Chapter 567: An Agreement Reached Beneath the Heavenfire Sea (part 1)
A great wind blew over the desolate lands of the Moonrite Region. It was like a solemn dirge recounting the distant past. Dust rose up into the wind, spreading out into all heaven and earth, becoming a part of the duskiness that filled everything.
Just barely visible within the hazy darkness was a caravan. It was made of giant metal cages, within which were innumerable Mirrorlings and Skyfaces.
On a cart up front were two people who were a generation apart in age. The old man wore a mask, as did the young person. The masks featured very dramatic facial expressions full of piety and devotion. They almost looked worshipful.
“Anyone who goes to the Red Moon Cathedral to provide offerings is required to wear masks like this,” Duanmu Zang explained. “It's one of the ceremonial requirements. Thankfully, I did this before when I was younger.
“Here in the Moonrite Region, the destruction of the Twofold Alliance isn’t going to cause any waves. To the majestic Red Moon Cathedral, two minor species getting wiped out isn’t worth paying attention to. That’s especially true toward the end of one of the Red Moon Cathedral’s visits. Countless species have been stockpiling offerings for many years. People really start to go crazy. We need to be ready for anything, but don’t worry, I can handle all the details.”
Xu Qing nodded, while simultaneously reaching up to touch the mask he wore. He was actually already familiar with some of these things thanks to the intelligence reports from the Captain.
They were now nine days away from Holy City. It would take another half a month to reach the spot where the Red Moon Cathedral was waiting for offerings. Over the past few days, Xu Qing had been putting a lot of thought into the matter that Duanmu Zang mentioned when they first set out.
Duanmu Zang looked at Xu Qing. “You’re still thinking about the dead souls in the cathedral?”
Xu Qing looked up at the dusky dome of heaven and quietly replied, “From ancient times until now, has there ever been anyone who managed to free themselves from the curse of the Moonrite Region, as well as its cycle of reincarnation?”
Duanmu Zang shook his head. “Never.”
Xu Qing thought back to the Captain’s previous lives.
“But,” Duanmu Zang suddenly continued, “there are some people who have tried very hard to do so. And they’re still trying.” Duanmu Zang looked meaningfully at Xu Qing, as if feeling him out. “The red moon is by no means eternal....”
Xu Qing looked back at Duanmu Zang and nodded. The words sounded like some sort of code phrase, except he didn’t know the follow-up response.
Duanmu Zang looked at him for a moment, then couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t you going to respond?”
“ The red moon is by no means eternal ,” Xu Qing said in a low voice.
Duanmu Zang said nothing at first. A moment passed, and he sighed, took off his mask, and massaged the bridge of his nose. “Xu Qing, have you heard of the Moonrebel Congregation?”
Xu Qing’s gaze sharpened. He had never heard of any such organization, not even in the Captain’s intelligence reports. He shook his head.
The moment Duanmu Zang said ‘Moonrebel Congregation,’ his gaze remained focused on Xu Qing’s eyes, as if he were looking for something. After noting Xu Qing’s reaction, he didn’t say anything further.
Xu Qing didn’t ask any questions. He could tell that this ‘Moonrebel Congregation’ was obviously very secretive, and probing for more information could lead to a misunderstanding.
The caravan moved on.
Over the course of the next seven days, they left the plains, went through some mountains, and got very close to the center of the eastern part of the region. At one point when they were resting on a mountaintop, Duanmu Zang took a drink of alcohol, and then seemed to finally make a decision.
“Xu Qing, I trust that you’re not working with the Red Moon Cathedral.”
Xu Qing looked at him.
“The Moonrebel Congregation is a secret society that’s existed for a very long time in the Moonrite Region. In fact, it goes back just as long as the Red Moon Cathedral.
“No one knows how exactly it got started. And it’s been wiped out many times. However, whenever Crimson Mother completes a harvest, and the survivors start to rebuild, the organization will grow back.”
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered. If this Moonrebel Congregation had been around for as long as the Red Moon Cathedral, it went to show it was extraordinary in some way. It seemed particularly astonishing that it would grow stronger after the destruction that regularly occurred in the Red Moon Spirit Garden.
Although Crimson Mother was currently sleeping, that state of affairs wouldn’t continue forever.
Duanmu Zang continued, “The Moonrebel Congregation attracts people in the Moonrite Region who wish to fight back. They dream of one day removing the ancient curse, and turning everything around. Although it’s a very vague dream, at least it provides some hope.
“And a lot of hard work has gone into that dream. Though individual members of the Moonrebel Congregation can’t really work together in the open, there’s plenty of research going on about how to dispel the curse.”
Xu Qing’s heart surged at those words. He had done some of his own research into the curse while in the city beneath the mine, but didn’t have much to show for it. He needed to do a lot more deep study.
There was some emotion in Duanmu Zang’s voice that Xu Qing could sense.
“Every member of the Moonrebel Congregation keeps their identity secret. No one knows who they are, except for they themselves. The first major rule for members is that they not reveal who they are.
