But just then, the figure inside the glowing mass finally spoke for the second time that day: “Newcomers? Let me have a look. Two newcomers, no less.”
Then came a third sentence: “Let’s stop here for today. I’m tired.”
All the congregation closed their eyes again. The glow began to fade, and in Ye Yang’s perception, the figure had already vanished the moment it finished speaking.
That’s it? That was abrupt.
Ye Yang was momentarily dumbfounded.
And those naked women—so many bare-bodied women present, yet nothing obscene took place during the entire gathering. If anything, it made Ye Yang feel like he was the one with the dirty mind. When he first saw them, he genuinely thought something lewd was going on… but it turned out no one except him and Xing Tian seemed to pay them any attention.
Ye Yang had only managed to rise partway, but now he had to kneel back down. Suddenly, he understood what the first follower had been muttering to himself. That devotee had likely attended many times before, but only now had the chance to participate in the mysterious ritual.
But what was the pattern? This time, just over fifty followers had performed the ritual—less than a quarter of the total. Were there always only that many slots?
Then again, the figure in the glow seemed rather capricious. Maybe newcomers simply had no chance, and one had to attend multiple times.
Before long, the light vanished completely. The naked women in the lotus pond stood up one by one and began forming into “lotus chariots.”
The nearby followers stirred. Some stayed put, while others walked back on their own. Ye Yang observed and realized that only those who had participated in the ritual that day could ride the lotus chariots.
After exchanging a telepathic message with Xing Tian, they followed the crowd and slowly made their way back to the blue doorway. Stepping through it, they left the church under the watchful eyes of the man and woman.
It had been dusk when they arrived, but it was nearly dawn by the time they came out.
After all that commotion, their questions had only multiplied. Once they were clear of the small church’s grounds, Ye Yang asked, “Brother Xing, should we find someone to ask…”
Before he could finish, someone came up behind them. “Hey, you’re new, right? Introduced by that Zhu Kai?”
Xing Tian turned to look at him. “You know Zhu Kai?”
This follower appeared to be in his thirties, with greasy hair and high cheekbones. During the lineup, he had been four or five people away from Ye Yang, and Ye Yang remembered him.
“Can’t say I know him—just met him a few times. He’s pretty famous, always bringing in newcomers. Damn it, if I had his luck, I’d be rich by now.”
Someone had just walked right up to them. Ye Yang seized the opportunity, putting on a troubled expression. “We’ve been members of the mutual aid society for a while now. Brother Kai only said that if we came today, all our problems would be solved. He didn’t go into details—just said to trust him. So we came, and sure enough, it was amazing. But we still don’t understand anything.”
The greasy-haired man hissed, eyeing Ye Yang with suspicion. “Just said to trust him? Didn’t tell you to trust the Cult Leader?”
Xing Tian immediately replied, “That goes without saying. We have wholehearted faith in the Cult Leader.”
The man gave a couple of awkward laughs. “Haha, right. Stupid question.”
Ye Yang exchanged a look with Xing Tian. Sure enough, the faith wasn’t in anything else but the Cult Leader personally—very cult-like. Yet from their earlier investigation, the Cult Leader didn’t take a single cent, more incorruptible than any legitimate religion. What was he after…
“Well, since we’re all devout believers, what’s there to say? The Cult Leader is incredible. Once you receive his blessing, your life will change in earth-shattering ways. We’ll all get rich together!”
The greasy-haired man was overly familiar, perhaps because he had been forced to stay silent for hours and was now bursting to talk.
“I’ve come six times and still haven’t been chosen. But I’ve always had bad luck, so I’m used to it. As long as you stay devout, your turn will come eventually!”
“This is your first time, so you must be blown away. I’m not educated enough to describe it—I can only say it’s badass. Really badass, right? To be honest, before my first time, I didn’t really believe. But after coming… hey, have you tried taking photos inside?”
“You wouldn’t dare on your first visit, but try it next time. There’s a surprise, hehe.”
Ye Yang: “…” More like a shock. But it matched his speculation—the Cult Leader’s methods were indeed effective at solidifying the followers’ faith.
Xing Tian seized the moment to ask, “Does that mean only the most devout followers receive the Cult Leader’s blessing?”
“In a hurry? Can’t rush it. I’m this devout, and I’ve still waited this long. You’ve only just officially joined—you’ve got a while to go.”
“But don’t worry. From my experience coming here so many times, I’ve noticed that every time, the number of people the Cult Leader blesses is much larger than the previous time. There’ll be even more opportunities next time!”
That was important information. Ye Yang made a mental note.
He was about to keep probing when suddenly a follower rushed over, shining a flashlight first in Ye Yang’s face, then quickly swinging it toward Xing Tian.
