Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 776 - 23 The Necessity of Preserving the Church

Who am I? Where am I? Where did I come from, and where am I going?

Wang Yunxiao stood at the church entrance, gazing at the brilliant sunset in deep thought.

"Captain Wang..."

Yan Yu’an approached him and called out, seeing no reaction, a meaningful expression appeared on his face.

"What’s the matter?"

"Nothing serious, I was going to discuss some important matters with you, but seeing you’re not in the right state of mind, let’s forget it."

"Don’t joke around, just say what you have to say."

"Do you think the Church members are genuinely willing to go through this reorganization and transformation?"

Wang Yunxiao turned to look at Yan Yu’an.

"Guns surrendered, money handed over, without seeing any benefits, who could possibly be willing to accept that?"

"The growth of Qianjin Church to its current scale is inextricably linked to the President’s support."

Yan Yu’an said in a low voice, "Logically speaking, everything they have today was given to them by the President, and now that national policies have changed, they should obey the new arrangements."

"But if everyone were reasonable, the world wouldn’t be in such chaos."

"Even cultivators are not all that detached from worldly affairs. In fact, among those cultivators I’ve met, whether they’re from the East or the West, the more they can’t let go, the more they want to practice their faith."

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I’m saying is... the Church’s obedient behavior is somewhat unexpected to me. I came here today fully prepared for a conflict, but these girls turned out to be more cooperative and sensible than I anticipated, even to the point of being too accommodating. The more they act this way, the more I worry."

Wang Yunxiao thought for a moment, then summarized, "It’s not consistent with human nature?"

"Right, it’s contrary to human nature."

Yan Yu’an nodded and said, "If a person can’t cry or laugh, what’s the difference between them and a stone? It’d be normal for them to kick up a fuss. But their silence makes me think they’re holding back their anger, preparing to make a big scene."

"Don’t scare me."

"Did I scare you?"

Yan Yu’an said in surprise, "I thought you were just standing here motionless because you were thinking about this matter."

"I’m motionless because my back hurts."

"Huh?"

"I almost had my back broken by someone just now."

"You look pretty sturdy, why so fragile?"

"It’s not about being fragile or not. If someone stepped on you, you couldn’t bear it either. Why don’t you come to my place sometime? I’ll treat you to a massage, and you can try it yourself?"

"No need to be so polite."

Yan Yu’an glanced into the distance, speaking softly, "Last time I said I’d treat you to a meal, there hasn’t been a suitable opportunity."

"You don’t need me anymore, right? Now that you’ve incorporated so many battle nuns, you shouldn’t be worried about combat strength."

"Incorporating them is one thing, but having the courage to use them is another." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Yan Yu’an shook his head and said, "Let’s find a time next week or the week after, I’ll call Old Han, and we can go soak in the hot springs at Liusheng Dojo, how about that?"

"Which Liusheng Dojo?"

"How many could there be?"

"They have this service too?"

"Not just this one."

"How come you suddenly thought of this?"

Yan Yu’an gestured towards the distance with his mouth.

Wang Yunxiao followed his gaze and saw a few Fusang women entangled with Zhou Qing and her group across the street.

At the entrance of the Qianjin Church, there was a vendor selling sugar-coated hawthorns, said to be especially skilled, unlike any other. Others make syrup that’s as bad as crap, with a smell of insoles, but this vendor uses rock sugar that’s crystal clear and without impurities.

Of course, the price is also different. The purchasing power of nuns, no matter what, is a bit higher than the bear children on the streets, so a higher price doesn’t matter.

Moreover, this is a seasonal treat, only available after the onset of winter. Firstly because hawthorns don’t keep well, and secondly because the syrup will melt easily in warm weather.

Meng Wei, usually silent, couldn’t stop muttering about these sugar-coated hawthorns on her way to the church.

She almost drove Uesugi Risa crazy with craving.

This child had barely tasted anything good since she grew up in the mountains, the Shrine had hardly any output, completely relying on the offerings from worshippers. Every day it’s soybean paste soup with pickled radish, even rice was rationed.

After arriving in Tianmen and discovering a new world, although she would constantly say one mustn’t binge eat or drink, in reality, she would eat anything she saw, unable to control herself, almost scraping the bottom of Cui Xiaoying’s pots.

Meng Wei treated everyone to sugar-coated hawthorns, sharing one with her. A bite of hawthorn melted in her mouth, moving the girl so much that both tears and her mother tongue poured out.

As luck would have it, a few Fusang women passing by overheard her.

Uesugi Risa, holding a sugar-coated hawthorn, was stupefied. She remembered very clearly the notes she made that instructed her not to contact Fusang People, not even those with tattoos on their faces.

But the others approached her excitedly, leaving her baffled on how to react.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Cui Xiaoying stepped forward to try to stop the Fusang women, but she didn’t understand a word of their mother tongue.

Both sides were thus at a standoff.

"How did Fusang People end up here?"

Wang Yunxiao was very puzzled by this.

"Many Fusang People also believe in foreign religions, they call it the Crucifix Church, and Qianjin Church is the only legally registered branch of the Crucifix Church in the country, so it’s not strange for them to come over for prayers on the weekend."

Yan Yu’an laughed and said, "Moreover, the church’s dissolution of its armed forces is such a major event, it’s understandable that others are more concerned about it. Even we don’t believe they would surrender their weapons voluntarily, let alone anyone else."

"If such a good thing really happens... then when the wall falls, everyone will push it over, and surely there will be people eager to rush up and take a slice of the cake."

Wang Yunxiao thought to himself that he had already witnessed this.

The factory had barely started, yet people were already guarding their food.

Of course, they dare not show too ugly a manner of eating right now, as the October peanut harvest was still warm, and no matter how greedy they were, they wouldn’t rush to put themselves on the expedited list so urgently.

This was a rare window of opportunity.

Many of the new government’s reform measures were not just devised now, but were difficult to implement due to the entrenched local powers. Finally clearing out such a space, many previous delayed issues came crashing down, hence the urgency.

"By the way, what do you think the church will turn into after the reorganization?"

"Not very clear, from what I understand, the church’s hierarchy has long wanted to push for secular development, but many of the grassroots believers’ mindsets are hard to change."

Yan Yu’an sighed and said, "Foreigners are different from us; in their culture, customs, and personal understanding, the aspect of religious belief is indispensable. If you don’t occupy that position, others will. If you ban the Qianjin Church, they can come up with a Retreating Church tomorrow. This problem won’t be resolved in a short time."

"It all comes down to the issue of overseas immigration, doesn’t it? Attracting so many overseas immigrants, providing them with food and clothing, and now having to consider their spiritual needs... will the immigration policy become stricter in the future?"

"There isn’t such a tendency for the time being, after all, compared to the burden, the benefits brought by overseas immigrants are more considerable."

Yan Yu’an shook his head and said, "It takes a lot of time to nurture talent domestically from childhood, whereas the immigrant group from overseas has a lot of high-quality talent. After coming here, they can be employed immediately, this advantage is quite apparent."