Chapter 111

The God Descent Year 501 recorded in the logbook was already forty years in the past. From the man’s tone, his public identity was the Western District chief director, yet in secret he was also responsible for the “Hope Project.”

Not only that, he had been the husband of the abbess Annabella she’d just met.

The current Western District chief director was Yuan Xianming, Zhou Yun’s husband. According to Kieran’s account, Yuan Xianming had suddenly fallen ill and died on his way to work a month ago. Yet Ye Zheng suspected he too had been deeply entangled in the Hope Project.

From the tone of both Kieran and Annabella, this plan had existed for a very long time. A bold conjecture surfaced in Ye Zheng’s mind. Perhaps every Western District chief director bore this “mission.”

“This is truly astonishing.”

Ye Zheng held the logbook and murmured softly.

This meant that the imperial family and the Church had been jointly cultivating this plan for centuries!

Within the orderly room, it felt as though countless sharp, wailing specters suddenly surged forth. Ye Zheng steadied her thoughts and continued turning the pages.

【Divine Descent Year 501, October 4

Thank the heavens! Annabella is with child. She no longer has the mind to question my work. Of course, what delights me even more is that I’m going to become a father!

I had originally intended this booklet to serve as a work log, but I’m truly not someone who delights in work. It’s all personal entries. How embarrassing.

Since that’s the case, I might as well make it a diary.】

【Divine Descent Year 501, November 28

Annabella’s belly has begun to show. The sensation is wondrous. I’ve always yearned for a child of my own. Every time I rest my hand upon her abdomen, a sense of happiness rises spontaneously within my heart.

Yet occasionally, behind that happiness, a shadow of chill flashes by.】

【Divine Descent Year 501, December 27

Today the base lost two Blessed Reliquaries, and two precious fragments of dragon bone were also rendered useless. It was truly a disastrous day.

The sole comfort was Annabella clasping my hand and saying we would become exceptional parents. Gazing into her gentle eyes, the shadow in my heart dissipated just like that.

…

Ah, but after finishing today’s entry and lifting my eyes to the little hopes floating within the tanks, that unease engulfed me once more.】

【Divine Descent Year 502, January 26

Today I quarreled with Annabella. I know pregnancy is arduous for her, but isn’t it difficult for me as well? Why doesn’t she try to understand me? Why must she trouble me over trivial matters?

Damn it. Does heaven comprehend how much pressure crushes my heart when I look at her and ****’s belly?

No, no, no, I shouldn’t describe her in such a way. It’s like uttering a curse!

…Ah, I’m beginning to confuse myself. How could this be a curse? That’s boundless hope! Annabella and I, and the child soon to be born, simply don’t possess such a blessing.

I must speak with her properly. There’s no need for husband and wife to argue like this over trifles. I’m always unable to remain by Annabella’s side. That’s my fault. I shouldn’t blame her, who knows nothing.】

【Divine Descent Year 502, February 1

On a rare day of rest, Annabella and I discussed names. If it’s a girl, we’ll call her Lilian, meaning the purest lily granted by the gods. If it’s a boy, we’ll name him Matthew, a gift bestowed by the gods.】

【Divine Descent Year 502, February 17

God of Hope above, why did Annabella appear there!

Damn it, damn it! I pray everything remains safe!】

Ye Zheng’s fingers stilled. It seemed Annabella had discovered the existence of the “Hope Project” on that day.

【Divine Descent Year 502, February 25

I’ve heard she’s been living in constant fear. I haven’t returned home again. I’m afraid to face her resentful eyes.

Even though my conscience is clear.】

The final sentence was written in wavering script. It didn’t appear that the man’s conscience had been clear as he penned it.

She flipped forward, only to find several consecutive blank pages. Unwilling to stop, Ye Zheng continued until the final page of the logbook revealed crooked handwriting, no longer the neat and proper script from before. It seemed the writer’s hand had trembled so violently he could scarcely grip the pen.

【God Descent Year 502, June 1

It was a stillborn.】

A pair of clear black eyes lingered upon the fragile paper for a long while. The girl gently closed the logbook and rose from her chair.

