Embers Ad Infinitum

Upon seeing Terrence turn serious, Shang Jianyao stopped his flippant attitude and asked seriously, “Which Church are you from?”

“Church of Spiritual Transcendence,” said Terrence devoutly.

Jiang Baimian couldn’t help but join in the discussion. “Regarding the philosophical divergence from the Church of Paragon Desire, uh—what mistakes did they make regarding the Kalendaria’s teachings?”

The latter half of her sentence pleased Terrence. He smiled and said, “We all believe that everyone has a spirituality that transcends everything. This is a natural light that lurks in the depths of our hearts.”

“Is this a gift from the Kalendaria, Mandara?” Jiang Baimian had seen some descriptions of the Church of Paragon Desire’s teachings in the information provided by the company, but they were lacking in detail. Furthermore, there was no mention of the Church of Spiritual Transcendence.

“No.” Terrence shook his head. He solemnly and devoutly said, “God is a spirituality that transcends everything. God’s name is Mandara. God is in everyone’s hearts.”

“Then, aren’t we born believers of Mandara?” Shang Jianyao had a look as though he was ‘making a fuss.’

Terrence nodded in relief and replied in the preaching manner from before. “God is in everyone’s hearts.”

“God is in everyone’s hearts,” Shang Jianyao replied, not treating himself as a stranger. He then asked in anticipation, “Doesn’t your Church have a way of praying or salutation?”

He strengthened his tone with a gesture.

Prayers without prayer gestures were incomplete!

Terrence laughed and raised his right hand, gently caressing his lips with his index and middle fingers. After he finished caressing, he gave some well-wishes. “May your spirituality transcend everything.”

“May your spirituality transcend everything.” Shang Jianyao did the same.

He’s giving off vibes of a believer in the Lady of Desire, Mandara… Jiang Baimian muttered silently.

Terrence then smiled. “This is actually a gesture when praying, and it’s also used for strangers. Heh heh, although we are very familiar with each other, you aren’t members of our Church yet. We salute each other by kissing each other’s cheeks. This is also a form of etiquette in the Old World.”

I really can’t get used to that… Jiang Baimian pulled the topic back on track. “Please continue.”

The obese Terrence took out a small piece of paper wrapped in tin from his pocket and slowly unfolded it.

Inside was a piece of dark-brown chocolate.

After putting the chocolate into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed it. With his eyes half-closed, Terrence relaxed and said, “Everyone has a spirituality that transcends everything, but it’s very difficult to sense ‘Her’ or see ‘Her.’ This is because we are always entangled by all kinds of desires—the desire to eat, the desire to have sex with ‘prey,’ the desire to compete, the desire to enjoy, the desire to communicate, the desire to slack off, the desire to pursue spiritual stimulation, etc. These desires blind us and wrap around our hearts, preventing us from seeing or sensing the spirituality that transcends everything in our bodies…”

As he recited the teachings, he didn’t notice Shang Jianyao’s disappointed expression because his eyes were half-closed as if he was sensing a spirituality that transcended everything.

Shang Jianyao looked at the tin paper that contained the chocolate and regretfully retracted his gaze.

Jiang Baimian probed, “Therefore, you need to restrain these desires and let your spirituality that transcends everything surface from the bottom of your heart?”

To be honest, she felt that this shouldn’t be the Church of Spiritual Transcendence’s philosophy. After all, Terrence’s figure and performance indicated that he wasn’t a person who restrained his desires.

“No.” Terrence smiled and opened his eyes. “That’s a heretical religion’s misconception. They are called the Return Church and are active elsewhere. Ma’am, don’t restrain yourself. You can’t get rid of your desires; you can only vent them.”

He seriously explained the Church of Spiritual Transcendence’s philosophy.

“Desire can’t be eliminated. As long as you are alive and haven’t become a vegetable, desire will definitely arise. We mustn’t fear it; we have to learn to recognize and treat it correctly. Think about it. Every time you have sex to your heart’s content, don’t you enter a magical state? Don’t you find calmness in your body and mind and that your mind is clear? Aren’t you no longer plagued by all kinds of desires and have a feeling of escaping reality?”

Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian were stunned.

They didn’t answer, nor could they answer. Their expressions were rather identical.

Terrence didn’t want them to tell him the answer to this question. He continued, “That means that you are close to having spirituality that transcends everything. In some of the Old World’s literature, this is called Sage Time. The name of my Awakened ability shares the same name. This implies receiving the deity’s approval.

“Sage—you can tell that they are very powerful just from the name. They are people who can sense true spirituality. From this point of view, we have a way to see and extract the spirituality in our hearts. That is to indulge our desires and vent them one by one. We will then extract them in extreme calmness while sensing and seeking them out.

