How to Tell a Wolf from a Dog?

After paying his respects to the God-Emperor's holy statue, Li Qinwu made his way step by step toward the cathedral behind it.

The cathedral was extraordinarily magnificent. Massive Ceramite pillars were covered in figures of Space Marines, and its Gothic style looked both imposing and weighty.

Robed personnel moved through the cathedral, offering prayers within its halls.

Several soldiers holding flaming scepters stood at the entrance, their cold eyes sweeping over the commoners who had come to pray.

If they spotted anyone improperly dressed, the soldiers would drive them away. Of course, their most important duty was to watch whether worshippers dropped Fertilizer Coupons worth 100 into the donation box.

Here, even if you wanted to pray to a god who would never answer you, you still had to pay.

Li Qinwu understood what was going on after only a few glances. He took out a 100-value Fertilizer Voucher from his pocket, waved it before the soldiers, tossed it into the donation box, and strode into the cathedral.

The cathedral's interior contained a vast space capable of accommodating thousands of kneeling worshippers at once.

Before them stood a smaller, more refined golden statue of the God-Emperor, roughly four meters tall and covered in intricate details.

The God-Emperor's facial features were those of a Mediterranean man with long black hair and brown skin. This was one of the more widespread descriptions of the God-Emperor's appearance within the Imperium.

But in truth, that yellow-skinned bastard constantly covered himself in Psychic Power to show off, so everyone who saw him beheld whatever image they considered most perfect.

If the perfect image in your heart was a baby-faced, big-breasted, nasolabial-folded battle-crying master's wife, then that was probably what the God-Emperor himself looked like to you.

Still, it was enough to know such things in your own heart. Never brag about them to others, or an Adeptus Custodes hiding in the ceiling would jump down and chop you into molecules within one nanosecond.

Li Qinwu had not come here to pray to that yellow-skinned bastard. He needed to deliver Little Joel's letter assuring his sister of his safety, so he looked around for someone he could speak to.

At that moment, the hall was filled with people kneeling in prayer. Amid the mingled scents of candles and incense, they murmured scriptures and poured out their suffering and hopes for the God-Emperor in their hearts.

Several monks in gray hoods stood near the walls. They were the lowest-ranking clergy of the Imperial Cult, responsible for maintaining the cathedral and preaching doctrine.

Seeing that a monk was close by and that no other cathedral personnel were nearby, Li Qinwu walked over, took out a cigarette, and struck up a conversation.

"God-Emperor above, how have you been lately?"

The monk glanced at Li Qinwu, took a cigarette from the pack, and tucked it into his robe without lighting it.

"God-Emperor above, every day we see in the newspapers that we are living happily. We give thanks for the God-Emperor's radiant protection."

Li Qinwu nearly burst out laughing at that, but he also understood exactly what sort of person this man was.

Lowering his voice, he said, "There's a sixteen-year-old girl named Theresa. Her parents sent her into the church a few days ago. Now that they've established themselves in the Lower Hive, they sent me to deliver a letter telling her they're safe."

He pulled the envelope from his clothes and showed it to the monk.

"Would the God-Emperor's most devout follower be willing to bring this poor girl news that her family is safe?"

The monk lowered his eyes to glance at the envelope in Li Qinwu's hand, then looked straight into Li Qinwu's eyes without reacting.

Li Qinwu smiled. With a rub of the fingers holding the envelope, he slid out the 100-value Fertilizer Voucher hidden beneath it.

"Of course. The God-Emperor sees the devotion of his followers and grants fitting rewards."

The missionary looked down at the 100-value Fertilizer Coupon beneath the envelope, smiled, and accepted the letter.

"Do not leave. Wait here."

The missionary exited through a side door of the hall. Li Qinwu simply sat against the wall and watched the thousand-plus people praying ahead of him.

The prayer service had just reached its climax. Beneath the golden statue of the God-Emperor, a priest held up a book recording the truths of the Imperial Cult and shouted:

"THE GOD-EMPEROR IS OMNISCIENT AND OMNIPOTENT!!!"

The thousands kneeling below also shouted, "THE GOD-EMPEROR IS OMNISCIENT AND OMNIPOTENT!!!"

"THE GOD-EMPEROR'S WILL SPANS THE UNIVERSE AND TOLERATES NO REBUTTAL FROM HERETICS OR EVIL!!!"

"THE GOD-EMPEROR'S WILL SPANS THE UNIVERSE AND TOLERATES NO REBUTTAL FROM HERETICS OR EVIL!!!"

Everyone screamed with all their might, howling without pause. Their voices echoed again and again through the hall, turning the place into utter chaos.

No one could hear what anyone else was saying. Li Qinwu found the scene absurdly surreal. Since he was already at old Huang's place of worship, it seemed somewhat impolite not to shout along with everyone, so he opened his mouth and bellowed from among the crowd:

"Yellow-skinned bastard, you're begging for a title again!"

"PRAISE THE FOUR-ARMED EMPEROR!"

"Old Huang! You're a fucking old bastard who's lived for tens of thousands of years! Could you stop posting your feminized pictures all over the heavens and worlds? And what the fuck is this 'seeing this image counts as consenting to conscription'? I'll conscript your mother!"

"How do you tell a wolf from a dog?

Look at the call: awooo means wolf, mmm means dog.

Look at the way they talk: standing roar means wolf, lying chatter means dog.

Look at leftovers: licking the bowl clean means wolf, leaving a few grains means dog.

Look at diet: swallowing flesh whole means wolf, anything goes means dog.

Look at temperament: unhurried means wolf, frantic but slow means dog.

Look at sounds: going to howl means wolf, coming to hum means dog.

Look at hunting: chasing deer means wolf, exhausting deer to death means dog.

Look at eating: leaving meat to guard food means wolf, leaving buns to bare teeth means dog.

Look at the sun: too much rain means wolf, thirsty drought means dog.

Look at pissing: dry ground means wolf, yellow ground means dog.

Look at food: meat stew means wolf, ground cakes means dog.

Look at hunting: bent waist means wolf, upright body means dog.

Look at winter clothes: fur over skin means wolf, cloth neatly inside means dog.

Look at the call: huffing sounds mean wolf, cricket chirps mean dog.

Look at the stomach: chewing bones and eating all meat means wolf, vomiting buns and rice stuck in teeth means dog.

Look at getting beaten: running as soon as struck means wolf, panicking and unable to flee means dog."

The more Li Qinwu shouted, the more worked up he became, and the more enthusiastic his shouting grew.

Amid wave after wave of devout cries, his rebellious shrieking was hidden within them. No one noticed it, yet it truly existed.

One worshipper kneeling devoutly in prayer had been focused on the priest ahead when he suddenly heard a strange series of shouts behind him.

He turned to look at Li Qinwu leaning against the wall, concentrated to block out the shouts of the surrounding worshippers, and listened carefully to what Li Qinwu was yelling.

Once he heard clearly, his expression changed drastically. He stared in disbelief at Li Qinwu, who sat leisurely against the wall.

Li Qinwu noticed that the man had spotted him and glared at him.

"What are you looking at? Careful, or the Imperial Cult will drag you off and barbecue you as a heretic!"

After saying that, he stood and walked toward the missionary who had just taken his money. The man returned through the side door with a letter in hand and passed it to Li Qinwu.

"Sister Theresa is attending her lessons and cannot see you. She wrote a letter and asked me to give it to you."

Li Qinwu thanked him, took the letter and tucked it into his pocket, then turned and walked out of the cathedral.