“That is a deity born from chaos, the very foundation of my faith—the God of Redemption!”
Wu Ming spoke in the tone of a charlatan priest: “It guards the souls of all believers, and before it, any existence is but an ant! What do you think you are before my god?”
“Pathetically weak!”
Fafna did not appear disheartened as one might expect; instead, her eyes gleamed with eagerness: “I want to know more! More about this deity. Lord, may I be baptized? I wish to join your Church of Redemption!”
“The Church belongs neither to me nor to any of the congregation—it belongs solely to the deity!”
Wu Ming smiled and said: “Of course… I’m delighted to see your interest in the doctrines of the God of Redemption. If you wish to know more, I shall tell you everything!”
Inwardly, he was secretly amused.
Because of her heavy reliance on psychic power, Fafna, the psychic witch, was practically powerless—both in body and mind—when faced with a being of greater psychic strength.
If he had wanted to, he could have planted a slave seed in her soul right then and there, gaining a female slave.
But now, turning her into a zealous believer of the God of Redemption wasn’t bad either—there wasn’t much difference between the two anyway.
Only Dia looked genuinely shocked.
She had just learned that her boss was actually involved with a religious sect.
Of course, she would be even more astonished if she knew that the entire Church of Redemption had been founded singlehandedly by Wu Ming.
…
“Alright, Angelina! Come meet your teacher!”
The next day, after making arrangements, Fafna arrived at Wu Ming’s place.
She had dressed up especially: wearing a light-blue women’s suit with a short skirt, flesh-colored stockings on her legs, and a pair of red-framed glasses, she looked every bit the proper schoolteacher.
“Fafna is an extremely knowledgeable and talented teacher, proficient in various academic subjects and accomplished in many other areas as well…”
Wu Ming briefly introduced her: “You’ve always wanted to learn from me, right? If you pass Teacher Fafna’s test, I’ll consider teaching you!”
In truth, cultivating Angelina into a priestess of the God of Redemption might also be a good idea.
After all, the path of priesthood depends entirely on the individual’s devotion and whether they receive divine favor. It is a supernatural profession that does not require innate talent.
If favored by the deity, even faith itself wouldn’t be a strict requirement—you could still wield power.
However, such power gained this way would inevitably carry hidden dangers.
At least for now, Wu Ming still preferred Angelina to study magical knowledge independently. Only that which is truly mastered and belongs to oneself is the best.
“Teacher Fafna!”
Mrs. Sterling eyed Fafna suspiciously at first, but out of respect for Wu Ming, she politely greeted her.
However, after speaking with Fafna, she was completely won over by the psychic witch’s vast knowledge and talents.
“Such profound knowledge and broad experience!”
Mrs. Sterling, being well-educated herself, exclaimed: “Even within my previous family, she would have been considered an extraordinary person…”
“Angelina, your brother Steven worked very hard to bring her here, so you must behave and obey her, understand?”
Mrs. Sterling earnestly reminded the two children. Wu Ming, watching nearby, simply smiled without speaking.
He naturally knew that although Fafna appeared young and beautiful on the outside, she had actually lived for an unknown number of years and was naturally broad-minded and knowledgeable.
According to her own account, she had even assumed several different identities and attended universities for further studies.
…
Mrs. Sterling was delighted about the sudden addition of a teacher in the household. Brandon didn’t care much about it, while Angelina simply had more time to play cards.
As for James, the nominal head of the household, he merely grunted a couple of times and barely even looked at Fafna’s face during their first meeting.
He solemnly approached Wu Ming with news that was hardly unexpected: “Lord Andaniel wants to see you!”
There was a complex mix of emotions in James’s expression, including a hint of pride: “Go ahead! The driver is already waiting for you!”
Having a son like that was indeed something to be proud of, yet simultaneously, there was a subtle sense of loss.
“It seems… after their overtures, it’s finally time to lay their cards on the table.”
Wu Ming was not in the least surprised. After all, Lord Andaniel seemed to have known his identity all along. Waiting this long already showed remarkable patience.
It was still the same mansion as last time, though now there were far fewer cars parked inside.
“Mr. Steven?”
As Wu Ming stepped out of the car, an elderly butler with silver hair approached and half-bowed: “My master, Lord Andaniel, has been waiting for you for quite some time!”
“Please lead the way!”
Wu Ming gestured for the butler to go ahead and walked straight past the ballroom from their previous meeting, heading directly toward the study at the back.
“Hey! My friend!”
