Chapter 226: A Miracle?
After delivering the materials to Fu Qingyan and the others, Li Wen left the inn. She was not in a hurry to head to “Black Reef Bay” or “Cape of Submergence” immediately. Although the sea chart had revealed the coordinates, the dangers of that sea area had already been mentioned by Fu Qingyan, and the sea chart itself hinted at unusual secrets. To act rashly without thorough preparation, such as finding a reliable ship and a guide familiar with the area who could avoid the reefs, would be unwise.
Furthermore, the organization calling itself the “Divine Cult of Eternal Blessing,” their interest in these two locations, and their bizarre abilities displayed in the tavern made Li Wen feel it was necessary to investigate first. This organization exuded a sense of incongruity with Port Beren, and their preached doctrine of “Eternal Life” made her instinctively wary.
In Port Beren, as the night deepened, she moved like a silent shadow through the streets, damp and reeking of fish and cheap wine. The missionaries from earlier that day had mentioned that their church was located in the Port District. While the Port District was quite large, churches were generally conspicuous buildings, so Li Wen wasn’t worried about not finding it.
She avoided the brightly lit and still noisy taverns and casinos, turning instead towards the more secluded back alleys. Moonlight, cut by the uneven rooftops, cast irregular shards onto the wet stone pavement, reflecting her solitary figure.
Before long, a building that stood out starkly against the surrounding low sheds appeared at the end of her vision. It was a church built of gray-white stones, simple in style, even crude. Compared to the grand and magnificent churches of the Glorious Church within the Kingdom of Arthur, it was pitifully humble. However, the large red wooden cross nailed to its top was exceptionally prominent in the night, exuding an almost defiant boldness.
The area around the church was unusually quiet. No believers were entering or leaving, nor were guards patrolling. Only a few dim oil lamps hung by the entrance, barely illuminating the tightly shut wooden door.
Li Wen did not approach rashly. She stopped in the shadows across the street, observing carefully. The church gave her a strange feeling. It did not seem like a place for prayer and spiritual solace, but rather like a temporary base, exuding a sense of haste and disharmony.
She noticed that the church windows were tightly covered with heavy, dark cloth curtains, through which no light escaped. This deliberate concealment only added to the mystery within.
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the side door of the church creaked open, and two men, wearing similar gray-white robes with red crosses embroidered on their chests, emerged. They walked with hurried steps, conversing in low tones, and soon disappeared into the darkness of the street corner.
Li Wen’s gaze flickered slightly. She did not sense any aura of Extraordinary Power from the two men. They appeared no different from ordinary townspeople, except for the fanatical piety on their faces, which caught her attention.
After a while, several groups of people began to emerge from the church, and some also entered from outside. Most of the people entering and leaving wore expressions of fanaticism and anticipation, moving with haste and rarely speaking to each other, as if carrying out some secret mission. The composition of these people was quite diverse, including ragged, hopeful dockworkers, broad-shouldered and alert sailors, and some simply dressed men and women with calloused hands, resembling local craftspeople.
However, what caught her attention the most were several individuals dressed in noticeably more refined attire. They moved in small groups. Although they wore ordinary coats, their casually revealed silk linings, exquisite money pouches hanging from their waists, and their slightly astute and arrogant demeanor, so different from the dock laborers, suggested that these were mostly merchants of some standing in Port Beren.
When these merchants entered and exited the church, they were not as fanatical as the lower-class believers. Instead, they behaved more like they were engaged in some business meeting, with expressions of astuteness and calculation. They entered and exited through the main entrance of the church and occasionally conversed in low tones with the church members standing by the door, who seemed to be some kind of stewards, their attitudes appearing quite familiar.
“It seems this cult’s infiltration ability is not weak,” Li Wen thought to herself. For a newly emerging sect to attract believers from such different strata of society in such a short time, especially profit-driven merchants, there must be unusual methods behind it.
She decided to focus her attention on these wealthy merchants. Compared to the fanatical lower-class believers, these merchants might have access to the core secrets of the cult, or at least their conversations would be more valuable.
When the rich merchants’ carriages drove away, Li Wen followed them like a ghost. The carriages navigated through winding alleys and finally stopped in front of a high-class tavern with a blue whale sign. This place was vastly different from the crude taverns in the Docking Area; the two uniformed attendants standing by the entrance alone indicated its level of consumption.
After the wealthy merchants entered the tavern, Li Wen circled around to the side of the building and, transforming into Witch Form, flew directly to the second floor. She leaned against the gaps in the painted glass windows and could clearly hear the sounds of clinking glasses and laughter from within.
“I say, that so-called Eternal Life Cult is just a scam for poor fools,” a husky male voice sneered. “Eternal life? Resurrection from death? I’ve lived for forty years and haven’t seen such absurdities.”
“What do you know?” another slightly sharp voice retorted. “Didn’t the church’s merchant ship sink in a storm not long ago? You didn’t see the scene… All the sailors on board drowned, and the corpses couldn’t even be recovered. Yet, in no time, those people were back to life and hopping on the dock!”
The muffled thud of a wine glass hitting an oak table was heard, followed by a third voice, with a heavy nasal tone: “Old Potter, you don’t actually believe this ghost talk, do you? The dead coming back to life? Ha! In my opinion, those guys never drowned; they just secretly swam back under the ship!”
“I saw it with my own eyes!” the sharp voice became agitated. “Those sailors still had marks of drowning on them, yet they were moving goods as if nothing happened. The foreman on the dock was so scared he wet his pants on the spot!”
Li Wen pressed her ear against the window, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rim of her cloak. The dead coming back to life? This description sounded almost like the resurrection mechanism for players. Does this mean that among the cult’s members, there are also players? How strange.
“I say, whether they’re truly dead or faking it, as long as they help us make money, they’re a good religion,” the husky male voice lowered his voice. “The spice market trends the Cult Leader revealed last month made me this much profit.” A dull thud from being struck on the wooden table followed. “This is much better than those priests who are always chanting about Glor.”
“Tsk tsk, that’s true. Not to mention anything else… which regions’ spices are going to rise in price, which regions’ whale oil is going to plummet, what to stock and when, and when to sell… Damn it, there hasn’t been a single mistake. I’ve never seen such a devilish person in my life. This is a living miracle. The Cult Leader is truly our savior, our money tree!”
The nasal-voiced man suddenly sneered: “You fools, do you really think the Cult Leader is a philanthropist? He holds more leverage than the fish catch in the port. How did Old Coleman’s fleet disappear? Don’t you have any idea?”
The room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Li Wen heard the sound of liquid being poured, followed by the crisp clinking of wine glasses.
“Let’s drink, let’s drink,” the husky male voice tried to smooth things over. “There’s another shipment to check tomorrow…”
The conversation gradually turned to insignificant shipping trivialities. Li Wen quietly retreated and landed lightly on the ground, her cloak trailing faint water marks on the damp stone pavement.
She had initially thought it was just an ordinary rural cult, but it now appeared that this so-called “Divine Cult of Eternal Blessing” was clearly not simple.
