Truth Society of Falasong

The starry sky over Calvi remained as dreamlike as ever, even in the largest city of the Kingdom of Blossoms.

Linton and Iris easily slipped into Falasong with the fat man and his group. Along the way, the fat man did not suddenly raise his price, nor did they run into any ambushes.

That was understandable. After all, bringing people into the city was his business. If he casually set traps for his customers, no one would patronize him.

Along the way, Linton and Iris encountered little resistance, and the city guards' inspection was easily dealt with.

There were two reasons it had been so easy.

First, Falasong was divided into an inner city and an outer city. Most of the outer city's residents were ordinary people, so security was not particularly strict.

Second, would anyone really dare invade a city favored by the gods?

After entering the city, the temporary group quickly scattered. Linton and Iris strolled along the flagstone roads while observing the people and society within the city.

Most ordinary homes were built in the Romanesque style, with attics rising from their uppermost floors. The Flower Churches scattered everywhere, meanwhile, were more Gothic in style, with tall pointed roofs and stained-glass windows.

Falasong had no curfew, so even though it was already late at night, people's shouts could still be heard.

Perhaps they had come out for a drink with friends after a busy day, or perhaps they were doing things they were too embarrassed to do in broad daylight.

Iris could not help feeling sentimental about the city where she had lived for several years.

"Although I don't think very highly of Falasong, after spending several days in the wilderness, I still find myself missing a bustling city."

Linton chuckled softly. "Cities are the result of human society's evolution. Naturally, people yearn for them."

Iris curled her lips, seemingly uninterested in his textbook-like answer.

"By the way... where are we going now?" Miss Knight asked, tilting her head. "Given our current situation, no inn would take us in, right?"

"To a place where I... used to live."

Iris froze. "You stayed in Falasong before?"

"More or less."

Linton brushed her off.

He definitely had not lived here, but the deceased necromancer had!

As the political, economic, and academic center of the Kingdom of Blossoms, Falasong had naturally been where the necromancer, who had once pursued forbidden arts, came to search for information.

He had even once wanted to sneak into the royal cemetery to study what exactly made royal corpses different from ordinary ones. However, faced with the overwhelming disparity in strength, he had no choice but to give up.

After turning off the main street and passing through several alleys, Linton finally stopped before an utterly ordinary little house.

He did not take out a key. Instead, he simply pushed open the door and walked in.

"You've been away from home for so long and still didn't lock the door?"

The doll girl complained as she entered the house. The damp smell that rushed at her made her furrow her lovely brows.

There was not much furniture inside, only a table and chairs and a wooden bed. Several dust-covered books sat neatly on the table, while the quilt on the bed had been folded into a precise square.

All in all, it was fairly clean.

"Any thief who came in here would probably leave in tears. Why would there be any need to lock the door?"

Linton brushed away some dust and sat down in a chair, turning to look at the girl.

"Iris, do you have a way to contact Miss Vera?"

Iris thought for a moment. "Whenever I look for Vera, I usually just go directly to her. I've hardly ever contacted her in writing."

"Is that so?" Linton lightly rubbed the wooden armrest with his fingertips, deep in thought.

"Although I've never done it before, I can give it a try. Maybe I can arrange to meet Vera."

"No, there's no need." Linton smiled. "We're the ones paying a visit. How could we make the person we're visiting come out?"

"Get some rest first. I'll have a way tomorrow."

Early the next morning, the two appeared in front of an unremarkable tailor shop.

"Iris, can you wait outside?"

"No problem. I'll find somewhere to hide."

The doll girl's answer was crisp and decisive, far more so than the hesitation in Linton's tone.

Her attitude took Linton somewhat by surprise.

There was little emotion in Iris's eyes as she merely said, "You must have your reasons for making that choice. I have no objections."

Linton clapped his hands and praised, "You've grown up, Iris."

"Go on, go do what you need to do."

Linton smiled softly and instinctively wanted to ruffle the girl's hair, but Iris had already anticipated it. After giving him a disdainful glare, she vanished into the shadows between the buildings.

His expression fading, Linton lowered his head and entered the clothing store.

It was not that he did not want to bring Iris inside. The doll girl simply could not enter.

This tailor shop was actually one of the Truth Society's strongholds.

Thanks to the excellent security and lax patrols, guards rarely went door to door for inspections. Coupled with the fact that the Truth Society's followers were still fairly well-behaved, the Truth Society had been able to drive an iron nail into this place under the cover of darkness.

Upon entering the clothing store, the clerk glanced at him. Rather than saying anything like welcome, the clerk merely smiled and nodded.

Followers of the Truth Society who had undergone baptism always felt an inexplicable affinity toward one another, so it was easy for both sides to recognize each other's identities.

But if the clerk did not sense the aura of one of their kind from a visitor, then unless the person who brought them was one of the Twelve Stars, no matter how dry they talked their throat, this place would remain nothing more than a tailor shop selling clothes.

──Those who had not undergone the baptism of faith could not enter a hall that worshiped the gods.

"May the True Lord guide you."

Linton bowed slightly, then turned into the stairwell.

As he descended the stairs, a wooden door engraved with countless ancient and mysterious patterns blocked his path.

Linton pressed his palms together, lowered his eyelids, and displayed his aura without reservation.

The next moment, without anyone touching it, the wooden door automatically revealed the world hidden beyond it.

Linton opened his eyes and took in a room that absolutely should not have existed in a basement.

The surrounding walls were built of bare red bricks. The space was enormous, with a vertical height of nearly six or seven meters. Countless mysterious patterns were engraved upon four massive white jade pillars, holding up this fantastical space as though it were indestructible and impregnable.

At the very back stood a statue with an indistinct face.

Its arms were crossed, its hands resting upon the opposite shoulders. From afar, it appeared solemn and mysterious.

There were quite a few people in this underground church, around thirty or forty. Nearly all of them looked upward, their eyes filled with incomparable fervor.

"Mr. Crevixil?"

A slightly surprised call suddenly sounded beside Linton.

Turning his head, he saw a man dressed in a plain gray-white robe, with graying temples. He appeared to be no longer young.

"Long time no see, Mr. Sika."

Linton smiled faintly.

This Mr. Sika was the person he needed to find on this trip.