The hearse drove back to Mingke Street and stopped on the roadside in front of Karun's house.

He turned off the engine and touched the steering wheel, feeling a sudden attachment to the car. It was undoubtedly a high-quality car, purchased with a lot of money from his family.

Mina opened the gate and Aunt Mary greeted them, asking, "Have you eaten?"

"We ate at Sarah's house," Karun replied.

"You didn't even call us," Aunt Mary complained.

"Sarah's house doesn't have a phone," Karun explained.

Then Aunt Mary noticed the jar in Karun's hand and asked, "What's in the jar?"

"Pickles, they're really refreshing," Karun replied.

"I see. I'll try them tomorrow," Aunt Mary said.

Karun went up to the third floor and took a shower in the bathroom. Even in winter, he insisted on taking a shower every day, a habit he had developed in his past life. Fortunately, he still had the conditions to do so in this life.

Every evening, Aunt Mary would place clean pajamas on the bathroom counter, and the clothes Karun would wear the next day would be placed on his bed. This made Karun feel very warm.

After taking a comfortable hot shower and changing into his pajamas, Karun thought about getting a glass of ice water from the second floor. However, he hesitated and went to his bedroom first.

Lunt was sitting on his spring bed playing with some cards. Karun sat down at his desk and suddenly remembered something. He turned to Lunt and said, "I almost forgot, Lunt, can you get me a glass of ice water?"

"Sure, brother," Lunt replied and got out of bed to get the water.

Karun stretched lazily and reached for the book "The History of the Rulan Religion" that Mina had borrowed for him from the library. However, he was surprised to find that there were several other religious books on his desk.

"Who put these books here?" Karun asked.

"Oh, I got them from Grandpa's study," Lunt replied.

"You got them from Grandpa's study?" Karun was surprised. Did Lunt have the guts to steal books from Grandpa's study?

"It was Grandpa who asked me to get them," Lunt explained.

"Oh, I see," Karun said, relieved.

Lunt lay back in bed and asked, "Brother, aren't you going to rest?"

"I'm going to read for a while," Karun replied.

"Brother, aren't you going to go back to school?" Lunt asked curiously.

Karun had previously wanted to go back to school and leave Dis to breathe fresh and free air, but as a "demonic god" recognized by the law, he realized that the outside world's free air was not meant for him.

He turned on the desk lamp and took out a new book with a brown cover titled "Light of Order." Karun noticed that the book did not have a publisher's mark, but it was well-made.

Was this an internal publication of the Order of the Gods?

Karun opened the book and scanned the table of contents. It was indeed a book about the Order of the Gods.It's a bit like when you go to a company for a job interview, they will give you an "introduction" to their own company, which includes the founding, development, growth, opportunities, and of course, the incredibly bright future prospects and planning blueprint.

Generally speaking, the more unreliable the company, the more dazzling their future planning blueprint is.

However, the internal publications of religions are different from those of pyramid schemes, because the future prospects are basically fixed, and even the prayers that believers often say are included.

Moreover, after many years of inheritance, even if it is a pyramid scheme, if it can last for thousands of years or even an epoch, it... may still be a pyramid scheme... but it must have a noble temperament.

The first half of the book in Karun's hand talks about the history of the Order of the Gods;

Starting with the mythological stories, the "historical narrative" of the mythological stories is then transitioned to the development model with names and dates.

For example, what someone did for the Order of the Gods in a certain year in a certain country, and what pioneering work they did, is very similar to a country's chronicle of its political regime.

In terms of mythological stories, Karun paid particular attention to the part about the awakening of the God of Order.

In the exposition of this book, the God of Order closed himself off and exiled himself for an epoch, and there is a lot of complicated narration afterwards, summarizing the meaning as "the high monk's enlightenment."

It's just that the God of Order's enlightenment time is relatively long, and the high monk is in seclusion, while the God of Order is "awakened."

This "awakening" here is very similar to the "awakening technique" that the judges of the Order of the Gods must master.

Karun remembers that Puerh once told him that in the mythological narrative of the Order of the Gods, it was the God of Light who awakened the God of Order, but there is no record of this in this book.