Forty years ago, Annabella and her chief director husband. Now, Zhou Yun and Yuan Xianming. The trajectories of the two couples overlapped in an unsettling manner.

The man who oversaw the Hope Project, the woman who glimpsed part of the plan, and the dead child.

Annabella becoming the abbess meant she had either divorced or her husband had perished.

Ye Zheng recalled the earlier exchange between Annabella and the priest Yue Wen. That Western District chief director from forty years prior likely no longer existed. For reasons unknown, Annabella had become one of the base’s leaders and now managed it alongside the current Western District chief director.

Ye Zheng walked to the window, drew aside a corner of the curtain, and observed the white-robed figures rushing below. Weapons in hand, they scattered in every direction. From their attire, some were knights, others priests. Aside from the abbess and herself, there were no other women within this base.

…No, that wasn’t entirely true. Moments ago she had seen a woman. That woman’s upper body was fused with a colossal monstrous form, confined beyond the transparent protective barrier. The piercing cries sounded both like a horn heralding slaughter and charge, and like a lament of one unable to return home.

She closed her eyes and drew a slow breath. A sequence of undisguised footsteps approached and halted neatly outside her door.

“Forgive the offense, Saintess, but the situation is dire. It would be best if you remained inside.”

“Once everything concludes, we’ll escort you away from here.”

The hoarse, weary voice came from beyond the door. Annabella had stationed a team outside to guard her.

Ye Zheng stood facing the tightly shut door, arms crossed. For a moment, she gave no reply.

The aged nun lingered outside for some time. No sound came from within. Perhaps this Saintess was angered and refused to respond. Annabella understood her thoughts, yet this was the sole method to protect her. Even if the young Saintess resented her, she still had to proceed this way.

The elderly woman turned silently to leave. Just as she was about to depart, a gentle voice drifted from inside the room. It bore no trace of anger.

“Miss Annabella, I only came to look for my friend. Her name is Lu Qi. She has hair the color of sunlight, bright orange. Is she also one of your children?”

“I’ve never heard that name. There’s no girl with orange hair here.”

The elderly woman halted her steps and answered indifferently.

“Alright then, is there a girl here named Lilian?”

Ye Zheng leaned against the firmly closed door. Her tone carried innocent curiosity. A cunning gleam flickered within her pitch-black pupils.

Hurried footsteps sounded from beyond the door. As though she had anticipated it, Ye Zheng stepped back two paces. In the next instant, the door was violently flung open. The elderly woman stood there with trembling, clenched teeth, her dim gray eyes fixed rigidly upon her.

“Now, can we speak properly?”

Ye Zheng gently took hold of the old woman’s arm. Under the astonished gazes of the knights stationed outside, she smiled and inclined her head politely to them all. With impeccable courtesy, she led Annabella into the room. The door then slammed shut with a sharp crack, leaving the knights outside to exchange bewildered looks.

She guided Annabella to the innermost corner of the chamber, ensuring that no one could overhear their conversation.

At that moment, the Annabella before her had shed every trace of elderly benevolence. She stared at Ye Zheng as though confronting something dreadful. Wrenching her arm free from Ye Zheng’s grasp, she shook her head uncontrollably.

“God of Hope above, are you truly the Saintess? You are clearly a girl like a demon…”

Ye Zheng let out a soft laugh. Not the faintest smile touched her pitch-black eyes.

“Compared to everything done here, I’m as gentle as an angel.”

“Why do you know about Lilian! What exactly are you trying to do?”

Annabella’s aged voice was hoarse, nearly indistinguishable. A sheen of moisture shimmered in her clouded, glass-bead-like gray eyes.

Ye Zheng subtly arched a brow. She had merely posed a binary question. In the logbook, Annabella and her husband had chosen one name for a boy and one for a girl, yet the child had been stillborn.

The logbook hadn’t recorded the unfortunate infant’s name. From Annabella’s reaction, Ye Zheng had deduced that the child had most likely been a girl.

Annabella was on the verge of losing control. Once more, the cadence of the exchange returned to Ye Zheng’s grasp. Though she had no desire to tear open an old woman’s deepest wound again and again, she had no choice.

