Deng Ximei told Gu Jun many things. 'It was all taught to her by her parents.' Perhaps due to the food, her mental state was still fine.
However, due to the Afterlife Cult's cautious attitude toward the Spirit Children, her understanding of this organization was limited. For example, she could not tell Gu Jun much about its internal structure and its members. She only knew the part that she was responsible for, the poems and stories of the foreign world.
There were other Spirit Children. She gave Gu Jun a few names but they were all childhood acquaintances and they had no contact with each other.
However, she knew they were still part of the Afterlife Cult because they met during a big ritual five years ago. At the time, they were not allowed to communicate with each other and could only look at each other from afar. Therefore, she had no idea what their current situation was.
It was a ritual to the banyan tree. This kind of ritual was not held many times in the past few years. There were many people there that day, many of them with withered faces.
Gu Jun listened and believed it was one of the rituals performed by the Afterlife Cult to summon the Malformed Banyan Disease and open the channel between the two worlds.
Deng Ximei also said that the Spirit Children attended the ritual in the identity of the foreign people …
It was not easy for her to describe all this in detail. She would talk for a while, take a break, eat some food, and then continue.
"Lydia." That was her identity as a foreign person. She was not Doctor Carlop. She did not know Carlop that well. Lydia was a young and beautiful woman. She had long black hair and dark eyes. She was knowledgeable and talented in literature.
However, Lydia fell seriously ill and her life was coming to an end. Before she died, Lydia wrote a poem, The Conqueror Worm.
Deng Ximei wrote out the complete poem. The poem described a tragedy called 'Man'. It was the content of the cult video. A group of clowns dressed as gods chased after an illusion on stage. In the end, they were consumed by the sudden appearance of a blood red worm.
Gu Jun read a sense of desolation from the poem. It was like they were struggling to move forward in the dark night but there was no light of hope.
Perhaps that was the feeling Lydia was expressing.
Mortals were like clowns, spending their entire lives chasing after the falsehoods of the secular world, thinking that they had become gods and were in control of their own destiny. But in reality, no matter how they pursued it, mortals would never be able to obtain the truth. Sudden diseases and disasters could destroy everything.
Just like those tycoons, big stars, and big shots who died young, they were just materials in the tragedy, and the Conqueror Worm was the protagonist.
However, death would also allow mortals to peek into a truth: death could end the ordinary, and death was a kind of sublimation.
"Ordinary is not completely vulgar." Gu Jun said seriously. Thinking of Deng Ximei saying that there was still death that could make her leave, his heart was filled with a lot of gloominess. He encouraged her, "It's good to be alive, at least you can eat some delicious food."
"Lydia wants to live." Deng Ximei nodded softly. Her eyes were shining.
Gu Jun understood what she meant and stopped talking about it. Instead, he asked what she meant by the sacrificial ceremony.
"The Conqueror Worm should already exist in this world. Even though this is a poem written by Lydia, it has some kind of ritual power that can summon the Conqueror Worm. Following that, more dark clouds of death will follow. "
Gu Jun showed her the video of the giant worm outside Li Qi Zai. Deng Ximei shook her head. "That was not the Conqueror Worm, it was probably just a larva.
"In the illusion that I saw …" Deng Ximei would occasionally see illusions as well. "The Conqueror Worm is as tall as a mountain. In the beginning, the larvae appeared, and then they were raised to strengthen the larvae. The way they were raised was to stage the tragedy of 'Man', to make people feel that life is meaningless, that human will is worthless, and that death is the only truth. "
Hearing this, Gu Jun frowned. Her words further confirmed his deduction.
Even though the cultists were traumatized, they did not plan to retreat. Instead, they tried to create chaos to save themselves from the darkness.
"You mean to stage Man?" He asked. "Do you mean to spread the video? Or have the giant worm eat people on the road? "
"No." Deng Ximei pursed her lips. "For those who admired Lydia, even if they did not know her personally, Lydia's death would be a great pity."
"You mean …" Several possible scenarios flashed across Gu Jun's mind. "Lai Sheng Company intends to target a public figure?"
The death of one person might not attract much attention but if it was a famous person, a successful person with many supporters …
If it was not just one famous person who died but many famous people …
"That is possible." Deng Ximei nodded. "The most glamorous actors on the stage."
If that was the case, it would indeed shatter the public's confidence … Gu Jun asked many more questions. How would they do it? Disease? How would it be related to the summoning ritual? How would it become nutrients for the larvae?
However, Deng Ximei answered him with confusion. She understood the poem but not the others.
Gu Jun knew that was not surprising. He did not know much about the foreign people and his understanding of Lenton and the Son of Misfortune was limited.
Seeing Deng Ximei's pale face and the light in her eyes dimming, he knew it was time to stop.
As for the spirit barrier technique, the other foreign poems, the Spirit Children, and the portraits of the other faces that she remembered, they were all important. Be it to protect her or to protect this information, that would have to wait until she recovered a little tomorrow. Otherwise, a madwoman would not be able to say anything.
The information that Deng Ximei brought him was enough to keep him busy for the whole night.
Gu Jun did not allow her to continue. After supper, she was brought back to the holding cell by the Action Force while he went to the administration building to report.
He told Tong Ye the story that he had come up with. To make it more convincing, he added, "The Great Atal actually predicted this a long time ago. He gave me this saying, 'The rose has thorns, but the fragrance of the flower wafts.' I did not understand it before, but now I do."
"Kid," Tong Ye turned back to grab Gu Jun and ask, "how many other words did Atal tell you?"
"Many, some of which I temporarily cannot remember. Atal has been sealed away and will only surface when the time is right."
When they were done, it was already midnight.
The night was dark, but many places in the base were still lit up. Gu Jun walked back to the hostel alone. He did not feel sleepy at all.
He looked at the pitch-black sky above his head. Perhaps, this universe was controlled by an incomprehensible dark force. Humans were very ordinary, but humans also had the ability to appreciate the night sky. This kind of night was really not bad.
He wondered how many more such quiet nights there would be.
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