Chapter 25: Now the whole city is eternally grateful

Psychics

Listening to the one-eyed old man’s words, Zhou Yun couldn’t help but glance at him with curiosity.

I am Chao; psychics are roughly like urban legends circulating in the streets,

terrifying tales that frighten children into silence, one of the ghosts lurking in the Undernest, a cursed omen to be avoided,

everyone despises psychics as they would a demon from legend, yet no one has ever seen a psychic with their own eyes.

But the one-eyed old man’s tone sounded as if he had actually seen one.

“You must know what psychics are, right?”

The one-eyed old man set down the cloth he’d been using to wipe glasses, pulled up a stool, and sat across from Zhou Yun:

“You’ve got more knowledge than most of the Undernest folk.”

Zhou Yun gave a slight nod,

he certainly knew what psychics were,

most psychics were in fact pitiful wretches,

born linked to the Warp, capable of manipulating the power of the High Heaven,

but in return, their souls burned like torches within the Warp, constantly vulnerable to corruption and erosion,

eventually becoming portals through which demons invaded the physical universe.

For this reason, the Empire strictly regulated and controlled psychics,

and those who might lose control usually ended up as fuel for the Astronomican.

But the Empire was vast, and some escaped its grasp, hiding in shadows to survive as illegal psychics.

If the one-eyed old man’s words were true,

the leader of the Ark Sect might indeed be an illegal psychic.

Or perhaps—

Zhou Yun’s gaze flickered slightly,

within the gene-thieves’ organizational structure, beneath the right claw of the gene-thief chieftain, there existed beings known as “Gene-Thief Bishops,”

Gene-Thief Bishops were powerful psychics, outwardly nearly indistinguishable from humans,

they were the chieftain’s proxies, administrators of the race, using dazzling rhetoric and eloquence to deceive humans and expand the cult.

Zhou Yun strongly suspected the so-called Ark Sect leader was one of these.

A cunning, treacherous psychic.

“Someone came asking about you this morning. I sent them away with lies.”

The one-eyed old man suddenly spoke, breaking Zhou Yun’s thoughts.

“Asking about me?”

Zhou Yun felt a flicker of caution:

“What’s there to ask about me?”

Unless the gene-thieves had discovered that he killed those few hybrid new believers,

but… that shouldn’t be possible,

he’d cleaned up all traces from the scene, and he’d used an airgun charged with non-psychic fluid,

even the gene-thieves’ Sanctioners would have difficulty tracking him down.

“The Ark Sect—wearing linen robes, faces painted with idiotic spaceships.”

The one-eyed old man poured himself a glass of crimson wine and said:

“Did you offend them?”

Zhou Yun shook his finger, indicating no connection to them,

unless they truly were the gene-thieves’ cult, he thought silently.

“Could it be because I sold weapons to local gangs, and they’re holding a grudge?” Zhou Yun joked half-seriously.

“Hard to say—psychics are often a bit mad,” the one-eyed old man replied seriously, shaking his head.

“Tell me, what exactly happened last night?” Zhou Yun probed.

“The Ark Sect launched a surprise attack on our district last night; the local gangs were caught off guard and lost nearly half their territory right away.”

The one-eyed old man swallowed the crimson liquid, clearing his throat before continuing:

“But the local gangs weren’t all cowards; relying on their familiarity with the streets, they quickly held their lines.”

“Then some bastard, seeing things turn bad, defected to the Ark Sect and led them around to ambush from behind.”

“The Ark Sect surged forward like a flood, all the way to the doorstep of the local gangs’ stronghold.”

The one-eyed old man smacked his lips, poured himself another drink, and went on:

“The rest is what you just heard.”

“Thanks to the weapons you provided, the local gangs had held their ground.”

“Then the Ark Sect leader stepped alone before the guns, reciting the Holy Scripture.”

“The local gangs froze like they were possessed; the woman gave one order, and they all obediently dropped their weapons.”

As he spoke, the one-eyed old man lowered his voice and looked at Zhou Yun:

“The Ark Sect leader claimed she came by the Emperor’s decree, to redeem the people of Asford.”

“She plans to build a great ark, carrying all of Asford’s followers aboard, ascending among the stars, escaping the claws of the Warp demons.”

Listening to the one-eyed old man, Zhou Yun’s lips twitched slightly: “Then the whole city must be eternally grateful.”

But the one-eyed old man firmly shook his head: “Yet the Emperor taught us that psychics are shameless sorcerers, blasphemous corruptors.”

Zhou Yun couldn’t help but rub his chin,

the Ark Sect sounded more and more like a bunch of treacherous bastards—could they have actually traced this back to him?

Yet a strange unease stirred in Zhou Yun’s mind,

if the Ark Sect truly was a tentacle of the gene-thieves, and had confirmed that those few treacherous bastards in the Undernest were killed by him,

then the Sanctioners should have assassinated him last night, bringing down the Four-Armed God-Emperor’s judgment,

Zhou Yun should already be dead, his soul returned to the Golden Throne or the Brass Throne, the Six Rings of Slaanesh, the Gardens of Nurgle…

Noticing Zhou Yun’s expression, the one-eyed old man raised an eyebrow,

tapped the table and asked:

“You don’t actually have a grudge against the Ark Sect, do you? You thinking of running? I can arrange it.”

“I’ve got connections—any other gang’s territory or even the Undernest.”

He looked at Zhou Yun:

“Of course, it’ll cost you. The Undernest is cheap; other gang territories are pricier.”

As he spoke, the one-eyed old man pulled a lho cigarette from his pocket and lit it,

then pulled out another and offered it to Zhou Yun, like a man closing a deal.

“I don’t smoke,” Zhou Yun declined with a gesture. “As for running—”

Zhou Yun’s mind flashed with the two mutant faces of Mong and Marquett.

“Wait a bit. I need to confirm something.”

“Really not smoking?” The one-eyed old man waved the lho cigarette. “My mom said only fools, babies, and Saint Guilliman don’t smoke lho.”

“You’re clearly no fool, and you don’t look like a baby—so are you Saint Guilliman?”

“Hahaha!”

The one-eyed old man laughed heartily at his own joke.

“Fine, maybe I’m an angel incarnate—Saint Guilliman himself, here to test your loyalty,” Zhou Yun laughed and shook his head.

“I really don’t smoke,” the winged figure in white light shrugged. “Not even real cigarettes.”

“Khan once smoked a kind of water pipe. Russ was eager to try it.”

“Shut up, birdman,” Zhou Yun glanced at the winged figure in white light, a smile on his lips. “Show some respect when speaking to Saint Guilliman himself!”

“The heavens have turned upside down,” the winged figure in white light declared dramatically.

At that moment, the tavern door behind Zhou Yun opened.

“Found you at last, Zhou Yun!”

A familiar voice called out:

“You made old Lag search all over!”

(End of Chapter)