Chapter 55

“Before we start dinner, please offer your prayers to the great Thousand-Faced Moon, giving thanks for her protection from malevolent spirits and for providing us with food,” the mayor’s wife said. She then moved with reverence to a wooden cabinet, delicately retrieving the idol of the deity.

The figurine was about the size of two palms, with a crown of thorns upon its head and a serene smile gracing its closed eyes. The face was that of a beautiful young woman, with fine features, curled lashes, and delicate lips. Yet, below her neck was a pyramid formed by countless heads, layered like an endless wave, each with twisted features and expressions of agony.

When everyone at the table saw the idol clearly, they were stunned, a strange chill settling over them. This was the deity the mayor’s family revered?

Compared to typical statues, which exuded solemnity and reverence, this “Thousand-Faced Moon” felt more like a twisted monstrosity.

“Thousand-Faced Moon?” murmured Luo Anna, repeating the familiar name, as something dawned on her. Remembering the conversation on the boat… wasn’t the Thousand-Faced Moon the very deity Yue Yin worshipped?

Luo Anna cast a sharp look at Yue Yin, who was subtly sneaking bites of bread. When she heard the mayor’s wife speak, she looked up in surprise at the idol, appearing just as shocked as everyone else.

Was this a coincidence, Luo Anna wondered, or something more? She resolved to ask Yue Yin later.

The mayor, unaware of the common link between the investigators and one of their own, held up the idol with an eerie smile. “Please, thank our Mother Deity,” he urged, as the idol’s eyes remained closed, its face fixed in a benevolent smile, almost as though it might open its eyes at any moment.

The investigators, however, each had their own beliefs and deities. Reluctant to pray to an unknown deity, Zhou Zicheng forced a polite smile and said, “Thank you, but we all have our own faiths, so we’ll have to respectfully decline.”

“I as well. I am devoted to the Goddess of Night,” Luo Anna added, lowering her head in reverence, “in awe of the night’s radiance.”

Seeing Zhou Zicheng’s refusal, the mayor’s smile faltered, and he cast a dark look over the group. “You’re unwilling to thank our revered Mother Deity?” he asked coldly.

Everyone shook their heads, none of them would renounce their beliefs.

The mayor’s expression grew darker as his gaze lingered on each of them, finally settling on Yue Yin, who was now quietly munching on a piece of bread.

The mayor’s face contorted in anger.

Yue Yin, oblivious, felt the bread was a bit dry and, while the mayor and Zhou Zicheng were in a standoff, downed her soup in a few quick gulps. When she lowered her bowl, she was greeted by the mayor’s livid face.

“You ungrateful outsiders! Rude and disrespectful foreigners!” he shouted, furious and accusatory.

The mayor’s bloodshot eyes bulged, his head inching closer to Yue Yin as he vented his rage.

She blinked at him and suddenly said, “Fuckyourmother.”

The mayor froze, as if someone had hit pause. He stared, bewildered. “What… what did you just say?”

“I mean, you’re swearing so politely. Try lowering the level of decorum a bit if you want to be taken seriously as members of the Moon Cult,” Yue Yin replied.

The mayor stammered, “Moon Cult?”

Yue Yin, grabbing another piece of bread, looked at him innocently. “Yes, the Moon Cult. Isn’t it the Thousand-Faced Moon that you worship?”

Who would’ve thought she’d run into her own followers here, even fervently praying before meals? Maybe she was more influential than she thought. Yue Yin chewed, smug.

After all, she reasoned, Surina Island was surrounded by the Deep Ones’ territory, so maybe it was only natural that the islanders would be under her sway.

As she pondered, the mayor’s tangled thoughts finally started to unravel.

“We’ve never heard of this Moon Cult,” he said, a strained smile on his face.

Yue Yin’s jaw dropped. “No way, really?” These people weren’t her followers after all? She slammed her hands on the table, standing abruptly. “You’re not fake believers, are you?”

No wonder she hadn’t sensed any human prayers earlier!

The mayor stood speechless, internally cursing. Who was this lunatic?

Struggling to keep his composure, he glanced at the other investigators at the table, biting back an unspoken frustration.

By now, everyone was stunned and bewildered by the bizarre turn of events.

Watching from the sidelines, Jiang Suliu took in the whole scene with a speechless expression, unsure whether to suspect that the mayor’s family were indeed impostors or that Yue Yin was simply a delusional fraud herself.

The cuckoo clock chimed again, this time sounding oddly urgent, devoid of its earlier cheer.

The mayor’s expression shifted. Ignoring Yue Yin’s antics, he composed himself and addressed the group, “Just a minor misunderstanding. It won’t affect our meal. Now…”

He lowered the statue as his family stepped forward, smiling as they formed a circle in front of it, each extending a hand to clasp the next.

They circled the statue, chanting, “With each day, we worship, we pray, we wait, following our Mother, the great Thousand-Faced Moon.”

Far out in the sunless depths of the ocean, monstrous creatures of all shapes linked fins and tentacles in an unholy choir, singing in a disturbing harmony:

“Eternal suffering, endless despair, the departed will be embraced, all— all followers will be granted eternal life!”

“Let wandering souls rest, scattered flesh return to the deep. the Mother’s arms are the final sanctuary.”

As the chanting grew feverish, the statue’s benign smile remained unchanged, but beneath it, the countless heads opened their eyes.

With ecstatic faces, tears of joy streaming down, they each opened their mouths in a silent shout, trying to scream a name this space could not contain.

“Hydra, Hydra, Hydra!”

An overpowering stench of brine and decay filled the room. Jiang Suliu stared at the statue, eyes red, mouth shaping the forbidden name in silent awe.

“Praise be to Hydra, Hydra.”

Above and below the deep sea, humans and monsters alike joined in calling out at the top of their voices, joining the fervent celebration of the faithful.

The investigation team looked on, nearly frozen in shock at the sight of the mayor’s fanatical family.

Yue Yin leaned over the dining table, finishing her last bite of bread as the deafening chants filled her ears, an overwhelming chorus of voices calling out in frenzy.

—”Call upon Hydra, Hydra!”

—”Come forth, come forth! Great Thousand-Faced Moon, gray sea of mire, come to claim every soul and head.”

Leaning back slowly in her chair, Yue Yin chewed her bread with calm deliberation, using a white napkin to wipe her fingertips. She listened quietly to the countless prayers, the pain and despair so close, as her followers reveled in their ecstasy.

While the mayor’s family and Jiang Suliu were absorbed in prayer, one member of the investigation team was busy eating, another covertly observing, some watching the mayor’s family, and others wondering who the Thousand-Faced Moon truly was.

Yue Yin rose and headed outside.

Under the moonlight, she walked and softly hummed a strange, ancient song in a language long forgotten. Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper carried by the wind, as if it would vanish with the slightest breeze. In that moment, all prayers hushed, every sound paused as if time itself had come to a standstill.

After a brief silence, a piercingly sharp chant erupted:

—”Call upon Hydra, Hydra!”

—”Come forth, come forth! Great Thousand-Faced Moon, return to the Order of the Seal!”

Yue Yin blinked, lowered her head, and smiled thoughtfully.

In a quiet voice, she said, “It is an honor to have you all here, to witness the glory of the Thousand-Faced Moon.”