“Humph… A paradise?” Feng Bujue laughed. “Perhaps for you.”
He worked his neck and lifted his head to say, “Their piety comes from deceit, and their contentment comes from ignorance. They have no complaints… because they are too afraid to do so.
“You rear these people like pigs, deciding where they live, what they should wear, and what they need to do. And the scariest thing is that you control their thoughts and deprive them of their freedom.”
Feng Bujue’s icy gaze pierced York Corben. “Do not act like your family’s dictatorship is a service for the villagers. No matter how you try to explain it… everything that has happened was to preserve the dominance of your family, to ensure your perpetual superiority.”
“Even if you are right, if you were me, what would you do? Would you give up when the same benefits are placed before you?” York’s face twitched. He turned around and used the twisted face to glare at Hank. “My conditions are still standing no matter what you say, but… will you really say no to me? Can you even say no?
“Don’t act like you are above me. With just a nod, you can join my ranks. You do not need to work anymore. The only job you will have is to enjoy life. Think about it, permanent power! When you are eighty, you can still bed a woman who is eighteen. In fact, they will be more than willing to throw themselves at you. You have absolute power over these people’s lives. In this village, you can do anything you want, and your descendants will of course continue to enjoy that privilege…”
“Forgive me, but I have to ask this.” Flashes of Sword interrupted with a chilling smile. “From what you’ve said, the outsiders whom your ancestor ran into must have accepted his terms, right?”
“Haha… Of course, who would be able to reject it?” York replied.
“Then, where are the descendants of these outsiders now?” Flashes of Sword asked.
“Er…” York was stumped.
“How long did your ancestor allow them to stay in the shrine before they made their move? One month? Six months? One year?” Flashes of Sword chuckled. York gritted his teeth, but he had no answer.
“Normally, this kind of absolute power will never suffer being shared by others. Even within the family, competition is harsh, much less with outsiders,” Flashes of Sword said. “Furthermore, based on how you treat your own younger brother and son, only an idiot would believe your words.”
“Then what do you want?” York was turning to anger from having his ploy exposed. “What can you do? The only device to communicate with the outside world has been ruined, and it won’t be fixed in a short period of time. If you kill me, the entire village will riot against you!”
“I need to correct two of your mistakes.” Feng Bujue raised his right hand and extended his index finger. “First, I am fully capable of gaining contact with the outside world with the device in this room. You don’t need to worry about that.”
He then raised his middle finger. “And secondly… ha ha…”
His laugh sounded like that of the Grim Reaper.
Feng Bujue stood up to reveal the panel behind him. He had sat there earlier not to study the equipment but to activate his skill, A Hasty Repair. Feng Bujue’s real purpose was to block York’s sight of the panel. The lights on the panel had been blinking since a few minutes ago.
“Once I entered this room, I started to search for the communication system. I do need to thank the person who designed these things. The layout is so easy to understand. It can be operated by an idiot,” Feng Bujue said in this mirthful voice. “The cheerful conversation that we just shared has been communicated to the whole village, so… the people that the villagers will riot against is… you.”
York Corben’s eyes were almost popping out of his head, and fear was plainly written on his face. When he saw the light that signified that the message was being broadcast to the whole village, the blood in his body froze.
“Our conversation is no longer a secret, and this village will not have any more secrets.” Feng Bujue walked to the communicator and talked into it. “Villagers of the Village of Heavenly Blessing, you have heard everything yourself. The so-called God’s Child and his family… have been twisting history, blocking knowledge, and burying the truth for many years. They trapped you in this haze of fear and ignorance, to have you live more like livestock. And for that, you still need to offer them praise and thanks.
“And the so-called outsiders are merely human beings who migrated to another planet hundreds of years ago. Corben described them as demons, apostates, to prevent you from knowing the truth. Even if you don’t believe what I’m saying now, you should be able to recognize York Corben’s voice on the account of you praying after it so many times. For once, decide for yourself what to believe.”
Feng Bujue paused momentarily before continuing. “I will contact the people from outside and provide them the coordinates of the Village of Heavenly Blessing. After that, hopefully, you’ll be able to communicate rationally with these outsiders. How this village progresses in the future will be decided by you. There is no more false God to dictate your existence, and with regards to York Corben…”
He turned around to glance at God’s Child. “I will leave him to you. He is currently in the Room of Heavenly Decree. In fact, all of you should come here to see this place for yourself.”
After that, Feng Bujue deactivated the device. He turned around, opened both of his arms, and told York with a laugh, “Oh Lord… Seeing the expression on your face now, I couldn’t feel better.”
