The Dead and the Living

Click!

Ark spun around abruptly, his gaze fixed on the empty corridor.

After a long moment, he resumed his steps and pushed open the door to his room.

He began his ablutions unhurriedly, meticulously brushing his teeth with salt before the mirror. He took a large gulp of water, then leaned down to spit it into the sink.

When Ark next lifted his head, his gaze locked onto the old man reflected in the mirror.

The old man’s face was a map of wrinkles, and one eye was sightless. His pale beard clung with numerous food scraps, and an old-fashioned hunting rifle was slung over his back.

Ark remained silent for a long time. The moment he deliberately turned around, the old man spoke in a hoarse voice.

“My little Ark, look at how wretched you are now. Living like this must be painful, isn’t it? Come, walk with me.”

Ark’s gaze was indifferent as he watched the old man, his voice low and steady. “There’s an ancient imperial saying: the dead should make way for the living.”

The old man met Ark’s gaze calmly. “Do you think I am dead now?”

Ark suddenly let out a soft laugh. “You are certainly dead, old man. I buried you with my own hands.”

The old man shook his head. “The line between life and death has long been blurred. Now, it’s merely becoming a little more so.”

Ark’s eyes narrowed slightly. He scrutinized the old man’s flesh-and-blood face, then abruptly asked, “Old man, are you moving by your own will?”

The old man watched Ark expressionlessly, his lips suddenly stiffening as they curved upward. “You’ve finally noticed?”

Ark’s expression grew increasingly solemn. The Voice of the Deceased, as recorded, should never manifest in such a manner. Neither the appearance, indistinguishable from when they were alive, nor this autonomous will, were circumstances that should exist.

The old man looked at Ark calmly and said faintly, “He has lost his humanity and ascended to godhood once more. The boundary between life and death has been blurred again; the living are no longer truly alive, and now the dead are no longer truly dead.”

The living are not alive, and the dead are not dead. When They descend from beyond the world, the world’s laws are destined to be shattered.

Ark took a deep breath, his voice grave. “If He has lost his humanity, why target the Count?”

The old man looked at Ark with a complex expression, speaking softly, “See? You learned nothing before you hastily sent me to the grave.”

Ark was silent for a moment, then slowly began to speak. “Given another chance, I would still do the same.”

The old man’s face began to show a nostalgic fondness for the past. “Yes, that’s how we are. My teacher killed his teacher, and I killed my teacher, and you, in turn, killed me.”

He no longer dwelled on the past, his gaze deep as he looked at Ark. “My little Ark, what do you consider humanity to be? The seven emotions and six desires? Humanity is not such a superficial thing; it is the fundamental bottom line of being human. Now, He has lost that bottom line, destined to become a world-engulfing natural disaster.”

Ark clenched his fists tightly, his voice low. “Like how He manipulated the elders into committing suicide?”

A hint of contemptuous amusement flickered at the corner of the old man’s lips. “The Third Elder and the Eighth Elder committed suicide willingly.”

Ark’s expression froze, then he quickly understood.

The boundary between life and death had been blurred; perhaps the Third Elder and the Eighth Elder, on that day, also saw familiar faces from their memories, and were thus lured into the world of the deceased.

But his pupils suddenly began to dilate again. “You said the Third Elder and the Eighth Elder? Not the entire Elder Council?”

The old man shook his head. “How can someone who has already died once die again?”

Ark’s expression changed dramatically. The other elders weren’t killed by the Voice of the Deceased?

Within this manor, another entity had quietly disposed of the others!

He immediately thought of Leila, the unusually behaving maid. Her striking black-and-white eyes, identical to Reyn Rheinhebo’s, made him involuntarily think of one person.

She was a girl sponsored by Reyn Rheinhebo, and there were six others like her.

His body began to tremble slightly. He had witnessed the elders’ deaths with his own eyes and personally handled their bodies. If the elders were already dead at that time, then the only corresponding heresy would be the Lust Witch of the Witch’s Assembly.

The old Patriarch’s three sons had all died by the hand of the Gluttony Witch, and now there was an additional Lust Witch. And the number of people in the Witch’s Assembly happened to be the same as the number of girls Reyn Rheinhebo sponsored.

When countless coincidences align, they cease to be mere coincidences.

Reyn Rheinhebo was the hidden controller of the Witch’s Assembly!

The old man quietly observed Ark’s changing expression, then chuckled softly. “It seems you’ve realized something?”

Ark let out a long sigh. “I’ve only come to realize the terrifying nature of the Count even more. It seems your god cannot leave this manor.”

The first to die were the direct bloodline of the Rheinhebo family.

Then, the servants of this manor.

And then… there was no ‘then’ after that.

The old man looked at Ark thoughtfully. “It seems there are people in this manor who cannot be killed? But if that’s the case, the pressure on you has doubled, hasn’t it?”

Ark scoffed. “The dead should make way for the living, shouldn’t they? Speaking of which, can gods also adapt?”

The old man said faintly, “Gods have no need to adapt. My little Ark, you will eventually return to the embrace of God. A person’s willpower is, after all, limited. Whether it’s you, or a certain heretic who still possesses humanity.”

His figure slowly vanished from Ark’s sight, leaving no trace, as if he had never appeared.

Ark realized he had safely made it through the day, but recalling the old man’s words, his brow furrowed involuntarily.

Perhaps, more than just this old fellow would appear later.

But compared to that, Reyn Rheinhebo truly filled him with more dread.

Step by step, he had taken control of the entire Rheinhebo family, and now he had even trapped a heretic who had lost humanity within this manor.

He stood in place for a long time, then put on his coat again and carried an oil lamp to the knights’ quarters.

He knocked on the door of John’s room. “Captain John, please open the door.”

The door was quickly opened, and a gust of cold wind blew into his face. Ark glanced at the shattered window, then his gaze fell upon the irregular, pure black mass of flesh before him.

“Captain John?”

“It is I.”

After confirming the other’s identity, Ark spoke amiably, “The Count intends for the Holy Church to pay taxes, but I imagine those fellows won’t agree so easily. Some coercive measures will be necessary.”

John was silent for a moment, then slowly began to speak. “Steward Ark, do you have any desire to become a child of Mother?”

Ark’s pupils suddenly constricted, and he forced a smile. “I have no such intention.”

John’s voice instantly deepened. “Then open your eyes! You’re letting all sorts of people near the Count. Can’t you distinguish what should and shouldn’t be done?!”

Ark’s face gradually turned quite grim, but then John’s voice became amiable once more. “Don’t worry about this matter; one of Mother’s sisters has already taken care of it. Get some good rest tonight, Steward Ark.”