Chapter 171 : Chapter 171
Chapter :171
"The mentor who brought you into the trade?"
"Mm-hm." Doreen finally willed herself to get up. Disregarding the fact that she was still wearing the maid dress with the bustle, she sat cross-legged on the floor in an extremely unrefined manner.
Gone was the affected, seductive posture from earlier; she was now completely carefree.
"The mentor who brought me into the thieving profession. He was corrupted by a demonic beast because of a mission."
"Is that so?" Yan Yunqing looked thoughtful. "So everything you said in Mandiper before was a lie?"
Doreen froze. "Uh..."
Yan Yunqing wasn't sure how much of what Doreen said was true. Although he could hear sincerity in her words, a person skilled at lying knew how to use the art of language.
Some things, when said with half-truths and concealments, might be technically factual, but could be interpreted completely differently by the listener.
However, the fact that 'Morgan's Heart' had stumbled into his hands was a good thing.
Whether it was the Eternal Divine Sect or the Church of Light that wanted this item, as long as their development was hindered, it was a good thing for Yan Yunqing.
"Um..." Doreen looked at Yan Yunqing with a pitiful expression again. "Since I've told you everything you wanted to know, can you return 'Morgan's Heart' to me?"
Yan Yunqing: ?
Yan Yunqing slowly mentally typed out a question mark. The look he gave Doreen turned strange, as if to say: Are you serious?
Seeing Yan Yunqing's expression, Doreen pursed her lips. "Um, I haven't withdrawn the gold coins you paid from the auction house yet. But don't worry, I definitely won't let you pay that much money for nothing. I'll steal it back for you, and then I'll promise to do three things for you, how about that?"
"Don't look down on my combat strength; my stealing skills are actually quite formidable. As long as it's something I can do, just ask."
"...The reason you haven't withdrawn the money from the auction house, isn't it because you don't dare to go?"
Yan Yunqing found it hard to describe his feelings. "Although I don't know how you handed this thing over to the auction house, or how you got the auction house to listen to you and auction it publicly, you should know that there is a bounty for 'Morgan's Heart' in the Bounty Hunter's Association, right? I guess the Thieves' Association has one too. Under the circumstances of being hunted, you dare to show your face?"
Doreen's face looked a bit ugly, as if Yan Yunqing had hit the nail on the head.
"Also, what do you want 'Morgan's Heart' for? You aren't thinking of repeating the same trick to find the employer, are you?"
Yan Yunqing was very curious about how Doreen thought. Someone who could steal 'Morgan's Heart' from Mandiper shouldn't be stupid.
"Do you think someone capable of obtaining that so-called Holy Water wouldn't see through your clumsy scheme?"
Doreen: "...But it's the only way. My mentor can't wait much longer."
Yan Yunqing: "Forgive me for being blunt, but your method really isn't useful. Leaving aside that while Augreer Auction House is famous in Bartovita, its influence in Romunik isn't that great, let alone across the entire continent.
Are you sure the news that 'Morgan's Heart' would appear at this auction really reached the person you wanted to reach?"
"...This is already the largest scale auction in the near future."
Yan Yunqing read something from Doreen's words. He paused, looking away. "So the faster way is actually for you to sneak into the Church's Sacred Palace and steal that so-called Holy Water, right?"
Doreen rubbed her slightly sore cheeks. "I tried, but the guards at the Church's Sacred Palace are too strict.
I was discovered every time I sneaked in. Last time, I almost didn't make it back, and I didn't even get a whiff of news about the Holy Water."
She looked a bit depressed. "I even wanted to seduce that Saint, but before I could even get in front of him, I was discovered by a Cardinal."
"You really dare to think big." Yan Yunqing was impressed. "Even the Saint of the Church of Light, you tried to seduce? If you didn't get beaten out, who would?"
The Church of Light in this world was similar to those fabricated in some movies and novels on Blue Star.
The so-called Saints and Saintesses were chosen one in a million to serve the God of Light. They would not marry in their lifetime, dedicating their everything to the deity.
Although the God of Light was gone now, hadn't the Church of Light fabricated a Goddess of Light?
As the saying goes, to deceive the world, one must first deceive oneself; these rules would certainly be continued.
Running to the Church of Light to seduce the Saint—what was the difference between this and defecating in front of the statue in the Church of Light?
Being discovered by their Cardinal, of course she would be beaten out. This was cuckolding their faith right to their face!
Hearing Yan Yunqing's words, Doreen's expression became even more depressed. "That's not it at all.
That Saint isn't a good thing anyway. Calling him promiscuous is a compliment; he's just a lecher. I heard he even hooked up with several Bishops."
