Chapter 19 – Probing the 'Celestial Venerable'
When Klein saw the words on the business card, his gaze instantly turned grave. In that split second, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet he let none of them show on his face. He simply smiled at Ning Lu and said:
"I understand. I'll come find you later."
"Besides, there's something else I need to tell you." In an utterly calm voice, Ning Lu proceeded to drop a bombshell that left Klein dumbstruck:
"The Aurora Order is preparing to perform a 'Divine Descent' ritual in Tingen City, using the lives here to bring the True Creator into the city."
At this point, Ning Lu spoke with sincere earnestness:
"I'm not a fanatic of the True Creator. Anyone in our era with a normal moral compass wouldn't help a tyrant, let alone assist in the True Creator's descent. Fortunately, I hold a certain position within the Aurora Order, and I'll do my utmost to stop the ritual."
Stop the Aurora Order's ritual? You're a double agent through and through… Still, this is undeniably perilous. Now I don't envy him one bit for transmigrating into a sequence 7 Beyonder… The Order even has Envoys, and their Sequences might surpass the captain's… Klein mused silently, admiration welling up for Ning Lu's risky information relay. In Chinese—intelligible only to the two of them (the Celestial Venerable didn't count as human)—he said:
"Old Ning, be extra careful. My… organization has learned that the Aurora Order's Envoy, Mr. L, is already in contact with the Church of the Night, seemingly setting something up."
"Even with your status in the Order, watch your back—most of its members are Lunatics, and that 'Mr. L' is probably the craziest of them all!"
With that, he exhaled, lifted the coffee before him, and prepared to down it in one gulp.
After much hesitation, Klein only obliquely mentioned his own organization, telling Ning Lu everything he knew about the Order's Envoy, hoping to aid this 'fellow countryman' who bore his burdens in silence.
For a moment, the gaze he fixed on Ning Lu even carried a tinge of solemn heroism.
Yet Ning Lu's expression turned odd, his face twisting slightly:
"…I am Mr. L."
"Huh?"
Klein looked up, dazed. He forgot the half-raised cup of coffee, an unmistakable bewilderment spreading across his face, eyes silently asking what Ning Lu meant.
"I am Mr. L."
Ning Lu said to Klein:
"You're overthinking it; I'm not in much danger. Right now, I'm the highest authority of the Aurora Order in this city."
And the reason I haven't simply called off the ritual is that I'm not the only Envoy in the Order. Mr. Z is also stationed here; halting it outright would raise suspicion. So all I can do for now is offer the local church some assistance."
Ning Lu revealed part of the truth.
Klein and Ning Lu exchanged a look; words failed them, everything laid bare in their eyes.
Klein tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You've only just transmigrated ten days ago?… And in ten days you've seized control of the Aurora Order in Tingen?"
"A sequence 7 Beyonder isn't a lone wolf. The moment I transmigrated into this body, I was already an Envoy."
Ning Lu shrugged, switched to Loenese, and said to Klein:
"Time to go, Klein. Think over what I told you. Same time next Saturday, we can meet again."
"Also, my business card has my public address; if anything comes up, just mail your letter there."
"…All right, see you next Saturday." Suppressing the tumult inside, Klein quickly checked his schedule, confirmed he was free, and replied.
The two left the café side by side. Klein boarded a carriage and exhaled slowly:
"What an unbelievable encounter…"
Suddenly, Klein felt a stir in his heart. He lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.
Impeccably dressed in a suit, Ning Lu wore a faint smile as his figure seemed to merge into the shadows at the street corner.
Several black silhouettes slipped unobtrusively from the gloom, bending low as they approached Ning Lu, speaking reverently: "Mr. L, here's what you requested. We also obtained the Hunter-Pathway Beyonder formula through Mr. A's channels; once we return to the Lord's Pasture, I'll hand it to you." Mr. Z held out an exquisitely wrapped pouch and respectfully presented it with both hands.
Ning Lu took the pouch, casually checked the special garments inside, then handed it back to Mr. Z:
"Just leave it on my desk. By the way, Mr. Z, has the Church of the Night made any moves?"
"…According to feedback from our brothers monitoring the Night heretics, they're conducting covert investigations, seemingly trying to confirm something."
Admiration filled Mr. Z's tone:
"Mr. L, with a single letter you've effectively crippled the Night heretics! The Lord's faithful can now act far more freely. All we need fear are the disgusting Storm heretics' occasional crackdowns—I shouldn't have doubted you. My loyalty to the Lord is far less than yours. Ah, praise the Lord, we should—"
Seeing Mr. Z on the verge of a torrent, Ning Lu quickly cut him off:
"We should head back, Mr. Z. We can't waste time on the road; that would be a blasphemy against our sin-bearing Lord."
"…Understood. I'll be mindful from now on."
Mr. Z's words halted abruptly, yet Ning Lu could still guess from his fervent gaze that he was praising the True Creator in his heart.
After boarding the carriage, Ning Lu once more reviewed everything he had done these past few days:
Using the Aurora Order's channels to secure the next-Sequence Beyonder formula and a Sequence 5-level Beyonder weapon;
Beginning to manipulate Haynes Vancent, attempting to steal the True Creator's faith;
Obtaining special garments from Cyril, to be stuffed with Beyonder materials for the trip to Cordu Village;
Contacting Klein and letting him believe he was his "fellow countryman"… Right now, the Aurora Order's two Saints were temporarily tied down by Ince Zangwill, with further complications likely engineered by Adam. Ning Lu still couldn't be sure he could obtain the Beyonder weapon before his "transmigration" timeline concluded.
But as Ning Lu pondered, a haze of gray mist slowly coalesced beside him, jolting his head upward.
"fellow countryman."
The Celestial Venerable's figure appeared within the gray mist, indistinct; His tone carried playful mockery, as though unaware of what Ning Lu had written on the business card given to Klein:
"My successor is divining about you—looks like he intends to tell the Church of the Night your secret."
"Heh, how does betrayal feel?"
The corners of Ning Lu's mouth curved slightly as he slowly uttered four words:
"Long foreseen."
As expected, the Celestial Venerable could only hear what he himself heard and see what he himself saw… The words on that business card had been written while deliberately avoiding his own sight.