Chapter 290: Pollution!

Chapter 290: Contamination!

"Karen, do you want to head to the pastry shop?"

Richard was now acting like a child desperate to prove he had grown up, seizing upon every trapping he believed could brand him an adult.

"Doesn't Dark Moon Island have a Mermaid Theater too?"

"Just like straightening the steering wheel when you're driving, I feel we need to straighten out our tastes in this regard."

"You and that Belia..."

"We haven't even established a romantic relationship yet. Before marriage, I am free. Oh, that is quite something in Wien, you know. In the culture of Wien, even after marriage, if a husband or wife cannot find a lover, they won't be able to hold their head up high before their spouse.

So it really hasn't been easy for my mother. With my father acting like this, she surprisingly hasn't looked for a lover this entire time."

"Richard."

"Hmm?"

"You should head home first. Your father may be a man of few words, but I can tell he truly cares about you deeply. So, hurry on home; your father is definitely waiting for you."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yes."

"Alright then, I'll go back first to let the family know I'm safe. Shall I come find you tomorrow? You can cook for me, hehe."

"Alright."

From the corner of his eye, Karen glanced at Memphis, who was standing beside Richard.

"Keep your word, Karen, I'll come tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

If you are still capable of walking over tomorrow, that is.

The team members either hailed cabs or boarded trams, while those with their own cars nearby chose to carpool with others heading in the same direction.

Karen got into the car with Fanny and Pegg.

Pegg opened her mouth to ask, "By the way, Karen, I heard the Captain mention a few days ago that Miss Ophelia would be coming to our place as well?"

"She is coming to the Church of Order, but not to York City."

"Oh, that's a pity then," Pegg smiled.

Fanny countered, "What do you mean a pity? Karen probably feels a sense of relief instead, no longer having to be torn."

Karen offered

Cullen raised his hand, resting it atop the cat’s head, and gave it a stroke.

Because his hand was wet, the gesture left the fur on Pu'er's head utterly disheveled.

"Oh, damn it, you have ruined my hair."

Pu'er nudged her head against a dry towel hanging nearby, stretching out a paw to wipe herself down.

Kevin seized the moment to proffer his own canine head, and Cullen reached out to pat it; the advantage of a bald dog became thoroughly evident then.

"The hair growth tonic didn’t work?"

"Woof!" Kevin shook his head, signaling its futility.

"Then this head of yours is destined to remain bare forever." Cullen turned his gaze to Pu'er. "Look at the harm you have wrought upon Kevin."

Pu'er countered, "Do you have any idea how much precious time a person can save in a lifetime if they never have to care for or style their hair?"

"Fair enough."

"You still haven’t answered me."

"Answer what? There is nothing to tell."

"Heh, I don't believe you, meow."

"If you don't believe me, so be it. By the way, how have things been around the house lately?"

"Look at that, shifting the subject. There is definitely something amiss."

"What could possibly be amiss?"

Cullen raised his damp hand once more, ruffling the head Pu'er had only just dried.

"..." Pu'er.

"Boss, your dinner is ready."

"Understood."

Cullen sat up in the bathtub, took the dry towel to briefly wipe Pu'er’s head, and then released her. Pu'er leapt onto Kevin’s back, and together they left the bathroom.

After drying off and changing into clean clothes, Cullen walked back to the bedroom. Upon the coffee table sat a bowl of egg fried rice, a dish of braised beef with shiitake mushrooms, and a bowl of shredded pork soup with pickled vegetables.

"Boss, I tried making this a few times while you were away. Please, have a taste."

Cullen sat down, took the silver chopsticks from Xili, sampled a few bites, and nodded. "The flavor is excellent. You've earned a raise."

"Thank you, Boss!"

Once Xili had withdrawn, Cullen began to recount the events of Dark Moon Island as he ate. When he reached the discovery of Jennifer’s corpse:

"Jennifer... to think she died like that."

Pu'er sat upon the carpet, tears welling in her eyes.

"My dearest Jennifer, how could you have died such a death?"

Kevin nudged closer, gently bumping Pu'er’s flank with his bald head, but she remained motionless.

Seeing this, Cullen could only set down his chopsticks, lift Pu'er into his lap, and reach out to brush away her tears.