“You… Why… Why! Why would you do something like this?” York Corben’s mind was broken as he roared. “Have you lost your mind? Why wouldn’t you want this wealth that is practically handed to you? You and your friend even have the power to replace me, don’t you? Why?”
“Master Flash, I’ll hand the floor over to you to explain.” Feng Bujue chuckled.
Several sword flashes cut through the air, and Flashes of Sword appeared next to York Corben in the blink of an eye. In the same second, Corben’s mechanized limbs were hacked off his body. The man’s large torso fell to the ground. Blood, oil, and nutrients pooled on the ground, and Corben’s face was overwhelmed with fear and shock.
“There’s a saying that goes… whenever one sees injustice, he will draw his sword to avenge the injured. I suppose you can call it the way of Jiang Hu,” Flashes of Sword said as he handsomely sheathed his sword away. The tactic he showed was much more powerful and flashier than the attacks that Feng Bujue had used on Harvey. However, since his weapon did not have a damage buff against machines, to be able to dismember York so quickly and perfectly showed how good he was as a swordsman.
“Honestly, perhaps I might compromise if I were given this choice in the world that I am from,” Flashes of Sword admitted. “But here, we will not stay for long, and, how shall I put this… you kinda deserve this.”
York Corben was in the throes of despair. He had thought that he would be able to somehow sneak his way out of the village, but that dream went up in smoke. Most adult males of the Corben family were mechanized, and there was a reason behind it. It was to prevent assassinations, to help during acts of ’miracles’, to extend their lives, and when the situation became desperate, they could survive on Old Earth. The mechanized heart could deal with the horrible air, and their mechanized limbs would allow them to hunt mutated animals.
The family’s ancestor had thought of many things. They set down many rules like body modification, power over history, the sequestering of knowledge… In a way, they had figured a solution for any contingency their descendants might face. The success of the Corben family’s rule was largely due to their ancestor’s wisdom.
If not for the two players’ arrival, perhaps the only thing that could have ruined the Village of Heavenly Blessing was the dwindling gene pool or the sudden discovery by other humans. But who knew when that would happen?
“Oh, by the way, even though the chance of this is small, to prevent you from using the power and influence that your family has gathered over the years to confuse the villages and turn this around…” Feng Bujue took out the steel sword and squatted next to York. With a smile, he poked the tip of knife into the man’s mouth. With the sharp end pointing at York’s cheeks, he said, “For the sake of safety, let’s put a smile on that face…”
“Ah… Ah!” York Corben groaned in pain as his cheeks were cut away by Feng Bujue and his tongue was chopped off. But for some reason… there was a dull sensation travelling through his throat.
…
Ten minutes later, at the entrance of the shrine, Hank walked out of the shrine slowly. Many villagers were already gathered at the door. There were villagers from all three layers. The priests had been apprehended by the villagers. Even though some of them were innocent, they would have to suffer a bit, and no one would buy their words again.
Of the people gathered there, there were some who were the patrols and guards who had interacted with the ’intruders’ earlier. Once they say Hank, they screamed, “That’s him! He’s the one who accompanied the two intruders!”
Hank walked to stand before the crowd. Everyone stared at him, waiting for the man to say something. It was like they were waiting for the light before dawn, waiting for the shaft of light to guide their way. Hank’s eyes scanned the crowd. He saw Miss Molly, his mother, and his friends among them. At that moment, the attention on Hank was something that he had never imagined he would experience in his life.
After a moment’s silence, Hank finally opened his lips.
“The two outsiders… No, I should say the two travelers from another world have already left. They will never return. They do not wish to be remembered or discussed.” Hank tried to keep his voice calm and his words clear. “Mr. Feng… He repaired the device that Corben destroyed and contacted a place called The Solar System Research Center. He gave them the Village of Heavenly Blessing’s coordinates and radio frequency. Our village is no longer isolated from the world; people outside know about us.
“Soon, other humans will come to visit us. They have the power to take us all away. We can move to a place called Second Earth, the current home of human beings. They have clean air and water there, with blue ocean, rivers, mountains, forests, and lakes. They have real cities as well.
“There, sickness can be cured; we do not need to beg God for mercy. The weather can be predicted, and they are not the whims of God. Every child has the right and responsibility to enjoy a full education. No one will dictate what you shall believe, what you shall wear, and what you shall do. Women do not need to sacrifice themselves to other men before their marriage, and men do not need to risk their lives for jobs like scavenging.”
His voice involuntarily turned up, or perhaps it seemed that way because the crowd had fallen silent.
“I can understand your current emotions. Like you, I am afraid, apprehensive about the future, but at the same time, I feel anticipation. But there’s one thing I am sure of…”
In Hank’s eyes, there was a relief and an affecting emotion.
“Now, we are free.”