The Zero Act | Elf Holy Land

Jiang Xueming: "Girl, calm down, girl."

After Benni woke up, she was like a piece of chewing gum, stretching her neck to get closer to Xue Ming. She seemed both scared and excited, as if she had recognized Xue Ming's true identity.

"No, no, no, no! I recognize you! My dream has come true? Gunsmith! You're not dead!" Benni excitedly rushed to the head of the bed and opened her arms to Xue Ming.

Xue Ming pretended to be flustered and barely managed to avoid it, grabbing the eighteen-year-old girl by the back of her pajamas to prevent her from bumping her head into the bedside table.

Mr. Jamie, the elderly father, felt extremely ashamed. He angrily shouted, "You little beast! What nonsense are you spouting! This is a priest who's here to exorcise you! A doctor who's here to cure you!"

"She still has demonic possession." Xue Ming said, grabbing a bed sheet and wrapping the girl up tightly, rendering her immobile for the time being. "I'll go get the Holy Salt. Watch over her and make sure she doesn't do anything foolish again."

Old Jamie didn't know the doctor's intentions, and Xue Ming was just saying it casually, using "Holy Salt" as an excuse to leave. He went for a stroll in the kitchen, and when he came back, Benni had calmed down.

When she saw Jiang Xueming, it seemed that her dream lover had grown taller and his features had become more dispersed, finally making the two distinct.

Xue Ming took out a vial from his doctor's bag, mixed the White Lady's products with table salt, and, holding the useless Bible as if it were a sacred command, pretended to chant incantations to exorcise evil spirits.

He flung out a handful of highly saline holy water, splashing it onto Benni's scarred body. The bloody wounds reacted with the salt water, causing her to scream in pain.

Old Jamie felt a pang of pity and decided to let go of his daughter.

Benni struggled desperately, still trying to hug Xue Ming and get a good look at the doctor's face.

"Not enough! This demon is too powerful!" Xue Ming increased the dosage.

The white salt water was sprinkled on Benni's skin, and layers of feathers grew back. Her nightgown billowed up, and bright red bird feathers began to sprout from her arms and torso, spreading all the way to her neck. Protected by the feathers, she became quiet, staring intently at the priest.

After doing all this, old Jamie had even more faith in Zhang Congfeng's abilities.

--These are the guardians of morality who use God's power to vanquish demons and monsters.

"Dr. Congfeng, do you need more salt? I'll go buy some!"

"Not for now." Jiang Xueming healed Benni's wound, patted off the excess salt from his palm, and explained mysteriously, "This exorcism relic needs to be made with seawater. It's blessed Holy Salt from the church sanctuary. I have a few bottles of seawater; this water is the most effective ingredient."

"Oh!" Jamie exclaimed, convinced. He then asked, "If I convert to Jesus Christ and have my daughter ordain as Nun, doing good deeds and attending services for the Christianity —perhaps her illness could be cured?"

"No, no, no, no!" Xue Ming quickly stopped him. "My magic doesn't require faith in Christ. Whether you believe or not, it works—as long as it works, that's enough. You mustn't do anything unnecessary. I'm using the Gospel of John Fellowship's slogan brand just to have a title. When I'm out doing exorcisms, I need a name, otherwise patients will think I'm a quack doctor."

Jamie was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of what to say, "Then... is there anything else I can do? Is there anything I can do?"

Xue Ming thought for a moment. He figured Benni's illness probably wouldn't be cured anytime soon. He wasn't a psionic scholar from the Arcane Library, and he didn't know of any effective cures. He used his psychic Inspiration to observe Benni—

--This woman's spiritual state is unlike that of an ordinary person. A wisp of ethereal black mist emerges from between her eyebrows, which is a passage. All sorts of spirits come and go here, occupying her hypothalamus consciousness center and driving her to self-harm and madness.

Jiang Xueming: "Brother Jamie, if it's convenient for you, please wait outside for a moment. I have something to ask Miss Benni."

Upon hearing these words, the old father's heart skipped a beat, and he became suspicious.

Jiang Xueming quickly explained, "If you're worried, you can stay by the bedside and listen in, but don't ask any questions."

Benni's spiritual state was very bad. Xue Ming was afraid that if her father's problems increased, her mental world would collapse again. When she lost her composure, strange spirits would come and take over her body, and he would have to perform another "exorcism ritual"—it was very troublesome.

Jamie replied, "Okay, okay, okay."

In his younger days, this elderly father had taken his daughter to various places seeking medical treatment, and he almost lost her when she was tricked by human traffickers. He couldn't bear to leave her alone, so he let Dr. Congfeng, a complete stranger, share a room with Benni, after all, they had only known each other for less than a day.

Xue Ming took a bottle of Worry-forgetting Tea from his doctor's bag.

