Chapter 576: Home!

Chapter 576: Home!

"Father, I want to go home and take a look."

Rasma fell silent.

Instinctively, he did not want to agree, but he did not speak to refuse, let alone stretch out his hand to stop him.

Because he could foresee in advance the dialogue and the development of affairs that would occur after his refusal.

On the surface, whether it was past status or present strength, he, Rasma, could hold everything here in his grasp;

But in essence, before this grandfather and grandson, he was in a wretched state, stripped to his undergarments and holding a leaf to cover his shame.

Both he and the Holy Church, under Dis's "threat", had acquiesced to the current situation. Since they had already retreated, to show any backbone at this moment would be like holding one's crotch while delivering a speech on stage, only to be taken as a joke.

However, stepping back also had different forms of expression.

Rasma extended a finger, and on the ground before Karen, a black line appeared.

"In my heart, there is a balance. Over this past period of time, I have been unable to make a true choice. I do not advise you to return now, but regarding your request, I can understand.

How about this, as long as you..."

Before Rasma could finish speaking, he saw Karen lift his foot, step over that line, and then continue to maintain a slightly bowed posture of respect toward Rasma.

"Heh." Rasma smiled and asked, "Do you know what I was going to say?"

Karen looked at the line he had just crossed and replied, "It should be a choice."

"Then you couldn't even be bothered to listen?"

"Not at all. I merely feel that the final choice in your heart, Lord, will not change because of me. After all, you are the only person in our church from my grandfather's era who could chase after his footsteps."

"Boy, your problem is very serious."

"Lord, my problem is very special."

"Three hours." Rasma raised three fingers. "You only have three hours."

"Lord, that is a bit short."

"The Holy Church's team pursuing the assassin will arrive shortly. Them, I can block; but the location of your home is truly far too sensitive. I told you before, here, I cannot contact the outside world either, and can only look at the newspapers myself.

Since I have already cleared the path and permitted you to go home, I have no reason to restrict you further on time.

Three hours is the limit. Beyond this time, you must be prepared to be stared at by certain gazes."

"Thank you, Lord."

Karen bent down and picked up Purr. Purr smoothly leapt onto Karen's shoulder to sit down, saying to Rasma:

"Little Rasma, take us home then. The time is too short, can you help us save on the time spent on the road?"

Rasma pointed a finger at his own face and asked, "Am I being a bit too easy to talk to?"

Purr shook her head and said, "You said it yourself, there is no reason to restrict us on time."

Rasma nodded, walked over, and placed his hand on Karen's shoulder.

In the next instant, a starlight array appeared beneath the feet of the two.

Karen perceived the rapid change of the surrounding environment. The speed was no slower than that of Lord Auggie earlier, yet there was not the slightest physical pressure. Karen knew clearly that this was by no means Rasma's true speed.

It did not take long before Rasma brought Karen to appear on Mink Street.

"Alright, remember to keep good track of the time. Dawn is also approaching."

"Yes, Lord."

"If possible, persuade your grandfather not to be stubborn anymore, and just enter the Temple."

"Lord, you know my grandfather very well. The things he has decided, can an outsider persuade him otherwise?"

"An outsider cannot, but you are different. Dis truly dotes on you. Furthermore..." Rasma looked at Purr sitting on Karen's shoulder. "Two years. After two years, when I leave this place, the first thing I will probably do is come find you."

"Thank you for your care and affection toward me."

Rasma took a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Karen, and whispered:

"I will kill you with my own hands."

Karen froze out of politeness for a moment, then nodded, indicating he understood.

Rasma raised two fingers and shook them in front of Karen: "If your grandfather continues to be stubborn and refuses to enter the Temple to serve the Great God of Order, then you, Karen, will only have two years of time left."

"Whew..."

Karen let out a long breath and smiled:

"Thank you, Lord. That is wonderful, to still have two years of peaceful time."

"Good, very good."

Rasma's figure vanished from the spot.

However, he did not leave, because in the canopy of the sky, that massive eye appeared once more.

"Little Karen, do not be afraid of him." Purr extended her two fleshy paws, cradled Karen's head, and said, "Two years of time is at least enough for me to briefly recover a bit of power, and also enough for that stupid dog to recover a bit

Karen’s footsteps were feather-light, passing almost without a sound. As the captain of the Enforcement Brigade of the Whip of Order, whenever he wished to remain concealed from ordinary people, they stood absolutely no chance of detecting him.

After lingering a moment in his aunt's bedroom, Karen stepped out and entered another room—the one shared by Mina and Chris.

Both girls were nestled beneath their quilts, slumbering sweetly and soundly.

