Embers Ad Infinitum

“Five, zero, three.”

Jiang Baimian had expected the Superior Heartless to give all kinds of ‘hints,’ but she never expected it to be three numbers.

What does this mean? What does this represent? A secret code used by the Clam Dragon Church? A series of questions flashed through Jiang Baimian’s mind.

At this moment, the Superior Heartless—who had said these three numbers—seemed to have finally released the heavy boulder weighing down on his heart. Clear, deep-brown colors surfaced in his turbid eyes.

The dark-brown color was instantly swallowed by the turbidness like a drowning person who had finally given up on struggling.

“Gasp…” The Superior Heartless let out a sound that resembled a beast’s threat toward humans from his throat.

This made it difficult to believe that he could speak human words a few seconds ago.

Once he was relieved of his obsession, he was no different from a normal Superior Heartless.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Baimian raised her right hand, flipped the mirror over, and aimed it at her target. She wouldn’t allow such a dangerous existence to unleash its abilities unrestrainedly.

Similarly, Abbess Zhou Yue had a similar reaction.

At this moment, a figure appeared in front of them—Shang Jianyao’s tall figure.

He walked in front of the Superior Heartless and calmly looked him in the eye.

The gasping in the Superior Heartless’s throat gradually reduced, and his highly tense body relaxed a lot.

“Do you still treat yourself as a human?” Shang Jianyao asked.

His back was facing Zhou Yue, and his side was facing Jiang Baimian. The expression on his face was shrouded in the shadows brought about by the Superior Heartless. It was indistinct, but the two ladies present could tell that his voice was deep.

The Superior Heartless hunched his body slightly, and his turbid eyes were bloodshot. He didn’t respond to Shang Jianyao, nor did he leave. He stood rooted to the ground, and the illusion he had created had already vanished without a trace.

Zhou Yue’s heart palpitated. She took two steps forward and stood beside Shang Jianyao. Then, she looked at the Superior Heartless and gently asked, “Are you Protector Fan?”

The grizzled elder looked at her with a beast-like gaze. His expression didn’t change, nor did he speak.

“I’ll take it as a yes.” Zhou Yue sighed. “After you disappeared, your wife couldn’t find you. She was overly worried and fell seriously ill. She couldn’t be treated… Your child and granddaughter never gave up. They wandered the Ashlands, searching every place you might’ve gone… The Church ordered every convent to pay attention to your tracks…”

The Superior Heartless quietly listened, but it was unknown if he understood. However, the gasping in his throat had completely vanished.

After Zhou Yue finished speaking, he suddenly whimpered, turned around, and ran out of Nanke Convent like a wild ape.

Jiang Baimian didn’t stop him because of the danger he posed.

Jiang Baimian paid attention to the door and didn’t randomly move to prevent herself from being affected by the illusion. She muttered to herself, “Phew, the information he wants to transmit is actually the numbers: five, zero, and three…”

As she hesitated, she had an idea. “Is this the door number representing Jiang Xiaoyue’s mind world in the Mind Corridor?”

“Maybe.” Zhou Yue nodded slightly. “Every door in the Mind Corridor has a different number. I wonder how it came about.”

“Electronic—Identification number?” Shang Jianyao almost said ‘electronic card number,’ but he forcefully changed it to something found in the Old World.

“It’s not that long.” Zhou Yue denied this guess.

Jiang Baimian tersely acknowledged her words. “So, the Superior Heartless is reminding your Church’s other Dream Protectors to avoid Room 503 in the Mind Corridor?”

Or they could gather their manpower and conduct a thorough cleanup under the Kalendaria’s protection.

“Maybe.” Zhou Yue didn’t know much about such matters, so she could only answer ambiguously.

As they discussed the numbers ‘five,’ ‘zero,’ and ‘three,’ a beast’s roar suddenly sounded from outside Nanke Convent.

“Woo!” This voice was shrill and hoarse.