Puerh has lived for a long time, and in Dis's words, Puerh has had a relationship with the Inmolei's family even before Dis was born;

Therefore, Karun believes more in Puerh's words. After all, written records can be changed, and the most important thing is, what purpose does a cat have to tamper with history to a high school dropout like himself?

As for why the involvement of the God of Light was eliminated in this book?

The reason is also easy to understand, because the God of Light's religion has already perished.

In the early mythological narrative of the Order of the Gods, the reason why the God of Light was brought in... may also have had something to do with riding the wave of popularity of the God of Light's religion at the time.

And when the religion of the God of Light perished, they immediately cut it off and modified their own dark history.

After all, which religion would be willing to have their ancestors' true gods be the minions of other true gods?

If you are still powerful now, you can still hold your nose and climb down this relative's door. Now that the grass on your tomb is so high, it must be my family's God of Order who is forever magnificent.

Moreover, counting the fact that the God of Order "closed himself off and exiled himself" for an epoch in the book, in terms of age or generation, he directly surpassed the God of Light by one level.

Originally, it should have been the God of Light "calling out" the God of Order, like an elder helping a younger one, the big brother waking up the little brother;

Now it's more like the prayer of the God of Light moved the God of Order, and then the God of Order descended.

It's very similar to the religious play of fans in the entertainment circle;

Karun skipped over the rest of the mythological narrative, and also chose to skip the chronicle in the middle.The last volume talks about the current operating mode of the Order of the Gods.

However, it only records which countries have which regions, how many management offices and statues there are, and does not specifically describe the true underlying operational logic.

But there was a theory that attracted Karun's attention, because at first glance, this theory seemed normal, but upon closer inspection, it seemed incredible.

"The gods signed a contract, bound by the contract, the gods voluntarily stepped back half a step, letting the god of order control the order of the heavens."

"As an entity that upholds order, the Order of the Gods should be impartial under the light of order."

Karun did not believe that the "gods" had signed an order contract with the god of order unless the person who recorded it was the table on which the contract was signed or the pen that signed the contract in the divine realm at that time.

Therefore, this should be a reflection of reality, many orthodox churches in reality.

Stepping back half a step should mean that some power was ceded to the Order of the Gods to maintain a certain order.

But why would those other orthodox churches be so reasonable? So considerate of the overall situation?

Was it really a concession made on the basis of friendly negotiations?

And under the "light of order," the meaning is also worth pondering.

The connection before and after this paragraph made Karun think of an image of a gangster holding a machete:

The rules I set, do you obey or not?

Don't be afraid, I like to persuade people with virtue!

Karun took a sip of water.

Therefore, the Order of the Gods should be a powerful and confident presence in this world, at least for now.

After roughly reading this book, Karun felt a little tired and did not plan to flip through the remaining books for the time being.

Go to bed.

Turn off the light.

Go to sleep.

...

The next day, at 7:30, Karun got up.

After washing up, he went downstairs.

Breakfast was milk and bread with sausages, oh, and a few pieces of pickles.

How do you eat this stuff with bread?

Maybe Auntie was too fascinated with this taste, otherwise, why would she bring back a big jar from someone else's house?

Karun dipped his bread in milk with his right hand and habitually opened today's "Roja Daily" on the table with his left hand.

The first page of the newspaper announced that the mayoral election voting for all citizens would officially begin in five days.

The second page was an interview with representatives of the workers' parade a few days ago.

The presentation was the reporter asking questions and the respondent answering.

But the answers from the workers showed a negative and pessimistic attitude, and one worker with pneumoconiosis even said in the interview:

"Sikexin has betrayed us, betrayed the East District!"

Huh? In terms of emotional tendencies, it was completely different from what Rote told him last night.

In Rote's eyes, Sikexin, the old mayor, was the pride of their East District.

However, Karun did not find it strange at all that the newspaper had a bias. Since the beginning of the election campaign, the "Roja Daily" has almost unequivocally stood on the opposite side of the old mayor, as if it was certain that the old mayor would not be re-elected, and did not worry at all that if it stood on the wrong side, it would be suppressed and cleared.

