Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 441 - 19 An Important Historical Node

Li Mumu descended upon the headquarters of the New Church of Eternal Life, and upon opening her eyes, she saw Old Zhang blissfully enjoying a meal of fish stew with tofu, served by two beautiful girls.

Old Zhang was the Puppet Master she and Xia Yubing had captured before.

His original name was Zhang Deshun. In the Jianghu World, he was known by the nickname Eight-Armed Arhat. He was an expert in Mechanical Puppetry Technique, able to control puppets to move as if they were living people, mingling among them and making it impossible to distinguish his true form.

However, he was not a descendant of the Mohist school but hailed from Tianmen City’s Machinery Manufacturing Bureau. Because of embezzlement and misappropriation of materials, he was reported and spent several years in prison. He was released only when the young Emperor of the former dynasty granted a general amnesty upon ascending the throne.

After that, Old Zhang started walking the Heretical Path.

The craft he cultivated belonged to the Heretical Dharma Gate among the Twelve Laws. For years in the Jianghu World, he lived on the edge of a knife, relying on his exquisite puppetry to escape from danger repeatedly. He did many dirty jobs and made quite a bit of dirty money.

Little did he expect that, in his later years, he would fall into the hands of three young women.

Although the old codger was greedy, he also held to the codes of Jianghu, preferring to be beaten to death rather than betray his friend from the Cuojin Sect. He said that if he betrayed his friend, he would no longer be able to mix in the Jianghu World.

In exchange, he willingly signed a long-term labor contract with Wendy—or you could say a servitude contract—and thus entered the fold of the New Church of Eternal Life, becoming its first protector.

Li Mumu always felt that he was just looking for a place to retire.

The crafty old man noticed that Xia Yubing and Li Mumu were young and vigorous and usually didn’t care to manage affairs. Wendy was even more elusive, basically impossible to find. Besides one foreigner with a decent work capacity, there was no one else in this new religious headquarters who could restrain him.

Where else could you find such a relaxed and easy work environment?

Add to that, Max was also greedy by nature. When two money lovers got together, they quickly found common ground and were as close as brothers, without the slightest barrier.

Watching him sit there, alternately sipping wine and savoring hot tofu, an unnameable anger flared in Li Mumu.

Why should you be so happy?

You’re eating so deliciously, it’s making me crave it too!

As for those two beautiful girls, it mattered little; they were puppets made by Old Zhang himself. If you didn’t look carefully, they looked just like real people. Li Mumu even suspected that he might have killed two living beings, then installed some parts inside their bodies.

Sensing the waves of chill coming from behind him, Old Zhang’s pupils shrank slightly.

Caught slacking off at work, what to do? The boss is a difficult-to-deal-with demon and evil spirit.

He tremulously set down his wine glass and chopsticks, turned around to face the resentful Li Mumu, and quickly bowed his head with an ingratiating smile, "Shroud Empress..." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Where’s Amber?"

"The Coffin Empress is downstairs in the secret chamber, cultivating."

Li Mumu glanced at the hot pot on his table.

Old Zhang hastened to ask, "Empress, have you had dinner tonight? Why don’t we eat together?"

Feeling the murderous intent in Li Mumu’s eyes, he immediately shut his mouth, daring not to speak further.

"In the future, do not eat in the church, open the windows for ventilation, and then light the incense to overpower the smell," Li Mumu commanded coldly.

I, the Red Shroud, sitting under my own divine image eating tofu with an old coot?

If this got out, would I still have any reputation left?

At such an old age, he still doesn’t understand the ways of the world.

Li Mumu used any excuse to scold Old Zhang, then made her way to the basement.

Prior to this, the room was just a spare safe house for the Longevity Sect. After obtaining the private wealth of the former Bishop, Max simply rented the entire apartment building outright and then redecorated it.

Although it was just a shell company, the facade definitely had to be propped up. If you couldn’t even maintain that facade, how could those immigrants possibly be convinced by your casual persuasions?

An entire heretical sect’s organizational structure was no less complex than that of a legitimate company.

Max had already made use of a third of the rooms in this apartment building.

There was a chapel specifically for preaching, with statues of Reddy and Amber, two Netherworld Angels, enshrined within. Beside it, there were rooms dedicated to worshipping the Three Pure Ones, prayer rooms and rest lounges for the followers, as well as the Consolation Hall to present the ashes of the deceased.

There was even a shop that specialized in selling Joss Paper and amulets.

If conditions permitted, Max even wanted to create elixirs, which were once a major source of income for the Longevity Sect. Unfortunately, he was not skilled in this craft, nor could he hire the right people for the job.

Yubing lay calmly in her coffin in the basement, her chest motionless, appearing... no, she was actually a dead person.

Having not been seen for many days, her breath had weakened to the point where it was indistinguishable from that of a corpse.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Mumu asked tentatively.

"No need to do anything, just help me watch the door,"

Yubing said softly.

"Also, when the time comes later, you can get a feel for it in advance too."

"What time?"

"It’s not something that can be explained in a few words; you’ll know it when it happens."

This was the first time Yubing had spoken in riddles in front of Mumu; she used to be very straightforward.

Of course, it was also possible that she was simply not in the mood to chat.

Mumu frowned slightly; she seemed to hear a vague sound, but it wasn’t distinct enough.

It was not the usual sounds of prayer, but more like the sound of tides ebbing and flowing that one could hear when living by the sea.

However, this sound was quickly overshadowed by a louder noise; she heard Max calling in front of the statues.

There was a visitor.

Mumu shifted her perspective and opened her eyes to look.

A man of unremarkable appearance, holding an umbrella, dressed in a gray overcoat, and wearing a hat, stepped into the church.

At this hour, the Church of Eternal Life had long been closed. A visitor arriving uninvited like this was clearly not on any ordinary business.

Max, who had just gotten out of bed, kept a calm exterior but was extremely vigilant on the inside. He would never entertain this sort of suspicious character in the middle of the night if he didn’t have someone to back him up.

"Cardinal Max, I hope my visit hasn’t caused you any inconvenience,"

the visitor said, removing his hat and bowing gracefully to Max.

In fact, it was a major inconvenience, Max grumbled to himself.

The two angels, Reddy in her red shroud and Amber in her coffin, had clearly instructed him not to stir up trouble with these demons and evil spirits. He was told to just earn money honestly and collect incense offerings.

At first, Max was uncomfortable with this; he was used to the lifestyle of a secretive society. But after relaxing, he began to feel that this kind of life wasn’t too bad either.

But even if he didn’t look for trouble, trouble would find him.

"Tonight is an important historical turning point,"

the visitor spoke softly. "I have a commission and hope to tap into the power of the Church of Eternal Life."