“Annabella, forty years ago your husband came here to perpetuate the so-called grand ‘hope.’”

“But that isn’t why you became the abbess.”

“You did it for Lilian, didn’t you? That little girl who died before she ever opened her eyes to see the world. The physician told you it was merely an accident, but you know it wasn’t. It was retribution!”

“In the sixth month of your pregnancy, you witnessed those transformed women, women bearing monstrous fetuses. From that moment on, you could no longer numb yourself into being a tranquil expectant mother. Yet you were powerless. You were torn between terror and anguish. You woke from nightmares screaming, again and again, but you could only pretend nothing had happened and wait for the child’s birth.”

“Enough!”

Annabella screamed hysterically. Tears streamed down even before her sharp words had fully left her mouth.

“Not enough. Far from enough. Even if you treasure every woman in this base as though she were your lost Lilian, your guilt hasn’t lessened in the slightest. Because you know clearly that you’re an accomplice, not their mother!”

The girl’s deliberately elevated voice reverberated within the small chamber like an unrelenting curse. The aged nun could barely remain standing. She gasped as though her heart were palpitating violently, her eyes vacant and unfocused.

Seeing this, Ye Zheng quickly supported her and gently patted Annabella’s back with measured force.

She heard the elderly woman murmur faintly in her embrace, “Are you a judge sent by the gods to punish me, this sinner…”

“Sinner? Miss Annabella, you overestimate yourself. Before you, there are countless men whose crimes deserve death.”

Annabella shook her head while leaning against the young girl’s shoulder. Her powerless, low, hoarse voice trembled.

“I’m too old. I can no longer discern what is sin and what is a great achievement. If the Hope Project gives birth to a true savior for the empire, then they will be heroes for all ages…”

“A savior born upon the suffering of countless people forfeits the right to call himself a savior the moment he draws breath.”

Ye Zheng spoke evenly.

“This base has already produced two children whose abilities approach divinity to an extreme degree. This experiment is not far from success…”

“Pei Xi and Sykes?”

Annabella regarded her in silence.

Ye Zheng held the frail nun with one arm, while her other hand rested lightly upon the sword at her side. That blade symbolized the false glory of being chosen by the gods.

“If Pei Xi and Sykes represent success, then this project is utter trash.”

Ye Zheng rarely employed words so openly contemptuous. Everyone knew the Saintess had always been a modest and gentle child. Yet at this moment, her face bore unfamiliar mockery and a trace of madness.

“Otherwise, why would the God’s Chosen be me?”

Annabella’s already paling brows knitted together. The crisscrossing wrinkles on her face twisted with pain. Her heart seemed to tremble violently.

There were countless ways to numb oneself. One could offer them as much care as possible within an unchangeable environment. One could convince oneself that those children’s deaths were not meaningless, that they were sustaining hope for the empire…

After a long silence, the elderly woman closed her eyes in anguish. From within her clothing, she withdrew a folded sheet of paper and pressed it into Ye Zheng’s hand.

“Go and do what you intend to do. The moment you raised the divine sword, this project had already become a laughable heap of trash.”

Annabella walked toward the door with faintly trembling steps. As her hand settled upon the doorknob, a soft voice from behind, nearly too gentle to catch, reached her ears.

The elderly woman turned abruptly. She stared in disbelief at the smiling Saintess. The girl clasped her hands before her abdomen, appearing elegant and obedient. Annabella’s lips twitched. She burst into loud laughter, laughing until she could scarcely draw breath. Moisture gathered in her dim eyes.

“You’re right, child. They truly are a heap of worthless trash!”

When the door finally closed and the room once again contained only Ye Zheng, she unfolded the paper Annabella had given her.

Once spread open, it revealed a detailed map.

Moments earlier, before Annabella, Ye Zheng had appeared entirely composed, as though she understood everything. Yet only she herself knew that regarding the so-called Hope Project, she knew very little.

It didn’t matter. She would soon uncover the truth.

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Authors Note

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Ye Zheng’s second ability: Words of Therapy.