I! Cleaner!-Chapter 354 - 0302 Weighing Gold Gathering (Part 2)_1

Sure, here’s the translation:

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"Welcome! Welcome, both of you!"

Seeing the flowing gloss on the badges of Leon and his companion and recognizing the unique golden cat paw of "major clients," the priests guarding the outside of the core area of the gathering place smiled like blooming trumpet flowers.

After actively opening the door for them and making way to the core area, the female priest guarding the door bent slightly, smiling as she asked Leon,

"The grain spirits who walk under the shade of rice spikes, the croakers hidden in the shadow of the bright moon, the sentinels who tread through the night... Whom would you like to pay your respects to?"

Grain spirits? Croakers? Sentinels?

Momentarily stunned by the female priest’s question, Leon, who had no idea what she was talking about, didn’t immediately inquire. Instead, adhering to the principle that not engaging would prevent exposure, he returned a gentle smile. Senior Tom next to him timely took over the conversation, smiling as he replied,

"We are all beings grown on harvested rice, brothers and sisters nurtured by sunlight and fields, so naturally there’s only one choice... Please, guide us."

"You’re too kind. As brothers and sisters of black scales with white spots, it’s what I ought to do."

After exchanging "code words" with Tom, the female priest, whose neck bore patterns akin to snake scales, asked no more. She turned and stepped into the door, leading Leon and Tom into a sticky, cold, and slippery passageway.

*’The question she asked just now was about which of the three Holy Spirits of the Scales Gold Sect we’re followers of.’*

With his hand resting on Leon’s shoulder, the lazy young man explained without moving his lips,

"Before being taken in and transformed by the True God of the Scales Gold Sect, the three Holy Spirits of the Scales Gold Sect were envoys of the God of Agriculture and Pastoralism.

Originally, the Snake Spirit was born from a farmer’s prayer, hoping the snake could prey on the rats and sparrows in the fields without harming their own crops, thus walking under the shade of rice spikes, the grain spirit; ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

The croaker in the shadow of the bright moon refers to a toad that gazes at the moon’s reflection in water and croaks loudly, which is the one you used to make the Holy Spirit pendant after you killed it, symbolizing the wish to eradicate pests and let the rice yield a stable harvest;

As for the sentinels that tread through the night, it naturally refers to the cats that roam at night, guarding the granaries. They symbolize protecting grain from being stolen or wasted, perfectly matching the behavior of cats catching rats in the granary."

So that’s how it is...

After roughly understanding the "code words" just now, Leon asked with some confusion,

"According to this origin, the three Holy Spirits of the Scales Gold Sect should be benevolent spirits carrying beautiful expectations.

But I saw that toad before, and it didn’t seem like that at all. It actually seemed like quite a ferocious, evil spirit. What happened in between?"

"Indeed, quite a lot happened."

Tom nodded and said,

"Since the Crolock Kingdom started selling steam farm machinery, many people, originally bound to farms and land working for food, lost their identity as farmers. The power of the God of Agriculture and Pastoralism weakened significantly.

And rice, in a sense, symbolizes wealth. So, the snake protecting rice production is like safeguarding wealth; the toad aiding in harvest success is akin to nurturing wealth; and the cat guarding granaries equates to guarding wealth.

Hence, the three envoys of the God of Agriculture and Pastoralism have a great affinity with the ’wealth’ authority of the True God of the Scales Gold Sect. He took the opportunity of the God of Agriculture and Pastoralism being weak to bring them over and transform them into his Holy Spirits.

As to why three ’benevolent spirits’ born from good wishes turned into such vicious and extreme forms now... perhaps because wealth drives people mad?"

[Through the narrative of Tom Raines, the Level One Cleaner from the Purification Bureau’s Virgin Branch, you gained a significant amount of intelligence about the "Wealth-Exchanging Golden Toad," the "Life-Exchanging Black Snake," and the "Luck-Exchanging Flower Cat," activating the Abnormal Badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)."

Since you understood the efficacy rules of the abilities of the "Wealth-Exchanging Golden Toad," "Life-Exchanging Black Snake," and "Luck-Exchanging Flower Cat," your resistance to these anomalous objects has substantially increased, and you are now able to block deeper effects.]

...

"Both of you, we’ve arrived."

As the system’s mechanized prompt ended, the dark passage also reached its end.

Opening the small door at the passage’s end, making a gesture of invitation, the female priest leading the way smiled and said,

"Once you both pass through here, you’ll enter the secret shrine of the Snake Spirit Master, where other brothers and sisters waiting to pay respects are already gathered.

However, your timing is unfortunate, as the Snake Spirit Master is currently away, delayed by some matters. But according to the oracle left by the master, he will be back to receive everyone’s respect in at most half a day after dealing with these matters."

Half a day more?

Hearing the female priest’s words, Leon couldn’t help but slightly turn his head and exchanged a glance with the equally looking-over lazy young man.

If he understood correctly, the "some matters" referred to were about the trapped Senior Emma, and the half-day time limit most likely indicated the remaining time before all her Undying Body’s chances were completely "bought out," and this was a conservative estimate. In reality, it might be even shorter!

*Must speed up!*

*Either find Senior Emma within half a day, or cause enough commotion within half a day to force that snake to come back on its own!*

Reaching mutual agreement through their eyes, Leon and his companion politely bid farewell to the guiding female priest. They then both crouched down and squeezed through the tight, narrow door at the end of the passage.

"Hiss?!!!"

Looking at his slender, crimson body and then at the tall golden plants around him like towering trees, Leon couldn’t help but widen his eyes... or rather his vertical pupils tinged with a touch of coolness.

"Hiss~"

As a hiss resembling a snake’s tongue flickering sounded, a spotted snake with white base covered in red and blue spots approached. It coiled its tail gently around the little red snake, and the familiar voice of the lazy young man echoed in Leon’s mind.

*’No need to panic; we haven’t actually turned into snakes. This is just a form of spiritual manifestation to facilitate the worship ceremony.

After all, the Holy Spirits are not yet True Gods and can’t link so many chaotic souls at once. Therefore it requires the effect of the secret shrine to temporarily align the spirits of the followers with itself. Once you leave, you’ll return to normal.

Also, don’t answer me out loud.

The spirits of everyone entering the secret shrine temporarily link together, and you can’t yet hide your spiritual fluctuations. Speaking out loud would be like shouting your thoughts to everyone here, which would expose you.’*

Senior Tom?

Looking at the spotted snake with a color pattern uncannily like a dice with white base and red and blue spots, the calmed-down Leon nodded, indicating he more or less understood the current situation, and then exerted control over his tail, forming an imperfect "?"

*’Are you asking what we should do next?’*

Leon nodded.

*’Next, we need to go to where there are more snakes and find the Bishop of the Snake Spirit lineage. Only those chosen who have received blessings can actively connect with the Holy Spirits in the secret shrine.’*

Peeking out from the shade formed by the ears of grain and surveying the situation in the field, the lazy young man transformed into a spotted snake said,

"You can help me look too. The bishops of the Snake Spirit lineage have received blessings, so there should be a black-bottomed, white-patterned scale on their tail. Once we find that reverse-growing black and white scale, we’ve found our..."

Watching the little red snake stretch out its tail in front of him, with a reverse-growing black and white scale, the spotted snake’s head tilted slightly and flicked its tongue in bewilderment.

*Not... Whose side are you on?*

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