Embers Ad Infinitum

Leaving the reception room and walking towards the elevator.

Shang Jianyao, who was clearly dizzy and still overcoming his weakness with excitement, walked next to Jiang Baimian and continued chattering:

"You were born in October, so you belong to 'Yougu', and you have felt his gaze. This means that you are destined to be worshiped..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Jiang Baimian stopped Zen Master Pudu from preaching.

In order to fit in with the character, this guy has recently read a lot of related old world entertainment materials, and sometimes he seems to be garrulous.

Is it really a good idea to mention the "ghost" gaze at the base of the vigilant church? Do you want to be like Di Marco, suppressed in the ark, unable to get out or enter the "new world" for the rest of your life? Jiang Baimian was muttering in his heart, then added angrily and changed the topic:

"You were born in September, and I don't see you acting like a believer in Mandala."

Shang Jianyao didn't answer and silently took off the tactical backpack behind him.

"What are you doing?" Long Yuehong didn't follow this guy's train of thought.

Shang Jianyao replied calmly:

"Take out the 'Six Consciousness Pearls' and put them on, then I will be a qualified 'Mandala' believer."

As he spoke, he raised his fingers to touch his lips.

This is the etiquette of the "Transcendental Spirituality" order. Shang Jianyao learned it from his good brother Terrence, the second boss of the "Black Shirt Party".

"Be polite!" Jiang Baimian chose Shang Jianyao's most acceptable reason, "I don't know how many people there will be later."

"Yeah." Shang Jianyao agreed deeply and zipped up the tactical backpack.

At this time, Bai Chen whispered to himself:

“I am from May and belong to the ‘Monitors’.

"Xiaohong is from November and belongs to the 'Broken Mirror'..."

"I feel that the relationship between the year and the month is not that strong. At least I don't have the spirit of 'I'm always dreaming, why take it seriously'." Long Yuehong immediately started a discussion on Bai Chen's words.

When Jiang Baimian heard this, he silently rolled his eyes upward.

She then pressed the button to "summon" the elevator.

After arriving at the basement level of the Vigilant Church, they put on their masks again and walked upward along a familiar path.

The hall here is still the same as Jiang Baimian remembered it, deep and wide, with extensive use of red, giving people a very dangerous feeling that requires vigilance.

The red is mixed with golden yellow, which exudes a strong sense of holiness.

On the wall deep in the hall, the huge symbol consisting of a half-closed white door, darkness behind the door, and a female figure makes every entrant instinctively want to lower their head to avoid the gaze of unknown beings through the mysterious door.

At this moment, there were two groups of people sitting on one side of the giant symbol, exchanging words in the air, sometimes intensely, sometimes slowly.

At a glance, Long Yuehong felt that the seven or eight people on the left side of the holy emblem should belong to the Vigilant Church.

It wasn't that he recognized these guys, but because they all wore iconic masks and hoods.

The five or six people on the right side of the holy emblem shrank back, almost hidden in the darkness that the evening brought to the hall.

They were not wearing masks and sometimes trembled and trembled, like a group of frightened quails.

Perhaps they were too focused on the dispute, or perhaps it was almost completely dark, and the church hall was only illuminated by a few candles in front of the holy emblem. The two groups of people did not notice the arrival of the "Old Tune Group".

So, Shang Jianyao stood up on tiptoes, and with the professionalism of hide-and-seek as a child, he sneaked closer.

Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen followed behind without concealment, but the two groups of people didn't even give them a look.

alert! Where is your vigilance? Jiang Baimian said "ha" in his heart.

At this moment, she saw Shang Jianyao, who had arrived near the Holy Emblem, quietly sitting down.

Wearing a monkey mask, he sat next to the people from the Vigilant Sect, very close to them, as if they were in the same group.

The corners of Long Yuehong's mouth twitched, thankful that she was wearing a mask and would not be embarrassed.

As the distance shortened, Jiang Baimian and others could clearly hear what the two groups of people were arguing about.

An ordinary cleric belonging to the Vigilance Church said in a serious tone:

"This world is too dangerous, and various disasters may strike at any time, so we must be vigilant and face life with such an attitude. Only in this way can we completely survive the destruction of the old world and usher in the opening of the door to the new world.

"This is what Zhi Sui really wants to warn us."

Across the way, a middle-aged man who looked frightened and shivering shouted in a shrill voice:

"Yes, this sentence is not wrong, but your point is wrong.

“The point is fear!

"Fear is the oldest and most primitive human emotion, and it has helped humans survive to this day.

“Only when we know how to fear gods and everything worth fearing, will we naturally become vigilant and take appropriate precautions.

"So, vigilance is only the inevitable result of our strict observance of doctrine, not the essence!"

Another vigilant church member wearing a gauze hood retorted sharply:

“The purpose of fear is to be vigilant, not to immerse you in fear and pursue fear pathologically.

"You are putting the cart before the horse!"

