247, If the Shadow Could Talk

13 is a number steeped in superstition in the West, criticized and avoided whether it is a date or just a number.

The Vanity Sect spoken of by Father Tony was based on 13 members, and each one wore a mask, a sight as bizarre as any.

It appeared this sect was in opposition to the Church.

It also seemed to lurk in the shadows, observing the world as outsiders.

Clearly, the Vanity Sect had its own agenda.

Du Wei couldn't help but think to himself: Vanity is a longing—for knowledge, identity, status, money—maintaining self-esteem at a psychological level through falsehood to find fulfillment.

A mask is a rigid, false self.

The longer the mask of vanity is worn, the more reliant one becomes, and to remove it would mean deep pain.

The characteristic of the Vanity Sect's people, then, was their masks...

And he himself had precisely two masks, one that covered only the eye area and the other that lacked facial features.

"Could there be a connection?"

Du Wei silently asked himself.