IWOL Chapter 314: Brothers Meet

Dong Zheng followed Cui Zuojing’s marks all the way to the kitchen. He found an unwashed bowl, an egg tea that looked like it’d been drunk from, and a large, decomposing corpse.

The corpse was a man dressed in black robe. Half of his face from the neck to his torso had rotted away, leaving dark green marks on his skin. There was a large pool of blood coming from his chest.

The conditions of the corpse didn’t look good at all, so that Dong Zheng didn’t dare to take a closer look. There was a half box of unfinished milk and a pot of boiled water on the stove, likely used to feed the child.

He walked out of the kitchen and continued to search for more marks. It stood to reason that even in a church this big and even if Victor had already released his summoned beast contract with Dong Linhai, there were a total of seven of them. No matter what, he should have met a teammate by now.

Moreover, Ah’Zuo also had a newborn child with him. When the child cried, it would be impossible for him not to hear it.

Dong Zheng was full of doubts. He began to wonder if the church had the function of absorbing sounds. As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a small sound coming from a room not far away.

He quickly approached the source of the sound. There was an open door, and a man in a moon-white robe stood facing the door, looking at a book. Next to him on the table was an upside-down cross. He was tall and strong, and although he was wearing religious robes, he entire body exuded the temperament of a warrior rather than that of a weak priest.

“Linhai?” Dong Zheng recognized him at a glance.

“Brother?” Dong Linhai quickly raised his head, saw Dong Zheng at the door, and his expression became joyful. He quickly put down the book in his hand and strode over. He happily said, “I finally found someone. I thought you all weren’t in this church.”

“You haven’t seen anyone else except for me?”

“No.” Dong Linhai pointed to the luxurious robe on his body and said, “I woke up in a secret room in this church. It took a while for me to get out from there.”

“Are you a Holy Son?”

“Yes, the plot told me that there are six sinful people who needed to confess their sins to me. I need to listen to their confessions and forgive them on behalf of the Supreme God.” Dong Linhai scratched his head and added, “So, what is your sin, brother?”

“I don’t know yet.” Up to now, Dong Zheng still hadn’t found enough clues to infer his own sin, so instead, he told Dong Linhai about experiences thus far.

Dong Linhai touched his chin thoughtfully and said, “Is it possible that your lie caused the plane to crash? This is my best guess.”

“There are many possibilities,” Dong Zheng affirmed his sudden guess. “But guesswork doesn’t count as a soul-deep confession, right?”

“Yes.” Dong Linhai nodded. “That’s right, let’s go and find other people. Along the way, we can also explore what your sin is.”

As they left the room, Dong Zheng said, “A big battle happened here in this church. I suspect that there are a group of infidels in the area. I found a body in the kitchen. Their likely target is probably you.”

Dong Linhai agreed. “This is my guess too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have woken up in a secret room.”

It was now that Dong Linhai learned that Dong Zheng had been following Cui Zuojing’s markings. Since he hadn’t met Cui Zuojing, he assumed that he came out after Cui Zuojing passed through to the front of the church. As a result, they decided to look at the nave of the main entrance.

Within ten minutes, they arrived at the atrium. The shining pink sky threw the multicolored lights of the stained glass windows onto the floor and wall, displaying a magnificent and strange array of colors. The rows of benches were empty, and the huge dome arched high above their heads, layered with magnificent religious paintings.

On top of the high platform was a pure white coffin with an upside-down cross affixed on the lid. A bible in Latin was spread out next to it. On the ground was a crushed, bright-red rose, looking as if it had been stepped on and displaying a certain beauty in it’s ruined appearance.

“The coffin has been opened.” Dong Linhai saw the nails scattered nearby and turned to look at Dong Zheng, a question in his gaze.

Dong Zheng looked down and picked up a nail. “Let’s take a look.”

“Alright.” Dong Linhai rolled up his sleeves, and the two brothers worked together to push aside the heavy coffin lid. The inside of the coffin was revealed to them, and it was empty.

“There’s nothing?” Dong Linhai asked.

Dong Zheng saw the bloody writing on the inner wall at a glance. After reading those words, he frowned and carefully observed whether there was anything else he might have missed. “No, it’s the thing inside that ran out.”

“Huh?” Dong Linhai tilted his head, trying hard to read the English words. With his brother’s help, he was already able to learn English well, but he still didn’t know some rare words, such as “infidels.”

Dong Zheng translated the sentences to him in a low voice and added, “The new life should refer to that woman’s child, who is now with Ah’Zuo.”

There was dark green slime on the corner of the coffin. Dong Zheng looked at the color and thought of the rotting corpse in the kitchen, and suddenly, his expressions shifted. He immediately reached out and pulled Dong Linhai a few steps away. “Be careful. I think there’s plague in there.”

Dong Linhai stretched out his head and glanced inside. Although he was also afraid, he didn’t panic. “We have Uncle. A plague or something like it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Dong Zheng shook his head. “We can’t take this lightly. The fact of the matter is, we still haven’t found Victor.”

After they put the coffin lid back on, Dong Linhai patted his hands and said, “Then the question is, where did the thing inside go?”

“Let’s go. This box is still unfolding, and things may become more difficult.”

