Chapter 210: Approaching the Divine (32)
"It's my fault. I didn't expect you to have such a method."
Liu Sheng saw the Old Divine Official's messy white hair covering his face, making his expression unclear. He remained silent, not even looking up at her, so she took the initiative to break the quiet.
The subtext was self-evident, yet the Old Divine Official remained unmoved, still bowing his head, sitting weakly against the wall, only silently rubbing his sore and swollen knees.
Liu Sheng did not pity him and continued to ask, "Just because our beliefs are different, you resorted to such methods? Introducing such power, even knowing it would kill people?"
At the words "kill people," the hunched figure trembled, and a weak voice softly sounded from beside the wall.
"Are they... doing well?"
"Thankfully, they were evacuated in time, and most villagers are unharmed. But two people still passed away, Li Guiping and Zhang Yuemei, both good at farming, who had hoped to start new lives in Liantang Village."
Liu Sheng's tone was calm, but to the Old Divine Official, it weighed a thousand pounds.
"I... I didn't know it would be like this..." The Old Divine Official covered his face with his wrinkled hands, his voice choked with sobs.
"When you reported to the Supreme God, did you not know it would attract such an existence?"
"I didn't know. I thought it was just divine punishment..." The Old Divine Official's body became increasingly humble as he stammered an explanation.
"You thought it was just punishment for me alone, but now you know that divine punishment is introducing weird objects to destroy my faith value." Liu Sheng asked coldly, "Now, do you regret it?"
The Old Divine Official was silent for a long time, the darkness of the basement spreading over him, as if about to drag him into the shadows.
"No regrets." After an unknown amount of time, three words softly sounded.
Liu Sheng was not surprised by this answer. She nodded, her face no longer hesitant, seemingly having made a decision.
But unexpectedly, the Old Divine Official also seemed to have made up his mind, deciding to reveal everything he had kept buried in his heart these past days.
"I don't regret it, because what you believe in is not the Supreme God at all, and your so-called preaching is not truly for the Supreme God."
The Old Divine Official spoke in one breath, then gasped, continuing with an excited tone.
"Since that's the case, you are a heretic, and those who follow you are also heretics. It is reasonable for the Supreme God to send down divine punishment to cleanse heretics."
"Speaking of which, as soon as I discovered you modifying the divine book and becoming a heretic, I wanted to kill you, but you took the initiative and imprisoned me first."
Recalling it, at that time he was still sighing and proud to have such an excellent young Divine Official.
It wasn't until one day, when he came into contact with a new Divine Official who came to worship at the temple and saw the divine book in the newcomer's hand, that he realized something was wrong.
"You replaced all mentions of the Supreme God with 'Earth Mother Adult'... You are truly audacious."
Liu Sheng smiled: "Preaching, it's better to be comprehensive and meticulous. I just have quite a bit of experience and a very good teacher."
"Who?"
"Hmm... a Senior named Tang."
The divine book was a special item, and Liu Sheng was initially worried she wouldn't be able to change it.
Fortunately, the world, which was gradually mastering its power, had gained insight. Replacing specific words about God did not affect the divine book's item effect, because its effect came from a series of interconnected codes. As long as the God pointed to by the divine book truly existed, it could function.
"If I had been able to kill you then, the scene of a city full of heretics wouldn't have appeared today..."
The Old Divine Official spoke with some regret.
"What are you regretting?" Liu Sheng suddenly asked, "Are you regretting that the Supreme God lost the faith of this city? Or are you regretting that your mission cannot be completed?"
She paused: "Can you be sure that what you believe in is truly the Supreme God?"
Upon hearing this last sentence, the Old Divine Official suddenly trembled violently, abruptly raising his disheveled face, his eyes, hidden beneath his forehead hair, staring fiercely at Liu Sheng.
"You... what do you mean?" Although his gaze was malevolent, the Old Divine Official's voice was trembling, seemingly a little flustered.
"You've actually noticed it too, haven't you?" Liu Sheng said calmly, "You can't explain why you believe in the Supreme God, nor can you say when you started believing. You don't even know when you became the Grand Divine Official, or what your life was like before becoming the Grand Divine Official. You know nothing."
"I, I, I..." The Old Divine Official's chapped lips trembled, unable to speak. Each of these sentences shattered the logical circuits within him.
And this time, the protection mechanism—the bug that prevented them from thinking deeply—was not triggered.
Liu Sheng silently praised the world in her heart.
"Deep thought and the pursuit of truth are the beginning of humanity. Simulated thought doesn't count, I know this deeply." The world, which had unlocked the last lock for the Old Divine Official, said this.
The Old Divine Official tried hard to recall, but found his past like a reflection in a mirror, without real experience, only some memories he thought existed.
He had never truly thought about it. He had no parents, no childhood, no middle age. It seemed he had skipped all those years and directly entered old age.
His lungs were bad, always coughing, his legs were bad, his knees would ache on rainy days.
He was garrulous, always wanting to say something as an experienced elder.
This was him, an old man afraid of dying if he stumbled.
As for why he became a Divine Official, and then rose to Old Divine Official, coming to this strange and unfamiliar city, he knew nothing.
"Why is this happening?" The Old Divine Official tried his best to recall, like desperately scooping moonlight from water with his hands, but the fragmented moonlight kept slipping through his fingers, unable to grasp a single trace.
But he vaguely had a feeling that this kind of thinking had happened before, but it always came to nothing.
"You found out, but you couldn't truly think it through. All of this is due to the Supreme God you believe in." Liu Sheng pointed out mercilessly.
"I don't understand what you're saying." The Old Divine Official said stubbornly, his neck stiff.
"Looking at your expression, you clearly already know. Why are you still pretending not to?" Liu Sheng saw the Old Divine Official looking like a quail and couldn't help but shake her head.
"Why pretend? Yes, why? If it were you, suddenly discovering that everything is fake, how would you react?" The Old Divine Official's disguise was directly exposed by Liu Sheng, veins bulging in his neck, as he shrieked.
At this moment, he no longer coughed after every few sentences, and his voice was not as old as it originally was, as if he was slowly breaking away from his original persona.
"If it were me, I wouldn't follow the arrangements. I would strive to break free from all designs and confront my creator face to face." Liu Sheng said calmly.
The Old Divine Official snorted: "And then what? What can you do?"
"It depends on my experiences. If I have suffered injustice, I will question it; if my life has been wonderful, I will express thanks." Liu Sheng thought for a moment and answered seriously, "In short, I hope to know the truth, at least to clarify the purpose, intention, and thoughts behind the design. At least to know what the original intention of my existence is."
"Hmph, the original intention of my existence was to guide you." The Old Divine Official said angrily, "This is the Supreme God's benevolence towards you, hoping you could gain more faith. How did you repay it?"
"But is the faith I gained real?" Liu Sheng retorted, "According to the path you designed, think about it, is it real?"
At this sentence, the Old Divine Official was bewildered again.