The afternoon was cloudless as the sun grew hotter.
Bai Fan and Ruan Mingxi arrived at the agreed-upon bus stop half an hour early.
When they got there, they found the spot was extremely remote, with only a few buses passing by each day.
They had no idea why the Smile Church chose such a place as the meeting point.
“Young man, you’re here early,” said the short, fat aunt wearing the Smile Mask who came to pick them up again, same as yesterday.
Chen Yuanyuan followed behind her, a stiff smile plastered on her face.
The short, fat aunt saw Ruan Mingxi behind Bai Fan as soon as she approached. Her eyes lit up behind the mask, as if she had spotted some rare treasure.
“Got an extra person, huh?”
It wasn’t surprising, though. Even though Ruan Mingxi had deliberately chosen an inconspicuous outfit today, her wine-red long hair and the natural aristocratic aura she exuded made anyone instantly realize she was no ordinary girl.
The short, fat aunt walked straight toward Ruan Mingxi, clicking her tongue in admiration. “Oh my, who’s this young lady? She’s really beautiful.”
Ruan Mingxi raised her palm sideways to signal the aunt to keep her distance. “I’m their classmate. I heard some church was holding an event, and I had nothing better to do, so I came to check it out.”
“What perfect timing! We’ll have one more member of the congregation today!”
Bai Fan frowned almost imperceptibly. He stepped in front of Ruan Mingxi, deliberately creating space between her and the short, fat aunt.
“We only said we’d come take a look. We haven’t said we’d join yet.”
The short, fat aunt seemed completely oblivious to their distance, still maintaining that overly familiar attitude.
She took Chen Yuanyuan’s hand and said with a smile, “Yuanyuan, these are all your classmates, right? The Venerable has a grand ceremony today. When we get there, make sure they smile more.”
She then waved at Bai Fan and the others, her tone eerily warm.
“Once you know the goodness of our ‘smile,’ you won’t want to leave.”
Bai Fan’s suspicions grew heavier. This so-called “Smile” Church was clearly not right.
Just then, Ruan Mingxi gently pressed her hand on his shoulder.
‘This… it’s probably a bit more complicated than I thought.’
Bai Fan was taken aback and looked up at her.
‘Mingxi-Jie, you have an ability like this?’
Ruan Mingxi’s smile didn’t waver as she lowered her hand from his shoulder.
‘Forgot to tell you, this is the power of my Astral Sign, Du Ya.’*
‘I can imprint a mental Mark on someone to communicate on a spiritual level. The closer the distance, the clearer the voice.’
‘Isn’t that the same as reading someone’s mind, like in those novels?’
‘Don’t worry, I don’t usually use this ability to eavesdrop on your thoughts.’
Bai Fan’s face stiffened slightly.
‘How does she know what I’m thinking?’
‘Because whenever you think, it turns into inner thoughts that flow through your mind.’
‘If you don’t want me to know, then stop thinking out loud.’
‘Uh, okay.’
Bai Fan reined in his stray thoughts.
‘After this initial contact, what’s your take on this church, Mingxi-Jie?’
‘It’s not simple.’
‘I thought it was just some cult led by a charlatan fishing for trouble, but now it seems the Smile Church has Sublimators backing it.’
‘Sublimators? How can you tell?’
‘That short, fat aunt’s mask isn’t a Relic, but it’s laced with Spiritual Essence. Only a Sublimator could imbue it.’
His Spiritual Essence hadn’t fully recovered yet, so his Perception was sluggish, and he hadn’t spotted it at first.
But after Ruan Mingxi’s reminder, Bai Fan also noticed the Spiritual Essence attached to the short, fat aunt’s Smile Mask was indeed unusual.
‘Sure enough… there’s something more to this church.’
“Hey… handsome young man, what are you standing there for? The car’s here.”
Bai Fan snapped back to reality at the short, fat aunt’s call.
The private vehicle taking them to the church had arrived. It was a van nearly four meters long with a wide back seat.
The short, fat aunt had already opened the door and climbed in. She waved at Bai Fan and the others. “Come on in, kids.”
Bai Fan got into the car, but once inside, he realized the vehicle was completely sealed.
Although it had ventilation equipment, there were no windows, or rather, the windows were hidden. A single white bulb lit the cabin.
He scanned his surroundings after sitting down and faintly sensed the design was meant to prevent them from knowing the route to their destination.
‘Mysterious…’ Bai Fan became more convinced this church had something to hide.
Chen Yuanyuan had been eerily quiet since they got in the car. She just smiled, barely saying a word.
Bai Fan asked softly, “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”
“No, just have something on my mind.”
Bai Fan didn’t press further.
Throughout the ride, Ruan Mingxi used her abilities to chat and exchange information with him.
Time passed quickly. The car suddenly stopped.
“Time to get off.” The driver opened the door. The moment Bai Fan stepped out, his expression even faltered for a second.
This was clearly a long-abandoned rural road, so remote it was completely unfamiliar to him. He had no idea where they were.
Ahead stood only an old apartment building, lonely by the roadside.
The short, fat aunt reminded him, “We’re here.”
‘Weren’t we going to the church? In this little apartment? This cult’s even more broke than I thought?’
Bai Fan followed her into the apartment and found it was far more than he had imagined.
There were several security checkpoints inside. The short, fat aunt exchanged code words with the guards before they were let through.
They entered an elevator. Bai Fan noticed the buttons only went down.
‘Is this a sealed underground venue?’
‘Be careful.’
Ruan Mingxi’s voice echoed in his mind.
Ding!
The moment the elevator doors opened, the world seemed to tear open.
Noise flooded in like a tidal wave. An enormous underground space appeared before him.
Lights, a square, a dense crowd of people.
On both sides stood congregation members, all wearing identical Smile Masks.
Like a sea of replicated faces.
“Welcome, new friends!”
The voice echoed through the space. The next second, applause exploded like a wave.
Clap clap clap!
“Join us, and you will bloom with smiles again!”
“Join us, and the Lord will dissolve your pain!”
“Join us, laugh together! Be happy together!”
The applause surged like a tide. The congregation’s gazes fell on them in unison.
Within Bai Fan’s field of vision, countless smiling faces turned toward him.
A suffocating sensation washed over him in an instant.
‘This… it’s starting to get troublesome.’
Someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned his head slightly and saw Ruan Mingxi’s smiling face.
‘Don’t be scared. If there’s danger, I’ll protect you.’
Bai Fan couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m not about to hide behind a girl. I’ll be the one protecting Mingxi-Jie.”
With that, he stepped straight out of the elevator.
In the center of the hall stood a giant Three-faced Deity Statue.
The Venerable wearing a Smile Mask and a black clerical robe stood before the statue.
It seemed to sense something, and its gaze shot over with some surprise.
At the same moment, Bai Fan felt it.
The Trinity Mark on his chest began to burn.