Then his expression changed, and he shouted back over his shoulder, “Found them!”
A clatter of footsteps followed as four or five believers ran over.
The tallest and heaviest man among them grabbed Ye Yang by the collar. “You little punk, don’t you know the rules? A newcomer like you—why are you at the front?”
Ye Yang was a head shorter, and being lifted like that made his feet leave the ground. Xing Tian immediately moved to help, but Ye Yang stopped him with a look. Humans couldn’t hurt them anyway—no need to blow their cover by acting rashly.
After the man finished, the other followers who had come with him chimed in:
“Exactly. Because of you, we didn’t get in today.”
“This is my fourth time coming. If I’d gotten in, maybe it would’ve been my turn this time. But you two took our spots!”
“Right! You two newcomers broke the rules. Otherwise, the blessing would’ve been mine today!”
Xing Tian, suppressing his anger, asked them, “What rules?”
A short man said, “No matter when newcomers arrive, before entering, they must line up at the very back. How can you not know this?!”
The man and woman at the entrance hadn’t said anything about it, and no one had objected at the time… Ye Yang quickly realized this was probably an unwritten rule among the followers, not an official regulation of the mutual aid society.
These people were likely trying to bully them because they were few and new.
Ye Yang wasn’t about to take that lying down. He shot back bluntly, “I’ve never heard of such a rule.”
“Oh, you little—”
The big, heavy man was probably caught off guard that someone with Ye Yang’s scrawny build would be so defiant. He hesitated for a moment, and Ye Yang took the chance to break free, stepping back and looking at them calmly.
Normally, Ye Yang would’ve either silently ambushed them later or just walked away without wasting words. Xing Tian, more hot-tempered, would’ve been willing to trouble the Crisis Management Department just to settle the score.
But today, they were investigating the mutual aid society, and these people might provide useful leads.
Seeing that Ye Yang and Xing Tian not only didn’t run but also had a faintly provocative look in their eyes, the group got angrier. They surrounded them and started shoving Ye Yang and Xing Tian, cursing all the while.
Ye Yang held back from fighting back, just raising an arm to block. Xing Tian tried to shield Ye Yang, but there were too many people.
Still trying to gather information, Ye Yang said, “The Cult Leader is so great. These so-called rules of yours—aren’t they just something you made up among yourselves? According to you, newcomers would never get into the gathering at all. That’s ridiculous.”
The big, heavy man got even angrier. He shoved Ye Yang hard twice, and when he found he couldn’t budge him, he felt deeply humiliated. Already impulsive, he lost his temper completely and threw a punch straight at Ye Yang’s head.
…
Seeing the man lying motionless on the ground, looking almost dead under the dim streetlight, the group of followers froze in fear.
After a long pause, the short man broke the silence: “We’ve taught him a lesson. Maybe… maybe let’s just leave it at that.”
The others quickly agreed: “Yeah, yeah, let’s call it quits.”
“I’ve got to go too—suddenly remembered something urgent at home.”
“Yeah, me too…”
Within half a minute, they had all scattered.
Only Ye Yang, lying on the ground, and Xing Tian, staring in disbelief, remained in the alley.
As for the greasy-haired man, he had slipped away the moment the flashlight hit Ye Yang.
It took a while for Xing Tian to snap out of the absurd scene. Hands on his hips, he said exasperatedly, “Stop playing dead. They’re gone.”
“Uh…” Ye Yang got up awkwardly, touching his cheek where there wasn’t even a mark.
He hadn’t meant to play dead. He really hadn’t expected the guy to be so impulsive, suddenly throwing a punch.
He might be strong, but his weight was what it was, and overconfident in being a demon, he’d let his guard down. One punch sent him flying.
He couldn’t believe a human had knocked him over. He was so stunned that he forgot to get up, and everyone assumed he was dead and ran off.
So much for gathering leads. All he got for his trouble was a hit to the face.
·
“WHAT?!” Sister Wu roared. “You got hit?!”
Ye Yang and Xing Tian had returned to the company and briefly recounted their investigation. The moment Sister Wu heard Ye Yang had been punched, she exploded into a stream of curses so vivid and anatomically detailed that Ye Yang was utterly dumbfounded. Her knowledge of human male physiology was nothing short of encyclopedic.
Strangely, the little resentment and frustration he’d been feeling somehow calmed down.
“It’s okay, Sister Wu. I’m not hurt. And besides, this might actually help move our mission forward.”
Sister Wu was not pleased. “So you’re just letting this slide? [○｀Д ○]”
Ye Yang was about to say it wasn’t a big deal and the mission came first, when the eerily elusive Boss Long suddenly appeared and clamped a hand on Ye Yang’s shoulder. “No. We’re not letting this slide.”
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