, and while I didn’t think much of it then, I was truly grateful now.

Standing in front of the mirror, I peeled off the eye patch, then washed my hands, face, and rinsed my mouth. Too lazy to get a tissue, I just grabbed a clean towel from under the sink and wiped myself haphazardly. My lips were a little red, but fortunately they weren’t cracked.

“You called me a quickshot. I thought you were long-lasting. You’re nothing special.” I boldly said these arrogant words as I rubbed my lips, taking advantage of Zong Yanlei’s absence.

The movie outside seemed to be nearing its end, and the end credits were playing. I tidied my hair, hugged the popcorn bucket back to my chest, and tried to make a less stiff expression by repeatedly moving the corners of my lips. I timed it perfectly and turned to walk outside.

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The movie night ended successfully in every sense of the word. The next day, the land deed for the Phoenix Nursery was delivered to my dormitory as promised. When I opened my bedroom door in the morning, I saw it lying quietly on the coffee table in the living room.

After checking the land deed, I bought a train ticket and went back to Zengcheng. Firstly, I wanted to personally deliver the land deed back to Aunt Kou, and secondly, I wanted to take this opportunity to take Wei Jiarui to see his uncle.

Because she hadn’t been informed beforehand, Aunt Kou was overjoyed to see me. She pulled me into the house, her concern evident in her words. She kept asking if I was cold, if I was tired, and when she saw that I looked unwell, she asked if I wasn’t used to Baiyujing’s food.

“Your stomach has always been weak. Is it because the food at the team’s cafeteria doesn’t suit your taste?” She made a move to get up. “I made some beef sauce a few days ago. Take it back and eat it. Let me know when you’ve finished it, and I’ll send you some more.”

“No need for that, Aunt Kou.” I quickly stopped her, took out the land deed that I had acquired at great expense from my pocket, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it toward her. “The day before yesterday, I attended the Crown Prince’s banquet and happened to see Bing-ge there. He works for the Crown Prince’s treasurer…”

I lied to Aunt Kou, saying that I redeemed the land from Bing-ge. Aunt Kou didn’t suspect a thing, and with trembling hands, she held the land deed, shedding tears like pearls from a broken string.

“Xiao Man, I don’t know how to thank you…” She suddenly knelt down on the ground, “You are Aunt Kou’s lucky star. Aunt Kou can never repay your kindness in this life or the next…”

I quickly helped her up from the ground: “It’s alright, Aunt Kou. You and Xiang Ze helped me back then, I’m just returning the favor. You don’t need to feel like you owe me anything.”

Aunt Kou shook her head repeatedly upon hearing this: “How can that be? You must have spent a lot of money on this.”

“Not much, not as much as I earn in a single match.”

Aunt Kou looked unconvinced and was about to say something when the door opened.

Xiang Rou, holding Wei Jiarui’s hand, each with a popsicle in their mouth, strolled back from who-knows-where.

“Daddy!”

“Xiao Man-ge!”

As soon as they saw me, they rushed over at the same time.

I caught Wei Jiarui, but I didn’t have the strength to catch Xiang Rou. She crashed into me like a storm, forcing me to stagger and retreat until my back hit the corner of the table, making me gasp in pain.

“Waaaaah, Daddy, I thought you didn’t want me anymore…”

“Xiao Man-ge, we miss you so much! Are you… are you still leaving?”

I gently comforted the little chubby boy, “Daddy didn’t abandon you, don’t cry…” I took a moment to reply to Xiang Rou, “Ge can only stay for a little while this time, I’ll come back to see you next time.”

After finally calming Wei Jiarui down, I told him that I would take him to see his uncle later. His face was still streaked with tears, but his eyes suddenly lit up.

Although Wei Bao had been in prison since Wei Jiarui could remember, for some reason, he was never distant from his uncle and was always affectionate with him whenever they met, which was amazing and showed the magical attraction that blood ties bring.

After having lunch at home, I took Wei Jiarui to Zengcheng No. 1 Prison in the afternoon.

A transparent partition divided the visiting room in two. I stated who I wanted to visit, and after about ten minutes, Wei Bao, wearing handcuffs and leg chains, was escorted in by prison guards.

The last time I saw him was half a year ago. He didn’t look much different in the past six months. He was tanned and strong, and looked like he had taken good care of himself even in prison.

“Rui Rui, have you missed your uncle?”

“Yeah, I miss you every day. I miss you when I eat meals, and I miss you when I eat… snacks too.” Wei Jiarui sucked on the nearly empty popsicle in his mouth, trying to savor the last bit of sweetness.

“Why do you only think about food all day long? You little glutton,” Wei Bao laughed.

He looked up, his gaze falling on my face. He seemed to sense something was wrong from my expression, and his smile faded. “What’s wrong? You look terrible. Didn’t you sleep well?”

I got straight to the point: “Xiang Ze is dead.”

Wei Bao was stunned: “Dead?”

Wei Bao used to be an employee of the Phoenix Nursery, and I was introduced to them by him, so he was not unfamiliar with the Xiang family.

I told him about Xiang Ze’s gambling debts and his suicide. Upon hearing this, Wei Bao slammed his fist on the table, his face full of anger: “What a scourge!” But he quickly recovered and hurriedly asked me about those debts and whether they had been paid off.

I told him that I had become a GTC navigator, and he immediately grasped the key point: “Zong? Wasn’t the family you used to work for surnamed Zong? I remember you mentioning the Zong family back then, the young master of the Zong family?”

“Yes.” Wei Bao would find out about these things sooner or later, so I didn’t hide it from him and told him the truth: “It’s still the same Zong family, and still the same young master.”

Wei Bao pursed his lips, his two thick, dark eyebrows furrowed together. He looked at me for a moment, then sighed, “Still the same lunatic who almost beat you to death six years ago.”