Andaniel was wearing only a pair of shorts, and the air still carried the scent of recent intimacy. He was holding a large wine glass and drinking heartily: “Sorry! Those two girls were just too hot, and I had to spend a little more time than planned to deal with them!”
“No problem. May I ask what business you have with me this time?”
Wu Ming walked straight to a seemingly clean sofa and sat down. Immediately, the butler brought him a cup of black tea, clearly well aware of his preferences. Then he bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
“Before that, shouldn’t we discuss how to address each other?”
Andaniel smiled: “Should I call you Mr. Steven Sterling—the brilliant student from Binford University—or Captain Victor’s friend and associate of the Hawk family, or perhaps the Holy Pontiff of the Church of Redemption?”
At this last title, Andaniel’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“A name is just a label. Call me whatever you like!”
This wasn’t exactly a secret. Anyone who made the effort to investigate could easily uncover the truth.
After all, although the kingdom’s punch-card computers were crude, they were still capable of collecting and processing massive amounts of data.
Under the kingdom’s powerful machinery, anyone living within society would inevitably leave traces.
“Excellent, very casual!”
Andaniel grinned widely: “I like that attitude. Relax, actually, our relationship is closer than you might imagine. I’ve even met your mother once before, although she probably doesn’t remember…”
“I’ve never heard her mention anything about that!”
Wu Ming recalled what James had once briefly mentioned—that Mrs. Sterling was actually of noble blood. It seemed that this was indeed true.
“There are only so many noble families in the kingdom. Basically, aside from the extremely reclusive ones, they all know each other to some extent… But of course, what really sparked my interest in you was Carter!”
“Carter?!”
Wu Ming hadn’t expected his assistant in missionary work to be involved as well, and his brows furrowed slightly.
“He is the son of a good friend of mine!”
Andaniel smiled lightly: “Even within our families, the university doesn’t offer overly privileged conditions to our children. Everything must be earned through their own efforts. Besides, his family isn’t even part of the kingdom’s nobility, so it’s natural you wouldn’t know about him.”
“I see!”
Wu Ming only vaguely knew that Carter came from a wealthy background, and the young man had never specifically reported anything about his family to him.
Perhaps, in Carter’s mind, worldly authority paled in comparison to the God of Redemption.
“Alright, now we come to the most important matter!”
Andaniel’s expression turned suddenly serious: “Steven, tell me—is everything about that ‘God of Redemption’ really true?”
With his wealth and connections, he had already thoroughly investigated Steven’s background, but found nothing.
Although he had shown extraordinary talent from childhood, among the hundreds of millions of people in the kingdom, it was normal for a few prodigies to emerge from the commoners.
But such an ordinary person suddenly established the Church of Redemption during his university years, and it had grown quite rapidly.
At the very least, Carter’s graduation project had no issues.
In fact, Andaniel had heard and confirmed some rumors that intrigued him greatly.
“Of course it’s true! The glory of my Lord is everywhere!”
Wu Ming responded like a true religious fanatic.
Andaniel fell silent for a moment: “Then… are the miracles real too? Don’t worry, this is something Carter told me, and I won’t spread it around. But you know what this means, right?”
Wu Ming naturally understood.
The emergence of supernatural powers was one thing for the secular world, but the most important aspect was that these miracles, and especially their later ability to heal minor and even serious injuries, suggested that they might also be able to treat serious diseases.
The powerful nobles and tycoons who had been bedridden for years would surely dream of regaining good health. Not to mention, if deities were proven to be real, wouldn’t immortality also become a possibility?
Andaniel knew their kind too well. To maintain their positions and power indefinitely, there was practically no cost they wouldn’t consider paying.
“Of course it’s real!”
Wu Ming paused briefly before solemnly replying: “I received divine revelation during my recent voyage to the Red Coral Sea!”
“Ah, that explains everything!”
Andaniel nodded.
According to his intelligence network, this young man’s movements had always been perfectly normal, except for that sea voyage when he encountered a supernatural incident.
And shortly after returning, he began establishing the Church of Redemption.
Andaniel gave a bitter smile: “Do you know the kind of trouble you’re going to bring us?”
“My Lord brings only hope and redemption!”
Wu Ming cleverly replied.
“Yes, redemption…”
Andaniel’s expression shifted between shadow and light, and for once, he looked genuinely serious: “You’ve done the right thing keeping the miracles secret. Let me tell you something: the kingdom isn’t completely ignorant of the supernatural world!”
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