"I inquired clearly before preparing to seduce him. Who knew I would be discovered by a Cardinal?"
Yan Yunqing was slightly stunned. "Really?"
Are the current concepts of the Church of Light this open? He vaguely remembered that more than two thousand years ago, the Church of Light was a group of fanatics for the God of Light.
Those Saints and Saintesses were truly crazy. After the Demon King killed the God of Light, those Saints and Saintesses even organized a suicide attack to assassinate the Demon King.
It was only because the Demon King's Royal Guard was capable enough, otherwise the Demon King really would have suffered some losses at the hands of those Saints and Saintesses.
"Yes." Doreen nodded. "But there seems to be a reason. That Saint doesn't seem to have grown up in the Church from a young age. He was brought back halfway and inexplicably became the Saint."
"If I hadn't seen that he was most favored by the Pope and thought he might know the location of the Holy Water, I wouldn't have targeted him! Who knew a Saint would have a Cardinal protecting him by his side, and one who saw through my disguise at a glance? It's too hateful."
Doreen muttered incessantly, seeming to vent the dissatisfaction and anxiety in her heart through this behavior.
Yan Yunqing could hear from her tone that her mentor was probably really on the verge of death; otherwise, Doreen's emotions wouldn't be so exposed.
However, with Doreen's rambling, Yan Yunqing actually detected something wrong from the information she inadvertently revealed.
The Church of Light had a strict hierarchy. The one with the most power and control over everything was the Pope.
The next level, serving as the Pope's right and left hands with power second only to the Pope, were the Cardinals, followed by the Archbishops, and then the Bishops, High Priests, and Priests of various branch halls.
At the very bottom were the Deacons, who were also the most numerous. Basically, after believers of the Church of Light joined voluntarily, they all started as Deacons.
The Saints and Saintesses belonged to an existence outside this system. Although nominally their status was second only to the Pope, they had no real power. More than two thousand years ago, it was fine;
Saints and Saintesses acted as a bridge and channel for communication between believers and the deity. They were the servants of the deity and the deity's proxies in the world, so they had some power.
Now that the God of Light was gone, and the Goddess of Light was a fake who didn't need communication and couldn't be communicated with, the Saints and Saintesses would likely become mascot-like existences.
A mascot being personally protected by a Cardinal, whose status was second only to the Pope? Wasn't that a bit exaggerated?
And a Saint brought back halfway? How was that possible? Even if Yan Yunqing didn't know much about the current Church of Light, he knew their intention in cultivating Saints and Saintesses. Put plainly, it was a method of manipulating faith.
All Saints and Saintesses were children selected for their highest affinity with light elements, brought back to be cultivated, brainwashed into fanatics, and then used to brainwash the believers.
A Saint brought back halfway—leaving aside whether he had loyalty to the Church of Light—could the believers really accept a Saint picked up halfway?
Yan Yunqing felt it was strange. "Do you know where that Saint came from?"
Doreen glanced at Yan Yunqing. Her small mouth, which had been chattering incessantly just a moment ago, was now tightly shut. Yan Yunqing looked at her in confusion, then realized what was happening, feeling both annoyed and amused.
Alright then, this guy wasn't just complaining purely for the sake of it earlier; she was setting a trap for him.
He didn't know where he had slipped up to let Doreen notice that he was interested in news about the Church of Light.
These words were intentionally said for him to hear. As long as he got curious and asked, Doreen would use this to seek compensation.
With so many little schemes and such fast reaction speed, no wonder she could steal 'Morgan's Heart' from Mandiper.
"'Morgan's Heart' cannot be given to you." Yan Yunqing flatly refused Doreen's request.
"That kind of thing has a huge impact on ordinary people. You saw your mentor's condition, right? The stuff attached to 'Morgan's Heart' is similar to the filth that pollutes demonic beasts."
Doreen was stunned, seeming to believe Yan Yunqing's words. She murmured, "So my mentor's condition worsening is also related to me bringing back 'Morgan's Heart'?"
Yan Yunqing fell silent for a moment. If Doreen's mentor's condition indeed deteriorated after she brought back 'Morgan's Heart', then it was certainly related.
After all, from Yan Yunqing's perspective, that 'Morgan's Heart' was filled with ominous black energy, very similar to the people polluted by demonic beasts he had seen a few times before.
Doreen lowered her head, thinking about something, and the whole room fell into silence.
Yan Yunqing thought for a moment, rummaged in his backpack for a while, found a small porcelain bottle, and tossed it into Doreen's arms.
Doreen was startled by the sudden impact and scrambled to catch the small bottle. Looking at the bottle, which was only the size of a thumb, she was puzzled. "This is?"
