Will's one-armed skeleton was managed to be transported outside the city by his companions.
They didn't choose to notify the city guards immediately because, strictly speaking, their Church of Mushroom was also an illegal organization. Just like when gangs have a shootout, no one chooses to call the police.
The morning breeze blew through the mushroom forest, fluttering the corners of their clothes.
Someone turned their face away, shoulders twitching slightly; someone stared fixedly at that skeleton, eye sockets turning red.
"Will, he," someone finally spoke, voice choked in their throat, "he was such a good person. Even with only one arm left, he always scrambled to help everyone and never complained. Why do these bad things always fall on his head?"
"Who exactly did it?" Another voice sounded, carrying unsuppressible anger. "Killing him wasn't enough, they even took all the flesh off his body... to..."
He couldn't go on.
"Unforgivable," someone added in a low voice. "Must find that murderer."
A few voices of agreement came from the crowd.
They had only known Will for a little over a month, but to these formerly homeless refugees, the camaraderie built over this month was not light.
Will was the kind of person who would silently help others carry stones, who would take out the delicious mushrooms he picked to share with his companions.
Such a person should have lived.
Moreover, for these guys who were originally refugees, finally finding a group they could entrust their bodies and minds to, losing a companion was like losing a family member.
A few young and impulsive ones had already turned around to look for handy weapons, but if they really were to go seek revenge on someone, they actually didn't know which direction to go.
Just then, footsteps came from the back of the crowd.
Julia walked out following No. 12.
"Leader! Mushroom Envoy!" Someone immediately rushed forward, voice carrying excitement and expectation, "Lead us to take revenge!"
Julia raised her hand and pressed it down gently.
"No need for revenge."
The crowd quieted for a moment, then exploded.
"Why?"
"Is Will just going to die in vain?"
"Didn't you say we are like family? Family was murdered, and we don't even take revenge. What kind of family is that?"
Voices were noisy, emotions surging. Some had red eyes, some gritted their teeth, some wanted to argue but didn't know where to start.
Amidst the messy clamor, No. 12 came to Will's bones, extended a tentacle, wrapped it around Will's skull, and gave a slight twist.
Crack! That sound was very light but made everyone shut their mouths.
No. 12 held that skull in its arms, turned back, and faced the silent believers.
Its tentacle gently supported that white bone. A gentle telepathy spread through the mycelial network:
"Will has not disappeared."
"He died on the fungal mat. His devout faith guided his soul to the Mushroom Garden. In the embrace of the Mushroom Lord, he has obtained a new life."
"Only this skeleton remaining is the proof that his flesh merged into the fungal mat."
"As for the murderer, he has already gone to the place he should go to repay this sin."
Just as Lin Jun said, honesty had always been his excellent quality.
Therefore, he didn't let No. 12 conceal anything about Will's whereabouts.
Anyway, without actual evidence, if these words spread, there would be nothing more than two results: either someone would become interested in the Church of Mushroom because of this, or it would be treated as the usual rhetoric small churches use to fool believers.
The believers present quieted down, looking at each other in blank dismay.
After all, it was said by the Mushroom Envoy, and Will's flesh and blood had indeed disappeared, but some people still harbored doubts.
Just then, a scene poured into everyone's minds without any warning.
The scene was dim; one could faintly distinguish that it was an enclosed space.
Stone walls, mushrooms growing around, and a twisting human figure in the corner. That figure was bound, posture bizarre, as if enduring something.
Compared to the dim scene, continuous tragic screams echoed in everyone's minds:
"Don't... don't grow anymore! Give my body back to me! Give it back... Wu wu wu ahhhh..."
That trapped person seemed to be experiencing some unknown terrifying change; the mournful tragic screams echoed endlessly.
The believers' bodies shuddered violently. Some subconsciously took a half-step back, faces turning pale; the more timid ones even felt their knees go soft, almost collapsing onto the ground.
"Th-this is...?" someone asked with a trembling voice.
"That murderer you want to find," No. 12's tentacle still wrapped around Will's skull as it explained naturally, "Like I said, he is repaying his sins."
A series of swallowing sounds rang out all around.
After a brief silence, someone took the lead and roared: "Good!"
Immediately after, the crowd boiled over.
Cheers rose and fell. Some punched fiercely, some gritted their teeth and nodded with red eye sockets, some directly spat at that gradually dissipating scene.
This kind of scene projected directly into consciousness was even more inconceivable than mycelial network communication. The vast majority of believers believed it on the spot.
A small number of people still had a trace of doubt in their hearts, but they couldn't directly deny it either.
Regardless, Will's matter was considered brought to a close. Under Julia's direction, everyone buried his bones beneath the mushroom house.
No. 12 stood aside, tentacle still wrapping that skull. That shape was truly too handy for it to wrap; the size was just right.
It hesitated for a moment and secretly applied in the mycelial network to converse with the newly born Will: "Um... could you give your skull to me?"
Will recognized this time that the one communicating telepathically was the Mushroom Envoy.
After figuring out what was going on, he both somewhat wanted to agree and felt it was a bit weird for the Mushroom Envoy to carry his skull around everywhere to show off in the future.
No. 12 sensed Will's dilemma and actively chose to give up, somewhat regretfully putting the skull back as well, leaving Will a whole corpse.
...
Over at the Mushroom Garden, No. 7 was taking Will to familiarize himself with the Mushroom Garden area, teaching him how to command Puchis, how to make good use of mycelial network communications, and getting to know other people in the Mushroom Garden...
He was like a template, providing a standard cultivation process for the latecomers who would become Puchis in the future.
And as the importance of the faith project increased, Lin Jun also placed more attention on the Church of Mushroom.
This made their subsequent journey unknowingly much easier. Many troubles like bandits and scattered cults were resolved by Lin Jun in advance.
Coupled with intentional guidance, Lin Jun even demonstrated installing several skills for Julia during the core believers' internal ritual. This ability, like a divine blessing, made the faith of many believers even more devout.
Then, a new problem arose.
If believers don't die, they can't become Puchis.
So, to promote them to mushrooms, he had to let them go die first?
The result was correct, but why did this process feel weird?
Felt a bit like déjà vu.
After thinking about it, Lin Jun felt this matter didn't need to be forced. Whether believers turned into Puchis or not wasn't important to Lin Jun.
As long as they had faith, they were already permanent combat power that could reincarnate. Dying early or dying late didn't affect anything.
Rather, the issue was the spread of the Church of Mushroom.
It definitely couldn't just be preached within the United Kingdom. On the Elves' side, he could try to let that newly established "Spore Society" become a channel to spread Puchi faith. The fungal mats in the Dwarven Mountains hadn't fully spread yet, so there was no rush for now.
As for the Empire...
Lin Jun felt that the Blood Livestock Farm in Duchess Elinore's territory should also be very suitable for spreading this kind of faith that could obtain "salvation," right?
It was time to assign some tasks to No. 13.
(End of Chapter)
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