Karun took a bite of the softened bread and suddenly found that there was a respondent named Rote in this long interview.Reporter: Do you think the government's handling of the workers' demonstration was appropriate and reasonable?

Luo Te: No, the government was just perfunctory towards us. When they need us workers, they use all kinds of sweet words to make us work for them. But once we lose our value, like me, who lost a leg and became disabled, they treat us like garbage and sweep us away, letting us rot in a stinky ditch surrounded by flies.

Reporter: What are your thoughts and expectations for the future?

Luo Te: I have no expectations anymore. Really, I feel like the sky over the entire city of Roja has turned black. My family and I have become numb and desperate for the future. I just want a way to support my family, but I can't even get that.

Siksen has betrayed us in the East District. He's just like those cold-blooded factory owners, using us up and then kicking us out!

Mr. Reporter,

I feel like I can't go on living anymore. Really, my family and I are almost unable to survive. This winter is so cold.

...

At the bottom of the report was a photo of a man with a crutch, a back view, but you could see that one of his pant legs was empty.

The background was Luo Te's home, a low and waterlogged house.

Seeing this, Karun frowned and unconsciously picked up a sour cucumber, taking a bite and cursing, "This newspaper is shameless."

He didn't think these were Luo Te's exact words during the interview, because last night Luo Te had no reason or motive to deceive him. His family ran a funeral home, not the mayor's office.

"The newspapers these days are completely unreadable," Uncle Mason said as he walked over. "Especially after the mayor's election campaign started, I gave up my habit of reading the newspaper at breakfast."

As he spoke, Uncle Mason gestured in a circle with his hand.

"After all, who wants to have a stamped butt in front of their meal?"

"Well, we can subscribe to a different newspaper in the future," Karun said.

"Oh, but that's just changing from a red-stamped butt to a black-stamped butt. If you subscribe to more newspapers, you'll get more butts. And each newspaper will reiterate their respect for freedom of the press, but what they understand as freedom is the freedom to press their boss's butt onto the faces of their readers."

"Uncle is right," Karun put down the newspaper. "Very insightful."

"Haha, hey, is this cucumber delicious?" Uncle Mason reached over and took one, taking a bite. "Mmm... I..."

After speaking, Uncle Mason drank a large glass of milk.

"Oh my god, this is truly the devil's food." Mason picked up a piece of bread and took a few bites, but quickly said, "It's good with meat, it can cut the greasiness. It's also good with noodles."

Karun was relieved that after his period of "feeding," Uncle Mason finally realized the meaning of "cutting the greasiness."

The food habits of the Inmores family followed the unified standard of the Rulan middle class, which probably had two points:

Watch me sweeten you to death!

And,

Watch me make you sick of it!

"By the way, what day is it today?" Uncle Mason asked."It's the 16th." Karun replied.

"Great, if they don't come today, we can just keep the deposit."

Just then, the phone rang on the first floor, and Winnie answered it.

Uncle Mason, who was eating bread, couldn't speak and crumbs flew out as he muttered, "It better not be a dead person."

Shortly after, Winnie's aunt's voice came from the first floor, "Mason, Mason!"

Usually, when there was an urgent shout like this, it meant they had to go out. Uncle Mason immediately got up and put on his coat.

Karun also stood up and followed Uncle Mason downstairs.

"Winnie, is it...?" Uncle Mason asked as he went downstairs.

Actually, there was no need to ask because according to the contract, the Inmoleis family wouldn't take on any other business until tomorrow if it wasn't delivered today.

Even if it was the 18th, Uncle Mason had only arranged one welfare order and hadn't taken any formal orders. After all, in business, you couldn't be too rigid or greedy.

"Yes, that order has come. It's from the family that paid the deposit," Winnie's aunt replied.

"Ugh." Uncle Mason shrugged. "Okay, let's get started."

Since they paid the deposit, they had to do the job.

"Afu, Ron!" Uncle Mason called out to two workers.

Among them, Alfred's name was too difficult to pronounce, so Uncle Mason simplified it. This was common here, and sometimes friends with long names would even be represented by a few letters.

