Chapter 9: The Old Priest
Winterwood City Central Street, Yanfeng Church.
Dong, dong, dong…
The bell tower atop the church rang out, signaling that it was already six in the morning.
Pedestrians passed by the church entrance, beginning their busy day.
The Yanfeng Church was lavishly decorated, covering a considerable area. Inside, the pews were neatly arranged, and someone came regularly to clean.
A young nun knelt before the cross inside the church, hands clasped, praying devoutly.
"Hannah, you are always the first to pray every day. Such devout will makes you different from others."
An aged but vigorous voice came as an old priest with white hair walked up behind the nun.
The nun's eyelids twitched as she remained in prayer, not opening her eyes.
Seeing this, the old priest, Yanfeng Lizheng, smiled gently. He did not interrupt her prayer. Such devout young people were rare these days. After a long while, the nun Hannah opened her eyes.
"Father Lizheng, I'm sorry, I was just…"
"No need to apologize. It was I who disturbed you. For the next month, you don't need to come to the church to pray. Praying at the convent is fine, as long as your heart is devout enough."
"But…"
Nun Hannah looked flustered.
"Winterwood City has been unsettled lately. You must take care of your safety. I don't want a devout believer like you to come to harm."
"Mm, I understand. Thank you, Father Lizheng."
Nun Hannah stood up and headed straight for the utility room. She planned to clean the church. Though there were people assigned for this, she liked to keep the church spotless. Those others always slacked off.
The old priest, Yanfeng Lizheng, sat on a pew inside the church. He had been in a good mood lately, as if he could already see the Holy Grail beckoning to him.
Just as the old priest was pondering over his Bible, footsteps came from behind him. At first, he thought it was Nun Hannah, but he soon realized something was off.
Yanfeng Lizheng turned his head to see a young man in a black trench coat. The old priest's gaze instinctively went to the man's hand, a habitual action of his lately.
Seeing that the man's hand was bare and showed no trace of magic power, the old priest breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the advantage of painted curse seals—they could be wiped off if necessary.
Yanfeng Lizheng didn't look at Su Xiao again, assuming he had come to pray. Yanfeng Church was open to the public from 6 AM to 3 PM daily.
Su Xiao glanced at Yanfeng Lizheng and sat on a nearby pew.
"Father."
Su Xiao spoke, and Yanfeng Lizheng looked puzzled.
"Young man, is there something you need?"
Yanfeng Lizheng smiled at Su Xiao, maintaining his public image of righteousness and humility.
"Father, I want to confess."
Su Xiao instinctively wanted to take out a cigarette but hesitated and didn't.
"Confess?"
Yanfeng Lizheng looked Su Xiao up and down, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Follow me."
Yanfeng Lizheng walked toward a small wooden hut on the side of the church. The hut was small, divided in the middle by a wooden partition. This was the confessional, used specifically for confessions.
Su Xiao and Yanfeng Lizheng entered the small hut separately, separated by the wooden partition. To facilitate sound transmission, the partition had many small holes.
Yanfeng Lizheng cleared his throat and placed his hand on the Bible.
"My child, confess! God is listening…"
Yanfeng Lizheng had presided over this form of confession many times and was highly experienced.
"Oh, I've killed people."
"Hm? Killed who? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
Though he said this, the old priest had already memorized Su Xiao's appearance, planning to report it to the police later.
The old priest was not a magician. Though he was skilled in Bajiquan and physically robust, his actual combat ability was not very strong.
"Killed… many people. I can't remember the exact number."
"An approximate number will do."
The old priest sighed, already categorizing Su Xiao in his mind as a young man seeking thrills.
"Approximately… a few dozen… or so."
Su Xiao used a euphemistic expression, but the old priest sighed again, shaking his head helplessly. However, the old priest had professional ethics and didn't interrupt the confession.
"How did you do it?"
"With a blade."
This time, the old priest was truly exasperated. He no longer cared about Su Xiao's face, as there was no need to call the police. The police wouldn't arrest a young man who was spouting nonsense and possibly delusional.
"Continue with the process."
"Alright."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette and began narrating his "killing process."
"Overall, killing isn't as difficult as imagined. There's no nausea or vomiting. Once you overcome the psychological guilt, it has no effect at all. I hold one belief: most of the time, I don't offend others unless they offend me."
After hearing Su Xiao's description, Yanfeng Lizheng's expression began to change. If this man wasn't a special professional, then he had indeed killed people.
But the old priest didn't know that this was just the beginning.
Over the next ten minutes, the old priest's expression grew increasingly uneasy. After twenty minutes, he was covered in cold sweat.
The old priest looked through the small holes in the partition beside him. If his guess was correct, the person next door was extremely dangerous.
Just as the old priest's gaze passed through the holes, he saw a pair of eyes staring back at him. This nearly made him jump out of his seat.
"Where was I? Ah, right—whether I regret killing. My answer is no. When you pick up a blade, you must have the corresponding resolve. The fastest way to resolve a conflict is to silence one side. That has always been the case. However, Father Lizheng, since I've answered so many of your questions, will you answer one of mine?"
Su Xiao scratched his cheek with his finger. The high-tech mask he wore had good camouflage but was a bit itchy, like having a face mask on.
As for his earlier confession to Yanfeng Lizheng, most of it was nonsense. Telling the truth to a potential enemy was the height of stupidity. The confession was just a way to get a private conversation with Yanfeng Lizheng.
"What question?"
The old priest silently pulled out his phone. He had a feeling that, despite his decent martial arts, he would be instantly killed by the man next door. It was an intuition, so he planned to contact Yanfeng Qili, his son.
"Where is Liudong Temple, or rather, how do I enter the current Liudong Temple?"
Hearing Su Xiao's question, the old priest's pupils contracted sharply.
"Why do you want to go there? If you want to confess, you can do it here. Going there…"
The old priest's goodwill surfaced. He didn't want Su Xiao to go to Liudong Temple. That place was a hell now. Even if this young man had killed people and was guilty, he shouldn't go there to suffer.
"I'll go confess to the monks at Liudong Temple too. Maybe it'll be more effective?"
"…"
The old priest said nothing, at a loss for words.
"Father."
"Hm?"
The old priest instinctively looked toward Su Xiao in the adjacent compartment.
"When I'm confessing, pulling out a phone—should I take that as you trying to call the police?"
A crimson metal armguard appeared on Su Xiao's left hand. This was just the equipment concealment ability attached to the Reincarnation Mark. Concealed equipment retained its passive abilities, but active skills couldn't be used. For weapons, once concealed, they couldn't be used for attacks.
Su Xiao flicked his finger, and the phone in the old priest's hand was cut in two.