Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 96 - 95: Journey to Heaven

"Last time she happened to come across this while flipping through videos, and she kept it in mind ever since." Lin Qing continued eating, "She can watch mud being excavated from a pond with great interest."

"More and more people are coming to Hot Pepper Village, and relying solely on those cave dwellings is definitely not enough; expanding further into the mountain is an inevitable choice." Liu Shuyue explained, "The weeds in the forest are plentiful and their roots are intertwined, making them hard to clear. If we have this piece of machinery, it would make their expansion efforts a lot easier."

Ever since she became a shop assistant, and had more opportunities to interact with Lin Qing, her understanding of this world also increased. Chen Xuan thought she was eyeing new clothes, jewelry, or electronic products; he didn’t expect the first thing to incite her desire to buy would be an excavator.

"...It’s not impossible." Chen Xuan considered and said.

Buying an excavator is simpler than buying firearms; Jiang City has companies that specialize in producing heavy engineering machinery; pay the money and receive the goods. Even if Liu Shuyue hadn’t brought out these gemstones, the pills refined by Hot Pepper Village would still be enough to cover the cost.

The only trouble is transporting the excavator to Wanshan Wilderness.

But it’s just a hassle; spend a bit more money and time, and it can be done.

"Really? That’s great!" Liu Shuyue said happily.

"I’ll hold onto these stones for now; they may not necessarily convert into money. You can have the villagers produce more Sweet Green Clear Pills, as these are easier to sell." Chen Xuan added.

She naturally had no objections to this.

After lunch, the three walked downstairs and found the view outside the door had changed again. The pedestrian path in the neighborhood had turned into lush green grass, with a few sheep leisurely grazing on it. Further away was a church, perched on an elevated slope, with a gray sky covered by clouds in the background.

"Hello." A young knight in armor stood at the shop door and respectfully addressed Chen Xuan, "You must be the esteemed Divine Envoy. I am here under Lord Gildre’s orders to welcome you."

"Why didn’t he come himself?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

"Because the lord has been bedridden for many days... he can’t come personally." The knight replied, "He instructed me that if I could find you, I must ensure you see him, no matter what. It is his final wish."

Final wish? When I last asked Joan about the marshal, he seemed to be doing fine.

"I understand, lead the way." Chen Xuan said.

Chen Xuan asked Liu Shuyue and Lin Qing to stay in the shop and followed him ahead.

Leaving the shop, he glanced back and found the shop entrance connected to several houses, presumably built by shepherds.

Following the knight, he arrived at the church atop the slope, realizing it was on a cliff, with the precipice stretching out toward the somewhat overcast sky, and below was the dark green ocean—a height difference of at least a hundred meters.

A church built in such a place wouldn’t have a large scale, resembling the size of a small villa with a yard and a central stone-bricked tower covered in moss.

Once inside the church, Chen Xuan found it unexpectedly crowded—about twenty people, both men and women, young and old, in the small chapel... all dressed in black with faces of sorrow. Upon seeing Chen Xuan, they all bowed and cleared a path for him.

"Who are these people?" Chen Xuan whispered.

"The lord’s family." The knight led him to a side door at the end of the chapel, assuming a guard’s stance, "Please enter; Lord Gildre is waiting for you inside."

Chen Xuan entered alone, a strong scent of incense assaulting his senses.

This should be a resting room for the priest or chief priest; the interior is quite simple, with only a large bed and a set of furniture.

Lying on the bed was Gildre.

Approaching the bedside, Chen Xuan found him much older than last time they met, with fully white hair and a face covered in wrinkles and spots.

In theory, he was only eight years older than Joan, yet their physical conditions were worlds apart.

"I finally see you again." Gildre said, appearing extremely excited upon seeing Chen Xuan, his lips trembling, his body slightly shifting as if attempting to sit up, but ultimately failing.

"Just lie down like this." Chen Xuan placed a hand on his shoulder, "Are you sick or something?"

"No... Divine Envoy, I’m simply old; my time has come." Gildre said, "There’s a voice calling me to leave; my time is nearly up."