——

Holding his breath, Cui Zuojing left his hiding place in the closet. The child was sleeping quietly in his arms, not issuing the slightest sound.

A black mist curled around the steel armored giant that was dragging a heavy sword in its hand. It walked step by step across the corridor, passing room after room. Two scarlet, glowing lights swayed from within its helmet, scanning the surrounding area with a cold, inhuman glance. It was looking for the unforgivable sinner, wanting to give him the punishment he deserved.

Heavy footsteps passed by outside the room and then slowly drifted away until the sound nearly disappeared. Cui Zuojing finally let out the breath he’d been holding, quietly opened the door of the closet, and stealthily slipped out.

Half an hour ago, after he’d killed the infidel who wanted to kill the child in his arms, the armored giant surrounded by black mist suddenly appeared, dragging a huge sword, and began to chase after him.

Af first, Cui Zuojing didn’t understand why. He fought against the armored giant and found that he could not damage it at all. In this box, it was the absolute judge and executioner of sinners.

It wasn’t until Cui Zuojing passed by a mirror that he suddenly realized the reason.

He raised his hand and touched his cheek. On it was a dazzling and ugly red pattern, clearly displaying his sins.

He’d caused the death of a dedicated forest ranger and committed a murder. He came to the church because of his conscience, wanting to confess his crime. Instead, he ended up killing another person and shouldering an additional murder.

Today, he’d truly sinned and could not be forgiven.

——-

Dong Linhai didn’t know when it started. He suddenly felt a weak itching in his throat. After coughing a few times, he felt even more uncomfortable. It felt much like the unstoppable itching he got when he was sick with a tonsil inflammation as a child. Every morning when he got up, it felt particularly unbearable.

Dong Zheng stopped. With furrowed brows, he looked at Dong Linhai and said, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m okay.” As soon as Dong Linhai’s voice fell, he couldn’t help but cough again. He covered his mouth with one hand and waved his other hand. “It’s just that my throat is itchy?”

Dong Zheng patted his back, and then raised his hand to touched Dong Linhai’s forehead. There was no fever.

“There’s water in the kitchen. I’ll boil some for you.” Dong Zheng suppressed the worried premonition in his heart and led Dong Linhai toward the kitchen. Cui Zuojing’s half pot of water was still there, and the temperature was just right. Dong Zheng looked at the abnormally decomposed corpse by the wall and boiled the water again for Dong Linhai.

As Dong Linhai waited outside the kitchen, he coughed a few times from time to time. As time passed, he gradually began to feel a little hot and dehydrated. He raised his head and touched his forehead. In just ten minutes, his temperature had risen.

His throat was especially itchy, as if ten thousand ants were crawling all over it. Dong Linhai covered his mouth and coughed violently. From his lungs came something sweet and coppery.

He pulled back his hand and lowered his head to look. The blood on his palm was particularly glaring.

At this moment, panic swept over him. Dong Linhai clenched his fists hard. Some blood got on his white robe, and he rubbed it against the wall, trying to wipe the blood away.

In five minutes, Dong Zheng had boiled the water and came out. Dong Linhai looked as if nothing had happened, but Dong Zheng still smelled the vague scent in the air.

He grabbed Dong Linhai’s wrist and forced him to open up his hand. “Let me see.”

“It’s nothing.” No matter what, Dong Linhai was unwilling.

“Let me see.”

Dong Zheng’s tone was extremely harsh, and Linhai had always been afraid of his sternness, and so he opened his hand obediently.

Even though he had already guessed as much, the blood was so bright that Dong Zheng’s heart jerked anyway. His frown deepened, and he checked Dong Linhai’s body temperature again. “Why is it suddenly so serious?”

“I, I don’t know either.” Dong Linhai finally showed his true feelings. In 30 minutes, he went from vigorous and lively to spitting up blood. He felt an indescribable sense of panic, and his words became more hurried and chaotic. “How can I get the plague so soon? I didn’t have any direct contact with the corpses at all. And we were always together. Brother, do you feel anything?”

Dong Zheng didn’t really feel unwell at all. He handed the water bowl to Dong Linhai and said, “Let’s go and find Victor.”

Dong Linhai shook his head. His mind was still clear. Three years in the Pure White Realm had changed him from a spoiled 18-year-old boy to what he was now. “No, no. I’m sure that if I continue to stay with you, you’ll catch it from me. Brother, I’ll find a place to hide while you go find Uncle. When you find him, you can bring him to me.”

Dong Zheng, who had always been steady and calm, hesitated. He knew that Dong Linhai’s decision couldn’t be more correct, but he didn’t have the heart to leave his brother alone to look for Uncle. Now, his brother needed someone to take care of him more than ever.

Dong Zheng recalled that when they first arrived in the Pure White Realm, he was almost killed after being struck in the back by Knight Henry in Hamelin. Linhai had been by his side at the time and had done everything possible to save him.

Seeing Dong Zheng’s hesitation, Dong Linhai said, “Brother, believe me, I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Okay,” Dong Zheng took a deep breath and agreed. “I’ll go look for Victor. First, let’s find a place for you to hide so the infidels won’t find you. You must take care of yourself. I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

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