"Although I can't give you 'Morgan's Heart', I can give you this." Yan Yunqing gestured to the small bottle in her hand.
"Inside is... well, something with a function similar to that Holy Water. It should also have purification abilities. Take it back and try it on your mentor."
Doreen's eyes, which were still a bit confused, lit up instantly. "Are you saying this is also Holy Water—"
Yan Yunqing was helpless. "Can you listen seriously to what I'm saying? It's just something with a function similar to Holy Water. As for whether it can purify the demonic beast's pollution... I don't know either. Take it back and try. But the quantity is small, so it's best to... take it internally."
Yan Yunqing said the last few words with some difficulty.
He was really a bit embarrassed because what was inside this small bottle was something he had drawn from opening a box earlier—[Angel's Tears].
[Angel's Tears]
Description: The eternal white bird lost its way, shedding tears in a moment of confusion. (Perhaps it has some special effects?)
The description was very simple. When Yan Yunqing drew it, he opened it to take a look and only felt a pure light element; even the light elements around him gathered toward his hand.
It was colorless and odorless. He had poured out a little to observe, and it felt just like ordinary water...
The key was that he had drawn several bottles. Yan Yunqing really couldn't figure it out—when angels cried, did they collect their tears like mermaids? But mermaid tears turned into pearls when they fell and could be used as materials for alchemy. What about angel tears?
Yan Yunqing really couldn't imagine Theodore crying while holding a small bottle to catch his tears; that was just too surreal. So, this stuff had been thrown into the depths of his backpack.
Now he took it out only guessing it might be useful.
Since Holy Water could evolve people infected by filth, it should be the light element contained within it that played a role.
Angel's tears also contained a large amount of light elements. Since the composition was similar, the function should be similar too, right?
After all, the Angel race was also a creature created by the God of Light, and they were the God of Light's kin before! Why couldn't angel tears have the function of purifying filth?
It was just that feeding a patient someone else's tears sounded weird...
Yan Yunqing looked away.
Doreen didn't care what Yan Yunqing said. She pulled out the wooden stopper of the small bottle and immediately felt a rich light element. Thinking of the legendary effects of Holy Water, Doreen immediately believed what Yan Yunqing said: this had the same function as Holy Water!
Doreen immediately stored the small bottle away properly, and her gaze toward Yan Yunqing became much more sincere.
"Thank you for your Holy Water. If my mentor wakes up because of this, I will fulfill my promise and help you complete three things."
Yan Yunqing: "?"
"I told you it's not Holy Water... and I didn't say I wanted your help... never mind."
Seeing Doreen's extremely serious appearance, Yan Yunqing sighed and didn't decline Doreen's repayment. He pulled the topic back to the Church of Light just now.
"Now can you tell me? The situation with that Saint?"
"Of course." Doreen said, recalling for a moment before speaking, "To be honest, I'm not very sure if the information I found out is problem-free, so I have to tell you in advance."
"In the news I inquired about, that Saint was indeed brought back halfway. It is said that he has a very strong affinity for light elements, but he is indeed lecherous and has intimate relationships with many female Bishops. Yet the Pope ignores this matter. Compared to other Saints and Saintesses, that guy is like the Pope's illegitimate son."
Doreen smacked her lips. The burden pressing on her heart had disappeared, so she was in the mood to gossip with Yan Yunqing.
"I really think that guy might be an illegitimate son. He and the Pope are both guys with unpredictable moods."
"Didn't I plan to seduce the Saint that day? Actually, I lied before. I wasn't stopped by the Bishop before approaching; I really did get close to him."
"But he was a bit terrifying that day. I don't know what he was doing in the secret room of his chamber, but I could smell a very heavy scent of blood. Out of curiosity, I got closer and accidentally triggered the warning magic, so I was discovered."
"Then I was caught by the Bishop. When the Saint came out of the secret room, although he was clean, I could still feel that bloody smell on him." Doreen shuddered unconsciously thinking of that time. "It was just... like an executioner who kills without blinking..."
With this description, Yan Yunqing knew that Doreen probably guessed something bad had happened in the secret room. However, with her strength, being able to escape after being caught by a Cardinal was already good enough, let alone going into the secret room to investigate.
"The way he looked at me then was terrifying, you know? It was like looking at a corpse... But I am very sure that the look the Saint gave me when I met him outside the Sacred Palace before was definitely not like that. That kind of obscure, lecherous look wasn't much different from other hedonistic nobles."
Doreen shrugged. "It's simply two faces. He doesn't look like a good person at all."
"Oh right, you asked where that Saint came from earlier... let me think, I remember hearing a bit of a rumor..."
"Mm, it seems he is the son of a Baron from the Romunik border?"