It was a pity, really; this sudden journey home had been entirely derailed by unexpected twists, meaning he had arrived without a single gift prepared.

Karen slipped his hand into the pocket of his divine robe, finding only reles and ration coupons.

It was out of the question to leave the ration coupons, as they were useless to ordinary citizens anyway. As for the reles... though they were considered foreign currency in Ruilan, they could still be spent with ease.

After a moment's hesitation, Karen could only smile bitterly and resort to the most primitive method. Taking out the one thousand odd reles in paper notes from his pocket, he slid them into the coat pockets of Mina and Chris as they hung on the garment rack.

At this moment, he truly felt like Father Christmas—albeit an exceptionally negligent one.

Having placed the money, Karen stepped closer, taking a careful look at his two younger cousins.

Girls generally matured earlier than boys. The cheerful Mina and the timid Chris had both changed quite remarkably since he had left home.

Stepping out of his sisters' room, Karen made his way into his uncle’s bedroom.

Upon the bed, Aunt Mary lay alone in her nightgown. She slept on her side, legs clamping the quilt, arms hugging the pillow, positioned at a sharp forty-five-degree angle across the mattress. The sound of her grinding teeth was audible.

It was difficult to imagine that his aunt, who appeared so glamorous and enchanting during the day, possessed such terrible sleeping habits.

No wonder she used to say she never held it against Mason for squandering the family fortune on failed investments, because he made her thoroughly satisfied in bed.

When he had first heard those words, Karen thought it was a mere slip of the tongue—an inappropriate joke shared with her nephew. Now it seemed he was the one whose mind had wandered into the gutter.

Watching his aunt suddenly roll over, her leg instinctively kicking out to the side while she ground her teeth and slept on, he couldn't help but feel a wave of admiration for his uncle. To maintain such vigorous spirits during the day while chasing business with the hearse was truly impressive.

Yet, had his uncle not returned tonight?

Failing to see Uncle Mason left Karen somewhat disappointed.

Turning to leave, Karen noticed a rolling pin lying beneath the bed. He hadn't seen it in the kitchen earlier; so this was where it had been hidden.

Why his aunt had placed a rolling pin here was a mystery...

Karen picked up the rolling pin, left his uncle and aunt's bedroom, placed it back in the kitchen, and then ascended to the third floor.

Purr was resting on the windowsill of the third floor—a spot that had been its most familiar perch for the past century.

Seeing Karen walk up and open the door to what used to be his own bedroom, Purr couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heheh, Karen, don't you feel like a wandering ghost returning home to visit your living kin right now?"

After a brief reflection, Karen had to nod. "It really does feel that way."

Stepping into his former bedroom, he saw that his bed was neatly made with clean sheets and blankets, while Lunt remained asleep on his own spring bed.

Karen approached and gently pinched Lunt's cheek. His younger brother was sleeping like a dead pig; there was absolutely no need to worry about waking him.

As he emerged from his bedroom and walked toward Dis's room, Purr leapt down from the windowsill and followed. The moment Karen opened the door, Purr was the first to dart inside, leaping onto the bed.

An elderly man lay there, so utterly still that his heartbeat and breathing were almost imperceptible.

Yet it was this very old man who, by his own sole power, had turned the entire city of Luojia—and indeed all of Ruilan—into a vacuum zone forbidden to the forces of the Church of Order.

Karen had envisioned the scene of seeing Dis again many times, but he had never expected himself to be so remarkably calm.

There were no tears, no surge of emotion, no desperate rush to clasp Dis's hand and recount everything he had experienced during his time away.

Upon the bed, Purr occasionally stroked Dis's hair with a paw. Karen walked over to the window, opened it, and then, with natural ease, drew a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and held it between his lips.

"Snap!"

He lit it with a lighter.

When he had first awakened in this world, the smoking habit of his past life had carried over, though he had later quit.

Now, it was truly because he felt there was nothing else to occupy himself with; he brought it out simply so he wouldn't look as though he were just standing or sitting there emptily.

As he exhaled the smoke, Karen faced the window. When he turned back, his gaze fell once more upon Dis’s face, which retained its stern expression even in deep slumber.

Then, Karen smiled to himself.

Before arriving, the yearning for home had churned ceaselessly in his heart, like a pot of water boiled over too many times, dragging his hidden vulnerabilities down into the broth.

Yet upon returning, he instinctively became guarded and reserved. This was not a deliberate attempt to keep his distance or act aloof, but rather an innate instinct—the desire to show his family only his strongest side.

Snuffing out the cigarette butt, Karen finally stepped to the edge of his grandfather's bed, gazing down at him.

Though Dis's eyes were closed, Karen felt as though a pair of eyes was looking right back at him.

