94 Hymn
Grasping Wu Qingchen’s palm for support, André easily climbed up and stood firmly. Together with Wu Qingchen, they lifted the water urn once more and had only taken a few steps when, for no clear reason, André suddenly furrowed his brow slightly, inhaled softly, and glanced back at the muddy steps. In that instant, the spot that usually made him uneasy whenever he passed by seemed to have shrunk considerably.
Throughout, Wu Qingchen’s peripheral vision never left André.
“A furrowed brow tilting down to the left,” “inhaling as he looks back,” “tilting his head to the right,” “suddenly exhaling heavily,” “twisting his fingers,” “biting his lower lip”…
These were the signature gestures identified by the Earth team from approximately 57 hours of video footage showing Wu Qingchen and André appearing simultaneously on the giant screen—markers of André’s moments of distraction.
Noticing André performing both “furrowing his brow down to the left” and “inhaling while looking back,” Wu Qingchen immediately initiated the next strategy the Earth team had prepared for him.
“By the way… André…” Wu Qingchen’s tone, seemingly casual at first, was actually crafted with precise intonation and emphasis designed to capture attention most effectively. “Why do you always hum and chuckle during the priest’s sermons?”
“Hum and chuckle? What hum and chuckle…” Wu Qingchen mimicked the awkward sound of “hum and chuckle” for a few syllables.
“Ha ha ha ha…”
Hearing Wu Qingchen’s clumsy imitation, little André couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and the uneasy feeling about the muddy steps vanished instantly. “What hum and chuckle! Don’t ever let the priest know… I’m telling you, that’s a hymn!”
Of course, I know it’s a hymn! And I know you sing it quite well!
Wu Qingchen inwardly grumbled.
According to the theory of the flattery arts expert:
The Beginner Stage—blindly flattering, praising everything about the target without principle;
The Primary Stage—highlighting strengths while ignoring weaknesses;
The Intermediate Stage—scratching where it itches, actively creating opportunities for the target to shine;
The Advanced Stage—custom-tailoring situations in advance, crafting a stage for the target to showcase their strengths before many;
The Ultimate Stage—creating brilliance from nothing, regardless of fatal flaws or weak merits, effortlessly turning the target into a radiant, captivating focus.
This set of supreme flattery techniques, the true scripture of flattery, was, in the words of a certain eloquence expert, a pity for Wu Qingchen, whose innate talent was not high, whose foundational “values” had been fixed by training, and who had only limited time to cultivate, forcing him onto a regrettable path of rapid mastery.
Therefore, even with the tremendous opportunity of “global support,” Wu Qingchen’s lifetime cultivation would likely never reach transcendence, at best stagnating at the fourth tier, unable to glimpse the profound, highest realm.
Fortunately, at this very moment, with the world’s full backing pouring into this dark art, although his foundation was shaky, Wu Qingchen had already reached mid-level mastery of the third tier of the flattery scripture. Facing this child from the medieval world, he could confidently leverage his significant advantage in cultivation to easily dominate several opponents.
With this in mind, Wu Qingchen summoned his power, his spirit flickering in and out, vividly recalling his training at the Earth Simulation Base—where the performing arts, flattery arts, and strategic consulting realms combined their efforts—his spirit swirling and soaring rapidly from the base of his spine to the core of his mind!
This was the moment he had been waiting for!
As his aura surged to its peak, Wu Qingchen immediately exerted the flattery heart method with all his might, forcing it into its best current state.
“What exactly is a hymn?” Wu Qingchen tilted his head, eyes filled with just the right amount of curious wonder.
“Hymn…” That look instantly ignited the natural desire to perform in little André. He lifted his head and intoned in a melodious chant, “A hymn is a poem of sincere admiration, the source of authority and glory, a proclamation of love and justice, a song of worship to the sovereign!”
“Ohhh…”
As André delivered this series of praises, Wu Qingchen leaned slightly to one side, mouth agape, expression focused, eyes wide open.
At this moment, the expression on Wu Qingchen’s face—perfectly rehearsed through countless rehearsals during Earth training—if uploaded to Earth’s social media, would surely become a popular emoji tagged “adoration” or “mysterious awe.”
The advanced “adoration” and even higher “mysterious awe,” centuries ahead of the medieval world, struck André’s heart deeply, instantly saturating his vanity with fulfillment.
André’s face twisted rapidly, as if trying to maintain composure but unable to hide the genuine joy and pride welling up inside him.
The timing was right…
Wu Qingchen nodded inwardly and seized the opportunity to move to the next stage: “So the hymn is… so… so… so magnificent! Like… like…”
Wu Qingchen feigned a hesitant, deeply contemplative look.
He had no choice but to act pensive!
If not for his recent daily presence at the church, which villager born and bred here would casually ponder on what “magnificent” means?
“…Like the strongest bull! André, I haven’t listened carefully to a hymn before. Could you hum it for me?”
“That’s called singing! Singing a hymn!”
Under the suppression of Wu Qingchen’s mastery of the third tier of flattery scripture, André was powerless to resist this golden opportunity to perform.
Quickly correcting Wu Qingchen’s wording, André eagerly agreed, “…Alright, I’ll sing it for you… listen carefully…”
“Sovereign…
My loving Father…
My God in whom I believe…
I sing to You with all my heart…
Offering You my sincerest verses…
Upon the fertile land You have given…
I bow deeply, pulling out the weeds…
I swing my pick heavily, turning the soil…
Parting the sharp leaves…
Avoiding the fragrant blossoms…
O Sovereign, Your light is everywhere…
I reap the lush pasture with my sickle…
I shear the warm wool with my scissors…
I thresh the ripe grains with my flail…
O Sovereign, under Your care, I lack nothing in clothing or food.”
The hymn ended.
“Wonderful! That was beautiful!”
Wu Qingchen immediately applauded.
As André sang, walking beside him, Wu Qingchen listened attentively, nodding in rhythm from time to time.