When Uncle Mason called out Alfred's name, he politely lengthened the "A" sound and added a bit of a trill, but it still sounded like... Afu.

Alfred appeared at the door, still wearing his gray overalls.

"Where's Ron?" Uncle Mason asked.

"He said he was going to the tavern for a drink last night, so he might be a little late today and hasn't arrived yet," Alfred said.

"Damn it." Uncle Mason cursed and turned to Winnie's aunt. "When Ron arrives, tell him to figure out how to get here himself. Oh, and the address?"

"No. 117 Mine Street in the East District," Winnie's aunt replied.

"What?" Karun immediately looked at Winnie's aunt.

"The road to Mine Street is difficult to navigate, and it seems like it's still under construction," Uncle Mason said.

At this time, Aunt Mary walked up from the basement and said, "Mina's classmate Sarah lives on Mine Street, didn't Karun drive her home yesterday?"

"Oh, right, then Karun, you drive," Uncle Mason patted Karun's shoulder and curiously asked, "Does Mina's female classmate also live on Mine Street? What's the address?"

The address?

In that slum where you had to dance on bricks like it was raining, how could you see the house number...

Karun could only answer, "I don't know."

"Okay, we'll ask someone when we get there." Uncle Mason looked back at Alfred. "Have you had breakfast, Afu?"

"I have, sir."

"Okay, let's go. Karun, drive."

"Okay."

Karun started the hearse and drove out of Mingke Street.

It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be, it's just a coincidence that it happened on Mine Street.

While driving, Karun began to recall the morning's report in the Roja Daily:I already feel like I can't go on living, really, my family and I, we're all about to give up, this winter is so cold.

Then, the words of the black-clad man who delivered the deposit at the last funeral came to mind again:

"They had a very deep bond as a family."

Immediately after, the words of Roth seemed to echo in my ears:

"Yes, yes, Mr. Karun is right. Everything will be okay."

Sigh...

What am I thinking?

There's no way it could be their family.

I'm heading to Mine Street later, and I can ask Sarah's mom for her braised noodles recipe, especially the sauce, I want to learn it, it tastes so good.

"Karun, be careful!"

Uncle Mason shouted.

Karun immediately tightened his focus and hit the steering wheel, so the hearse didn't crash into the streetlight.

"Are you not awake yet? Or are you feeling unwell again?" Uncle Mason wasn't worried that Karun would crash the new hearse they just bought.

"I... maybe."

"Should I drive instead? You give directions."

"Okay, Uncle."

The interior of the hearse was spacious, and the driver's seat was like a small bus, so passengers could switch to the driver's seat without getting off the car.

Uncle Mason restarted the hearse, and Karun sat in the back.

Why am I so scared?

What am I thinking and worrying about?

Their family must be doing fine now. I'll tell Grandma later how good her pickled cucumbers are.

Alfred sat across from Karun, watching him sit there in silence.

He wanted to ask him something, but hesitated. The great presence was restless now, but he didn't seem to need comfort.

Finally, the hearse entered Mine Street.

"There are so many people. Is today flea market day?" Uncle Mason said, "Oh? There are two police cars over there."

Karun looked out the window and saw several police officers in the crowd.

"The hearse is here, the hearse is here," someone in the crowd shouted.

"Poor family, may they rest in peace," a woman's prayer reached Karun's ears.

"It's so sad, the little girl died carrying her backpack. Her mother lied to her and said she was going to school early."

"Karun, get off here." Uncle Mason shouted, "Bring the stretcher down."

Karun stood up, but because of the hearse's rear design, he stumbled. If it weren't for Alfred catching him in time, he might have fallen.

Alfred chuckled and said, "Young master, this place isn't suitable for lying down."

...

"Well, you can even lie down and sleep here."

"Haha, you can't lie down on this car."

...

Karun got off the car, with Alfred carrying one stretcher on each shoulder.

Uncle Mason saw this and was stunned:

"I almost want to drive Ron instead."

At this moment, a thin police chief walked over and said, "Hurry up and take the body away. There are too many onlookers."

