Chapter 207: You Came Just in Time
Even more unsettling was what happened after entering Luoyang City.
Guan Shan had lived in Luoyang for twenty-eight years, and only left after meeting Shi Feizhe.
He had a very deep impression of what Luoyang was like.
But…
The entire city was filled with harmonious and cheerful people, leaving Guan Shan completely baffled.
Even the bullies collecting protection fees did so with smiles, and the people being extorted were also happy.
“Old Brother, aren’t you angry?” Guan Shan approached a Henan Steamed Noodles stall and asked the owner.
“Hey~ Money, you can’t take it with you when you’re born, and you can’t take it with you when you die. Just give it to him, it’s not worth getting angry over money.” The stall owner was a man in his forties or fifties, with dark reddish skin and a face full of wrinkles.
“One bowl of Henan Steamed Noodles!” Guan Shan said, sitting down at the stall. He hadn’t had a taste of this noodle soup in years, and his appetite was truly stimulated.
“You gave him all your money, aren’t you just working for nothing today?” He added.
“The Holy Mother said, life is already so hard, why not be happy! It’s a day if you’re happy, and it’s a day if you’re suffering!” The noodle stall owner said.
“…”
Guan Shan pondered for a moment, feeling something was amiss.
“What a good attitude!” He could only say, “The Holy Mother you just mentioned…”
“It’s the Holy Mother of Wisdom! Over there, you can tell you’re from out of town!” The noodle stall owner pointed to a glowing place in the distance.
“I’m not from out of town, I grew up in Luoyang, I just left for a few years. When I return to Luoyang, shouldn’t I have a bowl of Henan Steamed Noodles first?” Guan Shan said in the Luoyang dialect.
As soon as he said that, the noodle stall owner immediately responded, “Oh, fellow townsman! I’ll give you extra noodles in this bowl.”
“Great!” Guan Shan said, “I haven’t been back for a few years, why does Luoyang feel so different?”
“Of course, it’s mainly because we have a Holy Mother here now, who tells us to think less about our troubles and live happily.” The noodle stall owner said cheerfully.
“Oh, oh! That’s wonderful! I’ll go pay my respects later.” Guan Shan followed his words, “Is there anything I should pay attention to when I go pay my respects?”
“Nothing in particular.” The noodle stall owner said, placing the Henan Steamed Noodles in front of him.
“I remember before in Luoyang City, weren’t there three City Lords? Luoshui King Zhen Ji, Ghost Wu Ji, and Cloud Willow Scholar Liu Yunkong?” Guan Shan said in a low voice, “The Holy Mother seems quite influential!”
“Hey! That was years ago!” The noodle stall owner said, “Luoshui King Zhen Ji was defeated and died, Ghost Wu Ji was seriously injured and returned to Mountain, and Cloud Willow Scholar Liu Yunkong just ran away!”
“Now, Luoyang is ruled by the Great Wisdom Cult, by the Holy Mother’s subordinate, the Cardinal in White!”
“Huh?” Guan Shan was startled, “Those three City Lords were no ordinary people.”
The noodle stall owner laughed, “The current Holy Mother of Wisdom is even more extraordinary!”
“…”
Guan Shan looked at the cheerfully smiling noodle stall owner, feeling a sense of unease.
He chatted a bit more with the owner, finished his noodles, paid, and walked towards the glowing place.
The closer he got to this place, the more Guan Shan saw people dressed in white robes, with an eye-like wisdom symbol on their bodies.
A faint call arose in his heart, as if… as if a family member was calling him.
Following the call, Guan Shan walked through the streets of Luoyang, arriving in front of the Temple of Wisdom.
This was the very place where Shi Feizhe had burned down the Bright Sacred Cult church, and now a new temple had been built.
The style of the temple was completely different from the dome-shaped Bright Sacred Cult church, leaning towards the temple style of the Nine Provinces.
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The high platform base and upward steps created a sense of weight and solemnity.
The five-ridged, four-sloped roof and the complex brackets underneath made the temple look extraordinary.
Especially since many brackets were deliberately left empty, forming a circular shape, resembling the eye within the Great Wisdom symbol, both mysterious and sacred.
The walls of the temple were inlaid with white marble, which, combined with the light emanating from within, made the temple appear both holy and pure.
At the entrance of the temple, two rows of priests in white robes stood, maintaining order.
Many believers knelt outside the temple to pray, the sacred light descending upon them, softening their previously furrowed brows and lessening their pain.
Guan Shan watched these people in silence. Just as he was about to follow the call in his heart and walk into the temple, he was stopped.
“Excuse me! Those who are not followers of the Holy Mother are not allowed to enter!” A priest in white robes said, extending his hand.
“Hmm?” Guan Shan was about to say something when he saw the white-robed priest seemed to hear something and said, “Honored guest, the Holy Mother requests your presence! Please follow me!”
Guan Shan said nothing, simply following the white-robed priest, ascending layer upon layer of steps to reach the white temple.
The white-robed priest stood at the entrance of the temple and said, “Honored guest, please enter!”
Looking through the main gate, the structure inside the temple was relatively simple.
A giant eye symbol occupied the entire floor of the temple, and above the very center of the eye symbol, a person floated.
She was also dressed in a white robe, but her hood covered her face, making it impossible to see her features.
Holy and sacred light surrounded her, forming the symbol of an eye.
As Guan Shan stepped into the temple, he felt a strange fluctuation around him, a trance-like state, as if he heard many people talking.
The call in his heart also ceased, as if he had stepped into a body of water.
Was this the majesty of a True Realm martial artist?
No, this was pure spiritual fluctuation!
“You’re here! You came just in time!” A voice rang in his ears, it was Mi Er’s voice, but it also carried an ethereal quality.
“Is it really you, Mi Er?” Guan Shan came beneath the floating figure, looking up at the person bathed in light and the eye symbol, unable to help but ask.
“Yes, and no!” Mi Er’s voice changed to Dan La’s.
“We are all Great Wisdom now!” The two voices seemed to overlap.
“You…” Guan Shan saw the person floating in mid-air, it was Dan La’s face and body.
Dan La was much taller than Mi Er.
“What happened?” Guan Shan couldn’t help but ask.
“Forgetting pain is the behavior of the weak, while the strong inflict pain on others!” The two voices rang in Guan Shan’s ears, “We were merely given new pain by the strong.”
“Who?” Guan Shan asked.
“Luoshui King Zhen Ji!” The voice of Great Wisdom said, “That’s all in the past, it’s not important anymore. Now, you came just in time. Would you like to join us?”
“Join?” Guan Shan felt that this floating figure resembled neither Mi Er nor Dan La.
It was strange, very strange!
It’s better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early!