"Keep speaking. You know what I wish to hear, what I am waiting for."

Cullen continued his tale, and Pu'er listened with absolute devotion. He carried the narrative through to the end of the final day, though during the telling—in order to spare Pu'er’s feelings—he omitted certain superfluous details, such as his interactions with Ophelia.

"Jennifer has set sail into the distance with Philias," Pu'er murmured. "Cullen, are you certain you aren't spinning a yarn just to comfort me?"

"I trust your resilience. Do you truly think I would invent a lie?"

"Sigh... Poor Jennifer. I told her back then that no man is any good, but she thought I was too radical, even urging me to be kinder to Bernard.

That foolish woman really did end up making a fatal fool of herself.

Bernard, that wretched Bernard!

Cullen, you really should have brought back an urn of his ashes so I could flush them down the toilet myself!"

Kevin, who had been sitting by and listening to the whole account, raised a paw to scratch at his neck, recalling the mosquito bites from a few nights prior.

"The situation was rather urgent at the time, and I had to tidy up the entire affair cleanly. Rest assured, however, that my words can only convey a tenth of the torment Bernard endured before he died."

"He deserved death!" Pu'er declared. "Once I am fully recovered, I shall burn Dark Moon Island to the ground!"

Cullen did not try to dissuade her; he knew this was simply her way of venting. At a time like this, there was no need to preach reason or offer empty platitudes about how the common folk of Dark Moon Island were innocent.

"Go on and finish your dinner."

Pu'er leaped down from Cullen’s lap and onto the bed, her feline claws restlessly kneading back and forth against the sheets.

Kevin trotted over.

Pu'er snapped at him, "Stupid dog, if only you weren't a dog right now, how grand it would be! We could go extract Bernard’s soul, lock it in a vessel, and torture him day and night!"

Feeling somewhat wronged, Kevin stole a surreptitious glance at Cullen, who had resumed eating. If he weren't a dog, he likely wouldn't even be here.

Pu'er then turned her anger inward: "If nothing had happened to me back then, Bernard wouldn't have dared treat Jennifer this way. No, Bernard would have been slapped to death by my own hand long ago out of pure annoyance!"

Cullen ladled a bowl of soup, inquiring as he drank, "By the way, is the puppet you and Kevin asked Mr. Lemar to craft finished?"

Pu'er buried her face in the quilt, rubbing it vigorously before looking up with a grin. "It is finished!"

"Where is it?"

"Lying in a coffin down in the morgue."

"I thought you would be impatient to try it out for me the moment I returned."

"You didn't even give a warning before you came back," Pu'er huffed. "Controlling it is rather troublesome; it is quite different from what I envisioned."

"Different in what way?"

"Principally, I am not like Miss Serena. Did you know? It seems she died a long time ago."

Cullen paused, then nodded. "I know."

"But she was preserved through a special method, existing as a sort of spiritual entity. In essence, she is a soul-type aberrant, which allows her to switch between various puppet bodies.

The stupid dog and I cannot manage that right now. Our consciousnesses cannot temporarily leave our current bodies. For me, I am not yet strong enough; as for the stupid dog, he is sealed.

Therefore, if I wish to move that body, I can only do so within a ten-meter radius.

I must sit upon the shoulder of my puppet, while the stupid dog will likely have to take a leash and control his own puppet to walk himself."

"Haha." Cullen chuckled at the mental image.

"But the puppet is truly well-made. Lemar has talent, though a master artisan still requires the tempering of time. I have high hopes for his future."

"Well, I am curious to see what it looks like, considering how long I watched you design it."

"It looks exactly like my old self, because I felt my former appearance required no alteration whatsoever."

Cullen nodded. "I agree."

"Right? Hehe, meow!"

"Oh, by the way, I will be taking a selection test in a while. First the York City district, and then I will compete with the chosen from other districts for those twelve slots. The assessment is primarily focused on the soul."

Hearing this, Kevin let out two sharp barks. As the primary victim of such matters, he had plenty to say on the subject.

"That is not a problem," Purr said.

Kevin nodded vigorously.

"The Door of Samsara, have any of you been there?" Karen asked.

"I have been there."

