sjar Chapter 340 Death
Chapter 340 Death
As Yan Xun and Bourne approached the white building, Bourne said that the building was their church.
Some special ceremonies are held here.
"For example, someone dies?" Yan Xun asked.
Byrne nodded. "For example, someone dies."
“Tomorrow, some believers will be here to share their revelations about being reborn,” Byrne said. “You are welcome to attend if you wish.”
Yan Xun looked at the robe he was wearing. "Do I have to wear this tomorrow?"
"I thought this place wouldn't allow an outsider like me to enter."
“There are only some special ceremonies that people outside the church cannot attend,” Byrne explained. “There will also be some of Mr. Conrad’s guests tomorrow, but there aren’t as many rules.”
He meant that Yan Xun did not need to wear the white robe he wore today.
"May I stay here tonight?" Yan Xun asked again. "I thought Mr. Conrad wouldn't want me to stay here for too long."
“Then I’m afraid there’s some misunderstanding between you,” Byrne said. “Mr. Conrad did not limit the time you could stay here.”
In other words, you can stay as long as you want.
Yan Xun felt a little regretful—it was a pity that he wasn't a true local, otherwise he could have lived here and wouldn't have to pay rent for that second-floor office.
“I heard that this was originally the residence that Mr. Conrad prepared for Miss Charlene,” Yan Xun said.
He looked at the building that appeared to have no windows. "What was this place used to be for?"
"chapel?"
Byrne shook his head. "I'm not quite sure about that."
“Mr. Conrad was its second owner,” he told Yan Xun. “Initially, Mr. Conrad intended it to be Miss Charlene’s new home.”
Yan Xun thought for a moment, "Because Neil is missing, should we just drop this matter?"
Byrne shook his head. "It must have been earlier; Miss Farine and he seemed to have had some kind of argument."
“After that, this place was temporarily abandoned until recently, when Mr. Conrad felt that it could help the New Generation believers, so he reopened it.”
Yan Xun knew that the deceased Neil and Conrad were friends.
The investigation revealed that Neil's family was relatively well-off, but still far behind local tycoons like Conrad.
Yan Xun was also a little curious as to why they had become friends.
And Charlene will become his fiancée.
"Did they meet through Shalin?" Yan Xun asked.
Upon hearing this, Byrne shook his head. "To be precise, it was Mr. Conrad who introduced Miss Charlene to Neil."
This was somewhat unexpected for Yan Xun. "They're classmates?"
Byrne shook his head again. "I'm not quite sure about that."
“When I served Mr. Conrad, they were already friends.”
Yan Xun wanted to ask something more, but Byrne had already noticed the deceased's family members standing outside the white house. He gestured for Yan Xun to look at them, saying, "They are the deceased's family members."
There are four people in his family.
Judging from their exposed hands and skin, the family of the parents and four sisters was not well-off, probably similar to Liam's family.
Seeing that he seemed to know who Bourne was, and seeing Bourne approach, he immediately went up to him, wanting to say something to him.
Yan Xun looked at the woman who resembled a mother and immediately stepped forward to grab Bourne's hand. "Can't we really go in?"
She looked at Byrne pleadingly, "We just want to go see him again."
Byrne looked at the deceased's mother with pity, but firmly refused, saying, "For the sake of the smooth conduct of the ceremony."
Doug also wants peace and quiet.
Yan Xun didn't know what magic these words had, but at least after Bourne said them, the deceased's family immediately calmed down.
Some people's eyes fell on him, but after realizing he had no wings, they looked away.
“This is my guest,” Bourne introduced Yan Xun.
The deceased's family gave a few perfunctory greetings, their eyes still fixed on Bourne. Just then, the clock struck, and Bourne nodded to them, saying he would be leaving for a moment.
Then, under their anxious gazes, he stepped into the windowless white house.
Once Bourne disappeared, the four of them seemed to completely deflate and began to hug each other and cry.
Yan Xun stood to the side, feeling slightly embarrassed.