“Our way of praying is to indulge our desires at the moment they arise. If you want to have sex, find someone to sleep with. If you want to smoke, finish a pack. If you want to drink, make yourself drink a good meal. If you want to eat something sweet, don’t think that it will harm your body. If you want to eat meat, do your best to satisfy your needs. If you want to beat someone up, do it without hesitation…”

This might result in sudden death… or have you beaten to death… Jiang Baimian didn’t dare to say a word.

She then asked, “Then, what does the Church of Paragon Desire think of this?”

Terrence’s expression became serious again. “They actually believe that all kinds of desires and spirituality that transcends everything are inseparable. They believe that there’s me in you, and you in me—all different facets of the deity.

“How is that possible? Therefore, they believe that as long as all kinds of desires are ignited and boiled, they can sense and grasp spirituality that transcends everything.”

Jiang Baimian came to a realization. “In other words, you believe that desire is an obstacle to seeing one’s own spirituality and that venting is the most reasonable and effective method. As for them, they believe that desire is sacred?”

“Yes,” Terrence said in a deep voice. “They are desecrating the deity.”

If this is blasphemy against a deity, it means that Mandara still acknowledges their thoughts to a certain extent, or ‘She’ doesn’t care about these baffling matters… Jiang Baimian replied inwardly.

Upon seeing that Terrence had finished, Shang Jianyao eagerly asked, “What’s your Holy Communion?”

Terrence laughed. “It’s something that can satisfy some kind of addiction, such as coffee, red wine, or a special beverage left behind by the Old World. Very few factories can still produce it now.”

As he spoke, Terrence stood up, walked to a relatively new refrigerator that totally resembled one from the Old World in the activity room, opened the door, and took out two bottles of black liquid. He then used an instrument to get some ice from the freezer compartment below.

He quickly sat opposite the coffee table and got Ogre to bring three glass cups from the kitchen.

With a poof, Terrence pried open the lid of the two black beverages and poured the liquid inside into the cups.

Fizzling sounds constantly sounded as coffee-colored bubbles endlessly emitted from the black beverage in the cups.

The last step was to put the ice in and let them sink to the bottom of the cup.

He raised his right hand and gently caressed his lips with his index and middle fingers. After praying, Terrence picked up a cup and saluted Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian. “You can drink it now.”

He then tipped his head slightly and gulped down the black beverage in his cup with a satisfied expression.

Shang Jianyao didn’t hesitate to return the gesture before tasting the liquid with ice cubes.

A few seconds later, he lowered the cup that only had a small portion left. He looked at the beverage bottle on the table and nodded sincerely. “Your Church is pretty good.”

Isn’t this Coke… Although Jiang Baimian had never tried it before, she knew about it. She controlled her expression and took a small sip of the beverage.

She was rather satisfied with the refreshing and unique taste.

After sharing Holy Communion, Terrence raised a question. “Why did you directly guess that I’m from the Church of Paragon Desire? Have you interacted with them before?”

“Yes,” Jiang Baimian replied frankly. “Our friend in Weed City was scammed by a woman named Christina. She’s suspected to be from the Church of Paragon Desire. Suspected.”

“The one from the Hunter’s Guild?” Terrence came to a realization. “She’s considered a relatively active suspect. Don’t be in a rush to take revenge on her. The Church of Paragon Desire has a strong relationship with the higher-ups.”

“Is that so…” Jiang Baimian didn’t expect to obtain such an unexpected piece of information.

After dealing with the people around Terrence and confirming that Inference Clowning could carry on the cyclic reinforcement for a period of time, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian left 25 Stern Street with Ogre and got into their jeep.

Jiang Baimian sighed as she drove. “First City really has many Awakened. Various religious organizations can be seen everywhere, be it openly or secretly. This also indirectly shows how strong First City is. It can actually suppress such a situation. They haven’t caused any trouble in the city for so many years.”

Shang Jianyao looked at the road ahead and sighed. “Now that Little Red is here…”

“Don’t malign Little Red!” Jiang Baimian laughed.

…

In First City, in the Hunter’s Guild’s lobby.

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava returned from the second floor without receiving news about Han Wanghuo.

Long Yuehong suddenly pointed at a spot and said, “Uh, is that the former vice president of Weed City’s Hunter’s Guild, the one called Christina?”

Bai Chen and Genava looked over and saw a blond, blue-eyed woman in her thirties. Apart from her rough skin and slightly large pores, the woman—who was wearing a white top and blue, diagonally-patterned pants—could really be considered very charming. It made people associate her with beds.

She was none other than the former Vice President of Weed City’s Hunter’s Guild, Christina.