Chapter 156: Ke Lai En

Night, the lights inside the church were dim, Father Wu Telafu Si sat before the Life Holy Emblem at the front of the church, eyes tightly shut, hands clasped under his chin, praying silently.

A figure slipped into the church from the side, Father Wu Telafu Si's tightly shut eyes opened, his gaze turned to the hidden spot of the figure, and in a low gentle voice he said:

"The Mother God's church will not reject anyone; why didn't you use the main gate?"

In the dark corner, Ke Lai En, his face painted with oil, stepped out; he looked at the priest, who seemed like a little giant, and spoke:

"You are Archbishop Wu Telafu Si?"

"I prefer to be called Father."

Father Wu Telafu Si stared at Ke Lai En and, in a flat tone, began to speak.

Outside the church, Lei Ke Dun, who had returned at an unknown time, stood in the shadow before the church with Tu Ba Ge.

Lei Ke Dun still held several pale‑yellow sheets; the sheets depicted a black cat with a painted face, wearing a top hat and a bow tie, sneaking into a church bearing the Earth Church emblem.

"Fortunately I noticed Ke Lai En heading this way just now, otherwise I would have missed this scene."

Lei Ke Dun muttered two sentences to himself, now eagerly awaiting Ke Lai En's reaction when he discovers that Father Wu Telafu Si's commission has already been fulfilled.

Inside Harvest Church, after a brief exchange with Ke Lai En, Father Wu Telafu Si asked:

"What brings you here?"

"I heard you have a matter to commission, is the reward still the pharmacist's formula?"

Ke Lai En replied bluntly.

To his surprise, Ke Lai En saw Father Wu Telafu Si slowly shake his head:

"Although I don't know where you heard it, the commission is no longer available; you're a step late, I cancelled it last week."

The oil paint on Ke Lai En's face could not hide his astonished expression; he muttered in his mind that the pharmacist's news was delayed, then said:

"Sorry for the disturbance, I'll take my leave."

With that, Ke Lai En walked out without looking back.

Exiting Harvest Church, Ke Lai En's expression froze again as he saw Lei Ke Dun in the shadow ahead holding several pale‑yellow sheets, and Tu Ba Ge at his feet also clutching a few pale‑yellow sheets.

"Why are you here?"

Ke Lai En's intuition gave him a faint premonition that the other's presence was somehow linked to him.

Lei Ke Dun stepped out of the shadow with Tu Ba Ge, a smile he could not hide on his face, and said:

"I came to take Tu Ba Ge back, and happened to see you sneaking over here, so I waited for you a while."

Ke Lai En stared expressionlessly at him, his gaze fixed on the pale‑yellow sheets in their hands. The pictures showed a black cat with a painted face, a tall top hat, a bow tie, and a watercolor of a church bearing the Life Holy Emblem.

"You're waiting for me here because of these pictures, aren't you!"

Ke Lai En spoke as if he had seen through everything.

Lei Ke Dun handed over the watercolor: "Do you want to see it?"

"No!" Ke Lai En refused without hesitation.

Ke Lai En looked deeply at Lei Ke Dun; he always felt the other was very different from him, which was why he had never revealed his transmigrator identity.

Compared with himself, the other's mindset resembled Luo Sai Er Da Di, treating everything as a game.

Lei Ke Dun casually lifted his hand and tossed all the pale‑yellow sheets into the spirit realm.

These were pages ripped from a book messenger; any content that appeared on them would be recorded by its own book messenger, so there was no worry of loss.

"Back to Thus line: Mingsike Jie?" Lei Ke Dun asked.

After thinking and realizing he indeed had nothing to do, Ke Lai En nodded.

Lei Ke Dun took one hand holding Ke Lai En, the other holding Tu Ba Ge, stepped into the spirit realm, and soon returned to house No. 15 on Thus line: Mingsike Jie.

When Lei Ke Dun was about to lead Tu Ba Ge back to the house opposite on the street, Ke Lai En called out:

"Was it you who completed Father Wu Telafu Si's commission at Harvest Church?"

Lei Ke Dun hadn't expected Ke Lai En to ask that; he thought the question was about a demon clue, and nodded slightly:

"Yes, I have some connection with the Earth Church; shortly after arriving in Beikeland I received the news that Father Wu Telafu Si needed help."

Ke Lai En nodded, unconcerned with the question, only missing a chance to obtain the pharmacist's formula; when he later wants to train subordinates or raise an extraordinary animal, he'll purchase it then.

"Last night's blood‑moon night, another person was killed by that demon."