He could only turn his head and focus his gaze on the fountain, admiring the angel statues inside.
Soon, some chanting came from the white house. Yan Xun turned to look at the white house, and the four of them stopped crying and looked at the house with no doors or windows on the front.
Ten minutes later, they probably finally calmed down.
"Are you trying to join the new generation?" the deceased's sister asked.
She shook her head as she spoke, "I heard that outsiders are not allowed to enter here."
She looked behind Yan Xun. "Your family joined the New Generation?" Just like them?
“This matter is a bit complicated,” Yan Xun said. “My friend’s mother unexpectedly grew wings.”
“But she’s far away in the south and can’t come back,” he told the woman. “She’s really worried about her mother and could only ask me to come and visit her.”
They did not doubt Yan Xun's statement; instead, they began to tell their own stories.
According to their account, the boy who died was 26 years old and wings suddenly grew from his back five days ago.
His family was terrified, fearing he would die. Fortunately, he was an exception; he survived after growing wings and joined the New Generation.
“Mr. Conrad was a generous man,” the deceased’s father said.
He kept his hands in front of him as he spoke, looking quite uneasy. "After realizing our situation, he said he could help us."
"Help you?" Yan Xun didn't understand what he meant.
“Mr. Conrad has provided us with new accommodations,” said the younger girl, the deceased’s sister.
“We came to the New Generation together,” the older sister explained to Yan Xun. “We heard that Mr. Conrad has many winged people here.”
They exchanged a glance. "Our house is too small."
"His wings were stuck there."
"In addition, the neighbors around us always stared at us and gathered together to whisper among themselves."
“We thought maybe Mr. Conrad could help,” the sister said. “Maybe he can teach us how to put our wings back in.”
The older sister shook her head. "Mr. Conrad didn't tell us any of this, but the people here are very friendly." She was referring to Byrne and the other members of the New Generation. "He said that if we joined the New Generation, we, as family, would also receive some benefits."
"For example, being able to move to a larger place to live and have cleaner food."
“We were worried that there might be some conditions,” the sister said. “But Mr. Byrne said that all members of the New Generation were family.”
“We are family too, so this is just a perk for the new generation of members.”
"Everything is moving in a positive direction..."
They started crying again as they spoke, whether from the unexpected death of a family member or for some other reason, it was unclear.
The ceremony inside the house continued. "Have you seen him since he moved in?"
The deceased's family members looked at each other, "No."
“Mr. Byrne said that outsiders are not allowed to visit here for the time being,” Dad said. “We only took a quick look around when we brought him here.”
"He said that after a while, he can go back and visit us often."
But no one expected that he would suddenly pass away last night.
“This is our second time here,” he said to Yan Xun, his face full of sorrow, mixed with some fear and unease.
Yan Xun didn't understand what the fear on his face meant at first, but when the ceremony ended and Bourne left with the people in white robes... he immediately went up to him and found Bourne.
Bourne gestured for the rest of them to leave first, and then closed the door behind them.
He looked at the man gently, said some nice words about his regret, and then told the man, who was a head shorter than him, that the man's son would be buried near the artificial lake after his death, so that he could find true peace.
The deceased's father was distracted; clearly, this was not what he truly wanted to hear.
He looked hesitant, as if worried that his words might offend Bourne.
Bourne noticed his hesitation and suggested they could talk privately.
After the two left, Yan Xun looked at the remaining three. Their attention was focused on the man by the fountain and Bourne, as if what they were about to say was of great importance.
Judging from the man's words and body language, he was actually not very confident and was worried that Byrne would reject him.
Byrne made a reassuring gesture, indicating to the man that there was no need to rush.
Finally, the man blurted out all the words he had prepared.
Bourne listened patiently, his expression unchanged.
The man must have rehearsed countless times; he spoke very quickly, without any stumbles or pauses. After he finished speaking, he looked up at Bourne's reaction.
To my surprise, Bourne just smiled and said, "Don't worry."
