295: Chapter 93 No One Gets to Sleep Tonight 295: Chapter 93 No One Gets to Sleep Tonight “Tonight is going to be very lively.”
After returning home, Li Mumu asked Mu Yuming for an increase in her pocket money.
Considering that his daughter would stop hanging out with lower-class loafers once she had more money, Mu Yuming agreed very readily.
Li Mumu thought her experiences today had already been exciting enough, but Wendy dropped another bombshell on her.
“The Longevity Sect will make a big move tonight.”
“What on earth is the Longevity Sect…”
Li Mumu asked subconsciously, then remembered that the chubby monk who called himself Maitreya seemed to be some sort of lay member of the Longevity Sect.
“How do you know about the Longevity Sect’s plans?”
“Because I’ve already joined the Longevity Sect!”
???
A slew of question marks ran through Li Mumu’s mind.
When did this happen?
“Do you remember that Western holy light priest we ran into at the Ghost Market last time you went with your senior sister?”
“I remember…”
“He is a member of the Longevity Sect.
I often go to the Ghost Market and, after mingling with them frequently, they invited me.”
Wendy spoke lightly, but Li Mumu listened with alarm.
What exactly is the Longevity Sect?
She thinks to herself, you say you join and just like that, what if it’s some sort of illegal pyramid scheme, coveting your money and beauty?
Li Mumu knew about Wendy’s frequent late-night visits to the Ghost Market.
She didn’t find the Ghost Market interesting, but Wendy was fascinated by it—perhaps because Foreigners were mesmerized by Ming Country’s long history, and felt as if there were ancient historical relics that were marvelous everywhere.
Luckily she didn’t buy those antiques; if she had, Li Mumu wouldn’t know how to authenticate them.
After spending her money in vain, she might even be made a fool of by others.
Wendy was only interested in the credit vouchers from Banks, including Ancient Coins and old silver notes, which she collected as well.
This hobby was quite niche, but over the days, she had accumulated quite a hoard.
“The philosophy of the Longevity Sect is quite interesting.
You might not believe it if I told you, but this sect was initially established by a group of Europeans obsessed with ancient Immortal Techniques from Ming Country.”
Wendy explained to Li Mumu, “According to my guide, the core members of the Longevity Sect were originally Alchemists belonging to the European Dark Council.
After a certain spatiotemporal tide washed over them…
if I’m not wrong, it must have been the event you mentioned about Jesus’ birth being delayed by seven hundred years.”
“The whole European esoteric community suffered a fatal blow; the Kabbalistic Tree of Life was completely twisted, and the Alchemists’ years of accumulated research were rendered useless.
Therefore, they turned their gaze to the distant East, came to Ming Country seeking the ancient heritage of Immortal Cultivation, and attempted to revise and refine their Alchemy theories.”
“But when they arrived in Ming Country, they found that the impact here was even more severe.
The two major factions of Buddhism and Taoism were almost completely wiped out, and all the gods and Buddhas vanished without a trace.
After the new government was established, it completely abandoned traditional Cultivation theories, creating twelve new Cultivation Methods.”
“These residues from the old era, discarded like worthless shoes by the new government, were picked up by them as precious ancient documents.
They re-studied, translated, and retold them into concepts they could understand.”
“In short, a group of Alchemists retrained as Eastern Qi Refiners.”
Oh my…
Li Mumu felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
Are you sure this isn’t something only a madman would do?
Though she understood that Ming Country in this timeline was far more powerful than the Ming Country from the history she knew before her time travel.
Not only had the rule from the Former Dynasty continued unbroken for five hundred years, but even in the last decade or so of the dynasty’s decline, it still managed to hold its own in wars against the world’s major powers.
The President had even sent troops overseas to establish colonies, ahem, autonomous regions, in the New Continent.
But the sight of these Foreigners fawning over strength and groveling was still difficult for her to stomach.
“Do you remember the Priest from the Dragon Worship Church we met on the Olympus?”
Wendy reminded Li Mumu, “The relationship between the Dragon Worship Church and the Longevity Sect is extremely close, with the only difference being that the Longevity Sect aims to unearth the ancient Immortal Techniques of Ming Country to attain immortality, while the ideology of the Dragon Worship Church is more extreme; they intend to reinterpret the concept of the Eastern Dragon based on their own understanding of dragons.”
“What do you mean?
I don’t understand,” Li Mumu responded.
Even with her smart mind (as she believed), Li Mumu found Wendy’s explanation somewhat indescribable.
What does it mean to reinterpret the concept of the Eastern Dragon?
“In simple terms, they wish to gain the defining rights to the dragon,” Wendy shrugged and said, “You’ve heard the joke, right?
After the fall of Rome, all of its enemies declared themselves the legitimate Rome.”
“It’s the same idea.”
“Although it sounds absurd, it’s not without feasibility.”
“After all, blind faith and obedience are in human nature, regardless of race, age, or gender.”
Li Mumu took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“You just mentioned that the Longevity Sect has some sort of action planned for tonight?”
“I don’t know; I’ve just joined and am an external member who hasn’t yet gained their trust.
However, there sure will be some excitement tonight; wouldn’t you like to go and see?” Wendy extended a cordial invitation.
Li Mumu was very tempted.
She really wanted to see for herself what sort of trouble these foreigners were up to.
This wasn’t Saifu, and furthermore, the Nantong District Police Department was also having operations tonight.
They wouldn’t happen to collide, would they?
“When do they start?
How about we grab some late-night food to fill our stomachs first?” she suggested.
“Sure, let’s go for hanging noodles; I want boiled poached eggs,” Wendy replied.
At eight in the evening, it was bedtime for most people, but for night owls, it wasn’t yet the peak of their energy.
Li Mumu went to the kitchen, lit the gas stove, and had just settled the pot on the fire when she turned her head and saw a ghostly face outside the window.
Damn it…
Senior sister, you’ve really done it this time!
My tender, delicate little heart will surely suffer an ailment from all the scares you’ve given me!
Opening the window, Zuo Yan floated in with a whoosh, thankfully without bringing a gift this time, which relieved Li Mumu.
“Mumu, going out for fun tonight!”
Li Mumu gritted her teeth and said, “Senior sister, where have you been lately?
You just disappeared without a word!”
“Don’t even mention it!” Zuo Yan covered her face with both hands and sighed deeply, “Last time I took the two of you out for fun, I accidentally scared that Raggedy Old Taoist to death.
I’ve been grounded ever since, writing self-criticisms until my fingers have thickened.
You have no idea what kind of days I’ve been having…”
“The laws of the City God’s Office are so lenient?
Just a few days in detention for killing someone and that’s it?”
“What are you talking about?
Unregistered foreigners don’t count as people; their deaths are inconsequential.
I was grounded and made to write self-criticisms because I didn’t clean up properly afterwards and polluted the street environment.”