The three of them looked at each other, each holding a mirror. As they swept the mirrors around, they walked to the door.

Just as they passed the impluvium and came to the streets, they saw the Superior Heartless standing on the rooftop opposite them.

As countless stars shimmered, he jumped forward with all his might.

His figure rapidly plummeted as his grayish-white hair danced in the wind.

Clap!

The Superior Heartless landed on the street and splattered into pieces. Bright-red and dazzling blood quickly flowed out from under him as if it were creating a puddle.

This scene froze in Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and Zhou Yue’s eyes.

When they arrived, the target was no longer breathing. He had no signs of life.

At this moment, Jiang Baimian recalled the scene of Jiang Xiaoyue committing suicide by jumping off a building in horror, and she couldn’t help but sigh.

Zhou Yue stared at the scene for a while and sighed silently. She raised her body and slightly spread her arms. Then, she said in an ethereal and solemn tone, “The New World is beyond the dream. May you please the deity.”

After a brief prayer and blessing, Zhou Yue saw the tall young man from the Qian Bai Team walk to the corpse and quietly watch it for a few seconds.

He then took off his short, dark-blue down jacket and squatted down gently. He covered the deceased’s face with his clothes, covering his skyward, turbid eyes that had lost their focus.

Phew… Jiang Baimian sighed again.

…

In Nanke Convent.

Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao worked together to move the Superior Heartless’s corpse in. According to the Clam Dragon Church’s teachings, they replaced the short down jacket with a white towel and covered the deceased’s face.

This meant that he would never fall into a dream again.

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Zhou Yue sat down cross-legged one after another. They guarded the corpse and waited for dawn.

The speechless silence lasted for a while before Jiang Baimian broke the still atmosphere casually. “Abbess Zhou, do you think he jumped off the building with his last bit of rationality to end his life as a Heartless, or did he repeat Jiang Xiaoyue’s actions because of the effects of her mind world?”

Zhou Yue stared at the corpse covered by a white towel and smiled. “I hope it’s because of the former reason. This way, he can escape the illusion as a human.”

Jiang Baimian fell silent for a while before asking, “Abbess Zhou, how did you join the Clam Dragon Church?”

Zhou Yue retracted her gaze and smiled. “I’m an orphan adopted by the Clam Dragon Church. I grew up in the Church, and there’s no such thing as joining or not joining.”

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly when she heard that. “No wonder you follow the Clam Dragon Church’s teachings so well. You have integrated it into your daily actions and words.”

Shang Jianyao—who was sitting cross-legged beside her—was still staring at the corpse. His eyes were calm, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

Zhou Yue laughed self-deprecatingly and shook her head. “No, I wasn’t like this in the past.”

“Oh?” Jiang Baimian sounded with a questioning tone.

Zhou Yue looked up slightly. It was unknown if she was looking at Nanke Convent’s roof beam or the Kalendaria in the void. “I once had a very good friend. She was also an orphan adopted by the Church, and we lived in the same room for many years. We agreed that whoever became a Dream Guide or even a Dreamland Priestess would apply to have them sent to their convent and be good friends for life.

“Later, one day…” At this point, Zhou Yue paused, and her gaze seemed to be a little empty. “She contracted the Heartless disease.”

Jiang Baimian opened her mouth, but she couldn’t find the right words.

Zhou Yue then said, “After I became an adult, I fell in love with a fellow disciple. He was a very good person. He was tall and shy. He always stammered when he saw us girls and couldn’t say much.

“He was also very kind. Once, he followed the other Church members to a nomad settlement in the wilderness that had suffered a flood to save the refugees there and search for children suitable to be brought back for nurturing.” As she spoke, Zhou Yue wore a faint smile as if she had returned to the past.

“Later, later…” Her expression gradually turned blank. “They told me that a plague broke out in the settlement, and he didn’t return.”

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Yue looked at Jiang Baimian and revealed her usual smile. “Everything is but a dream. Why so serious?”