"Woof!"

"The stupid dog has been there too."

"Tell me about it." Karen picked up a cloth beside him, wiped his hands, then folded it and wiped his mouth.

"Strictly speaking, I only observed it from afar, but never entered. I can only be considered to have arrived before the Door of Samsara, without stepping inside. However, from what I know, there are many undead souls within. Since the God of Samsara established the Door of Samsara, for nearly an era, the Door of Samsara has been doing addition. Heaven knows by what means they have stored how many souls inside.

Stupid dog, did you ever go in?"

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"What did Kevin say?"

"Kevin said that it once dumped garbage into the Door of Samsara. Well, you not only did things for the God of Order, but also for the God of Samsara. Seriously, if you didn't die, who would? If I were the God of Order, I wouldn't let you live either."

Kevin: "..."

"Do you know the specific situation inside?" Karen asked.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"The stupid dog says, do not treat that place merely as a secret realm or a trial ground. The space inside the Door of Samsara possesses its own architectural system, which can be understood as a nation. It has its own hierarchical structure."

Karen said with a slight smile, "A nation constructed by the undead?"

"Woof, woof, woof!"

"Yes, it possesses a top-down system. It is by no means a wild and chaotic existence. In fact, when the God of Samsara first established the Door of Samsara, powerful souls akin to deities were received and stored within. When I dumped garbage and entered back then, I sensed such an aura, and more than one."

"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!"

"The slots for you to enter and undergo the trial need to be selected. In fact, perhaps matching souls will also be selected from within to pair with you. For the trial-takers of the Church of Samsara in the past, this was an opportunity to obtain a soul contract partner, strengthen themselves, and pave their future path of development. Similarly, for the undead souls within the Door of Samsara, it is another chance at 'resurrection'.

Therefore, the selection mechanism inside will only be harsher than the one outside."

After Purr finished translating, she immediately looked at Kevin and asked, "Stupid dog, do you have any friends or anything in there?"

Kevin blinked, and after a long while, said, "Woof, woof."

"No friends, but quite a few enemies?

Uh, alright, you really are a useless dog. You have refreshed the lower limit of my cognitive understanding of the word 'god'. Don't call yourself an evil god in the future; it disgraces gods."

Kevin bowed his head from the mockery.

Karen extended his hand and patted its bald head to comfort it.

"Then looking at it this way, the trial-takers who enter inside are instead more like gifts thrown in?"

"Woof."

"Yes, according to the stupid dog's meaning, that is indeed correct."

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

"The stupid dog says that when the God of Samsara was present in the past, the rules and the undead souls within could be suppressed. Now in this era where the gods do not appear, no one knows what kind of situation will develop behind the Door of Samsara. It guesses that even for the Church of Samsara now, they are merely controlling the entrance.

Even, a more appropriate description is that you people who have been selected are the... sacrificial offerings presented by the Church of Samsara to the interior of the Door of Samsara."

Karen asked, "Then will the people who conclude a soul contract, like the Bloodthirsty Demon clan, face an intensified possibility of becoming lost?"

Hearing this question, Kevin lay down, the dog's mouth tracing a slight curve.

Purr spoke up, "Stupid dog, seriously, your smile looks very wretched."

"Woof?"

"Is the internal power struggle within the Church of Samsara very fierce, dividing into many factions?"

Karen replied, "Yes, that is indeed the case."

"Woof?"

"The stupid dog asks, who is the current gatekeeper of the Church of Samsara?"

Karen replied, "Members of the Simosen family."

Kevin smiled and barked, "Woof, woof!"

"The stupid dog says that in the era he lived in, Simosen was the name of a powerful undead within the Door of Samsara."

The Simosen family, currently the number one family within the Church of Samsara, had its birthplace inside the Door of Samsara?

Purr wagged her tail in surprise,

and said:

"Really? I didn't know at all, and there is no related saying whatsoever on the outside. It seems I am still too young and inexperienced.

In that case, hasn't the Church of Samsara long since merged with the world inside the Door of Samsara?"

Kevin shook his head, indicating his disagreement with Purr's words.

Karen pursed his lips,

and said:

"It is the Church of Samsara that has been polluted by the Door of Samsara."