Boheng fell silent for a while. As he recounted it, he was once again moved by the story he had described.
It was as though he saw that old woman again, briefly awakening from a long haze of confusion. Though she had spent her entire life serving a God she had chosen through reason, when faced with true death, she still embraced the old customs.
"And then?" Hesta waited for a moment. Seeing that Boheng seemed somewhat distracted, she took the initiative to ask, "What happened to that nun afterward?"
"I don't know," Boheng replied. "I never saw her again after that day. The church she belonged to said she had left, but no one knew where she went."
Hesta thought for a while. "...Was it because of your question?"
"Maybe. I don't know either... No one could say she wasn't devout," Boheng said softly. "But when people are truly vulnerable, they will always run toward what they know best—familiar people, familiar places, familiar rules... Teacher Aji saw this clearly long ago, so he knew that some things should not be touched. If we leave them there, neither look at them nor discuss them, we can instead preserve everyone's happiness."
"You talked for so long, and this was what you were talking about?" Zoe rose from her chair. "That nun disappeared, so what?"
"He was explaining why the Pious Youth Front retained the custom of the 'Spring Hunt,'" Hesta answered. "There may still be many contradictory old customs here, but they never interfered with them and had no intention of doing so—because those old customs could at least provide a complete kind of spiritual comfort."
"Interesting." Victoria raised her brows. With both hands pressed to her temples, she closed her eyes. "But the District 12 Freedom Party would regard