He spoke loudly enough for Yan Xun and the man's family to hear.
"Those all belong to you."
“It won’t be taken back just because he’s gone,” he told the man. “Mr. Conrad is a generous man.”
The man immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Yan Xun understood from this what he had been discussing with Bourne—he suspected that Bourne had done it on purpose, deliberately letting him hear the answer as well.
Having accomplished something significant, he seemed much more relaxed.
Bourne added that because the deceased had joined the New Generation, he could only remain in the New Generation cemetery after death.
The man didn't seem to care much; he wanted to leave quickly, looking as if he was worried that Bourne might change his mind.
The two sisters of the deceased, however, showed a hint of sorrow. Whether for the deceased or for their foreseeable future, it was unclear. They asked Byrne if they could visit the deceased's grave after the New Generation welcomed believers.
Byrne said of course they could and welcomed them to join the new generation.
Their family members did not react at all; instead, they urged them to leave.
Bourne simply smiled and watched them leave. Only after the deceased's family had left did Yan Xun look at the tightly closed white house. "Did the ceremony go smoothly?"
“It went very smoothly,” Byrne said.
Seeing that Yan Xun seemed very curious about the white house, Bourne asked again, "Do you want to go in?"
"May I go in?" Yan Xun asked.
“The ceremony is over,” Byrne said, “but outsiders are not allowed to enter the ceremony area.”
He pushed open the door and gestured for Yan Xun to enter the white house with him.
There were many burning candles in the house, and there were stained-glass windows in the roof, through which light streamed into the house.
There was a very faint fragrance in the air, like a mixture of floral essential oils and frankincense, which made one feel dizzy.
Yan Xun immediately spotted the statue that had appeared in the newspaper.
It's just a smaller version.
It was placed on a high platform, surrounded by decorations featuring wing elements.
Upon seeing the statue, Bourne made a praying gesture.
Yan Xun did not do as instructed. After Bourne finished praying, he explained to Yan Xun, "That was a miracle."
"miracle?"
“Mr. Conrad had already received a revelation before he was reborn,” he told Yan Xun.
Yan Xun recalled that Ellie was summoned by Conrad two months ago—at that time, Yan Xun had not yet entered the instance, and there were no strange occurrences of winged creatures in the city.
"Do you know about the Angel Church?" Yan Xun asked. "I've heard it's becoming popular in the South."
“They say this year will be the end of the world,” Yan Xun said. “When angels appear, the end of the world will come.”
Byrne looked somewhat surprised; he seemed to have never heard of the Church of Angels.
After hearing the connection between angels and the end of the world, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Perhaps they are right."
“Growing wings is a sign of rebirth,” he told Yan Xun. “To survive the apocalypse, we must be reborn.”
"So your god told you what will happen at the end of the world?" Yan Xun asked.
This was a rather impolite question, but fortunately Bourne didn't get angry. Perhaps he had heard too many such provocations, and Yan Xun's words couldn't provoke him.
“Perhaps it’s a flood,” Byrne said. “Perhaps it’s some kind of calamity.”
He told Yan Xun, "Perhaps only with sufficient faith will He give us new revelations."
He then looked at the winged ball of flesh, "He will protect us."
The room's intoxicating fragrance, the burning candles, and the winged figures around him all inevitably brought back unpleasant memories for Yan Xun.
While pondering whether the cult in this instance was connected to the Angel Guild, he casually asked Bourne, "Then how can I grow wings?"
“Pray,” Byrne said.
“As long as you sincerely express your willingness to believe in Him,” Byrne said, looking at Yan Xun, “He will bless you.”
Yan Xun didn't really believe this explanation. He still remembered the first person who grew wings—that person was a complete drunkard who probably had forgotten not only his faith but also his own name.
But he also knew that there was no point in refuting Bourne here.
He looked at the coffin surrounded by a circle of candles, with wing patterns engraved on it.
"Those were... the believers who died last night?"