Purr seemed entirely unsurprised by this. Between the older and younger men of this household, even if their hearts were bound by profound affection, whenever they actually gathered, it was common for them to sit face-to-face all afternoon without exchanging more than three sentences.

"I'll head to the kitchen first."

"Very well, go tend to your work."

Karen stepped out of the bedroom with complete composure. The very instant the door clicked shut, he instinctively raised his head, blinking hard while parting his lips. A tear escaped unbidden from the corner of his eye, and a sharp ache rose in his nose.

"Inhale... Exhale..."

Karen wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand, took a deep breath, and let out a silent laugh.

Then, he walked downstairs and entered the kitchen.

He prepared the noodles first, then rolled out the dumpling skins and wrapped a good number of small wontons.

Bowls were set out in a row, and he began to add the seasonings into each, while a pot of broth simmered gently on the stove beside them.

Once the family awoke, the noodles or wontons could simply be boiled, placed into the bowls, and ladled over with a generous scoop of hot broth.

Purr came down from upstairs and spoke to Karen. "I told Dis a great deal about what happened after you went to Wien. I believe he heard me."

"Mm," Karen nodded.

"My word, this trip home feels just like a dream."

"Are you referring to me?"

"I am talking about myself, meow. Don't you feel the same way?"

"In my dreams, and within the illusions others have woven for me, I have returned to this house many times. This time..."

"Is it the most real?"

"No, it is the one where my heart feels most at peace."

"Hmm, a fitting description. Oh, it seems someone has entered the courtyard, meow."

Karen heard the movement as well, and smoothly dropped a bundle of noodles into the boiling pot.

The returning family member didn't seem in a hurry to come upstairs after entering the courtyard, lingering below for reasons unknown, though this afforded Karen ample time to cook the noodles thoroughly.

Indeed, Karen even added an egg for him.

With the tasks finished, Karen washed his hands, picked Purr up, and transformed into a cloud of black mist, departing from the house.

Before long, a shroud of black mist manifested within the cemetery, and from it emerged Karen’s figure.

"I thought you would leave directly, given that your appointed time with young Klasma is drawing near."

"Yes, but before I go, I want to take another look at Senior Hoffen... Grandfather Hoffen."

"Heheh."

Purr laughed as he leapt onto Hovfen's tombstone, patting the cold stone as he spoke:

"Old Hovfen, did you hear that? The evil god is calling out to your grandfather."

After a brief pause,

A playful, amused expression stole across Purr's face, and he called out once more:

"Hey there, Old Hovfen, did you hear that? The God of Order is calling out to your grandfather."

...

After parting ways with Karen, Rasma's figure materialized inside the church.

Mason was still frozen in place, holding his wine glass aloft, but the moment Rasma sat down, Mason moved.

"Come on, cheers!"

"Alright, cheers."

Draining his glass, Mason let out a sharp sigh and rubbed his wrist, muttering, "Why is it so incredibly numb?"

"Perhaps because we have been drinking for so very long."

"Drinking for too long?"

Mason glanced at the wall clock and jumped up immediately in sheer terror.

"Good heavens, this is terrible! How on earth have we been drinking for this long!"

"It must be that the wine I brewed is simply too delicious, making you lose all track of time, Mr. Mason."

"Father, I must head home now, I really must get home."

Mason rushed out of the church at once, completely forgetting he had driven the hearse there, and bolted on foot toward his house; fortunately, home was close to the church, and he reached it in no time.

However, Mason did not rush upstairs; instead, he hurried to the garden tap to rinse his mouth repeatedly with water, hoping to wash away as much of the alcohol smell as possible, before grabbing some mud to smear a little over his clothes and face.

"There was a minor incident at the crematorium, so I went to help out, and then Paul and his wife treated me to a late-night snack to show their gratitude. Paul and I had a bit of wine to wind down."

After speaking the words aloud, Mason pondered them for a moment and appraised his work: "Reasonable, perfectly reasonable."

With the preparations complete, Mason finally unlocked the front door and stepped inside, heading up to the second floor, originally planning to slip into his own room first to change his clothes, and then precisely "by accident" wake his wife, offering a tender:

"I am so sorry, my dear, did I wake you?"

Then, when faced with his wife's imminent, furious interrogation, he could smoothly deploy his alibi.

Yet the moment he reached the second floor, Mason caught a fragrant aroma and discovered a steaming bowl of noodles resting on the dining table.

Mason could not help but sniff the air, deeply moved as he murmured:

"You are so wonderful, my dear, you even made breakfast for me."

Mason sat down and took a single bite of the noodles, only to freeze entirely on the spot, his eyes instantly welling with tears:

"You're back?"