I smiled and said, “He’s recovered and seems much more emotionally stable.”

“He better be.”

We chatted about this and that, and when it was time to leave, Wei Jiarui cried again as if it were the end of the world. I could only promise to give him another popsicle when I got back, which finally stopped his crying.

Wei Bao had one month left in his sentence. The next time we meet would probably be outside.

After dropping Wei Jiarui off at home and handing him over to Aunt Kou, I immediately returned to Baiyujing. There was a two-week rest period between each leg of the race. The next leg will be held in Fantong, the second largest city in Penglai. The route design had always been known for its unpredictable and tricky style. I needed to do as much simulation training as possible before the second race to familiarize myself with its style.

However, what I never expected was that before I achieved results, I was disliked and no one wanted to team up with me for training. Now that I had won the opening tournament, no one still wanted to team up with me.

“Not a single one is available?”

The technical consultant in charge of the training room, who was in his fifties and had a big, red nose, surnamed Yan, looked embarrassed when I asked him: “No, we don’t really have one. Otherwise… would you like to train with the AI?”

He had barely finished speaking when I saw the door of a neuro-navigation pod open, and a reserve team member came out. I quickly went up to him and said, “Can I practice with you for a bit?”

The team member looked at me with sudden panic: “Me?”

Consultant Yan immediately stepped between us: “No, no, he has other tasks to complete later!”

“Yes…yes, yes! I have something to do! I’m leaving now, you…you can find someone else!” He ran away as fast as he could.

Finally, with no one else available, I had to enter the neuro-navigation pod alone. However, I didn’t immediately begin human-machine training. Instead, I entered the coordinates in the “Sky Domain” and opened another door.

The door was very tall, with a rounded top. I had to look up to see it clearly. It was also very heavy. I had to use both hands to grip the brass handles on both sides and push it open.

The door slowly opened, revealing a completely different world inside, the world of “Free Will.”

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows at the top of the church, casting soft, dreamlike pale gold hues that adorn the entire space. All the walls, stretching from the floor to the seemingly insurmountable dome, were designed as tiered bookshelves. Tens of thousands of books, glowing with an electronic hue, were displayed, exuding not a sense of decay, but rather a serene and solemn atmosphere, as if silently proclaiming the eternity of wisdom.

In the very center, the towering and delicate gray statue of the founder of the faith appeared even more sacred and inviolable under the soft light. A huge cloth covered the head of the statue, obscuring its face, and a pair of wings like those of an angel spread behind it. In one hand it holds a scroll symbolizing truth, and in the other hand it raised a torch to guide the way forward.

Several Wo people knelt devoutly at the statue’s feet, praying fervently. Here, they no longer looked up to the cold, aloof nobles of Penglai, but to the glimmer of knowledge and freedom amidst suffering.

This was a religion that had emerged among the people of Wo in recent years, called “Free Will.” It believed in freedom, science, and knowledge, and advocated equality for all, which stood in stark contrast to, and can even be said to be a contradiction to, the ideals of the Penglai Jing Shi religion.

However, because it operated discreetly, with only a “Wan Shu Church” in the metaverse, and didn’t involve itself in secular power, coupled with Penglai’s long-standing reputation for religious freedom, the authorities had always maintained a tolerant attitude towards it, neither supporting nor suppressing it.

However, what the future holds remains to be seen.

I sat down in the back row of the church, gazing at the giant statue in front of me, lost in thought. There weren’t many people coming and going in the church; it was very quiet. After sitting for a while, I suddenly received a message from Zong Yanlei.

[Where are you?]

[Training room.] I quickly replied.

A minute later, he sent me another message.

[I’m asking where you are in the metaverse.]

Strangely enough, I could tell from his words that he was impatient.

[I am at the Wan Shu Church.]

I pursed my lips, sent him the coordinates, and a few seconds later, his figure appeared inside the church.

He spotted me immediately and walked towards me: “If you’re not practicing, what are you doing in this godforsaken place all by yourself?”

His silver hair was so dazzling that his noble status was obvious. The people in the church all looked in our direction, some with surprise and some with wariness.

“I can’t practice alone.” I replied with a smile, offering him my seat.

Without even looking at it, he said, “You can use AI.”

“AI is nowhere near as good as you.”

Normally, these words would be considered flattery, but now, after witnessing his “power” just last night, they sounded ambiguous.

As expected, Zong Yanlei stopped talking and instead looked around, beginning to observe this new religion founded by the Wo people.

“What’s the use of believing in this? Religion only arises when its creator wants to achieve a certain purpose. Pure faith doesn’t exist in this world. People with true free will exist outside of social customs and moral teachings.” He stared at the statue at the end of the building, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

I looked over and explained to him, “Young master, your thinking is too extreme. The lives of the people of Wo are already bitter; converting to religion is just giving them a place to confide in. Isn’t mutual help and learning the best way to escape their current situation?”

“Escape their situation?” Zong Yanlei looked at me, each word laced with a smile, but his eyes were icy cold. “This world is a mess, you’re either in this mud pit or that mud pit, why bother trying to get rid of it? A mess of mud, do you really think you can transform yourself into a masterpiece that everyone admires?”

Faced with his negativity, I didn’t rush to refute him: “Even a lump of mud can sprout amazing vitality when the time is right.”

His expression was dismissive, but he didn’t argue with me anymore.

“Come out, come with me to training.” With that, he vanished from the church.

The statue of the founder stood solemnly as always, unchanged by the coming and going of Zong Yanlei, a nobleman from Penglai.

“When Nüwa created humans, didn’t she also just throw mud splatters?” I muttered to myself, and then left the church.

(Nüwa: Godess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humanity)

1. Ten Thousand Books ↩︎