“As you can imagine, the Red Moon Cathedral is constantly trying to find members of the Moonrebel Congregation. Likewise, there are members of the Moonrebel Congregation who have infiltrated the Red Moon Cathedral.”
Duanmu Zang took a deep breath and looked at Xu Qing.
“The red moon is by no means eternal, hope exists from time immemorial and into forever. Xu Qing, you might not be a member of the Moonrebel Congregation. But I have a feeling that one day you’ll have dealings with them. If you want to get to the Moonrebel Congregation, you can start by traveling to the Bitter Life Mountains....”
Duanmu Zang said nothing after that. He closed his eyes, and they continued on their way.
Xu Qing could tell Duanmu Zang didn’t want to talk about the matter any further, so he didn’t ask any questions. It seemed highly likely that Duanmu Zang was a member of the Moonrebel Congregation. Considering what he had already revealed, it was obvious that he trusted Xu Qing a lot. Xu Qing contemplated everything Duanmu Zang had told him.
Just like that, days passed. Eight days later, they reached their destination.
Off in the distance was a huge valley. The mountains on either side were taller than any mountain Xu Qing had ever seen. In the dusky light, the grotesquely-shaped jagged rocks that covered their surface seemed like demonic monsters.
The valley between them looked almost like the entrance to the Yellow Springs. Not only was it shocking in appearance, but also, the wind that blew out of it carried with it sounds like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.
Floating right in the middle of the valley was a huge, blood-red heart, the beating of which caused thumping sounds to spread out in all directions, and made the atmosphere around the valley even more gruish. The church temple and the statue atop the heart both emanated astonishing pressure. Quite a few asteroids still orbited around the heart, and the figures seated cross-legged atop them were as unmoving as they’d been last time Xu Qing saw them.
There were doors scattered about, made from different materials, some large, others small, some round, others square. All of them pulsed with teleportation fluctuations. Crowds emerged from the doors almost nonstop. As a result, the valley was a bustling place.
There were all sorts of strange species present, some with physical bodies, others who were in illusory form. All of them wore the same type of masks that Duanmu Zang had provided. These were species from throughout the eastern part of Moonrite Region, who were here to bring offerings to the Red Moon Cathedral.
“See those doors, Xu Qing?” Duanmu Zang said quietly. “Those are the Doorites. Go talk to them, and you should be able to arrange teleportation to the south. They usually accept payments in spirit stones or heavenfire crystals. As for the church temple up in the air, don’t look at it directly.” As a local, Duanmu Zang was familiar with how everything worked. After giving a few more pieces of advice, he solemnly said, “And finally, have a safe journey!”
With that, he led the caravan away.
After watching Duanmu Zang disappear into the crowd, Xu Qing took a deep breath and did the same.
There were all sorts of species present, and people were hurrying around everywhere. The church temple above didn’t seem to be paying attention to what happened below. As long as they got their offerings, they let things play out naturally.
When enough people gathered in one place, it would result in a bustling atmosphere. And that was how things were now. It was even possible to see people engaged in business transactions here and there. It was very loud.
As Xu Qing walked along, he chose not to go to one of the very large doors. Instead, he picked a smaller door. It was made from wood, and was only about three meters tall. Seeing that no one was coming out of it, Xu Qing prepared to walk over. Before he could, the chatter of the crowd caused him to stop in place.
“Did you hear? Something huge went down recently in the west!”
“You’re talking about what happened to the Lonesun species about five months ago? Apparently they issued a region-wide arrest warrant.”
“Oh yeah, I heard about that. I guess they lost some sort of precious treasure.”
“Precious treasure? Seriously? That’s what you’re going to call it? It was an artificial sun!”
“The Lonesuns are the biggest species in the west. Didn’t they create an actual sun a few years back, which they hung above their lands? Because of that, it’s not dark over there. Except, five months ago, somebody stole that sun....”
“Someone stole their sun right out from under their noses? What crazy species did that?”
“I’m not sure. Apparently the Lonesun’s aren’t sure either. That said, their arrest warrant did mention a name. Unqing Jianyan. The thief was really bold, as he left that name carved into the ground after he left. No matter how you look at it, that name is really strange.”
“Everybody is talking about this Unqing Jianyan.”
When Xu Qing heard all the talk, a strange expression appeared on his face beneath his mask.
“Unqing Jianyan?” he murmured. It seemed highly likely that the Captain was behind this. Xu Qing remembered that, when they parted, the Captain had proudly said that his alias, Master Unfinished, would be famous everywhere.
If you combined the first syllable of Unfinished with characters from Wu Jianwu and Ning Yan’s names, then added in Qing from Xu Qing, it made it very obvious what Unqing Jianyan was referring to. The Captain had obviously put a lot of thought into combining the four characters into a name. Even though Xu Qing hadn’t participated in the heist, the Captain had still included his name.
Xu Qing sighed and walked toward the wooden door.