Chapter 508: Still Need One More Wash

When John, as if clutching a treasure, held the stone tablet, furrowing his brows and trying to fathom some earth‑shattering secret within it.

Yu Lin had already slipped to the other side and casually sat opposite Jesus.

The campfire's flames danced, illuminating Jesus's face.

He had just undergone the Baptism that caused celestial phenomena, yet there seemed to be no earth‑shattering change in him, at least outwardly.

"How does it feel?" Yu Lin said bluntly, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery:

"Do you suddenly feel omnipotent, that a mere thought could make the Jordan River flow backward, or cause this wilderness to instantly sprout bread and grapes? Invincible, then?"

Jesus thought about the question seriously, then slowly shook his head, his gaze clear:

"My day hasn't arrived."

"I am still myself."

The words sounded cryptic, but Yu Lin understood.

The so‑called "day" refers to the moment when he fully reveals his Son of God identity, wields great power, and moves toward his ultimate mission.

The present Jesus, though he has completed the external Ritual, is still the carpenter Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, the "Human Son" who gets hungry and tired.

There is still a distance to that Christ.

Yu Lin nodded, offered no further question, and simply said:

"Alright, then leave it to the future."

Then someone would ask:

Since the Baptism for Jesus has already been performed, the task should be complete; why does Yu Lin remain here?

The reason is simple— the task hasn't truly been finished!

As mentioned before, Jesus divided a large portion of his "wisdom"—or rather the ever‑expanding, increasingly "non‑human" Divinity—into a Wood Carving that is an exact replica of himself.

The Jesus embodied in that Wood Carving is also a part of Jesus, a version closer to the pure concept of Son of God.

Yu Lin thought of this and asked directly:

"The other 'you', what do you intend to do? Let him just stand forever in the courtyard of Nazareth?"

Jesus heard this, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"I am responsible for 'seeing' sin, he is responsible for 'bearing' sin."

"Not all sins can be 'washed' away; clear water cleanses a repentant soul, but it cannot erase the traces and consequences of deeds."

"And not every sinner is worthy of, or can be, forgiven… just as the Father did not forgive Cain back then."

He paused, his gaze turning to the depths of the dancing flames: "There will always be some… that must be fully settled, that require a 'person' to confront the heaviest part and become… the very Atonement itself."

"As for the rest…"

He withdrew his gaze, looked at Yu Lin, and repeated Yu Lin's earlier words: "As you said, leave it to the future."

Hearing this, Yu Lin asked no further, merely nodded in acknowledgment, then leaned back and, without fuss, lay on the hard stone bed beside him, hands tucked behind his head.

"Alright then. I'll go see him tomorrow."

"Hmm." Jesus said no more; he rose, walked to the simple wooden table inside, and by the oil lamp's light quietly leafed through the scriptures John had collected.

As for John, he remained in the corner, pondering the stone tablet, fingers twirling his beard, muttering incomprehensible murmurs, wholly immersed in his own world.

Night deepened amid the desert wind, the crackle of the campfire, the rustle of turning pages, and someone's confused muttering.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Yu Lin awoke from the not‑particularly comfortable stone bed; the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a face with heavy dark circles and a scruffy beard leaning close, staring straight at him.

It was John.

He had, at some unknown time, moved a small stone stool to sit beside the bed, maintaining that posture for what seemed a while.

Yu Lin: "........"

He was silent for two seconds, then, expressionless, spoke:

"Thanks for the invitation, but I decline."

However, John seemed not to have heard what he said, or was wholly absorbed in his own discovery.

Seeing Yu Lin awake, his eyes burst with excited awe, and he almost couldn't wait to speak, his voice trembling with excitement:

"I know! I studied all night, and I finally understand!"

He inhaled deeply, as if announcing a major Revelation:

"You are... the 'Holy' recorded in the Enoch Record! The 'Holy' who came from the East and once set foot in the Eden Holy Land!"

Hm? Yu Lin's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Enoch Record?"

Was it recorded by Enoch back then? Never mind, it doesn't matter.

He neither confirmed nor denied, simply sat up, let out a long yawn, stretched, loosened his limbs, and then casually said:

"So? What's the problem?"

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!"

John quickly shook his head, his excitement turning into deep remorse; he stood, stepped back half a pace, and solemnly bowed to Yu Lin:

"I offer my sincerest apologies for my prior ignorance, offense, and rudeness! Please forgive my foolishness!"

"It's fine."

Yu Lin waved his hand, appearing unconcerned: "The ignorant are not to be blamed."

He got out of bed, casually tidied his clothes, and walked toward the stone house's exit, ready to begin the new day's Schedule.

John hurriedly followed to the doorway, wanting to say something more, but saw Yu Lin with his back turned, casually waving a hand and tossing out:

"I'm leaving."

Later, under John's gaze, Yu Lin's figure, like thin mist scattered by the morning wind, began to fade and become transparent, and within a few breaths completely vanished into the faint morning light and the wilderness air.

John stood in the doorway, staring at the direction where Yu Lin disappeared, and remained motionless for a long time.

The morning wind brushed his disheveled hair and Camel Sweater.

Perhaps, for such an Eastern Sacred who can step into Eden, stir the Prophecy, yet is wholly beyond the Prophecy's framework, …

This kind of elusive, hard‑to‑grasp way of acting must be the normal one, right?

He shook his head, gave up the attempt to fully understand the other, turned back into the house, and his gaze fell on Jesus:

"Jesus, aren't you leaving?"

Jesus shook his head: "It's not time yet."

"I want to have breakfast with you before we leave."