--This is Brother Ye Bei's miracle drug for repairing mental damage; I don't know if it will work.

Desperate, he fed Benni a sip of the Worry-forgetting Tea.

Little Benni's eyes grew brighter and brighter. When her lips touched the tea, she grabbed Xue Ming's hands and refused to let go. She drank all 300 milliliters of liquid from the teapot, but still felt thirsty.

"Is there any more?! Is there any more? Doctor, is there any more? I'm so thirsty, so thirsty! So thirsty!"

The wisp of black mist between Benni's eyebrows showed no sign of dissipating.

In the words of Daoist Master Ping'an, this meant that a piece of her spiritual sea was missing, and her third eye was blind. Her three souls, seven spirits, and chakras were all damaged to the core, and no matter how abundant her spiritual power was, it would all flow out through this hole.

She's like a disabled person who's had a limb amputated; no matter how much she tries to repair her mental state, it's just a case of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted.

Xue Ming could clearly see that from Benni's bare palms and soles, the skin at the distal ends of her limbs was emitting a continuous tide of spiritual energy, and all the spiritual energy of the Worry-forgetting Tea was flowing away.

She seemed to be full of energy, but that energy was quickly depleted, her eyes gradually dimmed, and she soon lost her spirit.

"This is terrible, this is terrible!"

Benni's ramblings--

"--You're not a gunsmith, you're not."

"He's dead. Why don't good people get good rewards? Why?"

"If I could marry him and become his bride, would I be able to go to school?"

Benni was cursed at the age of four; she had no chance to read and write like her peers, and learning to speak was the best she could hope for.

She has extremely poor reading, writing, and mental arithmetic abilities, and chaotic spirits often possess her body, bringing all sorts of strange experiences and memories.

Jiang Xueming decided to follow this line of questioning, choosing questions that would put him in his comfort zone.

"Benni, why did you marry the gunsmith?"

"He's very rich," Benni thought, her mind racing. "And he's handsome. Wouldn't you be attracted to a rich and beautiful woman too?"

Jiang Xueming: "There must be many people like this."

Benni's eyes were fixed, not on the gunsmith, but in the light of the bedside lamp, she turned to face the empty space, her gaze vacant. "I just like him."

When talking about the gunsmith, the eighteen-year-old girl's face was as beautiful as a peach blossom, and her slightly upturned nose and small mouth revealed a shy smile, full of hope and a sense of peaceful happiness.

"No one else can replace him. Listen to me, tell me how good he is, don't go. I'll go get it for you."

She stood up, squinting as if she had thought of something wonderful and exciting. She pulled out a large oak box from under the bed, which was filled with all sorts of newspapers. The box cover was a yellowed newspaper, and when the lid was opened, the inner wooden board revealed a formal portrait of the gunsmith in the underground magazine Time.

The box contained photos of all sizes: expedition scenes sent back from the front lines, interviews with gunsmiths in the mess hall and lounge, photos of war correspondents with gunsmiths, and various other photos of events and charity ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

A whole lot of stuff, from the recent Moon God Cup and Galahad back-to-school newspaper headlines, this box holds the gunsmith's youth from twenty-three to thirty years old.

Benni didn't touch these fragile prints, fearing that each time she looked at them, she would miss out on the chance to see them again. The oil from her fingers and the reaction with the air would slowly make the memory even more blurred.

"My mother was kidnapped by the Madness Butterfly Sect. Is she dead? I don't know."

"These demons have turned me into something unspeakable, and I'm just waiting for a peerless hero to come and avenge me."

"This hero has just appeared—I'll still be jealous and hate him."

Benni nervously licked her lips and hurriedly closed the lid.

"Think about it, doctor."

"When I was twelve or thirteen, I heard the news of Eureka's liberation and thought the gunsmith was a ruthless demon king—he should also become the incarnation of the Madness Butterfly. I knew it, I knew it."

"A piece of my soul is missing. I can always hear strange voices that tell me that those who kill monsters will become monsters themselves."

"I just watched this older brother with amusement in mind, and searched everywhere for news about him."

"I find his methods of slaughtering monsters too exquisite. It seems these demons die without feeling much pain. Why not slowly boil them in warm water? Why not chop them up piece by piece from head to toe? I'm so angry I could scream."

Two more years passed, and many demons roamed through my body. They came and went, and my father took me to other places to seek medical treatment. Train stations that I couldn't go to before are now safe and I can try my luck there.

"That's when I realized the gunsmith hadn't turned into a monster."

Benni's face was flushed as she hugged the suitcase as if it were her lover.

"What a pure soul! If I marry him, I can simply live a life of leisure and happiness."

"A woman with a tragic past like me definitely needs more care than a nameless mistress, that's only fair!"

"I love the feeling of getting something for nothing! I love it! I love it! I can't lie to myself."