Uncle Mason was a little surprised and said, "Are all the procedures done?"Judging from the scene of the onlookers and Uncle Mason's experience, it was definitely not a normal death. Who would block half of the street just because an old person died or someone in the family died of illness? Unless he was very rich.

"The suicide note is there. One took poison, one hanged himself, and the mother jumped off the tube building rooftop with her daughter."

"So many!" Uncle Mason exclaimed.

"Hurry up, let's deal with it as soon as possible."

"Come on, follow me." Mason shouted to Afu and Karun behind him.

The rain from last night continued until dawn, so the puddles still held water, and everyone had to step on the bricks to get in.

Familiar road,

Familiar bricks,

Familiar surroundings;

In front of them, the conversation between Uncle and the East District police chief continued to reach Karun's ears:

"The man participated in the parade a few days ago. He couldn't satisfy his demands, so he committed suicide by taking poison. In the suicide note, he criticized the mayor for breaking his promise."

"Alas, he was still a disabled person. You know, even a physically fit person can't easily find a job to support their family, let alone a disabled person."

"Yes, you're right."

"His old mother probably couldn't bear the blow after finding out her son committed suicide, so she hanged herself in the house. We took her down. She also left a suicide note with just one sentence: My son needs my care."

"Alas."

"The man and his old mother died in the house. The neighbors didn't know in advance, so when they saw the woman taking her daughter out with a backpack on her back early in the morning, they asked where they were going."

"The woman replied that her husband had called a taxi to take her daughter to school today. The daughter was very happy and said she didn't have to walk far to the station to take the tram today."

"The neighbor was puzzled at the time. How could they afford to take a taxi to earn money? Their family's income was probably not enough for a taxi ride for a day."

"Later, the woman took her daughter..."

"Well, they went to the tube building rooftop to jump off and find her husband, find her father."

"They fell quite badly. I heard that your funeral home can restore their appearance to what it was before they died. Is that no problem?"

"No problem, this is our business card." Uncle Mason habitually handed over his business card.

"Really powerful. This is it. The father's body has been taken out and is outside. The mother's body is inside. Take these two first, and then I'll take you to collect the mother and daughter."

"Hmm? Invermere Funeral Home, located on Mingke Street, interesting;"

"People who live here are all taken directly to the crematorium and burned to ashes. Who would go to hold a funeral?"

"Um, we are..." Uncle Mason didn't know how to explain.

Then Karun behind him opened his mouth. He had heard exactly the same thing last night.

"Young master?" Afu asked softly, "Are you really okay?"

The police chief suddenly shouted angrily:

"Hey, push those reporters away, push them away!"

"Damn it, who let you take the suicide note to the reporters to take pictures? Get it back for me!"

"You guys hurry up and take the bodies away. This group of reporters is like sharks that smell blood. I don't want to get into trouble."

"Okay."Uncle Mason came to the male corpse covered in white cloth on the ground and gestured for Karun and Afu to come over.

Karun looked at the male corpse in front of him, his mind blank.

"Thank you, madam. Hehe, madam, did you hear that? He called you madam." (poisoned)

"You must eat your fill, don't be polite." (hanged)

"It seems to suit your taste. Bring it home and share it with your family." (jumped off a building)

"Well, I massage my dad's legs every day."

In Karun's mind, he saw the family he had seen through the rearview mirror when he left last night.

How could this be?

How could they do this?

Although they were poor, they had always lived optimistically and worked hard.

Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ].

How could this family seek death?

It's impossible.

Uncle Mason shouted, "Afu, come over here and help me carry it. Karun, hold the stretcher."

Uncle Mason and Afu lifted the body and put it on the stretcher. As the stretcher moved, Karun subconsciously reached out to hold it, but he stepped on a puddle and lost his balance, falling backwards. Fortunately, the people behind him held him up so that he didn't fall into the muddy puddle.

Because of the movement of the stretcher, the white cloth covering the body fell off, revealing the empty sleeve of the body.

Karun stared at the sleeve and wondered if the arm was missing. Shouldn't it be a leg?

At this moment, the person who was using his chest to support Karun spoke up, "Mr. Karun, please get up quickly. My crutch can't support me anymore."