This seems to be a gray man.

Hearing this, Long Yuehong understood something and suddenly started to curse:

So, while you are wearing a mask and hiding, you act like someone has a gun pressed to your waist...

Jiang Baimian listened with interest and sat down at a distance.

Frankly speaking, she felt that the level of debate and theory on both sides was not too high. From the many books she had read, in the sects in the old world that had been passed down for thousands of years, the disputes about doctrines had risen to the level of philosophy, and each had their own basis. On one side, he quoted scriptures and spoke eloquently.

Of course, this did not prevent Jiang Baimian from listening carefully. Similar things were not common in the dust.

"Yes, yes, how can you take the condition as the conclusion?"

"No, no, no, this is not the relationship between conditions and conclusions, this is the relationship between the root and its development results!"

"..."

Jiang Baimian listened and suddenly felt something was wrong.

Some of the words used in the conversation just now were familiar to her.

She subconsciously looked at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao straightened his neck and echoed loudly.

The next second, he quietly shrank to the floor, crawled to the other side on the edge of the light.

After sitting down again, he took off the monkey mask with a furry face and a sharp mouth, and Qiqing refuted what he had just said.

It was such a fun time...I couldn't even tell that he was a patient...Jiang Baimian was almost angry.

At this moment, a roar sounded in mid-air.

The first spring thunder in Nuhu area this year has arrived.

By the time the thunder subsided, the group of people who preached fear had fled the hall and hid in their rooms.

People who are wary of the church find places to hide so that they are not exposed to the sight of outsiders.

In just ten seconds, only Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen and Shang Jianyao were sitting alone near the Holy Emblem in the hall.

After a while, Jiang Baimian sighed:

"Let's go and visit Song Warner."

In Song He's room, the "Old Tune Team" met this acquaintance again.

He is still the same, his eyebrows are slightly sparse, his temples are a bit white, his beard is cleanly shaved, and he has not aged much.

"May your vigilance last forever." Song He raised his arms, crossed them on his chest, and took a step back.

"Distance is our friend!" Shang Jianyao responded with the same gesture.

There was no change in Song He's expression. He looked at Xue Shiyue, who was wearing a delicate monk mask, and asked with a smile:

"Why did you go back to Hongshiji again?"

"I plan to go to the ruins of Tieshan City and meet the intelligent man here." Jiang Baimian replied simply.

Before Song He could ask again, she curiously inquired:

"Warning Song, what happened to those people in the hall just now?"

Song He showed a wry smile:

"Fellows of the same origin debate doctrine."

He immediately explained two sentences:

"After the destruction of the old world, the first batch of favored ones who received the revelation of Zhi Sui developed followers and formed a sect. However, as time went by, differences emerged among them. One group believed that Zhi Sui was the incarnation of vigilance, while the other group insisted Fear is the root cause.

“No one of them could convince the other, so they quarreled for several years, each pulling supporters to set up their own branch, and the original Yougu Church split into the Vigilance Sect and the Fear Sect.

"After that, every few years they would pick representatives and locations and get together to continue the original debate."

"That's it..." Shang Jianyao looked like he suddenly realized something.

Too bad he was wearing a mask.

Jiang Baimian continued to ask:

"What about those people who preach kindness?"

"That's something else." Song He's expression was gloomy, and he obviously didn't want to say more.

Seeing this, Shang Jianyao raised a question that he was "puzzling at":

"Didn't Zhi Sui point out what was wrong?"

The teacher doesn’t give reference answers or correct test papers?

Song He smiled gently:

"To this day, both churches still get responses from the church, occasionally, every year.

“So in my opinion, they actually all have a point, and they have all implemented Zhi Sui’s teachings to a certain extent, but they are just reflected in different aspects.

"Haha, I can't talk about it anymore, and don't tell anyone about it, otherwise the bishop will punish me for copying the teachings related to vigilance."

Song He had said so. Of course it was not easy for Jiang Baimian to ask about this matter. After all, this was the Vigilant Church, with "Young Gu" watching over it.

She said after careful consideration:

"Warner Song, did Di Marco's father, grandfather, or great-grandfather ever leave the 'Underground Ark' and go to the ruins of Tieshan City?"

Ah...what does team leader mean? Why do you ask such a strange question? Long Yuehong was stunned and suddenly had an idea.

Di Marco, or the awakened one who "played" Di Marco and his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, is in the realm of "Bodhi"!

The ruins of Tieshan City, separated by a mountain, contain one of the five holy places of Buddhism!

This seems a bit coincidental.

Only then did Long Yuehong truly understand the reason why the team leader insisted on waiting for Gnawa at Hongshiji instead of the area near the ruins of Tieshan City.

She not only wanted to see the effectiveness of the work of the Ark Management Committee, but also planned to investigate the problem of "Yan Hu" and the relationship between Di Marco and the ruined Buddhist shrine in Tieshan City.