Ke Lai En changed the subject.

Lei Ke Dun thought for a moment, then produced the Universal Key he had obtained from Father Wu Telafu Si and tossed it to Ke Lai En.

Ke Lai En examined the brass‑colored, simply fashioned key; its style was plain, its spirit fully restrained, making it hard to tell how it differed from ordinary keys.

"It's called the Universal Key; it can open any lock that lacks mysterious power, and a few locks with supernatural effects."

"Even where there is no lock or door, it can still open a non‑real passage, as long as no extraordinary power blocks it, the obstacle isn't thick."

Ke Lai En nodded slightly and asked, "What are its negative effects?"

"It randomly leads its holder astray; prolonged use will cause the holder to get lost in dangerous places," Lei Ke Dun smiled faintly and continued:

"If you keep using it, there's a high chance you'll walk straight into a demon's killing scene."

Ke Lai En's expression hardened a bit, intending to throw the Universal Key back to Lei Ke Dun:

"I don't want to encounter that demon's killing scene; that would add another corpse."

Lei Ke Dun studied Ke Lai En's eyes with deep meaning before continuing:

"I can't use it; ordinary locks and obstacles don't stop me. Keep it with you, use it or not, it doesn't matter."

Ke Lai En asked, puzzled, "Why? Is there anything special about it?"

After a brief pause, Lei Ke Dun replied:

"It is a bit special; it bears Mr. Door's contamination, and holding it lets you chat with Mr. Door on a full moon."

"But I gave it to you so you can get familiar with it; when you reach Sequence Three, you'll gain the ability to summon historical projections."

Ke Lai En's eyes brightened; he understood the meaning, no longer doubted, and took the Universal Key.

Of course, just leaving it unused, whether it's Men's contamination or the trait that puts users in dangerous situations, makes Kèláiēn not want to lightly use this universal key. He really doesn't want to actually run into a demon's murder scene.

Leikèndun told Kèláiēn the demon's information, and reminded him that the demon behind this serial murder case might have accomplices:

"Demons find it hard to control their own urge to kill, especially during rituals. The fact that this serial killer hasn't been exposed after so long indicates he likely has accomplices."

"Moreover, demons have the ability to sense malice; once someone harbors ill will toward them, they can quickly lock onto that person."

Kèláiēn fell silent again, understanding Leikèndun's meaning: demons are hard to catch proactively, so we can only wait for them to walk into the net.

This means this serial murder case is more dangerous than he thought; he somewhat regrets accepting the invitation of the great detective Aixíngé·Sītǎndùn.

Returning to the house across the street, Leikèndun rummaged for ingredients and hastily made himself a dinner.

After finishing dinner, Leikèndun went up to the bedroom on the second floor and quickly fell asleep through meditation.

He wanted to see if he could communicate with that blurry figure who called himself Sasilier in his dreams.

He fell asleep in a daze, and after an unknown amount of time, Leikèndun felt the sunlight before his eyes was a bit glaring, his consciousness gradually waking.

Leikèndun curiously glanced around; the hazy white light made the surroundings look blurry, allowing him to roughly know he was on a mountaintop by the sea.

A blurry figure bearing eight pairs of transparent wings made of light slowly stepped closer in the air; when the figure drew near, its voice sounded in Leikèndun's ear:

"What do you want to talk about with me?"

Leikèndun froze for a moment, but thinking of that mass of flesh parasitizing his left forearm, he knew some of his thoughts weren't strange.

He briefly organized his words, then said:

"After you recover your angelic rank, will you then influence the True Creator, letting Him gradually regain sanity?"

The blurry figure slightly shook its head, narrating in a flat tone:

"I cannot make Him regain sanity through reverse influence, after all I am merely a clone; doing so would only assimilate me into His madness."

"But as long as I exist, the True Creator is as good as having a perfect anchor; His condition will gradually improve, breaking free of madness and regaining sanity."

Leikèndun frowned slightly, feeling that this clone's humanity seemed somewhat lacking.

"My relationship with the True Creator isn't that independent; to avoid being contaminated by His madness through the connection, I must always stay sane."

The blurry figure seemed able to see through Leikèndun's inner thoughts, giving an answer before he could even ask his question.

"You and I can directly say His name here?" Leikèndun stopped his words, cautiously confirming with the blurry figure.

"Yes, Adam cannot peer into this dream; I didn't expect you to even know Adam's identity—is it deduced from the Knowledge Wilderness, or did the Light's Key see something in the River of Fate?"

(End of chapter)