The Truth?

Sunlight streamed through the open wooden door, shining directly onto the statue seated on the concrete floor.

Under the sunlight, the Goddess depicted by the statue appeared increasingly solemn and sacred.

She silently watched every person who entered through this door, while equally preventing anyone who tried to pass through the hallway and venture deeper into the house.

Xu Huai said nothing, merely watching Chen Fan, who had just entered her home, with undisguised wariness.

In her eyes, this statue could be considered a test.

A test that could filter out nearly everyone!

Under Xu Huai's watchful gaze, Chen Fan walked forward without the slightest psychological burden. Then, lifting his foot, he smoothly stepped over the statue placed at the entrance.

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of having been "captured" earlier, Chen Fan's steps were a little unsteady, and his toe even lightly brushed against the statue's back.

The corner of Xu Huai's mouth twitched, and most of the vigilance in her eyes faded—no clear-minded God Chosen could possibly commit such a heretical act!

Forget the God Chosen—even the most ordinary believer would never do such a thing!

Unlike the suspicious Xu Huai, Chen Fan had already begun looking around instinctively.

Out of the "professional habits" left over from his previous life, being in an unfamiliar environment made him instinctively want to gather some basic information from his surroundings.

The room was quite neat, and a faint fragrance lingered in the circulating air—the very same scent he had smelled earlier, only stronger.

It was clear that Xu Huai was not a sloppy person, so the claim that she had casually discarded the statue was naturally nonsense.

The sun blazed outside, yet the house was somewhat dim.

Chen Fan frowned, unconsciously pressed his palms together, and murmured, "Lord..."

Before he could finish his prayer, the words caught in his throat.

Unlike his own home, Xu Huai's ceiling did not have the familiar incandescent bulb.

On the whitewashed ceiling was a conspicuous dark-gray indentation and an exposed wire—the traces left behind when an incandescent bulb had been forcibly removed!

"Stop looking. There are no lights in this house."

Xu Huai's voice came from behind him. "Do you know why?"

Before Chen Fan could reply, Xu Huai shook her head to herself.

"Forget it. This probably is still too much for you right now..."

Chen Fan turned around. Seeing the fleeting loneliness on Xu Huai's face, he spoke with an unchanged expression.

"The Goddess... She is watching us, right?"

The room fell deathly silent.

The creaking of the wooden window in the breeze echoed through the room.

Chen Fan calmly watched Xu Huai, who stood behind him.

Xu Huai no longer maintained her earlier aloof composure.

Her eyes flew wide open, her crimson lips parting slightly, and her pretty face was filled with shock.

Under Chen Fan's gaze, she instinctively took half a step back. "You... you..."

"How could you..."

Chen Fan picked up where she had left off, naturally taking control of the conversation. "The statues are her eyes for watching the world. That's why you put the statue at the door—to avoid her surveillance. Am I right?"

"But you may have gotten one thing wrong."

"From what I've observed, those light bulbs have no surveillance function. They can only recognize special voice commands."

As for how he had discovered that...

If the bulbs had surveillance capabilities, the Church would probably have taken him away first thing this morning—the disturbance caused by last night's cross-universe teleportation had not been small!

Chen Fan's words thoroughly stunned Xu Huai.

She took a deep breath and, after struggling to calm the shock in her heart, asked softly:

"...You, how did you find out?"

Chen Fan spread his hands. "Was that difficult?"

"Doesn't anyone with a brain figure that out?"

Xu Huai's expression froze. The emotions she had only just settled were shaken once more by Chen Fan's remark.

"I never expected the first person to realize there was a problem would be a God Chosen..."

As she spoke, Xu Huai let out a self-mocking laugh.

Chen Fan's heart stirred.

There was quite a lot of hidden information in Xu Huai's words!

Seeing that she had no intention of explaining, Chen Fan could only suppress his confusion for the time being.

"Can you tell me in detail?" Xu Huai pressed again. "How did you realize these things?"

Chen Fan's expression immediately turned strange.

He could not exactly say that he was from another universe, so he had spotted the problems with this world at a glance, could he?

"Cough!"

He cleared his throat and tried his best to recall every detail recorded in the original owner's notes. "It's a long story..."

More than ten minutes later.

Parched from all the talking, Chen Fan let out a long breath.

Damn, he had finally managed to sort it all out.

If his memory had not been fairly good, he probably would have exposed himself this time!

Xu Huai offered no opinion, merely nodding thoughtfully.

"So..."

Chen Fan steadied himself and questioned Xu Huai. "Can you tell me what you know?"

"What exactly is going on with this world?"

"What are these so-called gods? And what are the Church and the God Chosen?"

Faced with Chen Fan's string of questions, Xu Huai hesitated repeatedly before slowly shaking her head.

"Sorry, I can't."

The expression on Chen Fan's face immediately froze.

After coming this far, that was what she had to say?

Was she joking with him?

A nameless fury at being toyed with rose in Chen Fan's heart.

Perhaps sensing his anger, Xu Huai began to explain. "I have told many people the truth about this world before."

"Unfortunately, no one believed what I said."

"But I can understand why."

Xu Huai smiled soundlessly. "Sometimes, the truth is so bizarre that no one would believe it."

Seeing the faint sorrow in Xu Huai's eyes, Chen Fan fell silent. The trace of anger in his heart gradually dissipated as well.

With his understanding of human nature and psychology, he could understand Xu Huai's words.

Humans truly found it difficult to accept information that went too far beyond their understanding.

Under normal circumstances, the brain would classify such information as false.

But there were always exceptions.

Once someone completely believed information beyond their comprehension, it could lead to another outcome.

For example, the original owner of this body.

After realizing that the so-called gods were nothing but an enormous lie, his faith and sanity had completely collapsed.

Not everyone was qualified to casually touch a cruel truth.

"After failing several times, and even nearly losing my life because of it, I deeply realized one thing."

Xu Huai continued on her own. "Hearing is false; seeing is believing."

"People always believe what they see."

As she spoke, Xu Huai shook her head bitterly. "Although your understanding of the Goddess far exceeds my expectations, but..."

"I still don't think the truth I know is something you can accept right now."

The corner of Chen Fan's mouth could not help twitching.

After experiencing major upheavals such as transmigration within just a few dozen hours, Chen Fan did not think there was anything left in this world that could shake his exceptionally resilient worldview!

But...

Xu Huai clearly did not think so.

Having failed several times, she had no choice but to be even more cautious.

After a moment of silence, Xu Huai stared into Chen Fan's eyes and said softly, "Find some time to learn about this city's history at the Church."

"The truth is often hidden in inconspicuous corners."

"Although they altered every history book, there are still... inevitably some flaws."

"By seeing the leopard through the tube, perhaps those flaws will give you a clearer understanding of the so-called gods."

P.S. Wishing all dear readers a happy Winter Solstice.