A ray of sunlight pierced through the ink-like darkness.
Jiang Yuan had forced himself to sleep around three or four in the morning.
Without good sleep, his mind would only become more muddled.
Only with a clear mind could he survive better.
He didn't know how long he had slept.
Familiar-sounding footsteps gradually approached and pushed open the door.
"Jiang Yuan, get up. Your sister is here."
The young security officer's voice came from the door, calm and unemotional: "Also, you can leave. After our investigation, we've determined that your parents jumped off on their own. It has nothing to do with you."
Jiang Yuan's eyes snapped open, and he sat up from the bed reflexively.
"Oh, okay."
Jiang Yuan quickly washed up in the bathroom, then followed the young security officer outside.
Halfway there, he heard an angry, grief-stricken woman's voice: "I'm going to file a complaint against you, I definitely will!"
"Our parents fell to their deaths, and you actually detained my brother!"
"Do you think my brother killed his parents?!"
"Haven't you already searched many times? It was caused by my parents fighting among themselves!"
"And I've given you our door lock password and agreed that you can search anytime if you have new leads. What more do you want?!"
...
"Miss, please don't get excited."
"We're just following the rules for investigation."
"Also, we didn't detain your brother. And today, we've completed our investigation. He can leave anytime... Ah, here he is."
Jiang Yuan had just entered the service hall.
Before he could react, a figure suddenly rushed into his arms, hugging him tightly.
Jiang Yuan was stunned, then he heard heart-wrenching sobs in his ear: "Wuwuwu, Xiaoyuan, how could our parents... how could they..."
"We don't have parents anymore, we won't have parents anymore... wuwuwu..."
Being hugged and cried on by his sister, listening to her heartfelt grief, Jiang Yuan couldn't help but feel a touch of sorrow in his heart.
Regardless of how his parents' personalities had changed yesterday.
In the three days before that, as someone who had been an orphan in his previous life, he had truly experienced the warmth of family and the tenderness of loved ones.
His heart wasn't made of steel; it would naturally be touched.
Actually, last night, he had basically figured out one thing.
Perhaps what he should hate wasn't his parents who tried to kill him as a sacrifice to the demon god, but the demon god itself!
That damned Merciful Demon God itself!
Jiang Yuan suspected that the power bestowed by the demon god upon its believers must include a kind of brainwashing or even mind-control effect, which would make his parents attack their own son.
As the saying goes, even tigers don't eat their cubs. Without brainwashing or mind-control, Jiang Yuan would never believe it.
But he was weak and alone. How to survive in this bizarre world was his biggest problem right now. Thinking about other things was useless.
He gently patted his sister's back to comfort her grief, but didn't know how to speak.
Not surprisingly, his sister Jiang Yue was also a believer in the Merciful Demon God. The more he said, the more mistakes he might make. He couldn't let his sister become like his parents.
After crying for a while, Jiang Yue's emotions finally calmed down a bit. She released Jiang Yuan, held his shoulders, and looked him up and down, asking repeatedly: "Xiaoyuan, are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"
Jiang Yue was very tall, or rather, their whole family was tall.
Their mother was 1.7 meters, and their father was 1.83 meters.
The siblings were even taller. His sister was 1.72 meters, and he was 1.88 meters.
Now his sister was wearing high heels, not much shorter than him.
"I'm fine, sister. I just slept here for the night. They didn't do anything to me. After all, I'm not a criminal."
Jiang Yuan comforted her.
Hearing Jiang Yuan say this, Jiang Yue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but she still turned her head and glared fiercely at the older security officer who had been observing the siblings, : "I'm still going to file a complaint against you!"
The older security officer shrugged, looking helpless.
"Xiaoyuan, let's go!"
Jiang Yue glared at the two security officers again, not even sparing the other security officers working in the hall. With a snort, she pulled Jiang Yuan and left the security bureau.
After leaving the security bureau, Jiang Yue became quiet.