"My neighbors all called me a jinx, calling me a crazy child and a crazy woman for over ten years. When my father wasn't home, I would sometimes pretend to be possessed by an evil spirit, throwing stones at their windows, killing a few poultry in the farmers' chicken coops, and then screaming and howling! I just loved seeing their scared faces."

There's a hole in my heart that seems impossible to fill, no matter what.

"I'm afraid only marrying the gunsmith can fill that void—that's what I think, if I can't marry him..."

After thinking carefully, Benni finally remembered that the gunsmith was dead.

"Me, me."

She burst into tears, crying so hard she looked terrible; her features were contorted in pain, and against the backdrop of her bright red feathers, she resembled a figure from an oil painting.

"My soul is being corrupted by this terrifying world."

"I can't breathe, just like the internet jokes from over a decade ago. The air around a gunsmith must smell sweet, right?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jiang Xueming quickly called out to stop, thinking to himself—could his charm be that outrageous? This can't be happening.

"It is with great regret, Miss Benni Igor, that the gunsmith is dead, and he now has a very mature and rational wife," Xue Ming said.

"I don't care!" Whether it was due to her distraught state or psychological flaws from her upbringing, Benni suddenly became aggressive. "I want this person. If he dies, I won't live either. I'll go to Helheim to find him."

"What about your father?" Jiang Xueming frowned. "Mr. Jamie has been taking care of you. If it weren't for him—"

"--It's Dad who ruined Mom and me!" Benni immediately welled up with tears.

Upon hearing this, Jamie was struck dumb.

--The vulture guy was completely stunned, then his shoulders tucked in, and his originally upright posture slumped down.

Benni: "How can you blame me? He's the one who made me go crazy! He's the one who made my life a living hell! He's the one who meddled! Yes!"

"Benni!" Jiang Xueming glared angrily and shouted at the top of her lungs, silencing the little girl.

Benni curled up, clutching the box and shrinking back towards the head of the bed. She apologized as she backed away.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry... I've been possessed by an evil spirit again! I'm so sorry, Dad, I'm so sorry!"

Jiang Xueming: "You shouldn't talk to your father like that, Benni."

He placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder, reassuring her.

"Your father is also a victim. You shouldn't blame him. He has already explained the grievances in your family to me. You should blame the perpetrator."

The clock ticked away, and after almost two minutes, Benni dared not utter another word.

--She was afraid of losing control of her emotions; if she got agitated, countless evil thoughts would arrive in her brain even before any evil spirits.

Once these evil thoughts completely take over her mind, her body will lose control and become a playground for spirits.

"Father, please help me!" Benni cried, tears streaming down her face. "Help me, Yahweh, please help me! Tathagata, Emperor of Heaven, Ming De, please help me!"

Xue Ming held the crucifix and pressed it to Benni's forehead. The Fragrant Dream gently touched her soul, allowing her to fall asleep peacefully.

After finishing these tasks, Xue Ming Jamie outside to discuss their next trip.

"I have a solution for your daughter's illness, but you'll have to come with me on a long trip."

Jamie asked nervously, "Where to? I've searched most of this underground world for fourteen years! Fourteen years!"

Xue Ming took out his logbook and began to write and draw about his experiences during his expedition, noting the various passes, fortresses, and local customs.

"There's an unknown area, a region that even VIPs haven't fully explored, and it happens to be not far from here. The spiritual pressure there fluctuates drastically, and the evil spirit on Benni might have originated from that unknown area."

"That place is the Elf Sanctuary in Germanic mythology, the homeland where elves were born from the body of the giant Mimir/Mim after his head was cut off. It's only about 180 kilometers from the Mimir Hot Spring Market, at the border of the Moho region. There's a huge, deep valley, extending 20,000 meters underground. There's still a lot of human activity there. Hunting settlements have been built there, providing rare animal food for the gourmands of the Mimir Hot Spring Market. The deeper you go, the older the geographical timeline becomes, and you can find traces of trolls and elves. There are also ancient life forms in demonic form, and all sorts of spirits revel here."

"I will keep watch over your daughter. She is completely defenseless while she sleeps. If I can catch one or two spirits, I can get some answers. Once we determine her location, we will set off immediately—at least we have two options."

At this point, Xue Ming offered Jamie a cigarette, telling the old gunsmith to relax.

"If it can't be cured, you can take your daughter to live in the mortal world. The concentration of Spirit Calamity there is much lower than in the underworld. In a safe community, there are no unjustly deceased ghosts encountering unexpected disasters, and no murderers committing bloodshed. At most, she's just possessed by a good neighbor in the cemetery. As long as you contact the agents of Tian Shu, it can be resolved smoothly."

"If it can be cured, I hope you can help me, Brother Jamie-- "

Xue Ming patted Jamie's rocket launcher at his waist.

"--Help me build this experimental engineering machine."