Chapter 489: The Sanctuary Sends Warmth

"What's wrong?!"

Mary startled, her hand loosened, the sheet almost slipped, and she hurriedly grabbed it again, looking nervously at the strange boy who came and went.

Jesus looked at her; he asked:

"Mary, if... I mean, if."

"If someone could rescue you from here."

"You... what do you want to do from now on?"

Mary heard the words, and the motion of her hand clutching the sheet suddenly froze.

She stared blankly at Jesus, as if she couldn't comprehend the question, or the question was so far beyond her that it seemed unreal.

After several seconds, she slowly continued to pull the sheet upward, her voice still tiny and weak, carrying a sense of bewilderment:

"I... I don't know."

She truly didn't know.

That question had never arisen in her world.

"I can't do anything; maybe... like now, find a place to Wash clothes for people, clean up? Hmm... maybe also..."

Her voice dropped even lower, almost inaudible: "Maybe... like those 'sisters'."

She was clearly referring to the real prostitutes in the front courtyard.

Within her limited understanding, leaving here seemed unable to escape the extension of this circle.

"I don't know... I don't know where I could go."

Mary finally secured the sheet, turned around, faced Jesus, her face full of helplessness: "Those sisters said... there were sisters who once got out before."

"But they... later all died—starved, died of illness, were driven away... People outside don't like us, they say we're sinful, despise us, and refuse to interact with us."

"We don't dare go too far..."

After speaking, she seemed to feel she had said too much to the strange boy, lowered her head uneasily, and prepared to walk past Jesus, returning to the oppressive building of the brothel.

Just as she was about to pass by, Jesus's voice sounded again:

"Mary."

Mary's steps halted.

Jesus looked at her back, word by word, and said earnestly:

"No one is without sin."

"But the Lord will forgive all sins of those who truly repent."

Hearing Jesus's words, Mary turned and gave him a glance, a smile appearing on her face.

"Who knows? I hope... right?"

To her, the concept of the 'Lord' was too distant; between that and the grim reality of them, mired in mud and deemed 'unclean', lay an insurmountable chasm.

She could feel Jesus's goodwill, but she could only return a kind smile, then turn away and continue her work.

Jesus stood where he was, watching the direction Mary disappeared, then glanced at several other girls still silently Wash and dry clothes.

They all bowed their heads, focused on their tasks, as if the earlier conversation had never occurred.

Everything here seemed shrouded in a habitual numbness.

He said nothing more, merely pursed his lips, turned, and returned to the street corner.

Yu Lin still leaned against the earthen wall, relaxed in posture, but his gaze lingered with interest on a plain stone house a short distance ahead, indistinguishable from the surrounding homes, as if something intriguing lay inside.

Hearing faint footsteps approach from behind, Yu Lin asked without turning his head:

"Back?"

"Hmm," Jesus stepped beside him and stood.

"What did you ask?" Yu Lin's tone sounded casual, as if just an offhand question.

"Yes," Jesus nodded:

"Yu Lin, I understand what I must do next."

"Oh?" Yu Lin finally withdrew his gaze from the house, turned to the boy beside him, and asked, "Tell me, what will you do?"

"I will study a great deal of knowledge, not only the laws taught in the hall, but also... other knowledge that can improve people's lives."

"I also intend to learn many skills—carpentry, farming, medicine, accounting... all useful abilities that create value and help people become self‑sufficient."

"Because I have realized that redeeming a person's 'sin' cannot be done from a lofty perch; that would be too... too airy."

"True redemption requires stepping into their plight, understanding why they feel 'helpless', then teaching them how to truly Wash away the past mud, and after Wash, they have the ability and dignity to stand up again and walk toward a new life."

"I will teach them knowledge so they understand right from wrong and also understand hope; I will teach them skills so they can support themselves and even help others."

"Perhaps, in the future I will need to establish an organization, a sect."

Yu Lin listened quietly, his face showing little surprise, and slowly nodded:

"Hmm."

He offered no lengthy reflections, no praise, and no doubt.

He simply shifted the conversation abruptly and asked a seemingly unrelated question:

"Have you ever seen a devil?"

Jesus was clearly taken aback by the question; he blinked and shook his head honestly: "No, only read about it in the Scrolls, heard teachers speak of it."

"Perfect, I'll take you to see it, come with me."

Having said that, he didn't wait for Jesus's reaction, stepped forward, and headed straight toward the ordinary stone house he had been watching with interest.

Jesus's mind was full of doubt.

A devil? Yu Lin wants to take him to "see" one? Where to see? How to see? Never mind, I'll follow and figure it out later...........

Despite his many questions, out of trust in Yu Lin, Jesus still stepped forward and closely followed.

The two of them arrived in front of the stone house.

The house was silent, its doors and windows tightly shut, and no sound could be heard from inside, as if the owner were away and not yet returned, or perhaps sleeping.

Yu Lin raised his hand and knocked on the door, neither lightly nor heavily.

"Dong dong dong."

The knocking sounded unusually clear in the quiet afternoon streets.

There was no response inside.

Yu Lin was not in a hurry either, knocked a few more times, then cleared his throat and, through the crack, raised his voice, saying:

"Hello!"

"Temple sends warmth, please open the door!"