She released Jiang Yuan's hand and walked ahead at a moderate pace with her head down.
If Jiang Yue didn't speak, Jiang Yuan certainly wouldn't speak.
This was actually the first time he had met his 'sister'. He had only heard about her from his parents and seen her in some family photos before.
He had never actually interacted with her in real life.
As someone who had transmigrated, interacting with these close relatives of his predecessor carried a high risk of exposure.
Plus, having discovered the terrifying side of this world, Jiang Yuan was even less likely to take the initiative to speak.
"The security officers said..."
"Our parents had a disagreement during your worship ceremony?"
"Mom wanted you to worship the God of Sorrow, but Dad disagreed. When Mom insisted, Dad thought she was a heretic, so..."
"They started fighting, and then both accidentally fell during the fight... Is that right, Xiaoyuan?"
After walking in silence for a while, Jiang Yue's voice suddenly sounded.
Her tone was the same as usual; nothing could be discerned from it.
And she still walked forward with her head down, making it impossible to see her expression.
But Jiang Yuan's heart skipped a beat.
Before his eyes, the familiar!!! three blood-red exclamation marks appeared again.
Jiang Yuan's throat felt dry, but he had to force himself to reply in a muffled voice: "Yeah..."
"That's right. I don't know why Mom suddenly wanted to worship the God of Sorrow either."
The God of Sorrow.
It was a demon god name that Jiang Yuan had learned about from the internet in the past few days.
"Hehe, Mom is really strange."
Jiang Yue let out a few chuckles, her tone meaningful, as if confused, yet also as if implying something: "But our family has worshipped the Merciful Saint since my great-grandfather's time."
"In fact, the reason Mom married Dad in the first place was because she valued that Dad was a fanatical believer in the Merciful Saint Cult."
"Mom wasn't a fanatical believer, but her faith was absolutely unwavering."
"I've only been away from home for a few months, so how could Mom change her lifelong faith?"
"It's really strange... Xiaoyuan, can you tell me why this is?"
At some point, they had stopped walking and were standing by the roadside.
The sun was blazing in the sky. His sister's gaze was still gentle, and even her tone was still so gentle.
But a bone-chilling cold instantly spread throughout Jiang Yuan's body, and the blood-red exclamation marks before his eyes flickered even faster.
Jiang Yuan's scalp went numb, but he forced himself to stay calm, even putting on a confused expression as he shook his head: "I don't know either."
"You know, these past few months, I've been busy preparing for the college entrance exam and haven't paid attention to other things."
"Maybe I neglected what Mom was usually busy with. Actually, I also feel very angry and confused about Mom's choice."
"Our whole family are devout believers in the Merciful Saint. I've aspired since childhood to become a fanatical believer in the Merciful Saint Cult like Dad."
"So Mom wanting me to abandon my faith and worship the God of Sorrow, I really can't understand."
"Sister, do you think it's possible that Mom was ed by someone?"
Jiang Yuan even asked a question, looking puzzled.
He didn't know what a 'fanatical believer' was, but from his sister's words just now, it seemed that a 'fanatical believer' was a higher level of believer in the Merciful Saint Cult than an ordinary believer?
That should be the meaning.
Jiang Yue didn't answer. She stared fixedly at Jiang Yuan for a few seconds, then nodded slightly and smiled gently: "I'm very happy that you have this goal, Xiaoyuan."
"After all, being able to become a fanatical believer of the god is one in ten thousand, and it will be the supreme glory of both the family and the individual!"
"Since that's the case, and our parents are gone, after we hold the sacrificial funeral for them, I'll personally perform the unfinished worship ceremony for you!"
Jiang Yuan felt despair inside, but he nodded heavily with a look of joy.
"The taxi's here. Let's go to the Heavenly Staircase Hall. Your parents' bodies are already there."
Jiang Yue got into a taxi by the roadside, saying gently.
Jiang Yuan followed, his mood extremely heavy.
He could only take things one step at a time.