So... his reason for seeing me isn’t to conduct an ability trade?

"It’s incredible, you look the same as decades ago, unchanged one bit." He examined Chen Xuan with his murky eyes, "Truly chosen by the Lord."

"Tell me, why did you summon me?" Chen Xuan asked.

This question made him silent for about ten seconds.

A moment later, he spoke guiltily, "I... want to confess to you."

"Shouldn’t a priest be called for this kind of thing?"

"In this life, I’ve made too many mistakes... slaughter, cruelty, greed... Even if I end up in Hell, it wouldn’t be surprising," Gildre muttered. "But I was fortunate to meet two people who changed my life... one was Joan, the other was you. After you took the black magic from me, the whole world changed anew, and being able to accompany Joan during those years was the happiest time of my life."

"So, I regretted... Divine Envoy, I don’t want to be dragged into Hell after I die. I want to go to Heaven... and wait there to reunite with Lady Joan. A priest cannot absolve me of my sins, even the Chief Priest cannot. The only person I can think of who can help me is you!"

He struggled to lift his right hand and reached out to Chen Xuan, "Your Lordship, can you listen to my confession and cleanse me of my sins?"

This is not within the scope of the Ability Store’s business.

All he longed for was the solace of faith.

"Seeing as you’re the third customer of this store, I’ll give you a redemption voucher," Chen Xuan whispered to himself, then sat by the bed, cupping his hands around his withered one.

"Go ahead, I’m listening."

"Thank you... thank you..." Gildre croaked.

Then he began to confess his crimes one by one, including his terrible mischief in childhood, how he came into contact with black magic, the cruel slaughter of captives during the war, and the ruthless execution of those compatriots who showed favor towards the British Army...

Even after meeting the Holy Maiden, he couldn’t fully suppress the murderous intent boiling inside him. When Joan was imprisoned, he even planned to bombard the Imperial Palace directly.

These were all unforgivable sins in the eyes of the Lord.

Finally, Gildre slowly said, "I haven’t opened that book on black magic again, nor do I dare give it to anyone. It’s on that table now, you can dispose of it as you wish."

Chen Xuan originally thought the black magic was a special ability born from the world’s corrosion. He didn’t expect it was something he had learned! Moreover, he told him the entire origin of the book, which was never recorded in history.

"The Lord says, it forgives you."

After hearing all the confessions, Chen Xuan solemnly replied, word by word.

In an instant, tears streamed down Gildre’s old face.

His once tense hand relaxed.

"Praise the Lord’s mercy!" he feebly cried out again. "Now I can go to Heaven..."

"Actually, I could call Joan over, let you chat with her. After all, it’s been a long time since you’ve seen each other."

"No, no need... My Lord, I don’t want her to see me in this aged and haggard state..." Gildre slowly shook his head. "I hope in her memory, I am forever the marshal who supported her..."

As he spoke, his voice gradually weakened, his eyelids slowly closed, as if he were falling asleep.

"Sleep, you will go to Heaven."

Chen Xuan did not wake him, but watched as he peacefully entered eternal rest.

It wasn’t until Gildre stopped breathing that he approached the table, opened the bronze box, and took out the ancient book containing black magic.

The book’s cover was probably wrapped in cowhide, with no text on either side, and the edges appeared to be burned, suggesting Gildre had tried to incinerate it.

Chen Xuan squinted slightly and opened the cover abruptly.

However, he did not see any evil words or images; rather, there were indeed words on the pages, but he couldn’t understand what they meant.

This was the first time he encountered such a situation since becoming the store manager.

How... is it possible that the decoding function of the LV4 store manager title is ineffective against it?

The pages were already yellowed, very soft to the touch, with a unique texture, unlike something made from plant fibers.

Chen Xuan put the book away and turned to leave the room.

As he passed through the door, he said to the young knight, "The marshal is gone."

"Is he?" The other was initially stunned, then bowed his head as if he had expected it, "...Thank you for fulfilling his wish."

As Chen Xuan stepped out of the church, he heard the sound of mournful weeping behind him, like rain falling on the sea.