Firefly Journey

Chapter 277 Trying to Scoop the Moon from the Mud (2)

The prayer ceremony was simple and unpretentious.

Hantina stood at the very front, chanting incantations and praising the achievements of Ayepaia, the goddess of darkness and poetry.

Throughout the process, all members must remain silent, otherwise it is considered disrespectful to the goddess.

Hantina had recited the same hymns countless times, to the point that she was already very skilled at it. She completed her part step by step, and then led the way by kneeling down in front of the goddess statue in the center of the hall.

Immediately afterwards, all the believers participating in the prayer ceremony knelt down. Feng Ling, being the saintess, was positioned very close to the front, and she had to appear very devout so that the branch temple masters could not find fault with her.

Back in Yicheng, she had never worshipped Julius, the god of light. Lin Yuanran found this strange at the time, but when he later learned that she came from the Dark Temple, it made perfect sense; she worshipped the goddess of darkness.

Everyone, including Lin Yuanran, thought so.

Except for herself.

If it weren't for escaping her family's arrangements, she wouldn't have left the bustling city of Yicheng to come to this barren and desolate south.

She wasn't a person who was detached from worldly desires. The Dark Temple was located in a remote area, making it inconvenient to purchase daily necessities. If she had to point out an advantage, it would be that she was closer to nature.

However, this kind of closeness is hardly competitive compared to the quality of life.

She didn't really believe in Ayepeya, because she knew the history of the continent. The ancestral gods had long since fallen, and the bodies left in the world were just illusions created by followers in remembrance, and had little to do with the ancestral gods themselves.

She blended into the crowd and, as she had done for the past three years, completed the prayer ritual perfunctorily without being noticed.

The ceremony ended, and the believers departed.

Unlike most people who like to use divine pronouncements to hastily leave, Wind Chime prefers to walk, because apart from the weekly prayer rituals and the occasional tasks assigned by Hantina, she stays in her room, which is quite stuffy.

"Isn't this our Holy Maiden? Are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Along the path leading back to the inner sanctuary, there was a large group of men and women, mostly women, many of whom were candidates for sainthood.

Fengling didn't look at them, nor did she quicken her pace; she simply walked at her own unhurried pace.

The woman who had spoken wanted to say more, but was stopped by a short-haired woman.

“Seviara, if you want to stay in the temple, don’t provoke her,” the candidate saintess Joanna warned. This was not a warning, but a piece of advice.

"I just can't stand it!" Severina ignored her senior's advice. "She was clearly late today, but the Temple Master didn't say a word. Just because she's a saintess, does that give her the right to act recklessly and disregard church rules?!"

“If you were a saint, you could too,” Joanna said.

Seviara snapped, "You're also a candidate for saintess, yet you're defending her? It's laughable!"

Joanna took two steps, called out to her companion Philip, and ignored her.

Seviara felt humiliated by being ignored, and her words became increasingly vicious, but both Wind Chime and Joanna had already gone far away and could not hear her complaints.

Even if they hear it, they won't take it too seriously.

Since you're already like this, why not just obey you?

……

As Fengling walked around the corner, she glanced back; there was no one behind her.

She whispered, somewhat self-deceptively, "A haunted forest."

The connection between the two ancestral artifacts was instantly restored.

"The prayer ceremony we just attended is now over."

"Judging from your tone, it seems you don't really want to participate."

"Nonsense, when we were in Yicheng, why didn't you show up at St. Phileun Cathedral every week without fail?"

Lin Yuanran said guiltily, "I had just started school and had too many things to do. In order to catch up with you, I had to work hard. I can only ask the God of Light to make do for me for now."

For the past three years, I've gone to pray regularly.

Lin Yuanran was just making things up. He was only half-hearted about the weekly prayers to the Vatican. Anyway, the wind chimes were invisible, so he could just say whatever he wanted.

"It better be this way."

"I've never lied to you." Except for some things that had to be kept secret, Lin Yuanran silently added in his mind.

"Um, I have something to do, I'll talk to you later."

"A joyful, snow-white road."

Then, without waiting for Lin Yuanran's reply, the wind chime "hung up" the ancestral artifact.

After cutting off communication, Fengling was in a good mood, and her steps on the way back were much lighter.

The moment she returned to her room, an old but resonant voice rang out from the depths of her heart.

"You...you still haven't decided to stay?"

This sound has only appeared twice in total; this is the second time.

"I do not."

Her answer was firm, but there was a slight hint of something unusual about it, very subtle, but present nonetheless, indicating that she had at least hesitated.

"Alright, I respect your decision. However, my power is very weak, and I cannot activate the miracle again. Please wait a little longer."

Wind Chime said, "I know that very well, so I've been looking for a solution, but it hasn't been very helpful."

"Just wait quietly. That was just wishful thinking on my part. I have to take responsibility for what I did."

Wind Chime sneered, "It's clearly your selfishness that affected others, and now you're pretending to be a good person, expecting me to be grateful, right?"

"I'm sorry." The apologetic voice carried a hint of bitterness. "My world has encountered a problem, and I can't just stand by and watch it go to destruction."

"That's none of my business!"

"I will recover my strength as soon as possible, and I'm afraid I'll need your help then."

"Row."

The sound vanished completely from the lake of her heart. Feeling irritated, she took out the black-covered book, touched it, and finally decided to put it down.

……

……

Lin Yuanran was in a good mood after chatting with Feng Ling for a while. He looked out the window and then at the coachman. Then he leaped up and flew into the beast-drawn carriage at the front.

Deputy Envoy Du Guangting was startled when he saw Lin Yuanran suddenly teleport over. He clutched his chest and said, "Mr. Morris, your entrance was quite frightening."

Lin Yuanran straightened his backside and smiled, "You'll get used to it."

One sentence silenced Du Guangting.

After all, Lin Yuanran was the official in charge of this mission to the Debasa Empire, while he was the deputy. He could only swallow his anger, and besides, this was just a joke.

Lin Yuanran looked at his hand, on which was a blue bracelet, and said, "It's been so long, and you haven't even let anyone out for some fresh air."

Du Guangting touched the bracelet, hesitating to speak, but unexpectedly the bracelet spoke.

"Hello, you must be the one who instigated Young Master Du's mention."

Lin Yuanran's words have already revealed the truth, so there's no point in hiding it anymore; it's better to come out on the spot.

Lin Yuanran hummed in agreement and said, "I heard Miss Sally is from the Starflow Sea?"

"Yes, I got separated from my tribe members who were hunting because I was playing around, and I was later rescued by Young Master Du."

Du Guangting frowned and asked, "Did His Highness the Crown Prince tell you?"

Lin Yuanran nodded: "After he learned that you were the deputy envoy, he told me this secret. But don't worry, he didn't mean anything by it. He just wants to take her to see an old friend when we arrive in Guangyao City in a few days."

"Who?"

“Phine Robert”.

"It's her!" Sally exclaimed in surprise, it seemed she had a good impression of Finney.

"To be honest, our Crown Prince has given me orders to propose marriage to Fine. I will need your help then," Lin Yuanran said.

Du Guangting said, "It's no problem. This was originally our shared task. I just didn't expect that His Highness the Crown Prince already had someone he liked. No wonder he has been reluctant to take a Crown Princess."

"Haha, you've kept it well hidden."

A silvery laugh rang out from the bracelet.

Lin Yuanran thought to himself, "Your young master Du is no less impressive. He's kept you hidden for so many years. Apart from Lü Jianming and myself, no one else in Chu knows about you."